You are Osyki, journeyman Totemist and first line of defense for your village against the rabid Behemoths wandering the land. Your master, the previous Totemist, fell in a battle against a terrible Behemoth, leaving the duty of defending your settlement to you. You've returned from first contact with a group of outside humans, and after unleashing a truly fearsome display of elemental might, you've won their respect and trust. For the next few days, you have nothing but your own agenda to see to... whatever that may be.

----------
[[Previous Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=totem

The Cast Thus Far: http://pastebin.com/uwRsEHcX ]]

Yesss, time for totems!

Forgot to get rid of the conclude meeting bullet point.

Shit to do:

* Make more useful totems
* Continue the log/journal of how to Totem
* Harvest more totem materials
* Bind more creatures

Minor Task:
* Look up names and locations previously mentioned by southwest people
* Binding totems to maps and other written mediums

Particularily useful totems for us:
Totems of efficient work
Totems of keen senses
Totems of fit body
Totems of spiritual potency

Unresolved plot threads:
1. Magus
2. Elana - power and seals
3. Irken range conflict
4. Ayren's drawers
5. Behemoth site where Ayren was mortally wounded
6. Elements such as Earth - how do they work?
7. Gotta keep training Quinn and Terra
8. That one nature spirit that harassed us for talking to Lady Boa
9. There's plenty of NPCs in the world to talk to even if we have no obligations - Swamp Mother, Sylvannis, Lady Boand, the Mountain spirits, the Air/Rain/Storm spirits, Modi Magni, and probably others. Bound to be plot threads at every corner.

>>25532520
Excellent, I think we should spend some time with our Cotemist and Apprentice, see how they've been doing over the past couple days, observe any progress they've made, join them for dinner.

Also, we can tell Terra the story about how we fought the Crystal Worm, I bet she'd love that.

Your mind is inclined toward sleeping for the evening. Frankly, you have energy for little else. Still, you should make your plans for the next day before you lose coherency altogether. You have quite a few options.

> Make more totems
> Experiment with Foci
> Research creatures to bind
> Interact with one or many villagers

> Choose your focus.

>>25532624
>Experiment with Foci
Gotta do this one, need to play with our new Crystal Worm focus.

>>25532624
> Make more totems
> Experiment with Foci
I'd like to see about squeezing these two in tomorrow, hopefully we can get our cotemist and apprentice in on it.

>>25532624
> Interact with one or many villagers
FIND ME A CHILD I CAN MOLEST.

>>25532624
> Experiment with Foci

We need some scholarly work in, and we can catch up with our Cotemist and Apprentice as I suggested >>25532616 while doing so. We can't neglect their education and all that.

>>25532624
> Make more totems

the village is safe, lets continue finding out what totems the village is used to that they need replaced

Your mind made up, you decide to catch up with Quinn and Terra in the morning, and invite them to training while you experiment with your new Focus. The crystal worm is an enigma, ability-wise, and you still have much experimenting to do with your other Foci. As you slip into slumber, as your aching body relaxes into the soft surface of your bed, you let out a long, satisfied sigh.

Some days, it's good to be a Totemist.

Your dreams are troubling as you slumber. Flashes of faces, familiar but unrecognizable. Screaming. The smell of flowers. A pillar of fire, a shower of stone.

When you awaken, you remember nothing but the feeling of a stomach clenched in fear.

You haul yourself out of bed, re-warming last night's dinner in the pot for your breakfast. As you lay out your various Foci, you summon Amal.

"Amal," you say, "Please inform Quinn and Terra that I'd like to spend the day working on their training. Tell them to meet me in the yard, and tell Quinn to bring his Focus."

Amal nods. "At once, Osyki."

It may be prudent to focus on experimenting with your new totem, but the urge to place familiar foci into new objects is constantly enticing. In addition, you'll need to decide what you want Terra, without a focus of her own to experiment with, to work on.

File: 1371676157456.png-(132 KB, 750x1139, yes.png)

132 KB PNG

>>25532492
holy fuck yes first time participating
read archives

>>25532831
Okay, a few things I want to try
>Crystal Worm hide to Breastplate
>Rock Turtle focus to Breastplate (Don't think we ever tried this)
>Bone Warden Cordia+Armor=No bodily functions. What does Earth Elemental Cordia+Armor equal?
>Crystal Worm to boots
>Crystal worm to gloves
>Crystal worm to shirt

>>25532831
Can she use one of ours or is that not how that works?

