warpweft | [ENTER THE PALACE]

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[ENTER THE PALACE]

[You find yourself with a sensation like floating in water.]

[Above, the sky is dark. You can occasionally see things shifting, like gusts of wind, or perhaps waves of water. Is it…even a sky above you? Or is it some kind of giant ocean? Whatever it is, you can’t make it out very well. All around you, you appear to be floating in what appears to be water. It looks like a great, wide ocean of…space in every direction around you, with stars and lights twinkling in the distance. It looks like water and feels like water, but it doesn’t make you wet. You can reach your hand into it and pull some out, the purple and violet water and the tiny points of light inside it will even rest in your hands if you cup them to carry it, but once you’re not trying to hold it anymore, it’ll flow off of you, not a single drop remaining behind. You feel something similar if you go underneath the surface. The “water” doesn’t touch your eyes, mouth or nose when give the chance, it merely drifts around you, allowing you to breathe and see unabated. And you can see for a great distance, the twinkling stars illuminating the ocean of space all around you. Though perhaps less dark and empty, it feels every bit as vast as the sky above. You feel like you could swim forever and never reach the edge.]

[It’s quiet, here, with little noise around you but the starry ocean’s waves crashing back into its surface. It’s peaceful. In another situation, it might even be comfortable.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Making your spells inflict increased damage and using Shards and Facets to enhance you versatility, both of which will be of limited utility to you until you empower your Spark.

And defense. Which will be useful if you are harassed by the Nightmare throughout your travels.

[ as a utility caster, she does lift her chin just so at the mention of "defense". ]

Enlighten me how to defend myself. Then I will "empower".

Alright.

[Lesson 04: Defense]

Esmau is an incredibly deadly opponent. She'll make every attempt to strike you down, and you'll have to use every tool you have to prevent her from doing so.

[Zarya pulls out a longstaff. She then lunges at Sprezzatura and jabs the staff at her stomach - then sweeps at her legs, trying to knock her off her feet.]

[ oh my god. she dances back from the jab, but is easily swept, like Mulan at the start of the I'll Make a Man Out of You sequence. hits the ground hard on her back, her breath leaving her in a gasp. ]

I am no fighter! What am I meant to do, then?!

[Sprezztura: 90/100 HP]

[Zarya holds a hand out and if Sprezzatura takes it, she pulls her up.]

Being attacked unguarded like that by Esmau will be devastating. I, on the other hand, was holding back. Now, be on your guard and get ready for another.

[Zarya takes a couple steps back.]

When I attack, brace yourself as best you can. Stand and do your best to take it.

[She lunges forward again and swings the staff at Sprezzatura. When an opponent attacks, you can choose to Guard.]

[ stand and take it? this is not how a wizard operates.

she's about to say something to that effect, still dusting herself off from her stumble, when Zarya lunges again. and she instinctively makes to try to dance away, again. but she is, if nothing else, a fast learner—which means at the last second she plants her feet. normally, she would use Shield...

but Guard will have to do. ]

Stop that!

[The staff bonks against Sprezzatura's arms as she Guards herself.]

[Sprezzatura: 85/100 HP]

Guarding won't prevent you from being damaged, but it will mitigate the worst of it. If you have no better options, it can be best to just cut your losses and brace yourself for the incoming damage to prevent it from being much worse. There are also spells to make Guarding more effective, to the point where taking damage via Guardian becomes manageable over the course of a long fight.

Now. Try to take no damage at all. DODGE!

[That's the only warning she gets before Zarya thrusts the staff at her. When an enemy attacks, they roll to hit you successfully. By Dodging, you apply a penalty to this roll, making their attack less likely to hit you.]

[ screeches and dives behind one of the gravestones ]

W-Wait!

[Roll to hit: 14]
[Roll 1d20-4: 14-4=10, miss]

[Zarya's thrust zips right over that headstone just as Sprezzatura dives over it, missing her.]

Good. You're getting it.

Bear in mind, if you try to dodge and fail, you'll take full damage, obviously more than if you had chosen to Guard. It can be risky, but if it works, you'll take no damage at all.

Now.

[Zarya plants her stuff on the ground.]

Come here and try to attack me.

[ her hands appear on the lip of the gravestone. she peeks up over the lip. ]

What with?

Anything. A spell. A weapon. Your hands. It's merely for example.

[That's mildly ominous.]

[ she thinks about the last time she tried attacking something in a palace. the swift and agonizing end that followed.

not with her hands.

can she use another Spark Bolt from behind the safety of her gravestone? ]

[Well, she can try. When she does, Zarya immediately whacks her spellbook out of her hands and then bonks her on the head with her staff.]

[She does it lightly, at least.]

[Sprezzatura: 84/100 HP]

You can also attempt to parry an attack. Parrying fully neutralizes an incoming attack and responds with a counterattack. It's a great way to turn the tide of a battle in your favor, if you can pull it off.

Now, try to parry me.

