irenia

[groundrules]

WHO: participants in the quest to rein in Rathakku's undead dragon Irenia + YOU.
WHEN: towards the end of Stage II of the Siege of Alem.
WHERE: the skyscape of Alem.
WHAT: taming the undead shrew, hereby a dragon.
WARNINGS: Here be dragons.

NOTE: the log has some predetermined actions for people who signed up to tame Irenia, but you're welcome to offer much-needed support along the way, even if you didn't! Questions here.

Image source.

The plan to wrest the undead dragon Irenia from Rathakku's undead claws is 'simple':

Wei Wuxian and Xie Lian hunt a beast to use as dragon bait, while Kumoi Yuuri enhances its appeal through her illusion work. Using Stephen Strange’s portals, the two drag the lure West, in order to draw the pursuing Irenia out of the sphere of Rathakku’s undead magical influence. Stephanivien’s muzzle-tying machine rope the dragon's jaws shut during this hunt, successfully ensuring she cannot freeze everyone to death and end the chase early. Jon Snow shoots arrows from the eastern direction, discouraging Irenia from returning — ideally, he will also be travelling through Strange's portals to effectively track her and keep shooting.

As Wei Wuxian learned, Rathakku stole Irenia from another undead lord — frost king Anurr — who rules in the east. Irenia owes Rathakku no allegiance, and she will (gladly) break free of his command the moment she is out of the range of his power. Wrathion uses the influence-lessening sorcery that he learned when he had to fend off another undead lord, the Beastmaster. That will ensure that Rathakku’s authority over Irenia ends much sooner than expected, and long before she reaches Anurr.

In need of undead power to sustain her, but preferring one who cannot control her, Irenia willingly chooses to anchor her continued existence on Jon Snow, who has possessed the eerie touch of death associated with the undead lieges, ever since he fell into a dark mirror of Ellethia.

Irenia joins the party — neither tame nor commanded, and keen to keep a respectable distance.

NOTE: feel free to make your own top levels here for anything to do with the above operation, and don't hesitate to NPC Irenia for your threads. You can also participate in a speed thread. Characters who are not part of the plan mentioned above can still get involved and lend support!

Questions here & enjoy!

Comments

[stephanivien]

"Ah yes!" Stephanivien pats the weird square-ish block of machinery slung onto his hip. "It's a device I'd invented to help channel a person's natural aetheric reserves into more purely lightning-aspected energy, that can then be used to power and manipulate technologies directly."

So, the answerto the naming of things is... no. It's just that Stephanivien names things like a terrible steampunk novel spunky protagonist. Or maybe, more accurately, said-spunky protagonists's eccentric inventor uncle.

" While the conversion aspect seems unnecessary here, making sure the components can properly channel such energies, even amplify them, seems useful. Not unlike the crafting of a conjuror's crook or arcanists' tome, I'd imagine."

His eyes are eagerly curious watching Wrathion select a gem, like any good and studious individual eager for an expert's key demonstration.

[blackscales]

"I see," Wrathion says, in the manner of someone not entirely sure they do but equally not sure they really want more detail.

What a peculiar sentence. Wrathion assumes aetheric reserves is some local equivalent term for mana, perhaps? He does, of course, understand that less... naturally talented creatures than himself use assistance. Runic rods for enchanters, for example. He's made use of a Titan Forge previously, when he was younger, to help focus abilities more... outside his natural range.

Obviously, however, he is now older and more filled with ego and even more assured. Who would need some kind of tome to help them? Not him, apart from all the times he will. Wrathion, now taking this as an opportunity to show off, lets the gem slip from his fingers and levitate. Allowing Stephanivien a moment to prepare... whatever he intends to do with his gadget, he then lifts both hands and channels fire magic towards it the stone. It spins slowly, beginning to glow as it takes on the spell properties.

[stephanivien]

Watching Wrathion enchant the gem is fascinating. He has known those who have studied the magical arts more determinedly, of course, but it is a mark of power and rarity to do so without some sort of foci. Watching the gem absorb the power directly is a fascinating endeavor. He almost wishes he had aethersight, or perhaps one of those Sharlayan gadgets they use to observe the natural strains of aether like bizarre spectacles. The gem seems all but infused with the spell, as an unaspected crystal might soak up aether from a particularly dense natural source, and presenting an interesting puzzle for how to further craft the ring for enhancement of the magical properties.

Perhaps to treat the wells for the gems like slots for materia? A power source of a different nature, of course, but both are gemlike, and the ideal would be fore the magical to continue to permeate and augment the base material in which it is seated...

Stephanivien's intense staring at the gem shifts into intense staring into the middle distance, calculations and crafting drafts running behind his eyes almost tangibly.

It likely takes him a minute to come out of it, even if called.

[blackscales]

Ah, he's lost him then.

Wrathion allows the spell to wane, the gem to drop back into his hand, then clears his throat politely.

"Was that of some use?"

Did he learn anything, particularly, from the display? He stopped focusing on it specifically, so clearly he didn't need to see anything more particularly of it...

Unless he does?

Given his uncertainty with what, exactly, Stephanivien is hoping to achieve he's not sure what else he might want.

[stephanivien]

"What? Oh yes!" Stephanivien turns to Wrathion excitedly, and for half a moment looks as though he'd like to quite enthusiastically shake Wrathion's hand. "That was excellent, thank you! Oh, I know a scholar or two who would have loved to see such a demonstration."

He turns back to his drafting, and makes a few minor modifications to how the gems are set. Likely they will need to be added post-casting, when the piece is refined from there, but it should work... hopefully.

"Given how you seem to all but infuse the gem with your enchanting, we might be able to amplify the effects... or at least further de-localize them to permeate throughout the entire material. There's a similar discipline back home in materia melding, and though I am not an expert in the particulars, I should at the least be able to set up base of the 'ring' itself to help channel whatever is in the gems inset in them."

[blackscales]

An intriguing prospect. He's never really bothered much with using a gem setting for increases in power before, because usually his enchantments are so strong it's unnecessary. Here, however, the item they're casting is particularly large and the subject is too. That, and there's an undead lord trying to counter the effects.

"I'd be interested to see that," he admits, carefully stashing the gem away into his pouch. "Given what we're trying to achieve, any amplification is worthwhile."