Let's Do The Space Warp Again

[iamnotpolaris]

'Guided random' selected, parameters recalibrated, universe selection initiated.
What's on the other side now?

Comments

[whatamithinking]

"Hopefully it won't come to a fight. But nothing says all three of us have to be there."

[not_only]

"Then maybe you'd better go on without me."

[iamnotpolaris]

After a moment, Emily pulls her sleeve up, unbuckles her armband, and hands it to him.
"We're not going to get killed, but if you think it's dangerous it might be a good idea to have a slightly quicker getaway plan. Finding another armband takes less searching than a bead."

[whatamithinking]

And then the sisters should probably go elsewhere, since the minds (she can't quite tell how many, which is profoundly weird) are approaching fast, and there's no point in trying to talk to the visitors before the Endarkened does if they are standing right next to the Endarkened in question.

[pythbox]

There is a nice beach to wait on.

And shortly, there is a large red dragon approaching the beach, carrying something (someone? multiple someones?) gently in her claws.

She spots the humans on the beach and angles toward them.

[whatamithinking]

The humans will wait for them to get there.

[pythbox]

The dragon glides to a neat landing and very carefully sets down the unicorn she was carrying.

The unicorn flumphs unhappily onto the sand and complains in an unfamiliar language.

[whatamithinking]

'Hello,' Edie sends. 'How many people are you? It's usually not this hard to tell.'

[pythbox]

'I am exactly one unicorn!'

[whatamithinking]

'Hi, unicorn. What are you doing here?'

[pythbox]

'Being very very airsick! And I think I have some messages for you from the Wild Magic but mostly it's the being very airsick part that is on my mind right now!'

[whatamithinking]

'Would you like to stop being airsick? I can do that.'
To Sivath: 'Would you like to be kept informed of the conversation, even if you're not here?'

[pythbox]

'How can you do that?'

[not_only]

'If it's not too much trouble, then yes.'

[whatamithinking]

Edie summarizes everything that has already happened, and can henceforth be assumed to mirror him in on all telepathic conversation and add in anything that happens non-telepathically.
'The same way I'm speaking to you now. I'm a telepath, which means among other things that I can edit sensory input.'

[pythbox]

'...You mean I would just keep being airsick but I wouldn't notice? That sounds weird.'

[whatamithinking]

'I mean, by all means, if the negative outweighs the positive, I won't do anything without your permission.'

[pythbox]

'This is probably not the best circumstances for me to be making decisions about strange magic, so no thank you!'

He says some things aloud, perhaps for the dragon's benefit. The dragon - well, it's hard to tell, but she might be looking amused.

[whatamithinking]

'It's not technically magic.'

[pythbox]

'And for some reason the Wild Magic did not tell you not to be pedantic to airsick unicorns,' he grumps.

[whatamithinking]

'I don't even know what the Wild Magic is. Sorry, I just get that a lot.'

[pythbox]

'Well, it's—' A constant presence in the back of his mind, distant but comforting, the unfathomable force of nature whose call he must always answer because he is a unicorn and it is his duty, and he's never had to do something this big or important for it before but he's been dreading it a little bit all his life because his mother and grandfather each had dealings with their respective Champions of the Light when they were younger, but even though he is not a particularly exemplary unicorn and even though he is very airsick and wishes he could have stayed home, he is still a unicorn, so he will do whatever the Wild Magic needs him to, because it wouldn't have sent him here if it wasn't really important.

[whatamithinking]

'Well, that explains why I wasn't sure how many people you were,' she says after a tiny stunned pause.

[pythbox]

'Anyway, the Wild Magic says... I guess I can just show you what it says.'

It says:

((tangled sensory impression of (red gold black horns wings talons tail Darkness)): category empty, no more remaining (tangled sensory impression of a wash of light covering the entire planet, erasing all who embodied the Dark at that time (impression of this happening approximately two thousand years ago)))

((tangled sensory impression of (wings and shining scales and size and strength and power and Magic)) (abstract representation of a Dragonbond) (abstract representation of a second Dragonbond with the same dragon, to a different person, through a different (flavour/shape/style) of magic) (implication: this exists)))

((tangled sensory impression of characteristics of this island) (slightly different version of the tangled sensory impression that means 'dragon', with an undertone of the abstract representation of a Dragonbond) (implication: the person who is supposed to be informed of these historical events is, or can be found by asking after, a Bonded dragon living on this island)))

((tangled sensory impression of a multitude of sights and sounds that, for Liselen in particular, add up to meaning 'the whole world') (short-form reference to the sensory/abstract description of the Bonded dragon living on this island) (sense of deep importance) (sense of scale-of-hours urgency) (with unusual clarity and completeness compared to the rest of this message, a sense that (the dragon/the dragon's Bondmate) must be asked not to leave (the whole world), or, if they do leave—) (conceptual hodgepodge assembling the idea of unicorns and a few other less nameable pieces into a clause which Liselen understands as meaning that the hypothetical departing dragon-and-bondmate should be asked to arrange some way for the Wild Magic to communicate with them if it needs to))

[whatamithinking]

'...Innnteresting. Any particular idea as to why the Wild Magic was so specific about the dragon but not its Bondmate?

The Endarkened have been wiped out, that's good to know.

Any idea why it's apparently important to know that dragons can bond more than one person?'