This Most Familiar Chain: Tale of Spirit and Magician
- Thread starter Cetashwayo
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- bed
- Pronouns
- She/They
[X] Go too far in testing the limits of your ability to create and build dreams, alerting someone you really shouldn't to your location [Gain the most basic understanding of the limits of your dreaming abilities].
I don't know. As usual all the choices are just so good!
Its a tossup between this and parasol one for me.
I don't know. As usual all the choices are just so good!
Its a tossup between this and parasol one for me.
- Location
- Britain
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers].
laaaaaser
laaaaaser
will408914
(slouching towards bethlehem)
- Location
- California
[X] Go too far in testing the limits of your ability to create and build dreams, alerting someone you really shouldn't to your location [Gain the most basic understanding of the limits of your dreaming abilities].
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
The subvote is VERY IMPORTANT.
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
The subvote is VERY IMPORTANT.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Toy around too much with the residual shadows of an ancient, long forgotten shade, and realize why precisely it was forgotten [Gain the first glimmers of knowledge of the power to speak to the Dead].
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
This is really an easy choice to me. It's like that scene from Wizard of Earthsea where Ged summons the shade but instead of it being a dramatic moment of no return, it's an awkward comedy. How can I not love that?
Also, it is important that paranthesis knows the secrets of etiquette because we are clearly some form of NOBILITY now, and knowing how to curse is an important aspect of that.
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
This is really an easy choice to me. It's like that scene from Wizard of Earthsea where Ged summons the shade but instead of it being a dramatic moment of no return, it's an awkward comedy. How can I not love that?
Also, it is important that paranthesis knows the secrets of etiquette because we are clearly some form of NOBILITY now, and knowing how to curse is an important aspect of that.
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Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
Nah it still reveals you. If I did that it would imply it was the safe option but when you are Starfall few options are safe.
Kai Merah
Hound Hearted Hedonist
- Location
- Somewhere in the corners of my imagination
Oh. Well, in that case...
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers].
BOOM BABY!!!
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers].
13th Bee
Worker
- Location
- Tennessee, USA.
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers]
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
Nothing says ENORMOUS COSMIC POWER like a big honkin' laser.
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
Nothing says ENORMOUS COSMIC POWER like a big honkin' laser.
- Location
- in the trash
Whatever happens I suggest we use Danger Bird as target practice for our phenomenal cosmic power, as he clearly seems to have some sort of supernal ability to survive any attack, no matter how destructive or lethal.
Hmm. Is Danger Bird actually an inordinately powerful death spirit masquerading as a canary? This possibility must be investigated further.
Hmm. Is Danger Bird actually an inordinately powerful death spirit masquerading as a canary? This possibility must be investigated further.
- Location
- USA
[X] Toy around too much with the residual shadows of an ancient, long forgotten shade, and realize why precisely it was forgotten [Gain the first glimmers of knowledge of the power to speak to the Dead].
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Toy around too much with the residual shadows of an ancient, long forgotten shade, and realize why precisely it was forgotten [Gain the first glimmers of knowledge of the power to speak to the Dead].
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
- Location
- Canada
[X] Toy around too much with the residual shadows of an ancient, long forgotten shade, and realize why precisely it was forgotten [Gain the first glimmers of knowledge of the power to speak to the Dead].
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
-[X] Teach paranthesis how to curse.
NeverDies
Classy Coleoptera ಠ_ರೃ
- Location
- Colorado
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers].
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers].
Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
Damn, that's a very close three-way race 
Jhin Lemon
Lawful Cute
- Location
- Trapped in the interwebs, please send help
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers].
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
Dirtnap
Kanmusu Affecionado
[X] Try and convince your parasol to teach you some of its hidden tricks, only for it to give you a live and very loud demonstration of its less explosive capabilities [Gain an elementary grasp over your Parasol's powers].
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
MAXIMUM LASERFACE
-[X] Teach parenthesis how to curse
MAXIMUM LASERFACE
Kai Merah
Hound Hearted Hedonist
- Location
- Somewhere in the corners of my imagination
Hmm... Does anyone else find it strange that as a spirit of phenomenal cosmic power, Starfall still needs a parasol to get all zappy? You'd think it'd be an inherent ability, but instead, we seem to be much more of a natural with death.
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
[X] Toy around too much with the residual shadows of an ancient, long forgotten shade, and realize why precisely it was forgotten [Gain the first glimmers of knowledge of the power to speak to the Dead].
Our Magicians don't want to die! Obviously, it's because they want to talk lots to us, the amazing Starfall! Ergo, we can assuage their fears and doubts by showing that even in death, there is no escape from Starfall.
Our Magicians don't want to die! Obviously, it's because they want to talk lots to us, the amazing Starfall! Ergo, we can assuage their fears and doubts by showing that even in death, there is no escape from Starfall.
12. False Flight
Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
12. False Flight
You stand in the hallway of a house that you do not know, after having been told to do whatever you wanted by a crazy boy with a ponytail (don't diss the style crazy boy rocked that tail), holding a parasol in your hand, and you frown. This isn't quite how you wanted things to go. Then again, nothing has been totally planned. You almost wonder if Death had a hand in this. She totally would. You remember when you first met her in that flaming lava river in your nightmare when you were younger and that dumb grin she had on her face as she kept burning the skin off the faces of the damned, regenerating them, and then burning them again asking if you were "ready to see the truth of their despair". Oh Death. Such a goofball.
You know, you've never really taken charge before. Your whole life, all your accomplishments have been through other people. Grandpa Frost gave you the parasol. Death turned back time. Your parents put that tower for you, and the moon blew it up. You just kind of...spectated. Is that really the way you want to live (maybe it's because letting you make your own decisions would be inordinately dangerous). Well, that could be true. But that didn't mean that you shouldn't have tried. What's life without some inordinately dangerous decisions (you become more of a philosopher every day).
You mean it. In fact, from now on, you're going to make decisions for yourself. So what if the boy with the ponytail who wants to explode orphanages told you to stay here and practice your abilities. You're not going to listen to him at all! You're going to go right down there now and you're going to practice your abilities there (I see the fire of rebellion burns brightly in you). You click your boots together and then begin to march down the stairs, hoisting your parasol confidently over your shoulder, chin turned upwards. Nothing can stop you. Not him, and definitely not his nutcracker!
His giant...
Two-foot-tall jaw...
Bone cracking...
Joint snapping...
Nutcracker.
