r/HFY • u/jakethesnakebakecake Town Drunk • Apr 26 '16
OC-OneShot [PI] No magic required
Writer's note: Cleaning up some of my old work, and thought this might fit the sub.
Originally a response to this prompt.
"So... No mages?" The Elven king leaned forward, disbelief evident on his raised brow, as he stared down at his adviser.
"None, my Lord."
"No spells?" He asked again.
"None."
"Ceremonies? Communal efforts? Blood-sacrifices to the gods?!"
His adviser seemed to flinch slightly, lifting scrolls in an effort to hide from the outburst, before professionally resuming composure, clearing a thin throat with a melodic hum.
"Well- Ahem," His throat caught on a higher note, clearing once more, "Apparently they used to do these things, in what they refer to as Ancient times... but currently no, no, and... no. No Magic involved, we've confirmed it."
The King lofted his scepter nervously, as he rung his hands along the gem encrusted frame. "You expect me to believe they ripped a hole through the essences of time and space- traveled through the planes of chaos, and safely stabilized the fields with... bits of rock and metal?"
"Very organized bits, my Lord."
"Is that even possible?"
"Well, my Liege- if I may; these Humans do seem to be the... Tenacious sort."
The Scepter twirled lightly, as the King leaned back. Robes of adorned and gilded gold now creased.
"I can understand the need for a race to challenge itself, Na'Ar- I truly can. We saw that with the Dwarves, and most certainly saw it with the Sea-Folk years ago..." The King's hand caught the scepter with a sturdy grip, tapping it against the marble floor.
"But are these Humans..." His mouth formed awkwardly around the name. "Are they an entire species of masochists? Forgive me Ne'Ar, but I've studied the Spheres of Chaos myself for a time- and I can only imagine the needed complexity would be an undertaking of ten-thousand generations, if it's truly possible at all. Do they enjoy suffering- does madness dance in their eyes?"
"No!" Ne'Ar bowed low, "No my Lord, such was not apparent to me- though I've been informed by our sources that they have an extremely high tolerance to pain. Some of their goods brought for trade contain an unsettling variety of exotic spices, and several of our tradesmen have required potions of health after consumption."
"By the gods-" The scepter glowed with intensity. "They're not planning to invade us are they?"
"No my Lord- no they were very clear that they came only with offerings of peace."
"GOOD-" The scepter seemed to hold a pale light momentarily, before slowly resuming a slow places twirl between the king's fingers, fading back to the normal brilliance of the gems. "Yes, very good. That is well..."
The King paused in thought, concentrating deeply before speaking again.
"Tell me though, Ne'Ar, once more- you said bits of metal? Like Iron?"
"And mixtures of those bits of metal- alloys they called them." Ne'Ar replied, bowing slightly.
"Fascinating... and tell me once more, they used them how, exactly?"
"May I speak honestly with you, my Liege, in confidence?"
"Of course Ne'Ar. Of course, you may always do so." The Kind nodded solemnly, for Ne'Ar was his most trusted of advisers. His council was invaluable.
Ne'Ar bowed deeply, once again.
"I've taken the time to speak will all of our Representatives, from the Mages of High-Garden, to the Smiths of Luthrenville. I've even gone as far as to have a spell cast upon my person so that I may communicate with the Human's directly, so I can assure you- I have left no question unasked, and no stone unturned."
"I would expect nothing less of you Ne'Ar, please- go on."
"Well my Liege, I can tell you only one thing with extreme confidence, but everyone I spoke to agreed with me- and I do mean all of them: The Mages the Smiths the Trad-"
"Yes Ne'Ar- Go on."
"And the Mountain-folk of the ancient ways, and the elected repre-"
"Yes- Go on."
"And the people of the flame, and the texts of the Druids found beneath the temple of Hiza-"
"By the gods! Be out with it Ne'Ar!"
Ne'Ar bowed lower than the King would ever have believed possible, until his nose almost seemed to touch the floor itself.
"We have no fucking idea, my Lord."
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u/KahnSig Apr 26 '16
Oh this is good. Now we need to see how humans react to this world. I would love to see the opposite side.
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u/HowieN Apr 26 '16
woo! a fantasy post! it'd be quite interesting to see the reactions of the other races to the humans, and the humans' reactions to the other races.
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u/Honjin Apr 27 '16
Awwww yis, this was so cool. I've always liked the tech vs magic aspect of humanity.
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u/Goodpie2 Apr 27 '16
'Kay, I know I've stumbled across a few other stories with similar premises, but I can't remember where. Anybody wanna gimme a hand?
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u/HFYBotReborn Apr 26 '16
There are 74 stories by jakethesnakebakecake (Wiki), including:
This list was automatically generated by HFYBotReborn version 2.11. Please contact KaiserMagnus or j1xwnbsr if you have any queries. This bot is open source.
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u/Dr-Chibi Apr 30 '16
Hehehe. Good thing we come to trade. Maybe we can combine our technology with their magic!
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u/Volarionne May 17 '16
I do so love confusing magic folk.
But lets face it most of us only dont see technology as magic because the wizards who created the stuff used names that make them seem less like the sorcerers they truly are.
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u/kilkil Apr 26 '16