AETHER: Companions and You

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[0023] Companions and You
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Note: the following section only applies to non-Leader Players.

Even AETHER understands that it wouldn’t be fair if the deck was completely stacked against the Players. As insane as this may sound, they have tossed you a bone. A moldy, sick grey one covered in urine and full of holes, but a bone nevertheless. Friendly NPCs are scattered throughout the Blackened Void. You’ve got your usual fare: blacksmiths, merchants, townsfolk, trainers, royalty etc. They’re not relevant right now.

What you want are the COMPANIONS. They are allies of the Players and accompany you during your quest. Acquiring their trust is imperative to the exploration of any Player's Sector. Only one Companion is found in each sector and each one has their own unique skills, attributes and affinities. They are also subject to permadeath, just like the Players. Tough shit. Dig a grave, bury it and then 4B 41 45 44 45 20 6B 41 65 44 65 20 6B 61 65 64 65 20 4B 61 65 64 65 20 6B 41 45 44 45 20 4B 61 45 64 45 20 4B 41 65 64 65 20 6B 61 45 44 45 20 4B 41 45 44 65 20 6B 41 45 44 65 20 6B 41 45 44 65 20 6B 61 45 44 45 20 4B 41 45 44 45 20 4B 41 45 44 45 20 6B 41 45 44 45 20 4B 41 45 44 45 20 4B 41 45 44 45

Like, I mean, have you ever 48 45 4C 4C 4F

Finding your Companion may prove to be a bit tricky. AETHER has set it up so that the Players generally have to explore their Sector a bit before even finding the tiniest hint of their existence. Sometimes the game might chuck a notification your way, but more than often it’s up to you, boy. Try to find a Denizen who doesn’t 4C 69 67 68 74 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 65 6E 64 20 6F 66 20 74 68 65 20 74 75 6E 6E 65 6C

Once you have gained the trust of your friendly neighborhood knight/princess/beast/hunter/eldritch abomination, they'll give you their SUMMON OBJECT. As the name implies, it allows you to summon your Companion anywhere within the Blackened Void. All you have to do is focus a bit of mana into the Object. A circle of glowing white runes will appear nearby and the Companion will rise out of it. They will take the form of a WHITE PHANTOM (unless the summoning is in the Companion's home Sector, in which case they will be instantly teleported to the Player's position.). A Companion will not die if their White Phantom is vanquished; they will merely return to their Sector. Other than that, there is no difference between the two.

Note that a Summon Object can only be used by the Companion’s respective Player.

A summoning will fail if the Companion is...
	-Dead (obviously)
	-Heavily incapacitated. The exact details of this are unknown, but one of my team was unable to summon her Companion due to it having a massive seal stitched on its back. She was able to summon the Companion as a White Phantom in her own Sector, which followed standard summoning rules in other Sectors.

Obviously, AETHER twists this boon and shackles it to the dungeon floor with rusty iron chains. Wouldn’t want those miscreant Players summoning their Companions all the bloody time and blazing through the rest of the game, would we? It’s not like their lives are literally on the line, hahahaha… really though, did you expect anything else?

Summon Objects work as follows:

•	They must be fully charged in order to be used (like a battery).
•	You’ll get a free charge at the start, but following that it’s up to you. Summon Objects will recharge themselves, but the amount of time to do so is agonizing slow. 168 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds, to be precise.
•	You can reduce the cooldown by filling the Summon Object with mana. The amount of time shaved off is dependent on your Magic Potential stat. They are as follows (for 50% of any Player's mana):
		E-: 6 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		E: 12 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		E+: 16 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		D-: 20 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		D: 24 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		D+ 32 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		C-: 40 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		C: 48 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		C+: 64 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		B-: 80 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		B: 96 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		B+: 118 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds
		A-: 150 Hours, 0 Minutes and 0 Seconds

		-Beyond this is an instant recharge.
		-Calculate percentages and fractions on your own.
•	Check the COMPANIONS section of the AETHER application to see how much time/mana is left.
•	You don’t have to shove all your mana into the Summon Object at once. In fact, it's discouraged. A good strategy is to apply a little bit every day (10-15% is enough). You can do this outside the Blackened Void.
•	No, you can’t ask your fellow Players to do the mana filling for you.
•	If you’re lucky, you might find ‘Mana Anomalies’ floating around the Void. AETHER explains them as ‘natural phenomena caused by the presence of powerful beings, similar to heat hazes in high temperatures’. Tossing your Summon Object into one will instantly recharge it. Mana Anomalies will also fully restore the mana of anyone who steps in one, so make your decisions wisely.

Summon Objects are also unique, mostly indestructible and paradoxically worthless to in-game merchants. They are also surprisingly difficult to get rid of. Go on, try it. You can’t lose it, can you?

<// DATE NOT FOUND //> EDIT: Seems like Companion Summoning has a negative effect on the rewards and C. EXP received after defeating bosses. Maybe it's got something to do with how the Companions do part of the fighting? Or is it another of AETHER's balancing mechanics? Whatever, this needs more investigation.

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