This article is about Warp-Aci in general. To see characters that are Warp-Aci, see the Warp Aci Category.
Overview[]
Warp Aci are small, polymorphic creatures composed almost entirely of dark magic. They have the ability to use their sharp tails to slice a circular hole through the dimensional boundaries, which enables them to teleport people and objects within the circle from one location to another - or indeed into another realm entirely.
Appearance and Abilities[]
Warp Aci are not native to Furrae and must be summoned. A side-effect of this is that they will normally have a marking upon their forehead which ties them to their owner. In the case of 'Cubi, it will be their Clan marking. It is also possible for an experienced summoner to re-bind a Warp-Aci to a new owner - something which Fa'Lina did for Dan. It is also possible for Warp-Aci to exist without a marking, if the binding ritual does not expire correctly upon the summoner's death. Many Warp-Aci cannot handle the stress of self-ownership.
As a rule, Warp-Aci are small, black and rather cute. They can alter their appearance to something which their owners find pleasing and they are a favourite familiar, particularly among girls.
Attitudes and Behaviour[]
Many races can't be bothered summoning Warp-Aci as they tend to be something of a nuisance to keep happy, or as Amber put it, finicky. Warp-Aci are not native to Furrae and are summoned by a complex magical means, described thusly in the Demonology:
"Summoning forth a Warp-Aci is tricky work where the summoner must send out a beacon through a portal of dark mist into the magical realm they exist in.
If the summoner is skilled or lucky enough, a curious Aci will respond and attempt to enter the dimension. Passing through the mist gives them their dark form which continues to radiate the ethereal energy that actually contains their true nature.
However most cases will end up negative since once an Aci leaves its realm, it is tied to the summoners' dimension until the summoner dies...and in the cases of some creatures, that is a very long time."
Hence, Warp-Aci will naturally be rather inquisitive, since only the curious ones will be drawn into Furrae. As a rule they consider their job to be a great privilege as they are noncorporeal in their home dimension, and so they will tend to be very loyal to their owners as they have given the Aci the ability to see, feel and taste things.
Apart from their teleporting abilities, their polymorphic nature allows them to disguise themselves as everyday objects. For example, the letter sent to Dan by Fa'Lina was actually the Warp-Aci Fi, who had been sent to retrieve him.
Facts and Trivia[]
- Warp Aci are fast and agile, and able to teleport easily. They are however, quite vulnerable to conventional attacks. They are only as powerful as the summoning spell, which is usually fairly weak relative to the caster, since it would be foolish to summon something more powerful than they could handle.
- If a Warp Aci is killed, they are believed to be trapped in the current dimension until their owner dies.
- "Warp Aci" is pronounced "Warp Ah-See". (In the Radio Project this was somehow misconstrued as "Ay See" and it kind of stuck)
- Warp Aci are currently fashionable among 'Cubi, but they are not the only race to be able to use them, and conversely, a sufficiently skilled and powerful Creature or Being could teleport themselves without assistance. See also Amber's post here.