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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
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imeanforever
imeanforever
Lovely.
She doesn't want to get too close. She fucks around with the composition of her scanner until it will in fact zoom that well, give her all the harmonic and pattern-of-shape if not static shape detail she might want, section by section.
...She could just toast him from here. With the amplifier she can probably melt half the planet in one go and antiheal Scion to boot. She kicks into fast-flight to get a good look at the other half of the planet. It wasn't designed to work in vacuum, but that just meant she didn't have to learn all the features that are there solely to prevent being buffetted and suffocated by wind and stop it from making noise. She twists her scanner's angle and resolution as she goes, lays down more fairylights.
She doesn't want to get too close. She fucks around with the composition of her scanner until it will in fact zoom that well, give her all the harmonic and pattern-of-shape if not static shape detail she might want, section by section.
...She could just toast him from here. With the amplifier she can probably melt half the planet in one go and antiheal Scion to boot. She kicks into fast-flight to get a good look at the other half of the planet. It wasn't designed to work in vacuum, but that just meant she didn't have to learn all the features that are there solely to prevent being buffetted and suffocated by wind and stop it from making noise. She twists her scanner's angle and resolution as she goes, lays down more fairylights.
wormcan
Everywhere the entity is is almost as boring as everywhere the entity isn't. There are human-scale features like, well, human features, but it's very repetitive. (Sedimentary rock isn't much competition, though.) The entity's presence is affecting harmonics, possibly not too surprising given that some powers do. One pattern crops up at a corner of each massive section, others are more irregular.
The forest is alive, but give no sign of containing anything conscious.
The forest is alive, but give no sign of containing anything conscious.
imeanforever
It's so big, but there is repetition to learn; he's not just too big and complicated to fit in her head at all. As long as she's looking right at him.
Yeah, she's gonna toast the bastard. She pauses her flight -
Yeah, she's gonna toast the bastard. She pauses her flight -
wormcan
And gets interrupted. Scion appears, this body looking merely human and much less impressive now that she knows what he really looks like. But it's still more than capable of protecting against being toasted. Not firing lasers or similar, he flies at her physically.
When he appears, every iteration of that one repetitive pattern reorients itself to point at Scion.
When he appears, every iteration of that one repetitive pattern reorients itself to point at Scion.
imeanforever
...That's interesting but she needs to skedaddle if she doesn't want to spend another several hours tinkering before she can make another run. Tear-and-out. To Hawthorn, although it's mostly emptied out now.
That is, now that she is not being actively flown at, interesting. The harmonics looked like they were next to each other. Cliffs are not impossible, but usually they vary more smoothly. Is Scion just always next to himself?
Because she's got some range limit, even upgraded as she is, and casting on his humanoid body is probably not a winning proposition but -
She's already forgetting bits of the pattern. She needs to be looking at it. Can she just fix her scanner so she can look through his avatar...?
...Nope. She is a para...fairy... now and parawhatevers have stupid blind spots about Scion's planet, inspecting it and traveling thereto. Great. At least it didn't cripple her gating, but it would take time to do enough original spell development to figure out windows that she didn't have to stick her head through.
But she does think she could do mental sorcery on herself.
Is Teacher still here?
That is, now that she is not being actively flown at, interesting. The harmonics looked like they were next to each other. Cliffs are not impossible, but usually they vary more smoothly. Is Scion just always next to himself?
Because she's got some range limit, even upgraded as she is, and casting on his humanoid body is probably not a winning proposition but -
She's already forgetting bits of the pattern. She needs to be looking at it. Can she just fix her scanner so she can look through his avatar...?
...Nope. She is a para...fairy... now and parawhatevers have stupid blind spots about Scion's planet, inspecting it and traveling thereto. Great. At least it didn't cripple her gating, but it would take time to do enough original spell development to figure out windows that she didn't have to stick her head through.
But she does think she could do mental sorcery on herself.
Is Teacher still here?
wormcan
Teacher has gone to Fairyland along with most everyone else, but he's easy to find. Especially for anyone among the increasing number of people with door access. He's helping direct the dubiously effective bombardment.
"Promise. Welcome back to Fairyland."
