You are Atien Ebrias, a warrior dragon. Though you do not have a violent nature, you took up the warrior class due to your physical strength, as well as your will to help people out when possible.
You have set out in search of a missing person upon a passerby's request not too long ago. The missing person in question was presumed to be somewhere in the rolling hills area - where you are now - and after a few hours of searching, you have come across what appears to be a small tumulus. Your intuition has you convinced that the missing person is to be found in here.
There's not much to comment on regarding its external appearance. Though judging from the way it is embedded in the ground, you assume it extends underground. Unfortunately for you, this means you have no idea how large it really is. It could be anything from a single anticlimactic room, to a sprawling underground labyrinth. Either way, you suppose the only way to find out is by heading inside.
You walk in through the doorway. The room is home to a single pedestal with a treasure chest resting atop it, as well as a number of vines draping down the walls. Counting the way you came in, the room has two doorways, confirming your suspicion that the structure extends further into the hill.
You are donned with standard armor and a standard sword. Nothing special, but it works. You have two red potions, which temporarily increase your physical strength upon consumption. The sourdough bread has a peculiar effect, too: it tastes good. You always carry at least one item of food on you, in case you get hungry.
You also hold onto the two components of your broken Garnet Sword - the Hilt and the Blade. It was always your weapon of choice before you accidentally broke it during one of your missions, and you now carry it with you in case you happen upon someone with the talent to fix it. The gem on the hilt increases the wielder's physical strength and focus as long as it is equipped, and the blade is designed in a way that inflicts more damage than your current sword, even without the magic boost from the hilt's gem.
Finally, you have 105 sanzirs. For a sense of scale, that is a very low amount of money. You recently spent most of your sanzirs on your current sword, after growing fed up with painful accidents trying to use that stupid broken Garnet Blade.
The treasure chest was concealing a small number of various objects, including a multicolored potion, a green paper with some sort of ancient language written on it, some sanzirs, and an old paper. Debris from the destroyed treasure chest lies scattered around the items.
You begin your lengthy descent down the stairs. Your trek into this structure and the tension you feel in anticipation of the unknown brings back some memories. While you're not exactly a traveler, there are two occasions from your past you might count as adventures. The first was when you explored some old ruins with a friend. While that was pretty uneventful looking back eight years later, it was exciting enough to your 14-year-old past self to still qualify to this day. And hey, that was where you found your now-broken Garnet Sword, after all.
The second was two years ago when you took a direct request to deliver a package to some place in another town. This one would have normally been a quick task, but you were specifically asked to avoid the general populace, which prevented you from using public transit. Now that you think about it, that aspect coupled with the fact you were told not to check the contents of the package makes it quite suspicious. Oh well, not much you can do about that now.
At the bottom of the stairs, you are faced with a set of metal doors, which have been left open. The doors bear a mysterious symbol, which is oddly familiar to you. As weird as it may be, you're pretty sure that same symbol was printed on the mysterious package you were just thinking about.
...Nah, you're probably just associating it with whichever memory you thought of last.
Thinking in advance, you decide it would be a good idea to create a map so you don't get lost. However, you do not have any form of writing utensil to mark the paper with!
You tear the paper into a makeshift map, representing the small amount of the ruins you've seen so far in the simplest way possible: a single line. Without the need to decipher any needless color keys or complex symbols, there's no way you'd get lost with this!
As much as you hate needless fighting and would prefer to end the conflict in a peaceful manner, past experiences with wild earunds tells you there is no choice but to fight.
You enter the room once guarded by the doors. The center of the room is occupied by a large blue pyramidal gem. Assorted books rest not too far from the gem, along with a pen. There are two doorways aside from your entry point.
..yeah, you can't really tell much about it aside from its visual appearance. While you do think gems are pretty cool, you don't have the first clue of how to actually identify them. That being said, you do feel strange standing close to it. A magic aura, perhaps? Who knows.
You don't have the time to look through these books! But from here, you can see the pen is in great condition. This must mean someone has been here not too long ago, presumably the missing person himself. ...Or perhaps his captor?
After fumbling through the dark hallway, you reach an illuminated room. While there are no other doorways, there is a hole in the ceiling. You have no idea how you would possibly reach it, so you're probably going to have to backtrack once you're done here.
It seems like a depiction of... the solar system? There is a yellow triangle marking Cyne (your planet), with a yellow line leading to the moon, then out to something that looks like an hourglass, which seems to be linked to two other solar systems.
Come to think of it, just how old is this place? While the architecture seems authentically ancient to you, you now find it exhibits intimate knowledge of space.
You don't want these frustrating trips through the dark hallway to be for nothing, so you nab the mystery machine. You doubt it will have much use for you, but you're sure something like this could be worth a good number of sanzirs.
You are now Efrix Aqiel, an astronomer. Not too long ago, you have decided to scout ahead and investigate the alleged Rune Site upon your own resolution. It took a decent amount of searching, but you're certain this is the place you have been looking for.
While returning to the entrance, you have heard some commotion from the other hall. It seems you have arrived just in time to save this stranger just before the site's defences finished him off.
EFRIX: Are you alright? ATIEN: I.. think so, yeah. Thanks for saving me from that thing, whatever it was. EFRIX: That "thing" was actually this site's only form of defense. ATIEN: So this is your place? Ahh geez, I'm sorry for coming in and destroying your machine. Is there any way I can make it up to you? EFRIX: No, I'm a trespasser here just like you. ATIEN: Then what is this place, exactly? EFRIX: It is a long-abandoned facility built in ancient times to store and protect something of high importance. ATIEN: Wait, so it really is ancient? Then why did I see maps of space in the other room? Not to mention that machine. Was that a new addition, or...? EFRIX: That's not important. Who are you and why are you here? Nobody would come to the rolling hills area and just stumble upon this place; otherwise, I'm sure it would be more well known. ATIEN: I'm Atien Ebrias. Someone with a hooded jacket and no horns asked me to help find their missing friend somewhere around here. That friend wouldn't happen to be you, would it? EFRIX: ...Yes, it would. In hindsight, maybe I should have told Gilan how long I was going to be here. ATIEN: Glad that works out. To be honest, I was starting to wonder if you might have been the one holding his friend captive here, heh. ATIEN: Anyway, uh... thanks again for saving me. It was pretty amazing how you were able to take that thing out like you did. EFRIX: No, I should be the one thanking you, if anything. ATIEN: ...Huh? EFRIX: You may not have been aware due to the adrenaline rush of being in a life or death situation, but you actually did most of the work. In fact, I already knew of the machine's dormant presence. I was at a loss as to how I was going to take it down on my own. ATIEN: But didn't you just need to shoot the gem off the spire thing on the back? It looked easy. Unless you just got lucky with that? EFRIX: I could have easily shot its atherian gem, but in its initial state, I would have been unable to disconnect it from the spire. Since you damaged it enough, it no longer had enough energy to keep itself in place in such an event. EFRIX: My own atherian energy could not physically damage the gem like your sword did, since the gem is crystallized atheria itself. EFRIX: So anyway, yeah, good job defeating it. ATIEN: Huh. Well, thank you, heh. EFRIX: ...Hold on. ATIEN: ? EFRIX: The only thing that would activate the defense should be taking the authorization card. EFRIX: Did you... try to take it? ATIEN: You mean the weird machine thing that was in the wall?
ATIEN: Yeah, I have that right here. EFRIX: Why in the hell would you be taking things if you're just here to find a missing person!? ATIEN: Because the dark hallway was really annoying to get through and I didn't want my efforts to be for nothing. I thought it was just an abandoned trinket, to be honest. EFRIX: Do you have any idea how much you would have hindered my task, here? That authorization card is vital to my plans, and you were just going to ignorantly swipe it for your own personal gain? ATIEN: Hey, settle down. I was going to find you anyway and I'm sure you would have figured it out regardless! EFRIX: Fine, whatever. I guess I have no choice but to believe you on this. I'm going to have to ask for it, though. ATIEN: No problem.
EFRIX: Thank you. ATIEN: So.. what now? EFRIX: What do you mean, what now. EFRIX: You came here to find a missing person, and here I am. Now I have my own business to tend to, and I'm sure you must have yours. ATIEN: What about your friend - Gilan, was it? He seemed pretty worried, and I feel like he wouldn't just take my word that you're okay so easily. EFRIX: ...Right, you have a point there.
EFRIX: And you're right. Now is a good time for me to head back and let him know what's up. It's not like there's anything left to do here until tomorrow. ATIEN: What changes here tomorrow? EFRIX: Never mind, I'm just rambling here.
You open your inventory. Aside from the newly retrieved authorization card and damaged gem, you have three items stored. These include four cans of cola, three vitality gem shards (which will permanently increase your vitality if you gather enough to form a complete gem), and six potions which restore your atheria upon consumption. Most of the other possessions you came here with lay scattered about this room.
You are also wearing your astronomer robe and are equipped with a weapon - your telescope.
EFRIX: ...What are you doing? ATIEN: Just figured I'd help you tidy up. EFRIX: Oh, no, we don't need to worry ourselves with the general upkeeping of the place. I'm only picking these things up because they're mine. ATIEN: Right... since it's abandoned and all that. Whoops. ATIEN: Still, these things are pretty cool. Mind if I keep them? EFRIX: I guess it's not in my authority to stop you... just keep them away from any magic gems, otherwise it may activate again. It probably wouldn't be capable of much even if it were to be powered by another atherian gem, given it's missing most of its parts, but still. It's always best to avoid risks when possible. ATIEN: Got it.
