84. The Datasphere Showdown
“So, are we going?” Nox asked for the fifth or sixth time, the others had lost count. An hours rest had come and gone and they’d all regained their second wind. Cyphers old and new were sorted through, and used. Marius found another force cube cypher in the store's cupboard and installed it. Nox used a cypher she’d been holding onto that boosted her hacking abilities in case the datasphere held more locked doors. Jaden lamented that they couldn’t have a long rest as there may be more interesting mutations to be had. Still, the group could feel the end was near. This was the last step. The crystal prison was connected, the jammer was still blocking communication for the Shard and its minions, and they knew the spot to enter the Datasphere. It was time to go.
Jaden, Fureva-Yung, Marius, Nox and Ariaxa all entered the datasphere in their datasphere personas. Jaden was crystalline and angular, like she’d been cut out the very substance of the crystal prison. Now, the crystal has an irridenscent sheen to it, black and purple, green and blue. Fureva-Yung was still vibrating, a overlay of three different images of herself, shimmering and humming. The smallest of the three was older and wiser, the largest bestial and more her Yung persona, and the middle image as she was now, with a mischievous look to her face. Marius had the most dramatic change. He’d been a man divided, black and white, flesh and steel in loose collaboration. Now the steel and synth smoothly blended with the flesh, between the black and white, grey now existed. Ariaxa looked as Nox had first seen her, helping the refugees escape Celeron. The blue ghostly figure flitting through the forest, the blue people of the Edoval Forest Towers. It was comforting to have the blue form with them once more, at the end of it all. Nox, looked as she’d always done where she felt most comfortable. Though she was coming to terms with the idea of a flesh body, her form of stars would be how she forever saw herself.
The first room they appeared in was large and dominated by three shapes, a large hexagon nearest two doors, and two small triangles, closer to a door at the bottom of the room. A breeze from the crystal prison was already at work, dragging scraps of Shard down into the lower gate of the room.
“Well, this doesn’t totally suck,” Marius quipped as Nox happily blinked around the room. Attached to the walls and the shapes, glowing red blob struggled to hold on. As the group entered, one fell off the tip of a triangle and fell through the gate. It was time to clean house. Five red blobs remained to join the rest of the shard further down. Marius moved to the nearest shard, clinging to the hexagon, and zapped it with his Molecular rearranger. Sections of the blob pixelated as the data that created it scrambled. The blob retaliated, reaching out with a part of itself to grab and grapple him. Lightning quick, Marius dodged aside, but only just. If the worst came to worst, he would take the red blob shard through the gate himself, but he'd rather it went first.
In response, Marius shot at a blob on the opposite side of the room. There, two blobs lay flat along the wall, edging closer to a gate that lead to a quieter part of the datasphere. The other blob fired parts of itself at Jaden and Nox, both dodging away from the attacks just in time. Fureva-Yung was scrambling in her pack and eventually pulled out a cypher. Pulling the trigger, she threw it just in front of the gate the two shards were fleeing to. Instantly, a wall of flame covered the gateway. how any shard unwilling to brave the flames was trapped with them. Jaden tried aiming for a shard, barely holding onto the corner of a triangle. Buffered by the wind from the prison crystal, however, she couldn’t hold her aim and the shot went wide. Nox also grabbed a cypher she’d put aside for just this time. It boosted her Psychic abilities, making them more powerful for a short time. She then blasted three of the shards, one on the hexagon attacking Marius, one barely holding onto the triangle and the last shard closest to the fire. All three hit, the shard on the triangle flapping wildly in the breeze, the one nearest the door receiving extra damage from a direct hit.
Having seen the shards meant business, Marius pumped effort into his next Molecular Rearranger. It took a massive hit, showering Marius in red graphical artifacts, but still holding firm to its spot on the hexagon. One near Fureva-Yung at the fire sent a blast at her before falling away from the wall and into the portal below. Fureva-Yung was lost in the blast for a moment, but when the smoke and pixels cleared, Fureva-Yung had taken little more than a scratch. The Shard, barely clinging to the triangle, sent a bolt at Nox before it, too, fell away into the lower portal. Nox glided aside and watched the blast go past. The shard on the hexagon sent a shot at Jaden, but she was ready and dodged aside, her blast going wild as well in the heat of battle.
Fureva-Yung flicked out her chain at the last shard near the door. The chain wrapped the shard, tearing it away from the wall and the door to its safety. The shards were now getting pummeled from Jaden, Nox and Marius as the tide of battle turned. The shard on the chain allowed itself to be taken by the wind, pulling Fureva-Yung with it. By force of will, Fureva-Yung held her ground in a place without ground and refused to move. The shard, was torn from the chain and pulled back into the portal without its prize. Now, all that was left was a heavily damaged shard clinging to hope on the hexagon. A bright glow in the shard signified it was building up a big blast, finally launching it against Marius. Every joule of energy was absorbed or deflected by Marius’ armour, and he held his ground as the exhausted shard slipped away and fell back into the portal.
The room was clear. Marius dodged the flames to check the next room. It was another library chamber, a cylindrical room full of shelving containing data visualised as books. On the catalogue, Marius brought up a map of the local datasphere. The map showed a heavy concentration of the shard through the lower gate, but no presence of the shard anywhere else. Satisfied, he went back to tell the others it was all clear.
