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Cor and I took the public track back from the place of the timekeepers, discussing what we'd seen. Cor thought that we might have seen things from teh Creators' point of view. I wasn't sure it wasn't from the All's point of view.
It had been a hard experience, and all we wanted when we got back to the room was to relax; we took advantage of the others not having returned yet.
Cor had fallen asleep and I was almost dozing when Jack woke us, telling us to come downstairs because May and Thymelixsen were both unconscious. We hurried downstairs, and when we got to them, I saw that the beetles were working on them in some way with their claws, as if they were drawing out invisible things. I figured they knew what to do far better than I did, and watched, trying to see what they were doing. The room was crowded, and there were light morphing creatures about, without fixed bodies, that seemed like they could pass through things, but did not pass through people (because they couldn't, or as a courtesy? I don't know.)
Make woke up first. Apparently May had touched something being brought to one of the light creatures, and passed out. (Thymelixsen touched her when he found her, and passed out as well. Jack arrived next, and was careful to touch neither of them.)
There were crowds of people around, with more solid beings in the dining room. I noticed there was some cross-species talk going on that didn't seem to use any form of interpreter, which was interesting. The crowds looked like the one I'd seen when I jumped forward, and I told May to check for the earlier me. She did for a bit, then Metakesh pulled us out to the main room, where Thymelixsen was awakened.
Thymelixsen said that we should talk to the other kathel now, because they will talk to us during our grace period, and might not later. The other first generation kathel in the city, besides Vosh, are Vampure, who deals with the workers in the buildings, Bove, who handles security (who Jack had talked to), and Gont, who handles trade. Jack said we shouldn't go without a reason, and Cor pointed out that we could find out what they want.
It wasn't going to be a quick conversation. We got some food (exactly the same as the last meal), and brought it up to our room to figure out what our plan would be, and what we'd already learned.
Thymelixsen said that he learned more about how to make his magic better. May said that she'd talked with a Blessed of the Mothe, from a place that didn't have babies anymore. That Blessed told her that cavenant shouldn't cost more than 300 gulwarn. And when she prayed, she was reminded of the secret light, in the underground temple where we'd brought Jack back. She remembered the secret thing, that when we went to Gaukelarems in Bionlear's Skull, she'd brought him something, and brought something back. (Not that she said what.) Cor asked her where the not-nice version of her prayed, and she said that she prayed in the same place.
Jack said he now knew why he couldn't go into the place of the timekeepers: long ago, the Shadow Lord took a cloak from the Lord of Time, and the Lord of Time has not forgiven him (The Shadow Lord stole song from the Mother, but she thought he'd use it well, and forgave him). He also learned that here the Shadow Lord is friends with the Lady of Secrets. Also, the Shadow Lord is something of a loner/outcast, not part of the rest of the gods, and he is not a Creator. The Shadow Lord is also friends with the Lord of Youth/ the Avenger/ the Purple Knight.
Cor told the others what we'd seen, and said that the crack in the All, that's the secret, that can't be let out.
Jack said he saw the tower of possibility, a big mirrored tower, stepped like a fancy cake. It's in an area where there are old Ult houses, and this is their central place, since the Ult have no central government. Of note: the lingua franca seems to be a form of pidgin Ult.
Jack also asked the Shadow Lord if I could learn to be a Purifier and bring that back home, to our root, and he said yes. I wonder whether there will be time, and whether I should make time, or if this is a big distraction from getting home again...
Jack described the place of the Shadow Lord, which was a huge tree covered in bits of metal, a maze around the central trunk, and many layers in the branches, with ropes between the branches. Some areas were for performance, some for meeting, and the temple itself was at the very top.
Jack went in, and found a room with many books, where the lamps cast many shadows. He sneaked up on a man who might have been the Shadow Lord, given how he looked (a mix of human races, also very well dressed) and acted. He was reading a book on plants, that seemed to be in some form of Kraymerrian, though the plants were not familiar to Jack. He told Jack that the edge pulls on us because it sees us, sees the All in us. When we get that out of ourselves, we will feel the pull of home, and won't be distracted anymore. He said that we can learn to feel the taint, but that could be bad, if we fell into the hole of taint and lost ourselves. He also said that the purpose of beings is what fuels the kathel's abilities.
