Compass [Crafting] [Solo]

[Deleted]

Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100%

---

The riffraff lost in the penning
Of rhyme can only do little
To redeem a lost word - but you!
You who are standing alone
Within this rattling compass
Of steel and sweat and voice,
You have a choice to either fade
Or find your way home.

---

By now, Dorian had gotten quite good at this whole ink thing; after crafting a couple pots of mana-infused ink, he was able to effectively mix them up quite well, albeit at still a rather gruelling pace. Sitting at his desk, he wanted to craft from another available recipe from the list of Scribe items, but once again he would need a handy pot of ink gathered with the cool blue of magic. His resources were dwindling here, even in his inventory, so once again he would have to enlist the help of his guild's stock within the Office, hopefully with a little luck. "I wonder how much work I've done in here now... Must be quite the amount of hours I've racked up."

You shouldn't work yourself so ragged, Aurelia quickly spoke, currently the Shaman's only companion as he stood from his chair and departed from his desk, heading into the back of the room and exploring the shelves as he did before. "This is important... I need to become a stronger writer and calligrapher, if I hope to go mapping out places like the Miasma Realms." The quest was constantly fluttering through his mind as he rummaged through boxes and shelves, pulling past books and tomes to find any leftover bottles of ink. "Besides, once I've started doing map work, I might be able to set up a business selling maps."

He released a sigh, slumping onto the floor, his back propped up against a bookshelf as he relaxed for a moment. "The world out there is dangerous, Aurelia, but the true fear that we Adventurers take on is that of the unknown..." His Shikigami was listening intently, learning what she could from the Shaman as he relayed why he was so adamant on training his Scribe level. "If we can learn from the wilderness, document and understand it... It remains dangerous, but a lot less frightening," Dorian finished, adding a gentle nod to indicate he was done before clambering back up onto his knees.

Reaching his hand between a pair of heavy tomes, he grabbed at a collection of abandoned pots of ink, most of them half used but a couple were almost empty, the ink inside them dry and out of order. Looks like we got lucky here, the fox tail spirit finally spoke again, a gentle mental smile on her face as she had accepted his reasoning, her voice like a pat on the Shaman's back to keep him going. Bowing his head in soft thanks, he lifted himself up onto his feet, the ink pots collected carefully in his hands. Using his feet to push back some of the boxes and books back onto the lower shelves, he turned back to his desk, ready to begin.

"Now, let's see..." Dorian gathered all of the ink pots together in a clump on the desk, before separating them into three piles; the first was the ones with ink that was decent and reusable, ready to be mixed; the second was the pots with no ink in them at all, discarded jars that could be used to collect and store the mixed inks; finally, the third pile was off the dried out and un-usable inks, though the dry sludge could be used for catalysts in the mixtures. Finally, he reached into his inventory, pulling out the collection of Mana Fragments he had gathered earlier for his work. He was going to need several for this pot of ink.

---

Notes: Crafting - Magic Ink - Post 1/2
Word Count: 581
Tags: None

Coded by @serenityspace of LH

[Deleted]

Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100%

---

With the selection of pots strewn about his desk, Dorian quickly sat down and gathered himself for the task at hand, picking up one of the empty ink bottles and dragging it across to the centre of the wooden surface. "First off we want to mix up a fresh collection of ink," he began, glancing over at the pile nearby that formed the ink pots he had found with a decent amount of unused liquid inside them. "These should do the trick..." Picking two of them up, he opened the lids to inspect the viscous black within them, swirling around the ink a few times before slowly pouring them in together into the empty pot, watching the droplets and funnelled liquid slowly weave together into one form.

You know, you should learn how to make your own ink, then you don't have to rely on the Office stores. Aurelia raised a good point, as the Shaman hummed to fill the room's silence, the only other sound coming from the empty pot as the two sources of ink filled it up. "Perhaps squids exist on the coastline, they'd likely be the first source... Otherwise I'd have to research other ways of crafting ink." He hadn't done much in terms of hunting the aquatic wildlife of the Unfounded Kingdom, but surely there were ways of gathering such materials without having to go after defenceless creatures of the depths.

