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Character Worlds' Fair

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In the center of a bustling city stands its crown jewels, a trio of grand, enormous pavilions. Within the facade of this old palace churns a city all its own, bodies chattering and exploring and roving about in search of the exotic and new and awe-inspiring. After all, no place could be better, for here, in the form of these stalls and displays for this fair, is where the worlds have chosen to convene. On the convention floor, they hawk their creeds, their products, their livelihoods, all competing for the attention of attendees as diverse as they are. But who is this 'they'? Why, anyone, from anywhere at all. From friendly small businesses to ominous corporations, from rebellions trying to gain ground to dying regimes attempting to rekindle their glory, from scientists and scholars to artists and storytellers. If an attendee can think of it, it could very well be here. Who knows what you'll find?

  • Current Time: Noon/Early Afternoon (Day 2)
  • Current Weather: Clear


Hello, Writer's Block, and welcome to the latest installment of the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises give you the opportunity to develop your characters, practice writing, and have fun alongside your fellow writers, no signups, profiles, or GM approval necessary. Want to join? If the thread's gotten long, there's no need to fear Archive Panic- just head on over to our discussion thread and say so, and we'll give you a recap of what's going on and good spots for working your characters into the thread; how you choose to do this is up to you. A little communication in endeavors such as these can go a long way towards having fun, helping others, getting that kink in your character worked out, getting your characters out of their comfort zone, or whatever you're here for, so if you ever have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. We're all for helping each other out.

This thread's designated trope page is here, and its map is here. Don't forget to add your contributions to the page!

In this thread, as the introduction and name suggests, your characters will be coming to a convention, a gathering open to the various and sundry worlds of our stories, whether as attendees hoping to see something cool... or as parts of the exhibition themselves. Yes, you, the writer, will be shaping not just the cast and plots, but the setting as well in the form of stalls and exhibits. Note that this necessitates that we keep a few small things in mind to keep things running smoothly.

  • Our standards of location for this thread are intentionally vague to allow ourselves the freedom to make up stalls on the fly as our plots demand, as well as to account for the fact that wandering around between stalls and chatting with your friends is as much a part of the convention experience as the stalls themselves. For the sake of keeping track of people, in lieu of standard location tags in the vein of [Market Hall], we recommend that you also append the names of the characters you're with.
  • Though you're welcome to bring a piece of home in the form of a stall and control the characters running it, you're also welcome to bring a stall that exists solely as a plot device without ever mentioning it again. The basic rules to keep in mind are to write a stall as long as it takes to fulfill its raison d'être, whether that's to develop a faction or similar in your work or to keep the plot moving along, and that stalls can be anything. More specific info can be found on the trope page linked above.
  • If you find yourself unexpectedly busy in other endeavors after entering the thread, there are easy ways to back out, whether you're writing for attendees or stalls. Attendees can step out into the covered walkways connecting the convention buildings or the adjacent courtyard for some fresh air and relief from the constant noise of the crowds, while stalls can suddenly become flooded with enough nameless background characters to render the stall too busy to reply to any troper characters that were interacting with it at the time.

With all that out of the way, we cordially invite you to stay and experience the Character Worlds' Fair! Onwards!

(Credit for this post and much of the work on the thread belongs to Crystal Glacia).

Fair has now concluded.

edited 31st Mar '15 2:06:36 AM by nrjxll

KillerClowns Since: Jan, 2001
#851: Feb 2nd 2015 at 10:49:32 AM

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Veneris, ???)

"Of course," Veneris said. "It's the least we can do." Making a confused, amnesiac young woman wander a strange place alone was, to Veneris' sense of right, simply unforgivable. Who knew who might offer aid, intending only to take advantage of her? "And I'm glad you liked the meal." The second was on Veneris herself, if she needed it.

"So, it sounds like you're remembering a bit more. One of the theories, your theories, about where you'd end up, you said? So... you're a pioneer of some sort?"

the others will come later

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#852: Feb 2nd 2015 at 11:33:13 AM

[Entertainment Hall - Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ghiln couldn't help but lift her head a little in embarrassment. She'd had her eyes complimented before, but for a human to call them striking was a bit unexpected, in a good way. Though of course it was possible that the shopowner was just flattering her in hopes of getting a better deal. She wasn't sure if this place was operating on a barter system or not, but the environment around it certainly looked that way.

"Um. So these 'spells' are basically all single-use items, then? Or are they reusable?" She was curious enough to attach her linkpiece back to her clothing; 'magic' wasn't really something she knew anything about - since it doesn't exist - but this wasn't really how she'd expected it to work from what she did know. "Could I... try one?"

edited 2nd Feb '15 11:33:33 AM by nrjxll

Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#853: Feb 2nd 2015 at 12:34:36 PM

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Veneris, ???)

"Yes, to an extent," the mystery woman said, finishing her first burger, "we were studying... something... the fracture, I think."

"We went inside it..." she said, "and... then I appeared here."

"I'm not really sure how, or why - and we really didn't know what was going to happen to us," she said, "but we felt we had to try."

"I was part of a team - I don't remember who they were, though," she said, still struggling to remember, "it would seem my travel has some side-effects."

"Oh, and Iono," she said, looking as if she had a flash of insight, "Iono Tetranix, that's my name. Sorry it took me so long to remember."

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
#854: Feb 2nd 2015 at 8:40:25 PM

[Entertainment Hall—Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

"Certainly not, certainly not! Not single-use, that is. Sorry, I do get excited. And please, please! Ah, let me see." He bent over one of the shelves in the tent and began to rummage around. "I know I had... one... Aha! Now, where is that stone..."

