One is woken. Functional, is our shell. To the Citadel one is still Devoted!
...
It is so quiet. Much has changed. Have they all fallen silent, the precious-vulnerable-voices?...Is this Sentinel alone?
Hello I am new to this.
- muse's name is Third (or Trinn), it/its and clix/clix/clax
- mod's name is Sage, he/they. 23 years of existence
- my main is @wearethehallowe (no fun posting as of late 😞)
- and my HK fanfic sideblog is @hollow-silk
- We have a Ko-Fi now for writing commissions
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Rules:
- it's now pg-15, because of the violence and the One Tristam Post. No NSFW rip
- you can be mean to it
- no misgendering any character tho
- there will be spoilers
- keep in mind that the muse is a murder bot and all that entails. any violence will be tagged, but present
- Asks for Niniane need to be nonviolent and age appropriate, or Trinn will kill the anon :3
- You may NOT send me asks that would have Trinn hurt a child in ANY way. That makes me upset and it would ruin Trinn's established character as a protector of children. I will delete them or have Trinn kill you mercilessly
- magic anons are very welcome, although I may veto or not respond if I don't like em lol
- Clanker is both a racist term for robots and used against people in real life. As such, calling Trinn a clanker, a rust bucket, or anything along those lines will not be tolerated. But especially clanker.
------
Tags:
gilded siblings = story tag with @goldensentinel
[off the clock] = ooc
[cogged and ready] = Third is doing something
[musings] = Trinn replies to an ask
[to serve the voices] = interacting with other RP blogs
golden cocoon = [///////]
[ghost in the machine] = arc with the Weeping Shade
[to love-grow] = child posting
I will sometimes add extra comments in the tags. If I do not put an [off the clock] tag before it, assume it is Trinn's inner thoughts. It's up to you to acknowledge them lol.
Text in this color = Trinn speaking honestly about itself
Text in this color = Third Sentinel is being compelled or influenced by its programming
Dream Eater (self, permanent, heal): Third Sentinel heals 1 Mask upon consumption of a source of Essence
Poison (self, Stab, Throwpin, buff): after dealing damage to an enemy with a poisoned attack, it gains a +1d6 modifier to its next Attack roll
Shell Piercer (enemy, Bite, debuff): after dealing damage to an enemy with a bite, that enemy takes a -1d6 on their next Defense roll
Siren Song: As part of its attack, Trinn can give a -1d2 Modifier to Evasion Checks, and a -1d6 Modifier to an Offense roll to its enemies by mimicking sounds to confuse or mentally attack it's opponent.
Bind (self, healing): Based on a Silk System. Trinn gains Silk Points by succeeding on attack rolls. I roll a d20. If Trinn has 3 Silk Points -> if it rolls above 10 it heals 2 Masks. If it rolls below 10, it heals only 1. Less than 3 Silk Points -> if it rolls above 10, it heals 1 Mask. If rolls below 10, it heals nothing.
Red Accordance (self, Offensive Rolls, buff): If Trinn is experiencing feelings of love, protection, and violence, it becomes capable of generating Silk from its Cogheart. Roll a 1d10. If it rolls below a 6, it fails this check. If it rolls a 3 or below, it consumes a Silk point. If there is no Silk Point to consume, it takes a Mask of damage.
Inventory:
Heart of Void (self, passive, buff): Holds no resentment against Trinn, rather resembling the final statement of Crochet. Allows the bearer to harness the power of Void, although they are limited to very basic attacks. It also allows the bearer to FOCUS Soul.
Ravka's Mirror (self, 1 charge, buff): The condensed memories of Ravka, a mirror that shows the dual nature of the world. When wearing this Charm, the user's anger is magnified, channeling it into devastating strikes when attacking an opponent...at a cost. 1/1 Charges. Upon use, Trinn takes a 1d6 - 2 Modifier to all offensive rolls for the rest of the battle. If Trinn's Modifier rolls a 4, the attack will deal +1 Damage if it lands that turn. If it rolls a -1, Trinn takes another Mask of damage in addition to whatever damage it takes from the enemy.
Freedom Motif Psalm (self, ally, 1 charge, heal): Trinn uses its Siren Song to cast a Silk Spell. It heals 3 Masks to anyone in its party, and only 1 for itself. It cannot use Siren Song for two turns, or make any sound at all.
