5 |
Thinking it over, you consider that while you and Honourshine are of the same age and both share warm coat and hair colours, you don't look quite alike the way most twins do. You would have to consult a genealogist to know for certain, but you suggest that you could always be half-siblings.
Honourshine: "Half-siblings? A fair compromise, I suppose."
You grin, and lean in closer to teasingly ask Honourshine if her half-brother would still be getting kisses.
Honourshine: "I... well, n-not with that dumb smirk on your face!"
Your smug mug is nudged away by a playful hoof, and you share a chuckle. She doesn't seem opposed to the idea, at the very least, but knowing her, you figure that the occasion would have to be somewhat special.
In any case, now is not the time. You get back to reading, and skim through the rest of A-Ni-Ma for any more relevant information about soulmates. Most of it seems to be focused on the balance between hei and bai, and the belief that a perfectly balanced soul may live long enough to ascend to a greater class.
With yet more questions to answer, you put the book away, and move on to the next one: On the Subject of Memories. Once you reclaim your seat by the window together, you open the new tome, and begin to read...
The book introduces Munin, one of two primordial ravens created by Odin, Lord of Darkness. According to Munin, memories are entities of their own, originally stored in physical objects, and synthesized from Light and Dark ether.
Honourshine: "Hm. Again with the light and the darkness."
The raven explains that memories are a design of Harmony, the magic of Law. Beyond the mortal mind, memories allow all things to be remembered, including the physical state of objects in the Nine Worlds, wherein each object mechanically remembers its own state.
Indeed, without memories, an apple thus created could not remember being bitten, and would ever be whole; nor could it remember being taken, and would ever hang from its branch. All would remain as it was upon its creation, and revert to its original state every passing instant.
Honourshine: "This is... difficult to imagine."
The concept of Memory was initially brought into being as a response to Time: a design of Chaos, the magic of Creation. It was only later decided that mortals should be given the ability to Recall; that is, to perceive, in part, past memories created through observations of their own.
This ability is based on the Fundamental Law of Observation, by which it is impossible to perceive the state of an object without altering it, no matter how insignificantly. As such, these new memories, rather than stored in the mortal's body, are bound to its spirit, intended as an incentive and reward for experiencing life.
Munin, however, criticizes the flawed design, and warns that mortals will, in due time, claim the ability to control both Light and Dark. When the day comes, he believes that memories of visiting spirits will be at risk of being accessed or even taken by other malevolent beings.
Honourshine: "Here! Does this mean what I think it means?"
You agree that Munin's warning makes it sound like stealing memories could be possible... but you wonder, what kind of creature would possess such an ability? You certainly can't imagine an alicorn princess being responsible for your predicament.
In an ironic twist of fate, mocks the raven, such incompetence from the Lords of Harmony could usher the Nine Worlds closer to the Black Void. Thus, he imparts his wisdom to mortals of such a future in the form of advice:
"Thou art unique. Thy memories art thine own, and forever will be. If thou art made to forget, then aspirest to remember. Reclaimest thy memories. Cast aside thy mortality if thou must. Seekest thine own written name in Dark ink on pages of Light, and returnest to the Great Beyond with a story due true stars."
Honourshine: "Can you make any sense of this?"
You hesitate. Recalling your brief encounters with Midgardsormr and Ratatosk, you are starting to believe that primordial beings are simply wont to speak in riddles.
Honourshine: "Wait, keep reading!"
Thanks to Munin's counsel, Sage Alabaster Light was able to make some important discoveries in the realm of arcana: notably, that the ethereal third of arcane is able to perceive, but not affect, memories. In combination with the latter's referential nature, this finding was heralded as a major breakthrough in the school of divination magic, and led to the invention of the scrying pool.
In conclusion, so long as something is remembered, then a memory of it exists. From that selfsame memory, a reference can be traced back to its source. Such is the relation between Creation and Law on the subject of memories.
Honourshine: "So there is hope after all, huh?"
You nod. Admittedly, you don't know any diviners, but you feel eager to meet one; just knowing that the answer is somewhere out there fills you with determination! Or maybe what you're feeling is your legs getting restless after sitting still for so long.
The clock on the wall indicates five o'clock.
Enter a comment
...if it goes completely over our heads, or we have extra time, we can find a beginner's book on magic and work on our foundational knowledge and skills. (It would be pretty worthwhile to spend the rest of the day training, IMO.)
