"I mean if we're talking about the enemy, sure. But they're like, not from around here, I wouldn't call them natural - " she frowns. "And at the point in the Great Cycle we're at, they're not a big problem, because the magic levels aren't high enough - " She shakes her head, a little confused herself, but heartened by his response; someone who knows what horrors are and fights them can't be all bad.
" - let me start at the beginning, okay?" Deep breath. Without thinking, she takes out a smoke and lights it, tilting the package towards him in offering.
"So. The metaplane I'm from - the version of Earth I'm from - we're on this like, millenia-long cycle between two extremes. On one end, magic is everywhere and anyone can do it, and on the other, magic is so rare it basically doesn't exist. It's possible that the cycle is the result of an imbalance in our solar system; Mars and Venus used to be living planets, but something happened in the early days of creation and destroyed everything that lived on them, and shortly after that, according to the explanation I got, magic faded for the first time."
"This would be annoying but not really a problem for anyone but archaeologists except when the magical tide is high, these.... things... from out beyond astral space - and I mean they're not spirits, they're not anything that was ever supposed to be in material or astral space, they're the fucking definition of unnatural - can come in on that tide. Like sharks getting into a protected bay, drawn by suffering and hate and fear as if it were blood in the water."
She uses this metaphor every time. It's a good metaphor.
"Which means that the higher the mana count - the more ambient magic around - the easier time those things have sidling up to get inside someone's head. If you're on the peak end of a similar cycle - yeah, makes sense you might just reject magic."
She takes a drag. "Thing is, at least as far as the only expert I know on the subject is aware, those fucking things aren't supposed to be able to get in here full stop. Figuring out why they are, and what let them, and how stop it if it can be stopped..."
She sighs. "I'd say we're working on it, but I'd actually just mean me. Most of the people who know about the cycle - and that's about two dozen, 'cause fucking immortal elf and dragon bullshit turf wars, long stupid story I don't even understand that good - anyway, they seem to be resigned to it and just happy they know how to survive the part where the enemy shows up, and screw the rest of us. Assholes."
no subject
" - let me start at the beginning, okay?" Deep breath. Without thinking, she takes out a smoke and lights it, tilting the package towards him in offering.
"So. The metaplane I'm from - the version of Earth I'm from - we're on this like, millenia-long cycle between two extremes. On one end, magic is everywhere and anyone can do it, and on the other, magic is so rare it basically doesn't exist. It's possible that the cycle is the result of an imbalance in our solar system; Mars and Venus used to be living planets, but something happened in the early days of creation and destroyed everything that lived on them, and shortly after that, according to the explanation I got, magic faded for the first time."
"This would be annoying but not really a problem for anyone but archaeologists except when the magical tide is high, these.... things... from out beyond astral space - and I mean they're not spirits, they're not anything that was ever supposed to be in material or astral space, they're the fucking definition of unnatural - can come in on that tide. Like sharks getting into a protected bay, drawn by suffering and hate and fear as if it were blood in the water."
She uses this metaphor every time. It's a good metaphor.
"Which means that the higher the mana count - the more ambient magic around - the easier time those things have sidling up to get inside someone's head. If you're on the peak end of a similar cycle - yeah, makes sense you might just reject magic."
She takes a drag. "Thing is, at least as far as the only expert I know on the subject is aware, those fucking things aren't supposed to be able to get in here full stop. Figuring out why they are, and what let them, and how stop it if it can be stopped..."
She sighs. "I'd say we're working on it, but I'd actually just mean me. Most of the people who know about the cycle - and that's about two dozen, 'cause fucking immortal elf and dragon bullshit turf wars, long stupid story I don't even understand that good - anyway, they seem to be resigned to it and just happy they know how to survive the part where the enemy shows up, and screw the rest of us. Assholes."