Innverse Stats | Solstice (Pt. 4)

Name	Text
Ryoka Griffin	Ryoka Griffin felt the wind shift her raven-dark hair and looked around to see an aged wall of bark in front of her. Wonderingly, she put her hand out and felt at the rough texture. The bark flaked away in her grasp.
Ryoka Griffin	What had before been a small clearing in the forest had changed without sound, only in perception. A vast trunk lay in front of Ryoka, akin to a wall of wood. She stared at it. And realized that what had been before a tree was now—
Ryoka Griffin	Other branches, like a spider web across the forest’s ceiling. Ryoka gazed upwards and a flash of insight revealed the truth: this was but one tree in a forest.
Ryoka Griffin	The ring of fungi had altered markedly as well. What had been slightly discolored, ordinary whitecaps or some other form of indigenous fungi had sprouted higher. Until Ryoka could safely walk under the vast caps of reds and violets, gaze upwards at the lines of the mushroom’s growth.
Ryoka Griffin	Tens of thousands. The largest of them began to creep downwards and Ryoka leapt away from the fungi, a curse on her lips. She stumbled forwards—foot striking a shard of pain from a buried rock—
Ryoka Griffin	To safety. For Ryoka Griffin saw the grass had grown wild, in profusion, bearing plentiful, fat seeds, among wild flowers and plants of every nature.
Ryoka Griffin	No weed but grew in this forest, as there was no great gardener. Already, Ryoka had felt the prickling of weeds; a nettle’s faint kiss which made her swear and adjust her posture.
Ryoka Griffin	The confusion tangling her thoughts did nothing to change the reality she now found herself in. Indeed, Ryoka believed this circumstance more than that of a second ago. A second kiss of another nettle made her reach for the emergency boots she carried in her bag of holding.
Ryoka Griffin	Ryoka sat on the grass of the faerie circle, applying a balm which soothed the biting itch and at the same time put on socks and the enchanted boots she had taken from the Archmage’s mansion.
Hedault	The worn leather was a tad bit too large for her and left room on her feet—but it was preferable to standing on the grass. She had used it to run over stone and rock, and Hedault had claimed they would be proof against the thickest of thorns. A wise investment to keep them, Ryoka reflected in that moment.
Ryoka Griffin	The worn leather was a tad bit too large for her and left room on her feet—but it was preferable to standing on the grass. She had used it to run over stone and rock, and Hedault had claimed they would be proof against the thickest of thorns. A wise investment to keep them, Ryoka reflected in that moment.
Ryoka Griffin	Even there, though, Ryoka espied a difference. One of the squirrels turned a multi-faceted eye, yet still flesh rather than chitin, at her. Eight eyes where one should be. It was as long as her arm minus the ragged tail, and it regarded Ryoka as a possible foe, rather than danger. She backed up—
Ryoka Griffin	Even there, though, Ryoka espied a difference. One of the squirrels turned a multi-faceted eye, yet still flesh rather than chitin, at her. Eight eyes where one should be. It was as long as her arm minus the ragged tail, and it regarded Ryoka as a possible foe, rather than danger. She backed up—
Ryoka Griffin	It lay perfectly in the center of the faerie ring. And Ryoka, backing up now, realized that the spiders, wildlife, all avoided the grass around this spot for about six feet. The wind had twice protected her from stepping on it.
Ryoka Griffin	The mushrooms were not in themselves anything perfect; for all they were vast titans to the normal fauna. Some were half-rotted. And Ryoka suspected each were infested by the arachnid populations, which consumed local wildlife, and no doubt cannibalized each other.
Ryoka Griffin	But through the imperfection of the component parts had come this ideal spot. And into it—the potentiality had begat life. Either that, the Wind Runner thought, or this place has sprung into being around this very egg.
Ryoka Griffin	She gazed into its depths and saw a shape forming within the translucence. If she had dreamt of a winged shape, or some sparkle of a glorious being, the Wind Runner was disappointed.
Melidore	But only just. The budding spider glowed. With the same vividness of existence that Melidore had, a kind of supernatural aura below the skin that Ryoka sensed, by virtue of her own understanding of immortals.
Ryoka Griffin	But only just. The budding spider glowed. With the same vividness of existence that Melidore had, a kind of supernatural aura below the skin that Ryoka sensed, by virtue of her own understanding of immortals.
Ryoka Griffin	A single spider’s egg. Ryoka could not fathom what the adult of it would be—or if it had ever walked this world. All she knew was that as she hurriedly stomped out of the faerie’s ring, she crushed spiders covering the grass, and began to run before the adults took further umbrage at her intrusion.
Ryoka Griffin	The Wind Runner caught her breath sixty meters away from the ring of mushrooms. More strangeness; she felt the stitch in her side more keenly now. A sharp, ragged bit of pain.
Ryoka Griffin	She had not felt such in her flight from the Wild Hunt before. Nor, Ryoka realized with another gasp of insight, had she perceived the distance she’d crossed in any quantifiable form.
Ryoka Griffin	The Wind Runner chuckled to herself. Of course. Faerie rules. Alice in Wonderland syndrome, like the story it was based off of—and Ryoka’s experience to some degree—was when someone perceived things as being larger and smaller than they were.
Ryoka Griffin	The Wind Runner chuckled to herself. Of course. Faerie rules. Alice in Wonderland syndrome, like the story it was based off of—and Ryoka’s experience to some degree—was when someone perceived things as being larger and smaller than they were.
Ryoka Griffin	Extend that metaphor to her current condition and Ryoka’s hypothesis was that she had shifted everything, not just her sense of scale. The humble trees had been here, instead of the forest a moment ago. Or…had they truly been so humble?

