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Grendyne groans and starts pulling on her boots when the alarm goes off. Again. She quick-marches to the broom hangar, sits on her machine and is handed a plethora of loaded weapons by attentive corporals.
"Two flyers in one day? They're getting way too common."
"It's worse," the commander informs them, "South Karlsland got hit with three at once. We're taking Lytee's express and sleeping there. You can sit out if you absolutely need to, but Freya's still recovering so we could use you as a comms relay."
"No, I'll come. I just reserve the right to complain about it."
The 42nd United Forces Witch Wing takes off, bracing to fight yet another city-destroying monster, and assembles into a perfect synchronized formation as Lytee charges her teleport power.
...This is not South Karlsland wilderness.
Near the Golden Coven capital, in Aurum
Near Savarasse, in Thilanushinyel
Near Whately Academy
With Unbitwise
+ Show First Post
witchwatcher
"I recognize some of these parts... Can you describe what you're doing when you fly it?"
witchwatcher
"Hm. It's kind of... Witchly synesthesia. I can try."
Basically, she gives mana, a generic magical energy, to the machine and this makes it move or hover. Giving mana in a particular direction (to the front, to the left, etc) turns, rolls, or banks it, almost like airplane controls.
Basically, she gives mana, a generic magical energy, to the machine and this makes it move or hover. Giving mana in a particular direction (to the front, to the left, etc) turns, rolls, or banks it, almost like airplane controls.
"Do the mechanical things do anything if you just treat this like it has no moving parts, or do you also have to mana at them?"
witchwatcher
"No, the mana definitely goes through the moving parts. It starts in these two flywheels. It's like flying a brick if you don't do it that way."
"What would happen if those moved some other way?"
witchwatcher
"Not sure. I'm guessing I don't have to put mana into keeping them running, but that's just a guess. We don't have steam engines small enough to test that kind of idea."
"...Steam engines are kinda obsolete here. We can make something to spin your wheels if that'll help."
witchwatcher
"It's worth a try. I think the mana does something else with the insides than just spin the wheels, but that might be bad intuition talking."
"I'll talk to Rosalie, rig something up. If that doesn't work, I don't have another great idea right now but one might come up."
witchwatcher
"Thanks. Should I go put it somewhere else for now, or is here fine? Actually, I should clean and oil it. Do you have any good lubricant here?"
"If engine oil'll do, yeah, over there. Leave it by the motorcycles." Point, point.
witchwatcher
It goes by the motorcycles. Cleaning the thing takes about an hour, less if Shawn helps.
"Say, how fast are you, running?"
"Say, how fast are you, running?"
Shawn helps. "Me?" he asks. "I only just activated, I haven't gotten to go flat out anyplace big yet, I dunno. I think most wolves can do... maybe two hundred miles an hour on a straightaway? We can catch vampires as long as they're not going into small places or up cliffs or something."
witchwatcher
"Almost as fast as a Witch in a straightaway. Nice. I want to see the guest house, and maybe get you to explain how it all works. The lights and so on. Even if you're no engineer, you know more about it than me."
[Elspeth, the Empress knows I'm already ready for any comms she needs, correct?]
[Elspeth, the Empress knows I'm already ready for any comms she needs, correct?]
her_imperial_radiance
"Yeah, sure," says Shawn, hopping up. "Thisaway."
[She guessed, but you're mana-limited and phones run on electricity, so she probably won't ask until someone doesn't pick up their cell.]
(Elspeth works over most forms of communication; "cell" expands helpfully for Gren.)
[She guessed, but you're mana-limited and phones run on electricity, so she probably won't ask until someone doesn't pick up their cell.]
(Elspeth works over most forms of communication; "cell" expands helpfully for Gren.)
witchwatcher
She follows Shawn.
[I already burned a lot of mana this morning and used up all my charge bracelets too but on any other day I can be calling people for at least 12 hours and not run out. I can do magic life support and healing on injured humans, should have mentioned that sooner. Expensive though. Do I still not get to meet Addy?]
