You don't need to know what christmas is to enjoy chirstmas lights!

[draconic_historian]

Night falls early this time of year, but even so, the dragon was very visible that evening. He had loops of some kind of brightly colored lights gripped in his talons, and was zigzagging across the city, draping them over buildings in artful fashions.

The ropes weren't quite Christmas lights. More like it was the rope itself that was glowing different colors in foot long sections. It looked like something made by someone who had heard of Christmas lights, but had never actually seen them. Even so, it was very festive.

Later on that night large swathes of the city was draped in soothing lights, and Ricasthix himself was sitting in a plaza somewhere, admiring his handiwork. The light ropes might need some adjusting, as they had been airdropped down, and in some places they were drooping over doorways or windows.

"Not bad if I do say so myself. This is a good tradition."

Comments

[oncearanger]

Billy found himself pushing a rope of light from his shoulder on his way out of the library. That was strange. The decoration almost looked like something that would be hanging in a club, but it twinkled more like a Christmas light. What an interesting construction! He could guess at how it worked, but he'd have to ask the inventor to know more.

A shadow passed overhead, all the more noticeable due to the lights. They were being carried by...a dragon? He'd been introduced to fantastic things over the past few years, but that took the cake thus far. He followed from the ground, and luckily it wasn't long before the light-bringer landed.

"Those were your lights?" Billy wasn't sure how he felt, but 'impressed' was definitely a strong possibility. It showed.

[encourage]

Sakura had watched the dragon in what she presumed was a drunken holiday fueled decorating scheme. It'd been a long time since she'd been around anything of his size, guessed first from a distance. Keeping genjutsu pulled tight around her, she took to the rooftops of the uneven buildings, pacing him as he flew through the skies.

Sometime after he's landed, she let's the illusion fade. Back on ground level, the world has a different sort of feel.

"I'm never sure what to make of the holiday, but the lights are nice." She left her hands at her sides, approaching with masked wariness. A dragon wreathing the city in lights seemed unlikely, at the outset, to fall into aggressive anti-sentient behaviors. "What's powering them?"

[draconic_historian]

Ricasthix felt that humans being impressed by dragons was part of the natural order of things, and so took this attitude in stride.

"The idea was someone else's, but I made them, yes."

[draconic_historian]

Perhaps if he had been looking for pursuit specifically, he might have noticed her. He wasn't though, and so the first he noticed of her was when she appeared in the plaza. When he spoke he didn't sound drunk, but who can tell with an unfamiliar creature?

"Magic."

As if it was the simplest thing in the world. But when you try to work out the mechanics of something that size flying by flapping wings, maybe it's the only answer that makes sense.

"I didn't put a huge amount of effort into it, so they'll probably die in a few weeks, but I like to think they look nice for now."

[oncearanger]

"They're great," Billy admired, looking out at the slightly sloppy arrangement. It could be fixed later on, he supposed, but that wasn't the important part right now.

"I was thinking about making something similar, but I have to say your design's unique. I've never seen holiday lights encased like that before. They're usually...little bulbs."

[draconic_historian]

Ricasthix tilted his head slightly, glancing at his lights and trying to imagine what they would look like with individual lights. Like a string of stars, almost. "Is that so? All I had to go with was 'strings of lights'. Next year, then."

[have_hat_will_travel]

... I can only imagine how expensive that would cost to cast. And how long it'd take to make.

*This girl looks honestly completely impressed.*

[demonbloodblade]

*Magical*.

[It is said in the language of the dragons of her world. But her eyes are wide, and she obviously finds it beautify.]

[draconic_historian]

"Nonsense! Light is an extremely simple spell, even humans can learn it in only a month or two. It's a little harder to make it last a long time, but it is well within the realm of practicality."

He looks ready to go into the logistics of mass enchantments, better head him off before this gets bogged down in arcane magi-babble.

[have_hat_will_travel]

*24 ranks Knowledge (Arcana) says she's totally going to dive right in!*

The only long-lasting light spell I know of is Continual Flame, which costs 50 gold for the crystal dust. You'd need... Like one casting per foot, so...

[draconic_historian]

Somehow, Ricasthix can follow her, although the accent is very strange. Perhaps Draconic is universal.