You stop at the top of the stairs, trembling. Can you face this fear? You have never had anything that frightened you so. You're not sure what it is. Perhaps the essence of the nutcracker is fear. Perhaps it is fear. Perhaps three hundred years ago, a wise old human that looked like your grandfather unleashed an ancient evil on the world, a giant evil tree, and that tree was cut down, and it was turned into a line of bedframes, evil bedframes, and then a few of the bedframes got old and broke, and then someone went to the wood place (what is a wood place), the place where humans have wood, and they said, "hey, can you take this bedframe, I think it's evil", and the guy there said sure thing, but it turned out that he was evil, and he said, "I will build a nutcracker from this wood", so he did, and the nutcracker wandered the world until a boy found it and adopted it as his evil familiar.
(Did you just make all of that up on the spot?)
Yes.
(I'm honestly impressed, Starfall. It's a good story).
Um. Thank you. You thought it was pretty good too.
(But it doesn't change the fact that you have to go down there, does it?)
No.
(So did you tell that story to yourself just so you wouldn't go down there?)
No. Maybe.
(And are you continuing this conversation with me which is mostly superfluous because it will allow you to stall from going down the stairs?)
No.
(Starfall?)
Okay, fine, yes. You don't want to go down there. You don't really want to face the nutcracker and it gives you goosebumps right now just thinking about it (watch out, maybe you'll fall in love with a goosebump and it'll leave you behind~). Well, hmm. You have a few options here. It's a complex situation. Option 1. Go downstairs. See Nutcracker. Option 2. Don't go downstairs. Don't see nutcracker.
"Taters," you curse under your breath at the conundrum, and then gasp, dropping the parasol and covering your mouth.
(Yes.)
Don't do it, Parentheses. You shouldn't say such things. It's boorish.
(Taters).
Stop!
(I'm going to keep saying it until you go downstairs. You promised you'd tell me how to curse. You just did. So now you have no choice. You either face your fear, or face my over-starchy diction until you break).
You wince at that, picking up your parasol, running a finger across its rim. This parasol, with its mysterious black ivory and wondrous designs. Wouldn't it be beautiful if you could practice shooting lasers with it and your magician watched? You can imagine her green eyes shimmering with tears at your display. "Wow, Starfall," she'd say, "you are amazing." And then you'd blush lightly while looking at her, and she'd blush lightly in return, and then you'd wink and she'd giggle. Your fingers tighten around the parasol. Yes. You'd like that.
You know, you've never really taken charge before. Your whole life, all your accomplishments have been through other people. Grandpa Frost gave you the parasol. Death turned back time. Your parents put that tower for you, and the moon blew it up. You just kind of...spectated. Is that really the way you want to live (maybe it's because letting you make your own decisions would be inordinately dangerous). Well, that could be true. But that didn't mean that you shouldn't have tried. What's life without some inordinately dangerous decisions (you become more of a philosopher every day).
You mean it. In fact, from now on, you're going to make decisions for yourself. So what if the boy with the ponytail who wants to explode orphanages told you to stay here and practice your abilities. You're not going to listen to him at all! You're going to go right down there now and you're going to practice your abilities there (I see the fire of rebellion burns brightly in you). You click your boots together and then begin to march down the stairs, hoisting your parasol confidently over your shoulder, chin turned upwards. Nothing can stop you. Not him, and definitely not his nutcracker!
His giant...
Two-foot-tall jaw...
Bone cracking...
Joint snapping...
Nutcracker.
You stop at the top of the stairs, trembling. Can you face this fear? You have never had anything that frightened you so. You're not sure what it is. Perhaps the essence of the nutcracker is fear. Perhaps it is fear. Perhaps three hundred years ago, a wise old human that looked like your grandfather unleashed an ancient evil on the world, a giant evil tree, and that tree was cut down, and it was turned into a line of bedframes, evil bedframes, and then a few of the bedframes got old and broke, and then someone went to the wood place (what is a wood place), the place where humans have wood, and they said, "hey, can you take this bedframe, I think it's evil", and the guy there said sure thing, but it turned out that he was evil, and he said, "I will build a nutcracker from this wood", so he did, and the nutcracker wandered the world until a boy found it and adopted it as his evil familiar.
(Did you just make all of that up on the spot?)
Yes.
(I'm honestly impressed, Starfall. It's a good story).
Um. Thank you. You thought it was pretty good too.
(But it doesn't change the fact that you have to go down there, does it?)
No.
(So did you tell that story to yourself just so you wouldn't go down there?)
No. Maybe.
(And are you continuing this conversation with me which is mostly superfluous because it will allow you to stall from going down the stairs?)
No.
(Starfall?)
Okay, fine, yes. You don't want to go down there. You don't really want to face the nutcracker and it gives you goosebumps right now just thinking about it (watch out, maybe you'll fall in love with a goosebump and it'll leave you behind~). Well, hmm. You have a few options here. It's a complex situation. Option 1. Go downstairs. See Nutcracker. Option 2. Don't go downstairs. Don't see nutcracker.
"Taters," you curse under your breath at the conundrum, and then gasp, dropping the parasol and covering your mouth.
(Yes.)
Don't do it, Parentheses. You shouldn't say such things. It's boorish.
(Taters).
Stop!
(I'm going to keep saying it until you go downstairs. You promised you'd tell me how to curse. You just did. So now you have no choice. You either face your fear, or face my over-starchy diction until you break).
You wince at that, picking up your parasol, running a finger across its rim. This parasol, with its mysterious black ivory and wondrous designs. Wouldn't it be beautiful if you could practice shooting lasers with it and your magician watched? You can imagine her green eyes shimmering with tears at your display. "Wow, Starfall," she'd say, "you are amazing." And then you'd blush lightly while looking at her, and she'd blush lightly in return, and then you'd wink and she'd giggle. Your fingers tighten around the parasol. Yes. You'd like that.
---
You march down the stairs, emerging in the living room. It's an elegant place, with little tables and plush reclining chairs and couches, the walls made of the same chocolatey wood as upstairs and a glass light rectangles held up by wire thing (...chandelier) hanging from the ceiling. Boas and Ariela are arguing over some kind of map at a table in the center of the room, a glowing canary perched on her shoulder. Up against one of the couches sits the nutcracker. Its eyes are on you, and you take a step back, corners of your mouth pulling back in involuntary fear. But then you take a deep breath, tilting the parasol on your shoulder up further and lifting your chin, before pointing the parasol at the nutcracker, eyes narrowed and face determined.
"Scary nutcracker, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way. I want to be cute with my magician and if you interfere I will be forced to take decisive action against you," you say in a low, warning tone. Ariela looks up from the map. She seems confused. Indeed, she must be so confused as to why this nutcracker has yet to yield to your command! You give her a wink and a smile, and then turn back to the nutcracker.
