Noah nodded once, he had lost access to the Ley line and that cut his mana mitigation in half so he had to pivot. "Mr. Wraith and Sir Jitters, feeding time if you are feeling up to it."


He did, however, get an idea from Mistral's portals. He shared a location, deep under the sea through the connection the ritual provided. It was to the mana reactor, the one Talion used to contain his outpouring. With Mistral and Nef working as one that could off load a titanic amount of mana if it got really bad.

It was a location Noah had gone to when he had to weather inside the reactor so all he could show was the door and inside the door.

Now that most of the intruders were taken care of and she noticed that when the two entered into the sewers two red dots appeared.  Strange for it to be unless they were already corrupted with the foul pits of the Abyss

Then she allowed her other form to take hold as two white feather wings extended from her back

 The mana storm had gathered to an astounding intensity. The glass had shattered out of the warehouse and now a violet column of power was visible over a sizeable portion of the entire Earth.

 Yet again they had managed to avoid incineration.

 There was a notable pause in the intensity of the storm... an almost serene quiet hung in the air, though it was thick with anticipation as a visible ring of aetherial mana formed around the throne, within arm's reach of each person.

 "The Sanguine Extinction spell is ready. Pulling on that ring will release all of the built up mana and purge all of the abyssal corruption from the sewers. Would anyone here like to do the honors?"

Michael nodded and reached out to the ring and forced his will upon the trigger sending the mana storm spiraling down into the sewers incinerating the demonic abominations.

 Michael reached up and, to his surprise, the ring of magic was physical to the touch. As he pulled on it, he felt something give in the flow of mana. However, nothing happened.

 A second passed... then two... then three.

 Six seconds had passed and, just when it felt like perhaps nothing was happening, the ceiling disintegrated into nothing and the collected firestorm crashed into the ground around them in a positively titanic flood of mana.

 Though the leyline had been turned off, the mana filled it anyway, flooding the leyline with power, reactivating it and many other lesser leylines connected to it that had long since run out of power (leyline is already maxed out).

 The very air itself thrummed and crackled with visible sparks of electricity. Local reality had become flush with mana to the point of saturation. Colors blossomed and became vibrant. Old colors sparked into brilliance and everything in the vicinity (that wasn't destroyed) became new again. The small of must washed away and, for the briefest of moments, thought, speech, and action became as one.

(OOC: in the first round, there is literally enough mana in the area for you to say something and for reality itself to produce the thing you said. The object is made of tass and will fade after 6 seconds).

 The flood entered the ground below them and into the sewers beyond. The red dots began to wink out one after another in a spreading pattern until none remained.

OOC: 184 Mana over 6 rounds

Noah spread his wings wide and inhaled deeply. He pointed his head up and roared into the open air with the full weight of his titanic voice. He relaxed a moment as he fed the battery, Jitters, and Mr. Wraith. There was more than a little joy at just how well the group was doing considering this was such a whopper of a spell.

"You should all bow you heads," He spoke to the total of gathered mages not participating in the ritual. "We just clipped the moon with the aura of the spell."

126 mana over 6 rounds without any of my ripcords.

 Mistral felt a sudden shift in arcane eyes, casting their sights upwards. As the rest of the group did, they saw that the column of light had indeed struck the moon a glancing blow... and taken out a small chunk of it, disintegrating a portion of the moon (roughly 5%) utterly.

 Talion paused for a moment. "Oh, right. It's Tuesday..."

With so much mana flowing she wanted to see if it was possible for her to use it to help locate something she so dearly desired.

Concentrating allowing her mind to focus on showing the location of where her soul may possibly be.

When heard Noah's comment she looked up to the moon and then hearing another one say something about Tuesday only made her shake her head slightly so not to loose her concentration on her soul, but still they need to learn how to work better or know what is possible if an error occurs like this, taking a huge chuck out of the moon is not something to blink about.  There can be catastrophic effects.

