47.7 When We're Not Around

General Summary

Hope: Day 4

We get back to the city late in the day as the sun is setting, and the others have been waiting for us. In the villa’s courtyard, No Moon and Dakirim are playing chess together with Void observing and poking No Moon, seemingly urging him to move faster. It appears that Dakirim is playing very aggressively, and No Moon is thinking things through as he always does. When Void suggests dinner, No Moon finishes the game easily and Dakirim laughs, realizing that he’s been held on the brink of loss for quite a while.   We all head out into the city and Dakirim brings us to a restaurant where we can find good food (though Void and No Moon both look somewhat disappointed in the portions). Starfire and I explain our findings, aided by her illusions of living fire. No Moon wonders if the fighting arena is an accelerated form of natural selection or if the victor is absorbing the loser’s strength - we saw no absorption, so it seems more likely to be the former. As we move South to show them the raiding party heading for the supply ship, Dakirim grows more concerned. He knows that the city can’t afford to send forces South and maintain a defence around the city. He turns to us, asking if we might be able to help.   Starfire and I had already figured we would handle the raiding party, and Void agrees. But No Moon asks if the people of the city will benefit from having us swoop in and solve the problem for them. Again, Starfire and I agree - there is nothing to be learned from forcing them to handle two battles, one of which will starve them if they lose. People here are already sacrificing and coming together in the face of their hunger, and so long as they remember and tell stories of the heroism of those who put the greater good ahead of their personal comfort…they’ve already learned what they needed to learn.   So we agree that the four of us will set out in the morning to handle the raiders. Dakirim warns me that Liva sent an attendant for me, and cautions me again that Liva is not as simple as she seems. Liva, of course, does not seem simple at all to me, and we launch into a discussion of the luminous snake woman and her methods. He certainly seems to believe wholeheartedly that she is dangerously ambitious, expedient with her killing, and willing to kill her friends to do it.   No Moon chimes in as well, pointing out that this behaviour does not seem concordant with Liva’s position as an artist - usually competition between artists creates greater things, not destruction. He suspects that they have someone on the council who thinks deeply and is going about things very particularly, rather than a short-sighted killer. Many of the kings he’s known have been warriors, mages, or scholars. Some have been artists or poets, and have done great things before their empires crumbled, often because they did not prepare a successor. They were visionaries, at least.   Void laughs at No Moon’s endless philosophy, and agrees that he lets him and Starfire do the thinking and he just destroys what he’s told to destroy.  

What happens when these two aren’t around?

  Without these two, I would probably just go home…I know I’m not really compatible with this world. I’d just wander around being sad and lost, finding someone to pull me along. Dakirim thinks that wandering sounds like a pretty good idea - maybe he’ll become a spirit emperor in his own right. Watching us consider a problem not just from a position of whether we’re strong enough, but whether our methods would produce the best outcome. Maybe he will come with us, if there’s room.   Skyfire asks if that would really be what’s best for him, his people, and his journey. He shouldn’t answer, but he should think on it. And No Moon tells him that if he thinks his own council has a scheming artists on it, he should meet the High Ministers of the Zephyr and the people who worship them. Travelling outside the desert would be good for Dakirim, but sheltering under their wings would probably not me.  

Doesn’t the same apply to Heiassa?

  Skyfire puts a hand on my shoulder and says that I’m different, for reasonsshe can’t explain. And Void agrees that I’m special - I’m the only fae that doesn’t flinch from him, so I must be a cousin of some kind. Third cousin, fourth cousin - whatever. People only track such things because they want to impose order on an otherwise chaotic world. I grin at him - it’s true - people do the same with wizardry, mysticism, and ritualism. It’s all just magic!   Void waves this off - no magic for him. As he told me before, he’s saving magic to be someone else’s thing…and I remember who: Oblivion, his twin sister. I put on a big show of not remembering, wondering why he’s asking me this, before punching him in the face and proving that of course I remember his sister’s name.   Starfire suggests that maybe when she and No Moon take downtime to have some children, Void and I can go back to visit his sister and learn magic together.  

Hope: Day 5

The clothing that Kiita has for me today is decorated with tiny silver swords and embedded with lightweight scales that act as a smooth, flexible armour.   And then the four of us take to the air, with a happy, jovial mood. No Moon is, remarkably, smaller than I expected - only 350m long. But he is still growing - soft scales that are clearly still solidifying into adult scales and a wingspan that he has not grown into. And his shadow beneath us is like living darkness that gets larger and larger as he flies higher into the sky.   When we spot the raiding party, Void leaps off of No Moon’s back and glides over to me atop of Starfire. Usually the dragons attack from the air, so the two of us can take to the ground and attack one of the sand-robed titans.   The plan works very well. We learn that the sand-robed titans are, unsurprisingly, very difficult to deal with using just my sword. Fortunately Void can tear away some of the sand and then I can take advantage of the gap in its defences. Once it is gone, every rock titan attacked to it goes berserk, like they’ve been dosed with adrenaline. It makes them much harder for me to corral and handle.   Attacking the spiritual bond, on the other hand, makes the rock titans sluggish and confused. The coordination with its fellows evaporates and suddenly we are dealing with independent (powerful) warriors and not a legion of well-trained and coordinated soldiers. And when the bond disappears, the still-attached rock titans seem to just abandon the lost one. The bonds are so feeble that they’re not difficult for me to destroy.   And it’s almost certainly something I can teach others to do, whether with magic or by using particular tools. And part of me is eager to return to the city and share what we’ve learned, but I also know that the largest sand-robed titan would certainly have felt all of these spirit pacts fray and pop under my sword. Reinforcements might be slow, but they will still be a threat to the supply ship. We’ll head to the coast and escort them into the city when they land.