Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:09 pm**

"I am distracted I admit..." Brenner began, trying to suppress a smirk, "...by how you can still have such skinny arms despite how much I've seen you lift." He let the smile crack into existence, "Next time you breakfast here, we'll make sure you get extra eggs. You clearly need the protein."

But he took it as well as he dished it out- at least in this instance, laughing at Eitan's apparent distrust of Brenner's prowess with a syringe.

"Fair enough. Good shirts are hard to come by..." The Air Commander glanced over to where the discarded shirt was slung, "...though you could probably stand to retire that one." It was a jape for japing's sake. There was nothing unstylish, defective or worn about the shirt. It was perfectly pristine and classically cut. But acknowledging as much wouldn't have served his desire to retaliate with another round of ribbing.

"That makes sense." Brenner acknowledged Stefan's response with a purse of the lips. "I thought there might be some... demonstrably deific traits observable on the microscopic level, but..." He shrugged, "I'm a dilettante at best."

With Eitan tending to collecting Stefan's blood, Brenner stood by and observed, awaiting his turn to practise the same routine upon the revised half-elf. He wondered to himself as the blood pooled behind the glass, whether it would look different under a microscope. He could crop his ears, but he could never sift the impurities out of his blood. It would always be a part of him. A burden he didn't envy in the least. At the end of all this they might be able to cure Eitan of the blight of magic, but never, never would he be free of the affliction of mongrelhood.

He handed Eitan's sanguine specimen off to Stefan, and rubbed his palms together eagerly.

"All right, boys. Let's do a science, eh?"

Posted: **Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:40 pm**

"In the College of Minders," he said in response to Stefan's question, "they do take samples of bodily fluids from those of us who are in any way corrupted, whether by magic or blood, to study. I am not an expert at what they find therein, but I do know they continue to labor to unravel the mysteries of it all. Ah, they haven't asked for all bodily fluids, but blood, saliva, mucous, tears." It had been mildly interesting at the time, mildly humiliating, and certainly mildly gross. He supposed Stefan, at least, would be the most interested.

As for Brenner, "My invitation didn't inform me this was a slumber party, so I do regret the cut of my clothes today. Es ist meine Schuld."

He scowled and rapidly flexed his arms to hopefully get the blood pumping, but just smirked back at Brenner. He could laugh about it, of course, but he did wish it was as easy for him to build substance as it was for the Dornkirks. At least he was marginally taller, so that balanced things enough to take it easily and without hurt.

"I like to think I'm strong, but compact." His lean shoulders rolled in a shrug as he took his place and his turn to get stuck with the needles of science.

"For Science!"

He watched curiously to see how Brenner fared. The pain, whether small or large, could be tolerated, but he knew that a painless jab probably meant a more efficient transaction; blood removed, less harm for the body to repair. Efficiency was important when marshalling resources, whether airships or fighting men, and it was always excellent to excel.

Posted: **Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:08 am**

There was a part of Stefan, a small part, that wished he could have been brave enough to study magic with the Order. He would never have been able to take on the corruption of magic himself, but his mind found keen interest in the type of study Eitan was describing.

"Do they? That's fascinating. I wonder if I could eventually earn the right to read some of the reports, or, at least find out what information is gained from such magical study."

While he spoke Stefan straightened his clothing and collected the blood samples now available. Fetching the sample Private Albrecht had provided early in the day he lined them all up in a neat contraption made for holding that size of vial.

"Now," His Instructor's tone was back, "I will take small amounts of each and mix them with various chemicals, some of which will give information on levels of oxygen and other things immediately, others of which we will have to leave overnight before they will reveal their secrets. Whilst I do this the two of you can take droppers and place one drop from each vial onto the glass slides for the four microscopes and we will see what can be seen."

He set about his work with a much greater level of expertise while Brenner and Eitan collected small glass droppers from the provided tray of tools and continued their banter. In ten minutes' time, the tasks set to each man were completed and Stefan went through and listed the various experiments he was conducting, explaining what each one was intended to do and how long each would take. The ones that were instant, or only took a minute or two he explained the results.

