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In Paraasilan, Esmaar, a pair of roommates are about to break a rule that, compared to the one about running in the corridors or even the one about unlicensed teleportation, is there for a good reason.
In unison, they complete their shared spell.
Admin in Elcenia
"Nil, what's going on? Who are these people?"
"Oh, um, Grandpa, I got into wizard school, this is my roommate, this is a - person - and you were dead for four years but we did a thing and now you're here!" She hops off her seat on her bed and lets him out of his summoning circle.
"Oh, um, Grandpa, I got into wizard school, this is my roommate, this is a - person - and you were dead for four years but we did a thing and now you're here!" She hops off her seat on her bed and lets him out of his summoning circle.
"Um, Saasnil's grandpa," says Korulen, while he hugs his granddaughter, "perhaps you'd like to - wait in the library - while we - resolve things?"
"Just go to the lift at the end of the hall," Saasnil tells him. "Tell it 'library'."
"...okay," says Saasnil's grandfather. Off he goes.
"You realize," says Korulen once he's closed the door behind him, "that even if you now totally believe her this still involves actually one of us dying? Like, committing suicide, because I'm pretty sure if I kill you even if you come back later I could be convicted for that."
"Why would it have to be me?"
"Because you can't channel this spell - any of the summonings I found - by yourself, so you couldn't get me back even if it really truly works. You don't have that great a CC, Saasnil."
"Just go to the lift at the end of the hall," Saasnil tells him. "Tell it 'library'."
"...okay," says Saasnil's grandfather. Off he goes.
"You realize," says Korulen once he's closed the door behind him, "that even if you now totally believe her this still involves actually one of us dying? Like, committing suicide, because I'm pretty sure if I kill you even if you come back later I could be convicted for that."
"Why would it have to be me?"
"Because you can't channel this spell - any of the summonings I found - by yourself, so you couldn't get me back even if it really truly works. You don't have that great a CC, Saasnil."
"Low CC?" asks Saasnil. "Yeah. That's why we had to co-cast to summon you, I wanted to be doing it but I couldn't alone."
ending-of
"Is it a difficulty that you would have to die in order to return me using this method?" she clarifies. "It seems straightforward."
"I can still just tell Mom," Korulen tells Saasnil. "She's not going to make you commit suicide over this and I'm telling you she won't expel you, either, she can't, in case I don't get enough boost from my familiar."
"Hey - does my grandfather count as being native to this world - or is the summon going to have to stay active?" wonders Saasnil suddenly instead of responding to this.
"Hey - does my grandfather count as being native to this world - or is the summon going to have to stay active?" wonders Saasnil suddenly instead of responding to this.
ending-of
"I'm not familiar with the intricacies of your world's magic, but I would guess that he is now native to my domain."
"...Maybe you should just tell your mom," sighs Saasnil.
"Yeah, I think so," says Korulen, shaking her head, and she closes her eyes.
After a moment, the door opens, revealing a green-haired woman.
"Yeah, I think so," says Korulen, shaking her head, and she closes her eyes.
After a moment, the door opens, revealing a green-haired woman.
"Hello. I'm Keo," says Keo. "I'm very sorry for the inconvenience these girls have caused you, but in spite of that I can only let you out of that circle if you'll let me check to see if you're safe to have out of it. Do you mind if I check?"
ending-of
"I have no strong preferences about whether my time here is spent within or outside this circle," she says. "How do you propose to check?"
"I have copious mind magic - which doesn't see anything I'm not looking for - but if you don't want to leave we can skip it," says Keo.
"Well. Then I will, if you don't mind, since it would be more convenient to be able to dismantle the ward."
Inspection follows.
Inspection follows.
ending-of
The administrator is disinclined, as a general rule, to do things. She is unlikely to address any given situation with more effort than it strictly requires, and now that she has fixed the problem of unaesthetic impermanence, she is mildly annoyed to be kept away from her domain but disinclined to do anything about it since one or the other of the girls is certainly going to die eventually without her help. It's conceivable that there might be some circumstance which she would find it necessary to address with unsafe behaviour of some kind, but there are limits to how unsafe her behaviour can be in an ultimate sense; she has an absolute preference never to destroy anything past retrieval, and has in fact ensured that doing so in Elcenia will never be possible again.
"...Do you," Keo asks, "have any physical needs that would have to involve magic or leaving the ward to address?"
ending-of
"I'm not sure what you mean," she says. "To the extent that I can be said to have physical needs, I address them with magic."
"Okay. Girls," says Keo, clapping her hands, "you're moving."
They nod.
They start packing up their stuff.
They nod.
They start packing up their stuff.