Question Medicine Girl

Here is the thread to talk about Medicine Girl, starting off with my comments made as I read the story.

Wonder what the call was about, why she is keeping it secret from her friends, and why it would have her so nervous. For her to leave without eating her apple pie it would have to be Carson calling level serious or friend in trouble at least. Nice way to dive right into the action without starting the story with a fight. And I know how she feels, Louisiana is hot and humid in the summer and I stay inside most of the time because of it.

Great, Hartford still hasn't eased up on the uniform rules for Kayda. Thought she would have had a religious or cultural exemption by now. Ugh, everyone heard about what happened to her and there are still idiots on about her being a lesbian. At least she has learned from Lannie and ignores the idiot.

Poor Skybolt, at least she has friends to stand by her. And Cav is trying to go the macho route, not admitting he needs help and getting anger when others even suggest it. Seen it happen before, they never get better until they admit they need help and admit to themselves what is wrong. Wish I could hug Skybolt and comfort her as well. And Kayda will come to realize, you have to share what happened instead of holding it inside or it will keep having power over you.

So that is how you heat up a clay pot without cracking it, interesting. Kayda doesn't believe she is ready, after everything she has went through she is ready, only she can't see it herself. Too often others can see things about us which we miss ourselves.

And her growth through all the past events shows, especially with listening to Lannie. And ouch, Cav's lack of emotional response in voice and body language speaks volumes. He needs serious help and quick, before he does something he can't take back. At least he shows some emotion, so many victims believe no one but they can know or understand what they went through.

A secret which not even Skybolt can know about, sharing this outside of her friends and others in Poe is a big step for Kayda. And mentioning dream-walking with Kodiak is a bigger deal than Kayda seems to realize, at least it got them to trust her. Okay...didn't expect Cav's dream World self to be a Kings Musketeer, even one as haggard as described. And after everything him and Skybolt have been through, I would be more than a little paranoid and cautious.

Nice to see Wakan Tanka learning things as well. Dang it, Cav! Stop being so stubborn and proud and just accept their help. Sorry, but that bugs me, when people say there is nothing wrong with them when even they don't believe it. U.S. and even other societies have made it seem like mental illness and anything remotely associated with them are something to be treated with drugs and be suppressed instead of truly treating it.

Kayda having to be reminded of what she is capable of, at least Wakan Tanka didn't have to hammer the point home. And unusual way to teach Cav something, but Tantanka seem to have made him think at his personal demons at least. And Tantanka having to push Kayda into taking the final step and showing someone else what happened and who she used to be, some lessons take longer to learn.

No matter how much time has passed or how much help you have, painful memories of such trauma are something that will always scare you. Controlling the amount of power the fear has over you is more important, imo. And I started tearing up at Kayda her Brandon-self reliving those events, the pain shown feels genuine. It takes some explaining for Cav to get it, but that took a lot more courage than I can imagine for Kayda and her Brandon-self to share that with him.

Tantanka is very good at explaining things in simple terms when needed. And double ouch, the hardest part of recovering, facing the memories and realizing there was nothing you could have done. We saw Kayda go through that, now it is Cav's turn and it won't be easy, either for him or those who care about him. Seeing Cav finally break down and admit what he feels has me crying, no one should be put through that kind of suffering. At least now he can get the help he needs.

And the hits just keep on coming. If they could prove even 1% of what the Don did to them as mind-slaves, he would be in jail for a long, long time. In their place I'm not sure I could restrain myself from harming him any chance I got, when Hekate shows up again unless Carson catches them quick they will be gunning for her. And if they told in court what had been done to them by Hekate and the Don, no one would convict them.

Hekate's evil knows no bounds, to make it where she can't take out the piercings due to a Mythos curse, sickening. At least Kayda should be able to remove the magic, proven by the spikes and demon hide, another good reason for them to be in Poe, Kayda might be the only one who can detect and counter Mythos magic we know of. Though Circe has a good point, Mythos magic might work different than even ancient demon magic like on the spikes and snake hide. Too many variables when mixing magic types.

Darn, bound by Wizard's Contract, they do know her too well. And not letting her include Dr. Tenent, shrewd and practical. At least Circe understands quickly why a casting room is a bad idea with Sky, after what Hekate did to her and Cav only trusted magic-users will be able to even cast the most minor of spells where it concerns them. Anything else will trigger PTSD.

Not surprised, many old rituals and forms of magic required nothing interfere with the magic, including clothes. And once more that missing spike causes stress for Kayda, wonder who soon they will get it back from Magic Mikey and how far gone he will be by then. Nice, she has Fey helping her with her magic training, always nice to have a tutor who is a friend.

And Hekate has angered a channel to the Great Spirit, the moment she comes near Whateley she won't last a minute. Mrs. Carson is going to have to restrain a lot of powerful and ticked off individuals when Hekate shows up again and I pity her, as she probably would join in the hunt if not for her morals and wishing to keep her students safe. To mutilate someone who is helpless like that...I can't fathom the kind of twisted nature of someone who would do this, Hekate is a monster for her actions.

