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This is a weird thing.
"Are you sure it's not just artificed folded space?" Kayam asks again.
"I'm sure. It's not completely unlike it, but the flavor's different. I think there's an artifact around somewhere but it's not doing your thing, it's doing - something else. I think ravelers must have worked together on this..."
"...and none of them was a folder."
"None of them was a folder. I've never seen the thing this is before. There's got to be an artifice -"
Shara takes a step closer.
She trips.
"MILADY -"
And then Shara can't hear the rest of Kayam's scream, because she's somewhere else, too quick to reravel or even start to try.
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"Yeah, if you have - things that go to other worlds in general, and they last long enough for me to get a really good look at them... and, possibly, if you have really good stimulants here... then I might be able to direct it where I want to go. Maybe."
the-ending-of-the-words
"We totally have stuff that goes to other worlds! The problem is... figuring out where those worlds are, sort of? And calculating precisely enough to get there. We have to use shortcuts like Calibration to get it to work, and that was just a month ago and we got nowhere with the repurposed un-summon. But, you know, another year older another year wiser, and that kind of thing. And the Gates last for a day and night. And we've got really good stimulants."
"Using raveling magic makes ravelers tired. And metaravelry - doing things with it, not just seeing them - always takes more energy than doing the thing in the first place. But coffee and similar help, as does getting plenty of sleep."
"...Being punched would not itself do wonders for my ability to ravel. And I need enough energy to do whatever task I'm doing all at once, not in stages. But it could help me do more in a given day, I guess."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Oh, no, it's not a regular punch. Feels like getting tapped with a fist made of paper, or something. And... hm. I wonder if I could fit you with a Hearthstone socket? Syl can do the surgery easy, and it's certainly an energy boost... maybe Earth-element? Wish I'd learned to lend Essence..."
the-ending-of-the-words
Aril notices that the sky woman is still present.
"Oh! Yeah, sorry. Hearthstones-" he gestures to a shiny rock embedded in his glove- "are these little magic crystals that you can channel to get special powers. I've got boatloads of them stored away, and some of them help with exhaustion more than I can do. Only problem is, you can't use them unless you're Exalted. But there's a workaround for that; if you get extensive surgery, we can implant one in your spine at the cost of about ten years of your natural lifespan, give or take." He shrugs. "Easy-peasy."
"Oh! Yeah, sorry. Hearthstones-" he gestures to a shiny rock embedded in his glove- "are these little magic crystals that you can channel to get special powers. I've got boatloads of them stored away, and some of them help with exhaustion more than I can do. Only problem is, you can't use them unless you're Exalted. But there's a workaround for that; if you get extensive surgery, we can implant one in your spine at the cost of about ten years of your natural lifespan, give or take." He shrugs. "Easy-peasy."
"If that turns out to be the only way I can possibly go home, I'll consider it, but it's not a first resort. I'm hoping to use my natural lifespan, you see."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Oh yeah. Mortals get touchy about that kind of thing. Well, that's alright, don't worry about it. There's workarounds for everything, and if you can't find one, then you smash through it with brute force and the might of the Unconquered Sun."
He pats her on the back. That was apparently comforting.
He pats her on the back. That was apparently comforting.
"...Well, I can sort of appreciate that philosophy, but I don't have a sun handy to spare."
the-ending-of-the-words
Aril grins brightly; a golden sigil pops into place on his forehead, and he begins to shine with sunlight.
"I always carry an extra."
"I always carry an extra."
the-ending-of-the-words
The glow fades.
"I couldn't resist. I haven't had the chance to awe any mortals in months."
"I couldn't resist. I haven't had the chance to awe any mortals in months."
"You realize I mostly just don't know what you're talking about when you say things."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Fair enough. Befuddlement is close enough to awe, as far as I'm concerned. Though, um, what exactly are you confused by, here? Do you not have a sun back home?"
"There's a sun. It stays in the sky, producing light and warmth, during the day, and during the night we can't see it, and that's all it does."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Ah! See, we also have a Sun. He's a handsome man made of gold and fire, he has four arms, and he rules over the heavens. He imbues some of us with fantastic cosmic power - the Solar Exalted, that's us - and encourages us to watch over the rest of humanity. There's also a bright thing in the sky that does what you said. That's called the sun, but usually it's just an undersecretary of something or other who gets to drive the solar chariot. The Unconquered Sun himself has somewhat more important things to do."
"Okay. We don't have one of him, we just have the bright thing in the sky, so you can see why I would have been confused."
quite-enchanted
Something is watching. Its presence is concealed by magic.
The moment Shara realizes this, the concealment melts away, revealing-
a woman making silly faces at Aril and giggling madly.
"I'm never going to get tired of this charm," she remarks to no one in particular.
quite-enchanted
"Eep!"
She calms herself. "Hello! You can... see me. Sorry, I thought you were, um, not going to be able to see me. Sorry."
She calms herself. "Hello! You can... see me. Sorry, I thought you were, um, not going to be able to see me. Sorry."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Oh! Hi, Syl. This is Sharabel. She's yet another beautiful woman who fell out of the sky and landed on me."
"I couldn't see you at first until I'd properly noticed that there was more magic around, but then it dissolved; I didn't even do anything to it."