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Post by Circe on Jun 22, 2020 12:02:48 GMT -6
"Ah... I see that would make a bit more sense now." He nodded. They hadn't exactly been taught about this particular plane in general, as at the time it had been relegated to backwater and insignificant status. There wasn't much of interest here according to all of his teachers, but now that he thought about it, that's probably what had drawn the Ba-Shu here. There was little danger of them being noticed by the others who had conquered their home and then slowly from there expanded their territory outwards.
"Hm... perhaps." Zhen answered as he moved to busy himself with checking to be doubly sure. "The chakras are clear and your connection seems stable, not at all like it was..." He double and triple checked the sigils. Everything was doing what it was supposed to do. "Yeah, sure! Go to sleep if you're tired, I'll be here."
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Post by littlekreen on Jun 22, 2020 13:05:22 GMT -6
Absent any real understanding of politics, Jinhai moved toward persisting order as soon after they found that home warped and torqued by the veil storm. A long set of ceramic aetherducts filled with gypsum and silica as cast iron containers emerge from vans to install outside Catherine's house. In the appearance of electrical boxes, though barest imitation, as anomalous utility workers in black hoods, high vis, and orange hard hats look on. Others set to constructing rooms underground sealed to things that had bones; mirrored rooms to coerce forces to distribute in a more orderly fashion. As much as humans moved the natural forces that sustained them from one place to another as did these creatures. Tireless sparks of transmutation under the abundant magic that permitted unassisted existence at all.
An identical voice of each servitor responds in their mirthless tone to occasional curious onlookers from behind a mask and blacked-out goggles, "An infrastructure concern is being dealt with. Stability will be maintained throughout the process."
Even if pressed surrendered nothing more. Though once they receive the text message from Xiao their efforts redoubled with the knowledge that there was a mage here so tightly bound to the layer that otherwise suffocated them. Alterations came to individual nodes that the trundling gears within the cast iron boxes could draw above certain levels of force and direct it away to low spots were interconnected. Storm drain within a storm drain and one that if it broke or hadn't the magic to turn did nothing worse by upwelling at the breach than the issues they already had.
Mazar was another matter as the ward itself a barrier. A grey thing they could not see past but for the storm that welled up around it. Two of them arrived by van to mime their orange gloves across an invisible yet impentetrable wall. That stone to them the ward a very real substance to which they were acutely familiar. If they could not get in then the cohortes localia clearly could. Resources were spared and apparatus downsized. The Central Axis may waver if creatures of the veil did too much damage.
Another text message sent out from creatures focused on task absent an understanding of boundaries, "Aether dams are being installed at the smaller weak point to lower point stress of the veil. A reassertion of gears to maintain them will be difficult after the solstice. Cognizance vaults are available to provide temporary high-density ley nodes that will not implode. Jinhai cannot enter beyond the ward to bond or operate them."
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Post by demikara on Jun 22, 2020 13:15:21 GMT -6
Tyrus slept for awhile until he was woken by a presence at the edge of the wards. "Something is trying to get onto the ranch." Something magical. He sat up, and stood shakily. "Dammit. I don't have anything to scry with on me. If I even could in this state." Alarm wards had been easy enough to set up after the barrier that Xiaolian and her people had gone up. He focused on the wards and turned so he was facing the direction of the incursion. "I don't recognize the feel of it."
And he wasn't happy to have to deal with something when he was in such a sorry state. He glared in the general direction, swaying on his feet. "Am I safe to move with this on me?" Was he safe to travel? If so, he planned on going to the house and getting a gun then going to see exactly who was at the edge of his property.
Whoever it was wasn't one of his ranchers.
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Post by Circe on Jun 22, 2020 16:33:14 GMT -6
Xiaolian groaned with annoyance as she skimmed the text message, "Gods be damned..." She was not terribly appreciative of the Jinhai and their efforts to fix things, but the aether dam would make her life easier. It would allow her and Zhen to channel the excess magical energies out and away back into the veil. Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she checked Catherine before deciding it was safe to step away for a moment and grab Zhen. Xiaolian could sense something pressing up against the seal, looking for any cracks or weaknesses that would allow them access.