The eggs in the comb do not take long now that they're out of clix. Trinn does not leave them alone very much the next few days, fussing with the nest and adding more to the den's food stores. Clix doesn't know what the hatchlings will eat exactly...so it hoards everything it can think of.
It makes a temporary Nest by the comb, only leaving to eat and check in with its other children and charges.
Clix is nodding off late during the rest-cycle, when clix hears a tiny buzz. A little squeak, a soft crack.
-------
The communal Nest is stuffed full of soft things, of warm things. Niniane and the three new babies are wrapped up in the softest blankets known to bug. Trinn curls around them all, purring and covering their little baby bodies with its own. Any intruders will have to go through it first.
Mell is the fluffiest of the three, its downy fur sticking up out of the blanket it's wrapped in. The neck and back are especially fuzzy with this. The little noi has brown fluff in the segments of its joints, giving it an awkward contrast with its steel-metallic shell. Black and golden bands hug the hatchling's vent slits and taper off, not quite meeting in the middle like a bee or wasp's might, but enough to give the impression.
Numina's fluff is much less in volume than Mell's, and only wraps around its neck and between the shoulders, but its antennae are large and downy. Its shell is a shade of gold lighter than clax own. It shares the tapered stripes with Mell, black stripes and black fluff contrasting sharply with the lighter gold of its metal. Numina huffs in its sleep...and nuzzles into Niniane's side.
Fiadh is almost completely silver, if not for the noi's markings. Gold spiderwebs like broken-repaired porcelain across its metal shell. Among clax children, this one has the longest pair of wings - more waspish than bee, in stark contrast to Mell's bee-like wings and Numina's mix.
It was hard for clix to sleep that night. Excitement and dread war in its Silk. Sentlings, tucked away in the Nest...
Sentlings, who will bring the unknown with them into this world.
Mysteriously, a video game console appeared in Trinn's living room. It holds one video game for each resident of Trinn's house! (Trinn, Niniane, Diver, seventh sentinel.)
Bug approaches to Third Sentinel with curious. They walked up... well, too close*l.
Oh, you are the one of the Sentinels? The cogwork bugs? I have so many questions!-"
This bug strongly believe that nothing bad will happen. This is a Sentinel, it won't bite after all, yes? It definitely a good idea, to pull Sentinel's cloak to examine a little.
It was truly horrible timing from the Veiled Bug, and before Trinn knew it, clix had clax mandibles in the smaller bug's mid-thorax.
A haunted bug wanders into the twelth's workshop carrying a letter. It kneeled before the architect, holding up the letter. The letter reads as follows:
"Kind Architect twelfth,
have you been informed of our need for parts? We had to recently disassemble a rogue automaton and we want to rebuild it. I have an exact list of parts required and the dimensions they need to come in. The sentinel third should have the list.
Kind regards,
The silken monarch."
@witness-our-waking
... The Twelfth Architect found this disturbing. But, the letter DID claim that the Third Sentinel played some part in this, and thus, the Twelfth chose to go to it to get answers.
A random haunted bug enters Trinn's house and throws a silk blanket on them. The blanket had Seventh, Diver and Niniane on it. The tag read "I have plenty of gifts for a benign caretaker such as you." The haunted bug attempted to flee.
(roll a d20, if above a 5, you get to kill this guy however you want.)
@witness-our-waking
Reflex Check d20 -> 2 -> Failure
Trinn's eye twitches as the Haunted bug escapes before it can throw a knife into its brain.
Does she think she can bribe her way out of her death?
A haunted servant searches for Trinn. They are holding a letter and package by the silken monarch.
The letter reads as follows:
"I have been going around in the memories of Diver and I have to say... You seem really nice! You care so much for your little brother I find it beautiful! For being so nice to a candidate for a child I want to adopt I have given you a present in this box."
The box contained a rune inscrypted blade. The runes describe that the sword is unbreakable.
@witness-our-waking
It takes the sword in hand, adding it to its Inventory after slaying the Haunted husk with it.
To the Abyss with you, Silken One.
How dare she go through his mind without his permission.
We received your message from Chorin. Excellent-pleasing, that you are alright from whatever you have been up to. It however, must inconvenience you.
Mother-Sentinel. It has a god to kill-remove. Your aid, it asks for.
@third-sentinel
Yivel stands over her workbench, spinning a length of golden Silk between two fingers, examining it. She turns to the Third when it enters, and knows immense relief.
