Event Log: Is It a Wonderful Life?

[hadrielmods]

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for Is It A Wonderful Life? event
Where: All over the city
When: Jan 4th-8th
Warnings: None

Throughout the next few days, you may find yourself plagued by visions and dreams of back home. The dreams will be lifelike and difficult to tell apart from reality, as the world will be constructed from what you remember of your world. However, unlike usual dreams, you won't be present, and will find yourself unable to be seen or heard by those around you.

The dreams are vivid reminders of what might happen in a world without you: a world in which you disappeared when coming to Hadriel, a world which desperately needs you back for some reason or another. You may see your parents putting up missing posters, your significant other moving onto their next relationship, or even your hated villain finally taking over the world without you there to stop them.

When the vision leaves, you're back here and nothing about the city has changed. Though maybe you have a different outlook on it now...

► This log covers January 4th-Januray 8th.
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you try a weird solution to make it back home, please let us know here.

Comments

[kingforboth]

I'm not sure either. The only sure way is to not provide food for them but that's not possible, as you said. The only other is escape, try and figure out how this Door functions without them finding out what we're planning.

[unphase]

Can we even do that? Figuring out the Door? It warps both time and space. The physics behind it would be nearly impossible.

[kingforboth]

I don't know, but we won't know until we try.

[Most of the words she had muttered he had no idea. Like physics.]

I've never constructed a portal like that, I've never even really constructed a Portal that travels between locations back home, but I know the basic theory behind it. It can't be too terribly different, can it? The key with Transfer Portal travel is you have the set coordinates of another one, or you have no where to go. But it seems as if this Door defies that. I've seen similar things done before, but I can't pretend I understand how it works.

[unphase]

[and much of what he's said sounds confusing]

So. . . when you're home, you can travel from place to place as long as you know where you're going first? And you've seen people use things like the Door in the past?

[kingforboth]

Within certain limitations, yes. I assume the Door works on similar principals.

[unphase]

Only on a much bigger scale because there are so many worlds and times we're all from.

[kingforboth]

Quite. There are many more locations, and I imagine a set of coordinates for time, if they can indeed control that to an extent. Although how....I'm not certain.

[unphase]

Magic? Technology? Both? I assume some worlds have both.

[kingforboth]

I'm not familiar with a device that could do this but that of course doesn't preclude it's use.

[unphase]

Neither am I. We don't have anything that can do what the Door can do and my world has a crazy high level of technology. We can travel light years in seconds, but we sure can't do this. [she gestures around herself]

[kingforboth]

I wish I knew more, but most of the knowledge my people had about magic like this was lost. I'm still trying to recover it, and God knows I can't do that here.

[unphase]

No one can do much of anything here. But, mind if I ask why it was lost?

[kingforboth]

Knowledge gets lost when there is no one there to protect it or teach. About 200 years ago, there were mass purges and 2/3 of the Deryni population--those who could use magic, were killed. Those that were left either did not know how to use their magic, or hid what they were. And with no one left knowledgeable or willing to teach future generations, it becomes quite difficult to foster that kind of knowledge, much less build upon it.

[unphase]

[racists. why does it always have to be racists?]

That sounds awful. I can't imagine wanting to just--kill a bunch of people because they can do something you can't. And magic is amazing! And really useful. Are things . . . better for you back home?

[kingforboth]

I wish there were more people like you back home. Perhaps it might not have gotten so bad.

[Or perhaps she'd be spitted on a pike, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.]

Things have gotten better, yes. I wish it hadn't taken people's deaths but I did give them a chance. My people are still a bit...reluctant shall we say?

[unphase]

Maybe? But I'm from a long time in anyone's future and even we haven't worked it all out yet.

[and you can't spit what you can't touch. so there]

I don't blame them! After being treated badly for so long, who'd actually want to be the first to step out into the sunlight?

[kingforboth]

No, no one wants to be the first to test the strain of acceptance, and those who don't have magic are still wary of what can be done against their will. Who is to blame either of them, but trust has to come from somewhere.

[And he was going to have to be the one to take the first step, but who really wants to walk into the middle of a frozen pond when they're not sure it will hold them?]

[unphase]

Maybe . . . slow displays of power in a way that's beneficial to the powerless? Like irrigation in a drought or speeding along construction of things like roads and bridges?

[no one does. but as king, it'll have to be on him to do so]

[kingforboth]

[Kelson smiled at that, thinking how his people would react.]

They might like it. Or they might be convinced that their crops are being watered with devil water or something. I already truth read criminals and accused, but that makes apprehensive. I suppose what I'm fighting is ignorance, the fear that their very soul might be corrupted by magic, or that I could make them do something horrific.

[Which he could, but he wouldn't. So their fears were partially justified.]

[unphase]

I'm sorry, I--I can't imagine what it must be like, to be so superstitious to think that crops would be watered by devil water. It's--it's just so outside my frame of reference. [and she turns serious[ Fighting ignorance is the hardest of all and the most important. It's not one you can waver from, even for a minute, because the forces of ignorance and hate will have their sway if you do. So it's---it's not exactly an easy road ahead of you. But I think you can do it.

[and again, she's painfully reminded of the White Triangle and the Daxamites]

[kingforboth]

If they knew everything Deryni and magic could do they'd be even more afraid. I wish I knew how to change minds without making it worse. The best I can do is to show them that the law is the same for both humans and Deryni. Unlike the previous Deryni who were violent dictators, I don't play favorites. I can't say I blame them for being frightened. The ignorance may not be justified but the fear may well be.

[unphase]

[she takes a moment to think]

That's got to be really hard. The people having memories of what you could do, but you don't. I wish that not doing it was enough to reassure them.

[kingforboth]

It wont be done in my lifetime, that much I know. I hope I can make some more progress though. Do you know I have a library full of magical books that I've hidden behind a garderobe?

[Thats right Tinya, he hid his library full of magical books behind the toilet]

[unphase]

Change takes time, but I'm sure you will. But, what's a garderobe?

[she's from 2997, she's never heard of that word before]

[kingforboth]

[Kelson took a moment to remember the word that Laura had taught him on his first day in Hadriel.]

It's a toilet.