Incomparable

Another. . ? Or, perhaps, the original? In any case. Hello, spirit. Have you been watching the living world, or is this new to you?

My apologies, but I’m afraid I don’t know you. I am- I was Leonardo de Montreal, in life. Who might you be, stranger?

No, this is the first time. I have otherwise left the lands of life to the living.

nowingsofbloodandfire:

Entropy’s I think must have been on some level deliberate; certainly I think you’ll agree he must have had the power to stop it if anyone might have. I want to say Jade would not have done such a thing, especially if she would be leaving people behind, but if it were for the greater good, I don’t think it beyond her.

There are others I have no news of, I’m afraid. I haven’t seen my Serpent friend since the end of the war. They do travel widely, and he can more than take care of himself, but to hear nothing at all…

…I know only slightly more than you, and none of what I can say will answer the “why” of it, but since you deserve to know…

The boy who pulled me out of the Lake… for all that every instinct I have screams that he is as ordinary as they come, he is capable of working Imperial-level wishes that blanket the whole of Town, and he sometimes assumes the form of an oversized snake, or so I am told. For all that his alternate shape strikes me as a familiar one, he has not shown any indication that he recognizes me in turn, or that he remembers events beyond his short ‘mortal’ life.

I cannot tell you why such a thing would occur, or why it would occur at this time… I mislike the implications here, and if possible I like them less now, if he left no word with you.

Truly? That is- well. I don’t have to tell you how bizarre that is. Is it a singular phenomenon, or are there others? If it is widespread, that is at best a worrisome tendency and could at worst be catastrophic.

I have seen… worrying things about my own successor, both in what I presume is where he lived and here on this blog. Is he the same? One message I got implied that he was not openly miraculous, which I did not initially find worthy of note but is in this new context concerning.

He is the only local that I know of who is operating on that precise level of assumed humanity. There could easily be others who present an equally ordinary front and have refrained from dramatic use of miraculous-level abilities, and those would be.. not impossible, but certainly difficult, to spot casually. As for the inverse, I have seen no evidence at all of living Imperators operating solely in the Mythic - even the most powerful touch heavily on the mortal world. I will continue to be vigilant.

Your… successor was doing his best to consider himself entirely human, when I first arrived. I believe he suspected on some level that he was otherwise, but it was part of his nature to continue the masquerade as long as he could. He has achieved miraculous results in his research, but only through independent reconstruction from first principles, heavily tempered by Bleak methodology. Did you intend some other result?

Under what circumstances would I plan this? What I did has never been tried before, to the best of my knowledge. I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know for certain it would work.

You said he’s been using Bleak techniques? That explains some of what I have seen. Perhaps I will leave something for him.

You use the past tense describing this illusion- is he no longer subject to it? Is he more properly- I shouldn’t make assumptions about his nature, I suppose. Is he more comfortable with whatever he is?

#heartlessallegory

I am glad it was useful in some fashion. My main concern, which your question has raised, is whether my nature might be injurious to those I interact with in the course of my duties, and how I might mitigate that. If you have any advice, I am open to hearing it. I appreciate the conversation. --Ø

I do not know of any way to test that remotely, unfortunately. There are void creatures that have the “allergy” you mentioned, and so reality is a hostile environment to them. There are forms of life from the void that are injurious to creation. There are creatures that are neither, and can live here without affecting themselves or others at all.

If you do suspect you have an effect on your surroundings, I suggest you study its specifics. See if it reliably gets better or worse and look for a common thread. If you have a specific “trigger,” perhaps you can avoid it.

anyaboz

Celestial Gryphinx Room Guardians

From top to bottom: Twilight Gryphinx with a tiger eye heart, Blood Moon with a sodalite heart, and Milkyway with a clear quartz heart

Gryphinxes are an invented original species. Each of these room guardians has fully poseable neck, tail, and arms. The heads and arms were cast in resin for extra durability and they have a coat of high quality faux fur.

Have questions? See my FAQ

#creatures of nightmare

Another. . ? Or, perhaps, the original? In any case. Hello, spirit. Have you been watching the living world, or is this new to you?

My apologies, but I’m afraid I don’t know you. I am- I was Leonardo de Montreal, in life. Who might you be, stranger?

No, this is the first time. I have otherwise left the lands of life to the living.

nowingsofbloodandfire:

Entropy’s I think must have been on some level deliberate; certainly I think you’ll agree he must have had the power to stop it if anyone might have. I want to say Jade would not have done such a thing, especially if she would be leaving people behind, but if it were for the greater good, I don’t think it beyond her.

There are others I have no news of, I’m afraid. I haven’t seen my Serpent friend since the end of the war. They do travel widely, and he can more than take care of himself, but to hear nothing at all…

…I know only slightly more than you, and none of what I can say will answer the “why” of it, but since you deserve to know…

The boy who pulled me out of the Lake… for all that every instinct I have screams that he is as ordinary as they come, he is capable of working Imperial-level wishes that blanket the whole of Town, and he sometimes assumes the form of an oversized snake, or so I am told. For all that his alternate shape strikes me as a familiar one, he has not shown any indication that he recognizes me in turn, or that he remembers events beyond his short ‘mortal’ life.