Michael looked over at the soldiers and focuses on their brains. “Implanted grenades with one second timer. Start.”

Mistral had known this ritual would be a tremendous working of will, but she could not have predicted this.  She had vouched for Talion with the Guardians, who were now assembled to witness probably the greatest arcane spectacle since the fall of Atlantis.  Indeed, now the whole world was witness to it.  How could Paradox be prevented with literally billions of Sleepers looking on?  Even if she survived this ritual the Guardians or the Concilium might rule that her life would be forfeit for her involvement.

That would have scared her, not so long ago.  Now such threats seemed small and borne of ignorance.  Mistral could spare no concern for such blinkered lack of vision.  She had important work to do.

The field of portals that had flickered around Mistral’s bright throne now expanded to encompass the entire ritual space.  The portals connected and interlaced in a fractal shell that expanded through multiple dimensions, giving view into the fizzing chaos of quantum space to the fullness of the Milky Way galaxy and every scale in between.  The condensed mana-fire pulsed through the fractal multitude of portals to be disseminated far and wide, enriching the Tapestry at large while protecting those present from annihilation.  That was the hope, at least.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:14, Mon 21 June 2021.

 As Nefertiti concentrated, she gained a brief glimpse into a black pyramid under a black sky sitting atop gray-white sand. This was not a place that she had ever seen before and looked like it could not have been any place on Earth.

 The torrential mana storm burned at the group, consuming all physical impurity, all blemish, all scars, all disease even as Michael's prayer mended the wounds the violet flame caused. Seconds later, the light faded, leaving the group looking perhaps a few years younger than when they'd started.

 Talion cracked his knuckled and made a gesture with his hand, causing the circle he'd drawn into the ground to vanish as if it had never been there. Then he looked up at the sky and sighed. "Guess I've got another thing I need to fix now."

 … looking around, there were no anomalies. There were no manifestations. The magic had not gone awry... in fact, if anything, reality in the vicinity had become stronger. Mana hung in the air thick like a Hallow, requiring only that a mage reach out and gather some to be filled completely.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:16, Tue 22 June 2021.

Mistral clutched at the arms of her throne as the mana-fire roared all around, and was sure that the ritualists and reality itself were undergoing violent disintegration.  The throne shattered and was torn away in shards as if by a hurricane gale, but she herself was left floating in the center of her fractal shell of portals with hair billowing behind her.  The mana storm coursed through her Pattern, scouring away surface impurities and leaving behind a shriven soul.  Mistral’s boots gently set down upon the floor, and she raised to the sky a face made younger by the removal of the visible world-weariness borne of recent ordeals.  She opened her pale eyes that still held an inner glow and a wisdom that belied the newly youthful appearance, and regarded the group with an inscrutable gaze.

Mistral inclined her head to the others, bowed to Talion, then said, “Bien fait.  We have done what we set out to and more, the moon notwithstanding.  I will return.”  She stepped forward and in two paces she crossed the vast space to stand before Magister Willrose and the collected witnesses from the Guardians of the Veil.  Mistral paused to regard them all, silvery-white and vibrant cerulean hair gently floating upon an unseen breeze.  She then addressed the gathering, “The demonic virus of the varghouilles has been burned away from the fallen world, and most lesser abyssal corruption, ainsi que.  Reality remains not only intact but strengthened, despite the world of Sleepers bearing witness.”

Mistral turned her implacable gaze directly upon the Magister and asked, “What conclusions would you draw, Magister?”
This message was last edited by the player at 21:59, Tue 22 June 2021.

Nefertiti looked at Talion and shook her head, knowing that he was going to somehow get the team of her companions to correct the error on the moon some day, some how.  But for now she couldn't do anything with the Mana floating before her just yet, it was the image of the place where her soul was being held, it was a place that she would need to reach to face the dangers that liner in the black pyramid.  A place where she is going to need some well known sage or sages to tell of this place.  The good thing is that she already knows of a God of Knowledge and there will surely be a price to pay for such information but to regain what is missing would be worth it.