*Extraordinarily so.*

[draconic_historian]

"This isn't continual flame, though. This is just your basic light spell that I've invested a bit of extra power in. It will only last a few weeks."

Before going on, he gives Pidonus an odd look, then leans down to sniff her twice.

"You're not human, are you?"

[have_hat_will_travel]

"Is that surprising?", Pidonus replied.

"... A few weeks. Man, that'd take a Persist spell and like five extensions. The amount of metamagic optimization..."

[encourage]

Magic gets a raised eyebrow from Sakura. She nodded, accepting the explanation. It's a marvel and a wonder to see what people (relatively speaking) could do, and how and why they chose to do what they did.

With this not being a huge amount of effort, Sakura inevitably considers what would be considerable effort. Magic is one of those hard to categorize things around any given world. It's internal logics made her head hurt.

She keeps that off her face, smiling in polite friendliness. "I like to think they do, too. Who should I be thanking for this display?"

[oncearanger]

"Oh, someone was trying to tell you about Christmas?"

Billy hid a smile behind his hand. "Sometimes the lights look like icicles. It's really only a superficial resemblance, but we like things to look sparkly. I really like this design, though---it looks like you put a lot into it. Maybe I should emulate it."

[demonbloodblade]

[Perhaps it is - on her world, it is said that the dragons came from elsewhere, after all. And her accent is... well, worlds away.]

*It is... beautiful.*

[She finds her words gone. That's all right: there's someone else hear to speak.]

Please excuse her. She's had a very unusual few days and she's still dealing with what she learned during it. It is magnificent, though, and I admire the aristry.

[That voice comes from the sword on her back.]

[draconic_historian]

"Most of the non-humans are fairly obviously so, and I like to keep track of those around me."

He snorted lightly, a tiny puff of smoke drifting from his nostrils. "I think we can safely assume your style of magic is different from my own."

[draconic_historian]

"It's some kind of winter festival, I've gathered. Beyond that, all I know is that it has colored lights involved."

A dragon shrugging is a rather complicated maneuver that involves its wings folding and refolding. It's complicated to watch. "Feel free."

[draconic_historian]

"Have we not met? I get humans confused sometimes. I am Ricasthix, and these are my lights."

[have_hat_will_travel]

"Probably. Makes you wonder how multiple different types of magic work here, though."

... Never mind that her home world had that, too...

[hisokathemagician]

Hisoka made a quick drop off a nearby roof, approaching Ricasthix with one hand on his hip as he surveyed the rope lights. "And what tradition would that be?"

There were quite a few magical beasts that were capable of human speech; this was a little larger than most. Was Ricasthix really lighting up the town out of the goodness of his heart, or for ulterior motives? Only one way to find out.

[draconic_historian]

The dragon rattled off the facts like a professor before a class, "I believe it is called Christmas. Some sort of winter festival that involves the exchanging of gifts, large meals, and strings of colored lights. I don't intend to supply food and gifts, but the lights seemed like an interesting diversion."

[draconic_historian]

What a pleasure to be able to speak one's native tongue.

*Well, I try.*

Then the sword spoke. Ricasthix bent down until his head was at the same level as Meliantha's to peer at the hilt poking over her shoulder.

*Speaking swords. What is your story, artifact?*

[demonbloodblade]

[There may be a sense of being looked at by the sword. Meliantha, herself, is apparently enchanted by the glowing rope.

It speaks Draconic as well - a bit of an older accent which slowly smooths out.]

Oh, you know. A few thousand years ago, elf artificer forging a blade of power, sneezes mid-enchantment, when it's all done his heart stops and his soul goes into the blade. Has its pluses and minuses, like all such things do, but I've gotten to see so many things I'd have missed otherwise.

...wish I remembered my original name, though. I've come to be used to being called 'Chainbreaker' - although the full name is *Gix batobot jikmadai, duuloir wer siliti ekess lleisgar seanf asta plisoic*, which is a bit unwielding on the tongue, eh?

{Ricasthix would recognize the full name as meaning something akin to "The claw that shatters, freeing slaves to rise against tyrants".}

[draconic_historian]

"Many. I haven't thought to count, and most with such powers tend to not overly advertise them."