[I am reasonably tempted to meet the Libby,] says Sherial. [They're not dangerous, are they?]

[Not usually. One of them took over the world with the use of a helper who does relationship-editing mind control, and I am not equipped to defend her if you want to hear that defended.]

"Most of them work for Bells - one of them moved universes to work for a Bell when her existing plans didn't pan out. They make good personnel officers - they're good at reading people, figuring out how to arrange them so they have what they need. They set priorities - actually that's probably why she wants to meet you; if she runs into you when having a dragon enshrined in her priorities would upset something then that will be inconvenient, so she may as well incorporate you now if it's going to happen. The connection between your templates isn't that strong. You can easily spring up alone completely independent of each other, neither of you is 'leading' or 'following' there, but when there's the both of you in a world you'll eventually wind up being important figures to each other - there's a certain set of books you're both attached to, in worlds where the books exist, and the characters in question are enemies but there's none of that necessarily spilling into reality. There is one who took up world conquest with the use of a template Bells do not like, who has the power to make people like or stop liking each other - the Bell in that world has yet to produce her explanation of why she didn't do more about this than she did, but the regime is being phased into something more palatable now they have coins available, anyway."

"Set priorities?" inquires Sherial.

"I don't have one in my world even though I have - am married to, actually - a Sherlock," says Glass, "so this is hearsay and a smidgen of looking-at-templates, but it has sounded to me like they organize things - especially people - in their lives as more or less important in a way that's legible to us as opposed to sort of... haphazardly not doing that, the way that, say, Jokers do."

"My beloveds and their alts become aware of opportunities and are or are not moved to take advantage of them on a case by case basis. Libbies, as Bells, seem more systematic."

[I would like to meet her,] says Sherial to Elspeth.

"She says yes. I can teleport you there if you like."

"I would definitely like."

Pop!

She looks at her dragon. There are three dragons present, but only one of them is the right one; it's as obvious as the direction of the sun.

Sherial looks back, lifting her wings slightly in an involuntary gesture of fascination.

"You're," Glass begins, staring at the Libby, but she falls silent, not wishing to interrupt.

"Lissa," breathes Lissa, reaching up to put her hands on either side of Sherial's glittery grey jaw.

"You," accuses Glass, "are shiny. I have seen it once before and I still don't know what it means. You're not as shiny as the other person, though..."

"I can see metacausality - I can tell what template someone is by looking and stuff like that - and there is something about you that I'm seeing, have seen on one other person who wasn't a template from another world, and have no idea what it means. Except that it involves you being attached to this world particularly."

"Well, if you figure out anything else about it, do let me know," she says. "Can I have some of that magic you were handing out earlier?"

"Minting? Yeah, Libbies are safe to mint and you're definitely also a Libby," says Glass. "Unless Sarion has some objection."

"No, I believe it will be fine." And she spends the hex with a wave of her hand.

"Thank you," says Lissa. "And any other magic you feel like giving us would also be appreciated."