Samyan: Meet Them

Your name is Samyan Amola. You are a mage and chronically ill. you have prepared your cantrips and two spells: charm person and magic missile. You have studied magic for years, but it is only today that you will be given an adventuring party.

Right now, you are feeling bored and useless. Your illness has been keeping you in bed and you are sick of it. You want to be a famous hero and live adventurously, not be stuck inside the house all day.

You can hear voices from the living room. Maybe your sister is having visitors over? You quickly (but without bending down) get dressed and go downstairs. "What's all this commotion?"

You are introduced. Obviously not to Auphrey, the Captain Of The Guard who thinks they're soooo important for the town. You don't know why they keep coming over and asking about your health. You brush them off and focus on the interesting newcomers: Artemis and Mary-Lou. They look out of place in a way you can't quite pinpoint, and it's not just the lack of badges. It feels somehow familiar. They're clearly not from Callahaim, but wherever they come from, they probably stick out the same way there. And: they are adventurers.

"Adventurers! So what's your quest? Where are you going?" "Err, well.. " the short one says (that's Artemis). Mary-Lou speaks: "We're looking for a place to stay and then we'll see".

"You are so boring!" you counter. "You have the possibility to do *anything*, but you're just lazing around!" "Samyan!" your sister tries to stop you. In vain! "If I could be an adventurer I would be killing dragons at least once a week! The whole world is open to you and you waste it!"

"Why can't you be an adventurer?" Artemis asks. You blush angrily. (Your face gets warm... it's a symptom.) "Because I'm ill! I studied magic at the academy but I can't even join a guild because I can't walk and stand long enough for the practical exam!" "Well, maybe-" "No! No it's not a magical illness nor a curse; no, no one knows what it is; no, no cures have worked, yes i am serious." You sit down on the carpet. "Any more questions?"

Artemis seems to think for a while. "What about magic?" "It's not a magical illness so magic can't fix it, did you listen-" "Not to fix it. Okay." He takes a deep breath and looks nervously at all the people in the room. "It's just- "

He seems to be surveying the social situation, so you also take a moment to make yourself aware of your surroundings. Saya and Auphrey are talking amongst themselves, and Mary-Lou is staring off into space.

Artemis joins you on the floor and speaks more quietly. "There's more than just fixing. So I have- I have this friend who is mute. He can't speak, at all. But he knows a type of sign language and his friends learn it too and they can talk with it. And he has a-" he frowns for a moment. "a magical device that he can write on and it will speak the words out loud. For the people who don't know sign language. And my friend-" he points at the taller... elf? "He has a skin disease that doesn't go away. Don't worry it's not contagious. Anyway, he has a special ointment that helps reduce the itchiness. It doesn't fix it, but makes it more endurable. And I-" he seems to hesitate. "I have uh. You know what, nevermind. My point is. If magic can't fix it, maybe it can make it easier for you to live with."

You bite your lip as your brain scrambles to categorize the new information and ideas. It's kind of an addictive feeling, it reminds you of studying new types of magic. "So you're saying-", he starts "If you can't walk-", the idea comes to you both at the same time "flying magic!" "Just a moment!" you say and run back to your room and (you regret the effort and pant once you) return with your notes on various spells.

The Unseen Servant is a beginner spell that you were given at Mawtop University, because they just gave you a bunch of spells to practice. But you easily figured out the internal logic, and if you simply modify this one you could easily make something strong enough to lift you. There's an idea to help with casting it. You're supposed to visualize an invisible servant to carry your bookbag. If successful,it will float a meter above the ground and a meter behind you, basically as if an invisible servant was carrying it. And walking super smoothly somehow, though you have seen your fellow students cast it in a realistic bouncing way. Which you found baffling, as the formula that casts the spell includes no bounce. But people here seem happy to cast spells wrong all the time, in a way that would make your teachers back home pale and pass out for sure. A sight that you hope to witness one day! But back to the spell: It seems quite simple. You simply need to increase the area of gravity suspension. But only along the x and z axis, unless... Floating your entire self sounds like fun, but also impractical for getting out of. You save the idea for a special occassion.

The younger elf seems to know nothing about magic, but follows your explanations interestedly, and bouncing your ideas off of him helps you think through the mathemagics.

There's another component you need to alter, which is the distance of the "leash" on which the spell should follow you. You set it to a few centimeters, that way you'll only have to stick your foot over the edge... Oh, but then how will you get off? Oh right, you can just dismiss it and land on your feet. Okay, you're ready!

You make yourself aware of the meaning of your new formula and weave the magic into place. You know that you're created a horizontal circle of suspended gravity, but you decide to visualize the invisible man anyways. You imagine them holding out their hands questioningly. "Lift me up!" you say and drape yourself over the circle, which is exactly where you thought it would be. The imaginary guy is now holding you bridal style. You are floating 1 meter above the ground, laying in the air kind of sideways and letting your head hand down. All eyes turn on you as you grin upside down. "Saya! I'm going to be an adventurer!"

Mary-Lou: Dissociate

Your name is Mary-Lou. You're a Lâmia and left your homeplanet just one year ago. But you don't think about your homeplanet. You are currently on a trip with your friend Artemis, to get him some time away from his home. You've been taking care of him. Not yourself though, and that's why you're dissociating.

You suddenly realize that guard Captain Auphrey is looking at you critically and expectantly. "Hu-what?" you say. "Where are you two from?" they ask.

You had obviously thought of this before going on the trip. You had studied the maps and picked a city in the north, far enough from your destination to be a safe lie but close enough that travel from there was plausible. "We are from Elvern, up North. We just got here."

Auphrey draws their rapier and points towards you. "You are clearly lying! No one has been able to cross the white wastes for 3 years! And your accent does not sound northern either." You try to remember what your Uvaitune map looked like. The white wastes? Sounds like Ice set you down much further South than you'd assumed. Right! Because of that whole debacle with Vicars blackmail you didn't land at all where you had planned to. You could have hit yourself for forgetting. Auphrey keeps moving the rapier closer to your throat. "Ha! You can't fool me! And don't think I don't know that you freed the bear and caused chaos at the faire! You two are a mighty suspicious pack!" The point of the rapier is touching your throat now and you have to laugh at the threat. "What are you going to do, kill me?"

Their eyes narrow. "Not yet. You're coming with me, both of you. This is an arrest. You are being arrested. I am arresting you."

You can't stop laughing. "And if I resist? Then you will kill me?"

"Yes."

Suddenly you can hear distant shouts and explosions. The noise seems to be coming closer. Auphrey seems distracted.

Artemis pulls his sword at Auphrey and say "Not today." His hand is shaking. Auphrey glances sideways at the short elf, then points their rapier at him instead. "You are both. coming. with. me."

You sigh. It might be coming to a fight after all.

Saya is making fawny eyes at Auphrey. Samyan is standing next to her. She narrows her eyes and very deliberately reaches forward to touch Auphrey's shoulder.

Both Samyan's and Auphrey's eyes seem to glow pink for a heartbeat. They lower their weapon. "Pardon. Where were we?"

"There seems to be some kind of commotion outside" you offer helpfully. They stop to listen, the explosions and screams are growing closer still. The nod appreciatively and straighten their posture. "Thank you. You'll have to forgive me for cutting our meeting short, but duty calls." With that, they grab their coat and storm out.

Saya looks angrily at Samyan. You don't listen to them arguing, you just sink down.