The man said that we have to remember ourselves, and that is helped if we stay together, like having ahome environment. When Jack asked about what is important, the man said that we are, and getitng back to the roots is very important. All of us in all the roots, are important. If we gathered ourselves all together and all stayed here, it would make the roots weaker.
(Jack also said that the temple went down many levels, going down to the other side, to the ghost side, so he was warned not to go down, because there were dangerous ghosts down there. And that he shouldn't drink unless a temple servant gave it to him, because they would know whether the drinks were ok for the drinker.)
May said that she'd found out she could be in touch with the Mother here, but if she did, it would be harder to go back to the root (to go back to the version of the Mother who is in the root, perhaps?).
Jack said that the Shadow Lord seems the same here, not like the Healer or the Mother. He didn't know whether he'd be able to return to the same room he'd found this time, however.
Jack made it up to the temple at the top, and found a fourth generation kathel there, Kern, who was basking,a nd didn't eat Jack (obviously). Jack said that the temple part was a bit like the one in Bo's Point, tented with many folds and drapes. He found his way to the center and prayed about what to learn to serve the Shadow Lord better. He was answered with the idea of a blessing about branching luck. He then found a blessed who knows this, who is willing to teach him. Interestingly, the person is an otherwise-unaffiliated Ult.
Thymelixsen talked with an Ult, who'd said that today was better for us to talk to the kathel, if we asked. He also said that we have a lot of value in what we know and have seen.
I pointed out that I'm not nearly so useful here as at home, since the blessings of the Healer I use affect people directly, so won't help most people here, from other roots. Thymelixsen pointed out that I know a different version of the Healer, which is useful.
Thymelixsen pointed out that there will be a lot of lpeople coming to see us tomorrow, and 1827 is a translator, not a negotiator for us. We talked about options for translators, ranging from earning Ult translator gadgets to buying cavenants, and more. None of this will be cheap, of course.
Cor said that it is important for us to be different, that that helps us.
Jack asked if we had to go to the ghost lands, and was told no, but we'd learn more by going, because it was a dangerous trip, so we'd get closer to the edge by learning on the way.
Thymelixsen said we needed to go to the roots to tighten our threads. We debated what the optimal plan would be. If we work for the Ults first, they'd take us to the roots, and our threads would be tightened. Still, many options seemed useful. We talked a bit longer, and decided that we should go see Gont.
We headed out, and Metakesh pinched at us, as if telling us not to go, as we went by.
The city was still awake, much of it, when we went out. Thymelixsen had already thought about 1827, and 1827 arrived soon after. We got more information: there was a lottery of people who had wanted to see us, and that had already happened, with people starting to arrive tomorrow in the yellow period. Thymelixsen said we wanted to see all three other kathel, and 1827 said there likely wasn't enough time. Gont was the closest, and the most relevant, since he dealt with trad,e and this area of the city, so we decided to visit him. This time was asked about using faster transport, and 1827 arranged for us to go by yaga, which was a large coach with blinking blue lights. It was 10 fulwarn total for us to use the yaga, 4 each. There was no driver, but we could feel some kind of probing thought coming from it. Thymelixsen thought at it that we were going to Gont, and that we were all paying.
It took us to a shaft of light shining down, with blue lights edging the path. We went up (as we had going to see Vosh), and arrived in a woody chamber, with a counter on one side. There were some triangles behind the counter in the colors of Gont, like the triangular servants of Vosh. Some corridors left from this room.
I touched the counter, and it was pulsing with life, feeling like wild wood. I called Thymelixsen over to feel it; it was so nice to sense that.
1827 talked with the triangles, then said that Gont would see us. We followed 1827 down a corridor with irregular alcoves along it. Some had windows, looking out at woods and roads. Some had statues.
We came to a place with leaves, which opened, making metallic sounds, then closed behind us. We were in a large golden wood chamber, with a carpet ahead. Up in the air, floating above the carpet, was a kathel, shiny and black. There were triangles tending him, and motes of light around.
It felt like a huge round room, but really, it was dense forrest instead of walls, with blue sky above. It was such a safe space here.