"Well?" You ask again.
As soon as the nutcracker lifts its head up and makes the first snap, a shiver runs down your spine. It leans forward, looming above you, jaw gaping, eyes unmoving, as it comes closer. You keep your parasol pointed at it, but the nutcracker lightly bats it aside, gripping the rim with a giant gloved hand and putting it down. Then it grasps your own trembling hands, and you think it's just about ready to pull you into its maw all at once. You close your eyes and wait for the moment as it looms over you.
...
You open your eyes to see the nutcracker trembling. Its hands are now on the ground and it's...bowing before you?
"I AM SO SORRY IF I HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO PREVENT YOU FROM BEING WITH YOUR MAGICIAN. I HAD MERELY THOUGHT TO SPEND THE TIME I WAS ALLOTTED BY MY MASTER TO HAVE A BREAK. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, POWERFUL CELESTIAL BEING OF THE STARS," the Nutcracker yells with a trembling voice. Is it...sniffling?
"I, I didn't know, I was sorry- I presumed...-" You say, but then the nutcracker lifts its head up and grasps your hands. Below its eyes, two crevices have opened and there are...tears coming out? How does that- what?
"I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE SORRY FOR BEING SUCH A POOR GENTLEMAN TO A LADY SUCH AS YOU, PRESUMING YOU WERE FRIGHTENED EARLIER WHEN I SEE NOW THAT YOU ARE IN FACT AS FIERCE AS THE SUN AND TWICE AS MERCIFUL, THAT YOU HAVE SPARED ME, A PITIFUL AND INCAPABLE NUTCRACKER. I THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, MADAME STARFALL, THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO HAVE SUCH AN OPEN HEART EVEN FOR THE SMALLEST CREATURES," he says, whimpering as you notice that the tears are actually thousands of tiny marbles that dissolve as they hit the floor. Your fear disappears. Now you just feel bad.
You pat him on the head and say as softly as you can, "It's okay. I'm sorry too. I was frightened too but I see I have nothing to fear."
"MADAME STARFALL?"
You straighten up, one leg forward, and gaze down on the nutcracker's kowtowing face. "You're very kind to say those things, and so I forgive you graciously. Let it be done," you say, with glorious authority.
"OH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU," the nutcracker says, lifting up into the air, almost hitting the ceiling, wiping its tears with one of the curtains.
"Why did you even give him the ability to cry," Ariela asks, still at the table, as Boas rushes to the side of the nutcracker and rubs the giant wooden monster's hand with a sincere gentleness you never thought he had, murmuring what you think are soothing compliments.
"You wouldn't understand, Ari. Letting emotions flow freely is one of the greatest expressions of manly passion," Boas says, wiping a tear of his own as he grips the nutcracker's hand tightly. "Sometimes we are just overcome with the sensitivity of the moment. Cold women like you or cruel Master Pariya wouldn't comprehend it."
Ariela gasps, scoffing. "I am not cold. My blood runs hotter than a nitroglycerin explosion in a coal mine that is poorly timed ends up trapping several miners for days. Eventually they manage to dig their way out and are praised as heroes of the empire, but they all die of lung disease later. Is that cold? Could someone who imagines that be cold? You know what, Danger Bird would know. Danger Bird, am I cold?"
There's an ambiguous chirp from the canary.
"See, Danger Bird doesn't think I'm cold."
Boas quirks a brow "Are you sure that's what he said?" he asks skeptically.
Ariela puts her hands up. "It's the spirit of what he said. And in any case, we're just wasting time with all this emotional jibber-jabber. If you want so badly not to die then we have to focus on doing so right now rather than getting ourselves caught up in- Starfall what are you doing?"
You grin down at her from atop the table (wait how did you do that so fast). "I took the opportunity of that cunning distraction to walk around you and take up a strategic position on top of the table. Now I have three-hundred-sixty degree unlimited stage presence. You will be forced to see a display of my power and appreciate me."
Ariela puts a hand to her temple. "Please get off the table, you're stepping on our escape plan."
"No," you say, standing defiant atop her petty human plans, unable to be moved by even the greatest of commands, magician or otherwise.
"Get off," she almost hisses, her green eyes glaring. You wince at the venom in her expression, a frown growing on your face as you get off the table.
She puts a hand on your shoulder, making direct eye contact with you. "I'm not a child, and I'm not going to be dazzled by your games. Right now I am facing high treason, because I was unlucky enough to be put with you. Do you think I'm happy about this? I'm going to lose everything. My name, my reputation...my head. Everything. And it won't even be as some kind of amazing evil monster. It'll just be me, stupid, useless me, who can't even get her illegal summoning right," her words grow in anger as she continues, until by the end you're averting your gaze.
Maybe she's right. Maybe you should go. Maybe you should just walk away. Maybe you shouldn't even be her familiar. Maybe you'll just take this stupid hat off and go be the empress' pet. If she is going to be like this (Starfall, she's very stressed, she's afraid, just give her a moment-). No. You can't do that. You can't let this feeling overcome you. You don't want the relationship between magician and familiar to start this way.
"Are we clear?" She asks you, voice raised.
"No." You say back. "No." You've never used that word that way before, and it's thrilling. Ariela is taken aback, her eyes widening (now you have to keep going, I'll feed you inspiring lines so that this moment works better). "No, we're not clear. You are my magician. I am your familiar. And I want us to be the best magician and familiar. I don't know anything about what treason is, or about the empress, or much about anything. But you know what I know? I know that you chose me. And I know that I was told that I would have a magician, and that we would grow to trust and care for one another. Can you do that, Ariela?" You say, hesitating at times where Parentheses is thinking of an appropriate word.
Ariela blinks and looks down, the anger in her face disappearing as she bites her lip and rubs her arm. "I don't- I don't know how to be a magician at all-"
You smile, thrusting your hand out for her to take. "And I don't know how to be a familiar. So let's learn together."
You watch a million emotions flash over Ariela's face. In this moment you stare at her not as a curiosity but as a mortal, as a human, and you watch the way the guilt reflects itself in her eyes flicking from place to place, the stress in the creases of her forehead, the fear in her trembling lip. And through it all, you smile, hand offered.
"Okay. Okay. Let's start over. Magician and familiar." She says finally, forming a weak smile of her own. Boas is watching in the background with the nutcracker, eyes glowing with tears.
