alicornutopia

The wife and kids are sad because the guy is pretty terrible to them, that is pretty much it.

Somehow he suspected as much.

He gives the odious potential husband bad luck as regards the accumulation of money and wives, and the existing wife and kids good luck as regards health, happiness, and food security - an intervention subtle enough that he doesn't think there's a reasonable way for anyone involved to guess magic.

And to the girl, he gives a choice: stay (where the man's new luck may or may not prevent him from buying her), or be transported to a neighbouring country that takes refugees. Esmaar will support her without her needing to do much about it, but is likely to be jarringly magical; she'll need money to start herself off in Saraan and more money to keep herself going, and he can provide the first thing but only some luck as far as the second, but there will be somewhat less pervasive magic involved. And whichever way she goes, she can have the same luck-blessing he gave to those other people, if she wants it.

The girl contemplates this choice - and stays put, shivering. But she'll take the luck.

All right. Prayer granted. Has Keo figured out his body is alive yet? How about the air mage and the rescued sisters, how are they doing? He did imply he'd keep an eye on them.

Keo is pretty sure he's alive, but is really bewildered about it and powerless to find out in the way she'd normally resort to what he'd like done about it.

The air mage is sneaking olives in a tree, unobserved by the farmer to whom they belong.

The sisters are sitting together in a room in the temporary housing facility listening to a staffperson explain how they'll try to place them with an adoptive family.

Well, he can't do much about Keo until she tries praying to him again. In the meantime, he's sure there are more prayers to grant. There always are. Maybe some more people will have bad ideas he can gently warn them off of so the Empress of Linnip doesn't have to be the only one.

A girl in Reverni wants her papa and her siblings back - a man in Nirlan wants his husband to just hold still and stop fighting him - a boy in a trained-light academy in Ekanedae wants to pass his exam - a woman in Esmaar wants to teach math at U. Daasen - a girl in Ertydo wants just fiiiiive more degrees of sleep - a woman in Egeria wants to know why she's so confused and so alone and in this hospital without her other half - a man in Gibryel wants mosquitoes to go extinct - a teenager in Rannde wishes he were smarter - a sorcerer in Pra Verian has had an accident with a large object in motion and now his sister is on the floor bleeding and he doesn't want their parents to find out it was him -

Edited 2014-05-07 17:35 (UTC)

Resurrection takes time - the rapist in Nirlan is not a repeat offender and therefore will only be picked up and moved away and given a brief waking-nightmare flash of what that sort of thing is like from the other side - the academics can have some luck - the girl in Ertydo can have one more tick of sleep that is as restful and comforting as the five degrees she was hoping for - the woman in Egeria looks like a complicated case - is there a better case for mosquitoes here than on Earth? Doesn't look like it; done - he skips the teenager - heals the sorcerer's sister -

Back to the woman in a hospital in Egeria. What's her story?

About ten years previously she was the subject of a vicious magical attack, which has rendered her husband unable to find her though he'd normally be able to do it no matter how far away her "friend" spirited her on opportunistically faking her death.

Slightly more complicated than a resurrection, but potentially still less time-consuming, and there's only one of her. He finds her mind before the attack and builds it back into her mind as it is, on the fly because that's the best way to get it to integrate; it takes time but not that much of it, less than a degree. And then he finds her other half and drops him a flying note: Samia is alive. -Teah

Is the girl in Reverni still wishing for resurrection?

Edited 2014-05-07 17:52 (UTC)

Yep, there she is, sitting in the graveyard where her sister is buried.

All right. One dead parent, three dead siblings. He can spare the time. Papa first - one sister, two brothers - it takes him a couple of degrees to get them all lined up, and then he draws miracle-swirls across the ground in rising rainbowed mist and half a tick later unwraps the mist from around four resurrected people with solid health-blessings to keep them going a little longer this time. Who are all probably going to want more people resurrected, but they can pray for them when they think of it; he's busy. (How are Samia and her dragon doing?)

Samia's dragon is arguing with a border guard who doesn't want to let him into the country. There was a reason her friend hid her here. The dragon gives up and teleports - into the interior of the country; apparently he's been there before. He starts casting spells. Samia, on the other hand, is arguing with the hospital staff.

The girl in Reverni is overjoyed, and less surprised than she could be, probably because news of miracles has gotten out.

