Book 2 – Text Updates 014

[balder]

New One is up.

[Ruduen]

So...

Think it's the caster's own speech, or someone else using it? Second seems more likely, but all things considered...

[Sygerrik]

Poor little Slately. I love how you go out of your way to show us the negative aspects of protagonists and make us feel for the fate of antagonists. Slately would have happily croaked Parson and all of the "good guys," but that doesn't make him a "bad guy." He's just a guy.

Hmmm... voice is probably Charlie's. Makes me wonder... is the Turnamancer in a linkup? That's my guess. That's the only reason we have seen Casters not to be talked to. The requisite Thinkamancer in the link is almost certainly Charlie. Usually, it looks like they have to be close, but maybe the Arkendish allows him to sustain a Caster link from a distance. Really makes me wonder what the third caster is, or if there is one. Knowing Charlie's hiring reputation, it could be anyone (except a Retconjurer, of course).

[ftl]

Yep, those were my thoughts too. Voice is almost certainly Charlie's.

But... a linkup? Aren't they supposed to be holding hands for that? But Charlie's dish gives him "unmatched thinkamancy." Maybe he can do a link remotely?

I think this is all what we're supposed to think now. It's pushed at us and obvious.

I look forward to the surprise of seeing what it actually is!

[darthoctopus]

what kind of linkup would a turnamancer be good in, though?

[The Shadow]

Note that it doesn't have to be a trimancer link. It could be a two-caster link - much safer that way.

And yes, I think the male voice is Charlie himself. What this portends, I have no idea - and am eager to find out!

[Prometheus]

97% sure that's Charlie.

The other 3% of me says it's the Titans.

[Lord Kasavin]

I like this update a lot. Specifically, "He did believe in bravery. He did cleave to strength and honor, to fair dealings and just treatment of underlings, to love of his land and its soldiers and beasts. He had simply never lived up to those virtues. At least, not to the degree he would have wanted." Thats the sort of thing that all great men in history have to face: a conflict between achieving ideals and maintaining them.

As for the voice, yeah, thats almost certainly Charlie. The emphasis on "male" is to establish that its not the Caster speaking. As to why cut him off... it could bet shes linked to a Thinkamancer to give her more Turning proficiency (like Sizemore in rebuilding GK), and that means she shouldn't be distrubed. Though a "long distance" link is a difficult thing to convey in a narrative.

Another possibility, is Charlie is somehow listening in and realized that Slately was asking about Queen Bea to consider repeating her sacrifice. And he doesn't want that, for some reason. Maybe Charlie believes the air battle can be won, and is counting on Jetstone troops to attacking GK's forces on the rebound.

Also, a lot of emphasis has just been placed on Vanna's gesture. I wonder if it has importance.

[MonteCristo]

Oh snap!
Could eb mistaken, but it Looks like charlie's doing a long distance link up with the turnamancer... But what exactly can you do with a linked up turnamancer?
Could charlie be hoping to turn decrypted warlords? could it be that he might be able to turn the dwagons? if he could turn enough of them then he really could turn the tide...
Parson's calculations was for an unknown caster; not for a caster supped up with a thinkamancy link...

though i wonder, is it JUST the turnamancer or could it be that Charlie might actually have another caster somewhere also linked up... So Vanna may not just be the instrument of turnamancy, but some other form of mancy...

And i have to ask... Does jillian know about this tactic?
on the one hand she told Slately not to talk to vanna... on the otherhand, the last update makes it seem like she's in control and able to send her away...
Ah so many questions, and so many possibilities... never would have saw a long range link up like this coming

[CnSvnc]

Long distance trimancer for the win! Apparently Charlie has improved upon Parson's little trick. I won't try guessing the third mancer (and there must be a third mancer, no matter how souped up by a link up turnamancy wouldn't be enough to stop Wanda's hordes) but I'm certain the results will be very bad for GK.

And if Dish's powers are far above mortal casters (which isn't all that implausible), maybe it could support a quadomancer (that's a bit implausible however).
...
OK, fine. I will try to guess. Maybe a croakamancer+turnamancer can break Wanda's hold over the decrypted. We'll see.

[Lord Kasavin]

The problem with a Tri-Mancer link up is simple. Only one caster is in the hex. Vanna might be able to comprehend spells like Turn Undead (Turnamancy+Croakamancy), but without the Third caster present in the hex, trying to cast such spells should logically fail as a needed mancer is not there to provide for his part of the spell. I find a two-way Link-up at such a distance to be pretty hard to swallow as it is.

