"The pleasure is mine, sir." Farrus politely replied as he shook Corvus's hand, their eyes meeting. Even as the youngest of the three shook that hand, he studied his fellow gentlemen with a masked distrust, a distrust tempered by years of witnessing the folly of men and the depravity of people and a distrust yet that was normal among men of reasonable wit. Venten knew the other two meant well by their demeanor, but one could never help but register the minutiae of others to spy some ugly trait that he was only privy to. A safety measure, not a form of spite.
A bump of the table interrupted Farrus's inner dialogue, and he immediately looked at the source with a briefly startled gawk that passed into a face of understanding. Venten, however, didn't say anything.
Lumos's hand also extended Farrus's way, and the gray-haired accordingly shook it. "Nay, no offense taken. It is nice meeting you, as well." he absolved Lumos of whatever mistake it was that impelled the older man to the apology. And then the display of lights, a curiosity in a formal meeting but nonetheless childishly enchanting. Farrus watched with delight. "How pretty! My name is Farrus Luminus Venten. I am an elementalist of the air. If it concerns the 9 winds, it concerns me as well."
An impregnably darkened purple sky, characteristic of only one land, greeted Vuoto's visitors. Such immutable shade defined the Darkling Domains. Accordingly, the architecture was equally marked by gloom like nightshade; buildings were incredibly gray slabs for the most part. But that day, new feet walked the streets of Vuoto just as new wind blew through the town. A light gust heralded that day, and fittingly so.
A young man, filled with wanderlust and enchantment by the scene, paced quietly with a stiff and practiced gait to the innocuous affair of a café, where a shady fellow with shaggy hair sat with a lanky brunet. Ah, there they are. This young man who came was the Wind Caller, and his appearance did nothing to hide this fact, with hair that looked combed by gale, skin that appeared flushed and fair, and eyes that beheld a mighty storm, the blight of the gods. He could feel the winds pulse in his veins as his heartrate escalated with each step to the table.
Farrus, brushed his neat, medium-length gray hair to the side once more as he made his final approach. With decorum and reluctance, Farrus refused himself a seat until he could properly acquaint himself with the other two, so he stood by the table in the presence of the others and fixed himself with upright posture to speak.
Well, here goes nothing.
With more reluctance, he forced the words out of his mouth. Luckily, a facade of confident speech preceded him. He could shroud his real timidity in darkness with a natural voice, and like an aria, Farrus greeted the others at the table: "Good evening."
It was in previous times, so I don't think people would have trouble finding them. The biggest problem on mobile in regards to this is accidentally clicking the username instead of the latest post button. If you kept the button, and linked it, it would increase the area, but then you would have two elements with the same function. Though, as CaptainJordan proposed, you could update the button to redirect to the last unread post, and the time stamp to the latest post. The users could most likely figure this out fairy quickly, and it solves the "no latest post button on the subscription page" issue.
We could just do something like: [timestamp] by [username]
From there we could have the timestamp link to the post and the username link to the profile, and the "by" just separates the two like a buffer to prevent a missed click or tap.
I shall hopefully have my char sheet by the end of tonight.
Edit. Done. I hope it is accepted.
Arcanist’s Name: Ibyxx Arcanist’s Title: Ibyxx, the Spell Stealer.
Gender: Male Age: 28
Arcanist’s Magus: Appropriated Arcanus (Psionic)
What’s yours is mine. While the more common of the certainly rare psionic magi use their mental magus to degrees of telepathy and telekinetics, none so far has demonstrated the unique ability which had earned Ibyxx his title within the greater arcane community. By subtly tapping into the mind of another magus and establishing the psychic link, he may convince the universe that he is in fact the very same mage, even be it a vessel or otherwise. The process takes anywhere from five minutes to an hour, dependent upon the level of mental defenses the other mage prepares against the psion. Once the link is made however, he may act as that particular magus in terms of spellcraft, although he may only assume the identity of one other magister at a given time. Furthermore the ability to mimic the magus of another magister is temporary of course, often fading by the next day as the psychic link dissolves or if Ibyxx chooses to establish a link with another magister before the expiration thereof.
