Arsenal Card: Doctor Ellaine Hex

Pale Amaran, Doctor, and flux diver Ellaine Hex earned a name for themselves in the events of the KosakaWorks Catastrophe, where they emerged from the depths of the Void with the crystal-hewn mark of old devils and the eyes of an old god. Inspired by the actions of the Witch of Gates and her coven, combined with their study of the finer intricacies of all things calcic, this strider of hard lines wields both white and black, realized as their mastery over hyperweave and their lattice-melting witchfire.

T0 - Martial Disciplines

Having spent much of their life studying behind desks only to be forced into the hostile embrace of the Challenger Dark, Ellaine Hex has had little opportunity to hone any true combat discipline. Their unorthodox weapon choice of a virtually weightless hyperweave blade being ill-suited to any concrete weapon discipline.

Innate

(N/A)

Practiced

Spyndl Academy’s HALOS Doctrine - HALOS “I didn’t work for Spyndl, but we used much of their rulebooks. I read and learned because I love doing it, but rarely was I opportune to put it into practice.”

Novice

Vahnkin Infantry Weapons and Warfare Doctrine “I dwelt among the Vahnkin and came to learn their arts. Somewhat.”

T1 - Drinker Armaments

Drinker Arm 1

Yama Cutter - Woven - Longsword Axle: Tainted Tek | Lesser Eye of Shadri “The Stardrip Cycle is a magnificent thing; right there in the Void, pure chalk unimaginable, spilling from cracks and erupting from the Onina. I had doubted the Current theory, but not anymore.” Chalk folded and folded and folded in upon itself until it becomes a length of contained hyperweave - pure potential, densely packed to reach unrivalled hardness, and honed by the caustic depths to a lacerating razor-edge. With it, Ellaine cuts through foe and falsehood alike.

Offensive Yama Cutter: Flux Strikes - Cado, Unrav Axle: Tainted Tek | Lesser Eye of Shadri “At the intersection of consistency and competence does mastery lie.” Ellaine forms the Yama Cutter and unleashes a barrage of strikes, rapidly dissipating and reforming the blade as they go. Targets attempt to block strikes that are not coming, and fail to intercept those that are.
Defensive (N/A)
Utility Yama Cutter: Haruspex - Prax, Perf Axle: Tainted Tek | Lesser Eye of Shadri “Determining who and what were responsible for Kosaka was a simple matter.” Ellaine reshapes their Yama Cutter to weave into the memory and interface straits of a target. When the target speaks, and there is discrepancy between the memory and interface straits, the Yama Cutter conveys it to Ellaine.

Drinker Arm 2

Amaranthite Coronet - Dagger - Latticegraft “My time in the Challenger Dark has made me wonder if the greatest science is done under the prospect of death.” Done in an act of haste and desperation, jagged juts of starlight and dark were rammed into the skull of the fallen flux diver. For days, they lay in the pits of Isalveh and suffered, as their lattice wrestled against the encroaching night. But in time, the plasticity of these things won, and Ellaine emerged, not as a friend of the depths or a foe, but something between. Understood now as the mark of something that scorned divinity, their violet crystalline horns jut from their temples, anointing a ring around their skull as a crown.

Offensive (N/A)
Defensive (N/A)
Utility Nephaelym’s Shapeshift “Even as they ate away at all that I am, I recognized the metamorphosis for what it was. And when I understood it, the pain became… almost warm.” The amaranthite horns atop the head of the doctor allow for additional passive enhancements to their arsenal;
- Unlike other pale amarans, Ellaine Hex is able to change their Nephaelym Shape and thus their baseline alignment, allowing for greater alignment towards White or Black when so chosen.
- While possessing a stride-dedicom strait already, Ellaine’s coronet doubles as a makeshift black box. Having both allows them to use all pale amaran T2s, T3s and T4s, dependent on the state of the Differential Surge.
- Additionally, Ellaine benefits from both alignment benefits attached to the Horizon Ritualism; quikasting and summoning components.

