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"I can understand the need to avoid provoking each other with heraldry, insignia and the like, but surely an exception could be made for some form of identification. A wooden sign with the family name on it, maybe?"

Emma cared little about the political ramifications of her suggestion, as it was borne primarily from the frustration of finding her way here; what should have been a five minute walk taking nearly thrice as long, between all the course correction and doubling back involved.

[Indeed, there is nothing in the laws or traditions to prohibit such a thing, as long as the sign in question steers clear of politics. But why should the inhabitants make it any easier for strangers to locate them? Knowledge is power in every aspect of life; the identical premises are just one more way to isolate and suppress the ignorant. Likewise, being able to find the hidden opportunities, or make the connections necessary to be invited to them, these are also part of the training of a practitioner.]

"You know, the more I learn about the Empire, the less I like it," Emma retorted.

She\'d considered keeping that last tidbit quiet, for the sake of avoiding controversy; then she remembered that anybody higher than practitioner wouldn\'t be around just yet, so there was no need to bother.

[All three of us founders would agree with you, to varying degrees. Paradox secludes herself in the river of space and time, more often than not. I remain technically dead, acting only through the system. Overmind interacts only through her fragments of will, in all but the most dire of circumstances. Such a shame.]

Emma just shook her head at the antics of the elderly, but didn\'t reply. She\'d already reached her daily quota for small talk, and her destination was right ahead, so she headed into the tent without further preamble. Going in, Emma was expecting a similar smooth transition as her own family\'s tent, the white tarpaulin giving way to a regular old house. When she instead reappeared inside a jail cell, the door shut tight and reinforced by runes of imprisonment, she was understandably a bit disappointed.

"What is this, a live reenactment of The Shawshank Redemption?" Emma groused, though she didn\'t go as far as to attempt to break out, in the absence of an immediate threat.

[Aren\'t you a little young to have seen that film?]

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

The byplay with Edith aside, Emma was content to wait for something to happen, taking the time to examine her cell in the meanwhile. There wasn\'t much to cry home about: the cell itself was built in the old style, with brick walls, ceiling and floor, with the only metal present being the bars that made up the door and the small window in the back. This design had been phased out decades ago under HMP policy, the doors in particular presenting a weak point: never mind Emma\'s intangibility, even a few contortionists had managed to slip their way through the bars before, aided by nothing more than a bar of soap for lubrication. As far as the interior went, there was a single mirror recessed inside one of the walls, and a hole in the ground for purposes best left undisturbed. The rest of the cell was otherwise bare, without so much as a blanket on the floor to rest on.

"Are the Empire\'s prisons still like this today?" Emma shuddered. "I know this is just a recollection, but those tend to have some basis in fact."

[Rest assured, a cell this poor might exist as a local drunk tank, but it would never be used to store long-term prisoners in my Empire.]

"That\'s a relief."

[Imperial doctrine doesn\'t believe in spending money to house criminals, so the maximum indictable offence carries a sentence of one year. Anything above that and it\'s the gallows for you.]

"Never mind," Emma deadpanned. "How is it that two of the three heads of the Empire can see the future, yet so many aspects of society are still utterly backward?"

"My thoughts exactly, dear sister of mine."

Emma spun around, pinpointing the origin of that familiar voice to the mirror behind her. Felix stared back, her younger brother wearing the familiar purple and white toga of Roman high society. Alongside him, a timer was visible down the bottom left, showing a little under two hours to go.

"Felix. I thought the mirror looked a bit out of place, all things considered. So you\'re the one running tonight\'s event?"

"That\'s right!" Felix exclaimed, almost bouncing on his feet in excitement. "I know I haven\'t been a very active part of the family lately, but I assure you that my silence has been for a good cause. You wouldn\'t believe what a mess I\'ve had to deal with, trying to set up a global broadcast system after both the magical and mundane networks came under sustained assault, but by the gods, I\'ve finally cracked it! The main event won\'t be until the Solstice, of course, but I was able to persuade my fellow network executives to host a small, low stakes test run, and who better to participate than my dear sister?"

"So I\'m going to be beating up your captive audience again? Just like old times."