He could speed things along with Samia and the dragon if either one of them thought to pray about it, but of course they haven't. People here don't know enough about him yet. Well, they'll learn.

Anyone else, anyone else?

Plenty!

Fellow in Corenta wants to get away with cheating at dice - boy in Imilaat wants his daddy to stop drinking - member of parliament in Esmaar wants to know how he's supposed to issue a statement about this phenomenon that doesn't sound like they're at the mercy of some so-far benevolent force that ignores wards - baker in Oridaan wants the icing roses to come out right - little girl in Baveria wants a fictional species of critter for a pet - man in Orzon wants relaxed tariffs on lentils - lady in Rozarima wants her jewel counterfeiting to work - and Keo wants to know what the hell she's supposed to do with his unconscious, unsignatured body.

The fellow in Corenta can have a smidge of luck, why not - the boy's father in Imilaat can have a tendency for all the alcohol to disappear from alcoholic drinks he touches after a certain level of drunk - the Esmaarlan MP can have a little flying note, in vampire since he is one, that says You kind of are. It's okay. I'm nice. with Teah's Draconic signature on the back - the baker gets luck - the little girl gets, in a shower of rainbow sparkles, a friendly little blue critter that loves her very much and doesn't need any form of biological maintenance and is selectively imperceptible to anyone who wants to take it away from her - he leaves the lentils and the counterfeiting alone -

Keo gets a flying note, a somewhat longer one this time.

I'm him and he's me but we never remembered being each other. I think he fell asleep because he figured it out. I don't know if he's going to wake up. -Teah

The MP does not think this helps.

The little girl loves her blue critter! It is exactly like the one in the picture book! It's so cuddly!

Keo (getting the hang of this now) still wants to know what she's supposed to do with his body. Does he need it maintained? Should she still have Korulen send it home when she can? He's going to pop back where he came from when either of his summoners dies, regardless, even if somebody pours nutrition potions down his sleeping throat every day.

To the MP: How about: there's a whole world that's been getting by great with me and no other magic for thousands of years.

To Keo: I think if he dies, we're just born again somewhere else. It's bad for my continuity of memory but not catastrophic. I don't know which world we'd come back in if he died here. I guess I want you to keep him alive for now. If I could I'd want to spend half my time here and half there. They're going to miss me, and so will some people here if I never come back.

The MP is still confused.

Keo wants to know if he can just magic himself an empathic signature so she can talk to him properly.

That girl in Reverni's siblings, when they died, had kids. Those kids have all since died. They are dissatisfied. The sister and one of the brothers particularly want their spouses back too.

Person in Ertydo wants their tea to brew faster - father in Gibryel wants his daughter to get over stage fright for the school musical revue - a miracle in Corenta wants a job - a boy in Drast wishes chocolate balls grew on vines like grapes - a priestess in Linnip asks the watchful spirits as well as Sennah what she's supposed to tell her parishoners about the strange happenings - a witch in Petar wants the change in how lights work taken back; he made half his income selling potions to treat illnesses in lights who couldn't get them healed any other way and he has three kids to support - a wolfrider wants this elk he's about to kill to have sword-quality bones - an arvi on the Taavlas Isles would prefer not to be eaten by any hawks today -

Edited 2014-05-07 19:42 (UTC)

To the MP, when he realizes the connection and investigates: Ask Aaeeihhyleekatheeei. She's met me. I just didn't know I was me at the time.

He investigates empathic signatures, and tells Keo: They need a place and I don't have a place. Same reason you can't talk to the wizarding reservoir. It's possible I could give myself one but I have no way to know it wouldn't wreck me somehow.

The tea can be sped up a bit - no good things to be done about stage fright - the miracle can have some luck - the boy in Drast can have his very own flying-potted chocolate vine - the priestess he decides not to interfere with - the witch gets a rainbow-sparkle-delivered stack of potion recipe books with bookmarks highlighting things that sell well and don't depend on solved problems - the wolfrider's elk will have perfect bones - that arvi and in fact that arvi's entire species can have a luck-blessing for avoiding predation.

The MP is bewildered, but he calls his daughter.

Keo gives up. She goes to order a case of nutrition potions suitable for feeding to an unconscious person.

The chocolate plant is very pleasing to its recipient. The witch is offended.

