2nd Gig | Video

[milliondollarpipes]

[At first, the camera is just pointing into a bush. There's a bit of shuffling, a flash of sleeve and a wide-eyed Skiddo pressing up against Harvey's legs. Then he points the camera around the tree they're hiding behind.

This thing is oozing along down the grass, waving tentacles and tongue in the air.]

Please tell me other people are seeing this thing.

If we ever find out who's responsible for this, I say we feed 'em to them. What the hell...how's it even moving on land like that?

Comments

[eclipse_of_time]

We're a pacifist island nation that keeps mostly isolated from the rest of the world.

Oh, we've opened trade routes in the last two years, but we've kept the same way of life for a thousand years. I'm not very worried much will change.

[milliondollarpipes]

I hope that's true. [Sorry, super pessimism man is here.] There always folks willin' to take advantage of pacifists.

[eclipse_of_time]

As Numara's founder and sole ruler for over a millennium, I can assure you that it is.

I may be a pacifist, but I am no fool.

[milliondollarpipes]

Really?

[Well damn. Talk about burying the lede.]

Do your people usually live that long?

[eclipse_of_time]

My kind, yes. There aren't many of us at all, it's a very complicated story that I must confess I don't know all of. But we are known as Immortals, and in the world I came here from, we are ageless and invulnerable and possess great magical energy, moreso than any mortal.

[Ming tends to try and be humble and not mention her royal status, but if anyone so much as hints that Numara isn't the peaceful paradise she believes, all bets are off.]

The people of Numara are normal mortals. The islands were barren, inhospitable, the people living upon them barely surviving. I gave them proper soil, lush vegetation, knowledge of the workings of nature and how to harness them and create. And we've doing such ever since.

[milliondollarpipes]

Huh.

[You know, he's very inclined to buck against the idea of immortal magic people swooping in to rule mankind forever. But he likes her well enough, and he's been on his own now for a couple months; he's not too eager to burn the conversation to the ground.]

Are you just gonna do that forever?

[eclipse_of_time]

I don't have any other plans in mind. It's what I've always done.

Oh, I suppose I'll take holidays now and again, to spend time with my husband, but I really can't imagine doing anything else. And Numara needs me.

[milliondollarpipes]

[well that doesn't sound horrifying]

You think they'll always need you?

[eclipse_of_time]

They have for a thousand years.

[Ming pauses, thoughtful. It must sound so strange, to those not from her world and familiar with its workings.]

I knew the life I was choosing for myself, when I tied my own energy to the land of Numara and stepped up to protect it. My people are true pacifists, Mr. Finevoice. They wield no weapons and rally no army. My power and immortality keep them safe, and keep the islands vibrant and flourishing. They are like my children, in a way, and I could no more leave my throne than a mother could abandon her children.

[milliondollarpipes]

I guess we must all seem pretty young to you.

[Don't you dare call him a child.]

[eclipse_of_time]

Yes and no. I may be quite old, and wise in my areas of knowledge but...

There's much of the world I've never seen or experienced. I've only ever left Numara before once, for a brief and necessary time. I'm sure, in many ways, you have far more experience than I.