"My NPCs will have a role to play, as far as setting the ambience," Felix acknowledged. "But they won\'t be the main contenders, oh no. I\'ve managed to get some of the cream of the crop, coming in from all corners of the nation. They have until midnight to arrive, however, so please bear with me."

Emma summoned Sir Bearington to accompany her, making sure that her summon was visible to Felix in the mirror.

"Not like that!" Felix facepalmed.

"To be fair, you walked right into that one."

Emma Knight

Public Title: Practitioner

Hidden Title: Auditor

Commendation: Order of the Empire, First Class

True Form: Level 17 Damned Apostle

Anima: 500

EXP: 13,024/14,000

Abilities

Summon Unholy Sword {Epitaph}

Toxovolia: Epitaph can transform into a Bow, firing arrows of ambient anima.

No Pal of Mine: Capture the souls of the worthy, gaining a simulacrum of equal level to the User. Maximum 1 active per 10 levels, rounding up. 10 minute cooldown when defeated. Captured: The Leech King, Sir Bearington, Earthbound Immortal, Antipode, Duplicate, Monitor Lizard (In front of tent)

Flying Sword: Epitaph can change size, and fly up to 60 miles per hour.

Oversoul: Instantly possess the body of a living target.

Parallel Lives (Cooldown: 1 minute): Swap places with your active Summon.

Angel of Extinction (Cooldown: 12 hours): Summon an Angel within line of sight. The Angel is invulnerable and departs after 12 seconds, killing anyone who saw it.

Return (Cooldown: 24 Hours): Teleport Home. Cooldown resets when Home is in danger.

Traits

Wolf, Ram and Heart (Toggle: OFF): Attacks are imbued with Death magic, significantly increasing damage and carrying a [Level]% chance of inflicting Instant Death.

Ephemera (Toggle: OFF): Become intangible.

Null Zone (Toggle: OFF): All incoming magic fails.

One with Everything (Cooldown: 10 minutes): If Anima would be reduced to 0, stop at 1.

Babble Fish: You are fluent in every language.

Rorschach\'s Blot: Attempts to observe you remotely produce nonsensical images to those bearing ill-intent. You will be alerted when observation commences.

Home Is Where the Hearth Is - EXP gains doubled for 1 hour after eating a home-cooked meal.

Half-Demon Homunculus: Level 10 Chandler Stored in Eden\'s Echo when not in use.

HP: 100

MP: 100

EXP: 2025/3000

Appearance

Red hair, green eyes, plain complexion.

Clothes

Space Suit

Traits

I\'m a Candle: A modern understanding of non-magical candles.

Everlasting: Your candles will last forever, barring external interference.

Noncombustible: High resistance to heat and fire from all sources.

Blood of the Enemy: Blood taken from those you slay may substitute for one reagent when making Candles. Candles made using this trait are Demonic.

Breath Control: You can hold your breath for (Level)*2 minutes without losing focus.

Candle Attributes

Black: Consumes nearby light, leaving impenetrable darkness.

Hallowed: Repels beings of evil alignment or intent.

Soothing: Emits a potent soporific that can put an elephant to sleep.

Chaos: Emits a different negative effect each time it\'s lit.

Pathfinder: Creates a link between two candles. When both are lit, a portal is formed.

Guardian: While lit, you are invulnerable within your own home.

Toxic: This candle\'s fumes are deadly.

Inventory - Eden\'s Echo A ring containing fifty cubic metres of storage space, capable of instant transfer. Living beings are held in stasis and slowly heal. All sapient creatures are less likely to attack the wearer. This item is invisible except to the wearer, who cannot wear other jewellery. Currently contains:

Eternal Wind: No matter near or far, all are one. Light a candle with yourself for two ships in the night, build a bridge where none still stand.

24,999 Thrones

Qilin Horn

A Practical Guide to Entropy

Portable Crafting Bench

Blueprints - Menagerie

Crystal Emporium Voucher (50% off)

Quests

It\'s the Green You Need

Bonus Objective: Form a summoning contract with the Hydra once it has enough heads.

Bonus Reward: ???

Who Wants To Live Forever?

Objective: Pay your respects at the Grave of Sectmaster Horizon.

Objective: Discover who manipulated his Son to turn against the Empire.

Bonus Objective: ???

Reward: ???

Bonus Reward: ???