riverview | 1 [@necromantica:video]

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1 [@necromantica:video]

[Letha's confusion over this new technology is clear from the first moment of the video. She's turned on the camera facing away from her, showing her desk full of neatly organized piles of paper, all forms with neat cursive scrawled across them. The angle is skewed, camera shaky, and she keeps moving it as she tries to figure out the device.]

There's absolutely nothing like this in my world...

[Sure, she'd tried very hard to follow the orientation instructions, but she's handling it much like a grandmother with her first smartphone. She finally gets it turned around, but that just gives viewers a worm's eye view of her shocked face as she sees the unflattering angle and turns it back around to her desk.]

If only I could write on these, it would be so much simpler. Well, anyway. Can anyone hear me? I thought it might be prudent to contact this 'network'... and see if anyone who understands these... inventions better than me could lend me a hand.

[Go easy on her, she's never even seen a telephone or typewriter before.]

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[This takes her a bit to think over... the politics of the outside world rarely affects the citizens of Thornwell.]

Queen Victoria, I think. I only ever hear people speak of her as 'the Queen', though.

Oh? Goodness, is that Queen Charlotte's daughter, I wonder?

[ Because surely Princess Charlotte won't die in childbirth leading to a succession crisis and the sons of George III scrambling to marry and have legitimate heirs, right? ]

But how lovely. A Queen Regent! There hasn't been one since Queen Anne.

I wouldn't know. The Regis are nobles, but we leave any political dealings to our elders. My grandmother could tell you more about the throne than I or any of my cousins could.

[Politics are complicated, she just wanted to raise zombies and make fun of her husband in front of his friends.]

How unusual. If I may make an assumption, it sounds like you come from a different England than I do. What were they called? Alternate something or others.

I think you might be right... I don't think anyone here is from my exact England.

[At least, she likes to think if anyone was from her world they would recognize the name of Regis.]

Tell me, does your world have magic? Mine has a lot of it.

Magic? No, I cannot say it does.

[ Though being a werewolf is hardly normal. It's called a curse; does that mean a witch casted it? She's thought about this in the past, but she's never seen any other signs of magical beings. ]

But you mean magic like in stories? Fairies and witches and that sort of thing?

I don't think so... but I think the stories must be different in my world, if everything else is.

In my world there are many magicians - that's what we call people who use magic. Most of my family are necromancers, but I know other types of magicians exist. I've just never met them.

My, this all sounds completely new to me! What are necromancers?

[A positive reaction! Sort of. She gets a smile on her face as she explains.]

Necromancers deal with contacting the dead after their passing. We can speak to the deceased and translate for their loved ones. We can animate their bodies as well, but I think it's best to ask permission first. Otherwise the owner of the body might chew your ear off.

[Much as she loves the company of the dead, she doesn't envy her cousin the undertaker. The dead are no fun when they're criticizing one's ability to dress their body.]

[ Now that is strange! And a little terrifying. Her eyes widen and she takes a moment to swallow before speaking. ]

How does such a thing work? Does the soul not ascend to Heaven in your world?

Well... I can't say I know what 'heaven' is, so I suppose not. In my world all souls descend to the Netherworld, which is a little bit lower than the sea of dreams. They can hear anything that happens near their corpse, should they choose to, but no one can hear them without necromantic training. That is, we learn to die temporarily so that we may have a connection with the Netherworld, and that lets us hear the dead.

Oh. [ She looks a little pale. ] Forgive me, I-- I need a moment to-- understand all this.

[ In a morbid sort of way, she gets it. Gothic novels are extremely popular reading for ladies, and they're full of dark, terrible things done in dark, terrible places. The word corpse might make some ladies from her world faint dead away, but she can at least tolerate it. Maybe the fact she transforms into a feral beast once a month makes this all easier to swallow.

After closing her eyes for a moment and drawing in a measured breath, she opens her eyes. ]

Goodness, that is nothing like home. I am sorry, but we are taught the Lord created everything in the universe. To hear of a place without Heaven or Him is... startling.

[ But she's also morbidly curious to learn more. It's like being unable to put down one of those novels. ]

Could you explain about the, ah, the corpses? Where I come from, we bury them in the ground. Do you preserve them, so the soul can easily hear what is said around their body?

[ She hasn't even gotten to the temporarily die part. Give her a minute. ]

[Cecelia's comments confuse Letha as much as she's confusing Cecelia. She follows as best as she can, but... she decides her own questions can wait until after she's explained her world.]

We bury them in the ground too. Two feet under, so that they don't stink up the place but we can still speak to them easily. The members of my family are given nice coffins in case they have to be dug up, but the servants are buried without one so we may raise them if the living servants are busy.

Oh, my.

[ She's not exactly queasy, but what unpleasant conversation! She should probably change the topic. That would be the smart thing to do. ]

You employ the services of deceased servants?

[ Apparently no rest for the weary... ]

We employ the living and the dead - they both have their ups and downs. Personally, I think the dead make better conversational partners than servants, but... well, maybe I can show you a risen at some point. You might change your mind when you see one yourself.

[She can tell Cecelia isn't exactly enjoying the conversation. She purses her lips before changing the topic herself.]

Tell me about Heaven, how do you know about it if you've never seen it?

[ She's hardly sure what she'd think of a "risen," or even if she wants to see one, but thankfully the topic is changed because she can't say for sure if she would decline or not. ]

Oh, Christianity is based on faith. A great deal of it has to do with believing in the teachings in the Bible. But after we die, if we have not sinned, we shed our Earthly burdens and ascend to Heaven for eternity.

How could one be sure they have not committed any sins, if you have no proof of anyone successfully ascending? It seems like an awfully faulty system.

Well, we know what are sins and what are not. As for proof, hmm. Look at it this way: if there is no God and no Heaven, and you do not believe, then when you die, nothing happens. But if there is a God, and you did not believe, you would not be permitted into Heaven. If you do believe, but there is nothing, then when you die, you would not exist any longer to know you were wrong. Therefore, it is of no harm to believe, in case God exists. Do you see?

Well, by that logic it would be just as probable that some other god exists, who you are angering by believing in your god. Perhaps by believing you are dooming yourself to an eternity of hell.

[Her world has Christians, but her family has almost no direct contact with them... the word 'hell' made it through to her language more easily than 'heaven'.]

[ Cecelia chuckles. ]

Perhaps. There are various other religions besides Christianity. And of course we Christians believe we have the right of it, while they believe they have the right of it. But that is what faith is all about. We believe in all this, and we shan't know who is right and wrong until Judgment Day. One must choose something to believe in, or chose nothing at all.

I can't imagine such a fruitless life, believing in things I've never seen. I'm much happier knowing exactly what's waiting for me when I die.

[Although... things didn't go exactly as she planned when she died, but that's beside the point.]

Well! No need to pity me too much, Mrs Regis. I assure you we get on quite well at home with what we have.

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