In the Shadow of Ribbons: Part 1-09(a): Marnie: Written Tests & Amethyst Mist
Scene 9(a) of 'In the Shadow of Ribbons', set Within Thalenra. Marnie has an evening to herself. Time to rest at the end of a long day. Or she could do anything but that.
The previous scenes are all saved Within Thalenra. Or go direct to scene one here, or scene 8 here.
(Small note on this one. I’m experimenting when it comes to the mist part. Let me know how it comes across)
Marnie has retired to her room after her and Erian were thrown out of the Assessment room by an irate Gretham. We join her as she finishes a lovely meal.
Marnie leaned back in the chair with a satisfied sigh “That was a good meal. Except you.” She gave a pea a poke with the fork, which promptly bounced to the other side of the plate. “You, I do not like.” The pale green legume ignored her, and continued rolling towards its untouched brethren.
Humming, under her breath, Marnie disposed of her vegetable nemeses via a waste receptacle, and watched then disappear to somewhere else. Idly she asked, ‘where do you go?’ and got a brief image of the peas surrounded by other leftover food.
“That would have been a good find before.” She gave a sad smile. They’d been a few moments today like this, where she’d thought of the Nabs. It would be nice to think they were out there still, that Delly had got them away as planned. She remembered bits of the plan now, but not enough. “I need to think on that later, first-”
The purple thread flashed suddenly, insistently, making her pause.
“Yes, yes. I’ll get to you. Whatever you are.” She waved a hand, dismissing it back to her mind, and returned to the table. “First, I’m going to do this.” She held up a thick wad of paper out in front of her, and read the title. “‘Applied Thaumcraft Theory IV: Pattern, Stitch, and Strandform’, hmm. Alright, so you’re on manipulation stuff. Let’s see. ‘Inconsistent Thaumic behaviour… alternating strands… layered knots.’ Why would you layer the knots? That’s asking it not to work. ‘Object is classified as transport type.’ Who decided that!”
Marnie scrunched her nose. “Why would anyone design something… Oh! I see I’m meant to say what’s wrong with it, and how to fix it. Alright. I can do that; let’s see…” She studiously bent to writing an answer on the blank sheets Erian had given her.
Marnie concentrated more than she had at any other time today. Writing wasn’t something Belaine had allowed her to do really. All her lessons she was expected to memorise, so she took her time now to make sure she got her letters just right.
An hour later, she looked up from her answer with a grin on her face. “There, done! Now I’m…” The papers next to her caught her eye. Oh, I forgot about you. Alright, what’s next? ‘Elemental Control Efficiency: Balancing Output and Thaumic Cost’? Why such a wordy title, are they all like this?”
“She flicked through the papers. “‘Limitations of spirit matter’, ‘Residual thread perception’, ‘Ethics of Obfuscation’… It’s going to take a while, to write about all of that.”
She tapped a sheet on her chin as she thought. “I know what I want to write, but it takes too long, so to make it quicker I can put an image… . That wouldn’t stick long enough.” She looked around the room as she thought, and her gaze caught the pen she’d been using. “Oh! I know! I can’t make it permanent, but how about you help me out for a bit?”
Picking up the pen, Marnie laid it on the palm of her left hand. ‘This pen wants to help me, come and give it a bit of strength, just for a bit’. A moment passed and then her Thaumic sense showed Thread-paths appearing within the pen - an image shaped from Spirit matter, ready for infusion.
Smiling, she beckoned with a finger, causing Lapis-blue and Silver-white strands to reveal themselves. ‘Help my friend here move, won’t you?’ Cheerfully, the water and light strands entwined with Thaum into threads, and settled into Thread-path image. The pen was now infused, for as long as the image remained.
“Hah! I knew that could work.” Marnie raised the pen up to her eye-line. “Okay pen, this is the plan. I’ll make the words appear, and you write over them so they stick. Got it?” The pen lay there in silent acknowledgement.
With a satisfied nod, Marnie placed the ‘Elemental Control Efficiency’ sheet down, and read the question. “‘Explain why integrating light strands amplifies Thaumic cost.’ When did he cover that. Didn’t he say something about its reflective quality? That’s right. Alright pen, write this. ‘Light is reflective, requiring additional tension to keep other elemental strands entwined.’ That’s what he said. I find if you give them a bit of a nudge they usually cooperate, and if you let a bit of dark in then they get along fine. Oh right, you can stop, did you get it?” The pen dutifully copied over the words that shimmered on the page in front of her. “Well done. Now it wants me to modify the strandform to improve efficiency.. Alright write this..”
