hugtopia | The First | Text

I can give you a list of time and temperatures to cook a steak according to it's weight and thickness.

[One had to be precise about these things.]

[Okay, that's a bit... specific. Not precisely what he was looking for, but he'll take anything he can get at this point. Also, the sound of another voice makes him start. He's not used to hearing voices anymore, and it's only been a handful of days.]

I suppose that will be useful eventually. But I can't exactly cook one yet and I don't know how temperatures work very well. Only crafts folk and researchers had thermometers back home.

Edited (more precise) 2020-04-05 04:11 (UTC)

Then I suggest you familiarize yourself with them. Thermometers are simple enough to use, even for the untrained.

There are also visual cues one can look for whilst cooking to determine if it is finished yet or not.

Cooking is a simple task of measurement and monitoring.

[The guy isn't meaning to be condescending. He's probably someone who thinks about big things all the time. Someone who spends all their time researching. Speech to text isn't good enough for getting his point across, and he doesn't want to look like an idiot if it fails to get something he says right. He switches himself to audio and tries to keep the frustration out of his voice because it isn't fair.]

Here's the thing: easy things are complicated for me right now. I'm not used to being able to do anything physical, and my mind almost entirely forgot things like how hands work. Which is to say you can't have known any of that, but that's what I'm dealing with right now.

[Hmm, definitely a strange thing to say.

Which meant he needed to pry for more information.]

Were you previously comatose?

[The question was sincere rather than condescending. Clearly he wanted an explanation, and if he had any inkling he was being insensitive he wasn't showing it.]

[And because he's sincere in the way he asks, Ardbert will answer.]

Would've been easier if I had been. But, no. I was a spirit without a physical body for over a hundred years. Could only see and hear but no one could do the same for me until near the very end of it.

[He considered it for a moment before responding.]

Then I might suggest investing in a toaster and having others cook until you have full control over your faculties. There are acceptable cooks available in the area. It would be unnecessary to accidentally cook yourself due to any inability to control your limbs.

[Silence, then slight amusement despite everything.]

... Guess I've been thinking too long term, huh?

While it is commendable to want to make progress, injury could readily prolong any difficulties you have.

So yes. I believe you may be getting ahead of yourself. Work on properly controlling your body first, then play with fire.

As long as I don't chop anything off, I can heal myself.

... but you're probably right. It's stupid to think people wouldn't want to help, considering the circumstances, aye?

[He was confused for a moment. He didn't oft think of 'human kindness' or generosity. Not that he didn't believe it ever happened. Of course it did. It just wasn't the kind of thing that touched his life often.]

I... suppose there are those in the area who would assist for free. I have someone myself who oft does the cooking.

With what could you heal yourself with?

[Ardbert's still getting used to the idea himself. He's been away from humanity too long to easily remember that kindness is a thing that can be shown to him. To others, yes, but not to him.]

Both free and paid help counts. But I have friends who are already chiding me for being a fool for trying to handle this on my own.

My own aether. I'm what my world calls a Warrior, and I'm strong enough that I can heal and protect myself to make it easier on my party's healer. Or when I do something stupid, like slice the back of my fingers open with a knife while cutting up vegetables.

Aether. I would like to know more about this aether, as well as healing abilities on your world. Do you understand how it works scientifically?

Er... [Right, this is a guy that's all about Science.] Aether's something that exists in all living things and throughout the planet. Without aether, you have have no life or magic. Which is why if you use up too much of your own aether, you'll die.

But if you're around too much excess aether, it can be just as bad, and can kill you or drive you mad. It takes time to replenish from the world around you, and how much aether someone can hold within them varies from person to person. Enough excess aether in an area can affect its weather.

Aether sometimes forms crystals if there's enough of a concentration of it. They can be used as an energy source and can be aspected to different elements. We've learned how to fashion large crystals called Aetherytes that you can use to travel to any place you've been to before with an Aetheryte using the aetheric streams that course through the planet.

... That's more or less all I know. I'm the giant axe swinging man, not a healer or mage.

Fascinating. You have been more than helpful. Would you be willing to show me how you control this aether at some point?

[Because this post about him learning to cook was all about Verstael satisfying his curiosity now.]

Aetherytes allow you to perform a type of teleportation, then?

I... suppose so? I mean, I don't even know your name, yet.

[This guy has completely forgotten about the start of the conversation because he's interested in aether. ... A little creepy, to be honest.]

Aye. You can follow a friend if you're close enough to each other, too. You don't have to individually pay the upkeep price that way.

Research Chief Verstael Besithia of the Imperial Army.

[He has no problem sharing that information. He was quite proud of it, actually. Even if he'd been here for a while, home still played an important part in his life.]

An 'upkeep price'?

[Ha! He was right about him being the researcher type. And he's quite proud of it. Which he should be, but a little humility went a long way.]

Just Ardbert here, like I said. Sounds like you're in charge of a lot of stuff back home.

[Ardbert shrugs, even though Verstael can't see it.]

Might not be the right term, but yes. I guess I misspoke a bit earlier. Aetherytes also have arcane machinery attached to them. Everything has to work right or people teleporting to that Aetheryte might not find their destination partway through. Which means they'd be stuck like that, maybe for all eternity, unless they get lucky enough that someone can find them and pull them out. You can count on one hand the people that can do that.

A pleasure.

[No reason not to be cordial. Ardbert was being quite helpful.]

I see. Does such an... error occur often in this mode of travel?

[At least there's that.]

No, mostly because everyone works hard to make sure it doesn't, and those who use them tend to have more money than those who can't due to their skills.

It must be known of from people who have suffered such a fate and then been recovered, correct?

As far as I know... there's never been anyone recovered. You're just gone.

[There's some side notes he's skipping with that, but eh.]

How do you know of the end result then?

[The shrug in his voice is almost audible.]

I'm just going by what the experts say. I know nothing of it myself, but you can almost feel it when you travel that way. That if you lose your way, you might never find your way out again.

I see. And what of those outside of your world? Are you able to detect the same aether within them as those of your world?

The First | Text | Help Pls

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