Spiritual Consultation for Platform [N/A] Spirit Forest Dev

The worksite had been a point of major activity these past few months as Iosefka leads the other couple down into the depths. Tezoxochel is held bridal-style, carried into the Oasis Desert and laid down next to a rock for him to nap on. He could wake up later to contribute. Circuitry down below already reconfigured, yet still they required some more adjustments to the platform before they could even begin testing.

Nothing wrong with planning ahead though.

"So I've decided." She begins, "With uh. The current clusterfuck happening in the far north, there might be some danger in attracting spirits unbidden. Or rather, attracting spirits without putting some sort of filter on them. They may be harmful. So I think we're going to need a template to be applied on these nature spirits."

She traces her steps to three points surrounding the platform, as if to mark them on the ground.

"These three spots are going to hold stabilizers. Totems, would probably be a better way to put it-- Spiritually-enhanced pillars made to draw only the spirits we would want. They'll be made of Nyeshk and Soulsteel-- Gods know we have enough of both. A soulsteel core behind a design made to invoke, through runes and spiritmancy, a particular facet."

She taps her chin.

"Stop me if I'm going to fast on this one. Questions are accepted."
(Iosefka Coza)

Ohtli plods along behind the others in the dark, and just behind her no doubt is the dutiful astrologist. The arrive at the familiar worksite of the Crafthold's secondary projection platform.

"And that...would be where I come in," she says slowly, lips pursed.

"Invoking those spirits into the totems that are made and runed, and binding them to something physical, to make them corporeal. Correct?"

At least, that's the gist she got. Her lips purse.

"No. You wouldn't just want to invite them in. Not with all that's happening up north. Not with Dawn so nearby either. That'd be a terrible idea."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)

"The thing about picking and choosing our spirits, Ohtli, is that it might put a more considerable strain on the spire shard."

Iosefka, for emphasis, pats the metal platform that covered the guts and circuitry below, kneeling down now next to the massive structure. She strokes her chin idly, brow furrowed in thought.

"Like with the 'Qilin Gun' that Huangzhou has, or any other similar modification device, we might see... Two? Maybe three uses tops, before it's all out of juice. We'd need to be considerably choosy about the spirits. And that means we'd need a spiritmancer to work it. Thankfully we have you, but if you were ever to retire..."

She waves a hand, as if to dismiss the rest of that sentence and thought. For another time. Much further down the line.

"I'm not against it, all the same. But having conduits to help with the strain on summoning is probably for the best. We've already used a few spirit shards in the paneling and runework below to act as a 'breaker' of sorts, to funnel spiritual power through the platform and surrounding influences. But just so I'm not fucking anything up here-"

Iosefka looks back over to Ohtli.

"Explain the spirit summoning process. On your side. And the spirit's side."
(Iosefka Coza)

** You spot
 Windsor nearby! [Click to pursue] **
All the while she listens her lips remained purse, her face (relatively) immutable.

"That strain might be worth it, ma'am. Otherwise you might risk drawing in something that doesn't have your best interests at heart."

Retirement. There's a thought, but she still enacts her patiently perfected pokerface. The matter at hand first, the matter of importance.

"I could do that, yes. Probably. The totems and shards would probably take some of the pressure off of me. In theory, anyway."

Ohtli starts to make a circle around the platform.

"I'll give you the simple version. Spirits have things that tie them to the land. A place of significance, an item, or for some of the bigger nature spirits? A rune that you can call them with. In order for one to be called they have to be willing, first of all. Spiritmancy is -not- necromancy.

"But, provided they are willing, they need a stable source of mana to be tied to and a tether. A tether is usually the item in question, like I said, something they can be bound to. In this case, it'd be the totem pillar. The stable source of mana is typically lifeforce. Blood, mostly. Keeping three spirits tethered is doable...It would be draining, yet doable."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)

Iosefka strokes her chin in thought now, brow beginning to crease even further as she considered the invention. Gods. Always so much to think about when it came to this kind of work. Not that she minded, though! It was rather relaxing, tuning out everything else and only considering the work in front of her.

She would get up to her supply depot she had set up down in the oasis, taking out long pegs and a coil of string as well. Three feet in diameter, perfectly rounded totems made of Nyeshk, with a spirit shard and soulsteel. She imagined it would take...

She ponders.

"... Thirty pieces of Nyeshk each, Three pieces of Soulsteel, and a spirit shard for each Totem, specifically designed with virtuous concepts in mind to keep them... Focused. Which is why we're making them out of Nyeshk, naturally. We'll also have to make a defensive circle and all that, but-"

She claps her hands loudly, letting it echo across the Oasis.

"OK! The idea, Ohtli, is that the spire shard's divine magic makes up for the blood sacrifice to avoid strain on the spiritmancer specifically. It's like. You're setting up a connection for the spirit and its anchor, instead of being the anchor yourself. So you have the Totem as the tether, the spire shard as the source."