[Zarya rears her staff back and swings again. You can attempt to Parry by rolling against your opponent's attack roll.]

[ even a light bonk is still a bonk, and she snarls ]

Mammon!

[ tears in her eyes, she has to stop herself from instinctively bending to fetch her arcanabula. the only thing stopping her is that warning—"try to parry me". she will try to parry her. with... Mammon, her tail? ]

[Zarya swings at Sprezzatura and...!

Zarya: 12
Sprezzatura: 6

Zarya knocks her tail out of the way with a foot and then clubs her with the staff again. At least she was kinda-sorta holding up again.

Sprezzatura: 81/100 HP]

Parrying can turn the tide of a battle in your favor, if you succeed. But it's even riskier than dodging. It requires you to set your feet and meet the opponent's attack head-on, so if you fail, you leave yourself completely open.

[If you attempt to Parry and succeed, you'll deflect your opponent's attack, taking no damage and immediately counterattack! But if you attempt to Parry and fail, you'll take full damage from the attack.]

It's risky. But against an opponent like Esmau, some riskiness will be unavoidable. You'll have to make a snap decision based on the scenario around you whether you want to Guard, Dodge or Parry.

[ all pertinent information that a part of her is filing away, but most immediately, what she's doing is clutching her head and yowling like a drenched cat ]

Do you have to hit so hard?!

Esmau is going to be hitting you at least twice as hard as the hardest blow I've given you.

So, yes.

Yes I do.

I know this! She all but killed me already! [ god. leaning on a gravestone, all wincing and bitching ] You are going to heal me, yes?

Sadly, I lack that capability. I believe there is a couch in the West Wing you can rest on.

[She sounds so very sympathetic.]

There are one or two more things you should consider for your defense. Certain spells can aid your defense, depending on what kind of spell it is. Some spells require you to get close to use them, while others allow you to attack from a distance. Close-range spells can help with Guarding or Parrying, but ranged spells may make Dodging easier because of the distance involved. Bear in mind, Esmau is a vicious opponent and is extremely dangerous in close range herself. You will need to be on guard at all times if you get close to her.

[If the last spell you cast on your turn has a defense bonus, it will be applied to you until the start of your next turn. Spells will be either Melee or Ranged and will have a different bonus depending on which kind. Be careful, if you end your turn with a melee spell, you may leave yourself open to a Reaction Attack.]

It will be some time before we even figure out a way to practically apply any of this. As of right now, Esmau is still invincible, so the best way to deal with her if you see her in the halls of the palace will likely just be to run. But be careful - she's not above attacking your back if you give it to her. If you can, try to stun her first. If you can't, do what you must to get away, including taking damage if need be.

[ her frustration is... evident. palpable. it does not feel good to deep dive into someone's psyche to be killed, and wailed on, and to find that you feel utterly unprepared for the horrors ahead. you're supposed to be there to help, but so easily you could make it worse.

she bends, slowly, to pick up her spellbook. eyes on Zarya the entire time. ]

I know already. Her attacking my back is how I am here, in front of you.

...

I'm sorry.

Nessa made the choice that led to this situation. But that choice was forced upon her by the Warden's manipulation. I hate that it has hurt her this badly, for this long. And I know she hates that it has now started to hurt those she cares about.

[Her hands tighten on her staff as her frustration becomes to seep more visibly into her words.]

I hate the idea that she is to be erased and I am supposed to just take her body as if it's my own. That I would ever accept such an outcome.

I wish I could fight Esmau for her. Rather than merely trying to advise you how to do it. I wish I could fight the Warden in your stead, so that none of you were imprisoned in a realm where you can be damaged so badly by possessions and shadows and nightmares.

But, at this moment. This is all that I'm capable of.

[ the most self-absorbed facets of Sprezzatura all but chafe. why could she not have been this fortunate? why is her monster a monster, unapologetic, delighting in the pain that the warden has inflicted, peeling away pieces of her until she can slip into her skin and stay there for good?

why do so many never seem to suffer so much as a whisper from what's possessing them? why is hers so terrible? ]

[ slowly, she sags, shoulders lowering, tail falling limp.

fuck. ]

...well. It will be enough.

It will have to be.

That's enough for now.

[She reaches into her vest.]

Go explore the Palace. Expand your spellbook, empower your spark and help the others. Return to me when you're ready for the advanced lessons.

[She pulls her hand from her vest and opens it. A blue butterfly flies from her hand and circles around Sprezzatura, fluttering its wings a couple times.

You can tell the butterfly holds something within. It asks a question: You are being given the option to assist. Will you take it? But it is not a question for you. And no answer from you will reveal what the butterfly has within it. It's looking for someone else.

Nonetheless, you acquire Blue Butterfly.]

[ a butterfly...? it has no meaning to her, but perhaps someday it will. if she thinks to ask it. instinctively, she holds up a hand as though expecting it to land upon it, but even if it doesn't... that's fine, too. ]

I will head to motel, then.

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