<<set $Transform = 1>>There. You'll appear as a small ginger kitten. Bedraggled, tiny, but brave. //[[Mew!|Commoners]]//
Sleep? There's no one else around - perhaps you can admit it. You're //concerned//. This world is important to you, and the thought that it might turn into that misery-circus of self-perpetuated gloom is a horrid [[one|reality]]. \n\n
And that despite mastering your short temper aeons ago. You've been the picture of patience for a long while. Every killing, every destruction, has been a calculated and reasonable response to provocation. It's quite unreasonable you should still be called //wicked// or //bad//. \n\n//[[Sigh|destroy]].//
Heroes. What is it with heroes? Always assuming mysterious and remote buildings are things to be explored, puzzles to solve. Not, perhaps, a sign that the owner is an introvert who requires their own space. \n\nIn other moods, you'd have considered creating a dragon, a trapped princess - setting some challenge or another that would have entertained you to watch him solve. Or fail at. But not today. Today you have things to do, and cannot spare the time or energy for silly games.\n\nMaybe just asking them to [[go away]], in a straightforward and utterly non-mystical manner, might work? A long-shot, but you might get lucky ...
So, to the mirror. \n"Shut up." \nA magic mirror has its uses, but this one is primarily designed to flatter. Only idiots pay attention to those. Pre-empting speech renders it practical, and //so// much better company.\n\nYou conjure up a bath of water, some plain soap ... but pause to consider your features. What's middle-aged for a fairy? You're old enough to be able to acknowledge, without arrogance, that you were truly beautiful once. Now, merely striking. Formidable, in a rage; handsome, when amused. But radiating //[[power]]//. \n\n\n\n
<<set $Obsess = $Obsess + 1>>Most lesser-ranking magical beings <<if $Obsess < 2 >> [[obsess]]<<else>> obsess<<endif>> about humans. Not because of any particular fondness for them - but because of uncertainties regarding the relationship between human belief and existence. A popular creation myth has the immortals dependent on the strength of human belief. \n\nCertainly, particular types of fairy (and other fabulous beings) //have// vanished, and these extinctions appear to coincide with the disappearance of their magics from human narratives. But that is mere hypothesis. Beyond convenient timing, there's no reason to believe there's any link at all. Or if there is - why does the link have to be that way round? Could not extinction cause narrative loss? \n\nYou have [[pondered]] this matter before. It was a remarkably tedious few years, the world was pretty much at peace, so you sequestered yourself in L-space and read everything you could on the subject.
You could still [[destroy them|mass death]]. It //is// an option.\n\nNo?\n\nFine. You can [[trick them]]. As //always//.
You sigh, and rub your face in your hands. This isn't impossible, but it's rare, and an extraordinary coincidence that it should occur just as you're forced to involve yourself in mortal affairs once more. If you find out someone has been weaving //you// into their plans, manipulating your life for their own ends, oooh, there will be trouble.\n\nStill, your hopes of solitude aren't immediately dashed. Many girls seek power, few have the innate abilities. She might have sought you out of her own free will, rather than been driven here by a desire inexplicable to her. An easy check, if an impolite one. \n\nYou reach into her [[mind and]]--
<<set $Time = 3>> It's post-twilight. //Goodness!// Haven't slept this late in years. Normally takes a particularly debauched ball to cause something like this. \nAnd ... //ah// that's not good. A small stream of flickering lights from the far-off forest suggests you might be going to experience a pitch-fork parade. When will they learn? You're a sodding fairy, not a witch. If you were a witch they'd have found out, most unpleasantly, not to disturb you, and decades ago. \nStill, a problem you can deal with later. After your [[ablutions|Mirror]].
<<set $Abode = 2>>Last time you tinkered with the spell, your home was giving the outward image of a cottage: small, thatched and surrounded with flowers. To one side of the front garden (surrounded by a low stone wall) is a vegetable plot, apparently tended more with enthusiasm than skill. To the other side is a beautiful, if unusual, collection of wildflowers.\n\nBest not change the appearance now - if the change was witnessed, there would be no chance for [[bluffing|deal with it]].
Hmm. The lights are still far enough off that, in the dark, they won't have seen your home. You can probably risk a glamour-shift to change its appearance, without alerting them to its (or your) magical nature.\n\nWhat appearance could you give your home that might enable you to deal with these privacy invaders swiftly? To get rid of them fast, so you can go to your study to research the dream?\n\n<<choice "Formidable castle">>\n<<choice "Pretty cottage">>\n\n<<if $Abode is 3>>The castle, then? How are you going to play [[this|Commoners]]? \n\n<<elseif $Abode is 4>>The cottage? Does that have any impact on how you'll [[play this|Commoners]]?\n\n<<else>><<endif>>Alternatively you could always let them get a little closer and [[destroy|mass death]] them, quick as a thought. But the swift removal of human life would create a magic surge that even the most inept fairy would notice. The other fairies would all know you were active once more - and would be wary of your interference in whatever it is they're messing up right now. Might be the swiftest option now, but it could make life harder later.\n\n
You //absorb// him - his essence, his being, the energy in every particle of his body.\n\n//Ahhh!// How refreshing. Like a cool shower on a sticky day; you feel entirely rejuvenated.\n\nHe's completely gone. As is the slight ache in your shoulder you've had since you got up, and only now notice through its absence. //Tut.// Why don't you do this more often?\n\nOh. //That//'s why. A wave of anti-energy, a surge in the magic field, spreads out from where you are as matter shifts to fill the gap created by the sudden absence of human. Yes. That'll have caught a few people's attention. <<set $FairyAware = 1>> <<set $Destroyer = 1>>\n\nStill, a quick scan around reveals that you have indeed cleared the area of the only interloper. Time to go to your [[study]].\n\n
That's it! \n\nA shift of form, and you're a bewhiskered captain. Now, to congratulate this young lad on joining the <<choice "army">>.\n\nOr you could try being a grieving and poverty stricken widow, desperately hoping for news from the front of her only son. Offer to share your meagre repast, and if this sucker has any good in him, he'll leave rather than take the <<choice "last food">> you appear to have.
<<set $Undergrounders = 1>>It takes some concentration to plot a route underground. If you had no concern for their safety, it would be easy. But there you go: always the good guy, never getting the credit.\n\nYou create a tunnel underground, its entrance the inside of a side gate to the castle. The tunnel slopes steeply into the earth (so any noise as they explore it is muffled; you'll be concentrating hard, later), and, after several miles of twists and turns, leads to a lake near the far side of their home village. Hmm. A few air holes, some rock pools. That's a couple of days walking - they'll get hungry, but they'll survive.\nJust rig the tunnel to close behind them and you'll drive them away, draining their energy, giving them whatever adventure it is they seem to crave ... and you'll get them [[out of your hair]], at least for now.
Oh, snap out of it.\n//Splash.//\nThe water is cool on your skin. Soap. Rinse. Pat dry with fluffy towel magiced from some alternate dimension. You've no idea what the monogram //RB// stands for. You could find out, if you <<choice "cared">>. But why <<choice "bother">>? You're not planning on returning it.\n\nThat's better. A click of your fingers and you're clothed. You could wash this way, but it's not as refreshing. And keeping your ritual keeps you focused. Use magic for everything, and you soon cease caring for [[reality]].\n<<set $Loop1 = 0>>
Fixing this could be surprisingly difficult. <<if $FairyAware is 1>>Especially now they know you're active once more.<<elseif $FairyAware is 0>> Even if they don't realise you're paying attention.<<else>><<endif>> They're using //tale// without any thought for the deeper consequences. And the force of it is with them. \n\nIf you don't want that vile future-world to come about; if you want humans to retain the complexity and depth that sometimes pierces your all encompassing scorn ... if you want this world to remain //interesting//, you're going to have to stop them. \n\nYou against them, eh? Now //that//'s familiar. And perhaps it [[plays into your hands]] too. \n\n
You jolt out of sleep with a gasp. You've been clawing and fighting to wake for a while, but this was no ordinary dream. You can never escape prophetic dreams till you've received whatever point they're designed to convey. \nWell, point received. You sigh in exasperation - as always, the creative force making demands of you won't reveal itself, and will only express its satisfaction (or that it's given up) by ceasing to disturb your mind. This dream has been particularly persistent - seems it isn't going to let go easily.\n\nFor a moment you lie there, thinking of what you experienced.\n<<silently>><<set $Time = 0>>\n<<set $Abode = 0>>\n<<set $FairyAware = 0>>\n<<set $Destroyer = 0>>\n<<set $Allyshag = 0>>\n<<set $Allymoney = 0>>\n<<set $Transform = 0>>\n<<set $Emily = 0>>\n<<set $Apprentice = 0>>\n<<set $Undergrounders = 0>>\n<<endsilently>>[[Consider|Remember]].\n<<set $Loop2 = 0>>
The hunter is good company. //Very// good company. Over a bite to eat you've kept up a stream of chatter, scattering it with innuendos. No need to play the innocent here. He's sweet enough to attempt to woo you, attempting various romantic gestures. At one point he seems even bashful - though swiftly overcomes it at your encouragement.\nHe joins you for a wash, and later for bed. You dominate him completely - shoving him down before returning the favour. He's unsurprised by your strength - after all, a peasant girl living on her own is going to be pretty strong with all the work running a house. Seems he appreciates having someone else set the pace.\n\nAnd it turns out you rather enjoy fooling a mortal this way. You're titillated as much by your trivial trickery as by his touch. You allow him to exhaust you that night. And for the many following. \n\nThe wearying pleasure has driven the dreams away. You haven't saved the world - but for now at least, you've no reason to care.
