The green witch looked over Jon, as she slumped upon the grassy floor. "Poor thing, she doesn't even know how to fall as a harpy," she thought with a shake of her head as she huddled towards her sleeping form and adjusted her wings. Of course Jon with her human instincts tried to push her weight against the floor. A quick spell she 'nudged' her to a more comfortable position with her wings nicely folded. Still, this was just one of the many aspects to the new harpy that the Green Witch found... interesting. She patted her hair gently curious in thought on just what to -do- with her now.
Aria looked curiously as well. "Can I name her now?" She asked hopefully, brushing the dust of magic on her hands in preparation. "I have a few really good ideas...I've not named someone in such a long time!" How often did such an opportunity come by?
The green witch chuckled. She cast a quick glance to her companion in contemplation, perhaps a little excited herself. "Ah Aria, I do hate to disappoint you but... no. She should be named by one of her new kind... I only wish I could be there myself when that happens." How wonderful that could be? Perhaps.. that was the problem. Jon had not really seen much of her own kind here, from what she gathered. She was so quick to go to the world of humans without exploring the -gift- she had been given... that would hardly do at all, in her opinion.
The fairy fluttered to the witch's shoulder. "What are we going to do then? She clearly needs a little help... unlike the others that bother you." The fairy did take a little too much interest in how the witch aided those who asked her...
"Indeed..." The witch looked Jon over. There were many options to her, some magical and others mundane.
"How about we give her amnesia and send her to that Drake on the Starlight River? He's been crowing for a mate for absolutely ages. It would be incredibly romantic," she giggled. To Aria, this sounded perfectly sound and even kind. Humans based so much on the memories of their past... to free Jon completely from that and create a new beginning for her, free of any concerns in human morality...
"The witch gave some thought to that. Amnesia was a relatively simple spell... "As interesting as that would be, I don't think it's appropriate. Jon's circumstances make her unique and it's more interesting to let her explore her new life. In any case, I simply must know where she came from. Perhaps she's from the Old Continent... or... Estaria itself?"
The fairy shook her head. "I don't think so. If she was from the Old Continent, I would have heard of her. Fairy folk keep contact with those lands. As for Estaria..." she glanced a bit unsure to Jon. "Well... I guess it's not completely impossible, but the gates are all closed. There's no way for anyone to travel there."
The green witch gave a nod. "It would be... near impossible. Perhaps I am getting hopeful in my old age. Well then, come help me Aria..." She started to life the young harpy girl, placing her carefully next to the bubbling cauldron. "Do you know of any other harpies in the area?"
"Hm, well, there's Old Janina... but she's gone a bit batty spending time in the Crystal Cove." she looked a bit sad as she related that.
The witch sighed. "Harpies do tend to suffer a lot of stubborn pride... I told her not to pursue such arts..." she grumbled a bit in thought.
"What about Maggie?" Asked Aria.
"Hm..." The witch thought of her. "Well... I did make a promise to her... I suppose... it could work. Though... Jon is 'hardly' the most fitting candidate."
The fairy looked and nodded. "Well that's true, but Jon could learn?"
"Perhaps. Maggie does have an interest in humans... A little too much of an interest, for my taste. Always asking if any had come into the forest looking for their 'shiny things," she smiled a little. "Yes... I think we have found someone for her..." She gave a tight lipped grin. "At the very least she'll stop coming here to look for human junk."
"Ooooooh!" The fairy squealed. "Shall I get her?"
"Yes... Summon her if you could, and tell her I found a human expert for her to indulge in."
Aria nodded getting ready to fly out the window. That harpy was pretty useful as an erred girl in these parts... "Alright. I'll bring her here quick. Just be careful poking around an off-worlder's mind. You never know what you will find."
The green witch nodded as she went into her cupboard. Inside were a few curious glowing bottles, most of which had cobwebs all over them. Inside was a curious glowing smoke, shades of, crimson and sapphire. There was the sound of laughter as she opened the jar, filling the air. It was... Innocent, idealistic child laughter... the happiness of a little girl. Images formed in the cloud as it hung in the air... showing a young harpy, being taught to hunt by her mother. "Hm.. I think this will do..."