He rummaged for a few more seconds, silent except for the occasional grumble. Then he straightened, a huge grin on his face.

"You'll enjoy this," he said. "Well, assuming it works; sorry, can't make any guarantees. But we'll find out soon enough, yes? Now, take these..." He held out a dark blue gemstone mounted in white gold on a thin chain, and a small, unremarkable stone for her to take. The pendant gleamed brilliantly; the stone was, well, unimpressive.

"This," he said, nodding at the pendant, "is a Mox Sapphire, one of the rarest of treasures from ages past, worth a fortune. It will grant you the strength you need to use..." And he pointed his chin at the stone. "...This. Don't let the appearance fool you. If the Sapphire is worth a fortune, this is worth a kingdom. Ancestral Recall, it's called. Now, if you have the inborn talent, I can teach you to draw up the mana to use this by itself. But with the Mox Sapphire, the mana is yours for the taking; all you need is the magic in your soul to make use of it. Now, now, you either have it or you don't, there's no point wondering until you know; s'far's I've ever seen, it's got nothing to do with what world you're from or if your family's ever had it. All there is for it is to try."

He smiled. "It's simple, really—the magic practically works itself, if you've the talent. Stroke the edge of the pendant and you'll feel—well. Mana's different for everyone. Me, I feel a shock and a hot breeze. I met a woman who said mana was the sound of her children laughing. It might be anything—but you'll know it when you feel it. Now, that doesn't take any talent. Using the mana is what'll prove whether you have it. Once you have the mana in you, touch this"—he nodded at the dull stone—"and just think about the mana, whatever it is, going through the stone. The mana will respond to your will, even if you don't know what you're doing, and if you've the talent, this little bugger will activate. And when it does..." He grinned. "You'll speak to your ancestors. They'll awaken in your soul, in the marks their blood left on yours. And you can imagine the benefit to be gained by communing with the departed. They've been around a long time, seen much. They'll only be awake for the space of a few breaths, but you're bound to learn something useful."

He hesitated, after all that. "Er, if the idea doesn't offend, that is. I've plenty of others to try, if you'd prefer."

edited 2nd Feb '15 8:48:24 PM by SolipSchism

KillerClowns Since: Jan, 2001
#855: Feb 2nd 2015 at 8:54:48 PM

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Xiong, Peter, Ksana)

Xiong was a bit outside her comfort zone now. She frowned as she considered the counter-offer. Finally, she pulled out her tablet, tapped to start recording, and said, "okay, Peter Wilson and Ksana Mhalre here from Nhesvrasila, offreing to sell us a... Magic Dispersal Grenade. Magflash. Some sort of re-usable anti-magical grenade. Magical white noise. Five charges, ordinary electricity to recharge." She looked up at the two. "Is that right?" She didn't wait for an answer before continuing a ramble. "There might be some integration issues of the device itself uses magic. The local breed of magic where we come from has a tendency to, uh, infect non-mundane things. Sentient and malevolent, you see. And our anti-magic, aside from the gas, obviously, sort of purges everything, baby and bathwater, so it might cook these." Then, more cheerfully, "but we can work around that sort of thing. Anti-magic requires a lot of training and talent, so a more reliable source that isn't screwed over by a high-quality gas mask... hmm, we could probably use that..." she shrugged.

"Anything else you want to say that I missed before I send this to corporate? If they like what they hear, you'll get an immediate response. Our CEO swore he'd keep near his desk while we're here."

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Veneris, Iono)

"Well, Ms. Tetranix," Veneris said, "it's a pleasure to meet you." Her smile became less worried, more easy. The woman was remembering herself, and quite rapidly. She wouldn't need much help, it seemed. Veneris opened her mouth to say something else, considered her words, then bit her lip. The last thing Iono needed was a lecture, she probably already knew, on some level, how badly things could have gone if somebody crueler had found her first. At least it seemed like her problems had been an accident, and it had turned out well enough. So instead she said, "okay, it sounds like you're recovering." She grabbed a medical kit and said, "if you don't mind, could I give you a quick check-up?" She put the kit down nearby and added, "nothing major, especially since we aren't exactly in a private office, just to make sure there's no, I don't know, ribs in weird places or heart murmurs or whatever. If you'd rather not, I won't push it." Veneris herself could think of some reasons somebody would rather avoid that, after all.

[Market Hall - Youkai Showcase (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela)]

Something about Masum's "I'm not very religious" brought a slight, wry smirk to Suela's lips, but she let him go, watching warily. Then, after rummaging for her quill, inkwell, and journal, she headed back to Mahiro and Nagako. "It sounds like his people have a different definition of 'god' than I do. If you're willing to humor my questions — and don't worry, I'll step aside if you've customers — just what do you imagine when I speak of a 'god'? Or, on another related matter, a 'spirit'?" Her quill was held just above the inkwell, perched on a nearby planter box, ready to start jotting down the response if they humored her.

edited 2nd Feb '15 8:55:09 PM by KillerClowns

TeraChimera Since: Oct, 2010
#856: Feb 2nd 2015 at 10:22:21 PM

[Entertainment Hall — Ship of Marvels]

Oho, thought Marion. So voSudir, the curator herself, was self-aware about falsification. Hmm. Well. That might change things. (Ironically, Marion thought that "joker fakes a cult" made a bit of a better story than the standard "no one knows what it says" one. But maybe that was just her.) Were any of the other exhibits faked? Of course, you didn't go around just plain asking curators stuff like, Hey! Are your exhibits fake? Because I think they're fake! That was what professionals called an Awful Idea.

