0:03

The sound

0:25

of rustling blankets,

0:29

the chirping of morning songbirds,

0:35

loud cicadas or crickets

0:37

or some sort of insect out

0:40

beyond the tree. And

0:44

Ursuline, you awake with a feeling

0:47

of something heavy on your chest. I

0:54

open my eyes. Ro Ro is sitting on

0:56

your chest. Good

1:01

morning, Ro Ro. Good

1:03

morning, I have a secret. For

1:05

me? What

1:08

is it? He holds

1:11

your cheeks and whispers right into

1:13

your mouth like that's where you

1:15

hear from. You

1:17

see he goes, Okay, you're all right. I

1:20

open my eyes very wide and go,

1:23

pancakes, really?

1:31

Yeah, not because they

1:33

didn't tell because my sisters had said that

1:35

they don't have as much as many

1:38

as we had before, but I like to have them

1:40

and early in the morning and

1:44

they're hot on the stuff. When they're

1:46

cold, they're not as good. I like

1:49

them cold, but I don't like them

1:51

cold as much. I like them

1:53

more hot, more hot pancake. God,

1:56

yes, more hot pancake is

1:59

the good pancake. Honey, jam,

2:01

with pancake. Mm-hmm. Is

2:04

this all the secret? Don't...

2:07

Oh, because... I just want to

2:09

know what I can say and what I can't tell. Um,

2:12

you see that, uh, Bella

2:15

says, Roroh, you have

2:17

to come wash your hands! And you see

2:19

that Roroh rolls off of your chest and

2:21

goes to, like, skitter under a chair and

2:23

hide. And Bella comes in and turns to

2:25

Coke's member under the chair. Immediately

2:28

there's, like, activity in the living room, and suddenly

2:30

you're in that position where you're a guy sleeping

2:32

in the living room as the day is starting.

2:35

Yeah. Um... We've all been there. We've

2:37

all been there. You

2:39

see that Adi comes in and helps you, like, clean

2:42

up some of the... It was a very comfortable night's

2:44

sleep, but most of these clothes and fabrics and things

2:46

like that, um... She

2:49

smiles and hands you a big thing

2:51

of pancakes, which you guess is why

2:53

this was on Roroh's mind. And

2:56

you see there's a big dish. There's, like, four of

2:58

them. There's these sick, flappy,

3:00

hot, steamy pancakes. Uh, and there are

3:02

a bunch of scoops sort of hugging

3:04

a crescent around one side of the

3:06

pancake that are almost taking up the

3:08

whole dish. But it looks like there's

3:10

a big scoop of some kind of

3:12

yogurt. There's a big scoop of some

3:14

kind of marmalade with big chunks of

3:16

citrus fruit in it. And there's another

3:18

scoop of a deeper purple berry

3:20

sauce in it. And she

3:22

gives you a small little pitcher of some

3:24

kind of tree sap syrup sweet thing. Sugar

3:27

cane syrup, something like that. Um, and

3:30

says, Our mother

3:33

is waking up and is going to try to have some pancakes, too.

3:36

That's good. Um,

3:38

I look over at Roroh. Mm-hmm. Roroh,

3:42

I know you're not a fan of pancakes, but which

3:44

one of these scoops would

3:46

you... if, for

3:48

some reason, you enjoyed pancakes, which would

3:50

you recommend? You see, Adi looks at

3:52

us like, Roroh likes pancakes.

3:55

And you see that Roroh goes, No!

4:01

And runs off, and she's like, what? Roamer, what

4:03

did I say? He

4:06

starts crying in the corner, and he's like,

4:08

I just tell anyone I like pants. She's

4:10

like, you didn't have to tell anyone. You

4:12

eat them. You eat them. Why

4:14

would that be a secret? And

4:17

see, Bella's like, he didn't wash his

4:19

ass. Mom, he didn't wash his ass. And

4:22

just the joy, the joy

4:24

of domestic family life. As

4:27

Adi hands you a thing of pancakes, and it's

4:29

like, I don't know why he's so

4:32

upset. I think I betrayed

4:34

his confidence. What

4:36

did you betray his confidence about? He did

4:38

confide in me that he enjoys pancakes. You

4:42

see that Roamer in the corner is just sort of sulking

4:44

and weeping. That his secret is

4:46

out. But you see his mom said, well,

4:48

it's not, it can't be a secret. Why

4:51

are you keeping that a secret? I made a mess of

4:53

things. I'm sorry, everyone.

4:56

No, no, no, no. It wasn't

4:58

you. It wasn't you. Um,

5:01

Dolan comes over to you and,

5:04

uh, actually, there's

5:06

a sort of curtain over

5:08

a counter. You thought maybe it was like a

5:10

raised shelf with like a counter at the base.

5:12

But if he opens it, you actually see there's

5:14

another curtain at the other side and there's some

5:16

stuff. He asks for a hand moving some boxes,

5:18

and you see that there's actually a kind of

5:21

arch over a countertop that looks into Kalya's bed

5:23

chamber so she can kind of see out into

5:25

the living room without having to get up out

5:27

of her bed. And she

5:29

looks and says, Eshlon, do

5:31

you want to come have some pancakes with

5:33

me? I would love to.

5:37

They're smiling. Um, her

5:40

pancakes have sort of been like cut up already a little

5:42

bit into slices. She has

5:45

a little bite. It's like she makes one little

5:47

perfect bite with like syrup in both jams and

5:49

a little bit of the yogurt and eats it

5:51

and then doesn't touch it again. But,

5:55

uh, for you, these things are great. You could, you know.

5:59

We're going to town. As

6:01

you're going to work, Kalya takes a look

6:03

at your shield and says, I

6:05

can't believe still that you painted the

6:08

tree. I

6:11

mean, when I came upon the tree, I couldn't

6:14

believe it. There was

6:16

something to when I was painting it. I

6:19

could feel you. I

6:22

could feel your presence in

6:24

the citadel. She

6:27

smiles and says, Is

6:30

not, I think, impossible

6:33

to believe. I

6:36

left many whispered spells

6:38

in that place that

6:40

I wished would find their way to you. She

6:45

looks at the shield and says, I

6:48

think your friend the witch should take a

6:50

look at this now that the painting

6:52

is complete. Witches are crafty

6:55

in their ways, and I think some

6:57

enchantment might be unlocked in this. It

6:59

is powerfully magical as it is, but

7:02

I think its true

7:04

gift has yet to be discovered, and

7:07

the witch's ways would know. I'll

7:10

be sure to share it with Aimee when we reconnect.

7:14

By the way, is

7:16

there a... How will

7:20

I get from here? Is there

7:22

a way from here to the North Pole? Are we

7:24

near the North Pole? Oh, we are

7:26

quite far from the North Pole. Oh. Not

7:31

that I... I mean, I... I... Yeah,

7:34

okay. Well,

7:36

if you need... So, tell

7:39

me again. You need to go

7:41

from this place. So, Aimee,

7:44

the witch of the world's heart, and

7:46

another of my two friends is... Is

7:50

at a conclave of

7:52

the Coven of Elders, and

7:56

my friend Suvi was meant to

7:58

join us there. And I

8:02

mean, I... there's part of me that feels like

8:04

I should be there as well. I'm

8:07

torn because I want to be here,

8:10

but I think that... I

8:13

think I will need to find my way there soon. I

8:17

understand. She

8:20

smiles and looks at you. You're

8:23

still looking for it, aren't you? Honor?

8:29

Yes. That's

8:32

your way. That's your

8:35

way home. That's

8:37

where your breath is. Yes.

8:42

Oh. I'm

8:44

so sorry, Ursula. You

8:48

know, I was lost for some time, but... in

8:51

finding my friends is... what

8:53

led me to even touch my breath again for the

8:55

first time in many years. I'm

8:59

glad. Well...

9:05

if your breath lies at the end of

9:08

the path that leads to honor, then... far

9:11

be it from me to... keep

9:14

you from it, brother. Though

9:18

I wish that you had... rest

9:21

and a home. And

9:24

you do. You do here in

9:26

the tree. Yes,

9:30

I... I

9:33

am torn, Kama'a. It

9:37

is so nice here, and there are so

9:40

many feelings. So

9:42

many feelings I'm having here with you

9:44

and your children... that

9:48

I have not known for some time.

