when your world runs on stories

[likescats]

[Death has decided it might be wise to share some things.]

I THINK WE SHOULD BE KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR THIS DARK WIZARD THE ....NEWS KEEPS TALKING ABOUT. I SPOKE WITH SOMEONE WHO BELIEVED THEY WERE PART OF THIS WORLD AND IT APPEARS THE WIZARD WAS STOPPED BY A GROUP OF CHILDREN.

I HAPPEN TO HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE WHEN IT COMES TO ....WORLDS WITH ADVENTURES, HEROES AND DARK LORDS.

THE DARK LORDS DO NOT ALWAYS STAY DEAD. ...IT'S REALLY QUITE ANNOYING. ...BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT.

SO ....A DARK LORD...OR WIZARD. A CHOSEN ONE...OR POSSIBLY A FEW THIS TIME.....IF A PROPHECY OR A MAGICAL IMPLEMENT OF SOME SORT SHOW I UP I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED EITHER. IT WOULD BE GOOD TO KEEP WATCH FOR ALL OF THESE THOUGH.

EITHER WAY, I DO NOT THINK THINGS WILL BE RUNNING SMOOTHLY IN THIS TOURNAMENT. 

Comments

[shiromadoushi]

Tournaments are pretty prime times for things to go horribly wrong, yeah. Especially when magic is involved!

...only there's so much of it here, it's pretty hard to tell who's going to be the one that gets targeted... There isn't even anyone who has a hairstyle that's super unique to stand out...

[likescats]

THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE. HOWEVER THE ONES WHO STOPPED THE DARK WIZARD IN THE PAST, MIGHT BE GOOD TO WATCH. IF HE DOES RETURN, THERE MIGHT BE REVENGE IN STORE.

WATCHING THOSE IN POSITIONS OF POWER MIGHT HELP. I WAS TOLD THAT A....PRIME MINISTER? WAS UNDER A SPELL IN THE PAST BY THE WIZARD. SCHOOL LEADERS OR JUDGES MIGHT BE AT RISK.

[shiromadoushi]

If he is going for revenge, he's pretty sure to fail. That's almost always how that happens; they get distracted by that and make a mistake that costs them their victory. Unless their entire plan was revenge, that's something different entirely.

What was he trying to get the Prime Minister to do, does anybody know? Since just controlling a person is almost never the final step of a plan, they're normally just a means to an end.

[likescats]

YES, HOWEVER THAT DOESN'T MEAN THERE AREN'T DEATHS ALONG THE WAY.

Trust him, he knows. He's the one left cleaning up the mess.

I'M UNSURE. I WAS TALKING TO PHILLIP, HE CLAIMED IT WAS HIS SISTER AND FRIEND I BELIEVE THAT WERE INVOLVED. HIS SISTER SET THE PRIME MINSTER ON FIRE AND THAT'S HOW THE ILLUSION WAS SPOTTED. I DIDN'T WISH TO ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS AS I WAS UNSURE HOW MUCH WAS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE THAT I SHOULD KNOW ALREADY, ESPECIALLY AS I SEEM TO BE PRETENDING TO BE FROM THIS COUNTRY.

PERHAPS IF SOMEONE WHO REMEMBERS WHO THEY ARE BUT IS IN ANOTHER COUNTRIES GROUP COULD SPEAK TO HIM, OR SOMEONE ELSE ABOUT IT, WE COULD HAVE MORE INFORMATION.

[shiromadoushi]

[[a pause because what? Oh that's amazing and he has to laugh]]

Sounds like a good plan! My ID says I'm part of this school, but I've transferred schools so many times it's pretty easy to assume I've just transferred here as well!

[likescats]

EXCELLENT.

THEN PERHAPS YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SO CALLED DARK WIZARD AND HIS DEFEAT.

[shiromadoushi]

I'll see what I can find out!

[[time to talk to all the NPCs!]]

[smokeandcarbs]

Oh dear.

How do we usually identify a chosen one?

[Please don't say birthmarks. That would be a little awkward.]

[likescats]

IN MY EXPERIENCE THERE IS USUALLY A MAGICAL OR SPECIAL SWORD OR PROPHESY INVOLVED. HOWEVER IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT HERE.

AND THE WIZARD SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN DEFEATED ONCE BEFORE BY A SMALL GROUP, SO IT MAY WELL BE THEM.

[smokeandcarbs]

A prophecy, a sword, maybe the ability to defeat a wizard...[Sounds a little like their last Jaunt, actually.] Would the chosen one be young? Last time, we had those people called champions. They were usually children and teenagers.

