Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #17: Say My Name

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

Names are great. They let people know what to call things. You can read them, write them, put them on a list. If you know someone's name you can send them things, invite them places, say it quietly, in wonder or fear. A name can stick in your mouth like butter or blood. You can make one up, get a new name, do whatever you want. No downsides. None.Worlds Beyond Number is:Brennan Lee MulliganErika IshiiAabria IyengarLou Wilson and is produced, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse.Transcript of this episode coming soon! You can find transcripts of all our episodes here, for free, on our Patreon.Our album art is by the great Corey BrickleySome additional ambient sound design comes from Michael Ghelfi Studios. You can get their sounds and music for your home games and VTT as well, which we enthusiastically recommend. Thank you to Arnaud Coutancier for use of his field recording of Throw Out the Lifeline, recorded in Helston, Cornwall, England, and additional recordings from the Baltic Shanty Festival in beautiful Mariehamn, Finland. [An earlier upload of this episode mistakenly included a different  performance from the festival. It's now been fixed.]Thank you to @traggeldy for the use of the field recording of their local trad band at The Cobblestone in beautiful Dublin, Ireland.

This is the sound of worlds beyond number. Hot sun on a bright green court, painted white lines of chalk, illuminating what is otherwise an athletic field. The buzzing of illusory crickets put here solely for an aesthetic conducive to the study of wizards, engaged in military training. wooden armory racks with a number of bright, tan, polished wooden quarterstapes, not magical or enchanted, simply here for the rudiments of staff combat. However, the ringing in this grass-filled court is not that of the clack of wood,

but the sharp clarion call of steel on steel. Ursulaan, backward, forward, widened stance. You hear clang! Cling! Cang! As three blows come in on top of your raised crossguard, and you feel a sudden kick to the inside of your shin as you are dropped to one knee, and steel puts the point of her blade up against your chin.

You haven't the first idea of how rude things can get. Oh, we're kicking now? I'm sorry. Oh, you wanted to learn fencing. You're a little boy. You're a prince? No, I'm not, no. Do you want to learn how to fight, or do you want to learn how to fence?

What, I, I, uh, um, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, hmm. Gersonal, I'm just going to get up and kind of stop around for a second. Again. All right. All I want you to do is hold me off and keep your stance. That's it. The training continues. The number one thing you notice about fighting steel in this moment is she's, number one, never seems to tire.

And you don't really see any indication of rage or exertion or primal ferocity. Everything is about control. Her stance is about control. She's controlling her breathing. She is always looking. at you. Your feet, your stance, where your torso is, where your eyes are looking. Her eyes almost never go to your sword. She's always just looking at you. She does this thing that you've begun to be able to spot after some time, which there's a smile. And that smile always comes a quarter of a

second before you realize that you've made a mistake. And a quarter of a second after that, is when you will either get hit with the flat of her blade or some other terrible thing will happen. You fight, by the way, with Wavebreaker. She wants you to fight with the sword you're actually wielding, even though unlike her sword, its edge is not dulled. She at one point told you in this long month of training, when we get to the point where I feel that your blows are coming close

to actually landing somewhere I don't want them to land. then we'll switch to a practice sword for you. She comes back again. Go ahead. Roll me an athletics check. Actually, this is acrobatics. Roll me acrobatics. Unbelievably, we're level two now, baby.

That's an 18. Let's go. She marches you up and down across this circle of the painted lines of the grass. And every time you see that as you're keeping your stance, she goes, good, excellent. Don't let me make you leave the circle. And she now begins to exert and actually call out. And at a certain point, I'm going to ask for a wisdom saving throw. What?

Just kicking and wisdom saving throws. It's supposed to be sword practice. again, we are no longer level one. That's at 21. You stay fully within the circle as she pushes back, and now she starts to exert. And then finally she leaps up in the air, higher than you're considering. And it goes, to bring the sword down in this exclamation.

And the sword lands lightly on the crossguard with a dagger pressed up, suddenly appearing in her hand to your ribs. Where the hell did that come from? She looks down, still in stance. Good job. You have, I thought we were fighting with swords, and yet you are kicking,

you are bringing more weapons than I didn't know. Can I have another weapon? Can you? Not yet, but I might. I might want one. Right now, a dagger would be an enormous liability. You should focus on fighting well with one sword. Good.

Then I'll do that. Let's have something to drink. And you see, she goes over. There's a cool pitcher of water with some slices of different citrus fruits within it. She pours a glass for you, handing it to you, and pours one for herself. You see, she drinks it there, and she says, And you still just want to, is there any part of you that wants to focus on being armored or a shield or anything like that right now? You seem content for the moment to focus on.

I can have a shoe. Well, we don't use them here. I wouldn't be able to train you in how to use a shield. I need to keep one hand free for spellcasting. But. I would like a shield. All right. Yeah, let me see about getting you one.

I don't know where I would get one from, but we can look into it. I can make one. You see, she says you could make one? I've seen a shield before. Can't be that hard. Well, that's a attitude that is going to fail you over and over again here at the Citadel. The assumption that a thing you've seen, scene can't be hard.

It sort of stands in direct opposition to our entire ethos. Well, I'm not from the Citadel. Well, I know it. Bear of Silbury. She sits, takes a sort of like downs, half the glass of water. It's hot out right now.

You know, in the desert beyond, it is unlivably scorching. But here, it's just a little bit toasty. She looks and says, I hear that Ame's recovery is going very well, walking again. She seems to be doing well, yes. And I thought I would just mention to you, Ursula, that your secret is safe here at the Citadel,

though you are far from the only spirit here. And I can tell from our training that you have. have come to quite enjoy this place. Suvi will be an archmage of the Citadel one day. And having an entourage and a protector and a guardian is not a bad thing. I know you've only been here for a few short weeks, but does the thought of living a life here at the Citadel, would that be something you would want? I like it to you. Staying places is not something I've ever done, but I do like it here.

As long as Suvi and Amé are here, I will be here. That's what I want. If there were a place that you wanted to go that was not here, do you have any idea where that would be? I spent many years on a comm, and the only solace I had there was a summer at Grandmother Wren's cottage. Be foolish to return there, thinking it would be the same. So by my friends is where I would like to be.

I will offer this only because I feel that I am duty bound to do so. It has come to pass in the history of the citadel that we have aided some spirits trapped within the world of Umura to return to the world of our honored friends. I do not know and have not wished to press as to the conditions of your presence in this world, but I do know that Suvi knows of how you came to be here and was involved in some. way in those happenings, though I know they occurred in childhood. If it is something as simple as some sorcerer or warlock having captured a talisman of yours that keeps you bound here in this place, then certainly there are steps that could be taken

to reverse that. It's not that simple. I've tried. It's something else. It's not. It's not that. I don't know. Well, what resources I have,

I would be more than happy to extend to you as someone who matters a great deal to... Suvie. And if that is a road, you ever wish to... explorer, I would welcome a discussion about the nature of how you came here and what you feel prevents you from returning. Though I also understand if after these many long years you wish to find joy and home where and how you can. She should continue training. I'm going to pick up my chair, flip it over, cut off the legs. Again, I have a shield now.

