PLAN B

[LazyAJ]

That kind of thinking's all well and good until someone wants to write big, muscly, amazonian, futa-cock, salamander women. Then where will be, B? Where will we be?!

Tychris, I guess.

Oh no Br'er Fox, don't throw me under that muscular salamander lady! Anything but that!

 

[B]

Updated Astraea with 5,600 words! This finishes her intro, does her appearance screen, and most of this update is a single talk topic that recaps BQ2 (even if you didn't do it) and expands on the lore. Also updated the free version up to the Appearance screen!

What use would Matiha have for an ordinary rock that’s been enchanted with an out-of-date spell?

“That’s the wrong question,” Astraea says, pointing her index finger at you. “The first question you should be asking is: who would have the longevity to take advantage of Vodo’s long-lasting application?

… [pc.isBimbo|You dunno.

“Nareva, [pc.name],” Astraea says patiently. “|Nareva. And, if Matiha’s aging had stopped, then Matiha herself.

“Correct. ]The second question is: what is the one advantage that Vodo has over modern enchantments?”

… [pc.isBimbo|You dunno.

“It’s that Vodo has no upper limit,” Astraea answers for you.|[pc.isMage|You’re really digging into your previous research for this one, but… it’s that… Vodo doesn’t have an upper limit, if you remember correctly. Its power is theoretically infinite, if you wait long enough.

“That’s correct!” Astraea says, gently clapping her right fingers against the butt of her left palm. From anyone else, it might seem like a derogatory gesture.|She has you at a disadvantage. You’ve been paying attention, but this one hasn’t come up in conversation.

“It’s that Vodo, as a spell, doesn’t have an upper limit,” she explains. “If you’re willing to wait long enough, then whatever it is you enchant could store an <b>infinite</b> amount of power.”

You’re starting to see how a witch like Matiha might be interested in something like that.]]

“And the final question,” Astraea finishes as she lifts three fingers into the air. “Why do you think Nareva had a common rock enchanted with Vodo in her personal vault?”

[pc.isBimbo|… You–

“It’s because the enchantment is almost as old as she is,” Astraea answers for you. “And therefore…?”

Uh… it’s… it’s a really, really strong rock?

“Correct.”|Because it’s been sitting around long enough to hold enough power that a god would take interest in it.

“And if a god wants it,” Astraea finishes, “then imagine what <b>anyone</b> could do with it. Especially someone with magical aptitude like Matiha.”]

“So, Matiha has a Narevan artifact that’s holding several century’s worth of power within it. There is vanishingly little she can’t accomplish with the stone. Her power would have been on par with Nareva’s – a god’s.”

“But here’s the thing,” she continues, crossing her arms and tapping her right bicep with her left fingers. It sounds like she’s drumming clay. “Vodo is an ancient spell. The best scholars and magicians across many, <b>many</b> generations couldn’t find a way to improve it. If we could enhance Vodo so that its accumulation was faster, or more efficient, or both, then it’d be an especially powerful spell in the modern world. But nobody could figure out how. Everyone always thought that it was as perfect as it was ever going to get.”

From the way she’s speaking…

“Right,” Astraea nods, her eyes locked onto yours. “Matiha found a way. She figured out how to improve it.”

What does that mean?

“[pc.isMage|As you know, ]Vodo works by taking the energies from the miasma surrounding us and channeling it into whatever was enchanted with the spell. You enchant something with it, then just leave it sitting around, and over time, it’ll suck the power right out of the air to store it in the object that has the enchantment.” Astraea lifts her hand and stares at it, flexing her fingers. She makes a tight fist, then relaxes her digits, looking at her own palm as if she doesn’t recognize what she’s staring at. “I can’t explain it any better than ‘she pointed the rock at me, and then, I could feel the magic getting torn from my body.’ Matiha had found a way to not only improve Vodo, but to <b>weaponize</b> it.”