[likescats]

IT DEPENDS ON THE STORY BUT I BELIEVE HERE IT WOULD BE THE CASE IF ONLY BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE STUDENTS AND THE GROUP THAT DEFEATED HIM IN THE PAST WERE CHILDREN OR TEENS I BELIEVE.

[smokeandcarbs]

[Statistics, that's more his cup of tea.]

Do you think the wizard would be the vindictive type? Perhaps we need to watch out for young folks being targeted.

[likescats]

IN MY EXPERIENCE, VINDICTIVE IS PART OF THE JOB WHEN IT COMES TO DARK LORDS OR EVIL WIZARDS.

THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA.

[smokeandcarbs]

[Power tripping people and their vindictiveness. They make him...tired. ]

...Perhaps we should focus on those who are infiltrating as possible chosen ones. In the past, most key roles were played by them. It wouldn't surprise me if our evil wizard were one of our own people too.

[eldritchwheelies]

At least our troubles seem to be in-genre rather than horrific and eldritch here, knock on wood. The Dark Lord sounds malicious but fairly local in scale, and the magic here is self-contained enough that it doesn't attract things from outside this dimension.

Also hi, sorry I missed check-in, I was Infiltrated at the time. Thorne pulled me back to myself. I'm Madoka, I fought outsider cults in my homeworld, AMA.

[likescats]

THAT WOULD BE GOOD. WHERE I COME FROM MAGIC TENDS TO ATTRACT ELDRITCH HORRORS IF ENOUGH IS USED.

WHAT DOES AMA MEAN?

[eldritchwheelies]

Just an acronym, “ask me anything.” I’m 2 for 2 on that response now, good question though.

In mine, there’s a difference between what we call intrinsic magic and Outer magic. Intrinsic magic is supernatural, literally: higher law, more natural than breathing, adhering to as-above-so-below relationships and local entropy; If you’re who you claim to be, and I don’t doubt it for a hot millisecond, my world would say your existence is as intrinsic as magic gets. Outer magic, outer science, is trying to get something from Nothing - and occasionally, Nothing objects. Or worse, gets interested.

This creativity magic is mostly semiotic stuff; it brings metaphors to life, and is shaped by symbolism and the artist’s will and purpose. Our Dark Magician isn’t tampering with forces they don’t understand, but being a dick with how they use forces they do understand.

[likescats]

AH I SEE.

THAT IS INTERESTING. WHERE I AM FROM, WHAT I AM GOES BEYOND MAGIC AND IT CANNOT EFFECT ME. I AM MORE REAL THEN MOST THINGS, SUCH AS TIME AND GRAVITY, WHICH IS WHY I CAN IGNORE THINGS LIKE WALLS AND ...GRAVITY. TO ME, A WALL IS ONLY THERE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME NO MATTER HOW LONG THAT PERIOD OF TIME IS TO MORTALS, SO I CAN WALK THROUGH IT.

THIS STYLE OF MAGIC IS NEW TO ME, THOUGH MY WORLD HAS A TENDENCY TO MAKE METAPHORS REAL AS WELL. THOUGH THAT IS NOT FROM MAGIC.

[Seriously, tell someone shove it in a place that the sun does not shine and they'll ask if you mean that place near lancre.]

WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS MAGICIAN'S PLANS ARE?

[helborn]

I wouldn't be surprised. It seems pretty similar to some stories I know from back home. I'll have to do some sneaking around and seeing if I can find out some information.

It looks like this place is decently modern by the standards of my world, so I should be able to handle things better than if we were somewhere totally unfamiliar...

[likescats]

IT IS MORE ...ADVANCED IN PLACES THEN I AM USED TO. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HALF THE DEVICES ARE. LIKE THAT...TELEVISION IN THE PUB. THEY MUST HAVE A VERY FAST IMP TO PAINT PICTURES SO QUICKLY.

Death sweetie, no.

[helborn]

It's... it's not an imp. There are recording devices that can take an image from one place, run it through cables, and show it in another place.

[likescats]

THE RECORDING DEVICES I KNOW OF, ALSO INVOLVED IMPS. THOUGH THEY WERE MOSTLY FOR SOUND RECORDS.

QUITE THE DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY IT SEEMS.

[helborn]

Yeah, technology can be really different depending on the world we head to.

I can probably hang out near or in the pub for a bit, follow up on what anyone says. I've got really good hearing so I'll catch what they're saying whether I want to or not.

[likescats]

THE TELEVISION AT THE PUB WAS TALKING ABOUT THE DARK WIZARD. I AM SURE THAT WILL CAUSE PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT HIM IN TURN.

If it's in anyway like the newspapers back home.

[helborn]

Yeah. I'm Casper, by the way. I don't think we've spoken?