Marnie talked away for an hour or so, as the pen merrily wrote beside her. If it had been able to, it might have suggested Marnie paid a little more attention to the extra comments getting included, especially when she began arguing with one or two of the questions; but being the loyal pen it was, it instead remained true to its task, and recorded each word faithfully.
—
“…as long as you step long-wise, and remember where you are it’s straightforward, why complicate it? Oh that was the last one. You can stop now, pen.” The pen toppled to the desk and went still, the threadpath image within it fading. Marnie gathered up a substantial stack of paper. “That was fun, but I would rather have been doing what they were asking. Maybe Erian will let me try some of it tomorrow. Now, what next?” She looked around the room, growing dark now, and glanced out the window, where some light still filtered through. Her eyes widened. Stars!
She bounded over on to the bench beneath the window and stared up. There they were; hundred of little pinpricks all colours. All the pictures they created. “When did I last get to see this?” She whispered. “I’d forgotten how far it went.”
She stared for a while taking the peaceful sight in, until, much like that morning, her gaze drifted down to the streets below. They were quieter now, but lit up here and there, the glow of Thaum outlining the roads, and the odd lantern flame moving around in the distant streets.
A cloud drifted across in front of the stars, and the room darkened around her, making Marnie shiver. ‘I need light,’ she thought, and twenty or so little candles came through from the Spiritual, landing lightly on surfaces. “That’s better. Just stay until it’s day again, okay?” The candles flickered their agreement.
“I suppose I should go to sleep.” She rubbed her arms, looking around at the space. “It should be alright. This isn’t the cell. No one comes in unless I say they can.” She glanced over at the big comfy bed, and then at the door. “I woke up last time. I’ll wake up again.” She lowered herself down from the bench. I’ll… I’ll wash first, then sleep.”
The purple thread blinked at her. Marnie brightened. “Oh right, I need to do that first. Sleep will have to wait. I am using the wash tools first, though.”
Marnie disappeared into the washroom, returning moments later. She began to head to the bed and then paused. “He flicked me last time. Best put some protections up.” ‘Lock yourself please, and give me a prod if someone tries to join me.’ There was a shimmer around the room as an area ward activated.
Climbing up on to the bed, Marnie took position in the middle, her legs crossed. Closing her eyes, and with a subtle movement of her hand as if pushing open a door, Marnie stepped out of the Real, and into her Mindscape.
|A Marnie shaped wisp of Amethyst light, stands amongst an amethyst mist |
I always love coming here. Even when he made me bring him, and spread his nasty orange stuff all around, I could still manage to do my own thing a little bit; enough to know this is my space, no matter what he claimed. And now it’s all mine; my amethyst mist to shape how I want. I can make a copy of my room if I want to.
|The room takes shape around her, the mist thickening and taking on forms of its contents |
Here’s a bed and the chairs. The door. I can make them fluffy or hard.
|The furniture thins and thickens |
Or made of bread. That bread was nice.
|The furniture takes on a decidedly crusty appearance |
Wait, bread can wait until tomorrow. I have to sort out the thread.
|The purple thread appears, stretching through the door towards where Erian is, beyond the Boundary; and through the window, towards the deeper parts of Marnie’s mind. It flicks, and a pulse runs towards the window end |
I could go and see what Erian… No, that can wait. He’s probably sleeping. I’d be sleeping if Gretham got that red at me. Alright thread, what is it you want me to know?
|The wisp connects to the thread, and a flash passes between them. The wisp is pulled along by the pulsing thread, faster than thought |
Ohhh! This is amazing. I can go so fast in here. Those are my memories aren’t they? I recognise some. That was when we found the socks… Ooh and that was when Wart tried to trick Delly. And that’s the rit- Not looking at that one. Can we go faster?
|As if in agreement the pulse becomes faster. Memories becomes fragments, now scattered and disconnected. And then there are no more, and the thread is still |
We here then? The thread keeps going. Go on, we aren’t there yet.
|The wisp sends another flash at the thread, but nothing happens. The wisp pushes forward, and bounces off something hard and hidden |
Ow! Why’s there a wall here in my mind? Did I put this here? Well if I did, I want to see you. Show yourself.
|A shimmer begins to fill the air in front of the wisp, stretching in every direction. Its core is of the same amethyst mist the Mindscape is made of, but, threads of Thaum run through it, holding it in place |
So you are mine then? Strengthened though. I didn’t want you breaking up, looks like. I must have had a reason, but it’s long forgotten. You can go now.
|The wisp presses close to the wall, and a flash passes between them. It peters out with a stutter |
Hey! This is my mind, and if I want you gone, you go. I’m gonna-
|The purple thread flickers then, and a separate shimmer runs along the surface of the wall. The same shade as the thread |
Oh, wait. This bit’s not mine. You made this? Or whoever put you in here did. Let’s see… There’s Spirit matter here, but it’s not all that. There’s something I can’t see.