"Familiar and magician!" You shout, lifting up the parasol, watching as it opens, glowing with blue and golden energy, raining down glittering specks of dust on your and Ariela's nose. The canary suddenly flies off, landing on the couch (wait why is the canary fleeing). The gold reflects in her shining emerald eyes, and your smile widens at the delight. She reaches out to hold the parasol as well, and you let her, letting the power flow through her. In that moment, you dream of flying through the clouds, seeing the world with your magician, the happiness that you can have when you can do something with someone.
And then you try to close it."Scary nutcracker, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way. I want to be cute with my magician and if you interfere I will be forced to take decisive action against you," you say in a low, warning tone. Ariela looks up from the map. She seems confused. Indeed, she must be so confused as to why this nutcracker has yet to yield to your command! You give her a wink and a smile, and then turn back to the nutcracker.
"Well?" You ask again.
As soon as the nutcracker lifts its head up and makes the first snap, a shiver runs down your spine. It leans forward, looming above you, jaw gaping, eyes unmoving, as it comes closer. You keep your parasol pointed at it, but the nutcracker lightly bats it aside, gripping the rim with a giant gloved hand and putting it down. Then it grasps your own trembling hands, and you think it's just about ready to pull you into its maw all at once. You close your eyes and wait for the moment as it looms over you.
...
You open your eyes to see the nutcracker trembling. Its hands are now on the ground and it's...bowing before you?
"I AM SO SORRY IF I HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO PREVENT YOU FROM BEING WITH YOUR MAGICIAN. I HAD MERELY THOUGHT TO SPEND THE TIME I WAS ALLOTTED BY MY MASTER TO HAVE A BREAK. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, POWERFUL CELESTIAL BEING OF THE STARS," the Nutcracker yells with a trembling voice. Is it...sniffling?
"I, I didn't know, I was sorry- I presumed...-" You say, but then the nutcracker lifts its head up and grasps your hands. Below its eyes, two crevices have opened and there are...tears coming out? How does that- what?
"I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE SORRY FOR BEING SUCH A POOR GENTLEMAN TO A LADY SUCH AS YOU, PRESUMING YOU WERE FRIGHTENED EARLIER WHEN I SEE NOW THAT YOU ARE IN FACT AS FIERCE AS THE SUN AND TWICE AS MERCIFUL, THAT YOU HAVE SPARED ME, A PITIFUL AND INCAPABLE NUTCRACKER. I THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, MADAME STARFALL, THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO HAVE SUCH AN OPEN HEART EVEN FOR THE SMALLEST CREATURES," he says, whimpering as you notice that the tears are actually thousands of tiny marbles that dissolve as they hit the floor. Your fear disappears. Now you just feel bad.
You pat him on the head and say as softly as you can, "It's okay. I'm sorry too. I was frightened too but I see I have nothing to fear."
"MADAME STARFALL?"
You straighten up, one leg forward, and gaze down on the nutcracker's kowtowing face. "You're very kind to say those things, and so I forgive you graciously. Let it be done," you say, with glorious authority.
"OH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU," the nutcracker says, lifting up into the air, almost hitting the ceiling, wiping its tears with one of the curtains.
"Why did you even give him the ability to cry," Ariela asks, still at the table, as Boas rushes to the side of the nutcracker and rubs the giant wooden monster's hand with a sincere gentleness you never thought he had, murmuring what you think are soothing compliments.
"You wouldn't understand, Ari. Letting emotions flow freely is one of the greatest expressions of manly passion," Boas says, wiping a tear of his own as he grips the nutcracker's hand tightly. "Sometimes we are just overcome with the sensitivity of the moment. Cold women like you or cruel Master Pariya wouldn't comprehend it."
Ariela gasps, scoffing. "I am not cold. My blood runs hotter than a nitroglycerin explosion in a coal mine that is poorly timed ends up trapping several miners for days. Eventually they manage to dig their way out and are praised as heroes of the empire, but they all die of lung disease later. Is that cold? Could someone who imagines that be cold? You know what, Danger Bird would know. Danger Bird, am I cold?"
There's an ambiguous chirp from the canary.
"See, Danger Bird doesn't think I'm cold."
Boas quirks a brow "Are you sure that's what he said?" he asks skeptically.
Ariela puts her hands up. "It's the spirit of what he said. And in any case, we're just wasting time with all this emotional jibber-jabber. If you want so badly not to die then we have to focus on doing so right now rather than getting ourselves caught up in- Starfall what are you doing?"
You grin down at her from atop the table (wait how did you do that so fast). "I took the opportunity of that cunning distraction to walk around you and take up a strategic position on top of the table. Now I have three-hundred-sixty degree unlimited stage presence. You will be forced to see a display of my power and appreciate me."
Ariela puts a hand to her temple. "Please get off the table, you're stepping on our escape plan."
"No," you say, standing defiant atop her petty human plans, unable to be moved by even the greatest of commands, magician or otherwise.
"Get off," she almost hisses, her green eyes glaring. You wince at the venom in her expression, a frown growing on your face as you get off the table.
She puts a hand on your shoulder, making direct eye contact with you. "I'm not a child, and I'm not going to be dazzled by your games. Right now I am facing high treason, because I was unlucky enough to be put with you. Do you think I'm happy about this? I'm going to lose everything. My name, my reputation...my head. Everything. And it won't even be as some kind of amazing evil monster. It'll just be me, stupid, useless me, who can't even get her illegal summoning right," her words grow in anger as she continues, until by the end you're averting your gaze.
Maybe she's right. Maybe you should go. Maybe you should just walk away. Maybe you shouldn't even be her familiar. Maybe you'll just take this stupid hat off and go be the empress' pet. If she is going to be like this (Starfall, she's very stressed, she's afraid, just give her a moment-). No. You can't do that. You can't let this feeling overcome you. You don't want the relationship between magician and familiar to start this way.
"Are we clear?" She asks you, voice raised.
"No." You say back. "No." You've never used that word that way before, and it's thrilling. Ariela is taken aback, her eyes widening (now you have to keep going, I'll feed you inspiring lines so that this moment works better). "No, we're not clear. You are my magician. I am your familiar. And I want us to be the best magician and familiar. I don't know anything about what treason is, or about the empress, or much about anything. But you know what I know? I know that you chose me. And I know that I was told that I would have a magician, and that we would grow to trust and care for one another. Can you do that, Ariela?" You say, hesitating at times where Parentheses is thinking of an appropriate word.
Ariela blinks and looks down, the anger in her face disappearing as she bites her lip and rubs her arm. "I don't- I don't know how to be a magician at all-"
You smile, thrusting your hand out for her to take. "And I don't know how to be a familiar. So let's learn together."
