With Twitter on the way down, someone introduced me to https://cohost.org/ as an alternative. Has anyone heard anything about them?

Remember, nobody in power is going to listen unless we make our voices heard.

Soap box
ballot box <- We are here
Jury box
Ammo box

Please use them in the correct order.

Creatures have far more power than they can effectively use, because most of their power is tied up with maintaining life, sustaining their production of power. Sometimes a person will dive deep into this reserve to accomplish some otherwise superhuman feat- but there are consiquences, as they will need to recover before they are capable of the sme everyday activity they would normally do. (comparable to strains, broken bones, ect) The particularly disciplined have been known to use this to comit suicide, throwing every bit of their power in one defiant spell, leaving nothing to survive. This total energy is relatively equal for most mortals, and is the basis for the standard unit of magical power- a Soul. Most spells worth mentioning -as spells- measure their mana usage in multiple Souls. A typical healthy person might have between 0.9 to 1.1 souls.

Charging Leystone with even a single soul of power takes months, if you dont injure the donor. More donors can speed the process a bit, so the Empire distributes leystone to every household in the empire, with the expectation that it will be collected, fully charged, when taxes are collected.

The empire looks poorly on warlocks who forcefully drain sentients of their Soul of magic- even from a coldly imperial viewpoint, it reduces the number of taxpaying pesants and runs into diminishing returns in the long run.

Animals have magical energy as well, but are lessconisistnt- a snail would have very litle magic to support it's activity- whereas a full dragon needs more souls of magic just to regenerate magic fast enough to manage it's physical activity.

While I'm posting, for my own reference:
Tovera's Personal spells:
Lightning wand, (Rote use- bolt of lightning, various strengths, limited total charge)
Fireblade (Rote use- Superheated Vorpal blade that does not melt itself- duration limited) (Half a soul to activate or (quickly) deactivate, and a soul every half hour
Philosophy of Manipulation of Ice and Cold (but no creation of ice without existing water)
Philosophy of Air Control and Airborn Maneuver (using wings or Glider as foci, both for mobility and air manipulation)
Philosophy of Unseen Force (superstrength, armored deflection, gross telekinesis)
Philosophy of Enhanced Presence (Intimidation, magical oratory and leadership)
Philosophy of the Long Blade (swordplay)

Tovera's Equipment:
Fireblade (Medium leystone- 15 souls)
Lightning Wand (Wand leystone shard- 10 souls)
Breastplate (Medium leystone- 15 souls)
2 gauntlets (small leystone- 5 souls each)
(personal soul- 1.45 after training)
Armor and helm
Personal Glider (Large leystone- 50 souls)

In the setting I am putting together for my Tovera character, magic and science arnt some fundamental opposed forces- Rather, Magic is simply an aspect of her reality that is difficult to access, but follows the same rules as everything else.

Martial magic is the common stuff- what everyone takes for granted. When a grandmother flips a cart off of her grandchild, or when a dragon flaps it wings more powerfully than any real-world bird could, this is martial magic. And the creation of life is all but impossible... without a mother. The difference between lifting a rock with magic and lifting a rock with muscle is academic- because muscle IS magic, though not all magic is muscle.

But then a material was discovered that could store massive amounts of magical power, though not create it. Magi who studied these could create effects no -one- person could accomplish alone, even shape raw power from life force, though the results were limited comared to the power expended. But there was no upper limit. With enouth charged leystone, anything was possible.

Magic has 3 parts
Mana- Life energy, stamina. This can generally be trainied, Cardio and the like, but most mages rely on external mana, and train on application rather than potential. Overt Magic relies on large amounts of power over control- Anyone can throw raw power around, they just dont HAVE enough to do anything useful.

Focus- Tools and tricks to make casting a particular magic easier. Martial tools are related to the task for which they are made- Magical foci are similar, related in some abstract way with the magic to be accomplished. But just as you can use a pen to write a lovesong or an angry letter (or stab someone with it), any good magical focus can be used in multiple ways. Subtle Magic may use very little mana for it's effect, but is difficult to visualize and control, making good tools essential.

