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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:28:01 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:28:01 GMT -6
“How was it?” Silver said with a smirk. Clearly he wasn’t fond of the experience. Served him right for sticking his head where it didn’t belong. Not that he would learn anything from it. This was far from the first or the last time that he would do something like this. Thankfully, he rarely got himself into real danger. Perhaps that wind injection was the best thing that could have happened to him after all.
There was an unnatural quality to the ice, as if it didn’t truly belong in this world. Silver noticed they had been staring at it for a long time, even after Quin backed off. Is that why he found it so interesting? They felt like they just had to touch it. Like it was drawing them in, calling out to them to look closer. All they had to do was reach down and touch it. What harm could there be in that?
2 [146.05, 2.4]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:28:24 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:28:24 GMT -6
They kneeled down and brushed away the loose snow on the ground, revealing a crystal clear stretch of ice as far as their sweep could reach. It was too perfect, too smooth and clear. They leaned over the edge, looking into the depths below. What they saw wasn’t water, the bottom of a pool or pond, or even more ice, but instead an endless field of stars. It was as if they were glimpsing into the far reaching depths of the universe.
Viking growled low under his breath, as if he was trying to warn them about something, but they weren’t listening. The Balgor had an uneasy feeling about all of this, but he couldn’t quite place it. There was no enemy, nothing to growl at. He had saved them from falling into the pool, but only physically. It seemed like it had trapped them regardless, sucking them in and pulling them into the icy depths regardless of whether or not they stepped onto it.
3 [146.1, 2.6]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:29:03 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:29:03 GMT -6
He didn’t know what to do, so he took a defensive stance just in case there was something he could sink his ethereal teeth into. Quin had already had his fun with the pool and didn’t seem keen to try it again. He floated up and landed in Viking’s abundant fluffy mane. He really loved to travel with a creature he could physically interact with. They should really do that more often.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Silver pressed a gloved hand against the ice. It didn’t feel like anything. For a second, they felt a combined sense of relief and disappointment. They didn’t know what to expect, but they realized at that moment that they had expected something to happen. The nothingness felt almost overwhelming after all the build up.
Well at least they had solved the mystery, Silver thought to themselves. They used their other hand to help stabilize themselves and push off the ice so they could stand back up.
4 [146.15, 2.8]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:29:39 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:29:39 GMT -6
Apparently that’s all it took, as they began to feel the sensation of falling shake up their entire being.
Silver opened their mouth to scream, but no sound found its way out. They flailed their arms and kicked their feet, hoping to grasp something, anything that would save them. Their heart thumped in their chest and in their ears, the only sound that they could hear. Were they even breathing?
It was like tumbling through the air after being thrown from the back of a Wiurn. It was like swimming in an icy pool at a depth so deep that all light disappeared. It was like sitting in the sand of an hourglass as it poured down with every passing second. It was like standing still in the eye of a storm as chaos surrounded them.
Silver gasped. Finally. They felt like they could breathe again. They opened their eyes. When had they closed them? The first thing they did was look around. Where was Quin? Zii? Viking? Were they safe? The only thoughts they could comprehend were of concern for their friends. Was this their fault?
5 [146.2, 3]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:30:12 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:30:12 GMT -6
Guilt. Their heart sat heavy with the feeling of guilt. This was all their fault. They did this. They ruined everything. They hurt people. They… No! Some thoughts were too difficult to even consider, even when everything else was stripped away.
‘Quin!’ Silver called out. They could see the ghostly form floating freely in front of them. Though no sound escaped their lips, Quin turned as if he heard what they had to say. He squeaked cheerfully and swam through the air to reach them. He gently touched their shoulder with an outstretched claw. It was okay, he was here.
‘I’m so glad you’re safe,’ Silver thought. Their thoughts felt as real as words, so they couldn’t be sure whether they were thinking or talking.
Safe. Were they safe? The guilt was swept away, and a sense of dread filled the void. Like a psychic fire had been lit in their mind.