And I can see Hekate putting a curse hidden into what appears to be a tattoo. The details on the ritual are interesting, I can tell you did a lot of research to get them right, Elrod. And to place that level of Mythos magic into someone's body or onto the piercings, Hekate must have really hated their true love for each other to taint Sky to this degree. And just as their almost finished, roommate shows up, at least Kayda knows to cut off the rumor train at the source.

After how Fey lost Aunghadhail, Circe knows not to get her anywhere near Mythos magic. Or is something else going on with Fey which we don't know about, beyond the lawsuit. And from what Circe says, what Kayda discovered gives them at least hope of being able to remove the Mythos magic/curse from Sky. No wonder the Bastard is so afraid of shamans.

Hehe, when I first read It definitely was a Kodak moment, I read Kodiak moment. And now Wakan Tanka is being stubborn and not willing to believe there is something her chosen can't do without the help of those more experience than her. After all she has helped Kayda learn and told her about learning from others, you would think she would be more open to advice from others.

Nice mention of Circe's past, rarely see that in Whateley stories. Okay, now we know more about the Sundering and it is so much more than what we believed before. Broke Pangea, drove magic away for a thousand years, and now we learn it shattered time itself! No wonder its history never made sense to us before, nor certain other events in the past. Time-space fragments basically put together like a little kid pounding incompatible pieces of a puzzle together.

And the truth about magic in the Whateley Universe comes out. Yikes! No wonder there are some many different rules, traditions, and things which can go wrong when dealing with magic. No wonder magic gives even those who can wield it a headache trying to truly understand it. I hope these details go into the new article on magic when it's finally posted.

Poor Cav, not being able to hold Sky's hand through all this. And fighting Mythos magic, I hope Kayda comes out of this intact. Sky....I literally wish I could reach through the screen, grab Hekate, and toss her a blackhole. And nice description of how the spell manifest in the dream-scape, Elrod. Now I'm hoping I don't have any nightmares tonight with it in them. And the way you describe the fight, very vivid and intense. Winced every time she got hit or Sky was being harmed.

Kayda proves she is a lot stronger than she believes, never giving up in the face of such pain takes an iron [if not stronger] will and determination. To endure such pain, she is a true friend and a true shaman. And now we see the price of continually renewing her essence on her body, hope she isn't indisposed for too long.

Dang, at least it was less than a day this time. Although Mrs. Carson is being fairly understanding, just concerned she didn't have enough magical help for the severity of the task. And darn it, the fallout from the lawsuit is hitting now, Fey not being able to help Kayda. At least Carson explains the reasons why Kayda can't just remove the piercings as fast as possible, good reasons too. Losing Kayda because she over does it would be a nightmare for everyone. And Kayda should be happy, the more special tutoring she gets now the better she will be able to handle trouble down the road.

Mrs. Carson and Dr. Tenent have Kayda figured out, she is a stubborn teen who still thinks she can do things on her own, despite being told by Wakan Tanka she needs to learn to accept help from the community and her friends. And everything she has been through keeps teaching her this isn't the way to go, yet she keeps trying. At least it will help her to develop her able to gather and hold essence faster, going to be needed when the Bastard makes his move.

Arrrrrghh! Now Hekate's Master is seeking to corrupt and control her, someone needs to figure out his identity already. I don't want to see Kayda go down a dark path, she's gone through so much already. Secrets are oftentimes personal and revealing them before the person is ready does more harm than good. It's nice to see that they understand this, not even some adults do.

Good news for the Atlantean League and Cody showing some of the wisdom he has learned. A wise man doesn't tick off their girlfriend/wife. At least she has a good reason to keep a secret from her friends. A wonderful story, part journey towards the beginnings of recovery for Sky and Cav, part further journey along Kayda's path into becoming a full shaman, the most powerful the world will ever see from everything so far.

Glad to see your usual detailed assessment, Dreamer. Reading your reactions to each subsequent part of a story is always enjoyable for me.

And while I, haven't made it far into your list yet, I just had to make a personal comment about your earliest note:

Dreamer wrote: Wonder what the call was about, why she is keeping it secret from her friends, and why it would have her so nervous. For her to leave without eating her apple pie it would have to be Carson calling level serious or friend in trouble at least. Nice way to dive right into the action without starting the story with a fight. And I know how she feels, Louisiana is hot and humid in the summer and I stay inside most of the time because of it.

At first when I read this note I was a bit confused, because I thought you were saying Kayda was from Louisiana rather than South Dakota, and making that kind of mistake/misunderstanding just didn't seem like you. Then I realized that you were just referring to your own experience, and making a comparison of that to how Kayda views South Dakota summers. Having grown up in Louisiana myself, I can wholeheartedly agree with that comparison, though I'm curious to find out just what part of Louisiana you're familiar with.

