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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Given your characterization of her she should refuse to provide them due to being unheroic and dishonorable.
Why?

If you're talking about Paul being unheroic and dishonorable, then you're wrong on that front, since while he's he's not a pure white knight, he has done a lot of of genuinely good and heroic things.

She also can probably understand nuance and knows that having Paul as an ally is a good idea.
 
I have to wonder the wider impact OL getting his mage slayer roads from elsewhere in the universe. Does where the rounds are made have any effect, will it be used against him somehow.

that's a great question. is any given thaumausphere = any other given thaumausphere? what are the roots of ours, versus the roots of theirs? if anything i could maybe see a caveat like "these rounds will hurt anything on your world but are designed not to harm anything on our world" or some other kind of security backup.

i'm really enjoying this story, as i'm generally more interested in magic-based characters, but i'm also looking forward to how OL might potentially grow/expand/develop this new source of magic. the new intergalactic Cadbury, if you will
 
that's a great question. is any given thaumausphere = any other given thaumausphere? what are the roots of ours, versus the roots of theirs? if anything i could maybe see a caveat like "these rounds will hurt anything on your world but are designed not to harm anything on our world" or some other kind of security backup
And Artemis's people seem to have had some contact with aliens, unlike the Atlanteans, so they may know at least a bit on how magic from different worlds work in order to make something like that.
 
Just imagine these wizards thousands and thousands of years ago, when magical traditions were still young and the only empowered individuals were those blessed by the gods. With these levels of proficiency in their chosen fields, compared to most people at the time, these wizards were practically gods themselves, for all intents and purposes.
 
So, at least three competent enemies working together. Is there reason to suspect Gamemnae wants to make Atlantis conquer more than she dislikes their status quo?
 
hy?

If you're talking about Paul being unheroic and dishonorable, then you're wrong on that front, since while he's he's not a pure white knight, he has done a lot of of genuinely good and heroic things.

She also can probably understand nuance and knows that having Paul as an ally is a good idea.
Because guns are unheroic and dishonorable.
 
Context matters, the queen in question believes Knights are the pinnacle of combat.
She's also interested in meeting and potentially marrying Alan, who basically has the same powers as Paul and who Paul gave information on, which probably included info about his powers.

She's also probably smart enough to see that most knights probably wouldn't be able to handle the type of threats Paul and Alan face.

Especially since they fight threats in space because their rings are useful for space fights and in this setting using magic in space is incredibly difficult.
 
Supnautica (part 36) New
7th May 2013
15:12 GMT +2


I watch as Dr. Balewa gestures, and the ranks of bones sink beneath the earth.

"Er…"

"I have placed wards. They will not rise agaiyn."

"Ah, I assumed that you'd do that. It's just…"

He regards me dubiously. "I would not recommend planting explosives. This is a wildlife reserve now."

"So no one's going to be digging?"

He bows his head slightly. "Please do not plant explosives." He closes his eyes and then turns his head towards me. "You have already-."

"Just because it's sensible, that doesn't mean that I've done it."

"Thet, I know."

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to know if any of them were related to you."

"I was not eh chaste man. I would not be surprised if most of them were, to some degree."

"Then I won't worry about it." I sigh. "I don't suppose you know how to fix my railgun rounds, do you?"

"No. I have been trying to learn Atlantean magic, but it is not my focus."

I don't miss my shots often, but going full automatic against people with exotic dodging techniques resulted in a grand total of three misses. One hit a rock and deformed, so that's two usable mage-slayer rounds left.

"I did a soil analysis. They were made from the same clay that Henry King Senior was repaired with."

"I em not surprised, but it is good to have it confirmed. Do you know where it came from?"

"Right here. Do you think it was Ged?"

"No. He said that they were reanimated by someone else."

"And you think he was being honest?"

"He may not heff been, but he was honest about theh reanimation spell coming from elsewhere. I could feel the shape of it."

"Okay, good. Any clue where it came from or who the caster was?"

"Thet I do not heff. I would know if it I saw it again."

"How are you at passing through unearthly realms?"

"It is my job."