T2 - White Spectra

Spectra Charge

Yama Cutter: Perfect Strikes - Cado, Brch, Unrav, Induc Axle: Tainted Tek | Lesser Eye of Shadri “Let me show you what I have learnt.” The Eye of Shadri taken from the Void has granted Ellaine enhanced Weavesight, allowing them to peer deep into the workings of all things calcic. With their Perfect Strikes, they can accumulate chalk from the Stardrip Cycle, and empower the Yama Cutter to cut through chalk phenomena, including living targets, hurled attacks, relics and rituals. The effect varies, but in some sense they are rendered inert and incapable of harm for a moment if they are able to self-correct, or entirely if not.

Yama Cutter: Siphon Strikes - Cado, Siph, Induc Axle: Spectrum Charge | Witchfire Synthesis Axle: Tainted Tek | Lesser Eye of Shadri “Know that the path understanding is rife with blades and poisons. Many of them are wielded by you, against yourself.” Ellaine forms the Yama Cutter and enchants it with their witchfire setting it to violet blaze. Targets struck are afflicted with devouring witchfire, that eats away at their calcic potential and siphons it to Ellaine.

Spectrum Collapse

Witchfire Synthesis - Imbue - Comp “What I used before being taking the Eyes of Shadri. From ashes I obtained understanding.” The pale amaran’s gift with hyperweave allows for its ready usage in combat applications. Ellaine has realized their own via the employment of an aperture inscribed with a writ of mysticism, forming their witchfire. Ellaine’s witchfire burns bright and violet, attacking and consuming the computational straits of all it touches, rendering them incapable of higher function. Functioning as an imbue, with either a free hand or their amaranthite horns, they are able to gradually weave chalk into witchfire, this witchfire being usable as a component in their horizon ritualism.

T3 - White Spectra

Nephyl Step

Witchsteps “A quirk of the Void is that there are depths deeper than deep, and darkness that is darker than dark. To escape shadow, you must dive into deeper shadow.” At will, Ellaine can shift partially into the Void from the Dancirah, or partially into the Dancirah from the Void. Delving under the metaphorical puddle allows them to dodge or mitigate the severity of attacks, due to exposing less of their profile in the plane where the attack takes place.

Tainted Tek

Lesser Eye of Shadri Axle: Differential Surge | Coronet of the Sky

“The worst and best aspect of the Void was how closely it resembled my desk at home; utter chaos with flecks of meaning sprinkled between. When I found myself lost, I needed a way to discern a path. It was this way in my studies, and it was this way in the Dark as well.”

In the times of the Danseers and the battles against the Minds, the Skydancers reigned over the Starwylds, and on star-gifted wings did they traverse its span. Skydancer Shadri, Keeper of Ledgers, found themselves thirsty for discovery, and sought to learn of the entirety of the Dancirah in her lifetime. They did so by purging their eyes, in exchange for a new kind of sight; weave infused with their mandate, eyes that traversed the length of the Wylds, transmitting back all they discovered to the mistress sitting atop the high tower.

When the Refrain claimed the Danseers, the Eyes of Shadri were lost to the depths of the Dancirah, some captured in Vaults, others obliterated by the scorching armillary stars, more still encased in wellsprings to not be seen for thousands of processions. But some found their ways into the hands of the many denizens of the Switchboard, granting them a sight beyond mere sight.

But Ellaine’s differs, in that it passed through the flux storms and the Challenger Horizon, becoming suffused with the caustic stardrip. It did not stop them from coming to wield it however, suspending the eye of the fallen Skydancer between the apex of their horns, a second mouth through which they drank of the world around them.

The Lesser Eyes of Shadri grants Ellaine sight beyond sight, a deep understanding of the mechanics of all things calcic that rivals even master weavers. Interfacing directly with their weavesight, it allows for supreme understanding upon a mere glance, allowing parsing the workings of weft, abilities and rituals in real time. This gleaned knowledge allows for both the active and passive preparation of countermeasures, allowing Ellaine to always be one step ahead of an opponent.

