outer_divide | [video: week twenty, friday]

Entry tags:

[video: week twenty, friday]

[The image that appears is of Briar, sitting on the grass just outside the ship and frowning at the device in front of him. Settled next to him is a potted miniature pine tree. But the most striking thing about him is the intricate leafy vine tattoos on his hands and forearms - which if you look closely at, you might be realise are actually moving.

When Briar starts talking, he seems to be addressing the mirror itself rather than anyone on the other end]

You can't be working, you know. I've never been able to scry - and besides, you don't even have any magic anyway, so I don't see how I'm supposed to talk to anyone with this.

[Not that Briar's all that sure he wants to talk who whoever brought him here. But magical objects without any magic is just plain bizarre, so his frown deepens]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[An androgynous face with angled eyes and a messy head of short blonde hair shows up in Briar's mirror. She looks somewhere between amused and annoyed. Her English (provided he's speaking in English) is lightly accented, but understandable.]

It is not magic. At least, as far as I have been able to tell. It is technological, machines and wires and electricity. Though they have yet to lose power, so maybe there is a little magic. Who knows?

[She flashes a tight sort of grin.]

So who are you? New here?

[Briar would call it 'Imperial', but it's English he's speaking all the same]

If it's got magic, I can't see it. But you say this thing works off of electricity? [Now Briar's going to eye it dubiously. The only person he knows who can control lightning is his sister Tris, and she had to learn iron control. He couldn't quite believe that someone could trap it into some kind of device without any magic at all.

But never mind that, he had a (lady?) to introduce himself to.] Briar Moss. All new and wondering where exactly 'here' is.

Haruka Tenoh, and this is a planet called Verdana. You have been asleep in a stasis pod for at least a century, according to the residents, along with a number of people who have woken up before you.

[She hasn't done that particular infodump on anyone yet, before, and she's curious how he'll react. She didn't react so well, herself.]

[Briar freezes, and stares at Haruka in shock]

What?! No, I can'tve been sleeping for a century! And what about everyone else, what about my sisters -

[Briar abruptly stops. He still can't really believe what Haruka's saying, but he has to check that his sisters are okay - so he dives into his magic, seeking out the magical connection he has with them. With relief he finds that the connection is still there, although he can't contact them at all. But wherever they are, they're alive.

Through all of this, to Haruka Briar would look just slightly unfocused for a moment, like he wasn't really paying any attention to her or what was going on around him]

Yo, wait, it is all right--

[And he's not listening. He's either spaced out or... well, all right, she's seen that look before. Usually it doesn't mean anything good. She taps her phone screen after a beat of looking concerned.]

Buriar-san?

[Yes, her accent mangles his name a little. She's still getting better!]

[And now Briar snaps back to Haruka, as if nothing odd had been happening.]

It's just Briar. And how is this alright? If I'd really been asleep for a century, then everyone I know should be dead! [And he knew his sisters weren't, so what was going on?]

That ship you woke on travels through time. I imagine once we get it working again, we will use it to travel back.

[She's hoping, anyway. Even if she was technically dead when she was... collected, or however it happened.]

There may be people you know on it, as well. There are people I know, from my world and time and such.

[Briar blinks]

A time travelling ship? That - that is definitely not a ship, how can it travel through time? I didn't see any magic anywhere in there. And even if I did, I've never heard of magic that can let you go back in time!

It is technological. Like whatever you are speaking on now. Not magic. And it is a whole lot bigger than it looks, most of it is crashed into the mountainside and buried.

[She shrugs helplessly.]

I do not know much more than you do, none of us do. Where are you now? Have you been to the city yet?

Bigger? Lakik's teeth, that won't help that thing sail!

I'm still outside this 'ship' [Briar rolls his eyes - really, if that thing's a ship, he's the Duke of Emelan]. I didn't even know there was a city.

It doesn't sail.

[Haruka looks smug, and saves the explanation about the city for later, focusing instead on the ship bit.]

