~~~ Royal Archive ~~~

Year 835, Late Spring
Military Planning Base, Tinker Capital
- Selena Arcadia Yewan -

One of the most unusual cases I have ever been involved with has walked itself into the door of the capital today. First Tinker Merdiwen brought with him a mage of extraordinary talent and requested a full evaluation of her combat prowess. His requests are rare and unexpected, and this is the first time he has been personally involved. I will see this through to the best of my ability.

Minerva is a Faery mage of unknown origin. She is an usual human creature with floor length green hair, large spiked flanges on the side of her head where ears should be, and skin as pale as porcelain. Her hair has been noted to change color based on the type of magic she is performing. Her eyes appear to be jewels made of amber, brass, or gold. She has less fingers than a normal person, but her hands appear to be constructed in a way that seems natural. In all other respects, she appears to be a tall and moderately thin human.

Minerva also appears to be a woman of the same type that Merdiwen is, but when asked Merdiwen shrugged and Minerva smiled in a manner that made me uncomfortable. Followup questions along those lines are not recommended. She describes herself as “perfectly ordinary Veil magician”, but refuses to elaborate.

Minerva wears a traditional [REDACTED] dress with dark blue fabric and gold trim, a silver circlet, leather sandals, and two silver bracelets - on her left wrist, and right above her left elbow. She doesn't carry any bags or have any visible pockets where she can keep items or equipment. Despite this, she is capable of manifesting solid, stable objects in an instant. The exact extent of this ability is unknown, and Merdiwen describes it as "functionally similar but mechanically different" to the method of pulling items out of the rifts that his grass blade can summon.

Minerva holds the title of "N'ghft'fhalma". I have no idea what this means, what it represents, or how to pronounce it. The title is a gift from her homeland. She has not accepted a role in the Tinker Society yet, and Merdiwen refuses to give her a nickname or a title at this time.


Minerva accepted the standard regiment of training exercises and creative tasks to gauge her abilities. I offer this classification as a Librarian:

Basic Stats:
- Might: Child Greater Demigod*
- Agility: Superhuman II
- Skill: Greater Demigod
- Social: Standard
- Mind: Special**
- Will: Special**

* Initially, only physical strength was tested, and Minerva was found to be about as strong as a child; however, later testing has shown that if needed, she would use core casting instead.

** Mind and Will were unable to be accurately measured in any reasonable degree. Some of this may come down to interest in the task or willingness to tolerate difficulty in a physical task.

Military:
- Weapon Skills: Spearplay, Charged Casting
- Melee Skills: Basic Hand-to-Hand, Spears
- Ranged Skills: Core Casting
- Athletic Abilities: Superhuman II
- Discipline: Below Average

> Combat Sense: Unusual*
> Combat Knowledge: Inconsistent*

- Best Role: Magus, Unique**

* The standard method for testing combat knowledge involves asking a combatant about various strategies and techniques, then asking them to demonstrate. On first questioning, Minerva does not appear to know the meaning of many techniques, but was capable of demonstrating an effective method of dealing with each of them in turn. She does have a knack for copying already seen or related techniques and has a keen sense for combat, but not in any manner I’ve ever seen.

** Minerva displays a strange affinity for combat with unique skills that have not been seen elsewhere. The type resembles Core Casting, but is performed using the same kind of dark light that Skyla can display, albeit at a larger magnitude. Merdiwen, Minerva, and Skyla refer to this as Essence of the Veil.
** Minerva describes her best role as "Frontline Artillery". During the combat test she refused to work with a group, and the sparring match implies that she is far more capable than she lets on. Her combat style is actively dangerous to everyone nearby. If she is deployed in an army, she should be backed up by archers and casters of sufficient range and precision to allow for a large swathe of destruction.

Wanderer:
- Camping Skills: Average
- Fire Skills: Flint and Tinder, Bow Drill, Elemental
- Hunting, Fishing, or Gathering Prowess: Average

> Navigation Skills: Supernatural
> Land Knowledge: Special*

- Best Role: Navigator, Logistician, or Travelling Merchant

* Minerva has some kind of ability that allows her to see things at a distance. The range, precision, and amount of visions she can have do not appear to have a limit. When questioned about this, she described it as perfectly normal and a consequence of being a Veil magician.


Farming: None

Scribe:
- Attention to Detail: Attentive
- Writing: Poor
- Oration: Special*
- Bookmaking: Inferior
- Elemental Application and Recognition: Master Alchemist, Fire Affinity

* Minerva’s speech pattern is short, technical or esoteric words that are hard to follow. It is difficult to hold a conversation when the words that are spoken are unfamiliar. It is impossible to attribute this language barrier to either my lack of knowledge or a lack of speaking skills on Minerva’s part.
* Minerva has a wonderful singing voice. She doesn’t seem to know any common song, instead opting to create a new piece on the spot, or to sing something from her memory, none of which are familiar.
* Both of these qualities need further investigation. Minerva has singing potential far beyond what she is willing to demonstrate today.