She goes, ah, all right, you've destroyed the chair. It has been some time, perhaps a little less than a week, just a handful of days. Amé, you are quickly recovering from the month of ill health and being bedridden. the fox has become in this place of wonders. He is a little roly polier. His fur shines with a luster of being well fed. He's got the little sort of like cheek poofs of fur when he gets scratched. They're always out as he gets scratches whenever he wants.

He's a big hit with the Wizards of the Citadel who are unused to seeing a true animal familiar. The sort of the homunculus's automaton's and constructs of wizards are often a little less fuzzy. But where has your focus been in the days since Ame's waking? I have done so much exploring. You know, as soon as I could easily get about by myself, I would, I was up and about meeting new people, exploring new places, and inquiring as to, you know, in my, just incidentally in my travels, inquiring about certain names that I now remember from Grammarin, Galt the Artificer, and Sly of the Broach, Pramurai and Quina Rothernanis of Minir.

Although that one is, I'm not sure. I didn't write anything down. And I think I'm able to much better ask discreetly and move about the Citadel slightly more discreetly, hopefully with some coaching by Suvi, whom I have told everything that I can remember. We also have this interesting moment of in the memories shared by Amé that were retrieved by this, these great witches, warnings of the Pilgrim under stars, the man in black. There's also the reference to the Akkaditor, a name which Suvi was unfamiliar with. Many sort of things unfold and unfurl here in this place. Questions of the indicative, reflexive note, of the accatator, of the accounting of the death of soft and stone, and of grandmother Wren's memory of these terms that you had not heard before, the League of Whispers, the Akadotor. the, you know, in the days following your night, and believe me, plenty more carousing.

The Citadel has no lack of wonders to behold. And to Ursulaan's sort of point of wondering how long can this last, it seems to have lasted for some great while. There are 24 floating courts of the Citadel, much to explore. Uppermost in my mind is the new knowledge that I have. a large responsibility, a stewardship. So I know at some point I have to check in, I have to find out as much as I can about that. I don't know if the Citadel would hold any scholarly information

regarding witches or the covens. I don't know what? We don't have books about witches? How many of them are just like, witches, which is, what, witches have pointy hats or something.

I don't know. We have pointy hats just fine ourselves. The same wizard you keep running through the tree. Walk to a huge conical hat covering stars and moon. Absolutely ridiculous.

So that, I definitely want to inquire around as to the friends. Suddenly I know I have, friends all over the world, all over the Citadel. As we've said before, you know, you guys are in and of this world. Suvi grew up in the Citadel. Amé has recovered the memories of training of many, many years.

So skill checks and questions you would want to ask if you know somebody or have an experience somewhere are absolutely present in this world. You should never feel that, you know, you can't ask like, have I heard. of this or have I met this or do I know this. Ami, give me a principal investigation check for this time period. Oh, no.

Investigation. Sorry. Oh, that is a Nat 20. Oh, my God. The first crit of this art. That is the first crit of this art. Let's go. Put it on the board.

I am suddenly with renewed vigor and the power of and confidence of my training fully behind me. And the name of my best friend on my lips at every door, I am just within, I'd say a week, I just have people know me around. I have a great knowledge of the moving, the ever-moving parts of the citadel.

And you can tell me any other specifics that I might have stumbled across. On a Nat 20, I'm going to give you all of it. On Nat 20, you get all of it. So very quickly here, with your sort of knowing that there's this big broad thing, right, you have become the witch of the world's heart. And you are aware that in knowing it, it is now more true. Basically, you are aware what the curse was doing was stopping a coronation. Does that make sense?

Like, it arrested in this liminal space where for the time that the curse was active on you, there was no witch of the world's heart. A few days ago when you woke up, the world once again had a witch of the world's heart. And you also remember this whole horrifying thing of the fact that the covenant of elders has lost seats. There were once 13 in some mythic age. So losing a witch of the world's heart is a possibility. It's not like these things can't be destroyed or gotten rid of.

And there was a very real chance that this curse could have, if you had just lived out your life not knowing that this curse was there, what might have happened. However, you were at the Citadel because you've never been before, even with all of your travels through adolescence with Grandmother Red. Grandmother Red never took you here to the Citadel. And it seemed like Grandmother Wren knew wizards, but was not a resource of the Citadel. I mean, it's a very important thing about Grandmother Wren's relationship.

She knew and liked wizards. There were individual wizards with which she collaborated. And the Citadel had an awareness of her institutionally, but it was basically the wizards that she knew and liked that could work with her. You get this information. And I think there's like, weirdly, being here in a guest of the Archimaged Apprentice Suvi, you get to this point of how, you know, frequently people are willing to offer information. So you come and ask about things that normally you'd be like, is there going to be Cajunist here? They're so happy to share.

You learn that the artifice or gult works in Haverward at a place called Tilliver Mill. and that the spirit, Pomeroy, works in Zhao Court at a place called the Kassov Collection in Gossamer Plaza. You see someone sort of talking to you and being like, oh, Sly, yes, the wizard Sly works in Kobani Court. He is one of the grand diviners, who I believe is the head diviner of the Office of Peremptory Catastrophic Deviation. That sounds so complicated?

It's kind of, well, you talk to the Arkmajor. Yeah, amazing. Thank you, bye. Suvi, in those couple days, what are you up to? Suvi has, now that she sort of said out loud via talking to Silver that she's planning on taking on the name of the third wizard sky, she must make sure that no one that would ever interact with her would ever doubt that she is deserving of the name. So she's going over and above with her apprentice duties and spending all of her time doing research. But in a way that appears like she's doing errands and running things for silence. Hell yeah.

And, you know, waking up early to run and keeping up with her training and just trying to be an exemplary wizard. The Perian dome alight purple fire. It's normal, bright. expanse of interior, made shadowy and arcane, a moment where the clarifying light of the citadel is reduced to be shrouded in mystery as something great and powerful occurs. Five seats are gathered as the Ark Magi of the Citadel appear. Silence, smiling. The Archmage Serenity, the Archmage sorrow, the Archmage saber, and the Archmage sand.

Wise. Yon'd description. Standing off to the flank of the seated Archmagai stands a proud and smiling steel. Silence speaks. She who has come forth to receive a cloak of shabye. that might conceal her name, that she could wield the power of her title, and obscure the comings of her character, the origins of her history, the two and fro of days well spent, might be managed behind, she is called. And her name, and you see here he invokes a ringing

of a bell and whispered under the ringing you see just steel says suverin canberican speak now all the world order and defiance of what may be perceived steps forward and looks up and remembers that the reason there are only a few names that are almost like titles like something to invoke that when you hear it, you know that is a name that you have read in history again and again, and it comes with expectation, and the weight of it is so heavy. And the version of the sky that Suu Kyi will claim for her own is a sky that she saw when she was six years old.

The dead of night, stars visible, Snow gently falling as her world got blown apart. And she remembered the explosions of magic. She's never seen anything that big. And she thought it would destroy everything. Not just her, but the world itself. And yet the sky looked down and held it all and watched it all and persisted. That is the sky that she did.

