Aw, the title was supposed to be in all caps... D:

So, Forgotten Bond is winding down, and I figured I'd settle on a release date for Kako. Right now, I'm planning to post the Prologue on April 19th and Chapter 1 on the 20th. (Since the Prologue isn't really anything new, I thought I should follow up with some actual new content immediately.)

The bad news is...I'll probably be pretty distracted in April. That's the season of final projects, plus Disgaea 3 portable is being released about that time, and Avatar: The Legend of Korra is premiering...so I'm going to try and get a few chapters typed ahead of time so I can post semi-regularly during that timeframe immediately after the release.

(I'm stuck on the writing at the moment, but since I already have 15 complete chapters...)

Also, I want to adress something that was mentioned in Sekai but never really explained: Widgets are not the only currency in the Bioni-Lords world. Each island has its own individual currency (which I hope to get on Exo's Desk at some point), but Widgets were created as a universal currency for Bioni-Lords on their quest. It'd be really annoying to have to exchange money every time you got to another island, right? Of course, not all places accept Widgets...

In relation to this, I began thinking about who the economies of each island compare to each other--we mentioned Fe-Isle's mining industry, but other than that we don't know what each people on each island actually do for work. I want to spend some time thinking about that...

I was also thinking about adding two additional arcs to Kako--a Ta-Isle Revisit (since, being the first island, it's never featured for more than a couple chapters) and a Mainland Revisit (since we haven't done anything of importance on the Mainland). What would you guys think of these? I want to get some opinions before I start looking for a place to put them in the overall plot.

As promised, I have revised VioletRose and HonoredSoul! Opinions, comments, suggestions, etc are greatly appreciated! Hopefully its better organized, and various edits have been made, including changes to the Spirit Tracker that should help to prevent abuse. However, there are a few Spirits who will still need more restrictions, and this is the list I'm working with right now:

Exo-Barraki, Shadow Toa Kopaka, Locutus, Nikila, Trynakh, Undead Cicada, Seeker of Darkness, Exo-Kohrak Kal Abomination, Freeshooter, Obscura: Angelic Paladin, Silent Hero, Fading Memory, Luna Diviner, Graceful Assassin, Destined Key, Savage Thunderbolt

As for the actual restrictions...still working on those.

The post below mentions links, but they're not active, just placeholders.

BIONI-LORDS VIOLETROSE VERSION and BIONI-LORD HONOREDSOUL VERSION

Originally there were two worlds: a world of humans and a world of Bionicles, but things have changed since then. The two worlds were mixed together, and while they were separated again, both worlds were changed beyond recognition: humans and Bionicles existed side by side, but Bionicles were reduced to Bioni-Spirits: animalistic versions of what they once were, multiplied into species, and some that looked like they were from a foreign universe. What’s more, when a Bioni-Spirit takes enough damage, it transforms into a glass orb filled with a spark of energy, and a human can then use that Orb to fuse with the Bioni-Spirit, creating a new entity…the Bioni-Lord.

In this game, you will control a Bioni-Lord in one of these two worlds, and send him or her on a quest to become a legendary warrior. Below is the character form:

Name:

Gender:

Appearance:

Age:

Starting Orb: (see below)

Version: VioletRose or HonoredSoul

The Orbs you can choose to start with differ depending on which Version you are playing. VioletRose players can start with #3. Pohatu, #857. Onyx, or #927. William Furno. HonoredSoul players can start with #9. Lewa, #842. Scuba, or #930. Preston Stormer. For details on these Spirits, see the Spirit Index.

Of course, not all Spirits can be obtained—some are only found in one Version and not the other, and some cannot be found no matter how hard you look. Version Exclusives can be found here, unobtainable Spirits can be found here. Players playing the same Version can interact with each other freely, and there is a way to get the Spirits of the other Version!

Olmak Breach:

There is a hole in the dimensional fabric between the two worlds, and this hole can be accessed by a facility found in all towns called the Olmak Breach. When you visit the Olmak Breach, you leave behind a “ghost” in the space between dimensions, and this ghost can interact with ghosts of players of the other Version. Ghosts can battle to earn Widgets (money) and trade Spirits, and the rewards of these activities can be retrieved by visiting any Olmak Breach facility.

The world is composed of a number of cities, each of which is tied to a specific Element (or Elements) (see below), and venturing just outside the city walls you will find areas where you can find, battle, and obtain wild Bioni-Spirits. Each town has an Olmak Breach, an Orb Shop where you can buy new Spirits (see below), a Healing Shop where you can buy healing items for use in battle (see below), a Training Field where you can fight players of the same Version or NPC opponents, and a Battlefield (see below).

Elements:

Spirits and attacks have Elements interwoven into their beings. The Elements are Fire, Stone, Earth, Ice, Air, Water, Jungle, Light, Shadow, Rahaga, Steel, Thunder, Dragon, and Psionics. Each Element has two weaknesses and two resistances—if a Spirit is Fire Element and hit by a Water attack, it will take double damage from that attack, while a Water Spirit will take half damage from a Fire attack. Also, if a Fire/Ice Spirit is hit by a Water attack, it will take triple damage, while a Water/Fire Spirit will take one-third damage from an Ice attack. Elements, with their weaknesses and resistances, can be found here.

