"Something important happened here...  A very long time ago."  Stepping into the room, Fiora reaches out for one of the detached strands and touches it, just barely brushing the faded fate.  "Something that was important, and then suddenly wasn't, just leaving the strands hanging like this."

Looking around at the room, she frowns a bit as she thinks, then smiles.  "Or it was cut loose, like that deck in the other room.  This might be what it looks like after they do that.  I wonder how it's done?"

"Well, this appears to be some kind of workshop. Perhaps one or more inventions of great power or great historical significance were created here? If that were the case, would such an invention retain an actual thread connecting it to the workshop? After all, no one really considers where most things are made; once they're done, it is how they are used that has the actual significance. The workshop may simply no longer play any part in the fates of the things it created.

Of course, once again, it seems there's nothing useful we can really garner from this room. Barring, of course, long-term study to determine how they utilized these crystals to do something useful."

"You may be right... about not getting any useful information out of this room," Anders agrees. "I'm just not that sure. And, of course, I know nothing about Fate strands."

"If this was a workshop of some sort... one that involved working with these crystals, then might that fact that no one has worked in this room for over a thousand years have caused the strands to fade?"

"What would happen if we remove one of these crystals from the room? Would they suddenly gain new strands?"

"I'd always associated Fate with living creatures. Does a rock really have a Fate?"

"Yes and no.  Everything The Creator made has a fate, be it ever so humble, but most of those strands may as well be set in stone.  A rock will stay where it rests unless something living moves it, and so it's fate is always entwined with the living.  I could grasp that fate-"  She grabs at the air and tugs.  The sharp-eyed might notice the skin of her finger indenting as though pulling on a thread, but nothing happens.

"But it's not given to us to change the fate of the world except through the living.  Pull as I might, that fate won't change unless a hand or a hoof or a paw touches it."  She grins.  "If someone stands on the far side of the stone I could move it by pulling on their strands, but they'd not enjoy the process of being used as a net.  Or I could bless their strength, to move the stone more easily, which they might enjoy more.  A curse could make them trip over it, but aiming them to trip over a specific stone is far beyond my skill."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:11, Fri 08 Oct 2021.

"Ha-ha-ha! I almost understood that, Fiora," Valentino said as he continued to study the crystals from the doorway, "and yet didn't!"

"I suppose it gets down to how you define Fate. Do these crystals have a Fate? Did they in the past? So, someone gathering up the crystal changed it?"

"Would there Fate have been to become part of this structure?"

In reply to Valentino Iocovelli (msg # 565):

Alessandra has to agree with Valentino. She didn't quite understand that herself. A Crystal having a fate itself? Fascinating.

"Maybe?  When the Creator gave humans free will, he imbued us with the ability to rail agianst our fates, to wrest the world to our bidding.  I can wrest it in ways you can't, but if I twist your fate you can still struggle against it.  These stones may not have had this fate until someone or something with free will decided to build this place."

"Well, I suppose if one of us picks up one of the gems, it should add a strand to that gem, right?" Vasily walks over to the apparently unused gems and picks one up. "Anything interesting?"

"I suppose if you're born to it, it's easier to make sense of it," Anders suggested. "Kind of like when someone's born to the sea."

"Can't think of anything else at the moment that would be like that... maybe born to the saddle?"

"If there's nothing to be done with this room, we should check out the last two doors in this hallway, and then see what lies beyond."

"So, Fiora, is there any reason we shouldn't take one or two crystals from this room?"

When Vasily picks up a gem, nothing seems to happen until he speaks. Then there's a faint momentary glow from the crystal. At the same time, Fiora detects a strand start to form, but it quickly goes away when Vasily stops talking.

"Woah... did you all see that glow? Valentino, aren't the 'Fair Folk' associated with storytelling in some way? Could it be that these crystals were created or altered by them?" Vasily peers into the crystal as he talks, to see if he can see any sort of pattern to the glowing.

Once again, the crystal glows as he speaks. And stops glowing when he stops.

"Be very, very careful with that."  Fiora speaks up, stepping forward, hands raised to grab.  "It started to form a new strand of fate when you spoke.  Hold your hand betwen mine, speak slowly, and tell me a story from Ussura."

As the thread starts to form again, she readies herself to snatch it away if it does something untoward.

Vasily does as Fiora asks, since she can see something that he cannot. He relates a story about Matuska helping a village each winter over the course of several years and the village becoming dependant upon the aid, then Matuska being distracted one winter and the village coming to ruin, even worse than they would have in the first year had she not aided them then. It sounds much like Vasily has told this story quite a few times before.

As Vasily speaks, the strand becomes larger and more pronounced, intertwining with Vasily's own strands.

While it's doing this, the crystal begins to change shape, and slowly starts to turn into a miniature sculpture of a village. At the end of his story, the crystal village is in ruins, but it is still clearly the remnants of a village.