“I trust you,” Nox said to him, with the suggestion that if he were wrong, she would have something to say about it and allowed herself to fall through the gate.
Marius followed, turning on his invisibility as he appeared in the next chamber. The funnel-shaped room wide at the top and narrowing to the far end was familiar from their fight against the shard in the Spire. In the centre, the control panel for the shield was dark and lifeless, the shield glowing but not moving forward. At the far end, a large roiling mass of shard filled the space. Jaden somehow appeared in the room past the control panel, beyond the shield, floating back into the mass that was the shard. This was it, this was the last battle. Beyond this room was the crystal prison and the end of the Shard, Erinai and the rule of the Servitors forever and if they were unlucky, Jaden too.
Marius started by breaking the hold of the shard tentacles gripping inside the funnel. The Molecular Rearranger turned the tentacles to pixels and loosened its grip. Exposed, Jaden was the focus of the shard's attacks, barely dodging tentacles lashing out at her. Activating and attracting cypher, she linked herself with Fureva-Yung’s chain, halting her movement above the roiling shard. Inside the shield, tentacles started reaching around, whipping out at Marius, who twisted free to create a concussive bomb.
Fureva-Yung, her chain snapped taught, started pulling Jaden towards the shield and away from the grasping tentacles of the shard with one hand and pulled out a timely Friction Reducing gel cypher. This she threw at the wall close to the shard . Her trick worked, the container of gel shattered spreading across the wall. Wherever the gel hit, the shard lost grip, and another section of the shard fell back into the crystal.
“Mum! Can you start the shield moving up?” Nox asked of Ariaxa. With a nod of her head, the blue being blinked to the control panel and started up the machine. With that done and underway, Nox bamfed out to Jaden beyond the safety of the shield. Jaden had not been lazy as she hung exposed in the centre of the trap. Now she was not falling into the crystal, she pulled out her heavy laser and shot at the shard at almost point-blank range. Scoring a critical hit, she cut off a tentacle, the whole limb falling back into the centre. Marius' Molecular Rearranger attack had a similar effect, with the tentacle he cut falling into rainbow pixels to rain down on the body of the shard. Exposed and wrapped around Jaden, Nox was nearly snatched up by a tentacle, if not for Fureva-Yung reeling them both in. The next chance she got, she bamfed them back to safety inside the shield. Now safe, Jaden got to work getting the machine to move faster as Marius continued to blast tentacles into rainbow pixels. The shield flashed, and the machine in the centre burst into life as Ariaxa urged it and the shield towards the narrow end. Now that Jaden and Nox were safe, Fureva-Yung climbed out beyond the shield and planted herself against the wall. With a leap, she slammed her two feet onto the wall, making it shake and vibrate. The Earthquake did little to dislodge the shard , but it was at least to start.
Desperate, the shard started concentrating its attacks, not on those inside the shield, but on the shield itself. Though only made of energy, all inside could hear the shield cracking under the strain. Now the earthquake was having an effect, and the shard on that side of the trap started slipping. Fureva-Yung sent a Shattering shout after a large tentacle, just in case and returned to her place behind the shield. With Ariaxa and Jaden at the machine, the shield was taking the fight to the shard, scraping it off the wall and down the drain, but it was hard going, and the shield was failing. Nox helped by pumping energy into the shield… as Marius repaired the sections that were showing signs of breaking.
With one last push from everyone, the earthquake, the shattering shout, shield boosts, and the last of the shard that fell into the drain. A wail of monstrous despair echoed up from the drain just before the shield blocked and silenced the shard forever.
“Did we actually do it?” Jaden asked, looking at her controls to the empty room, “What now?”
“Take the giant servitor back to the Spire to get rid of this shard once and for all, “ Nox said, sure that it wasn’t over until the shard was past the gate in the star.
“We have to free the remaining villagers,” Marius reminded the group. But surely, now that the shard was captured, they were free.
“Maybe we should leave the datasphere and see what’s happening,” Fureva-Yung suggested.
They left the datasphere and reentered the Crystal Room. A servitor was slumped lifeless over the railing on the catwalk. Another two were frozen in place, prying open the elevator doors. They had captured the shard just in time. Just in case, Marius put up a force cube around the crystal. At least for an hour, it was safe.
While Ariaxa babysat the crystal, the rest of the group made their slow ascent through the temple complex to the surface. All along their path, they found downed servitors, their minds now lost in the crystal prison below. Marius set up a force cube around the top of the elevator shaft. Whatever was outside, they didn't want it to escape down into the temple and undo all their work. Tentatively, they exiting the temple into Celeron for the first time, the group was surprised by the stillness and collapsed servitors, as well as the roar of hundreds of voices. For a moment, the scene was a replay of the night of the original attack. The group prepared for battle with servitors who had slivers of shard onboard.
Everywhere, people were bludgeoning servitors, some successfully, some out of sheer cathartic revenge. Jaden recognised a few of the attackers as the respectable citizens of High Redoubt who used to ignore her complaints for fair access to io. Now, they had nothing and would have to start again, she wondered how reasonable they would be. Marius too was wondering how to rally the angry crowd and turn that energy into positive rebuilding. Between them, they came up with three points they could all agree on. Fureva-Yung used her authoritative Captain’s voice and shouted to get most of the group’s attention. Nox even chipped in, promising to connect to as many minds as she could to share the exact same message.
