dreamcrystals | S'mores! And a Request

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S'mores! And a Request

Sender: Oriphi
To: All
Subject: S'mores! And a Request

Hello, everyone!

Since there are so many new dreamwalkers who've just arrived, I thought it might be nice to encourage everyone to get together and meet! There is a communal firepit in a clearing just outside of the residential area where I've got a fire going, and I have plenty of supplies to make "s'mores," which I only just learned about recently. (Thank you, Miss Tifa!) If you haven't had this before, please come and try it, it's delicious!

Additionally, I have a request for everyone to please keep an eye out for a few individuals... I realize that this may be in vain since their names did not appear in the directory, but just in case...

Colin
He is a tall, half-elven man with long, dark hair. He is very charismatic and funny and likely to be found busking with his lute somewhere or telling stories!

Aerie
Also tall, but fully an elf, very pretty and intelligent, also with dark hair (but not related to Colin!). She usually has three wolves with her. Extremely competent hunter!

Mellon
Also tall, also fully an elf, he usually does not wear a shirt. He loves to drink and might try to clear out any supply of alcohol... Please do not get into a tavern brawl with him.

Dae
Also tall, and also fully an elf, with white hair and red eyes. He is very good at magic and possibly would want to spar with you! Would likely have an owl familiar with him.

Cibark
Even taller and very very strong! He is a half-orc with green skin and usually wears armor and wields large weapons. He has a very dashing and heroic aura about him!

Sian
Not tall! They usually wear a cloak and a mask. Usually quiet but very sassy. They might be flying around, but they also don't usually remember that they can do that.

[ Ori why are you always surrounded by tall people ]

If at any point in the future you come across anybody who seems to fit these descriptions, please let me know!

(( ooc: Naturally open to these moving into or starting as an action thread! Come get s'mores! Or not. I can't tell you what to do. ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh. I guess I hadn't thought about how elves could be different... Where I'm from, they tend to be tall, live very long lives, are quite magically-inclined, and have pointed ears. Other than that, their appearances can vary very much depending on where they're from...

I'm about five feet tall, and the tall friends I'm looking for are all about six feel tall, so they're all quite a bit taller than I am. And a foot is... about the length of one's forearm. But I guess I shouldn't assume that everyone has forearms that are about a foot... This is difficult.

What are yalms?

A yalm is three fulms. A fulm is twelve ilms.

If I had to make an approximation, most of the individuals I've encountered within this place (barring the more obvious outliers, of course) stand between five and six, perhaps seven fulms at most. Six fulms is the same as two yalms.

Everything is, of course, relative. Still, I suppose the elves of your world do not sound so very different from the elezen of the Source.

[ Although it goes unseen, Ori's expression just grows more perplexed the more she reads of his... explanation... but one word in particular does stick out at her, bidding her to cast the height conversation aside entirely. At least, for the moment. ]

Elezen? I knew a Miss Alisaie who was here for some time, who called elves "Elezen." Are you perhaps from the same realm as she?

[Emet-Selch had never been one to get quite that chummy with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, but yes, the name certainly rings a bell. Alisaie Leveilleur, one of two twins, grandchildren of the late and much-revered Louisoix Leveilleur. Few living wouldn't know of him.]

Oh, how very interesting.

Yes, I know of someone bearing that name, a young elezen herself as a matter of fact. We were traveling companions for a time. Such a brave and noble quest, all to bring the night sky back to a world razed by the Light.

[Well, that's more or less how it went anyway.]

I only knew her for a short time, but she seemed really nice...

And, if it helps to give you a frame of reference, I would be about a head taller than she would be...

"Willful" was my initial impression. A humanitarian. Sentimental.

But if such is the case, then I would say that your feet and our fulms are close approximations of one another. Not exact, perhaps, but comparable. That should alleviate some headaches, yes?

Oh! I could see that. I also thought "knowledgeable" and "cool!"

[ But, sadly, they didn't have many chances to really get to know each other. ]

All right! If that's the case, then that makes me about five fulms. The friends I've described as "tall" in my original message would be about six of your fulms. Does that count as tall where you're from?

[Ah, so impressionable. He'd claim neither of those things, but then he's both biased and difficult to impress. A natural consequence of old age, he might say.]

That would all depend upon whom you ask. In this modern age, I suppose that would be a reasonable, if not considerable, height. If you asked a Lalafell, they would tell you that six fulms is extremely tall. If you asked a Roegadyn, I imagine your answer would be quite different. As far as adult Elezen go, most are slightly taller.

And, if you asked me specifically, I would have to say that where I am from, men and women in their prime could easily tower to thirty of your "feet".

[Could he be telling the truth? Possibly.]

Edited 2022-03-21 13:22 (UTC)

[ Oriphi would have enough trouble discerning whether he was telling the truth or not in person - so doing that when all she has to go on are written words on a page is out of the question entirely.

Which means that every word of his that she reads fills her with a sense of wonder and awe. ]

Oh... I see! How interesting! So there are plenty of races and manner of beings where you're from, too! Your Lalafell sound like they would be similar in size to our gnomes or halflings...

Thirty feet is very, very tall! Then perhaps... your people are like giants?I have never met a giant in person, but based on what I've heard from other adventurers and stories, that seems right...

[Giants! Perish the thought.]

Indeed, many races have since flourished. Some would keep to themselves, while still others would mingle together in cities both large and small, exchanging culture and craft and ideas.

