synopsis for steve:

Stuff Ral knows:

magic:
If there were no Pact altars, using magic would draw from the users life force and mana.
This would make powerful magic deadly. w/ Pact altars however, this is not the case.
Pact altar => spells use Mana, not life.
If an altar is broken or there is none, a shard of the altar can be kept on ones person to
enable casting without bodily harm.
The pact altars were supposedly placed on the planet by the creator, to give the
survivors of the great calamity a means to mend a broken world. Thats the basis of the
Churchs belief.
For most, magic must be manipulated by symbols. Most casters sign glyphs into the
air spelling out magic that way. Few know how to speak the language, spoken casting is
rare, but not unheard of. Those with the greatest understanding of magic can cast with
their thoughts, with no intermediary between their will and the magic. This is a
legendary skill. A few grandmasters have been known to do this, but generally not with
very complex spells.
Glyphs for known spells can be combined to make new/hybrid spells. These spells are
more complicated to cast, though.
Runes/glyphs can be carved onto certain surfaces and can be used later, without mana
cost. generic runes (e.g. fire runes) can be used to supply mana for/ add power to
spells of the rune type.
Some know how to sign spells onto surfaces for different effects. Missile ward glyph is
an example.

Summoning vs. calling sprits

Making "mirror images" of extra planar creatures is distinct from using undead servants.
Calling undead is more like gating, where caster bridges living and dead worlds for a
spirit, soul, or dead denizen. Once in the land of the living, the dead need input of mana

from caster to remain in the land of the living (they are like mirror images in this sense).
death:
Napoleon and Vortigern:
Napoleon
Hes the emperor of Marsais, and has spread the borders of marsais to encompass
Esperanto, Is allied w/ Galea. His attempt to take volgorod was thwarted by General
Winter (ohoho!) He means to try again w/ an army that doesnt balk from cold, so hes
having Vortigern get him an army of undead with which to assault volgorod.
Vortigern
controls the demons that will command the dead armies of Napoleon. Because who
can even control all those dead guys? not one man!
If he dies while gated demons under his control are in this world, willy nilly demons. If
they are bound to him, and he dies, they are then bound to no one, but still hang
around.
demons:
How do ya get rid of the demons? Their physical forms can be compromised by
removal/evisceration of the "heart" (gelatinous crystal within their bodies). A skilled
wyvern rider might help with that. That doesn't remove them from this plane, however.
As for a more permanent solution, Someone with extraplanar experience might be able
to help.
Places youve been and people youve met, mostly complete:
Kelton
Quiggok
Jaque
Ral
the village (name not remembered)
Edward (rescued you from the fat man)
Jorge Gutierrez (head of militia in the village)
Liutenant Jane Nelson
Maximus
Michelle
Angus Podgorny (Horse)

Kelton arial corp headquarters

Masutatsu Oyama (now in Margots care)
Capt. Abrahms
Oakport
Arianna
Jess (aprehended in Malaga)
Galea
Nachtstahl fortress
? nachtstahl spirit w/ his soul anchor?
Esperanto
Malaga
Lord Byron Nelson
?
Margots estate
Margot
Diego de la Vega
Knurla (dwarven smith)
Catherine (old healer lady)
Al Khoarisimi
Death
1st precinct
Alastair
2nd precinct
? (armor)
Marsais
Avignon
Grandpa Bushman
Grandma Bushman (the tree)
Francois Mihov

Volgorod
The City
the Late Prince Ali (fabulous he, hitting on arianna)
Ana (church healer, treated Arianna)
Vasily (now with Margot)
Baron Razumovsky
Emeror Ivan (in the fur!)
Army captain (apprehended Ral in Gorova)
Ivana, the Game Changer
Mr. Tevyev - the man with the mausoleum
Under Volgorod, Catacombs
Farid
The Black Beast
Skeleton captain.
Rumors of the UnderKing?

Onyx Brotherhood
Taruskin (functional leader)
Karajan (grandmaster)
Mensah
Orpheus
Nemo
Albert (archaeologist, shared interest in Nachtstahl)
Gorova (Zenkas village)
Zenka
Yuri (Zenkas father)
Babushka (village elder)
Mary (innkeep)
Priest