She claims. And without any hesitation, clear of purpose. I am the wizard sky. Wind begins to blow here. You see the archmage, saber, ruddy-faced, badly injured. A military mage and war-mage stands. What power then? that that great firmament might rain down

Weather thunder lightning Great paths judgment meet out High-cheeked brown skin tattoos Different glyphs running in tear lines from her eyes What cannot be seen Weightless weight we bear each day upon our shoulders Turns the mountains

Into dust subtlety in space is unseen of your title Dark mage sorrow stands Raven hair Salo eyes shouted by the hood of their robes They leave over their face

Things eternal As the dawn of time Wisdom In the watchfulness Of a constant barfined By its distance Mark Mage Serenity stands short, plump, be hazel eyes and wrinkles of a face that is always smiling.

Long, brown, curling tresses with golden rings covered in talismans, beads, emeralds, gems. Movement, the desert, beyond which no growing thing can be seen from our vantage point. We see the beginning. Whisp of vapor that will become storms. Rain to fall upon forest and field. A partner in a dance to sustain the world forever. Your mentor. The Archmage silence takes a long moment on old bones to stand.

Eyes twinkling, long white beard as his cheeks rise in a smile. This guy is not the weather. nor the wind. The sky holds all things that it be known. Vastness is yours. The sorrows it would bring you that you and your road past and broad and lead to all places. Many who have destiny curse it.

But what a burden to be able to choose any path to the sun. She is cold sky. Lightning strikes the top of the irian in cloudless night and across all of the world of Umura. Every instance of the name Sufi or Suverin Kedbericat is stricken

and replaced by simply the word sky swallowed up by your name. name cloak, with the exception of those places in which it was written by one to whom it was given. A handful of places, a handful of people that know what you were called before. Roll my tongue and it feels mine and right and correct. and even in that moment of joy and exhilaration, I've been looking forward to having my name since I first began in the citadel proper.

And yet my mind flashes back to the two moments. I think first I ran down Ursulaan. Probably, let's be clear, I would have left this to the last possible minute. Just a few hours ago this morning. looking for you after you finished up your sort of morning training. Oh, before I forget, super important. And fish in my pockets for a loose piece of parchment, something with like a to-do list on it,

and taking out a little wizardly quill writing my first name and pushing it into your hand. And then just, you have to know. Okay, Suvi, but do I need to hold on to it? Do I just, do I look at it? It's your name? Yeah. Okay.

It's my full first name. My name is Suverin. That is not my full name, and it is not my true name, but it is enough so that you can call me, Suv, after today. Okay. Do I need to hold on to it? No, it will sort of magically vanish in like, oh, fuck, I'm running outside. In like three hours. Oh, okay.

I'll keep it close. Yeah. Great. Hey, can I ask you a question? Yeah. What do artificers do and could they make a shield? I know you have a really important thing going on. No, you're great.

But this is big for me. This is actually quite good for me. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. An artificer creates. magical and complicated non-magical items. Yes, they can make a shield,

but normally they would make a shield with like some stank on it. Do you need a shield? I'm just trying to prove steel wrong. That is both hard to do and I've never been more interested in helping you with anything ever. Okay, well, you go do this seemingly really important thing

and I'm going to hold on to this piece of paper. Do you need an artificer? Give me a time on this. You know what? You go do your thing? No, I'm kind of into it now. You sprinted up to me, too. I'm a little, yeah, but this feels like a good thing to focus on.

I'm very nervous because, like, what if I get there and they're like, you can't be sky. You have to be like salamander or something fucking stupid. I mean, then they're idiots. How about this? First thing tomorrow morning, I will take you to visit a friend of mine that I came up in the Citadel with who is a very good artificer to make you a shield. Or do you, what's your thing? What is this? I'm going to make a shield.

Oh, you can just do that. You don't need an artificer. You just need some wood, I think. Okay. Cool. Then I'll go get some wood. What kind of, we can get you some, we can get you wood. Yeah, I'll, you know, I'll go find wood.

Sure. I can find wood. Yeah, okay. Have a great day. Okay. I'm going to go get wood. Yeah. First off, it's like a lot of fun.

And now you're just telling me I need wood. So I'm going to go get wood. No, it's fine. I feel like I've been a bummer. Now, I could do. I got you. You know, we're going to be so shit-faced tonight anyway after we're celebrating. So let's not make any promises about what we're going to do tomorrow.

But really, have a good day. Thank you. I love you. Love you. Cool. Dead Sprint, off to go find Ame. You go and find Ame, who's busy sort of gathering intel about different old friends and contacts at the Citadel. Hey, what's you doing?

Oh, hi. Hello. Oh, nothing? Hi. Hmm? Uh, when's the ceremony? Where should we go? Oh, oh, um, it's in a couple hours.

It's not really like a public thing. Oh, okay. It's just a couple. Okay, we won't tell anyone then. Oh, that's very sweet. Uh, I don't think, I think it's going to be like seven people max, me inclusive. Okay, okay. Uh, uh, are you trying to, uh,

say that we aren't gonna be there? I am so happy you're here and I want to share all of my life with you but not this thing. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. It's a one. I'm so stressed out like how do I tell. Oh God, how do I tell how may she can't have this thing? You're gonna be great.

Hey, you have earned this. You are exceptional and I'm so excited for this. Just being nice. Just being nice. Do I look stress? Are you just comforting me because I look stressed? Yeah, but I'm always nice. You are. You're very nice.

I mean it, you know. Hey, it's no witch of the world's heart. Yeah. Which of the world's heart. That's very cool. Yeah. Are you? Does that make you feel weird?

Like having a title? No, because the title doesn't mean so much as the fact that all the responsibilities that go along with it are overwhelming at the moment. But I'm handling it. Gathering things. Do you need anything? I can... Oh, yeah. I mean, you've already been so helpful.

And, you know, honestly, being able to say, do you know who my friend is? Is an absolute boon to this expedition. But yeah, I mean, I have a lot left to do. And I would welcome your help on this. I should... But for right now, today's your day. Thanks.

Really, anything I can help with. I just, please. I know. I'll ask. Okay. I have to give you a little chunk of my name. Oh. So you can continue to calling me suing.

Right, yes. Is that okay? Okay. I don't want me. Oh, go on. Um, hold on. And I'm going to go. Where are we right now?

We are at the cafe, at the Candle Street. Candle Street. Candle Street Bakery. Then I'm going to kind of lead you outside to like the little corner because no one really sits in the front even though there's tables there. And I'll pull out my quill and take your hand if you allow it. And write suverin on your hand. but I just want to meet my forehead with yours. I'll just tell you,

my name is Suferin. That's part of it. And you, when we first met, you were so kind, and never asked me about the night that I showed up at Graham of knowing my true name is knowing. Just describe the sky, which is all I looked up to when I looked out of my mother's cloak

as we fled. That night. Everything in this world I seek to protect all below one big sky. Anyway, that's very heavy for when is, it's that I... Thank you.

You don't need to apologize for anything ever. I don't know if that's true. Yeah, that's true sometimes. Yeah. I appreciate you saying. I lick my hand. I start licking my hand.

What are you doing? You have to eat your name. Oh. Metaulose. Fox leans up and gets one good looking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Wow. Oh. That doesn't taste like, uh, there's nothing salty about that. That's just sour. Salty? Salty? I thought that was blood.