However, I assure you, we are not "giants". Although I could see how the peoples of today might come to such an absurd conclusion.

Once upon a time, that was simply the way of things. There was nothing at all unusual about it - people simply had the potential to reach such a grand stature, and they could live nigh on until eternity if they so chose.

But alas, for whatever reason it would seem that upon entering this dreamworld, my colleague's size was adjusted - and quite incorrectly at that.

[ Oh...? Ori is trying to picture her own friends reaching the heights that he's speaking of, and it's surprisingly not too unlike how she feels whenever she's shapeshifted... ]

So people could just be... thirty fulms? And everyone could be that tall? Or just some people? Wouldn't it be scary you were this same size but there were people walking around who were that tall...? Though I suppose that is what it feels like when I'm a mouse and my friends are carrying me around.

I'm sorry to hear about your colleague, though! Though it would have been a bit difficult to find a treehouse that could fit them if they did come in at their original size...

Like most species there is of course some variation in height - genetics and dimorphism and all of that, but yes. Many of my people would simply grow to that height. Of course, if one was truly determined to become taller or shorter, such things were not outside the realm of possibility.

Inconvenient, perhaps. But what would be frightening about it? The worst that might happen is one would be mistaken for a familiar or a concept in progress, at which point one might simply explain their true nature. We ever were a logical and thoughtful people, after all.

[Though he will admit a very large tree would be needed if his companion hadn't been downgraded to such a compact size...]

Ah, so you are versed in transformation magicks, are you? That does sound like quite an adjustment.

Well... What if someone who was thirty fulms tall wasn't paying attention and accidentally stepped on someone who was only five fulms tall...?

[ She can just hear the sound in her head. Splat. But anyway... ]

I am! It definitely took some getting used to, but I think I have a pretty good handle on it at this point.

In that case, it would most likely lead to a rather unpleasant accident. Either the taller of them trips and takes a quite considerable fall, or the other runs the risk of being crushed underfoot. All far less likely than you might think, however.

Is a mouse the only other form you can take? I will admit I'm somewhat intrigued. Few people today are capable of such feats.

Oh. I'll have to take your word for it. Although... you mentioned that people no longer grow to such heights? Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?

Not at all! I can turn into any animal that I've seen... Mouse just happens to be very convenient for hiding, so that's a shape that I often take! It's not such a rare magic, where I'm from, at least not for people who have arcana abilities to begin with.

You wish to know why? It's because the world was changed. Broken and divided. Everything upon it is but a fraction of what it could be, and most of what was is gone.

But that is hardly a topic for casual conversation.

I take it, then, that the people of your world's transformation capabilities are not of such a personal nature? From what you've explained, they seem to serve as a way to shift one's physical form from one creature to the next dependent on one's whims and circumstance. Are there then limitations to such change?

[ ~~That's rough buddy.~~ ]

I see. I'm sorry to hear that, truly...

[ Her genuine sympathy is hard to convey over written messages like this, but she hopes it comes through all the same. She's happy to focus on the other topic if it means avoiding further opening what might be an old wound for the person she's writing to. The intent of her original posting was, after all, to welcome newcomers. ]

If you ever did want to talk more, whether casually or not, my offer to welcome anyone at the communal fire pit still stands.

But to your question: There are! There are different ways or spells to change one's form. Some turn you into the animal, itself, which means you take on that animal's very form, intellect or lack thereof and all. Others let you keep your wits about you. The kind of shapeshifting that I do is of that latter nature, and is a druidic ability, so only those who practice those magicks can do it! I can only keep these forms for up to a few hours, and I can turn twice a day at most. And I had to build up to turning into bigger animals.

[~~You've no idea.~~]

[Yes, well. He has no use for anyone's sympathy, and so he will simply move on if it's all the same to her.]

Perhaps. While I never was one for boisterous social occasions, I've a passing interest in magicks and the arcane. Simply put, I find myself mildly fascinated by this talk of druidic abilities.

The transformation magicks with which I am most familiar are connected less to taking the shape of something else, and more towards outwardly manifesting one's true essence and desires, thus giving them physical form.

Like your own abilities, being able to maintain such an appearance requires adequate practice, as well as an ability to manipulate a sufficient amount of aether to complete the process in the first place.

I see...! They're similar and different in some ways.

I don't mind demonstrating my druidic magic, sometime, if that's something that would interest you!

I also don't think I've properly introduced myself, yet. My name is Oriphi, but most everyone just calls me by Ori. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Yes. I've found that the basic concepts for various fields of magick are much the same at their root, but the methodology and the process behind utilizing them are what differs most.

And as a matter of fact, yes, it would. I should be most interested to witness it for myself, if it isn't a terrible inconvenience to you.

You may call me Emet-Selch. A pleasure.

I would agree with that wholeheartedly, given the little bit I've learned about different sorts of magic from other dreamwalkers.

But, I hope we'll cross paths in-person sooner than later, Emet-Selch! It seems like you are really knowledgeable about magic in general, so I would be particularly interested to hear about your thoughts on this realm and dreamotion, too.

If you ever come across a woman with lilac-colored skin, horns, and a tail, then that would be me - so please don't hesitate to say hello if you see me around town.

Yes, I will be certain to keep those details in mind should we happen to bump into one another unexpectedly.

As for this realm in particular, however, I assure you I've a great many thoughts about it, though no more answers than anyone else who has arrived before me. You may consider that to be my current project: a better, clearer understanding of Reverein and the magicks at work here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

S'mores! And a Request

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