Slivers & Shards: Plotting Post

[powersthatbe]

Week One begins outside Fallenheart, with the rescue of a refugee caravan during a dust storm. The Factors know there’s been a major psychic upheaval, and the refugees can tell them: Scatter-Spore has just fallen to the Nation-Eaters. No one present saw it happen - they were all in the Terraces when buildings in the Spire started collapsing and giant metallic roars began echoing, and they booked it. With them are also refugees from Lodestar’s terraces - nothing has happened to Lodestar, but they’re terrified, convinced for the sins of its past, Lodestar will be next.

This is, bluntly, terrible news - it’s the first city in this vale lost to Nation-Eaters in two decades, and it’s the city responsible for persuading foodstuffs to grow and making terraces stay fertile. Famine (already omnipresent) is likely to become starvation in under two years.

Fallenheart caravaneers, Wastelands bandits, and a group of Magnators and Cabalists all reach the same conclusion: they need to prepare an expedition to the High Tables. But that’s going to take time and resources - they either need to persuade Fallen Heaven and Fallen Wrath to contribute, or they need to raid the stocks of one of those cities, or Lodestar itself, to make the journey.

Jaunt Info | Questions | Pre-Moebius Veterans | Psychic Pinning

Comments

PRE-MOEBIUS VETERANS

[powersthatbe]

This jaunt is a revisit to the world of the failed jaunt that directly precipitated Moebius. If you’d like to talk to the mods about what your character might remember, drop us a line here.

PSYCHIC PINNING

[powersthatbe]

The Fallenheart Map has grid locations on it. During the Jaunt, when using Psychic or Liminal skills, please comment under this header with the name of the skill, the grid location, and the day & rough time of day.

This is important because of the way Pinning works, and there are plot-important mechanics which will depend on accurate tracking data - please make sure to use this feature!

Skills used from within Liminal Space do not need to be tracked in this way.

[leftbehindagain]

Liminal Thermostat from Shinji, wherever it is the caravan and rescue party overnight because Fuck Being Cold.

[leftbehindagain]

Also do you need the check-in? Because here's the check-in.

Re: PSYCHIC PINNING

[happyhalloween]

Maria held open a portal back to liminal for a while during the sandstorm.

[willyousee]

Toplevel

Day 1: Psychic Detection III at the caravan + Network talking
Day 2: Network talking, Portal in/out a few hours apart in an Umbrian Ruin
Day 3: Psychic Deduction on the lowest edge of the Terraces toward the flats.

[letsgetdowntobismuth]

On day 2 Bismuth used Image Projection I.

[comebewe]

Matthew will be portaling in and out of liminal space at least twice a day. Possibly more, if he decides he wants to go back and forth more often.

Re: PSYCHIC PINNING

[seestheworld]

Minako has created portals in the ruined districts at irregular intervals (basically, whenever she's sure she's alone) and has also been practicing with the native psychic skills there and in Liminal Space.

[lightnovelexperiences]

Deedee will be Investigating, and after doing something hilariously impossible with Qi, try to pass it off as a very specialized form of telekinesis. I would love for this to hilariously/tragically backfire on her when local psionic experts take a morbid interest!

Frederika Bernkastel will infiltrate as the Cleritor, Mnemon Graf, a historian and poet here to record the ongoing tragedy with perhaps more excitement and glee at being there for an historical event than is compassionate.

Madoka Mawaru's place in the jaunt is pending the answer to a question!

[eldritchwheelies]

Madoka Mawaru will be Infiltrating as Mori Mycogenis, a Magnator. Her constant use of Flesh Burning damaged her legs to the point where she needs a kicksled to get around, and mostly she acts as a local entertainer and talespinner...

...with a serious focus on legends of the Nation-Eaters, and how one might hope to even slow them down...

Anyway, if anyone wants to chat her up about killing monsters, she's super down. I would also appreciate someone getting her head out of her Overlay!

[breakaleginhalf]

Hello there loyal vassal

In light of plot role info I feel like Ghalib would be incredibly interested in her research and would love to know more. Possibly how to help.

[how_they_shine]

Shiro will be Infiltrating.

