"What kinds of instructors are there?"

"Oh, like a lot of orcs prefer zhop instructors - that's orcish for 'rock', means a rock who used to be an orc - and some people want, like, same-gender instructors or ones who have a particular background or something."

"Neat. I don't think any preferences on that level I state will have the effects I expect when I'm so unfamiliar with multiversal culture, so better not."

"Mm-hm, cool. Do you have a plan for what you're going to do with your magic rock powers if you get them?"

"Go be awesome for my city - I don't have the right attachment to it right now but I remember loving the place and the people very much - do advocate and political stuff there maybe or whatever's helpful with what I get, might get healing since this is a healing wish right? And make art and do architecture."

"How do you feel about emotion-affecting magic?"

"...Hmm. I've not interacted with magic much, but there's all sorts of room for bad things in 'emotion-affecting'. There's supposedly like fey things that will make you so hot for them you follow them to your doom, and curses to feel your past victims' pain and anguish, and dragons can have an aura of terror or dominance or, uh, they call it 'mindscream', and angry ghosts can make you angry beyond all reason, and that's all nasty. But there's also shamans who are able to calm people down or settle them out of fits or steady the nerves, which can be helpful if you're not being manipulative about it or if you ask for it."

"So, rock magic is powered by emotion - the wish particularly, but also everyday stuff, including operating a body that isn't a rock," says the witness. "Most magic rocks and some people with wished-on powers handle that with a magic song that makes people happy, to recharge after they've used a lot of magic. You can try it during the course if you want but if you hate the idea you just shouldn't be a magic rock."

"This magic rock business just keeps getting more and more aesthetic. No, that's great. I do want to try the song probably, but that's helpful shaman not evil fey territory."

"Cool. Also means that if you get super depressed you might run out of magic - that used to be ultra dangerous but now it just means you kind of fall into a rock coma and another rock can come by and donate you some magic. There's various check-in systems you can pick from to make sure someone'll come get you before you spend too long like that if it happens."

"Makes sense. I'd be happy to be on call for rescues, as it were."

"Oh cool, that counts as a plan for use of your powers, incidentally." He goes back to add that. "Anything else you want me to put in here - like if you're deathly allergic to something or have a sleep disorder or whatever that would affect housing and teaching you?"

"I could use reminders to show up for things. I won't know how to use computers and stuff at first. I'd like some sort of art-ish social space if there's one to be had?"

"Okay, I can probably get you that. There are a bunch of classes at any given time, a lot of people in Mîr are magic rocks, so you should be able to get what you're after in terms of structure and computer tutoring. Should I turn this in now or is there other stuff?"

"I do get a basic income to pay for basic things for now, right? Are there any laws I won't find obvious- You've probably heard ours?"

"Your city hasn't held a vote yet," Sai Ding says. "So you can be a Vanda Nossëo citizen - or a Mîr one, they have the same deal - if you want to move here, but that's not default, especially since you're going to move back home."

"Okay, I guess the question becomes does a scholarship have enough for not starving."

"Oh, yeah, that comes with living on the premises."

"Are there odd jobs I could pick up for spare change?"

"Probably! I don't know what your skills are but you could probably pick up, oh, an interview, you'd be the first person from your world to come here."

"I was thinking of, oh, laundry, deliveries, but an interview sounds fun. That's everything I'm thinking of right now! Let me just say, thank you for all your help sir, this is all very exciting and not at all how I would have guessed being resurrected would go."

"No problem!" says the witness. "Okay, the computer's slotted you into Instructor Raunat's class starting the day after tomorrow, it'll be mostly orcs but it's mixed. Class meets seven hours a day, meals provided, dorm provided, and it's held in Shatul, that's a big orc city, so you can probably find some kind of art scene around there in your off hours, though I don't know how much. Includes gen ed catchup tutoring, so you can ask Raunat for a quick intro to computers. Do you have Allspeak yet?"

"Not unless Sai Ding hit me with it when I wasn't paying attention. How long is the curriculum?"

Sai Ding shakes her head.

"Twenty days, with four days off mixed in there. I have an Allspeak wand, OK to bop you?"

"Oh. It sounded like a bigger task than a few weeks. Sure!"