It flies. In space, and I guess through the air to get to space.

Flies? It flies? Whoever heard of a flying ship!? That's just mad!

Hey, in my time and world, they are putting ships into space. I could not tell you how it works, exactly, but I know that it does.

[She shrugs.]

So you have not been to the city. That means you cannot be sick yet. You can go down to the city if you wish to chance it, there are medicines to take to help, or you can stay outside the city.

[She eyes him speculatively through the devices, wondering if he'd be any use on her own little mission.]

[Briar winces at the mention of the sickness. He'd already heard about it from that woman who thought scrying was a myth]

I'd rather not get sick, but I might be able to help. I'm a green mage, and I know plenty about making medicines.

[The word "mage" is completely alien to Haruka, who cocks her head and frowns, but doesn't ask just yet.]

If you do not know what most technology is, you will probably not be of as much help as you wish to be. Or you might. I do not know much about medicine, it was never something I had patience for. Do you know what an antibiotic is?

No, I don't. [Briar looks rather reluctant to admit this] Mostly I make medicines from plants - poultices, salves, that sort of thing. I don't have the magic to make the cure for Black Death, but I know how to treat the symptoms, at least. I can at least ask the healers if I'll be of any use.

[She nods, still frowning a bit, more in thought than confusion.]

You could. What else can you do?

[And now Briar feels very much like he's being sized up. For what though, he's not sure - in the middle of a plague, what else would he be doing than working on medicines?]

You know I'd be able to answer that a lot better if I knew what you were looking for.

[Haruka snorts at him, but elaborates.]

There was some kind of explosion to the north last night. I am going to go look into it, since I am useless here and would prefer not to get sick again. Since you cannot be sick yet, you could come with-- if you are useful.

[She pauses, then admits...]

Also, I do not have any idea what a mage is. I have never heard the word. So.

[Briar grins, and then quick as a flash he uses his magic to loosen the hemp ties around one of the knives hidden in his sleeves, letting Briar casually flick out the knife.]

Oh, I can be plenty useful. [he flicks the knife back into his sleeve, magically tying it back into place with the help cords again.

Then he gapes at Haruka]

You've never heard the word mage? What else do you call people with magic?

[The knife bit isn't bad. Presumably he has some hidden cache, in his sleeves. Defending himself is a plus, anyway.]

There are not many people with magic where I am from, and those who have it are secret and do not tell others much. There is the word "witch", but no one believes in those really, and "demon", but demons are not human.

[She makes an effort to use those words in English rather than Japanese, in case he recognizes them, too.]

[Oh, Briar definitely has a cache. Overall, he has eight knives hidden away about his person. He would carry more, but this was all that he found when he woke up]

Witches are mages, demons definitely aren't. But why would they keep their magic secret? How are they gonna get employed if no one knows what they are? And what about new mages - someone has to teach them how to use their magic.

[Their worlds are obviously very different....]

For one thing, because they will be called witches and demons, and probably killed. For another, there are so few....

[She shrugs. She doesn't really want to get into it, period, since it's all personal and about past lives and all that. She wants to get into it even less over the network.]

Are you interested in coming, or not? If you come, we can talk about magic there. These things are not always safe.

What?! Being a mage is reason for other people to kill them? Why? [And once again, Briar looks at Haruka with complete horror. Different worlds, indeed.

Briar looks distinctly unsettled, but right now since he has nothing to do other than sit around here - well, he might as well come along to look at this explosion. Maybe then he can ask some more questions in person] I'll come. Although I'll hope you aren't bringing any mage-killers with you.

Have not met any here yet, so you should be fine. Well, except the soldiers, but they will shoot anyone, and they are not invited. Meet you at the northwest end of town in a few hours? Bring whatever supplies you have.

[She'll be making a quick trip into the city, herself, for some food type things and her coat, but otherwise everything she'd want is in her and Michiru's old apartment. Safer that way.]

[video: week twenty, friday]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]