Wonder what the call was about, why she is keeping it secret from her friends, and why it would have her so nervous. For her to leave without eating her apple pie it would have to be Carson calling level serious or friend in trouble at least.

The call from Skybolt, about helping Cav. Remember that the rape support group is super secret.


Hmm... The group could probably use some variation of Poe's wards. Of course Poe's wards are probably built into Poe, and duplicating them without a fixed living structure to build off of would be difficult. Although maybe you could piggy-back them off of Poe's wards - the support group is private and personal enough that it can probably be trusted with Poe's secret, and Poesies are more likely than average to keep quite about the support group if they ever figure it out.

Kayda doesn't need Fey's help. There is a student that would be an incredible help, and I bet no one realizes who that would be.



Emergency phone call, and Kayda is there to support Sky.

I am kind of surprised that they didn't call in Totem for assistance and advice. He is a much more experienced, if not as powerful, shaman.

Kayda needs to go over what she can remember of the fight with Billy Two-Knives too, he might have some advice.

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

Wonder what the call was about, why she is keeping it secret from her friends, and why it would have her so nervous. For her to leave without eating her apple pie it would have to be Carson calling level serious or friend in trouble at least.

The call from Skybolt, about helping Cav. Remember that the rape support group is super secret.


Hmm... The group could probably use some variation of Poe's wards. Of course Poe's wards are probably built into Poe, and duplicating them without a fixed living structure to build off of would be difficult. Although maybe you could piggy-back them off of Poe's wards - the support group is private and personal enough that it can probably be trusted with Poe's secret, and Poesies are more likely than average to keep quite about the support group if they ever figure it out.

I agree. I don't think the secrecy will last... 5 more Kayda stories, is my bet...

Wakan Tanka is very ancient and stubborn and set in her ways, and distrusts anyone who isn't of the People... Betrayed too many times to trust anyone except Kayda and Tantanka or thereabouts. Also think she doesn't like Circe 'cause of the really powerful, foreign, Greek magic or whatever the Olympian sealing was made of... Fear's more like it, but doesn't like Tenant either, 'cause foreign magic?

Malady wrote:

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

Wonder what the call was about, why she is keeping it secret from her friends, and why it would have her so nervous. For her to leave without eating her apple pie it would have to be Carson calling level serious or friend in trouble at least.

The call from Skybolt, about helping Cav. Remember that the rape support group is super secret.


Hmm... The group could probably use some variation of Poe's wards. Of course Poe's wards are probably built into Poe, and duplicating them without a fixed living structure to build off of would be difficult. Although maybe you could piggy-back them off of Poe's wards - the support group is private and personal enough that it can probably be trusted with Poe's secret, and Poesies are more likely than average to keep quite about the support group if they ever figure it out.

I agree. I don't think the secrecy will last... 5 more Kayda stories, is my bet...

Wakan Tanka is very ancient and stubborn and set in her ways, and distrusts anyone who isn't of the People... Betrayed too many times to trust anyone except Kayda and Tantanka or thereabouts. Also think she doesn't like Circe 'cause of the really powerful, foreign, Greek magic or whatever the Olympian sealing was made of... Fear's more like it, but doesn't like Tenant either, 'cause foreign magic?

I think that scornful is a better description than fear. Afterall Shamanistic magic is one the purest forms of magic still around.

Since Kayda is supposed to be a healer, and the rape group requires secrecy for it to work, and Kayda to be able to heal, I can't see Wakan Tanka betraying that secret.

One thing that occurred to me - could it be that part of the reason Carson doesn't want Nikki involved is because she knows of the ecological destruction Fey can wreak if she pulls in too much essence?

Admittedly, the other reasons mentioned are valid, and Nikki has fairly ridiculous essence reserves to draw on before she has to touch the natural systems, but still. Reason enough to keep her away from large projects, if Carson is aware of the issue.



On an entirely different note, I approve of the Discworld method of timeline agreement - that is, that history doesn't make sense because someone broke time into little tiny pieces, and they were stitched back together improperly (or not at all).

Arcanist Lupus wrote: On an entirely different note, I approve of the Discworld method of timeline agreement - that is, that history doesn't make sense because someone broke time into little tiny pieces, and they were stitched back together improperly (or not at all).

This is now my excuse for bad grades in History Class.

I'm just happy I called it, in regards to the time problems. It was the only way for humans being around with the Five Fold Court to make sense.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: One thing that occurred to me - could it be that part of the reason Carson doesn't want Nikki involved is because she knows of the ecological destruction Fey can wreak if she pulls in too much essence?

Consider this - Nikki is being punished. She's a powerful magic user, and for her to find out that another student - weaker in magic - is doing some kick-ass healing that requires a ton of essence and they won't let her help has to rankle a little bit. It's basically being grounded inside while the neighbor kids are outside your window playing ball - and you can hear and see it all.