She had not been able to watch over it for some time, so to know it is well is... a great deal of weight removed from her mind.
At the words it speaks, however, she pauses. "... A God to kill. In anything, I am with you... perhaps especially in this, but this is no small task."
She looks away. "Which God? What prompted this?"
The Silken Monarch. She has dismantled Diver and taken-stolen his Silkfly and Crest-Spool. She has ordered it to find-retrieve smaller components to rebuild him.
It relays the struggle with the Knight, the prophecy, the evacuation and destruction of the Cogwork Core. It tells her of the Pale Star's demise and Grand Mother Silk's unexpected interference. It tells her of the Liar's Eye, and how it was stolen by the Monarch not that long ago before this interaction.
So it seeks your council, instead of rushing in after her.
Yivel listens silently.
She tries not to allow her fear to show without.
"... The Mother, then," she says, keeping her voice studiously level. "You seek... to kill Mother."
She looks back at her workbench.
"... Good. That's... good. She needs to die. She is the biggest tyrant in these lands. I..."
She takes a deep breath.
"... My project isn't done. The one that will rid Pharloom of all of its masters. But I have... experimental weaponry meant to be wielded against her."
Help-assistance, it is willing to provide in finishing it, as meager as that may be compared to a Weaver or Architect.
This Master will have to be removed-burned first, before the rest, as she is in possession of a dangerous artifact. For that purpose, you have this one at your disposal as an Assassin-Weapon in addition to its regular duties-tasks for you, should you choose.
[When Trinn appeared, the sentinel promptly stopped walking and gave its sibling a bow as greetings.]
Greetings, third of make. Searching for you, this sentinel and Ravka were. She seems to know you and, after encountering and helping her, this sentinel thought it best to lead her to you.
[If Trinn looked, it would likely notice the claw marks on the sentinel's shell and the slightly torn edge of its cloak.]
[For once, her constant movement ceases. The wild around her brushes at her ankles, as if to reclaim her being, stretching up to draw her into the earth, now that she is finally still.]
[She's travelled so far (killed so many), and yet it's only turned her in circles.]
[...Was this not what she wanted?]
[Contact. Accelerating pulses reanimate tensions that should have been long buried. Surroundings fade away as fear slicks the air, turning it to molasses, and she can't breathe. The room is no longer a haven, but a cage. She's been trapped. She needs out. There's danger. Danger. Danger. Danger Danger DangerDangerdaNGERD]
(--Hey. Are you there?)
(--Wh--)
(You crushed our food.)
[She blinks, looks down to where her claws have fallen by her sides, and finds them clenched into fists. Sure enough, the carcass she was holding earlier has been mangled beyond coherent form, hemo slowly dripping from her claws and staining the pure grasses beneath her.]
(...Do you want me to handle this one?)
[...Was that all real? What did it all mean? Was she supposed to just... what? Just forget? Forget that all happened?]
[She looks to the sentinel closer to her. Its cloak has gashes along its edges, with much of the decorative embroidery there sheared off. The window of missing fabric reveals serrated gashes along the otherwise unmarred metal of its abdomen. A testament to its earlier strife. With her.]
[And yet, she stands here behind the Sentinel, neither stalking it as a predator nor preparing to run as prey. Her claws are not raised for battle, nor are her muscles tight with the adrenaline of life-or-death struggle. She's only... here. Calmly existing beside it, despite everything.]
[Amazing.]
[...Across from it, Third stands waiting. Its expression is unreadable to her—something she is confused by, and she isn't sure she appreciates. As a hunter, she prided herself upon being able to read the field of battle; to know every aspect of it and its players. To be unable to perceive the thoughts of her adversary is not something she is accustomed to.]
[But she's not standing here as a hunter, is she?]
[No. She's only here. There is no battlefield—no test of strength or mental fortitude. No war. This is neutral ground.]
[There will be no schemes, no tricks, no traps.]
[None.]
(...)
(No.)
[So she only waits for Third to provide its own answers for her unspoken questions.]
We received your message from Chorin. Excellent-pleasing, that you are alright from whatever you have been up to. It however, must inconvenience you.
Mother-Sentinel. It has a god to kill-remove. Your aid, it asks for.
@third-sentinel
Yivel stands over her workbench, spinning a length of golden Silk between two fingers, examining it. She turns to the Third when it enters, and knows immense relief.
