who will be coming?

[small_magics]

Aianon has made a plant in the open airless space above the surface of Thilanushinyel. It is a very, very large plant - some dragons will be attending the party, after all, even if Ansharil in particular is going to be assorted small things and stay on Sarion's person the bulk of the time.

The locals will be Sarion, her beloveds, their other beloved, the five conjured dragons (and their Bondmates, where applicable: Virgivere and Lissa), and Liselen - Magania has, as usual, declined, and so far no Bell party has featured Bell parents.

Amariah is bringing her boyfriend and spontaneous daughter and two of the spontaneous daughter's friends, as well as an Alethian instance of the Rupert template.

Shell Bell is bringing Pearl and Screwdriver.

Golden is bringing her usual large contingent, as usual not including her husband but including her daughter and daughter's grown fosterling (the other remaining at home) and his wolf, both mothers-in-law and one father-in-law, adopted siblings, staff members including the Joker and Nathan, and the children of the aforementioned.

Glass is bringing both wives, all three daughters, Kanim, and her cat. She invited Icarin and Valeria, but their parents are not willing to let them gallivant into other worlds unsupervised and had a scheduling conflict.

Stella's bringing a smattering of people including Alice, Anna, Sandy, Libby, Bridget, her college roommate Janine, and Lazarus.

Tab is bringing Aelise (but not Kers) and Luhan.

Etty is bringing only Nona.

Aether, likewise, brings no one but Celo.

Pattern comes with Ripper, Slipstick, Queenie, and Ghosty.

Aegis is accompanied by her four-bodied boyfriend, Merryweather, Whitlock, and Howlett.

Aurora comes with Brilliance, Lexi with her Device Persica, Agent Honey with her Device Adularia, and Beth.

Rose brings her husband and three children and her former apprentice, Luc.

Angela brings her husband, her four children, several of her friends, and some of those friends' children and grandchildren with and without wings. Keziah also brings a friend.

Juliet shows up with Soph, Minus, Red, Giles, James, Virginia, Minnie, Ike, and Val.

Cam brings Jellybean and Tilly and stops there.

And from unBelled worlds hail additional Sherlocks and Tonies, Darcy, Matilda, Pepper, and Eights.

Comments

[keyed_up]

"Is he? How big? I've never seen him being, uh, himself."

[pythbox]

"He's... Ansharil-sized," says Tianthonet.

"Just about large enough to comfortably carry one Bondmate," says Sherial. "So not all that much bigger than we are."

"We can both carry ours," objects Tianthonet.

"Yes, but not as easily as Ansharil could. And yet he still doesn't have room to pack on a dozen children like Ancaladar still occasionally complains about."

[keyed_up]

"...Dragon children or human-oid children?"

[pythbox]

"Elf children," says Sherial.

"Two thousand years ago, in Jermayan's time," says Tianthonet. "There was a war on, and the elves wanted to send their children to a special fortress where they'd be safe, and of course the best way to go was by dragon, but Ancaladar didn't like having - what was the phrase - "

"An infestation of tiny passengers," Sherial supplies.

[she_sells_seashells]

Shell Bell giggles.

[pythbox]

"It's really strange how the Dark keeps coming back every thousand years," says Tianthonet.

"It wasn't always that way," says Sherial. "Before Jermayan, Ancaladar slept through ten thousand years of peace."

[keyed_up]

"Well, I bet Sarion's going to arrange for there to be more of it. She's a Bell."

[pythbox]

Sherial smiles a dragony sort of smile.

Tianthonet looks sidelong at her and giggles.

[she_sells_seashells]

"What?"

[pythbox]

"Sherial's Bonded has plans," says Tianthonet. "Sherial's Bonded thinks the semilegendary figures shouldn't get to have all the fun."

"She's only doing what Wildmages do best," says Sherial.

"Virgivere is a Wildmage and she doesn't plot like that," says Tianthonet.

Sherial sniffs. "My Bonded does not plot, thank you very much."

[she_sells_seashells]

"I'm not an expert on Libbies..."

[keyed_up]

"I know one, she's fine."

[she_sells_seashells]

"Most of them are, it's only - Sherial, have you heard about Aelise?"

[pythbox]

"Lissa has an alt by that name," says Sherial. "She appears to be an empress."

[she_sells_seashells]

"Yeah, she did it by using a person with the power to force people to like or stop liking each other to take over the world. She's got a Bell who put up with her, so there may be mitigating circumstances that Tab hasn't explained, but it seems worth mentioning."

[pythbox]

"Noted," says Sherial expressionlessly.

Tianthonet leans in to give her a gentle shoulder-bump. "It's not bad plotting," she assures the humans. "It's not even bad-good plotting like when the High Mages dug into Armethalieh and kicked everybody else out. It's nice plotting. It's just funny how she does it, like - like she's trying to be the Wild Magic, finding out everything about everything and then figuring out the best way for it to go."

[she_sells_seashells]

"Most of them are fine," reiterates Shell Bell. "This one sounds fine too."

[keyed_up]

"And Thilanushinyel's been swept, right, there isn't one of those whatsherfaces here?"

[she_sells_seashells]

"Yeah, Jane checked everywhere."

[pythbox]

Tianthonet huffs. It is Sherial's turn to give her a comforting shoulder-bump.

[keyed_up]

"Now what?"

[pythbox]

"Nothing," says Tianthonet, huffily.

"She is offended on behalf of my Bonded," says Sherial.

[keyed_up]

Soph flops her head on her Tony's shoulder. (Because it's there.) "Aww."

[toblameforit]

Her Tony hugs her. Because she's cute.

[pythbox]

"It occurs to me to point out," says Sherial, looking at Shell Bell, "that a warning to me about my Bondmate's possible corruption would be misplaced as a practical effort. The dragon is subordinate to the will of the Bonded. I and my magic are available to Lissa regardless of my personal choice."

"But Lissa is a nice Bondmate and she listens to you," says Tianthonet, shoulder-bumping Sherial again. "Because she's nice. There haven't been any Bonded who pushed their dragons around like that almost since Bisochim."