For now she wasn't capable of using the Magic that these mortals were.

Looking over at Mistral only showed how much she was missing the use of the Magical Powers that she once possessed.

As the fire disappeared, he stood letting the fire burn away the rigors of the past months, and he felt younger. Also his sword seemed to pulse with a greater power than it had before. Michael examined it with satisfaction before sheathing it. The moon could be fixed, so it was only a minor consequence. At least all the abominations in the sewers had been taken care of.

 The gathered mages stared in awe at the powers that had been on display... at the hole in the moon, and at the sheer quantity of mana now simply hanging in the room. His voice was quiet and filled with awe... much like Mistral's was when she first laid eyes upon Talion's tapestry repair. "It's true. The Heiromagus walks among us."

 There was reverence to his tone as he knelt and bowed his head. Upon seeing the Magister do so, the other mages followed suit.


 Talion raised an eyebrow. There was apprehension in his voice. "What's happening? What's a 'Heiromagus'?"

 Talion's glance turned sharply to Noah. "Does this have something to do with the thrones you were making?"

 Michael and Nefertiti, being somewhat closer, could see that Talion was taking a defensive stance. He seemed almost anxious.

Noah sighed as the ordeal was finally over. Going rodeo on a paradox icon, setting up the memory backup network, and now throwing down in a big world proving ritual; Noah was at the end of his rope until he became a greater unslept and the ultimate grump. He had energy to burn but there was a limit to just how sour of a puss he could be.

"The thrones had been there because I am a shit head and it's always good to look back and show events so you can say 'It was me the whole time!'. But in truth it was just an easy way to connect everyone and be cheeky at the same time." He turned and came out in mostly human form Noah.

"Now the best thing to do to screw with the local mages is we go get coffee someplace away from them. Elvis has left the building kinda deal. That way next time someone brings up Heiromagus, you can say 'no thank you'. Common, we will catch up over iced chai tea latte."

Mistral favored Magister Willrose with a single nod as he knelt and the rest followed suit.  It was a rarity to see powerful mages admit to being wrong without qualification, and it was refreshing to have been so vindicated.  This was a major obstacle removed, at last.

Mistral remained standing poised before the host of kneeling mages, and turned to regard Talion.  Despite having never been a high ranking member and often acting counter to doctrine, she now spoke for the Guardians with authority, "One of this Order's chief warrants is the defense of this world from the Abyss, and to mitigate the corruption of Paradox from all sources.  For millennia this has been a losing battle, but we have carried on in the hopes that there would come one with the power and the wisdom to turn back the Abyss.  One who could transcend Paradox and repair the Tapestry."  It was a gross simplification of the Order's doctrine and she intentionally declined to mention the fantastical messianic prophecies, which she had never embraced herself.  Mistral looked to Talion and said with an enigmatic smile, "This great deliverer is known as the Hieromagus."

Glancing back at the many mages kneeling behind her, Mistral turned back to Talion and concluded, "In short, the Guardians of the Veil are now on your side, and the Concilium will follow."

 Talion paused for several seconds, regarding Mistral and the kneeling Guardians. He paused for long enough for the silence to become just a bit uncomfortable before he stepped forward. Once he reached the group of kneeling mages, he went to one knee, putting his hand firmly on Magister Willrose's shoulder and the other in his pocket, producing a diagram. "If you are truly on my side, then you will do two things. First: Study this, share it, learn it and look to Mistral for guidance... and Second: Never kneel before me again."

 Willrose just stared at him and then the paper, as if having trouble processing what Talion had just said. However, many of the younger mages were already on their feet, leaning in to catch a peek at the piece of paper.

 Talion stood and took a deep breath then regarded Mistral. "As the most capable of my students and the Mistress of the Ebon Tower, you will be tasked with the spread of Tenebremacy as the primary means of purifying abyssal corruption."

