Word: Cantrip

 

cantrip

[ kahn-trip ]

 

noun

1. Chiefly Scot. a magic spell; trick by sorcery.

2. Chiefly British. artful shamming meant to deceive.

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               The great wizard Maligut took in the battlefield in a single glance. His allies were fending off the ravenous hoard of the undead. The monster’s putrid existence was an offence to all that lived, but him in particular. The creation of the undead was such a bland form of magic. Why waste the effort of creating a few shambling meat puppets when one could command the forces of nature? He would make sure to show the superiority of the elements as he burned the abominations to the ground.

               Oh god, Dave, just take your turn and move on.

               Hey, let him have his fun. We don’t interrupt you when you monologue.

               Mine are actually entertaining.

               Maligut looked inwards, checking his stores of magic. A cold chill ran through his being. One that had nothing to do with the approaching hoard. His vast magical powers had been drained during the day’s adventures! He had nothing but the simplest spells at his disposal.

               Wait, you’re out of spell slots? How did that happen? We barely fought anything. Great. Just great. Right when we need a fireball. Fine, just cast the damn cantrip so we can get to dying. And we’re having a long talk about spell management after this.

               The great wizard, even without his normally great powers, was still far from helpless. His hands moved in arcane patterns that few could hope to understand. His voice spoke the words of power that would unleash his inner flames, echoing in time with the world itself.

               Really? All that for a fickin’ firebolt?

               Okay, roll to hit.

               Within the palm of his hand, an arrow of pure fire formed, so potent that it was almost solid. While he knew it was hardly the greatest expression of his will, it would be more than enough fo r this task. He cast it forth at the nearest undead abomination. It flew with the speed of an arrow, aimed squarely at the creature’s putrid head.

               That’s a hit. Roll damage. And that’s a kill.

               The lance of flame struck true, taking the nearest creature, perfectly on target. Its foul odor filled the air as it began to blaze like the noon sun. The flames surged around its rotten form, consuming it to the bone. Maligut smirked. Even the smallest dregs of his power were enough to overwhelm the misuse of magic. Although without sufficient power, it would take a few moments before he could collect enough to cast another bolt of flames.

               I’m guessing that means your turn is done.

               Finally. Seriously, I have no idea how you take so long to do that.

               The great wizard Maligut ignored the petty complaints of his allies. They did not understand the ways of magic, nor its great burden. Perhaps someday he would endeavor to educate them, but he was not hopeful. They had their uses, but tapping into the vast powers of the cosmos was perhaps beyond their limited cognitive ability.

               You suck. You know that, right?

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DnD games can get very entertaining if you have the right party. Of course, finding that party can be tough, but the right group is out there for all those who are interested.

Word: White Hole

 

white hole

noun

1. pigeonhole (def. 3).

2. Astronomy. a theoretical celestial object into which matter is funneled from a black hole.

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               “Ladies and gentlemen,” Dr Adams said as the crew looked out the viewport. “We have officially just discovered a scientific impossibility.”

               “If we discovered it, I’d say it isn’t impossible anymore.” Capt. Walters said. “But why don’t you enlighten us, doctor. Why is…that impossible.”

He pointed at the bright white sphere floating several hundred kilometers away. It looked like it was throwing out small chunks of stuff, and the energy coming out of it was beyond anything the ship could get a proper read of.

               “Of course, captain. That, my dear colleagues, is a white hole.” The doctor heard one of the crew members snicker quietly, but chose to ignore it. “It is, or was, a purely theoretical celestial body that, as the name suggests, is the opposite of a black hole. Hm, to put it in very simple terms, if a black hole is suck, than this one is blow. Also, before anyone says anything else, I would like to remind everyone here that we’re all adults, and should act like it.”

               Most of the crew turned to look at the man who they all knew was being indirectly addressed. The man, a security guard, looked like he was about to say something. Instead, he hung his head in shame.

               “And what’s that mean for us?” Adams asked.

               “It means we’re going to get all the readings we can, and go home as very famous people. It also means we should absolutely not get hit by anything coming out of the event horizon.”

               “Why?”

               “Because if my guess is correct, I’d say each of those objects has roughly the mass of a small star.”

               The crew was silent for a moment. “Ah.” The captain said. “Right then. No trying to collect samples?”

               “As much as it pains me to say, no. Not a chance. Even a thimbleful is probably heavier than this ship.”