The second possible explanation has been covered - Sidhe magic isn't as powerful against The Bastard and his minions as Shaman magic, and thus may not be as powerful against Mythos Magic. It's a dangerous thing Kayda did - battling the magic in the realm of nightmares. We know that Aung could get into the dream-world; it's possible that Nikki remembers how Aung did it, and thus she might be tempted to try slipping in to do battle as well - and the outcome might be pretty bad.

Third possible reason - Carson wants Kayda to learn better control of her essence and will. By making her ask permission and have backup, she's using Kayda's own stubbornness to make the girl learn. If Nikki were helping, there would be less need for Kayda to learn; it's not as embarrassing for a teenager to ask a friend for help as it is to ask an adult.

The real answer is some combination of 1, 2, and 3 above.

Interesting. The Mythos magic Hekate used so casually in trivial and vain ways to humiliate a rival; yet required enormous expenditures of essence to counter. Does she have access to a Mythos battery or how are these black spells powered? Were the tattoos and piercings residual corruption of the original mind slave spell ? If so, what does this say about countering the effects of the Mythos when the main spell can be broken but subtle residue of that spell require such large undertakings to undo?

It appears Nimbus eats on the same floor as the Beret Mafia.

The reasons for Nikki's non-involvement are many and varied. On the surface, it's part of her punishment. One level deeper is to help Kayda grow magically. It's also possible that Nikki could try to directly intervene or get distracted (causing either hobgoblins or pushing too much essence into Kayda too fast for her to handle it - either of which would be disastrous). It's even possible that, given what they're dealing with, the Administration also don't want Nikki to become a target.

There are other people on campus with experience of the Mythos (and potentially Mythos magic) - one's bound to an anti-GOO superweapon, one's imprisoned in a pocket universe located down in the workshops, and two have effectively been Put On A Bus from a storytelling POV - but one of those is friends with a bunch of Mythos creatures, while the other has been imprinted on a 'baby' Mythos creature... neither know much (if anything) about Mythos magic, but they potentially know entities that do.

As for (The Witch Formerly Known As Hekate)'s Master, he now seems to have changed tack and is planning on trying to turn Kayda to The Dark Side rather than outright killing her (a strategy which admittedly hasn't worked very well to date). Given his strategies to date, it's likely he'll continue to use proxies (and proxies of proxies) to try and do his dirty work, and it's possible there'll be more collateral damage (i.e. student deaths) en-route. I don't think he's aware of Kayda's spirits, while I very much doubt she'd voluntarily seek magical knowledge other than that taught her through Wakan Tanka - besides which, being friends with TK means she's very much aware of Forbidden Spells and the consequences for using them. As for who it is, I don't think we've met anyone that fulfills the criteria of being male, a sophomore or junior and on the tech track - besides which, we don't know for sure whether Nimbus (The Syndicate's Biodevisor) and HM are one and the same person, let alone whether the Canon were trolling us with the trust comment. One very unlikely candidate but worth a mention nonetheless: Adam Ironknife. It's more likely he'll eventually get tangled up with The Atlantean League, but he apparently did have an encounter with Hekate where she allegedly tried (unsuccessfully) to turn him into a monster wolf, seemingly without success.

Palomon wrote: Interesting. The Mythos magic Hekate used so casually in trivial and vain ways to humiliate a rival; yet required enormous expenditures of essence to counter. Does she have access to a Mythos battery or how are these black spells powered? Were the tattoos and piercings residual corruption of the original mind slave spell ? If so, what does this say about countering the effects of the Mythos when the main spell can be broken but subtle residue of that spell require such large undertakings to undo?

It appears Nimbus eats on the same floor as the Beret Mafia.

Skybolt and Cavalier were freed from the mind slave spell because it was one that needed renewing after a year, it would only last for the year. There is no details on essence requirements for casting the spells used on them, but with a mind slave that you could add the spells to over time, one per piercing, they could have also reinforced each other. Mythos stuff is a lot more viral as an active spell, growing and changing over time.

Re HM turning Kayda...

He quite explicitly quoted Return of the Jedi, more exactly regarding the attempt to turn Luke. He should consider how well that turned out for the Emperor...

Also, minor point about the Crystal Hall levels:
We know that HM was in the middle level seeing Skybolt approach the Berets... but we don't know if he was sitting there. He might just as well be on his way up to the top level or back down. Or even he could be someone who usually sat at the ground level and was "visiting friends" at the middle level. So: clue suggestive but inconclusive.

It is very likely that HM does eat on the middle tier. If he regularly ate on the first tier, he would have seen Kayda with Debra. For similar reasons he isn't a Poesie.

HM does seem somewhat oblivious to anything on campus that doesn't directly affect him.

I wonder how DW would be at chopping GOO spell threads?