9:53

But as you say, I'm on a path. Well...

10:00

Get into the North Pole. Well,

10:06

let me think for a moment. And

10:08

you see that she looks over at

10:10

a closet that is just stuffed with

10:12

boxes and bags and satchels and duffels

10:14

and all sorts of little haversacks that

10:17

just, you know, this

10:19

is a family little burrow and

10:21

it is filled with

10:23

junk and she

10:27

looks at it and says, there

10:29

might be some old trick of

10:31

some kind. Get my

10:34

brother to the other side of the world.

10:36

How much time do you have? Oh,

10:38

I mean, I believe the conclave

10:41

starts within a

10:43

day, but I'm sure there's a bit

10:45

of wiggle

10:47

room there. We were already pressing

10:49

you on in terms of time.

10:52

Yes, this is how I can

10:54

tell that your time has flowed differently.

10:56

You're still a young man. You're pushing

10:58

your blood as early as on

11:00

time and on time is late. And you see,

11:06

she holds

11:08

out a hand for some help getting

11:10

out of the bed. I assist. She

11:13

goes over. It takes

11:15

her quite a while to walk across

11:17

the room, but as she gets to

11:20

the mountain of junk, some

11:22

old vitality springs to her and

11:24

she falls forward into the

11:26

junk and burrows into it. And

11:30

you see that it just sort of like vanishes

11:32

into the stuff. I look, is there a hole

11:34

left behind or does it close behind? It kind

11:37

of, you can see a little bit of an

11:39

opening, but it does kind of close up behind

11:41

her. I'm just going to kind of put

11:43

my, try and put my eyes

11:46

to the, whatever's left. Look in.

11:48

Goliath? You look through

11:50

a hole and see her in a

11:52

20 foot long

11:54

corridor lined with shelves on

11:57

all sides that fan out

11:59

into. It's like this tower

12:01

of junk has a structure within

12:03

it that is holding even more

12:05

junk. Do I get the sense

12:07

I could jump in? Give

12:11

me athletics or acrobatics. I'll

12:13

give you athletics. Sixteen.

12:17

You dive in! You enter

12:19

into her and you see everyone goes, you hear Adi be like, NO

12:22

NO DO IT! And

12:24

you go through and you appear and

12:26

you see you're standing in

12:28

this map. It's like a

12:30

spluttering torch is lighting it and there

12:32

are shelves lined with treasures and things

12:34

of gold and other sort of like...

12:37

This is much a much different vibe

12:39

than the house and you see Kalya

12:42

looking and saying, IT'S ALRIGHT

12:44

DEAR! Ursulon is a

12:46

wild one. It's just when

12:49

the children climb in here they get lost

12:51

in the number of years. They sort of,

12:53

I don't know, the near spirit. You

12:57

see she looks

12:59

around, makes a little investigation, and

13:02

you see she pulls out a little sort

13:04

of odd looking piece of golden rope with

13:06

some metal bits on it. Looks like some

13:09

kind of harness or bridle or something like

13:11

that. And she says, this

13:13

might still, I haven't used this in quite

13:15

some time, but... And you see she gets

13:18

a big fur lined cloak. The

13:24

North Pole? Yes. Let's

13:27

keep you toasty. Alright. I

13:30

think I just have my arms out stressed kind of

13:32

carrying everything. She just loads you up. Most of this

13:34

stuff is non-magic. Most of this stuff is just a

13:36

good idea to have in the Arctic. It's like peatons

13:39

for climbing ice and a big warm cloak and a

13:41

bunch of other stuff like that. But

13:45

she does have this little golden

13:48

bridle and she eventually emerges from

13:50

the junk pile with this extra

13:52

dimensional sort of like junk, magical

13:55

storage thing in the Junk

13:57

pile in her room. She says, always good

13:59

to be able to do that. the the

14:01

bureau ah and comes back out. Walking

14:05

out into the living species, a little walking

14:07

stick with her. See.

14:10

Looks at the family says. Children,

14:14

grandchildren as they would listen.

14:16

Uncle Es Salaam is going to

14:19

have to depart. He's running late

14:21

for a very important meeting. Any

14:24

see everyone sort of. This is movies.

14:26

There's a kind of. It's such a

14:29

humble, heartfelt responses of every what like.

14:32

A liar says your. Uncle.

14:35

The while one has to go to the North

14:37

Pole to a meeting. Of Witches and

14:39

a whole Family of Badger

14:41

Sorcerers logo. Ah, I,

14:47

I, I, I, I it's it

14:49

is an obligation but I I

14:51

will try to return as soon

14:54

as I came afterwards. Ah a

14:56

bunch of people come up and

14:58

ah ever give hugs and everyone

15:00

audi and and your your sisters

15:03

the audio maehara dollar in all

15:05

of them are give you big

15:07

hug your. Your two nieces and

15:09

nephews and I'm a little railroad

15:11

comes up at a certain point

15:13

and hide a little tiny jar

15:16

of Gm in a pocket. I

15:18

kneel down to row row row.

15:21

Can. I took two, six. Zero

15:24

not very solemnly. Eyes wide

15:27

with the sudden weight of

15:29

responsibility. Can tell a soul

15:31

from. I

15:33

don't tell. Anyone

15:36

would find out mean the end

15:38

of are worth. I

15:42

also like pickaxe. As

15:46

you say, it broke apps his

15:48

hands in the air. process

15:51

of the floor digs a hole

15:54

in the hard packed earth's and

15:56

blows out of his mouth is

15:58

a little spells Goes into

16:00

the earth and you

16:03

see he hides your secret buried in the

16:05

earth and everyone goes I

16:08

also yeah, I think what he digs ago. Did I fuck

16:10

up again? Ro

16:22

Ro looks very happy his his lips

16:24

are just complete He's whole bottom half

16:27

of this face is covered in jam

16:29

and everyone lifts him up and celebrates him and

16:31

he looks extremely

16:33

pleased with himself and Both

16:36

like amazed at the sudden celebration

16:38

and also with a certain Regal

16:41

toddler days of of course.

16:43

I am being celebrated for

16:45

my incredible achievement You

16:48

see everyone smiles everyone gives you a

16:50

big hug Ro Ro gives you a

16:53

big hug and kind of It's

16:55

such a little loving embrace from this toddler that he has

16:57

to be peeled. He will not let go peeled

17:00

off and Kalia

17:04

steps out the front door with

17:06

you You

17:11

see she steps up

17:13

to the edge of the canyon and says Sun

17:17

this Ah

17:21

Bridal In

17:24

the past it has served as

17:27

a means to Call

17:30

upon the aid of some spirits

17:33

steeds of our world

17:36

that may be able

17:39

to Take

17:41

you swiftly enough to

17:43

where you need go But

17:45

there are none here in the

17:47

jungles of Gautama it

17:49

would take some travel to the

17:53

near spirit In

17:56

the attempts that you made to go home I

18:01

know this is a sorrowful question.

18:03

Were you able at least to

18:06

find the beginnings of some paths

18:09

home? Was it simply that

18:11

you could not cross the threshold, or

18:13

were you never able to find a

18:15

path back to

18:19

the world of our father? I

18:22

did not know the word for it until I was

18:25

at the Citadel, but yes, we have

18:28

touched the nearest spirit. It

18:31

is threshold and unable to cross.

18:36

She nods. She says,

18:38

all right, walk

18:40

with me, listen. She

18:44

takes your hand and walks with you through the

18:47

foliage of the jungle, under

18:50

vines through leaves and

18:54

you arrive somewhere

18:58

and you see your

19:00

sister's head turns like

19:03

she hears something. Do

19:06

you hear that, Ursula? I

19:09

listen. You

19:11

can hear nothing. Do

19:15

you hear that song? I do not. I cannot. You

19:24

see a glimmer of her

19:26

true form for a moment, for

19:28

a second person out like that of a

19:30

badger, hands

19:33

into massive digging paws.

19:37

She goes, I

19:42

should venture no other into the world.

19:45

I do not

19:49

want to disappoint them.

19:58

I'm going to reach up and. touch her nose.