Gont turned, and started talking, telling us it was too soon for trade, so what were we here for. Jack said he didn't want to be a half glass (having fewer threads of self), and Gont said that if we work with the Ult, who are experienced travelers, they would 'top' us off with slightly dirty thread, so we wouldn't be less while in the roots, though that would be taken back once we'd done their work. Jack asked if we'd then be paid in thread, and Gont said that payment was usually in gulwarn, which could then be traded for clean thread. Once we showed we met their work qualifications, showing that we were not foolish, not lost in time, not edgewalkers, we could earn more. Gont also said that others of us had worked for him or his fellows. Jack asked who Gont wanted us to work for, and Gont replied that the Ult were the safest first choice.
Jack asked why a kathel would need anyone to work for them, and Gont siad that the advantage of being us, not him, is that smallness is useful for not being seen, rather than our particular skills.
Gont told us that he seeis threadweaving as dangerous (though others will disagree). He also said that that the place here is what we make of it, and that the city has already changed because we have arrived; he can't remember what is was like before we arrived.
Jack asked who else we might work for if not the Ult, and Gont said that among the Inyus, there are some who are trustworthy, second after the Ult, though there are some Inyus who are pirates. They tend to have riskier work, which leads to greater pay.
Gont said that the work in the roots that we would do would be based on our natues. Sometimes it involves getting stuff, but mostly it's about going into change the direction of the root's growth. This could involve teaching, or killing, or something else entirely.
Gont warned us that we need to learn how to look at raw thread, to see that they're all clean. Cor asked what the current price of clean thread was on the market, and Gont said that today, it was a bit more than 500 gulwarn for one. Cor asked about how much we'd earn with the Ult, and Gont said that we'd start with about 10 gulwarn per hour, with the rate likely to incrase once our reputations went up. Gont also said that we lose thread at a progressive rate, and as we get closer to the edge, the rate gets more variable.
When I mentioned my blessings only working for those in my own root, Gont said taht they would work in roots close to our root, which was a relief.
Gont told us that there are way to learn how to lose thread less quickly (not by the Ult), but it took a long time to learn.
Jack and Thymelixsen were concerned with learning here, and Gont said that we would be able to make choices when we went back to our root, about what we'd learned here.
Gont also told us how the lottery worked, and how many translator issues worked. He suggested that we don't accept the first offer, because we can continue to see people from the lottery until we accept and offer, and talking with more people could be useful. He said that the Ult houses are not equal, and we could learn more at the tower of possibilities, where they will tell their truth.
And soon after, he extended his hand, and we were back in our room.
It had been a hard experience, and all we wanted when we got back to the room was to relax; we took advantage of the others not having returned yet.
Cor had fallen asleep and I was almost dozing when Jack woke us, telling us to come downstairs because May and Thymelixsen were both unconscious. We hurried downstairs, and when we got to them, I saw that the beetles were working on them in some way with their claws, as if they were drawing out invisible things. I figured they knew what to do far better than I did, and watched, trying to see what they were doing. The room was crowded, and there were light morphing creatures about, without fixed bodies, that seemed like they could pass through things, but did not pass through people (because they couldn't, or as a courtesy? I don't know.)
Make woke up first. Apparently May had touched something being brought to one of the light creatures, and passed out. (Thymelixsen touched her when he found her, and passed out as well. Jack arrived next, and was careful to touch neither of them.)
There were crowds of people around, with more solid beings in the dining room. I noticed there was some cross-species talk going on that didn't seem to use any form of interpreter, which was interesting. The crowds looked like the one I'd seen when I jumped forward, and I told May to check for the earlier me. She did for a bit, then Metakesh pulled us out to the main room, where Thymelixsen was awakened.
Thymelixsen said that we should talk to the other kathel now, because they will talk to us during our grace period, and might not later. The other first generation kathel in the city, besides Vosh, are Vampure, who deals with the workers in the buildings, Bove, who handles security (who Jack had talked to), and Gont, who handles trade. Jack said we shouldn't go without a reason, and Cor pointed out that we could find out what they want.
It wasn't going to be a quick conversation. We got some food (exactly the same as the last meal), and brought it up to our room to figure out what our plan would be, and what we'd already learned.
Thymelixsen said that he learned more about how to make his magic better. May said that she'd talked with a Blessed of the Mothe, from a place that didn't have babies anymore. That Blessed told her that cavenant shouldn't cost more than 300 gulwarn. And when she prayed, she was reminded of the secret light, in the underground temple where we'd brought Jack back. She remembered the secret thing, that when we went to Gaukelarems in Bionlear's Skull, she'd brought him something, and brought something back. (Not that she said what.) Cor asked her where the not-nice version of her prayed, and she said that she prayed in the same place.
