...What. This is massive overkill for Tariel... I see. Pelor You are asking me to talk to you directly. Eh. Ok. Here we go.



I'll continue with the Ritual.

Sure enough, you get a massive glowing light from the circle itself, like you opened a hole in the ground straight to the sun. A smooth, peaceful voice gently speaks from it.

"So, you divined my intent and completed it anyways. Excellent work, Magnus. I am Pelor, and you are right - this Righteous Demon is named Lucian, and he must be stopped. However, his first stop after getting the weapon will not be to kill or harm the innocent. He will be making a violent return to the Reaper's temple, and no one there is under my protection. You have time to prepare, and this world is more attuned to you than to him."

"I have requested my servant to dismiss Fortis and send him to the Forge to meet with you. No doubt Ormaz is displeased by the loss of the captain, the captain's replacement, and the future loss of the blade. I have asked him to simply have faith in me, and he has made good on that."

"I would like you to ask for the right to quest for the Unfettered, the grand symbol of the Dragon's might. They might ask for a few tests, but I suspect they will grant it in the end, and quickly enough."

"And, of course, I will be reassigning Tariel to escort you for as long as the lantern archon wishes. It's good the two of you have bonded. Perhaps you will bring out the best in each other."

"While you have a god in front of you, perhaps you have some questions?"

"... There was no reason not to do it if you wanted to talk to me directly.
That is a decent plan. I probably would have done this anyway... You planned this out didn't you.
Why did you decide to talk to me anyways?"

"I didn't plan for your arrival, or the arrival of the other one. Nor do I know how to arrange such a thing. You operate on a different level than I do, greater and lesser at the same time."

"I simply planned for what I would do if one showed up and met my conditions. I wanted to speak with you because you may be the most powerful manipulator of reality presently in existence, and I would like it very much if I could talk you into swearing fealty to me, and carry my light to worlds beyond this one."

"My rules have their oddities according to mortals, but the broad strokes are simple: alleviate suffering, be kind, merciful and compassionate, and watch out for evil. I do not wish for you to be merely my voice, though, like Ormaz. I want you to be a living example of how to be a warrior and a man of light at the same time."

"Those sound like rules I could agree to... I have been burned by a group of gods before. They
 feared my power so much that they tried to seal it with an Artifact and limit my to a small fraction of my power. Before this I was friendly to one of them. But she did nothing to talk the others out of this. Needless to say I was rather Angry at the lot of them.
... If I swore Fealty to you. Would You use you godly might to prevent other gods from chaining me like that again?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:22, Mon 13 Nov 2017.

"My direct influence is limited to this world. A divine link from me...might be able to bypass a limitation on power, depending on how it is done. A sanction of the nature you are recalling seems to have come from fellow members of the Alliance. I could not stop that without endangering my own membership unless it could be established that doing so would allow evil forces to harm the innocent."

"That appeal would be your best chance to prevent a repeat of something like that. Do not be that which requires the innocent to be defended against. Control your power in the light, and unleash it against the darkness. There is no quarter granted or requested against evil!"

"...with, perhaps, the exception of a redeemable case. As my sword, that discretion is the representation of the power I offer: you will have the authority to decide for yourself who is redeemable in the world, and who is not. It is a terrible power to evoke."

"... At the time I was fighting the Greek Titans. Who wanted to return the world to their rule. Regardless of what effect it would have on the humans living there. I was helping them fight the Titans. Chaining me made it much harder for me to prevent them from harming the innocent."

I am actually radiating rage from the memory of being chained like that. With the memory of failing the demigods that I was trying to help. But I force myself to calm down.

"ok. I Will Swear fealty to you. How do we forge this Divine link? I'm nor as familiar with divine power."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:00, Mon 20 Nov 2017.

"You just did the first step. The rest revolves around you and your actions. You are to be an exemplar of my will through your deeds. Sometimes, you will fall short of that, and there are consequences for that. Always remember that I am a god of mercy, and as long as you are honest in atonement after such things, you will find it."

You feel a mild heat within you, and the back of your right hand glows with what feels like an awesome power to you, with a sun symbol branded to you. "Let my power be a light in the darkness for you, a beacon to the righteous, and a warning to the corrupt!"

The circle dies down, and only a glowing orb remains with no fanfare of its arrival. "Greetings again, Magnus, and welcome to the order. This one is glad to have served well enough to merit a second performance. This one has been granted the knowledge showing the way to the Dragon's Temple. This one has been granted sanction to serve as your guide, and to ease the road of Magnus when possible."

It begins flowing towards the mountains in the distance. "It is three days. I shall aim for the safest path once more."

I watch Pelor leave and smile when Tariel returns.

"Glad to see you again Tariel."

I'll Follow a bit before asking

"I sense a great power from this mark. What does it do?"