Farmer's daughter in Orzon doesn't want the chickens to attack her when she goes after their eggs - lady in Erubia wants revenge on her ex - a beneficiary in Ryganaav of the freely-available-sex-change magic wants to pass for some out-of-town born-that-way man in the new part of Pridetaal he has run away to and if it's not too much trouble wants a way to see his sisters again someday - a mother in Saraan wants her son to quit taking so many drugs - a teenager in Nirlan wishes her parents gave a shit that she is taking so many drugs - a theatergoer in Pra Verian wants the pretty dancer to look at him - a guy in Aveha wants to skip the part where he fights with his girlfriend and go straight to the makeup sex - a florist in Mistal wants the roses to stop pricking her -

Luck for the farmer - nothing for the vengeful ex -

The man in Ryganaav gets the offer of a camel, a beard, some new clothes, and a talent for languages that will let him flawlessly mimic any accent he likes. And a whispered message: "I am Kindness. I can't be everywhere at once, but if you ask me to help you find your sisters someday, and I hear you, I will."

The mother's son in Saraan doesn't have a problem worth solving - the teenager in Nirlan definitely does: she can have the choice of whether to become completely unaffected by her problem substances, without withdrawal, or have it arranged that her parents will certainly notice - skip, skip - the florist now has the magical property that plants cannot harm her, whether with their sharp parts or otherwise.

The Ryganaavlan fellow takes what he's offered and whispers thanks. The Nirlani girl takes the bailout and chucks her paraphenalia and goes for a run. The florist doesn't notice right away.

Thiies has gotten ahold of Leekath and she's telling him what she knows, which is less than he'd like but more than he had a couple degrees ago.

A little miracle whose parents have not shown up in a timely fashion wants her favorite tutor from the house to adopt her. A sprite in Corenta wants lots of nectar for her hive. A dragon who's just had his two thousandth birthday party wants not to have the prospect of unexpectedly dropping dead at any moment hanging over his head. An arvi wants Grandfather to come visit soon. A boy in Tava wishes he wasn't allergic to peanuts. A girl in Pra Verian thinks wolves are beautiful and wishes there was a domesticated version.

The little miracle's situation looks complicated - the sprite gets luck -

What the hell is with this fucking species?

He investigates. He determines that the reason why dragons unexpectedly drop dead is that they leak all their damn magic after a while. He decides that when that happens in future, the dragon in question is going to replace it as fast as it goes, acquire a faint miracle-swirl pattern on their scales in the process, and stop growing at that point so they don't eventually get bigger than the planet. He notifies the birthday dragon and the dragon council - and Keo, why not - that draconic death by old age has been solved, signed, Teah; there are enough of his little flying notes flapping around now that he takes the opportunity to make sure all of them can be asked to sit down and shut up by their intended recipients.

The arvi's Grandfather - hah. The arvi's Grandfather gets a little flying note telling him that his small fuzzy friends miss him, signed, Teah. The boy in Tava ceases to be allergic to peanuts and is notified in writing. The girl in Pra Verian - do dogs just not exist here? Dogs just don't exist here, apparently. The girl in Pra Verian gets a rainbow-sparkle-delivered book of pictures of dogs, with a short introduction explaining that they exist in another world.

Back to the little miracle: she's talked to the tutor, but he wanted to wait a while longer for her parents. Where are the parents? Sex marathon. And what did it look like when they sent little Shirra's egg away? Because if it looked like the last pair, he's not even going to bother interrupting them.

The dragon council, as a matter of policy, consists entirely of dragons who are over two thousand years old. They are now inclined to take his notes at face value so they immediately start arguing about whether to institute term limits or something instead of just having turnover whenever somebody kicks it or resigns.

The arvi's Grandfather is at work. He reads the note and immediately snatches it out of the air and shreds it, embarrassed, worried that somebody might have seen it.

The Tavan boy goes out and buys peanut ice cream.

The girl wants a puppy, now. One of that kind. (She is pointing at the Shetland sheepdog.)

Shirra's parents laid a two-egg clutch. When they observed that one of the eggs was striped:

"We can't keep it. The other one - and your sister would go out of her mind about it, with her little one -"

"And we live in a city. We can't move, not with your job."

"Petar house is closest."

"Do they get visitors...?"

"When I was a hatchling I stowed away in my parents' luggage to see where they were going when they traveled. If the other one lives, if she's like that..."

"Right. Right."

(Shirra's clutchmate is alive, looks exactly like her, and is having a sleepover with a school friend.)

Edited 2014-05-07 21:34 (UTC)

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