I don't think he's aware of Kayda's spirits,

Yes he is. He says so string out:



Its no secret that Kayda is an avatar. Her official MID says Avatar 5, and at this point so many people know that she has more than one spirit that its hardly a secret. She has also been publically called Ptesanwi by her tribe, and again this is something Heckate's master could very reasonably be aware of.

Also, the brick-killing buffalo is ever-so-slightly notorious around campus.

This story seems to be implying that Mythos magic is more complete than the types of magic currently used by humans:

Circe frowned at her explanation. "You're saying that your magic is a part of ... this Mythos magic?"

"All magic is. The magic of the Sidhe, the magic of the Shaman - all of your magics today - were part of a rich tapestry of magic from before the Sundering." She turned to me. "Do you know why that magic 'tasted' like Unhcegila? Why it 'felt' like the magic of the Sidhe girl you know?" She didn't give me time to answer. "Because those threads are part of the tapestry of that ancient magic, and you recognized those parts that are familiar to you."

I can see how that would make Mythos magic more powerful, but it doesn't make sense to me why it would be less detectable by modern magic, unless modern magic had been deliberately designed to have a minimal interaction cross section with Mythos magic. Considering that what we know of modern human magic is that it has been developed by large numbers of people, that seems unlikely. In fact, Wakan Tanka stated that the ancient magic did include those magics currently used by humans. That being the case, I don't see how it would not interact with human magic at all (to the point that even a very experienced mage like Circe couldn't sense it).

I suppose that the variant of Mythos magic that Hekate used could have been modified so it doesn't interact with normal human magic, but that doesn't really explain why the spikes would have the same issue.

If modern magic deals with just a fraction of what Mythos magic is, then it should be fairly easy to craft a Mythos spell to be undetectable by modern magic.

It's like, say, electromagnetic waves. For centuries we were only aware of visible light. There's all sorts of things that you can do with other wavelengths that are utterly incomprehensible to someone who is unaware of their existence. Things like X-rays, infrared imagery, radio, radar...

Medicine Girl wrote: "'ey!" Cav protested, annoyed. Unafraid, he pushed back on the big bison's head. "I was sitting 'ere!"

"Why did you push me?" Tatanka asked.

Cav goggled at the talking white bison. "Erp," he stammered, "uh ... you pushed me first. I was sitting 'ere before you came." He was visibly uneasy with a talking, pushy, white bison.

"Then why do you not push back against the demons in your mind?"

Cav stared at the white animal, his jaw moving but no words came out for a while. Finally, he hung his head. "You wouldn't understand," he said bitterly. "It's ... not something I can talk about to people who don't understand."

"Oh, I understand! You ain't gonna push no demon 'round, but you'll be all pushing on the bison! Yeah, suckah, I get it, I get what you're doin'. Know what else Imma get? A box, fool! And Imma put yo racist bones in it after I break 'em!"

This arc is a definite good thing for Kayda, it gets her growing her skills for healing, and developing her ability to do magic.
Both are important for the coming battle(s) against the bastard.

Currently, only Fey is really capable of the healing vs mythos, Kayda developing her healing skills benefits the battles against it allowing for more effective use of Fey as an attacking power.

If Kayda's shamanic magic works against X class effects, what about other Shamens like Totem?

Astrodragon wrote: If Kayda's shamanic magic works against X class effects, what about other Shamens like Totem?

On a 1 to 10 on the Shaman scale Kayda is a "oh no darlin, you've got 'urself the wrong scale there, you need to go get the avatar scale and crank it up to eleven'

Astrodragon wrote: If Kayda's shamanic magic works against X class effects, what about other Shamens like Totem?

yes.
all shaman that can perform magic would have that going for them. The problem is that Uncil(whatever the worms name is) set a shaman hunting demon after them, one specifically empowered against shaman. There is the second issue, the number of true shaman is smaller than it would appear, with the invasion of north america by europeans causing such massive reductionin the numbers of the native people.

ElrodW Medicine Girl

"At the same time, I pushed myself into a world that wasn't dream space, wasn't reality, but was somewhere in between. The realm where I would do battle with this ugly, evil spell, just as I had against the spirit of the son of Unhcegila."


If this is where the Mythos spells operates, between the veil of dream space and reality; now that it is known can the Dream team find it? Or what about a Astral Exemplar like Sandra? Kayda may have given the Magic Arts department and indeed the school a very powerful tool and defense. Thoughts?

Thanks

Palomon wrote: ElrodW Medicine Girl

"At the same time, I pushed myself into a world that wasn't dream space, wasn't reality, but was somewhere in between. The realm where I would do battle with this ugly, evil spell, just as I had against the spirit of the son of Unhcegila."


If this is where the Mythos spells operates, between the veil of dream space and reality; now that it is known can the Dream team find it? Or what about a Astral Exemplar like Sandra? Kayda may have given the Magic Arts department and indeed the school a very powerful tool and defense. Thoughts?

