A forest that was not there yesterday

[unprophesied_of_ages]

The Lord Ruler is in his palace, when he sees a sight he hasn't seen in centuries. Trees, sunlight...is he hallucinating? The fact that there's a forest in his living room isn't the surprising part. The fact that there's a forest on his planet is. As soon as he walks through the door to where his living room isn't, it's definitely not a hallucination.

His stores of Allomantic metals abruptly disappear. They're still physically there, but the power is completely gone. He immediately turns to go back, only to see more forest.

At least his Feruchemy still works—he can tell because he's still alive—but that won't last him forever. He only has so much stored youth, and without both sets of abilities he can't replenish it. He hasn't been in so much danger since the beheading that one time. Returning to Scadrial is the highest and currently only priority. If spontaneous forests are a thing, he needs to find someone who can explain them and more importantly how to get back.

The next few hours are spent walking in an essentially randomly chosen direction, with the sun to his right. He's quite certain that suns are supposed to be moving across the sky, but that's not a pressing emergency. He already knew he wasn't on his own planet when he saw proper trees and plants instead of ash-covered monstrosities. Whenever he calls out, nobody responds. If it's an empty spontaneous forest, he's probably doomed.

After some time, he hears his stomach growl. He hasn't seen much that looks edible, but possibly that's just because he's not used to real plants. Berries. Berries used to exist. Those berries look tasty, and if they're poisonous it's not like he needs to worry about it. As always, he has a truly ridiculous amount of stored health in his gold jewelry. Tapping gold just in case, he eats a handful.

Comments

[imeanforever]

"I'm still under 'take no new action' with exceptions," she points out. "I can't do it unless you say I must or may."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"Oh. You may try to create those metals."

[imeanforever]

"I would also like to sit down, if I'm going to be here for hours. And water and permission to drink it. My medium- to long-term usefulness for any task that requires me to think will be very much increased if I am also allowed to either draw or make fairylights in genuine privacy on a daily or near-daily basis."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"You can do minor things like that as long as they aren't in some way a threat to me or an attempt to get out of an order.

I'll bring writing implements when I bring food, and can refrain from eavesdropping. Nobody else even knows this place exists."

[imeanforever]

As soon as he's said you can do minor things like that Promise construes storing her hearing as being ever so similar to fairy lights. They are both easy accessible magic that she can do right here and now.

She doesn't want to miss a useful caveat, but he says "as long as", and then she stops hearing him until she sees a pause that looks like it's probably between sentences.

He's talking about writing implements. Good.

She sits. "I'll get started."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"I'll be back in a few minutes with food, water, and things to draw with. Anything else you need?"

[imeanforever]

"Not relevantly."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

Alendi leaves.
He's smiling on his way out; he hasn't had a meaningful increase in power in centuries. Promise is the best minion.

[imeanforever]

Promise works on the metal.

And thinks about what things are "minor" and "like that". She is allowed to sit down; is flying like sitting? (Yes, at least short distances.) She can do fairy lights; this allows a wide variety of sorcery. She can speak freely and she still remembers her own name, so if anyone who might be willing to help her comes along and seems like the best chance, she can pull the exact same trick to get away from Alendi that she did to get away from Yellow. They would, however, have to help of their own will at least to start: speaking freely does not let her enforce commands. She could speak them (and even with Alendi's real name forgotten, they might startle him if she timed it right) but they will have no power behind them. Enforcing commands is probably not "minor" or "like that" even without whatever caveat she skipped.

Think, think. (Work, work.)

[unprophesied_of_ages]

Alendi is back soon, carrying a tray. "You can use the tin for taste if you want to. Either direction."

[imeanforever]

"Thank you."

Say aaah.

[unprophesied_of_ages]

He feeds her. A bit undignified for an emperor, but safer than having someone else do it.

"The project on collecting fey food is pretty successful. How much do you think we need?"

[imeanforever]

"I don't know exactly. It depends on the population and delivery mechanism and whether you want me to plant and get more food from any of it. If you're not going to hand-offer me all the water I drink, too, I'll need to purify it by sorcery to prevent the possibility that there's some mortal something in it."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"As long as it isn't some kind of a trick, you can purify drinking water."
He can't think of any way it might be, but better safe than sorry.

[imeanforever]

She reaches for the pitcher and holds it in her lap to do magic to it. And eats from his hand.

[unprophesied_of_ages]

He feeds her, thinking about whether it'd be worth killing a Mistborn and a Feruchemist to give Promise the ability to not need food.

[imeanforever]

Promise, ignorant of this possibility, does not protest.

[unprophesied_of_ages]

There's enough food there that it'll outlast how much she wants to eat.

"I can start spiking water sources, but it depends how diluted it can get and still work."

[imeanforever]

"Food vassalizations can be - fuzzy. There isn't an exact proportion that will definitely work. It's a complex interaction between things like my level of claim to the food and how quickly I try to use it."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"Maybe we should have delayed the collection until you could be there to be in charge of it. Well, we can work with what we've got."

[imeanforever]

Promise doesn't comment.

[unprophesied_of_ages]

When Promise is done eating, Alendi clears the remaining food away, leaving the water and writing materials.

"Nobody but me is going to walk in on you here. I'll stay away for the next...few hours? I'm not immediately in a rush, so let me know if you need longer."

[imeanforever]

"I might not be done with this chunk for as many as seven or eight hours."

[unprophesied_of_ages]

"I'll be back in fewer than that with more food; just trying to provide privacy for the drawing. Why is that important, anyway?"

If she's going to be in here for long, there's another unpleasant consideration.

"If fairy sorcerers still need to use garderobes, the one attached to the room you used last night will be safest. You may, making sure nobody sees you or otherwise finds out you exist, leave for short amounts of time to use the toilet. Since I didn't think to install an outhose in the hidden entrance to the prison of the god of destruction."

[imeanforever]

"You can see the drawings after I've done them, if you want. I can turn invisible, but I still contain spikes," she points out. "If anyone who can see those is around I can't prevent them from noticing me."