Ryoka Griffin

Ryoka Griffin felt the wind shift her raven-dark hair and looked around to see an aged wall of bark in front of her. Wonderingly, she put her hand out and felt at the rough texture. The bark flaked away in her grasp.

Ryoka Griffin

What had before been a small clearing in the forest had changed without sound, only in perception. A vast trunk lay in front of Ryoka, akin to a wall of wood. She stared at it. And realized that what had been before a tree was now—

Ryoka Griffin

Other branches, like a spider web across the forest’s ceiling. Ryoka gazed upwards and a flash of insight revealed the truth: this was but one tree in a forest.

Ryoka Griffin

The ring of fungi had altered markedly as well. What had been slightly discolored, ordinary whitecaps or some other form of indigenous fungi had sprouted higher. Until Ryoka could safely walk under the vast caps of reds and violets, gaze upwards at the lines of the mushroom’s growth.

Ryoka Griffin

Tens of thousands. The largest of them began to creep downwards and Ryoka leapt away from the fungi, a curse on her lips. She stumbled forwards—foot striking a shard of pain from a buried rock—

Ryoka Griffin

To safety. For Ryoka Griffin saw the grass had grown wild, in profusion, bearing plentiful, fat seeds, among wild flowers and plants of every nature.

Ryoka Griffin

No weed but grew in this forest, as there was no great gardener. Already, Ryoka had felt the prickling of weeds; a nettle’s faint kiss which made her swear and adjust her posture.

Ryoka Griffin

The confusion tangling her thoughts did nothing to change the reality she now found herself in. Indeed, Ryoka believed this circumstance more than that of a second ago. A second kiss of another nettle made her reach for the emergency boots she carried in her bag of holding.

Ryoka Griffin

Ryoka sat on the grass of the faerie circle, applying a balm which soothed the biting itch and at the same time put on socks and the enchanted boots she had taken from the Archmage’s mansion.

Hedault

The worn leather was a tad bit too large for her and left room on her feet—but it was preferable to standing on the grass. She had used it to run over stone and rock, and Hedault had claimed they would be proof against the thickest of thorns. A wise investment to keep them, Ryoka reflected in that moment.

Ryoka Griffin

The worn leather was a tad bit too large for her and left room on her feet—but it was preferable to standing on the grass. She had used it to run over stone and rock, and Hedault had claimed they would be proof against the thickest of thorns. A wise investment to keep them, Ryoka reflected in that moment.

Ryoka Griffin

Even there, though, Ryoka espied a difference. One of the squirrels turned a multi-faceted eye, yet still flesh rather than chitin, at her. Eight eyes where one should be. It was as long as her arm minus the ragged tail, and it regarded Ryoka as a possible foe, rather than danger. She backed up—

Ryoka Griffin

Even there, though, Ryoka espied a difference. One of the squirrels turned a multi-faceted eye, yet still flesh rather than chitin, at her. Eight eyes where one should be. It was as long as her arm minus the ragged tail, and it regarded Ryoka as a possible foe, rather than danger. She backed up—

Ryoka Griffin

It lay perfectly in the center of the faerie ring. And Ryoka, backing up now, realized that the spiders, wildlife, all avoided the grass around this spot for about six feet. The wind had twice protected her from stepping on it.

Ryoka Griffin

The mushrooms were not in themselves anything perfect; for all they were vast titans to the normal fauna. Some were half-rotted. And Ryoka suspected each were infested by the arachnid populations, which consumed local wildlife, and no doubt cannibalized each other.

Ryoka Griffin

But through the imperfection of the component parts had come this ideal spot. And into it—the potentiality had begat life. Either that, the Wind Runner thought, or this place has sprung into being around this very egg.

Ryoka Griffin

She gazed into its depths and saw a shape forming within the translucence. If she had dreamt of a winged shape, or some sparkle of a glorious being, the Wind Runner was disappointed.

Melidore

But only just. The budding spider glowed. With the same vividness of existence that Melidore had, a kind of supernatural aura below the skin that Ryoka sensed, by virtue of her own understanding of immortals.

Ryoka Griffin

But only just. The budding spider glowed. With the same vividness of existence that Melidore had, a kind of supernatural aura below the skin that Ryoka sensed, by virtue of her own understanding of immortals.

Ryoka Griffin

A single spider’s egg. Ryoka could not fathom what the adult of it would be—or if it had ever walked this world. All she knew was that as she hurriedly stomped out of the faerie’s ring, she crushed spiders covering the grass, and began to run before the adults took further umbrage at her intrusion.

Ryoka Griffin

The Wind Runner caught her breath sixty meters away from the ring of mushrooms. More strangeness; she felt the stitch in her side more keenly now. A sharp, ragged bit of pain.

Ryoka Griffin

She had not felt such in her flight from the Wild Hunt before. Nor, Ryoka realized with another gasp of insight, had she perceived the distance she’d crossed in any quantifiable form.

Ryoka Griffin

The Wind Runner chuckled to herself. Of course. Faerie rules. Alice in Wonderland syndrome, like the story it was based off of—and Ryoka’s experience to some degree—was when someone perceived things as being larger and smaller than they were.

Ryoka Griffin

The Wind Runner chuckled to herself. Of course. Faerie rules. Alice in Wonderland syndrome, like the story it was based off of—and Ryoka’s experience to some degree—was when someone perceived things as being larger and smaller than they were.

Ryoka Griffin

Extend that metaphor to her current condition and Ryoka’s hypothesis was that she had shifted everything, not just her sense of scale. The humble trees had been here, instead of the forest a moment ago. Or…had they truly been so humble?

Solstice (Pt. 4)

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