User blog:GamerNerd i/Nadia's Artifacts
I got this email the other day. This was a little bit after the Pirate Seas... er... incident. N's probably still a little bit shaken from it, which is why there isn't an adventure yet. If she's well enough to write this comfortably, then that looks to be a good sign.
Hi...
Gosh, I didn't even realize that we don't even know your name. How rude of us to ask you to do all this without asking stuff this basic. Unless of course you'd like to keep that personal. Either way, it'd be nice to know. You don't need to share that part to everyone. You're in charge of what you put out.
Speaking of which, I should probably tell you which one of us I am. This is Nadia. I'm still recovering from being gassed, but I'll be fine. Ai was right about it wearing off eventually. But that's beside the point.
What I'm about to tell you hasn't been told to anyone else. Not even Ai. Heck, I honestly don't want him to know about it, so he won't be able to see this, even if you post it. Don't ask how, but don't let that stop you from sharing.
Remember that thing I did on the ship? When Ai knocked the Snapdragon up, and I helped it sprout wings? Did you notice Ai glance at me, confused? I mean, you yourself (as in me, GamerNerd_i) put it in there, so you did. But assuming that you share this, I'm not sure whether the others would have noticed that little detail. The reason for that is that what I did, the spell, isn't in any previously written book. When Ai asked me about it I lied and said it was Zatanna, whose magic is similar but by no means the same. I'd made it up. It's a bit complicated.
So I'm sure you know by now that my power comes from the Tome, right? Well, I've been lying to you in saying that it's the only source of it. There are actually two more artifacts that I had to retrieve to receive its full power; the Ink of Infinity and the Author's Inspiration.
I didn't even tell you that I had to retrieve the stuff, did I? That's the one thing here that Ai knows about. We both had to find our artifact. Go through some trials, if you will. But that's a story for another time. Today I'll just tell you about what they let me do.
The Ink of Infinity is, well... The best I can describe it as is "living ink." It's like that Bendy thing that Ai knows about, except it's not malicious and it's actually controllable. That, and it's exponentially more powerful. It comes from this little inkwell that's, well, infinite. I have the inkwell hanging on my neck like a pendant, but it's usually inside my shirt or obscured, which is why you don't see it.
It's the core of my combat power. All my constructs - the stuff that I make - are made from it. I know what you're thinking: what if I need to get an inherent skill, like Monkey's stretchiness or Legolas's archery? I tend to use that more often than a single tool. This going to sound really weird... I drink it. Either that or I sniff it, but drinking it is more potent. Get the pure power into your blood and stuff. Besides, it tastes okay. Usually. It's terrible after brushing your teeth.
Of course, if you have ink, you need a pen. That's what the Author's Inspiration is: a writing implement. Well, at its most basic form, that is. This pen - or pencil, or quill, or marker, or whatever your preference is - can temporarily reshape reality. Or should I say, rewrite, reality. It's super strong, but normally it's easier just to pull out an Infinity Stone or something, so you haven't seen it working yet. Also, the Infinity Stones are more value. It's permanent without me constantly expending energy, unlike the Inspiration's changes which drain me like Source Channeling does.
Actually, I take that back. You have: our Camelot base. I wrote that castle into existence using the Inspiration, right on the plane it exists in. Some of the portals you saw there were Ai's; I don't know what he did. The others were mine. Writing the name of the place on the floor or wall (even if it's something like "My friend's house") and a few other key words creates a portal to it. Well, given that you mark where you want it to open into with the Ink. There's this symbol you need to draw there, but other than that it' really easy. Once the symbol is down at the destination, you can open a portal there just by writing its name with the Inspiration.
I know I said that the changes were temporary, so you might be wondering how Camelot still stands. There's two reasons for that. One, Ai and I worked together on it for about a week's time. Our changes to the castle made it different enough from the original that it became its own entity, a fictional work able to stand on its own. Second, where we created it has a lot of creative energy, so its existence doesn't just constantly sap us. It takes from the environment.
Now, you've got living ink and a pen that changes reality. What do I do? I edit the Tome.
You may recall me telling you in one of the earlier recordings that the Tome is also a general spell book. I can find any literary spell at any time within it. If it's not there, then I can use it and the Tome will learn. That's the catch though: it has to be found in a book. And unfortunately, not all the spells are different. Sometimes I need something really unique. Something different. Something creative.
For example, back on the ship. That spell I used on the Snapdragon doesn't exist in any book. That I know of at least; even I haven't read all the worthwhile books out there. I wrote that spell into the Tome, using the Inspiration and the Ink.
The basic form of the spell is a word spoken in reverse and an accompanying hand gesture. You also need to be looking at your target to "aim," even if it's through a window or mirror. Yes, it's similar to the spells that Zatanna in the DCU uses, but I didn't pull from there.
Specifically, I said "Sgniw," (You won't need it, but it's pronounced SIG-new) and made a butterfly shape. Hence the temporary wings. Although the whole firebreathing part was unexpected. That was the first time I've used it. I hope not everyone I give wings to starts breathing fire.
But you get the point. Using the Inspiration to write in the Tome, with the Ink, I leave a permanent mark of my ownership... Literally. So whoever uses it next has my custom spells, should the need arise.
It's funny how doing this type of thing causes you to look forward a lot. I just started doing this, and here I am leaving stuff for the next guy, or girl, to use. I guess it's natural, considering how threatening this job can be. Not that I intend to die early, but unfortunately it's always a possibility.
That's all I have to say. Other than to expect us back in action relatively soon. And to expect to see more custom spells too.
Sincerely, Nadia O.