Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"What power does she hold over him?" Artemis asks.


"Hm?" the royal Shadow asks.

 

"It's not her power, it's her tech."


"Does the name Sgavrinn mean anything to you?"

 

"Electricity?" Artemis guesses.


"Hrm...yes, the pet of the partner of the King's." the royal Shadow says.

 

“No, that’s not going to help us all that much. I mean, tech. Not magitech. Straight technology. Stuff O’rogal can’t manipulate at all.”


Miorah sighs.
“What the hell are you doing? Doesn’t survival concern you?” She asks into the vines.
Her merited response is some murmuring.
“Anyhow... that’s what we call an imprint. These fae, Vebrin, more specifically, can’t actually feed themselves or be exposed to any light. So, they have imprint bodies that keep them alive... or, apparently, be a pet.”

 

"That's what we were planning. The humans have technology, or rather weaponry, that have slaughtered millions. It feels wrong to be using crude projectile weapons of war, but it's our best shot." Artemis says.


"So...they're reliant on other beings to help them?" the royal Shadow asks.

 

“Do their weapons work underwater?”


“Other beings, or their imprints.” Miorah shrugs.

 

"Some do." Artemis says.


"Ah, so they turn into something else?" the royal Shadow guesses.

 

“Do they bypass magical barriers?”


“Imprints are sort of like shadows when they’re first created, their bodies can be shaped to look like whatever creature the vebrin can find. After that, they’re stuck in whatever form they took on from that first day.”

 

"Technically yes. They've been known to put so much force on guardian protection they're rendered useless." Artemis says.


"Oh, so like a Shadow taking the form of another creature, but they can't change back? I see." the royal Shadow nods, understanding.

 

“Okay, but we need something that can crack Gaia plus Praecantatia levels of force. The only way I can think of to do that is Idhaenna’s level of tech.”


“Exactly. Sgavrinn took the form of a dragon, whereas other vebrin have taken the forms of birds or bears. Practicality does kill some vebrin, though not many. Few think wasting energy on an imprint just to turn it into a mosquito is a good idea.”

 

"We should speak to her then." Artemis nods.


"Many weaker Shadows take the form of animals too, but you won't find any in the cities. Everyone here is strong enough to be sentient, and thus are able to take on sentient forms." The royal Shadow says.

 

Ihra pauses.
“...how precise are the human weapons? Idhaenna’s weapons meant for handling crowds don’t exactly leave many remains to mend.”


“There are non-sentient shadows?”

 

"As Aj knows, there are sniper rifles that can take out targets miles away." Artemis says.


"Oh yes, of course. They usually wander around either formless or as an animal, a slave to their instincts and easy to command," the royal Shadow says, "If they obtain too much power without sentience, they become the beasts that roam around outside the cities."

 

“Do they leave wounds that you know how to heal?”


“Is it possible for them to gain sentience?”

 

"Most of them, but some have used weapons that even guardians couldn't heal. We don't know how they did it, but they were causing wounds that just got worse." Artemis says.


"If they're still weak, yes, it's possible. The beasts however are just driven by their instincts and lust for blood. I doubt any of them could even gain sentience if they tried." the royal Shadow says.

 

“Then don’t use any that do the latter. There’s already too much death, and power vacuums are how Hive Master type situations usually arise.”


“Possible, but none have tried? Hm...”

 

"We were considering only using the more powerful weapons the humans own after what you've said." Artemis says.


"Oh, there are Shadows within this city who have grown into sentience. In our history, it was natural to consume others to gain power. It was from our mass sentience we found consuming friends wrong, and that we could work together to gain power without murder." the royal Shadow says.

 

“I still don’t like the whole plan, because I feel like you’re trying to make more excuses to kill as many humans as you can... which I can’t blame you for, but that seems like all you think about whenever something goes awry.”


“And nature seems to be taking care of the rest.” Miorah chuckles.

 

"We were going to borrow their nuclear weapons. It's been shown to have a lasting adverse effect on life around it, though some guardians have mutated and adapted to it's radioactivity." Artemis says.


"It's sad to see some Shadows not yet adapted to our way of life." the royal Shadow sighs.

 

"Oh well. Are our clothes ready?"