Noah smiled as Mistral looked rather stunning all dressed in power and command. "While I absolutely want this to continue I do want to point out that everyone should scatter as soon as they are able. That was a giant fuck-off flashlight that cut a chunk out of the moon. It will take twelve minutes for countries to reposition satellites to start taking pictures of this building."

"Also, we just shanked the major spirit for the lycanthropes, called out to all the other supernaturals not counting groups like the superfeds. And the military is down the street."

"Let's toss up some antiscry up and go get coffee. Because this building will be toast in a few minutes."

 Talion raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, the military is already outside. They're taking a nap now. We should probably head back to the island for a few days. I have no doubt Ghost will contact me soon. The rest of you should likewise make yourselves scarce. Don't worry about the Sleepers. Noah made sure they came to no harm. They're now sleeping soundly as well."

Mistral looked on as Talion processed what had just happened, then took up the role as the Hieromagus to instruct the kneeling Guardians.  They were not to kneel, for one.  The way Talion referred to her as an authority made her wary, as she'd never been anything like a leader.  It was true, however, that she was now privy to revolutionary secrets of Arcanum and Paradox unknown to even the wisest of mages.  The Awakened world was on the cusp of a paradigm shift, and what authority would shape this new age?  Mistral looked out over the many learned Guardians, all stunned by uncertainty.  She recalled the hearing before the Concilium, where the greatest mages of the age balked at the Hieromagus and failed to recognize their own ignorance of the true state of reality.  Apart from their cabal and Talion, there was no one else.


Mistral reacted to Talion's declaration with a momentary widening of the eyes, but otherwise maintained her placid, confident demeanor.  She inclined her head in acceptance of this charge, then turned to address the Guardians, "The Hieromagus is here and the Diamond Wheel is fulfilled, as is the mission of our Order.  This is not an end, but the beginning of a new age."  She paused, turned Noah a dirty look for how much he was enjoying this, then declared, "I am the Mistress of the Ebon Tower, the new Order of Tenebremancers.  Join myself and the Hieromagus to learn the secrets of Tenebremancy, and help us to turn back the encroaching Abyss."

Mistral offered Willrose a hand to help him to his feet, then added, "I would recommend deciding quickly."

 Willrose took Mistral's hand and rose to his feet. The other Guardians did too, one my one. Willrose looked at her and then Talion. "Of course. We will spread the word at once... but the Heiromagus is right. We should all leave this place for now. There will be many prying eyes and many with power coming to see what just happened."

 Talion nodded and looked back at the gathered group and then back to Mistral. "Would you like to try your hand at the True Teleport spell I used to bring us here?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:00, Sat 26 June 2021.

Mistral inclined her head in acknowledgement of Willrose's acceptance, and thus was founded the Order of the Ebon Tower.  To the once-Magister and the rest of the former Guardians she said simply, "We will be in touch.  Au revoir."

Mistral turned on her heel to return to the cabal and stopped near Talion, who suggest an attempt at his advanced teleportation rote.  Still suffused with mystical enhancements from the ritual, she nodded once and said with confidence, "Oui.  Let us be on our way, mes amis."  Once the cabal was ready she stood before them, hand outstretched.  She made a subtle gesture as if to pluck the strings of an invisible harp, and a faint swirl of mist began to circle them and the floor shimmered beneath their feet.

Then, between one heartbeat and the next and with no sensation of movement they found themselves standing upon the expansive courtyard island far out to sea, the amethyst palace looming nearby.  A fresh sea breeze greeted them.

Michael stood passively and watched the whole exchange between the powerful Mages. He did make mental notes of all the talk of Guardians and Heiromagus. Once they were safely back on the island, he takes a seat and lays his sword across his lap. “Well that was an interesting spa treatment wouldn’t you say? The next question is where do we go from here and should we lay low for a few days to let the heat die down?”

---> To Return to the Palace.