Şerif Shishani is a stressed and confused young cleritor some three or four years behind the times. He's been Dreampushing for that time period after accidentally kything too much of a bandit victim's wounds onto himself. Having been effectively comatose while healing, he had been supporting a trusted mentor who had been implanting snippets of vital information into his sleeping student as he did research with the Genitors. Of course when Scatterspore was destroyed...

Şerif has only recently woken, and is somewhat lost for direction. All he knows is that he wants to try and stop things like Shatterspore's destruction from happening again. He carries with him three crystals which contain the last memories of his mentor which he accidentally got upon his mentor's demise.

OOC Note: I will be using vrepit_no for this jaunt because dammit I miss my icons.

[breakaleginhalf]

Hello there sir Ghalib heard you were looking for a sense of purpose, might he interest you in his pyramid scheme

[willyousee]

Alcuin will be Investigating.

Paranoid about Illuminants and headstrong, he is absolutely going to be looking into the Cabalists, the Cleritors, and most especially the Genitors as he makes it his personal mission to attempt to strengthen and revive some of the local ecosystem with science!

[thornsofmalkav]

His girlfriend is Infiltrating as a Cleritor and I'm pretty sure she'll be very happy to learn about this 'science.' Also given that there's no written language, that might also be a good thing to learn about.

His boyfriend is a Cabalist and I encourage him to also get up into his business.

[wolvering]

Pod will be Truffle, the Grafted Genitor!

With her trusty animal companion Sheikh, she barely escaped the destruction of Scatterspore, and she's seen things. While traumatizing, she has learned some things from the experience. If she can trust anyone to share it with. She could use some people who know her who also escaped Scatterspore, and some new friends to help her find her way now that she's lost her home.

Thace will be a Vocator, by name of Tahsin. He was attacked and badly injured by bandits but saved by Cleritor Shiro/Şerif three-four years ago, and has appointed himself protector to repay that life-debt. He genuinely wants to protect the people of the Vale, and see them flourishing. Unfortunately, he tends to kythe at the drop of a hat (whether the other people are ready or not), and is particularly skilled at reaving so... he responds to threats by forcing kythe and then doing things like shutting off people's senses, regardless of how big or small the threat might be. It's probably a blessing that living among a bunch of Cleritors for so long means he's taken on their tendency to be muted and calm-to-the-point-of-blankness.

[breakaleginhalf]

Gil will be infiltrating as the Magnator Scion! Ghalib is the direct and true descendant of the last Umbrian Protector, Malion, but is generally very tight-lipped about this fact because he would rather not be killed for being related to The Mindfuck God King. Despite that, he's very confident in his lineage and the fact that if his great-grandfather hadn't fucked it up he'd be ruling this shitshow.

He's an extremely charismatic and charming person, if a bit lowkey and quiet, and sometimes his ideas tend towards what could charitably be called Impractical; especially since he has no scruples towards screwing with someone's mind while they're 'pushing for him. Anyone except his little sister Chara and his grandfather Stone are fair game. It's not personal - but wouldn't it just make more sense if everyone worked together again, like the old days?

If you have a Magnator then HMU for plotting opportunities around whether you have a Loyalist on your hands!

Bismuth is full investigating! And will be looking into why this is all familiar and what the FUCK they did here last time.

Kinji is currently Sir Not Appearing On This Jaunt

[thornsofmalkav]

Chara is his biggest supporter! After all, her big brother has taken care of her and protected her all her life, so why wouldn't he do the same for everyone else?

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe is infiltrating as The Bandit! Hana’s been lurking around the outskirts of Fallenheart for fifteen years or so, picking off caravans and fencing the goods in Lodestar (so any Magnators who might have been bartering for goods with sketchy origins hmu).

She mostly keeps her face covered and tries to stay under the radar in the Spire proper, as any Nectors around may recognize her as Cosima, a once highly respected Nector who barely escaped Fallen Heaven with her life after being caught stealing food from storage.

She’s also always low-key recruiting for Lodestar expeditions since she doesn’t have a set crew, so if any investigators (or infiltrators I guess) want to get caught up in that it’s possible too.

[crouching_sin]

Naoya is infiltrating as the Cabalist Conspirator! His name is going to be Qabil, because it's funny.

