journal 🔶 goodnight sweet prince

[noblegarnet]

Sender: Ferran

[After about a day or two of dealing with the entire town changing suddenly and a little bit of anxiety regarding the following subject...]

So this is the second time I've found somebody in a dead sleep I can't get them out of, and I was wondering if anybody else has seen it happen? It doesn't seem like it hurts them or they need anything special, but it can be kind of alarming to come visit a friend and they're just lying there and won't wake up for days. For the record, the last time it happened, my friend came out of it fine as far as I know, but she's not here anymore, so I can't ask her more about it.

[It's probably a good thing he already went through this or the panic might have had... a very bad effect on him, as he is now. Anyway...!]

I guess if anybody needs Prince Hans, they'll have to take a rain check. I can take any messages for him.

And if someone could let me know how to take care of a horse, that would be great. I'd like him to not have to worry about his poor animal when he wakes up.

Comments

[flamekthunder]

Makes sense. So what are your airships like, then?

[noblegarnet]

Well, they're mostly made of metal with a flat pair of wings near the middle, and a T-shaped tail. The engine just uses fuel for combustion, and the shape of everything plus the speed keep it in the air. There's no magic to it.

[Ferran still appreciates a good bit of engineering, despite having magic.]

Because it has to go so fast, though, everybody has to stay inside. It's pretty rare to see the view. [Oh, right.] We call them airplanes.

[flamekthunder]

[......Huh.]

I've never heard of such a thing. You say they move fast... How fast?

[noblegarnet]

Uhh...

[Hm. He doesn't know the exact number or anything... but he does have a fun bit of trivia?]

The fastest ones can go three times the speed of sound? That's military only, though.

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace just stares at him in disbelief.]

Sorry, that's...hard to comprehend.

[Speedships can go fast, but faster than sound?]

[noblegarnet]

It does sound crazy, huh?

[Ferran can acknowledge that! But it does make him feel a little proud of where he's from.]

Most planes normal people fly in don't break the sound barrier, but they're definitely fast.

[flamekthunder]

If it's military, I can see some the necessity in speed. For long distance the fastest fleet would be military, but for shorter distance we have smaller speedships that are faster. They're mostly used for races or for emergency messages between islands.

[noblegarnet]

Interesting.

[Really, Ferran enjoys hearing about other worlds... at least, ones that aren't on the verge of destruction.]

So where you live, it's mostly islands?

[flamekthunder]

Floating islands.

There's some evidence that ancient civilization once lived on the surface, but that is no longer the case now as it has become desolate and inhospitable. We can't even see it from how high in the skies we are, and any airship that goes below a certain altitude will lose buoyancy and be unable to fly back up.

[noblegarnet]

[...... what was that he just thought about not being on the verge of destruction? He lets out a sigh.]

Why is every world facing some kind of apocalypse?

[flamekthunder]

[Hah.]

I don't know if ours is. If anything we might be the result of an ancient one from thousands of years ago. But aside from occasional threats and conflicts, we're not in so dire straits.

[.....Leaving aside the whole moon invasion thing that almost happened THEY'RE FINE THE SKYDOM IS FINE—]

[noblegarnet]

Present tense, past tense, whatever. Planets where people live don't typically become desolate and inhospitable without some kind of disaster.

[just saying!!]

Maybe if we're lucky we won't have to see anything like that happening here.

[flamekthunder]

[Small arch of the brow.]

Given that there is a large expansive wasteland filled with nightmare energy just beyond the Wildlands, how can we be so sure this isn't the same situation?

[noblegarnet]

[Mrgh.]

I said we might not see it, not that it wasn't happening.

[Because yeah, he figures it's inevitable.]

[flamekthunder]

Is it something you're actually worried about?

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran's gaze moves to the distance in front of them, and he goes quiet for a few seconds.]

... I'd rather not be forced to fix another world's problems again.

[flamekthunder]

[Hmmmm. He doesn't need much more to get an idea of what Ferran is implying.]

Even if that should happen, you won't be the only one around.

[noblegarnet]

[Unfortunately, friendship and togetherness won't make him feel better about that one; there's too much trauma tied up in it. Eustace might be reminded of the mood of an "anonymous" conversation regarding noctaere...]

I wasn't the only one around last time, either, but that didn't make it any less miserable.

[But he won't let the conversation get too deep into that topic, not when they have another task on their hands.]

Is that the stables over there?

[flamekthunder]

[...Hmmm... He's sensing something here, and he eyes Ferran for a moment. But he just let's him end the topic and instead he looks forward and nods.]

That's it.

[Sitron is probably like finally.]

[noblegarnet]

Great.

[Probably! Especially since poor Sitron was already stressed out and these guys got into talking about even more gloomy garbage. Ferran gives the horse a pat on the side, though whether it's a reassurance for the animal or for him, he couldn't say.]

Thanks a lot.

[He can take it from here.]

[flamekthunder]

No problem. If you have any issues, contact someone else first.

[Is what he says first before he gives a small wave of his hand and turns.]

I'll help if there's no one else better.

[Small joke? MAYBE. But no, Ferran can contact him if needed, but he expects everything will be fine.]