20:04

You touch her nose. In

20:07

this moment, what is Ursuline

20:09

feeling? Because you

20:13

see the conflict within her. It's

20:16

something you understand very well yourself. For

20:20

her, her honor was

20:23

her family and this

20:25

thing she made in the world of

20:27

mortals, but there is a

20:30

song that she can hear through the

20:32

forest and there is something endless and

20:34

eternal beyond. When

20:38

you touch her nose, what

20:41

is Ursuline in touch with in himself?

20:47

Ursuline is in touch with the

20:50

understanding. I think that the part

20:52

of himself that put

20:56

his breath in this world

20:58

and not in the spirit world and

21:01

understands what it means, that

21:04

this world is where the things that

21:06

are most important to you are, even

21:09

though the infinite and the

21:11

spirit realm is out there.

21:14

It's that same feeling of, but

21:17

everything that means anything to me

21:19

is here in this plane,

21:22

in this world. You

21:26

touch her nose and

21:30

you see there is

21:33

a little, she

21:36

recognizes a part of herself that has been

21:38

under a glamour for ten years and you

21:40

realize that this same thing could happen to

21:42

you if you wore your glamour for this

21:45

long. She's

21:48

in such a different position from you because she

21:50

isn't way shattered. She doesn't have a taboo. She

21:53

didn't have the thing where she got bathed

21:56

or ate of mortal food. She did everything

21:58

the careful way and didn't ever. her get

22:00

traps or caught and managed to trick everybody

22:02

and until she got put in the painting

22:05

in the Kasov collection, she had done everything

22:07

right. It's just that there's so

22:10

many traps for spirits in this world. And

22:12

the trap she fell into was she just

22:14

played the part of a mortal for so

22:16

long that it started to be true. And

22:21

you see, as you

22:23

touch her nose, that she remembers

22:27

what she used to be. She

22:30

feels that there is a part of this

22:32

world and she looks at you

22:34

and even though your situation has been more different

22:36

and you have known a heartbreak

22:39

and a tragedy and a

22:41

misfortune that your sister has not known, she

22:44

recognizes in your eyes that

22:46

there are miracles in this

22:48

mortal world that you

22:50

as two spirits are so lucky

22:52

to have witnessed. She

22:56

turns her head from the song, kisses

22:58

you on both cheeks and puts the bridle in

23:00

your hands and says, if

23:05

I hurry back home, I'll

23:08

maybe be able to get another bite of

23:10

those pancakes before they're all gone. And

23:14

she smiles, touches your cheek and says, come

23:17

back soon. I

23:19

will see you again, sister. Bring

23:22

that wizard in that witch. And

23:25

you see, she smiles and turns

23:27

around to walk slowly back towards

23:29

the tree. I

23:32

watch until she's out of sight. Who

23:36

is? jungle,

24:01

but you're holding this golden

24:03

bridle and you see

24:06

that the jungle extends in all

24:08

directions, but the direction she looked

24:10

in and heard song, you

24:13

don't hear a song, but

24:16

you just see

24:18

that jungle, the

24:22

branches and the leaves, the vines.

24:27

Why do those trees look

24:30

just like little Ro Ro holding

24:33

onto such a big secret? I'm

24:38

going to use Divine Sense and

24:41

even though I can't hear it, I'll

24:44

begin to smell the air as I move

24:46

closer. You

24:48

use Divine Sense, you

24:52

arrive at

24:55

an area where the fronds of

24:57

jungle ferns leap up, the vines

24:59

hang low, your

25:01

Divine Sense picks up, you are

25:04

bordering the edge of the

25:06

spirit world here, knowing

25:09

that you are still forbidden

25:11

from crossing over, but you

25:13

are now touching it, touching

25:15

the outside of that barrier

25:18

which you cannot pass. There's

25:22

a sensation like touching that

25:25

barrier, you could not pass through it, but

25:27

you could walk along its edge. In

25:32

one direction along the

25:34

strange lines of the near spirit,

25:37

you smell deep,

25:39

rich, curdent green. The

25:44

blush of flowers, the poison

25:46

of thorns, the rattling

25:48

of insects, the stalking of

25:50

jungle creatures, thicket and brush

25:52

and life and venom and

25:54

anger and consumption and all

25:56

the wild things. You

26:01

hear the Russian of water? A

26:05

cold smell of

26:07

deep rot and

26:09

moss. Cold

26:13

and shadow in one way, and

26:16

the noise of running water passing

26:18

of time into another

26:22

wild and angry life. These

26:26

are the two directions you can move in. Do

26:30

you wish to move in one direction or

26:32

another with the information you have, or do

26:35

you wish to focus your divine sense even

26:37

more? I don't focus my

26:39

divine sense even more. Give me perception and

26:41

give me insight. Fourteen

26:46

perception, twelve insight.

26:50

On fourteen perception, you

26:53

don't sense any

26:56

other beasts or

26:58

spirits nearby. In

27:02

the direction of the sort of thicker

27:04

jungle, you just hear

27:06

wildlife, but still sense

27:08

that it is close to the spirit world. In

27:11

the direction of that running water, the shadows

27:14

grow a little longer, and

27:17

you hear the noise

27:20

of footsteps. Past

27:23

the shadows on the other side of

27:26

the stream, there is a road, and

27:28

one who walks down it. I'm

27:35

going to go the other way. Go ahead and give

27:37

me survival test. Natural

27:46

twenty. You

27:51

begin to move, and you've

27:54

never had the feeling that

27:56

a road was following you

27:58

before. You move quickly

28:00

through the jungle. And on

28:03

a nat 20, you become

28:05

a wild one,

28:07

truly bounding through the underbrush

28:09

and moving through the trees.

28:12

You move and move and move, birds and

28:14

jungle vine and trees following the

28:16

edge of spirit, the divine sense

28:18

moving. You touch

28:20

your breath in a way that you

28:22

didn't in your adolescence indeed use in

28:25

the sad and sorrowful days of being

28:27

a wanderer alone in a calm. You

28:30

are not without your breath anymore. And

28:32

even though you cannot pass through, you

28:34

will not swing wildly in the dark,

28:36

unaware of the borders of the land

28:38

of your earth. You stick

28:40

close to the spirit, close

28:42

to the home that you were

28:45

born in that repels you, but it

28:47

is not eluding you anymore. You stay

28:49

as close as you can to that

28:51

smell, that sensation, that something is coming.

28:53

And as you move through, the vines

28:56

give way and suddenly you smell. None.

29:02

The vine, not the fruit, not the strange

29:04

citrus of the tree, but you smell pine,

29:07

pine in the jungle. And that can't be right.

29:09

And you smell rosemary. And

29:11

all of a sudden, you

29:14

are standing in a

29:16

glade. And you look around

29:18

on all sides and

29:20

see Kudzu. First

29:24

on, having been running

29:26

on all fours, stands up and

29:30

is trying to tell if he's in a calm or

29:34

has crossed, like is looking back over the

29:36

path he's crossed and trying to figure out

29:38

if he's, what he

29:40

has, what has brought him to this

29:42

place? You

29:46

cannot be in a calm. That

29:49

would be impossible, right? Wouldn't it? It would

29:51

have to be. And then for a moment,

29:55

a logic that would infuriate

29:57

a human, but to

29:59

a spirit. it makes perfect sense. You

30:02

have not come to a calm. A

30:04

calm has come to you. And striding

30:08

from the trees is

30:10

Orima the reaching green. She

30:14

is beautiful, gorgeous.

30:18

She is a

30:20

small and fearsome woman.

30:24

Green leaves tied into her

30:26

hair that flow from behind

30:28

her, her green gown from

30:30

the statue in Port Talon.

30:32

She smiles and walks with

30:34

these massive eagle-like talons

30:36

on the ground. And where

30:39

she steps, the kudzu grows,

30:41

the green reaches. And you

30:43

see moving with her through

30:45

this place is

30:49

a gorgeous white

30:52

steed. A

30:54

horse that follows her with simply

30:57

a hand on its shoulder. I

31:01

think Ursulan's breath gets caught in his chest.