He was a child prodigy, moving from Spire to Spire to help with things and give wisdom, advice, and sometimes a fresh approach to problems. He's on good terms with Magnators, Cleritors, and Vocators in particular due to help with problems in their Spires. Obviously he's also on extremely good terms with other Cabalists - as well as Ghalib/Gil, who he's a mentor to.

Hit me up if you want shenanigans with him, because this role is kind of Peak Canon Naoya.



Casper will be investigating and we'll see who he ends up with. He's in general probably going to be unhappy with stuff. And might try to subtly freeze some things because it is Too Hot.

[thornsofmalkav]

I'm expecting he at least knows Ghalib's baby sister Chara.

Delaunay is going to be another Cabalist (possible name Anaf) and I suspect might be generally down with a lot of Qabil's bullshit, but we might want to talk in more detail about that.




... also does Casper want to do some Maria-wrangling?

[protect_and_serve]

Joscelin will be infiltrating as Ioskelaino, Ios for short, a Katador who is too good at his job.

Ios left his home Spire because Katadors kythe quite a lot, especially in fights, and it had reached the point where none of his warband wanted to kythe with him any more. It's not the rage, but the joy he took in seeing a situation break down to violence.

Alone, self-loathing, he's known as a hired blade who will take any job, the more dangerous the better.

If anyone needs a violence merchant, please recruit him!

If any investigators want to de-infiltrate him, please plan - I'd like to, but not in week 1 and maybe not in week 2.

[highsteaks]

Oof. Terrible thought: what if Chie/Kleio was a junior member of that warband and Ios making kything weird was part of why she left? (Oof, what if that helped hasten along the others reaching the point of 'nope, not today, Ios.')

[highsteaks]

Chie is the Wasteland Survivor, an ex-Katador named Kleio who left her spire after one of the members of her warband made kything really weird and somewhat disturbing. Now she mostly just kythes with her burncat companion, actual best kitty Kaigetai. She knows everything there is about living and surviving in the wilderness. Like, she's basically a ranger. And the only thing she likes better than being out in the Wastes is sharing them with other people, so she ends up guiding caravans or leading rescues a lot! If you want some casual CR for that or as a Katador from her warband days, hit me up.

Thorne is Chara, the baby sister of our Magnator Scion, Ghalib/Gil. Unlike her brother, Chara's a Cleritor, which she learnt from one of their other parents. Prior Scion Mom might have had a husband and wife because gdit as secret heir she's allowed. She's also her older brother's most loyal supporter and might, well, have some distinctly rose-colored lenses when it comes to him. When she was younger, their parents impressed on her that since Ghalib isn't interested in women, her Most Important Job is making sure he's got an heir so she's spent the last few years low-key trying to find someone who is worthy of fathering said heir, so far to no success. But she keeps trying!

Delaunay is a Cabalist named Anaf who is neck deep in Qabil's bullshit and probably knows way too many of people's secrets for comfort.

Maria is investigating and shenanigans are likely to ensue.

[wolvering]

Would you like to have Kleio as the one who's been helping Truffle to Fallenheart? Animal companion buddies! (Truffle will be fascinated to see a non-Genitor who can kythe with animals!)

[itsananimalthing]

Riddick is investigating, and given his memory work for the past several years, probably has most of the pertinent bits about what happened last time back.

Stone is infiltrating as an old as dirt tutor/guardian type to the Magnator Scion AKA Gil and his sister Thorne. He has ties to the old aristocracy (as in, his parents helped overthrow them and rescue Gil's grandparent, raising him and Stone together), he's got Reaving and Astral Tripping because his parents wanted him to never be under the thumb of a god-monarch again, and as he's too old to do anything else he teaches little kids basic psi controls and history. Like, he's literally lie 103 years old, he's on his deathbed practically, and the only reason he's still alive is his pseudo grandkids love him and help take care of him.

He'd be an excellent person to get to know if anyone wants access to the heir. But hard to get to since he doesn't, like. Go out much. Or he'd prolly die.

Zoe is not back yet, I gotta set up a dungeon today or tomorrow, but as she will be joining up mid-Jaunt, she'll be investigating.

[leftbehindagain]

Naoki will be doing an infiltrator-persona as a Cleritor best known as Longstory ('it's kind of a long story' is probably a common Tell from him; also it's a near literal translation of Naoki's name, so I had to). He's been in Fallenheart for a while and carries some of his dead sister's memories, because Of Course He Does. Thanks, he hates it.