<<set $Allyshag = 1>>A brief fondle later, and you direct him to wash and change. He may join you again once you've had time to assess the situation, and can decide what knowledge you feel he should be trusted with. If any. \nYou set a sprite to direct him to some chambers you've newly created - some distance off (via an impossible staircase, to ensure he's impressed), to give you more time [[undisturbed|study]].
<<set $TimesWarned = $TimesWarned + 1>>These dreams have been coming more often of late. Once, a few years ago, they were easy to ignore. They'd occur once every few months, and if unaddressed would go plague <<if $TimesWarned < 2 >> [[another]]<<else>>another<<endif>>. \nNow, though, they've become insistent. You haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks. Not that you really //need// sleep, but you've always wanted to remain as close to human as possible. It's served you well in other ways. \n\n//Stretch.// Ah, [[mornings|Mirror]].
The tale of one woman's stand against the naive force of romance.
Oh, you can//not// be bothering with this. Last time you dealt with such a crowd, you unleashed the illusion of the Wild Hunt (not even //you// can control the actual Hunt, you wouldn't dare to try!). It drove the humans away, but terrified them so mindless they crushed each other underfoot in their attempts to flee. No survival instincts at all. Shameful, really. \n\nAnyway - the noise of the wounded howling in anguish disturbed your work for days. You ended up transporting them to some remote hospital where they'd be mistaken for casualties from a nearby battle. But that was when you had plenty of time, and were in a do-gooder phase. Now, you are [[busy]].
<<set $Abode = 4>>There we are: a twee little cottage. Small, thatched and surrounded with flowers. To one side of the front garden (surrounded by a low stone wall) is a vegetable plot, apparently tended more with enthusiasm than skill. To the other side is a beautiful, if unusual, collection of wildflowers. Not that anyone will pay attention to the detail in this [[dark|resolved]].
And that despite mastering your short temper aeons ago. You've been the picture of patience for a long while. Every killing, every destruction, has been a calculated and reasonable response to provocation. It's quite unreasonable you should still be called //wicked// or //bad//. \n\n//[[Sigh|mass death]].//
"So, like, I was totally keeping an eye on the others, like, as you asked me to, yeah, yuh'know? Anyway, I was watching them, and you'll never guess what that girl from the west did! Innit? I mean - you might guess what she did, if I give you a clue - it's to do with that boy-toy she was training up? - but anyway, yeah - you'll //never// guess what she did next!"\n\nYou didn't guess. You didn't care. On that occasion you merely flicked a towel over its surface, and ignored the muffled [[complaints|problem]].\n\nOnce upon a time it might have managed to pique your interest with over-blown introductions of this nature. Too many let downs forced you to the conclusion that the more desperate the Mirror was to show you stuff, the less you were going to care about whatever it was.
"You stand here before me, my beloved mistress, seeking answers and knowledge only I can provide. Lo, in my munificence, I allow you to avail yourself of the wonders enabled by my abilities. Here I stand, noble Mirr--"\n\nYou left it facing the wall for several weeks after that. It was well worth the effort of setting up a scrying pool to use instead. Not as accurate, couldn't reach past magical barriers, but blissfully silent.\n\nBoredom soon taught the Mirror some [[manners|problem]].
Too easy. Allow them to discover the side gate, don't interfere when they shove a suspiciously convenient (I mean, really? Are all humans this dim?) broken gate over the moat to reach it. Ignore their triumphant yells as they force it open and swarm inside. And seal the entrance shut behind them. \n\nPitiful.\n\nStill. Now you can get to [[work|study]], completely undisturbed.
Ooh. //That//'s provoked sharp words. One man to another: "You--" Oh, that's an interesting curse word. Not one you've heard recently. "--look what you've done. There's nothing here but this family, and you've scared her parents off. Damn, damn, //damn//."\n\nSome angry admonitions. A few villagers are already heading home, the mood of the crowd broken. "Well, what do we do? Do we take her with us? I don't need someone //else// to look after. I'm not a //charity//." "Use some common sense. We're probably the reason her parents aren't already back. They won't be able to see anything but the torches. If we just go..." "We can't leave a child alone--"\n\nYour moment: "I'm f-fine! Now that I know you're //not// a big scary monster, and are just a bunch of people, I'm not scared at all. I'm really tired, and if I to go to bed now, mummy and daddy will be back when I wake up. I //know// they will be."\n\nOnly three remain now. Most have headed off - bored, and trying to pretend they were never involved. The woman gives you one last cuddle, before saying: "Look dearie, I've got to get back to my two own, so I can't stay. I'll put you to bed, and I'll come back tomorrow afternoon unless your parents send me a note to let me know everything's OK. I'm just the next village across, tell them to address it to [[Emily]]. It'll reach me."
<<if $Abode is 1>>"Sir! Sir! Oh, please, sir!" Your smile is sweet and genuine. Your eyes are wide and bright. Your dress is tactically open at the chest, and your hair has slipped out of a plait into disarray. //Whoops!// The purity of your features, and the obvious costliness of your dress reveals your status. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to think I'd be left alone forever."\n\nThe hunter seems startled, but not displeased. \n\n"Oh, please do come inside. Whatever spell it was broke //months// ago. I got out of the tower then, but have been wandering around the castle and ground since. No one's returned yet, and I've been so lonely. I've been desperate for company. For someone to talk to." You allow a slight blush to come to your cheeks. "Please don't go. I couldn't bear it." \n\nThe hunter chuckles. His smile is bordering on a leer, but is mostly friendly. He [[follows you inside|follows you inside2]].<<elseif $Abode is 2>>"Sir! Sir! Oh, please, sir!" Your smile is sweet and genuine. Your eyes are wide and bright. Your dress is tactically open at the chest, and you hair has slipped out of a plait into disarray. //Whoops!// The purity of your features, and the obvious costliness of your dress reveals your status. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to think I'd be left alone forever."\n\nThe hunter seems startled.\n\n"Oh, please do come inside. Whatever spell it was broke //months// ago. I got out of the tower then, but have been wandering around the castle and ground since. No one's returned yet, and I've been so lonely. I've been desperate for company. For someone to talk to." You allow a slight blush to come to your cheeks. "Please don't go. I couldn't bear it." \n\nThe hunter seems sensitive to your plight. He clasps you in for a hug. A hug that turns excruciating as he slides a knife up, through your stomach, under your ribs. He sneers: "Oh, cock off, you witch!" \n\nUrGGHHh. //HHHNnnnnn.// You hadn't noticed the knife. And ... why didn't your plan work?\n\nAs you fall to the ground, [[struggling to breathe]] through the pain, you glance back. Oh //damn//. Cottage. Sodding //cottage//. No wonder he hadn't been convinced by the princess act. <<else>><<endif>>
You'd gathered that the most-powerful beings, the gods and the near gods, seem to drift in and out of narrative. Their power remains pretty constant, with only their //influence// waxing and waning. The most powerful supernatural creatures couldn't give more than a flicker of attention for humankind - individuals might attract, for a moment, but as a whole humanity is too short-lived, too unimportant. \n\nTake, for example, the //Wild Hunt// ... oh, even now you shiver at the power that it ... controls? No, //embodies//. They, it, care for no one. And it is truly eternal, no matter what is believed about it. If there was ever something to aspire to ... but you digress.\n\nNo, it seems that it's only the lesser beings that //need// people. And perhaps even that's a [[self-perpetuating dependence|pondered]] caused by that very belief.
