Author’s Commentary on Broken Lands: Night Owl

  I have mixed feelings about Night Owl. The three major events that were planned happened (dealing with Physalix after his assault on Izel, internal conflict in Izel, and reaching the first Upgrade). The problem is that they rather stacked on top of each other. I originally planned to have that set as a midpoint and move on to the plans for Lost Ruins, but as I got into it I realized that would be better if I separated it into its own arc - the events weren’t going to overlap anyway (other than possibly Physalix).

  In many ways, this ended up as more of an exploration of the Skylands and the Challenges of Izel than it did something about the overarching conflicts. In a lot of ways that’s fine; there was very little they could do about Physalix or the Hilt until it was straight in front of them, so they were concentrating on the last point: helping Amy get the Upgrade she wanted while Sophia and Dav tried to figure out what they wanted. They never really managed to express it well, but the thought definitely came in handy when they suddenly had to decide in a hurry.

  I think the thing I’m the happiest with is finally having the chance to get some of the Patrons involved and show their situations, if not their deeper motivations. The Wanderer’s a meddler and he definitely has things he wants … but at the same time, he refuses to corner anyone into helping him. He’s very happy with Sophia and Dav right now and would have done more for them if he could … Which is hopefully obvious. He may not always guess right, but he’s trying. There’s very little he can really do for them until they’re out of the Broken Lands, unfortunately; even when they are, he’s heavily restricted … and I shouldn’t say more than that.

  Overall, then, Night Owl is a bit of a travelogue and a bit of an exploration of a world with hints of the society it’s built … and more than a little of people learning to know each other. I’m very happy with Marcie, less happy with Aric, and Los’en amuses me entirely too much sometimes. Sophia showed her impulsive side and got herself in trouble that others had to help her out of twice … but I have to admit that I don’t really think she’s learned better. Dav’s doing a better job at figuring out who he wants to be, and you might get to hear about it if he’d just talk … ah well.

  In any case, that’s what I’m the most happy with in Night Owl: the people, even the ones that only showed up for a few scenes then quietly waved goodbye.

  Moving on into the next book, the Lost Ruins will (hopefully!) get us a little deeper into what happened in Kestii and what the Broken Lord’s after. Well, if I stick to the current plans … there’s a decent chance that one may go a bit haywire. We’ll see.

  The one thing I can say for sure is that we’re going to get to spend some time with Ci’an and her brother Lan’ti. It should be interesting; Lan’ti is definitely the older sibling…

  The last thing I usually talk about in this series is the art. For Night Owl, I’m mostly satisfied but I have definitely noticed that I’m doing more post-processing and setup work, often in the middle of the art process, to get what I really want. This is taking more time than I like, so I need to think about what I want on some of it; do I want the more polished pieces it makes if I do the extra work and final edits? Does that mean I need to cut back a little on the art?

  Realistically, I’m pretty certain I’m going to keep doing art the way I have been, at least for the rest of Broken Lands. The next series will happen when I get there.

  See you in Lost Ruins!

  ~Lillene

  Latest Status

  Sphere: Plumed Domain

  Plumes of feathers claim and control your Domain.

  Anchor: Aura

  You are no longer limited to the body that was once your prison or your home.

  An Anchor is required for the first Upgrade. This may be modified by your Signature once it is discovered.

  Signature: Plume

  Feathers and plumes form the outward manifestations of your style.

  A Signature is required for the second Upgrade. This may be modified by your Grand Talent once it is discovered.

  Grand Spell: Pierce the Veil

  Your Plumes cross the boundary of spirit and flesh. This is a Variant of the Grand Spell: Part the Veil

  Spell Fragment: Stun Spirit

  Stun your opponent's spirit rather than their body. They may still take actions that do not require thought.

  Spell Fragment: Spirit Soothe

  Pacify spirits with your feathers’ touch. The effect is strongest for those wholly within the spirit realm.

  Spell Fragment: Veiled Sheath

  Cover anything that strikes you in a feathered sheath that transmits their power across the Veil.

  Grand Ability: Plumed Insight

  Your feathers feel more than the wind. Use them to comprehend your domain. This is a Variant of the Grand Ability: Shrouded Insight.

  Ability Fragment: Innate Communication

  Innate Communication is the most comprehensive of the set of Communication Abilities for sapients. It includes understanding of all forms of the language and the necessary knowledge to easily communicate in those languages so long as the capability exists. Languages that require methods not possessed by the possessor of Innate Communication cannot be used without that method.

