sythyry | (no subject)

Cook of Another God [1 Thory 4261]

We finished swimming, and splooshed out on the bank of the public pond, and I did horrible things to the seams of the borrowed green tube dress because I was confused about the difference between front and back. (Hint for those who are Orren for the first time: the tailhole goes in back. Not in front.) Rhedwy had wandered off somewhere, as befits a bored Sleeth. Seeks-? Strenata muttered purple curliqueued imprecations and deprecations and comprecations and disprecations or something about her.

So I took her out for a midmorning snack of raw fish.

It is remarkable how unremarkable it is to be in Orren shape and ordering lightly pickled herrings and lightly unpickled scallops. One simply walks up to the little booth by the pond and says, "I'd like an eighth of a pound of herring and two scallops."

Seeks-?:"Aren't you hungry? We were swimming for an hour and a third!"

Me:"That's a good meal!"

Seeks-?:"If you're a tiny little cave lizard it's a good meal!"

So I had a full pound of herring and eight scallops. And I'm a charger if I didn't finish the whole thing, which would ordinarily be a day's food for me and then some.

(Required Orrensome Aside: If one were so spell-rich and skillful as to have Cloak of Another God, and so poor as to have only minimal money for food, one could save greatly on one's food bills by switching to Zi Ri shape. Of course, if one were so spell-rich and skillful, one could probably figure out something magical to trade for a great deal of food. Professional sorcerers rarely go hungry.

Strenata was peering hungrily at the blackscale eel, and glancing at her purse, so I bought it for her, tactfully and tactically.

And persuaded her to walk to my apartment, holding hands...

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I find myself wondering about Things.

How many magi assume the form of Zi Ri, not for the purpose of eating less, but for the purpose of getting better employment by impressing rulers with their age, skill, and knowledge?

How many Zi Ri are imposters?

Could one invent a new species to be? (yes, yes, I know, you people are prejudiced against people of other species, and it wouldn't... on the face of it... seem a wise move, but just suppose...).

I would think that few Zi Ri were imposters, or at least, few could get away with it for terribly long. There are not so many of us, and we tend to hear about the other Zi Ri in the area -- and compare ancestry. Also, of course, imposter Zi Ri from Cloak of Another God can't breathe or resist fire, or hover, without using other magic. Not that it couldn't be done, but ... if someone were good enough and well-equipped enough to do it, couldn't they get employed on their own?

And yes, people can invent new species to be. It's harder to, say, become a Zi Ri with a carcanofex head than it is to become a carcanofex -- both magically and practically -- but it can be done. Ten or fifteen complexity higher, I think, so it's not out of the question for a sufficiently determined person. Though I would expect the first one to do it would be Rassimel, somehow.

Sort of "Create an Image of Another God So You Can Borrow Its Cloak"?

Don't forget to keep an eye on the time when you are dealing with accepting matter that is Orren-sized but too large for a tiny little cave lizard. It could be quite awkward and painful if the spell wore off in the middle of accepting something normally too big if tasty.

Mmm. Pickled herring.

Somehow, though, I get the feeling that this entire discourse on food was merely a distraction from the last two sentences of the entry.

However, they contain useful information: 'How to ditch a Sleeth'!