29.19 Information on globe-staves and their powers.

The globe-stave is one of the most potent facets of the divine globe, those enormous orbs into whose divinely blessed crystal a repository of all actions, events, deeds and ideals is imprinted. The globe-stave looks like a dark wooden stave, very high (seven feet tall), whose top foot sees the wood unfurl into fronds. These fronds form a cupola in which is set an orb of similar crystal to the altarpiece divine globes and it is through this miniature orb that the globe-stave channels its power about the land. The stave is summoned before divine globes, and then fixed into distant locations (wherein the dark stavewood buries roots).

The orb held aloft by the stave piece of the artifact will glow a certain colour according to the might of the globestave. Its colours follow the rainbow spectrum and thus a red-lit orb is the weakest, while a violet luminescence indicates a fully empowered globestave. In between lie (from weakest to strongest): orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo. Finally: violet.

Syntax: GLOBE GLOBESTAVE <power level colour>.
This command will fashion, in the presence of a divine globe (and suitable obesiance at its altar), a globe-stave. The globe-stave will be dispatched into the possession of the summoner. You specify power levels by referring to the colour, with red weakest and violet strongest. Higher power costs more divine globe strength.

Syntax: FIX GLOBESTAVE (and UNFIX GLOBESTAVE).
In order that a globe-stave might bring forth its powers, it must be fixed into a location and (invisible to the mortal eye) its darkwood roots spread underground to seize a form of possession over the environs. The most staves fixable in a location is nine, corresponding to the positions shown in LOCALE.

Syntax: GLOBE GLOBEAXE <colour>.
The globe-axe is the only method available to all Avalonians to rend a globe-stave once the stave has been fixed into a location. Specify a colour of the rainbow to match the axe up against a stave for potency, or push the axe potency higher for more effective rending. To use the axe against a globe-stave type REND followed by the globe-stave and its number. It must be done in the location of your city's divine globe.

Syntax: REND, or REND <globe-stave> or REND <globe-stave> WITH <tool>.
Rending is time-consuming but often a necessity, to rid one's environs of the infiltration of globe-staves and their associated powers. Rend strength per attack round is determined by the power embued in the globe-axe at its point of summoning less potency used since creation on previous rending. Length of time required to rend a globe-stave is determined by its retained power; a violet stave takes a longer time than a red one. A whitened orb, signifying a powerless stave, can be rended extremely quickly. Loremasters may also use their lorestaff in place of the globe-axe. It is empowered in the same manner, with the GBS EMPOWER command specifying the lorestaff to ensure the power is diverted to the correct tool.

Syntax: GLOBE EMPOWER or GLOBE EMPOWER <globestave or lorestave>.
Send a signal between globe-stave and originating divine globe that more power is required for the stave. The main globe will, if it responds favourably, shoot out a bolt of raw lightning in the direction of the stave. The lightning moves fast and direct and rapidly reaches the location of the globe-stave, at which point it enters the orb, enhancing its potency. You can empower the orb on a globe-stave (the most potent) but also members of the Loremaster profession may employ their lorestaff for empowered rending.

Then, once in possession of a globe-stave, you will be able to call forth the orb-channelled powers using the GLOBESTAVE or GBS command. Type GBS followed by a power (like GBS VORTEX) on its own and you will automatically use the most appropriate globestave for the task. You may instead use GBS VORTEX followed by a specific reference to a globe-stave to utilise one stave in preference to others. Examing a globe-stave will show you whether it is active or not - and if you are its creator, will give you its current empowerment percentage. Remember examine looks at your inventory first and then the location; don't be caught out examining the wrong stave in a moment of panic.

GBS CEASE
The simplest of abilities: allows you to command your globe-stave to cease carrying out whichever power is presently active. Many of the powers listed below are ongoing and will continue to operate, gradually depleting a stave's stored power. Cease, therefore, allows you to control when your stave is active and when it returns to dormancy.

GBS VORTEX [<globe-stave>]
The vortex eddies out darkling misty tendrils about the location floor, quickly spreading from location to location with the globe-stave as the epicentre. Soon after it has spread a few locations distant, the vortex will begin to turn inward - sucking much flotsam and jetsam inward; players too will be pulled inexorably in until they have been dragged into the globe-stave location.

GBS SPIRAL [<globe-stave>]
The spiral is another type of vortex, issuing in the same manner from the epicentre location wherein the globe-stave has fixed its roots. This time, however, the pressure exerted will be outward and those players and items will be pushed away from the globe-stave, ever away 'til they are thrust into the ocean.

GBS CONQUISTADOR [<globe-stave>]
Using this power causes the globe-stave to set its orb into 'vigilance' mode. While vigilant it will keep an ever-wakeful eye on incoming and outgoing portals, teleportations and gates - in short, all magical modes of hyper-transport. Whenever the orb encounters the touch of any of these hyper-transports it acts in an instant to disperse them: closing portals, shredding gateways, aborting teleportations, etc.

GBS WORMWARDING [<globe-stave>]
Such is the protective qualities of the globe-stave once it has taken root in a location that it can, assuming sufficient power remains within its orb, throw up an umbrella-like shield about the environs. Most commonly it is used against the dragon of Mount Sapience to protect the location from its firey breath - whether that be to keep a field from harm, protect commodities from dragontheft, or shield a mortal on enemy soil from fatal dragonflames.