"Woah! Dude! No, you're in no shape to move!" Zhen stammered scrambling onto his feet. 'Holy shit! This guy is huge!' He thought to himself, finding himself dwarfed by Tyrus's height, never mind the fact that he'd been asked to babysit a vampire.
"Zhen, come help me, we have Jinhai. Tyrus! Sit the fuck down before I use a paralytic on you. You're out of your league mage." Xiaolian commanded as she appeared suddenly beside her brother. It was as if she had materialized out of thin air, a trick that was often punctuated by Molly's startled screams if Xioalian planned it correctly. But this was no game, this was a matter of weathering a serious storm without too much damage.
"Jinhai? Here? How?" the young man questioned his sibling falling easily into Ba-Shu. It was rude, but they weren't exactly keen on sharing these newest details with Tyrus. Jinhai if directed could be useful, but if not they were little more than annoyances that made more work as far as the Guardians were concerned. "Probably twinkles over here lighting up the aether like a gods damned roman candle." Xiaolian replied hotly. The shielding at Mezar was supposed to keep things in, but apparently she had forgotten that the seal didn't keep everything in.
The Jinhai had likely been drawn to the first incident at Catherine's home, and now were drawn to the ranch as she and Zhen sent enormous amounts of magic back out into the veil.
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Post by demikara on Jun 22, 2020 16:39:36 GMT -6
Had it just been Zhen, he likely would have continued regardless. But Boyuan had a good head on her shoulder and seemed to know who was at the edge of the wards, at least. He sat back down slowly. "No need for a paralytic." Though he ached all the same. The mage sat against the tree again. "Tell whoever it is to stay away from my ranch, please. I'm not in any state to deal with interlopers right now." He wasn't in a good state to be a host.
Xiaolian was here as a favor and would end up getting paid for it as far as he was concerned. Money tended to cancel out favors. And hell, given there were both the heirs of the court here, this was a court cost. It was sure as hell the court's fault, given if it hadn't been for Grigore, he'd never be a vampire and the instability in his magic wouldn't be occurring.
He had been a class five before, but this...this was something about a class five.
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Post by Circe on Jun 22, 2020 17:47:41 GMT -6
"Good." Xiaolian nodded to Tyrus. She had a paralytic seal prepared just in case it was needed, but that was something she kept irregardless of her current babysitting predicament. "I would hate to use it." It required a lot of energy and intent, and she was already growing tired from redirecting Catherine's magic. Down, out, and away, allowing the energy to recycle itself back into the universe. She couldn't completely cut off either one's connection to the veil without seriously risking death or worse, but she could dampen the effects and mitigate damage.
"We'll be back shortly." She explained as she grabbed her brother disappearing again.
The pair of siblings soon appeared outside of the barrier turned wards. "Bow dummy. Jinhai control the central axis." Xiaolian hissed jabbing Zhen in the ribs before bowing deeply herself. She didn't much like them, but could be respectful if necessary. "Masters Jinhai, the wind is strong today." She began speaking with the authority of heaven, addressing the Jinhai outside of the barrier or wards. "Guardians Bóyuán Liánhuā Zhēng and Bóyuán Liánhuā Xiàoliǎn at your service." Not really, but formalities were important when dealing with other planar entities. "The local planar solstice has rendered two class five entities incapacitated," That was an understatement if she ever used one. "We have rendered aid and averted disaster. Why do you concern yourselves with such trifling matters?"
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Post by littlekreen on Jun 22, 2020 20:14:00 GMT -6
Above ground they wobbled and half-stepped in place indeed blown around by the great wind. Though they made an effort to hold their place the actual wind hardly warranted the effort for the mundane. Both heads turned toward the Gaurdians as they arrived.
"We do not acknowledge heaven. We acknowledge you, humankind. Humankind do not serve their creations. Their creations serve." Said one as it torqued sideways at the sudden visitors then aligned the lower body.
It then promptly left to open the van's door reaching in to move something heavy.
The other continued, "Ánthrōpos métron. Myrkul's vein has determined that we attend to humankind's survival until there is a rightful Emperor."