While this ability grants him an arsenal of spells, it is highly dependent upon the presence of another magister and the usefulness of their own abilities. This ability also does not grant knowledge of how to use the magus of another mage, which must be obtained through observing the magus, to which Ibyxx generates a spellbook to document the uniqueness of magus formulations from Arcanist to Arcanist. Lastly, he also absorbs whatever strengths and weaknesses to the magus obtained, meaning that both weakness and strengths of his dual arcane arts apply to his spellcasting.
Amplifier: Repetition. The more times Ibyxx uses his own magus to copy another magisters’ arts, the greater the residual psychic link between them. Usually, it is by the fifth or sixth time does the true nature of his abilities resolve in the ability to steal another magister’s magus for the duration of the psychic link. While the original ability merely simulates the identity of the same arcanist, this more potent version effectively convinces the universe enough to treat Ibyxx as the original and disallow the other arcanist to formulate their magus: a variation of the skill far more powerful than mere replication. Finally, should he create the psychic link between the same magister for at least two dozen times, there is enough residue to allow him to retain the stolen magus almost indefinitely as the strength of the residual link grants him a more permanent gateway into higher arcanum.
Nuller: While mental bastions are the most effective resistance to his powers, Vessel mages are also tricky, as they require two identities assumed, of both vessel and source, the latter also is far more difficult to simulate. Furthermore as a Psionic magus, the state of Ibyxx’s own mind is subject to taxation, should he use his magus repeatedly without periods of extended mental rest.
Description of appearance:
Clad in the black and white robes of the Twillight Monks, Ibyxx stands with an air of mystery around him. The truth of his frame hidden beneath the long flowing strands of silk and satin, trailing past him as he moves. He is most definitely a court Arcanist, wearing an emblematic brooch upon the collar of his dichromatic robes as a symbol of the Crepuscular Kingdoms. Though the man is quiet, walking with a slight bow despite his height and stature. His hair was once kept shaven, but now has grown out in silvery-laurel locks with two braided rows to manage the rest which falls to his shoulders. His grey eyes gaze out into the world, or perhaps far less into this world than into others, giving him a mystifying stare should he glance anyone. Some say those eyes can look into one’s very soul, but of course it was not his eyes which delved deep into the being of another, but his mind which penetrated into very concept of one’s existence.
Who was Ibyxx? He bore no last name to tell of his origins by blood. The universe had forgotten of him more times than he could count. Only a memory of himself was made within the ledger, the true identity of the spell stealer. Ibyxx was born once upon the strange tides of the Duskthorough, and perhaps once more by the waters of the Crepuscular Kingdoms. The gateway poured open, festering like a wound within the worlds as the doomed waters poured in. Under the painted heavens of undying twilight, the crimson-golds against the deep violets amongst the bronze waters of the islets did Ibyxx fall. To Kardia’s white shores did the gloam receive him, the boat slowly drifting back and forth between the waves. The chance of an orphan, tossed into the Duskthorough, lost to the world across and lost in the world within.
A gift or curse, this child which had appeared from the mists of the seas, far beyond circling for days within the evergloam. But by fortune’s guidance did he make his fated arrival to the Island of Kardia to which a sect of wandering twillight monks found him and took him into their hidden temples to be initiated into their ranks. What they did not know was that they had adopted into their order a child of great Magus, the first and last of his kind. From the Opacamancy which brought him here, their child of two Arcanists from the Crepuscular Kingdoms, it was they who opened the portal into the Isles before their own ship was swallowed by the waves.
The monks of twilight were Kineticists and Luxomancers who studied their arts within the tranquility of the Duskthorough. Within the black and white temples dotting the shore of Kardia did they hone their skills, reflecting upon their inner powers to glean what information they could concerning their magus. By years of dedication, one may become slowly enlightened to the nature of one’s own abilities, to be able to truly know oneself. They had suspected Ibyxx to be an Arcanist, they had felt the subtle energies of the universe around him, less stable and more fluid, yet his powers never seemed to manifest.