Stopping the flow of liquid from the pots of ink, Dorian glanced down to see the black viscous form inside the pot had risen to around three quarters of the way up the bottle; with the third ink pot nearby, he grabbed it up and opened it, slowly pouring in a few more droplets to make a more heavy, thick ink that would be able to hold the dissolved contents of the Mana Fragments. "That should do the trick," he muttered under his breath, setting the ink pot down back into the pile it had come from. Turning to the last pile, with the dried out puddles of ink inside them, Dorian grasped one of the pots and brought it over, while also snagging a single Mana Fragment.

"Now, if I pour enough mana into this, it should liquefy it enough to mix with the dried ink," he began explaining, hovering his hand over the small crystalline form on the table and closing his eyes and releasing the flow of magic within his arm. He could feel it surging down his limb, the energy that seemed to course through living things and form their ability to use their skills; slowly but surely, he felt the connection of mana between himself and the mana fragment, and with a few gentle pushes, the blue form began to give way. Don't make a mess please, the Shikigami uttered at the back of the Shaman's mind.

Quickly grabbing up the small crystal, Dorian dropped it into the pot of ink with the dried out liquid at the bottom, looking in to see it slowly melt away into a viscous form and collect the bits of ink at the base of the bottle. "See, now it can mix with the ink more effectively," he uttered, emptying the pot into the one he had prepared earlier, watching as the mana mixed and began to entangle with the black liquid. Grabbing a few more Mana Fragments, at least two, he dropped them into the ink, using a small twig to gently stir and gather the mana through the entirety of the viscous, black liquid until the entire pot began to glow. "And... done." 

---

Notes: Crafting - Magic Ink - Post 2/2
Word Count: 602
Tags: None

Coded by @serenityspace of LH

[Deleted]

Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100%

---

Dorian gathered up the remaining scraps of his initial craft, the various empty - and perhaps not so empty - pots of ink, as well as the collection of Mana Fragments he had grabbed for himself, just a few left now. Stashing them back into his inventory, he leaned back into his chair as he pulled up the new recipe he would soon begin working on. "This is going to be interesting," he whispered against the gentle breeze of his breath, his voice a soft hum as the Heart Compass recipe emerged on his interface, the words lightly scrolling to show off the full, complicated description. Looks like a tough one, Dorian; are you sure you're up for it?

Smiling softly, the Shaman nodded, indicating towards his currently boosted level as he reached into his inventory for something to use as a tracker... "I'll start with the simpler step first, but I may need some help with ciphering up the sigil," he muttered seemingly to himself, though obviously speaking to his Shikigami as she listened intently from the back of his mind. I'm here. Together our power is stronger, as always, Aurelia replied, gesturing for him to continue on. After rummaging through his inventory, Dorian retrieved a small object, a circular disc that he had carved off for himself and formed into a coin-like device, a yin yang symbol emblazoned upon each face.

"This should do for the tracker, don't you think? I can easily slip this onto people who I need to keep tabs on." As he spoke, he gently twirled the small wooden coin between his fingers, watching it bounce and dance end over end along his knuckles before he would swiftly catch it between his forefinger and thumb. Placing it down delicately next to his pot of magic ink, he went back into his inventory once again, retrieving from it his handy Scribe tool, the Blaze. A quickly crafted quill that required little in the way of skill or materials, he slipped it from his inventory and into his handy, dusting off the tip to have it ready for crafting.

With the end of his finger, he gently dragged the wooden coin across the desk to rest in front of him, centred so that he had full access to it's surface. Holding the Blaze tight in his hand, he gently rested the quill over the opened pot of Magic Ink and lightly dipped the tip inside, letting it sink into the pulsating, viscous liquid. Letting the ink rise up the barrel of the quill, Dorian took a few seconds before drawing the tip back out, gently swiping it over the rim of the bottle to get rid of excess drip that would smudge his work. He could feel the magic humming off his utensil, asking to be drawn across the surface of the coin.

