audio; un: Sabriel.Abhorsen

[bindsthedead]

Right, that was enough excitement for one mission. Does anyone know why Viveca didn't teleport us out as soon as someone took the orb, like what happened last time? Or was it that Cheri- or Ruvia or whoever she really was- needed to give up ownership, and stealing it wasn't enough?

[If that's the case, they'll need to be ready to bargain and persuade on future missions, rather than hope that whoever they steal it from simply gives up hope of regaining the Orb.]

If anyone's injured- I know how to heal. You might need a few days of rest to make sure you don't disrupt the spells, but you'll mend more quickly than you would have otherwise. And if you're one of my students, feel free to come to the infirmary to help.

And- Apparently the Commander is real, and on the station. But what he said about the Orb growing vicious... are they shaped by the bargains they make, and the people that use them?

[It looked different from the Gyeonje Orb too, red instead of golden.]

Comments

[oiorpata]

Good thing you were there. [ for the others, at least, when it came to her shield. ]

Was gold significant to the owner of first orb, like how Cheri's eyes were red?

[bindsthedead]

No, but- Another had the orb before her, and he struck a deal shortly before she did.

Her bargain was actually made in response to the price he paid.

[oiorpata]

So the gold could have been from him. Or anything else that led to that point, especially if they were related bargains.

If they orbs are sentient, they probably are influenced by their host, or owner, whatever we're calling them. You're probably onto something with the willingness to hand it over.

[bindsthedead]

That influence might work both ways, but since they're apparently unable to act outside of the bargains they make, I suppose it's possible.

[oiorpata]

You think the orb changes the host too? Like a corruption in Cheri?

I could see it.

[bindsthedead]

There is a kind of magic in my world that is fundamentally chaotic in nature.

Using it corrupts and corrodes the bodies and spirits of those who wield it. It would not surprise me at all if the orb is similar.

[oiorpata]

There's no magic like any of this where I'm from.

On the first mission, were those hosts seemingly corrupted or altered? Do we know what they were like pre orb?

[bindsthedead]

Lord Suk-Ju seems to have been an unpleasant sort from the start, but he no longer had the Orb when we arrived, so I can't say what its effect on him was.

So-Yeon... I don't think it effected her mentally, but she was acting as a host for it, keeping it within her flesh... and it was hollowing her out in the process. And I can't say whether that was because of her bargain or the Orb's nature.

[oiorpata]

How long did she have it for?

[bindsthedead]

From what I can recall... a few months. And she did not survive giving it up.

[oiorpata]

Do you think that was also because of the nature of her bargain?

Cheri survived her surrender.