chalk

[alicornucopia]

In Paraasilan, Esmaar, a pair of roommates are about to break a rule that, compared to the one about running in the corridors or even the one about unlicensed teleportation, is there for a good reason.

In unison, they complete their shared spell.

~~~

with Adarin (Aestrix)

with Ekador (kappa)

with Brilliance (kappa)

with the admin (kappa)

with Teah (kappa)

with Katran (lambda)

with Hall (kappa)

with Joy (kappa)

with Kalinda (Christy Hotwater)

Comments

[aeskhyne]

<...That... isn't actually the only time that's happened? Some girl came and asked me if I'd sent her this note, and she said it said 'Teah' on it in Draconic. But I didn't actually send her the note. So I have no idea what that's all about. I mean, magic, I guess. But not more specifically than that.>

[alicornucopia]

<You didn't - hear it anywhere, or anything, it just popped into your head?>

[aeskhyne]

<Yeah. Well, as far as I know. Or... I think maybe I dreamed about it or something? I'm not sure. I don't tend to remember my dreams that well.>

[alicornucopia]

<Is it just a sound to you?>

[aeskhyne]

<As opposed to what? I dunno. It sort of... feels meaningful even if I don't know the meaning?>

[alicornucopia]

<It means something in Draconic as written down. If you were just picking a sound it's probably a coincidence, though.>

[aeskhyne]

<Yeah, a coincidence with extra fudge,> he snorts.



And his empathic signature vanishes.

[alicornucopia]

That's bizarre.

Keo knocks on his door.

[aeskhyne]

No one answers.

(Somebody's watching, though. Why did his body just go to sleep on the floor? He can sort of hazily remember the gist of what they were talking about...)

[alicornucopia]

Keo wants to know what's happening.

(A child wants his great-grandfather's dementia to go away. A princess in Oridaan wants people to stop trying to kidnap her. The Empress of Linnip wants to take over the world. A man in Iraam wants the potatoes to do better this year. A little girl on the beach in Ebrene wants to find the prettiest shell ever. A kid in Ekanedae wants fractions to make sense. An old lady in Criin wants her two-years-dead wife back -)

[aeskhyne]

All dementia can go away - the princess can have a luck blessing against kidnapping attempts - the potato farmer can have a luck blessing for those - the little girl can have an extremely pretty shell, all rainbowed and shimmering, peeking out of the sand in just the next place she looks - math tutoring isn't in his repertoire; resurrection takes too long, he'll come back to it if he can -

The Empress of Linnip can have, after some brief research, a small potted apple tree which sprouts before her eyes in a charming little flying pot and grows to a respectable size, producing a dozen exquisite red apples, several of which detach themselves and are converted into applesauce midair, landing in a charming little flying bowl that appears just when needed. The apple peels drop to the floor in a configuration that very clearly spells "no" in Ertydon. The pot and bowl flap their small and obviously decorative ceramic wings, clink-clink-clink.

And Keo can have a little flying Teah-note, expressing a near equivalent of 'damned if I know' in Draconic.

Now, back to that resurrection, if the old lady is still praying.

[alicornucopia]

Doctors and old people around the world are surprised. The little girl loves her shell. The Empress of Linnip is extremely alarmed by her apple tree, and much as she likes applesauce, she isn't eating it, she's shouting for guards and wizards and a priestess. Keo catches the note and frowns at it.

There the old lady is, sitting on her wife's grave leaning on the pyramid that marks it.

(A woman in Talp wants her friend to come home safe. An activist in Imilaat wants everybody to vote yes on urban community gardens. A toddler in Moyet wants his headache to go away. A tourist in Baveria wants his wife to be faithful while he's away. An opera singer in Rozarima wishes he hadn't had that cheesecake because now his voice is mucusy. A woman in Larotia's scarf has blown clean off her head and she wants it back. A member of Parliament in Esmaar wants to escape the referendum she's currently staring down because a reporter with a vendetta took a remark out of context. A wizarding student in Ertydo wishes big spells didn't hurt so damn much.)

[aeskhyne]

The Empress of Linnip has every right to be alarmed, and can do what she likes with her applesauce.

Luck-blessing for the first woman's friend - a fix for the headache, a fix for the opera singer's voice - the woman's scarf is now inclined to fly back to her whenever thusly carried off - the Ertydoan student can have the reservoir's attention called to him, which should at least help - and he doesn't have time to go back and look up how much CC that other petitioner gained or is gaining, because he's coming back to that resurrection.

