Gratitude for Winterstide gifts + Raiders of the Lost Arts recruitment

[emet_sulk]

Type: Video
Sender ID: emet-sulk (Emet-Selch)
To: Public
Subject: Gratitude for Winterstide gifts + Raiders of the Lost Arts recruitment
Warnings: None

[ Hello again, Escordvi. It is Emet-Selch, sitting at his desk in the cabin on the Phantom Moon. ]

Firstly, my thanks to those who left gifts for me during the local celebrations. I would return the favour but only one of you left a name. If you desire a gift yourself, I've left them with my assistant at the Adamantine Forge.

...Now, to business.

[ He clears his throat. ]

The Raiders of the Lost Arts welcomes all who have a keen interest in exploration, discovery, and research whether that be for esoteric relics or more mundane interests. I am currently its acting captain until such time as our original captain returns - if he does, indeed, return. Our ship, the Phantom Moon, has ample space for your needs and will be docked at Eltrut for a week or so whilst our new arrivals find their feet. Do come find myself or one of the crew should you be interested. Your assigned armada matters not to us.

[ He snaps his fingers and faintly shimmering, translucent faces of the current crew - Professor Turo, Ryotaro Dojima, and Reno - appear. ]

--And if you happen to be interested in magitech research and development, the Adamantine Forge can be found on the same leviathan, away from the main docks.

Comments

[emet_sulk]

An extreme version of the natural disasters you may be used to. An imbalance towards fire can result in anything from droughts to wildfires. Imbalance towards ice leads to year-long winters or an ice age, et cetera. It depends on whether the aether tends towards the active or passive.

[lucky_e]

So someone using a toaster oven too long, or too much could cause a heatwave?

1/2

[emet_sulk]

2/2

[emet_sulk]

[ It may be funny to watch this sorcerer of eld perform a facepalm, but he does. ]

No... No, not quite. I speak on a grander scale - say, if someone were to begin burning a great many people across the continents. Fires burning night and day until you can see and smell naught but smoke.

There are other factors which will push the land towards calamity, but I am not sure you would understand without knowing aetherial theory.

sorry not sorry mr mage sir :3

[lucky_e]

[Boy you should have seen a question like that coming! But yes, it does get her to crack a smile. #worthit ]

It sounds like what happens when an area relies too heavily on coal for power and begins to pollute an area.

But you're right, I most likely wouldn't understand without knowing all of the concepts behind it. It's probably for the best that I stick with the electrical generation I know.

/old man voice "kids these days"

[emet_sulk]

That's a good analogy, yes. When levels of pollution pass a threshold, the environment is beyond recovery.

If electricty is what you're familiar with, you'll want to look at the levin-powered magitech. They are synonymous terms.

flying around in their metal plane bird doo-hickies

[lucky_e]

Are they? How so? Electricity is what powers everything back home, with the main exception being how it's produced and delivered.

[emet_sulk]

The difference is that they don't need an external power source, although I suppose they still require something of a 'battery'. When it exhausts that power, one need only charge it again with aether. The internal converter takes care of the rest.

[lucky_e]

Then how is it generated with aether? That sounds like an outside power source to me.

[emet_sulk]

Aether is what comprises all life. All men - at least, the inhabitants of my star - possess an innate measure which they can learn to harness. Alternatively, one may draw it from one's surroundings, but this can have dire consequences.

[ The imbalance he had just been speaking of. ]

What I'm trying to say is: one simply could charge the 'battery' with one's own aether.

[lucky_e]

Um, then isn't that dangerous to the person?

[emet_sulk]

Only if you decide to put all of your aether into it.

[ A roll of his eyes. Who would be that silly? ]

One doesn't stab themselves in the heart when giving blood to save a life now, do they? But I suppose if you never had much to begin with, you ought to source the aether from elsewhere.

[lucky_e]

[Yes, who indeed?]

Well... some people will. [In a sense...] But not everyone has the same amount either?

[emet_sulk]

I would hope that if you are skilled enough to transfer your own aether into a crystal, you would also have an awareness of how much you can give before you faint.

[ He says this in the most tired, deadpan voice. ]

[lucky_e]

Right... um, I think I'll simply stick with the power sources that I know then.

[They sound more reliable and versatile.]

[emet_sulk]

A wise choice.

You mentioned something called 'Wisdom Cubes' earlier. May I ask what they are?

[lucky_e]

They're... well, they're a lot of things. But the easiest thing to think of them as is a mixture of an energy source and something that can store and manipulate information and data.

You can think of them as being a little like the crystals you mentioned. But capable of doing a lot more than acting as a battery.

[emet_sulk]

They sound rather like electrope. Similar versatility and, I daresay, shape unless the name is a misnomer. Is it a natural substance?

[lucky_e]

You could draw some parellels. Electricity can be generated by them if they're used in that way. Kind of like a generator, or a source of fuel.

As for if they're natural... no, or at least, not that I'm aware of. There's some information that I wasn't made privy to.

[emet_sulk]

[ He raises an eyebrow at that. ]

In my experience, keeping such basic knowledge hidden indicates something foul at work. I cannot imagine why one would obscure such a thing unless it involves some deeply uncomfortable truth.

[lucky_e]

Maybe, much of what's kept under wraps is related to things that the different nations of the world would rather keep hidden from each other. In spite of everything, the world back home isn't as united as a person would like.

Competing values and ideals still exist and cause problems and desires to overcome each other.

[emet_sulk]

Mortals are as selfish as ever I see.

[ He says it like one making the observation that the sun keeps rising each day. ]

Oh well. I would have liked to develop some energy source that doesn't rely on finite resources but I shall have to keep working from my own experiences.

[lucky_e]

And what sort of things might you try to do if you had an energy source like that?

[emet_sulk]

[ He waves an impatient hand. ]

Can't you see? I wouldn't have to seek out a source of oil or coal and scar the land extracting it. Since this is a seafaring world, 'twould be remiss not to take advantage of the ample sunlight. Solar powered technology is not beyond these people - I simply have to solve the problem of harvesting and storage.

[ A problem he intends to work at when it comes time to make Cloud's battery... ]

[lucky_e]

You could also use tidal energy as well. But yes, being able to store it would be a problem. Did you have a battery design in mind yet?