Skill- Training and preparations to put together a particular magic. Martial magic is little more than this. A child of any species takes years to learn to walk- many winged species never learn to use flight properly, as it requires both skill and stamina. (Technically, pregnancy is a martial ritual that takes months worth of stamina to accomplish, creating a new, self sustaining life.)

There are no permanent magical items- but many magical foci include a Leystone manasource in the design, allowing the caster to use power stored in the foci with the foci to cast a spell, but has to be recharged by a living being. In theory, this can approach a technological level of sophistication- Using “Sending stones” that can reach another sending stone to carry your words, for instance, often use less mana than a megaphone and shouting does. But few tools match the versitility of a pointed rod.


Magic is often divided into Philosophies, mental frameworks that make the Skills of casting easier. Martial magic could be considered a Philosophy, one of “giving 110%”, of training the body and spirit, and making use of natural advantages- and once charged Leystone gets involved, even “mundanes” rapidly approaches superhuman levels.

Another philosophy might be a combination of psychology and mental magic, knowing how the various races think and how to alter their minds with various levels of sophistication. Others might specialize in breaking reality into fundamental forces to explain it in a way the caster can comprehend and manipulate. (but, due to political reasons, Water magic of any kind, and any philosophy that teaches the manipulation or creation or water is banned on pain of death. The Empire takes this very seriously, as their mundane control of water sources is one of their sources of power.)

Anyone can be taught a spell by Rote, however. They wont have the flexibility that a philosophy has, but they have a trick that works, that doesnt have to be the same as the rest of their skill set. It's also easier to mess up, as they dont really understand it, they just use it. Most specialized magic item use falls into this category.

First Journal!

This is an idea that’s been floating around in my head for awhile- a setting at least, with the intent of one day producing a story in it starring one of my characters- the Dragoness Tovera Vashini. (I presume, if you see this, it means you followed me cause you’ve seen the art I’ve commissioned) At this point, I think my best approach is to start things off at the Inquisition academy, with Tovera as a new recruit, and explore her troubled past only in flashbacks.

Everyone at the academy has a notable past, or they wouldn’t have been selected as a possible inquisitor. As an Inquisitor-cadet, each cadet’s Imperial Boon has already been granted… and they are now the legal property of the Emperor. This is pretty much the highest form of slavery in the empire- Inquisitors are expected to be the Emperor’s eyes and ears, and sometimes claws. Some of these recruits are magical hybrids- such hybrids are almost always recruited or destroyed, and their creators are almost always destroyed.

The Inquisition Academy teaches magic theory and magic combat, racial fighting styles (including flying combat for winged races) and Imperial History, races and Cultures. It is a Water Empire, with military control of every spring and dams on every river- If a province should be so lost as to rebel against the empire, then they will find themselves getting thirsty. This usually ends any conflict in less than a week... and everyone knows it. Water magic of any kind is banned by the empire, and most associated magic systems (4 elemental magic, Taoism, ect) have been purged by the empire.

Magic itself is life energy- usually stored in a mineral called Leystone, a handful of which can store more magical energy than a score of living sentients. That’s not to say you can cast spells forever with it- most mages have a hard time with a basic light spell without an external source of magic power, though more experienced and practiced mages can use the mana more efficiently.

Every peasant in the empire is taught how to charge depleted leystone, and magical energy is collected as part of the Empire’s taxes. (and, like taxes, allowing for a notable amount of sticky fingers at each level of the bureaucracy). It is said that the Emperor Himself, and his inner circle, receive enough magical energy each year to keep themselves eternally youthful, to control the weather across the empire, and to pierce the veil of time- the Imperial government does not comment on such speculation.

Races of the empire tend toward predators and scavengers, and the personalities of such tend to show through. Prey species are usually slaves taken from outside the empire. Long distance transportation is airborne, whether by flying courier (Dragon, Avian, or Bat), Kites (A cross between a chariot and a biplane, pulled by flying slaves or beasts) or the newest development, Personal Gliders. (Like RL hang gliers, with a touch of wind magic)

I'm looking for comments, questions about the setting, and suggestions for other Inquisitors and Inquisitor Cadets- Though if I mangle your fursona for the setting, it's your fault for offering. :p