"Huh," said Marion. "Interesting. Kinda lends it a more sophontic dimension. Cults are cults, you know, and it's real easy to just... other them. But if it's 'just' somebody joking around, it's more like, someone, a specific someone, actually went and made this. And you said this is one of the Codices; did he make others, too? Must've had a lot of free time if he did."

She walked over under the, whozawhatsit, clutchrix. "And, hate to make you multitask-" Not really. "-but were these things feared because they were tough to kill or because there were lots of them? Or something else?" At least this place isn't quite as boring any more.

[Showcase Hall — Western Amalgamated tent]

Peter opened his mouth, then glanced at Ksana. "Does it use magic? I've never been quite clear on that."

"To be honest, I don't know either," said Ksana, flaring her wings. "There's a lot of, whatstheword, semantics in there. Specific definition stuff. But if I had to say magic versus mundane, it'd always be magic."

"So yeah. That," said Peter, turning back to Xiong. "Additionally, the scrambling of magic is incredibly disorientating to those who can sense magic, almost to the point of nausea. This gives the magflash a quality similar to a normal stun grenade, but not only does it only work on mages, but it can affect them through walls and at a considerable distance, if need be."

"Imagine being punched in the stomach while your head gets squeezed in a vise," added Ksana, far too brightly for what she was describing.

"And one more thing," said Peter. He pointed at the LED display. "This shows the number of seconds until it goes off. Adjustable from instantaneous activation to 99-second delay, although five is the default. It's unlikely to be used much, but it's a useful feature to have. I know of some police officers who always keep one on their person, timer set to zero, and if they ever get taken by surprise by a hostile chimera — or, well, mage, in this case — they simply set off the magflash. Immediately, their former attacker is incapacitated." He shrugged. "Not the intended use, but it works well enough."

Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#857: Feb 2nd 2015 at 10:56:35 PM

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Veneris, Iono)

"I don't think it's really necessary," Iono said, looking at the kit, "but sure, if you want to. And you can call me Iono."

"Also, perhaps I could learn a bit about you?" she said, smiling a bit, "like what you do, and your story? And the story of this 'Western Amalgamated'?"

When Veneris examines her, she'll probably notice that Iono appears in excellent health, and everything about her is textbook-healthy. In fact, too textbook, as she has a perfect heartbeat on an ECG, and perfect placement of all her tissues/bones/muscles/fat/etc. - not any lumps or unexpected unevenness anywhere. In addition, her skin is normal-looking but also completely spotless and undamaged, although most is covered up by the thin spandex spacesuit. In addition, her hair is quite uniform, and while it looks natural with slight color variation, each strand is perfectly healthy-looking, with no split ends or any damage.

Also, while it's unlikely Veneris will try, she also seems to be practically impervious to damage, any needles or scissors will break instead of cut or damage her skin or hair. (The space-suit also seems similarly impervious.) (She's not actually impervious, but the level of force required is not likely in a medkit. :P)

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#858: Feb 3rd 2015 at 1:53:43 AM

[Entertainment Hall — Ship of Marvels]

"She," Madame voSudir told Marion. "Considering the nature of kaorrl culture at the time, the author of the Codices was all but certainly female. And as for the total number made - well, there were more than one, but the true number? That actually is a mystery, given what happened to Kao Jaln. All that's known for certain is, as Hazzer-three said, that three still exist today."

Meanwhile, the disk-drone she had referred to hovered near Hvpvdqia. "Unfortunately, AI psychosis remains an unsolved problem in galactic civilization today, optimistic visitor! That is why most individuals instead prefer to rely on Simulated Intelligences like this one!"

voSudir controlled her annoyed reaction, and instead followed Marion to the clutchrix shell. "Both. In a way, these creatures could be said to personify the essential nature of the Swarm ethos: they were created in vast legions by the racnizeroth broodspinners, sacrificing the mind that even a normal racnizeroth drone has, so that instead they could be devoted only to war. As I have said, we are fortunate not only to have this unique intact specimen to behold, but also to live in an era - or a reality - where not one of the creatures lives today."

Ghiln's response to Ejra will be coming tomorrow. Good night.

edited 3rd Feb '15 1:54:02 AM by nrjxll

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#859: Feb 3rd 2015 at 11:19:43 AM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ghiln's eyes had half-glazed over during the speech. She tried, she really did, but it had always been very hard to focus on or care about other people's jargon. But still she'd heard enough to give the shop owner - whose name, she noticed for the first time, was 'Ejra Demori' - a very startled glance as he explained what exactly the magic could do.

"Seriously? It will let me, um, speak to the dead? Or at least hear them?"

Suddenly this didn't seem like as much of a good idea as it had before. Magic didn't exist in her world; that wasn't speculation or skepticism, that was fact. And from everything she'd read, no one had ever seen a qrtxian native to one of the realities beyond the Gates. She wrapped her arms around herself defensively. "Zer? Is this... actually safe?"

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
#860: Feb 3rd 2015 at 11:46:56 AM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ejra frowned. "Well, you might not speak with them, as it were. I used the spell once and I, well, it seemed I was thinking with their minds—all at once, full of memories and ideas and knowledge and lives. But like the mana itself, the spell manifests differently for everyone that uses it. What's certain is that, if it works, you'll gain access to the collective memories of your ancestors for a few seconds."

He smiled at her last question. "Perfectly safe, dear. The worst this spell could do is give you knowledge you didn't want—and really, aren't we always at risk of that? Now, if you don't expend the mana from the Sapphire, that might give you a headache for a few minutes, but I assure you it couldn't possibly be worse than that. Big, flashy, difficult spells can be dangerous to the inexperienced, but the magic you see here is useful and valuable precisely because it is so innocuous. A drop of blue mana from the Sapphire is all you'll be able to draw, and it's all this spell needs—such a small amount of raw mana is harmless to anything larger than a mouse."