GBS RAINSTORMS [<globe-stave>]
Spouting from the orb of the globestave clouds of dense water billow up, up into the lowering skies. Shortly these clouds will begin to shed their load, hammering raintorms about the environms; raindrops whose trajectory and fall seem almost the stuff of design, so accurate are the rains at working into the most stubborn, well-covered nook and cranny. Some of its effects are to douse immolations and damnation fires, to disrupt weather-utilising rituals, to panic demons and dumb animals, extinguish the enflamed, any burning woodland and nearby fire spirits. The rainstorms have even been known to put out pipes of those unfortunate enough to venture into proximity of the globe-stave.

GBS UNDERWURLDE [<globe-stave>]
Twelve globestaves mounted at special points (the milestones in the land's cities and villages) about the continent will, when activated, form a criss-cross of luminescent lightarcs across the continent - the light forming a pentagram that opens the portal to the underworld in the labyrinth of the black sun under Thaumacie, in the bright chamber by the lava pool. Step through the gateway and you will find yourself transported into the underworld, gaining all the benefits associated with that new environment. Be warned, however, that if the pentagram is broken you may find yourself trapped and unable to return to mainland Avalon.

GBS FERTILITY [<globe-stave>]
Coerces a globe-stave to devote its considerable fecund energies into acts of fertilisation about the locale, shooting off fountains of sparkling emerald-green growth enhancers (from its luminous orb) to compliment the natural growth cycles of most of the flora and fauna of the land. Fields and gardens are gradually made more bountiful while herbs and poisons will see unusually high rates of expansion. Fertility is also invigorating to the individuals close to the stave and everyone in its location will enjoy a speedier balance regain and a shorter equilibrium, such is the celerity gained by mere proximity to the revitalising emissions of the orb.

GBS DRAGONLADDER [<globe-stave>]
After placing globestaves by appropriate central milestones around the land, numbering at least a dozen, each globestave must be switched into dragon-ladder mode. The final globestave must be placed in the cave of the Dragon of Mount Sapience while the dragon is patrolling the skies and, lo!, a portal will be opened from the cave to the clouds in which the dragon lies waiting. You must ensure you have placed all twelve staves on milestones outside Sapience before you carry out the final ladder-creating GBS DRAGONLADDER in Sapience, using the final globe-stave. The portal will carry groups but they must act quickly to take advantage.

GBS ERODEFORTIFY [<globe-stave>]
A globestave is placed in a location holding fortifications and very slowly, once commanded to do so, it will begin to emanate a jet of divinely-heated fulgence at the fortifications gradually building in power until it reaches a point at which the fortifications begin to melt. Slowly but surely, if the beam is unbroken, the fortifications will be eroded. If the globestave has sufficient power (and it will require re-empowerment to remove all but the weakest of fortifications) then it will eventually melt away the foritfications completely.

GBS WREATHE [<globe-stave>]
One of the most singular, shocking and understatedly powerful of the globe-stave abilities, the wreathe is a girdle that ripples out a short distance from the stave-trunk epicentre. When the ripples reach the edges of the location they solidify and transform into some strange, arcane wreath or wall of disruption, rendering the location isolated from myriad forms of remote prying eyes and interfering powers. Those surrounded by the wreathe will be perfectly visible to one another but they will be shielded such that they appear almost completely invisible to those outside of the confines of the locale. This is an invisibility so complete that it is rumoured even the divine pantheon cannot penetrate the little island of solitude it creates.

GBS INVENTORYSTICK [<globe-stave>]
This globe-stave power involves the evoker remaining in very close, almost touching contact with the immediate aura of the stave's trunk. Standing in that protective environment, the evoker will find his or her inventory (those items considered possessions, whether held or worn or stashed in and about your person) sticks to them like glue. Almost all attempts to wrestle, steal, bully, slaughter or coerce the items away will be thwarted. There are both numerous advantages and disadvantages to being unable to be parted from anything the globe-stave considers a possession of your personal space; an ability that rewards astute experimentation.

GBS NULLIFICATION <direction>
GBS NULLIFICATION <your globe-stave> <direction> <enemy globe-stave>
Place your globe-stave in a location adjacent to another and use nullification: your globe-stave will then engage the opposing globe-stave in a direct struggle for dominance. Anything the opposing globe-stave was doing prior to the engarde will be nullified for the duration of the battle, as it puts all its power into defending itself. Both globe-staves will use up globe power in the battle and eventually one will run out of power completely. If your globe-stave successfully depletes the opposing globe-stave then it will be vulnerable to fragmentation.

GBS FRAGMENT <direction>
GBS FRAGMENT <your globe-stave> <direction> <enemy globe-stave>
A globe-stave destruction command, which attacks an opposing, depleted globestave and blows them to smithereens. It is only effective the target has zero globe-stave power. If your globestave, however, in attacking is weaker than its target then it will simply lose power and the victorious stave will be unaffected.

There are, additionally, a smattering of Bardic abilities associated with augmenting or disrupting the effectiveness of those globe-stave actions associated with the use and projection of sound. Seers, by dint of their seeing stones and the touch of the nether-world therein, can also call upon a singular influence on globe-stave potency. Naturally information about abilities secret to those two professions will not be further elaborated upon here. See also HELP GLOBES, HELP GLOBEIDEALS, HELP GLOBEACTIONS and even HELP REPUTATION to complete a comprehensive understanding of this pivotal facet of the Avalon world.

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