"Hi guys!"\nYou cast light around you, to ensure your audience has a clear view. Someone screams. You mute them.\nYour sweet smile (your smile is //so// sweet. Perhaps a little patronising too.) and open armed gesture of welcome gives them pause, before they surge towards you. \n\nYour //favourite// bit.\n\nYou //absorb// them - their essence, their being, the energy in every particle of the bodies before you.\n\n//Ahhh!// How refreshing. Like a cool shower on a sticky day; you feel entirely rejuvenated.\n\nThey're completely gone. As is the slight ache in your shoulder you've had since you got up, and only now notice through its absence. //Tut.// Why don't you do this more often?\n\nOh. //That//'s why. A wave of anti-energy, a surge in the magic field, spreads out from where you are as matter shifts to fill the gap created by the sudden absence of humans. Yes. That'll have caught a few people's attention. <<set $FairyAware = 1>>\n<<set $Destroyer = 1>>\n\nStill, a quick scan around reveals that you have indeed cleared the area of the only interloper. Time to go to your [[study]].\n
Now, can he see your home from where he is? What form did you leave your home in? How would it appear to him?\n\n<<choice "Castle">>\n<<choice "Cottage">>\n\n<<if $Abode is 1>>The castle, then? How are you going to play [[this|HeadGames]]?\n<<elseif $Abode is 2>>\nThe cottage? Does that have any impact on how you'll [[play this|HeadGames]]?\n<<else>>\n<<endif>>\n<<set $Loop3 = 0>>
Right. Leave a mewling simulacrum of kitten-you in that squeaky child's hands. Hmm ... give it enough life for a few weeks, then it can wander off before disappearing. No need to waste any energy on preserving it indefinitely, but nor do you want anything that might remind the village (of) idiots of magic.\n\nNow that the crowd have found nothing, they're bound to get bored and return wherever they came from. \n\nOh. //Blast.// What utter, //utter// fools. \n\nThe group has broken up, and most has already started walking away. Only the key instigators, those who went inside your cottage, remain. And they are setting [[fire]] to it.\n\nWhy? //Why?// There was //nothing// of interest there. You even provided a kitten, for crying out loud.\n
The conclusion of your research in the area was: \n\n<<choice "I don't give a damn.">>\n<<choice "Somewhat concerned.">> \n\nBut you'd emerged from The Library with one conclusion - if lesser beings needed human belief, you'd be a greater being. Your general scorn seems to have served you well. (And if being tarred as 'bad' grants you appearances throughout human history in both fact and fiction, well, it can do no harm.)\n\nBut the other fairies - they'd not achieved your realisation. They'd started panicking. And, it now seems, have started [[tinkering]].
Always transforming into creatures to scare, trap or seduce humans. OK, OK, you sometimes do that too, the odd individual can be interesting, or even rather //appealing// - but you never //go out of your way// to do so. And that's an important [[difference|worship]]. And unlike lesser beings, you have the power to rule huge swathes of the world - but choose not to. They wouldn't be so mature. Most crave attention too much to resist.
jquery:off\nhash:off\nbookmark:on\nmodernizr:off\nundo:on\nobfuscate:off\nexitprompt:off\nblankcss:off\n
And that's the thing. It seems so obvious that you have, in a rare moment of doubt, wondered whether there could be something you're missing. Surely not.\n\nThe other fairies pour energies into retaining their youth. You've never bothered. The longer a fairy lives, the more magic is required to halt the aging process. The others may have stayed genuinely young - but the amount of magic they have available to draw on has slowly shrunk. Slightly compensated for by the natural growth of powers - but still inexorably absorbed by the increasing demands of retaining youth.\nYou've aged, but to nothing terrible, yet. You can temporarily adopt a youthful form when desired, and middle age seems only to have made you susceptible to hangovers. You're as strong and lithe as ever, physically. And your reserves of power? You doubt if the combined force of the rest could even near it. \n\nThe //[[fools]]//.
<<if $Abode is 3>>It seems appropriate to change your home to something as monstrous as the mob. This castle is about as ugly as the mood of the people now gathered at its base. Which proves unfortunate. You //had// hoped, perhaps a little simplistically, that seeing something so formidable might prove disheartening, might scare the mob into second thoughts and dispersing. Nope. Just gave the gang a target - if one they seem unsure how [[to attack]]. <<elseif $Abode is 4>>Right. What would be most likely to defuse an angry mob, embarrass them into dispersing? A <<choice "small child">>? A <<choice "kitten">><<else>>?<<endif>>\n\n<<if $Transform is 1>>You park yourself on the floor by a chair, ready to perform. The crowd nears, evidenced by the increase in volume of angry chanting. Some loud words - one voice, a man's cutting across the rest. Chuntering. A female response. Ah, a volunteer. Someone whose impatience overwhelms her fear. \n\nThe door creaks open. The cottage is lit by torch-light. Time for your show. "Mew! Meeew! //Meeeew!//" You make a few pathetic attempts to leap up onto the chair, apparently trying to reach the table for some scraps of food.\n\nYou're ignored. Others enter. So much shouting, you can only catch snatches of phrases, curses, a mention of a witch, a hag. They can't be talking about //you// can they? How rude!\n\nOh. Someone's brought their child on a lynch mob. Well, //that//'s good parenting. Still, it plays into your hand, as the child de-attaches itself from a man's leg to run for you.\n\n"Mew! //MEW!//" The child takes you [[outside]], followed by the rest of the group. Apparently they found nothing of interest inside, and the kitten does seem to have softened moods, lowered rage levels - as you fully intended it to.<<elseif $Transform is 2>>Right. Curl in the corner, and wait. \n\nThe crowd nears, evidenced by the increase in volume of angry chanting. Some loud words - one voice, a man's cutting across the rest. Chuntering. A female response. Ah, a volunteer. Someone whose impatience overwhelms her fear. \n\nThe door creaks open. The cottage is lit by torch-light. Time for your show.\n\n"Mum? Muuum? //Muuuuum?//" A few choked sobs. Oh, the //drama//. \n\nThe shouting is quelled by one extremely fierce woman, her maternal instincts all aflare. One man positively cowers from her. //Oh, nicely done. You could like her.// She crouches next to you, her tones abruptly warm: "Ey up duck! What's happened? You poor little thing! Come here."\n\nShe directs a man to make the crowd back off, and leads you [[outside|outside2]]. <<else>><<endif>>\n
<<set $Allymoney = 1>>You chuck him a small bag of cash, then you direct him to wash and change. He may join you again once you've had time to assess the situation, and can decide what knowledge you feel he should be trusted with. If any. \nYou set a sprite to direct him to some chambers you've newly created - some distance off (via an impossible staircase, to ensure he's impressed), to give you more time [[undisturbed|study]].
<<set $Time = 1>> Dawn. You never felt it had any particular mystical significance. Perhaps your unwillingness to bow to superstition is partly why you're so much more powerful than the others. You know the main reason why, of course. \n\nStill. It's pretty, with the pink light over the far-off forest trees and the over-cheerful chirruping of the multitude of birds nesting in the roof. The cool air is refreshing - not quite warm enough to be pleasant, but with the promise of a good day ahead. The not-yet bright light makes the smoke of what must be a far off camp fire easily visible. //Hmm.// A problem to be dealt with [[once you're dressed|Mirror]].
It always falls to you, doesn't it? The only fairy willing to withdraw from society, to stop interfering and just let humans screw the world up (or not, though that seems increasingly unlikely) - and yet it's always //you// fixing it. The whole business with the ice giants. That issue with the talking lion possessing dubious powers and not-quite palatable ethics. And that //last// time ... well, you swore you'd let someone else sort it all out. And yet here you are, dreaming dreams that demand your involvement once again.\nWhy does no one else take any [[responsibility|HeadGames]]?
