Famous quote by Kahurangi Te Ariki, Soulmaster of the Molokai Order, told to Trainees every year

Many of you have come to us from planets and waves where tyrants use the power of Mana, the most innocent force in the universe, to take control, raining destruction down upon their enemies. With infinite potential, these small minds cannot comprehend the possibilities or, more importantly, the obligation created by wielding Mana. Our order’s purpose is to fight back against these destructive users of Mana, to show them the error of their ways. We take care of the sick, feed the hungry, and protect the weak. We are the Molokai Order. Welcome.

Delving further into the new zone, I continue exploring for another 2 hours before I decide to return to the safety of the novice zone. Once I’m back in one of the large branches of a center tree, I enter into Effortless Presence and analyze the day’s events.

The further I went into the zone, the more decrepit the land looked, eventually reaching a point where all the trees were dead husks covered in the fungus. I felt the vibrations of Butchers at a few points but they seemed to avoid coming up to attack me. This suggests that the organism, most likely named Albasalas, is a thinking entity that doesn’t want to throw away any more of its creatures. In the future I’ll need to figure out some way to get the creatures to attack, otherwise my explorations will be for naught.

Most importantly, the expedition allowed me to realize that the fungus is incredibly weak to Ice Mana. I’m a little perplexed that it has such a serious weakness to a basic element. Surely it wouild have to fight back against the frost of a ...

It's only now that I realize that all the parts I’ve seen of Helldarvin, which could be a tiny or significant portion, have been a temperate climate. Do Dungeon Worlds even have climates? I’ve been on Helldarvin a little over 6 months and the weather has been consistent the entire time. If there is no winter on this planet then it isn’t surprising that the being developed a weakness to Ice, it has probably never had to suffer through the cold in its entire life.

With this weakness in mind, I begin thinking of other methods of attack, more Ice based Skills that would allow me to quickly end fights by removing the controlling appendage. The sun sets as I work inside of my mind, blood red sky darkening until the stars and the planet’s moon are the only light by which to see. So far all of my Mana based Skills have been comprised of only one or two different elements. What would happen if I combined three, or even two and Raw Mana? If I combined the Ice and Air that resulted in Chilling Wind … Lessen the amount of Air and increase the amount of Ice …

Raising my hand up in front of me, palm facing upwards, I begin with a solid stream of Ice Mana to create the base. I then layer it with Raw Mana and have to watch in frustration as it dissipates as soon as it leaves my body. The creation collapses inwards and the mana dissipates by expanding into the surrounding area, making the temperature drop by a few degrees. Frost forms around me on the tree, a small layer that begins to quickly melt in the warm weather of the night.

Damn it. I’d hoped that I’d be able to create what was in my head with Raw Mana, trying to keep the cost of the Skill lower, but it doesn’t seem to have much use outside of being a stepping stone to Condensed Mana. Well that and for its explosive use in Mana Bullet.

Trying once again, I start with the stream of Ice Mana and then begin to layer it with Condensed Mana, which thankfully doesn’t dissipate. The two forces initially resist the layering but, after a few seconds, begin condensing and merging. I then surround it with Air Mana and begin to manipulate it into a spinning form, the air forcing the Ice and Mana to mix until they are inseparable. This spinning creation trying to break out and explode everywhere, I hold it in place with my will for a few moments before pointing my palm forward and letting it fly.

A beam of Ice and Mana flies outwards from my hand, surrounded in condensed Air that propels it to further speeds. It hits the target tree and I watch as two things happen. First, the tree darkens and seems to shut down, unable to handle the extreme cold that it is being subjected to. Second, the beam begins to spawn enormous pieces of ice, wrapping away from the point of contact and around the tree.

I cut the beam off after a few seconds and quickly check my Mana Well before reading the notifications. Over a quarter of my entire Well is gone from that single Skill! It appears to be powerful but damn, using three different combinations is expensive.

You have discovered the Skill Freezing Beam Lvl 1! Let Ice be the weapon by which your enemies die, freezing among a torrent of unstoppable cold. Cost: 75 Mana per second. Increased skill level further condenses beam and decreases temperature.

Elemental Mana has reached Lvl 12, 13 … 15!

Mana Manipulation has reached Lvl 42, 43 … 46!

Interesting. This is my second ‘per second’ active Skill, the first being Mana Infusion. Both of the Skills have immense power but their ridiculous cost makes them difficult to use in extended battles. I wonder if this trend will continue as I begin to craft more and more complex Skills. If so, I really need to find a way to increase the size of my Mana Well, or decrease their costs, otherwise I’ll be drained too quickly.

The next few hours before sleeping are spent working on my mental image, building it up piece by piece as the different pieces begin to form a cohesive whole. I’m nowhere near completion, the complexity of the image significantly more intense than the basic elements, but progress is being made one step at a time.

I wake up to see the sun rising over Helldarvin’s red horizon, the light creating interesting shades of red and orange that grab my attention. There is a beauty in this scene, in the entire planet. It isn’t the beauty of Earth, carefully crafted to show Humanity’s ascension from the worries of natural life, but the beauty of an untamed wilderness, unafraid of its primal tendencies and ruthless nature. The sky that had once filled me with fear is now a representation of my changing perspective. Life is a battle, fought until the day that Death eventually claims us. All we have the power to do is fight to protect the things we care about, whether that be family, food, or glory.

A few hours later, I’m walking through the new zone, hoping to be attacked by more creatures. Obviously the Zone leader, who I believe to be a thinking and controlling entity, is avoiding me but I think I have a way to get its attention. No one reacts well to pain and I have a feeling Albasalas is not an exception to that rule.

Approaching one of the dead trees a few miles into the zone, purple fungus erupting from the trunk and wrapping around it like vines on a wall, I conjure up a Chilling Wind and let it loose. The reaction is instant, frost forming on the fungus and causing it to pulse to a dark purple and back again, almost seeming like a signal to attract help. I’d considered using the new Freezing Beam but had decided against it, figuring that a slower and more painful method would elicit more of a response than a quick death.

I’ve managed to completely destroy the fungus on three trees before I feel the now familiar vibrating beneath my feet. Flooding my muscles with Mana, I hop backwards as the ground beneath me collapses and a Corrupted Helldarvin Butcher [Lvl 35] erupts from the ground. Landing about 30 feet back, I begin to start forming an attack when I feel another series of vibrations from beneath me. I dart away once again and the ground erupts to expose another Butcher, this one [Lvl 36].

Okay, one vs two isn’t too difficult, I think I can handle them as long as I keep my distance and conserve my mana eff-. Oh good god you’ve got to be kidding me. Once again I dodge to the side as the ground erupts and a third Butcher appears, also [Lvl 35]. The three Butchers sniff the air with their elongated snouts, catching onto my scent and turning towards me in seconds.

One versus three then. Spaced roughly thirty feet apart from each other and in a triangular formation, I am further back, our positions resembling a thin and elongated diamond. On some unseen command, all three Butchers let out a low growl and begin to lumber towards me.