Kinzarks wrote: "The only thing I didn't get was the blue drawings and holograms while Thomas was explaining the meta... I mean the strategy to follow. Were they caused by the Soul Magic as he used his catalyst or what?"
Theseus12: Well, the basic image I was going for was the catalyst serving as a marker, and the Soul Magic to serve as the ink. So picture Thomas drawing with a giant marker that leaves glowing blue marks, and you essentially have what was going on. I should also probably clarify that all images and drawings made this way are two dimensional, not three. I do have further plans with this ability, but I'm going to wait until Thomas meets with Logan for that
5
Sunlight and Magic and Fire (Oh crap)
Thomas was absolutely giddy about what came ahead, and Oscar didn't understand a bit of it. As they crossed the length of the bridge, Thomas constantly was checking over his robes, making sure that most of the grime was wiped off of them. "First impressions, Oscar," Thomas would repeat constantly. "First impressions are important." Making sure his sword was cleaned, Thomas resheathed it, and kept walking. They entered the tower, and Oscar glanced around. "Anything worthwhile here, Thomas?" Thomas shook his head. "Well, yes, but no. Nothing of value. The real worthwhile thing is just outside. And it's more a person, not a thing. And I intend to recruit him." Oscar gave an "mmhmm" to that. "And just who is this person, and what makes him so special that he should join us?" Oh, no he didn't, thought the sorcerer. He stopped, and turned to Oscar. "All right. Listen here, motherfucker. This man we meet is a Warrior of Sunlight, and a true, most honorable warrior. He has helped many warriors, in many worlds, and I will not hear you doubt the character of Knight Solaire of Astora." Oscar spluttered. "Solaire? You mean..." They rounded the bend, and standing at the end of the great platform, a solitary man in armor stood, gazing at the sun. Turning his head, the knight acknowledged their presence.
"Ah, hello there, you two. You don't look Hollow. Far from it, in fact!" He then seemed to notice Oscar, and turned towards him. "Ah, I recognize that armor of Astoran make. I too, am from Astora." Oscar rushed forward. "Solaire you bastard! How have you been?" Solaire seemed to recognize him as well, and they immediately clashed, wrestling each other to the ground. Meanwhile, Thomas stood there, mildly confused as to what was going on. "Okay Oscar. My Sight goes only so far, so if you could explain what is going on here, I would appreciate it." The two knights stopped their roughhousing, and stood, Solaire the first to speak. "I trust that my brother hasn't caused you too much trouble, has he Sorcerer?" Thomas mentally reeled. Oscar and Solaire were both of Astora, he knew that much, but brothers? This was a new development that he was sure nobody saw coming. He certainly didn't. There was nothing to suggest that Solaire had any family left. To be fair, the only in-game mention of his past was from his armor, which was that it was hand crafted armor, and nothing really remarkable, and that which he himself said. He remembered the dialogue well, suggesting that Solaire took on the undead curse willingly, to come to the land of the Lords to seek his own sun.
"Solaire," Oscar began, "This is Thomas. More than just an ordinary sorcerer from Vinheim. He hails from a land called Earth realm, and has had visions of the future. We used his sight to great advantage in our recent battles." Solaire tilted his helmet at the sorcerer as Oscar spoke. "Ahh, a prophet are you?" Thomas gave a non-commital shrug. "I have seen the destinations of many paths which lie in front of many people in this place, good or ill. More than that, I cannot say." Solaire seemed to seize on that. "Then tell me. Do I succeed? Do I find my Sun? Or is my searching in vain?" Thomas thought for a moment. "There are many paths intersecting with yours. Many threads woven into the tapestry that is your life. Sometimes the future is difficult to discern, and nothing is set in stone." Thomas sounded fancy with his words, but his mind was on overdrive. Even while he was spewing his mindless drivel, he was thinking on his answer. And he thought of it. But he needed time to phrase it. "But, before I can answer you that question, there is a task we must do." "And that is?" asked the Astoran brothers. Thomas pointed down the bridge. "At the other end of that bridge lies the Altar of Sunlight. Comes with everything you could need. A covenant with badass offensive Miracles. a tail weapon one handed sword, and best of all, a warpable bonfire. We wants it, precious. We wants it indeed." The Astora Brothers didn't know what "Warpable" was at the time, though Thomas would explain that after the Lordvessel was obtained. "All right, then," Oscar said, starting forward. "Let's gp. Those Hollows are no match for us." Thomas gave a chuckle. "Sure. It's not the Hollows I'm worried about, though. It's the Hellkite Drake that will breathe fire down the bridge."
