Dragonborn Isekoi (Sallin Kari)

[porne]

She does resist a bit at first, but lets you go as she shakes her head, her face finally returning to a slightly more normal shade you'd expect from a human. She puts her face in her hands as she breathes rather hard after the difficulty of pushing through her emotional issues.

Ierien, on the other hand, is mostly back together, at least she seems that way. She's a lot more... timid than she was. It's one thing to fight an opponent that out matches you in speed or has some other way to bypass your abilities, it's a complete other to just have your abilities brute forced into submission. While it's a very unique thing, as you doubt any of the Amazons could have gotten through that shield, much less any other of the various warrior women you know, it's still a massive shock to her ego. The exact way you want to reassure her is up to you, of course, although if you're not careful, Elizabeth is likely to monopolize Ierien's time as the princess seeks to extract every bit of magical knowledge.

[Sallin_Kari]

I think about stopping but Theresa probably needs time to cool down, so best I leave her for now. My sister on the other hand should finish. I cut in as Eliza won't listen to anything else, "Come on, let's go fly around a bit to clear your head and I can buy you something to make you feel better."

[porne]

Ierien gives a slight sniffle, but she does her best to hide it as Elizabeth does her best to talk you into staying so she can continue to suck Ierien dry of information. Still, Ierien flares her wings and is ready to leave with you. She seems lost in thought for a few moments before she asks a few questions. "If I hadn't known how to protect myself I could have taken severe damage when she broke my shield, how did she know how to break it? What is the little spirit dragon, it smells like you? Do... do you really plan to marry her?"

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As a reminder, the Moltenfury Weaver tried a word of power shield as well, and Talren hit it with a dragon bolt, which causes severe hemorrhaging and internal rupturing to the host, although it didn't break the shield at first. I'm going with the Weaver using a bleedthrough shield since it can just stitch the host back together as needed. Ierien's go to magics are very similar to what the Weavers used, although long form magics with chanting and rituals significantly diverge. Theresa's 'anti magic' is based around her ability to pull on surrounding mana, so she can rip delicate mana forms apart, and she's demonstrated this several times in front of Talren. Spells which are shielded such as being embedded in crystals or are so fast to activate that they don't have a chance to warp, such as words of power, are resistant to this. How much you want Talren to figure that out is up to you.

As a side note, much of this power growth is tied to the new armor and weapon she's gained, not Theresa's own innate abilities. This is pretty much the last upgrade I have planned for her, although Talren has a few coming down the pipe.

[Sallin_Kari]

"Eliza, she's not going anywhere. You'll have plenty of time when she's feeling better," I dismiss her as I lead Ierien out. She was quite for a while before she broke the silence with a list of questions. Considering which ones to answer first I decide to start from the beginning, "She can shatter spells. This world doesn't have knowledge of traditional spell casting but rather is based on crystals, often based around magic scavenged from monsters. The Brights have some innate abilities, one of which is the ability to 'tug' on mana, and I'm sure you understand the effects of that better then I do. As for the spirit dragon," I raise my hand to show the missing claw, "Lost that in a fight with a mighty beast that was part a metal I've not seen before then. Rather then letting it go to waste I offered it to her and Elisa, and apparently the axe they made has some... left over essence. Though the little shit isn't all that well behaved. And yes, I do plan to marry her."

[porne]

You do have a much smaller claw already beginning to peak out, but it's not much longer than the finger itself. Even if it is that same ugly dull brownish grey color, your mother assures you that your own natural coloring should quickly overcome it once it's finished growing. Of course, seeing the kind of punishment Theresa's uru armor can take, you're somewhat tempted to secure more of it, even if your body winds up ugly for a while. Even when struck with dragon claws and a dragon bolt, thin magically charged sheets of it will barely take more than scrapes if you don't have some serious force behind it. Not that you don't need to investigate her armor some more anyway, as it seems to be part of her now.

Ierien processes what you've told her. "Are you sure they don't have knowledge of traditional spell casting? She seemed to counter it quite well. And you... gave her a claw? Why is the little beast so aggressive? And... why are you marrying her? You've only known her for a few weeks, is that how long it takes you to fall in love?" Ierien is definitely fishing for something with that last question, but it's hard to tell what. You should also probably decide where you want to distract her. You could go to the guild, maybe catch a few battles so Ierien gets a good impression of the more normal scale the locals battle on or look over some of the available spells. The museum also comes to mind, as there's something cathartic about knowing that the person who beat you soundly is also so good at fighting that a small army got their faces stomped in in short order. There's probably other things as well you could do.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Very slight correction, all magic users of this world 'tug' mana, but it usually takes the form of a gentle breeze in the mana flows toward the normie user. The Brights are just sufficiently powerful to ramp that up to hurricane force, and Theresa can really put the hammer down so that it has the magical equivalent of a thunderclap.

