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[neurotoxicity]

[ If Ivy sounds a tiny bit tired, that's because she is. For a number of reasons that she's really inclined to just not think about. Luckily it seems like the place is getting weird again and that means there's a distraction that she can turn her full focus to. ]

I think there's something we all need to talk about regarding this place. [ Well, there's probably a lot of somethings. ] Has anyone overheard what the locals are talking about now? Evidently Aterat was known for it's Magic Academy. News to me. [ Her tone is dry. It shouldn't be news to her, she's got entire files on the information she's collected about this place. ] Nothing I've compiled from locals previously has ever mentioned that, until now.

But that's not abnormal is it? Seems like every time something new shows up here they act like it's always been here. One man I spoke to was actually annoyed that I wasn't concerned about it. Evidently, if I was really interested in helping Aterat I should be concerned about what's happened there. Not that I'd given any indication I was interested in helping. I guess he took my curiosity on the subject to mean I wanted to help figure out what's going on.

[ She pauses for a second. ] I would like to know what's going on though. Why does this keep happening and what does it mean when it happens? Are we going to see an Academy appear soon? [ And if so, what sort of trouble would that inevitably bring? ] How many instances of this can we list at this point? [ The sound of paper can be heard shuffling around quickly. ] There was the Lighthouse... the chocolatier and noble district...and [ she seems reluctant to actually speak about this one for some reason ] the recent carnival. They always seem to act like they've always known about these places. Maybe it's time we try to figure out why that is.

Comments

Audio;

[gadaboutdetective]

[ Llewellyn was glad he wasn’t the only one worried about that… Both he and Rhy had spoken on the subject since arriving. Sometimes the people here reminded him too much of those in the last place. ]

It’s definitely… a worrying pattern, I think. Not one I’m entirely unfamiliar with, unfortunately. Not that I can say I understand it with absolute certainty… But I can’t help but wonder if there’s something capable of altering their memories with every new addition.

[ Which seemed like something that took a lot of power, though. ]

But I don’t know if it would be the Aspects, I think, they don’t seem particularly experienced with their positions.

[neurotoxicity]

I think at this point there's enough evidence to say with certainty that there is something altering their memories with every new addition. The question then becomes who and why. I'd agree it's not the Aspects, we haven't heard from them in quite some time and they never seemed particularly competent.

[gadaboutdetective]

In the last world, there were ‘locals’ who weren’t real… And the entity in charge could change things and their behavior when it suited the experiment… So I’ve been a bit worried that there might be something similar at work here, honestly.

[ But he was glad they were in agreement on the Aspects. Even if it seemed unkind to call them incompetent? They were. ]

Perhaps… The being that left them in charge isn’t as uh- absent as we first thought?

[neurotoxicity]

Truth be told that was the direction I was thinking in. Though I was worried I was being paranoid. [ Was it a good thing that someone else might share her concern? Or did it just prove that her paranoia might be founded? ]

Wouldn't that explain a lot about this place?

[gadaboutdetective]

[ And here Llewellyn was hoping she’d tell him he was being paranoid again. ]

Mm… We could both be paranoid, I suppose, but given our experiences and the situation, I think it’s probably not unwarranted to form such a hypothesis. Speaking to the locals, it’s clear they believe what they’re saying. It’s all very genuine…

And it explains more than other things would, really… I just don’t know if we could actually prove it one way or another.

[neurotoxicity]

I have good reason to have a healthy dose of paranoia. [ And it didn't have that much to do with things from this place. ] As genuine as they ever are. Though they're a bit...strange themselves. [ She sighs. ]

What would be a way we could prove it?

[gadaboutdetective]

Experience does that, I think… [ Llewellyn knew it was what kept his mind turning the issue over with more concern than might be warranted. There was a wry smile in his tone though as he continued. ] They are… Certainly when you factor in everything that’s happened. Suppose they’d call us strange too, though.

Proving anything is the problem… I can’t say that I would have the knowledge of what’s possible to do so? I’m better at catching people in lies, and they believe what they’re saying. So… not a lie. [ It was damned complicated. ] Might be worth asking someone with more of an uh- decent grasp of things like this. Perhaps some magic that could get to the root of the issue, or reveal what isn’t apparent otherwise.

[neurotoxicity]

[ She pointedly chooses to shut that particular topic down by just not acknowledging it any further. ] They have before, at least one of the ones I spoke to today called me strange. [ But that might have been more on her for being a tiny bit belligerent about the facts. ]

If magic then I guess we both know someone that we can talk to. [ She sighs. ] A start might be figuring out if they have any changes in their mind. I'm not sure how we would know that though.

[gadaboutdetective]

Mm… You get used to that, after a while. [ Llewellyn responded with a wry tone. He wasn’t unfamiliar with being called strange and the like, so it wasn’t anything new to this world.

He moved on rather quickly from there to the main topic. Figuring out how to prove things.]

I believe we’re both thinking of the same person, though you may have a sooner occasion to ask him than I would. [ Yes, Harry might be just the person to be able to come up with something that could test the theory. He was the ‘expert’ as far as Llewellyn was concerned. ] Neither would I… Matters of the mind aren’t exactly well understood in my time.

