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[crystallinememories]

Hello! This is Raha's phone. Sorry that I couldn't answer, but leave me a message or text me.

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Re: text; un: riftdancer

[crystallinememories]

[That is all so very curious. People don't often wind up just dragged into the spirit realm, as far as he knows, much less stumble into a different world on the way out. But then again, there are a wide variety of myths and folktales where exactly that happens--]

I'd like to say for certain they weren't, but they tend to be very profit minded and I can't say they wouldn't have tried to open gates for that purpose. [Whether they would have judged the risk worth the reward is a question he's decidedly unqualified to answer.]

Do you remember what the portal looked like? And the churn you felt- was it more of an emotion, or something physical?

[thavnairian]

it's hard to say. when other portals have opened up, which seems to happen every month or so, they usually have us run in and collect things for them if we want some coins. i know from experience they are used for spells and potions, but i'm not sure what zodiac wants with them. research maybe?

i don't remember what the portal looked like. i only got a brief glimpse of it as i was being dragged in. maybe next time i'll get dragged face first instead!

i can't say if it was emotional or physical. it felt like i wanted to vomit with anxiety so uh... both?

sorry i can't be of more help there. maybe one of the others can answer better

[crystallinememories]

Oh, please don't be sorry!!! [he's sorry that you're sorry, he's being too much again isn't he??] It's expected that it would be hard to remember such things, with how alarming it must have been.

I was just wondering, when certain tears and such open up, there's often a feeling of dread that comes with them. And tears suggest something do that intentionally. But then again, being pulled into a portal would be bound to cause some anxiety.

[thavnairian]

would you believe me if i said this wasn't the first time? this is my longest stay yet, though. and the last time i traveled to a new world it was more by choice... i saw what was coming, at least.

... a feeling of dread, huh?

[He thinks about that for a moment.]

i was a little nervous, maybe, but it was about something else entirely... you're saying that just being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the right amount of anxiety could have propelled me across dimensions?

[crystallinememories]

You've done this before?? How did you cross worlds the first time?

[gods if only he knew.]

No, nothing like that. More that when something opens a tear from the Spirit Realm to our world, those it intends to go after are beset with the feeling of being watched, even before the creature has physically located them.

[thavnairian]

haha, funny story about that actually... i have no idea what was done exactly. ancestral magic, a hundred of years of study, cooperation between humanity and everything else, and multiple generations of scientific research all came together for my newly-ascended space wizard friend to pluck me from across time and space and deposit me in the middle of nowhere. he made it look easy!

[......]




oh. shite.

well

yes, i definitely felt watched, but i didn't think much of it because people are always trying to kill me.

[THAT DOESN'T HELP????]

[crystallinememories]

[...

......

............

ok he's going to spend SO many hours tonight looking through his various notes, because he swears that this is somehow a familiar tale even though he has no idea why any of that would make it into folklore. Maybe he's gotten it mixed up with one of the rare 'for fun' books he managed to squeeze in...]

Again, I don't know where to start with that. Are people in your world longer lived than here? [assuming that the 'hundreds of years of study,' is different from 'multiple generations of research' for a reason.]

why on earth would people be trying to kill you?? [he is becoming increasingly concerned amal!!]

[thavnairian]

not really. he's... how do i put it

he's a sort of... prince... by bloodline. and that blood gives him the power to do things other people can't. he gambled everything he had for a second chance for everyone, and it paid off. that's all i can say on that!

[Ask him yourself, Raha.]

my face is very punchable

also i'm wanted in two countries and several territories but it's not as bad as it sounds!!! it's because the empire keeps trying to take over everyone else and i keep breaking their toys

[crystallinememories]

[he is going to be so embarrassed by both your explanation and his confusion once he remembers some things.]

I see. I won't press, then. [even though he would REALLY like a better explanation than that.

Though what explanation he does get about the 'Empire' explains quite a lot. A background in history will do that.]

I see. What is this Empire like, if I may ask?

Though I will firmly disagree on your face being punchable.

[thavnairian]

sorry! it's not my place to say, even if i knew anything about what he did specifically. i'm not a scholar in the slightest and i'm afraid i'd probably just confuse you more

[Not a lie but also not the complete truth, either... He's afraid Raha will remember something right now, since he learned that's a thing that can happen.]

rigid, organized, and hell bent on forcing everyone to be supposedly "equal" under their system... except that pureblooded garleans will always get preferential treatment over those they conquer and draft into their wars. they claim that everyone else's ways are antiquated, but their caste system is no better than anyone else's. and by forcing the people they defeat into becoming their army, it's a self-sustaining machine of war when they get started.

it's only recently that rebellion has begun to loosen the empire's grip on everyone else.

i should also mention that magic, which we call aether, can be harnessed by most people on my world except for the garleans. so they turned to technology and innovation in order to defend themselves, then they wanted more, and of course nothing says "submit or die" better than a large cannon pointed at one's capital city

the island i hail from has an oath of neutrality to keep trade flowing all over, but i'll be honest... the empire's military make trouble anywhere they go, acting like they own the place

also, thank you for the bit about my face. i'll take it as a compliment

[crystallinememories]

[Yup that certainly has some similarities to empires or empire-wannabes from this world, so... yeah he endorses breaking their toys.]