Marius placed another force cube on the door and used it to climb up to the top of the temple. From there, Marius and Jaden expressed their shared message. Nox flew up above them to scout how the message was received, and Fureva-Yung stood on the ground in front of the force cube, ready for action.
“ People of Celeron, the threat is over. The controlling force known as Erinai has been imprisoned and can no longer cause harm. Please find everyone still alive and free them, if needed, help them. Tomorrow, we start the rebuilding of Celeron in a new way, but tonight is a celebration of survival and commemoration of what we have learnt.”
The crowds slowly left their futile bashing of servitors and started gathering around the group at the temple. They wanted details. They wanted to know what was going on. How did the group know they were safe? And most of all, the priests of the temple wanted to know what they’d done to Erinai.
Marius and Jaden descended from the temple and began moving through the crowd, answering the questions they could, sharing knowledge of Tiltspire and the achievements of the refugees who had fled the night of the attack. Fureva-Yung stayed with them, pushing out subsonic rumbles to show they were not to be messed with. Nox, however, had other thoughts.
Firstly, she sent a telepathic message to Aunt Ivasha, Livaanar, her father, all the original refugees she’d travelled across the land with, Yitti and Orv, who had helped with the plan to attack Celeron, everyone she could think of back at the Spire.
Success! Celeron is ours! The servitors lie broken in the streets, and the Artificial Intelligence that called itself Erinai is captured! The people of Celeron are now free.
She heard some of the people talking about what was meant by”... rebuilding Celeron the new way…”. Old resentments, the shame she saw in her Father and her own treatment by the citizens bubbled up. She flew high above the crowd, she calling to them in voice and in their minds.
“Tiltspire is the new way! There, everyone works to make the town. No Highredoubt. No Buckles. No Gate!” And as if organised, Fureva-Yung sent an earthquake through the foundations of the wall and gap where the Highredoubt gates used to be. With a roar of collapsing stone, the wall shivered itself to pieces.
After that brief demonstration, a sense of peace seemed to settle over the mob. Marius and Jaden continued to answer questions, assuring the people this was a time to celebrate, to find loved ones and to remember the dead. They assured them many were alive at Tiltspire, and with time, a connection between the two communities could be reestablished. In the meantime, the temple and being kept imprisoned inside was safe with them.
Thirdly, Nox scanned the crowd for the High Priest of Celeron, a name named Kavaan. Though he only inherited the role, Nox held him personally responsible for all the trouble the shard had caused. Even scanning the minds of survivors for his possible location yielded nothing. She continued searching for the man whose family had conspired with the Shard to kill Celeron, the founder of the town, and set themselves up as quasi-religious rulers.
Celebrations started, the sick and dead were tended and still, Nox was bent on finding Kavaan. Days past.
“We have so much to do,” Jaden complained one day as Nox disappeared on her self-imposed mission, “We’ve only just started here, and she’s flitting off, probably looking for a dead man.”
Eventually, hunting through the upper rooms of the temple, Nox found a Kavaan. He’d been strapped into a high chair and kept alive like a baby until his servitor nanna had just stopped. It was the shards attempt at humiliating the man who had forever only benefited from the influence of Erinai. For days, he’d been alone, screaming, and no one had heard him. Nox had contemplated not telling anyone of her discovery. Only a look in his mind showed that he was no longer the man who used his powers to humiliate people like her Father. There wasn’t much of a man left at all, just a broken shell who had already been punished. She let the others know where he was, and Jaden used a mental imager to record what happens to those who enslave themselves to technology.
As the days past, more of Celeron came to life. Nox bamfed prominent members of the old Celeron from Tiltsspire to help reinforce the group's message of “...creating a new Celeron.” People like Yitti, and Ivasha, who could rely on the support of different parts of society to believe them. Plans were made not just to rebuild Celeron but to reestablish the transport system discovered by the refugees to help with quick transport between the two towns. Other plans were discussed on how to get the crystal back to Celeron, sooner rather than later.
And still, Nox looked at Celeron’s compass each night, “I promise we’ll go back and find you soon. I promise. I promise.”
Nox's Journal Ordered oldest to newest
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2.The Grey Towers of Endoval
30 Nov 2021 03:07:13
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3. Under the Two Towers
30 Nov 2021 03:07:31
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1. Just another day in Cerelon
22/06/152 CF
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4. Into the Pit
01 Dec 2021 03:03:37
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5. Of Crystals and Titans
16 Jan 2022 11:01:50
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6. The Dodecahedron
21 Jan 2022 12:00:39
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7. Down in the Underground
03 Feb 2022 01:11:44
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8. The Crystal Eaters
02 Mar 2022 01:37:52
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9. The dangers of the Crystal Caverns
02 Mar 2022 03:42:15
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10. A glimpse of the surface
17 Mar 2022 03:50:27
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11. In the shadows of the forest
21 Apr 2022 12:32:26
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12. A fight for survival
03 May 2022 05:04:55
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13. The Pyramid
12 May 2022 12:05:11
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14. To the top
12 May 2022 12:18:40
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15. Gravity Crystals and Iron Horn
25 May 2022 11:18:14
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16. Flying
23 Jun 2022 12:41:19
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17. The Others
07 Jul 2022 06:02:41
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18. Dark Truths
20 Jul 2022 12:26:30
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19. Past and future visions
08 Aug 2022 09:05:21
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20. The Spire
24 Aug 2022 11:06:57
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21.Changing priorities
08 Sep 2022 02:24:42
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22. Building Up
23 Sep 2022 07:22:11
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23. Tearing Down
12 Oct 2022 01:24:50
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24. Finding new paths
20 Oct 2022 03:26:40
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25. Walking the path
08 Nov 2022 11:47:59
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26. Down into the past
30 Nov 2022 10:28:30
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27. Journeys stalled.