ATIEN: Oh hey, what's that big crystal pyramid thing for? EFRIX: I feel if I were to tell you it's a power source, you would only be prompted to ask more questions which I would be unable to answer. ATIEN: Power source? Like that robot thing we just fought? Is this entire place actually some sort of giant mech? That would be badass. EFRIX: I just had to say it, didn't I...
ATIEN: Oh, these doors. You know, I've seen this symbol before. EFRIX: ...? ATIEN: It was a long time ago. I had to deliver some sort of package somewhere, like a top secret deal. ATIEN: Er... please don't tell anyone I told you this, but it had the same symbol on it. ATIEN: And I couldn't help but notice it was on one of your books, too. EFRIX: Hold on. You delivered the package to a place in Violetshroud, did you not? ATIEN: Yeah, actually!
EFRIX: ...I think I remember you. EFRIX: I never spoke to you, but I was present when it arrived. I saw you through the doorway, I believe. ATIEN: So what was in it? EFRIX: I cannot say. ATIEN: Okay. What's the symbol for, then? EFRIX: Since you don't already know, I am unable to discuss it. ATIEN: If that's the rule, then how are people supposed to learn about it in the first place? EFRIX: That is also none of your business. ATIEN: Whatever, man. All this secrecy is actually starting to seem a bit suspicious, you know? ATIEN: I had my doubts back then, and I'm starting to have them again. EFRIX: And your own actions and presence here despite your apparent lack of knowledge on these matters gives me reason to feel the same way about you. ATIEN: Augh, you're such a pain.
EFRIX: Look, I have my reasons. I can't just go around and spill every bit of information I know to a complete stranger. Even if we did briefly cross paths once before. EFRIX: ...What happened to the treasure chest in here? ATIEN: I got into it on my way in. It wasn't yours or anything, right? EFRIX: No, I figured it was unimportant anyway. But I am curious - where was the key? ATIEN: In my sword. EFRIX: ??? ATIEN: The key was my sword. I hit it really hard and broke it open. :p EFRIX: ...Huh. Was there anything of importance to be found? ATIEN: Just a few sanzirs, some weird multicolored potion, an old piece of paper and a scroll-type thing. You can have it, if you want. EFRIX: No, it's fine. Keep it.
ATIEN: This potion's some weird multicolored deal, probably with some weird effect I would never understand. ATIEN: I'd make a guess, but I'd probably just end up making a fool of myself in front of a magic user. EFRIX: Oh, no worries. You couldn't make the situation more embarrassing for yourself. ATIEN: What do you mean..?
EFRIX: Hehe. ATIEN: Whaaaaat? EFRIX: I mean, you already thought there was a such thing as a "multicolored potion." ATIEN: What's wrong with that? We have one right here. EFRIX: It's basic knowledge that no functional potion would look like this. It's probably just colored this way because its ingredients gradually separated over the years in that box. ATIEN: Oh... I suppose that was sorta silly for me to think.
ATIEN: ...But hold on, what if it was meant to be layered? EFRIX: What are you even talking about. ATIEN: Well, you know, a lot of the time someone might want to increase both their vitality and attack. And it's inconvenient needing to drink two potions. And then mixing the two types together would usually cancel out both effects, right? ATIEN: So this could have been made as some kinda three-in-one thing. EFRIX: That idea is so nonensical it... actually might work? ATIEN: Gotcha there. EFRIX: Oh shush.
ATIEN: Anyway, this is the scroll thing you wanted to see. EFRIX: And this was found... in the very first room? ATIEN: Yeah, why? EFRIX: It just seems a bit odd that an Epsilonian scroll would be left in such an easy to reach location. ATIEN: Says the one who didn't think he could open it without a key. :p EFRIX: Quiet. I only avoided breaking it open because I did not want to risk damaging its contents. EFRIX: It's a wonder how the glass bottle containing the potion remained perfectly fine even after you recklessly broke the chest open. ATIEN: Aaaaanyway. ATIEN: What's Epsilonian? I've never heard of that before. EFRIX: Of course you have never heard of it. It's not from here. ATIEN: What do you mean? EFRIX: I mean it originates from another world. ATIEN: ...And I'm guessing you don't mean the emeronze mines or the moon colony? EFRIX: Correct. ATIEN: So you're saying... there's life out there, after all?? EFRIX: Agh geez, I've already said too much about it. Never mind forget I said anything. ATIEN: Dude, you can't just tell me something that huge and then leave it at that! EFRIX: Your argument makes no sense! I never even meant to say what I did! Why should I now be obligated to tell you the rest due to a slip of the tongue? ATIEN: I mean... I guess you don't have to. But it's something I've been wondering pretty much my whole life, and it would really suck to learn this but never know anything more about it. EFRIX: It's not like I want to keep it from you, it's just... dangerous to let too much of this information out. Saying why might only make things worse - hell, even I don't fully understand why. EFRIX: I've come this far; I can't just let things go wrong now. ATIEN: I understand, I'll drop the subject. Just promise you're not planning to destroy the world or anything like that? EFRIX: What, you think that's even close to being in my scope of ability? Think of how ridiculous that notion is. I doubt even the most powerful of rulers would be able to conquer the entire planet, let alone destroy it - especially not some nobody astronomer like me! And even if I could, why would I? I am not a bad person. ATIEN: I... didn't mean to imply that you were. I'm sorry. EFRIX: No, don't worry about it. ATIEN: ...So, uh. What is this scroll? Anything you can tell me? EFRIX: Sure. It depicts a magic spell used for augmented supernatural abilities, with uses ranging from assistance in mundane tasks, to combat techniques, to pointless spells that exist just because they can. ATIEN: You could probably make a better use of it than I can, then. EFRIX: Hm... no, this one is useless to me. From a glance, it seems to work in tandem with large amounts of physical strength, strength which I do not have. ATIEN: Oh. Then maybe I could use it..? EFRIX: Theoretically, yes. But you can't read Epsilonian, can you? EFRIX: And I don't know if teaching it to you would be dangerous or not... ATIEN: Well. This may seem a bit crazy, but what if I were to join you on your mission or journey or whatever it is you're doing? Would you be able to teach it to me then?
EFRIX: Hold on... What. EFRIX: You do realize this is sort of a big deal, right? EFRIX: It would be extremely unwise... No, I'll put it bluntly: It would be fucking stupid to involve yourself with this entire thing just so you could learn some lame magic spell. ATIEN: Oh, no, that wasn't what I meant. Sorry about the wording. ATIEN: Basically I meant to say that I would like to help you. Not so I can use this spell or learn more about space or whatever's up (even though that's awesome too), but because I just like to help people. EFRIX: But... why? EFRIX: You haven't the slightest clue what it is I'm even doing, here. ATIEN: Actually I do. ATIEN: ...Nothing past that slight idea, though. Hehe. EFRIX: So you acknowledge this, yet you still wish to aid me...?
ATIEN: Of course! ATIEN: I'm just the type of person to want to help people out if they need it, especially if it's something important like this. EFRIX: I hope you're not implying I seem incapable. ATIEN: No, not at all! ATIEN: It's just, it sounds like something big, involving aliens and stuff? ATIEN: And I think only two people sounds like an awfully small team to handle it on their own. It seems we could make great friends, too! EFRIX: What. ATIEN: Whoops, yeah that doesn't have much to do with mission stuff. But what about that purple fire robot thing we fought? You said you might not have been able to defeat it on your own, since you don't have much physical strength? EFRIX: Well, yeah... ATIEN: And I can only guess that there will be more stuff like that wherever you're going. Gilan doesn't seem like much of a fighter, either. EFRIX: ...You have a point. ATIEN: So, we'd make a good team, I think! EFRIX: Our abilities do match up pretty well, but again, how can I be sure I can trust you...? ATIEN: Hey, I can't completely trust you either, now can I? ATIEN: I still do have a bit of suspision over the package delivery thing, after all. But that doesn't mean I don't want to help you. EFRIX: Hm, the package delivery... EFRIX: You know, I don't think this is very common knowledge, but magic does have a weird thing for causing coincidences. EFRIX: Nobody is really sure why. Maybe it's because of the way it manipulates the very universe itself. But it explains how you happened to run into me once again, after so long. Even if our initial meeting wasn't much of a meeting at all. EFRIX: Some could argue that these coincidences could even be attributed as fate. Could this very coincidence have been some sort of retroactive sign that I should accept your offer? ATIEN: I have no clue what you're talking about, I'm sorry. EFRIX: ...So you are truly sure about this? ATIEN: Yup! EFRIX: ...Very well. You can join me. EFRIX: I guess now might be a good time to explain things to you. Would you like a soda?
EFRIX: So, where do I begin. EFRIX: I guess it would be best to start with my overarching mission, then go into more detail such as why and how and all that. EFRIX: Or... maybe I should start from the beginning, of how Gilan and I got into this? Yeah, it would be a bit anticlimactic starting with the big important thing then going back and ending with the more mundane details. Not to mention you might get bored without a hook... uh... ATIEN: Haha, it's really not that important, I won't criticize your storytelling skills. Just say whatever your mind brings you to first. EFRIX: Right. EFRIX: Ahem. So first, I'm not sure if you can infer from the fact I mainly utilize a telescope, but I am an astronomer. ATIEN: Oh come on, I can see that much. EFRIX: Sh, let me tell my story.
EFRIX: Don't berate me for giving another obvious fact, but as an astronomer, I spend... well, spent, a lot of time observing the behavior of planets throughout the universe, as well as indirectly deducting their various properties - approximate atmospheric composition, the planet's state of matter, climate, distance from Cyne, et cetera. EFRIX: Now this not be very well known, but us astronomers tend to work individually to compile information on planets one by one; there are so many planets it's considered best for us to essentially spread out our efforts. EFRIX: Even then, the percentage of documented planets in the universe is still less than one percent when compared to our estimated amount of observable celestial-- This is irrelevant information, I'm sorry. EFRIX: But anyway, while I was observing one particular planet, I came across something very anomalous.
