COVEN-WIDE TELEPATHY MESSAGE

[spellheal]

Hello everyone! I hope that all of the new members are adjusting well and getting a hold on their magic. As you were informed earlier, we'll be leaving soon! Isn't it exciting? We'll be returning to the hub in a few days -- oh, many of you newer additions have never been. Feel free to ask questions about what it looks like and the living situation.

I'm mostly sending this little mental message to ask how everyone is doing with regards to collecting those magical bones Qri is asking for. I have about 30 that I have saved, and I'll pack them in with our things before we leave. Feel free to give yours to me and I'll keep them together for safe keeping.

Also, I'm always available if you need healing or to ask questions...to talk even!

Oh. This is Genette, by the way. Sorry, I should have mentioned that earlier!

Comments

[oneandmikleonly]

[well balls]

...okay, fair enough.

Has she said anything about why the coven's numbers fluctuate, then? In your letters -- well, your first letters -- you said going home was an impossibility, and new people keep being drawn to join the coven, but...people keep disappearing too. It's been worrying.

[spellheal]

At that point in time, Brie and I were the only coven members that had ever existed to my knowledge. Going home was impossible at that point because we were given a mission. Why people have left...I don't know. But I've asked Qri if others can voluntarily leave and she's said no.

It may have something to do with an energy output. Like the effort it takes to bring and keep them grounded in this universe is too great compared to the magical value they put out. This is my theory, though! No information confirming or denying.

I'm also assuming they went home. I don't actually know where they go...but what other options exist?

[oneandmikleonly]

I...would sincerely hope home occurred to her as the easiest and best option, yes.

...

What would you say Qri is like? As a person, in personality. You and Brie have had more interaction with her than anyone else in the group.

[spellheal]

I'm not sure. She's very curt and to-the-point. It's hard to say that I know what her personality is like, because even for us our interactions are very limited.

[oneandmikleonly]

No casual chat for her, huh. Can you pinpoint anything that might have triggered her to switch from two attendants to a large group, then? Anything the caravan might have run into, or some event...

[spellheal]

It is more beneficial to her to cast a wider net. Brie and I are just two people. We don't have the resources alone to collect large quantities of resources or energy. It's something akin to the theory that there is power in numbers.

If you were a goddess, for instance, would you prefer to have two handmaids who, while very capable, can't work quickly or perform many tasks? Or a large number of handmaids who can perform more tasks and act more efficiently?

It's a decision that I find makes sense! I believe our poor results as a duo may have triggered this, which I'm humbly sorry for that.

[oneandmikleonly]

I don't know if one would call it poor if you were working with two pairs of hands instead of several dozen...perhaps your efforts were also what empowered her to start calling the rest of us.

...was the experience we've had here similar to what you two had before we came, then? Going to a world, interactive with and helping the natives until a power source could be found and gathered?

[spellheal]

Yes. Sometimes these things aren't as revealing as others. Ah, I mean in some worlds the energy we collect is obvious. There was one world we visited where their currency was a form of unawakened magical diamond. Brie robbed a bank and it was quite a dramatic experience.

Other times it's like this. We get acclimated to an area, farm resources for survival and occasionally happen upon a magical resource. The outcomes and energies are as varied as the worlds themselves.

[oneandmikleonly]

Robbed a bank...

[he has to think about that one for a moment. yes. he actually could see Brie robbing an alien bank when it comes down to it. goodness.]

Has she...reacted, become more aware at those times you feed her a resource, then? Is there a pattern there? We had wondered if there was a way to wake her and ask her what we need to know more directly; perhaps an especially large burst of energy might assist with that.

[spellheal]

It used to be that the information I would exchange with Qri was minimal -- her resources were extremely low. After many worlds, these channels did open. While I may not know her, I know that she is aware of me and can and will talk to me when she thinks it is necessary. Our trips also became shorter over time. We were once on a world for six months because of limited resources on another planet.

I also know that Qri has shown me gratitude when I help to find these resources. Brie as well, of course, but I have to tell Brie for her. Not that she cares much.

[oneandmikleonly]

This is very enlightening, thank you.

--wait, you have to tell Brie? Is that because Brie doesn't want to receive communication from her as much, or because Qri talks to you more directly to begin with?

[spellheal]

Qri talks to me directly. Brie isn't exactly disobedient, but I'm more obedient than she is...if that makes sense. I wouldn't trust Brie to deliver a message since she's very self-serving. I am not.

[oneandmikleonly]

[they only have Genette's own word for that...he chooses not to point it out, but he does sound a little rueful on his next reply]

...may I request a favor, miss Genette? Would you mind asking her for us about the people who vanish from the coven? I think if she confirmed that they go home that would set some minds at ease, including mine. One of the people who has disappeared is a friend from my world.

[spellheal]

I'll see what I can do. Unfortunately, no promises can be made with regards to an answer, but I will promise that I'll ask.

[oneandmikleonly]

Thank you.

...is there anything you'd want us to look out for, in return...?

[spellheal]

I can't think of anything. I'm quite content without worldly possessions or asking for things of others.

If you do, however, find any neat hair accessories, I wouldn't say no to a gift!

[oneandmikleonly]

Heh. I'll keep that in mind when we're exploring, then.