What is that? Ink. Squid ink? Oh, no. No, it's kind of just a plant. Okay. Thanks. Does that mean that he gets, oh, that he gets part of it too?

No. Go get him. I love you. I love you too. I'll see you on the other side of us. Hey, yeah. Okay, we're getting drunk tonight, so prepare accordingly. Oh, I'm prepared.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, dead sprint away. Yay. Outside of the dome at the center of Mount Mount. Alicants court, steel embraces you. I'm so proud. Wizard's sky. Can I say?

Huge fan of your work. I mean, in previous lives and incarnations, but, you know, this one's, I bet, gonna put the rest. I heard it here first. This one's going to put the rest to shame. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It feels good.

It feels heavy. I don't fit it yet, but I think I will. People get wizardry. How many? Where, what years is it? It's 1670. First college of Summoners was 1440. I think the term lingua arcana was coined like 100 years before. Wizardry's new. It's very, very new. All of this is new.

The lingua arcana, the citadel. It's good to take on heavy mantles. We're all a team. We're all working together to do something that's never been done before. Exciting. Yeah. Thank you again for everything. I know I've said it before, but you didn't have to be a mother to me.

And you have been, and I don't know where I would be without you. Embraces you, familiar feeling of her armor, which is always here in these official capacities, ever has to do anything. I had to be... Be worthy of the time and care you put it to me. I promise. It's the first made by the third wizard sky. Precious.

You have my promise as well. I will do everything I can to be worthy of the devotion you have shown to this place and the memory of... Memory of those who come before. Now I know that a certain young war mage is rented at the back room at Grim Hall. Yes, I do have to go.

But in the morning, I would love to talk full-ass wizard to full-ass wizard. Oh, we're the same now. We're exactly the same now. All right. We are peers. That's worse for you than I quit. I renounce the citadel in entirety. Correct.

And I force the air magic forevermore. And I would love to learn at least a bit of my parents' names. Tomorrow. We'll go see them. I know where they're written down. Thank you. In the court of Gavril, which is a military, it is sort of like brutalist architecture, intense, like concrete slabs of stone, square building, square windows,

Lots of big plazas, courts, marching. There is an entire neighborhood in Gavril, which is a bombed out area for war games. Just straight up, come here, simulate combat. Grimhall is white gravel, massive long tables beer garden. This is huge, you see, there's big hanging buckets of flowers around and strings of lights. There's like singing from inside

and there's all these imperial war wizards. This is like where the returning heroes go after they get home. Silver, a returning war hero, has taken liberty knowing the owner. Where do we find Ursula and Amé as Suvi arrives? Amé greets Suvi with Ursula helping her hold a ginormous cake.

It is midnight blue and the bottom tier has light periwinkle candy floss, like floating gently around it. There's floating celestial bodies like hovering over the top of the cake, rotating in orbit. There's sparkling stars that shimmer down on the top of the cake

and around the different bodies. And then there's sparkling letters above it that say, sky exclamation mark. And I was like, we baked you a cake. Mostly me. I did most of the work. Arcelon did so much of the work.

So much of it, especially the sparkles. Amé, brother, thank you very much. Congratulations. Sky. Guy. That smooth red chocolatey kind that you like on the inside. You're perfect. You guys see.

Amet. and Ursula, like, as Sufi's on her way, if you test out, when you say Sky intentionally, it feels totally normal. If you refer to her to Skype, it's pretty normal. But you have this moment of, if you say Suvi, you still hear it. V. It feels totally fine. Feels normal. You say the word Suvi. But in saying it to each other, you notice people around you, like, some of them, look up. Like, when you say, like, something about, Oh, they're talking about the sky, and they'll look up at the sky for a second when you're saying Sufi. So you are aware, even though you can't feel any difference, you know anything,

you know that other people are hearing sky around you. Hey, hey, Silver. Yeah. Why is a Suvi blue? Well, it reflects. Well, it's actually about the quality. That I assume you don't know, so I'm excited why you're laughing at me and trying to explain. It's witch humor.

Okay. You see a bunch of Steins of foamy beer are like raised around. You see Silver says To the one and only Wizard Sky. What was she called before?

We don't know a bunch of Wizard today. Do we care? No, we don't. Sky forever. Sky today. And tankards go back and people cheer and clap you on the back.

as this big sort of coming of age. You guys sit here drinking, there's like, you see big platters of sausage and there's like fried vegetables and fried potato things of sort of like breaded carrots and cauliflower and things that have been deep fried and are brought out big things of beer. This is sort of a raucous place.

It's not anything like Haverward. But you can see that one of these sort of appeals of this beer garden is that people, the tables are kind of narrow and it allows people to get drunk while doing what wizards love to do, which is argue and Hector at each other.

So there's a lot, you can see immediately people are getting involved in theory. You see someone going, you see, down the table from me, there's a couple of wizards, one of them just says, it's not a school. And if everyone goes, boo! Like, boom, not a school of magic, it's a catch-all for unlawful.

likeable magic. Name and effect of necromancy, not more clearly, categorically appropriate in the schools of evocation, conjure, and you see everyone says like, if you're going to go to there, say that, what part of the school of illusion is not simply

the summoning or evoke? And everyone starts yelling and sort of look, and you see someone else sort of pipes up and goes like, categorically, I think that the utility of the categories is there just And you see they get pelted with a fried piece of cauliflower.

Yeah, I threw the cauliflower on that one. You see, as you're looking around at this place, Silver comes over and actually publicly leans that and kisses you on the head, puts an arm around you and says, we're right. You want another Stein? Oh, yes, please. Thank you. You see, walks off to go get another Stein of beer. And... Looking so smug.

Just... Yeah. You're kissing in public That means something, right? Yeah, it means that, like, you're the popular girl and everything, and he has to stake his claim. Oh, so we see this is a bad thing. No, stop it. You're...

No, stop it. Is that what's happening? I mean, it's definitely a move. I mean, I won't lie. I did see those two over there start talking about it. You know, that way that you know. Yeah. They talk about everything.

Good. Long talk. Wait, Ahma, do you think... Stop it. What? Stop it. Are you... You've put doubt in my brain.

What? I'm going to fight you. What? Just that... Go on. Fight me. No. It's a party.

You see a couple of wizards come over to say their congratulations. It was a very cute young woman named Sunder who comes over. You see she says, I want to say again, I wish I'd put any kind of... of money down on you taking the sky. I've known that you were going to be the next wizard sky since we were back at Billings, I want to say. Oh, my God. A long time.

So who is this wizard sky? Who's like the second and first wizard sky? Oh, so the first wizard sky was kind of part of the founding of the citadel. You know, and making fun. Do you know kind of how the desert was made? Yeah. Y'all, we're just going to fuck with forbidden magics. Yeah, okay.

You know what? Boom. I'm not going to argue. Forest becomes sand. Sure. One of the wizards that was part of Forrest becoming sand was the first wizards guy. Okay. Okay.

Cool. Judgment. No. Fill your drink. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Keep drinking and then be on my side on that. And I refill. I think I've just grabbed someone else's dine that's busy arguing, and I'm just pouring in a deal. You see that this sort of very malnourished, injured-looking war wizard sickle. You refill and says, oh, thank you, love. That's very nice indeed. You appreciate it.

