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At the bar, there sits a girl with a long copper-colored braid, slight and beautifully-complected and wearing khakis and an oversized pullover. Next to her is an enormous man, darker and looking at her (worshipfully) and the rest of their surroundings (suspiciously), wearing a brown uniform that is held on entirely via the cunning application of magnets. She has a glass of something fizzy and gold and he's got a Coke in its can.
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endoftheuniverse
Why, thank you. First drink is free, entices the napkin. I have everything.
prodigal_miser
"Everything? That doesn't happen to include an elixir of life that is easily reproducible and grants immortality with no downsides, does it?"
endoftheuniverse
Alas, no, apologizes the bar. My selection of magical items is extremely limited, principally to things that are only magically recreational.
prodigal_miser
"Darn," sighs Adarin. "Well. Recommend me something? I've been trying new things lately, it's fun."
It's strangely easy to have a conversation with a sentient bar.
It's strangely easy to have a conversation with a sentient bar.
her_imperial_radiance
Here is a peach bubble tea!
Elspeth and Jake sip their beverages.
Elspeth and Jake sip their beverages.
prodigal_miser
Adarin sips his own. "... You have good taste," he tells the bar. He moves his glass to where Vern can sample it (she does) and then looks at Elspeth and Jake.
"Sooooo," he says, "want to have a long, extended conversation about the mechanics of vampirism and the state of your world in comparison to mine and what I remember of Earth?"
"Sooooo," he says, "want to have a long, extended conversation about the mechanics of vampirism and the state of your world in comparison to mine and what I remember of Earth?"
her_imperial_radiance
"Sure. It could get very long depending on how much you want to know, though. I contain the offloaded memories of an extremely large number of people, many very long-lived."
her_imperial_radiance
"There's a witch whose magic is to copy the powers of others when she touches them. She touched someone whose power was to collect every memory from everyone he touched, and got all of his, and then she took my power, and blasted everyone in range with the entire payload, including me."
her_imperial_radiance
"Yes. Vampire memories are crisper and more intense and overrode them. Two of the victims looked similar enough to vampires included in the payload who'd had few enough vampire memories to fit in a human brain that they recognized themselves as those dead vampires. The others were only - lost, but since we couldn't get them back as they'd been we got their families' permission to use them for more 'resurrections'."
her_imperial_radiance
"This was before Mama took over. She was doing it in self-defense, arguably. And Mama had to pardon a lot of things, many much worse, to have more than a handful of vampires working for her after she did take over. Addy works for the Golden Empire now."
prodigal_miser
Adarin does not look happy about this outcome, but he does understand. He nods.
"How do your witches work, anyway? The ones I'm used to are a - separate species, only female."
"How do your witches work, anyway? The ones I'm used to are a - separate species, only female."
her_imperial_radiance
"In my world 'witch' means someone who is born with, or acquires after turning into a vampire, a specialized magical power. Mine is telling the truth."
prodigal_miser
"A surprisingly useful and dangerous power. Nice job. I'd say something about 'Don't kill people with your mind' but honestly, you - don't seem the type. Plus, you're Isabella's daughter, I imagine she has that covered."
her_imperial_radiance
"I have never personally killed anyone with my mind, although I came close once. Someone found a volunteer for a deliberate resurrection but I couldn't go through with it. Addy did it. I haven't been asked since. Mama did most of my upbringing, but she's probably less a factor in how I am than you're thinking, because when I was five, a witch whose power is to manipulate interpersonal relationships got me."
prodigal_miser
Elspeth seems to have stunned Adarin speechless.
"He would offer to hug you," says Vern, "if he thought it would at all help."
"He would offer to hug you," says Vern, "if he thought it would at all help."
her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth shrugs. "That was a long time ago, and age five is near maturity for half-vampires, of which I am one. But it changed things between me and Mama considerably, and I also spent most of my life up until then believing my dad was dead only to find him alive with the relationship-manipulating witch having cut him from everyone except Mama too. And most of the memories in my head aren't mine."
prodigal_miser
"Okay," says Adarin, finally recovering enough to have words again. "There are - alts. Of people. Right? What's the name of the - relationship-manipulating witch, what should I watch out for, that's - I - if your problems were at all addressable, I'd do so but I genuinely can't think of anything that would be helpful. So I want to prevent that from happening to someone else."
her_imperial_radiance
"Her name was Chelsea Dawning. She looked like -" A looking-like appears helpfully, including both human and vampire appearances.