>>25532831
We should start teaching Terra the runes of binding, so she can try and capture a minor spirit like Amal or Tryd

>>25532874
Something else I want to try
>Bind Amal to Aryen's journal or notebook
He's already like an encyclopedia, maybe binding him to a book allows him to access all information inside that book?

>>25532831
There isn't all that much she can do at the moment.

She can read a lot, look at what us and Quinn are making and make suggestions for what we should put things into, whenever we're planning on putting something into something we haven't put it into before let her know what spirit we're putting into what object and give her a minute or two to come up with some guesses of what will happen before we do it so we can compare her guesses and the truth, this'll help her develop intuition about what will result from bindings.

In addition we can teach her the runes of binding and get started on getting her a mind spirit like Tryd, Amal, or that wind one Quinn got.

>>25532882
Only binding, so far, that we've seen that was transferable from one person to another is Modi Magni in our spear, and we are not fucking with that binding.

>>25532831
Tell Terra to hit the books.

I can't remember if we can fuse Foci, but if we can, let's see what happens if we stick Cordia in the scale.

>>25532996
I'd rather we not risk damaging one of our more powerful foci, and a friend. As for Terra, ask her to practice making simple totems. Say.... Something that would keep a hammer from striking the user's finger by accident. Simple, useful, and I'm sure a carpenter would be delighted to have it.

>>25532904
>>25533115

I do think we need to teach her the runes soon though. a major part of tomemism is the binding of spirits.

We should devise a test for our cotemist and apprentice sometime soon. Something like, blind fold them and take them on this long winding path into the center of the forest. Tell them they have to use their knowledge of spirits to get back.

>>25532874

Fuck yeah

Bump

By the time Quinn and Terra arrive, you've dressed and washed yourself (not necessarily in that order). You await them outside in the yard, your Foci and various tools, weapons, and miscellaneous bits arrayed on the ground before you. They stand in front of you as you meditate in the morning sun, centering yourself for the day ahead.

"You wanted to see us, Osyki?" Quinn asks. Terra smiles brightly, holding a hand over her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun.

You look up at them, nodding. "Today is a training day. Quinn, you'll be experimenting further with your focus. Your first focus is your most potent weapon. The more familiar you are with its various permutations, the better."

Quinn nods, pulling the column of bone from his belt. "Right away, Osyki."

You turn to Terra, holding out the Totemist's Almanac.

"Terra, you're going to familiarize yourself with the sixteen runes of binding. I want you to have them memorized before the day is out. If you're successful, we'll see about getting you a small spirit of your own this evening."

Her face lights up, and she eagerly snatches the book from your hand. "Yes yes yes!" she shouts, thumbing through the pages. "Runes of binding..."

Standing, you produce the fist-sized crystal scale from your pocket. It's time for some training of your own.

(cont.)

You hold the focus to the breastplate on the ground in front of you, focusing on the words of binding. The brilliant flash of light that accompanies a binding fades, and you stand over a solid piece of crystal armor. It shines green in the morning sun, and it's incredibly lightweight. You unbind the Focus, wear the breast-plate, and re-bind.

> Binding Discovered: Vestus Sonitus

The armor seems to vibrate slightly on your person.

>>25533597
"Cotem, might you be as kind to help me test?"

>>25533597
Right, time for experimentation.

Head out away from anything important, and then hit our own breastplate with a stick or something, see what happens.

Then have Terra or Quinn, from a safe location with easy access to cover, throw a rock or two at the breast plate.

>>25533620
Oh fuck, forgot it might explode. Yeah, much safer to everyone.

Also If we have the time I think we should look in the village to make us some of this for binding

-Scarf
-Mask
-Helmet

This things can make useful binding that we can add to ourselves one we have more focus.

Especially if were lucky and we can find a way to turn the scarf into either wings or extra arms.

>>25533665
>scarf
Hell fucking yes
>helmet
Eh, sure I guess? Rather a woolen cap or something.
>mask
Maybe something of the like of the ANBU have in Naruto?

>>25533620

Maybe throw a rock at it, something we are not attached to. Wouldn't want to get hit by our own armor.

File: 1371679990893.png-(504 KB, 600x800, Vokun_Mask.png)

504 KB PNG

>>25533665
>Mask
Now... I'm just putting this out there, but what if we were to bind a dragon and, well...

You take a few healthy steps away from the workshop, striding out into the middle of the field. You can see that Quinn has his Raptor Spine totem bound to his shield, a tooth-rimmed ring of blades that serves equally well as a weapon and a defense. In his right hand, he holds a faintly luminescent short sword. Your second sight informs you that he's bound his Cloud Swallow to the sword, though you can't see any non-aesthetic changes with the weapon.