28 Dec 2022 03:56:40
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28. Ambassadors
28 Dec 2022 10:37:14
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29. The next floor down
27 Jan 2023 03:58:56
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30. Offensive defence
10 Feb 2023 12:56:22
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31. To see each other plain
16 Feb 2023 01:03:52
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32. The Basement
06 Mar 2023 06:35:02
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33. The Malignant Shard
17 Mar 2023 02:41:37
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34. In search for a crystal
22 Mar 2023 11:49:34
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35. Allies
06 Apr 2023 12:19:26
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36. Nowhere left to go
28 Apr 2023 03:41:32
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37. Sweeping through the Datasphere
01 Jun 2023 04:22:15
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38. The Collection rooms
07 Jun 2023 01:52:29
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39. The Shelter an the Prison
19 Jun 2023 09:29:58
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40. A time to heal and grow
03 Jul 2023 05:11:23
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41. Before the return of Fureve-Yung
19 Jul 2023 08:09:24
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42. She's back
28 Jul 2023 01:55:30
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43. Akavel
14 Aug 2023 01:40:16
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44. Making friends in an unfriendly town
28 Aug 2023 10:16:28
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45. Planning a jail break
11 Sep 2023 01:05:24
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46. The Great Mistake
22 Oct 2023 02:06:36
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47. You are what you eat.
07 Nov 2023 11:59:07
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48. The comings and goings
23 Nov 2023 01:28:46
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49. The leaving of Akavel
12 Dec 2023 02:51:48
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50. The road to Rockspire
27 Dec 2023 03:24:17
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51. The Rockspine Overlook Infiltration
30 Jan 2024 06:30:53
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The Journal Entry’s title
16 Feb 2024 10:01:46
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The Journal Entry’s title
16 Feb 2024 10:01:49
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52. The Ghosts of Rockspire
16 Feb 2024 10:01:53
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53. What lies beneath Rockspine
05 Mar 2024 01:34:15
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54. Rockspine inhabitants
16 Mar 2024 11:04:50
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55. 'Ding-Dong!' Invader's calling
26 Mar 2024 03:35:25
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56. Trask Alive!
06 May 2024 01:29:45
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The Journal Entry’s title
13 May 2024 01:30:49
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57. Home to Tiltspire
13 May 2024 01:30:50
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58. In defence of Tiltspire
24 May 2024 12:10:29
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59. New friends, old suspicions
09 Jun 2024 02:22:57
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60. Seeds of truth
24 Jun 2024 01:04:30
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61. The rewards of success
05 Jul 2024 07:25:48
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62. The Eastern Junction
02 Aug 2024 12:03:10
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64. Exploring deeper
16 Aug 2024 01:49:55
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64. One Room Later
01 Sep 2024 09:51:01
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65. The Datasphere Foundry
16 Sep 2024 12:45:26
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66. Clash of the titans
02 Oct 2024 04:57:33
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67. The Three Sions
16 Oct 2024 01:05:42
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68. The Star Gate
01 Nov 2024 08:59:03
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69. The Derelict
12 Nov 2024 03:15:59
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70. Plantception
22 Nov 2024 06:34:16
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The Journal Entry’s title
10 Dec 2024 04:15:00
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71. The Gas Giant
10 Dec 2024 04:18:32
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72. And the next step...