Oh, yeah. Turns over and says, with the new wizard's sky, they should give you place her honor at the bicentennial later this year. 200 years since the creation of the Citadel. Let's go. Oh, 200 years. old. Okay.

You can't say anything to a win. Amma is going to live to be like 400. So, yeah, you know, it's fine. You see that Sickle turns over and talks to Sunder a little bit, and you see she kind of like chuckles under her breath for a moment as they both look over at Ursula. I've requisitioned one of these full table platters for myself. Just picking.

That's a vegetable no. There's a huge plate, and they've put toothpicks in all of these little chopped up sausages that are all ever, they're basically the same sausage, but there's slight variations. And a giant bowl of mustard and parsley in the middle. Yeah, just slowly one by one. Just a full mountain of toothpicks is just appearing next to Ursula. Hmm. Oh, that's good. You see Sickle, you can see Sickle turn to Sunder and just go like, it's interesting.

I still remember that his name is bare. You see, Sundar says, I don't think his, I don't think his appellation will be changing any time nearby. You see, you hear Sickle sort of go like, do they even, there's got to be some wizards outside of the city, though. Sundar goes, well, I'm sure there are some outside of, I mean, there's hedge mages, but, you know, who knows what some wizards get out. up to outside of the Citadel.

Sickle looks back over at Ursalan again and just goes like, I guess it better he be here than out gallivanting around, you know. Got to keep the family legacy all in one place, I suppose. I have to go to the bathroom. And all of the control in my little body is being used to let them talk shit about this and not fight them in the area built for fighting. I have to go. Do you have to go to the bathroom,

Amme? I also have to go to the bathroom's sky. Well, I can say it. It's goofy. Come on. Okay. Their fucking ass, piss-ass, shitty little wizard.

He comes back basically dead. And he's going to talk shit about Ursula. Could you imagine the fucking gall? And on my day, I had a blast. Oh, if I didn't have... Today's my day. And I'm not going to cry and I'm not going to fight. And that's going to be a first.

All right. Also, your lips that looks so good. Thank you so much. Oh, my gosh. You're being very nice. Oh, yeah. Kill them. Oh, I mean, it's your party, you know?

It's a party. You guys, there's a latrine that you guys are in the latrine of the beer garden of Grimmel. And there's sort of a faucet that is leaking as you have this little thing here. and you see that it stops leaking. You know, as you're sitting here, you just, the drip stops. Did you do that? Mm-hmm. The drip.

Did you do that? Did you? Oh, yeah, I, um, it's a red dress that I kind of made myself. What are you? Um. Are you? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Oh, okay. Uh, hold on. This was dripping and you didn't interact with it. Tripping. And I didn't interact with it. What's going on here? Can I detect magic? God, is that a useful thing to do in a place this magical?

It's going to be overwhelming. Yeah, am I going to give myself a stroke right now? Do you cast Detect Magic? Sure. What does it look like as Suvie cast Detect Magic? Just across her eyes, which are normally brown, but have this sort of like teal cast to them, you see just a quick run drawn across her iris and pupil.

There's no like bird. of a burst of light, but like as it dims down, I think this sort of hood of magic comes over Subi's eyes. So it's a very subtle thing because this is easy ritual magic. The latrine has two small wash basins in it with two little copper pipes with sort of like a screw valve faucet on top that comes out into this place. And you see that there are two toilets and stalls behind you here. in this little latrine that smells, you know, not great. It's like, and it has sort of, it's mainly the overpowering, like, Gavriel is a very brusque court of the citadel, very military, very Spartan.

But it's still wizards who can change the world to their liking. So the latrines reek of the stench of whatever they did to make it not smell like a latrine. It's like a blast of some kind of antiseptic bubblegum smell. Just, who. It's artificial. The idea of like a wizard, like a soldier wizard who only casts fireballs being like, permanent illusion smell, blam! And like whatever that asshole wizard thinks would smell better than piss for the next hundred years is what this latrine smells like.

You look, a small icicle is forming in the faucet. that's not normal. That is not normal. No. With Tech Magic Up, do I see... What is the effect happening? Is it a spell effect that this is catching a little bit of a vibe off of? Or something specifically enchanted?

Something is happening. You see only with this divination, invisible to the naked eye, a beam of light coming in, in the sort of, in the sort of... In the sloped ceiling of the latrina at the back of this beer garden, there's a small glass window, like a skylight, that has a little crank that can be used to open it. You look up Wizard's sky and see the stars,

and there is a beam of light coming in from the stars that you recognize as a scrying, and the scrying has frozen the faucet. This, you don't see any arcane mark you recognize as somebody is spying in the bathroom of a beer garden. Interested. I'm just going to grab Amay's hand and give it a little squeeze and then move over to go wash. I just want more sound in this place. And I'm going to wash my hands at the faucet and be like, we're being scraed on right now.

And that's either a friend of ours being a pervert or a friend out there that wants a little extra gossip. And I don't know what to do because I'm really feeling kind of fighting right now. Thoughts, vibes, feelings. Oh, my God. You both hear a tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. On the window. Up on the roof. I go over to the window.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You get boosted up. Crawling suddenly over the glass, each about four inches tall, you see a spindly white little thing. Long wings of icy crystal, like the geometric patterns of a snowflake, a single slit of an eye, wide mouths full of sharp teeth, two little fairies that as you put your face to the glass go, What do I know? Give me a... Five hole?

Give me a nature check. The team. You know... Got a punchy teeth! These look like weird little nasty sylvan things. They're clearly like frost or ice fairies of some kind. They're little spirits. You...

There are lots of spirits in the Citadel, but these don't look like any that Suvi recognizes either. What the fuck? Kill it. Kill it. Sorry, don't kill it. You catch it? Catch it? Do something? The fairies skitter over the glass as you both of you reel back figuring out what to do.

Ame, you are very inebriated. Sufi, you are still figuring out if this is a prank or someone fucking with you on the day of your name cloaking. And you both reel back as a fairy skittered into the center of the paint of glass goes, cocks back a sharp pointed finger and stabs into the center of the paint of glass. As we cut from that scene. Ursula, you are out at the table. You see the fox is sort of nuzzling around at your plate of sausage going, okay, fennel.

This one, a little bit of rosemary. Yes, I tasted that as well. And this one over here, there's definitely, this is just, I think this is just chilies. This is just hot. Red or green? One of them has both. This one is just red chilies, but there's also something, well, that's nice. Oh, my man.

You're getting better. It's nice. It's nice. I mean, I've always known that all of these things were different, but I just didn't know. You know, I feel like when I'm a, you know, the boss gave me the power to speak, I knew like most of the words right away. But it's still so funny to be like, oh, I knew this idea, but there's a sound that goes with. I don't know. It just feels like I was.

It feels like I was given all this stuff, but it was all in bags. This is like a poem. Am I doing a poem? You're doing, what? It's like it was, it's like they were in bags and boxes, and I'm like taking them out. That's not what's happening, but it's like what's happening. So you're asking, because you've said it in that way, did you do a poem? Is that a poem?