You pick up a hefty stick as you reach the center of the field. Ensuring that no one is close enough to warrant worry, you slam the branch against your chest-plate.

> Vestus Sonitus: Reacts to powerful blows with an equal wave of concussive sonic force.

The cacophony of noise that erupts outward catches you off guard. You can see a rippling wave of sound sweep outward across the field, flattening the grass and uprooting small shrubs in its wake. Quinn and Terra both snap their heads 'round, watching as the dome of sonic force expands from your armor, eventually petering out some three meters from you.

The branch in your hand is in splinters.

> Experiment further, or move on to the next binding?

>>25533786
Holy shit that is useful as hell.
Lets try binding the crystal worm scale to our shirt instead of our armor.

>>25533803
And then to a bracelet!

AND BOOTS! YES BOOTS!

>>25533823
Sonic jet boots? More likely than you think!

>>25533786
Question, does the material of the object change the bind? Would a rod of stone perform differently than a rod of metal?

> Cutscene or Summary mode for the next Crystal Worm bindings?

File: 1371680386735.jpg-(43 KB, 300x322, Fourth_Doctor.jpg)

43 KB JPG

We really need a Scarf

>>25533879

summary mode

so that we can go on with more important matters

>>25533879
>Summary mode
We've got more stuff to do today after all.

>>25533879
>Summary

> Engage Summary Modo:

> Shirt - Vestus Quies: Muffles the sounds made by the wearer. Stepping on a twig is rendered silent, while shouting is akin to normal speech

> Bracelet - Ring of Reverberation: A crystal hoop that hovers an inch off of the wrist. Records sounds made in its vicinity, can be played back by depressing the eye-shaped gem at its peak.

> Boots - STOMP: Deep green leather boots. Incredibly noisy to walk in. Build a charge as louder steps are made. Charges can be expended to throw the user forward at top speed in a burst of noise and light. Energy released from this burst can shatter stone.

>Queue next foci.

>>25534288
Whoah, those are all crazy useful. Great job coming up with this stuff, Diarca.

>>25534288
Shirt and bracelet crazy useful. Not sure about boots. I think the best bet is probably to leave the scale in our armor.

Next, I want to see Rock Turtle in our breastplate. I don't think we've ever tried lightning armor.

Then after that, Cordia to our armor. I don't think we've tried that since she became an earth elemental.

>>25534288
Seriously, try to bind two foci together. Use Quinn's as a guinea pig.

>>25534288
very useful. did not expect the sound angle when we got this

now i want to try Cordia in our bow. just because i want to see what an earth elemetal bow would look like.
and then the scale in our gauntlet. it should be interesting

Totemism quest AND Hollow quest are back. Only have time to read one of them. Why would you do this to me! -sigh- catching up now.

>>25534352
We did, we can breathe. It was four threads ago, I think.

>>25534381
I'm gonna say no on that one, I'm really damn worried about what would happen and we should have a more solid base of knowledge before trying.

We'll read through Ayren's notes some time, see if he put anything about trying that in there.

>>25534381

> You know for a fact that this is a -terrible- idea. Combining two Foci can have two results: Utter failure and the enmity of both spirits involved, or a catastrophic explosion of spiritual energy and the -death- of both spirits involved for a periods of days to weeks.

>>25534288
Amal in Aryen's journal sounds like a good idea. Might be helpful to have a living index.

>>25534288
Everything but the boots seems really useful: the armor for full battle and the shirt & bracelet for stealth/espionage. The boots are alright but the Rock Turtle does it better, imho.

>>25534288
Let's play around with binding Thane into something other than Nocturne's Embrace: how about shirt, bracelet and mirror?

Boots are only good if we're going to be In water or something. Seriously, you ever see what happens tI things In a water-shockwave?

>Cutscene modo engage:

Across the field, Quinn looks over Terra's shoulder as she carves sixteen runes into the ground in a line, stopping to furrow her brow every so often. The lines are blocky and unfinished, but Quinn nods approvingly; The shapes are there, if unpolished, and in the correct order. He gives Terra a thumbs up, to which she grins emphatically, but points out the minute disconnects and wobbles in the runes that could cause problems. Her focus renewed, she leans over the ground with her sharp stick once more and begins scratching away. Quinn's Cloud Swallow hops in place on his shoulder, observing the field around him, leaning in to coo in Quinn's ear every so often.

You take the Crystal Scale from your boots, placing it on the blanket of Foci you have arrayed. Hefting the weighty Crystal Spear focus, you press it to your chain mail and chant the words of binding.