26 Dec 2024 08:01:58
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73. Into the Whirlwind
18 Jan 2025 01:53:49
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74. A sickening fall from grace
10 Feb 2025 07:41:29
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75. Sound and Silence
14 Feb 2025 05:53:19
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76. The last of his kind
12 Mar 2025 01:28:45
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77. Back to Tiltspire
27 Mar 2025 04:42:37
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78. On the Eve
11 Apr 2025 05:12:54
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79. Infiltrating the Temple of Erinai
30 Apr 2025 05:53:21
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80. Friends in unexpected places
11 May 2025 11:50:04
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81. The Earthern Passages
27 May 2025 05:30:27
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82. Escaping the Earth
06 Jun 2025 08:29:43
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83. The Crystal Room
25 Jun 2025 06:20:31
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84. The Datasphere Showdown
08 Jul 2025 04:19:02
30 Nov 2021 03:07:13
30 Nov 2021 03:07:31
22/06/152 CF
01 Dec 2021 03:03:37
16 Jan 2022 11:01:50
21 Jan 2022 12:00:39
03 Feb 2022 01:11:44
02 Mar 2022 01:37:52
02 Mar 2022 03:42:15
17 Mar 2022 03:50:27
21 Apr 2022 12:32:26
03 May 2022 05:04:55
12 May 2022 12:05:11
12 May 2022 12:18:40
25 May 2022 11:18:14
23 Jun 2022 12:41:19
07 Jul 2022 06:02:41
20 Jul 2022 12:26:30
08 Aug 2022 09:05:21
24 Aug 2022 11:06:57
08 Sep 2022 02:24:42
23 Sep 2022 07:22:11
12 Oct 2022 01:24:50
20 Oct 2022 03:26:40
08 Nov 2022 11:47:59
30 Nov 2022 10:28:30
28 Dec 2022 03:56:40
28 Dec 2022 10:37:14
27 Jan 2023 03:58:56
10 Feb 2023 12:56:22
16 Feb 2023 01:03:52
06 Mar 2023 06:35:02
17 Mar 2023 02:41:37
22 Mar 2023 11:49:34
06 Apr 2023 12:19:26
28 Apr 2023 03:41:32
01 Jun 2023 04:22:15
07 Jun 2023 01:52:29
19 Jun 2023 09:29:58
03 Jul 2023 05:11:23
19 Jul 2023 08:09:24
28 Jul 2023 01:55:30
14 Aug 2023 01:40:16
28 Aug 2023 10:16:28
11 Sep 2023 01:05:24
22 Oct 2023 02:06:36
07 Nov 2023 11:59:07
23 Nov 2023 01:28:46
12 Dec 2023 02:51:48
27 Dec 2023 03:24:17
30 Jan 2024 06:30:53
16 Feb 2024 10:01:46
16 Feb 2024 10:01:49
16 Feb 2024 10:01:53
05 Mar 2024 01:34:15
16 Mar 2024 11:04:50
26 Mar 2024 03:35:25
06 May 2024 01:29:45
13 May 2024 01:30:49
13 May 2024 01:30:50
24 May 2024 12:10:29
09 Jun 2024 02:22:57
24 Jun 2024 01:04:30
05 Jul 2024 07:25:48
02 Aug 2024 12:03:10
16 Aug 2024 01:49:55
01 Sep 2024 09:51:01
16 Sep 2024 12:45:26
02 Oct 2024 04:57:33
16 Oct 2024 01:05:42
01 Nov 2024 08:59:03
12 Nov 2024 03:15:59
22 Nov 2024 06:34:16
10 Dec 2024 04:15:00
10 Dec 2024 04:18:32
26 Dec 2024 08:01:58
18 Jan 2025 01:53:49
10 Feb 2025 07:41:29
14 Feb 2025 05:53:19
12 Mar 2025 01:28:45
27 Mar 2025 04:42:37
11 Apr 2025 05:12:54
30 Apr 2025 05:53:21
11 May 2025 11:50:04
27 May 2025 05:30:27
06 Jun 2025 08:29:43
25 Jun 2025 06:20:31
08 Jul 2025 04:19:02
The major events and journals in Nox's history, from the beginning to today.
84. The Datasphere Showdown
“So, are we going?” Nox asked for the fifth or sixth time, the others had lost count. An hours rest had come and gone and they’d all regained their second wind. Cyphers old and new were sorted through, and used. Marius found another force cube cy...
12:48 am - 09.07.202584. The Datasphere Showdown
“So, are we going?” Nox asked for the fifth or sixth time, the others had lost count. An hours rest had come and gone and they’d all regained their second wind. Cyphers old and new were sorted through, and a number used. Marius found another forc...
04:41 am - 08.07.202584. The Datasphere Showdown
“So, are we going?” Nox asked for the fifth or sixth time, the others had lost count. An hours rest had come and gone and they’d all regained their second wind. Cyphers old and new were sorted through, and a number used. Marius found another forc...
04:19 am - 08.07.202583. The Crystal Room
In their cramped storeroom, the group took a moment to realise how far they’d come and what was still to do. Fureva-Yung was tired, having thrown herself about through the earthen tunnels. Nox was tired, the strain of mind controlling servitors and sp...
06:28 am - 25.06.202583. The Crystal Room
In their cramped storeroom, the group took a moment to realise how far they’d come and what was still to do. Fureva-Yung was tired, having thrown herself about through the earthen tunnels. Nox was tired, the strain of mind controlling servitors and sp...
06:21 am - 25.06.202582. Escaping the Earth
The group looked at each other with amazement and the shared joy of being survivors. The cavern they now found themselves in was bound on one side by the solid metal wall of the temple and the hovering boulder on the other. On one side, the ground ros...
08:31 am - 06.06.202581. The Earthern Passages
The caverns beyond the walls of the Temple were close and damp. As Nox closed up the gap in the wall, the group couldn’t help notice they were breathing each other's air, and were very aware of each other's scent. Fureva-Yung had a pleasant scen...
05:31 am - 27.05.202580. Friends in unexpected places
Exhausted, Nox and Jaden found a place to sit and contemplate what they were doing. They’d successfully made it into the enemy base only to tip them off as to their presence. They still had a long way to go, and the worst thing was, like the s...
12:52 am - 12.05.202579. Infiltrating the Temple of Erinai
The storeroom was cramped, but empty. Marius activated all his embedded cyphers as Jaden turned on a range weapon cypher she’d been holding onto for a while. This was it. After they opened the storeroom door, the surprise would be sprung and there wa...