[ Understatement of the century. ]

But uh- perhaps there’s someone among us who might be able to tell something like that.

[ An ability or something, he supposed even Harry would have an idea of how to work that out. ]

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[harrythelizard]

[He has pointedly not spoken to her, or to many people, since he went to the carnival, for reasons he'd also rather not discuss.]

I'm a little offended I haven't gotten my acceptance letter, but I'm coping.

[But that sounds like a plan, working together, on a project instead of just talking.]

It's...almost like an awakening, isn't it? Like they found something they'd forgotten.

[neurotoxicity]

Are you? You're mentioning it after all. [ It's meant to be teasing and yet her tone is a mixture of tension and restraint.

A clicking sound could be heard in the background, as if she were just clicking a pen open and close. ]

Something they'd forgotten...I hadn't looked at it from that angle.

[harrythelizard]

Coping, Ivy. I didn't say I'd accepted it.

[Great. Now their banter was awkward, and why wouldn't it be? Maybe they should just get down to business. By the sounds coming across the line, she was just as anxious as he was.

Awesome.]

Yeah. The question is why? big groups of people don't forget things unintentionally. You might forget the kettle, or the laundry, but a whole academy, that by the sounds of it was the center of activity in the town and you just left it in your other pants? I don't buy it.

[neurotoxicity]

Maybe if you find out what happened to it, you'll be given an invitation. [ She moves on from that extremely quickly though. ]

You'd think. But they were very insistent I'm in the wrong for not knowing it was here. Maybe the question isn't why, but who.

[harrythelizard]

Shucks, you think so?

[Right. Business. Clearly the safer topic.]

Or it's both. The Aspects seem like a good place to start asking.

[neurotoxicity]

Maybe if you're good. [ Though her tone said there was a doubt for that. ]

I'd forgotten they existed. [ And said super rude. ] Watts has a suggestion for you to try somethin fi you can.

[harrythelizard]

I'll do my best to be on my best behavior.

[Or Stupid Harry could get the idea of trying to flirt with her again. That guy never had good ideas.]

Okay... What's Watts' suggestion.

[neurotoxicity]

Sure.

[ She moves on in a rush. ] If you could use magic to tell if the locals have been manipulated in any way.

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[unknownmoirai]

[Inesa recognizes the voice as the woman she'd briefly met at the carnival and while that isn't the only reason for her reply, it helps her when trying to understand the situation and organize her thoughts.]

Perhaps it is similar to the magic surrounding this city. [She pauses and tries to think of a way to explain it before continuing.] We cannot leave because it is surrounded by a thick fog. If that is possible, why can the same method not be used around memories as well?

Then... it would not be that they did not know of the location but they simply remembered and they remembered it always being there. If this world was once destroyed, it might make sense that it is protecting the people living here while trying to repair itself. Well, not the city itself but those who hold control over it.

I did not know that magic was common when I first arrived. I am not used to that, I have usually kept my magic hidden but perhaps this world had more magic and it is now waking up?

[It's easy to hear that Inesa doubts herself.]

[neurotoxicity]

[ She pauses for a moment to think and the tapping sound a pen can be heard. ] That's a perspective I hadn't considered, but it'd fit with something else I've noticed about them. If your theory is close to the truth then maybe it's just a matter of them becoming whole people again? It'd be less traumatic for them to have memories of what happened to this world locked away. [ Though that just made her wonder what could have happened that was so awful that some magical being locked it all away? That was a disturbing theory to go down. ]

Before the Turn my world was like that. Now, humans are aware of a good portion of the magical community. It'd be interesting to think this world was always open about magic.

[unknownmoirai]

It does, does it not?

I have wondered about this as well. I hope that it is merely a form of protection but it could be something more sinister... I cannot even think of what it could be.

[She pauses and then adds.]

I hope that magic is common place here. Then perhaps my existence would not be so strange. Aside from being a guest to the city, I have not experienced any extra interest concerning my wings or abilities.

[neurotoxicity]

A form of protection for whoever it is that brought us here. Masters do think of themselves first. [ Something she has ample experience in. ] Even if they claim it's for your greater good.

As far as I've noticed the "locals" here don't really care about much to do with us.

[unknownmoirai]

Well, when you think of it like that, perspective is important. But, more than that, I think it is better to take intentions into consideration.

Not that we truly know the intention of those here.

I believe that the locals see us as something natural like the sun and the sky. You expect the sun to rise. Just as the people here expect our existence.

[neurotoxicity]

Maybe I see intentions negatively too often. [ And then just assume from there that everyone has bad intentions. Spoiler: it's more than a maybe. ]

You've got a good perspective. [ One she hadn't considered, again. ] If this Academy is an actual thing, then they may just be used to visitors from other places. Maybe there have even been other people from other worlds before. [ If that was even slightly true then it'd make this world more complicated than she thought. ]

[unknownmoirai]

It is a possibility.

I am a bit busy but I hope to make it there one day. As it had just arrived and is a yearly institution like the library, I imagine that it will be there for some time.

[neurotoxicity]

I suppose that is the good thing about this place, places that show up do seem to stay for a while.