I cannot tell you why such a thing would occur, or why it would occur at this time… I mislike the implications here, and if possible I like them less now, if he left no word with you.

#heartlessallegory #(Leo: (screaming internally))

Truly? That is- well. I don’t have to tell you how bizarre that is. Is it a singular phenomenon, or are there others? If it is widespread, that is at best a worrisome tendency and could at worst be catastrophic.

I have seen... worrying things about my own successor, both in what I presume is where he lived and here on this blog. Is he the same? One message I got implied that he was not openly miraculous, which I did not initially find worthy of note but is in this new context concerning.

You weren't joking about the questions. I will go through them but it will take several entries. These messages are constrained to a certain length. I will warn you in advance that I cannot answer some of them as thoroughly as either of us might like. --Ø

I don't know where I'm originally from, though I last remember coming in from the Outside. Judging from the reactions of other survivors of the world's drowning, and natives...I don't know if I have the nature of an Excrucian or not. Opinions are fairly divided. I also don't know what their nature is well enough to answer; perhaps you might enlighten me? --Ø

To continue: I don't know if there's just one void, or several void-like things, or which of those I might come from. I would hope that there might be other factions; there might not be. I'm the only thing entirely like me that I know of. I cannot speak to other residents or visitors' inclinations. --Ø

If I am of the void, then I am proof that not everything of it is opposed by reality, or vice versa. If I am unknowingly from a drowned world, or another cosmos, I still doubt that the two must be inherently inimical. Conceptually opposed, probably, but that is different from hostility. --Ø

As for individuals, I have met those, marked by the void or no, who are, literally or metaphorically, allergic to aspects of reality. I am not one such individual. Some of them are more metaphysical and destructively harmed than others. I don't know that anyone has tried to remedy it, but I am sure it could be tried. It must be better than destroying it all. --Ø

I think that might be preliminary answers to your questions. Apologies for the volume of entries. I hope they prove enlightening. And to summarize my personal views: I am questionably of reality, almost undoubtedly not of this particular world, and I would not see it all ended. There are things of worth here, including those I cannot comprehend. I wish no war between us. Whether or not you believe me, I have been sincere, though I understand if you doubt. --Ø

Interesting! This is primarily new information to me; I cannot say I am particularly knowledgeable about what exactly makes Excrucians metaphysically distinct from their counterparts in creation.

Certainly your stance on this matter is very much what I had hoped to hear. And of course even if the void was being done measurable harm, I would hope to mitigate or eliminate that damage in ways that don’t involve destroying all that is. I would hardly call the Strategists’ curses “allergies,” but they’re clearly not universal.

Whether you wish war or not is rather beside the point. Even if I had to fight you, I lack the capacity, I suspect. Still, I would prefer to continue a civil discussion. You have been both helpful and courteous and it seems a shame to spoil it. I thus must take you at your word.

Wherever you want to start is fine. I am perfectly able to refuse to answer anything I like, though I doubt you will find such a thing. And yes, as best as I can reckon, I am not originally from Town, or anywhere near it. --Ø

Where are you from, then? Are you the same sort of existence as the Excrucians?

Does that mean Excrucians are not typical of... whatever it is that lives in the void? Are they a faction, like our Heaven and Hell, tied together by a philosophy? Or something else, perhaps? Do you place yourself anywhere in that conceptual space? What other schools of thought are there?

What is the void like? Are there other Ashes? Have you seen them? What are they like? Are they very similar to ours? Do we have counterparts there? Do they have their own great wars?

Is reality truly inherently harmful to the void? Can this be changed? Has anyone ever tried?

I had no way of knowing that is why you died, and I am sorry to have offended. I have no desire for war either, though I was not involved in this world's conflicts to my knowledge. Send him whatever message you see fit. It was conversational; meddling was not my intent. Is there something else you would prefer we talk about? --Ø

This world? Do you mean to say you come from beyond it?

I... I have so many questions for you I’m not sure where to start.

Another. . ? Or, perhaps, the original? In any case. Hello, spirit. Have you been watching the living world, or is this new to you?

My apologies, but I’m afraid I don’t know you. I am- I was Leonardo de Montreal, in life. Who might you be, stranger?

No, this is the first time. I have otherwise left the lands of life to the living.

I see. I recognize that this is absurd, but I am Leonardo de Montreal. It appears to be a startlingly common affliction.

Welcome, then, however temporarily.

…I will refrain from presuming the worst for now. But explain yourself.

Your restraint is appreciated.

I apologize for the ambiguity; I am not claiming to be you, exactly. I slumbered for a time beneath the Outside-tainted waters of Big Lake, and awoke in a Town that was subtly different from the one I left. The Imperators I once knew are missing, or so changed that we are strangers to each other. I have cloaked myself from mortal sight and made no attempt to usurp your place, and I will swear that on any oath you name.

I see. No, that won’t be necessary; I have no place to take. I surrendered it more than a year ago, at least as I was able to measure.