Two years back into the history of the world - the dead woman's last moments, the patterns and structure of her brain - carefully, delicately recreated in the present, built up piece by piece and triple-checked until he's sure he has it right. Then the special effects: the pyramid glows, sparkling lights swirl through the air above it, and in the middle of this lightshow the resurrected woman appears, then floats gently down to earth. To give them plenty of time to enjoy it, he cures any miscellaneous ills they might be experiencing and gives them both a luck-blessing directed at health.

Now, how is the original CC petitioner doing? And do any more dragons want his attention?

[alicornucopia]

The toddler and the singer are both pleased. The woman catches and re-ties her scarf.

The women in Criin embrace; the one who was praying starts babbling incoherently, weeping into her wife's shoulder.

The original CC petitioner has experienced a gain of four points, so far, and hasn't noticed yet.

Here is a little iron miracle who wishes her parents would come get her too.

[aeskhyne]

Well, where are her parents?

[alicornucopia]

They are sitting on their porch in northern Embreyae with iced tea. There is no immediate evidence of newspapers. Maybe they just haven't heard the news.

[aeskhyne]

He checks their recent history. No - there, they've heard. How'd they take it? He watches.

[alicornucopia]

They exchanged a look. They said nothing. Eventually she suggested that they could go play netball the following afternoon if their usual opponents are free then.

[aeskhyne]

Well, now he's just curious - how did the iron girl get to the shren house in the first place? What were her parents like then?

[alicornucopia]

They took one look at the clutch of eggs, and the father said, "I'll find the address of a house," and the mother said, "I'll put the good eggs somewhere else", and then they did that, and soon after there was a shren egg in the mail, neatly dated with a sum of money enclosed, and attached to a letter insisting in no uncertain terms that they never wanted to be contacted about the egg, that if the shrens bothered them about it they would warn all their friends that they'd be better off if they just trod on the striped ones.

[aeskhyne]

Well then.

The little iron miracle gets a little flying note: Some things even I can't fix. -Teah

How's the Empress doing in her applesauce investigation? And the dragon council with the original flying note? Has anybody managed to interrogate a Snitch?

[alicornucopia]

The Empress's wizards are inspecting the tree and the applesauce and getting nowhere. The security staff is performing a comprehensive check of the entire palace and the princesses are rather inconvenienced.

A different member of the dragon council is checking out the note now. They've brought in an expert on handwriting, who is peering at the individual strokes of the characters on the note.

Some adult ex-shrens have gotten successfully ahold of Snitches to poke and prod at them and begin to learn about their properties.

[aeskhyne]

Being in a world that doesn't know about him is kind of fun.

What about Keo? Attending to other things now? What'd she do with the sleeping human?

[alicornucopia]

Keo is currently making sure he has a pulse, frowning.

(A teacher's assistant is missing her lesson plan. A man in Rozarima has accidentally set his house on fire; he's out but is worried about his pet drake getting hurt before the mage arrives. A girl in Ryganaav is not magical in any way but is scared out of her wits by the man her father's negotiating her sale to. A New Disciple of the Generous Lord has been caught practicing an illegal religion in Iraam and is running, afraid he'd botch a teleport if he tried it now and unable to think where to go. A Petaran county budget clerk can't make the figures add up right. An Aqathean potter is irritated to be undersold by low-quality imports. A boy in Tava is terrified of his mother.)

[aeskhyne]

He does have a pulse, yes. He's just... asleep. Deeply, unwakeably asleep.

(The lesson plan is retrieved in a shower of rainbow sparkles - the house fire burns in reverse, restoring everything it destroyed and then vanishing, all in a few heartbeats - he'll come back to the girl; he thinks he might have to talk to her - the New Disciple can be whirled away to the nearest collective of same that includes someone who speaks his language and isn't located in a country where his religion is illegal - a rainbow sparkle alerts the clerk to the numbers that result directly from embezzlement - how do the authorities in Tava tend to handle cases like that?)