For 15 years did Ibyxx dedicate himself to his studies in meditation, gazing upon the great mirrors of the temple halls for hours in fasting and waking concentration. Yet his scrolls were always blank, no nirvana came to him to write of the experience and show the masters. It was in the great libraries did he stalk the shelves for records of other Arcanists of his order, their thoughts and experiences of introspection. He envied them for their realizations of self, brought through the dedication of learning. And yet what they revealed about themselves and of their own magus they only shared with the other members of their order, to the disappointment of the greater magical community outside the Twilight monks.
It was in the 19th year of his study, by the time he was 24 years of age, did he finally petition the elders to leave the sanctuary of the temples to wander the Isles and perhaps find a destiny within the the Crepuscular Kingdoms. They denied him of course, in fear of their knowledge to be dispersed by an unenlightened one and their order thrown in the chaos of magical politics, and only allowed him to do so should he beat the grandmaster of their order in magical combat. Though he failed at least a dozen times through the first year of monthly battles, with each duel he learned more and more of the grandmaster’s techniques. Ibyxx studied the old man’s moves, his spells, his quirks and abilities, lasting just a little longer every time against him, a feat impressive for a non-arcanist. And by the 21st year, his powers had awakened. In the early hours of the eternal twilight, where day and night meant nothing and time was judged by the flow of the tides and trickle of white sand in the hourglass, the elders met to watch the 17th duel between the grandmaster and Ibyxx.
With a blast of light did the grandmaster begin, expecting the younger to dodge the blast as usual to coax him into another beam of light. Yet today a new page was written, a new scroll, as Ibyxx smiled to himself and countered with a blast of light of his own to shock the onlookers and Grandmaster. He had done it, they thought, he was a Luxomancer, or was he? The grandmaster gazed upon the sky to call down a pillar of light from the heavens above, yet found it deflected by a shield of light before it struck Ibyxx, an advanced technique for someone who had merely began to show is magus. The child had been fooling them all along then? As the greatest technique the grandmaster had saved was yet to be seen by anyone present, not even Ibyxx would be able to counter it as he prepared himself to cast the finishing spell.
But he never did. A single mote of light floated towards him, splitting off into smaller and smaller sprites as they encircled the old master in a hypnotic cage of swirling lights. The old one blinked, dazed by the spinning flashes surrounding him, trying to shake off the sense of vertigo as he stood there dumbstruck: this was his technique, the Lights of Shangri-La, designed to be a non-lethal spell to incapacitate within moments of exposure. How did Ibyxx…
Ibyxx the Spell Stealer was born.
A tale written in the pages of his own book, written by a man who had assumed the identities of many others. In the current times, Ibyxx works in the Arcaneum Archival, the grand official libraries of the Crepuscular Kingdoms, collecting research on the theories of Magus and offering his own abilities and training to would be arcanists seeking to study in the ways of the Twilight monks without entering the turbulence of the storms which threatened the serenity of Kardia. It was said the hidden temples disappeared from the island, but Ibyxx had left the order long since his victory over the grandmaster earned him banishment from their sect. But from this punishment he was able to return to the Kingdoms of his birth place.
Recently, the Aurora Empire had requested the aid of any Arcanist to help fight against the First Light, while he was primary a man of research, he was only able to refuse the orders of Kingdom to aid their neighbor for the sake of the Dusk. Eventually he settled on assisting the Aurora Empire after the third request, or rather arrest, and was sent to the court of Empress Scettero.
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I concur, I like the concept. There are, however, some balance issues, like magus permanence. He could potentially maintain multiple magus (magi?), and I feel that gives him an advantage over other characters if he can simply accumulate abilities. Perhaps he could "forget"?
Furthermore, it feels a little tricky for him to be "the glitch in the system" and fool the universe. That makes him a slightly different from everyone else and allows him to disable other characters's abilities, which is a little... haunting, to say the least. Makes me feel like the rest of the world when the US dropped the atom bomb—a gap in power. It seems like he can essentially win a one-on-one fight using a practiced mental link by disabling the other opponent's abilities.
Of course, not to say I might be reading you wrong or that he's 100% unbalanced. I just need it clarified for me, so I can be assured that he's not able to singlehandedly beat everyone. Just concerned, that's all. But it might be okay with Jenno.
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