video; unseelie locked.

[thebreakingwave]

Hello, for those of you I haven't yet met, I'm Harry.

[The video footage is of a young man with messy black hair, one bottle-green eye, and half his face silvered over with old scarring. On the damaged side, he has a red amber prosthetic in place of an eye. In the background, there's a crow that periodically peers over his shoulder.]

The queen has tasked me to talk to every one of the Unseelie and ask for a memory of solidarity, overcoming great odds, or defeating a foe. With these, she can use it to create a better, stronger defence for a rebuilt Caer Scima.

It's going to take time to do this — at the very least, a few months — so there's no hurry to meet and I've the ability to get to pretty much anywhere in the Drabwurld quickly.

[He looks down at a bit of paper that's just out of sight; seems like someone made notes before talking.]

Sharing a memory is done through magic, it doesn't hurt, I won't look at anything you don't want me to see and I'll swear to that.

How's that?

Comments

perma-private!

[digophelia]

The high queen asked for you to collect memories?

[ She looks mildly alarmed as she smooths out her hair. Her question is an odd one, but an alarming one. ]

What would happen to the mind that it comes from? Will it become tainted from her?

Re: perma-private!

[thebreakingwave]

Not collect as in keep, but collect as in share.

And no, she'll have no affect or sway over you. I wouldn't hurt my friends that way.

[digophelia]

[ It feels like the Dollmaker all over again. Her frown persists. ]

I have no doubt that you wouldn't hurt a friend, but isn't it just a little to convenient?

[ Or maybe she's over-thinking it. ]

[thebreakingwave]

I don't understand, Alice. How's it convenient?

[digophelia]

[ She hesitate, she hates even mentioning that man in passing. ]

Maybe my concerns are a bit unfounded, but I've always been reluctant to see anyone collect pieces of another mind -- memories especially -- that are vulnerable. That is not to say I don't trust you, I don't trust Queen Morla.

I've seen others coerced through therapy, through the promise of ridding them of painful memories so that they can heal. And not that long ago, I could have sworn someone was in a dream of mine.

[ Well, no, it seems more likely that it did happen. ]

I suppose I'm worried that others would suffer some sort of bleed through, that they'll be more vulnerable to manipulation. I know I'm being a bit silly.

[thebreakingwave]

I understand, but it's a copy, not the original. Of course, there is that chance that the Queen could use it against all of us, any of us, but she could do that with anything of ours - hair, names, the shards inside us.

You're not being silly. You're being clever and cautious.

[digophelia]

I would rather that a piece of my body be used against me, rather than my mind. That is something much worse than what the rocks inside of us can be used against us, I think. Memories are what make us, both good and bad, and it is important to keep all of them.

[ But, she has to wonder, even if she's cautious- ]

Will that really help you most of all, Harry? I would rather help a friend than Queen Morla.

[thebreakingwave]

[ Harry doesn't tell her that it doesn't really matter whether it's bone or mind at the heart of spell - both are useful, both can damage physically and mentally. ]

It would help me. I've been put on this quest to do this thing and if I don't do it, then I fail, and she'll send someone else. It's not the be all and end all.

[digophelia]

I don't want you to fail, no, I would rather see you succeed and you only.

[ She mulls through her head, something that she can really draw from to help, something she'd be willing to shroud in the vague nature of Wonderland. But even then, it would still be her, wouldn't it?

What if it were Wonderland's Jabberwock, she wonders. ]

I wouldn't trust anyone else.

[thebreakingwave]

Thank you. Whenever you're ready, we can meet and I'll talk you through it. Show you everything I'm doing, how it works, and there's no secrets. Not from me, anyway.

[digophelia]

Of course.

[ She manages a smile for him. ]

I'll be at the Barrel for a little while, unless something changes or Lancelot decides to leave. Should you come, I'll be more than happy to offer tea and a meal.

[thebreakingwave]

Thanks Alice, I'll see you there.