<<if $Abode is 1>>"Well hello there!" (You resist adding 'Big boy' - that would be too much.) Your smile is broad and sweet. Your eyes are a sparkling blue, contrasting prettily with the white-blonde of your hair, tied loosely away from your face. A strand has escaped to tickle your well-endowed chest (accidentally revealed by a rather loose white shirt), where a smudge of flour //inadvertently// draws attention to your cleavage. "Thank goodness. I've been so lonely here since my husband was killed by a boar, and there's only so much a girl can do to keep herself amused."\n\nThe hunter seems startled by your presence. //Odd.// \n\n"Oh, please do come inside my humble home. There's not much space, but that just means it's rather cosy. I've just finished baking, so need to change and clean up - but then I'm //entirely// at your service. I've been desperate for company. For someone to //talk// to." You smirk. \n\nThe hunter chuckles. It's not a //nice// laugh. Still, he reaches for your hips, pulling you close, suggesting he's fallen for your rather obvious charms. You believe this right up until the moment he spins you around, tugs your hair down - pulling your head back - and slits your throat. //The bastard.// \nHe sneers as he does so: "Oh, cock off, you old witch!" \n\nUrGGHHh. //HHHNnnnnn.// You hadn't noticed the knife. And ... why didn't your plan work?\n\nAs you fall to the ground, [[struggling to breathe]] through the pain, you glance at your home. Oh //damn//. Castle. Sodding //castle//. No wonder he hadn't been convinced by the peasant act. <<elseif $Abode is 2>>"Well hello there!" (You resist adding 'Big boy' - that would be too much.) Your smile is broad and sweet. Your eyes are a sparkling blue, contrasting prettily with the white-blonde of your hair, tied loosely away from your face. A strand has escaped to tickle your chest (accidentally revealed by a rather loose white shirt), where a smudge of flour //inadvertently// draws attention to your cleavage. "Thank goodness. I've been so lonely here since my husband was killed by a boar, and there's only so much a girl can do to keep herself amused."\n\nThe hunter seems startled, but not displeased. \n\n"Oh, please do come inside my humble home. There's not much space, but that just means it's rather cosy. I've just finished baking, so need to change and clean up - but then I'm //entirely// at your service. I've been desperate for company. For someone to //talk// to." You smirk. \n\nThe hunter chuckles. His smile is bordering on a leer, but is mostly friendly. He puts an arm around your waist (you giggle) and walks with you [[inside|inside cottage1]].<<else>><<endif>>
You sweep out of your home, making only minor adjustments to your appearance. You're only bothering to do so to ensure you aren't mistaken for a witch. It's //just// to make sure that you get a chance to talk to the man. Nothing insecurity related, no. \nSo: fairy wings (as if //you//'d need them to fly!). Change your stain-friendly black for a green, a forest green. //There//, he can mistake you for some nature spirit, if it helps. A wand. A sodding wand. But only for //appearance// sake, mind.\n\nA delicate swish, hold him in place - but ever so gently (the diddums). \n"Hello dearheart. I'm not going to grant you any wishes. Well, I might - but only if they coincide with what I already want. So, when did you last hear honesty like that from a fairy?" \n\nHis expression is hard to read, and you're not going to plunge into his mind - he'll feel it, and the act of observation would impact the result. \n\nYou move closer. "I'll be frank. I'm used to being alone, and I don't like being disturbed. However, a situation has arisen which means I must involve myself in human affairs for a while. Now, I could be rid of you, and focus undisturbed. Or you could assist me, carry out some minor errands. In return, I'll give you more wealth than you need, so long as you then move far away." He smirked at the word 'wealth'. Perhaps reinforce it. A wave of your hand. "This is a glimpse into one of my safes. I can fulfil my promises." //It was no such thing. When you want something, you simply acquire it. But this vision seems persuasive.//\n\nYou risk skimming the surface of his thoughts. He's eager as a puppy. \n\nAre you sure you want an ally? Can you trust him, eager as he is? You could always [[destroy him|his]], even if it might cause trouble later on. \n\nYou release him. "[[Come along|Come along2]]." //I wonder how long before you tire of this oaf?//\n \n\n
"Fine, smug-boots. For now, I am calling you Smug-Boots. I'll decide on something better, later. Come with me."\n\nYou lead her into your home, create a series of rooms for her, and tell her to unpack. \n\n"Feel free to explore. You won't be able to go anywhere I don't wish. Just leave me alone for several hours. Be utterly silent. You'll find me when I want you."\n\nShe's a problem. Possibly a big problem. But you've bought yourself a few hours, and you might as well use it to get in the [[study]], find out what's prompted the dreams. Perhaps she's connected. You //really// hope not.
<<set $Transform = 2>>Could a mob attack a child? Almost certainly - humans seem capable of almost any abomination. Still, this group is unlikely to have trekked all the way for the privilege, they'll have plenty of sprogs in their home town. No, someone's fired up (fired! Ha! So pertinent, so witty!) this mob with tales of a demon, or an evil witch, or some blood-sucking creature. And the mob won't have stopped to consider if there's justification to attack some creature they have never //seen//, that they have to travel to reach. Mob's eh? \n\nStill, means you should be safe as a child, and can abuse the role to emotive effect. Smallish child, female, about eight or nine ... ginger? You've always liked ginger. Skinny, in lovingly-patched clothes - implying a good but poor family. Anything else? Yes - tear streaked face. Sobs, but no ugly crying. You need to be [[appealing|Commoners]].
Ah, your study. A place of contradictions. A place for peace - for careful reading of tomes from your vast library. A place for clamour and disharmony - as you draw demons from strange dimensions to study (or merely to serve your whim). A place for spending power, and increasing it. A place of research.\n\nAnd right now, a place which appears as a bare room with one comfortable armchair. You need no distractions. \n\n//Click.// \n\nYou fetch the magic mirror from your bedroom, and stand it before the chair.\n"Remember what I said about loquaciousness? You are //not// irreplaceable. And if I cut you from the back, I can damage you without even cracking your glass."\n\nYou curl into the chair and create an illusion of that city from your dreams. It seethes with motion, populated with toiling ants of wretchedness.\n\n"Mirror, mirror from the wall. I absolutely refuse to work in rhyme. Have a look at this and tell me what's going on."\n\nThe mirror's surface ceases to reflect. It becomes a slick oily mist, through which a reckless idiot might try to step. It is pearl grey, a molten metal, an iridescence of pure, slick magic. A voice fills the room - one that to mortal ears might sound pleasant, musical, but to yours sounds over-done, clichéd: "Ah. Yeah. Guv, you've got a [[problem]]."\n\n\n\n\n
Presumably for illumination at night. But how could people sleep in a place that is never dark? Might that explain their bleak-faced expressions of [[suffering|Remember]].
Right. Hair tied back in straightforward manner, no plaits, flowers or expensive adornments. Clothes ... //hmm// ... nothing cloaked, no hoods, no mystical symbols. Would a trouser suit do, or is that too alternate universe? //Gah!// Predicting how an outfit might impact on a hero determined to see wonder is almost impossible.\n\nSod it. You're going as you are. You're going right down there and you'll turn him right around and send him off. If he makes you use magic, well, you'll be [[sending him on a quest]] to some horrible, swampy, sticky, mosquito-ridden country. \n\n
@BabelFishWars - Olivia
Well, perhaps it wasn't quite that succinct. But once you've reached a conclusion, you hate to hash it out again. \n\nThe most-powerful beings, the gods and the near gods, seem to drift in and out of narrative. Their power remains magnificent and constant, it's only their //influence// that waxes and wanes. And most couldn't give more than a flicker of attention for humankind - individuals might attract, for a moment, but as a whole, humanity is too far beneath them. Not even worthy of contempt.\n\nWhat kind of beings? Your studies only reinforced your awe for the //Wild Hunt// ... oh, even now you shiver at the power that it ... controls? No, //embodies//. They, it, cares for no one. And it is truly eternal, even if humankind forgets it entirely. Though there'd undoubtedly be some unpleasant reminder. \n\nNo, it seems that it's only the lesser beings that //need// people. And perhaps even that's a [[self-perpetuating dependence|pondered]] caused by that very belief.
Actually a human family under a curse, but indistinguishable from real bears - in appearance at least. And it was //nothing// to do with you. Well. You might have put the witch in a bad mood after winning a few too many games of poker, so she was more inclined than normal towards bad temper. But it was //her// curse. \n\nYou take no blame [[whatsoever|slaughtered]].
What is it with humans? Always //running//. They write all these romances (admittedly some are //rather// good) - but what they claim to want seems to be the thing most likely to make them miserable. //Oh, I'm so alone, I'm so terrible sad. Oh, someone loves me, I don't love them, it's such a burden. Oh, we're so in love, yet we can't stop fighting. Oh, I'm in love with them both, I can't decide. Oh. Oh!//\n\n[[Pathetic|misdirect1]], really.
<<set $Time = 2>>You worked late, but this is unusual even for you. Through the window you can see heat steaming off the damp grasslands around your home. The nearby forest is as dark and gloomy as ever. \nIn the far distance, at the forest edge, you can see a lone horse, tethered. Presumably its owner will be nearby. That could be a problem. But you can deal with it [[later|Mirror]].
Hmm. But how to play this? How best to win this man over?\n\nYou could appear as a [[handsome prince]] or [[beautiful princess]] all alone and just //desperate// for company. \n\nOr perhaps you could play the naive young peasant: a [[nubile wench]], all heaving bosom and loose top, or a [[virile man]], sweaty and toned from cutting wood.\n \nYou could try being honest. You're not at your beauty prime, but you're not unattractive. You could add to the temptation with a taste of [[ultimate mischief]].\n \nOr you could just offer [[power and wealth]]. That one works depressingly often.\n\nWhatever you do, you need to get him under your control so you can get on with your work undisturbed.\n
Plenty of other fairies to be pestered. You'd always assumed that soppy bint away to the West took up the slack of your ignored dreams. \nWhile you were still in contact, she was always running one errand or another, believing these dreams thoughts of some wise gods, rather than treating them as information to be acted on, or not, as seemed fit.\nWonder if the [[silly girl|Warning]] ever gained independence?