05:53 am - 30.04.202578. On the Eve
As air rushed away from the spot she now appeared, Nox entered the storeroom from Aunt Ivasha’s memory with a small pop. This was the first step in their movement to reclaim Celeron from the Malignant Shard piece that called itself Erinai. At first, No...
07:01 am - 16.04.202578. On the Eve
As air rushed away from the spot she now appeared, Nox entered the storeroom from Aunt Ivasha’s memory with a small pop. This was the first step in their movement to reclaim Celeron from the Malignant Shard piece that called itself Erinai. At first, No...
05:13 am - 11.04.202577. Back to Tiltspire
With little discussion, the group went to climb back into the truck only to find tiny sticky threads covering them. They all spied the two sets of eight eyes watching from under a bush. Marius fired up his cyphers, and Nox flew up to get clear of potenti...
04:43 am - 27.03.202576. The last of his kind
Jaden stopped twitching and just sat a moment, exhausted from the effort of dancing. “Now, do you think we can go?” Marius said, turning to Nox, who could bamf them back in the truck. And it was true. They couldn’t go back up the waterfall,...
01:29 am - 12.03.202575. Sound and Silence
The blinding sun of the desert soon sunk into the west as the truck continued to travel southerly towards Tiltspire. The scenery was ever-changing, and driving through the landscape as opposed to walking was a delight. Still, all the group felt the desir...
05:54 am - 14.02.202574. A sickening fall from grace
Piling into the vehicle, Fureva-Yung revved the engine and dropped the handbrake. The truck shot out of the ship like a bullet from a gun, landed on its all-terrain wheels and headed south and Tiltspire, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Just as sudde...
07:46 am - 10.02.202573. Into the Whirlwind
Jaden checked on her jarred bug. It clattered against the glass, safe and sound. She swept up the remains to feed them to the ever-eager Quattro. Nox followed her down to engineering and watched Quattro scoff down the remains, all the while keeping an e...
10:30 pm - 02.02.202573. Into the Whirlwind
Jaden checked on her jarred bug. It clattered against the glass, safe and sound. She swept up the remains to feed them to the ever-eager Quattro. Nox followed her down to engineering and watched Quattro scoff down the remains, all the while keeping an e...
01:55 pm - 18.01.202572. And the next step...
After a week of work and the successful transfer of two malignant shards, the group gathered to discuss their next step. The big goal was freeing Celeron with a whole string of minor miracles to achieve along the way. The first on all their lists was th...
08:02 am - 26.12.202471. The Gas Giant
A week doesn’t sound like a long time to travel through space until you realise you have nowhere to go except the ship and nothing to do that doesn’t involve the ship. Every day, the gas giant, one of the planets in the system slowly grew in the ...
04:29 am - 10.12.202470. Plantception
“With this lot, we should be able to rebuild the shields and patch up the energy supply,” Jaden said in the dock as the group looked over the scrap they’d collected from the derelict, “Though, but a lot of fuel has been lost, we’ll eventually h...
09:52 pm - 24.11.202470. Pantception
“With this lot, we should be able to rebuild the shields and patch up the energy supply,” Jaden said in the dock as the group looked over the scrap they’d collected from the derelict, “Though, but a lot of fuel has been lost, we’ll eventually h...
06:36 am - 22.11.202469. The Derelict
+ On the bridge of the Illustria, Nox was asleep in the Captain’s chair. . The ship was on auto-pilot, on a rendezvous course with the derelict ship caught in the asteroid belt. In the past, the ship had been a sanctuary for a malignant shard, but no...
03:54 am - 12.11.202469. The Derelict
+ On the bridge of the Illustria, Nox was asleep in the Captain’s chair. . The ship was on auto-pilot, on a rendezvous course with the derelict ship caught in the asteroid belt. In the past, the ship had been a sanctuary for a malignant shard, but no...
03:54 am - 12.11.202469. The Derelict
+ On the bridge of the Illustria, Nox was asleep in the Captain’s chair. . The ship was on auto-pilot, on a rendezvous course with the derelict ship caught in the asteroid belt. In the past, the ship had been a sanctuary for a malignant shard, but no...
03:23 am - 12.11.202469. The Derelict
+ On the bridge of the Illustria, Nox was asleep in the Captain’s chair. . The ship was on auto-pilot, on a rendezvous course with the derelict ship caught in the asteroid belt. In the past, the ship had been a sanctuary for a malignant shard, but no...
03:20 am - 12.11.202468. The Star Gate
Carceri-Sigma. A super red giant star circled by a space station. This was the Star Gate, literally the gravity of a dying star holding the Malignant A.I. and its collected shards imprisoned. Fureva-Yung had projected an image of the system onto the cei...
09:33 pm - 01.11.202468. The Star Gate
Carceri-Sigma. A super red giant star circled by a space station. This was the Star Gate, literally the gravity of a dying star holding the Malignant A.I. and its collected shards imprisoned. Fureva-Yung had projected an image of the system on the cei...
08:59 pm - 01.11.202467. The Three Sions
The group followed Critinous back through the broken facility to the elevator. Above, a collection of energy fluid hung, suspended in its force field. The elevator shaft ran through the fluid to the upstairs and freedom. To one side, three skitters w...