He grinned as if the two of them were the sole keepers of a wonderful secret. "And, of course, if the spell works, then we'll know you have the talent, and the whole of my shop will be open to you! That is, you're welcome to buy or trade for anything I have to offer, of course, but if the magic works, then we'll know you can use anything I have to offer."

edited 3rd Feb '15 11:47:38 AM by SolipSchism

Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#861: Feb 3rd 2015 at 12:52:55 PM

[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels (Interior)]

"Okay," Hvpvdqia said, "I'm not an AI psychologist, so I doubt I could really help with that."

"Also, it sure seems like you have a lot of unsolved mysteries on display," she said.

Then, apparently getting distracted immediately, she walked further into the hall, and said, "ooo - but what about the rest of the displays, what are those?"

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#862: Feb 3rd 2015 at 1:09:31 PM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

"Trade." So I was right, it does allow barter.

Ghiln dismissed the irrelevant thought from her head in order to consider the options before her more seriously. This really didn't seem like a good idea - people playing with things they don't understand never is. But she had to admit, she was curious about what would happen. Very curious. And Zer Demori had said it wasn't dangerous...

"All right," she said. "I'll try it." She took the stone and the pendant and began to stroke the edge of the latter, feeling somewhat foolish as she did so. It wasn't exactly an unfamiliar feeling, but all the same, after a few moments of nothing happening, her feeling of nervousness had been replaced by one of increasing skepticism.

"Um. I don't think anything is - whoa!"

From the brief description Ejra had given her and her own readings and imaginings, she'd have guessed the feeling of 'mana' would have been something like bathing in full, pure sunlight - a sort of exceedingly pleasant, stimulated feeling. Instead, it reminded her of the way she felt link-tunneling, except somehow more visceral and... cold, but not in an unpleasant sense. Trying to present an appropriately dignified facade despite the unfamiliar sensations, she turned her attention to the stone, and did her best to do as she'd been told.

From a moment there was nothing, though she could feel the sensations the 'mana' gave her fading as it apparently emptied out. Then she started - not quite hearing, as the sounds of the fair were still there - but experiencing a perception of dry whispering voices just beyond the edge of comprehension. She fumbled around for an analogy; it wasn't quite like direct communication through her implants, but that wasn't a bad comparison either.

But after a few moments of metaphorically listening in curiosity, the whispers seemed to fade. She looked back over at Ejra. "Something certainly happened, but it wasn't really comprehensible. I don't feel any more knowledgeable than before. Perhaps qrtxians just don't have ancestral memories. I can think of at least one reason why not..."

Her voice trailed off. Did I just really do magic? Even magic that didn't work?

edited 3rd Feb '15 1:09:42 PM by nrjxll

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
#863: Feb 3rd 2015 at 1:42:35 PM

[Entertainment Hall—Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ejra frowned deeply. Obviously she had the ability—otherwise, the stone would have been just that to her, a little inert rock, unremarkable and useless. But it was odd that she hadn't learned anything from using it—even useless information. Well, maybe the details left behind were just so inane that she didn't even notice them, like the patterns left on a dirty window after a brief shower of rain. It was unusual, but he himself had once used it only to be left with someone's memories of rolling plains and a particularly nice sunset.

Still, she was the first customer he'd seen at the Fair to have the ability, which was remarkable in itself.

"A great success!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Oh, don't mind that you didn't gain anything—perhaps you simply lack an affinity for blue magic. There are different kinds, different colors of mana; blue, that's what this is, blue is one of the most versatile, but it's certainly not for everyone." He fixed on something she had said, and tilted his head.

"You said you think you know why the spell didn't seem to work? May I ask why not? And of course I've hundreds, thousands of other trinkets you're welcome to try, spells of every color for both the newly initiated and masters alike. Surely we can find your strength—you won't regret stepping into my little corner of the Fair, no, no!"

edited 3rd Feb '15 1:44:54 PM by SolipSchism

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#864: Feb 3rd 2015 at 5:56:01 PM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ghiln folded her hands together in front of her. She wasn't entirely convinced by the lecture - given that Demori was, after all, interested in selling things to her - but there was no reason not to share her theory. Not that 'theory' was really the right word, but still. "My species, the qrtxians, were... ummm, I suppose the word would be enhanced by another species. They came to our world and over a period of several generations altered what were basically some bright, tree-dwelling reptilian animals into sapient qrtxians."

She paused to reorder her thoughts. "Now, this is just speculation; magic and ancestral memories both are subjects you'd only find in fantasy in my reality. But it occurred to me that it might be possible that being uplifted like that might have done something to alter the way... I don't know, whatever the way having memories of your ancestors works is, for us."

Another thought occurred to her. "You said there are other... colors of mana? What are they? Because I actually found the feeling I experienced from the sapphire to be rather pleasant."

Ironically, I think Ghiln is pretty clearly blue/white in Magic terms.

[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels (Interior)]

"This is a collection of strange and unusual things, my dear," Madame voSudir told Hvpvdqia in an amused voice. "Unsolved mysteries are generally strange." More quietly, she added "And most people like the mysterious."

"This drone will express gladness at the chance to explain!" the disk exclaimed, hovering after Hvpvdqia as she made her way further into the ship. There was only one large exhibit here, a massive silvery metal shape, somewhat like an illustration of an acute angle, but curved. It rested on a pedestal and appeared to have been broken off from a larger object, at least if the jagged ends were anything to judge by.