Orb Center:

At an Orb Center you can Buy, Sell, or Order Spirits. The Spirits you can buy differ in each town, but you can order a Spirit available in another town for an additional fee of 10 W. An ordered Spirit will not arrive immediately—you must fight three battles before it will arrive. Prices for buying/selling Orbs: 10 W for a Spirit with 120 FE or less, adding 5 W to the price per every 10 FE increase. (Exceptions include Parasite type Spirits, which are usually sold for 30 W.)

Healing Shop:

Spirits automatically heal after each battle, but there are a few items you can buy to use during battle. These items are available for purchase at the Healing Shop in each town, but you may need to reach certain milestones before they become available.

(Name-effect, cost)

Elixir-heals 30 FE, 1 W

Megalixir-heals 60 FE, 5, W

Hyperlixir-heals 120 FE, 10 W

Frost Vapor-heals burn, 5 W

System Shock-heals paralysis, 5 W

Magma Burst-heals freeze, 5 W

Realization-heals confusion, 5 W

Liquid Sun-heal blindness, 5 W

Nightmare-heal sleep, 5 W

Harmonica-heal silence, 5 W

Immune Booster-heal poison, 5 W

Battle and Battlefields:

Battles in this game are simple. You choose a Bioni-Spirit to fuse with, and your opponent will do the same (unless it is a wild Bioni-Spirit). You will both take turns using an attack, and I will roll a 6-sided die to determine if it is successful or not; 1-3 is successful, 4-6 is unsuccessful (unless accuracy modifiers are involved). Usually, you can only use one Spirit in battle, and when its Fusion Energy (FE, or health) count is depleted, you lose. This is where the Battlefields come in.

Battlefields are in every city you will visit. Inside a Battlefield, you will fight an Element-Lord, a powerful Bioni-Lord who specializes in the Element associated with the city. If you can defeat the Element-Lord, you will win Widgets and an Elemental Code for your Spirit Booster. A Spirit Booster is a device that can store Bioni-Spirits as data (a more convenient method than carrying around all the Orbs), and can be programmed with Elemental Codes to unlock new abilities in Spirits and allow you to use multiple Spirits in one battle. Not all Elemental Codes are available in each Version, however.

To illustrate: possessing the Fire Code allows you to use as many Fire Spirits in one battle as you want, and if those Spirits have an Effect, it will activate. If a Spirit is part Fire and part Thunder, or some other Element also available in the same Version as Fire, then you must obtain the Code for that Element as well before you can activate the Spirit’s Effect or use it along with other Spirits in one battle. If, on the other hand, the Spirit is part Fire and part Ice, or some other Element not available in the same Version, it can be used along with other Spirits in one battle and its effect will activate.

However, there is still a restriction on the number of Spirits you can use in one battle. At Level 1 you will be able to use up to 3 Spirits in one battle, and you will gain one additional slot for every Level you gain up to 8 slots. However, after defeating all seven Element-Lords you will gain a special Bioni-Spirit that can be used in addition to the other 8 Spirits. So, after beating the last Element-Lord, you’ll be able to use any 8 Spirits of your choice plus a special Bioni-Spirit in one battle.

You begin in a city tied to three Elements, and thus has three Element-Lords—you will need to fight each one before you can move on. Once you beat all three, you receive a Spirit Tracker (see below) and are able to visit three more cities, each tied to one Element, in any order. After doing that, you have to return to the starting city, receive a secret artifact, and head on to the final city, and once you defeat the Element-Lord there you will receive a unique Bioni-Spirit. After that…you’ll see…

For VioletRose:

Starting city is tied to Fire, Stone, and Earth.

Secondary cities are tied to Jungle, Shadow, and Thunder.

Final city tied to Rahaga.

Receive Wildflower once all Element-Lords defeated.

For HonoredSoul:

Starting city is tied to Ice, Air, and Water.

Secondary cities are tied to Psionics, Light, and Steel.

Final city is tied to Dragon.

Receive Elder Toa once all Element-Lords defeated.

Spirit Tracker:

With this device, you can search for a specific Bioni-Spirit, so long as its Element is the same as the city you are nearby. Once you use the Spirit Tracker, you must fight another battle (the battle with the Spirit you are tracking does not count) to reboot the Tracker before you can use it again.

Once you reach Level 3, you receive the Tracker and will be able to track any Spirit with 140 or less maximum Fusion Energy. With additional Levels, you will be able to increase the charge with more battles. Fighting a second battle will boost the charge to track Spirits with up to 160 maximum FE (at Level 4 or above); a third will allow you to track Spirits with up to 180 FE (at Level 5 or above); and a fourth battle will allow you to track Spirits with 200 maximum FE (at Level 6 or above).

There are several Spirits with additional restrictions, which are detailed here.

Some Spirits can be upgraded into new Spirits, but the FE of the upgraded Spirit cannot exceed your current Spirit Tracker limitations. To upgrade a Spirit, state that you wish to, and then win three battles with the Spirit (unless it has special upgrade conditions).

(Several of the Spirits on the Index are noted to get stronger and develop new abilities based on what Level the player is, but these are based on the old Level system that used Ultima-Orbs. When you obtain one of these Spirits, I will PM you a modified version of these restrictions updated for VioletRose and HonoredSoul.)

As always, follow BZPower rules! I think that about wraps it up…