She finishes setting up the locations where she would build the Nyeshk Totems, pursing her lips as she stares at their locations. A perfect circle around the platform itself... But then, it would come down to beseeching a spirit in general.

"... We. Need to contact spirits. General spirits. Not a specific one. Don't we?" She asks. "We need to go out and ask spirits to pledge their aid when the time comes to make them, and give them a body. That's what you mean when you say you need them to willing. We need to contact a spirit and make sure it wants to take this undertaking."
(Iosefka Coza)

"I...think I follow. If they wouldn't need blood and could use the shard instead? That'd be ideal. It's a powerful source of mana. -Should- be stable enough...."

She drifts off into her own mutterings as she considers the possibilities of such a thing.

"It didn't quite work for Tlazhotla. The shard might be just keeping him from devolving instead. I don't exactly know since I haven't examined him too closely in recent years. It's not as if Ixchel and Qeutzalcoatl get along all that well either.

"But yes, that's effectively what I mean. I'm not sure what you mean by 'general' spirits though. That's fairly vague. Just about everything has a spirits in some form or fashion. Or do you just mean one that's not died to a specific person?"

In the art of spiritmancy it was a distinct difference.

"They can be contacted, beseeched, and even given offerings. That's so. With the spirits though you have to keep in mind. There may be things they will willingly abide by and other things they won't. Think of it like...a contract. I think that's a good way to put it.

"They are still living even if they're not flesh and blood. If they don't agree with something asked of them, they can leave. That does go both ways- if a spirit attempts something that we don't condone, I could dismiss them."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)

The clarification is enough to give Iosefka pause. Things they may not willingly abide, huh? Eyes glance downwards, before looking off to the side, and finally, settling on the cavern's roof above them.

Could they abide?

"I more meant spirits that aren't just dead people, yes." She says, a bit slower, a bit quieter. "We'll need to hold a séance, I guess. Or if we could just get a navigator to that fucking island--"

Aggression soon fades as she glances at the lazy, napping Nagual. A look of sadness crosses her face, if only a moment. She nods her head as she returns to ruminating.

"... If we let them into this world, through Crafthold... What are the chances they can abide by demons? By Oscuri, or Undead? Are spirits natural enemies to them?" She frowns. "... Would I be their natural enemy? How many kinds of spirits are there?"
(Iosefka Coza)

"We can reach out. Contact them. If we have a better idea of what type of spirit you want, we can narrow our focus and not draw in anything that we don't want," she offers. Her eyes follow Iosefka's to the ceiling.

"Honestly...I'm not sure. I imagine it would depend on the spirit. If you want spirits of the natural order, I don't imagine many would abide by...say. The undead. Not to say they don't exist. If we can find some native to Agartha, we can maybe find some that are at least indifferent to demons."

Now it's her turn to frown.

"I admittedly don't know a lot of your people, ma'am. And I know the Oscuri are servants of Azrael, yes? Really...as I said. It'd depend on the spirit. There's a chance we can find some that are indifferent, or offer something in exchange for their cooperation."

That only makes her frown even harder. She shoves it down into neutrality.

"We can contact a few. Or I can, if you'd prefer me to do it alone. I can consult them, get their thoughts. There is a spirit for just about everything. They make up the world."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)

"... It's best if you're the one to ask. I think." She begins. "I won't... Make the totems until we know there are spirits out there willing to aid. The more we talk about this, the more I realize I'm in over my head with all of it. I can make the body of a man, I can make a conduit, I can make a battery..."

She takes out her Codex to scratch in some suitable designs for the totems.

"... But I can't make a spirit do what it doesn't want to do. I think, the kind of spirits we want are... Elemental, perhaps. More concerned about their element than anything else. Spirits of this land, specifically. Spirits that feel tied to Crafthold. That wish to defend it."

Iosefka rises from where she crouches, snapping the book shut once the design documents had been compiled. Well. Sketches. The design sketches.

"Spirits that will restrict and restrain, but not punish. Spirits made to protect innocent folks from harm. I don't know what I want, really. But. It's good to start asking around I suppose. Of the spirits, I mean."

She rubs her eyes exhaustedly.

"Thanks for the consultation, Ohtli. I'll get started on the kiln. Can I count on Windsor's assistance? I will need an earth mage for it."
(Iosefka Coza)

"Spirits of the land and protection...Might be ideal," she says, nodding.

"They might be more likely to be...." she pauses, searching for the word with her brow furrowed. Try as she might she can't help but flash another frown.

"Indifferent to some things. More patient and less prone to violence."

Ohtli slowly exhales, conflicted.

"I'll see what I can do. I'm sure I can turn up something. One way or another. I can let you know my findings soon."

The Drakan turns and casts a glance over her shoulder to the man behind her. He's given a little nudge to get his attention.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)


Windsor says, "You can indeed, Iosefka."

Iosefka Coza says, "... Thank you. Dismissed, for now. I'm. I need to think about this."