The first Jinhai returned with a long cylinder of surface bent at strange angles. A flexing mechanism of space-time and ticking bronze along with too-deep innards the cognizance vault was a capacitor for aether. A firm fulcrum to keep overcharged ley from setting things afire by intent. This one excised from one of their intraplanar frames and attached to a drill-toothed interface to ground earth and ley. As the first Jinhai set the cylinder down before Xiaolian by its handle the mechanism started to twitch and stutter along in time to some remote beat.
It pointed at the device, "We cannot enter the ward but this area is still unstable. Its resident entity is also unstable. We are concerned for potential damage."
The other rose dark goggles onto its orange hard hat revealing the four spark eyes underneath, "Cracks and damage are evident in the impact crater due to the storm. An abundance of caution is warranted. We are containing invading entities fleeing the egress but a sudden strain on plane space may cause higher-order damaged spirits to escape from the central axis into this plane. Our resources are adequate but the axis is still thin. The cracks in the bulwark are weak the Central Axis attaches to. We can spare more of these but will be unable to exit the Axis' attached building to effect any repairs until the next solstice unless replacements permit."
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Post by Circe on Jul 16, 2020 19:34:54 GMT -6
Xiaolian clenched her jaw and muttered a few choice epithets under her breath. The Jinhai in her opinion were overstepping their bounds here, where clearly between her and Zhen everything was under control. But then again that was just what she was telling herself as they neared the longest point of the day with the highest magic. Surely the seal would hold two class 5s, at least by this plane's reckoning, which Xiaolian had to remind herself was woefully inadequate. "That may be... but we Guardians have aided Heaven and have served others across the tree for generations. Forgive us Masters Jinhai, but our... callings... or perhaps tasks are often at opposition with one another." Xiaolian replied bluntly. These semi sentient automatons were clever, but often made her job harder by poking their nose where they weren't welcome.
"Your concern for potential damage is duly noted." She added with another bow as she looked over at the device with a good amount of trepidation. Things like this were often discouraged, and the last deal she had made with similar creatures had resulted in near disaster. While her team had survived it, it wasn't without its costs to her sanity and livelihood. Xiaolian still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something or someone out there seeking payment for the aid that had been rendered. "If there are... invading entities fleeing the egress point.."
She supposed she would have to use the device after all. Placing it between the two points of strongest attraction, or twin epicenters would surely ground everything out long enough to give her and Zhen some amount of respite. It was exhausting checking every hour for burn through, especially given how volatile and dangerous this particular variation of magic happened to be.
"Help me with the cylinder Zhen..." Xiaolian finally said offering one final bow to the Jinhai.
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Post by littlekreen on Jul 16, 2020 22:03:40 GMT -6
One of the creatures tilted its head at the notion of opposition, "Myrkul's Vein concerns itself with your well being. We do not. Servitors serve. Humanity is the whole of the law."
Another's spark eyes fixate on Xiaolian, "What heaven is to you, humankind, you are to Myrkul's Vein. We hold the line against all the demons, wraith, and despoilers humankind sent past the bulwark to contain."
The dicta that predicated authority on that of Rome fell to the wayside in lieu of its non-existence. What remained shifts in meaning toward mankind as a whole through the lens of all of Rome's prejudice against nonhumans that remained in them. Without the will of an Emperor they could never serve Heaven. That dicta, to serve mankind, a clear and unambiguous exclusion of heaven and other nonhuman creatures. Even if they had a sense of priority among threats even those of Heaven to themselves.
Said the first to the second as the two siblings dragged the ticking canister off, "We must return to prepare the charnel wraith assault. The solstice will not last."
Absent a sense of confidentiality the second replied as they returned to the van to leave, "Three ether support shrouds will need to be sufficient. That undeadkind may not be from beyond Central Axis."
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Post by demikara on Jul 17, 2020 9:02:20 GMT -6
Under the shade of a rapidly growing tree, Tyrus rested and waited to hear back from Xiaolian or Zhen. Tired, he probed the edges of the magical hotpot he was creating by being here. This was going to be near impossible to clean up. He'd have to slap a glamour on it once it was safe enough to open the field up to the cattle again. Possibly wards around the edges and hope it didn't continue to grow. He'd need to monitor it regardless, and probably monitor where Catherine was as well. Her was likely to be worst too, given the difference in their magic levels.