You watch a million emotions flash over Ariela's face. In this moment you stare at her not as a curiosity but as a mortal, as a human, and you watch the way the guilt reflects itself in her eyes flicking from place to place, the stress in the creases of her forehead, the fear in her trembling lip. And through it all, you smile, hand offered.
"Okay. Okay. Let's start over. Magician and familiar." She says finally, forming a weak smile of her own. Boas is watching in the background with the nutcracker, eyes glowing with tears.
"Familiar and magician!" You shout, lifting up the parasol, watching as it opens, glowing with blue and golden energy, raining down glittering specks of dust on your and Ariela's nose. The canary suddenly flies off, landing on the couch (wait why is the canary fleeing). The gold reflects in her shining emerald eyes, and your smile widens at the delight. She reaches out to hold the parasol as well, and you let her, letting the power flow through her. In that moment, you dream of flying through the clouds, seeing the world with your magician, the happiness that you can have when you can do something with someone.
"Eh?" you say as you fiddle with it. "The mechanism isn't working."
You try to push the mechanism that closes the parasol but it seems stuck.
Ariela blinks. "You do know how to use this thing, right? It seems like a very dangerous artifact, you could-"
"Yeah, yeah, kill the entire universe and incinerate the world, so scary," you say as you finally manage to push the mechanism down with a click. "AHA-"
The parasol closes with the force of a sonic boom.
---
The initial shockwave blasts through the two ceilings and roof of the house and sends you hurtling through the air at a devastatingly fast speed. Wind buffets you as you and Ariela scream in unison, both gripping on desperately to the parasol, eyes closed against the extreme gusts (STARFALL THE MECHANISM). You try to reach up to turn the mechanism and open the parasol but you can't lift your other arm against the force of the air pushing down on you. You squint your eyes open and see Ariela's hand is closer to the mechanism.
"ARIELA," you try your best to yell, "THE MECHANISM!"
"THE CATACLYSM? OH, HAHA, I KNOW, WE'RE BOTH GOING TO DIE!" Ariela yells back. "THIS IS MUCH BETTER THAN HANGING!"
"NO, THE MECHANISM-" you shout to her, but you can't speak loud enough to be heard over the wind. You squint and see that you are rapidly gaining altitude. You need to do something fast or you're going to hit the gate of the heavens and then get thrown back down to earth (guess you'd be a starfall then huh- okay even I know that was in bad taste, not gonna say anything).
You eye the mechanism again. Ariela's hand is below yours on the parasol handle and the mechanism is below her hand. You think if you can just...loosen your grip, you could slide below her hand and press the mechanism (that's too dangerous). But you don't have a choice! Your dream about flying must have been absorbed into the parasol somehow. Maybe it absorbs dreams and uses them to power itself...? But regardless, you need to act now. Oh, but you have so little energy...you haven't napped in forever...
You retrieve a potato from your sleeve (the last of your reserve, for emergencies) and try to reach up, putting it to your face, but you lose your grip and the potato falls out of the sky even as you desperately try and reach out for it. Oh no. Well, you'll just have to do this on an empty stomach, then. Any ideas, Parentheses? (Here's one I just wrote up). No, we can't just keep flying up, that'll kill her (true, let me try another one...) Hmm. That one might work.
"ARIELA," you call out, "I NEED YOU TO HOLD MY HAND."
"NO, I DON'T THINK ANY OF THIS IS GRAND, BUT I HAVE AN IDEA," she shouts back, "HOLD MY HAND!"
"THAT'S WHAT I-" oh forget it, you think, as you grab onto one of her hands. Okay, time for you to loosen your grip on the parasol- wait is she doing the same thing-
"STOP!" You say to each other at the same time, hands gripping the parasol even harder after both of you almost let go at the same time.
"OKAY, AT THE COUNT OF TREE (three) I'LL DO IT," she shouts to you.
"I'LL DO IT INSTEAD, I'M A SPIRIT, I PROBABLY WON'T EVEN DIE IF I FALL AND THIS IS MY FAULT!" You shout back.
"NO, THIS IS MY FAULT, I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO RUDE TO YOU, I'VE BEEN A BAD MAGICIAN!" She shouts back.
"YOU SHOULDN'T SAY THAT, NEITHER OF US KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING!" You counter, streaming down your face from the wind (OH MY STARS JUST DO IT STARFALL).
After a few seconds of stalemate, Ariela opens her eyes, nodding to you and shouting, "YOU DO IT! IT'S YOUR PARASOL!"
Unable to argue with her logic, you nod back and close your eyes, loosening your grip over the parasol. Your fingers slide over hers, and then you feel the mechanism. There! You press it down even as you feel the strength in your fingers failing. Click!
There's an immediate downward force and you lose hold of the parasol, hand slipping and body swinging through the air as the parasol stabilizes. You can feel Ariela's hand losing grip so you grasp onto her jacket, holding on for dear life against the swinging force. Finally, however, the parasol settles, and you are able to reach out a hand past Ariela's face, grabbing onto the handle.
Then you pivot outwards, looking around and gasping. You are high in the air- extremely high. There are some low-lying clouds below you. Ariela is shivering in the cold, although you see a light shimmer of some kind of bubble around the Parasol- it must have protected you against the worst of the pressure (wow very nice parasol when it hurtles you into your death at least you'll do it with some measure of comfort).
But the view is arresting enough to silence even Parentheses' complaints. It is midday, and the Sun looms above you. You smile and wave at him. A warm ray of sunshine hits you in the face and you groan, but you notice that Ariela has stopped all that human shivering.
"Thank you, Sun!" You shout in his general direction. You swear you see him brightening in response (probably frustrated he wasn't able to project enough heat to set her on fire).
"Wow." Ariela says, her gaze trained below. Wondering what the fuss is about (you're used to looking up, I suppose, and appreciating the cosmos), you follow her eyes and gasp.
It is a city of towers and colorful roofs, arranged across roads that span across it, in wide diagonals and winding alleys. Through the center a vast river winds its way lazily, blue water shimmering with sunlight on this day of clear skies. Immediately striking is a great tower that rises high into the air, its surface red, peaked by a single rainbow dome in the shape of an onion bulb. From the apex of the dome, white rays of light shine down upon the city, visible even in the presence of the sun through their glittering reflections. Near it, a vast complex of green, white, and gold sprawls, a seemingly endless series of cobblestone courtyards and brilliant gardens. Colorful bulbs of every shape and size, on the top of towers or at the corner of long blocks, speckle the city's skyline. A wide boulevard, furnished by huge green conifers, surrounds a hexagonal inner city. At each of the six corners stands a massive colossus, a humanoid figure of brown stone hunched forward, fists out. All across the roads there is movement, little ants running across the ground (those are people), along with larger rectangles (carriages) flitting from place to place. In the sky, colorful balloons glide across the clouds, going to and fro.