Thanks

From my perspective, the description of a "world that wasn't dream space, wasn't reality, but was somewhere in between" sounds like an allegory, a struggle to describe something that really can't be described. I highly doubt that whatever plane Kayda was operating on to deal with this spell will be something that's easily accessible just because it's acknowledged to exist. Very likely it's not "plane" in and of itself that all mythos magic operates on so much as it's an abstraction of what it was like dealing with that one specific spell. Again, describing something that can't really be described.

NeoMagus wrote:

Palomon wrote: ElrodW Medicine Girl

"At the same time, I pushed myself into a world that wasn't dream space, wasn't reality, but was somewhere in between. The realm where I would do battle with this ugly, evil spell, just as I had against the spirit of the son of Unhcegila."


If this is where the Mythos spells operates, between the veil of dream space and reality; now that it is known can the Dream team find it? Or what about a Astral Exemplar like Sandra? Kayda may have given the Magic Arts department and indeed the school a very powerful tool and defense. Thoughts?

Thanks

From my perspective, the description of a "world that wasn't dream space, wasn't reality, but was somewhere in between" sounds like an allegory, a struggle to describe something that really can't be described. I highly doubt that whatever plane Kayda was operating on to deal with this spell will be something that's easily accessible just because it's acknowledged to exist. Very likely it's not "plane" in and of itself that all mythos magic operates on so much as it's an abstraction of what it was like dealing with that one specific spell. Again, describing something that can't really be described.

What Neo said.

Totem does not have Kayda's spiritual back up and resistance to mythos taint. He IS a very impresive shaman. Kayda's claim then success in thwarting Hecate's magic is amazing and outside of the schools ledgendary level of magical experiance- this is a game changing relevation.

Skybolts jewelry and tattoos. In the Whaterly verse magic has a cost. Espesially if your not s wiz 4+. Time, resources, sacrifice and some danger. Hecate has a plan for Skybolt and made sure that her carefully prepaired victim's body/spirit would be ready for the future. Maybe as a weapon/slave or more probably to prepaid her to host something to horrible to imagine and have a built in control via the jewelry. The tattoos are a variation of a summoning circle. Skybolts in beyond mortal peril but Hecate's controls are now incomplete. Or so I am guessing.

Suntear wrote: Skybolts jewelry and tattoos. In the Whaterly verse magic has a cost. Espesially if your not s wiz 4+. Time, resources, sacrifice and some danger. Hecate has a plan for Skybolt and made sure that her carefully prepaired victim's body/spirit would be ready for the future. Maybe as a weapon/slave or more probably to prepaid her to host something to horrible to imagine and have a built in control via the jewelry. The tattoos are a variation of a summoning circle. Skybolts in beyond mortal peril but Hecate's controls are now incomplete. Or so I am guessing.

Ah, so someone remembered the tattoos!

I think Hekate is going to be very pissed when she realizes that someone has undone all her work with Skybolt, and she still owes the entities that gave her the power for the spells. I wonder if Sara and Gothmog could convince the entities to come and claim all the stuff that Hekate promised at the same time?

I remembered that tattoos, but until the piercings are out I suspect the story arc will ignore them.

Dawnfyre wrote: I remembered that tattoos, but until the piercings are out I suspect the story arc will ignore them.

Unless some of the tattoos are tied into the magic of some of the piercings.

or else hektate tries using the circle the tats contain to cast a spell.

Interesting conjecture. I was going with jealous spite on the part of Hekate, who had a really unhealthy relationship with the Don -- she supplied him with slaves as a gift, but was jealous of Skybolt spending time with Sebastiano, so she proceeded to mutilate her.

But the two hypotheses aren't incompatible: if Hekate did have plans that required prepping a victim, well, she might have chosen Skybolt out of jealous spite.

Well, at least we know that aren't tied to Hecate too tightly. No scene with her overacting "Who's breaking my toy?!!"

"Who deactivated my beautiful frogs?"

I was surprised that Kayda dismissed the tattoos. She commented on them but then ignored them. As a Shaman (in training I might add) shouldn't she be concerned that both the piercings and tattoo's might be linked? Wouldn't the removal of the tattoo's also inhibit the corrupted threads?

Also why hadn't the other mages commented about the markings? I would think that those more experienced would have some conjecture of them, else they are treating her as a novice that doesn't need to know and thus allowing her to engage in such a cleansing ritual could have harmed her more.

Ib12us wrote: I was surprised that Kayda dismissed the tattoos. She commented on them but then ignored them. As a Shaman (in training I might add) shouldn't she be concerned that both the piercings and tattoo's might be linked? Wouldn't the removal of the tattoo's also inhibit the corrupted threads?

Also why hadn't the other mages commented about the markings? I would think that those more experienced would have some conjecture of them, else they are treating her as a novice that doesn't need to know and thus allowing her to engage in such a cleansing ritual could have harmed her more.

I like this point... ... But, if I wanted to Watsonianly explain it, I'd say that the tats have a Perception Filter built in?

