How Very Inconvenient... (Pre-Unveiling & GF'd)

[Karo Sa'Nepenthes]

Well, thought Karo as he reclined against the bole of an ancient tree, things could be worse. To be sure, what he had just experienced was quite alarming and more than a little unusual, but it could certainly be worse.

The youngest scion of House Celerrond had experienced plenty of strange things in his time, of course, as anyone who lives for more than a century will. Certainly he had encountered mystery and unfamiliar circumstances more times than he could count. Generally, however, those circumstances were less glaringly inconvenient. For example, when adventure came knocking Karo was usually wearing pants.

One moment he had been happily dozing in his favorite armchair in the study of Kard en’i’Arnatir, gazing into the fire and sifting through his thoughts as his mind wandered. His journal lay on the table next to his chair, open to an unfinished entry, and his feet had been propped up on a cozy ottoman. He had been contemplating bed, sipping at a glass of brandy and merely watching the flames, then suddenly found himself Somewhere Else.

In the space between one instant and the next his armchair had vanished and he found himself resting quite comfortably against the massive trunk of this tree, a deep carpet of moss providing both cushioning for his body and support for his back. Instead of his ottoman, Karo found his feet propped up on the silvery wood of a fallen tree, the bark long fallen off. Obviously, Something Had Happened, though naturally Karo was clueless as to what it might have been or what had caused it. He was, however, quite thankful that whatever force had transported him had done so while he was still dressed at the very least in his evening robe and slippers, rather than waiting until he was asleep and clad only in a breechcloth.

The tall elf had never really seen the benefit of losing his cool when life took him in strange directions. Generally, he found it best to simply roll the way he was pushed, do what he could to stay on top of things, and see where the path before him led. It was a philosophy that had served him well in life, leading him in and out of Imperial politics not once but twice now, and it had earned him his family – an honor he could still hardly believe.

Therefore, instead of panicking at his sudden and inexplicable change of location, Karo spent some time simply looking around. He found himself in a part of the forest that was completely alien to him, filled with ancient, moss-covered trees and swirling mists filled with enigmatic, constantly changing shapes. It was comfortable enough, he decided, and the wild mystery of the place intrigued him. But it was extraordinarily inconvenient that he had been taken here with no chance to prepare or dress himself, and the foggy air was beginning to feel chilly. And, again, he had no idea where he was.

As he sipped his brandy contemplatively, trying to decide what to do, Karo abruptly stopped and stared at the glass in his hand, a low chuckle escaping his lips. Evidently whatever power had sent him here had done so with a finely developed sense of irony, for while he was severly underdressed, he had apparently been allowed to keep his drink. So the young elf did the only thing possible to do under the circumstances – he emptied the glass. Thus fortified, he found himself more decisive as to his next step. When completely lost, he decided, one direction is really just as good as any other. Standing, the elementalist tucked the empty glass into one of the pockets of his robe and picked a direction at random. Removing his slippers in case he needed them later on, Karo began to walk in the hope of finding some clue as to what had happened or where he was.

[Tarot]

This place was certainly filled with trees, but Karo would have a hard time identifying exactly where it was located. It certainly did not emanate the negative vibrations that the Blackbarch did, but other than that, nothing really stood out about this forest. Tall, fresh grass, perhaps unnaturally lush for this time of era, the wild scent of moss, the slightest, cool breeze moving the foliage. The woods felt very much alive today, despite the lack of obvious animal life in action.

Too bad Karo was not out on a stroll, or rather, he was not out on a stroll that he had initiated. It really was a beautiful place to just explore without the burden of shoes or slippers. And as Karo began to look around and pick a random direction to walk in, he would realize after a few minutes of trekking that he had come across a very familiar tree... the one he'd found himself leaning against upon being teleported her. Had he walked in a circle without realizing it or was this some kind of supernatural occurrence like the one that had snatched him away in the first place? Difficult to say at this time.

Karo would, however, notice that something did look slightly different about the tree this time around. As he struggled to compare reality to memory, he would perhaps realize that the tree looked a bit bigger than before. And come to think of it, didn't the grass look a bit taller too? Hmmm. Wait. The other trees seemed taller now, too. Was the grass supposed to reach up to his knees? Not that he remembered, no. But it did now.