"I caught one of the spells that the fire wizard hit me with, and I'm keeping it in the Honden. Are you going to be alright if I bring you there?"

"Yes." He nods. "Yes. As I said, it is my job. And I em quite good at it."

"Okay." I hold out my left hand. "Make your preparations, and then whenever you're-" He takes my hand immediately. "-ready-. Okay. Here we

are."

That's interesting. Dr. Balewa isn't… Orange, or obscured by a spell that's keeping him separate. Instead, most of him is faded into the background with glowing white lines which look… A little like an aboriginal Australian design.

He looks around for a moment in a mildly interested fashion, and then focuses on the spell.


"Hmm."

"Does it mean anything to you?"

"Why did you put it here? Wouldn't you usually feed its power to theh Ophidian?"

"It struck me that if I drew the power into my tattoos, he might have been able to set my soul on fire."… "Is that possible?

"Ehhh... It would not be simple to convert theh spell, and he did not know your nature. I would heff guarded against it were it cast at me, but I do not think thet you needed to."

"I'll bear that in mind."

"It is interesting." White strands extend from him and coil around the spell "Unintelligent undead cannot cast spells. Even intelligent undead thet I heff met have been limited. Without a normal connection to the Earth's magic energies, it is not possible."

"I know that from personal experience. So… Something was using them as a reagent? Or… Focusing aid? Casting spells through them?"

"Just because I know thet it is true does not mean that it is true. Ged… Surprised me."

"Because he's undead and using magic?"

"I suspect thet he menaged a partial transubstantiation. I em not certain thet he is truly dead."

"How much of a threat is he?"

"With cities as dense as they are now? He is far more dangerous then he was when he was eh man."

"Do you think that he knows that?"

"No. But I will not bet their lives on that belief."

It looks like whatever he's doing is… Teasing bits out of the spell, unbinding it, which… Well, he couldn't be able to match the signature anymore, but I assume that he learned enough that at his level of skill he can just remember it.

"What are you doing?"


"If I em correct, and the clay-clad bones we saw were vectors for the magic of another, then there should be something of the magic of the original wizard who formed them."

I smile. "And you didn't get that while we were fighting them?"

"I was occupied. Or did you not wonder why you did not explode in theh first four seconds."

"I didn't, not after you spent the whole walk here doing your contemporaries down. But if that was you, thank you."

"Theh brute force magics they use are harmful to certain people. Magicians ken be harmed, but would usually know how to shield themselves. You cannot, and you saw how they struck you through your wards and sigils."

"Alright. I apologise for my gibe."

"I do not say this for my ego. I say this because I do not want for you to die. You know that I do not like 'superhero' as eh concept. I appreciate that though you wish to alter society, you do so as a normal man might. It is an unusual display of restraint."

"It's because I want to see how things go. Fiddling around with complex systems can make all sorts of thing go wrong."

He nods with a small smile, then dismisses his spell.


"I believe that I have a trace. Let us see what we find."
 
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He regards me dubiously. "I would not recommend planting explosives. This is a wildlife reserve now."

"So no one's going to be digging

Even if they do dig, the wizards may not care since they're ordinary people instead of an uber-powerful wizard and a weird elemental.

Just because it's sensible, that doesn't mean that I've done it."

True.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to know if any of them were related to you."

"I was not eh chaste man. I would not be surprised if most of them were, to some degree

It wouldn't be surprising if many of the mortal magic users he's had to fight over his life were descendants of his.

"No. I have been trying to learn Atlantean magic, but it is not my focus

Hmm, either he never learned any spells that would let him survive underwater, or they could be detected and he could be turned away.

And even though he has access to them now, learning a whole new system would take time.

"Why did you put it here? Wouldn't you usually feed its power to theh Ophidian?"
"It struck me that if I drew the power

Add a space.

How much of a threat is he?"

"With cities as dense as they are now? He is far more dangerous then he was when he was eh man."

I'm picturing him using his magic to make concrete buildings come to life.

I smile. "And you didn't get that while we were fighting them?"

"I was occupied

Yeah, dodging fireballs and giant rock fists would take up your attention.

"Theh brute force magics they use are harmful to certain people

Well giant fists made of rock are pretty harmful to most things.
 