"It does as the Master said: it casts light in the darkness." Tariel is not speaking with even a hint of condescension in his voice. "In an emergency, it can also direct a tiny piece of sun's fire at a foe, although this is very dangerous for Magnus and should be considered a last resort."

The next three days are uneventful. Tariel's guidance is good, even though you largely fail to hunt for game, you are able to notice things you think might be edible, and Tariel has the knowledge to tell him what is safe on this path and what is not, so hunger is not an issue this time.

You climb up a winding mountain path, and make it to a small town on a mountain side, just under what looks to be a large dragon built into the side of the mountain, arriving early in the morning. The huts are reinforced with wood and stone here, and rugged people of dark skin are giving you looks of mixed apprehension and fear, stepping clear of your path. "This one believes Magnus's armor is frightening to them."
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:40, Mon 13 Nov 2017.

"... oh, you are right. Forgot that the armor looks sort of scary... eh. It looks like our destination is just up there. and I can't exactly unfrighten them."

I will take my helmet off and carry it in my bag. That will help a little bit. Something about seeing a persons face makes them less scary.

I think a moment.
"Tariel, Do you think I should take off the gauntlet and show them the mark to calm them down?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:19, Mon 13 Nov 2017.

"It is likely to help. There are those in the faith that push the creed to its limits, or simply meet the minimum required to satisfy the Master because those ones are deeply flawed, but mortals seem to react positively to the sun's sigil." Tariel spun around while still moving towards the stone dragon, making it clear the featureless glowing orb actually had a front. "This one would suggest Magnus get a banner or heraldry making his recent allegiance clear. The various schools love them. Strong egos are common among mortals who attend the schools."

Magnus makes it to the torii marking the entrance to the Dragons of the Stone, and encounters large men and women wrestling one another within the confines of small circles, with third parties always watching each match closely. A submission proclamation here, a pinfall there, a ring out further, and even a call of frantic ending as one man is dragged unconscious from one of the rings as his foe with bloodied fists yells in objection.

Fortis strolls out from one of the matches, having been beaten himself by a seven-foot tall woman of similarly grey skin and wild red hair, clutching his back in pain. "Magnus, right?"

He forces a smile through the pain. "Ormaz was not pleased at the news that you were coming here at all, but I had to hide my joy. I got referral, and if you are what you seem to be, it will not reflect poorly on me. You ready to start, or do you feel you should rest from the road first?"

"Hey, Fort," The woman walks over, casually dragging a massive axe with her. "This the new meat?"

Fortis simply nods. She extends a hand to Magnus. "I am Trish. I stop Fortis from getting fat and lazy!"

I'll go ahead and take the gauntlet off and let the sun brand glow a bit.
"Yeah. That is a thing here isn't it... I should probably work on that."

--------------

"I should be fine. I would like to get started Fortis."

I smile when Trish introduces herself and extends her hand to me. I'll shake her hand expecting the crushing pressure to follow. I'll simply hold my hand rigid to endure the squeeze and then slowly close my hand to show how strong I am.
If she doesn't do what I expected, Then I will do a normal handshake.

"Greetings Trish. It is nice to meet you."

Trish controls her force well, and is simply firm. "Good handshake for a human. Let's start by seeing what you can do. Name something you think you can break with your hands as the primary instrument: bamboo, old coal, oak, brick, teak, marble, iron, or adamantine. There is a two hour time limit to prepare any katas you might need, and you get one strike. Pass, and you begin training at a level suited to your strength. Fail, and you are disallowed from coming back for a year."

"Adamantine always draws the master out to see, but..." Fortis was clearly recovering fast. "...well, he usually ends up disappointed. Most don't break that one on their first try, and they just get a yearly ban for their trouble. Know your limits, and aim for a certain victory."

With a two-hour prep time, Magnus would be able to crack the mountain itself in half, if he used magic...which was not outright prohibited by the terms of the contest.

I'll ask Trish and Fortis
"May I see the pieces of mable, iron or adamantine I would need to break before I decide?"

"Aiming high, are we? You seem fairly confident." Trish gives a half-smile to Magnus. "All would be thirteen centimeters thick, and shaped like brick ingot, if memory serves. The number is deliberately unlucky, just to mess with those who rely on luck. Unlike Fortis here, I actually want to see if your human hands will break objects or if objects will break them."

Fortis doesn't say a word. He's just looking at Magnus with a look that says, "are you sure about this?"

My eyes narrow a bit at Trish insinuating that I ,and humans in general, couldn't do this task.


"Bring out the Adamantine. I want to see the thing I will break. I'll only need thirty minutes to prepare.

Once they bring it out, I will analyze it with both Destruction and Structure to determine if it has any weak points and how much force I would need to break it in one strike.

