aterat | [ audio ]

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[ 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.

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[ 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.

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.

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?

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?

[ 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.

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?

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.

Edited 2022-04-21 05:07 (UTC)

[ 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.

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. ]

Maybe you do. [ But she didn't. People back home were rarely brave enough to call her strange to her face. Behind her back? Probably. Usually she instilled enough fear and respect to keep it from being said to her face.

She heaves a sigh. ] I'll ask him. [ Only because business was important. ] Maybe he'll be able to pick up signs of magical tampering if there are any. [ There's the sound of paper again and she falls silent for a minute. ] I'm not sure if we have anyone with abilities like that currently. [ Not that she...keeps...a partial list...]

[ Llewellyn had a feeling she wasn’t keen to experience being called or thought of as strange, often, but people were… well, people. Once they decided something about you, it was damn hard to change their perception. So he mostly ignored it. Mostly… ]

Excellent, do keep me uh- posted if he comes up with something useful. [ Or, you know, tell him if it’s just an interesting conversation. Llewellyn was nosey, after all. ] No… I haven’t met anyone who does. Lots of abilities, but nothing that I know would be able to tell if people are being tampered with by outside forces. I suppose that might be a little too convenient to hope for.

Mm, I...could-- [ could I talk to you about something. That's what she almost asks before she thinks better of it. She's Ivy Tamwood. She handles things herself by not handling them. ]

There is something I've noticed about them that may mean something.

You could…? [ She could what? Llewellyn, of course, had to ask. It wasn’t like he could have missed that, unfortunately, for Ivy.

Well, at least she said something rather interesting after the fact to catch his attention. ]

Oh? What have you noticed, Ivy?

[ Gathering as many details as possible, it might just give them something larger to go off of. ]

Let you know. [ She responds as quickly as possible. A bit too quickly maybe. ]

I think they're changing themselves. They're starting to feel more whole.

Uh… Please do. [ If this were a video call, he would absolutely be looking at her skeptically... Definitely… ] I confess, you have me curious.

Changing themselves…? [ Well… In some ways that made sense, but the kind of change they were talking about wasn’t… ] You mean as the uh- world continues to grow and recover from… whatever happened… They might be as well. I hadn’t considered that was possible? But mm… I suppose we don’t really know how this works so…

You're always curious. [ Therefore suddenly being curious is just his norm. ]

Hadn't really thought about telling anyone about it until we started talking about this. It's only something I noticed recently, specifically when that stupid carnival was around. It's possibly they've changed pretty rapidly.

Touché… [ She had him there, after all. It was hard to curb the nosiness when someone had gotten his attention like that, though, but he at least could tell she wasn’t going to be filling him in any time soon… ]

Adapting to the changing world itself and the way things were brought back from whatever happened… It’s a good point. [ Llewellyn raised a brow lightly at the specific way she referred to the carnival. Stupid, huh? ] Something happen at the carnival? Or are we uh- describing it and it’s… oddities in general?

[ She's not entirely sure how to handle actually winning so she just moves on. ]

I'm not sure how we could prove it, but it's starting to give us some answers. [ It almost feels like progress. ] I'm sure a lot of things happened at the carnival. [ Maybe she sounds just a bit defensive. ]

Perhaps we can figure out how to prove it in time? For now, it’s just nice to have some new thoughts and ideas on all of this.

[ It was a short-lived victory, really, because his curiosity had shifted immediately to how defensive she sounded about the carnival. ]

Mm… I wouldn’t doubt that, no, but your tone and the way you phrased it suggested a specific something happening while you were there?

I guess that's true. [ Stupid positive spin on things. ]

I'd rather not talk about it through this. [ Does she mean she'd want to talk about it elsewhere? Probably not. ]

I see… [ Ivy had to know what would be coming next when she said that, right? This is Llewellyn, after all… ] Does that mean you’d talk about it if we weren’t on the network? I could probably find a moment if you like.

[ Annoying man being annoying about caring. What could you do? ]

It's not important enough for you to go to any trouble.

I think our definitions of ‘go to any trouble,’ are rather different…? It wouldn’t be any trouble or bother, you know. It’s not as though I have to get on a train or anything to visit for a conversation outside a public network.

Well, if you'll be in town I was thinking of getting a drink in a few hours. [ The most passive way to ask to talk ever. ]

[ Llewellyn was of the mind that he would take what he could get when it came to Ivy agreeing to talk. How they got to it didn’t matter, as long as they did. ]

Considering I now live in one of the smaller neighborhoods next to the market? Yes, I believe I should be in town still. So I’ll see you at the tavern in a few hours, then to uh- discuss the carnival.

[ And whatever happened that clearly has Ivy of the mind that it wasn’t to be discussed on the network. ]

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