6 [146.25, 3.2]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:30:33 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:30:33 GMT -6
It was like they were a child again, cowering in fear at the hands of a monster. Standing at the edge of a cliff, teetering into oblivion with no way to turn back. Just a little push, and…
A familiar soft blue glow caught their attention. It felt comfortable, like a small cloud dancing across the sky on a warm spring afternoon. A gentle breeze that ruffled the grass and blew a strand of hair into their face. The comforting glow came from none other than their close companion, Zii.
Silver breathed a soft sigh of relief. Everything they had been thinking about in the last few minutes was stripped away from their brain and suddenly there was nothing but resounding silence. The complete and utter lack of sound was making it difficult for them to even think, as if the void stripped away not only their voice, but their thoughts as well.
7 [146.3, 3.4]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:30:56 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:30:56 GMT -6
They slowly turned away, looking for something to latch on to other than the deafening silence. It felt as if their body was being pulled through molasses with every movement. They opened their eyes - were they closed before? - and before them was a seemingly infinite sea of stars.
Silver had some familiarity with the stars above their homeland, so they scanned the sky for a hint of something familiar. They got the feeling that if only they could find something familiar, it would bring them back to reality. Away from this twisted dreamscape and back to… to what, again?
They watched the stars dance around them, each one its own little ecosystem branching out in every direction, connected yet separate from all of the others. If there were really this many stars, what did that mean for them? Were they truly this small in the scale of the universe? Silver didn’t know much about the cosmos, really, and until now they had never considered the enormity of it all.
8 [146.35, 3.6]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:31:21 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:31:21 GMT -6
It felt like this was the source. The centerpiece of all magic. Of all life. Was that the secret? Did the great and unending field of stars want to tell them that very thing…
Life is magic.
A crushing weight pushed on their chest. It was like they had been hit by a Thundergug right in the sternum. They gasped, and this time they were able to hear themselves. Reality came rushing back in, first with the sounds of nature, then with the feeling of the ground under their knees, and finally with the sight of their own gloves and blades of grass coming up through the space between their fingers.
They flexed their fingers, just to be sure that the dirt beneath them was truly real. There they were, kneeling and looking down just as they had been before they were sucked into the ice. Except the ice was gone. So was the snow, and the bitter morning sun.
9 [146.4, 3.8]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:32:16 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:32:16 GMT -6
They looked up and they could see the sky turning dark. Had they been gone for so long that the sun went down and the ice and snow completely melted? That didn’t seem right.
It was still cold. Their breath formed a little cloud out of the top of their scarf and their cheeks were numb. No doubt it would get even colder once the sun was completely gone from the sky, whenever that happened. If that were the case, however, then where did all of the snow go? It hadn’t melted, clearly, yet it was completely gone, and with it left the array of intricate sculptures.
A low rumbling sound filled their ears. It wasn’t very loud, but considering everything that had just happened, it felt overwhelmingly intense. Silver looked up to see Viking standing over them, purring softly. He seemed pleased by their presence. “Do you… know what happened?”
10 [146.45, 4]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:33:15 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:33:15 GMT -6
Silver asked the question, but they didn’t expect an answer. Even if he did really know, he could hardly communicate it to them. If Viking started to speak to them, they weren't even sure it would be a surprise at this point.
Nonetheless, they would likely never get a satisfying answer. Though they did have a lot to think about. First of all, they needed to figure out where they actually were.
They had a sense in their gut that they hadn’t actually traveled anywhere. They were probably still in the mansion grounds, somewhere. Just where exactly, they did not know. Nothing around them really looked familiar. Even the grass was strange now that they had some time to look at it. The blades appeared to be made of some kind of crystal, but it was soft to the touch. Now where had they seen that before? It felt like something they should know, but just couldn’t put their finger on.