IIRC, we've got a robo-princess/observation unit showing up 'tomorrow' right?

[Sallin_Kari]

"They don't but there are creatures that do... They were the ones who interfered and attempted to kill me," I point out before shrugging at her next question, "I have no idea what its problem is, though I think it needs to be cowed at some point. As for Theresa... it's a bit more complicated then that but sometimes I guess that's true... Still for context, the reason I was brought here is I was a reincarnation of her family, Loren, the other dragon here, that was murdered by the creatures I mentioned earlier. It didn't quite work but it did bring her memories to me so I might have only 'technically' known her for a few weeks but also a lifetime." I guide her to the museum. She's not particularly a fan of combat or even hunting... one of the reason she is so poor at it, so I doubt the guild fights would intrigue her and I don't think she'd be particularly interested in picking up 'inferior' magic, but the museum should help explain things and might trigger her more nerdy side.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Talren is not really a mage or scholar of magic so he doesn't have a great grasp of it. Though if this is how it works, shouldn't a dragon be able to do that as well?

I have no idea. I've sort of lost track of the in game clock. If memory serve it was suppose to be two or three days after the gate is open so it sounds about right.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Dragons constantly suck up mana from their surroundings, this is why some of the locals immediately pegged that Talren was a magic user. Since dragons can actually store it, rather than having to shunt it into something, this results in them having a massive ball of mana they can readily draw from. However, because it's so natural and their storage is naturally high, the "muscle" they use is comparatively underdeveloped to someone like Theresa who has to do it all immediately and has specifically practiced and trained to ramp it up to terrifying levels.

Neither Talren or Loren were exceptional students of magic theory, and Talren's automatic mana gathering requires no concentration on his part, which is why he never got around to learning how to focus it like the locals do. Recall that locals gathering mana requires both this magical muscle and concentration, so while he could amplify his magic generation, it would require him to divert his attention from combat. This is also why Theresa prefers simpler spells and 'guns' rather than something that requires careful guidance with hands, as she can train herself to fire the spells with muscle memory instead of having to focus on the spell at all. The result is that Theresa is constantly topping off her tanks, giving her both an ample supply of mana, and denying her opponents a chance to recharge theirs, while still being able to react fairly quickly by human standards.

Also, what Ierien is proposing here would work, and it's actually what Tiamat prefers. Mama's just etched all of her battleform scales with runic spell components so that she can trigger effects as she desires. Having a few thousand years to tweak your battleform has its advantages.

Pretty sure that's my timeline. Tomorrow afternoon, the robo-girl is going to walk out of the forest.

"So... she learned how to fight them, and then used those techniques on me. I wonder if rune and trigger spells would work..." She begins to trail off before you continue, surprised at the 'reincarnation' thing. "That's... that's strange, but I guess it makes sense. So, the fact that knowing someone does help..." You slightly gloss over that most of those memories are gone now, leaving behind mostly feelings and a few choice memories, like how soft her lips are around your... no, probably best not to think of that right now. Don't want to get anything started while you're out in public.

When you arrive, you've still got the same three choices from before: the small recording of the battle, the displays of various equipment, and the several survivors discussing things politely with visitors. You do recall that the winged girl could smell something familiar on you, and you suppose now would be a chance to test if that was your natural elemental magic or if it was Loren somehow. Of course, heading straight there might just make Ierien more jealous.

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Okay. As you said, Talren nor Loren were much for magic so we haven't had much chance to discuss it.

Also surprise robo-girl can't fly.

Regardless if my memories of her are mostly gone, the impression of her and her personality still remain, which is more what feelings are based around rather then specific events. Regardless I just nod at comments.

I start with the same route I did with Eliza, showing her the recording first and then displays of items and equipment before going to the survivors.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Was planning to have her be hulk/ninja jumping.

Fortunately, the recording is near starting when the two of you walk in, and Ierien is able to catch the interesting part, her eyes going wide as she realizes what she's watching. She stares at the strange projection of light, watching as Theresa butchers a small force of opponents, although she does seem to take interest in the Bright Bow, especially when Theresa lights up the clustered ranged combatants with multiple magma streams. Ierien seems... calmer now that you've shown her this. Despite the minor trauma of being so savagely beaten by this person, the knowledge that that's how the typical encounter goes, and that it usually ends in a much smaller number of blows to the head is a minor salve to her ego. She starts to lose interest when the battle turns into an endurance slugfest between Theresa and the swarm of orcs, but the shake of her head is at least a little more reasonable.