I know that feeling well. Town is well, then? I see at least Jade’s loss has not doomed us all to darkness. Do you know who succeeded her? I myself was able to make arrangements, but her death was sudden… no, you said you did not know anyone here. Is the sun no longer an angel, then?

Town is ..surviving. I do not know if I can confidently state that it is well, with so many of its protectors scattered and weak. But life continues in the mundane world much as it always has.

I am told that her daughter has taken up the Sun’s mantle, but I have not met the girl… Arrangements? Of what kind?

Hmm. Did you know, when a human dies, all their worldly possessions are known as their estate? And before they meet their end, they decide who among those who knew them shall have what, and how they might get it?

Ah. I see. There’s… really very little to say to that, isn’t there?

Apologies. I am told she has friends in Town, and under her care the sun shines bright and strongly; beyond those observations I have not dared to intrude. I fear I would have little to offer except my grief for her mother, which is fresh and raw to me out of all proportion to the years that have passed for her.

I am familiar with the concept, yes. You may be one of the first immortal beings to put it into practice. How much of this - these deaths - were planned, then?

Entropy’s I think must have been on some level deliberate; certainly I think you’ll agree he must have had the power to stop it if anyone might have. I want to say Jade would not have done such a thing, especially if she would be leaving people behind, but if it were for the greater good, I don’t think it beyond her.

There are others I have no news of, I’m afraid. I haven’t seen my Serpent friend since the end of the war. They do travel widely, and he can more than take care of himself, but to hear nothing at all...

#heartlessallegory

If your successor shares any traits with you, a warning might still do him some good. Or if he shares other similarities. It's worthy of you, to decide the war and your deeds, whatever they were, remain over. Some things that should have died may be less dead -- or less inclined to let things stay so, however unreasonable continuing the fight would be. Of those things, from observation, advance warning would aid him greatly. --Ø

It might also upset a ceasefire for which we have sacrificed greatly. One for which I died, in fact. Or had you considered that? I won’t be the cause of the next great war.

... I will send him a message. Will that satisfy your need to meddle in others' affairs?

#ask #anonymous #anon Ø

If the cause was unforeseen you might want to arrange to warn your successor. I'm unclear on the details, and may remain so, but if this is a problem of ancestry or inherited duties, the same cause may be a risk for him. --Ø

I very much doubt it, if the war is as over as it seems. And even aside from that, what possible use could my successor have for my advice? My time is well and truly over, and there is... little place here, I think, for the things I have done.

#anon Ø #ask #anonymous

xkcds

Cauchy-Lorentz: “Something alarmingly mathematical is happening, and you should probably pause to Google my name and check what field I originally worked in.”

Curve-Fitting [Explained]

Another. . ? Or, perhaps, the original? In any case. Hello, spirit. Have you been watching the living world, or is this new to you?

My apologies, but I’m afraid I don’t know you. I am- I was Leonardo de Montreal, in life. Who might you be, stranger?

No, this is the first time. I have otherwise left the lands of life to the living.

I see. I recognize that this is absurd, but I am Leonardo de Montreal. It appears to be a startlingly common affliction.

Welcome, then, however temporarily.

…I will refrain from presuming the worst for now. But explain yourself.

Your restraint is appreciated.

I apologize for the ambiguity; I am not claiming to be you, exactly. I slumbered for a time beneath the Outside-tainted waters of Big Lake, and awoke in a Town that was subtly different from the one I left. The Imperators I once knew are missing, or so changed that we are strangers to each other. I have cloaked myself from mortal sight and made no attempt to usurp your place, and I will swear that on any oath you name.

I see. No, that won’t be necessary; I have no place to take. I surrendered it more than a year ago, at least as I was able to measure.

I know that feeling well. Town is well, then? I see at least Jade’s loss has not doomed us all to darkness. Do you know who succeeded her? I myself was able to make arrangements, but her death was sudden… no, you said you did not know anyone here. Is the sun no longer an angel, then?

Town is ..surviving. I do not know if I can confidently state that it is well, with so many of its protectors scattered and weak. But life continues in the mundane world much as it always has.

I am told that her daughter has taken up the Sun’s mantle, but I have not met the girl… Arrangements? Of what kind?

Hmm. Did you know, when a human dies, all their worldly possessions are known as their estate? And before they meet their end, they decide who among those who knew them shall have what, and how they might get it?

Ah. I see. There’s... really very little to say to that, isn’t there?

#heartlessallegory

...Wait. Are you the same person who usually responds here? Last we spoke you were "fine", and... Forgive me if this is an intrusive question, but how long have you known you're neither mortal nor living? That can be difficult to find out. If this is not new to you, my congratulations on choice of season for revealing it. Very stylish --Ø

Astute. I am not. My successor should indeed be here, but if he is present he is in no state to answer. Given the building is empty but there’s no sign of preparations to leave (and indeed there are indications to the contrary), I suspect my presence precludes his own somehow.

As for how long I’ve known... I was never mortal. I have been dead for perhaps a year, by my reckoning.