EFRIX: Some sort of red streak of light shot up from the planet, traveling a short distance through space before forming three rings around it and abruptly disappearing. The rings also faded away seconds later. EFRIX: It was almost as if something on the planet had fired a beam of energy. ATIEN: Ooh, is this where the alien stuff comes in? EFRIX: Sh!
EFRIX: As I was about to say, this event was caught on tape - like any decent astronomer should do, I keep almost constantly recorded footage of the current planet I am researching. EFRIX: This is done mostly for the sake of long-term observations such as its orbital path and distance from its home star, which leads to-- EFRIX: ...Sorry, going off on track again. Basically what this means is I was able to rewatch my footage of the anomaly. Which, admittedly, did not help very much. The image quality was so inherently low from the planet's distance that I was unable to notice any further details. EFRIX: I looked all throughout the cosmic databases for something similar, but it seemed to have been completely undiscovered. I avoided telling anyone about this aside from one close friend - Gilan - because I wanted to discover something new more or less on my own. EFRIX: A bit of a selfish reason, yes, but I am glad I made that decision. Especially now that I know the risk of spreading knowledge about the anomaly. ATIEN: But why is it risky? EFRIX: I'm getting there, shush.
EFRIX: Eventually I felt there was nothing more I could do, so I pushed the mystery aside to examine other planets. EFRIX: But now that I knew something completely unknown was out there, the old method of mundane observation felt boring. The unsolved mystery was eating at me. EFRIX: So I finally began to turn to the internet for answers. EFRIX: Normally I prefer more... professional mediums of information, especially considering anyone can lie about anything on the internet. But I had no idea where else to search that I haven't already, so this felt like my only option. EFRIX: During down time in my work, I would passively skim through pages and pages of web searches. ATIEN: So you obsessed over it? EFRIX: I did not! I just said it was a passive activity, didn't I? It was more like something I resorted to when I felt bored enough; it wasn't my main focus. ATIEN: Lowkey obsessed, then. EFRIX: ... EFRIX: I can take that soda back if you continue to interrupt, you know. ATIEN: D:
EFRIX: Where the hell was I. EFRIX: Right, the ''''obsession.'''' EFRIX: After a few months, I happened upon something... very odd. EFRIX: It was a thread on a very obscure forum - the type of site with a double-digit total user count. EFRIX: The thread only had one three-year-old post in it by a now-inactive user. The post was vague - painfully so. EFRIX: The writing was poorly constructed, too. From my best understanding, the user was on about a large, undetectable structure in space, as well as things called "planet ports," which I believe were described to function as part of some sort of relay system. EFRIX: But the main point of interest was an attached file containing an enormous mess of heavily encrypted code, which I had immediately downloaded. EFRIX: Thank god it wasn't a virus. ATIEN: Did you go on to obsess over that instead? EFRIX: Yes. EFRIX: Wait what, no. EFRIX: I had no clue where to even begin translating it, so I once again contacted Gilan for assistance.
EFRIX: He had a seemingly convenient hobby of writing messages in codes of his own design - at least back when we went to school together. EFRIX: It was sort of useless in this context, though - as his messages were for fun, they never had much complexity. And even then, it's easy to decode a code of your own coding, but decoding someone else's code is impossible. EFRIX: But we gave it a shot anyway. EFRIX: After several more months, we finally figured out enough patterns to piece together an approximation of the first sentence. EFRIX: "This information is only to be granted a digital form through its shell of encoding." EFRIX: Which we think was a warning of sorts, that if we were to translate it, it shouldn't even be saved digitally. EFRIX: We felt it was silly and paranoid, but decided to heed it anyway. We deleted all traces of our translation efforts and instead opted for the classic pencil and paper method. EFRIX: Even though we had discovered a reliable way to decode this stuff, the process was extremely tedious due to our inexperience. And I swear the writer changed things up every other word, too. I recall Gilan expressing the desire to try programming an application to automatically decode it, since we already knew how to an extent. But I urged him to keep this away from anything digital. Maybe the paranoia of the warning rubbed off on me. EFRIX: But hey, we eventually got the thing fully translated - and it was exactly what I was looking for. EFRIX: First it elaborated on the warning prefix. Apparently, any information regarding this subject hosted publicly will be quickly deleted without a trace, and depending on how much the poster seemed to know, they could end up disappearing with it. EFRIX: Apparently whatever is responsible for the containment of this information is not a Cynian authority; rather something originating from beyond the stars. At least, according to the encoder's theories. EFRIX: Anyway, now onto the more relevant part.
EFRIX: It explained something called a "runewarp," some sort of advanced blend of machinery and atheria, a complex combination that has yet to be truly achieved on Cyne. ATIEN: Wait, but atherian machines have already been invented! ATIEN: Please tell me you weren't that absorbed in your work... EFRIX: Oh come on, I knew of those. The most complex "atherian technology" we have currently achieved here are those abstract hologram things. Which are cool, but kind of useless. EFRIX: Runewarps are very different - instead of only just barely scraping the surface of the power of atheria, these devices are rumored to tap into a higher level of power completely unheard of to us, more than even the most experienced mage could achieve. EFRIX: So powerful, in fact, that a single runewarp is able to send objects or even people safely through space at rates highly exceeding the speed of light. EFRIX: These runewarps can also work in tandem with the previously mentioned planet ports, forming a "runechain." Runechains can apparently increase warping capability to the point of reaching other planes of existence. ATIEN: What? EFRIX: Other universes. ATIEN: Woah. EFRIX: The message also detailed that runewarps are not of Cynian origin, which is as easy to assume as it is hard to believe. At the end of the message, we were told how to find more information on the subject.
EFRIX: Scattered in small, distant groups throughout Cyne is a secret organization focused on this rumored advanced atherian technology and the mysterious force behind the suppression of information regarding it. EFRIX: Getting into contact with this group was surprisingly easy, once we knew the oddly specific way to do so. EFRIX: Luckily for us, a group was located not too far from our own. Gilan and I traveled there alone and have been almost immediately accepted to us. Once we had spent enough time there and have proven ourselves, they entrusted us with all the information they had. EFRIX: Which... really wasn't all that much more than we already knew. :T EFRIX: We didn't even know where to find any runewarps, or if they even existed here on Cyne. So we can assume we're not even connected to this universal transportation network to begin with.
EFRIX: However, they did know the exact coordinates of the mostly undetectable space structure, mentioned briefly in the encoded message from the forums. How they found it beats me; maybe it was dumb luck like how I happened upon the one planet's laser anomaly that sparked our whole quest for knowledge to begin with. Who knows. EFRIX: Anyway, the structure is apparently either a huge satellite or a space station of sorts. Nobody can say for sure what it does, but it's probably related to the runewarps somehow. EFRIX: I'm sure you saw the diagrams in one of the rooms in the tumulus, right? ATIEN: Tumulus...? EFRIX: The ruin-esque place we just came from? ATIEN: Oh, yeah. You mean the map of all the planets, right? EFRIX: Yes, that. EFRIX: The hourglass shape near the middle and all the lines connecting it to the other planets has helped me come to the conclusion that it handles the redistribution of received runewarp signals, working as an integral part of a larger interdimensional transportation network. ATIEN: ...Yeah, I never expected that picture to make any sense to me, anyway. EFRIX: Following this, things were rather uneventful for a while. The group was a bit... weird, honestly. None of us knew much about what was going on behind these mysteries, so the group had made up their own rituals. ATIEN: So they were a cult? EFRIX: Well, not exactly? It's not like they did anything morally questionable. They were just really bizarre, as I said. Basically just making up things to do relating to this knowledge "just in case it really does something." EFRIX: But honestly, I think they just wanted to feel important. EFRIX: Not that I blame them. It really would suck to learn something so important, only to go right back to our old lives as if nothing changed. EFRIX: But Gilan and I weren't going to do that, nor were we going to adopt these strange, useless rituals. EFRIX: We continued trying to find things out by asking around, and maybe talking some sense into the group members for them to do something actually productive. And we did manage to get them to think in a more serious way, but it wasn't necessarily more realistic...
EFRIX: They had grown paranoid of the runewarps. ATIEN: What? Why? EFRIX: Beats me! EFRIX: Somehow they started coming up with all these conspiracy theories about how Cyne is secretly some prison world for intergalactic criminals, and all of us have had our memories wiped or replaced. EFRIX: Which is flat-out false. EFRIX: And others think they were placed here by some monsters who plan to use us as a food source. EFRIX: Which is just as stupid, because considering how long these rumors have been around, the monsters would have done it by now; waiting so long would be useless. EFRIX: But hey, at least their worries lead to actual productivity rather than repeating the same pointless rituals. EFRIX: Eventually we had found a bit of information that was stashed away in their records - the location and name of a town. We had no idea why it was even there. It could have been an unrelated personal reminder, for all we knew. But it was the most we've learned for a while, so Gilan and I decided to check it out. EFRIX: It lead us to this very town, which we searched and discovered the tumulus - which I guess we could now call the Rune Site, for simplicity. EFRIX: We decided to first settle down in a hotel, and after that I set out to explore it for myself. I ended up staying there longer than intended, Gilan got worried and asked for your help, you came to find me, and here we are now. EFRIX: Any questions?