Ierien actually shows interest in the various tools, broken though most of them are. While it's clear she thinks they're inferior to her own casting abilities, she can appreciate the refined and artistic process of shaping the crystals. She also stops at the scraped armor that Theresa had worn, her fingers trailing along the glass as she magically probes it. "They've stripped it of the weapons and spells, and a few choice parts I see. Still, it's not as dangerous as the one she wore earlier today." She mutters, and you have to agree. Whereas her new armor is mostly uru with a bit of mythril thrown in, the old one before you is mostly mythril with a few choice areas composed of (fake) uru around her torso, head, and joints. It was also designed to be worn by multiple generations of Bright women, so there's more adjustment than what the new one has. Of course, there's also the experience advantage, as while you don't recall specifics, you do know that Theresa had worn and tested the armor for years, whereas the new one she's had for no more than days. Whether you want to tell Ierien that is up to you.

Finally, approaching the group of survivors, the Sturmfury spots you, seeming to hesitate, but continues telling her story of one of the early 'meetings' where the rebels recruited her.

[Sallin_Kari]

Good, it's having the intended effect. After all Theresa is at the principle of this world's strength. It's not like the average block is a threat to Ierien. And she did get interested in the objects as I had hoped, at her question I add, "Yes well, they are constantly refining it. That one is a pretty new addition, and I believe is made out of the metal salvaged from that creature that took my claw... It's at least the same metal if not the same actual pieces.

I nod at the Sturmfury as I let Ierien listen.

[porne]

Ierien places a hand almost on the glass, her eyes tracing the dull brownish grey lines at the joints and trying to estimate the toughness. "This material is... interesting. You don't happen to have much, do you?" she asks, her mind likely scheming toward finding any weaknesses to the material. Loren probably didn't know too much about it, but your own hands on experiences with it indicate that it is just absurdly tough, the main weaknesses being rarity, weight, and the shear toughness of trying to manipulate the stuff. Uru soaks up punishment like a champ and actively resists most forms of magical attacks that you've seen. The only time you've really seen it taken over a knee and spanked was by your mothers strange lance of pure fire magic, but that's hardly a fair comparison as it also punched through Void Weaver, ships, shields, and likely a few background pieces of landscape without slowing down.

The Stormfury slowly winds down her tale, before letting one of others begin, and she gets up to approach you and begin conversing. Ierien honestly doesn't seem that interested, and you can't blame her that much, politics is boring even if it leads to some interesting events. "I was not aware I was meeting a nobleman before." She smiles to you, giving you a curtsy. She also cocks her head at you. "You're different. Less... familiar, but you still scent of fire. And your... wife? has the same scent." Ierien seems to tense up as Dina approaches, but seems to show a good deal of affection after Sturmyaeger's comment. Not sure what's going on there.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Sorry about that confusion, I had to go look up Dina Sturmyaeger (name), the Stormfury (race), in my notes. She has natural air/lightning magic, but she's also sensitive to soul magic, which is why she's commenting on how Talren has changed. I'm going with she was (or would have been when she inherited) a duchess before the rebellion, but was demoted for losing said war. Each small island is its own duchy, as are the various mountains on the main island. Most of the smaller cities have counts in charge of them, the exception being Brightspire, the capital city on the central island, which has a duchess, well, two duchesses now.

Since the rebellion was mostly cold war-esque with only one major battle, none of the military officers or nobles distinguished themselves so neither King Bright nor Theresa saw fit to distribute the Stormfury Duchy to anyone else, and Loren kept that going as a bit of peace offering to the Sturmyaeger clan. The Moltenfury's are the main clan that got wiped out and replaced for instigating it, with a few other mercantile casualties. A lot of the demi-humans had legit complaints with Eclan laws, but got in bed with the human supremacists because of ideological appeals (orcs), cash (mercs), or political expedience (Stormfuries, dwarves, elves).

[Sallin_Kari]

"Not really. I'm sure I can find some but it might take some time for even a bit of it. Uru is what it's called and it is pretty rare, and highly valued," I point out.

"Well hard to be a noble with no land, so it's more of a recent promotion," I explain vaguely enough where it won't be contradicted for any proper cover story. While I thought of correcting her Ierien's perking up at the comment leads me to hesitate, least I piss her off again. Instead I gesture for her to introduce herself.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Ah okay. I had a feeling that something was off about the name but I couldn't put my finger on what. And that helps a lot on explaining the political situation.