She had not been able to watch over it for some time, so to know it is well is... a great deal of weight removed from her mind.
At the words it speaks, however, she pauses. "... A God to kill. In anything, I am with you... perhaps especially in this, but this is no small task."
She looks away. "Which God? What prompted this?"
The Silken Monarch. She has dismantled Diver and taken-stolen his Silkfly and Crest-Spool. She has ordered it to find-retrieve smaller components to rebuild him.
It relays the struggle with the Knight, the prophecy, the evacuation and destruction of the Cogwork Core. It tells her of the Pale Star's demise and Grand Mother Silk's unexpected interference. It tells her of the Liar's Eye, and how it was stolen by the Monarch not that long ago before this interaction.
So it seeks your council, instead of rushing in after her.
It had been longer than the two week deadline for the fifth sentinel's checkup, way longer. All those strange things happening to the sentinel's body... Let's hope the cause can be found today. The fifth sentinel spoke in a quiet, shy voice.
I'm here for the checkup that was supposed to happen... Many, many bell strikes ago...
@fifth-sentinal-official
@third-sentinel is also here.
The Twelfth Architect turned. "I see... Wh-Wh-Why did you two rely on m-m-me to remember this? My Internal Timekeeper was broken. I c-could not tell how much time had passed."
The words were somewhat harsh, but the Twelfth Architect said them gently. They weren't actually upset, and hopefully, that came across.
"I su-suppose it matters not, anymore. How d-d-do your checkups work? I... D-D-Don't recall if you have a set-setting for it or anything of the sort."
Well, usually you would just use the command "maintenance: required" and try to see what's wrong with me. Some architects also held a bit of a therapy session to see if the cause was some kind of mental problem but not all of them did. You know of anything else Trinn?
The Twelfth Architect stared blankly for a moment, before saying, "I am afr-afraid a therapy session is outside my abilities-skills. I am fairly new to embracing emotions myself, and thus d-d-don't feel I am qualified for that. I am qu-qualified for physical maintenance, however."
The Twelfth Architect then said, "Maintenance: Required."
The lights in his eyes fade, his motors-muscles relax and the hatch showing his internals opens.
Blobs of soul fly out of the opening, creating violently slashing tentacles all around the architect and fifth. All of his parts get pushed out by tentacles, except for his silkfly in head and the spool containing runes.
If one were to look at the runes on this spool, one could see that the runes have changed from the blueprints to also include an endless soul making machine.
Once the parts are pushed out they are replaced with soul made organs. A heart, trachea, a digestive track and many more are created in the span of seconds. Though a brain seems to be missing.
After the organs fill his body his shell gets covered in a thick layer of soul that hardens into an almost steel-like material. The armour shapes his antennae like horns. The helmet shows three sharp visors, one acting as a mouth.
He floats up from the table and lets out a deafening roar. The roar creates a blinding light covering the eyes of all the automatons. Once the light has faded the workshop is in ruins, fifth is gone and screams if underworks could be heard from outside the room.
The Twelfth Architect stared in horror at the tentacles. They vaguely recalled the last time this had happened, when they had removed the strange heart that had become part of the Fifth Sentinel. They did not want a repeat of last time. However, it seemed this would be worse.
They watched as the Fifth Sentinel's parts fell out onto the floor, and as new organs made of Soul filled his body. They watched as a new, armored shell appeared around the Fifth Sentinel. They shuddered at the roar they heard, and they covered their eyes as the blinding light appeared. When they uncovered their eyes, they found their workshop ruined.
They turned to the Third Sentinel as clix spoke, and processed the words. Eventually, they said, "I will re-re-repair my workshop. I will get to safety. If you n-n-need my assistance, please do in-inform me."
The Twelfth Architect was acting very calm. Inside, they were anything but.
Corpses of underworkers litter the ground. Fifth? Floats high above the ground. He is holding an underworker high above the ground, high enough that a drop will be fatal. Nonetheless, he drops the underworker and looks towards Trinn. He summons a blade of pure soul and attacks.
Trinn's attention is on the worker instead - everything inside of it urges it forward, reaching, hoping to save them just in time.
(He doesn't need more death on his hands)
His attack is sloppy, as if a part of him is fighting not to harm Trinn. This allows it to outpace him easily. It jumps onto his shoulders and uses him as a springboard to leap into the air after the Underworker, throwing globs of Void at his face to slow his pursuit.