ATIEN: Wow, that's all pretty cool. Was there a runewarp thing there? EFRIX: Hell yeah there was! It was so rewarding to finally see it with my own eyes after spending so long to find it. And knowing that even a secret group dedicated to it hasn't even achieved this feat... it's such a cool feeling. ATIEN: I'd imagine. So did any of the other group members come with you? EFRIX: Only Gilan. The others were a bit... out there, and I feel larger numbers would only hinder us. Plus as I said earlier, I still kinda want to discover this more or less on my own. EFRIX: Not that any of the others wanted to come, anyway. They were all paranoid of encountering a monster or being arrested by the space police or something. ATIEN: Aren't you a bit worried, yourself?
EFRIX: Not that much. I mean, I am cautious, yes. But my curiosity overpowers this; I can't just let it go. ATIEN: What do you plan to do now that you've found it? EFRIX: I'm going to travel through it, and I guess decide what to do next once we arrive in whatever alien world it brings us to. EFRIX: When you think about it, now we're pretty much even in terms of knowledge on this. ATIEN: You and I? EFRIX: Yep. We're both just heading into something completely unknown to both of us. EFRIX: Hopefully this isn't discouraging to you... ATIEN: No, it's fine! It feels better knowing I'm not the only one who's completely clueless. EFRIX: Oh come on, we're not completely clueless. ATIEN: Hah, I was only playing. ATIEN: So, I have to ask... is Gilan coming with us? EFRIX: No, actually.
ATIEN: Huh? Why? EFRIX: Unfortunately, he just isn't very confident in his survival skills and fears he would just get in my way. He decided to stay here on Cyne. ATIEN: Aw, I'm sorry... Maybe I can try to talk to and inspire him? EFRIX: No, I respect his choice. I also don't want him to get hurt, either... Besides, the group we were a part of did have one tangible relic - a pair of long-distance communicators rumored to transmit signals across universes. EFRIX: They let us borrow them, since we were going on a "dangerous mission." EFRIX: So we can just use those to keep in touch. ATIEN: How do you know they work, though? EFRIX: We did extensive testing on them. They can send signals through obstruction fields, which is something unheard of to modern technology; good enough for me to trust in them. ATIEN: Hm, I guess. ATIEN: Speaking of friends, I was wondering if maybe one of mine could come with us. EFRIX: Wait what? ATIEN: Well I mean, we are basically leaving indefinitely, right..? EFRIX: Oh gosh. EFRIX: I didn't even consider your personal life, I'm sorry. EFRIX: The thing is, this is potentially dangerous. EFRIX: God, I didn't even explain that to you, did I? EFRIX: ...You don't have to come, if you don't want to, I'm sorry again. ATIEN: I already promised I'd help you! And I sorta guessed it would be dangerous from that whole robotic guardian thing at the Rune Site. ATIEN: I'd like to accompany you. Helping people is what I do, after all. EFRIX: Ahh, thanks... but your friend, are you sure it's best to take them with us on a potential adventure? ATIEN: Yes of course! She's always been asking about going on a real adventure anyway, and she's more than capable of going on one. ATIEN: I'm sure she would have done a much better job of fighting the robot guard than I have. EFRIX: Hm... that's pretty impressive. Would it be okay if I met her first? ATIEN: Sure, follow me!
After an uneventful walk through town, you arrive at Latra's house. Efrix waits at a slight distance while Atien knocks on the door, now waiting for a response.
LATRA: Oh hey, Atien. It's not like you to show up unannounced. ATIEN: Eheh, sorry about that, this is a bit important though. LATRA: I wasn't complaining. So what's up? ATIEN: Remember how you keep reminding me to tell you if another adventure comes up? LATRA: Dude I ask you like every other day, of course I do. :p ATIEN: Well, one finally came up - something in space! LATRA: What. EFRIX: (What.) ATIEN: Spaaaaaace. LATRA: No way. Like, on a space station? Or the moon colonies? Or do you mean the emeronze quarries? Because I've heard it sorta sucks there, so... EFRIX: (Oh my god I never even said she could come yet why would you tell her.) ATIEN: Nope, none of those! We're not exactly sure what lies out there, but we're going to be traveling to some other universe. Probably, I think. LATRA: You're playing with me, aren't you? LATRA: I told you you watch too many of those sci-fi movies. :p ATIEN: No, I'm being serious this time! See that blue-haired guy? LATRA: You mean that nerd awkwardly standing at a distance? ATIEN: Yeah, that's my new friend Efrix. EFRIX: I can hear you... Also my hair's more cyan than blue but okay. ATIEN: Sorry, haha. Why not come a bit closer?
ATIEN: Efrix has been looking into some weird atherian technology that can send things to other universe, and today he actually found one of them. EFRIX: (Sh! Not so loud, dammit, we're in public!) ATIEN: (Whoops sorry.) LATRA: Wow, and this is true? EFRIX: ...Yes. LATRA: Why the hesitance, then? EFRIX: (I was looking to make sure nobody overheard us, alright! This is sort of a secret, you know...) LATRA: I getcha. LATRA: Anyway, I'm Latra. EFRIX: Nice to meet you. As Atien already pointed out, among other things, my name is Efrix. LATRA: So can you tell me more about this space stuff? ATIEN: (Latra shush it's a secret we gotta be quiet.) LATRA: Oh, sorry. LATRA: (Space stuff?) EFRIX: Guys, really, it's not a big deal as long as we're not specific about it. EFRIX: I'd tell you more, but you already get the gist of it. ATIEN: He actually doesn't know all that much about it, either. EFRIX: I was hoping to leave that detail out. LATRA: Haha, it's fine. Still a really cool thing to know about. LATRA: So when are we leaving? ATIEN: You know, I never really asked that, myself. EFRIX: Tomorrow, right now the runew-- the "machine," is unusable. It's apparently a thing it does when there's something obstructing its path, like a celestial body probably. I checked with my telescope and concluded it should be fine in about half a day. LATRA: Oh... EFRIX: I'm sorry if it's short notice, but Atien only met me today and would like you to come. You don't have to, if you don't want to... LATRA: Nah, I was only bummed it's not right now! :p LATRA: What do we do in the meantime? EFRIX: Sleep...? LATRA: With all this excitement? ATIEN: Hey, maybe since it's our last day on Cyne for who knows how long, and since we'll need to meet up again tomorrow, why don't we just have a sleepover? EFRIX: A sleepover...? EFRIX: I suppose it would be nice for us to get to know each other while we're still in familiar territory. LATRA: And it sounds like a good way to pass the time! LATRA: How about Atien's house? He has a lot of good movies. ATIEN: Sure! LATRA: Heheh cool. Would you mind if I took a moment to get some things, though? EFRIX: Of course. We'll go ahead and pick up Gilan. I'm trusting you know where Atien lives? You can meet up with us at his house once you're ready. LATRA: Mkay. ATIEN: See you in a bit!
You are now Latra Nelaser, and the quality of your day has greatly increased a moment ago. Gosh are you excited to finally escape this painfully boring mundane life.
Still, you can't help but feel a bit bad. You really hope Atien isn't going on this adventure just because you kept bugging him about it... Ah, you're sure he has his own reasons. This mainly seems to be Efrix's thing, and you know how Atien always likes to help people.
Anyway what are you wasting your time standing out here for? You should get ready.
You walk into the living room and shockingly find... nothing you couldn't already see from the entry hall. At least not on this side of the living room.
Ah, your old DVD shelf. Most of the movies here contain adventures in some form or another, but you make a few exceptions from time to time. You have watched through almost all of these several times, and you would love to watch one again right now but you're kind of busy getting ready to go on an adventure. Well, specifically it's a pre-adventure sleepover, but that sounds kinda lame so you're just going to stick with saying you're preparing for an adventure.
You take a look at the more eventful side of the living room, where you once spent a good amount of your time in. Before you began venturing outside more often, that is.
You take a moment to sit down on your couch. Sometimes you jokingly refer to it as the large gelatin due to its color and shape, though Atien doesn't find it as amusing as you do. And something tells you Efrix wouldn't get it at all.
Though you have no time to watch TV or play games, you spend a minute or two reminiscing on this familiar viewpoint of your TV from your couch. You'll probably miss it while you're off on your adventure, but it will be worth it to not have to deal with the levels of boredom you have been dealing with during these past few years.
The top drawer contains two chargers - one for your laptop and one for your cell phone, as well as a portable solar energy station with four outlets. The drawer also contains duct tape, a backup knife, a ruler, and most of your sanzirs.
The middle drawer is filled with more clothing, much like what you are wearing right now.
The bottom drawer is home to a plethora of unsorted papers, sticky notes, a glue stick, some useless machine part which you aren't even sure where it came from, and a luminescence gem you stole from one of the city's light posts.
You put the specified objects into your inventory.
Luminescence gems are the weakest form of magic gem, their only ability being to constantly produce light. That's it. Nothing more. You only took it because you thought it looked cool; their resemblance to a pair of eyes makes them somewhat eerie to see in the distance at night. At least, it would if you weren't already used to seeing them everywhere.
You put your pillow and its two spares in your inventory, in case anyone needs them at the sleepover. They would be nice to have while adventuring, too.
Have you mentioned that your class is a graffiti artist? No? Well it is, and this is where you keep your things.
The large supply shelf is home to your entire supply of potion paint - uniquely mixed solutions which combine attributes of both spray paint and magical potions. It is both a convenient way to apply magical effects, and an artistic tool. You mostly use regular spray paint, but sometimes the potion paint can add an extra symbolic flare to your street art.
Below the potion paint are all your old stencils which you don't need anymore, a stack of blank white paper for when you want to test things out or do personal art, another useless piece of metal, and your respirator, which protects you from paint fumes.
There is also the supply closet, where you store your regular, non-magic spray paint cans and your personal artwork.