11 [146.5, 4.2]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:33:35 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:33:35 GMT -6
Viking curled up next to them, resting his head on his paws so that he could continue to watch them. Quin popped up from within the fluff of his tail and he chirped cheerfully upon making eye contact with Silver. They smiled faintly back and flopped over onto their side.
“I’m just going to… ah, take a minute,” they said. They rested into the grass and breathed slowly and methodically to bring their mind back to peace. It was difficult to understand everything that just happened. It began to feel like a distant dream they had just awoken from. The only thing they could remember, really remember, was the thought they had a second before they were yanked back into this plane.
Magic is life. Or was it that life is magic? Both seemed true, in an odd sort of way. One could not exist without the other. They would have to do some real thinking on that topic, but perhaps they would wait until they could think more clearly.
12 [146.55, 4.4]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:34:02 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:34:02 GMT -6
They quickly came to conclude that all of this had something to do with the mansion. After all, they had been drawn to touch the ice, and the second they did, they were whisked away into… whatever that was. It felt exactly like the sort of trick they always accused the mansion of playing. Had something like this happened to them before?
They couldn’t remember having had such an experience before, but they also thought that they would have recalled coming to such a profound conclusion. Was this the mansion’s way of giving them a truce? A bit of wisdom considering the truth behind magic itself? That seemed far fetched, but then again everything that just happened to them also seemed pretty out there. They weren’t sure what to believe any more.
“Do you know…?” Silver began to ask, trailing off at the end. Whatever they wanted to ask, they didn’t even bother. Nobody here would have anything to say.
13 [146.6, 4.6]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:34:28 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:34:28 GMT -6
Still, Viking looked back at them with his impossibly pale eyes and listened to what they had to say. Though he couldn’t understand it, he got the sense that it was important and that he should pay attention.
“Ah, it’s pretty cold, isn’t it?” they said, abruptly changing the subject. Though with their head resting on the crystalline grass, they were certainly feeling it. “Why don’t we go inside?” they asked as they sat themselves up.
Was going inside the mansion after such an experience really wise? Not that they often did what they thought was wise anyway. Silver pushed themselves off the ground and onto their feet. They shook their head as if that would stop them from feeling cold. It didn’t.
Viking yawned widely, letting out a squeaky roar-like sound as he did so. Silver beamed at him, thinking it was just like a huge version of a little kitty getting up from a nap. It always made them laugh to see large creatures do cute things. Something about it was inherently comical.
14 [146.65, 4.8]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:34:48 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:34:48 GMT -6
Silver took a moment to look all around them and get a sense for their surroundings. As far as they could tell, they were still in the mansion’s garden. Perhaps near the back? It was hard to tell with everything changing all of the time. The only thing that ever stayed the same was the old well, and they would really rather not have to hunt that down.
The mansion itself stood out as a huge, intricately decorated building. Again, it felt familiar to them, but they couldn’t quite imagine why. Every so often it changed its mood, from frozen to fireworks and even sometimes completely under water. Any room one enters could very well be different in 10 minutes or 10 days. It was never too clear what was going to happen. If there was any sense to be made of it, they certainly hadn’t managed to do so.
15 [146.7, 5]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2023 21:35:16 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2023 21:35:16 GMT -6
“It might be warmer in there, what do you think? We might even find a warm fireplace and some cocoa. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Silver drew on a memory of the frozen winter in which they found just such a room. They supposed that Viking wouldn’t really care for cocoa, but they liked the idea regardless.
Viking stood up and stretched out his claws, then his arms and neck, and finally his back and rump. He ended the stretch with a flick of the tail that sent Quin tumbling to the ground. He straightened himself up and looked down at the disgruntled Paogon. It seemed as if he wanted to say ‘ah sorry, I forgot you were in there’ but not in so many words.
Quin shook himself off and returned to his favorite perch - the top of Silver’s head. From there, he could see what was going on and stay close to his mage all at the same time.
16 [146.75, 5.2]
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