video

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel hasn't quite realized that she's posting a video- she has her communicator pressed to the side of her face, as she would a phone, so all that's on the screen is her unnaturally pale cheek and a little bit of short black hair.]

I- is this how you use it? Is it on? [She clears her throat, and does her best to sound like a calm and authoritative young lady, rather than a confused teenager.]

Hell, everyone- my name is Sabriel, and I seem to be yet another new arrival to this place- and since, despite my repeated requests, there seems to be no way back to the Old Kingdom, I'll have to do my best to adjust to living here. [But she's not happy about it.]

Although I don't understand why they want me to go back to school, since I graduated a few weeks ago- unless they're planning to send me to University? [Which Sabriel wouldn't mind- she liked school, but just repeating what she'd already learned wasn't appealing.]

Also, since I'll be working in a graveyard, I really ought to ask- are the Dead a problem in this world? Because while I arrived here with my bells, my sword seems to be misplaced.

Thank you very much for listening- and if any of you have seen a little white cat calling himself Mogget, or a man calling himself Touchstone, please tell me.

[Sabriel pulls the phone away, and it's possible to seen her face now- she's young- not any older than eighteen, with bobbed black hair, mail armor, and an unusually grim expression as she pokes at her phone- it takes her a few tries to hit the 'post' button.]

Comments

[bindsthedead]

I used to. Well, I couldn't go into computers, but I could send my spirit into the realm of Death, leaving my body in Life. But I can't do that here.

Changing into a human hurts? [There's definitely some concern in her voice.]

[hypnotherapy]

Send your spirit into Death? The barrier between life and death must be a much smaller one where you come from, if you can do that and return.

Yes. The first changes I performed, I became dizzy and disoriented, and my body hurt. It's...like running too many processes at once. Being able to sense the entire world. Too much stimuli causes a crash...that sort of thing. I've found that it lessens with practice.

It still hurts, though. [ His voice is rueful, resigned. ] But I must get used to it. I don't know how you humans manage it all.

[bindsthedead]

It depends on where you are... but it's definitely thinner than here.

You're not used to having human senses, are you? You'll get used to it- we just have a head start, since we've been living with them our entire life.

[hypnotherapy]

So you can't access it at all here. I see.

What is it like? Passing through. It must be an interesting experience.

We have--muted versions, of human senses, as navis. Mostly to indicate problems within a computer or other device in a way that is easy for humans to read. But everything is more vivid in a human body.

[bindsthedead]

Not to my knowledge- though I've tried a few times. And it's cold. Colder than anything else I've ever felt. Death isn't a realm hospitable to living spirits- it tries to pull you in deeper, and leech away your life.

Ah- because it's physical, instead of a simulacrum?

[hypnotherapy]

I see.

[ The cyberworld hums with life, at all times; machines are warm or hot in operation. Nothing truly sleeps; even a defunct server still holds a fragment of warmth, still running. Something completely cold is still and silent and shut down, awaiting a response.

It makes sense, even if his concept of death - all navis' concept of death - is different from a human one. ]

Yes. We mimic certain senses and conditions for accessibility. We spend our lives around human beings, so we copy them.

But being human is something different altogether. Clarity isn't--it's more difficult. Everything is clamouring at once. And pain is more vivid too. Even breathing...Just that simple act is something that requires movement from several different things. It's...overwhelming.

Even my voice. It sounds different to me, when I'm human. Because I can hear it internally, too. It's strange.

[bindsthedead]

If you need help- I'd be willing to offer it. But I think time and practice will help the most.

Try speaking more- you'll get used to it, if you do it enough. [Sabriel knows she needs to follow her own advice- head out into this world and work to adjust to it, even if it's different from what she's used to.]

[hypnotherapy]

I will have to get used to it. As long as nothing significant happens in the next few weeks, everything should go well.

You mentioned Sendings, before, when you weren't sure what I was. What are those? Magical items from your own world?

[bindsthedead]

Sendings are... constructs. Servants woven out of Charter magic for specific tasks- guarding things, doing laundry, cooking, organizing things- that sort of thing. But none of them can talk, as far as I know.