<<set $Loop3 = $Loop3 + 1>>Another glance out the window confirms your suspicion. Some kind of hunter, male, is walking towards your home. //Sigh.// You'll need some time undistracted if you're to find out what's going wrong with the world, and even more time if you're to have a chance at <<if $Loop3 < 2 >> [[resolving|resolving2]]<<else>> resolving<<endif>> it. \n\nOff the top of your head, there are three options for dealing with this person invading your privacy. \n\nYou could [[destroy]] him, quick as a thought. But the swift removal of life would create a magic surge that even the most inept fairy would notice. The other fairies would all know you were active once more - and would be wary of your interference in whatever it is they're messing up right now. Might be the swiftest option, but it could make life harder later. \n\nYou could [[misdirect|misdirect1]] him. Perhaps some fast-talking could send him swiftly on his way. You'll need to read him right, and a mistake could be dangerous.\n\nYou could [[seduce him|seduce1]]. Reveal your nature and plans. Make him useful. Perhaps the most difficult option, certainly the most dangerous, but perhaps the most appealing. It's been a while.\n<<set $Loop4 = 0>>\n<<set $Loop5 = 0>>
<<set $Loop4 = $Loop4 + 1>>Gathering power is as easy as breathing in. The amount you're accumulating is an indulgence, but it's been so long since you last truly unleashed yourself. //Mmm...// Perhaps you could savour this moment?\n\nWas that a giggle? You naughty creature you. OK, perhaps //this// is what gained you that reputation you've never quite been able to<<if $Loop4 < 2 >> [[shake|shake2]]<<else>> shake<<endif>>. \n\nNow, there's no need for them to see you. No need to let them get close. No //[[need|massdeath]]//.
You leave your home and head towards the flickering torch flames. You change your form as you go - only slightly, just enough to emphasise the role in this drama. Slightly taller, sharpening your features, changing your clothes from black (invisible in this dark) to ultra-black, somehow silhouetted despite the night. \n\nThe crowd is marching towards you, oblivious. Oh, they're chanting. How sweet. Who riled them against you this time? Or is it just the instinctive fear-reaction of idiots to a remote building that changes appearance on a semi-regular basis? It's almost certainly that; always happens - someone gets through the forest, sees your house, returns home, spreads rumour and then ... this. \n\nNo one has ever organised a friendly parade, brought gifts and music. Always just assumed the worst. \n\nSo you're just returning the [[favour]], really.
You stride out of the <<if $Abode is 1>>castle gate,<<elseif $Abode is 2>>cottage door,<<else>><<endif>> your chest puffed up, your stomach puffed further - one strutting pigeon of a person. "HALLOO THERE, YOUNG MAN. GLAD TO SEE YOU MADE IT. GLAD. Harrumph." //Now, now - don't overdo it, don't enjoy yourself too much.// "So, did //they// send you, or have you done something a little bit naughty and are pre-empting the punishment? RahaHAR! Eh? EH?! Still - whatever trouble you're in, you'll fulfil your term in three years, and be returned to civilisation, a proper //man// of the world. RahahahaHAR!"\n\nYour hearty over-effusive laugh continues till you reach the man, whose eyes are wide with startlement and //horror//.\n\nYou lay one firm, sweaty (it's all about the details) hand on his shoulder. "All right. Head right in, and the sergeant will have your details. I'll give you half an hour to meet your //friends// RaHaHAHAR! for the next few years, and then we'll get to training. Put you to work straight away. RAhHAhahHAR. Harrumph."\n\n<<if $Abode is 1>>The man (pfft - //boy//) twists under your grip and runs away - heading straight for the forest without looking back. You can't resist amplifying your vocals just a tad: "Ohh, you'll be right back, when you're ready to be a //man//, boy. RahHAHAHAHAR!"\nWith any luck he'll plunge into the forest at speed, lacking whatever care got him here safely. He could easily be killed and eaten before he's only a few strides in. \n\nWhatever the result, you have indeed cleared the area of the only interloper. Time to go to your [[study]].<<elseif $Abode is 2>>The man looks at you for a moment, a baffled expression on his face. Then, bizarrely, a sly smile crosses his face. He sneers, "Speaking of friends, I'd like you to meet mine," and thrusts his dagger through your stomach, under your rib case, into your heart. \n\nUrGGHHh. //HHHNnnnnn.// You hadn't noticed that. And ... why didn't your plan work?\n\nAs you fall to the ground, [[struggling to breathe]] through the pain, you glance back. Oh //damn//. Cottage. Sodding //cottage//. No wonder he hadn't been convinced. And to be wounded to the accompaniment of such a dreadful line ... shameful. You're not sure whether the low-wit or the wound hurts more.<<else>><<endif>>
So, in order to make fact of fiction, to cement their place in history and thus make permanent their existence as beings of power, the fairies have started forcing the enactment of 'fairy tales'. Goodness - and they call you 'evil'. Surely they're aware of how //cruel// some of those tales are?\n\nNot that you'd care if it wasn't going to directly impact you. But by forcing stories onto humanity, they are risking a serious problem. If humankind believes that life is as story, and of a type so simplistic as a fairy one ... //Oh no.// \n\nHumans are //stupid//. They live as they believe they must. If they accept fairy tale as knowledge, accept that the narrative arc of life is one of suffering, with any relief only from an external saviour, then they'll be self-trapped into clichéd roles within that tale. \nBut worst of all - if humans come to believe that a fairy-tale ending (the happy kind, not the dancing to death on red-hot shoes kind) is only likely to arrive when suffering is almost unbearable ... they'll seek out that suffering. And humanity doing that on a grand scale? \n\nWell. That explains the [[dreams]].
A moment's concentration. An expression of strain, which would reduce a juvenile onlooker to giggles, no doubt. (//Humans. Such children.//) Ah. //The Royal Bethlehem.// Means [[nothing|fall]] to you.
Are you going to have to do all the work alone? Or is there anyone you can put to work?\n\n<<if $Allyshag is 1>>Oh, this would be a perfect place to put your hunter companion to work. Let him earn some more time in your presence.<<elseif $Allymoney is 1>>This wouldn't be a particularly dangerous challenge for the hunter, if he isn't stupid. Probably wouldn't cost much to get him involved. Wouldn't even have to be fairy gold - you might let it remain gold when he checks it in a day's time.<<elseif $Emily is 1>>Could that moderately sensible villager prove useful? Could you use her kindness in a way that could derail this story?<<elseif $Apprentice is 1>>Ha. You could put your new apprentice to work - knocking her down a peg and teaching her a valuable lesson at the same time. Perfect.<<else>>No. You work alone. It's best this way, you can keep absolute control of the situation, whatever happens.<<endif>>\n\nYou gather a bag of bits, bobs and other unnamed materials and accessories, and teleport yourself <<if $Allyshag is 1>>and your companion <<elseif $Allymoney is 1>>and your ... servant <<elseif $Emily is 1>>and a bewildered Emily <<elseif $Apprentice is 1>>and your apprentice <<else>><<endif>>to a forest glade near a //certain// [[footpath]].\n
<<set $HumanBear = $HumanBear + 1>>As for the bears - you're not sure how the fairies are planning to arrange it. There are two likely options, and you'll need to investigate to find out which course they've taken. \n\nThere //was// a family of<<if $HumanBear < 2 >> [[talking bears]]<<else>> talking bears<<endif>>, but you haven't heard hair nor hide of them in a while. You'd assumed the curse had been broken, but perhaps they just went into hiding and have now been driven out.\nAlternatively, and more sadistically, the other fairies could simply have captured and confused real bears. \n\nEither way - if bears are portrayed in this way, first they'll be harassed and harried as objects of amusement. When they turn (either cursed or real bear, both will lose their tempers) and lash out, they too will be hunted, mercilessly.\n\nSo. Where will you interfere? <<choice "With the bears">> or <<choice "with the wolf">>? Time spent helping one species will mean less to spend helping the other.