During the Thirty minutes I will preform katas that emphasises perfection of movement translating into raw destructive power. I will concentrate that power into my right fist to be released later in that one strike.

When the time comes to strike the Adamantine, I will use Pelor's mark to shine as brightly as it can.
Then I will shout
"THIS HAND OF MINE SHINES WITH AN AWESOME POWER! IT'S LOUD ROAR TELLS ME THERE IS NOTHING I CAN NOT DESTROY! TAKE THIS! GODHAND STRIKE!"

Then I power attack for all I am worth and then release the destructive power in my fist.

Hmmm... my fists deal explosive damage. So this Adamantine ingot is likely going to explode. I'm going to try to precisely control my power so that it blasts into chunks instead of shrapnel. Any excess power will be used to hit the rock below me.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:53, Tue 14 Nov 2017.

A wide, stocky and short man wearing grey robes and possessing faded blue eyes simply watches everything get set up. He watches, noting the ritual, and giving an unspoken order for everyone to continue their training during this.

Fortis and Trish engage in lesser exorcises and katas, while you do your own, comparatively alien katas. To them, what you are doing looks odd, but each does their own thing.

Magnus detects no flaw in the cyan metal, but instead notices a line, a fiber-like nature which makes smashing it a trick. Against most people, it would not just resist them - it would have a "bounce" to it.

Magnus issues his intended strike, with a slight correction, and blows the super-resilient metal into fine pieces. Training immediately grinds to a halt as everyone stares, several with slackened jaws, and no one yells to correct it. A loud gong is struck, breaking the silence.

"Congratulations, Magnus. You are the second in recalled history to do that." The dwarf of a man speaks to him. "Follow me when you are ready. Tonight we talk. Tomorrow, we begin training."

I smirk at Trish and Fortis.

Then I smile at the old master.
"I am ready."
I'll follow the old master.

He leads you wordlessly into a barren stone room with a single rough altar in it, with a single kanji etched on it. The room is surprisingly well lit, for being lit only by flames on the walls. He sits cross legged in front of the altar, and invites Magnus to do the same, only speaking once Magnus has sat down. His gaze is an expression of absolute calm and control.

"I am called Duke, and don't smirk at your fellow students again in front of me." His voice is hard, but his expression doesn't even change. "I know magic when I see it. Strange magic, and magic that the magic absorbing stone is supposed to stop, but magic all the same. One could say you are a colossal cheater pretending to be a powerful martial artist."

"I commend you, by the way. The effort required to break that with magic was wasteful, and the same amount of time spent learning to smash adamantine with magic, you could have spent learning anything else. You are astonishingly straightforward for a dishonest man, and you clearly wish to learn here."

I flinch when he calls be a cheater and lower my head.
"You are right about me being a cheater.
And the Magic was probably overkill. The mundane part of my strike would have barely been enough to break it.
I am now from this land or this world. That is why my magic is strange to you.
So I never had a chance to learn katas like you teach here. They are strange to me. They look like mundane action but their effects are not mundane. and my senses with magic just get confusing readings from them.

... as a penance. Should I confess my duplicity to the other students and attempt the task with no preparation?"

"No. This is not the Devotion dojo where atonement is expected for every mistake. I have something much worse in mind for you." Duke took a noticeable breath. "We will train as intended, and you will either become what you want to become, or I will break you. I have no interest in a student that can smash adamant once. If you pass my training, you to be able to smash plate armor open as often as you need to, with or without a weapon."

"Besides, your feat IS impressive. Only one other has done it on admission, and they are not alive anymore. I will allow your achievement to stand." He looks impassively at Magnus. "Any questions?"

"Could you tell me about Unfettered and this school? Your History, Philosophy and whatever you think would be relevant for a student to know."

"The signature blade of our school. It's heavy and looks unfinished, without polish or sheen. No gems, no ornamentation. With a leather bound grip and a crude handguard." Talking to Duke was like talking to a painted statue of a dwarf - only the mouth gave indication of movement, and a rare hint of breathing. "It's sharp enough, though. I will tell you part of its tale."

"A dwarf named Thun, a slave to the frost giants, was given a servant to help him with his tasks, a goliath named Kun. Kun was supposed to help with the heavy lifting, but picked up quickly on the art of swordcrafting. Together, and in secret, they worked to create the weapon that would free them both - the Unfettered." He focused on Magnus's back swords. "And that is all you get for now on history, because that is the part of the tale that will matter to you for now. Since you are my student, I will be expecting you to get the weapon for the school's honor."

"As for philosophy, look to the mountains, and be like them. Be firm, steady and imposing in all you do."

"I will go get Unfettered when you think I am ready.
...I think I see with your philosophy.
I think that is all of my questions for now."