[Walkabout] We interrupt your serious Jaunt posts with some very responsible Walkabout shenanigans

[runs]

[The feed comes on at first to show just Leo sitting on a rock by the coast, a small, slim, but obviously well read book in his hands. He can barely get his words out in between laughing, but he is, just about, reading out loud.]

And then the goodly child turned to her parents and said, "by the will of the Godly Ones I shall accept the marriage chosen for me, and repent my disobedience. For having walked alone hand in hand with our neighbour's son I have known pleasures of the flesh that the Godly Ones warned us against, and brought dishonour on my family. Let my marriage to the priest's son prove to me that the soul is more beautiful than body or actions and bring me back to the light."

And so the goodly child was married to the priest's son, and they brought forth many children to the world. Every day, she repented for her sins with hard labour, and when she died the Angels came down and took her to live with the Goodly Ones in live and peace. But the neighbour's son, who never repented his sins, lived a life of shame and wickedness, and thought often of her hand in his, until the Goodly Ones smited him for his wicked ways. The Devils dragged him down to hell where--


Aaaaaaand that's enough of that. [Leo stops, abruptly, though there appear to be several pages left. He flicks through them, pulling a face.] Apparently illustrations of what happens in hell aren't sinful.

Show meeeee, [a cat's voice can be heard closer by. It probably is a cat, because the voice is closer to a protesting mreowwwww than an actual voice. She seems to be the source of the sensory streaming.]

Not a chance. I think I want to unsee them. [Leo closes the book, firmly.]

Boo. ...so what about that other book? [She looks at a book that reads 'the ABC of Virtues and Sins' on the front cover.

...but then the scene changes abruptly. Now the are in a sparse classroom. This time, Leo is perched on the side of the teacher's desk, the alphabet marked out on the chalkboard.] Now remember, the Goodly Cat is watching you, and if you make a mistake, we will know. Shall we start with the sins? [He uses a ruler to point at A, and then looks pointedly at the children as a cue.

The children start to sing.]

Adultery, Blasphemy, Coveting what is your neighbour's
Dancing, Envy, Fri-vol-ty
Gluttony, Heresy, Impatience, Jealousy
Keeping sins to yourself, Lust, Murder, Nudity.
Ogling and Pride,
Quailing before judgement,
Rebellion, Sloth, Torpor and Unbelief
Vanity, Wrath
Following a bad example
Yielding to temptation
running with the zealots.

[As the children sing, the view changes table legs and children's legs come into view until the streamer with one languid jump lands on a child's table, making the poor boy almost jump out of his skin. He soldiers on bravely with the song though, and the cat now marches around the tables, being watched anxiously out of the corners of the children's eyes. There's an odd sensation in the livestream (because that is what it is this time around), almost like she's distractedly snacking on the side.

At times, her eyes go back to Leo, who purses his lips thoughtfully.] Hmm... I guess that'll do... For now. [The threat hangs in the air for a moment, before he taps the A again with his ruler.] And now the virtues. [The children's eyes go forth and back between the cat and Leo, the actual teacher standing forgotten by the door, watching how her pupils are doing with some anxiety herself, but they launch into the next song without hesitation.]

Abstinence, Belief, Charity and Diligence, Equanimityyyyyyyyy
Forgiveness with-due-repentence, generosityyyyyyyyy
Humility, Industriouseness,
Justive, kindness, love,
Mercy and nurturing, Obedience
Prayer, quiet, repentance, sa-cri-fice,
Temperance and unity
vigilance and worship
always a good example
yearning for righteousness and zealous,

[and then the last bit is crowed with abandon and clearly under the impression that feeling is best expressed by volume,]

are we!

[Leo stares at the children for a moment, and then looks directly at the viewer.] Did the one to your left sound a little slow, Goodly Cat?

Regarding Sanctions (Shortly after the Glatisant fight of the Rise Era)

[youandyoualone]

Although I know that clean-up from the battle with the Glatisant and the message gleaned from its remains is likely of the utmost importance as of now--as well as the matter of the unintelligible Familiars and Spirit Companions--I do have some news that I hope will aid in improving the lot of the Adversaries of the earliest era.

Before her vocabulary became limited to a single word, the vixen who attached herself to me instructed me on how I might use Oracular knowledge to glean further knowledge on Sanctions. What I have learned is this:

These Sanctions use the power of existing bonds between people, either the ones doing the Sanctioning or those bonded with the person Sanctioned. As these bonds are real in the Realm of Dreams, they can prevent action just as well as rope or shackles might--although 'tis only acts with intention they can prevent, not accidental acts, for it is the dream of action that they prevent.

They can be entered into willingly and with consent, but unless that consent was explicitly and deliberately part of that Sanction, rescinding consent would not break the Sanction.

After learning this, I wished to know more of how one would break the Sanctions and Fidelite, who was then still in possession of her full vocabulary, advised me to build a Dreamcatcher and have it gather energy in the Questing Country of the earliest era for roughly a week. Fortunately, I was already there after the bridge broke.

Shortly before the battle started, my Dreamcatcher was deemed sufficiently filled by my still-coherent Familiar, and now that the fighting has concluded, I have had time to look within to see what might break the Sanctions. That information was granted to me in a series of three visions:

The first, of bitter and acrimonious arguments between Champions and Oracles, leading to the severing of a bond group, also severing all Sanctions they created.

The second, of a cabal of Adversaries furtively meeting, banding together, forming a fresh bond--overwriting the Sanction with the energy of their alliance.

And the third and most intriguing, of a heavy, metal-hafted mace, light wavering around its head like one reads in reports of desert mirages.