The enemy of a Soul-cursed being is a Void-blessed monster. It hums to distort the senses of the Star-Puppet - Soul is trickier to manipulate, but it's not that far off from Silk. Just enough to distort and warp.
[Void Blob: 2d6 -> 4, two damage if it lands]
[Siren Song: Star Knight takes -1d2 Modifier on Evasion, and a -1d6 on Offense his next turn]
Its heart settles as the warm weight of the Underworker lands neatly in its arms. It lands with the shaking person, throwing them to the emergency exits before its feet touches the ground.
It spares one moment to check that they got the hint to run.
And then it turns back to face him.
It will be okay-alright, brother. Trust in it. One way or another, the prophecy shall fall today.
The knight simply laughs. Though it seems more like... The armour?
(the knight of the pale star rolls evasion! Rolled an 8! Lowered by 2 into a 6! The knight uses guard: buring hot armour! Evasion check heightened to 13! Succes! Gained two silk.)
The blobs hit the armour at full speed, trying to eat away at it. The armour replenishes just as fast as the void eats it, creating an endless cycle. The knight is not amused and shakes most of the void off of himself. Most of it falls off, not all of it.
The knight steps to the side in a seemingly instantaneous motion. He floats high above the ground before lunging to stab the earth. Massive spikes appear all around the room.
Trinn does not dodge in time, and clix pays for that in the form of a spike to the side of clax chassis. Clix pivots, holding a claw over the damage as it focuses its Silk into a messy Bind.
It forgives you, brother-sentinel. It is unharmed-undamaged, with no pain.
As it speaks, it rushes in to slit the throat of the fleshy parasite.
(evasion check: 12. Knight of the pale star used focus: 9. 12 turns into 3. Trinn takes three damage. Knight of the pale star takes 1 damage and gains 1 silk.)
As the knife begins to slice into the armour an explosion of rune appears. It sends Trinn flying into a wall, cracking much of clax back shell. The plate of armour covering the neck also falls off and does not regenerate, leaving a weak spot.
(the knight of the pale star will now take double damage if struck in the neck.)
Clix feels the plating of clax back shatter. The pieces click together strangely, distractingly. Its Cogheart miraculously does not stall - but it doesn't have the focus to use the Silk produced.
It shakes its head. It has to keep going. Failure is not an option.
Clix readies its blades, aiming for the weakened defenses.
(Evasion check: 7. The knight of the pale star used burning hot armour: 15. 7 turns to 20. Succes! Knight of the pale star gained 2 silk.)
It knocks the pin out of the air with its free hand. A voice comes out of the throat hole.
Why are my intestines wiggling? Ughhh......
(health 5/6)
(silk 3/4)
Ooc: fun fact! Human intestines are constantly wiggling to the point doctors have to take them out and put 'em on a rack so that they don't impede surgery.
Trinn straightens up after binding some of the pieces back in place. Clix runs, jumping quickly from wall to wall, throwing clax voice in order to confuse this thing.
[Siren Song: The Star Knight takes a -1d2 Modifier on Evasion, and a -1d6 on Offense his next turn]
It lands behind him, reaching out to run its blades across his throat.
(Evasion check: 1, siren song avoided because it can't go lower than 1, failure. Knight of the pale star takes 4 damage. Correction! Earlier in the reblog chain they were supposed to take 2 damage but they took one. Knight of the pale star takes 5 damage in total.)
(health: 0/6)
Soul bleeds like a fountain from the throat. It tries to swing its blades one last time, but falls to the floor.
The pale star lowers itself to the knight. It looks up at Trinn.
"You fool."
The knight of the pale star rises from the ground. It's armour is completely repaired.
(knight of the pale star restored to full health!)
(health: 6/6)
"the only thing that can stop my knight is the mutebolt. Do you see a mutebolt within kilometres of you?"
The mutebolt falls out of the knight of the pale star's pockets and rolls over to Trinn.
Trinn snatches the torture device without thinking, backing up quickly.
Clax mind zips at top speed. Solution after solution is proposed and dismissed in the seconds after clax impulsive decision. Clax gears hurt, clax audio-processors ring with high pitched static. The metal of clax back shifts even through the binds.
The Knight of the Accursed Star stands good as new.
