(no subject)

[sythyry]

The Road to Oorah Thrassen [5 Hispis 4385]

The following conversation has happened four times in the last two days, with four different people. The words were, of course, exactly the same every time, down to the intonations. I have transcribed them precisely, which is easy, because I have heard them so often.

Someone:"My lover, if I have one, or a companion otherwise, informs me that we're stopping at Oorah Thrassen."

Me:"Yes, for a few days."

Someone:"My child or children, if any, find this to be a terrifying prospect! I admit to considerable fear myself!"

Me:"Why?"

Someone:"I have not the slightest idea! It could not be the ancient emnity between Oorah Thrassen and our dear native city of Vheshrame, which has been the cause of a bouquet of parti-colored wars over the last several centuries."

Me:"We haven't been at war for a few years though. And not as much at all since, well, they mostly won the conflicts of the last century."

Someone:"But surely they are all taught in elementary school that the only proper treatment for Vheshrame natives such as myself is to disembowel me and use my carapace for a cradle for their children, should I happen to have a carapace, or to flay my hide off and tan it and use it for a cooking pot otherwise!"

Me:"Well, yes, I'm sure they are, but like schoolchildren everywhere they pay no attention to their lessons."

Someone else:(snickers.)

Being thus comforted on one point, they produce another one.

Someone:"Nor could it be the fearsome reputation that the Oorish wizards and the utterly alarming and murderous Gormoror Verticals-tribes who are their allies."

Me:"Nor? Oh, you're still listing things you're pretending not to be afraid of, just like the three people ahead and/or behind you."

Someone:"Well? Are you good enough a wizard to ward us from all of their spells and evil plans?"

Me:"No."

Someone:"Perhaps your tame nendrai is sufficient to the task, then?"

Me:"I'm sure she could protect herself."

Vae:"If I were present, which according to Sythyry always or never happens in these conversations (I'm not sure which), I would vehemently declare that I would protect the whole of Strayway at need."

Me:"In this situation, need is not very likely. My grandparents would get rather upset if Sazandigraa and I hurt each other."

Someone:"Relying on the terrible but incompetant wrath of Glikkonen is no great protection!"

Me:"And Yylhauntra and Verehinga and Myrihaaveinen, and Caathestaa if zie were still alive."

Someone:"Wait, all of your first-generation Zi Ri ancestors?"

Me:"Yes, in fact."

Someone:"But how can this be?"

Me:"My geneology is [(Yylhauntra & Caathestaa) & Myrihaaveinen] & [Glikkonen & Verehinga]. Sazandigraa has about the same grandparents, just arranged differently: [Yylhauntra & Glikkonen] & [Myrihaaveinen & (Verehinga & Caathestaa)]."

Someone:"So you're relatives?"

Me:"Geneologically speaking, I think we're the same person."

Someone:"But relatives make the bitterest enemies!"

Me:"Bitter like fine kathia, my friend. Bitter like fine kathia."

Being thus thoroughly and inexorably reassured on the second point, they must find a third reason to dread.

Someone:"And the central role and terrible prominence of the Temple of the Dark Trinity -- which is, after all, you observe, dedicated to their best guess of the three most fearsome of our collection of noxious and doomsome gods."

Me:"Well, it's only Gnarn, Iraz Varuun, and Accanax. If I were picking a Dark Trinity, I'd got for "Here", Flokin, and Iraz Varuun, the way they do in New Kottarnu."

Someone:"But Gnarn made the Sleeth and the nendrai!"

Vae:"If I were present, I would hiss and whisper imprecations and execrations towards my unbeloved and cruel creator goddess. And, as I may, in fact, be present: 'The wicked-enough one is Gnarn, for my taste.'"

Someone:"And Accanax made the Khtsoyis!"

Me:"And a Khtsoyis made your livery. Which I must say flatters your elegant and so-characteristic-of-your-species figure!"

Someone:"No flirting please! This is serious!"

Me:"I don't think the gods are any more or less likely to show up in person outside the Temple of the Dark Trinity than inside of it. If you avoid the main altar room, you should be as safe as you usually are."

