rules as written | Glowfic Constellation

subtly_artistic

"Magic-detecting spells don't detect it. Divine and arcane magic have intercompatibility that subtle arts doesn't have with either."

drop_by_drop

"That makes sense." And opens up a lot more questions. But there's one she should ask first. Taking a deep breath, and crossing her fingers that the answer won't be yes, she asks, "Is any of your magic transferable? Could someone from my plane learn it?"

subtly_artistic

"You have to be born with subtle arts, although there's some debate if you can get from 'no potential' to 'some potential' or just from 'no discernible potential' to 'discernible potential'. At home anybody can pick up magic if they're smart enough, but I don't know if your plane will allow it."

drop_by_drop

"Oh, thank you," she says, smiling. Magic is much more fun when she can just study it, instead of feeling obligated to use it. "Would you be willing to tell me more? I'm afraid I've been terribly rude, peppering you with questions...oh, would you like a coffee? This is a bar, after all, and I think I have some money." She starts rooting around in the pockets of her jeans.

subtly_artistic

A napkin appears on the bar. It says, First drink is free.

"I don't m-" She blinks at the napkin. "Oh, huh, lucky us. I usually avoid coffee, though, it messes with my sleep patterns. Uh, hot chocolate?" She addresses this to the bar as though that's only a mildly odd thing to do and receives a large mug of hot chocolate. With marshmallows. "Thanks."

drop_by_drop

"Iced coffee, please. What sorts of things do subtle artists do? How much potential did you have?" She does a double take at the napkin. "Oh, is this bar run by some sort of computer? Or an invisible person?" She waves politely at the potential invisible alien.

subtly_artistic

An iced coffee appears. Followed by a napkin saying, I'm the bar herself.

"Subtle artists do mental perception and interaction, and some of us can also do telekinesis or pyrokinesis. I'm well above average for people with perceptible talent but hardly top percentile."

drop_by_drop

"Oh, congratulations on being above average. Can you do pyrokinesis? I do hydrokinesis, so that would be rather ironic." She notices the napkin. "Erm, thank you? Are you alive?" (This is hardly fair, she can barely talk to humans, how is she supposed to know what to say to a bar?)

subtly_artistic

"I can teek a little but I don't have any pyro."

I am a person, but not in the classical sense 'alive', says the bar.

drop_by_drop

"Teek...oh! Oh, telekinesis, it's an abbreviation. That must be quite helpful for everyday tasks." Her cat, meanwhile, is winding his way around her legs in a desperate plea for attention. She picks him up and places him on a barstool, then addresses the bar again. "So, if you're a person, could you please tell me just how you managed to appear outside my living room?"

subtly_artistic

"It's really not, it takes much longer to work up the concentration than to just get up and poke the door or whatever myself, but occasionally it's nice and I'll get better."

The door leads to any door based on patterns or whims to which I am not privy. When you each open it, it will lead back to your respective worlds.

drop_by_drop

Oh, wow, she hadn't even thought about not being able to get back. That's good to know. "Thank you. Does whatever controls the doors also supply you with drinks?" She takes a sip of her coffee. Mmm. She addresses Bella.

"I suppose it would be difficult. I can sympathize. It took Lord-knows-how-many hours of work to get my powers to do anything useful. At least you have professors who know what they're doing." Parvati may be a little jealous. "If you weren't a subtle artist, what other types of magic would you want to learn?"

subtly_artistic

You're welcome. I supply the drinks and other items myself.

"Arcane, probably. I can never bring myself to be very - positively interested in gods or nature, so that's the major divine magic out."

drop_by_drop

And now she has far too many questions.

"How do you manage that, if you don't mind me asking?" she asks the bar. Her cat meows. "And does the 'first drink is free' rule apply only to people, or could I get my cat a treat?" She turns to Bella.

"Would you mind telling me more about arcane magic? And also...gods, plural?"

subtly_artistic

Your cat may also have a beverage, though you will have to place the order.

"I only know like high school level arcana," says Bella. "And that was a while ago. Do you only have one god active on your plane?"

drop_by_drop

"A bowl of milk, then, please," she says. "Hmm, perhaps it would be more productive to acquire some textbooks from your plane, instead of grilling you. Erm...bar-person, what would happen if I tried to go to her plane? Would I be able to get back? And yes, just the one god. Well, I believe there's just the one god, but people from other religions think differently. I wonder if any of the gods from your plane bear any similarities to mine. I've always been a bit frustrated that we can't prove his existence, but if people worship him on your plane, that would be rather strong evidence."

subtly_artistic

A bowl of milk appears.

If she holds the door for you, you can enter her world, but you would not have any special advantage from there at obtaining a door on request, which most patrons cannot do.

"The major deity where I live is Khersis, but Mother Khaele also gets attention, and there are plenty of others who are just less locally popular. Yours is shy? ...The ones from the other religions are also shy?"

drop_by_drop

"Thank you," she says to the bar. While she'd love to get her hands on some books, she can live without them, and isn't sure she wants to risk stepping into an unfamiliar world. "Wait, how come we're both speaking English?"

Then, Bella. "Do yours interact with you? That must be nice. Mine doesn't do that anymore, hence my inability to confirm that he exists. Same with all the others. Perhaps your plane is different in a significant way?" She vaguely recalls reading a book series in which God showed up in another world as a lion. A much more proactive lion.

subtly_artistic

"...Speaking what? I'm speaking Pax."

Translations are supplied gratis.

"I'm... not going to comment on how nice it is."

drop_by_drop

"That is extremely convenient, thank you. I suppose that means it would be difficult for me to get ahold of magic textbooks from your world, as I don't speak the language or have any currency."

subtly_artistic

"Prob-"

I can loan books, or sell them if you wish to take them home or mark them up.

"Oh, cool."

drop_by_drop

"You have books, too? How, exactly, do you get these things?" Not that she's complaining. She doesn't have enough money on her person to buy books, but she can borrow them! Ooh, this will be exciting, she'll make a study plan on her spreadsheet as soon as she gets home. It might not be the most productive activity, but it'll be something to fill up the few free hours she has on weekends. Except...the bar appears randomly. There's going to be no way to schedule this properly, is there. Her face falls.

"How often do people find you? Is there some way to scientifically test when and where the doors tend to appear?"

subtly_artistic

I produce everything I offer spontaneously. Some people can find doors whenever they want them, or on demand some fraction of the time. Some people find me often and some rarely and some only once. I must assume some people never come here at all.

drop_by_drop

"I see." It would be nice if she were able to find doors on demand, but that would be too convenient, wouldn't it. Sigh. "And I assume it would be bad form to borrow them if I can't guarantee I'll bring them back."

It's tempting to start reading some of them now, but it also seems a bit rude to start reading with Bella sitting right there.

"So, what do you like to do, besides magic?"

subtly_artistic