The little disc waiting and held still upon the surface of the desk, he lowered the ink filled tip of his quill to the coin and began to slowly etch the memorised sigil that would become a tracking spell circle. Starting with the outside edge, he formed the first circle, before moving inwards and etching along the lines to form the small runes within the sigil, moving along the inside of the circle. With each layer he moved further in, filling the sigil towards it's centre and covering the surface of the coin in lines of ink that began to dry and give off an intermittent glow of mana. Finally, with the last few strokes, the spell circle was complete, and the first tracker object was ready to be used; but before he could go anywhere, he'd need the receiver.

---

Notes: Crafting - Heart Compass - Post 1/2
Word Count: 615
Tags: None

Coded by @serenityspace of LH

[Deleted]

Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100%

---

Sliding the newly minted tracker to the back of the desk, out of the way, Dorian then brandished his quill pen once again, before quickly realising he had nothing to use as a base... Paper, Aurelia quickly reminded him, as he nodded with a realisation and opened his interface once again, setting down the Blaze on the wooden surface of his desk. Rummaging through his inventory, he found a neat scrap of paper that would work well for what he intended to do next, bringing it out onto the table in front of him and examining it. Large and thin, the paper was nothing close to the makings of a true sheet of parchment, but for the enchantment he needed, it would suffice for now.

Grabbing his quill pen again, he moved across to the still open pot of magic ink that remained, awaiting use in his current project. "This might be a little trickier; I've done a spell circle like the one on the tracker, but I've never drawn up a fully-fledged enchantment before..." The Shaman released an exasperated breath of air, his hand shaking a little as his slight insecurity with his magic began to take hold of his ability to focus. Fortunately, he wasn't alone; a wave of hope began to instil itself within his body, and his mind glanced back to the Shikigami who lay meditating within the corners of his mental palace, melding her conscience with his own. I am here, Dorian... Do not waver now.

Reassured by Aurelia's faith and her guidance, Dorian lowered the tip of his quill into the magic ink, watching the mana within it swell and begin to swell up the barrel of the pen, clinging to the inner linings of it's body. Once the quill was sufficiently filled with the viscous black liquid, he drew the tip back up, swiping it over the rim and relieving it of any drip that might damage and smudge his work. Releasing a confident sigh of relief, he moved his hand across to the large piece of paper, beginning at it's edge and starting the first initial circle that would form the enchantment upon it's fibres. His hand remained steady, his Scribe experience starting to take over as he felt the ink pinned to the material.

Slowly but surely, he managed to form the first, initial circle, the lines of pulsating ink going around the whole of the fragment of paper to create a geometric shape; it wasn't perfect, but at his level of experience as a Scribe, it was pretty darn good. "Not too shabby, if I do say so myself," he muttered to himself, warranting a roll of eyes from his mental companion. With a gentle chuckle, he moved back to the paper, dipping his tip into the fibres and beginning the next sequence, sketching in the various runes that would form the outside edge of the enchantment, each stroke of the quill causing a little bit of mana to flow out from the Shaman's body and pour into the writing, his Mythic Script at work. It was a handy skill to have, especially when, as a Scribe, he got it for free; writing mana encased words without ink can have many practical and... impractical uses.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the enchantment began to fill up, and just like the spell circle on the tracker, the runes and circles and other assorted shapes gradually approached the centre until it was formed in it's entirety. Poking the final dot into the sequence, Dorian waved his hand over the enchantment, his mana flowing across it to activate and deactivate it. Once that was done, he let the ink dry for a little while before turning the paper over, and creating another large rune on this currently blank side. Filling the fibres with ink and etchings, the second-half of the enchantment came to life, creating a runic mystical entity that would help him in his endeavours. "Now, all it needs is..." His voice trailing off, Dorian finished by folding up the paper in just the right places, causing the runes on either side of the paper to join and form a denser, more compact enchantment, that could easily be applied to other parchments. "Done!"

---

Notes: Crafting - Heart Compass - Post 2/2
Word Count: 682
Tags: None

Coded by @serenityspace of LH