ATIEN: Welcome back! LATRA: Aw damn, you guys got here before I did. ATIEN: No worries, we didn't get back very long ago ourselves, hehe. LATRA: Ahah, well it's good to hear I'm not overly late. ATIEN: Yup! We should probably head to the living room with the others now. I already have the movie set up. LATRA: Cool!
LATRA: Hey, guys. Oh, I'm guessing you must be Efrix's friend? GILAN: Yes hello. LATRA: You were already probably told about me, I'm Latra. GILAN: I know. LATRA: What was your name again? Sorry, I only heard it once. GILAN: Gilan. LATRA: So what's up? GILAN: We are waiting for Atien to finish setting up the snacks. GILAN: Then he will start the movie. LATRA: Ah right. LATRA: ...So what's the matter with Efrix? GILAN: He is agitated. LATRA: Clearly. But what's causing it? EFRIX: I hope you are aware I can speak for myself, Latra. LATRA: Oh, whoops. EFRIX: ... LATRA: ... EFRIX: ... GILAN: ... LATRA: ...? EFRIX: What. LATRA: What's making you worked up? I thought you were about to tell me. EFRIX: Okay, first off, I am not "worked up." That would imply a more frenetic expression of my anger. I am more... "passively agitated." LATRA: That sounds like something a worked up person might say. >:P LATRA: But whatever. Can you say what it is now? EFRIX: Ugh. Listen for yourself. LATRA: Uhh... LATRA: Sure, I guess? LATRA: ... LATRA: ... LATRA: ... LATRA: There's uh... nothing happening. EFRIX: It's the god forsaken DVD menu. EFRIX: Repeating the same handful of movie lines. EFRIX: Many of which contain the most obnoxious voices and inflictions I have ever heard, mind you. EFRIX: Over. EFRIX: And over. EFRIX: And fucking over. EFRIX: By which I mean, fucking ME over. Because I cannot stand it. LATRA: Wow, haha. It's not that big of a deal. LATRA: The movie actually seems sorta funny from these scenes. EFRIX: I doubt you'd be saying that if you were in my position, listening to this shit on perpetual repeat for the last ten minutes. LATRA: ...Why didn't you just ask Atien to mute it, or go to a different room? EFRIX: Maybe because that would be rude as a house guest? LATRA: Atien would have been more than okay with it, though. LATRA: Besides, it would be a lot less rude than looking like you don't even want to be here! :U EFRIX: Blah. ATIEN: Blah, yourself. :P
EFRIX: Atien, what are..? ATIEN: Yes? EFRIX: This is sorta, well... EFRIX: ...yeah. ATIEN: Oh, hah sorry. I didn't know you might find this odd. LATRA: (Ohmygosh how cute) EFRIX: I can hear your whispering, you know... LATRA: I know, it's why I whispered it loudly. >:p ATIEN: Well, I didn't mean to cause anything weird, Efrix. I'm just not used to hanging out with anyone, other than Latra. And there wasn't much room on the couch. ATIEN: I can sit somewhere else, if you want. ATIEN: Maybe between Gilan and Latra? GILAN: No don't. GILAN: I mean. I'd prefer if you do not. GILAN: I mean um. Well I wouldn't stop you, because I am a guest in your house. And I don't want to act bossy... GILAN: But um. GILAN: Yeah? ATIEN: No worries! Hm... maybe I could lay on the floor, away from the couch. EFRIX: Well, no... ATIEN: ? EFRIX: You uh. Don't need to move, you can stay here. EFRIX: If that's what you want. ATIEN: Are you sure? Would you like me to? EFRIX: I... hm. ATIEN: Aw geez, I'm just making things even weirder, aren't I? I'm really not used to this "meeting new friends" thing... EFRIX: Well. No it's not a, um... EFRIX: Okay, so. EFRIX: I don't mind your current seating location, so you can stay here. EFRIX: By which I mean, it's not necessarily my own personal desire. I simply do not want you to be faced with the inconvenience of moving somewhere else for my benefit. EFRIX: So I believe the best course of action would be for you to stay here. EFRIX: If that's oka-- Er, if that's what you want. EFRIX: Wait, I mean-- ATIEN: Dude you can just say yes, if that's what you were getting at. :p EFRIX: ... EFRIX: Yes please stay here. LATRA: (Again: Fuckin adorable.) EFRIX: Sh! ATIEN: Heheheh.
To whom? You came here alone, and you highly doubt anyone else is here. Of course, you could be wrong, but should you run into anyone, introducing yourself to them would be your last intention.
But since the idea of introducing yourself was your own idea - not a suggestion from an external source of anything - you figure you may as well quietly entertain it. You prepare an in-depth internal monologue, one which would be perfect to elaborate on who you are in the most badass and informative way possible. You know, just in case you have to introduce yourself later. Or something like that.
You are none other than the infamous . You are-- oh. Well then. You suppose you have a lower tolerance for giving out information than was previously expected. Which is a shame, because you had this really fascinating introduction, explaining your backstory and your motivations and everything in a really cool way. But noooooo. You probably won't even let it progress past the first sentence. But you decide to give it a shot, anyway.
Wow, nice job distorting and censoring all my hard work. Actually... yeah, I guess I mean that. It would probably feel tedious to have another long exposition so soon after Efrix's. So I guess you actually did everyone a favor, there.
decide to begin the investigation of this room for any clues. Luckily for , there is-- Wait. Judging from the distortion of the command and any instances of the word "you" referring to -- er, referring to this character, I can safely assume sie does not want to be considered playable. We're just going to have to take a more passive role in watching hir actions.
Alright, is sie done censoring things? ...Yes, it seems so.
After intercepting an unseen narrative force beyond hir comprehension, this yet to be identified character moves on to examine the remains of this mechanized guardian.
It is missing its atherian gem(s) and the corresponding input spire(s), and potentially more add-ons such as, say, another output spire. But there's no way for hir to determine this, considering the variability of these things. This one looks really outdated, anyway.
One of the two present output spires is badly damaged, too, rendering it useless. Whoever was here previously must certainly know what they were doing.
The unknown dragon makes hir way through the dark hallway with the assistance of hir luminescent bracelets. Sie now stands in a room depicting what is presumably this planet's star system and its accompanying runelink. Just one trinary signal-directing satellite? What a tragically underdeveloped link.
Sie and hir teammates felt confident that this place would have yielded some sort of important secrets, too, what with the recent reactivation of such an old runewarp and its mysterious lack of standard context provided to the runelink management servers.
But it's such a letdown. So much effort hacking into these ancient programming structures, just for this dead end of a planet?
???: Hello? Is this thing working? ???: I am concerned because my previous attempt of contacting you has failed. ???: Which leads me to believe that we may be unable to communicate. If that is the case, I will need to go through and find you. ???: Come in, Rase. RASE: Sigh. What. ???: There you are. Why the irritable tone? RASE: I was kind of trying to avoid mentioning anything important, you know. Like our names? RASE: It was... kind of the point of the signal disruption you experienced earlier? RASE: I mean, come on. You should have known. I'm pretty sure nothing else uses the exact same disruption signature that I do. ???: Rase, you are fantastic and all, but I think you over-worry about these sorts of things. A first name alone won't let anyone track us down. ???: I mean, think about it. The three of us have already personally wiped all information concerning us from all databases we know of - and even if we hadn't, there are bound to be countless individuals throughout the multiverse with the same names. ???: It's really not that big of a deal. RASE: Yeah, sure. May I remind you how many times my "excessive caution" has saved our asses in the past? ???: Feel free, just as long as you also acknowledge the overwhelming amount of times it wasn't necessary at all. RASE: Alright, alright. I fucking get it. Can we stop beating around the bush already? This is extremely unprofessional. ???: Right, sorry. RASE: What did you even want. ???: A status check, of course. RASE: Oh. Well, there isn't much to say. Certainly not what I was hoping for. ???: Elaborate. RASE: I'm just going to pretend you asked nicely and didn't just rudely boss me around. RASE: The place is... surprisingly primitive, and seems completely empty. RASE: I have yet to see anyone else here. The only form of defense on the site was a pathetically early model of an Atherian Guardian, which seems to have been recently destroyed. RASE: I also found a room depicting the immediate runelink setup. Assuming it's up to date, it is underwhelmingly small. ???: That's unfortunate. ???: Please poke around a bit more, regardless. RASE: What could POSSIBLY be worth the time wasted here? ???: It's just suspicious, you know? ???: Why would an abandoned, disconnected planet have suddenly reconnected to the grid just last year? ???: When universes are disconnected from the grid, information regarding runewarps is strictly prohibited and hidden from anyone living there. ???: And even if one was found, nobody would even know how to activate it. ???: So I believe there must be a reason behind this. I think this universe may be home to a hidden base belonging to the Evoker's Ascendancy. RASE: Oh, bullshit. We've dealt with their bases of operation before. You know as well as I do that the damn things have an insanely high level of security. Plus, the runewarp wouldn't have been so laughably easy to hack into, in the first place. ???: Our experience with them could be my point, exactly. They must surely be aware of us on some level, at this point. It's possible they may have lowered their security to make their presence less obvious to us. ???: I mean, your immediate surroundings could be a fakeout designed to discourage us from exploring. Their true base could be elsewhere on the planet. RASE: That's a really big risk for a group like them to take. And I don't think they'd be so clever to begin with - their solution to everything is "blah blah something something bigger guns." ???: Why do you have to be so insufferably stubborn? Look, just take the ten minutes necessary to deduct whether or not my theory is true. RASE: ...Fine, sure. "What's the worst that can happen," right? RASE: Isn't that the thing people say in fiction, when they decide to throw caution to the wind and do something, then they do it anyway, and something really really bad actually does happen? ???: You were literally just arguing that it would be "boring" because you thought this was nothing more than an abandoned, primitive planet. Now you're suddenly getting worried? ???: It's like you specifically change your beliefs just to be as annoying to work with as possible. RASE: I try. Anyway, I'll let you know when I figure something out or get shot at or whatever. RASE: See ya.