"Promise. Welcome back to Fairyland."
imeanforever
"Hi. How long does it take you to go from zero to a decent Thinker power on a new subject?"
wormcan
"Minutes at most. Decent sounds like you're giving my power a fair amount of credit, though, on an individual level at least. Have you changed your mind about having me, ah, change your mind?"
imeanforever
"You wouldn't have been able to do it before today at all, unless you managed not to tell me about an option to avoid the side effects. I think I can block them now. If I can't it won't work, but minutes says it's worth a try." She pulls her amplifier off her arm to have an easier time adjusting its configuration to fix the harmonic tangle Arcane told her about that usually prevents reflexive mental sorcery. "I want an eidetic memory. A really comprehensive eidetic memory. Retroactive if you can do it. Doable?"
wormcan
"Eidetic memory yes, comprehensive also yes. Retroactive no; that would essentially require limited postcognition, and I can't give you multiple powers.
The stronger you want it the less time it will last, and the worse the side effects would be if those applied to you. For memory, you'd have months at least before it expires."
The stronger you want it the less time it will last, and the worse the side effects would be if those applied to you. For memory, you'd have months at least before it expires."
imeanforever
"Give me all you've got, then. When I say when."
She gets the amplifier into a suitable detangling state, aims her scanner at herself, fiddles with that, and then settles into a soothing repeatable cycle of adjusting its colors and range without losing her map of the would-be tangle so she can use it. Her target, she already knows. Better than the back of her hand, which has been replaced four times in recent memory and isn't that interesting in the first place: she knows her own mind.
"When."
She gets the amplifier into a suitable detangling state, aims her scanner at herself, fiddles with that, and then settles into a soothing repeatable cycle of adjusting its colors and range without losing her map of the would-be tangle so she can use it. Her target, she already knows. Better than the back of her hand, which has been replaced four times in recent memory and isn't that interesting in the first place: she knows her own mind.
"When."
wormcan
Teacher looks closely at her head and starts doing absolutely nothing visible. He selects from among the grids and rows of powers he could give, selecting one of the more powerful available memory abilities. Attaching powers to a student is easy, but the distortions that it usually creates in their mind don't seem to be happening. Unfortunately.
After less than a minute he's done. He rattles off a string of numbers and asks Promise for every third one.
After less than a minute he's done. He rattles off a string of numbers and asks Promise for every third one.
imeanforever
"Ask me later," she replies, reconfiguring her amplifier.
She puts it back on her arm, and her spacesuit glove back on her hand, and makes a tear to above Scion's planet again. She's just looking, Scion, don't be scared. Just looking. Harmless fairylights.
She puts it back on her arm, and her spacesuit glove back on her hand, and makes a tear to above Scion's planet again. She's just looking, Scion, don't be scared. Just looking. Harmless fairylights.
wormcan
A glowing golden figure fails to appear. He's busy destroying the Thanda, and fairy lights aren't triggering his precognition.
imeanforever
Good.
She gets a good, long look... might have to wait until someone's gated attack brings him here for unrelated reasons...
She gets a good, long look... might have to wait until someone's gated attack brings him here for unrelated reasons...
wormcan
Gates are settling at unpredictable times, but there are a lot of gates per sorcerer and sorcerers.
When Scion puts in an appearance it's at ground level to incinerate a bomb, not exactly visible from orbit. But she can see patterns all over this earth reorient themselves pointing to a particular place on the surface, so the fact that he appeared is clear enough.
Then he's gone.
When Scion puts in an appearance it's at ground level to incinerate a bomb, not exactly visible from orbit. But she can see patterns all over this earth reorient themselves pointing to a particular place on the surface, so the fact that he appeared is clear enough.
Then he's gone.
wormcan
She appears in the middle of an enormous wasteland. Nothing built, nothing growing, nothing even alive except for the capes fighting Scion and arguably Scion. The place has been scoured clean as far as the eye can see.
The Thanda, assisted by the Yangban and minions of Dragon and Nilbog, are doing what they can to fight. Very few of the remnants of the Protectorate are anywhere to be seen.
The Thanda, assisted by the Yangban and minions of Dragon and Nilbog, are doing what they can to fight. Very few of the remnants of the Protectorate are anywhere to be seen.
imeanforever
Promise can't see Scion's real body from here but she remembers.
She messes with her amplifier.
And he's close to himself and she's close to him which means his planet is right there, just beyond, and she knows precisely what it looks like and where all the lights were -
and
destroy.
She messes with her amplifier.
And he's close to himself and she's close to him which means his planet is right there, just beyond, and she knows precisely what it looks like and where all the lights were -
and
destroy.
wormcan
The golden attacks stop. Scion's body falls from where it was floating, and doesn't regenerate when a crossbow bolt lodges in it. He hits the ground.