So long as it didn't somehow alter the leylines, he'd consider it a win. If such a thing was possible, he had a feeling that it would happen, given enough time and years of doing this. He really needed to figure out how to replicate what was going on with the seal that had been slapped down on him.
The threat of a paralyzation seal combined with his own exhaustion was the only thing keeping him from going to get a journal to begin jotting down ideas. There was no way he could send Zhen to get it for him either, given the additional wards his home was under.
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Post by Circe on Aug 5, 2020 16:52:01 GMT -6
"Three? That's cutting it close.." Xiaolian muttered. She supposed that additional seals could be erected, but she wasn't sure that it could be done between herself and Zhen. Besides, the environment was too unstable, even with their hastily constructed shunts for the excessive magic. "What do you think?" She asked looking over at Zhen who seemed to be distinctly unhappy with his current lot in life at that very moment.
He hadn't exactly planned on spending his day helping his sister with some sort of magical crisis, but here he was helping her drag some strange device across acres of a Texas ranch in the heat. "I think this is a load of bullshit. Whatever those Jinhai things are, whatever this is... I could be back at home doing other things you know! This is my busiest season!" He whined. This year for whatever reason had been particularly auspicious for weddings in well to do families, and those families generally held on to tradition tightly. It also brought in money that he couldn't exactly say no to, given that things hadn't been easy as of late.
Pausing, Xiaolian looked at Zhen for a moment. "Your first and foremost duty is as a Gaurdian. You will do well to remember that next time I ask you for help brother." She spoke sternly, resisting the urge to slap him. Her parents had spoiled him as far as she was concerned, only son or not. There were some traditions that needed to die out, and quickly in her opinion. "Now help me get this damnable thing set up and then we can take a break. The seals I gave you should hold well enough." She added as she motioned for Zhen to stop grumbling and hurry up.
The two siblings then set to work, picking a spot that was roughly in the middle between the two hot areas. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Zhen asked his sister as the canister was hoisted upright and level with the aid of a few rocks. Xiaolian shook her head, "No. But if you think about what the Jinhai said... humans are to them as Heaven is to the guardians." Nothing was ever certain, even death itself. "So... they're helping because they're obligated?" Zhen asked again before rocking back on his heels and wiping sweat out of his eyes. The heat was oppressive and unyeilding, even as they headed towards evening.
Xiaolian meanwhile rolled her eyes at her brother's response, "No you idiot. For fucks sake... how are you so stupid? How did you even pass your exams Zhen? They see serving humanity as an honor and priviledge; obnoxious though they may be, they're helping us. So be grateful you jackass. It could just be us."
With the canister installed, Xiaolian hoped and prayed to Heaven that things might hold long enough for the repreive that the night would hopefully bring.
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Post by demikara on Aug 5, 2020 20:31:59 GMT -6
It was almost solar noon, though he wasn't sure what the actual time was. After that, everything should start slowing down some, hopefully. Dawn had been bad when it started in truth, but after solar noon... Of course, that meant he had to make it through the peak first. And that was going to be difficult at best. Eyes closed he sought out the minds of the guests on his ranch. He slipped past Catherine besides a brief check for consciousness, a found the two who had been such help to him.
Usually he was careful not to extend his mind this far, but with the boost from today, it was possible. His bloodline was fucking powerful as well, and add in the nature of his relationship with the veil and he was powerful and he knew it. They were just barely within range, despite the distance and he hesitated, before knocking politely at Xiaolian's mental shields. They were different than other mental shields he was sued to. One day he'd love to study more of the magic she used. It was different in how it moved entirely.
'I'm about to order lunch. It would be delivered to my storage room. Would you be able to grab it?' If not he'd likely do without. It would be exclusively human food though. Blood provided more of a magical boost than he wanted to deal with right now. But some human food in them all would improve their stamina.
