ETTING   OME   O   LFANDRA

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Hespa's Story part 17 - By Magic...

Pyros walks over to Emma--who has her snout in another book and is completely absorbed--and taps her on the shoulder.  "Found anything useful?"

"Mmff?"  Emma mumbles distractedly.  Then she blinks, grins innocently at Pyros, and tries to hide the fact that her 'research' has involved a Terry Pratchett book.

"Er, no, nothing...  Heh..."

"We haven't either, though Cira found a physics book or two that has potential....well, it's been an hour.  Want to give my way a shot?"

"An hour?  Already??"  Make that two Pratchett books...

Emma shrugs all four of her shoulders.  "All right, I guess it's worth a try, given that we haven't found anything else yet."

"That sounds like a good idea.  Let's try it.  If we only have to send Emma it will be safer too.  Can you 'train' her to do it?"

"I don't know.  Traveling the way I do is mainly a function of innate talent.  Given enough time, someone could probably learn it, but time is something we don't have.  So for now, let's hope Emma has this talent, and that I can guide her well enough through its use...."

"Right," Emma nods.  "Let's do it."

Cira tries to make Emma comfortable for the attempt, knowing that he finds it easier to do such things when comfortable.  He moves a table out of the way to make room.

Emma reclines dragon-style on the floor, pleased to find that it's a lot more comfortable in this form.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help Pyros."

"Well, if you wouldn't mind, I don't think we can have Emma going back to RL looking like *that*, can we?"  He grins at Emma, remembering her initial delight at assuming draconic form.  "Don't worry...if this doesn't work I'm sure Cira can change you back until we find another way to get you home." Pyros waits for Cira to turn Emma back into her human form (Pyros can only polymorph himself with ease, and Cira obviously has the appropriate spell on hand).

Cira lowers his head until his horns point straight up at the ceiling and reduces his eyes to slits.  Streams of flaming sparks sprout all about Emma in yellow-white fountains much like fireworks.  Her form glows briefly as it morphs back to its normal shape.  The fountains sink and vanish having done no damage to the area rugs.  (Actually this one isn't a spell.  Instead it's a molecular transformation done my moving the atoms about.  I just enjoy adding all the flashy pizzazz. ];)

Emma pulls a now-very-human face.  "Ugh, so much for comfortable..."

"All right...make yourself as comfortable as you can."  He pulls over a plush human-sized chair for her, then starts talking to her in a quiet voice, somewhat hypnotic but not monotonous.  "Close your eyes, and concentrate on your breathing.  In...out...in...out...."  This continues for a couple of minutes.  "Now, ignore all that is around you.  It exists, but it does not matter.  Put your surroundings out of your thoughts.  Keep focusing on your breathing.  Even my words are not important--don't focus your conscious attention on *listening*.  Instead, only *hear* what I'm saying--your subconscious will catch the message, if not the words."  He continues, guiding her deeper.  "In...out...in...out....you feel Alfandra surrounding you.  Do not open your eyes, but *see* this world.  Nothing has changed, you're still among the bookshelves.  I am right in front of you, Cira is right here...do not see the world with your eyes, see it with your mind.  Don't remember how it was before you closed your eyes, but feel how it is now.  Have you got the image?"

Emma's brow is furrowed in deep concentration - or, more accurately, in an intense effort to try and stay focused.  She nods slightly.

At an assent from Emma, he continues:  "Good...hold the image, become one with it.  You should now be seeing Alfandra, but not quite as you saw it before--now you're seeing it at a more basic level, the fabric of the space itself.  Of course, in your mind you still see representations of the books, the shelves, and of us because that's the only thing your mind can understand and process.  Here, look around the room with your mind."  He then casts his item-retrieval spell again--a relatively small spell, but enough to warp the fabric of space.  The spell is noiseless and Emma's eyes are still closed, so this should serve as a good test to see if she is in the proper mental state.  "So, Emma...did you feel that just now, right in front of you?"

Emma is busy wondering what the fabric of space is suposed to look like.  "Feel what?" she mumbles.

Pyros's face drops.

With a frustrated sigh, she opens her eyes.  "It's no good, this isn't working.  I'm sorry, Pyros."

"It's all right."  He pats her on the shoulder, somewhat awkwardly due to their current difference in size.  "It was a long shot anyway."