[audio]

[backwordscompatible]

 [Cue the sound of a fifteen-year-old trying to play it cool and not sound nearly as nervous as she was starting to get:]


So...uh...shot in the dark here: is there anyone who's special abilities are acting a little...off?  [Because that was so specific]  Either the ones you've picked up from Jaunts along the way, or whatever powers you had before you got here?

[There might have been a slight emphasis on the latter, which was what she was more concerned with at the moment.]

No reason.  I was just curious, is all.

[She wasn't just curious.]

Comments

[backwordscompatible]

...I guess if they really wanted to punish us, that would be one way to do it.

And here I thought messing with my magic was bad enough.

[professorwolf]

I take it that's what this whole conversation was really about? They have done something to how your magic works?

[backwordscompatible]

[A sigh on her end. There was really no point in pretending otherwise any longer, was there?]

Yeah.

I'm having a hard time focusing it. Even the simplest spells are kind of blowing up in my face right now. It's getting embarrassing.

[professorwolf]

Is this the first time you've tried working magic since you've arrived here? Or is this a new development?

[backwordscompatible]

The first time this Liminal, maybe.

But I've been in, like, over a dozen of these and used my magic even more often than that and never had problems before. Why, do you think it could just be THIS Liminal-specific?

[Now there was an actual uplifting thought.]

[professorwolf]

It's possible. It's also possible that, seeing as we just came out of a highly magical Jaunt, something you learned there could be affecting your magic now, if they operate in different fashions.

[backwordscompatible]

[...well, shit]

That's not usually how it's supposed to work...but, then, I guess nothing around here ever completely works like it's supposed to.

[professorwolf]

As comforting as "supposed to" is, no, it's entirely likely nothing is how it's "supposed to" be around here. How does your particular power work, if you don't mind me asking?

[backwordscompatible]

They were before.

My magic's mostly verbal. There's a...special language my family uses. [We talk backwards.] All I needed to do in the past was cast a spell in that language, and whatever the incantation said to happen would happen. No problem.

[professorwolf]

And what happens when you try that, now? Anything at all, or an unexpected reaction?

[He's a scientist by nature. He needs all the data.]

[backwordscompatible]

[So nosy.]

Oh, something happens all right. A whole surge of magic starts rushing out. Which might sound cool at first, except I don't have the training to handle that much power. Meaning anything more than the easy stuff could get really dangerous really fast.

[professorwolf]

No, no, too much power is far worse than none at all, I believe you in that. More destructive, as well.

[Sounds, to him, more like she's broken some kind of barrier in power, and less like something is "wrong". But best to cover all the bases.]

Have you tried using any magic you might have learned during the Jaunt, since you've discovered the change to your own?

[backwordscompatible]

I didn't learn much. Only blood magic, and only a handful of small tricks before I was turned.

[professorwolf]

Then I suppose interference is less likely, though still possible. If you brought any back with you, you could at least give it a shot.

Do you think it could simply be you've hit a breakthrough of sorts, and now it's time for you to learn the control to handle more power? That's the other explanation that came to mind.

[backwordscompatible]

...great, because that's all I need. Having to go through puberty all over again, only magically.

[She didn't doubt the possibility. She just had no way of knowing if it was true, or even if it could be a thing; her father hadn't gotten in touch with his truly magical heritage until he was much older. And she never knew her mother.]

I need dad.

[The last part was thought mainly to herself, unintended for broadcast, yet slipped through.]

[professorwolf]

Would that we could summon him for you. In the interim, however, I might suggest talking to Alcuin or Leonardo. They were both color mages, as I recall, with quite a bit of power. They might have options for you. I'm afraid the magic I had on this Jaunt works in a very different fashion, with less in the way of actual power and more in the way of bargaining with and commanding spirits.

[backwordscompatible]

[Huh. Actually...]

Leonardo might not be a bad idea, considering. [Again, it was such a passing thought, meant more for herself than for him, that she forgot to explain why.] Thanks.

[professorwolf]

You're welcome. Glad I could help.