[porne]

You do recall that there was an impressive amount of it growing from the ogre you killed with Mary Longtooth, perhaps you can find some? You also vaguely recall something about the Oracle being able to make different materials, but that can wait until... tomorrow? when the 'autonomous drone' shows up. If your memory serves, your days are a little confused right now.

Ierien responds with a similar curtsy motion, although she's not really wearing a long enough skirt to make it work properly, "I-Countess Ierien Blackhorn, a pleasure to meet you." She manages to correct herself halfway through. "And you can detect our magical energies?" Ierien seems curious about this giving her a quick glance. "Hm, I'm getting a strong wind and lightning feel from yourself, so I can somewhat see how you would be used to finding that in others."

Dina returns her attention to you, "I have heard that you and... your mother? are some of the first to be distinguished in recent memory for such prowess in battle, straight to duchy. Will they be adding another wing so that we might have more time together?" Her eyes sparkle a little at that, more amused than anything else.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Right, many of the 'high nobles' were upset at their noble/human privileges being undermined by royal decree, manufacturing monopolies being the final financial straw in that regard (Eliza was doing research on the three output magma cannon), or that those filthy peasants were being treated like people. There's also the constant 'hon hon hon, I am the best' arrogance of old noble houses, although that didn't last too long as Theresa started bashing noble champion faces in. Most of the lesser and new nobles were given titles for military, financial, or technological distinguishing acts, and make up the majority of the nobles, so none of them were terribly upset at the loss of those privileges. Being on the other end was still well within memory for many of them.

Both the Royals and the Rebels were trying to court the lesser nobles (getting a strong majority was seen as a soft victory), which resulted in a lack of open battles, as neither side wanted to be the one who started burninating the countryside to the hundreds of individuals who swore oaths to protect it, or had financial interest in keeping it unburnt (mostly thanks to Loren's intervention). The Rebels were able to show this lack of destruction to the orcs as a sign that the Brights were weak, which is how they recruited the orc clan. The other demi-humans were of the opinion that Eclan would be easier to break away from if it was embroiled in a civil war, and a weakening of the central military would grant them better bargaining power if they remained part of the kingdom. It was mostly a mix of slowly intensifying duels, arena challenges, and financial sabotage until Eliza released her automated system that produces magma cannons. This set off the Moltenfuries, who escalated to terrorist actions (IIRC, they burned down a peasant orphanage), which prompted King Bright to cut loose Princess Theresa and the Kings Daggers to 'collect' the rebel leaders for trial, ignoring all the soft agreements about noble privileges / assassinations in the war. That lead to the botched raid on the trial which cemented in everyone's mind that Theresa is not to be fucked with, and eventually the creation of this museum.

I'm not a history major, but I'm pretty sure that's all fairly reasonable from each individuals perspective as far as motivations for rebellions go.

[Sallin_Kari]

Realizing I'm not sure when exactly the autonomous observer unit would show up I recount of all the things that happened this last week. Hopefully things slow down a bit.

Since it seems that Ierien is curious I let her talk with Dina, simply standing back and watching.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Sounds good to me. Unfortunately Talren isn't one for history so he never was that interested.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I meant IRL. I'm pretty sure noble privilege, financial power, and siding with someone you despise for temporary assistance is fairly common in civil wars. And damn you for making me talk to myself!

Ierien and Dina actually begin to discuss some of the more fine points of manipulating raw magic, both of them having some experience with it, although Dina's is actually more closely related to your own natural abilities if you've read them right. As is, the two of them quickly get lost in 'talking shop' of magic control. You can stay with them and listen till the end, you can slip out if there's something else you might want to see, or you can think of something else.

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Sorry, but Talren is trying to make his sister feel better, so isn't going to cut in when she shows interest.

Once the two are done I suggest to Ierien that we could pick up some of the magic crystals the humans use, without any of the equipment she finds inferior. After all she was intrigued by the nature of the magic and had some ideas. What better way then have samples you can work with?

[porne]

Dina and Ierien eventually wind down, as while there's some overlap, there's not as much as what someone like Elizabeth might know about magic. Still, you get the feeling the two are going to be okay friends as Ierien joins with you with a slight flutter of her wings. She does follow you, letting you decide where you want to take her.

[Sallin_Kari]

I lead her to magic crystal shops to let her see if any of them catch her interest.

[porne]

The shops are probably the better bet, the guild is more focused on 'combat oriented' ones, but these feature both functionality and some degree of beauty. She does seem interested in them, picking out a few here and there. They seem to be the more complex ones, rather than the simpler 'throw fireball' types you've used before.

[Sallin_Kari]

Good, things are going as expect. Think it's about time to wrap this trip up and bring her back home to let her finish calming down and processing the days events, as well as having a few new things to investigate.