I mean, it could be. There's a lot of, I mean, I hadn't heard a lot of poetry I heard before I came to the Citadel. A lot of work. Rhyme schemes. There's a cadence and those sorts of things. I used to perform, actually. I was, you know, an actor for a time. That's when we found.

Yes, exactly. Do you miss it? Sometimes. I mean, it was fun to be on a stage, you know. It's just every eye on me. You know, I didn't do much. Most of my lines were grunts and noises, but it was fun at times. Do you think I could be an actor?

Yeah, I think you could be. I think you'd be great actor. Well, I mean, you need a stage, and you'd need a story that you want to tell in that form of performance. What's the story? What's the story? You mean, isn't anything a story? Well, I mean, see, you're doing this thing. Every, yes, but you have to take, you have to take the time to kind of what is the beginning, what is the middle, what is the end. And that's the way you're trying to communicate while you're on stage.

But the end's just where you stop. Yes, exactly. And the beginning is where you start? Yes. And the middle is what's in between? Yes. So isn't everything a story? See, what do you mean when you say everything?

That's where I'm confused. Tell me something. I'm on your side. Okay. What do you want me to tell me? I'm not being antagonistic. No, and neither am I. Why are we in an argument?

It feels we have that image. As you guys talk over this piece on this, you see a, there is a young woman who enters the beer garden who is glowing ever so softly. She radiates kind of a warm, teal blue light. You see that she is dressed a little bit anachronistically. She has like a tabard with bright gold thread in it. She walks with high boots, no robes. She has a long sword at her side and a shield on her back. There are other people, Ursulaan immediately looks to the other people in the crowd

to see if they are looking at her suspiciously or strangely or if this is just another one of those citadel moments where somebody weird walks into a space and I want to freak out but everyone else is going good to see you. Give me an insight check. Overheard in the citadel.

Natural 20. I've been here for a month. You recognize her as Tamori as she walks in. She steps in briefly sort of looking side to side and you see that she has a soft face. These teal blue features very wide eyes.

Like the eyes, she has big eyes. And a sort of a hint of powder blue, but mostly a kind of illuminated white hair that is kept short, but floats as though underwater or a little bit weightless. She walks in and looks sort of around in a couple different directions and not finding what she was looking for, she turns around to leave. But on a Nat 20, I'll say before she goes,

you see she makes eye contact with you, sees the sword at your sight, and salutes. I very depotly, like, nervous that I'm doing something wrong, but just I do it back. She smiles, thinks for a moment, and walks up to you. You see, she says, um, hi, I, uh, I'm so sorry to bother you. You're not a wizard. No, I'm the protector of the wizard sky.

Got it. Um, okay. And you can call me bear. Oh, bear, very nice to meet you. I'm, uh, Adina. Adina. Um, A, uh, A, D-I-N-E-N-A. Thank you for spelling it. No, it's okay. But it was written before it was ever said out loud.

But have you seen the Archmage Sabre? No, I can't say that I've been mostly cavorting with my, the person that I protect. Well, I'm the defender of the Archmage Sabre. And I know where he is. Thank you. And you see, she... Okay, this is some hot gossip. Fox, this is some hot gossip.

What do you mean hot gossip? It's hot gossip. Don't touch it. No, it's not actual hot. It's hot in that it's fresh. And Suvie said, if I ever heard hot gossip, I'm supposed to find her and tell her immediately. Okay, okay.

It's one of my... I have to defend her life and tell her any hot gossip that I hear. Great, great. Great, quick. Okay, well, let's go. She's probably with Amay, and I know where Amay is. Okay, then take us there. All right, let's finish these sausages, and then we'll go.

Come on. I'll bring the sausages, and we'll go right now. All right, you see, you get the platter. You guys head off together. So, inside of the latrine, as the glass, the glass shatters, just as Ursula on the fox come through the door, glass all up in the sausages.

No! No! Says the fox. And the fairies Flit in. Ursulon, the door is partially cracked open. Do you stay in the doorway as you see these two fairies? As opposed to, what, close it behind me? Close it behind you.

No, I think I leave it open. All right, so you see that the fairies come and land. First of all, everyone make a dexterity saving throw for me right away. 13 for Ursula. 22 for Suve. Jesus Christ. 18 for Amen. Okay.

Everybody makes it except for the fox So as the fairies come to the room The temperature drops 40 degrees Just as they enter It is suddenly freezing cold And the wet tiled ground of this latrine Freezes over and the fox just running in here After the sausages skids

Bam underneath one of the raised doors of a stall And slides into the toilet and goes And I do think the sausages go flying as Ursulaat stabilizes himself. As you stabilize yourself, sausage, glass, platter on the ground, you see that one of the ferries lands on the faucet

and just grabs it and blows into the tube. And you can hear like a cracking in the wall. And the other one lands on the lip of a sink and crosses its little hands behind its back and stands at attention and folds its wings and looks out with this little single eye in its head

and it looks and says Behold of this, the witch of the world's heart. That's you. That's me. Be this your sanctum. Uh, who's asking? The mind and star. The one in the crystal.

Oh God, can I have a minute to Uh, how would Oh God, please can I just have, Just give me, give me two minutes. Bevis the castle of the witch. The world's hot. No, it's a bathroom. What, don't, like, fairies need to shit, too?

Yeah, do you have a butthole? You see that this one, its wings, it puts its ankles behind its head and shows you a perfectly smooth crotch. Ursulaan is gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna guard the door. Step outside and close it slowly behind me. You see the little fairy showing it's completely featureless crotch goes,

You can't see. Berlin's fucking intense gays, right? It says, do you now retreat from your own kin, spirit, wild one? All right. I've wanted to begin with a lot of spirits. I'm going to pass on this one. You guys, Suvie, I've got hot gauze when you're ready.

Great. You see that the other one not touching the faucet says, coward is he long way shadowed. Okay, all right, all right. That one gets bitten in half by the fox. Oh, yeah. Five, wow, let him go, let it go, go, go, go, go. Bada, put up, put up.

Oh, it's just ice, it's just ice. You see, you see that this little mangled fairy goes, starts to put itself back together, as the other one just, uncoils itself standing once again on the edge of the sink. Hello, I am Amay, Witch of Toma, and the Witch of the World's Heart. Please excuse us, we are in the midst of celebration of my dear friend, and we're not properly prepared to receive you or,

her grace injury. Oh my God. Mrs. Misses. Have a long about talking? I don't know.

We extend the full hospitality to you and to your mistress. If she would like to join our party in the lunch. Mm-hmm.

You wish for me to tell my mistress to join you here? Is this your castle? No, no, no, no. Does she have to... I can go to her? Long, lancing spells and vexing hexes of old were made many to pierce and plunder through the guises and guile of wizards many. She has seen into this hidden place through crystal and through claws.

