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Labyrinths of Echo: Difference between revisions
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** Juffin had to allow a natural healer to help random bystanders when it could compromise plans to save locals from a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] -- after which got this guy kicked out of provincial SI and put into medical school where he belongs. Kofa Yokh stated that no healer was ever imprisoned for using [[Ban On Magic|too much magic]] to save a patient's life, only "get a little talking eye to eye with Juffin -- yes, I know, some dislike this". There's no arguing with "the call" -- once it pulls someone, it's let him or break him.
** However, healers ''can'' fight monsters far from "people" enough to not trigger these reactions and not even living in the first place. Natural healers also tend to be talented mages with lots of practice and hell-bent on saving lives. The current King's Healer started in a provincial SI where he once faced the monster hard to resist, extremely hard to kill and "vaporizing" on death. He took a piece of this thing as a trophy and sent it to the capitol.
* [[The Alcatraz]]: The [[Anti
** The castle was built right on top of the Heart of the World, from sentient stones, by the founder of the Ancient Dynasty, Khalla Makhun the Furry, who asked every single stone where it wanted to be placed. So the place was the palace of monarchs, then buckled, set up a [[Narnia Time|different time scale]] and was used as a [[Wizarding School]], and in the Era of Codex it chose to change again and became the ultimate prison. Oh, and there's also the [[Genius Loci|spirit of Kholomi]], which will from time to time wake up and require two extraordinarily strong mages to keep it from dancing.
* [[Alternate Self]]: The Murakoks have several of them living in different worlds across the setting's [[The Multiverse|many worlds]]. They believe that all of their lives are equally real.
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* [[The End of the World As We Know It]]: Always looming in the background.
* [[Equivalent Exchange]]: Echo's Beggar's Foreman Koba claims that the Beggars' Guilds serve to balance the cities, and that removing them would simply reduce other citizens to beggars.
* [[Failure Knight]]: Khel'burik of Ukkumbi wanted to scare contemporary writers from writing novels by claiming that each novel creates a new world, causing all characters to experience a permanent [[And I Must Scream]] state, as their world freezes where the narration ended. The spell he wrought to support his claims worked [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|too well]], making his claims come true. [[My God, What Have I Done?|Khel'burik realized]] that he can not destroy those Dead Illusion Worlds. To atone for this, he became a [[That Man Is Dead|person legendary in his own right]], {{spoiler|Jochchi Shavanakhola. Known as the Merry Magister,}} he overcame death to support his best friend Ch'yolve Maytokhchi, the Wild Wind, in the task of destroying those worlds. {{spoiler|Max, having set Loyso free, simply calls him to Jochchi's and Ch'yolve's aid.}}
* [[Fantastic Drug]]: Psychoactive substances of another world generally are a gamble. Max is wasted and nearly killed by a weak and utterly safe relaxant, but mostly immune to side effects of a strong psychostimulant. In turn, Max accidentally acquired pot smoking which {{spoiler|temporarily disabled his friends [[Lawful Good]] personality, so that old [[Chaotic Stupid]] version re-emerged}}.
* [[Fantastic Light Source]]: Echo is illuminated by orange fungi-generated light and by magical blue lights.
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** One of the mayors sees his grand-children starving and raped.
** The city's admiral sees himself close to death by thirst, and the only available liquid are his family members suffering from Anavuayna.
* [[For Science!]] with [[Beware the Superman]]: Loyso Pondokhva was ''the'' greatest Plain Magic talent among the generation of Kholomi High Royal School absolvents intended to destroy the ancient Orders to strengthen the King's position. Loyso and his comrades disposed of the ancient Orders and then [[Hoist By His Own Petard|went on to found their own Orders]] or to take existing ones over. Loyso (and his Water Crow Order) acknowledged the threat of [[The End of the World As We Know It]], yet actively worked to this end, as he wanted to try grabbing the world's power, which is theoretically possibly for those witnessing the destruction. Loyso is later shown to explain his motivations to Juffin as coming to the conclusion that history is a meaningless repetition, the World's Heart inevitably drives the best and brightest insane (he ''did'' include himself), while those who aren't any good at magic are [[Smug Super|sad fools beneath his notice]].