> Essence Application: Perfect execution of Veil, others at a more reasonable rate
> Essence Recognition: Veil and Starlight
> Notable Works: None

- Best Role: Mage, Singer. Extremely talented, may not be accurate

Artisan:
- Tool Skill: Flawless
- Material Knowledge: Flawless
- Level of Detail: Flawless
- Crafting Speed: Flawless

> Limits to Skill: Unknown.
> Best Crafts: Fully tested. See Anyon’s report for more information

- Best Role: Any

Engineer:
- Building Part Skill: Flawless
- Finished Structures: Flawless
- Material Proficiency: Flawless
- Spatial Awareness: Flawless

> Limits to Building Size: Unknown.
> Structural Integrity: Immaculate. Has a tendency to procure difficult to get, highly durable materials for building purposes.
> Best Crafts: Fully tested. See Anyon’s report for more information

- Best Role: Any


Minerva accepted a sparring match to gauge her combat prowess. Her sparring partner was Merdiwen. She did not accept a group exercise. As a Taskmaster, I offer this battle selection:

Minerva
- Potential Affiliations: Military, League of Engineers, Slime-Craft Guild, Artisan's Guild
- Rank: -
- Title: Veil Magus
-> Merdiwen's Title: Refuses to elaborate

- Combat Styles, Enhanced Battlemage

-> Personal: Warp, Self.
-> Alternate Name: < Veil Traveller >
Minerva is capable of changing her location at will. Unlike Merdiwen's portal sword, the effect is personal and instantaneous.
- Merdiwen describes this as changing locations from the world of Life to the world of The Veil, connecting the borders of where she was and will be, and then changing back to where we were. This happens in an instant and resembles a duck bobbing on top of a river.
- Minerva's thoughts on this are < It is my home, after all. >

-> Personal: Warp, Item
Minerva is capable of instantly summoning items into her hands. The limitation on this is unknown, but I suspect the items have to be created and stored ahead of time.

-> Casting Item: Staff
The staff is designed to be used as a short spear and a casting device. A large core is fitted in the top of the staff, and the bottom has a hard tip that has been sharpened to a hard point.

-> Personal: Veiled Arm
-> Alternate Name: < Fractured Scourge >
Minerva's left arm can be used as an enhanced bludgeon far and above what a standard blow should be capable of. My initial thought was that this had to do with the bracelets on her arm, but both combatants rejected the idea.
- Merdiwen refuses to describe this technique. He chuckled and confirmed that it wasn't merely an enhanced blow.
- Minerva's thoughts on this are < What? It's just a Veil-powered slap. >

-> Core Casting: Fractured Domain
A ball of pure Veil Essence is gathered at the tip of the staff and thrown at her target. The attack is non-lethal, but very painful. The ball can travel at a very fast speed and be redirected at will with the staff.
- Merdiwen described this as losing track of every part of your body and feeling inside-out and upside-down all at the same time.
- Minerva's thoughts are < No one can fit even their own boundaries within their mind. >

-> Core Casting: Fractured Ordnance
As if by instinct, Minerva can summon thick tentacles of purple flesh that are hard to track where they are with sight alone. The tentacles are never where they appear to be and can slam into people, objects, or constructs. They don't appear to be constructs as-such, nor do they appear to be part of a larger creature. Instead they appear directly from the ground itself.
- Merdiwen describes this as something Skyla does often when they spar, but it requires a great deal of concentration and the right mindset to pull off. More advanced applications can warp bones and bind them together, fling objects around, and even cause people to be lost. He seemed disturbed by how easily she could summon dozens or particularly large chunks.
- Minerva's thoughts are < Tendrils of the Veil, in the approximation of the true ones. These are summoned from the most obvious location, to conserve power for the damaging part.>

-> Ranged Item: Launcher
The object is a hand-held tube capable of shooting large spheres at targets. These spheres have varying results and cause varying amounts of damage.
- Merdiwen describes it as somewhat similar to Yalin's cylinders, but of a much higher quality and effectiveness. Then he said the comparison was absurd because the Launcher is obviously different.
- Minerva's thoughts are < No one really has to explain why they have a grenade launcher. >

-> Ranged Ammunition: Starlight Bomb
The only sphere displayed exploded into large balls of light.
- Merdiwen describes these as a miniature sun, bound together and set to burst on contact
- Minerva's thoughst are < It is always useful to have a way to summon your opposite element. >

-> Support: Multicast
The frequency and multiplicity of her can be finely controlled. The limit on this was the size of the arena and the lives in the city, not the caster.
- Merdiwen thinks that she can perform this to absurd levels, but refuses to elaborate.
- Minerva's thoughts are < It is always best to either let your foe overestimate, or underestimate you. >

Overall Strength: Lesser Demigod at a bare minimum
Overwhelm Limit: Unknown
Combat Role: One-Man Army, Frontline Artillery


Minerva is a new face in the Tinker Society. She has a unique skill set, a penchant for combat, an affinity for engineering, and an odd way of interacting with people. Her skills are varied and interesting, and her demeanor is mysterious. It's hard to pin down exactly what kind of person this is or where she came from, let alone what she wants to do. The fact that Merdiwen is personally watching over her is both relieving and concerning. We will have to wait and see what becomes of this Veil Magus and what greatness she aspires to.

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