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

[alicornucopia]

"Only humans. Huh. And this is not magic, it's ultra-fancy clockwork?"

[aeskhyne]

"Basically ultra-fancy clockwork, yeah."

[alicornucopia]

"Weird."

[aeskhyne]

"I guess. I think I might find it a little weirder that you guys have magic and your magic is still way behind my world's fancy clockwork on a whole shitload of stuff."

[alicornucopia]

"We ahead on anything?"

[aeskhyne]

"Well, yeah, they don't have scrying or past-scrying. Although with enough cameras it gets so's you can barely tell the difference. And they don't have teleportation, but I think they're working on it. Mostly, though, it seems like anything I can think of that you can do both with wizardry and with Fancy Clockwork, Fancy Clockwork does it better. Except translation. Fancy Clockwork translation is kind of hilarious. Getting better every year, though."

[alicornucopia]

"How does translation by fancy clockwork go about being hilarious?"

[aeskhyne]

"It's like... imagine you have to invent a translation spell where you can't have it pick up anything about language from things that exist in the world, you have to manually specify which words and phrases in Language One tend to correspond to which words and phrases in Language Two and then let it take in some sentences and try to match them up. That's how it used to be, anyway, they're getting better. These days you can translate a reasonably complicated sentence and when you translate it back it still means basically the same thing as when you started. But that's just text - there's no Fancy Clockwork that'll translate speech even as badly as it translated text fifteen years ago."

[alicornucopia]

"That sounds terrible," says Kaylo, "and like if I ever find myself unexpectedly stranded on your world where I can't get at wizardry I shall have to open a translations business."

[aeskhyne]

"Knock yourself out. There's people who translate, but, y'know, they're not dragons."

[alicornucopia]

"Dragons're pretty great. Hmmm." Kaylo peers at the map's activity. "Remind me what you wanted to accomplish by getting me to quiz you and propose experiments?"

[aeskhyne]

The map has been practically fizzing this whole time, as Teah answers prayers all around the world.

"My unlikely dream goal is to be able to be 'on' full-time here and at home, somehow. But if I can't have that, which I probably can't, I still want to figure out what the limits are of being me - what it's safe to do with my body, if I can magic it so people don't need to keep feeding it, if I can wake it up again, if I can wake it up again and stay 'on' while it's awake. And if there's anything I can change about how I work. Multitasking or something, I dunno."

[alicornucopia]

"I'm gonna go have a look at your body with this analysis on," says Kaylo, getting up.

[aeskhyne]

"Good plan."

He goess off to answer some more prayers, keeping half an eye on Kaylo in between.

[alicornucopia]

Kaylo successfully traverses the distance between his room and the room where Teah's body is being stored. He tries the door, which he figures should let him in since Teah wants to let him.

[aeskhyne]

The door does let him in! There is the sleeping body of Teah.

There's definitely something vaguely rainbowy about him, even when god-Teah's attention is completely elsewhere. He is Teah-like; he has Teah-ness. But definitely not the same way as the Teah that is zipping around answering prayers at that very moment.

[alicornucopia]

"Well, there's some you-magic here. It's just not - doing anything. I assume you already looked into waking him up yourself?"

[aeskhyne]

"Kind of afraid to try it, actually, on general 'I don't know what's going on with him' principles."

[alicornucopia]

"You want to plan to do that in about an angle and I can try another instance of the foretelling?"

[aeskhyne]

"Sure. Should we get an accomplice to intend to come ask him something in Draconic again?"

[alicornucopia]

"An accomplice to plan to ask him something in Draconic and then knock him out with a sleep spell," says Kaylo, checking for a pulse. Yep, there's a pulse. "To make sure you come back in with no problems if he falls asleep again."

[aeskhyne]

"Sure. I'll ask Leekath."

Flying paper bird for Leekath! It says: We're trying another foretelling about my body; do you know a sleep spell you can plan to go knock him out with after you ask him which way to the bottom of the world in Draconic?

[alicornucopia]

"No," Leekath tells the note, when it has recited itself to her, "but I can look one up."

[aeskhyne]

Okay. Should be about an angle. Want me to send a library creature to get you a book?

[alicornucopia]

"Yes please. I like those creatures, they're nice."