* [[Freaky Friday Flip]] / [[Personality Swap]]: The Exchange of Ulviar, also known as the Candle of Fittekh and as the Shadow's Scent. The ritual was invented by the ancient keyifaya king Ulviar the Faceless. Depending on source, his royal healer Fittekh was either the co-inventor or merely assisted Ulviar. The ritual consists of crafting a large wick-less candle from several dozens of rare ingredients, lighting it and extinguishing the flame immediately. The candle slowly glows or smolders spreading a scent {{spoiler|Max}} describes as "a September's night". During this time, at least one of the two participants has to chant the incantation. As there are no data about effects with more than 2 participants, the ritual is best done in a room locked and sealed from inside, and if possible, guarded from the outside to prevent any interventions. The ritual causes the participants' Shadows to come to them and to switch places. The effect holds for 12-20 hours, depending on source, and reverts instantaneously no matter where the participants are, requiring no further action from them. The effect switches not only personas and personalities, but also skills and compulsions - Ulviar possessed not only the healing skills, but also the Healer's call as long as the spell lasted, while Fittekh displayed not only his king's usual ambitions, but also his diplomacy and orator's skills. {{spoiler|After Max, needing to find a way to "want and not want", bemoans his lack of self-control and tells Shurf Lonli-Lokli that he'd like to borrow Shurf's self-control once too often, Shurf tells Max about the ritual. As Shurf considers Max's persona a welcome change from his usual self, Max actually suggests doing it more often.}}
* [[Functional Magic]]:
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** Innate magic. Several nations, tribes and places hold their own kinds of magic, which may be by far more powerful and more complicated than plain magic.
** [[Ritual Magic]]: Rarely mentioned or used in combat, but known for more exotic uses.
* [[Good Is Not Soft]]: Looking for a way to dispatch Ugurbado and being unable to do so himself due to Ugurbado's [[Power Parasite|unique relationship with those to kill him]], Max suggests using reanimated corpses, assuming that Ugurbado would take their "power" of being dead. The undead rip the fully conscious Ugurbado to shreds. Due to said corpses being Anavuayna victims, Ugurbado returns to the multiverse dying from Anavuayna and attempts to goad Loyso Pondokhva into killing him to override the effect. Loyso merely invites Max into his [[Tailor
* [[Government Conspiracy]]: A funny one. Not only in government, but it sprawled its tentacles over all the city from Beggars' Foreman to very rich merchants... and was started because of a tea spoon.
* [[Great Offscreen War]]: The War of the Codex, which ended the Age of the Orders and brought about the Age of the Codex some hundred years before Max's arrival in Echo.
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** Type IX: there are spells geared towards [[Grand Theft Me]] for this purpose.
** Type X: The mirror dweller from ''The Debut in Echo''. The Green Waters' dweller. Fätans. {{spoiler|The members of the Order of the Long Way now need blood to continue their existence}}, causing Max some amusement as he deports them to our world as "real vampires".
* [[Immortal Procreation Clause]]: while all pure-blooded elves are effectively immortal, their descendants from marriages with humans or krays are merely long-lived, yet mortal. The elves, [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|grieving for their family members]], built the city of Kharumba, where their descendants may stay forever, while their respective deaths wait outside.
* [[Immortality Seeker]]:
** Corporeal immortality, type II or III: The entry to Kharumba is not reserved to elven descendants only. The city's keepers also sell the right to stay in Kharumba (at an outrageous price, though) and sometimes grant free entry to famous or remarkable persons.
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** The Sword of King Mönin, {{spoiler|embedded in Max and incorporeal}}, will break the wielder out of illusions.
* [[Stink Bomb]]: while Scenters are very rare, LSIF has one. The group smart enough to levitate from the crime scene to prevent leaving traces for Masters of Tracking is also smart enough to spray the rooms with a rare substance which disables Scenters {{spoiler|temporarily. Numinorikh, being the new guy, has serious issues about his usefulness without his Scenter gift}}.
* [[Tailor
* [[Taken for Granite]]:
** Regular Death Gloves are a [[One
** The LSIF is called to deal with undead at a cemetery. As the undead prove regenerative, Max suggests using some sort of liquid stone on them to render them immobile. The undead turn out to be the Order of the Long Way and their new form of life a successful [[Immortality Seeker|attempt to traverse the Paths of the Dead]] and return into the world. After providing necessary explanations, the Order's Grand Magister notes that Max has thought up terrifyingly effective restrains - as the liquid stone hardened, it neither killed the Order members nor rendered them unconscious, leading to [[And I Must Scream]] scenario.
** Max [[Exact Words|literally]] orders Ugurbado to become a statue, leaving him conscious for the reanimated skeletons who rip Ugurbado to shreds.
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[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]
[[Category:Labyrinths Of Echo]]
[[Category:Literature]][[Category:Pages with comment tags]]
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