A shame Balewa still doesn't like superheroes… but it's understandable.

That being said, yeeeeeeeeeees. This is the good stuff. Magic, arcane realms, colors.

…huh. It's occurring to me that Justice Lords John (50?) was a man with green in his soul (due to exposure) and a slightly expanded metaphysique before his awakening.

What would happen if Grayven empowered Balewa (the white life entity is at least as powerful as a Central Power Battery) in the same way? He's already broken past mortal limits to become ageless, as well as a powerful mage. Would Awakening be a minor power up, or would it unbind him from his limits and boost him much more rapidly to Guardian (Nabu+?) level power?
 
"I do not say this for my ego. I say this because I do not want for you to die. You know that I do not like 'superhero' as eh concept. I appreciate that though you wish to alter society, you do so as a normal man might. It is an unusual display of restraint."
I kinda want to see Balewa forced to admit that his way was too passive. I know Mr Zoat has said he's begrudgingly realized his way isn't right due to the Anti-Life, but it'd be nice to see him admit it and try to figure out a way to be more moderate on his stance.
 
I kinda want to see Balewa forced to admit that his way was too passive. I know Mr Zoat has said he's begrudgingly realized his way isn't right due to the Anti-Life, but it'd be nice to see him admit it and try to figure out a way to be more moderate on his stance.
I think he sorta did the first time we saw him.

He basically told Paul that his methods may not work since in a short amount of time one magician tried to block out the sun, another one split children and adults, and a third one tried to flood the planet.
 
Gotta keep in mind that Balewa is ancient, even if he recognizes that his way is perhaps not quite as ideal as he once thought it was, it's still going to take time for him to act significantly differently simply because he's used to being relatively passive.
 
7th May 2013
15:12 GMT +2


I watch as Dr. Balewa gestures, and the ranks of bones sink beneath the earth.

"Er…"

"I have placed wards. They will not rise agaiyn."
Good to know. I expect any ward Nommo places will be far stronger than most anyone could overcome. Hopefully they rest for longer this time around. Honestly, I'm amazed there was that much left of them after all these millennia. Unless they'd started to fossilize.

"Ah, I assumed that you'd do that. It's just…"

He regards me dubiously. "I would not recommend planting explosives. This is a wildlife reserve now."
Now would OL do a silly thing like that? 🤔 ...Right, silly question.

"So no one's going to be digging?"

He bows his head slightly. "Please do not plant explosives." He closes his eyes and then turns his head towards me. "You have already-."
And even the good Doctor knows it's something he'd do.

"Just because it's sensible, that doesn't mean that I've done it."

"Thet, I know."
A lament shared by just about anyone who knows him, sometimes. 😏

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to know if any of them were related to you."

"I was not eh chaste man. I would not be surprised if most of them were, to some degree."
In other words, he had plenty of ladies itching for his magic wand. And given how full of Life force he is, I expect many of them walked away pregnant.

"Then I won't worry about it." I sigh. "I don't suppose you know how to fix my railgun rounds, do you?"

"No. I have been trying to learn Atlantean magic, but it is not my focus."
And I doubt Nommo wants to spend his time doing crafting for OL and the other Lanterns when he has more important stuff to stay on top of.

I don't miss my shots often, but going full automatic against people with exotic dodging techniques resulted in a grant total of three misses. One hit a rock and deformed, so that's two usable mage-slayer rounds left.

"I did a soil analysis. They were made from the same clay that Henry King Senior was repaired with."
I bet one thing we don't see after his fights is him going around reclaiming any spent ammunition he can recover. Not that a railgun would leave much in the way of intact rounds.

"I em not surprised, but it is good to have it confirmed. Do you know where it came from?"

"Right here. Do you think it was Ged?"
No, he made that pretty clear with his villainous dialogue. Interesting that they used the clay of Kor, though. I suppose it still retained much magical power in the soil.

"No. He said that they were reanimated by someone else."

"And you think he was being honest?"
Too much ego. He was practically gloating about getting to kill Nommo.

"He may not heff been, but he was honest about theh reanimation spell coming from elsewhere. I could feel the shape of it."