11:37 pm - 23.10.202467. The Three Sions
The group followed Critinous back through the broken facility to the elevator. Above, a collection of energy fluid hung, suspended in its force field. The elevator shaft ran through the fluid to the upstairs and freedom. To one side, three skitters...
01:06 am - 16.10.202466. Clash of the titans
They emerge back in a new part of the facility, a large open room surrounding a teleportation pad. The sheets of sacristan shielding lay to one side. Several servitors lay crushed and broken against the walls, but where the servitor Marius had reprogram...
07:37 am - 03.10.202466. Clash of the titans
They emerge back in a new part of the facility, a large open room surrounding a teleportation pad. The sheets of sacristan shielding lay to one side. Several servitors lay crushed and broken against the walls, but where the servitor Marius had reprogram...
12:04 am - 03.10.202466. Clash of the titans
They emerge back in a new part of the facility. The sheets of sacristan shielding lay to one side. Several servitors lay crushed and broken against the walls, but where the servitor Marius had reprogramed, there was no sign. Opposite, huge double doors...
04:58 am - 02.10.202465. The Datasphere Foundry
Collecting themselves, Jaden, Marius, Fureva-Yung and Nox stood before the door to the south-west, the way the robot insect had come from and the ozone smell originated. “Do you think we could have a break for a moment?” Nox asked, staring at the d...
12:46 am - 16.09.202465. The Datasphere Foundry
Collecting themselves, Jaden, Marius, Fureva-Yung and Nox stood before the door to the south-west, the way the robot insect had come from and the ozone smell originated. “Do you think we could have a break for a moment?” Nox asked, staring at the d...
12:46 am - 16.09.202465. The Datasphere Foundry
Collecting themselves, Jaden, Marius, Fureva-Yung and Nox stood before the door to the south-west, the way the robot insect had come from and the ozone smell originated. “Do you think we could have a break for a moment?” Nox asked, staring at the d...
12:46 am - 16.09.202464. One Room Later
Jaden and Nox logged onto the console and quickly discovered it was a Datasphere terminal, like the ones in the Spire. Unfortunately, it was inactive and couldn’t restart without power. Fureva-Yung lifted her arm to the door in the south, and like ...
04:20 am - 04.09.202464. One Room Later
Jaden and Nox logged onto the console and quickly discovered it was a Datasphere terminal, like the ones in the Spire. Unfortunately, it was inactive and couldn’t restart without power. Fureva-Yung lifted her arm to the door in the south, and like ...
09:53 am - 01.09.202465. One Room Later
Jaden and Nox logged onto the console and quickly discovered it was a Datasphere terminal, like the ones in the Spire. Unfortunately, it was inactive and couldn’t restart without power. Fureva-Yung lifted her arm to the door in the south, and like ...
09:52 am - 01.09.202464. Exploring deeper
With still much of the ground floor yet to be discovered, the party found themselves one level below ground, attacked by giant egg-shaped creatures. Now, with goop all over them, the party examined the cyphers the egg creatures had collected from previ...
04:18 am - 16.08.202464. Exploring deeper
With still much of the ground floor yet to be discovered, the party found themselves one level below ground, attacked by giant egg-shaped creatures. Now, with goop all over them, the party examined the cyphers the egg creatures had collected from pre...
01:51 am - 16.08.202462. The Eastern Junction
After three days of travel, in the distance, Nox was aware of a fuzzy dark smudge on the horizon. The next day, she was flying over the ruins very similar in shape as the Temple of Erini in Cerelon or the pub in Akavel. She swept across the area several ...
04:36 am - 13.08.202462. The Eastern Junction
After three days of travel and in the distance, Nox was aware of a fuzzy dark smudge on the horizon. The next day, she was flying over the ruins very similar in shape as the Temple of Erini in Cerelon or the pub in Akavel. She swept across the area sever...
12:05 pm - 02.08.2024Session 62 - 2024-07-31
02:30 pm - 31.07.2024Session 62 - 2024-07-31
11:36 am - 31.07.2024Session 61 - 2024-07-03
11:00 am - 31.07.202461. The rewards of success
For the third time that day, Nox teleported the group into Akavel. This time, Rafi was thousands of kilometres to the south and locked away in the Aegis’compound, the opposite of what he’d ever wanted. She could feel his mind even now. He wasn’t ...
02:06 am - 08.07.202461. The rewards of success
For the third time that day, Nox teleported the group into Akavel. This time, Rafi was thousands of kilometres to the south and locked away in the Aegis’compound, the opposite of what he’d ever wanted. She could feel his mind even now. He wasn’t ...
01:41 am - 08.07.202461. The rewards of success
For the third time that day, Nox teleported the group into Akavel. This time, Rafi was thousands of kilometres to the south and locked away in the Aegis’compound, the opposite of what he’d ever wanted. She could feel his mind even now. He wasn’t ...
07:26 am - 05.07.2024Session 61 - 2024-07-03
10:53 am - 03.07.2024Session 60 - 2024-06-24
10:52 am - 03.07.2024Session 60 - 2024-06-24
10:52 am - 03.07.202460. Seeds of truth
“Hi, what can I do for you?” Cousin Carver pushed himself off the wall as Fureva stepped up. “Cousin Rafi sent me.” She said in a low voice, “He’s in…trouble.” “Ha!” Cousin Carver laughed, “When is he not?” “We need informatio...
