Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

Artemis thinks for a moment, seeming to almost zone out.

"I have an idea of how to temporarily fix your vision, but you need to be open to it." Artemis says with a wink, before holding out both of her hands for Ihra to take.

 

"...I guess I'd be willing to try?" Ihra says, not seeming to notice exactly where Artemis' hands are.

 

Artemis seems to notice, taking Ihra's hands in her own.

I leave Artemis and empower Ihra, trying to let her see through my eyes instead of her own; hopefully giving her a rather normal vision of the world - albeit with the ability to see in the dark.

"Did it work?" Artemis asks, hopeful.

 

"I... see Aj. And only Aj."

 

"You can't see anything different?" Artemis says, before I appear in her shadow.

"Her brain is a complex mess. It's kind of hard to shift mine to match it, then cut her vision and replace it with my own." I say, sounding almost apologetic.

"When did this different vision start? Your eyesight seemed normal when we first met." Artemis asks as I disappear again.

 

"When I was looking through primordial formations. I didn't know what some things were because I couldn't see them, and I tried a spell to swap my vision to primordial sight. I kinda didn't get around to seeing how to normalize my sight before that, though, and now I'm... probably a mess considering how many times I've gotten hurt and blindly tried to heal it."

 

"Can I try to heal them?" Artemis offers, a couple of vines growing in advance beside Ihra.

 

“I mean, sure? I don’t know how much of me is missing, but every wound is healed.” Ihra shrugs.

 

Artemis wraps a pair of vines around Ihra's eyes, channeling her healing magic through them in an attempt to fix Ihra's vision.

 

Ihra cringes, and the healing doesn't seem to affect anything - mostly because nothing seems to need heal.
"I appreciate it, but can we not do this right now? I really don't want more stuff in my face, especially since Abigail's first reaction to me was to attempt to blow me up."

 

The vines disappear, going back into the ground where they came from.

"Sorry." Artemis apologises.

 

“It’s fine... I think. I hope it’ll be fine, at least...” Ihra sighs.

 

"I'd say that Praecantatia may be able to fix your vision, though I take it you don't especially want to see any of our gods right now." Artemis says, trying to be sympathetic.

 

"It makes you sound more sympathetic."

 

"Accident or not, she used the same magic the Hive Master uses on Xlentia. I don't know how I feel about her right now." Ihra nods.

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"Sympathy doesn't help us much. If you think it'll help, then I guess I could start trying to remember that."

 

"She did? I thought she just telepathically communicated with Xlentia?" Artemis asks, confused, "It's...concerning one of our gods would do that..."

 

“She said she didn’t mean to, but Praecantatia triggered an emergency ward Emerald made that would redirect a mind control attempt on Xlentia to herself, and in response sent her to hell for a torture session. Mind you, that ward was set to only trip on the exact magic the Hive Master used. Now do you see why there’s a lot of feeling betrayed on my end?”

 

"Wouldn't that mean that the hive master just uses telepathy?" Artemis asks, "If Praecantatia is to be believed, at least."

 

"I guess... but at the same time, telepathy connects two minds and lets people exchange thoughts, right? Maybe it really is as simple as mind control being a telepathic connection with one side overwhelming the other?"

 

"Or subconscious suggestive thought." I say through Artemis, sounding smug.

"Yes, Aj...Perhaps he's controlling people by just making them think a certain way, rather than literal control?" Artemis says, "Like an incredibly charismatic leader."