I was wondering about something that happened in the Astral Plane on my way to the axis. In short, my script perceived twice as usual to verify the direction, but before it executed the move, the mana writhed and settled into new patterns. However, I moved in the correct direction anyway and reached the axis. I left in my script's messaging to highlight what happened, even though it formatted a little weirdly:
[Astral Plane, Erekinzil Conduit]
A sandy expanse stretches out in every direction, littered with titanic, half-buried remains. Bones made out of black, glassy material stick out from the ground in distressed poses, left unceremoniously where the corpses fell. Arcs of burning silvery light discharge from one morbid pylon to the next, creating a crude maze of pathways. The Microcosm is visible in the azure sky, its conduits blazing with heat and, shaped as they are, reminiscent of a nova.
Obvious exits: none.
>
********************************************
* *
* BEGINNING NEXT POWER PERCEPTION CHECK! *
* *
********************************************
[vanxa_ap]: perceive
You sense a constant flow of Lunar energy around you, twisting and weaving itself into a constantly moving web. You reach out into the maze and attempt to orient yourself toward the only two landmarks you can sense.
You believe the center of the microcosm is to the southeast.
You believe the end of the conduit lies northwest.
Roundtime: 5 sec.
R>
********************************************************
* *
* ATTEMPTING TO CONFIRM LAST POWER PERCEPTION CHECK! *
* *
********************************************************
[vanxa_ap]: perceive
You sense a constant flow of Lunar energy around you, twisting and weaving itself into a constantly moving web. You reach out into the maze and attempt to orient yourself toward the only two landmarks you can sense.
You believe the center of the microcosm is to the southeast.
You believe the end of the conduit lies northwest.
Roundtime: 5 sec.
R>
A wave of rippling air sweeps through the conduit! The streams of mana writhe violently before settling into new patterns.
R>
***************************************************************
* *
* DIRECTION CONFIRMED! MOVING DEEPER INTO THE ASTRAL PLANE! *
* *
***************************************************************
[vanxa_ap]: southeast
You move across the unreal landscape, navigating by the streams of Lunar energy.
[Astral Plane, Pillar of Fortune]
A large source of golden light pulsates like the rhythm of a heart-beat a few hand spans below your feet. Thin threads of energy rise from within the golden light and arrange themselves into seemingly random patterns in the sky. The patterns eventually meet in a single spot, where they weave into a spun pillar that rises into the flickering sky.
Obvious exits: east, west, up, down.
>
***********************************
* *
* YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT THE AXIS! *
* *
***********************************
[vanxa_ap]: up
You go up.
[Astral Plane, Pillar of Convergence]
The main surface of a disc-shaped plane of seething silvery-white energy stretches in every direction from here. Odd colors and disturbances in the surface of the disc appear as it curves downward toward eight pillars in the distance, each jutting out horizontally like the spokes of a wheel. A stunted silvery-white pillar, standing only about ten feet high, is set in the center of the disc.
Obvious exits: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest.
> [vanxa_ap]: west
You go west.
[Astral Plane, Pillar of Introspection]
******************************************
* *
* YOU ARE PREPARING TO LEAVE THE AXIS! *
* *
******************************************
[vanxa_ap]: focus Taniendar
A surface of cyan light ripples gently a few hand spans below your feet, creating the illusion of a luminescent ocean. Brief-lived waves crash against a pillar of white light that rises from the depths, sending beams of sparkling light flying through the air.
Obvious exits: east, west, up, down.
>
You reach out into the seemingly infinite strands of Lunar mana and find a conduit anchored by the presence of Taniendar.
You move into the chaotic tides of energy.
I doubt any amount of skill can ignore the mana resettling, so at first it looked like a bug. It still could be, but what I'm now thinking might have happened is during a resettling of mana all eight directions are available as a result. Southeast, the correct direction, was by chance chosen so that everything just went back the way it had been been before. If the default messaging about the resettling is generic, then it probably wouldn't reflect that happening. How likely does that sound?
Or does that violently writhing mana message not mean what I think it means?
~ Vanxa