That is how many empires tend to operate, though here they are pretty much entirely reliant on weaponry and propaganda. At least on the surface, though I'm sure many of them would publicly decry magic if they knew it existed.

It was meant to be, though now I'm worried it didn't sound like one!

[thavnairian]

oh i have no doubt there's propaganda, too. there would probably be more if they believed we could read

actually... did you know about magic before a few days ago? normally i have natives telling me i don't exist, so... you know... this is an improvement. not complaining, just curious!

don't worry, even if it wasn't you're cute enough that anyone would forgive you

[crystallinememories]

[Amal can probably hear the resulting fluster even over text. He does not know how to respond!! To being called cute!! Luckily he knows how to talk about magic instead.]

I did. My family tends to have a bit of a knack for the paranormal, and I've known about it since I was young. My degree is actually focusing on stories I believe may be related to people's experience with the Spirit Realm.

[thavnairian]

[He can't help it. Or rather he can but he won't. Just because Raha doesn't remember him doesn't mean Amal won't tease.]

that... makes a lot of sense! i expected more panic. there's usually more panic. then they see my pointy ears and panic more

if you plan on diving headfirst into any of the portals that pop up, make sure you go with someone who can fight. i'm not bad with a sword, but i don't mind lending you a knife or two either

[crystallinememories]

I'll admit, pointed ears are not something that's common but it's hardly something I'd panic over.

I may need to take you up on that. I know a little bit of magic, but nothing that would be helpful in a fight. [not that having a knife would really help him much.]

[thavnairian]

all your brotherhood of the bracelet movers are real! though i think i'm better looking than the blonde guy who makes the same face in every scene, but that's just my personal opinion.

[He likes the hobbits the most.]

you've been studying magic already? what kind of things do you know?

[GODS ABOVE, he really is an insatiable nerd no matter the world.]

[crystallinememories]

You only think so? [he doesn't know Amal super well yet, but he feels like he'd have more certainty over something like that.

Also yes the hobbits are great.]

Ah, really all I've done is made my eyesight better, so I can see the same in the dark as in light. I've been too caught up in research to learn much else.

[Also guess why that's the skill he picked up. Just guess.]

[thavnairian]

oh please don't feed my ego, darling. i need to be able to fit into a size 18 for work~

[... Yeah this sounds like a G'raha Solution to a G'raha Problem, honestly.]

did one too many people tell you that reading in the dark is bad for your eyes?

that could be useful though! i'm sure a few days ago you didn't consider regular run-ins with monsters to be a concern, but now... well, that's what people like me are for

[crystallinememories]

Well, they did, but it was more the difficulty of it that really swayed me.

[How could you have possibly known.

I hadn't really considered that. I suppose the awareness will be helpful, if nothing else.

[thavnairian]

wow. you really are something... just don't get hurt trying to prove yourself to people with their eyes closed, all right?

i certainly can't see in the dark, so you've got a leg up already

[crystallinememories]

I don't know why I'd try to prove such a thing nor how I could hurt myself doing it.

Then perhaps I'll manage to be of some help after all.

[thavnairian]

[Hah. If only he knew the ways.]

magic can be dangerous. and also fun! just be careful.

i have no doubt about that.

[crystallinememories]

[Look he's not the one who repeatedly throws himself into the lifestream ok. Though he does realize they've gotten a bit off topic.]

Are you well versed in the magic from your world?

And I was going to offer, especially since you've been so willing to answer my myriad of questions, that if you need help adjusting to anything here that I'd be happy to help. I realize you've been here quite a while so you may not need as much of it, but I did offer to help someone else with computers as they're rather necessary for most things around here.

[thavnairian]

sadly no. i'm more of a... dabbler. my friends at home are the brilliant ones, i just learned how to mend wounds a little so i wouldn't be stuck watching on the sidelines all the time

hmmm... that's not a bad offer. i'm pretty handy with these phone things by now, but i don't own a computer. we have them back home but they're... inelegant, room-sized things trying to read data from thousands of years ago... or they're evil and want to destroy all life. i decided not to bother with one here just in case.

[A pause.]

do you need a place to live? there are still a couple of empty bedrooms in the house i bought. no pressure, though! we're strangers stuck in the same annoying situation.

[Amal to Amal: STOP LYING STOP LYING STOP LYING STOP LYING]

[crystallinememories]

[You just keep giving him more and more questions about your world, Amal...]

You say that like it's nothing. Hopefully I'll never had need to see you use such skills, but from what I've heard of things so far I doubt we'd be so lucky.

There are still some rather large computers around for particularly complicated tasks, but the sort most people use are significantly smaller. And I'm 95% sure that none of them are evil.

[He's... mostly joking? Sometimes he hears about new projects in AI and gets a bit concerned though.]

I'm in a flat right now, but my roommate is set to defend and graduate soon, so I actually do need to start looking for roommates or a new place to stay. Are you sure it wouldn't be a bother?

[He assumes Amal is likely just casually looking for roommates to help pay rent, and it would make certain elements a lot easier to stay with people who are paranormally aware, much less whatever else this network and all will get them wrapped up in...]