Nearby were two glass cubes. The first contained only one object: a dark blue sphere that was hovering in midair and emitting a faint, pleasant humming noise. The other, much larger, contained a tiny model of a saucer-shaped spaceship and a larger, but still clearly not life-sized, figurine of a three-legged birdlike shvuimnote . Both were made of what appeared to be glass.

"Which in particular of these items would you like further description on, inquisitive sophont?" the disk asked Hvpvdqia. "And would you prefer verbal description or a textual overlay?"

KillerClowns Since: Jan, 2001
#865: Feb 3rd 2015 at 7:25:11 PM

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Veneris, Iono)

Veneris noted after checking her vitals that Iono was remarkably healthy, though her tests weren't enough to conclude that she was anything more than a human. Possibly one who, like Sigmund, had undergone some gene therapy. (Veneris wasn't clear on the details of what that meant — her practical medical knowledge was up to 21st century standards, but the edges of science were still new to her.) "Okay," she said, "everything looks good." Then she inhaled. "Oh, and my story?"

She was happy to talk about it, but considered how much she could tell Iono without getting a lecture from Alice later. "I'm from Maurosian Hegemony. Well, the Arthian Republic, but really, that close to Maur the exact nation doesn't matter. I decided to learn medicine, because, well..." she paused as she put the last of her equipment away. Did Iono really need to know? Yeah, it'd give her some background. "It's one of the few well-paying, independent jobs that both men and women can do. The Temple's big on traditional roles. Anyways, I managed to get into medical school easily. Western Amalgamated comes from another world, Earth, and at the time were fairly new to our land. But they spotted my talents, and were willing to help me with some, uh," she took a deep breath, thought better of it, and weakly finished, "some personal problems. And yeah, that's my story, ultra-short version." She waited to see if Iono had any comments. Western Amalgamated's details could come later.

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Xiong, Ksana, Peter)

Xiong whistled. If everything was according to their claims, they'd have a deal on their hands. She transmitted the recording to Sigmund. "This could be quite useful," she said. "I mean... is it purely anti-mage, or does it knock out active spells as well? If the latter, that changes a lot of the situations we can use it in — not always for the better, the Magocracy has a lot of traps that use mundane tech and are triggered by the removal of magic." She frowned, "to say nothing of Xayushu. Let me check my notes..."

She fiddled with her tablet for a bit of time, looking for more to discuss, until it rang. "Oh," she said. "Our CEO is interested." She opened a Skype-like applications (with surprisingly good transmission quality despite its truly brutal encryption) and propped the tablet up to reveal the face of Sigmund Clark. The light of whatever room he was sitting in seemed so natural it was like he was sitting outside on a cloudless day, and behind him was a screen displaying a computer-generated scene of a bucolic, middle-American farmland. The animation and quality of the display were so smooth that, were it not for the subtle cel-shading and softened palette, the screen could easily have been mistaken for a window.

Sigmund was a remarkably handsome man with bright green eyes, deep olive skin, and elegant features that suggested a mixture of Navajo, Hispanic, and German ancestry. His face seemed to be that of a man no more than a healthy forty, but his hair had gone past gray and into shock white, though it showed no signs of receding and was tied behind his head in a long ponytail. The effect might have brought to mind an aging hippie, yet it fit strangely well with his sleek, ultramodern black suit, which he wore a hand-picked professional tie and two lapel pins: an American flag, and below it, a smaller rainbow triangle.

"Good morning," Sigmund said. "Ksana and Peter from Nhesvrasila, I presume?" The pronounciation of both Menyic words was remarkably good for someone encountering them for the first time. His demeanor was friendly, but not unduly so. "I'm very interested in these devices you spoke of, these," he checked the transcription his (highly advanced) speech-to-text software had given him, "N38 devices. Magflashes." (The software was the reason his call had come before he'd had long enough to listen to the whole thing — he was a fast reader, and had just double-checked parts to make sure they'd be transcribed properly when there was doubt.) "But before we proceed, two questions. Firstly, are you still interested in the AMON devices Ms. Winters described?"

To be honest, he was an eager seller — he had ideological reasons to favor the spread of anti-magical technology in general. It didn't show, though; having matched wits with countless business rivals, congresspeople, and every American presidential administration since Reagan had made him very, very good at hiding such thoughts. He fully intended to get a good deal out of Nhesvrasila.

"And secondly, can we arrange some sort of demonstration before we negotiate the fine details of this purchase?"

edited 3rd Feb '15 7:31:22 PM by KillerClowns

Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#866: Feb 3rd 2015 at 9:39:01 PM

[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels (Interior)]

"Oh, that makes sense," Hvpvdqia said to Madame voSudir, "thanks for telling me!"

Then, looking at the exhibits, she said to the disk, "how about D. All of the Above, and A. Verbal Description, and also click Yes to All on both of those. Thanks!"


[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Veneris, Iono)

"This must be a different universe for certain," Iono said, "as I've never heard of a Maurosian Hegemony or the Arthian Republic."

"Earth, though, does sounds vaguely familiar," she said, "yes... I think I was originally from there, although that was a long time ago."

"That is an interesting story, thanks for telling me," she said, smiling at Veneris, "although I haven't heard of such gender restrictions... pretty much ever. I have a feeling that's practically ancient history where I was from."

"It sounds like this Western Amalgamated helped you out - thanks for helping me out here as well," she said, "although I'm a bit unsure of what they do - I thought I heard something about 'Agricultural Supply' earlier?"

"Does that mean they... grow food?" Iono said, with an emphasis sounding like she was describing something quaint, like driving a horse-and-buggy or making shoes by hand.