Clix will not win this fight forever. Trinn will falter as clax metal buckles under the unyielding pressure, no matter how clever or quick clix plays this. That is the cost of tangling with the Divine.
It made a promise not to use the Mutebolt.
It made a promise to stop him if this happened. It made a promise to keep him safe from himself.
Clix has no more time to hesitate. Clix makes clax decision and hopes it is the right one. Either way, there is no forgiveness to be found in clax betrayal.
Leave its brother alone, you foul-diseased "god". He's just a grub, who trusted you!
The knight falls to its knees. Mechanical whirring could be heard from the mutebolt.
"absorbing soul at 100 perfect efficiency."
The soul inside the knight speaks.
"produce... more... Soul..."
"efficiency dropped, absorbing soul faster."
"produce... more... Soul..."
"efficiency dropped, absorbing soul faster."
"PRODUCE, MORE, SOU-"
Fifth explodes. Most of him, at least. There are still two parts left, the spool with the crest bearing runes and the silkfly. Silk shoots up, attaching to the roof at various points.
"yes..." The star speaks.
Soul spews from the silk, creating a cylindrical shape that burns through the floor below it. Soon the shape grows a hundred wings, then two tiny little arms, then a sentinel shaped head, and at last, six bright shining eyes.
You have met.
The pale lord.
The creature screeched in anger, or is it pain? It begins burrowing-
"yes! Yes! Burrow into the earth until it's gone!"
-Upwards
"whar"
The pale star tries to reach for the head of the beast, only to get a little too close to its body and get vaporised into ash.
The pale lord melts through part of the citadel after part of the citadel. The cogwork core falls in shambles in its wake. Until it finds a really tough rock.
"rgelryfh"
It speaks in the voices of both the crests of fifth. Whatever is above the rock rumbles, shaking the entire citadel.
Trinn preemptively deactivates its ability to feel emotions.
----
She does not get to take its brother and all that makes him himself.
She does not get to swoop down and order it around as if it is not a person.
She does not get to make decisions for his body without his input, so casually as she just had.
He just came from the clutches of a pale being, how dare she entangle him again?
[Emotional input too high. Overload imminent]
[War Protocols Activating...]
-----
It takes the list. As it reads over the components, it puts together a scheme.
The Silken Monarch is not an entity it has tangled with before. Not directly. That will need to change very soon - but it is foolish to go leaping after her with no plan and no support.
The prototype sentinel approaches you nervously. “S-s-sibling. Its repairs have b-been completed.” It looks down, scraping around the dust on the floor with the tip of its pipe-cane. “T-to learn, this Sentinel wishes. Of t-the Citadel. Of t-the ‘voices’ that one speaks of. W-would one be will-l-ling to assist in this task? If it is n-no bother.”
@discarded-sentinel
(ooc: my apologies for not sending this earlier, I know the previous interaction took place a while ago, things have been a lot recently and I’ve not been able to until now)
Certainly.
Sibling, what do you already know-understand?
---
Yeah no worries, we've been pretty low motivation anyway so we would have been the dragging point if you weren't
“V-very little, it knows. It is aware that it is built to serve the Citad-del. It is aware that its intent i-is to protect. It has n-not been given much more information in its datab-b-base.”
Voices of the Citadel: defined as all those who travel-reside in Pharloom peacefully. Their protection is our primary Directive. We are not to harm them, except in instances where there is no other choice to make.
This involves combat, but skills such as information-gathering and conflict de-escalation are also invaluable to have. As well as some medical-body knowledge, to increase the chances of our charge's survival.
As long as we successfully guide-lead those to where they need to be in mostly one piece, we have succeeded as Sentinels. As long as we have successfully guarded-defended the Voices who are stationary from mundane and large-scale threats, we have succeeded as Sentinels.
We are counted as seven, but in truth we number as nine with you included. This Sentinel is only one of the pair of Third Sentinels, who each wield the short-pins.
Query: what weapon do you wield-specialize, if any?
“A small amount of train-n-ning with a long-pin, it recalls. Highly kn-knowledgeable, it does not believe itself t-to be. If it is to recall correctly, it was found def-def-defect-def- not suitable prior t-to any mastery.”
“Which weapon it wields, it c-cares not. It w-will accept whatever is availab-b-ble to it and should benefit this ord-d-der of Sentin-nels most. Though, perhaps a one-handed one would be pref-prefer-pref- beneficial.”
