RuneScape Forum Archive | The Black Pentagram

Gone somewhere? Kinda, classes started up again and my boss felt it was necessary to work me on Monday and Tuesday nights. Thankfully, he was kind enough to reduce my workload when I asked him. But I'm still a junior level engineering major, so... it can be difficult to find the time to write (or eat/sleep, and anything else that doesn't involve working with algorithms and equations).

Not that I haven't been doing so, mind you. In fact the next add is already five pages long (11 pt, Calibri font, 2,378 Words, 11,304 characters) {unfortunately it is about 90% Taika talking} I'll try to have it up by the end of tonight. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

26-Aug-2009 01:47:16

Dantalian

Posts: 3,434 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Orcris cursed himself for missing so much sleep the night before. Thanks to his current grogginess, he was having trouble listening to Caihoc as the warlock sped through his explanation of Tenedra Marsh, and the supposed location for the Mists of Time. To Orcris' credit, nobody else seemed to be paying much attention either. Rue was whispering in harsh tones to Isamu, probably about Cruus escaping, Rose wasn’t even in the room, and Taika was pointedly ignoring Caihoc, instead paging through a dusty old book.

“Taika,” Orcris whispered.

The mage looked up from her book and stared at him.

“Do you know a spell called ‘Nan Noupaar’?” asked Orcris.

Taika dropped her book, staring at Orcris looking almost as surprised as if he had just transformed into a raging black dragon.

“Taika…” said Orcris.

“Where did you hear about a spell like that?” she demanded, she had kept her voice low, probably not to attract Caihoc’s attention, but Orcris got the distinct feeling that she wanted to shout.

Orcris opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly cut off. “No,* she sighed, “Don’t tell me here, after Caihoc’s monologue is over, meet me in the courtyard. We’ll talk there.”

Orcris sighed, wondering what he had gotten himself into, but nonetheless resolved himself to meet with the fire mage. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

27-Aug-2009 13:53:40

Dantalian

Posts: 3,434 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

As she had promised, she was waiting for him in the courtyard after Caihoc’s incredibly long list of speculations about the Tenedra Marsh. When she noticed Orcris approaching, she motioned for him to be silent, and with a smooth motion of her wrist, created flames which enveloped both herself and the half elf. To Orcris’ relief the flames did not burn, and soon he and Taika were in a building he had never seen before. Before he could even get a good glimpse of his surroundings, Taika asked, “So where did you learn about Nan Noupaar, and don’t try making anything up. We’re in my tower now, not some Zarosian base, so if I think you’re lying, and decide to force the truth out of you, there won’t be any comrades-in-arms coming to your aid.”

Orcris sighed, cursing himself for letting Taika get him away from relative safety before telling her about the events of the previous night.

“I see,” Taika said, after Orcris had finished, “So it was Aion le’Colombe, I should have known.”

Having decided that Taika was not interested in killing him at the moment, Orcris asked, “So will you tell me why that spell is such a big deal that you had to drag me all the way out here to ask me where I had heard of it?”

Taika appeared to be taken aback by the question. Still, after a quick sigh she answered, “It’s not that particular spell that set me off. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of that one until you asked me. What worried me is the method of casting that spell employs.”

“I’m sorry, the method of casting?” questioned Orcris, *What do you mean by that?”

“I suppose I could tell you,” sighed Taika, “Alright, Orcris, do you remember what magic actually is?”

“If I recall what you said earlier,” replied Orcris, “Using one’s will to influence possibilities, making desirable ones more likely, and undesirable ones less likely.” "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

27-Aug-2009 13:56:05

Dantalian

Posts: 3,434 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“In essence, yes,” said Taika, “But there are multiple methods to do this… no, I’m going about this the wrong way, I should probably explain by telling you something else.

Orcris, did you know that I was once a mage in the mage tower?”

“Really?” asked the half-elf, “I heard they did*’t allow women in their ranks.”

“They don’t, at least not normally,” Taika confirmed, “But, in certain cases, where a girl exhibits exceptional skill in magic, they make exceptions. I was once such exception. Of course, I was later dismissed from the mage tower and the Mage's Guild."

"Because you were a woman?" asked Orcris.

"That certainly didn't help," replied Taika, "But I was dismissed as part of a group, and there were others in that group, both male and female. The irony is that we were dismissed, because we did our jobs too well...

You see, Orcris, modern magic relies on objects called runes. These runes are formed by taking a special type of stone and endowing it from power found in various altars hidden across the land. The problem, of course, is that the source of those stones is a carefully guarded secret. Furthermore, if not properly mined, it becomes impure and cannot contain as powerful essence. In addition to that, one needs skill to make the advance runes, and the locations of the altars are also a carefully guarded secret. As such, runes can be very expensive. It was this problem that a group of us in the Mage's Guild set out to solve. Most of us were also members of the Runecrafter's Guild, and so we began our study of runes, and how magic is used via said runes. We also researched various forms of magic and the history of magic's use. Our historical research even went back into the first age." "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

27-Aug-2009 13:59:06

Dantalian

Posts: 3,434 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“In essence, yes,” said Taika, “But there are multiple methods to do this… no, I’m going about this the wrong way, I should probably explain by telling you something else.

Orcris, did you know that I was once a mage in the mage tower?”

“Really?” asked the half-elf, “I heard they did*’t allow women in their ranks.”

“They don’t, at least not normally,” Taika confirmed, “But, in certain cases, where a girl exhibits exceptional skill in magic, they make exceptions. I was once such exception. Of course, I was later dismissed from the mage tower and the Mage's Guild."

"Because you were a woman?" asked Orcris.

"That certainly didn't help," replied Taika, "But I was dismissed as part of a group, and there were others in that group, both male and female. The irony is that we were dismissed, because we did our jobs too well...

You see, Orcris, modern magic relies on objects called runes. These runes are formed by taking a special type of stone and endowing it from power found in various altars hidden across the land. The problem, of course, is that the source of those stones is a carefully guarded secret. Furthermore, if not properly mined, it becomes impure and cannot contain as powerful essence. In addition to that, one needs skill to make the advance runes, and the locations of the altars are also a carefully guarded secret. As such, runes can be very expensive. It was this problem that a group of us in the Mage's Guild set out to solve. Most of us were also members of the Runecrafter's Guild, and so we began our study of runes, and how magic is used via said runes. We also researched various forms of magic and the history of magic's use. Our historical research even went back into the first age." "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

27-Aug-2009 13:59:34

Dantalian

Posts: 3,434 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"The first thing we discovered was the basic definition of magic; a definition which had eluded most of the mage guild throughout the fifth age. And that definition, I have already told you, but to refresh is; Magic is the metaphysical force by which one uses his or her will to move the wave of reality closer to a desired possibility, or away from an undesired possibility. This definition was of course formed by our understanding not only of runes and modern magic, but also of our studies into ancient magic, warlockry, necromancy, and thamaturgy. We submitted this understanding, with our research attached of course, to the heads of the Mage Guild, aware that this realization would revolutionize modern magic."

Taika paused for a moment, and her faced flushed red. Orcris could not help but notice she had also clenched her fists.

"Our thesis was rejected as an absurdity," Taika finally said, "Some old bats who were considered "experts in magic" used their influence to shoot down our work, which they rightly realized threatened to render their carefully constructed modern magic obsolete. They even punished those of us who had participated on the project. At that time, many of our group left, however, some of us stayed firm. We adopted pseudonyms to use on any future documents, so as to protect ourselves from persecution, and we continued our research." "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

27-Aug-2009 14:01:38

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