01:34 pm - 24.06.202460. Seeds of truth
“Hi, what can I do for you?” Cousin Carver pushed himself off the wall as Fureva stepped up. “Cousin Rafi sent me.” She said in a low voice, “He’s in…trouble.” “Ha!” Cousin Carver laughed, “When is he not?” “We need informatio...
01:34 pm - 24.06.2024Session 59 - 2024-06-05
12:42 pm - 19.06.202459. New friends, old suspicions
Frost crunched underfoot, and breath steamed as Nox made her way across to the communal eating area for breakfast. Thankful for the extra layer of warmth her black rubber armour provided, she grabbed a couple of crusts of bread, a fungal bar made of compr...
05:39 am - 11.06.202459. New friends, old suspicions
Frost crunched underfoot, and breath steamed as Nox made her way across to the communal eating area for breakfast. Thankful for the extra layer of warmth her black rubber armour provided, she grabbed a couple of crusts of bread, a fungal bar made of compr...
02:35 pm - 09.06.2024Session 59 - 2024-06-05
09:50 am - 05.06.2024Session 58 - 2024-05-22
09:48 am - 05.06.202458. In defence of Tiltspire
And so, a week past at Tiltspire. Fureva-Yung spent some time acquiring skins of small animals and asked Walara to make... a thing. “It should have seven tentacles, three eyes, bat wings, but a huge suction mouth, a small rabbit tail and if you co...
01:43 am - 05.06.202458. In defence of Tiltspire
And so, a week past at Tiltspire. Fureva-Yung spent some time acquiring skins of small animals and asked Walara to make a thing. “It should have seven tentacles, three eyes, bat wings, but a huge suction mouth, a small rabbit tail and if you could...
12:24 pm - 24.05.2024Session 58 - 2024-05-22
09:24 am - 22.05.2024Session 57 - 2024-05-08
09:21 am - 22.05.2024Session 57 - 2024-05-08
09:50 am - 08.05.202456. Trask Alive!
In the cavern, the ghost stalked the ant man, lashing out with its blade. The ant man scrambled backwards into the pool. Alone, hovering near the ceiling, Nox pursed her lips and blew a few notes of Fuzzy Wuzzy’s tune. They echoed and bounced throu...
01:30 am - 06.05.202456. Trask Alive!
In the cavern, the ghost stalked the ant man, lashing out with its blade. The ant man scrambled backwards into the pool. Alone, hovering near the ceiling, Nox pursed her lips and blew a few notes of Fuzzy Wuzzy’s tune. They echoed and bounced throu...
01:30 am - 06.05.2024Session 56 - 2024-05-01
09:20 am - 03.05.2024Session 56 - 2024-05-01
09:20 am - 03.05.2024Session 55 - 2024-03-19
12:07 pm - 16.04.2024Session 55 - 2024-03-19
12:07 pm - 16.04.2024Session 54 - 2024-03-06
12:05 pm - 16.04.2024Session 54 - 2024-03-06
12:05 pm - 16.04.2024Session 53 - 2024-02-21
11:53 am - 16.04.2024Session 53 - 2024-02-21
11:53 am - 16.04.2024Session 52 - 2024-02-07
11:37 am - 16.04.2024Session 52 - 2024-02-07
11:37 am - 16.04.2024Session 51 - 2024-01-10
11:26 am - 16.04.2024Session 51 - 2024-01-10
11:26 am - 16.04.2024Session 50 - 2023-12-20
11:12 am - 16.04.2024Session 50 - 2023-12-20
11:12 am - 16.04.2024Session 49 - 2023-12-06
11:07 am - 16.04.2024Session 49 - 2023-12-06
11:07 am - 16.04.2024Session 48 - 2023-11-15
11:22 am - 22.11.2023Session 48 - 2023-11-15
11:22 am - 22.11.2023Session 47 - 2023-11-01
11:21 am - 22.11.2023Session 47 - 2023-11-01
11:21 am - 22.11.2023Session 46 - 2023-09-14
10:20 pm - 25.10.2023Session 46 - 2023-09-14
10:20 pm - 25.10.2023Session 45 - 2023-08-31
10:31 pm - 31.08.2023Session 45 - 2023-08-31
10:42 am - 31.08.2023Session 44 - 2023-08-17
11:25 pm - 17.08.2023Session 44 - 2023-08-17
11:25 pm - 17.08.2023Session 43 - 2023-08-03
11:24 pm - 17.08.2023Session 43 - 2023-08-03
11:24 pm - 17.08.2023Session 42 - 2023-07-20
02:00 am - 21.07.2023Session 42 - 2023-07-20
10:00 am - 20.07.2023Session 41 - 2023-07-06
03:39 am - 09.07.2023Session 41 - 2023-07-06
03:39 am - 09.07.2023Session 40 - 2023-06-22
05:18 am - 23.06.2023Session 40 - 2023-06-22
05:18 am - 23.06.2023Session 39 - 2023-06-07
12:12 pm - 21.06.2023The list of amazing people following the adventures of Nox.
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