[Nebulious]

Oh snap!
Could eb mistaken, but it Looks like charlie's doing a long distance link up with the turnamancer... But what exactly can you do with a linked up turnamancer?
Could charlie be hoping to turn decrypted warlords? could it be that he might be able to turn the dwagons? if he could turn enough of them then he really could turn the tide...

No, you'd only have to instantly turn one dwagon. The one that Wanda is riding.

Looks like Charlie isn't ready hand over the magnificent bastard title to Parson without a fight.

[Hefesto]

My reaction to this: Houston, we have a problem.

[Fug]

Wouldn't a simpler explanation be a contingency spell of sorts put on Vanna such that if she is talked to too much a painful effect is triggered? The reason for this is uncertain at this point but evasion seems a possible answer.

This would avoid having to imagine some long distance link up, which we have no precedence for.

Unlikely, but Vanna could be a drag queen- we do have a rocky horror theme after all (and her hand seems sort of masculine). On second thought it is a little strange to reference yourself like that.

I'm really curious and a bit anxious to see what the predictomancered chaos turns out to be. We have five more pages for the first part of book one which I believe will be followed by a break.

Final point- I really like the text update art.

[sheepfly]

Yeah, there's more going on here than Wanda fully realizes. Jillian may not even be privy to the full details.

Jillian's return to the tower, following the unsuccessful parley, is undoubtedly the cue for another contingency in the Charlescomm/FAQ secret plan. Things are about to get really booped up.

Can't wait.

[MonteCristo]

y'know with each text update, slately is really growing on me

The problem with a Tri-Mancer link up is simple. Only one caster is in the hex. Vanna might be able to comprehend spells like Turn Undead (Turnamancy+Croakamancy), but without the Third caster present in the hex, trying to cast such spells should logically fail as a needed mancer is not there to provide for his part of the spell. I find a two-way Link-up at such a distance to be pretty hard to swallow as it is.

Thing is though, we're not sure if that's how the trimancer link strictly works...

I mean in the Jack/misty.maggie link, was Jack the one creating the holograms on the map table, or were Jack and misty casting together
During the wanda/sizemore link up the two seemed to be working together to produce the effects they needed
Furtharmore, we do know that casters are able to cast outside their school of magic if they have the knowledge or the scrolls...

What i'm getting at is that Vanna might be able to cast any spell the third caster can cast aswell as the combination of their magics, because the third caster is supplying her with the knowledge via the thinkmancy link.

Yeah, there's more going on here than Wanda fully realizes.

Its funny when you think back to the last update...
She think's charlie has a roll to play and that he too will soon join with the rest of the attuned... and yet charlie's current goal is to croak one of the attuned
She thinks that he is a neutral non-royal party; She's right in that regard, but not in the way she thinks, and charlie is gonna make it clear to her

[Kadasbrass]

If Vanna is indeed linked, it would have to be via Charlie's dish (unless of course the other casters are present but disguised but this seems unlikely) and with the Dish, who is to say the link is only limited to two or three casters... The Pillars allowed Wanda to take croakamancy to entirely new levels. Maybe one of Charlies secrets is the possiblity of the dish linking more then three casters with a greater range then one hex. If the pillars are the toll of the ulimate fixing ability, then the dish could be the ultimate linking (Telecommunicating) tool.

[name lips]

I think the dom/sub relationship is about to get "turned" on its head, if you catch my drift.

Jillian has always been the one on the table, the one getting whipped, the one getting magically controlled. Wanda delights in that control.

I think Jillian is going to give Wanda a taste of her own medicine, and force her to Turn using some sort of trimancer linkup.

I think Charlie's hidden card, the thing that lets him do more than any other side, is the Arkendish's ability to allow unlimited-range thinkamancy. That is to say, he can link up with other casters from a distance. I think that's his big secret.

So, a Turnamancer to turn her, a Thinkamancer for the linkup, and what is the third? So far our specific examples of trimancer linkups have been to produce some sort of melange of the magic types, to produce an effect that none of the casters could do alone. Like blending two colors to make a third, otherwise unobtainable color.

So what is the third caster? What effect are they going for, if not simple Turning?

[Dr Pepper]

Hah, first page.

Immediate reaction: Boopity-Boop, she's linked!

Turnamancer + Thinkamancer + ???

Hatamancer? Now that might give us the dimension door people have been speculating about.

[yay]

snap, no one predictated a long range link-up (assuming thats what it is). but it makes sense, the only time any of the casters have worn cloaks and hoods was while linked, and vanna is dressed similarly.

now i'm even more anxious to see what the next comic brings, and am scared to come back to this forum until then cuz it will be full of crazy speculation of who else is on the other side of the link (one of the other unaroyal casters, probably the carnymancer or changemancer, possibly Janis)