I'm too drunk. What is happening? We cut outside from this, and you see Sickle walks up to you, Ursula, and says, John, take a piece. Sorry, someone's having sex in there. Is there another one you can use? Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

The fox, who's been sort of chastised, goes up to the door, hearing Ursulans muttering, and you see the fox just goes, oh, put your mouth on my butt. And so, as you can tell, it's not Sufi having sex, but someone is having sex in there. I'm waiting too. Squeeze every part of my body with your hands. I don't know. It sounds like they are right at the top

and it's going to be long. So I think it... Sickle backs away and says, I recognize that Fox's voice. And you see, walks away. You see the fairy looks again at its little mangled brother in who's like stitching itself back together. And the fairy just turns and says,

Many missives left at the threshold, for the watcher of the shrine and the tender of the stream, he of the great bowl. Mr. Soup? He has called Mr. Soup, and we have left many missives saying that the stars have aligned in a new witch of the world's heart draws breath, and with clear eyes speaks for those things at the joining of hands. and the smiling of kin rekindled. May you then be said to walk upon this world once more? My mistress, many missives she has left before needing to search for the wit of the world's heart long leaving from her home.

Uh, boy, it was three months. Yeah, it's kind of judgmental. It's been like three months, yeah. Oh, um, my deepest apart. apologies to your mistress, please send my regards and have but newly arrived into my powers and knowledge and that we can meet when and aware of her choosing. Yes, yes, yes. You see the...

I'm so sorry. The little fairy looks at you and says, What point then of conclave? Would you ask? Uh, what? Did she mention anything anywhere she was thinking about? I speak only for the mistress of most gifts capable of piercing the protections of this place. But should you wish it?

I can ask her where she would hold this complaint. Yes, yes, actually, yes. That's such a good idea. Please, return to your mistress with my thanks for her diligence, and ask her where she would see fit that we be met. I would tell her of your deference to her. her wishes that this conglave might be put upon such a place of her preference. But, definitely let her know.

Please belay back to your mistress that the well of the grove of the grove of the grove of the well is perhaps no longer as sacred a sanctum as we have been led to believe, as Grandma Renn had also met with Grand Maren was attacked there. I shall bear this news hither that the grove of the well

is no long safe and that the witch of the world's heart hides by the side of the wizard's sky in a bathroom covered in sausage Okay, okay, okay, okay, hold on, hold on, hold on. Okay, what is it gonna? You're earmuffs. You, you earmuffs.

You, you earmuffs. You see, it rips its head off its next. Fine, that'll do. Okay, we can let, uh, injury. She picks the location. You pick the time. You have to maintain some, like, status. Like, you're, the, the witch of the world's heart.

But, yeah, but. You don't defer to fucking anything. Yeah, no, I don't, I don't, I don't have to, for to fucking anyone. Yeah, you're so fucking power. Yeah. You're fox ate that one. I am the witch of the world's heart.

Yeah. Baby? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And I gesture at him to... Put its head back on its neck. The other fairies finished fixing itself now and is like sniffing around and

looking for like sausages to grab off the floor or flitting around as the fox is like, oh yeah. Do that with the rest of your face. Yes. Please, with all, do haste. Speed to your mistress and tell her, I defer to her in the place where we be but that when she hath picketh it, that she, I pick, that I, that I find when, when we shall be met.

Also, also, what is it? And I lean down to him a little bit. What is it going to take for you to not mention the part about it as being in the latrine? Give me a name. Um. Um is my name. You see? Um is my name.

And he explodes in a burst of ice and the other fairy turns around and says, and it says, Um, you cut. What did you think just happened? Because we know, but what do you think just happened? Give me a name.

After you tell us what just happened. I don't know. I'm the stupid one. Damn it. Did that one tell, did um tell you that? What? Did um tell you that you were the stupid one? No, it's evident.

I can't follow directions. The fox looks at you, um, and goes, All right, you know, I'm just, it's hard to find good help. I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna write, uh, a note that you can take. I'll take this to a bathroom filled with sausages. Perfect. I want to keep this one. Is that weird?

No. Can you be mine? They're delightful. If I give you a name, do you belong to me? No, I think I'll explode. If you make the bargain. Bargain? I would trade you my service for a name.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Okay, okay, all right, all right, all right. I want it. No, hear me out. I want it. We'll get you another spirit to make a deal with that is not, you know. The fox looks up at you and says,

you can do better. The first thing, the first thing this little freaky bug did was tell you that it's the stupid one. Yeah. And that it can't follow directions. Okay. Uh, yeah, um,

Sufis decided to take that too personally and is now beginning to cry, but about silver and a different thing. No. So, good luck. Don't cry. No, it's fine. Even you're familiar, and I was like, you better.

Yeah, no, it's absolutely true. The fox, you see the fox, the fox leaps up onto your shoulders, Suvie, and licks your cheek, says, hey, it's your big day. Yeah. Do you want, do you want a friend and a helper like I am for, for Ame? I mean, yeah, it's so nice.

You have such a good relationship. Yeah, yeah, we do. It's great. That's making me cry more. Why? Why is a nice thing for me making you cry more? Because I'm having, today's a thing about me, so I'm struggling. I don't get that.

Hey, banging on the door. Can we finish with the sex stuff in there? Sex? Oh, yeah. I'm about to not want to do this anymore. Yeah, that's not all. Okay. When I said her intro, which is the wind and stars.

My deepest apologies for not reaching out sooner. Asami is writing that message. We cut back outside. Ursula, you see that a couple other wizards at the table are looking over you standing in front of the bathroom. You see Silver walks over to you. It goes, Bear, is everything all right in there? Yeah. It's just some people have decided to make the bathroom their bedroom.

Oh. If you... But I saw Suvi and Ame go in there. Yes. And they are... It's... Oh. Okay.

No. Hey. You're going to get me in trouble. No, it's all right. I mean, we don't. No, no, no, no. No, we never made any problems. But they're not the ones having the relations.

Wait, so they're in there? Who's having the relations? It's the fox. Amaze Fox. And a stuffed animal that Sufi bought. And the fox was just being really. rowdy outside, you see. And so they were like...

Sorry, so Suvi and Ame are in the bathroom while the fox... Is simulating intercourse on a stuffed animal. To kind of calm him down so that he can be more approachable. You see Silver turns around to walk back to the table and halfway there just peels off for the exit. No! Peels off. Shit. Shit.

We cut back inside. Best. wishes a um a witch of the world's heart what's wrong

why are you crying I just I didn't have all of the information that I needed and is it okay I You see as the little the little like Frost fairy takes it and says

to injury Witch of the wind and stars, my deepest apologies, for not reaching out sooner. I am but newly possessed of my title and for responsibilities. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I would be deeply honored to meet with you at a safe location of your choosing best wishes. Amay, which of the world's heart. Oh, because you can read. You see, the clock goes, this guy can read and I can't read? That's what I'm saying.

It's, uh, I'm, okay, okay, I'm just going to. There's the message. Goodbye forever. And you see he flies out the window. No, no, no, no, no. All together. Oh, you're doing great. Oh, you're doing great.

No, you're doing so good. Like, fairies came in, and you just, you handled this so good. I'm going to open the door. I don't know if I did it. And we're holding hands and just going to hide together. Suey, I think Silver thinks that you and our may are fucking. What? Why?

Oh, God. Fuck. Or that the. Fox is having intercourse with a stuffed animal. I didn't... I'm sorry. Oh. I'm sorry, Fox.

I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. Are you good? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you go. Yeah. Happy name cloak day. Thanks.