Just because she didn't comment further on them doesn't mean that she didn't look for links or corruption. It's first person POV, which means that things important to Kayda are mentioned. If you were describing your activities for the day, would you note one small puffy cloud in an otherwise blue sky if there you were at the scene of a house fire or a major multi-car wreck?

It's all about the most important things to describe. Note she didn't describe the color of the room walls, either, nor what kind of panties Skybolt was wearing ....

elrodw wrote: Just because she didn't comment further on them doesn't mean that she didn't look for links or corruption. It's first person POV, which means that things important to Kayda are mentioned. If you were describing your activities for the day, would you note one small puffy cloud in an otherwise blue sky if there you were at the scene of a house fire or a major multi-car wreck?

It's all about the most important things to describe. Note she didn't describe the color of the room walls, either, nor what kind of panties Skybolt was wearing ....

Hmm... I see?

...

I think that since the tattoos are only mentioned 5 times, while the piercings are mentioned 42 times, it seems like Kayda doesn't find the tattoos important, because we see what she finds important, and we don't see her talk about them enough to show that they're important, not even worth noting that weren't important to Hekate's spell.

Do you think you get what I mean? I not sure if that was that clear...

Anyway, removing tattoos is a teeny bit more complicated than removing piercings...

Since we are talking about potentially Mythos magic-enhanced tattoos, with Mythos-tainted ink or whatever, it's possible that laser removal wouldn't be enough -- likely the tattoos would have to be surgically removed in order to not leave ink traces behind. Hmmm. Are there Healers powerful enough to induce full skin regeneration?

Perhaps Kayda is tackling the piercings first because, well, they are easier to remove, so it would weaken the Mythos hold on Skybolt.

Kayda was examining the piercings to see if she could detect the magic in them, then they worked on removing the ones around Sky's navel. Now that they know they can remove the piercings, Kayda will either remove the rest of the piercings, then examine the Tattoos or examine the Tattoos then decide which is more important remove first.

From previous stories, I am guessing that there were other piercings and tattoos that weren't spelled.

BTW: Sky was naked, so there were no panties.

Sir Lee wrote: Anyway, removing tattoos is a teeny bit more complicated than removing piercings...

Since we are talking about potentially Mythos magic-enhanced tattoos, with Mythos-tainted ink or whatever, it's possible that laser removal wouldn't be enough -- likely the tattoos would have to be surgically removed in order to not leave ink traces behind. Hmmm. Are there Healers powerful enough to induce full skin regeneration?

Perhaps Kayda is tackling the piercings first because, well, they are easier to remove, so it would weaken the Mythos hold on Skybolt.

Fey, Banned Aids, Jobe, probably a few others at the school could manage to fully regenerate Sky's skin, if there were no magical interference.

Who says that they were ignored? When Kayda looked at them during her exam, her internal monologue indicated she'd find out if they were tattoos or something else "soon enough". When you've got 40+ candidates for work (in the form of the various piercings and tattos), you tend to start with the low-hanging fruit. The navel piercings were selected for the more detailed examination (and eventual removal) because they were the easiest to work with.

Consider also that it was necessary for Dr. Tenent to basically rip the piercings out after they had been decontaminated in order to prevent them from being recontaminated. If Kayda had started on the tattoos, it may have been necessary to remove portions of Skybolt's skin in a similar manner.

cprime wrote: Who says that they were ignored? When Kayda looked at them during her exam, her internal monologue indicated she'd find out if they were tattoos or something else "soon enough". When you've got 40+ candidates for work (in the form of the various piercings and tattos), you tend to start with the low-hanging fruit. The navel piercings were selected for the more detailed examination (and eventual removal) because they were the easiest to work with.

Well, personally, when I read that "soon enough", I expected that time to come by the end of the tale, and that the "soon enough" was when she was battling the Mythos Piercing Spell.

And when the battle didn't come with anything about the tattoos, I assumed that the plot thread had been ignored or something. Emphasis on 'or something.'?

BTW, they were lavender, bikini-cut, and lacy, and matched her demi-cup push-up bra.

elrodw wrote: BTW, they were lavender, bikini-cut, and lacy, and matched her demi-cup push-up bra.

Kayda's? or Sky's?

Kayda goes au au naturale

Ib12us wrote:

elrodw wrote: BTW, they were lavender, bikini-cut, and lacy, and matched her demi-cup push-up bra.

Kayda's? or Sky's?

Wait... Now are the walls lavender, or the panties and bra?



Drat! Ninja'd by Domoviye?

Malady wrote:

cprime wrote: Who says that they were ignored? When Kayda looked at them during her exam, her internal monologue indicated she'd find out if they were tattoos or something else "soon enough". When you've got 40+ candidates for work (in the form of the various piercings and tattos), you tend to start with the low-hanging fruit. The navel piercings were selected for the more detailed examination (and eventual removal) because they were the easiest to work with.