Your armor shifts and pulses as it accepts the Focus. The process of binding seems to flow more easily than ever with this ritual, and you feel the drain on your stamina significantly reduced.

When the light fades, you wear a shirt of cracked brown shell. It is tough and inflexible, with veins of precious gemstone running in the seams between plates. With a moment's focus you tap the power of the armor, sending the gems burning alight with crackling energy. A tessellated turtle's shell barrier springs into being around you, a construct of crackling cyan light that seems to repluse the very air around it.

> Binding Discovered: Blessing of the Elder Turtle. Can project a shield of energy around the wearer with continued focus.

>>25534559
Interesting. Active instead of reactive defense. Let's try binding it to the cloak.

>>25534559
Ooh, ask Quinn to lob a rock at us.

Can we try binding the Crystal Worm Focus to a metal fork, a sword, or a grappling hook?

>>25534559
huh. so we have been using this focus wrong the whole time. the focus is accociated with energy, but the fact it came from a rock turtle gave it a very strong armor theme. at least that is what it looks like. get quinn to help us test this defense

>>25534621
This

Also bind crystal worm to gloves!

>>25534717
But we dd not choose a shell from the turtle. We chose a crystal horn

>>25534717
If using boots that let us RIDER KICK splinters of the Big Bad's soul into oblivion is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

You turn to Quinn as the shield of shimmering energy fades from the air around you, grinning.

"Hey," you say mischeviously, "Lob a rock at me."

He raises an eyebrow, but stoops to pick up a medium-sized pebble from the ground. Hefting it in his hand, he wings the stone at you.

You focus, conjuring the turtle-shell into being once more. The rock impacts the barrier and freezes in the air, lines of electricity wrapping its form. When you move away, you see that the rock falls to the ground as through through liquid, its movement dramatically slowed.

Allowing the shield to vanish once more, you stoop down and pick up a pair of thick gloves. With a flash of light you bind the Crystal Scale to the gloves, and stand holding a pair of luminescent green gloves.

The material within the gloves feels strange as you slip them on. There does not seem to be any immediate focus trigger.

> Experiment with your new gloves? How?

>>25534824

Hit the ground, if that does nothing throw something.

>>25534824
Pick up a rock and throw it somewhere away from everyone.

Punch a tree.

Try doing a hand stand.

>>25534824
Clap our hands together a few times.
Snap our fingers
Do the fingers-in-mouth whistle thing.
Are there any string instruments around? Could try plucking out a few cords.

>>25534824
Cup our hands around our mouth and shout something. Like "Maybe this will work!"

Sensing no instantaneous connection to your gloves, you experiment around a bit. Punching the air, throwing stones, and waving your hands around like a drunk yields no results. You slap the ground and feel the gloves warm, but nothing further.

Staring at the green, crystal-silk for a moment, you get an idea. Facing away from Terra and Quinn, you clap.

A section of the field in front of you, razor-thin but five or so meters in length, instantly flattens.

Your eyes widen, then narrow in turn. You snap your fingers and watch as a visible orb of sound pops from your thumb and middle finger, detonating on the ground like a concussive blasting stick.

> [[Binding Discovered: Twin Din. Gloves that can produce, manipulate, and violently detonate solid sound when used in conjunction.]]

>>25534949
That's awesome. See what happens if we whistle into the gloves and get any results.

>>25534949
These are the gloves we use to intimidate with then? Like cracking our knuckles in?

>>25534981
Like whistle with our fingers in the mouth?

>>25534981

> The gloves appear only to produce effects if used with one another. The material is reactive with itself, so snapping is still viable, but noise from your mouth will not effect the gloves.

>>25535009
Okay, see what happens when we just press them together and rub them together, like rubbing your hands together for warmth.

After that I think we should take a small break from experimentation and talk with Terra, get to know her better, see where she's been making progress, what parts of Totemisting interest her the most.

>>25535009
Shit gloves demand refund.
But seriously, bloody beautiful.

>>25535009
Effects to try:
Suddenly and hard clenching our fist
Cracking our knuckles
Punching one hand into the other
Rubbing the hands against each other
Punching our hands together
Flick with a finger onto the other hand
Rubbing fingers against each other

>>25535053
We should make up a collateral damage suit. Those gloves, turtle bow... What else?

>>25535214
humm. maybe the golem boots?