Beyond the inner city is a sprawling and winding city of lesser architecture and greater factories, spouting smoke. As the parasol slowly descends, you can see the railways your father used to tell you stories about, metal caterpillars (trains) puffing steam as they approach the city. The countryside is a tapestry of green, orange, and brown, strips of color (farmland) stretching out into every direction, with yellow fields and splotches of forest that stretch out into the horizon. You crane your head to the west, and see the sea, a vast dark-blue expanse dotted here and there by flocks of ocean birds or strange constructions on the water (ships). The river feeds into the sea, a large estuary crowded by human buildings all across its mouth.
It is breathtaking. Is this what a human city is like? You want to see it all.
"I never saw it like this." Ariela says, "it's- I didn't know you could do this. It's beautiful."
"Yeah," is all you can spare to say, letting the lazy wind tickle your face as the two of you float high above this city of rainbow bulbs and brambled boulevards.
Then the parasol starts to shake (this thing has a good sense of dramatic timing). Your eyes dart up and you see that the gold and blue outlines are fading away rapidly- does that mean the power of the dream is fading away-
A cloud of white dust poofs around the parasol and then it suddenly closes shut. You only have a moment to open your mouth and begin screaming as you accelerate towards the ground, falling rapidly. You see the massive hole you made in the manse coming up rapidly. You position yourself so at least you'll take the brunt of the landing and close your eyes-
"ARIELA," you try your best to yell, "THE MECHANISM!"
"THE CATACLYSM? OH, HAHA, I KNOW, WE'RE BOTH GOING TO DIE!" Ariela yells back. "THIS IS MUCH BETTER THAN HANGING!"
"NO, THE MECHANISM-" you shout to her, but you can't speak loud enough to be heard over the wind. You squint and see that you are rapidly gaining altitude. You need to do something fast or you're going to hit the gate of the heavens and then get thrown back down to earth (guess you'd be a starfall then huh- okay even I know that was in bad taste, not gonna say anything).
You eye the mechanism again. Ariela's hand is below yours on the parasol handle and the mechanism is below her hand. You think if you can just...loosen your grip, you could slide below her hand and press the mechanism (that's too dangerous). But you don't have a choice! Your dream about flying must have been absorbed into the parasol somehow. Maybe it absorbs dreams and uses them to power itself...? But regardless, you need to act now. Oh, but you have so little energy...you haven't napped in forever...
You retrieve a potato from your sleeve (the last of your reserve, for emergencies) and try to reach up, putting it to your face, but you lose your grip and the potato falls out of the sky even as you desperately try and reach out for it. Oh no. Well, you'll just have to do this on an empty stomach, then. Any ideas, Parentheses? (Here's one I just wrote up). No, we can't just keep flying up, that'll kill her (true, let me try another one...) Hmm. That one might work.
"ARIELA," you call out, "I NEED YOU TO HOLD MY HAND."
"NO, I DON'T THINK ANY OF THIS IS GRAND, BUT I HAVE AN IDEA," she shouts back, "HOLD MY HAND!"
"THAT'S WHAT I-" oh forget it, you think, as you grab onto one of her hands. Okay, time for you to loosen your grip on the parasol- wait is she doing the same thing-
"STOP!" You say to each other at the same time, hands gripping the parasol even harder after both of you almost let go at the same time.
"OKAY, AT THE COUNT OF TREE (three) I'LL DO IT," she shouts to you.
"I'LL DO IT INSTEAD, I'M A SPIRIT, I PROBABLY WON'T EVEN DIE IF I FALL AND THIS IS MY FAULT!" You shout back.
"NO, THIS IS MY FAULT, I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO RUDE TO YOU, I'VE BEEN A BAD MAGICIAN!" She shouts back.
"YOU SHOULDN'T SAY THAT, NEITHER OF US KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING!" You counter, streaming down your face from the wind (OH MY STARS JUST DO IT STARFALL).
After a few seconds of stalemate, Ariela opens her eyes, nodding to you and shouting, "YOU DO IT! IT'S YOUR PARASOL!"
Unable to argue with her logic, you nod back and close your eyes, loosening your grip over the parasol. Your fingers slide over hers, and then you feel the mechanism. There! You press it down even as you feel the strength in your fingers failing. Click!
There's an immediate downward force and you lose hold of the parasol, hand slipping and body swinging through the air as the parasol stabilizes. You can feel Ariela's hand losing grip so you grasp onto her jacket, holding on for dear life against the swinging force. Finally, however, the parasol settles, and you are able to reach out a hand past Ariela's face, grabbing onto the handle.
Then you pivot outwards, looking around and gasping. You are high in the air- extremely high. There are some low-lying clouds below you. Ariela is shivering in the cold, although you see a light shimmer of some kind of bubble around the Parasol- it must have protected you against the worst of the pressure (wow very nice parasol when it hurtles you into your death at least you'll do it with some measure of comfort).
But the view is arresting enough to silence even Parentheses' complaints. It is midday, and the Sun looms above you. You smile and wave at him. A warm ray of sunshine hits you in the face and you groan, but you notice that Ariela has stopped all that human shivering.
"Thank you, Sun!" You shout in his general direction. You swear you see him brightening in response (probably frustrated he wasn't able to project enough heat to set her on fire).
"Wow." Ariela says, her gaze trained below. Wondering what the fuss is about (you're used to looking up, I suppose, and appreciating the cosmos), you follow her eyes and gasp.
It is a city of towers and colorful roofs, arranged across roads that span across it, in wide diagonals and winding alleys. Through the center a vast river winds its way lazily, blue water shimmering with sunlight on this day of clear skies. Immediately striking is a great tower that rises high into the air, its surface red, peaked by a single rainbow dome in the shape of an onion bulb. From the apex of the dome, white rays of light shine down upon the city, visible even in the presence of the sun through their glittering reflections. Near it, a vast complex of green, white, and gold sprawls, a seemingly endless series of cobblestone courtyards and brilliant gardens. Colorful bulbs of every shape and size, on the top of towers or at the corner of long blocks, speckle the city's skyline. A wide boulevard, furnished by huge green conifers, surrounds a hexagonal inner city. At each of the six corners stands a massive colossus, a humanoid figure of brown stone hunched forward, fists out. All across the roads there is movement, little ants running across the ground (those are people), along with larger rectangles (carriages) flitting from place to place. In the sky, colorful balloons glide across the clouds, going to and fro.