Are you going to have to do all the work alone? Or is there anyone you can put to work?\n\n<<if $Allyshag is 1>>Oh, this would be a perfect place to put your hunter companion to work. Let him earn some more time in your presence.<<elseif $Allymoney is 1>>This wouldn't be a particularly dangerous challenge for the hunter, if he isn't stupid. Probably wouldn't cost much to get him involved. Wouldn't even have to be fairy gold - you might let it remain gold when he checks it in a day's time.<<elseif $Emily is 1>>Could that moderately sensible villager prove useful? Could you use her kindness in a way that could derail this story?<<elseif $Apprentice is 1>>Ha. You could put your new apprentice to work - knocking her down a peg and teaching her a valuable lesson at the same time. Perfect.<<else>>No. You work alone. It's best this way, you can keep absolute control of the situation, whatever happens.<<endif>>\n\nYou gather a bag of bits, bobs and other unnamed materials and accessories, and teleport yourself <<if $Allyshag is 1>>and your companion <<elseif $Allymoney is 1>>and your ... servant <<elseif $Emily is 1>>and a bewildered Emily <<elseif $Apprentice is 1>>and your apprentice <<else>><<endif>>to a convenient [[forest glade]].\n
<<if $Abode is 1>>"Hey! Hey! You there." Your smile is wide and genuine. Your shirt is missing; rivulets of sweat trickle down your chest. You've clearly been doing an early morning workout. But the cut of your breeches and the craftsmanship of the foil in your hand clearly reveals your status. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to think I'd be left alone forever."\n\nThe hunter seems startled, but not displeased. \n\n"Look, come inside. Whatever spell it was wore off //months// ago. But no one's returned yet, and I've been alone for so long. I've been desperate for company. For someone to talk to, to ... uh." You allow a slight blush to come to your cheeks. Nothing excessive. "Oh, er ... sorry. Look, I'll just get changed, and then we can grab some food and //really// get to know each other." \n\nYou might be being a bit forward, but the hunter doesn't seem to mind. He chuckles, and [[follows you inside]].<<elseif $Abode is 2>>"Hey! Hey! You there." Your smile is wide and genuine. Your shirt is missing; rivulets of sweat trickle down your chest. You've clearly been doing an early morning workout. But the cut of your breeches and the craftsmanship of the foil in your hand clearly reveals your status. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to think I'd be left alone forever."\n\nThe hunter seems startled. \n\n"Look, come inside. Whatever spell it was wore off //months// ago. But no one's returned yet, and I've been alone for so long. I've been desperate for company. For someone to talk to, to ... uh." You allow a slight blush to come to your cheeks. Nothing excessive. "Oh, er ... sorry. Look, I'll just get changed, and then we can grab some food and //really// get to know each other." \n\nYou might be being a bit forward, but the hunter doesn't seem to mind. Indeed, he clasps you in for a hug. A hug that turns excruciating as he slides a knife up, through your stomach, under your ribs. He sneers: "Oh, cock off, you old witch!" \n\nUrGGHHh. //HHHNnnnnn.// You hadn't noticed the knife. And ... why didn't your plan work?\n\nAs you fall to the ground, [[struggling to breathe]] through the pain, you glance back. Oh //damn//. Cottage. Sodding //cottage//. No wonder he hadn't been convinced by the prince act. <<else>><<endif>>
The appearance of the cottage might be illusion, but it's still an //aspect// of your home. These idiots have done it real damage. And you're in a bit of a bind. If you blot the fire out now, they'll know there's magic at work and hang around to do greater harm. You could blot //them// out too - but most of the crowd has left - there's every chance you'll miss a straggler, they'll report what's happened and your problems will grow exponentially from there. Could even get an army sent your way, if not a visit from a contingent of fairy do-gooders. Or worse, //heroes//. No more heroes.\n\nNope. You'll have to wait till they're gone and pour time and energy into restoring your home, replicating the artefacts and relics, recreating potions and spells. \n\nAt least the dreams will stop. If only because you will not sleep until this disaster has been undone. //Damn// this world and its stupid people. It can just go to ruin, you're done with it.
The hunter is good company. //Very// good company. After a meal you discover many interests you've arranged to have in common. He's sweet enough to attempt to woo you, attempting various romantic gestures. At one point he seems even bashful - though swiftly overcomes it at your encouragement.\nHe joins you for a wash, and later for bed. You take genuine delight in tracing his scars with your fingers. Clawing him a little till he pins you down. Seems he likes the thought of dominating a princess. \n\nAnd turns out you rather enjoy fooling a mortal this way. You're titillated as much by your trivial trickery as by his touch. You allow him to exhaust you that night. And for many following. \n\nThe wearying pleasure has driven the dreams away. You haven't saved the world - but for now at least, you've no reason to care.
You peer deep into the mirror, reach through its surface and feel, rubbing strands of reality between your fingers to feel for something out of place.\n\n//There!//\n\nA strand of the edge of a tale, a thread being pulled from story to be used to weave something more substantial. If you could mess with it, play your traditional part in destroying the happy ending, perhaps you can crush the unhealthy mindset //they// are depending on creating.\n\nGuess that might make you the //good// fairy. Though few will appreciate your brand of kindness.\n\n[[Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Bears]] - ah, you can handle these two at once.\n\n@@font-weight:bold;To be continued (post game jam!) ...@@\nRumpelstiltskin\nSnow White\nCinderella\nThe Six Swans\n\n\n
The hunter is good company. //Very// good company. After a bite to eat, you do indeed wrestle together. At first, it's innocent. You win (of course), but ensure it's a close enough match to keep him in good humour. Later, he joins you for a wash (in a convenient stream - cold, but bracing), and warm up again in bed. You take genuine delight in tracing his scars with your fingers. He wins the wrestling match this time, though you're eager to give in. It transpires he likes it when one so muscular plays submissive. Seems he likes the thought of dominating you after your earlier victory. \n\nAnd it turns out you rather enjoy fooling a mortal this way. You're titillated as much by your trivial trickery as by his touch. You allow him to exhaust you that night. And for the many following. \n\nThe wearying pleasure has driven the dreams away. You haven't saved the world - but for now at least, you've no reason to care.
<<set $Abode = 1>>You were in a stately mood last time you fiddled with your home settings. Your home currently looms over its surroundings - a limestone block castle. As castles go, it is a //friendly// castle. It certainly differs from your average ominous and forbidding black stone, high-turreted castle (that's reserved for particularly bad days in the research lab, when frustration does sometimes result in the wanton destruction of visitors).\n\nBest not change the appearance now - if the change was witnessed, there would be no chance for [[bluffing|deal with it]].
//Sniff. Sniff.// There, you bravely choke back another sob, aren't you a fierce little girl? "Have you ... have you seen my parents? They ran, and I fell and and..." You burst into an ear-splitting wail, taking delight in the winces of those nearby. \n\nAlready the crowd is looking a bit bashful. Anger has diminished to irritation. If you can push it to embarrassment, you'll be in the clear. \n\nThat woman's concerned. She sits on the ground next to you, one arm around your shoulders. "There, there. It'll be all right. What happened? Where did your mummy and daddy go? Why did they leave you?"\n\n"They ... they ... saw all the fire and got scared." (Sniff, wipe nose on back of hand.) "My mother said that it must be something dreadful, some evil fire-beast, and they couldn't risk staying in its path. So we ran - up there, into the forest. Dad carried the twins - they're ever so small, and mother was carrying food and she's still so weak from the birth. So I just ran close behind and ... and ... then I tripped and." A pause, allowing for this to sink in. A brave gasp before continuing. "And it was so dark and I couldn't see where they went, and I didn't want to cry in case the fire beast got me. So I made my way back home an' ... and just waited to see what would happen to me ... Hoping I wouldn't be [[kiiillleeed]]." (Sniff, a few gulping sobs. This is //fun//.)
This is your favourite towel. It took some effort for you to learn to specify what kind of towel your magics would filch. You must have discarded about 30 bathmats and two strangely shaped carpets that appeared to have come from a toilet base, before you invented the right spell. Still, in the long run, this process is magic efficient. Magicing your face dry every time, over hundreds of years, would be such a [[waste|fall]].