"Okay, good. Any clue where it came from or who the caster was?"
Given his age, he may well recognise certain magical traditions by feel...

"Thet I do not heff. I would know if it I saw it again."

"How are you at passing through unearthly realms?"
Oh? Worried about that glob of magic you yoinked to the Honden?

"It is my job."

"I caught one of the spells that the fire wizard hit me with, and I'm keeping it in the Honden. Are you going to be alright if I bring you there?"
...I suspect if anyone would be, it'd be him.

"Yes." He nods. "Yes. As I said, it is my job. And I em quite good at it."

"Okay." I hold out my left hand. "Make your preparations, and then whenever you're-" He takes my hand immediately. "-ready-. Okay. Here we

are."
While i doubt the Ophidian would poke her head out for a pat from him, she might be paying close attention...

That's interesting. Dr. Balewa isn't… Orange, or obscured by a spell that's keeping him separate. Instead, most of him is faded into the background with glowing white lines which look… A little like an aboriginal Australian design.

He looks around for a moment in a mildly interested fashion, and then focuses on the spell.
I'm guessing that's his preparation. Grounding to protect him from the overpowering amount of Avarice, likely tied to his Enlightenment.

"Hmm."

"Does it mean anything to you?"
Oh, this would be fun to read on a light background theme...

"Why did you put it here? Wouldn't you usually feed its power to theh Ophidian?"

"It struck me that if I drew the power into my tattoos, he might have been able to set my soul on fire."… "Is that possible?
Given what happened when he ate the fire magic previously... Good plan.

"Ehhh... It would not be simple to convert theh spell, and he did not know your nature. I would heff guarded against it were it cast at me, but I do not think thet you needed to."

"I'll bare that in mind."
Certainly, OL is kind of winging it when it comes to magic stuff, even now. That patchwork soul of his makes for weird interactions, after all.

"It is interesting." White strands extend from him and coil around the spell "Unintelligent undead cannot cast spells. Even intelligent undead thet I heff met have been limited. Without a normal connection to the Earth's magic energies, it is not possible."

"I know that from personal experience. So… Something was using them as a reagent? Or… Focusing aid? Casting spells through them?"
Or the clay gave them the connection they needed, The fact it came from, presumably, their homeland probably reinforced the sympathetic connections.

"Just because I know thet it is true does not mean that it is true. Ged… Surprised me."

"Because he's undead and using magic?"
And a surprise after so many years is no doubt pleasant, if annoying.

"I suspect thet he menaged a partial transubstantiation. I em not certain thet he is truly dead."

"How much of a threat is he?"
That depends on how much earth he can control at a time...

"With cities as dense as they are now? He is far more dangerous then he was when he was eh man."

"Do you think that he knows that?"

"No. But I will not bet their lives on that belief."
...And if it's enough, Ged could topple a city with a well-placed earthquake.

It looks like whatever he's doing is… Teasing bits out of the spell, unbinding it, which… Well, he couldn't be able to match the signature anymore, but I assume that he learned enough that at his level of skill he can just remember it.

"What are you doing?"
Decompiling and reading the code, more or less. I wonder how well-commented it is?

"If I em correct, and the clay-clad bones we saw were vectors for the magic of another, then there should be something of the magic of the original wizard who formed them."

I smile. "And you didn't get that while we were fighting them?"
I'm not sure how good you think he is, but no-one's gonna be analysing magic while fighting for their lives.

"I was occupied. Or did you not wonder why you did not explode in theh first four seconds."

"I didn't, not after you spent the whole walk here doing your contemporaries down. But if that was you, thank you."
Credit where credit is due, certainly. I take it Nommo was blocking a lot of magic OL wasn't aware of, then.

"Theh brute force magics they use are harmful to certain people. Magicians ken be harmed, but would usually know how to shield themselves. You cannot, and you saw how they struck you through your wards and sigils."

"Alright. I apologise for my gibe."
A lot of magic indeed. I can't imagine any of those nasty spells were popular back in the day, with so much potential for collateral damage.

"I do not say this for my ego. I say this because I do not want for you to die. You know that I do not like 'superhero' as eh concept. I appreciate that though you wish to alter society, you do so as a normal man might. It is an unusual display of restraint."