  Ability Fragment: Aural MageSense

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  Feel the magic within your aura.

  Ability Fragment: Collected Knowledge

  You understand the monsters in your partner’s Collection.

  Ability Fragment: Nexus Knowledge

  Share the knowledge you have collected with the Nexus about monsters that are currently attacking the Nexus, giving all defenders a reduced version of the benefits you receive from Collected Knowledge and all related Abilities.

  Ability Fragment: MageSight

  See magic in all its forms.

  Ability Fragment: Spirit Sight

  See the spirits which surround you. This does not show auras, but it can reveal spirits that are not native to the forms they occupy.

  Ability Fragment: Excellent Ears

  Hear the world around you with greater precision.

  Plumed Domain Abilities:

  Spread Plumes, Anchor Ability

  Enhance your feathers with mana to take charge of your Domain. Feathers can attack or be commanded to cast spells or use Abilities. Spread Plumes are required for many other Plumed Domain Abilities.

  Plumed Spellcaster

  Your Domain is aligned with the Arcane. Learn the spells that resonate with you.

  Plume Shift

  You are your plumes and your plumes are you. Turn yourself into a cloud of Plumes that you can spread across your Domain. So long as any Plume is intact, you may return to your normal physical form without injury at the location of that Plume. While using Plume Shift, your Shield is disabled.

  Focused Feather

  Concentrate your attention on a specific feather to improve your control of that feather and all effects it creates. Increases mana requirements.

  Piercing Plume

  You know how best to use a plume to break the Shield of enemies that you have Collected Knowledge of. Increased effectiveness when used in combination with Focused Feather.

  Plush Bonds

  Cover your targets in feathers that impede their ability to move.

  Plume-Reinforced Spell

  A spell cast using a Plume is more difficult to dispel by any means, including simple resistance. Plume-Reinforced Spells are buttressed by your control of your Domain. Costs additional mana.

  Disruptive Plumes

  Charge a Plume with Arcane magic to disrupt spell structures.

  Down Coat

  Your feathered Domain gathers around you to retain heat better in the cold and warm up more quickly. Environmental cold must deplete your Shield before it can cause permanent damage to your body. You may lend a Down Coat to another in your Domain at an additional mana cost.

  Plumed Aura Armor

  Your plumes deflect attacks before they reach your shield.

  Magic Attuned Aura

  Your aura resonates with the power of magic. Your plumes can weakly affect magic within your aura in any way you choose.

  Firewater Plume

  Create a plume of crystallized Water that holds Fire in its heart. Requires ambient Water and the Fire that is to be captured. The crystalline prison can be disturbed by a sharp shock, returning to its constituent water and releasing the captive Fire. The crystal will slowly evaporate if kept in a dry environment.

  A Firewater Plume can be used like any other Plume. Composition of the Firewater Plume may affect some uses.

  Spells:

  Force Bolt

  Discharge a bolt of magical force to damage your target.

  Force Blast

  Create a rapidly expanding shell of magical force at a distance to damage targets in the area.

  Corruption Bolt

  Discharge a bolt infused with the magic of Corruption to damage your target. Corruption erodes the core element of a being.

  True Death Bolt

  Discharge a bolt infused with the magic of True Death to damage your target. True Death has little effect on natural creatures. It is extremely effective against beings created by magic, such as magical constructs and the walking dead.

  Attractive Affix

  Attract other magic, including both spells and enchanted objects, to a chosen feather. The feather may be affixed to a creature or object or may simply be a feather in your Domain. The attraction is weak but may disrupt distant attacks or make an affixed creature or object easier to target.

  Parrying Presence

  Repel other magic, including both spells and enchanted objects, away from a chosen feather. The feather may be affixed to a creature or object or may simply be a feather in your Domain. The repulsion is weak but may disrupt distant attacks or make the creature or object harder to accurately target. Parrying Presence is more likely to disrupt targeting than to completely deflect a blow, though attacks that are poorly aimed may be redirected completely.

  Embody Element

  Manifest your element physically. Exact effects depend on the element embodied.

  Species Abilities:

  Scaley

  Call upon your heritage to gain the scales of your ancestors.

  Magical Translucence

  You can choose to diffuse magic that strikes you, reducing its effect on you and spreading a weakened effect over a wider area.