31:03

Uh, uh, uh, Orima,

31:07

uh, uh,

31:09

I'm gonna bow. She

31:13

looks up, she is so much shorter than

31:15

you. Homie is 5'1". She is like, I

31:18

get down on Wendy and we're at eye

31:20

level. And you're at eye level. Oh, 100%.

31:22

I like trying to get even lower. She,

31:24

she smiles, uh, and she weeps and the

31:31

tears that run down her cheek

31:33

are the blowing of

31:35

the rain along her cheek. And

31:37

she pats the

31:40

horse and she leans over

31:43

and embraces you so

31:46

strongly. And you feel that it

31:48

would be nothing for her to

31:50

snap your spine like a twig. Oh,

31:57

you so much.

32:01

Ursula leans back, weeping,

32:03

in case he went both cheeks, puts

32:06

your tiny little hands on either side of

32:08

your head and holds your face and goes,

32:12

I could not have known. You

32:16

wear my husband's sword well. I

32:19

am so glad to have him

32:21

home. Thank

32:24

you for giving me the chance to

32:26

wield it. The

32:29

chance was not given to you

32:31

by me, were it mine I would

32:33

have picked up the sword and wrought

32:39

terrors with it. The

32:42

Witch, the Witch

32:45

of Toma, tell

32:47

her that

32:50

my respect is given to precious

32:52

few, but it is

32:54

hers. Well,

32:58

it is her I aim to

33:00

see now. Is

33:03

that for... Did you... Is

33:06

that for me? Or do you just happen

33:08

to have a horse? She smiles.

33:12

Holloman, this beautiful

33:15

horse. His

33:18

business is his own, but

33:21

happy to make the introduction. You

33:24

see that she grins

33:27

ferociously and you see that

33:29

behind her kind of human

33:31

glamor teeth are rows and

33:33

rows of razor sharp teeth.

33:37

And she goes, brave

33:40

and bold. Thank

33:46

you. And she returns to the woods and

33:49

you are in a clearing with an

33:51

enormous white horse. Holloman,

33:56

nice to meet you. My

33:58

name is Ursulon. I

34:02

am headed to

34:04

the North Pole to

34:06

support my friends who

34:10

are meeting at a conclave of

34:12

witches. Give

34:14

me animal handling. Oh

34:17

my god. Sixteen.

34:21

The horse steps forward and looks at the sort

34:23

of look, nuzzles your

34:25

chest and the golden bridle in your hand.

34:30

I'll take that as agreement and

34:32

I'm gonna go to put it on.

34:35

Yes. You helped harness

34:38

the horse's back of the traveling circus for

34:40

Professor Adderley. Yes. You know how

34:42

to put a bridle in. As you

34:44

do, you see that as Holliman

34:47

opens his mouth, that at the

34:49

back of his throat, you

34:51

see there is a like bit

34:54

of light almost as of sunlight.

34:56

And you realize that this

34:58

horse has an almost like solar

35:01

quality. His hooves glow

35:03

almost like a quartz

35:05

crystal lamp, like light coming through

35:08

translucent stone. A very

35:10

subtle effect from even ten feet away.

35:12

This is just like a very beautiful

35:15

white horse. But you can tell this

35:17

is like yourself, a being

35:19

not of the world of Umora. This

35:21

is a horse that was given perhaps

35:23

to Urima as a gift from some

35:26

lord or lady of the sun itself

35:28

in ages long past and

35:30

now stands in this clearing and accepts

35:33

a golden bridle and a new rider.

35:37

I'm gonna mount up. Holliman,

35:42

do you know which way is north?

35:51

Up. Up. Down.

35:54

Down. Down. Down.

36:00

You race through

36:02

trees and deserts, mountains and fields.

36:11

What? They whizz past your

36:13

face. You are holding on for dear life.

36:15

You can barely see objects as they

36:17

pass with the speed of the

36:19

stallions that now surges forward underneath

36:21

you. And we'll just cut back

36:23

to Susie and Ami. Amazing!

36:26

Oh my god!

36:34

A peer of

36:36

constructed snow hangs over

36:39

the cliff's edge. Looking

36:43

at the front gate of

36:45

the palace of the Witch of

36:47

Wind and Stars as the meridian

36:50

slowly hovering pulls

36:53

to dock at its

36:55

port of call. The top

36:57

of the wall? Ami.

37:02

The fox at your side? You

37:04

look and see the Citadel

37:06

ship docking. And

37:10

joining you in the threshold of her

37:12

palace is Indri, who

37:15

beholds the ship. The

37:19

spirit beside her, Ara, who

37:22

has this sort of, again, sharp,

37:26

glassy, snowy physique

37:29

with a sort

37:32

of crackling aurora borealis atop

37:34

her head and Costa,

37:36

the bear, gathered behind

37:38

Indri as well. As

37:43

Indri looks at the ship docking

37:45

and goes, My

37:49

goodness, how very

37:51

forward. You

37:54

see that she turns

37:56

to you, Ami, and says,

38:00

Did you know that these

38:03

wizards were coming? Well,

38:06

I imagine that that would be part

38:08

of my retinue. Though

38:12

I did not know what

38:15

manner they would arrive in,

38:17

they are certainly ostentatious. Suvi,

38:23

describe for me how the

38:25

Citadel disembarks from the meridian.

38:28

Hell yeah. Yeah,

38:31

I think the sort

38:33

of door to this gondola,

38:35

the boat, the living quarters,

38:37

opens up. And

38:40

instead of that rose bladder,

38:43

just a series of steps

38:47

of not bright

38:49

enough light, where it's

38:52

just a little bit of dimness in

38:54

a place that is like dark, appears

38:57

and she simply walks down these

39:00

staircase with no time to be.

39:03

Are you accompanied by

39:06

any other

39:08

members of the crew or are you heading out

39:10

solo for this first? I

39:13

think five steps behind

39:15

me. Once it is, I

39:18

am here, staff in hand, the

39:21

reason, like I'm the person that is

39:23

supposed to be walking out and then

39:25

behind me are, let's

39:28

say three of my retinue. My

39:30

squad are going to be following

39:32

like thereafter, but keeping a respectful

39:35

distance until we are

39:37

all allowed to join on me.

39:40

Give me an arcana

39:42

check in this moment.

39:49

Easy magical law. You

39:52

were not expecting a pier here. The pier

39:54

of snow that has been conjured in the

39:56

approach of this ship, whether

39:58

intentionally or not. No. Constitutes

40:02

an invitation, an extension

40:04

of hospitality, and by

40:06

magical law, standing on

40:08

that pier were any harm to come to

40:11

you. It wouldn't be a violation for a

40:13

wizard to fuck with you, but as far

40:15

as witches are concerned, a witch would be

40:17

able to consider an assault while

40:20

standing on that pier a violation. Because

40:22

it was an extended- by even creating

40:24

it, it is the extension of an

40:26

invitation. Now, if a

40:28

witch would extend their sort of

40:31

rules to a wizard, that

40:33

is unclear. But fundamentally,

40:35

you feel like as long as

40:37

your crew is standing on this

40:39

pier, you are standing

40:42

on Terra Firma, magically speaking.

40:44

You're not trespassing. Copy.

40:47

Then, yeah, I will have them- like, there's

40:49

that mixture of respect of it might be

40:51

safer to stay on the staircase or stay

40:54

on the ship, but there's a show of

40:56

like- I

40:58

acknowledge that this is an act of

41:00

like, hospitality, and we will trust you

41:02

in this moment to stand on the

41:04

ground you provided. So they'll stay back

41:06

at the bottom of the staircase, but

41:08

not like, cross over to

41:11

where I'm gonna go, like, and meet with Amey

41:13

and Indri. Your

41:16

crew of three marches behind you.

41:18

To descend, there is a moment

41:21

where the wind whips and the

41:23

snow curls around Suvi's robes

41:26

and staff as you walk down

41:28

a railingless staircase onto the pier,

41:30

the ship of the Citadel behind you. You

41:34

are the first wizard to bear

41:36

this mark of the Citadel's authority

41:38

for the very top of the

41:40

world. As

41:43

you walk along the pier, your

41:45

wizards stop five

41:47

paces behind you as

41:50

you approach the edge of the pier. Do

41:53

you continue or stop here

41:55

at the edge? The-

41:58

there's probably another- 40

42:00

paces to the opening door of the

42:02

palace with entry and amé within it.

