Text; Nalom 28

[ofthewaste]

Good Day, Havenwell.

I would like to collect some information if you would be willing to assist me with this task. I have seen and heard of a number of instances of the Gods of this realm demonstrating their powers. This has come in a wide variety of forms.

If you have encountered such would you be so kind as to relay the date, example of power, who was present, and which deity you believe was responsible for such actions.

The locals speak of the gods' increasing power. I suspect we should be able to see a similar scale in the activities around the city. I, however, have only arrived recently so I would like to familiarize myself with the extent of their abilities as much as possible.

Many thanks,
Edmund Pevensie

Comments

all the text, sorry Magolor.

[ofthewaste]

[It's definitely appreciated, giving Edmund time to try to wrap his mind around what, exactly, he's looking at. Not that it encourages Edmund to do the same. There are too many preconceptions of his abilities when others can see him, not as a man but a child.

He misses Narnia even more.]

I find it most effective. I would have been far more curious of these things had I not first needed to learn the nuances of these devices.

If you don't mind me asking... what, precisely, are you?

this is gonna keep being video

[begguiling]

[He reads the text as it comes through, which just means a shot of him staring at his screen for a few moments there; it's always a little awkwardly amusing to mix text and video. But that's part of why he does it, really.]

Precisely speaking, I'm a Halcandran! But that might be a little too precise to be useful. Hehehe! I'm just a traveler from a different planet than yours. A lifeform from beyond the stars.

stubborn fools

[ofthewaste]

I've meet a few stars but I cannot say I've known anyone from BEYOND the stars. That is fascinating.

I don't suppose you've offered information on your world and species to Chief Besithia?

[begguiling]

[This time he has to wonder whether that means celebrity-stars or literal-stars, and the contemplation that passes across his face as he reads is genuine. But that can wait for now. As he finishes up, he nods and brightens again.]

Good old Chief! I sure have. You can probably find it in those records he's so proud of. I didn't tell him everything there is to know, but we had a good discussion about it a while back. He was fascinated too!

[ofthewaste]

I will have to look into it. Of course it is fascinating to meet others not of your like. I'm rather used to being on the other side of such encounters, however.

[begguiling]

Ohhh, are you a traveler yourself? Then this must not be all that surprising to you! I don't meet a lot of humans who've been around outside their world.

[ofthewaste]

I am. I, myself, have only been to two worlds but I have a friend who has seen a great number more.

And now I have seen into Aslan's country, however briefly, if that counts at all.

[begguiling]

Since I don't know what that is, I couldn't say why it wouldn't! Where is that?

[ofthewaste]

Beyond Narnia, though I'm not certain if it is a separate world or merely inaccessible. Aslan's country, for I have no better name for it, is far beyond the Eastern Ocean. We had sailed some months past the Seven Isles before we came to it.

[begguiling]

[This is phrased so incredibly quaintly. This guy definitely sounds like someone from a sleepy, backwards planet like Pop Star, which is its own kind of charming.]

Well, was it worth it? If it took you that long to get to, I sure hope it was.

[ofthewaste]

We accomplished much along the way. As they say, it's about the journey not the destination.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[begguiling]

Hehehe, you're a philosophical sort along with being scientifically minded. Is that why you're asking about the power of the gods? I can tell you a story about a time I witnessed it myself! You might appreciate it. I'm scientifically-minded too.

[ofthewaste]

I suppose I am.

I would greatly appreciate that, thank you.

[begguiling]

Well then, here goes!

[Now the reason for him refusing to text will probably become a little more obvious . . . or one of them, anyway. He does also just like for people to be forced to pay more immediate attention to him.]

You asked for a date, right? I couldn't tell you exactly, but I know it happened back in Lasdia, right when the first group of us all arrived. The natives held a citywide game for us: we had to gather ribbons of four different colors, one for each god, and each god had their own task to complete to earn the ribbons. Well, first you had to collect ribbons from your own temple, and then later we swapped them . . . but the point is, I'm with Diacht myself. The God of Truth! And Diacht's task involved bringing someone into their temple with you and confessing some honest truth about yourself to them. Once you'd done that, the priests would hand you a ribbon and you could walk out with it. Makes sense, right?

So of course, being scientifically minded as you are, I had to see what would happen if I tried lying. Would I get away with it? Did the natives have some power to know if we were telling the truth? So I brought a partner in there with me and went up to the altar, and told them a lie instead of a truth.

. . . At first, nothing happened, just as I expected. We went up to the priests to gather our ribbons, and they didn't suspect a thing. I went right out that door with the prize in my hand! —But before I could leave the temple grounds, the ribbon dissolved into dust in my hands. Some power did know I'd been lying and didn't deserve the prize. When I asked them about it, no one knew what had happened . . . and when I tried the challenge again and told the truth the second time, I got my ribbon and left with it just fine.

The point is, there was some force at work there that could tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and disintegrate an object from a distance based on that knowledge. That kind of thing is only possible through magic! And the natives don't really deal in magic. If they do, they're hiding it from us and pretending it's the work of the gods . . . that's possible, but it's a muuuuch bigger issue, isn't it? The only reasons they could possibly have to go out of their way to lie about the entire setup here are super serious accusations. As weird as it is, it's actually more likely it was just the power of Diacht acting on his own temple grounds.

—Well? What do you think? This was pretty minor compared to things like the earthquakes, but I'd just arrived, and it was the first experience I had with feeling like I'd crossed one of the big guys personally. That kind of thing sticks with you!