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
#867: Feb 3rd 2015 at 9:40:48 PM

[Entertainment Hall—Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Nice. :p Well, perhaps her theory is true and Ejra is mistaken—he's not had a lot of experience with aliens, despite his easy demeanor and salesman-like confidence. So I'm, uh, taking some artistic license with the card Cloak of Invisibility here; the actual card is an aura enchantment that gives the creature phasing and makes it blockable only by Walls, which would be super weird to try to write into a narrative. I'm simplifying it to just be a cloak that makes you invisible when you wear it.

Ejra's mouth was a near-perfect 'O'. But for a man who had probably never heard the word 'evolution', he seemed to follow her explanation reasonably well.

"That could explain it, indeed, indeed," he said, bobbing his head as he rifled through the shelves again. "As far as your blood's concerned, perhaps several generations back they weren't even the same species—maybe the memories can't translate. Hm. Hmmm." He bumped his head lightly against the shelf above, grumbled softly at nothing.

"Ah! Yes, five, there are. What you tasted was blue mana—the color of water and air, wind and flight. Intellect, manipulation, reason, science. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge. There's also white mana, color of the sun and of the desert, open fields, order, faith, and protecting the weak. Black is the color of death and disease, ambition and power as an end in itself—not evil, mind you, but selfish and not concerned with petty things like morality. Red mana comes from fire and rock, destruction and chaos, wild, unrestrained, violent emotion, impulsive and free. And green mana is the color of the earth, the forest, and all the animals that roam it, bestial, vicious but not malicious; green mages believe in the natural order, brutal though it may sometimes be. Ha! Aha! I haven't seen this in years! Oh, aye, now there's a clever joke."

Without missing a beat at the end of his spiel, he straightened, one fist clutched around... what looked like a rag. It was only a few inches to a side. He looked quite pleased to have found it, though. He held it out to her, beaming, and surreptitiously plucked the useless Ancestral Recall, placing it back on the shelf.

"This," he said proudly, "is a cloak of invisibility! I'm sure you can imagine what it does," he said. "Now, you use it the same way as the last, but instead of an instant spell, which has its effect and then fades like so much smoke in the wind, this is an enchantment—when you cast it, this rag will become a proper cloak, suited in size and shape to its wearer. Put the cloak on and you'll be invisible. It will last until you take it off, at which point it'll revert to its grimoire form"—he tapped on the little rag when he said the word, as if that explained it—"then you'll need to cast the spell again if you want the cloak back. And the best thing about it is that, except for the size and shape of the cloak, it always manifests the same way—no quibbling about what mana feels like or whether my ancestors sound the same as yours, no doubting whether it worked!"

edited 3rd Feb '15 9:43:21 PM by SolipSchism

TeraChimera Since: Oct, 2010
#868: Feb 3rd 2015 at 9:47:39 PM

[Entertainment Hall — Ship of Marvels]

"Uh-huh," said Marion. You'd think scientists would pay big money for that sort of thing. If it's real, of course. She sighed slightly and rustled her wings as she followed voSudir to the next room. She was getting bored. This wasn't exactly doing much for her.

And the obscenely upbeat woman in the tour wasn't doing anything to help. Seriously, for the love of the gods, did she say everything as if she was high as a kite? Give some marijuana, strap her to an exercise bike, and you'd power New York for a year. "You seem excited," Marion said to Hvpvdqia as she looked at the dark blue sphere. "You always this-" -irritatingly- "-peppy?"

[Showcase Hall — Western Amalgamated tent]

Peter was about to speak when Sigmund came on. Adjusting his seat slightly so he was talking to both Sigmund and Xiong, he said, "The grenade does indeed destroy active spells. The disruption that makes mages unable to summon magic also applies to already-cast magic, causing them to lose their coherency, and any spells entering the affected area will be similarly destroyed."

He adjusted his chair again, this time facing Sigmund's image more fully. "Regarding the gas, I hate to disappoint, sir, but we cannot justify its expense, unless it is incredibly cheap. Now, this is not a matter of moral principles, ethics, or something similar. This is biology. We cannot be sure that it does not adversely affect chimeras in any way. We could, potentially, spend a lot of money on something that is utterly useless to us."

"Or," added Ksana, "you can look at it this way." She took a small, soft-sided cooler from the duffel bag and pulled out a container each of sour cream, extra-hot salsa, and guacamole. "All three of these are common condiments for humans. But, to me, this-" She tapped the sour cream. "-is indigestible. As a reptile, I'm lactose intolerant. This-" Salsa. "-is incredibly bland. I can't taste the chemical that makes peppers spicy, so I'm missing out on the purpose of salsa. And this-" Guacamole. "-is toxic, possibly fatally so. Its primary ingredient, the avocado, contains a chemical that is toxic to chimeras, but harmless to humans." She paused. "Chimeras never go to Mexican restaurants."

Peter concealed a small snort. "Precisely. There are too many potential complications, and we simply don't have the biologists or chemists necessary to figure out what your AMON could do to a chimeric system. As for a demonstration..." He cast a concerned look at Ksana. "You're sure you're fine with it?"

Ksana flared her wings. "I've had worse, and I've done this before." Turning to Xiong, she said, "We could do it right here, if you want to. However, given the nature of the fair, detonating a powerful antimagical weapon in a crowd might, ah, not be conducive to a positive atmosphere. We can go somewhere more private or simply away from the crowds, if you want."

edited 4th Feb '15 11:16:17 AM by TeraChimera

StrixObscuro from Somewhere in Massachusetts Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
#869: Feb 3rd 2015 at 11:49:00 PM

Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby (Nioba, Lihiri, Rey, Adrien)

Nioba cursed. "He could be headed back to report on us. I wouldn't recommend engaging him just yet. With our luck, he's probably a Furor-class. They may look scrawny, but they were designed to kill my people, and thus are extremely fast and durable. The last time Lihiri and I faced one, it nearly killed us, and we had to infect it with a plague, impale it on a spear, light it on fire, and then drop a building on it before the damn thing finally died..."