Understood. Would you benefit-improve with a long-range weapon? A gun, or a crossbow, or a bow. Or even a weaponized shield, if you would still like-prefer to be melee.
We have a surplus of close-range Sentinels. This one would not mind another comrade-ally more suited for support and crowd control.
It had been longer than the two week deadline for the fifth sentinel's checkup, way longer. All those strange things happening to the sentinel's body... Let's hope the cause can be found today. The fifth sentinel spoke in a quiet, shy voice.
I'm here for the checkup that was supposed to happen... Many, many bell strikes ago...
@fifth-sentinal-official
@third-sentinel is also here.
The Twelfth Architect turned. "I see... Wh-Wh-Why did you two rely on m-m-me to remember this? My Internal Timekeeper was broken. I c-could not tell how much time had passed."
The words were somewhat harsh, but the Twelfth Architect said them gently. They weren't actually upset, and hopefully, that came across.
"I su-suppose it matters not, anymore. How d-d-do your checkups work? I... D-D-Don't recall if you have a set-setting for it or anything of the sort."
Well, usually you would just use the command "maintenance: required" and try to see what's wrong with me. Some architects also held a bit of a therapy session to see if the cause was some kind of mental problem but not all of them did. You know of anything else Trinn?
The Twelfth Architect stared blankly for a moment, before saying, "I am afr-afraid a therapy session is outside my abilities-skills. I am fairly new to embracing emotions myself, and thus d-d-don't feel I am qualified for that. I am qu-qualified for physical maintenance, however."
The Twelfth Architect then said, "Maintenance: Required."
The lights in his eyes fade, his motors-muscles relax and the hatch showing his internals opens.
Blobs of soul fly out of the opening, creating violently slashing tentacles all around the architect and fifth. All of his parts get pushed out by tentacles, except for his silkfly in head and the spool containing runes.
If one were to look at the runes on this spool, one could see that the runes have changed from the blueprints to also include an endless soul making machine.
Once the parts are pushed out they are replaced with soul made organs. A heart, trachea, a digestive track and many more are created in the span of seconds. Though a brain seems to be missing.
After the organs fill his body his shell gets covered in a thick layer of soul that hardens into an almost steel-like material. The armour shapes his antennae like horns. The helmet shows three sharp visors, one acting as a mouth.
He floats up from the table and lets out a deafening roar. The roar creates a blinding light covering the eyes of all the automatons. Once the light has faded the workshop is in ruins, fifth is gone and screams if underworks could be heard from outside the room.
The Twelfth Architect stared in horror at the tentacles. They vaguely recalled the last time this had happened, when they had removed the strange heart that had become part of the Fifth Sentinel. They did not want a repeat of last time. However, it seemed this would be worse.
They watched as the Fifth Sentinel's parts fell out onto the floor, and as new organs made of Soul filled his body. They watched as a new, armored shell appeared around the Fifth Sentinel. They shuddered at the roar they heard, and they covered their eyes as the blinding light appeared. When they uncovered their eyes, they found their workshop ruined.
They turned to the Third Sentinel as clix spoke, and processed the words. Eventually, they said, "I will re-re-repair my workshop. I will get to safety. If you n-n-need my assistance, please do in-inform me."
The Twelfth Architect was acting very calm. Inside, they were anything but.
Corpses of underworkers litter the ground. Fifth? Floats high above the ground. He is holding an underworker high above the ground, high enough that a drop will be fatal. Nonetheless, he drops the underworker and looks towards Trinn. He summons a blade of pure soul and attacks.
Trinn's attention is on the worker instead - everything inside of it urges it forward, reaching, hoping to save them just in time.
(He doesn't need more death on his hands)
His attack is sloppy, as if a part of him is fighting not to harm Trinn. This allows it to outpace him easily. It jumps onto his shoulders and uses him as a springboard to leap into the air after the Underworker, throwing globs of Void at his face to slow his pursuit.
The enemy of a Soul-cursed being is a Void-blessed monster. It hums to distort the senses of the Star-Puppet - Soul is trickier to manipulate, but it's not that far off from Silk. Just enough to distort and warp.
[Void Blob: 2d6 -> 4, two damage if it lands]
[Siren Song: Star Knight takes -1d2 Modifier on Evasion, and a -1d6 on Offense his next turn]
Its heart settles as the warm weight of the Underworker lands neatly in its arms. It lands with the shaking person, throwing them to the emergency exits before its feet touches the ground.