42:06

I'll stop and then

42:09

a little bit

42:11

of like, it's not flashy

42:13

magic but just the understanding that

42:17

it is because it makes things easier

42:19

and it is effortless for me to

42:21

do so, I will just magically boost

42:23

the volume of my voice so I'm

42:26

not shouting. My name is Sten.

42:29

I take the

42:31

art and age of the program and

42:34

advise us to honour the wish of the

42:36

world heart. I

42:39

am pleased to meet you. Here

42:41

comes the... Injury

42:46

looks out and says, permission

42:51

is not granted by me to

42:54

enter into my home. No

42:57

invitation to this gathering was extended to

42:59

the citadel in this regard and

43:01

as an emissary of the citadel, I

43:04

do not offer my permission to you

43:06

to come. Amé, give

43:08

me a arcana

43:11

or insight check. 14

43:14

on insight. There's

43:17

a very complicated series of magical

43:19

events happening here. There is no

43:21

malice in injury's voice. Suvi

43:24

is bearing the staff of the citadel. She's

43:26

here on a citadel sky ship. Sly

43:29

told you that permission to come

43:31

here would be refused. It's

43:34

a complex thing that's happening here. Suvi

43:37

had to ask permission for the host

43:39

of this, for the mistress

43:41

of this palace to come here. The

43:43

mistress cannot extend permission because Suvi is

43:45

here in the guise of a representative

43:47

of the citadel and she cannot permit

43:49

the citadel to be here. There's

43:52

a weird impasse but it's incumbent

43:54

on you to find

43:56

some other way through this

43:58

in this moment. like, injury's

44:01

got no beef with Suvi, but she can't allow

44:03

the Citadel. Yeah. Suvi's got no beef with injury,

44:05

but she has to represent the Citadel. And she

44:07

has to ask permission to come because it's

44:10

the witch's palace. So you're watching

44:12

a knot of magical

44:15

interactions based on the law of

44:17

how wizards and witches interact tie

44:19

itself right in front of you.

44:21

Heh heh. Anything

44:23

even from that far away. There's just that

44:25

little bit of a head turn that you

44:27

know I've gone from looking sort of generally

44:31

in the direction of the open door

44:33

to you specifically. Wizard,

44:36

sky, may I present you

44:38

injury? Witch of the wind

44:40

and stars? Um...

44:44

Injury. Sister, I

44:46

was told that a

44:49

retinue of mine would be granted permission

44:53

to join us here. At

44:55

the council. Is

44:58

that correct? I

45:01

cannot deny a sister her retinue.

45:06

And yet I do see the delicate

45:08

position you are in in regards to

45:10

Suvi. I

45:13

hear quote representing the Citadel.

45:16

Suvi is my

45:18

oldest friend. A

45:21

true friend. And I

45:23

don't believe that she comes here as an

45:25

emissary of the Citadel, but rather as

45:28

a friend to me. If

45:33

you wish to invite your friend, the

45:35

wizard sky, to

45:37

this conclave, then by

45:39

all means you should invite

45:42

her. Have

45:44

I your permission to extend that

45:47

invitation? She smiles as

45:49

you've solved the riddle and you see

45:51

she says you have my permission to

45:53

invite your retinue to this conclave. Thank

45:57

you, sister. Come

46:00

on in! See

46:02

that the injury, see as

46:04

Amey yells, come on in. She

46:08

goes to put two fingers to the

46:10

bridge of her nose and then adjusts

46:13

an eyebrow. That's... Oh. I'm

46:15

not. Do I hear

46:17

in that invitation and the lack

46:20

of specificity just for Suvi that

46:22

I can extend that to my

46:24

people too? They

46:27

can approach the gate safely. Do you think

46:29

that there's a follow? The formalities have been

46:31

observed and you can actually go talk to

46:34

injury now. Okay. As

46:36

you approach, three wizards come behind you. I

46:39

think probably it's straw is

46:41

amongst them. Yes, absolutely. As

46:44

you approach, you walk up

46:46

and you see smiling at you is

46:49

the witch of the wind and stars. I'm

46:52

gonna need a wisdom saving throw. Yeah, dude! Okay,

46:56

13. Okay.

47:01

There is nothing about this that is going to be a compelled

47:04

magical effect. You do fail

47:06

the saving throw. But

47:09

all that that effectively means is

47:13

you were seeing her in silhouette and

47:15

as she steps back at your approach,

47:17

the sconces on either side of the

47:19

great doors illuminate her

47:21

for the first time and

47:23

you see her smiling at your approach and

47:28

you see endless competence,

47:34

skill, poise, mastery.

47:38

You see, she looks at you and

47:40

makes eye contact. Her ruby red

47:43

lips curve into a secret smile

47:45

made in all the world only

47:47

for you to say

47:49

that in this moment, she recognizes

47:51

something in you that

47:53

she shares as well. As

47:57

you approach, your

47:59

decisions are yours. your own, the magic

48:01

does not rob you of any ability

48:03

to comport yourself however you wish. Just

48:06

simply know that this

48:09

person holds

48:11

those qualities that you find

48:13

most desirous. For

48:16

36 hours, Suvi has been putting

48:18

away emotion and building

48:24

around her and around the

48:26

heartbreak and disappointment

48:29

in the manner of her

48:31

true friends leaving. Trying

48:33

to guard emotion

48:36

and present a colder and starker

48:38

front than she ever had. The

48:41

teal is gone from her hair, it is

48:44

snow white as are her eyebrows,

48:46

as her eyelashes. She is a

48:50

creature of black and white and has

48:52

been hard and cold up

48:54

until the moment where she sees

48:56

it angry. I think she can

48:58

feel that little like, oh, as

49:01

emotion leaks through in a way

49:03

she just absolutely didn't expect. Okay,

49:08

go ahead and give me a little deception roll. I

49:10

have a 15. I have a 21 passive insight.

49:17

Down bad and it's not... yeah.

49:23

Suvi, as you approach the

49:26

down badness there

49:29

is nothing about this that is oppressive,

49:31

it doesn't throw you off your rhythm.

49:34

Everything about her is an invitation to

49:36

meet her gaze. So there's a moment

49:38

as you're approaching, I think, Ami, you

49:40

can sort of see the stirring of

49:43

something. And it's also made the clearer

49:45

because one of the wizards behind you

49:47

rolled a Nat 1 and

49:50

is like slightly fucking pitched

49:52

forward. It's

49:55

basically like... every wolf. Yeah, hitting themselves

49:57

in the head with a fucking hammer.

50:00

As Snow Queen, Fairy Tail, Witch Queen

50:03

of the fucking Norse. But

50:05

you see that as you

50:07

approach the golden light of the fire

50:09

in the Great Hall beyond, you

50:13

see that injury

50:17

regards you, says, Wizard

50:21

Sky, I am injury, Witch

50:23

of the Wind and Stars. I

50:26

have never had a mage of

50:28

the Citadel cross the threshold of my palace.

50:31

Do you find that I

50:34

have made a mistake in this regard, and

50:36

I have lost some

50:38

grand company from my time here

50:40

in the frozen north? I

50:45

think there's that problem of when

50:47

you first realize, like, a

50:49

feeling, and then you spend too

50:52

much time in your own head, like, what

50:54

is going on? She's talked too long,

50:56

and didn't hear what she said. And

50:59

then just by the end, I think

51:01

she just is smirking and nodding, didn't

51:03

really catch what was, like, an opportunity

51:05

for suave-ness has absolutely been bypassed as

51:08

C.B. is just like, whatever's

51:10

happening, I'm... What?

51:12

Yeah? What? She...

51:17

The lip-repair right now is life! Lamei

51:22

does not roll her eyes, but... Well,

51:29

the Wizard Sky is very

51:32

much a

51:34

shining example of the kind

51:36

of company that the Citadel

51:39

has. I

51:41

think that's enough, because I'm

51:44

not gonna roll to catch the, like, fade on

51:46

that one, and I think C.B. just kind of

51:48

snaps and looks over, and then kind

51:50

of remembers herself again.