Beyond the inner city is a sprawling and winding city of lesser architecture and greater factories, spouting smoke. As the parasol slowly descends, you can see the railways your father used to tell you stories about, metal caterpillars (trains) puffing steam as they approach the city. The countryside is a tapestry of green, orange, and brown, strips of color (farmland) stretching out into every direction, with yellow fields and splotches of forest that stretch out into the horizon. You crane your head to the west, and see the sea, a vast dark-blue expanse dotted here and there by flocks of ocean birds or strange constructions on the water (ships). The river feeds into the sea, a large estuary crowded by human buildings all across its mouth.
It is breathtaking. Is this what a human city is like? You want to see it all.
"I never saw it like this." Ariela says, "it's- I didn't know you could do this. It's beautiful."
"Yeah," is all you can spare to say, letting the lazy wind tickle your face as the two of you float high above this city of rainbow bulbs and brambled boulevards.
Then the parasol starts to shake (this thing has a good sense of dramatic timing). Your eyes dart up and you see that the gold and blue outlines are fading away rapidly- does that mean the power of the dream is fading away-
A cloud of white dust poofs around the parasol and then it suddenly closes shut. You only have a moment to open your mouth and begin screaming as you accelerate towards the ground, falling rapidly. You see the massive hole you made in the manse coming up rapidly. You position yourself so at least you'll take the brunt of the landing and close your eyes-
---
The hard landing never comes. You feel enveloped by a cushion of air as you fall into the manse, and that air slows down the speed of descent to nothing, until you are hovering on your back, still holding the parasol, about two feet above the ground. Then the cushion pops, and you fall to the ground with a thud.You kiss the floor and then your eyes widen. Is Ariela...? You turn over and see her laying there, eyes wide but not hurt. Her chest starts to shake, and then she starts to giggle, and you giggle in turn, and then the two of you are just laying there cackling maniacally, hair totally ruined by the wind, but it was absolutely worth it.
Suddenly, a cane comes down between the two of you, slamming into the floor. You jolt upwards, startled, but suddenly, you can't move at all, as if the air itself is resisting your efforts.
"I see the two of you are quite proud of yourselves," comes a new, unfamiliar female voice. The cane turns, still on the ground, and you and Ariela are flipped over on your backs.
In front of you is a middle-aged woman with a stout body and thick legs. Your eyes are immediately drawn to her opaque black glasses, circular with silver frames that reveal nothing. Her olive skin is subtly weathered, like a plain of sand disturbed by a light wind. Her face is soft and rounded, a short nose and chubby cheeks. Her thin, plain lips are set into a deep frown. She wears a monochrome gray vest with wavy patterns across its fabric, a white shirt, and plain black pants, simple, worn boots.
Atop a disheveled mop of grey hair tied into a bun she has a hat, a short-brimmed thing of off-white felt. On the front, two large orange-black buttons, reminding you of eyes, are stitched into the fabric, along with a single black and creamy white feather attached to its side, standing tall.
The magician reaches a single hand out, and the cane between the two of you returns back to her hand instantly. It is the most elegant part of her attire, carved of wood and painted gray with a white shaft. The cane's is in the pattern of an owl, wings outstretched behind it.
"M-master Pariya..." Ariela stutters as you can suddenly move again, the pressure disappearing. "How did you find us?"
"A little canary told me," Pariya says, as Danger Bird flies to her side. Ariela gasps. You gasp as well, but internally you know very well from your experiences that all birds will betray your love eventually (that damned dove).
"Danger Bird! How could you!"
The Canary tweets in defiance. Pariya gives it a scratch under its chin. "Danger Bird was worried about you after the two of you flew into the sky at a mach speed, so he found me, searching as I was for the missing imperial spirit. As it happens he was the only member of this family who stayed loyal." She scratches her chin as she tilts her head up towards the hole in the ceiling. "That said I'm not too sure about the physics of you falling in the exact same place that you lifted off from."
You pause to answer her, mouth half-open, and then stop. You look over to Ariela. She shrugs as well. "Spirit stuff." You say confidently.
"Spirit stuff. Hmm." Pariya repeats with a chuckle. "That's fair. In any case, I'll be taking this away from you for now, so we don't have any more unfortunate spirit stuff mishaps." She reaches her hand out, the parasol falling into her grasp.
"That's not yours," you shout from the ground. "I got it from the moon! She'll be very mad at you if you do anything with it!"
"Calm yourself," Pariya says, placing the parasol down on the couch with a kind pat. "I will not do anything to this artifact, even if it is a gift from the great loony in the sky." (harsh, but not unfair).
"Master," Ariela cuts in, "why don't we just talk it out, I didn't mean to summon Starfall-"
"You will not call me master for much longer after what you've done," Pariya snaps, tapping the cane against the ground and sending a burst of wind in every direction. "There is no excuse for your actions, and by giving her the hunting tricorn of Countess Solomon you have made it impossible for the Empress not to see it as deliberate provocation! I know very well you never would have committed such treason, but that excuse will not fly before the court!"
"And you, Starfall, daughter of the falling star, princess of spirits!" She says, addressing you, though she keeps her eyes facing forward."First, I will introduce myself. I am Master Pariya, the Magician of the Silent Wind and a treasurer of the Tishrei Grand Lodge. I welcome you to the mortal realm." She bows, but then swiftly straightens herself. "That being said!"
Pariya tightens her hold around the cane and you can feel the air around you pressing down. "I am restraining you for your own good, as it is clear that you have no control over that parasol. Being a spirit of the world's desire does not make you immune to the rules and laws of our realm. And further! As your parents must have instructed you, you should have immediately broken the bond with this magician as soon as you were aware they were not the empress! Did they teach you nothing of your responsibilities and duties?" (Yes.)
"No, Not r-" You begin to open your mouth but then Boas bursts out of a pile of couches in the corner of the room thrown there by your parasol's ascent.
"PARIYA! Vile lapdog of tyranny! You will unhand my sister and her familiar at once, or face the wrath of the coming revolution!" He says from behind her, shouting wildly.
Pariya does not turn to face Boas as she speaks. "Hmph. The coming revolution. Is that Hechmeister?"
