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

[nemoconsequentiae]

It works. The world goes quiet, except for the last few crashes. The voice doesn't say anything.

[imeanforever]

She has to get this absolutely right. She cannot misphrase, cannot get things in the wrong order. She should probably assume that Ruin has all the powers of this world and just for safety's sake also Fairyland.

She lands on the still ground.

"Listen to me," she says. "You may, truthfully and completely and without attempt to deceive me or drown out my voice or distract me from tasks, and without via any mental circumlocution permitting these things to happen as a side effect, answer my questions. Are there any other people left alive in this world?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

The voice crashes again. Two. The other two were...difficult to destroy. I actually had to expend effort.

[imeanforever]

"What do the living two look like?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

Like you, tiny being. One with white spots on its blue wings, and the other excruciatingly yellow.

[imeanforever]

So Thorn and Nighteyes are gone (oh poor Nighteyes, Nighteyes was nice). Yellow and Spellwhip are all right. Well, maybe harmed, but alive, recoverable. "Where are they?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

One is four thousand miles that way—the wind rustles in an identifiable direction—and the other is two in that one. I can take you to them.

[imeanforever]

"How would you do that?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

Pick you up and carry you, with as much acceleration as your body can stand, pushing the air out of the way ahead of you.

[imeanforever]

She doesn't think Yellow's smart enough to figure out "Ati", but Spellwhip might be. And she should figure out in the general case - "Can you avoid hearing voices which are not mine, and avoid looking at text I am not writing?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

Yes.

[imeanforever]

She should be very, very paranoid about the god of destruction. "How would you do that?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

By preference, by destroying all others except you.

[imeanforever]

"Coooould you do it in some other way that leaves them alive?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

Yes.

[imeanforever]

"Such as?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

Destroying the organs they use to speak, and rendering them similarly unable to write.
Failing that, I could scramble the vibrations coming out of their mouths to hear no words and erase any markings as they write them.

[imeanforever]

She is clearly going to have to make up her own methodology when what she wants is not the literal destruction of something. Or apparently being picked up and transported rapidly; it did come up with that of its own accord. Probably just because it can't hurt her.

"Can you go selectively deaf, instead, so that you can hear me, and I can hear them, but you can't hear them?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

It picked that methodology because it likes sonic booms.

Yes.

[imeanforever]

She should be very paranoid about the god of destruction.

"Would this have any side effects?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

It would increase this universe's total entropy.

[imeanforever]

"...I can live with that. Would picking me up and carrying me to the yellow fairy have any side effects?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

It would be loud enough to destroy everything in its path behind you, while leaving the air perfectly still to your perception.

[imeanforever]

She can't have Yellow deafened; that will defeat the purpose and she can't even heal him until after he's rescinded her orders.

"Can you do it quietly?"

[nemoconsequentiae]

I can do it more quietly. If instead of getting pushed away that column of air were to stop existing, it should cause no other damage.