>>25535009
and try amal in the journals. see what happens. but more importantly, try the scale in a blade of some sort after we are done with the gloves

A weird thought, but one I'd like to work on if we get the chance: Is there a way to craft a totem to alter our other totems' appearance? Not in any functional way, just enough to give a bit more thematic consistency among our gear. Our panoply is getting pretty eclectic and I'd like more aesthetic connectedness. Something that makes the transformations in the objects sort of blur together and intermix, so that although they retain their effects and functional components, they look like they'd be part of a set. Would that be possible, or would that come dangerously close to mixing foci?

As you experiment with the gloves, you note that the more you use them, the more they heat up. As you are about to attempt popping your knuckles in the gloves the temperature suddenly spikes, and you are forced to pull them from your hands, cursing under your breath. The grass where they land smolders and blackens.

Wisely deciding to leave the gloves where they are for the moment, you pluck Amal's Amber charm from your neck. You've never experimented much with Amal and binding. He's always served you as a sort of advisor, rather than a bound ally. You borrow the Totemist's Almanac from Terra for a moment as she carves another set of binding runes, and speak the words of binding.

When the light fades, the book in your hands has changed. The cover glows with Amal's off-blue light, and when you open the tome to the first page, you find it blank.

"Amal? You in there?" you ask hesitantly.

The words scribe themselves onto the page before you: "Indeed, Osyki. This is... very strange. How may I assist you?"

>>25535475
"What is the first paragraph on page 137?"

>>25535475
Do you know what was in the book before you?

>>25535475
"I'm wondering, you already do a lot of work for me involving information gathering and retention."

Ask him a difficult and specific question that is answered in the Almanac.

File: 1371687984347.jpg-(290 KB, 850x1200, Lil' Terra.jpg)

290 KB JPG

You quiz Amal on the contents of the almanac, a book that you've nearly memorized, cover to cover. Every time he replies flawlessly and without hesitations, cross-referencing his answers with further passages in the book, and occasionally elaborating on a footnote with an anecdote about Ayren's experiences while writing that section of the book. The binding seems to give him insight into the writer's mind whilst writing the book, a link that transcends time. You couldn't be more pleased.

"Osyki!" Quinn's voice calls across the cratered field to you. You pick your way around the scorch marks and divots, arriving to find him nodding appreciatively at Terra.

"Girl learns fast," he says with a shrug. "I think she's ready for her quiz."

You kneel down next to Terra, an eyebrow raised.

"I want a fire spirit." she says simply, her carving stick held in a white-knuckle grip. The look of determination in her eyes is unexpected, to say the least, the kind of fire that one usually expects from a soldier's last stand for king and country.

>>25535627
"I see Terra, you're very determined.

Why fire? Why not earth, wind, water, metal, or wood? I'm not trying to discourage you from your choice, I simply want to know what it is about fire that draws you to it."

>>25535627
i thought fire spirits at that level were soot imps. well ask amal on the best way to get one

>>25535627
"Yes, I imagine you would. I think it would be a good match for you. Just be warned, though. Fire is the most willful of the elements. We wield it, we welcome it into our hearths and homes, but we never truly tame it. When you bind your familiar, it will be as equals, for fire will call no one master but itself. Remember this, and you will have nothing to fear.

"Now, show me what you've learned. Demonstrate the runes properly, and we will find a spirit in the codex that is suitable for you to bind. Perhaps a minor hearth spirit like Tyrd, though preferably one less sarcastic."

Other bindings we should try. New cordia with bow, crystal scale with bow, and stalker what's his name with our shirt.

>>25535786
might want to refrase this to better suit our relationship with tyr. because we sure as hell bound him for a while

>>25535679
>>25535670
this, might as well have her be more sure of what she wants

>>25535824
Yeah, and he was a sarcastic jerk to us the whole time. He only started cooperating when we started letting him out more often. I was trying to phrase it as a "listen to my sage experience from having done this myself" sort of thing.

>>25535679
You mean Tryd?

>>25535786
"Humans are drawn towards fire, we're warmed by it, but we cannot touch it. We adore the fire, but you must remember one thing. Always fear the flame. Lest you be devoured by it and lose yourself. I would hate to see that happen to you."

>>25536009
Yeah, that works. Tyrd can't object to us calling his kind badass and dangerous.

File: 1371689832000.jpg-(119 KB, 731x1000, Osyki.jpg)

119 KB JPG

[[ Going to get some dinner with friends, so I'll have to cut the quest here for the evening. Expect a Special Bonus edition of Totemist Quest on Friday, around 11-12 PST. Sorry to cut things short, but I really do have to run. See you all in the world, Friday! ]]

>>25534949
Turtle boots. Worm gloves. We now wield the powers of Lightning and Thunder combined!

>>25536090
Thanks for the thread, Diarca.