Offensive (N/A)
Defensive Shadri’s Adaptation - Comp “Take everything from them. Let them know what it means to lack. There are lessons that even they will never forget.” When an ability or cast is used in Ellaine’s field of view, the Lesser Eye gradually begins digesting its inner workings through mere sight. As time progresses, phenomena studied in this manner become adapted to, and thus become less effective against Ellaine.
Utility Shadri’s Rigor “Seek understanding and the tools to achieve it.” The Lesser Eye of Shadri grants Ellaine a level of weavesight approaching that of a Skydancer. With it, they can see into the inner calcic mechanics of nearly anything, as well as see through objects entirely, and see great distances that vastly exceed the normal levels exhibited by kin. By culling their field of view and focusing more intensely on subject matter, they can obtain even greater clarity into it, allowing them to parse objects down to the doctrines they interact with. This enhanced weavesight has allowed them to rapidly and efficiently form hyperweave on demand, using advanced folding techniques, which forms the crux of much of their arsenal.
Burst (N/A)

T2 - Black Spectra

Spectrum Ward

Six of Pentacles - Cado, Brch, Induc Axle: Spectrum Collapse | Witchfire Synthesis “I am stricken with a sense of irony that feels… not native to this place.” A technique borne out of the desire to uplift others, using power spilling forth from an abundance of lessons learned. Applied in the same manner as their Horizon Ritualism, when cast on others it covers them in a weft-spatial barrier - bearing a distinct hexagonal and pentagonal motif - that shields against all manners of threats. Casting it on others is free to use via a praxis imposition borne from Ellaine’s doctrine. Using it on themselves however, gradually expends witchfire.

Force Imposition

Spherical Depth Manifestation: Black Axle: Tainted Tek | Lesser Eye of Shadri “Hardly delicate, but no knowledge - or power from it - is wasted.” With their excellent command of the depths, Ellaine can conjure a spherical manifestation of local depth, causing a powerful distortion to space, inducing a pull. Ellaine’s proficiency, however, allows them to move this sphere through space at will, as well as fire it along trajectories. - When Ellaine’s Lesser Eye of Shadri is active, the sphere can be set to pursue targets.

Spherical Reverse-Depth Manifestation: White Axle: Tainted Tek | Lesser Eye of Shadri “Harnessing depth is required to harness reverse-depth. I am told harnessing reverse-depth is the easier of the two, but my time in the Dark attuned me to both - far quicker than most.” With their excellent command of the depths, Ellaine can conjure a spherical manifestation of local depth, causing a powerful distortion to space, inducing a repel. Ellaine’s proficiency, however, allows them to move this sphere through space at will, as well as fire it along trajectories. - When Ellaine’s Lesser Eye of Shadri is active, the sphere can be set to pursue targets.

T3 - Black Spectra

Nephyl Summoning

Ellaine’s Riftlock “Information remains the greatest currency, even in the depths of the Void.” The Vahnic Riftlocks serve the Daughters of Vahn, and act as the arbiters of those who can cross the Challenger Horizon over restricted space. With their riftlocks - hallowed apparatus of the depths - they can sequester the ability to transit between the Void and the Dancirah itself. When Ellaine deploys their riftlock, it takes its place on the battlefield as a summoned object, maintaining an effective radius controllable by Ellaine. While active, and depending on the size of the affected space, the riftlock will; - Oppose any attempts to cross into the Void from the Dancirah, or into the Dancirah from the Void. - Oppose any spatial manipulation not originating from Hex themselves. At certain coverage ranges, it wholly prohibits transiting planes, decreasing in effectiveness the large an area it has to act upon. - Additionally, while Ellaine’s riftlock is active, any and all inductive effects inflicted by Ellaine will continue to act indefinitely, rather than decay with time. - Additionally, while Ellaine’s riftlock is active, they can - at the expense of the riftlock - banish any one cohesive and unique entity to the depths of the Void, placing the riftlock on a time-bound restriction before it can be summoned again. - When Ellaine’s riftlock is active, it counts as a Polar Black T3 being actively casted. As such, it disables their Tainted Tek; the Lesser Eyes of Shadri, and prevents usage of its derivative powers.