Well, personally, when I read that "soon enough", I expected that time to come by the end of the tale, and that the "soon enough" was when she was battling the Mythos Piercing Spell.

And when the battle didn't come with anything about the tattoos, I assumed that the plot thread had been ignored or something. Emphasis on 'or something.'?

I'm guessing if there isn't a Medicine Girl Part II, then at some point during another Kayda story she will drag herself into lunch and have her team getting her food and drink while she mumbles about decontaminating Sky's piercings or tattoos. Elrod eventually explains all. Or there will be a party scene with Kayda, Sky, Cav, and others when the last thing is removed, which will be sometime in the fall or winter.

Malady wrote:

Ib12us wrote:

elrodw wrote: BTW, they were lavender, bikini-cut, and lacy, and matched her demi-cup push-up bra.

Kayda's? or Sky's?

If you're actually asking instead of being frivolous... [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

elrodw wrote: It's all about the most important things to describe. Note she didn't describe the color of the room walls, either, nor what kind of panties Skybolt was wearing ....

Wait... Now are the walls lavender, or the panties and bra?

In other news... [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

Loving how that Woo-hoo fits! ... And now I'm reminded of Sims Woo-hoo... Hmm...

Drat! Ninja'd by Domoviye?

The walls were lavender, bikini-cut, and lacy. The panties were grey and granny style.

I really enjoyed this story. The Pangea issue had been bothering me for quite some time, and I'm glad there's some explanation.
I liked the battle in the mind, although Kayda still has a lot to learn about retaining essence.
Magical shortcuts to mental healing are a bit troublesome, but they're implied by the setting. I think just having the resolution be accelerated is a good start. Although, I foresee many relapses for both Sky and Cav. They weren't raped once, they were under constant abuse for a year.

ThaleDison wrote: Magical shortcuts to mental healing are a bit troublesome, but they're implied by the setting. I think just having the resolution be accelerated is a good start. Although, I foresee many relapses for both Sky and Cav. They weren't raped once, they were under constant abuse for a year.

The one problem I see both of them having to deal with, okay perhaps 2 or more, is that they were trapped inside their own mind and knew of what was happening about them. One of the problems will be psychological in that they were in isolation for over a year. There has to have been some adverse effect that they are going through. Most people will lash out in anger, rage, helplessness and so forth. But what other problems will they encounter? Life there is not like its portrayed on tv or movies. There are the hidden scars that the two are going through. What could trigger another outburst? Will they be held back another year due to the abuse? Will they be deemed unreliable if placed in combat testing? There are a lot of unanswered questions about their mental being.

Physical scars are always evident. Its the hidden ones need to be taken care of also. The writers have just barely begin, so I think.

Ib12us wrote: I was surprised that Kayda dismissed the tattoos. She commented on them but then ignored them. As a Shaman (in training I might add) shouldn't she be concerned that both the piercings and tattoo's might be linked? Wouldn't the removal of the tattoo's also inhibit the corrupted threads?

No matter what she thinks about the tattoos now. When she finishes removing the piercings, someone will mention the tattoos also "grow back" and she'll give them a look, find Class X taint, and then begins a round of tattoo removal. Sure, she's dismissing them now. But I don't see a scenario where their danger is plain forgotten forever.

Rereading the section where Kayda is examining the piercings and tattoos. Kayda says she is going to have to touch both, then never mentions anything like this from the tattoos - "feeling a disgusting, dark, filthy magic emanating from each piercing, but I couldn't tell if it was in the metal itself or if it was in her."

So my guesses are, that Elrod just didn't mention the magic in the tattoos, or the tattoos are not active, the way that a magic circle can sit inactivated until needed.

There's another point to this as well. The thing that was bothering Skybolt the most when the whole attempt started was that she had to put the Mythos-tainted piercings back in, and as such, That's what Kayda was focusing on at the time. While the tattoos are sketchy too, the piercings are more important to healing Skybolt's psyche.

Blue Moose wrote: There's another point to this as well. The thing that was bothering Skybolt the most when the whole attempt started was that she had to put the Mythos-tainted piercings back in, and as such, That's what Kayda was focusing on at the time. While the tattoos are sketchy too, the piercings are more important to healing Skybolt's psyche.

Aren't most of the tattoos degrading words and open invitations into her "holes"? I don't think removing one is more or less important than removing the other to her psyche.

The ones that are degrading are hidden under her clothers. The peircings are much more obvious and harder to ignore.

She still sees them. The hidden ones are more likely to weigh on her Psyche. They are the ones Cav will see. She doesn't want him to see them.

But she doesn't feel them when she's washing herself, or sees them when she looks in the mirror. Yeah they're not good and they can't help her emotional stability, but between the two, the peircings are a litle more of a concern. Also once the taint is gone, they're easier to take out, gotta have priorities.

Yeah. A permanent requirement to have chunks of metal sticking through my sensitive bits would bug me a heck of a lot more than tattoos.