"It's because I want to see how things go. Fiddling around with complex systems can make all sorts of thing go wrong."
And in some cases, OL has been as subtle as a sledgehammer. And to be fair, some of those complex systems needed that.

He nods with a small smile, then dismisses his spell.

"I believe that I have a trace. Let us see what we find."
Excellent. Time to follow the thread through the labyrinth.

A surprising sight, to see someone enter the Honden so easily, but if anyone could do it, it's someone touched by the Life Entity. And now they have a breadcrumb trail to follow. Who will it lead to, I wonder? Somehow, I think it might be someone no-one was expecting, because there's a lot of possibilities that almost fit.
 
Gotta keep in mind that Balewa is ancient, even if he recognizes that his way is perhaps not quite as ideal as he once thought it was, it's still going to take time for him to act significantly differently simply because he's used to being relatively passive.
Yeah, the guy may have been holding this belief for his whole eleven thousand years of life.

And after reading some of the chapters in which he appeared, I can sorta see how he would develop a dislike of superpowered people interfering in the lives of ordinary people.

While he was a king, he apparently originally started out as a slave.

And in the chapter where they try to free Manheim from Darkseid's control, Balewa shares a moment where his people conquered and enslaved another people, but he let a little boy run away instead of being enslaved.

So the guy may have spent his formative years under the control of someone that could potentially do anything they want to him, no matter how horrible, and he also defied their policies on how to treat those that would be considered lesser.

His owner was also probably a magic user, so his options for defiance before he grew in power himself were probably limited.

These things could contribute to his particular beliefs on why he dislikes superpowered rulers, but why he would also not try to interfere in mundane horrors like regular slavery, since while it is horrible, it's still basically a mortal and non-powered person enslaving another mortal. The slave owner doesn't have any power that may make them immune to a knife in the heart.

That may have also contributed to the civil war that destroyed Kor.

He probably taught his beliefs to his son, who tried to implement them, but there were still those that wanted conquest and eventually that lead to civil war between the two factions.
 
Honestly, I'm amazed there was that much left of them after all these millennia. Unless they'd started to fossilize.

Or whoever revived them just summoned their spirits and either built new bodies for them, or they built them themselves.

In other words, he had plenty of ladies itching for his magic wand. And given how full of Life force he is, I expect many of them walked away pregnant.

I'm now imagining him altering his soul to be like the Life Entity gave him the urge to spread life around.

And I'm not talking about making flowers bloom in your wake.

I bet one thing we don't see after his fights is him going around reclaiming any spent ammunition he can recover. Not that a railgun would leave much in the way of intact rounds.

They're probably worthless after they hit their target.

Too much ego. He was practically gloating about getting to kill Nommo.

More like bury him for a few centuries.

Given his age, he may well recognise certain magical traditions by feel...

heck, he may have created some by teaching some people magic that eventually changed and evolved into a new tradition.

Oh, this would be fun to read on a light background theme...

One good thing about the story coming to QQ is that the white and grey background makes it easier to recognize white enlightenment text and quote marks.

Unfortunately, not black quote marks or text unless you look carefully.

That depends on how much earth he can control at a time...

And if the process of turning rocks into concrete somehow damages them magically in a way that hampers manipulation.

A lot of magic indeed. I can't imagine any of those nasty spells were popular back in the day, with so much potential for collateral damage.

Balewa did say that they mostly had power back in his day, not necessarily knowledge.

Though they were trying to kill them, so they'd obviously use more destructive spells.

And in some cases, OL has been as subtle as a sledgehammer. And to be fair, some of those complex systems needed that.

Sometimes you just gotta go all Alexander on the Gordian Knot.
 
Water streams into Robert's hands as he waves them in a circling motion that Nickelodeon would sue us over if this was recorded.

"On my home parallel, there's a television series. It doesn't exist here. It's called 'Avatar: the Legend of Korra'.

Looking at this… I guess ATLA exists, but it didn't get a sequel?

Sorry, just going over old stuff, and the possible contradiction/the link jumped out at me.
 

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