T4 - Conjoined Polarity

Horizon Ritualism

Ellaine’s Horizon Ritualism makes use of their witchfire, chalk and the depths woven and realized into consuming violet flame that weakens and siphons the vitality of those who suffer its wicked burns back to Ellaine. With witchfire, they concoct a series of powerful rituals to use in battles.

Ayu’s Curse: Mass - Induc, Brch “You will be tested as I have been tested.” Ellaine siphons witchfire and prepares a ritual, manifesting as a brand on their fingertips. Upon touching and branding a target with it, the subject will suffer from the effects of the ritual until it decays or is cleared. While active, any time Ellaine planeshifts from the Void to the Dancirah or vice versa, Ellaine’s information mass is added to the target’s. - If Ellaine’s Riftlock is active, the information mass added to the target is doubled. - This added mass is additionally an inductive effect, and has a visual indicator of an incorporeal collar around the target’s neck.

Ayu’s Curse: Resultant “You will struggle as I have struggled.” Ellaine siphons witchfire and prepares a ritual, manifesting as a brand on their fingertips. Upon touching and branding a target with it, the subject will suffer from the effects of the ritual until it decays or is cleared. While active, a mirror copy of the target is summoned in the Challenger Dark, mirroring the opposite of the target’s actions. The mechanics of the depths resolve these coupled actions into zero, preventing the afflicted target from moving or acting, such as casting abilities. - If Ellaine’s Riftlock is active, abilities used by the target are mirrored by their double in the Challenger Dark, and the the double targets the original in the Dancirah, causing the target to suffer the effects of their own cast. This, however, destroys the mirror in the Void.

Ayu’s Vow: Masochism - Induc, Siph “You will know pleasure as I know pleasure.” Ellaine siphons witchfire and prepares a ritual, manifesting as a brand on their fingertips. Upon touching and branding a target with it, the subject will suffer from the effects of the ritual until it decays or is cleared. Ellaine typical inflicts this brand upon themselves, burning themselves with witchfire, but additionally siphoning otherwise bound reserves of chalk into themselves. As they sustain damage from this ritual, they grow considerably more powerful, gaining boosts to physical ability and to powers dependent on curvature manipulation.

Ayu’s Wrath: Scorn - Perf, Induc, Siph, Unrav “You will see hatred as I have seen hatred.” Ellaine siphons witchfire and prepares a ritual, manifesting as a woven wand in their hands. Upon pointing it at a target and issuing a verbal command or somatic gesture, the target locale is struck with a heavy bolt of witchfire and hyperweave combined, inflicting heavy damage over a moderate area. Struck targets beginning burning with witchfire, and suffer unravelling. - If Ellaine’s Riftlock is active, a storm of bolts is summoned instead. If a living target is struck and begins burning from witchfire, the storm of bolts will continue until there is nothing left to burn.

Ayu’s Grace: Tonic “You will be made whole as I have been made whole.” Ellaine siphons witchfire and prepares a ritual, manifesting as a brand on their fingertips. Upon touching and branding a target with it, the subject will suffer from the effects of the ritual until it decays or is cleared. For a brief moment upon being branded, all vitality siphoned by active witchfire is shared in a ratio determined by Ellaine between themselves and the target. The witchfire siphoning mends damage on the target and replenishes calcic reserves. - If Ellaine’s Riftlock is active, the tonic healing is distributed over an area around them.

Phase Transition

Yama Cutter: Realm Strikes - Cado, Siph, Unrav(W → B), Comp(B → W) Axle: Spectrum Shift | Witchsteps “There was a moment where, at the top of the tallest Onina in Isalveh, I pierced the Horizon and felt instantly the low hum of the Astrolabe. It told me what I already knew; that great truths lay in the Void, and they had scarred me for all to see.” When transiting from the Dancirah to Isalveh or vice versa, Ellaine is able to make an attack upon emerging, a flurry of lacerating cuts that siphon power from their targets, unravel or sunder their computational lines based on the direction of transit, and replenish witchfire for them.