51:53

You see that Indri looks at you,

51:55

Lamei, and says, Oh, I

51:57

think that the Wizard Sky is perfectly capable of

51:59

speaking first. self-sister, but thank you

52:01

for your explanation, and

52:03

turns to regard you and says,

52:07

The manner of your ship and the

52:10

magic of your garments,

52:13

I find extraordinary. It

52:15

is a

52:17

difference in the

52:20

retinue of this new witch of the world's

52:22

heart. Ren,

52:24

my sister who has since passed, was

52:27

a treasured

52:30

member of this coven, but

52:33

did not, in

52:35

her comings and goings in the world, bring people

52:37

with such a... I'll

52:41

be plain. A stylish

52:43

couture. Apologies

52:45

for the pomp, but there is

52:47

no universe in which I would

52:49

try to hide who

52:51

I was from you, I know better

52:54

than to attempt to deceive a witch. She

52:59

smiles and nods. Oh,

53:01

God, you're... Suvi is just like, every time she blinks,

53:03

Suvi just gets that little bit of like, breathe now.

53:06

Ah. Ah, me. Would

53:10

you name any other members of your

53:12

retinue here? Those

53:15

whom the wizard Sky sees fit to

53:17

invite in, I trust as well. So

53:22

you cannot name them? Uh,

53:27

oh, you bet. These

53:29

wizards behind the wizard Sky are unfamiliar

53:31

to you. Oh, oh, you would like

53:33

an introduction to them, of course. Stop

53:37

it. Why didn't

53:39

their eyes look back or wits

53:41

their head back over to Suvi? She

53:44

turns to you, Suvi,

53:47

and says, it seems that my

53:50

sister is unfamiliar with those

53:53

who now accompany you. Can

53:58

you offer me some guarantees? of

54:02

their behavior while guests in my

54:04

palace. Those

54:07

that I bring with me would

54:10

never dare bring

54:13

harm to you or any of your

54:16

coven or any of your

54:18

people here. A

54:21

beautiful promise. I

54:23

would ask for some collateral, should

54:26

the promise be broken. There's

54:30

like a brief glance over to Ame.

54:34

Less of unsureness and more of

54:36

Suvi realizing like the negotiation is

54:38

happening right now. Suvi

54:41

would like to meet status with

54:43

status but remembers herself as an

54:45

advisor and secondary to Ame so

54:47

is giving time and space

54:50

for Ame to interject. Apologies,

54:52

Indri, but traditionally

54:55

where... With

54:58

Grandmother Ren, a promise

55:01

made to a witch is a

55:03

binding in more

55:05

ways than just verbally. It's

55:09

a promise to our station. Oh,

55:13

of course. Is

55:15

that not true for your domain?

55:20

No, no, quite true. I

55:22

am extending a courtesy. The

55:24

collateral could be collected on my

55:28

terms, but I am extending the

55:30

courtesy to allow the wizard sky

55:32

the opportunity to name what

55:34

I will take if the promise is broken. Ah,

55:37

I see, I see. What's

55:39

very generous of you? I'm

55:44

not sure how much you know

55:46

about the priorities and

55:49

predilections of wizards, but

55:52

I would offer you a thing

55:54

that is most precious to me. And

55:57

I'm going to take off my,

55:59

uh... My father's friends

56:04

and very obviously like an arcane

56:06

focus like this is where my

56:08

magic begins. She

56:13

takes the ring, beholds

56:15

it, sees

56:18

emerald rings on

56:20

the hands of your other

56:22

wizard companions but meets

56:24

your gaze and knows that

56:28

this in a sea of

56:31

rings forged in the

56:33

same furnace that

56:35

you would find this one. She

56:39

gives the small gaze upon

56:41

the gemstone and frost spreads across

56:44

the emerald and vanishes as she

56:46

hands it back to you.

56:50

In my palace it is

56:53

mine but I will it

56:55

on your finger. Should

56:58

you break the promise or

57:00

your companions that you bring to

57:02

this place you will come and

57:05

take it. Understood.

57:10

And again same to you. She

57:13

smiles. Well.

57:17

More seats, more cider. And.

57:21

At the same time. At the

57:24

same time. Amé

57:27

just lets out a

57:29

breath that she did not know she was holding. In

57:33

all the ways that you've noticed Suvi,

57:37

the effect that injury is having

57:39

on Suvi, you can

57:41

feel how much Suvi is holding herself

57:43

away from you and doesn't even look

57:46

over as you sigh. I

57:54

hope you had a good

57:58

trip. I

58:00

hope you did too. I

58:04

hope it was worth it. And

58:06

that you are well. You

58:10

look... right.

58:15

Thank you. I know how

58:17

important this is to you. Telephoscopy.

58:21

I start screaming to the fox. Fox!

58:25

Fox! Uh, Suvi's here. Suvi's

58:27

here. Uh,

58:29

Suvi, as you see this, in

58:31

the moment that that interaction fades, there's a

58:34

small pause, and then you hear off in

58:36

the distance, WHAT?! verbally, out loud, and

58:39

the fox just skids 200

58:41

feet just WOOO

58:44

across the icy floor. Um... Heh

58:47

heh. Uh, and you see the

58:49

fox runs over, goes, Boss,

58:51

what's up? You talking about a mind? To... Uh,

58:55

yeah. Um... I...

58:59

I gesture towards Suvi. Great!

59:03

New clothes?! Suvi

59:06

just observes this, like this is a...

59:09

Like, just shut off even on the fox. Uh...

59:13

What's going on? Um... Uh...

59:15

You wanna talk in the... in the mind? Cause

59:18

you said something in the mind? Oh, uh, uh, uh, uh,

59:20

uh, uh, uh, uh, yeah, uh, yeah, uh, uh... Do

59:22

you mind talking? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, sure. Okay.

59:25

The fox sits down on his haunches with his four legs extended

59:28

and just stares into the middle of the... Ha ha ha!

59:30

What do you don't have? In

59:32

your mind, you hear the fox go, I'm speaking to

59:34

you in your mind. You don't have to preface it

59:37

with that every time. We've been on this, but... Okay.

59:40

Yeah, okay. Uh, I...

59:44

I have never felt more... Ah, ah! Out

59:48

of my element, and Suvi's still really,

59:50

really mad at me and probably

59:52

at you because she thinks I'm

59:54

you, you're me, and

59:57

I don't know what to do. So,

1:00:02

uh, just act real cute

1:00:04

to Suzy. Maybe that'll

1:00:06

soften her up. You

1:00:09

think that'll work? Yeah! Okay.

1:00:13

You see the fox stops staring at the middle

1:00:15

of the distance, looks up at you and says, Uh,

1:00:18

Skye! And

1:00:20

he... It's really hard for

1:00:22

a quadruped. You think he's trying to do

1:00:25

a somersault. Eh, shut up! He

1:00:28

goes one, just two. He goes, oof,

1:00:31

dizzy. Okay, hold on. That's

1:00:34

another one? Alright, here we go. I'm

1:00:37

just hiding in the throat. Hold on. Okay.

1:00:40

Another one. Um, I guess you're

1:00:42

familiar, Unwell. Uh, no.

1:00:44

He is... He missed you.

1:00:48

May we come inside? Uh, yes,

1:00:50

please. Uh, come in. You

1:00:54

and your fellow wizards move behind

1:00:56

you. Um, you see that Ara,

1:00:58

the spirit of the sort of

1:01:01

northern ice spirit, appears, uh,

1:01:03

and looks at all of you and says, I

1:01:06

am given to understand that your rings are

1:01:08

the center of your casting.