Her hat bounces on her head, speaking in a soft, male voice, "Hoo hoo. That particular diction would be drawn primarily from Julovas. Although of course there is no official translation allowed in the empire and so a page number is impossible to identify, the approximate places where he could have gotten such notions would be in the section regarding the end of serfdom and the destruction of the magical classes".
Pariya purses her lips. "I see. Have you been visiting the censor's personal library, Boas? Is that any way for a journeyman to behave?" She asks, unmoving, resting on her cane. "A year ago you were very into Bodabas and other imperial absolutists, and now you've become a fairweather firebrand."
"I-" Boas hesitates, blushing with embarrassment, but then hardens his expression. "You're trying to trip me up! What does it matter what silly notions younger, reactionary Boas had! I am the new Boas, with an iron well bestowed by the popular consciousness, and I demand that you unhand my sister and her familiar!"
"No."
"Then you give me no choice! Have at you!" Boas shouts as he jumps down from the couch, running towards Pariya with surprising speed. "Feel my righteous fist! This is the first of liberty!" He declares as he throws a punch directly at the back of her head, his arm making a metallic creaking sound.
Pariya moves out of the way so fast you almost miss it by blinking. A leg darts out, tripping Boas in the midst of his punch, and then a cane flies into his stomach with brutal force. Boas chokes, gasping for breath, as Pariya slowly retracts the handle of the cane from his stomach. He falls to the ground, clutching his gut and whimpering. Pariya cringes slightly as she watches him collapse. Ariela takes a sharp breath, glowering at the master.
"I die...for the people's will..." He gasps out dramatically, "avenge me, Erasmo..."
"OF COURSE, SIRE!" From the same pile of couches the nutcracker bursts out, flexing his long arms and opening his jaw to its maximum size. "PREPARE TO FACE MY POLITELY GIVEN FURY! I AM ERASMO, THE CERAMIC GENTLEMAN! EVEN YOU, WISE MASTER PARIYA, WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME! DESPITE YOUR MANY GOOD SUGGESTIONS, AND YOUR FINE TEA, I AM FORCED BY CIRCUMSTANCES TO FACE YOU! IT IS A TRAGEDY BUT IT SHALL ALSO BE MY GREATEST MOMENT OF HEROISM! OBSERVE!"
It rushes towards Pariya, but then stops in its tracks mere feet away, frozen in place. Pariya faces the nutcracker with cane outstretched, pointing at him. "Do you really want to find out what happens to a ceramic and wood nutcracker in razor-sharp winds, Erasmo?"
The nutcracker struggles against whatever paralysis has taken him but cannot move. "N-NO." It says, shaking in place.
"Then be a proper gentleman and go back into your hat," she orders.
"I DO WANT TO BE A GENTLEMAN," the nutcracker admits.
"Erasmo! Do not give into her offerings! A gentleman cannot be made by those vested with tyrannical authority!" Boas protests from the ground, only to receive the end of Pariya's cane, jabbed into his shoulderblade.
Pariya digs the cane in, though you notice it seems to be cushioned by a slight sleeve of air, hovering slightly above Boas' back. "I don't want to hurt either a former apprentice or his familiar. But I need you to heed my request for that to happen, Erasmo. Can you fulfill my request?"
"I am a martyr of the revolution!" Boas screams from the ground as he writhes dramatically.
Erasmo turns his head towards his master's overwrought suffering, and then back to Pariya. "...YES. BUT YOU MUST NOT HURT EITHER MASTER ERASMO OR MISTRESS ARIELA."
"I will not," Pariya assures him.
The nutcracker nods his head. Hunched forward in defeat, the nutcracker reaches up, gripping the sides of its ceremonial helmet with both arms. In a few seconds it has disappeared, sucked into the helmet, which shrinks down to a normal, more human size. Your mouth is open in awe and fear at this magician's intimidating power (can we be more like her please).
Then Pariya turns back to you and Ariela and it's mostly fear. She slams the cane against the ground and you're frozen again. Pulling the cane towards her, she lifts the two of you up, until you're in a standing position, still helpless against whatever invisible bindings she has put you in.
"You will both come with me to the Empress' palace. Grand Hatter Maximer and Empress Delilah will hear of what has happened and they will determine what is to be done to you, given the circumstances. I will defend you, Ariela, as my responsibility as your master, but I know little will be done. Now, cease your resistance." She says, her words cold, brooking no disagreement (I think I just got chills).
What are you going to do?
---
Article: The fearsome Silent Wind Magician, Master Pariya, has discovered your whereabouts after saving you and Ariela from a long fall (I did warn you about playing around with that parasol but nooooo you had to have a Magical Moment That Almost Kills You, it's part of the script isn't it, why don't I get a copy) and then demonstrating to you why no one cracks jokes about her "silent wind" by beating Boas and his familiar Erasmo almost effortlessly. Now, however, she has her eyes set on you: she wants to take you back to the palace with her in order to force you to become the empress' familiar, and she is willing to put Ariela in prison (and execution) to do it. You won't let that happen, but after what happened with the parasol you don't want to fight her and cause any more damage.
How should you respond to Pariya's demand that you come with her to the Empress' palace?
[] Let Ariela take the lead. Ariela and her master have a strong relationship. Ariela might be able to convince Pariya on the basis of her own self-interest that if Ariela is imprisoned for treason, Pariya will be under suspicion as well. Besides, you're sure that the master has enough feelings for her apprentice that she wouldn't condemn her to death. Perhaps it would even be possible for Pariya to join you if Ariela convinced her enough...?
- A Test of Trust. At the core of any relationship between familiar and magician is the bond that forms between them. This is not just a bond of a hat to a spirit, but a closer, emotional bond. Being able to trust your master to take the lead in some situations is the first step to developing a bond that can yield great power.
[] Assert your autonomy. You were intended to be the empress' familiar. You were not intended to be her slave. You will not be dragged around by magicians who all want you to cater to their whims. You, Starfall, have chosen Ariela, and if the empress tries to execute her, you will never accept the Empress as a master, and worse, vow cosmic vengeance on her. No, instead, Pariya should be helping you.
- Celestial Confidence. No being that dwells within the spiritual source of the heavens can be weak-willed in their use of the forces of the great astral bodies. If you are to take control of the heritage that has been bestowed upon you, you must first take control of your life and make decisions for yourself.
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[X] Assert your autonomy. You were intended to be the empress' familiar. You were not intended to be her slave. You will not be dragged around by magicians who all want you to cater to their whims. You, Starfall, have chosen Ariela, and if the empress tries to execute her, you will never accept the Empress as a master, and worse, vow cosmic vengeance on her. No, instead, Pariya should be helping you.