At this, Thomas blinked his User Interface into existence, and started unequipping all the things. "Thomas, what are you doing?" Thomas exited his user interface, and shivered slightly. This loincloth covered all his giblets, but was too small, and too breezy, for his liking. "The drake is fast, and nobody here has either high enough health pools or good enough armor to survive it's flames. So, I have no choice but to strip down and streak across the bridge. The Hollows will be burned. In the middle of the bridge is a small room that leads to the Bonfire we were just at." Solaire looked at Oscar, then to Thomas. "And... How will we know if you make it there alive?" Thomas shrugged. "There's a ladder I'll be kicking down. Consider that your signal. In the meantime... Oscar, kill that hollow with your bow." Oscar gave a quizzical look, but complied. "Good," Thomas said. "Once you guys get back to the Bonfire, rest up. I'll know when you're there, because he'll respawn." The brothers seemed unconvinced, but decided not to argue with it. "Just a question, friend," Solaire asked. "How will we know if you fail?" Thomas laughed. "I pop up at the Bonfire. Now go. I'm sure you and your brother have some catching up to do." Thomas sat, not taking no for an answer, and waited. As he sat, he pondered his answer to the sorry question Solaire asked.
Do I see where his path leads? Does he find his Sun?
He didn't want Solaire to die, and Thomas was quite sure that there wasn't a Souls player in the world who would wish otherwise. He had to keep him from Lost Izalith. At least, not until he could deal with the Red Eyed Chaos Bug which would drive the Warrior of Sunlight mad. That was a future that Thomas refused. Now... Thomas bent low, and controlled his breathing. The Hollow had resurrected. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. On the third exhale, Thomas pushed off, running at almost full speed, saving stamina for the final push. He ran past the hollows, narrowly avoiding spears as they jabbed at him. Fwoom... Fwoom... The Drake was flying over. Resisting the urge to look behind him, Thomas poured on the speed, jumping for the stairs, and tumbling down, flames licking inches away from his exposed back. Breathing heavily, Thomas lay curled in a ball, letting himself get over the scenario he narrowly avoided. "That. That would have sucked." After taking a moment to regain his bearings, Thomas stood, and re-equipped his gear before heading to the downstairs Bonfire. Kicking the ladder down, Thomas then slid down to the knights below. "I take it," Solaire asked, "That you have given the drake the slip?" Thomas nodded. "We're not out of the woods yet, though. I have a plan."
Pulling out his catalyst, Thomas made drawings of two seperate bridges. One bridge was more or less a large rectangle, while the other rectangle had multiple squares. At the end of both bridges, he placed a large circle. "All right. So this is the top half of the bridge. You have hollows here, here, and here, with a couple archers here and here, and a spearman here. They're practically fodder, but the drake is still there." At the circle, representing the tower at the end of the bridge, Thomas put a large skull. "Thankfully, there's an alternate way to get past him, but it would involve sacrificing the bonfire. IF we were alone. But we can do both." At the knights inquisitive glances, Thomas continued. "Now, this bridge," he began, indicating the rectangle with the squares in them, "This is underneath the main area. There's a swordsman here, another here, and a spearman here." Oscar quietly motioned to the squares. "And what are these supposed to be?" "The pillars to the bridge." Oscar gave a quiet "oh," and settled into his seat. "Now," Thomas continued, "Here at this point of the tower are three rats, placed here, here, and here. Watch out for this one on the right. He tries to flank you if you charge in after the other two rats. Best to let them come to you, and skewer them with a spear."
"I take it that this path is mine, then?" Oscar asked grimly. "Don't worry," Thomas said. "You've honestly got the safer bit."
"And what do we have?" Solaire asked, cheery as usual. Thomas desperately hoped this attitude wouldn't shift with his next statement; "You and I are charging a drake."
Solaire, to his credit, was a lot more enthusiastic about his part than Thomas himself would have been. Trusting a total madman as I must appear? The jolly old fellow must be mad, himself! "Okay, I'mma run across to the other side. When Oscar shoots it down, we both run on either side,grab some of the loot behind him, and reach for the Bonfire." Solaire nodded, and Thomas dashed for the side. The Drake immediately belched flame, and Thomas was thankful he hadn't tried to press his luck. Sheathing his weapons, Thomas bent low into a crouch, prepared to sprint. Solaire cosidered the plan, and followed his lead. He listened, and heard a small twang. There was a loud, deafening roar as the drake lifted itself into the air, and the pair moved.
That's when shit started going south.
Thomas had predicated his entire strategy under the hitherto unfounded assumption that the Drake would simply follow game AI. Instead, it vaulted off the bridge, and hovered over the side of it, looking with spite for it's offender that dared fire at it. It was looking down the lower half of the bridge, searching for Oscar. "Shit! Solaire, lightning!" Thomas grabbed the claymore off the ground, and hefted it. Thank the gods. He could use it. Hefting the weapon on his shoulder, he concentrated, and fired a soul bolt. The drake stopped breathing fire as the two magical bolts pierced it, and it prepped another one. But Thomas sensed a change. A spell was ready. He didn't know what it was, but his body did, even if he didn't. "Duck and cover!" He turned away from the drake, and jumped off the bridge. I am a madman!
