Thanks for calling. If you're reaching out to sell your soul, I'll already know and I'll be there soon. If you're calling to just talk, leave a message and I'll call you back when I can. Which will probably be soon. Talk to you then~
That's the plan. All seven rings would be for your people. However they wanted to live there. Travel between the rings is easy. You just ride the music up and down.
The Hedge is another dimension. The world of the Wyrd. A sort of cosmic force that's alive but you can't like talk to it. It is part of everyone and everything fairy. There are thorns everywhere with trods and roads to navigate them. The thorns can drag through you and cut more than your skin. They tear your very soul if you happen to get dragged through them.
["You just ride the music up and down", he says..! She hopes he'd be willing to instruct her people on such matters, or at least show her so she could teach them. But already, he continues to expand her horizon further.]
I... don't assume that my people could just end up in the Hedge by accident?
[To her, it sounds like it might be the origin dimension on fairies - or of one kind of fairy, at least -, and clearly it's far from hospitable! After her experiences in the local fairy kingdom, she feels like there few to none of their domains are particularly human-friendly (or even fairy-friendly, going by Max' account).]
Were you able to heal your soul from the thorns' damage?
They shouldn't end up there on accident. I only allow one Hedge Gate in all of the circles and that's in my office. And the door stays locked unless I need it opened. So your people should be safe, so long as we don't have an invasion into my Arcadia. And that's unlikely.
No, I never did. Out there somewhere is a shard of my soul, floating around, doing whatever.
[He says that last part so flippantly. Like he doesn't care though his expression doesn't quite match it.]
[An invasion being unlikely, but not impossible, concerns her... but then again her world also didn't foresee (or welcome) the genesis of the titans. Some things, she reasons, just cannot be guaranteed. Perhaps to escape that uneasy feeling, she focuses on the state of Max' soul.]
Does that not concern you? Can't you feel a piece missing?
[She honestly has a hard time grasping the concept of a soul, let alone the impact of it being damaged!]
It's like a phantom pain, sometimes. I notice it missing only now and then. Honestly, I miss my own shadow more. The one I have now is a replacement, a prosthetic built out of a True Fae who tried to get one over on me.
The level of concern I have about my missing soul shard is something I'm less likely to share with about anyone. Sorry, Frieda. That's not a topic I am going to share.
[It's important and complicated. That little piece of soul torn from him and missing. It's one of the very few things that can hurt him in his world. And last time he encountered it, someone turned it into buckshot. Not a fun time.]
[Not only did he eat the demons he resurrected, he also turned an enemy into his replacement shadow?! Kindly as he's treating her, this man is terrifying! Frieda can feel doubt about her plans creep up in her mind, but what recourse does she have? She can only hope that her people won't give Max any cause to turn against them in the future.]
I understand. Don't worry - you've told me about so many other things. I never knew how many worlds were out there, how many universes... I'd never heard of the Hedge, or of anything else you've shown me. Thank you so much.
[Interesting as it was to see Max' worlds, Frieda is glad to be back in more regular surroundings. With her soda and plum cake still waiting for her, she eats and drinks, hunger and thirst from everything she had to process and relate winning out over her exhaustion and overwhelmedness. (This entire time, she's been assuming that it's safe to partake since they aren't in a fairy realm... but if she's wrong about that, well!)]
That would be nice! But first, I'll speak to my fellow countrypeople here about the matter. It's a very big endeavour for all of us.
[Alas, so she thinks...]
My head is spinning, honestly. Our own history is so much already, and everything you told me is important, too. May I reach out to you if I need any clarification or reminders?
[She assumes as much, forthcoming as he's been, but it's polite to ask!]
[The food and drink is safe, thankfully. At least Frieda doesn't have to worry about that.]
Of course you can take time to talk to your fellow countrypeople first. And feel free to reach out for any clarifications or reminders. It's a lot to take in and it can get overwhelming easily. You can let your countrypeople know too that they can reach out with any questions, quips, and concerns too.
[She smiles at him even inviting quips. He's a man of contrasts, isn't he? Finishing up her sweet meal, she inclines her head in gratitude as she gets up from her seat. While the renewed memories of her ancestors and some of Max' revelations still have her a little shaken inside, her new hopes shine through more strongly.]
You'll hear from me, then. Again, thank you very much.
[Little does she know just how suspicious and mistrustful her fellow Eldians will be! It'll take her a while to accept their judgement - longer than she anticipates -, but it won't be the last time she's spoken to Max.]
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chiming
no subject
Date: 2024-12-14 05:06 am (UTC)From:The Hedge is another dimension. The world of the Wyrd. A sort of cosmic force that's alive but you can't like talk to it. It is part of everyone and everything fairy. There are thorns everywhere with trods and roads to navigate them. The thorns can drag through you and cut more than your skin. They tear your very soul if you happen to get dragged through them.
Happened to me once. I don't recommend it.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-15 05:00 pm (UTC)From:I... don't assume that my people could just end up in the Hedge by accident?
[To her, it sounds like it might be the origin dimension on fairies - or of one kind of fairy, at least -, and clearly it's far from hospitable! After her experiences in the local fairy kingdom, she feels like there few to none of their domains are particularly human-friendly (or even fairy-friendly, going by Max' account).]
Were you able to heal your soul from the thorns' damage?
no subject
Date: 2024-12-16 01:33 am (UTC)From:No, I never did. Out there somewhere is a shard of my soul, floating around, doing whatever.
[He says that last part so flippantly. Like he doesn't care though his expression doesn't quite match it.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-17 01:35 am (UTC)From:Does that not concern you? Can't you feel a piece missing?
[She honestly has a hard time grasping the concept of a soul, let alone the impact of it being damaged!]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-30 02:11 am (UTC)From:The level of concern I have about my missing soul shard is something I'm less likely to share with about anyone. Sorry, Frieda. That's not a topic I am going to share.
[It's important and complicated. That little piece of soul torn from him and missing. It's one of the very few things that can hurt him in his world. And last time he encountered it, someone turned it into buckshot. Not a fun time.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-30 02:10 pm (UTC)From:I understand. Don't worry - you've told me about so many other things. I never knew how many worlds were out there, how many universes... I'd never heard of the Hedge, or of anything else you've shown me. Thank you so much.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 01:21 am (UTC)From:[He snaps his fingers and the mindscape will end, them both back in their chairs in the room with tea and snacks ready for them.]
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 01:25 pm (UTC)From:That would be nice! But first, I'll speak to my fellow countrypeople here about the matter. It's a very big endeavour for all of us.
[Alas, so she thinks...]
My head is spinning, honestly. Our own history is so much already, and everything you told me is important, too. May I reach out to you if I need any clarification or reminders?
[She assumes as much, forthcoming as he's been, but it's polite to ask!]
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 05:02 pm (UTC)From:Of course you can take time to talk to your fellow countrypeople first. And feel free to reach out for any clarifications or reminders. It's a lot to take in and it can get overwhelming easily. You can let your countrypeople know too that they can reach out with any questions, quips, and concerns too.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 08:00 pm (UTC)From:You'll hear from me, then. Again, thank you very much.
[Little does she know just how suspicious and mistrustful her fellow Eldians will be! It'll take her a while to accept their judgement - longer than she anticipates -, but it won't be the last time she's spoken to Max.]