exploratory kidnapping

[alicornucopia]

In this room are two women, one gray and sixty years old, one just thirty and red-haired, both wearing elaborate outfits. The younger casts a spell.

In this room is now also a third person. (On whom the elder woman promptly also casts a spell, which she had at the ready.)

Comments

[missnicegirl]

"Okay. Bye for now, then."

Matilda goes home. Matilda continues attending witchcraft lessons and being excited about witchcraft.

Her next ialdae lesson with Sarsia and Annei comes around. She shows up for it. "Did you hear that I taught ialdae a new thing?"

[alicornucopia]

"Terali told us that you cured... shrens?" says Sarsia. "I think it was shrens?"

[missnicegirl]

"Yes," she says. "But I don't think I could teach either of you to do it because it takes a lot of ialdae and I don't think you have enough. I can explain how I did it, though."

[alicornucopia]

"Sure, why not," says Annei.

[missnicegirl]

"Dragons all have a specific kind of magic, and shrens have a problem with theirs, like there's a hole in it," she explains. "And the hole is right where the magic that's keeping them alive goes. So the hole pulls strength from their wings to fill up the part that's missing, and they can't fly. And at first I tried pouring ialdae in to help their wings work, and it did, but the hole got bigger and if I'd stopped putting in more ialdae then the strength from her wings wouldn't have been enough to fill it anymore. So I made the ialdae stop going through and just stay in the hole instead, and that worked fine and I could leave it alone and nothing bad happened."

[alicornucopia]

Her students nod along to this explanation.

[missnicegirl]

"I also taught ialdae how to see dragon magic while I was at it. Have you tried having any analyses put on yet?"

[alicornucopia]

"Terali put one on me," says Annei. "To see ialdae. Should she take it off?"

"Same here," says Sarsia.

[missnicegirl]

"Yes," says Matilda. "A wizard analysis can't learn how to do its job better while it's on you, but ialdae can."

[alicornucopia]

Terali takes off the analyses.

[missnicegirl]

"Well? Did it stick?"

[alicornucopia]

Annei blinks. "I think so, yes. Sennah's hair you're bright."

[missnicegirl]

"I have a lot of magic," says Matilda.

[alicornucopia]

"You sure do," says Sarsia, rubbing her eyes.

[missnicegirl]

"So tell me about what you've been practicing. Are you any better at moving things? Have you thought of more things you want to teach ialdae how to do? I got distracted by shrens and didn't find any good things in books."

[alicornucopia]

"I can eat soup with nothing but ialdae now," says Annei. "If I'm paying attention. I might have taught it to keep the soup a good soup temperature in the process but I'm not positive."

"I can turn pages, I can move more directions than up or down when I'm floating myself," reports Sarsia, "I got enough fine control over the color changing that I can draw with it instead of just coloring entire sheets of paper but I'm not artistic particularly."

[missnicegirl]

"Okay! Let's work on colouring and moving things for now, then," Matilda suggests. "And flying. Flying is fun." She levitates.

[alicornucopia]

They also levitate. (Annei spins around in midair.) They get paper. Sarsia shows off her coloring abilities; Annei copies her and is likewise not very artistic.

[missnicegirl]

Matilda has better fine control with coloration than either, but her actual drawing skills are even less impressive.

[alicornucopia]

Soon they have a lot of poorly drawn but magical flowers and houses and sheep and geometric shapes.

[missnicegirl]

The lesson ends.

Matilda checks in with Jensal or Ludei about once a week, and attends her witchcraft lessons, and helps Annei and Sarsia develop their ialdae. She is less enthusiastic about her Linnipese friends than she used to be, though. Witchcraft and ialdae are exciting, but she is dissatisfied with the answers they gave her about the state of education for Linnipese boys. She doesn't come up with any major new things to teach ialdae, although she does add a few small ones, like controllable minor special effects and flavoured conjured water.

[alicornucopia]

Annei and Sarsia seem to keep pretty busy practicing what they already know, anyway.

And after three weeks, Jensal meets Matilda at the door and says, "Something bizarre happened to a shren I cured two days ago. I don't even know what to tell his wife."

[missnicegirl]

"What happened?"

[alicornucopia]

"He was fixed, he was flying, and then - something happened to his dragon magic. He could still fly, but he hasn't shapeshifted since, and can't explain what's going on - I'm not sure he can even understand people talking to him. I'll show you."

And here is the bottom of the world, and on it is a gigantic diamond dragon, curled up on the ground. He looks at them when they approach but doesn't say anything.

[missnicegirl]

"...So by 'something happened' you mean it all vanished?" says Matilda, peering at him.