Jack said he now knew why he couldn't go into the place of the timekeepers: long ago, the Shadow Lord took a cloak from the Lord of Time, and the Lord of Time has not forgiven him (The Shadow Lord stole song from the Mother, but she thought he'd use it well, and forgave him). He also learned that here the Shadow Lord is friends with the Lady of Secrets. Also, the Shadow Lord is something of a loner/outcast, not part of the rest of the gods, and he is not a Creator. The Shadow Lord is also friends with the Lord of Youth/ the Avenger/ the Purple Knight.
Cor told the others what we'd seen, and said that the crack in the All, that's the secret, that can't be let out.
Jack said he saw the tower of possibility, a big mirrored tower, stepped like a fancy cake. It's in an area where there are old Ult houses, and this is their central place, since the Ult have no central government. Of note: the lingua franca seems to be a form of pidgin Ult.
Jack also asked the Shadow Lord if I could learn to be a Purifier and bring that back home, to our root, and he said yes. I wonder whether there will be time, and whether I should make time, or if this is a big distraction from getting home again...
Jack described the place of the Shadow Lord, which was a huge tree covered in bits of metal, a maze around the central trunk, and many layers in the branches, with ropes between the branches. Some areas were for performance, some for meeting, and the temple itself was at the very top.
Jack went in, and found a room with many books, where the lamps cast many shadows. He sneaked up on a man who might have been the Shadow Lord, given how he looked (a mix of human races, also very well dressed) and acted. He was reading a book on plants, that seemed to be in some form of Kraymerrian, though the plants were not familiar to Jack. He told Jack that the edge pulls on us because it sees us, sees the All in us. When we get that out of ourselves, we will feel the pull of home, and won't be distracted anymore. He said that we can learn to feel the taint, but that could be bad, if we fell into the hole of taint and lost ourselves. He also said that the purpose of beings is what fuels the kathel's abilities.
The man said that we have to remember ourselves, and that is helped if we stay together, like having ahome environment. When Jack asked about what is important, the man said that we are, and getitng back to the roots is very important. All of us in all the roots, are important. If we gathered ourselves all together and all stayed here, it would make the roots weaker.
(Jack also said that the temple went down many levels, going down to the other side, to the ghost side, so he was warned not to go down, because there were dangerous ghosts down there. And that he shouldn't drink unless a temple servant gave it to him, because they would know whether the drinks were ok for the drinker.)
May said that she'd found out she could be in touch with the Mother here, but if she did, it would be harder to go back to the root (to go back to the version of the Mother who is in the root, perhaps?).
Jack said that the Shadow Lord seems the same here, not like the Healer or the Mother. He didn't know whether he'd be able to return to the same room he'd found this time, however.
Jack made it up to the temple at the top, and found a fourth generation kathel there, Kern, who was basking,a nd didn't eat Jack (obviously). Jack said that the temple part was a bit like the one in Bo's Point, tented with many folds and drapes. He found his way to the center and prayed about what to learn to serve the Shadow Lord better. He was answered with the idea of a blessing about branching luck. He then found a blessed who knows this, who is willing to teach him. Interestingly, the person is an otherwise-unaffiliated Ult.
Thymelixsen talked with an Ult, who'd said that today was better for us to talk to the kathel, if we asked. He also said that we have a lot of value in what we know and have seen.
I pointed out that I'm not nearly so useful here as at home, since the blessings of the Healer I use affect people directly, so won't help most people here, from other roots. Thymelixsen pointed out that I know a different version of the Healer, which is useful.
Thymelixsen pointed out that there will be a lot of lpeople coming to see us tomorrow, and 1827 is a translator, not a negotiator for us. We talked about options for translators, ranging from earning Ult translator gadgets to buying cavenants, and more. None of this will be cheap, of course.
Cor said that it is important for us to be different, that that helps us.
Jack asked if we had to go to the ghost lands, and was told no, but we'd learn more by going, because it was a dangerous trip, so we'd get closer to the edge by learning on the way.
Thymelixsen said we needed to go to the roots to tighten our threads. We debated what the optimal plan would be. If we work for the Ults first, they'd take us to the roots, and our threads would be tightened. Still, many options seemed useful. We talked a bit longer, and decided that we should go see Gont.
