The Double  "A" UNDERLIGHT CHRONICLES

 

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Experiment 1 (September 12th)

>Arlyana Jax alights on the floor and lowers her goggles onto her eyes as she pulls a scroll from her pack

You take the Corrupted Essence!
You begin evoking Identify
That's a Soul Essence Talisman
The Corrupted Essence has 1 function and infinite charges
Function #1: Change Stat - Stat : Dreamsoul; Modifier : -10 to 99;
The soul essence has been corrupted, covered in a web of glowing red organic material.

>Arlyana Jax flips the switch on the top of her goggles, the lenses turn yellow

The red organic web does not just cover the orb, it penetrates into it at points. The only knowledge I have of corrupting essences is the Shadowed house art. I wonder if Zaxun used a variation of said art to transform the Essence into a cursed elemen.

>Arlyana Jax flips the switch again, the lenses become blue
>Arlyana Jax hmms softly, turning the orb in her hands
>Arlyana Jax's brow furrows

There is something within this Essence..but I cannot determine what. I will consult with Arnaya and Aileron.

>Arlyana Jax flips the switch on her goggles, the lenses returning to berry as she places the orb on the floor

You dropped the Corrupted Essence!

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A theory shared with Em'et (September 21st)

Soul Essences also give us a chance to study what makes our avatars.
There is energy in Soul Essences, and they are prime. Our avatars cannot remain when we wake either.
I think we all start as Soul Essences, and then change into our avatar when we awaken. That being said, if the consciousness of a Struck dreamer were to knock on the portal again, there is a chance they could form an avatar again, so long as the Soul Essence still exists.
No one knows how we come to form our avatars.
We awaken and have them, but where do they come from?

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Experiment 2 (September 21st)

My theory with the Unnamed Soul Essence is that it is from an Idoaclesian that had Strike and has not yet come here to reclaim it. In Idoaclesia, a Striker’s Soul Essence would become separated from their avatar. It is unclear if they themselves held onto it, or it was possessed by another. I was curious if the Soul Essence could have belonged to a Striker from Idoaclesia that had not yet awakened to this City, a dreamer named Ra’as.

 

I sought out Aileron and Arnaya, in order to gather other perspectives. Aileron mentioned that Sicario (of Kurenai) had said that the Unnamed Soul Essence was the purest he had ever seen. This brought in the doubt that the essence could have belonged to a Striker.

 

Another goal for this research was to determine what was ‘taken’ from Kaihan’s Soul Essence in order to create the Revenants, with Lothrick’s Soul Essence serving as a control. Aileron determined that Lothrick’s was a talisman and that the Unnamed one could possibly have been created by a dreamer to hold memories inside it.

 

A theory Uthanatos had spoken to Aileron stated “a Soul Essence is the cities memory of us”. The purity of the Soul Essence brought about discussion about what City it held the memories of, and if a dreamer could produce something so pure.

 

This led me to conclude that the Unnamed Soul Essence could not possibly belong to someone who had learned the art of DreamStrike, due to the very nature of the art itself.

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Experiment 3 (October 2nd)

For this part of the study, I asked Arnaya to assist me.  She works with sound and vibrations, something well beyond my purview.  It was my hope that the results would yield the identity of the Unnamed Soul Essence and what was missing from that of Cyrus Kaihan

>Arnaya takes the Soul Essence in one hand, and holds up the flower.  Focusing on it for a long moment with an unfocused gaze before her eyes flicker a little brighter.  A similar distortion starting to form around the Flower (an item created by Kaihan)

 

>Arnaya furrows her brow deeper as she concentrates harder, the distortion solidifying.  Spikes and ripples in an almost identical pattern and speed to the Soul Essence's begin to appear, but at much more distinct levels.  The hum richer.

 

Arnaya stated that she had amplified the Soul Essence’s resonance and doing the same with the flower was able to compare the energies.  The energy of the Soul Essence was “muted”, which confirmed what both Zaxun and Sicario had claimed.

 

>Arnaya picks up Lothricks Soul Essence and cups it in her palms, gazing at it for a long moment with unfocused eyes.  Then her pupils pulse faintly with an emerald light as another distortion flickers into existence around the Soul Essence.

 

>Arnaya holds it up, opening her hands as the distortion solidifies.  Spikes, ripples, and swirls appearing on its surface in an intricate pattern.  A soft, deep hum sounding from it.

 

Lothrick’s energy was reported as “quiet, but not muted”.  This led to a discussion as to why Zaxun would have used Kaihan’s Soul Essence rather than Lothrick’s when Lothrick was a more powerful dreamer.  It was clarified that Lothrick’s Soul Essence had not remained in Zaxun’s keeping as Kaihan’s had.
 

>Arnaya nods to Aileron in agreement as she repeats the process with the Un-named Soul Essence

 

>Arnaya holds up the Soul Essence as the distortion finishes solidifying. small rippling spikes erupting from it in a cyclonic pattern, while deep swirls ripple beneath the surface.  A high pitched, but quiet whistle sounding from the it.

 

>Arnaya winces at the Soul Essence, muttering as she lets the distortion fade

 

Arnaya: I don't even know if that was a Dreamer Soul Essence....

 

>Arnaya holds up the corrupted Soul Essence, quickly establishing the distortion field.  The surface erupting with an almost chaotic jumble of spikes and ripples, swirling around a seemingly erratic course with only the faintest audible sound.

 

>Arnaya narrows her eyes at the Soul Essence, the distortion intensifying and displaying the movements more clearly.  The sound a distorted, almost silent screaming.

 

As the distortion faded, I asked Arnaya and Aileron if the scream had sounded female to them, as it had to me.  I wondered if the red colour of the net around the Soul Essence was a clue.  I remembered bearing witness to the first Striking within this City, that of an Idoaclesian ‘Guide’ Xiarasya.  She had been Struck on the Consortium facade as she flew above in the form of a phoenix.  Her body, now that of a woman, sank into the pool, no Soul Essence was recovered.   Xiarasya had comforted and assisted Cianne and Arnaya when they were prisoners of the Consortium held within the Palisade.

 

With this in mind, I feel that the Corrupted Soul Essence belongs to Xiarasya, as she was DreamStrike’s first victim of this current city.  I think it is reasonable to believe that the Unnamed Soul Essence is her time capsule, her memories of both Idoaclesia and her imprisonment within the Palisade.  A phoenix is a mythical creature, known for being able to rise from the ashes of its own firey death.  It is with this lore that I surmise that Xiarasya believed that even if she was to be struck down, she would rise again.  Little could she have known what lay ahead for her Soul Essence.