Differential Surge

Ellaine’s Differential Surge works different from other pale amarans. Unlike others who invoke the surge to grant maximized output to one polarity, Ellaine’s Surge is permanently active as a result of their Amaranthite Coronet. In addition to this, other pale amarans would surge one polarity to gain access to T4 powers in that polarity, while losing access to T2 and T3 in the other, this being dependent on whether they possessed a stride-dedicom strait or black box. Ellaine, however, has both, and as such can surge either polarity they choose at the expense of the other.

Coronet of the Sky - Tempered Flash “Many make the mistake of assuming I was born of the Void. Perhaps it is the air around me. I am unsure how to change this, or if I want to.” Ellaine’s coronet of amaranthite horns attune themselves to the stride-dedicom strait in their lattice, pushing themselves to the very brink of the spectrum towards white. Surging with the calcic, while in this state they can use their white techniques to their fullest extent. - While aligned with the Sky, Ellaine can use their T3 white techniques, and their T2s are empowered. However, they are locked out of T3 black techniques.

Hyperwoven Scorn - Tempered Flash - Unrav, Comp Axle: Differential Surge | Coronet of the Sky “Focus.” The eye suspended between Ellaine’s horns charges, summoning forth colossal quantities of chalk from the end of the Stardrip Cycle and subjecting it to destabilizing folding, forming a measure of hyperweave that surges forth as an incinerating death ray. Targets struck by it are scorched with pure chalk as though kissed by a armillary star, and are unraveled so heavily as to impair any further chalkweaving for considerable periods of time. - Activating this technique is conditional upon Sky alignment, and after usage, it locks Ellaine out of all black techniques temporarily.

Coronet of the Deep - Grey Box “I think many would benefit from having a reminder to practice better methodologies hammered into their skull.” Ellaine’s coronet of amaranthine horns attune themselves to the Deep, and are suffused with anti-information stolen from a collective unconscious. Surging with the dark, in this state their black techniques are empowered. - While aligned with the Deep, Ellaine can use their T3 black techniques, and their T2s are empowered. However, they are locked out of T3 white techniques.

Nightstalker “Surviving in the Void is a taste of willingness to change one’s own shape.” An activated technique that suffuses the space around Ellaine’s lattice with curvature. This curvature is so strong yet finely controlled that it swallows light itself, making Ellaine wholly invisible. Additionally, further curvature manipulation artificially enhances their physical capabilities, via using space to move hit harder via attraction, and move faster with repulsion. - Activating this technique is conditional upon Deep alignment, and after usage, it locks Ellaine out of all white techniques temporarily.

T5 - Final Dissolution

Full Spectra

HEXBLAST - Perf, Cado, Brch, Comp, Unrav Axle: Point Collapse | Spherical Depth Manifestation: Black Axle: Point Expulsion | Spherical Reverse-Depth Manifestation: White “It was when I stared into the eyes of the one who ran Kosaka at the time that I confronted a final truth; there are simply those incapable of computing the minds of others. It is this inability to build a model of minds different from your own, that sits at the root of the stars’ many evils.” With complete control of white and black, and balance between the sky and the deep, Ellaine conjures a sphere of immense altitude and another of extreme depth, and superimposes them upon each other, forming the HEXBLAST. In its formation, both spheres are subject to considerable fluctuating randomness, causing the HEXBLAST to rapidly flux and destabilize with time. Anything caught in the volume of the HEXBLAST is rapidly shunted back and forth between the Dancirah and Isalveh, to varying degrees each time, resulting in all things - man, technique, geography - being shredded across planes. - Additionally, if the space-distorting spheres created by Spherical Depth Manifestation: Black and Spherical Reverse-Depth Manifestation: White collide in space, an Imperfect Hexblast is created at the collision point, that expands rapidly from the origin point but becomes less destructive the wider it becomes.

Transcendence