The Twofold Houses 5: Rebuilding

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"It isn't just Ambrosia, Sakura. This is quite common knowledge back home." Cessie pauses. "You want me to invent a way." She states, matter-of-factly.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

"Um, well, maybe. I'm not really sure..." Sakura crosses her arms over her belly, the very picture of uncertainty. "What do you think? I'm fine with the consequences of my own choice, but I don't want it to affect anyone else past how it affects me."

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

Cessie gives Sakura a firm look. "Did you come to me to hear my opinion, or for me to help you, Sakura? I feel like you need to make up your mind if we're going to go along with this. You know that I have my own bias against spirits."

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

"Come on, Cessie. Don't be like that." Sakura frowns. "Shouldn't I be able to talk to you about this?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

Cessie nods. "Sorry, but I just felt I needed to understand your position first, Sakura. I'm more willing to discuss this, but what is your take on it exactly? Since know that whatever solution I come up with is likely to hurt the spirit in some way. I know you might hate to having to hear this again, but spirits are troublesome in how they just want more and more. Without in-build safeguards like with Garn, they are difficult to handle." She gestures towards the bookcase behind Sakura. "There are examples of spirits being used as servants for very simple purposes, you might think of my elementals that way. They're manifested material with singular purposes, and never get more than that as they don't exist for very long. Disappearing the moment I dismiss them or fall unconscious. But your, well, spirit, it is something far beyond that."
Suddenly she puts her hand on the dryads shoulder. "In other words, you are the spirit, Sakura. Everything I would do to it, I would also do to you and right now my options aren't that great." She gives her friend a concerned look. "When I made Garn, in order to restrict the spirit, as you seem to be hinting at, I used something called neverath." Letting go of Sakuras shoulder she gestures at a black chest which has been melded to the floor of the laboratory. "Its a material that only can be summoned by a mage and can't exist for long unless it is held in the material realm somehow. Neverath is often used to bind spirits, when I made Garn I used neverath to keep the spirits he is made up of check so they wouldn't grow unchecked. That at the end of the day he would be exactly the same being I had created in the first place." It did hinder learning but that was a price Cessie was willing to pay.
"But neverath is a very dangerous material, it can cause severe cognitive damage to people exposed to it and outright destroy a spirit, which is why it used in wards to keep them away. If I would to contain you, that's what I would need to use."

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura bites her lip and frowns. "If it's so dangerous, is it actually an option?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"I might be able to make it work, but it is risky. Which is why you need to tell me how you feel about it. The alternative would be asked for more help from Ambrosia, but at this point I feel bad for not paying her anything. She's a odd woman." And definitely not human, yet she seemed to avoid questions about what she was exactly.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

"Risky how? Like, it'd be easy to make a mistake? I trust you with anything, but it's not sounding like Adir would go for it." And she's not about to leave him out of the loop. "Maybe you should explain exactly what you'd have to do?" She suggests.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"My immediate thought is to simply make clothes lined with the material, but I am not sure how you'd react to it. Therefore, would have to be pretty padded out to avoid direct skin contact and if they would get damaged they could pose a risk not only to you but the children, which are only the first practical problems that comes to mind. Wearing clothes lined with such a dangerous material while having children around is not a risk I'm willing to take." And she was pretty sure Sakura agreed on her there. "Another solution would be to "starve" the spirit by having you sleep in a specially lined chamber at nights. But I'm not really sure how effective this would be as you spend most of your time outside your bedroom. In addition, Adir or the children couldn't spend much time there either as exposure to neverath, even through the walls of the bedchamber, could be harmful to their health." She shakes her head. "So I'm afraid my methods of dealing with spirits are rather crude and dangerous, Sakura. I could try to think of something else if you give me time, but I feel we might as well ask the expert right away. My education didn't cover much in the way of aether." She admits.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura crosses her arms. "Starving the 'spirit' is starving me, Cessie. I need you to stop talking like that." She says firmly. It's not helpful. "But you're right, anything with a chance to endanger the kids is not an option. I guess we'll have to talk to Ambrosia again."

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"It makes it easier for me, Sakura." Cessie replies. "Scientific terminology makes it simpler for me to stay objective. That said though, we will have to find her first. She not always the easiest woman to get in touch with. I think she's in seaside right now. I'm going to try to reach out to her though so we can deal with this. How much of a hurry are you in?"

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura frowns at the first point, but she doesn't press the issue right now. "No hurry... Not really. Things are fine right now. I just want to deal with it long term."

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"Alright, I will see to it once I have the chance then. I need to speak to her regarding some other things as well so its no trouble from my side. I also want to get to the bottom of all this, I feel you have enough to worry about without this hanging over your heads." Cessie replies.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

"Okay, thanks Cessie." Sakura says gratefully. "But anyway, let me show you what Cassie did yesterday." She says as she produces her phone...

((We can either skip right to stuff with Ambrosia or do it a little later if you want.))

