07.10a: Eye in my Sun

[misfit]

Harrune nods. "Of course. I should have known. Maybe I've spent too long from home not to have reasoned this out sooner."

Harrune steps out in the middle of the hallway, Asai's spell being slowly overwhelmed by the power of Pattern that Harrune is carrying in himself. "Greetings Here. A visit from one of the 12 was not what I was expecting. I assume that you wished to talk to me about something?"

[Veyska]

The strange not-mirrors are extremely fascinating and the clump of unimportant-ness lags behind Harrune by a few body lengths when the newcomer arrives. This trumps strange not-mirrors that will presumably still be there in the future. Just as Asai shares the inexplicable ability of felines to occupy a much larger space than their body mass should allow, so to does she share the ability to seemingly occupy a much smaller space. The now disconcertingly compact spot of irrelevancy is watching and listening quite intently. With any luck her presence won't interfere with the conversation - after all, she's being polite and unobtrusive, even if the latter is as much out of rampant curiosity as it is civility - and it if it doesn't, well one would assume gods from Harrune's home shadow would know about its native races*...

(*Namely, Sleeth. And possibly Zi-ri too. Mostly Sleeth though.)

[Joshua]

"My duties on our home are different than elsewhere. Today I am here on behalf of another, second nephew*. There is a- likeness of Birkozon** you are seeking that threatens 'this place'. Just as part of this place is a likeness of me. There are similarities and differences." He almost smiles. A disturbing enough gesture until you see that the inside of his mouth contains a thousand hair-like tendrils instead of a tongue. "Still, you may stand above thus you must be tested."

He makes no actually threatening moves at that last statement and lets it hang in the air for a while.
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*: This beat cousin-nephew as significantly less creepy. To a cani there is no doubt he means: My parent's sibling's grandson (or son of my cousin or first cousin once removed). He's also clearly being metaphorical.
**: Mentador, god of mind.

[misfit]

"If 'this place' is threatened, then I cannot stand aside and do nothing. What is the nature of this test and when do we begin?"

[Joshua]

Here will laugh. "Too bad. I've waited years on the World Tree for someone to be so bold and nieve to say that to me, and the first time it happens, is someone who can actually protect themselves*."

He will shrug. "I suppose the first test is to see that you're in one, easy enough but it doesn't count. Just know that my counterpart here wants to know how you deal with the threat. The unusual and impossible are common enough here. To quote one of my shadows**: 'You are about to move into areas of the galaxy filled with wonders you cannot possibly imagine. And terrors to freeze your soul!'"

"That is the trial before you. Destroy the unknown, tame it, exile it, transform it, flee or avoid it... Perhaps it is too dangerous to exist and that is the right answer, but perhaps that would also apply to 'this place'. It is a tangle and you wield great power. Do so honestly and we will judge your actions truly."
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*: Pattern Defense trumps god of Location. Seriously, it's bad-ass.
**: Probably.... Makes sense.

[misfit]

"Wonders I cannot imagine and terrors to freeze my soul have been my lot since I first left the Tree. They have forced me to learn and grow. I was not fool enough to think that was behind me."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell who your counterpart here is? Or who is the "we" that shall be judging me?"

"And there is one option your forgot to mention in this test, and in the end it is the most important of them all: to know and understand the unknown. Otherwise I am allowing fear to make my choices for me, and in the long run that is unlikely to end well. I am likely to stumble on that point along the way, but at least I shall be trying."

[Veyska]

Much to Asai's (admittedly relatively minor) annoyance, the incoming trump call doesn't go away when she ignores it at first. Much to her satisfaction, accepting it does not seem to break her 'stealth'. Even as she continues lurking and eavesdropping on Harrune's imported puzzle she silently responds to Rasanam, saying, "Yes yes, we're still here, metaphorically speaking, and so's Here*, not so metaphorically speaking." A brief pause, and then, "Don't break off just yet, this may prove instructive..." With that, she begins 'echoing' the conversation between Harrune and Here across the trump call.

(*Asai doesn't make any effort to make the capitalization clear.)

[Joshua]

'Who?" Here will be a little confused. "Well, consider that part of the test then. Still, if you need a name for 'this place', you are in the Hall of Mirrors. It reminds me of my corridor back home."

"I suppose the 'we' would be my counterpart and your grandsire. You have great potential..." He will turn slightly. "I suppose I should go. There are others here who should have a voice."

[misfit]

Harrune's expression takes on the faintest hint of a roguish grin. "I assumed it would be part of the test, but it does not hurt to ask. Thank you. That does help. I am grateful for the visit and the insights. I would also be grateful to hear from the others. And please tell my grandsire that I shall try not to disappoint him."

[Rasanam]

After some listening to Asai, Rasanam comments on the trump call, Huh. It almost seems like there's someone else listening in. I didn't know you could do that.

And, directed at the (from his perspective still somewhat hypothetical - Asai noticed quite some time ago) third party: Hello?