"We're going to need really powerful weapons," Lihiri said bluntly.

"The best bet of taking down any Zinji asset without inflicting massive property damage is to take out its operator. The Empire likes to keep a tight leash on its Furors, so Blondie's operator is probably in the area. It's probably not Nazerno, unfortunately - there's no way the Empire would trust him with control over a Furor - so we may have to go looking. It's not hard to find an Azikathi - they're tall, gaunt, and pale, and of course, they've got pointy ears."

"They're also ugly," Lihiri murmured.

"Failing that, there is a second option - my people created a device that can disable any Zinji unit. I don't own one, for obvious reasons, but I do happen to know a certain merchant who'd be unscrupulous enough to try and sell one here. The catch is, there's no way he's going to sell it cheaply, so you'd probably have to either pay a lot of money for it or steal it. I have no objections to stealing it; it should never have ended up on the market to begin with...

"Of course, all of this is merely planning for an encounter with a drunk old slaver and a Furor. We'll help you and your partner, of course, but if the Empire has truly decided to send its assets here, things could potentially get very ugly..."

Nioba sighed. "I'm sorry you've gotten mixed up in this. This is a mess I created many years ago, and it should not fall upon anyone else to clean it up. How shall we proceed?"

By now, it should be clear to all except the most dense of us that sheep are secretly conspiring to kill us all and steal our pants.
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#870: Feb 4th 2015 at 11:28:28 AM

[Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby (Nioba, Lihiri, Rey, Adrien)]

Rey groaned and pressed her hand to her head again. "What? Are you fragging serious? I just got up!"

She slumped even further into her chair. "Right, okay. Proceeding. We do have weapons able to cause massive property damage. Kel's basically wearing a tank, and one of the things we sent for last night was an automissile launcher." She grinned. "Say what else you want about the Gluvpaki Theocracy, but they're pretty generous when it comes to their hired security." Just hope it doesn't wind up leading to an inquisition later. Ah well, later is a problem for later.

"But I don't think any of us actually want that, so yeah. I haven't seen anyone matching your description of the handler, but I can send Kel out to this stall you mentioned, if you give me the location. The bad guys haven't seen the two of us together yet, so it shouldn't make them any more suspicious then they already are."

She patted the table in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture, though it was a bit feeble. "And don't, uh, blame yourself for anything. We'd have done this either way. Some people just need killing."

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ghiln tilted her head. "Oh. Now that sounds interesting."

For the first time, she considered actually buying something. There was almost certainly no way that the invisibility cloak would work in her reality, and it wasn't as if there weren't technological methods to essentially achieve the same effect. But still, it could do quite a lot of good for the Qvn Jxilkr to have such a thing, and that was one of the considerations for when she was here.

She took the rag and did her best to try and repeat what she'd done before, stroking the pendant gently. The sensation of the 'mana' was no less startling - or fascinating - the second time around, but she did her best to focus on simply moving it into the 'cloak'. It apparently worked, as the rag suddenly expanded like a magician's trick cloth (and that was a very fitting analogy, apparently) into a cloak about her size. It was silvery and glittery, exactly like she would have imagined an invisibility cloak from her readings.

Is that a coincidence, I wonder?

She put it on, not noticing any immediate change. "Did it work?"

[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels (Interior)]

"Expression of glee!" the disk said excitedly, whirling in place. It illuminated the exhibits one by one with its laser. "The large silver-appearing fragment you see before you is among the greatest unsolved mysteries in this place! Like the rakan skull, it was discovered nearly 103.4 years ago at a rakan stargate! It was floating in space and appeared to be debris from an ancient starship - but analysis of its material composition suggests it was not of rakan origin! You thus see before you the only known relic of an alien civilization long since vanished from the galaxy! Who were they? Where were they from? Were they allies or enemies to the rakan? These mysteries remain mysterious even today!"

The disk turned towards the glass cubes. "Here, you see three pieces of artwork, all unique! The hovering sphere is another relic of precursor origin, recovered from the ruins of the immithien civilization known as the Hrimmi Utility, which collapsed nearly two thousand years ago! Many of these spheres have been discovered over the succeeding millennia; while archaeologists believe they are simple works of art, they remain mystified at why they incorporate a power source that could last for such a long time! This sphere is the only one of its color ever to have been discovered!"

"Or perhaps painted," Madame voSudir muttered, her voice pitched for only Marion to hear.

"Finally, these glassworks are of comparatively recent origin!" the disk continued. "Between the Alliance Standard Years 272 and 275, the shvuim artist Ghez Yanariem created exactly 48 individual, finely crafted glass sculptures, each one entirely unique! Then she stopped and declared her artistic talent exhausted, retiring to instead become a florist! Today, an authentic Yanariem glass sculpture can sell for incredible prices! You are truly fortunate to see two at once, intrepid visitor!"

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
#871: Feb 4th 2015 at 11:43:31 AM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ejra nodded. He was still looking directly at her, but that was only because she hadn't moved. "Like a charm," he said, sounding a little too smug about the obligatory pun. "But don't take my word for it—look down at your limbs. Through the cloak, of course. I'd ask that you don't leave the shop," he added, with a grin to make it clear he didn't actually expect her to try to make off with the merchandise whilst she had a prime opportunity to rob him.