1:01:12

Eh. She manifests

1:01:16

a beautiful silver stand, almost like

1:01:18

a vase or something like that,

1:01:20

and gestures and says, For your

1:01:22

walking stays. I'm gonna look over

1:01:24

at Ame. Oh,

1:01:26

I believe that

1:01:28

they have an

1:01:32

importance to them

1:01:34

that should be

1:01:37

respected, given the

1:01:40

dew that, uh, would

1:01:42

be extended to any of my retinue. Ara

1:01:46

turns to you and says, These

1:01:50

staves are to be placed within

1:01:53

the receptacle, unless it

1:01:55

is possible to. And you see she gestures to

1:01:58

the crest of the citadel on the ground. top

1:02:00

of the staves, which you think is

1:02:02

the operative part

1:02:04

here. But you

1:02:06

also can tell looking at her that she's not

1:02:09

aware that you have the ability to disguise the

1:02:11

staves. Yeah. Just

1:02:13

looking at this stand,

1:02:17

can I do any sort of just like

1:02:20

sizing up to see, is this

1:02:23

just a place for these to

1:02:25

go? Or is there any sort

1:02:27

of like magical detection about to

1:02:31

happen on our year? Give

1:02:35

me our comment.

1:02:40

This is not enchanted the thing in front of you.

1:02:42

This is a place to hold your staves. But

1:02:44

you do think that some magic

1:02:46

has maybe already happened to detect

1:02:48

some of the magic on the

1:02:50

staves you are carrying. The main

1:02:52

thing that you think is going

1:02:54

on is, and I think right

1:02:57

now no one has any other symbols of

1:02:59

the citadel on their person except for the

1:03:01

emblem on the staves, right? You're kind of

1:03:03

in the winter gear. You're

1:03:06

not wearing your standard uniform. There's no like

1:03:08

Azure battalion stuff going on here. So

1:03:11

you think it's just about not

1:03:13

having the symbol of the citadel

1:03:15

move farther into the palace? Okay.

1:03:19

And if mine specifically is the one... Yeah.

1:03:21

So it's just sort of mine doing this.

1:03:23

Yes. Then with

1:03:26

just a little sigh, pushing

1:03:28

a little petulance that's

1:03:31

not meant at Ara

1:03:33

or Ame specifically, but just sort of...

1:03:38

She'll tap very lightly her staff

1:03:41

on the ground and have it disguise

1:03:43

itself as this. Disguise itself once again

1:03:45

and saying like plain wooden staves. Ara,

1:03:50

look at this

1:03:52

moment where you have kind

1:03:54

of... It was sort of like, here's a

1:03:56

polite place to store your walking stick and

1:03:58

you solve the problem. that was unspoken.

1:04:00

And so there's a moment of Ara kind

1:04:02

of being shown up a little bit as

1:04:04

she goes, Ah,

1:04:08

um, my

1:04:10

apologies. And takes the, for

1:04:13

the holding vase and like moves it away.

1:04:15

And you continue

1:04:18

into this place towards the fire. I

1:04:20

think before Ara moves

1:04:23

all the way away, I

1:04:26

do my best to

1:04:28

not be that discreet at

1:04:31

looking at the wizard's straw

1:04:34

and her staff before

1:04:36

like giving a small shake of her head and then

1:04:38

like moving past in

1:04:40

a while. The wizard's straw

1:04:43

nods and confirms to you as you

1:04:45

guys continue inward. Um, as

1:04:48

you venture further inward, you arrive at

1:04:50

the table. There are more seats

1:04:53

there. Uh, and injury

1:04:55

smiles, uh, looking and says, A

1:05:00

handy bit of magic and I appreciate

1:05:02

the understanding. I

1:05:05

meant no disrespect. You

1:05:07

offered none. Uh,

1:05:10

she smiles and says, I am

1:05:12

afraid I must withdraw. My study

1:05:15

requires some attention for

1:05:18

the moment. However, I

1:05:21

would be more than happy

1:05:23

to make sure that you

1:05:25

are appointed to quarters

1:05:27

becoming of your station, wizard sky.

1:05:32

And for you, my sister, Aimee,

1:05:36

our room is always kept for the witch of the

1:05:38

world's heart in my palace. That

1:05:41

is so thoughtful of you.

1:05:43

Thank you. Of course. Ara,

1:05:47

if you would show our

1:05:50

friends the retinue of the

1:05:52

wizard sky to the silver

1:05:54

ramparts, chambers and Costa. Um,

1:05:56

I believe that the archmage apprentice should be appointed to the the

1:06:00

Tower of the Crescent Moon. And

1:06:04

Kosta can also show you to the Cape of the

1:06:06

World's Heart. Thank you.

1:06:10

If there's any way that we can assist you in

1:06:12

your study or help

1:06:14

prepare for the rest of our sisters, please

1:06:17

let us know. But

1:06:20

of course, my study

1:06:22

is not related

1:06:25

to the business of the conclave.

1:06:27

It is simply that in this

1:06:29

hour, there are some auspicious movements

1:06:31

of the stars that require some

1:06:33

recording. Oh. Well,

1:06:37

even though it does not relate to the

1:06:39

conclave at the moment, I still very much

1:06:41

enjoy looking at the celestial

1:06:43

bodies of the stars. You

1:06:48

see she smiles and says, perhaps

1:06:51

some conversation when the time is

1:06:53

right closer to the arrival of our sisters. It

1:06:56

is a fascinating thing, the movements

1:06:58

of the stars. There is

1:07:00

an overlap, I think, between the movements

1:07:03

of the natural world and the

1:07:06

beautiful geometries of your

1:07:08

calling, Wizard Sky. Eye contact,

1:07:10

see if he has a flushed bright red. You

1:07:13

see, Indri says, see them

1:07:16

now. Kosta, see them

1:07:18

taken care of. And she

1:07:21

moves away as Kosta sort of plods.

1:07:24

And now both of you are walking

1:07:26

on a sky bridge suspended in between

1:07:28

two towers. It's like 150 foot long.

1:07:32

There are giant glass windows,

1:07:34

golden torches sputtering in between

1:07:36

these huge bay windows that

1:07:38

overlook a massive courtyard of

1:07:40

snow and ice in this

1:07:42

multi-heat, multi-tower palace spanning over

1:07:44

these triple peaks of the

1:07:46

highest mountain in the world.

1:07:48

And you're just looking down

1:07:51

at snow and wind and

1:07:53

endless drops into infinite crevasses as

1:07:55

a polar bear walks along this elevated

1:07:58

sky bridge, the sort of like. Tower

1:08:00

passageway sky bridge between two towers

1:08:03

And you're like 30 feet behind a polar

1:08:06

bear walking side by side the Fox kind of plotting

1:08:08

on the other side of Ami You

1:08:11

could have had a bear I

1:08:15

Potentially yes, although I

1:08:17

don't know how I would have been

1:08:19

able to summon a polar bear back

1:08:22

in Oh

1:08:26

Think the moment you begin like speaking

1:08:28

see we didn't realize that she like said a

1:08:30

casual thing out loud And it's just going to

1:08:33

kind of nod at the end of your sentence

1:08:35

and remember How

1:08:37

she wants to be and feel right

1:08:39

now Are

1:08:42

you well has has

1:08:44

the rest of your coven

1:08:46

arrived? I'm

1:08:49

quite well and No,

1:08:53

my sisters have yet to arrive

1:08:57

and bear We

1:08:59

are waiting for his

1:09:02

arrival as well were

1:09:05

you separated Shortly

1:09:12

after spirit

1:09:14

out so after

1:09:16

I we

1:09:21

Were separated from you Hmm

1:09:26

Do you know if he's okay, I

1:09:29

don't know we've contacted

1:09:31

him I'm

1:09:35

here because I don't

1:09:37

want anything Dyer

1:09:40

to happen to you They

1:09:42

know what to take But

1:09:45

if in the manner of your leaving any

1:09:48

harm came To

1:09:51

bear I will never forgive

1:09:53

you and I

1:09:55

need you to know that I

1:10:00

have that, uh, covered

1:10:02

on my own too, yes. Do

1:10:07

you have any idea of

1:10:10

what you want to do or how you want

1:10:12

this to go? No, no, I don't. Uh...