It spares one moment to check that they got the hint to run.
And then it turns back to face him.
It will be okay-alright, brother. Trust in it. One way or another, the prophecy shall fall today.
The knight simply laughs. Though it seems more like... The armour?
(the knight of the pale star rolls evasion! Rolled an 8! Lowered by 2 into a 6! The knight uses guard: buring hot armour! Evasion check heightened to 13! Succes! Gained two silk.)
The blobs hit the armour at full speed, trying to eat away at it. The armour replenishes just as fast as the void eats it, creating an endless cycle. The knight is not amused and shakes most of the void off of himself. Most of it falls off, not all of it.
The knight steps to the side in a seemingly instantaneous motion. He floats high above the ground before lunging to stab the earth. Massive spikes appear all around the room.
Trinn does not dodge in time, and clix pays for that in the form of a spike to the side of clax chassis. Clix pivots, holding a claw over the damage as it focuses its Silk into a messy Bind.
It forgives you, brother-sentinel. It is unharmed-undamaged, with no pain.
As it speaks, it rushes in to slit the throat of the fleshy parasite.
(evasion check: 12. Knight of the pale star used focus: 9. 12 turns into 3. Trinn takes three damage. Knight of the pale star takes 1 damage and gains 1 silk.)
As the knife begins to slice into the armour an explosion of rune appears. It sends Trinn flying into a wall, cracking much of clax back shell. The plate of armour covering the neck also falls off and does not regenerate, leaving a weak spot.
(the knight of the pale star will now take double damage if struck in the neck.)
Clix feels the plating of clax back shatter. The pieces click together strangely, distractingly. Its Cogheart miraculously does not stall - but it doesn't have the focus to use the Silk produced.
It shakes its head. It has to keep going. Failure is not an option.
Clix readies its blades, aiming for the weakened defenses.
(Evasion check: 7. The knight of the pale star used burning hot armour: 15. 7 turns to 20. Succes! Knight of the pale star gained 2 silk.)
It knocks the pin out of the air with its free hand. A voice comes out of the throat hole.
Why are my intestines wiggling? Ughhh......
(health 5/6)
(silk 3/4)
Ooc: fun fact! Human intestines are constantly wiggling to the point doctors have to take them out and put 'em on a rack so that they don't impede surgery.
Trinn straightens up after binding some of the pieces back in place. Clix runs, jumping quickly from wall to wall, throwing clax voice in order to confuse this thing.
[Siren Song: The Star Knight takes a -1d2 Modifier on Evasion, and a -1d6 on Offense his next turn]
It lands behind him, reaching out to run its blades across his throat.
(Evasion check: 1, siren song avoided because it can't go lower than 1, failure. Knight of the pale star takes 4 damage. Correction! Earlier in the reblog chain they were supposed to take 2 damage but they took one. Knight of the pale star takes 5 damage in total.)
(health: 0/6)
Soul bleeds like a fountain from the throat. It tries to swing its blades one last time, but falls to the floor.
The pale star lowers itself to the knight. It looks up at Trinn.
"You fool."
The knight of the pale star rises from the ground. It's armour is completely repaired.
(knight of the pale star restored to full health!)
(health: 6/6)
"the only thing that can stop my knight is the mutebolt. Do you see a mutebolt within kilometres of you?"
The mutebolt falls out of the knight of the pale star's pockets and rolls over to Trinn.
Trinn snatches the torture device without thinking, backing up quickly.
Clax mind zips at top speed. Solution after solution is proposed and dismissed in the seconds after clax impulsive decision. Clax gears hurt, clax audio-processors ring with high pitched static. The metal of clax back shifts even through the binds.
The Knight of the Accursed Star stands good as new.
Clix will not win this fight forever. Trinn will falter as clax metal buckles under the unyielding pressure, no matter how clever or quick clix plays this. That is the cost of tangling with the Divine.
It made a promise not to use the Mutebolt.
It made a promise to stop him if this happened. It made a promise to keep him safe from himself.
Clix has no more time to hesitate. Clix makes clax decision and hopes it is the right one. Either way, there is no forgiveness to be found in clax betrayal.
Leave its brother alone, you foul-diseased "god". He's just a grub, who trusted you!
