random pointless swirls

[sturdycoldsteel]

The shaper known as Steel is flying down the right side of a road, shoring up the edges of the bluestream that lets her lift herself off the ground as she goes. Sure, she'll be a bit clumsy and weak when she gets to Opri, but she's not planning on doing much more stream-shaping today, so might as well.

She glances at the bluestream (the magical vision blinds her physical vision for a short moment, but not long enough to crash into anything) and determines that this next crossroads is where she needs to turn. She tilts to the right...

...And lands on a patch of orange grass in a forest clearing. This is not the town of Opri. She opens her eyes and ears to the bluestream, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

The bluestream here isn't a nice, orderly, useful pattern like on the roads, or the formless fog that it usually decays to after a while. Instead it's a riot of random patterns swirling around, wispy and confused and obviously not designed to do anything useful.

Steel, deaf and blind for a few seconds thanks to her peek at the bluestream, stands very still and is very confused.

Comments

[imeanforever]

"The wings being a problem in terms of whether I'd be allowed and not whether it'd work?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"The wings are a problem for being allowed. You not being a human is why it might not work. We have different biology, probably. Not to mention fairies are very magic, and humans not at all until they become shapers."

[imeanforever]

"Why wouldn't I be allowed with visible wings?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Because only people who already have it can safely withstand any significant body-mods. They'll ask lots of weird questions and it'll just be a massive pain. Much easier to hide them."

[imeanforever]

"Well, I could turn them invisible, but that'll leave its own harmonic marks if anyone happens to look."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Yeah, that's a problem. I wonder if I could build one. We don't have that many because they're a limited amount of useful, not because they're hard to build. Is there any bluestone around here?"

[imeanforever]

"I'm not exactly up on kinds of stone. There are stones that are blue..."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Sounds like a research project. I'd need books from home anyway. I'll go try to sorcer lights and let you ponder gate-making, for now."

[imeanforever]

"Sounds like a plan."

Ponder ponder.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel leaves. Promise won't hear from her for two days or until she goes looking.

[imeanforever]

Promise frets a little, but not enough to go looking, in that time.

[sturdycoldsteel]

And then she's back, reporting, "I managed to get the sorcerous light thing working. I tried fire next, and that was easy." A circle of fire appears above her head as a demonstration. "It feels weird how it doesn't cost emotions to do sorcery."

[imeanforever]

"I'm pretty disturbed at the idea of any magic costing emotions to do. I still want to try going in a stone circle if I can, but only so I can see and flatten and fog harmonics for my convenience."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I still say it doesn't hurt you if you don't overdo it, it just calms you down very thoroughly. There's been studies of people who used magic all day, every day for decades and they don't have a higher risk for depression or anger issues or anything like that. The cost is actually really useful if you're anxious and scared."

[imeanforever]

"...Point. But I wouldn't want to get into the habit of relying on it."

[sturdycoldsteel]

Shrug. "Your choice, of course. Now, I've got lightshows and fire down, what's next in terms of sorcering?"

[imeanforever]

"Do you want to learn to candy dewdrops, or patch clothes, or purify water, or what?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I want to learn all the things. Maybe I should just read some more of your sorcery books? Oh, and I'll need paper and ink if you want those maps."

[imeanforever]

Promise hands her a book, and some paper and ink.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel goes back outside with her book, returning every few hours for a new one. Read, read, read. (draw, draw, draw)

[imeanforever]

Study, study, study. Quite the bookworms.

[sturdycoldsteel]

There occurs a very, very loud noise from the section of the forest containing Steel.

When Promise comes to investigate, she'll find a circle of earth scorched bare of all plantlife, and evidence of recently extinguished fires nearby. "I tried to combine sorcery and bluestream to make a flying machine. It blew up in my face. Sorry."

[imeanforever]

"...What happened? And is my book okay?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Your book's fine, I was holding it inside my force-shell. I wasn't careful enough with the floaty stuff you can turn water into with bluestream. It's flammable, but it shouldn't have been that flammable."

[imeanforever]

"Floaty stuff?"