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

Sakura will find Ambrosia standing in the doorway as Garn opens the door for her. Cessie, who is next to the dryad seems a bit tense, she still remembered the whole argument she had with Adir last the time the scholar was here.

Ambrosia seems undeterred however and smiles gently at the two. "How nice seeing you again. As I understood it, you needed my help with handling spiritual matters once more."

Cessie glances at Sakura perhaps she should explain? She knew all the terms but she didn't want to discuss her friend like some kind of subject right in front of her.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"Hi, um." Sakura glances at Cessie, but pushes forward quickly. "You mentioned before that spirits can influence people just by being around them. I just want to make sure that won't be a concern for me or my family... if that's possible."

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

Ambrosia nods. "Its a reasonable concern. Normally, one simply restrain a spirit by not feeding it, but as that isn't an option here considering your unique situation, I have considered some alternatives."

"Maybe we should sit down before we discuss those?" Cessie suggests, meeting Sakura's gaze as the dryad glances at her.

"Of course, I should warn you though, some of them can be rather invasive, or even dangerous. But I'm afraid what you're asking is quite difficult to achieve." It was odd to her, talking about what she normally considered 'food' like this. But some spirits were sapient, that was true.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

They can probably go to the living room and have a seat. All the kids are upstairs right now, so they won't be in their hair. "Well I want to hear all the options at least. Otherwise I don't know."

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

At least the kids know when to not be around.

Ambrosia takes a seat and nods to Sakura. "Well, let's start with my first idea. It involves separating you and the desire, not eliminating it. Rather, transferring it to another body. You would still be able to fulfill yourself through that body but it wouldn't bother your family. Then there is of course the question what that body would be and I would suggest a plant of some sort which shares a lot of your concepts but would focus on a very different kind of reproduction." She explains. "This separation is quite complex, even for me, but otherwise it might be one of the better methods."

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"You can do that?" Sakura looks uncertain. "But you mentioned that there'd be danger..?" This doesn't sound dangerous. Yet.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"Not to you or your children, not through this method, but another being might be born from what you transfer into this object. Once enough aether has gathered into a being, especially one of motherhood and growth, it has the tendency to make other sentient beings out anything they transfer its essence into. Dragons of my world, for instance, can transfer their essence into dead bodies to create completely new people. They're doing it intentionally of course, you might do it unintentionally." She could make all the plants become people!
"Indeed, anything you do might unintentionally make another being if you aren't careful. Transferring your energy into any inanimate object might make another children, not to mention what might happen if you transfer it into a animal or person. Either way though, knowing this, would this be something you could consider?"

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"Um." Sakura blinks a few times. Not what she was expecting to hear. "That sounds... like it could be a problem. Like, part of the idea we're talking is so I can... contain all this to myself. Because I'm fine, I just don't want to put anything on anyone else."

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"I can understand that sentiment." The scholar replies with a nod. "Another solution would be to, ah, journey into your mental landscape."

Sakura might note that Cessie seems to know exactly what Ambrosia is talking about.

The scholar does seem to have paused a moment there for them to grasp what she had just had said. "It involves someone you trust, likely your husband or a close friend, connecting to your mind directly and communicate with the different aspects of you to convince them to restrain themselves. Subconscious parts that you yourself cannot control."

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

Sakura looks somewhat perplexed. She glances at Cessie as if looking for some help, but she speaks anyway. "Um, what would that be like? I'm not sure I get it..."

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

The scholar considers, but Cessie is actually the first one to speak.
"Basically, it's like sharing a dream. Both you and someone else will be sleeping, and they will be invited into your dream, your subconscious. From there they can interact with different parts of it, talk to various aspects of your personality." The sorceress explains.

Ambrosia nods. "Yes, that's a good way to explain it actually. But it has to be someone you trust deeply, otherwise it won't work."

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"Well, okay. You said most options were dangerous though, right? This doesn't sound dangerous." Sakura goes on.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"Only in theory, with faulty equipment." Ambrosia remarks. "But I will be maintaining the connection, so there will be no danger. No risk of something failing when its being maintained by a person." She assures.

"I've done this before, but then we used an artifact to do it. The only real danger I've seen is for the persons entering the dreamscape if the dreamer hide away some particularly dangerous part of themselves. But I don't think there is any danger of that here." Cessie adds with a smile, attempting to take Sakura's hand and squeeze it for comfort, a gesture she seldom uses.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

Sakura returns the smile, thankful for the reassurance. "Well that sounds like a good plan then. I'll need to talk to Adir before we do anything, though." Obviously he needs to be roped in ono all this. The only reason she's here alone is because someone has to watch the kids.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

Cessie nods. "I can come with you and help you explain, I've done this myself before after all." She points out.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep - Another Day]

"Sure! That'd help a lot." Sakura's sure that she's stumble in the explanation. Cessie would be a great help.