She started to draw in the smoke, breathing it in deeply. Her eyes lit with a strange glow. "Spirits of the Night... hear my spell... into this young ones mind I will journey... open the doors to her mind, that I might wonder into her memories..." She whispered it into Jon's ear, as the strange smoke went inside and into her mind. The two became enveloped in the magical mist... joining in mind as two subconscious thoughts touched upon each other. "Show me your world dear... show me everything... dream of what you would be doing in it..."
Jon was in school.
How long.. had he been here? Things seemed a bit off though, as if the school didn't join up the way it used to. His house was in the next room for instance, as was the shopping mall... yet at the moment, that all seemed perfectly normal. Was he somewhere else before? Well that wouldn't be too surprising since he could be anywhere in this place. He glanced around curiously, wondering where his friends were and... oh did he forget his homework again? What was his assignment...
'Something to do with history.'
"Oh yeah, history..." Jon thought as he looked over the books. Slowly the classroom became busier with people he vaguely recognised. In the corner of the class room a little bird in a cage was twittering like mad. The teacher then came in the class, an old woman. She glanced at the squawking bird and put a covering over it. "Please recite your homework Jon." said the teacher.
Jon looked at his paper. He felt nervous. He wasn't even sure what part of history he wanted to talk about. There was so much... what would be relevant to the discussion?
"All of it Jon..." said the teacher. She seemed to take a curious look in the young boy's appearance.
Jon gulped. He wasn't really looking at the teacher, as he stared at his notes. Slowly he went over the last thing they were talking about in school.
As Jon spoke, the teacher started to look around the classroom. "Curious place... some kind of... multiroomed interior, almost like a temple..." She glanced outside, noting the somewhat peaceful surroundings. There was a nice warm sun out there. But something was odd to her, about the road outside. She had never seen a plane made so flat before.. there was grass out there, but very few trees. "Perhaps some of these books will help..."
At least this place had books. She had a look into one, seeing nothing but blank pages. "Hmph... teenagers. The same in any world.. why did he not read a single book..." she looked quite annoyed as she went from book to book, all with intriguing titles. Jon's subconscious should retain a lot of information but if he never read it.. it wouldn't be here.
Jon continued to recite various histories. " Then Christopher Columbus discovered America..."
She glanced back.. Jon is caught in the dream... allowing her to explore his mind while his psyche was distracted. She looked for more information on this world... but where to start? There was so much to learn... Finally she found a few books that were very well memorised with some strange pictures... She arched an eyebrow as she picked up the novel called 'X-men' and flipped through it in some confusion. "Is this the history of Jon's world?" She wondered. It seemed a bit.. extreme. Perhaps a propaganda leaflet? Or.. was this simply an epic tail.. or even, just Jon's imagination. She had been in dreams a few times and knew very little here could be taken for granted. Like that flying metal bird hanging in the sky for instance... clearly some kind of artefact of Jon's psyche, a deity figure? She watched it go past with an odd 'roar'.
She drew her attention back to the inside of the classroom to the odd hanging wire at the top of the room. Every room here, seemed to have one. What was it for? She guessed it was some kind of lantern. "Jon, what is that?" she asked.
Jon looked up. "It's a light bulb miss," he said confused. Still.. something was off. Why was the teacher watching a plane go by? What was wrong with this picture... he continued to write in his book, idly flicking the pen between his toes.
"How does this light bulb work?"
Jon got up from his desk, as one does in a dream. His naked body moved, shifted.. shimmered until he was at the door. "You flip this switch. It goes on.. and off..."
The Teacher looked with some dazzled delight at the odd way this machine worked. "How... does this work Jon?"
"Electricity..." Jon explained blankly. This was still odd... why?
The Teacher blinked at his answer. She had heard of many arcane words, and it was rare for her to not know how a basic light spell was being created. "What is electricity?" she ventured carefully. What curious concepts would he speak of...
"Is...this part of the test Teacher?" Asked Jon confused.
"Yes Jon, it's all part of the test..."
Jon did his best to explain the principles of electricity. It wasn't too hard. Somehow he was able to convey some bits about the structure of an atom, and the flow of electrons. "Magnets move.. electrons flow.. you get electricity."
The Teacher looked quite impressed by such knowledge. She wondered if the humans of her own would would get this far... "Well, why don't we go to your house?" Something familiar should keep this dream together.