Valentino watches the crystal change in amazement, and casts more than one glance at all of the other crystals.

"So, all these crystals can be changed?" he asks, only semi-directing his question to Fiora.

"And they can be turned into this... cathedral... merely by talking to them?"

"Quite likely."  Fiora answers, one hand pressed to Vasily's chest and holding onto </Aqua>the strand from the crystal.  "Though maybe not the entire cathedral.  I don't know how many voices you would need to do that."  Her other hand is still near his, lightly pressing a few other cords out of the way so she can reach between them.  Her fingers glide over his shirt as she tests the connection curiously.

[Is this like the connection between sword and smith?  He created the model village with his story as the craftsman's tools.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:57, Sat 16 Oct 2021.

"Perhaps many people," Anders semi-agrees with Fiora, "but maybe just a few very skilled people and a great amount of time."

"The village did appear rather crude, though clearly it was a village."

"Maybe it takes great skill to make a chair or a pillow out of a crystal. Perhaps those are what the apprentices make, perfecting their craft before they can do things like cathedrals and... ships? I've heard of a crystal ship, but I always thought it referred to a glass-blower's craft."

"And, no offense, Vasily, but while your tale was interesting, I think I'm safe in saying you aren't really a trained story-teller. I don't think you were even trying to shape the crystal into a village. You were just seeing what would happen."

"Since your tale was about a village, that was what the crystal became. I don't suppose you know any tales about a chair?"

In reply to Dread Pirate Robert (msg # 575):

Alessandra gasps and puts a hand over her mouth so as not to make a sound. Goodness.

Vasily examines the crystal-cum-village closely, looking to see how the detail is, and if it matches what he imagined that the village would look like, or if it was more generic; more in line with his, admittedly, limited ability to evoke the imagery in someone else's head.

"Indeed, while it is incumbent upon me to tell this parable, as well as others, and I have related it many times, I am not a trained storyteller. Still, it is kind of amazing that these gems can adjust themselves based upon the speech, or, perhaps, thought, of the holder. Perhaps, though, someone who understood this sort of construction better could work with a much larger gem to create something like this cathedral whole. Perhaps even with the individual bits, like pillows and blankets, all at the same time. If we could figure out how to create such gems, they could be very useful... but I don't think we should take any of these from here, lest they be yet another treasure compelling people to seek out this place."

"I suppose you have a good point," Valentino responds to Vasily.

"It makes me wonder, though, whether these are naturally-occurring crystals or have they been modified in some way in order to do what they do?"

"Can they only be transformed here within the cathedral? Or will they still do that if removed from this place?"

"I suppose your caution is because we don't really know what they can do. If all they do is change shape, though, what difference would it make outside this place?"

"Also, do they work for anyone, or do you have some sort of talent for it?"

"What about the ones that have already been transformed? Could you change the shape of one of the chairs or pillows?"

"There are certainly unique things about me, and perhaps one of them would constitute a "talent" of sorts, I suppose. I suppose the fact that a rogue fate witch has trusted us all with her secret means that I can trust you all with mine as well. Not only am I a sorcerer of unusual faith from my land, but I am also cursed with the blood of the demonic.

I'm sure that at least the more educated among you are aware that the most numerous and well known of the sorcerers from Ussura are granted their power by, Matruska, grandmother winter, yes? Well, my sorcery originates from another."

Vasily takes his left glove off and displays a black splotch, like a birthmark, on his hand, as if it is somehow obviously meaningful.

"As for my cursed blood; I have, since I was young, been able to translocate, when under great duress, instantly from one place to another. Such translocation is always accompanied by a puff of sulfurous smoke at each location and I very briefly come to resemble a demon on a superficial level.

Either of those; sorcerous capability or demonic blood, since both originate with ancient races, could explain my capability. Given that, perhaps someone else should see if they also have the facility. Someone with neither the ability to work magic nor any sign of ancient lineage?

Perhaps you Valentino or Anders or Alessandra?"

In reply to Vasily Pavlychenko (msg # 582):

"That is truly interesting. I do not know if I have any such capabilities." Alessandra says. "I have never even thought of such a thing before, but there is always a first time for thinking of something."

"I have no sorcerous abilities or association that I know of,"  Valentino responds.

"If the rest of you think there's something to be learned by all of us trying to change the crystal, I'm willing to give it a try."

"The real question would then be: what if we can all change a crystal? Would that mean we all have sorcerous powers? Might explain why we are all here."

"Or would it just mean that the crystals can be altered by anyone?"

"Okay, then. Let me figure out what I want to think of. Should I tell a story about it?"

"All I did was tell a story. I didn't exert any will specifically towards the crystal.

As for what it means; both are possible, however it seems more likely to mean that anyone could shape them; that it does not depend on any sort of association or heritage with ancient races."