"Now, having that sapphire is nice, but if you want to learn to use this type of magic, you'll want to learn to draw the mana from your own memories. It takes more concentration, but in the long run you don't want to be relying on artifacts like this for your mana. Using artifacts like that for mana is a crutch, and one day you'll want more than the trickle it can provide. Basically, you meditate on places you've been—mana comes from the land, from the water, from the forest. Of course, you'll only get certain colors from certain places—white from deserts or plains, blue from islands, oceans and rivers, black from swamps and marshes, red from mountains, and green from forests or jungles. The more places you remember, and the stronger the memories, the more mana you'll be able to draw from them. You sort of... well, meditate on the place. Remember what being there felt like, and mentally put yourself back there. When you touch the spell, you can channel the mana straight from the place, through you, and into the spell, no matter where you are. Deceptively simple, no?"

edited 4th Feb '15 11:43:57 AM by SolipSchism

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#872: Feb 4th 2015 at 1:54:18 PM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Obediently, Ghiln held up one of her hands in front of her face - or at least she thought she had, as there was, indeed, nothing visible. (Of course, she could still feel it, but that didn't sound as good). She let out a long trilling noise of surprise and even what might have been genuinely awe. Perhaps it was a bit odd to be so impressed over something that - unlike magic itself - was quite possible where she came from - but it was hard not to be. I did it. I really did magic. Me, of all people!

The moment of surreality was broken by Ejra's joke about running off with the cloak, and she gave a suitably amused hiss, though she didn't actually think joking about theft was that funny. He really had been awfully trusting in letting her test the cloak like this. Pulling it off - and blinking briefly as it dwindled back to its former appearance - she considered his next statement.

"That may be a problem," she replied cautiously. "I mean, I don't know if I'll be ever doing - doing magic in the future; I don't think it exists where I come from." Although now she had to wonder, at least a little; in everything she'd read about Gate travel she'd never heard of this sort of thing happening before. "But if I did, I don't know if I really have those sort of memories. I've been on enough planets that I don't think they're weird anymore, but I've lived most of my life in space. There aren't a lot of landscapes in my past."

SolipSchism Since: Jun, 2014
#873: Feb 4th 2015 at 2:07:12 PM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ejra hrmed to himself, pursing his lips.

"Interesting," he mused. "If you've been anywhere that approximates such places, usually it suffices. A pool, maybe, or a garden, even if it's artificial. But, well, there is such a thing as colorless mana that can be drawn from such places, cities and barren land and the like—though if it's all you can call up, your options for spellcasting are greatly limited. Mostly to artifacts and—" He paused, looking a bit uncomfortable. "...certain other spells that I, er, don't recommend using... much."

But he tapped the side of his nose, moving on. "Ah, I'm inclined to think magic exists everywhere, but it doesn't always manifest itself plainly enough for folks to know about it—and when they do, often enough they mistake it for miracles, or devilry, or some kind of technology they just don't understand. I once visited a town of folks that thought I was a god because I could conjure fire! Imagine—old Ejra, a god. Me! Of course, then a proper 'walker showed up and put me in my place," he added grumpily. "But, who knows? The multiverse is vast and varied—perhaps there really are planes where this magic can't go. I've yet to find such a place, though. If I had, I don't expect I would have been able to leave!"

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#874: Feb 4th 2015 at 6:05:17 PM

[Entertainment Hall — Ejra Demori's Fantastic Emporium]

Ghiln hrmed. "Well, if magic does exist in my universe, I haven't ever heard of any evidence of it," she said. "Although..." she paused. "There are some odd stories from the Great War. The Gates did play a role in it, after all, and although not much seems to be publicly known anymore about the 'Weirdworld' that played a role in it, I suppose it's possible that something like magic existed there, and that some of the beings that came over could still do it in our reality."

Now that she thought about it, the idea was actually really intriguing; she'd have to bring it up for discussion onlink the next time she had some free time at the hotel. For now, though, she set it aside. This was going surprisingly well as her conversations went, but it had still gotten a little unfocused. Back to business.

She folded her arms in front of her nervously, then let them fall back to her sides. "Zer Demori? Do you have any recommendations for what I should buy, then?" Obviously she'd have to approach what he said with a certain suspicion, since he'd probably be trying to sell her his most expensive things, but he seemed like the best source to ask all the same.

Economic transactions are so awkward.

Yomegami Since: Jan, 2011
#875: Feb 4th 2015 at 6:33:07 PM

Market Hall (Youkai Showcase)

"The gods I know are residents of the higher plane. In some respects they are just as flawed as mortals; they may even be mortal themselves. But most of them care enough about our world to keep its foundations stable," Mahiro replied, "And the youkai do not question their existence. Some of us can even claim to have met them personally. As for what I think of 'spirits'...."

He frowned. "I hear humans sometimes refer to youkai as 'spirits,' simply because we possess abilities they might see as 'mystical.' But as far as I'm concerned, 'spirit' refers to beings such as ghosts."

Nagako originally was simply going to let her father talk with the woman. The subject was not something she claimed to know a lot about, and honestly never really liked discussing. If the woman was going to stick around for a little while longer, however, she did have an opportunity to ask her about that...thing. As uncertain as she was about whether or not she wanted to know what it was, she was awfully curious about it.

In the end, her curiosity won out. She moved to the front of the stall, close to her father, before glancing at the woman. "I don't think it's related to this conversation all that much, but I couldn't help but notice that picture you showed to the other person who was here earlier. If you don't mind me asking...Just what in Yomi was that thing?"

edited 4th Feb '15 6:33:22 PM by Yomegami

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