Darkening Sky, Interlude

  • Interlude

     

    Excerpts from record four hundred twelve through four hundred forty-eight, Operative 4-146-4 Torako

     

     

     

     

    412:

     

                    I had originally intended to reserve any further research into the Yamayubi: Raizuki until I attained, beyond any doubt, such a mastery of lightning that I could do so without any risk to my life. Recent events have rendered that approach untenable. To protect him from his own blossoming power, I have given away the secret of the Raizuki to the most talented student I have ever trained – not without informing him, repeatedly and with great emphasis, the very reason it is a forbidden technique, and the ultimate fate of all its users. I doubt Harrow is so disobedient, so brash or so foolish as to throw his own life away for the sake of eliminating a single target, but I worry of the small possibility all the same.

     

                    I did not renew my efforts into developing a risk-free method of performing the Raizuki simply because I wanted to keep a promising young kit safe, even if that should be reason enough. With a second conflict between the Aldmeri Dominion and the Mede Dynasty clearly in the brew, the Shadeclaw of the Third Century 4E can expect to see massive deployment into the field; perhaps even the battlefield. Only a handful of shinobi possess the aptitude to perform magic of this calibre, but that handful will prove invaluable.

     

                    With that in mind, a brief analysis of historical documentation is in order before any research truly begins.

     

                    The Yamayubi Raizuki (山指: 雷突き) was not a technique developed by a Shadeclaw. As a matter of fact, it was the brainchild of a prodigious young Po’ Tun mage, unaffiliated with First Grandmaster Furiya’s shinobi contingent and instead aligned with an outfit of Eastern Akaviri samurai – and, finally, possessed of the same suicidal zealotry. Despite the excellent record-keeping tendencies of both Tsaesci and Po’ Tun forces, as well as the budding Cyrodiil Dynasty, no references to the mage’s name has been found. It is known, however, that said mage pioneered several different suicide techniques, all of which saw great use during the final days of the Akaviri invasion. Most prominent of all was the Jibakushu, or Self-Detonation Curse. Regardless of skill level, the Jibakushu allowed any mage with sufficient raw magicka to transmute it, release it, and violently explode. The casualties Reman suffered from this technique were substantial. Other techniques ranged from weapon enchantments that drained a user’s soul directly to spells that bolstered a fighter’s physical attributes to the extremes but left them with five minutes to live. None of them but the Yamayubi Raizuki, the most powerful of all, have ever seen use with Shadeclaws.

     

                    The Finger of the Mountain itself, of course, did not originate with the Akaviri but with the extinct Ayleid civilisation. And most intriguingly, archeological records salvaged from a Dwemer ruin beneath Red Mountain (due credit to Operative 2-155-18 Enma, dated to the late Merethic Era) indicate that the Ayleids practiced a targeted spell of true lightning that was similar to the Yamayubi Raizuki (in that it was derived from the Finger of the Mountain), but did not result in practitioners’ deaths. Furthermore, it seems to have been immensely powerful, not only sinking but almost completely destroying a Dwemeri metal dreadnought in one shot:

     

                    ‘…upon which Tonal Architect Rourken did take it upon himself to command the Chun Abakch to advance within ten ship-lengths, thus completing the deception… (undecipherable text) such that the Heartland Elves would thus freely enter cannon-range. But Rysdir the Watchful did by means of scrying most deep-sighted divine his purpose, and, having already commanded his sorcerers to prepare a great bolt of lightning, pure and true, did then loose the curse… (undecipherable text) flash of jade green, a stream of Anthnekvagrelz (electricity) of iridescent hue, did cause fifty-nine hundredths of the starboard hull to fulminate, and the effects of which killed all below-deck crew instantly, and did cause the Chun Abakch to fold within fourteen seconds.’

     

                    The Dwemer historian recording the event goes on to mention a ritual of protection in which three Ayleid mages of the highest calibre Fortifies and continually Restores the body of the mage channeling the spell so effectively and so quickly that the healing process outstrips the nearly immediate death brought about by true lightning.

     

                    Obviously, this approach to solving the dilemma of the Yamayubi Raizuki is inapplicable to Tsukikage operatives. The amount of skill or absolute magical power required is attainable only by shinobi who are on par with the Grandmaster. The fortification ritual is also long and convoluted, defeating the purpose of the Raizuki as a technique to be produced and used in an instant without giving the target time to react.

     

                    More recent historical documentation may provide additional insight.

     


     

    416:

     

                    After two days in the village library, Harrow has proven himself as much a diligent research partner as a devoted student. My files are now complimented with a noteworthy – and seemingly reliable – example from just within the last millennium.

     

                    Multiple records and accounts from the Sixth Century 2E indicate that at least one Altmer mage was capable of harnessing true lightning to devastating effect in the Three Banners War. Said mage is reported to be female, and from my analysis of the documentation, I hypothesise that she achieved her mastery over lightning by combining techniques from a vast range of schools – using an ability not dissimilar to lightning riding to physically redirect the stream of electricity, tapping into conscious magicka materialisation in order to contain the massive arcs and surges of the lightning, then shaping said magicka in order to initiate attacks.

     

                    Unfortunately, this technique is also out of our reach for now. Not only does such a method require a type of one-in-a-billion talent, but it also needs the caster to possess a certain viscosity to their magicka for any chance of success.

     

                    These reports do still serve as useful references. The Altmer mage in question has been observed performing true lightning offensives (evidenced by the telltale bright green hue of electrically excited oxygen particles) on varying levels of intensity. The channeled true lightning was capable:

     

                    At the base level, of completely disintegrating infantry units in plate armour-

                    At a concentrated level, of destroying a single link in the chain of a Dark Anchor of Molag Bal-

     

                    Once fully unleashed, of thoroughly annihilating multiple standing armies at once-

     

                    And of blasting apart a three-hundred-fifty-foot section of the Imperial City’s outermost wall.

     

                    Along with other accounts of true lightning and advanced variations of the Finger of the Mountain from earlier periods in history, the example of this Altmer mage illustrates that any individual with access to such techniques is – at the risk of sounding melodramatic – no less than a living superweapon.

     


     

    448:

     

                    Our latest experiment has given us a tremendous amount of insight, in no small part due to the personal risk that Harrow undertook in order to advance our understanding of natural, wild lightning.

     

                    I now begin the first of many tests regarding the interaction of electricity, magnetism and the flow and circulation of negative and positive electric charges, which shall soon be followed by how such factors affect incidents of lightning strikes and, most importantly, survival of such incidents. The process may very well be a long and arduous one, but the first step has been taken.

     

                    As an aside, I find myself continually surprised by my student’s sheer determination and ingenuity. He has already turned the accident with his scabbard to his advantage, and has, over the course of two weeks, developed a draw-cut technique that utilises the new electromagnetic properties of the sheath to explosively eject his sword with a speed that shocked even Unaka-ko, who’d taught him everything he knows about kenjutsu and iaijutsu. Even more astonishing is the fact that he has not once lost momentum when it comes to our continuing research while doing so.

     

                    I almost find his focus disturbing. Still so young, yet he reacts to praise only with cold platitudes and expresses emotion only as a secondhand element. I cannot help but feel that Jorra-jo was right. And I cannot help but feel continually obligated to do something about our kit

     

                    Tests with pure iron rods and low-power lightning runes commencing tomorrow.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

Comments

1 Comment   |   A-Pocky-Hah! and 2 others like this.
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  July 15, 2019
    Yep, Harrow is too focused. Good insights here.