Thank you. Suvie. Yeah. One last thing. Oh, the archmaid's saber is maybe missing. What? I don't know which one of those things is a bigger deal. Oh my God. Oh, God. Sober.

But a Tamori named Adina spelled A-D-I-N-A. Yes, she spelled it for me. She came by looking for the Archmaid Sabre and then said that she couldn't find him, but then said that she knows where he was, but that seemed to be kind of a cover. Oh, okay. Fuck, too many things. Okay. I go over to the cake.

I get a fistful and I start eating it out of my hands. It's got cure wounds in it because I knew that this. that this would happen, that would get messy, just crying into my cake. It's so good. And I'm going to run down silver. You run down silver, turns around and sees you running after him. You see, he goes, oh. Hi.

I'm sorry. Are you leaving? I'm sorry. Sky, what's up? Yeah, no. Oh, I, was this forward? This was forward, right? To, like, throw you a party.

No, this was the, honestly, the nicest thing in the whole. I'm sorry. Illuminated by barracks behind you, you see a gondola of a galathopters were flying behind, and you can see there's sort of a deep hurt in Silver's countenance. It doesn't look like he's mad at you.

There's just a weird bit of hurt here. You see, he goes, if you and Ame, I mean, I know that you have a lot of history with... Oh, oh, no. No, that wasn't like that. That was Amay is a witch. And apparently that means which things can happen to her at strange moments. And I'm going to grab his hand and kind of scoot around to the far side of the train.

Just to show the blown out window. And maybe if there's any evidence of like weird frost. Yeah, let's roll a little luck check and see if there is. There is a little bit of frost. Yeah, he goes, oh. So it was just a weird witch thing, and we didn't want to... I wasn't trying to blow up her spot. And we're...

But maybe the story. What do you mean a weird witch thing? Oh, a familiar for another witch decided to speak with her now that she's awake again. So we just was kind of just stalling for time. Another familiar got within the walls of the citadel? Yes, actually. Is she? Okay. Huh.

They're gone. They conveyed a message and left. But you're right, that is strange. That is strange. Um, tier list. So that's what that was. I really appreciate that you threw me this party. It's really kind and I don't want to put any weird pressure on whatever this is.

but I do like you a lot and I am deeply grateful and happy. Tonight's been a very nice night. He leans in and gives you a kiss. Sorry to storm off like that. I got scared because my reaction to thinking that you were with someone else was stronger than I was ready to admit. Oh. Um, I'm not with anyone else, and I don't really want to be.

We can get into that later. Uh, fun, other thing, have you seen Sabre anywhere? He would have had to be at your ceremony, wasn't he? That's the last time I saw him, and apparently, he's M.A. Okay, interesting. Saber's my archmage, or, you know, he's the, you know, he's the, the whole, he's a real's archerick. Yeah.

So let me run that down and see, see what can be seen. I'm going to head out, but do you think Amé is going to be crashing with you tonight or somewhere else or? How would I come to you? Great. Great. He gives you another kiss and you see he walks off towards the edge of the plastic. platform and casts fly on himself and takes up into the erie. It's the hottest thing in the whole world.

I cannot do better. I can't. We're back, baby, and I come over to a sad ame eating cake. Yeah, I'm actually standing in the doorway of the bar, of the beer garden, cake on my hands, sniffling and leg watching. Hey, bud, you good? Yeah, I just wasn't, I wasn't ready. I've been trying my whole life for this, and what if I said something wrong?

And sorry to, well, it seems like I didn't, you know, it's fine. It seems like this was for the best. And now he, he knows. I just really give Amé a huge hug. Oh. And I, uh, throw my, it covered hands around you. You smell nice. Oh, it's the cake.

Hey. You're the best witch I've ever met. I'm the only witch you've ever met. No, I met Grandmother Red. Okay, well now you're just being hyperbolic. No. No, I think I said what I mean. You're doing great.

Thank you. You're doing great. And I think you could do better. Okay. to that right now. We've got to take the W. Ursula, you see the Fox comes back out of the bathroom. You've had this

wild experience in the bathroom here. You celebrate Suva for the rest of the night. Eventually, Amé, you arrive back at Suvi's quarters with the Fox. Ursulaan, you where does the, Ursula, ends up that night? I think Ursulaan is going to go

train. I think since Steele has suggested there's a chance for him to go home. He's been training harder and more at more irregular time. So I think he says he's going to go grab a bite to eat, but then heads to train. You find a space under the moonlight. As you do, you find sort of the ruins of that chair. And you can find, I think, a couple lengths of rope.

There's like some netting they put up at certain points out here on the core. And you can just find some of that and tie it around your wrist and get like a little makeshift wooden shield. Start doing drills again. And as you do so, you look up at the sky and see those stars up there and wonder who might be watching. You see a constellation in the stars. One that is named after your father, who you have spent probably quite a long time, not thinking about, but your thoughts do go back to him for a time

as you train under the light of his constellation. Ami, we come back to you and you're lying down in Suve's incredibly comfortable bed. The fox snuggled up. He goes, well, that was really exciting. Your Coven reached out to you and you got to let them know that

I wasn't ready. Yeah. Oh, God. But, hey. What if I made a mistake? What if I said the wrong thing? I don't even remember, like, oh, thanks for your help back there. Well, I'm happy to help.

But think about it this way. They might not be mad that you're not ready. They might like that you're not ready because it means they can push you around. Yeah, no, I know. That's what I'm scared of. I'm not scared of getting in trouble with them. I'm scared that I'm not ready for them. Okay.

Well, you don't have an apprentice. So you could quit and then there'd be no witch of the world's heart and you wouldn't have to deal with it. You could run away. I can't do that. All right. Well, I've had two ideas. So nobody could ask for anything more of you, buddy, and he scratch his tummy. He rolls over on his back and is immediately asleep.

I, um, there's a shawl there, a purple shawl of grandmother wrens that Suvee had taken from the cottage when she left and is now on, on her, on her bed. and I pull that over me and I breathe it in. It's warm and musty and it smells a little bit of the cottage and a little bit like home of Grand Marin. But I can also smell incense in it there for somebody. else to hug. Smell your home as you fade to sleep, the weight of responsibility on your shoulders, but also the comfort of Wren's shawl. Suvi, you finish celebrating, do you go to, and do you go to Silvers at the end of the night?

Yeah, I do. But I think there is a little bit of taking the line. taking the long way or just getting a little distracted and kind of wishing I had a little more time to speak to Amme and I think about her a lot on the way to Silvers. So you open the door with the key that Silver gave you. You walk into an apartment decorated with a wall containing wands and staves of combat, embossed with gold and brass.

You see a hanging sensor of smoke. And you see silver with a pack on his shoulder, tear lines on his face holding a scroll. What's going on? Sky. The garrison at Fort Kieran has fallen. I need to leave tonight. No.

And that's all for this episode. Of the wizard, the witch, and the wild wine. How are we going to be fucking if silver's not here? That was Lou Wilson as Ursulaan, Erica Ishii as Amay, Abria Ayn Gar as Suvi, and Brennan Lee Mulligan as everyone and everything else. World's Beyond Number is edited, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse, with additional sound designed from Michael Gelfy Studios. For even more like this, join us.

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