Wednesday Whittleings — Fantasy Building Silliness and Dr. Dolittle

Wednesdays are my day to randomly babble. Sometimes about children's books, others about writing, and whatever else strikes my mind. Random thoughts...random whittleings.

As some of you know, I'm currently hitting new ground (for me) in writing and am working on a co-authored project. If you want to know the truth, it's a ton of fun. Not only is it great to finally bounce ideas back and forth without having to deal with eye rolls and disinterest...

...my family members don't need to listen to my non-stop babbling about whatever I'm writing on at the moment. 

But it's a blast to play around in a fantasy world with someone else. I thought I'd share an email from my co-author, when I had a question about the magic building he'd set up (just to give you a hint at how crazy and hilarious this process is). And this is the email.

"All right! So first off, I want to thank you all for coming here today...if this is your first visit to my head, don't forget to fill out the new personality form back there on the table as you enter. As always, snacks are free, but the bar is cash only."

 *audible grumble*

"First order of business.  Necromancy. Now, I know this is old news for some of you, but we have a visitor, so please, be respectful.Necromancy is an off shoot of witchcraft, which is a religion, and therefore, anyone can partake in. Now of course, we're not talking Harry Potter here."

 *chuckles from the peanut gallery*

"So I'll turn it over to an expert in the subject. Lady Dolethea?"

*applause*

A pale thin dark haired personality with bright violet eyes steps behind the podium. She sweeps a gaze across the crowd with a mixture of arrogance and disdain.

"Fools. You know nothing!" Her face softens. "Ahem. So, let's start with the basics...

One doesn't need any special abilities to become a witch. You simply have to understand the flow of energies binding the universe together. Inviting a spirit guide to help you through the process is an important initiation ritual dating back before recorded history. As you progress in your journey to enlightenment—assuming, of course, you please your spirit guide—he, she or it will open new doors to abilities you never thought possible."

"Excuse me."

Dolethea squints into the crowd, shielding her eyes from the lights. "Yes, we have a question?"

A man in black clerical robes stands up. "Forgive me, but I'd like to point out that this is completely against our religious beliefs..."

Dolethea points at him, and he sits back down. "Yes, well... This process is defiantly one used by Satan throughout the ages. Hinduism, Taoism, Zoroastrian and many others employ the same..." She coughs. "We're not converting...just covering how things work where I'm from. Where was I? Oh yes. The spirit guide demands payment.  In fact, even accepting the guide's assistance requires surrendering some aspect of yourself to it. Other abilities require greater sacrifices. As Necromancy lies a the far end of the dark path, this tends to involve some rather nasty business."

Gandalf rises leaning on his staff. "And how does this differ from wizardry?"

Dolethea nods. "So glad you asked." She leans in close to the microphone with a barely vocalized whisper. "It doesn't."

Galdalf chuckles. "I never summoned a spirit guide."

Dolethea smiles. "No? Maybe not consciously, and maybe you don't walk the dark path, but when you speak a spell, who are you talking to?"

Gandalf works his lips nervously.

Dolethea smiles. "Exactly. The natives of every culture on the planet believed, and still do, that spirits inhabit everything. Air, rocks, literally everything. Magic is nothing more than convincing these spirits to give a darn about what you want and getting them to act accordingly. Wizards placate, as do some witches, but necromancers deal with the spirits beyond this world. Our influence among the living is...more forceful." Her face falls and she shudders slightly. "And comes with great cost."

She leaves the podium much more shaken and desperate than before.

I return to the microphone applauding. "Well, I must say...I hope you all enjoyed Dolethea's exposé. And let's hope she gets the help she needs after that speech. Next week, Dr. Dolittle will give a talk on the art of sitting on your hands. Thanks for coming!"

And that's a glimpse into our world...or my co-author's head...which is a very interesting place to visit. Believe me. Oh, and it took me awhile to get his Dr. Dolittle joke.