  Manifest Wings

  Temporarily create a pair of wings formed of magic that can lift you into the sky.

  Prismatic Magic

  Split magic into its constituent elements.

  Ability Descriptions

  Sphere: Eldritch Invoker

  Suffuse your being with the eldritch power of Chaos Itself.

  Anchor: Entity

  You are yourself; what was once your physical form has become the expression of your being.

  An Anchor is required for the first Upgrade. This may be modified by your Signature once it is discovered.

  Grand Ability: Eldritch Acuity

  You know more, feel more, and are more than others comprehend. This Ability is no mere Variant; you have started the process to create your own Ability.

  Ability Fragment: Eyes that See

  Summon the Sight of the Eyes that See. You see beyond the physical, perceiving the eldritch reality of the world.

  Ability Fragment: Psychic Mesh

  Connect to other compatible entities of your choice. All partners may project some or all of their thoughts to other linked individuals. This ability does not allow for true synchronicity, control, or unity.

  Ability Fragment: Weapon Union

  Commune with a weapon.

  Eldritch Weapon: Eldritch-Touched Blade

  Union Effects: Dual Invocation, Image Shift (Tattoo, Blade)

  Ability Fragment: Mana Core Specialization: Eldritch

  Align your mana core with the Eldritch power that runs through you.

  Ability Fragment: Mana Specialization Attunement: Eldritch

  You are an Eldritch existence.

  Ability Fragment: Spirit Voice

  As you can see it, you can speak to it. Your voice may cause pain to those who do not understand their own spirits.

  Eldritch Invoker Abilities:

  Eldritch Call, Anchor Ability

  Invoke the Eldritch power that suffuses your Entity to create effects. Eldritch Call is required to express all Calls.

  Dual Invocation: Weapon

  When you Call, your Unified Weapon also Calls.

  Solid Invocation: Weapon

  Create a temporary weapon of pure Eldritch power. The Solid Invocation may hold a single Call.

  Empower Call

  Focus your will on a Call to increase its power.

  Spirit Shatter

  Purge spirits with your eldritch chaos.

  Calls:

  Overflowing Health

  Suffuse yourself with healing eldritch energy that spills past your Entity to aid your allies.

  Spiked Shield

  Extend spikes of eldritch power from the edge of your Entity.

  Flowering Firewater

  Lay a trail of burning water that freezes into petals that resist the motions of others.

  Reflection

  Step out of yourself and join yourself in the fight.

  Unreal Space

  Your Eldritch power suffuses your Entity. You can partially ignore other influences, such as gravity.

  Unbreakable

  You are and what you are is inviolate.

  Dread Aura

  Allow the sensation of your eldritch existence to enter your aura. Causes fear in most who sense it.

  Species Spells:

  Eldritch Empowerment

  Gain or grant a minor eldritch boon.

  Eldritch Overcharge

  Channel extra mana into Summons for additional power or duration.

  Spellwarp

  Twist a spell until it triggers or breaks.

  Warp Space

  Distance is only an illusion for you.

  Light and Dark

  Gather light and leave darkness behind.

  Eldritch Projection

  Project the power of Chaos upon your enemies.

  Quickstep

  Step around instead of through. May be cast on others.

  Eldritch Aurora

  Pull Chaos around yourself as a mantle.

  Eldritch Weapon

  Enhance a weapon with the power of Chaos.

  Species Abilities:

  Bonded Armor

  Forcibly bonding with your armor has permanently connected it to you. Armor abilities draw on your mana. Continued use and empowerment may awaken or create additional abilities.

  Spell Reservoir

  Learn to cast the spells of your species. Does not include any Spell Slots or Spells. If selected, all Species spells will be reserved for the Reservoir.

  Sword Sketch

  Use your sword to sketch your understanding of the eldritch nature of reality.

  Eldritch Elasticity

  Bounce Back.

  Non-Attuned Magical Items

  Charm Bracelets with Compass that can find North or other related bracelets

  Feather Charms (Lighten Carried Loads)

  Snowflake Charms (Chill Area)

  Charm Rune of Spirit Sight (Sophia)

  Charm Rune of Affect Undead (Dav)

  Charm Rune of Sense Undead (Amy)

  2 Stoneshield vials

  Vial of Shattershell Oil

  3 Heatstones

  Cord of Spirit Ice