There were interesting differences between the different samples, most of them mundane, but some, such as in the oxygenation levels of the three (mostly) human men being significantly higher than that of the Lysanrin, that likely had magical causes. Stefan theorized that this might be because he had been using magic to subsidize his breathing at the time of, or right before, the sample had been taken. He made notes almost the entire time, which did not seem to interfere with him continuing to explain.

From there they moved on to the scopes, which were interesting for Stefan, who was able to note and point out several oddities in the blood. The coloration was off in ways that implied damage to it, as though the magic did...something. But they were not present in Eitan's blood, which either meant the issue only occurred when the person had very recently used magic or was a feature of how the Lyranrins used it differently.

The discussion went on for over an hour, with different ideas being tossed around. The remaining Lysanrin blood would be taken to the university where, with some help, Stefan could see how it reacted to having any remaining magic removed. Stefan also planned to take the sample Eitan had given, though he did not mention this. It did not seem useful to worry anyone when it was most likely that the results would be nothing.

By the end of the scientific experimentation session, Stefan was wishing he hadn't skipped breakfast. It was irrational to think that the minor amount of blood he'd lost could matter in his level of hunger, but he felt both hungry and thirsty at levels he rarely had since leaving his time with the ZADC.

"What do you think, gents?" He asked as he peeled off his fine leather working gloves, "Shall we call for a spot of tea, or do you think an early lunch at the club?"

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:13 pm**

"By the end of our glorious endeavour, brother, the Reconciliators will beg you for an audience let alone share their research with you." Brenner smiled encouragingly. He liked to think his optimism was cautious- pragmatic, but the flights of fancy had grown elaborate since throwing himself headlong into this enterprise. The more they had time to prepare and to discuss, the more the fresh ideas excited him. The parasites they sought in the Warrens were only the tip of a very big iceberg that promised to sink the Kalzasern ship of state into the murky depths of deserved oblivion- Forgotten by posterity as all but a wretched footnote in the salient saga of Humankind. Other notions were coming to the fore which would fortify the High City as the unassailable force it would need to be to weather the coming storm and prevail in the aftermath.

Brenner might have been out-to-sea, if not for Professor Dornkirk's deft tutelage, but with that instruction he found himself fascinated. He was particularly fixated on the notion of whether magic use had direct effects on the blood in the short or long term. He posed the question of whether different disciplines of Witchcraft might bear different consequences. He was aware of "threshold sickness", but were there other physiological effects? Or psychological? It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that magic naturally endowed a narcissistic tendency in its wielders... a sense of superiority at having powers that enabled one to, as far as Brenner was concerned, cheat at life itself.

When all was said and done, Brenner replied.

"I think this calls for the club. We need to keep our faces out in society as much as possible, since we'll be absent for a month or so ere long. Besides- progress wants for celebration, and we're progressing up a storm."

Posted: **Fri Feb 11, 2022 11:09 pm**

R E V I E W

Lore:
Eitan:
Biology:
The Properties of Human Blood
Observing Blood Under a Microscope

Medicine:
Using a Syringe to Draw Blood
Finding a Vein
Use of a Tourniquet
Feild Medicine Training
Dealing with Rolling Veins
Applying Basic Bandaging
Use of a Centrifuge

Leadership:
Sacrificing for the State
Quips and Rejoinders

Brenner:
Medicine:
Using a Syringe to Draw Blood
Finding a Vein
Use of a Tourniquet
Feild Medicine Training
Dealing with Rolling Veins
Applying Basic Bandaging
Use of a Centrifuge
Learning about blood
Basic inter-species contrast awareness

Stefan:
Biology:
The Properties of Human Blood
Preserving Blood for Later Study
Observing Blood Under a Microscope
Planning a Blood Experiment

Medicine:
Preparing a Syringe
Using a Syringe to Draw Blood
Finding a Vein
Use of a Tourniquet
Use of a Centrifuge

Leadership:
Arranging a Wedding
Moving House
Setting Up a Life for Newly Weds

Points: 8 each, not for magic

Injuries/Ailments: Small pricks

Loot: Some blood?

Notes:

Legend of Ransera

Training: Blood Study

Re: Training: Blood Study

Re: Training: Blood Study

Re: Training: Blood Study

Re: Training: Blood Study

Re: Training: Blood Study