interplanar studies | Glowfic Constellation

We are a people who have lived for as long as we can remember as nomads in a forest very far from here, under very dangerous conditions. It was typical that if someone was separated from a group they would never be seen again. The Valar, who shaped the world and were distracted at the time of our troubles by a terrible war against one of their number, found us and offered to bring us to their homeland, where dangers were absent and also our dead could eventually be returned to life. We arrived only a few years ago, and have been overwhelmed by their generosity, the gaps between what was known to us and what it is now possible to learn, and the differences in the environment. Valinor is lit by two great Trees, a gold one and a silver one. We'd previously seen only by starlight. I am told that the difference is startling and overwhelming. The Valar themselves are overwhelming. We'd been nomads, and building a city is a new project for us. We'd had a form of leadership by council and family ties, and are now attempting an organized Kingship, but tragedy struck the King at an inopportune time. We want for nothing, but are taking a while to figure out the best way to design a society that reaps the fruits of that.

What questions do you have?

subtly_artistic

I... come from a very, very dangerous place, if not dangerous in the same way as that, and I think a lot of my habits are maybe not what they should be if I'm going to live here instead but I don't know what to replace them with. And my home makes a lot of use of writing and money, to record and share information and to regulate the exchange of goods, and you don't seem to have either one and I am not sure I understand what you do instead. There's infighting among the Valar...?

Praised be Eru, it's over. The Valar defeated the one who'd been harming us, and imprisoned him. We need never fear him again. Money is unfamiliar to me; we want for nothing, and so regulate the exchange of goods by asking for things we'd like and making things we'd like our friends to have. Writing - if you mean consistent patterns to communicate words on paper - happens to be something I'm working on.

In what ways is your place of origin dangerous?

subtly_artistic

Eru? And - there's a lot of very powerful beings and they are usually not friendly and don't keep each other in check much. And a lot of monsters and - risky social institutions which I knew how to navigate but which have me nervous about doing anything here where I don't know how to navigate.

Created the Valar, and asked them to do the work of creating this world and looking after his creations in it. I am straining to imagine how a social institution can be risky save reputationally, and no one expects you to get everything right, they know you're new.

subtly_artistic

Um, I landed in the king's palace here. If I'd had a magical accident that had landed me in my own Emperor's palace instead the guards would probably have assumed I was an assassin or something like that and would have at least locked me up while they investigated and possibly also killed me. This isn't usually a problem because usually people don't have magical accidents that land them in other people's homes, but that's an example.

No one will kill you here; assassins are not a thing it would even occur to us to worry about, and I'm sure if someone deliberately killed the King because they desired him dead the Valar'd bring him back immediately just on principle.

subtly_artistic

Well, I... guess that answers that. How long does it usually take when they're not being immediate about it?

We have just arrived here at a people and reembodying all of our kin who died in our old home is proving to be slow and complicated, because one can reject the body if it's too shocking and being reembodied is a shock all its own and Valinor is so different from what they remember. But it's only been a few years yet. No one's died since they arrived in Valinor, but I imagine it wouldn't even take a few years to return them to us.

subtly_artistic

Oh. Um, I was told that the way I get a house involves complimenting designers on their past work, which I think I can figure out how to do, and helping build other houses in progress, which I'm not sure I have the skills to do usefully at all.

Well of course not! We didn't either, when we started. You have the advantage of being around some people who now sort of know what they're doing. Just watch and ask questions, everyone will be happy to teach you, and after a few days you'll be contributing usefully, and after a month you'll know house-building, which is a valuable thing to know.

subtly_artistic

Okay... uh, how long do you think it will take before I have a house? I heard it isn't going to rain and the ground's pretty soft but I like having privacy and. There aren't any walls.

If you are unusually unhappy about not having a house then obviously your house should be built first. Have you settled on a design?

subtly_artistic

No, I just wanted an estimate for how long it'll take after I find designers to help me with that.

A week, probably. If you pick a design that's physically impossible then the Valar will have to raise it for you and they'll do it in a day.

subtly_artistic

I don't think I need anything that inherently requires magic to put up, just - a way to make it dark inside and enough wall that people can't see me or hear me when I'm inside and they're outside.

Reasonable. I could try to have you stay in the palace until that's established? You frightened Finwë out of his skin but I expect he'll be recovered by this evening.

subtly_artistic

I didn't mean to scare him... um, also I think the prince will probably follow me around wanting to be tutored and the King said once a week and that doesn't seem to be as often as the prince had in mind and I really don't want to be in the middle of that.

He laughs. The King is under the impression that it's possible for people to exist in Fëanáro's presence without either ignoring him or tutoring him. As far as I can tell, this is impossible even if one has the powers of a Vala. His expression changes, You can tell Fëanáro to go away.

subtly_artistic

But he's so cute. I'd rather avoid having to. I can sleep outside for a week or two, I was just worried it would be months or something.

It was years before we even started building, because we were rejoicing in the new environment and weren't used to sleeping enclosed anyway. But it can certainly be done faster than that.

subtly_artistic

Um, do you have indoor plumbing here?

What do you mean?

subtly_artistic

In my world when we want water we can get it inside the house... for drinking and cooking and bathing and stuff...