RASE: Okay I'm done. ???: Ha ha no you're not. RASE: What the fuck do you mean I'm not, I already looked around the whole fucking place, there ain't shit here. ???: Why does that make you think your search is over? RASE: Because I already saw all there is to see in the damn place?? What do you want me to do, dust for fingerprints like a fuckin detective or some shit? RASE: Should I go get my comedically oversized magnifying glass and look for clues!? ???: Rase, this entire planet is unexplored territory to us. If what I speculated about this site being a decoy is true, then of course you wouldn't find anything there. RASE: ...Dear god tell me you're not about to ask me to search the whole damn planet. ???: Oh come on, I'm not that unreasonable, am I? RASE: ...No, I guess not. So what do I do? ???: Just get a general idea of the planet, I suppose. RASE: Okay well I'm outside and there are a bunch of green hills and it's boring as hell. ???: Is that all? RASE: Looks like it. RASE: Wait. RASE: No, there's something in the distance. What even is that. ???: Describe it for me? RASE: A bunch of huge rectangles sticking out of the ground. RASE: It appears to be intelligently crafted, but I cannot determine its purpose. RASE: Maybe some sort of modern art. RASE: There are weird lights on some of the rectangles. ???: Hm... some sort of middle aged city, perhaps? RASE: Wow, that would be sad. But now that you mention it, it does sorta seem like one of those. ???: How far away is it? RASE: It's a ways out there. RASE: ...I'll head to it, anyway. RASE: Only because I'm curious what such an ancient city is actually like. RASE: And it does seem to be active, which only further intrigues me. RASE: Since I was honestly starting to think this planet was either completely abandoned or still in its stone age or something. ???: Glad to hear it. Stay low, and immediately return if you discover any relation to the Evoker's Ascendancy whatsoever; we can then come back later with more suitable equipment. ???: Please be cautious. RASE: Will do.
RASE: YOU! RASE: ...Ahem. RASE: Hello. CIVILIAN: Oh, uh... hey? RASE: Yes. "Hey." CIVILIAN: ...Do you need something? RASE: AS a matter of fact, yes, I do. Would you be willing to answer a few questions? I am a, uh... I am a researcher, yes. CIVILIAN: Like some sorta survey? Sure, why not. Don't have anything better to do now, anyway. RASE: Yes, good... good. RASE: Um. Let's start off simple: Where the fuck is everyone? CIVILIAN: How do you mean? RASE: There hasn't been anyone around for miles. You're the first person I have seen all night! RASE: I see nobody else around in this "city." CIVILIAN: Are you like, not from around here or something? CIVILIAN: It's night time. CIVILIAN: People sort of sleep at night. RASE: Oh, right. RASE: I got so caught up in my research I must have forgotten we are a mostly diurnal species! Ha ha ha. CIVILIAN: Wh-- RASE: Disregard my previous question what is your name. ARET: I'm Aret... And you are? RASE: Nope, stop. I am the interviewer here. ARET: Okay? RASE: Now, "Aret," would you mind if I asked you a few more... questions, to verify your identity? ARET: Why...? RASE: You know, just in case "Aret" is merely a false identity fabricated to mask the presence of a staff member working at a secret facility affiliated with an interstellar dictatorship or something like that. RASE: ...Not that I'm suspecting you or anything, ha ha. ARET: Uhh... sure? ARET: (This person is sort of weird...)
RASE: Well, I found a civilian in the city and spoke with him. ???: How did that go? RASE: I asked him a lot of questions about his life and the city. He provided sufficient answers and went into great detail. RASE: He did become unreasonably annoyed with me partway into my interview, but it did not seem like he was making anything up. ???: Uh, you do realize you didn't need his life story, right? ???: You could have just had a casual conversation with him and judged his legitimacy off of that. He probably got annoyed because you were asking too many seemingly pointless questions. RASE: No he was just an asshole. RASE: That aside, I think this is just a regular, boring city. ???: That makes sense, I suppose. I mean, I can't see a hidden facility going through all the trouble of giving realistic cover stories to all of its employees. ???: You can say you told me so. RASE: I fucking told y-- RASE: ... ???: What's the matter? RASE: It doesn't feel worthwhile to say after being specifically told to do so. Thanks for taking that one bit of enjoyment away from me. ???: Hah, you're welcome. RASE: Yeah. Anyway, I'm heading back now; see you soon.
It seems Rase won't let us see what sie's up to anymore. Considering sie's probably just heading back to reunite with hir even more mysterious partners, now would likely be a good point to change perspectives anyway.
Our main cast is currently watching a movie at Atien's house and will soon be going to sleep, so it wouldn't do much good to "meanwhile" back to them. Instead, we will see what's up in the immediate future.
You are once again Latra Nelaser. Wait, "again"? This has always been you. But perhaps sleeping is a temporary break from your established identity in a way, so... no, let's not go into this philosophical territory. You're just Latra, okay?
You woke up while Atien and Efrix were still asleep, but found Gilan wasn't present in the room. You decided to go look for him out of curiosity, making sure to stay quiet. Atien is a heavy sleeper, but you're not sure about Efrix and would hate to accidentally wake him up.
You enter the entryway of Atien's house, which serves as the entrance to Atien's house, as can be expected from entering an entryway. While in Atien's house.
The TV was already bright enough, so you're kind of dreading how bright the outdoors will be in contrast to the dim interior of the house.
LATRA: Hey... GILAN: Oh! Latra, hey. LATRA: Where are you? GILAN: Uh..? GILAN: I'm right here. LATRA: Agh, dammit... I meant, why are you out here? I'm tired I just woke up bleh. GILAN: Oh... GILAN: I'm just getting some fresh air. GILAN: Is that not what other people do, sometimes? LATRA: Hey no it's cool, I was just the wondered. GILAN: Uh... right. LATRA: Did I screw up my words again? GILAN: No, no don't worry about it. LATRA: So. Any reason you're getting fresh air? Or is it just a thing you do? GILAN: I enjoy it from time to time. GILAN: But... there is a reason, here. LATRA: Oh? GILAN: ... LATRA: Ahh forget it, if you don't wanna talk about it I can respect that. GILAN: I... thanks. GILAN: ... LATRA: ... GILAN: ... LATRA: ... GILAN: ...Well...
GILAN: I am going to... miss Efrix. LATRA: Oh? GILAN: ... GILAN: He has been a very close friend of mine for a long time. GILAN: And, well he told you the origin of all this, right? How we figured out all this stuff and came about researching it? LATRA: Try not to remind me of that wordy mess of a story... GILAN: Latra... LATRA: What? Oh. Sorry, no it was a fine story. GILAN: I... okay. Yes so you know him and I were friends since we were still in school. And then we spent months decoding that initial message together, then stayed with the Helios Viewers for like a year decoding some other message... Then coming here. LATRA: Helios Viewers? GILAN: Oh, did Efrix not mention them? LATRA: Hell if I know, I was tired when he explained it to the movie and I just wanted to sleep, honestly... LATRA: "To the movie"..? No, during it. Yes. LATRA: Er, he did mention some organization with a focus on the runewarps and all that, though. GILAN: Ah, geez... I forgot even their name is sworn to secrecy... GILAN: ...I guess it's not too bad having mentioned it, it's so early I doubt anyone's awake and I trust you. LATRA: So you came around about that after all? GILAN: Yes. Despite my initial wariness... I now see that you and Atien are good. LATRA: Glad to hear it. GILAN: Anyway... yes, all this time with Efrix, it will feel weird with him leaving. GILAN: I mean... what will I do? LATRA: You can always come with us, you know. GILAN: Before meeting the two of you, our initial plan had been for Efrix to go through the portal with me staying here, using our communication devices to stay in touch, in case there was no easy return and if he really needed something from here he couldn't find over there. GILAN: And in case you were going to volunteer you or Atien staying behind instead, please stop thinking that idea. GILAN: I mean, you two are much more useful in combat than I would ever be, and it would mean you two who are also longtime friends would be split up. GILAN: Me staying behind was already the plan, and I do not want to suddenly place this separation onto another group of friends. LATRA: That... does mean a lot, Gilan. LATRA: So do you think there's anything we can do to help you out with this? GILAN: Not really, aside from keeping in touch and trying to establish a two-way connection. Something I trusted Efrix to do, anyway. GILAN: But... listening also helps. GILAN: Thank you. LATRA: Any time. So those communication devices, you know for sure they work, right? EFRIX: Yes. They were tested under approximate simulated conditions, remember?
GILAN: Efrix! When did you get here...? EFRIX: Just now. Although I got up shortly after Latra did; she woke me up. LATRA: Dammit... EFRIX: I didn't mean you woke me up in a bad way. In fact, I'd prefer having been awake since our window of time isn't all that long. EFRIX: The main reason I came out here is to ask if there's some sort of secret to waking Atien up. LATRA: Heheh, no not really. He's quite a heavy sleeper. EFRIX: I can see that... I do hope he wakes up soon, or else we're going to need to carry him with us. I call not being in charge of that. GILAN: We still have a few hours left, don't we? Knowing when he fell asleep, he should be awake soon. Hopefully. ...Right Latra? LATRA: Yup. The heaviness is the only thing weird about Atien's sleep. But speaking of which, we did have fun hanging out yesterday, but I'm sure things will be more awkward now that we're so close to leaving. Is there anything else we can do to keep ourselves occupied?