We headed out, and Metakesh pinched at us, as if telling us not to go, as we went by.
The city was still awake, much of it, when we went out. Thymelixsen had already thought about 1827, and 1827 arrived soon after. We got more information: there was a lottery of people who had wanted to see us, and that had already happened, with people starting to arrive tomorrow in the yellow period. Thymelixsen said we wanted to see all three other kathel, and 1827 said there likely wasn't enough time. Gont was the closest, and the most relevant, since he dealt with trad,e and this area of the city, so we decided to visit him. This time was asked about using faster transport, and 1827 arranged for us to go by yaga, which was a large coach with blinking blue lights. It was 10 fulwarn total for us to use the yaga, 4 each. There was no driver, but we could feel some kind of probing thought coming from it. Thymelixsen thought at it that we were going to Gont, and that we were all paying.
It took us to a shaft of light shining down, with blue lights edging the path. We went up (as we had going to see Vosh), and arrived in a woody chamber, with a counter on one side. There were some triangles behind the counter in the colors of Gont, like the triangular servants of Vosh. Some corridors left from this room.
I touched the counter, and it was pulsing with life, feeling like wild wood. I called Thymelixsen over to feel it; it was so nice to sense that.
1827 talked with the triangles, then said that Gont would see us. We followed 1827 down a corridor with irregular alcoves along it. Some had windows, looking out at woods and roads. Some had statues.
We came to a place with leaves, which opened, making metallic sounds, then closed behind us. We were in a large golden wood chamber, with a carpet ahead. Up in the air, floating above the carpet, was a kathel, shiny and black. There were triangles tending him, and motes of light around.
It felt like a huge round room, but really, it was dense forrest instead of walls, with blue sky above. It was such a safe space here.
Gont turned, and started talking, telling us it was too soon for trade, so what were we here for. Jack said he didn't want to be a half glass (having fewer threads of self), and Gont said that if we work with the Ult, who are experienced travelers, they would 'top' us off with slightly dirty thread, so we wouldn't be less while in the roots, though that would be taken back once we'd done their work. Jack asked if we'd then be paid in thread, and Gont said that payment was usually in gulwarn, which could then be traded for clean thread. Once we showed we met their work qualifications, showing that we were not foolish, not lost in time, not edgewalkers, we could earn more. Gont also said that others of us had worked for him or his fellows. Jack asked who Gont wanted us to work for, and Gont replied that the Ult were the safest first choice.
Jack asked why a kathel would need anyone to work for them, and Gont siad that the advantage of being us, not him, is that smallness is useful for not being seen, rather than our particular skills.
Gont told us that he seeis threadweaving as dangerous (though others will disagree). He also said that that the place here is what we make of it, and that the city has already changed because we have arrived; he can't remember what is was like before we arrived.
Jack asked who else we might work for if not the Ult, and Gont said that among the Inyus, there are some who are trustworthy, second after the Ult, though there are some Inyus who are pirates. They tend to have riskier work, which leads to greater pay.
Gont said that the work in the roots that we would do would be based on our natues. Sometimes it involves getting stuff, but mostly it's about going into change the direction of the root's growth. This could involve teaching, or killing, or something else entirely.
Gont warned us that we need to learn how to look at raw thread, to see that they're all clean. Cor asked what the current price of clean thread was on the market, and Gont said that today, it was a bit more than 500 gulwarn for one. Cor asked about how much we'd earn with the Ult, and Gont said that we'd start with about 10 gulwarn per hour, with the rate likely to incrase once our reputations went up. Gont also said that we lose thread at a progressive rate, and as we get closer to the edge, the rate gets more variable.
When I mentioned my blessings only working for those in my own root, Gont said taht they would work in roots close to our root, which was a relief.
Gont told us that there are way to learn how to lose thread less quickly (not by the Ult), but it took a long time to learn.
Jack and Thymelixsen were concerned with learning here, and Gont said that we would be able to make choices when we went back to our root, about what we'd learned here.
Gont also told us how the lottery worked, and how many translator issues worked. He suggested that we don't accept the first offer, because we can continue to see people from the lottery until we accept and offer, and talking with more people could be useful. He said that the Ult houses are not equal, and we could learn more at the tower of possibilities, where they will tell their truth.
And soon after, he extended his hand, and we were back in our room.