Since the sun will set soon and we'll be studying unicorn magic, Honourshine may decide to head back. Or she's welcome to sleep over (on a bedroll?), no kisses required.
Actually, that reminds me, there is a "Trope Talk: Five Man Band" video and TVTropes pages which discuss common character archetypes in parties. We've yet to see how the character dynamics play out in our party, but we might have something like:
- Trailblazer: The Leader / The Big Guy
- Honourshine: The Smart Guy / The Lancer
- Moonflower: The Heart / The Lancer
And it's possible we adopt adventure-specific NPCs into the party in the Kirin Empire, but Honourshine's reclusiveness may be an obstacle.
I do think passing time until we can leave (when Moonflower is done; early tomorrow?) would be most interesting story-wise, though checking the train schedule and Honourshine checking out of the inn may waste turns.
- the Kirin foreign office appointing a translator and minder/spy, to keep tabs on those troublesome Equestrians; or
- the Equestrian Embassy to the Kirin Empire, which also happens to be dealing with some other diplomatic crisis, appointing a translator for us.
Actually, there haven't been any instructions on what to do or who to talk to when we get there. I imagine they're either in the "Voyage: The Absent Star" scroll that we haven't fully read, or Twilight will mail us more instructions when the ship is ready. (Or none are really needed, given that the Kirin know where he is?) As for who to see, I think of:
- the Kirin foreign office/diplomats,
- the Equestrian embassy, and
- the last concert location/other known whereabouts of Dirt Flaxen.
But on the other hoof, Manehattan Music Management has enough confidence in the Kirin music market (and their ability to convert zen to bits) to send one of their pop stars there... If there are enough connections to form commercial ties, there has to be a decent amount of cultural exchange and some kind of diplomatic relationship already.
Ah, so perfect balance and ascension to a higher class is the goal of a soul? It isn't mentioned if descending in class is possible for doing enough evil, resulting in a pony then reincarnating as an animal. I wonder if there is an ultimate endpoint, if not "retiring among the stars".
I know some IRL cultures don't object to cousin marriage, despite it being harmful. I suppose, this being a fictional, noblebright setting, we're unlikely to be punished with children with genetic defects.
So, a genealogist is a real kind of pony we can visit! We'll have to find one in this world's equivalent of the yellow pages... business or tradesponies have to advertise themselves somehow. Or is it just based on "I know a pony who knows a pony" in this world? 🤔
To summarize:
- The magic of "Law" is "Harmony" who designed "Memory".
- The magic of "Creation" is "Chaos" who designed "Time".
Wow, this is ontology! So memory, the data that describes reality, is reality, in a sense! And the changing of true, physical memories could in fact erase us from history without time travel.
Woah! That riddle is basically addressed to us, who had our memories stolen. My interpretation is that our overarching quest is to find out who we truly are and our true name, and to make a great story. 😀 Becoming immortal or living through multiple lives may or may not be needed.
So diviners are ponies we can meet. How common are they, exactly? If we go to Canterlot, where skilled unicorn wizards are wont to gather, will there be diviners who have set up shop? If that's the case, I imagine they would target a wealthy clientele. So perhaps we could get a lot of bits, convince Honourshine to spend her bits, or do a quest for one of them. Or, are diviners extremely hard to find? I imagine it might break things if everypony could ask a diviner anything, just like that, so there must be some limitations on it. Do you have to be specially talented in it to learn it? Are the answers gained by divining really hard to understand? Do you have to ask very specific questions of it? Is it just expensive or hard to do?
I think my command will be either reading a beginner magic book to prep for reading the divining book, or just reading the divining book.
Then again, we may discover more about our past during the quest. After all, it turned out the Philosopher Stone and Seed of Ygrassil, Moonflower needed to become an oracle, were one and the same thing. Maybe during the quest we're going to learn more about the bell which in turn is also tied to our past. But that's just me speculating.
Yeah, in terms of action economy it may have been worth skipping the book entirely and going straight a specialist, but I kinda want the info, and we are passing time right now. There is also a small chance we learn a valuable utility spell or something. I might try a "skip till we get to Fillydelphia" command if there really is nothing happening.
Yeah, I also wouldn't decline the voyage straightaway either. While finding out about our mysterious past is the thing I want to do most, I have an in-character desire to keep our "promises" and not burn our "boss" Twilight on our first mission.