(And then he, Anaf and Kleio are all going to be linked up via the network, thanks Psychic Link, and be Very Confused. XD)

Shinji will be investigating, and very annoyed to find that food is a status symbol again. But at least this time it's because no one has food. (Koromaru is staying in Liminal for a whole host of reasons, ranging from 'undue strain on resources' to 'what the fuck is that.') Thanks, he hates it.

Claudia is your resident Prime Factor, better known as Hypatia. She's both very upset that she's become too valuable to go Do Shit and Learn About Unknown Variables anymore, and desperate to please people. More importantly, SHE HAS AN IDEA.

She is going to take advantage of the jaunt pause to set herself an autorestore contingency. Thanks, she hates it.

[lightnovelexperiences]

Hypatia sounds like a questgiver. Is she a questgiver.

Cause baby, if she's a questgiver, Deedee is your murderhobo for hire.

[theflyingone]

Like other Cleritors, Altaïr has a driving thirst for preserving knowledge. He goes after particularly dangerous targets, often for particularly dangerous knowledge. One thing led to another and...

He occasionally hunts specific people, but tyrannical magnates or powerful bandit menaces are few and far between. Most people in the post-post-post-apocalyptic future tend to want to help each other out, or just survive. Crystals, Astral Tripping, and Reaving supplement his use of bone, bronze, or (if he can loot them) iron weapons. Improvised weapons like rope or a pouch of rocks come in handy, too.

Please contact him for your Crystalline Storage, mental Kything, or murder needs--or perhaps he'll contact you. He's sort of difficult to track down, but if there's trouble, he's probably following it like a vulture. He rarely visits Moonfall. He has (as much as a Cleritor can have) feelings about his murders that he thinks may contaminate the crystals there, but this is the path he chose to carve a better world.

I'm making plans to get him de-infiltrated in January just after the break. Altaïr the Traveller will have A Time, but he's got a good handful of psychic skills and... is still available for murder: He's probably one of the few who, without hesitation, would answer someone's request to kill their Infiltrator if they were bad enough. He'll also have one (1) Memory Restoration for someone wanting a less permanent change.

[truerevelation]

This is still rather a work in progress, but: Kanji is going Infiltrator Persona'd as Koray the Nector. Possibly a leatherworker or hunter of sorts, using the faction's chemical business in his work? Backstory details are ... still not all there.

[bite_the_hand]

Eren will start the Jaunt Infiltrating, although his name will still simply be Eren. He primarily works as a guard-for-higher for merchant caravans. This means he's been all over the Vale and has plenty of casual acquaintances, but has very few real friends because of it. Originally from Fallen Wrath, Katadors might recognize him as a promising trainee who very loudly and dramatically quit the training program a few years back. He was training under the warband that both Ioskelaino and Kleio were a part of. Deciding he didn't want to be angry all the time combined with Ios' everything made him disenchanted with being a Katador, and he made sure people knew that was a big part of why he quit right after Kleio left.

I plan on this overlay dying around halfway through the Jaunt. After which Eren will be around as himself, which should create plenty of opportunities for shenanigans when people inevitably mistake him for his dead overlay. Especially when he's going to be throwing himself into the efforts to make things better for this world. The moment subtlety gets in the way of helping these people any attempts at subtlety from him will be thoroughly defenestrated.

[capital_asset]

Minako, Yukino, and Cassandra are all purely Investigating, although Cassandra may or may not end up spending the whole Jaunt in Liminal Space so people can't try to kythe her yoma energy (because the last thing this Jaunt needs is a[nother?] giant cannibalistic monster who is ravenously hungry and regenerates from damn near anything). Yukki is also a pre-Moebius vet, so she's going to be spending a fair amount of time trying to reconstruct more of her memories and feeling generally terrible about the general state of the place.

Raidou is Infilsona-ing as Almas, a Cleritor from Moonfall who had the misfortune to be deployed to Scatter-Spore at the absolute worst possible time (and then had a Traveler dumped into his head for good measure). Raidou will be trying to ensure he gets out alive. Infiltrators may notice that he (well, Raidou) is surprisingly good with plants and animals of all kinds.