Message 2

[wherethereislight]

Type: Text
Sender ID: wherethereislight (Shadow)
To: Public
Subject: Rifts
Warnings: Nothing? Just a grumpy hedgehog yelling at people to get off his lawn boat.

Stop going into the rifts. They don't take you wherever they show.

[Sincerely, a hedgehog that's getting tired of people landing on his damn boat.]

Comments

[octoblot]

It's a mystery to me as well.

[Again, genuinely sincere in saying that, because Azul did actually stop trying to make more after the first few attempts did not work the way he intended it to. Why they would still be appearing even after letting time pass without messing around with things is something he doesn't have an answer for yet...]

Did you or someone else you know go through one recently, and that's why you're making this post?

[wherethereislight]

Recent unwelcomed guests. Accidental or intentional. [Sonic, tolerable on some days. Surge and Kit. Their fate remains to be seen.]

[octoblot]

Oh my. I wonder why the rifts would be leading these unexpected guests to you specifically, instead of somewhere else here.

[Although, if he had to guess... yes, these guests probably were Kit and Surge, or one of the others here from Shadow's world. The original intent being that the rifts were supposed to bring people "home" and has since been directing them instead to the closest equivalent or reminder of that person's home... including sending you to people, as Azul himself found out when he got dropped onto Leona with one of them.]

[wherethereislight]

[...Is that the pattern? He hadn't paid much attention until it started to happen more frequently. His priorities were elsewhere last month.]

You had experience with them? [Or were they speaking up after observing others?]

[octoblot]

Indeed I did. One of them whisked me away and unexpectedly dropped me right into the middle of the ocean last month.

It was not a pleasant experience having to try to get back to shore afterward.

[wherethereislight]

[...Well, if the theory holds of what people see in those strange rifts.]

Did you see what was in the rift before you went through?

[octoblot]

[............]

I did.

It was the sight of some people I know, waiting for me to return to school with them.

[wherethereislight]

[And then dropped into the ocean. It would seem like a strange location to drop someone, but he remembers what he saw from the tank.]

It knows what someone wants to see the moment they appear. There is intent. [As some kind of distraction? A trap? There's a number of things he could think of as to why these particular rifts behave the way they do.]

[octoblot]

That does appear to be the case: I haven't seen one that showed those people again after that first one, but I have seen at least two other rifts with glimpses of places I knew.

[wherethereislight]

[Rifts appearing that know what to show the individual in question. And it's been someplace from their home. Entering them though only takes them somewhere else in this world.]

Were you thinking about your world before they appeared?

[octoblot]

As a matter of fact, I was indeed thinking of my world when they appeared...

Perhaps that's what causes these rifts to appear? Because I don't believe I've had one that appeared when I was merely thinking about business matters or places I need to go here for daily necessities or the like, now that I'm thinking about it.

[wherethereislight]

[...The ones who have shown up uninvited, they were inviduals connected to his world in some way. Or people that knew him. Even when he walked through a rift, he landed somewhere that Surge and Kit were present.]

Is there some connection you have with the ocean?

[octoblot]

[Well, that's quite the question to throw at him here.]
 
I suppose you could say that: Night Raven College, which is the school I attend, is actually situated on an island known as "Sage's Island", thus we are surrounded by the sea.

[... It's not technically a lie if he says that, right? Right.]

[wherethereislight]

[See we didn't even need to bring up the freaky tentacles.] It's possible, where people exit is somewhere tied to their home then.

[octoblot]

[Thank you Shadow for not mentioning Azul's freaky tentacles on a public post that everyone can see.]

You might be right... ah, by that logic, I suppose that means there was something about you or your residence that was reminiscent of something from your unwanted guests home?

[wherethereislight]

People that know of me. How annoying. [Ugh. Really seems to be the case. Why couldn't they fall on anyone else from home?]

[octoblot]

I see.

[Hmmm]

I don't have a lot of experience with this particular type of potential magic that may be in play, but I can certainly try to look into it and see what I'm able to come up with researching the matter.

[Okay now he is definitely lying and not just by omission, but Shadow doesn't need to know that.]

[wherethereislight]

[...] What's in it for you? [His business makes Shadow think he doesn't just do stuff for free.]

[octoblot]

[You're right, he doesn't.]

Obtaining the knowledge of how these rifts were made as someone interested in magic is a worthy interest, is it not? And perhaps, if a method is found to undo the damage they are currently doing, perhaps there can also be a way to refine them in a manner that can be used for a more lucrative purpose.

After all, while they are a nuisance right now, it would certainly be a convenient method for traveling for those here who may not want to rely on ships or other crafts to reach a destination in this place...

[wherethereislight]

[...He'd charge a fee to use them, wouldn't he?]

Consider collaborating with others with similar interest to make progress. If I discover further details, I will inform you.

[octoblot]

[oh absolutely]

Understood. I look forward to hearing from you again should you find anything, Shadow-san.