Nothing

By Timothy Toner (thanatos@interaccess.com), for the Mumblers camp.

Level 4 Gift

Description

Where the first three Thing gifts center around manipulation of extant words, those who possess this gift know that the next logical step is creating your own words. This is not as easy as it seems. Language is a very fluid entity, and to simply spontaneously add to the flow is very much like spitting into the Mississippi. Before one can create, one must learn to destroy.

Using the river analogy, this isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. However, Language, being so rich and detailed, is very susceptible to manipulations and variations. Most importantly, it is conceivable to continually generalize an object, removing distinguishing characteristics, until finally it ceases to exist. To go back to the river, the Gnawer scoops up a cup of water from the river, isolating it from the rest of the flow. Over time, the collected essence evaporates in the sun, until nothing is left.

It is difficult to envision the power being used, however. As the user applies the Gift, the object slowly becomes more and more general, less distinct, until finally it fades into nothingness.

The mental effect is perhaps as interesting as the physical effect. One would suppose an object becoming more grey, more simple in construction before the eyes of all would attract the attention of all observers. On the contrary, the power acts to make the transition as natural as possible. Those who view it simply slowly lose interest in the item. It cannot completely dissolve the memory of the item from the minds of viewers, but unless it is direly needed, the majority simply shrug it off as lost.

To use the Gift, the Gnawer spends three Gnosis. She then begins the babble, mentioning anything that comes to mind, without mentioning the object. This is the Isolation. When this is done, the object seems truly distinct. It casts no shadow, yet every highlight is exposed and detailed. The entire time, the Gnawer must hold a picture of the object in her mind. Thinking about something intensely and not mentioning it is a tad difficult. Roll Wits + Expression (Diff 9), 2 successes necessary.

The Gnawer then switches gears, blanking the image from her mind, while talking only about the object. Once again, this is incredibly difficult. As the Gnawer babbles, she slowly frames the words, detailing it more and more, letting the object become just a jumble of words and ideas, without thought or substance. The Gnawer rolls Intelligence + Expression (Diff 8). Number of successes controls how quickly the object is dissembled.

Success	Time (Turns)
5	Instantaneous
4	1
3	2
2	3
1	4

To affect a living object, the Gnawer must first penetrate its inherent name. This requires successful use of Any Thing, as seen above.

When an object is dismissed, it merely fades away, leaving no physical evidence that it ever existed. As mentioned before, the memory of the item lingers, however, but most assume the item has been stolen or lost.

The fact that the item remains in memory creates a curious side effect. No one is quite sure where the dismissed object goes, but it isn't gone forever. Indeed, if people keep on bringing up the object, and it continues to remain in memory, there is a chance that the item, now given substance in thought, comes back. This is by no means a sure thing, but it is enough to create hope for a living creature that has been displaced.

Those who return explain a sensation of "nothingness" (big shocker), a place of greyness, with no sense of change in time or temperature. They explain that it wasn't painful to be there, but few who come back talk about the experience without a look of pain etched across their faces.