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]

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.

[unphase]

[sorry, Kelson. she can't help giggling]

Well, I guess it's a place no one would search!

What have you learned from them?

[kingforboth]

Few people can even get into the library should they search. If they're not keyed to be allowed admittance they just find a gardrobe. Those who are can touch the back wall and go through it.

[Kelson grinned.] It's trapped from the inside too. There's another one of those portals inside, so some who know the location can use the library, but not gain admittance to the castle and compromise security.

[Like, say Charissa had.]

I've learned some, many of the volumes are philosophies or healers manuals. Instrumental if I want to restart scholas and regain what we have lost.

[unphase]

Oh! Oh, wow! That's a pretty sneaky trick. It reminds me of something from home, where some walls are supposedly harder to phase through than others.

That's really clever. How'd you come up with the idea?

Can everyone learn magic where you're from? Or certain people only?

[kingforboth]

I had some help. The location of the portal helped though, it was directly adjacent to the regular library. All I had to do was expand the library into it and put a garderobe separating the two. Who would go poking around there?

Besides, the portal I believe was already used to gain entrance into the castle proper and it was either secure it and use it for a good purpose, or destroy it and lose what few portals we had left.

[She was so interested in magic and had such good questions. It was so refreshing to find someone like that.]

Magic is inherited to some degree, you need to have some sort of Deryni ancestry to wield it, although there have been a few who don't seem to have any and are human. I suppose it's possible that continued exposure to magic or being around a Deryni can help. Humans have been able to do simple spells with the right teacher. They just don't normally have the same reserves and energy to draw upon, so what can be done is limited.

Does that make sense?

[Kelson hoped he was explaining it correctly. Morgan had more knowledge and direct experience in that matter.]

What sort of trick from home? Walls made of harder material that is more difficult to penetrate?

[unphase]

No one, if it's hidden behind a toilet! Who would actually go poking around there?

That makes sense. If it's there, might as well use it for your own purposes while at the same time making sure no one else can use it.

[it's thanks to being her diplomat mother's assistant from a young age. she's been to so many different planets with so many different cultures, she's endlessly curious]

It makes a lot of sense. Many of the worlds I've been to, it's kind of the same. There are inherited superpowers, but in this case, everyone has them. It must be rough, ruling over people, some of whom have powers and the others don't.

It makes sense, don't worry.

[he's doing fine]

No, forcefields that are supposedly harder to penetrate. Like your portal through the garderobe, I guess, only using technology instead of magic.

[kingforboth]

Exactly my thought. But it wasn't always like this, centuries ago, it was different. Being Deryni was just...that. It wasn't something to be feared or ashamed of or hidden. It was respectable. People who could use their magic and skills to the benefit of others, like a smith or farmer could. But, not anymore. Perhaps, little by little, I can undo some of the damage. It will take quite a long time though, I imagine.

[Kelson listened as she explained what she was talking about.] I never knew you could use technology to do something like that.

[But technology wasn't exactly a good subject for him.]

[unphase]

What happened to change things? [she assumes something must have, something big to turn being Deryni from something ordinary into something to be feared] For what it's worth, I hope that you can. Positive change takes time, but it's worth it in the end.

Mm-hmm, usually they're in layers, each layer more impenetrable than the last. Most Bgztlians can only get through so many layers before they reach one they can't. I never had that problem. [so when her mother had to do a little "opposition research," guess who was usually nominated to go?]

[kingforboth]

Well three hundred years ago a Deryni conqueror murdered my ancestors and imposed four generations of despot rule. When my ancestors were restored to Gwynedd, well, a backlash was almost inevitable. The church has been teaching that Deryni are evil ever since. I'm not sure if it was truly believed or if it was first used as a political maneuver, but it matters little now. Now, they still believe, although the ferocity has waned over the years.

[unphase]

Oh. Oh, wow. I've never--well, even in all the conflicts that mother has negotiated, I've never heard of anything like that. To take something that's normal and natural to some people and turn it into something to be afraid of. [on second thought...] Though, that's similar to what the White Triangle does. Focus on what makes us different to drive us apart. Keep us from uniting against them.

[kingforboth]

I'm sure it happens more often than we think. It's a common enough tactic, and when used expertly quite hurtful.

[Kelson shook his head. ]

Enough about that though. It wont help us here.

[unphase]

Yeah. Yeah, it really is.

[leading to a planet of seven billion people being wiped out and the rest of the "civilized" planets turning a blind eye]

You're right, it won't. I guess all we can do is hope for the best?