The endless waste

[aestrix]

Once, this planet teemed with life. It doesn't do that, anymore. The ground is dry and cracked and occasionally broken up by charred remains of trees. There are no birds, no bugs, no living plants - nothing but an empty, endless waste.

With one exception.

But the world is so very big, and the exception so very small. If someone showed up away from it, they could be quite forgiven for thinking this world is completely dead.




with Sable (Kappa)

with Aisilian (Link)

with Grendyne (Rockeye)

with Temple (Curiousdiscoverer)

Comments

[greatestgift]

Sable expands her Last Prism to its full size, aims the glowing pyramid at the shadow, and calls on its magic.

There is quite a lot of bright light, in flickering colourful beams that swirl and dance, kicking up a rainbow of sparks where they rake the ground.

[aestrix]

The shadow makes a faint hissing sound as it dies. It lingers longer than an ordinary shadow, a spot of black that shrivels and smokes in the bright light, but it soon shrivels away to nothing.

Well. That was easy, wasn't it?

[greatestgift]

Yes it was. How convenient.

[light_another_life]

Others show up, creeping along the edges of the light. They die just as easily.




And here is the lady of the house, carrying a plate of food that contains zero duck, rabbit, blueberries, mushrooms, or fish!

"Here you are," she says, and she offers up the plate.

[greatestgift]

"Thank you! The Last Prism kills shadow creatures very handily."

Nom nom food.

[light_another_life]

"Oh, good. That's useful. Probably makes night runs possible, though I wouldn't be able to feed nodes essence potions that often - they take some time and effort to make." She flies up to the wall to sit and eat. Her own food's less extravagant than Sable's, but she doesn't particularly seem to care. Nom, nom.

[greatestgift]

Sable is highly enthusiastic about the food.

[light_another_life]

Sable's host seems quietly happy about this. She nibbles at her own banana nut bread, vaguely smug.

"It's weird to have company in the material world now," she observes.

[greatestgift]

"How long have you been going like this?"

[light_another_life]

"Mmm. Sort of lost track, if I'm honest. There's just no reason to measure the time." She stops to estimate and convert time to appropriate units. "... Thirty-something years? Ish? Not very long, but I couldn't actually say it's been short, either. And I still have a long way to go."

[greatestgift]

"Well, that's longer than I was all alone in a hostile world, so good for you holding up this well."

[light_another_life]

Shrug. "Thank you. I'm not really alone, though. I mean, I am physically, but not when I'm asleep. I can talk to everyone that's asleep in the dream world, wander about, make friends, exchange book recommendations, get lessons in magic. It's lonelier than I'd like, but I can't accurately say I'm alone."

[greatestgift]

"That must be nice."

[light_another_life]

"Usually. In the first few years I had a problem of getting too much attention when I'd go to sleep. Having a dozen people waiting right for when you appear and then overwhelming you with 'Here's all of the theoretical notes on hungry nodes' and 'Can you see about finding my old house, I have an heirloom I lost that I'd like back' and 'You should keep your sleep short I don't trust the protections you have up' - that sort of thing. All well meaning, but no less overwhelming. Most of it wasn't even helpful, because I really don't need to know the theory of hungry nodes when my current problem is 'I have no roof and no food and there are shadow monsters that show up at night that want to kill me.'"

[greatestgift]

"...And you couldn't, I don't know, appear somewhere else?"

[light_another_life]

"Other people can, I can't. Due to my weirdness. I can change where I appear by going to sleep somewhere else in the material world, but when there is exactly one safe place to sleep in the world..."

[greatestgift]

"I see. Yes, that's... unfortunate."

[light_another_life]

"Yeah. I handled it. And everyone's calmed down by now, and they know to give me my space, so it's all settled."

[greatestgift]

"Oh good."

[light_another_life]

"Yeah. I have a mail box now."

[greatestgift]

"Useful!"

[light_another_life]

Nod.

Bread nibble. Nom nom.

She realizes something somewhat abruptly.

"My name's Saevetei," she volunteers.

[greatestgift]

Oh.

"I'm Sable."

[light_another_life]

"Nice to, er, meet you. Even though we've gone on node feeding adventures already."

[greatestgift]

"Yes. That."