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Post by Circe on Aug 5, 2020 23:28:07 GMT -6
Catherine was barely anything close to conciousness, instead her mind was a dark tangled web, spread thin to breaking by magics of the veil. Xiaolian's remedies had only brought some amount of comfort, deadening the pain with each passing wave of magic, as it sought further purchase in the world at its mistress's expense. But they did nothing for the overwhelming deluge of the veil on her mind. It was all she could to to keep it from leaking through any psychic connections, while maintaining what little grasp on her own sense of self she had at current. With her mind so throughly ensnared by the magic, Catherine barely even registered Tyrus so much as a flicker as he 'passed' her way and looped back around to the two Guardians. Instead she lay pinned to the base of a massive oak tree by a Guardian's sigil, her magic shunted away by another pinned to her sweat soaked shirt, breathing shallow and labored from some unseen pain or exertion.
'I'll send Zhen... and remind him not to touch anything.' Xiaolian replied, her tones stressed and clipped. She had the training, but she did not have the patience for dealing with Zhen.
Someone would have to stay and monitor the cylinder, for many Guardians failure was an unspoken fear. Assistance from the Jinhai or not, they still had another twelve hours to go before the storm lessened. Even then, there would be purification of the seals and checking them over for damage. Xiaolian didn't expect any, but she also had not survived what she had without being overtly cautious.
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Post by demikara on Aug 6, 2020 17:37:19 GMT -6
Tyrus tapped out an order for four meals one his phone and sent it to Monmack. He requested that at least one still be tasty after staying at room temperature for a while, and that the food be easy to eat. Monmack was the only 'delivery' service available here, and you got what you got from him and didn't fuss. It would be hearty and filling and delicious and just what anyone pouring out excess magic would need to eat to keep up their energy. Exhausted, he rested more under the shade of his tree until he got an answer fro Monmack that the construct had dropped off the food in the usual location.
Good. He hissed an sat up a bit straighter, then reached out to Zhen and gently knocked at his shields. 'Zhen? It's Tyrus. There's food waiting for us in the cellar where I keep my ingredients at.' He sent an image of the entrance to the cellar. 'Could you please distribute it? If there's a singular dish there, different than the others, it's for Catherine.' Monmack may have just decided to give them all the same meal after all. The surprise was half the fun, though he suspected it would be a hearty stew with some home made bread. It was usually something hearty and delicious and incredibly filling. It also tended to be ridiculously high in calories, aimed at a magic user's needs rather than a normal human's needs.
He'd have to stop by after the solstice and settle the bill then, assuming Monmack didn't just charge it to the usual account. The dwarf had claimed that he was in the business of magical ingredients. And that included the ingredients needed to shore up the magic users themselves, though he wasn't a full blown eatery by far.
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Post by littlekreen on Aug 6, 2020 18:38:57 GMT -6
Monmack indeed sent food quickly by elemental from both his fridge and his kitchen knowing what stress the mage was likely up to this time of the year. The golems dropped off a six pack of partly dried apples reconstituted via a pork meatball baked inside them. The stem, removed before baking, artfully stuck back inside the meatball as garnish between the steam. The remnants of removed apple in a few glass bowls of applesauce from his cooler. As well as a heavy bread to go with the crock of stew ever boiling on his hearth. The one intended to remain at room temperature for a while was a rather large crock of white bean salad with lemon and cumin tethered with a bundle of flatbread. Wrapped in a insulating towel bearing his store's name. He was a business man after all.
There were a few small stoppered bottles labeled in charcoal pen, "Don't ye worry, Cider. No alcohol. ~Monmack"
~~~~
It wasn't the cylinder engaging that one would notice first but the tide of magic that stilled as if unsure where it was going just then. Then with common purpose flowed backward past one's knees but off to one side. A void began to fill as an intent turned sturdy amorphous metal gears inside it. Between the two magic users a bright light erupts from the cylinder with that arc of changing direction toward void. A thunder without light at the potential as the synthetic node listed just slightly as the earth went fluid for a moment.
There was a deep bass click as metal turned with magic though it screeched and strained as magic poured into the vessel. Perhaps draining the tide below their necks for a moment if now one with a current. Though that current drew more than mages. In the distance a car door jerked down the gravel driveway in rough smooth pulls as flotsam among the magic storm. Attracted by the cylinder's strain.
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