EFRIX: Yeah, but nothing too major. We do have extra sanzirs on us, and we're pretty sure our currency will not be of any worth to whatever interstellar civilizations we come across. So I think it would be best to spend it here, preferably on armor or other gear. Aside from that, all we need to do is make sure our inventories are suitably stocked and then go. EFRIX: I feel my current robes and telescope are sufficient. As for you and Atien, I'd like to get you better equipment. LATRA: I might have taken offense to that if I weren't still waking up. LATRA: But to reply to that, Atien just never felt the need for top quality armor since he's usually just going around town helping people with the occasional confronting of... confrontation from shady types. And for me, I don't really want any armor. EFRIX: What? Why? LATRA: I'm just cool with my casual wear. My fighting style focuses on agility, and heavy armor would only slow me down, like blehh. LATRA: ...If it makes you feel any better, we can bring Atien's old armor with us and I guess I'll wear it if you really think I need to. EFRIX: Er... fair enough, I suppose. I mean, I have this robe myself, so I can understand the need for agility. LATRA: Yeah! Plus it frees up more money to go into Atien's armor, rather than giving us both cheap gear. EFRIX: As for weaponry, Atien's current sword seems decent enough, having been able to damage that atherian gem.. he also has his broken garnet blade, but repairing that one would cost too much time. Maybe we'll figure it out on the other side. EFRIX: I don't believe I've asked - do you have a weapon, Latra? LATRA: Yup, got this knife. I think it's pretty sweet and I love it. GILAN: What exactly is it we will be doing, then? EFRIX: Getting Atien a nice suit of armor is all, it seems. GILAN: Okay. LATRA: We all ready, then? EFRIX: Yup. GILAN: I feel I should stay here and watch Atien, in case he wakes up while you're gone. LATRA: Good thinking. Don't want him thinking we left without him, heh. EFRIX: See you soon, Gilan. GILAN: Yes, you too Efrix.
Things are going to be a lot different once everyone leaves. For the past few years you've been mostly tagging along with Efrix, so you're not sure what you're going to do once you're alone. Of course, this device will allow the two of you to keep in contact, but you're probably going to need to find other things to keep yourself busy with.
You can see Atien from here. Maybe watching TV to pass the time isn't a bad idea.
It's currently on the same DVD menu that Efrix got himself so worked up about last night. You can't help but wonder if it subconsciously worked its way into his dreams last night.
The talikuu is standing around somewhere investigating a stray oil canister. At least... that's what you think is happening? It's hard to tell with its vacant glare.
Only engine talikuu are fit for oil consumption, but that does not stop the normal talikuu from drinking it as a form of passive aggression. It seems the engine talikuu has fled.
ATIEN: *Yawn* ATIEN: Oh hey, Gilan. ATIEN: Morning. GILAN: Good morning. ATIEN: Mmh. GILAN: Is something wrong...? ATIEN: Huh? ATIEN: Oh. No. ATIEN: I just get this way in the morning. ATIEN: Waking up sucks. GILAN: Ah. Latra seems to be rather out of it in the morning, too. ATIEN: Yeah... ATIEN: ... ATIEN: Huh, where is she anyway? ATIEN: And Efrix. GILAN: They went shopping. ATIEN: Huh, really? ATIEN: Efrix doesn't seem the type... GILAN: For armor, I mean. ATIEN: Oh. But... neither of them wear armor though? GILAN: No, the armor is for you. ATIEN: Okay. ATIEN: ... ATIEN: ... ATIEN: Wait, what? GILAN: The armor is for you. ATIEN: No I know but... why are they buying something for me? GILAN: They feel your current armor isn't good enough, and neither of them feel the need for anything for themselves. ATIEN: So they want to keep me safe? ATIEN: Aw that's nice of them. TALIKUU:MORE!
ATIEN: Ahah, Talikuu. Nice. ATIEN: I love this show. GILAN: It's weird. ATIEN: And that's why it's so funny! Hehe. ENGINE TALIKUU:RRRREEEURRR. ATIEN: Haha! GILAN: I... don't get it. GILAN: But that's fine, as long as it makes you happy. ATIEN: Thanks! GILAN: Well, you seem to be back to your usual self already. ATIEN: Luckily so. Sometimes I stay tired for quite a bit, which is when it reeaaally sucks. GILAN: Mhm. ATIEN: What about you? GILAN: Me? ATIEN: Yeah, how is waking up for you? GILAN: It's fine. I don't really get how it can be such an unpleasant experience for some people. GILAN: Especially considering Efrix has an easy time getting up, too. He may be quiet for a bit after getting up, but he doesn't seem miserable or anything. GILAN: Which makes you and Latra seem more abnormal to me, in this regard. Are you two okay...? ATIEN: Heh, good one. :p GILAN: Uhh... yes. GILAN: It was a joke thanks. ATIEN: So... Gilan.
ATIEN: I know that parting ways with Efrix is probably not very easy on you... GILAN: Yes I actually had this conversation with Latra just a bit ago. GILAN: To sum up my response: I do not mind being the one in this role, if i had the chance of switching places with one of you I would not because I do not want to make you and Latra split up, and I'm not the best fighter anyway so I am the least fit for the adventurer role. GILAN: I don't mean to come off as cold or anything but I don't care for redundancy. I hope it's okay if we talk about something else. ATIEN: Whoops, sorry. ATIEN: Well, either way, that's good to know! ATIEN: I also wanted to say something else, though. ATIEN: You're a pretty cool person. Respectable too, with what you just said about not wanting to split us up. Sure it's a bit sad, but that can't be helped I guess. ATIEN: Whatever your support role ends up consisting of, I'm sure you're going to do great! GILAN: Thank you, Atien. GILAN: And honestly, I'm more of a "distance" person, anyway. GILAN: I'm sure you can see how I'm not the best at speaking. At least not like you guys. GILAN: I usually prefer messaging people rather than speaking face to face. GILAN: Which I hope isn't bad... ATIEN: It's fine, I respect that. GILAN: Cool thanks. TALIKUU:RRRRROOOOOUUUUUUUUL
LATRA: Hey, we're back! EFRIX: Oh hey, Atien's awake. Why did you guys still have the lights off. EFRIX: Anyway, morning. ATIEN: Good morning Efrix! ATIEN: You too, Latra. Nice armor! Is that emeronze...? LATRA: Yes it is, thanks. :p ATIEN: Oh wow. I'm excited to see mine, hehe. LATRA: Wait, you know..? EFRIX: Latra! LATRA: What?? EFRIX: You just gave it away! He probably didn't know until you just said that! LATRA: Oh come on, I know Atien better than you. I know he'd never be so expectant of any gifts. TALIKUU:MORE! GILAN: Yeah, I... sorta told him about it already. GILAN: I hope that's alright. LATRA: Aww, dangit. LATRA: Well that's okay, I still hope you like it! ATIEN: May I see it? LATRA: You're already looking at it, silly. EFRIX: Yes, the plan was to make it seem like we got Latra a suit of armor to check if Atien liked it, then reveal to him the fact that the armor is really for him. ATIEN: What a silly way to give someone a gift. I love it! ATIEN: But what did Latra get? LATRA: I didn't get anything. I'm not an armor person, remember? ATIEN: Ah, right. I just saw you wearing that and thought you changed your mind or something, heh. GILAN: You also just woke up a few minutes ago, so that makes sense. EFRIX: So, after we get you suited up, will we all be ready to head out? LATRA: Yup. ATIEN: Sure thing!
ATIEN: Ahh, it's weird setting out like this, knowing I probably won't be returning here for a long time. EFRIX: I know what you mean. Gilan and I experienced a similar sensation when we first set out from our homes to look for the rune site. GILAN: Yes. EFRIX: Latra, how are you feeling? LATRA: Personally, I could care less about getting outta this boring place. :p ATIEN: Yep. Believe me when I say she has been excited to go on a real adventure for quite some time now, heh. EFRIX: Well, I hope whatever happens won't disappoint you. LATRA: Nahh. Either way, I'll now be able to say I've been in space. So it's a plus either way, really. ATIEN: Soo, shall we get going? EFRIX: Sure thing.
GILAN: I suppose this is where we split up. EFRIX: Yup... EFRIX: I'll miss you, buddy. We'll keep in touch. ATIEN: Hm, you know, we should have a backup plan. EFRIX: Backup plan...? LATRA: You mean if this is all just a hoax and we don't really go anywhere? LATRA: Maybe we could all go on a road trip or something. ATIEN: Ah no, I didn't mean that. ATIEN: I mean, if the communicator ends up... not... being a thing that works. EFRIX: You mean if it is nonfunctional? ATIEN: Yeah, that thing you just said. GILAN: I have been a bit worried about that possibility, myself. EFRIX: Really? Why didn't you speak up? GILAN: I figured it was an aimless worry. A non-issue. EFRIX: No, it's actually a pretty big issue! EFRIX: I was just too confident in its ability, I guess. EFRIX: So hm, something to do... EFRIX: Alright, how about this: After Atien, Latra and I enter the runewarp, we will contact you as soon as it's safe to do so. If we don't do this in... say, one day, you try contacting us. If there is no response, it can be assumed the things actually don't work. GILAN: And what then? EFRIX: You come through the runewarp for yourself and come find us! We'll wait for you if it doesn't work, too. LATRA: I hate to assume the worst, but what if there's some sort of danger near the runewarp preventing us from staying near it for a whole day? EFRIX: Er... wow, how did I not consider that. ATIEN: I got it. We can leave some sort of clues to help you find us! Like a trail of bread crumbs or something.