His catalyst hand whipped about, and a thread of magical energy snaked out, and attached itself to the edge of the bridge. If it wasn't for the sorcerer's deathgrip, he likely still would have ended up falling to his death. As it was, he ended up rolling on the ground of the level underneath the bridge. And it was not that graceful a landing. "Ow." Oscar quickly moved over, and picked him up, thankful that sorcerer was both lightly armored and not too heavy in his own right. "What in the hell was that?!"
"Good question," Thomas admitted, getting to cover from the Drake's breath. "I'll answer that AFTER we kill this fucker." The fucker in question then shrieked as another lightning bolt charged into it's skull. Solaire was still keeping up the good fight, it seemed. Thomas tested experimentally, and the blue cord of magical energy extended a bit.
"Prophet," Oscar asked, worried, "What are you doing?"
"I," Thomas answered, keeping the worry out of his voice, "Am being an idiot." He strode forward. "Time to get my Indiana Jones on!" The theme for said movie running through his head, Thomas swiped the soul whip forth, and managed to snag it on the end of the Drake's tail. "Ho-ho-holy!" Thomas began triumphantly as the Drake wailed in pain. Then the Drake rose into the sky, pulling the unfortunate sorcerer with it, who was, in his own way, also wailing. "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT"
The drake landed on the bridge, and Thomas thumped on the bridge with it, the magical whip dissipating. So it was a brief, temporary thing, but apparently had a nigh in exorable grip, both the whip on the target and the catalyst on the user, creating an unbreakable, though temporary, link between the two. He could think of uses for this. Unfortunately, the drake was wheeling about, turning to look at him with hatred in it's black eyes. The whip did nearly no damage, but the thought of carrying around a human like baggage was likely insulting to the proud creature. "I'll see you at the bonfire, guys,"
"PRAAAIIIIISE"
The bellowing warcry came from behind the drake, a jolly glee within the warrior's voice.
"THE SUUUN!"
Charging forward, Solaire first applied Sunlight Blade, while moving, mind you, on his sword, and then immediately threw a Great Lightning Spear. The Drake ducked it's head to avoid the spear, but only moved to bring it within reach of Solaire's blade, which gave two quick, precise slices along the beast's chin. Thomas, not taking time to wonder about the Deus Ex Machina, quickly drank some Estus, topping off his health, and drew his claymore. Slipping some Lightning Pine Resin on the blade, he quickly joined the fray. Avoiding the teeth and claws, Thomas moved behind the beast, aimed his blade, and gave a good, hard slice, severing the tail. The beast reared, and Thomas saw an opportunity. Using his whip again, Thomas used a combination of momentum and the beast's pulling to climb him up the great beast's back. He threw himself forward, claymore aimed for a swing at the beast's head, a warcry filling his throat. "ZU'U QAHNAARIN!"
Shame he missed.
Crashing into the ground, Thomas turned to look at the Drake as the creature looked at him contemptuously. "So, this is where I die." It wouldn't be the first time Thomas had died to the Hellkite Drake, but the first time he would get to really experience it. "BROTHER!" Oscar fired an arrow into the exposed flesh of the drake's tail, and Solaire siezed on the moment, firing a bolt of lightning directly into the beast's mouth. Maybe this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Maybe Hellkite Drakes were even more vulnerable to magic when they practically ate the bolt. Regardless, the bolt was sufficient, and the Drake fell, dying.
Standing, the party recollected themselves, and moved onward, towards the bonfire. "Thomas, that was a damned fool thing you did," Oscar admonished. Solaire indicated agreement.
Thomas himself, wasn't feeling that smart either. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. The Drake shifting positions like it did. It was more than just unexpected. It was... wrong." When asked for details, he waved them off. "In the meantime..." He blinked open his UI, wanting to look at the new spell he learned. "I'm wanting to take a look at my shiny new Hookshot."
Soul Whip
Sorcery developed by a wandering mage from a far off land and time. Creates a short term whip of spectral energy that can be used for either traversal or, to a lesser degree, combat. The tether created is nigh unbreakable, but quickly fades depending on the strain experienced. The sorcerer who created this spell would refer to it as his own hookshot.
AN:
If you liked it, rate and review. If not, well, at least tell me what I did that you didn't like, and I'll CONSIDER editing my content to better accomodate (No promises, it's based entirely, ENTIRELY on a case by case basis, and how constructive the criticism is. Threats against my parakeet will be ignored.
...
I need a parakeet.
Also, what did you think of the new spell? If you want to see more custom spells, pyromancies, and miracles, feel free to leave suggestions in the Reviews.
What I look for in a spell suggestion
Name
Type (Sorcery, Pyromancy, Miracle)
Description for the spell.
What the spell actually does.
(Optional) places where the spell can be placed for finding in the world, up to and including the appropriate vendors that sell that kind of thing (Rhea/Petrus for Miracles, Logan/Rickert for Sorceries, Laurentius/Queelan/Fair Lady/Eyinge for Pyromancies)