<<set $Loop5 = $Loop5 + 1>>Now, what would an intrepid adventurer least want? Why would someone travel this far into the unknown? To escape something? Some//<<if $Loop4 < 2 >> [[one]]<<else>> one<<endif>>//? \n\nWell, you're unlikely to be able to pull off an impersonation of a wife, boyfriend or other encumbrance. The appearance would be easy, the mannerisms would come from this man's mind, so perhaps be a little exaggerated but otherwise convincing; no, the problem would be location. The most credulous fool would be suspicious if their mother-in-law (or //whoever//) appeared out of a stray <<if $Abode is 1>>castle.<<elseif $Abode is 2>>cottage.<<else>><<endif>>\n\nNo. But any threat to pin him down, //metaphorically speaking// of course, should be enough of a deterrence. Have the wretch [[scurrying away]] swiftly.\n\n
<<if $Abode is 1>>"Hey! Nice to see someone else around. It's been a long while. You been doing some hunting? Bag anything good?" Your smile is broad and friendly. Your shirt is distinctly absent, sweat glistening to highlight firm and well-developed muscles. Your breeches are worn, but more importantly, are tight in all the right places. "You tired? Fancy a bite to eat? I'm sure I can find something. I'm just done cutting wood, gonna stack it by the stove and then I'm yours."\n\nThe hunter seems startled by your presence. //Odd.// \n\n"Perhaps I could tempt you to hang around for a while? - would be really good to hear news, have some company. Perhaps you'd even spare me the time for some training? Been months since I've had a wrestling partner, I'm gonna be so rusty. Not much room in the hut, but that just means we'll have to get friendly faster." You smirk. \n\nThe hunter chuckles. It's not a //nice// laugh. Still, he grabs your hand, gives it a firm shake, tugs you off balance and stabs you in the side of your throat. "Oh, cock off, you witch!" he sneers.\n\nUrGGHHh. //HHHNnnnnn.// You hadn't noticed the knife. And ... why didn't your plan work?\n\nAs you fall to the ground, [[struggling to breathe]] through the pain, you glance at your home. Oh //damn//. Castle. Sodding //castle//. No wonder he hadn't been convinced by the peasant act. <<elseif $Abode is 2>>"Hey! Nice to see someone else around. It's been a long while. You been doing some hunting? Bag anything good?" Your smile is broad and friendly. Your shirt is distinctly absent, sweat glistening to highlight firm and well-developed muscles. Your breeches are worn, but more importantly, are tight in all the right places. "You tired? Fancy a bite to eat? I'm sure I can find something. I'm just done cutting wood, gonna stack it by the stove and then I'm yours."\n\nThe hunter seems startled, but not displeased. \n\n"Perhaps I could tempt you to hang around for a while? - would be really good to hear news, have some company. Perhaps you'd even spare me the time for some training? Been months since I've had a wrestling partner, I'm gonna be so rusty. Not much room in the hut, but that just means we'll have to get friendly faster." You smirk. \n\nThe hunter chuckles. His smile is bordering on a leer, but is mostly friendly. Still, he grabs your hand, gives it a firm shake, then follows you inside. Not before slapping your (round, perky) [[butt]], though.<<else>><<endif>>
You blot out most of the Mirror's mockney ramblings - only the latest in a <<choice "series">> of attitudes and dialects it's testing on you. Still, it is not uninformative, once you've cut through the <<choice "waffle">> (perhaps why you've never actually followed through with any of your many threats of violence against it). \n\nThose empty-headed, beauty-obsessed fairies have been feeling the power pinch. They've been pretty innovative, for them. You can see why they thought this might work. You wouldn't go so far as to say you'd have made the same error, of course you wouldn't. But in the short term, it would seem a like a //free// energy boost. \n\nIt all comes down to [[worship]], see?\n<<set $Obsess = 0>>
Blast. These tales are designed to condition humans into accepting anthropomorphised animals as a matter of course, to weaken the human ability to distinguish between natural and supernatural. But they are more problematic, more //insidious// than just that. If they are forced into reality they will have a slow, but dramatic impact on the ecosystem.\n\n//What?// You catch your raised-eyebrow expression in the mirror. //Oh please.// This is important. This could affect your forest - if that were to go you'd be harassed by tourists constantly. Would be //dreadful//.\n\n If the poor old wolf is made into something //big// and //bad//, it'll be hunted mercilessly. It won't just be tracked down on the odd occasion it harries livestock - it'll be [[slaughtered]]. And if wolves go extinct ... well, it won't just be that you'll miss their dulcet song of a full moon. You'll have to cull those all-consuming deer yourself to keep your forest intact. And that's //work//.\n\n<<set $HumanBear = 0>>
<<set $Apprentice = 1>>"Oi. You. You there! Look, I don't care what damn quest you're on - princess-saving or grail-seeking - I just don't give a damn. The ending isn't here and I'm not inter--" \n\n[[Ah]].\n\n
You extend your senses to check that all is clear. No humans anywhere near. Excellent. You leap up and stretch into your natural form.\n\nInvigorated by your playacting, you're ready to go to your [[study]], despite the late hour.
A thought - his thought - and you assume the form of his fantasy ideal. //Not// what you'd have expected, but humanity must be more open minded nowadays. You rush to meet him, <<if $Abode is 1>>grabbing a rose from a vase as you go (pricking your thumb - //Ow!//). Through the castle gate, down the main track - running towards him with a smile of joy on your face.\n<<elseif $Abode is 2>> through the cottage door, down the path (breaking a rose from a bush as you pass, pricking your thumb - //Ow!//).\n<<else>>\n<<endif>>\nHe seems startled. Unsurprising really - your dream partner rushing from a building in the middle of nowhere, reachable only after a trek through a huge forest fraught with danger pretty much //screams// 'trap'. But humans are slow to react, and the fun is in taking advantage of this moment of unbalance.\n\n"My dear, it's you!" you gasp, breathily - as you press the rose into his hand flung up in alarm. It pierces his skin, immediately drawing blood. You press your own bloody hand against [[his]] ...\n
<<set $Loop2 = $Loop2 + 1>>The dream displayed a city to you, showing you its facets from above, as if you were hovering over it. Nothing abnormal about that - you've flown often enough in waking life. But never over anything this spirit-dead. It was horrific. Truly horrific. A monstrous city, larger than any in the nearby kingdoms. Massive box-buildings, all greys and glass. Thousands of people, mostly fed (if poorly), mostly working, all miserable. Metal<<if $Loop2 < 2 >> [[light trees]]<<else>> light trees<<endif>>, but no real ones. No plants. No grass. No animals that you noted. Just people. Always people.\nOverlooking the thousands, millions, scurrying like ants - to and fro from one box building to another - are massive spikes of glass. The dwellings of the ruling elite. Rich, self-starving, self-loathing. \nA city of despair and hatred. Where the poor are kept down by the perpetuation of naive myths. Where change, release, is only a fairy wish away.\nOnly. Not an only of ease, but one of desperation. The sole route to happiness the whim of a manic magic abuser.\nOh. It's //this// world, then. And another [[warning|Warning]].\n<<set $TimesWarned = 0>>\n\n
You sweep out of your home, making only minor adjustments to your appearance. You're only bothering to do so to ensure you aren't mistaken for a witch. It's //just// to make sure that you get a chance to talk to the man. Nothing insecurity related, no. \nSo: freshen up the face a tad - just a hint of discreet makeup. Add fairy wings (as if //you//'d need them to fly!). Lower front of dress - display a significant, but not excessive, amount of cleavage. Give him something to want to remove. Change your stain-friendly black for a green, a forest green. //There//, he can mistake you for some nature spirit, if it helps. A wand. A sodding wand. But only for //appearance'// sake, mind.\n\nA delicate swish, hold him in place - but ever so gently (the diddums). \n"Hello dearheart. I'm not going to grant you any wishes. Well, I might - but only if they coincide with what I already want. So, when did you last hear honesty like that from a fairy?" \n\nHis expression is hard to gauge, and you're not going to read his mind - he'll feel it, and the act of observation would impact the result. \n\nYou move closer, brushing up against him. "I'll be frank. I'm used to being alone, and I don't like being disturbed. However, a situation has arisen which means I must involve myself in human affairs for a while. Now, I could be rid of you, and focus undisturbed. Or you could assist me, carry out some minor errands, help me ... //relax//." The tongue-rolled 'r' gets your point across effectively. If dispiritingly cheaply. He's certainly starting to leer. Not an attractive look. "It would be enjoyable ... work ... I assure you. And that's just speaking of the tricks we might have to play on lesser humans. Would have to lend you some power, of course, but I'm sure you wouldn't abuse it."\n\nYou risk skimming the surface of his thoughts. He's eager as a puppy. Oh. A glance at his trousers would have revealed that. //Lovely.//\n\nCan you lower yourself to this? You could always [[destroy him|his]], even if it might cause trouble later on. \n\nYou release him. "[[Come along]]." //I wonder how long before you tire of this oaf?//\n \n\n
The hunter is good company. //Very// good company. After a meal you discover many interests you've arranged to have in common. He joins you for a wash, and later for bed. You take genuine delight in tracing his scars with your fingers. Clawing him a little till he pins you down. It transpires he likes it when one so muscular plays submissive. Seems he likes the thought of dominating a prince. \n\nAnd turns out you rather enjoy fooling a mortal this way. You're titillated as much by your trivial trickery as by his touch. You allow him to exhaust you that night. And for the many following. \n\nThe wearying pleasure has driven the dreams away. You haven't saved the world - but for now at least, you've no reason to care.