Strange, very strange. It was as if the world was trying to get bigger and bigger by the moment. The grass now caressed his waist as the trees grew into majestic obelisks taller than any palace Karo had ever seen. The world did indeed seem to be getting larger... but the cold, hard truth dawned on the Elflord when he realized that his glass, formerly filled with brandy, was also becoming larger and heavier. And thus, as the item finally left his hand and was dropped onto the grass, it became painfully clear that the world had not decided to change its size on a whim...

It was just that Karo was no longer alone, lost and underdressed. He was now alone, lost, underdressed and ant-sized.

Blades of grass stood tall as towers, the tree trunks might as well have been immense pillars leading up to the sky. The empty glass rested nearby, more or less building-sized, the smell of brandy now so intense for his diminutive nostrils that it almost made him feel sick. Karo had a small problem, so to speak... a black ant, larger than he was, peered through the grass and stared at him for a short moment.

[Karo Sa'Nepenthes]

Karo blinked, then rubbed his eyes. He had definitely not turned -- he thought, anyway -- but here he was, looking at the same tree-seat he'd started from. The tracker and woodsman in Karo suggested quietly that this was impossible, but the supremely pragmatic soldier in him respectfully told the tracker parts to shut up, since it obviously wasn't.

His confusion only grew as he watched the world seem to grow around him. Had Karo had too much to drink? He didn't think it likely, since his nightcap had been exactly the same as it usually was, and he'd had nothing else. Nobody was likely to have slipped a hallucinogen in the drink, but even if they had this was the most realistic hallucination the Elflord had ever heard of. The only conclusion that could be made was that this was really happening.

Unfortunately, just after he made that conclusion, Karo was forcefully reminded of it by the fact that his glass, formerly a nice hefty size and weight but certainly nothing to strain him, was rapidly becoming very large and very heavy. When he finally let it go because he couldn't hold the thing anymore, Karo came to the realization that Something Was Not Quite Normal.

As the shrinking finished -- I hope, anyway, thought the elf -- Karo studied his new surroundings. It was utterly amazing that he had been standing in a forest clearing mere moments before, and now was at least an order of magnitude smaller than the blades of grass which had been under his feet, looking at quite easily ten minutes' walk or more to cover the distance he might have taken in a step. Still more amazing, despite the vast difference in his view of things, he found that at some level the scenery had not really changed very much at all. The grass was not a forest of trees in the sense to which he was accustomed, but for a creature the size Karo found himself there was little effective difference. The shady quality of light was the same, and the winding pathways and areas of denser and clearer growth were actually quite similar, which Karo found surprising, although he was unsure why he should.

Soon enough, however, Karo realized he had better move. The brandy fumes from the drop or two he'd left in his glass were overpowering. While on the one hand he wished he had another glass, he realized on the other that he'd never be able to drink it in his current circumstances. The smell was quite enough, and Karo was beginning to feel lightheaded.

Any other person might have been forgiven for panicking. How was he going to survive in this tiny-yet-enormous world? What would he eat? Would there be other creatures trying to eat him? How on Telath was he to get back to his normal size? All of these were perfectly reasonable questions, and all of them were equally ignored. Karo had never been one to worry about things beyond his control if he could help it, and the circumstances in which he found himself were very obviously well beyond his control. Rather than worry about what might happen ten minutes from now or tomorrow or next era, the Elementalist made the simple decision to deal with the world on its own terms, as it came to him. It made for some interesting experiences, and often got very hairy indeed (both literally and figuratively, on one memorable occasion), but for the most part Karo found that it was an excellent way to look at life. Things generally worked themselves out, for the most part, and fighting things rarely made the situation any better, so why fight? Karo would face this unique challenge just like he faced any other, with his own unique brand of what he liked to call "fatalistic optimism."

Having decided that simply to walk was the best choice before, Karo made the same decision again. One direction is as good as another when you are lost, after all, whether you are the size of an ant or a dragon. Having made his choice, the tall (well, not so tall anymore...) elf set off, only to come more or less immediately upon an ant that was now a good deal larger than himself.

The better view, he decided, really didn't improve their appearance. Still, Karo had always gotten along fairly well with ants, occasionally simply watching their activity for long stretches of time, and they seemed to get along fairly well with him. Perhaps that -- combined with the brandy fumes he'd been inhaling probably more than was good for him -- explained his next choice of action.