|The purple thread quivers and emits a voice, echoey and distant, pulled from a forgotten memory “Follow the thread. Find the light.”|
I’ve heard that before… That friendly voice that came when he was taking my name. There was another voice as well. That one had power, more than him. Did those voices put you here?
|The thread flickers again |
I should probably be worried about this; great big wall in my head, voices, threads appearing. But this has been here since forever, and I put it here first. If it was going to hurt me it would have by now. And you, thread…
|The wisp shares a small flash with the thread |
You seem more interested in Erian than anything else. He’s at the other end, so maybe he can break through this. Don’t know if I’m ready for that though, bringing him all the way back here. I trust him, but I don’t know him yet.
|The thread’s pulsing slowed a little |
Don’t be like that. I didn’t say never, just not yet. I need to do this right. He’s going to help with my memory fragments, right? Let me see how he does that, maybe get to see a bit of his mindscape in return, and then we can talk about showing him this, alright?
|The pulse quickens slightly, and then moves along the thread, back towards the start |
I suppose we could go and see what he’s doing. He was different with Gretham than me. He’s probably even more different on his own.
|Another flash passes from the wisp to the thread, and once again a pulse travels faster than thought, back up through Marnie’s memories to her conscious mind, and onward, through the amethyst mist door. Until an edge, indistinguishable from any other part of the mist, is reached |
Thanks for that. You certainly are handy for travelling in here. Now, step long-wise and…
With a simple thought, Marnie passed from her mindscape into the Boundary; a liminal space between the Real and the Spiritual, through which a Spirit Wielder could travel, and Spirit Matter was pulled through, called from the Spiritual, into the Real.
It was from here that Trancing took place; if a thin enough spot could be found. Or if you had the will to do so, you could make one.
Marnie was able to glimpse the Real as thin shadows and shapes, some coloured with Thaum. She could see the pale azure of Erian’s aura just behind the Thaumic veil separating her from him. He was next to a pale ochre glow, which made her think of Meliath. Marnie could hear the muffled tones of voices passing the veil; they were talking.
I should leave them to talk. But… I really want to know what they’re saying. I’ll leave if it’s too private. Marnie let herself drift towards threads of the nearest infused objects, and let her senses flow into it.
She could see Erian sitting on a sofa, drinking from a glass. He looked tired still, despite it having been hours since they both went to their rooms. Maybe he doesn’t like sleeping either. He was frowning, as she caught some of his words. “… dislike it. It’s not like you can hide it. That’s the whole point.”
Marnie saw Meliath clearly then, sitting in a chair, also with a drink in hand. He looked tired as well. Marnie got the feeling he’d been talking at Erian for a while.
“Alright, fair enough. I do dislike it.” Meliath sipped from his glass. “I get uncomfortable being on display like that, even with family. But at times like this,” he circled his hand in the space around Erian, “when one of us needs to unload, I accept there is a need…”
Marnie pulled back into the Boundary. That felt too private, not for me. She hadn’t thought about it when Erian said Meliath was his brother, but she didn’t really understand what he meant. He seemed more… I don’t know what. Just ‘more’.
She allowed herself to drift away from that spot, floating through the liminal copy of the building, feeling the auras of its inhabitants. Only Erian and Meliath appeared to be awake. And herself of course. As if summoned by the thought, a brief tingle came from her body in the Real; it was time to rest.
With a wispy sigh, Marnie let herself be pulled long-wise out of the Boundary and stepped back into herself.
She fell backwards and sprawled across the wide expanse of covers. The warm glow of candlelight bathed the air around her as she looked up at the ceiling.
“This was a good day.” She murmured. “I will wake up, come morning.”
With a yawn, she closed her eyes, and let herself sleep.
Thanks for Reading! I hope the Mindscape scene didn’t confuse. I wanted to give the sense of being caught in someone’s internal monologue; They own the space so they should set what happens there. That is great for thoughts, but its awful for description. I know I rarely have descriptions of what I’m seeing going around in my head in that way.
The interspersed present-tense almost-narration seems a possible answer. The real challenge is going to be when there is a visitor along for the ride, and how I make it clear who has the control at any given time. Find out in Session 2 of the Assessment if I figure any of it out.
And on figuring things out, please comment on how you think I did. Did the present tense work? Would a different way of formatting work better? That sort of thing.
Scene 9(b), ‘Meliath: A Late Night Conversation’, will be with you today, where you can find out what it is Meliath doesn’t like, and just how long he had been talking at Erian.