[I already burned a lot of mana this morning and used up all my charge bracelets too but on any other day I can be calling people for at least 12 hours and not run out. I can do magic life support and healing on injured humans, should have mentioned that sooner. Expensive though. Do I still not get to meet Addy?]
her_imperial_radiance
[We usually don't have any injured humans around who aren't planning to be turned, but we might be able to think of a way to apply that. The limit on whether you get to meet Addy is about her, not you. Mama's talking to her and Dad is listening in now, but you probably won't get to before you go to Ireland.]
witchwatcher
"This really is a nicely designed place. I might like a city better, but so far I approve."
[The worry is that she'll copy me right? Can I talk to her at a range where that won't happen?]
[The worry is that she'll copy me right? Can I talk to her at a range where that won't happen?]
her_imperial_radiance
[She'd be hard to contain if she decided she wanted you more than she wanted to keep working with us.]
witchwatcher
"Is that one the guest house?"
[It's mildly annoying. Eh. Meanwhile I'm going to make a list of things I kept from other Witches... Short range tracking, enhanced vision and through walls, chain lightning, boosting plant growth, teleporting myself and small objects, healing, magically boosted projectiles, the whisper spell, opening a foot-cube pocket dimension, invisibility...]
[It's mildly annoying. Eh. Meanwhile I'm going to make a list of things I kept from other Witches... Short range tracking, enhanced vision and through walls, chain lightning, boosting plant growth, teleporting myself and small objects, healing, magically boosted projectiles, the whisper spell, opening a foot-cube pocket dimension, invisibility...]
her_imperial_radiance
"No, the one next door, there, the blue one."
[Can you ever combine things you copy if they have enough synergy?]
[Can you ever combine things you copy if they have enough synergy?]
witchwatcher
"Cool, let's see what a 21st century house is like."
[Yeah, sometimes. You thinking lie-detector-over-Dwi?]
[Yeah, sometimes. You thinking lie-detector-over-Dwi?]
her_imperial_radiance
[Yes, and Kate-plus-chain-lightning, and Harry-plus-tracking, and whether you can add two teleportation powers to get the ability to take passengers.]
A twenty-first-century house is like: it isn't locked, Shawn just opens it. There is wood on the floor and paint on the walls, he flips on the lights and there is light in the ceiling. The kitchen's the first thing on the right. He looks into the fridge and reports: "There's like nothing in here, wow," and checks the cupboards and finds "rice and stuff", and then trots into the left room with chairs and a coffee table and a rug, "they didn't even bother to put a TV in here!", up the stairs, "One, two, three bedrooms," back down, "bathroom's back here should I explain all the stuff in it?"
A twenty-first-century house is like: it isn't locked, Shawn just opens it. There is wood on the floor and paint on the walls, he flips on the lights and there is light in the ceiling. The kitchen's the first thing on the right. He looks into the fridge and reports: "There's like nothing in here, wow," and checks the cupboards and finds "rice and stuff", and then trots into the left room with chairs and a coffee table and a rug, "they didn't even bother to put a TV in here!", up the stairs, "One, two, three bedrooms," back down, "bathroom's back here should I explain all the stuff in it?"
witchwatcher
[We can try some stuff later. Last thing for now. I can store up mana and have more for emergencies if you have a few dozen pounds of gold and silver jewelry. Not sure why it's precious metals and gems that hold mana, but it is.]
"Looks a little familiar but you probably should explain it, yeah. How do the lights work without fire, anyway?"
"Looks a little familiar but you probably should explain it, yeah. How do the lights work without fire, anyway?"
her_imperial_radiance
[There's plenty, I can get you some.]
"Um, lightbulbs? There's electricity in the walls, and -" He switches off a light, unscrews a bulb. "And it goes in these things and see this little string, it glows when electricity goes through it? And I think the bulb is full of stuff that isn't regular air, that helps?"
"Um, lightbulbs? There's electricity in the walls, and -" He switches off a light, unscrews a bulb. "And it goes in these things and see this little string, it glows when electricity goes through it? And I think the bulb is full of stuff that isn't regular air, that helps?"