"Yes miss..."
Now they were in a vehicle. It appeared to be a motorised contraption.. the Teacher looked at it over, touching the strange hard material that was not wood nor metal. Perhaps some form of ceramic? But it felt warmer then that.. "What powers this device Jon?"
"Gasoline."
"Is this.. like electricity?" She asked curiously.
"Similar.." Jon whispered as now they found themselves fuelling up in a petrol station. The Teacher nearly gasped at the odd smell. She knew this scent.. oils but somehow, more refined. She saw many of these vehicles all fuelling, all.. burning it? Igniting it? "The engine.. it burns this as fuel?"
"Yes..." said Jon. He didn't really know much of how it worked.
"How many of these devices are there..."
Jon shrugged. "I.. think I heard somewhere it's about half as many as there are people in the world.."
" how many people live on this world?"
"Seven.. billion..."
The Teacher gasped. Was jon seriously telling her that the number of these vehicles was in the billions?! As were the number of humans here? "What of.. the other races?" The witch asked curiously.
Jon was getting very confused. This teacher was asking such strange questions. "Humans only live here," he explained. "It's a human world, of just humans... only humans."
A pang of sadness hit the teacher. "Just... humans?" She.. she was visibly shocked. The idea of a world with just one race... one solitary race, unchecked and unbalanced, finding only answers that came from within a single limited mindset.. to deal with problems and only think of oneself alone... what a world would that be? "Is this a sad world to you child?" she asked curiously.
Jon thought about the question. " It's not a sad world. It's just... a normal world. I did normal things..."
"Tell me about your species as a whole Jon.."
Jon's mind filtered with various images. The wars this world had fought.. distinct images. Jon was a young teen that grew up in a very peaceful world despite the lingering past. An age of technological enlightenment. The Teacher watched in quiet awe and sadness as she saw just what kind of weapons a single race could create against itself.. She saw an explosion that not even the source of magic could conjure or even contemplate creating... She pulled herself away from those images, Even as just pictures in Jon's mind they were too horrifying to truly grasp in their enormity to her. Jon came from a species that could create small stars... weaponised. There were other aspects too, as they tinkered with the very fabric of life and had an innate understanding of the physical aspects of what created a person... though sadly she saw little evidence that they had the True understanding of life at the level she did... All this she gleamed from the teenager, sifting through the pieces of his subconsciousness...
Now they were in Jon's room. To the Teacher this was an extraordinary world. In some ways... terrifying as much as strangely alien. However, she could sympathise a little with what Jon was feeling. All the mysteries of this world were a creation of humanity and humanity alone.. even their technology was made in response to their personal desires. There was none of the fey here, to create impossibilities or to imagine living in the new, or even another race to share the other mysteries of existence with. This world only got older and older... did it get wiser? She was not sure given what she had seen in Jon's mind... Could one even commune with nature in such a world? She had no idea... "Jon, you will wake up soon and have no memories of this..."
"Why... are you going through my memories..." Jon asked feeling lucidity dawn on him. That could only mean he was about to wake up...
" Because I want to see what kind of a person you are. To decide what I am going to do next..."
"Just leave me alone I'm going to the city. I'm going to find a way to make myself human. You won't help me so I have to go elsewhere."
" I am going to help you Jon..." She just had to decide what to do though.. She certainly couldn't let Jon just go into the Empire. His knowledge of sciences despite lacking in depth could have just enough to spark a revolution of knowledge. Maybe it was selfish but.. she rather liked the world as it was, and not to become like Jon's world. "What if... I could give you something different... something... exciting. Something... you could never experience in your old world..."
Jon looked blankly. "I... I don't know..."
"There is someone I would like you to help... you like to help people, right?"
Jon nodded. "Y-yes... I like helping others."
The teacher looked down to him. "But sometimes you don't know how to help, right? Sometimes you want to know how..."
"Yes..."
The teacher waved her hands over Jon's eyes, making him continue to rest and relax. "I am going to give you a gift.. the gift of Dreams. I can only give such a gift once in my life.. and I believe you are worthy of it.." she smiled gently patting her head. "You'll understand this gift, one day... maybe. Or curse me for it afterwards, I don't know. I hope you will come to see the joy from it though..."