LATRA: Oh come on, bread crumbs? ATIEN: Yeah? What about them? LATRA: You know how easily that could be messed up, right? LATRA: If wildlife exists wherever we end up going, I'm sure it would eat it up. LATRA: And even without that, wind could easily blow the crumbs away. LATRA: I say I spray a trail of paint for Gilan to follow. EFRIX: But what if that leads trouble to us? GILAN: Uh... guys? LATRA: The same would happen with bread crumbs, though! LATRA: Probably even more likely, since feral creatures wouldn't think twice about a line of paint, but eating food is sort of their thing. EFRIX: Have you considered the inverse of that? GILAN: Guys. EFRIX: Imagine there are intelligent beings who may want to hurt or capture us. EFRIX: I mean, if you were walking down the street, would you be more likely to pay mind to a bunch of bread crumbs, or a painted line on the ground? ATIEN: I catch your drift, but I'm sure feral creatures are a lot more likely to be around. ATIEN: We have never once heard of intelligent life signs anywhere in the universe, after all. EFRIX: Are you even considering the big picture, though? We have found technology that can warp us between universes, and you really think we won't run into intelligent life where it brings us?
GILAN: My god. GILAN: If I must go through the runewarp due to lost connection, I will contact you once I arrive on the other end. GILAN: We would be in the same universe, on the same planet. GILAN: Which we already know works under those conditions from our tests here on Cyne. GILAN: It is not that complicated.
Hey, Zerio here. In case anyone somehow finds this adventure without being aware of my other stuff, I figured I'd include this Author's Note as some final context. Long story short, this was when I decided to cancel this version of Runecrossed.
At this point in the story, it was leading up to an "End of Prologue" flash that I never quite finished - I got about 39% of the way and decided it wasn't worth it since I was discontent with the version of the story that came before thus far. But to avoid that effort going completely to waste, I decided I'd share what I had of it anyway, so enjoy:
And that's the end of the first take on Runecrossed. Back when I first cancelled it, my original plan was to do a reboot as another comic in a similar vein, just with more refined art and a much faster-paced and exciting introduction. This ultimately didn't get anywhere beyond the very first snippet of an introduction animation. Again, no reason for those efforts go to waste. This one's even more brief than the previous one, but still, have fun with that too:
So, after all that, what am I doing with this story now? If you're here at all you probably already know about it, but in case you don't, I'm making it as a full-scale video game instead. You can view information about it on its page here, or you can follow its devblog on Tumblr or Twitter for more information. In fact, while we're on a kick of video embeds, here's an early gameplay video:
Aaaaand, that's about it for Runecrossed Classic. Hope you enjoyed this relic of the past!
My first adventure (after Sweet Hella Quest) that actually kinda went somewhere. It was still in its prologue by the time I decided to move on from it, but it still managed to achieve a decent pagecount as my first "serious" adventure, predating Synodic Reboot.
It's about dragons exploring old ruins and ending up (almost) going on an adventure through space. I ended up deciding I wanted to tell this story as a game instead, so if you want to see how that's doing nowadays, go check out the Runecrossed devlog!
After thinking about it for a while, I decided to switch Sweet Hella Quest over to the Legacy status, similar to what the old Synodic Reboot currently has. This is not intended as much of a tangible change, as I do still plan to complete it, but it does acknowledge the fact it won't be updating as frequently as a fully ongoing comic and that its main narrative priority is to reach a conclusion (which I still do aim to do with SR, to note).
My current goals are to pick Synodic Link up more (it is getting very close to the point it'll become more like the comic I want it to be overall), catch up on mainline art backlog, and finish the second Test Build for Runecrossed. Maybe I'll aim to expand this website a bit more too. Considering how bad "mainline" websites keep getting, it could be nice to have a more independent way to share game development process and potentially thoughts on other things.
Runecrossed Test Build 01 Release! By Zerio, 08/08/2023
It's finally happened. You can now play the earliest possible version of Runecrossed, my 3D platformer. You can find the download and more information about it over on the game's ItchIO page. I've decided to hold off on making a page for the game specific to my own site since it was already a bit of work getting that one set up, but for now, the Runecrossed section links directly there.
Also, as you may have noticed, the homepage now includes a section for game updates! I expect these to be much less frequent than comic updates (obviously), but I figure it'll still be cool to see what's new at a glance.
I hope you all enjoy the game!
Patreon (And Patreon Button) By Zerio, 05/16/2023
It's probably long overdue, but I finally sat down and set up a Patreon! This is mainly intended for those who already just want to support me and my various works, but if you pledge $5 or higher you get a neat little bonus: access to a behind-the-scenes channel in my Discord server where I post WIPs, concept art, and gamedev progress.
There is now also a link to said Patreon in the upper right of the page, replacing what was formerly a blank "placeholder" button. Part of me is going to miss having a clickable button that does nothing, but this was always the plan. Maybe one day I'll add a similar button somewhere on the site for the hell of it.
All Comic Mirrors Added By Zerio, 04/26/2023
That's right, every single one of my comics now has a mirror on the site. They've been quietly added and I held off on making a newspost for it until now, since I figured the "hey there's another new mirror" posts would've gotten redundant.
So anyway, I can now say that Runecrossed Classic and Zephyr Beta both have ZerioIO mirrors now. Two "failed" adventures cancelled in favor of later approaching the stories I wanted to tell in a different medium - Runecrossed via the game I've been developing and Zephyr likely eventually in smaller-scale games and one-off comics (we'll have to see for sure when I get there, though). These two comics are mostly included for history's sake, since the main worth in reading them nowadays is probably just for curiosity on how my earlier works evolved to become what they are now, I suppose.
However, the big thing from this is that the original Synodic Reboot has begun the mirroring process. It's somewhat in a similar vein as "earlier dated Zerio work that eventually got cancelled to remake it but better," but the difference is that SR is still my largest work to date at the time of writing, and despite its flaws is still a decently fun read with actual events that occur. And that maybe one day I'll give it a conclusion. Possibly.
SR is not on the website in full yet, and will instead be gradually ported as I tend to do with the longer comics. I'll just edit this newspost when that process is done, and you all can read along with it if you'd like.
I'm very excited to develop other parts of the website once the comics are finally fully readable here!
Talikuu Mirror Added By Zerio, 04/06/2023
The Talikuu comics have now also been mirrored. Like with Mr. Todama, the theme is very basic and will likely be personalized more in the future. That said, the comic navigation buttons actually correspond to the type of talikuu featured in the comic they take you to! Neat.
This also now means that all four main webcomics - the ones featured on the site's home page - are fully readable without having to leave the website. ...Well, aside from the most recent several updates of Sweet Hella Quest, but I'm still working on that.
Mr. Todama Mirror Added By Zerio, 04/05/2023
Mr. Todama now has a mirror on ZerioIO, which means the elusive 12th strip that was made while MSPFA continues to be down is now more easily accessible. The adventure theme is still a bit barebones and "default MSPFA," but basic readability is more important for now. The fact it's now mirrored means I'll be able to iterate on the page theme and make it more personalized in the future.
The Talikuu comics will probably follow suit before long, but not immediately. Honestly the main thing holding those back is figuring out what to draw for the Next/Previous buttons, as silly as it sounds.
Sweet Hella Quest Mirror Added By Zerio, 03/11/2023
Sweet Hella Quest is now on its way to ZerioIO, starting with Act 1. This is going to be an even more gradual effort than Synodic Link was because this adventure has almost 1,000 pages and a decent amount of trickery that may or may not end up difficult to bring over. We'll see how it goes, though.
As with Synodic Link, I plan to resume more active work on Sweet Hella Quest once the pages are fully ported, but its next page is still a pretty big WIP flash animation, so updates themselves unfortunately won't resume as quickly. Still, they will eventually.
Retroactive Edit 4/9/23: The pages have now all been fully ported!
Synodic Link Mirror Added By Zerio, 03/04/2023
After getting the majority of the page reader functionality working, it's time to begin bringing my main work to the site -- That's right, Synodic Link now has a mirror!
...Not all at once, though. It has considerably more pages than Enclosed Rooms or Talikuu Quest, so it's going to be a bit more gradually ported (this will be the same with most of the remaining comics, too).
Still, pages will be accessible immediately as they're added, so feel free to check in and read along as they're brought over. Updates will resume at some point after the mirror is caught up!
Edit 3/6/23: The pages have now all been fully ported!
Enclosed Rooms Mirrored By Zerio, 03/03/2023
Enclosed Rooms is now mirrored to the site and fully readable. This surreal adventure's simple format and relatively low pagecount made it an easy pick as I figure this all out a bit more.
Talikuu Quest Mirrored By Zerio, 03/01/2023
Talikuu Quest has now been mirrored to the site and is readable in its miniscule entirety. Due to its low pagecount and its history as my first ever MSPFA (not counting that two-page Animal Farm adventure I did as a half-assed middle school project. Shhh), it has the honor of also being the first comic to be mirrored while I developed the page reader code, which was surprisingly complicated!
Now that Talikuu Quest's mirror is fully functional, the other comics shouldn't be too far behind. Still expect it to be a somewhat gradual effort, though; there are a lot of pages to port over, and it's likely that certain quirks of these adventures might require additional developments to the page reader code, but it's an exciting journey nonetheless.
Woah check it out, my own website! By Zerio, 02/28/2023
After having this domain parked for well over a year now, it's very exciting to finally be developing something here. A more independent approach to my works is something that's been a long time coming, really. I have a lot of ambitions in mind for this site, but for now my first goal is to set up functional mirrors for my webcomics and port them over so they can be read in full on their own independent space. I hope you all enjoy as it comes together!
MSPFA Mirror