<<set $Loop1 = $Loop1 + 1>>And, for a reason you're irritated to be unable to work out, reality matters to you. For all that you've withdrawn from the world around you, distanced yourself from the fools that live within it, you can't help but //care// about it. \n\nSpeaking of fools, what was it you spotted earlier? You need to deal with that, make sure you'll be undisturbed in your study for some while, so that you can unravel that dream and work out what you need to do to be allowed a good night's <<if $Loop1 < 2 >> [[sleep]]<<else>>sleep<<endif>> once more.\n\n<<if $Time is 1>>So, a campfire. Suggests some woodsman - poacher or hunter, it matters little to you - has found his way this side of the forest. A rare occurrence, but not unheard of. Best [[deal with it]].\n<<elseif $Time is 2>>A saddled-up horse cropping at grass tends to suggest a questing knight. Or other wannabe. How to handle [[this one]]?\n<<elseif $Time is 3>>Oh, the pitchforkers. There's something about crowds - they're less intelligent than their stupidest member. And so dangerous as a result. No wonder you chose to live in this isolated area. Still, should be easily [[resolved]].<<else>><<endif>>
Well. I guess you'll be undisturbed by dreams for a while. You've enough energy to recover - you're virtually indestructible - but it's going to take a long, long time. Worse, it's going to age you a good ten years. The next time you see your face will be a shock. How //frustrating//. How //stupid// of you. You shouldn't have taken your obvious superiority for granted - you slipped up. Careless.\n\nIgnoring your assailant, you transport your body into the healing cocoon you keep woven underground - at least you've had that much foresight - you wonder what the world outside might be like when you wake up.
<<set $Loop4 = $Loop4 + 1>>Gathering power is as easy as breathing in. The amount you're accumulating is an indulgence, but it's been so long since you last truly unleashed yourself. //Mmm...// Perhaps you could savour this moment?\n\nWas that a giggle? You naughty creature you. OK, perhaps //this// is what gained you that reputation you've never quite been able to<<if $Loop4 < 2 >> [[shake]]<<else>> shake<<endif>>. \n\nNow, there's no need for him to see you. To make eye-contact. No need to let him get that close. No //[[need]]//.
Wands became fashionable years ago. The latest 'Godmother' accessory. You allow your face to contort into a sneer at that. That's acceptable //once// in a while, but not to be indulged - most of your creases are from laughing; you're proud of the story-lines creeping from the corners of your eyes.\nFashionable or not, wands had become a necessity for most. They formed foci for power, vital for lesser fairies to master the most basic of wish-granting skills. Last you'd heard even your sister had started using one. A sure sign of weakness, that. \nYou couldn't imagine ever needing one. It's hard enough work keeping the power-static from tossing your hair erect. Needing such a crutch ...? How low would you have to [[fall]]?
<<set $Abode = 3>>All right. Your average ominous and forbidding black stone, high-turreted castle. Narrow windows, moat, drawbridge, [[gargoyles|resolved]] spewing flame (too much? Na.).
@@font-weight:bold;To be continued ...@@\n(Ran out of time.)
<<if $Abode is 1>>You hobble forwards, creased and crooked. Stagger a little. Your first cry is cracked in your throat: "Excu--. Excu--!" //Cough, cough.// "Excuse me, young man. Young maaan! Please stop a moment. Do you bring news?"\n\nThere. Hobble towards him. Limp, limp - another near fall - limp, stagger. And //there//. You catch your fall on his arm and take maximal pleasure in digging your bony fingers into the flesh of his biceps. Ooh, nice. A wince.\n\n"Oh, young man." //A hint of tears in already watery eyes.// "You've come to bring me news? No one has been in so long, I began to fear for the worst. Tell me about the battle. Is Tim all right? Is he well? Is my Tiny Tim still alive?" //A sob, another - broken by a hacking cough.// "I'm so lonely. And I can't manage my little house all alone, not for much longer. Have you come to tell me he's returning? You will stay till he does? You //will//? You //are//? Oh, that's //so// kind." There. Turn a bleary eyed smile of infinite gratitude. \n\nHe's not even trying to hide an expression of-- //Oh!// Smug satisfaction? That's not what you were expecting. Nor is the knife he slides up, through your stomach, under your ribs. He sneers: "Oh, cock off, you old witch!" \n\nUrGGHHh. //HHHNnnnnn.// You hadn't noticed the knife. And ... why didn't your plan work?\n\nAs you fall to the ground, [[struggling to breathe]] through the pain, you glance back. Oh //damn//. Castle. Sodding //castle//. No wonder he hadn't been convinced.<<elseif $Abode is 2>>You hobble out of your cottage, creased and crooked. Stagger a little, catch yourself on the gate post. Your first cry is cracked in your throat: "Excu--. Excu--!" //Cough, cough.// "Excuse me, young man. Young maaan! Please stop a moment. Do you bring news?"\n\nThere. Hobble towards him. Limp, limp - another near fall - limp, stagger. And //there//. You catch your fall on his arm and take maximal pleasure in digging your bony fingers into the flesh of his biceps. Ooh, nice. A wince.\n\n"Oh, young man." //A hint of tears in already watery eyes.// "You've come to bring me news? No one has been in so long, I began to fear for the worst. Tell me about the battle. Is Tim all right? Is he well? Is my Tiny Tim still alive?" //A sob, another - broken by a hacking cough.// "I'm so lonely. And I can't manage the house all alone, not for longer. Have you come to tell me he's returning? You will stay till he does? You will? You are? Oh, that's //so// kind." There. Turn a bleary-eyed smile of infinite gratitude. \n\nHe's not even trying to hide the expression of horror. No manners, this one. You thrust your face towards his, just for the pleasure of watching him recoil. Now, for the finishing touch. "Oh, I'm sure you have so much to tell me," you croak. "I'm just making a broth out of the last of the meat, and I think there are still a few vegetables in the garden. You can have a nice rest while you tell me everything. And then I can tell you all about my beloved Timmy, in case you know him."\n\nThe youth twists under your grip and runs away, crying: "Sorry, mam! Got to go. No news, no news!" He's heading straight for the forest. With any luck he'll plunge into it at speed, lacking whatever care got him here safely. He could easily be killed and eaten before he's only a few strides in. \n\nWhatever the result, you have indeed cleared the area of the only interloper. Time to go to your [[study]].<<else>><<endif>>
Is it even morning? How long have you been asleep? You glance out of the window.\n \n<<choice "The sun is rising.">>\n<<choice "It's a baking afternoon, already.">>\n<<choice "Dark.">>\n \n<<if $Time is 1>>Still early, [[good|MirrorMirror]].\n<<elseif $Time is 2>>\nAfternoon? Best get [[going|MirrorMirror]], then.\n<<elseif $Time is 3>>\nNight? //Sigh.// That's your body-clock screwed, [[then|MirrorMirror]].\n<<endif>>
@@font-weight:bold;To be continued ...@@\n(Ran out of time.)
The invader is no knight, nor even a gangly wannabe decked out in poorly-fitted armour. It's a statuesque woman, aged ... eighteen, maybe. It's hard to guess - her face is fresh enough to be younger, but her expression has the cheerful cynicism of someone much wiser than any teenager. She's dressed in a youth's clothes, which explains why you didn't notice your error till you were close.\n\nYou're momentarily at a loss for words. She clearly isn't. "I'm your apprentice."\n"My ..." //Wait. What? Apprentice?// "Don't be ridiculous. What are you talking about?"\n"Your apprentice." \n\nOh, //no//. Your day has already become [[significantly worse]].
Are instantly rebuffed.\n\n//Damn. Blast. Bugger bugger BUGGER!//\n\nShe has the potential, all right. And it's clearly already started to wake, as her smug expression shows she's perfectly aware of what she's just done.\n\nYour //one// absolute obligation, the //one// duty you can't shirk - to enable newly-magical individuals to control their burgeoning power; to give them enough ability to forge their own path. It's the sole rule you cannot disobey. Every fairy must have enough understanding of the magic available to them to be entirely responsible for their decisions. No moral burden is imposed - only one of responsibility. \n\nGreat. You have an apprentice. Just ... [[great]]. Here's hoping she learns fast.
<<set $Emily = 1>>Emily, eh? Perhaps she'll be useful in the future. Kind, certainly - possibly even possesses some common sense. Though obviously not enough to avoid getting involved with the mob.\n"OK, Auntie Emily. Byyeeee."\n\nYou allow her to tuck you in to the bed at the far corner of the cottage. She leaves, taking the last of the villagers with her. \n\nWell. //That// was [[something]]. \n\n