1:10:16

Um... Uh, uh, perhaps

1:10:18

since you get settled in your chambers we can convene,

1:10:21

uh, and you can help. There's

1:10:23

nothing to settle we can speak at

1:10:25

your earliest convenience. Then

1:10:29

to have an advisory meeting,

1:10:33

perhaps. Whatever

1:10:35

you need, Witch

1:10:38

of the World's Heart. You

1:10:43

arrive at the Tower of the Crescent Moon, beautifully

1:10:46

appointed tower in

1:10:48

the icy palace of the Witch of the Wind and

1:10:50

Stars. Costa

1:10:55

shows you the double doors inlaid

1:10:57

with silver runes, the white of

1:10:59

the ice framed

1:11:02

in beautiful curling flourishes

1:11:05

of magical silver. Here

1:11:11

he moves to wait

1:11:13

to accompany Ame further to her

1:11:15

keep, but leaves you here in this moment

1:11:17

to enter your chambers. I

1:11:22

will pass through the doors but immediately

1:11:24

turn around and give a small nod

1:11:27

of, like, thanks and understanding. How

1:11:30

best may

1:11:32

I make my way to the

1:11:35

apartments of the Witch of the World's Heart? Costa

1:11:41

turns and says, if

1:11:44

you wish you couldn't follow the rest of the way,

1:11:46

I will show you to the door of her

1:11:49

keep. Thank you. walkway

1:12:00

and you actually go down a staircase

1:12:02

and go back out into the cold

1:12:04

and freezing once again to

1:12:06

go across sort of an outdoor courtyard to

1:12:11

the giant doors of a smaller

1:12:13

more humble keep of the great

1:12:15

keeps of the palace that you

1:12:17

see has a little

1:12:20

hanging wicker charm with

1:12:23

a red ribbon around it on the

1:12:25

door you recognize as the handy work

1:12:27

of grandmother Ren hostess

1:12:32

says here i will take

1:12:34

my leave welcome to

1:12:36

the palace of

1:12:38

the witch wind and stars and

1:12:40

he moves into the snow and

1:12:42

you are both in a courtyard you

1:12:45

look around and see in this courtyard a

1:12:48

number of icy statues much

1:12:50

like the trees below in

1:12:52

the valley the

1:12:54

statues are partially covered in snow

1:12:58

ranging in size some small

1:13:00

perhaps as children others

1:13:02

enormous a monolith by the side

1:13:04

of the keep covered

1:13:07

like the foot of a glacier

1:13:09

in snow but with a sharp

1:13:11

overhang in promontory some

1:13:13

statues farther away in the shadow

1:13:16

of the palace's walls and others

1:13:18

coming within mere feet of

1:13:20

the entrance in the keep of the world's heart

1:13:25

but their postures are

1:13:27

extravagant and dramatic you see

1:13:29

some of them are like

1:13:32

warriors leaping forward

1:13:34

with like weapons of ice and

1:13:36

howls of insane rage and anger

1:13:38

you see others look

1:13:40

to be wizards or witches

1:13:42

that are covering their face

1:13:45

with their hands in fear

1:13:47

or panic you see that there

1:13:49

is one statue in the middle

1:13:52

of a beautiful woman long hair

1:13:54

blowing ice in the breeze frozen

1:13:57

statue of ice who stands gazing

1:13:59

straight ahead head in a

1:14:01

stoic and solemn sorrow. I'd

1:14:05

like to see where you

1:14:07

check on these, um, evens.

1:14:11

I, uh, perception? Yeah,

1:14:13

do perception. I'd like to assist

1:14:15

because I think I know what she's trying to

1:14:17

glean. What

1:14:20

interestingly specific poses? Shock

1:14:24

and terror. Yeah. Classic things

1:14:26

to do. Yeah. You

1:14:33

look and behold.

1:14:38

Statues. Statues.

1:14:42

Statues. I

1:14:45

think you both know what you're looking at. As

1:14:49

you turn to look at each other in this

1:14:52

courtyard, a garden of

1:14:55

frozen figures, the

1:14:57

fox pipes up and says,

1:15:00

so we don't know where Ursulan is. Oh,

1:15:04

he's dead. Now,

1:15:06

why would you say that? Look at this

1:15:08

freaky. Look at all this stuff. We're

1:15:11

so bad here. Look at all these

1:15:13

frozen, frozen people. Yeah. Okay.

1:15:15

Uh, let me, okay. Let

1:15:18

me give you a little lesson

1:15:20

about first appearances. When

1:15:24

you're someone like the witch

1:15:27

of the wind at stars, you

1:15:31

make yourself a

1:15:33

big castle, but might as

1:15:36

well be just the outside with a roof on

1:15:38

it and statues

1:15:40

of what were clearly

1:15:42

people that got turned

1:15:45

into ice. And,

1:15:47

um, you have

1:15:49

a bunch of highfalutin

1:15:52

servants and things and just a

1:15:55

way about you. And

1:15:57

that's meant to make you feel a certain

1:15:59

way. certain way, you know, like how in

1:16:01

the wild, how there are some animals where you're

1:16:03

like, oh, those are really

1:16:05

bright feathers. I want to eat that. It's

1:16:09

trick. Yes, Fox. It's

1:16:11

very important to not judge things before

1:16:13

you get to know them or

1:16:16

experience them. I don't know

1:16:18

what you're referring to. I've made a lot of

1:16:20

mistakes in the last week or so. Okay. And

1:16:22

so just, you can just what?

1:16:24

Tell it to me. Tell it to me. What

1:16:27

do you want me to say? I

1:16:30

brought you into my home to nurse

1:16:32

you back to health after the coma

1:16:34

that you put yourself in after

1:16:36

steel offered to assist with the breaking

1:16:39

of the curse. You were down for

1:16:41

a month. We had time to talk.

1:16:44

And then when you decided it was time to leave, you

1:16:46

had no compunction, destroying and

1:16:49

wreaking havoc in my home in your

1:16:51

efforts to leave, even though she was

1:16:53

on her way. And

1:16:57

you had no reason to do to

1:16:59

believe anything other

1:17:01

than that her and my intentions

1:17:06

were. All we've

1:17:08

ever done is help you. And

1:17:10

now I've, I am here. I've crossed

1:17:13

the world and risked my life

1:17:16

again for

1:17:18

you. And you still can't

1:17:21

get that smart ass little tone

1:17:23

about wizards out of your fucking

1:17:25

mouth. But yes, continue

1:17:28

to preach about not judging

1:17:30

the witch on

1:17:32

first appearances. Is

1:17:36

that what you wanted me to say? The

1:17:41

Fox is so still in this

1:17:43

moment that

1:17:45

the snow has a chance to

1:17:47

almost fully cover him. As

1:17:51

he stares ahead, this is the first

1:17:53

time you've ever seen an expression on

1:17:55

the witch is familiar of pure admonishment.

1:17:58

And while the fox perhaps cannot. feel

1:18:00

guilt or regret. There is a

1:18:02

moment of stunned

1:18:04

prey animal silence

1:18:08

in Suvi's castigation that rings out

1:18:10

in this place, that

1:18:13

is broken only by

1:18:16

the thunder of hooves and the coming of the sun. Ursulon,

1:18:23

in the scatter of snow, please describe

1:18:25

the manner of your arrival in this

1:18:27

courtyard. There

1:18:30

is the sound of hooves and then

1:18:32

just a... Oh!

1:18:34

Oh! Go! Go! Skye! Over! Oh!

1:18:38

Oh! Oh! God! Oh! You

1:18:49

see, a massive white

1:18:51

horse stands before you,

1:18:53

Ursulon astride it, and for

1:18:56

the first time in

1:18:59

centuries, the

1:19:02

ice melts and four hoof prints glow

1:19:05

as the stone of the courtyard

1:19:07

is revealed underneath, revealing

1:19:10

the ancient curls of

1:19:13

stone, written with the words

1:19:15

of the very first witch of the

1:19:17

world's heart. And

1:19:19

that's where we'll end this episode of The Wizard,

1:19:21

the Witch, and the Wild One. That

1:19:47

was Lou Wilson as Ursulon,

1:19:49

Erika Ishii as Ame, Abriya

1:19:51

Iyengar as Suvi, and Brennan

1:19:54

Lee Mulligan as everyone and

1:19:56

everything else. The

1:19:58

world's beyond number is endless. designed and

1:20:01

scored by Taylor Moore at

1:20:03

Fortunate Horse with additional sound

1:20:05

designed from Michael Gelfie Studios.

1:20:08

For even more like this, join us

1:20:10

on our Patreon. We'll see

1:20:12

you there. you