Someone:"Well, of course I thought of all these explanations of why I should not fear this leg of the voyage already. They can't have anything to do with it at all. I expect it's the weather. Those clouds look as if they might fall on the skyboat and break it at any minute, or they would, if they were made of brick. "

Me:"Fortunately, they are puffy moist foggy things, almost alarmingly identical to every other cloud on the World Tree."

Someone:"That is comforting, Sythyry. Indeed, I am so comforted that I am going to indulge in a large chalice full of our most recreational brandy, strewn about with calming herbs and sprinkled with lavender perfume."

Me:"A pleasure to be of service to you."

Comments

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

Oohhh! I can respond to the other character! I have some stuff for Vae!

As a non prime who has a brain that doesn't exactly work the way I want it to, I find you a person I can relate to very much, Vae! And I'm glad that I can talk to you. I have a few questions, though! As a member of a world where the medical understanding of the mind seems to be several centuries past where it is in the World Tree (and we dont even have Mentador! We have to use non magical ways to do things to the mind! Its how we got creative in the topic), I was wondering if you think it would be fruitful to try some, to use a term that I will need to explain, "Mind Hacks". The term meaning, little tricks that you do to get your brain and mind, which tend to not do what you WANT them to do, to behave and play nice, as it were. When I mentioned the topic to sythyry a while back (a few months my time, over a hundred years zir time), zie made some excuse about not wanting to make your creator god angry. As near as I can tell, you seem to be perfectly happy telling your creator god to go fuck zirself, so I was thinking you might want to experiment some. The earmuffs are an example of something like this, but I am saying you should try exploring and learning more, and find more ways to subvert the negatives about how you work, so better to be the PERSON you want to be. Thoughts?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

And what has the blue one been saying of me? Not truly does zie always speak!

The cruel and inventive creator goddess have I. The instrument of hers am I, truly. The sufficiency fills that already! The further plaything of hers would I not be.

And what is it you recommend?

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

Well, the idea is, in a controlled setting with a consenting prime, try and explore the exact nature of each of your compulsions, sort of acting out scenarios, and then talk about what happened afterward. Then, see if you or them can do something to bypass the compulsion -- it might be the prime changing hte language around you, it might be you creating a little fiction in your mind to make it seem like the prime isnt doing a triggering action. Also, hypnosis might help you to trick your brain into acting the way you want. Also, the helpful prime could maybe try changing the way he talks in a way that doesnt trigger your compulsions, or if it DOES, helps you actually be helpful in what you do? Stuff like that. Really, its just being creative, trying to understand how your brain and mind works, and figuring clever ways around it.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

The very brave prime is the prime I need for this!

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

I am sure you could find a Gormorror who would say okay to such a test? The idea being that the gormorror did what it took to make a nendrai *less monstrous*, with the definition of monstrous in this case being "prone to behaviors that are made to challenge primes that her mischievous creator god put in her mind". I mean, really, you could say it as something that would create a REALLY unique and special song, eh? What do you think?

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

think of it... assuming you and they win, and you get some control, they would be able to boast, "I did battle for weeks with the dark corner's of a nendrai's mind, and won!"

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

and we dont even have Mentador! We have to use non magical ways to do things to the mind! Its how we got creative in the topic

We also have the advantage that our kennoc God is infinitely more diligent to their duties than Pararenenzu.

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

I disagree... I dont think we even HAVE kennoc, but things in GENERAL are more reliable -- I mean they follow more rules that can't be broken, and there arent thigs like fire elementals changing how fire works, or whatever...

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

I meant in the sense that if we set up an experiment, there's not a five percent chance it will produce a result that violates the laws of physics, and that once that happens it will do that same wrong thing whenever it is repeated.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Well, that doesn't happen here either! That only happens if we try to sneak a peek at the actual reality without doing the experiment.

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, i didn't realize experimental science existed in your universe. Figured an experiment would analogue to some sort of kennoc ritual.