unprophesied_of_ages | A forest that was not there yesterday

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

unprophesied_of_ages

Things continue to collapse. At first in a quickly-moving straight line, following Ruin's position, then earthshakingly.

She hears a voice coming from all of the air around her, Why can't I destroy you?

From:

imeanforever

She was told to be quiet, not silent. Alendi didn't blink when she produced footsteps and breaths and heartbeats. She can murmur. Right?

"Hold," she whispers. Queen's phrasing, not Thorn's, not Alendi's. Work. Work work work work work -

From:

nemoconsequentiae

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

From:

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?"

From:

nemoconsequentiae

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

From:

imeanforever

"What do the living two look like?"

From:

nemoconsequentiae

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

Edited Date: 2015-02-15 12:10 am (UTC)

From:

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?"

From:

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.

Edited Date: 2015-02-15 12:16 am (UTC)

From:

imeanforever

"How would you do that?"

From:

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.

From:

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?"

From:

nemoconsequentiae

Yes.

From:

imeanforever

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

Edited Date: 2015-02-15 12:30 am (UTC)

From:

nemoconsequentiae

By preference, by destroying all others except you.

From:

imeanforever

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

From:

nemoconsequentiae

Yes.

From:

imeanforever

"Such as?"

From:

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.

From:

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?"