               “Okay, good to know. Helm, get us some more distance between us and the…” He looked over at the shamed security guard before continuing, “hole.” The guard wisely chose not to comment. “Anything else we need to know?”

               “Well, you already have the readings of the energy it’s giving off. This could power an entire planet for years. Maybe even indefinitely. Since the other end of it is constantly absorbing more energy, it’s all coming out again here. Plus, with more study, we can learn far more about the universe than even I can dream about.” He paused and looked around. Only a few of the more academically minded crew members were interested. “But, since you probably don’t care about that, we can expect discoverer’s rights to anything involving the white hole. A minimum of one percent of the revenue of anything that comes from it.”

               The rest of the crew brightened up at that. Even if one percent was not a large amount, with the energy it was giving off, all of the crew members could guess how big it would be once people figured out how to use it.

               “Well then,” Capt. Adams said. “Let’s gather as much data as we can, and then head home. We’ve got history to make.”

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It's fun to think about what it would be like if all the theoretical stuff that scientists think might be out there, actually is. 

Word: Frondescence

 

frondescence

[ fron-des-uhns ]

 

noun

1. the process or period of putting forth leaves, as a tree, plant, or the like.

2. leafage; foliage.

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               Jeff watched as the recently appeared but opened into to leaf. The leaf was triangular with smooth edges. He had no idea what kind of plant it came from, but that hardly mattered. What mattered was where it had come from.

               “Uh, hey, Cass?” He called to his girlfriend. She looked up from the small hole she was digging. “You, uh, you’ve got…something on your hair.”

               “I do?” She checked, missing the offending object. “I don’t see anything. What is it?”

               “It’s, uh, it’s a leaf. But it’s not at the top.”

               She tilted her head to the side before taking part of her hair and looking at it. She kept doing that until she saw the leaf. The leaf that was growing out of the end of her hair.

               “Huh.” She said. “That shouldn’t be happening.”

               “No kidding.” Jeff said. “Any ideas?”

               “Hm, not really. I mean, I should have another five years before I blossom, so I don’t know why this one is early.” Another leaf started to form at another part of her hair, even as she spoke. She regarded it with mild curiosity.

               Jeff thought it was somewhat more important. “I’m sorry, what? Cassie, what’re you talking about?”

               “Oh, it’s just that it’s a little early for me to start flowering is all. But I guess I have been getting more outdoor time lately.”

               “Uh…flower? Blossom? You’ve lost me.”

               “What, didn’t I tell you?” Her face scrunched up in thought. “Oh, I guess I didn’t, did I? Jeff, I’m a quarter dryad.” She said, acting like it was no big deal.

               Jeff waited for her to elaborate, but she did not. “Come again?”

               “My grandma’s a dryad. You know, a tree spirit.”

               “You’re…joking, right?”

               She held up her hair right as a third leaf sprouted. She Just looked at it and grinned.

               “Okay, so you’re not kidding.” It went against everything he knew about reality, but the evidence was hard to ignore. “So, you, what, grow leaves sometimes?”

               “And flowers, yes. No fruit yet, but I am only a quarter, so that probably won’t happen. It’s supposed to be every ten years, but this is five years early. I’ll call mom and see what she says about it.”

               Jeff watched as another two leaves formed, this time in the middle of her hair instead of the ends.

               “So, uh, don’t dryads have to stick by a tree? Or…something?” He asked, not quite sure what else to say.

               “Oh sure. Grandma can’t get passed ten feet of her tree. But I’m a bit freer. I can go a few miles from mine.” She gestured to the lone tree in the middle of their back yard.

               “That’s your tree? Is that why you never let me trim it?”

               “Yup. Trimming off branches hurts. It’s like ripping off my fingernails.” As she said it, those nails started changing color. They started looking more like bark that matched that of the tree behind her. “Wow, it’s really going fast this year. It usually takes a few days for that to happen.”

               “Uh, I think I’m going to go inside and…think about this.”

               “Oh sure. I’ll be out here communing with nature.” She said as more leaves sprouted.

               Jeff wobbled into the house and sat. This was going to take a lot of getting used to.

*********************************

Sometimes I wonder how my brain spawns ideas like this. Is it normal to have a word that basically means growing leaves and come up with a dryad?  I guess my head is just full of that kind of stuff.