"Vedui!" he greeted the ant politely, with a small bow. "As I am sure you've noticed, I am not at all accustomed to these surroundings. Might you, by some chance, be able to help me figure out what on Telath is going on?" Talking to an ant? Well, perhaps Karo was a little drunk from the fumes after all. But then, in a world where Karo suddenly found himself ant-sized, the normal rules obviously no longer applied, so why not?

[Tarot]

The ant turned its black head curiously as Karo addressed it. Its three-segmented body made its way towards the miniaturized Elf in the general direction of his voice. It was obvious, though, that the creature's eyesight was very poor. Its faceted eyes could not really tell what type of unusual shape Karo was, though the tiny animal managed to end up in front of him eventurally. It stood motionless for a short while, its little brain processing information at its own slow pace. This looked like a worker ant, an industrious forager for the colony that had very little in the way of offensive potential... except that it looked horse-sized, or more accurately hippo-sized.

Slowly, tentatively, the ant extended its antennas and placed them on Karo's shoulders, feeling him, trying to understand what he was. It was perhaps half-expecting to find another pair of antennas on the Elf, but since his body had not undergone visible changes aside from size, there were none to be found.

Then something interesting happened. Karo could suddenly hear a soft mumbling in the back of his mind, which he would easily associate with the insect in front of him. It was as if he had access to the inner workings of the ant's mind, which was, needless to say, a very simple mind. The mumbling went along the lines of...

'Surprise. That which was not expected. Should bring back. Back to Her. Survival of colony endangered.'

Karo could perceive a faint smell coming from the ant. It seemed that these beings could leave a trail of such scents for their fellow ants to follow. More ants peered from the grass to catch up with the first. The original ant slowly turned around and showed Karo its back, as if telling him to jump on. Not really ant-like behavior, but the very world around the Elflord had undergone quite a few changes over the past few candlemarks. Whatever this tiny insect was, it wanted to take Karo to Her, a gathering instinct that was actually well within its nature as a picnic annoyance.

[Karo Sa'Nepenthes]

Karo's brow furrowed in puzzlement as the ant approached him, and he bent his knees, unconsciously preparing to flee if it should prove to be necessary. Luckily, however, it seemed that the Elflord's precautions were needless. As the ant placed its antennae on Karo's shoulders, he could feel a bizarre sort of communion with the creature. Clearly, Karo was something for which the insect was very much unprepared, and equally clearly he was to be presented to a higher authority. Who that authority might be he was unsure, but when the other ants peered out from the nearby grass he decided that it didn't much matter. He was going to be taken to Her.

Though if he had his choice, Karo reflected, he would probably choose to go along anyway. Perhaps he could obtain answers from Her about what was going on. If not, perhaps he could help Her save the ant colony from whatever danger threatened. Karo had no special love for ants, especially given the number of picnics he'd had terrorized, but nor did he especially dislike them. And if he could be of some service, that could only be to the good.

Wondering what his sister-in-law Chrysannia would say about him acting as a servant to a creature so insignificant as an ant, the elementalist grinned at her imagined temper tantrum. Still grinning, he did as the ant seemed to be asking and climbed aboard its back, trying to balance on the smooth carapace.

"Very well, my friend," he said good-naturedly. "Take me to Her, and let's see if we can't help one another out."

[Seregon]

And so, upon the back of an ant, Karo made his way across the forest floor. It was an interesting journey to say the least. The woodland certainly came across as a bit overwhelming from this point of view. However, his insectoid mount managed to move across it with the greatest of ease, not giving a single obstacle a second thought. Over crinkled leaves and crested sheets of stone, below massive branches - which were most likely just twigs - and under thick blades of grass they traveled through the darkening. Karo had to admit that he was lucky to have such transportation, since walking anywhere important would have taken him brightenings, if not cycles to reach. This was far easier. As they moved deeper into the woods, the elf soon became aware of the pale, blue moonlight that was now filtering through the trees, illuminating everything it touched. It cast odd shadows as it appeared to also be cutting through a rather dense fog. Yet, just ahead, Karo could make out a distinct mound - an ant hill. 'Home. She waits. Enter. She will listen,' Karo could hear from his mount as it slowed and then stopped just at the foot of the mound. 'Go.'