Wayne: Hello, and welcome to “Meet the Characters”. Tonight we are going to be talking to Kaelyn and Daisy, of the still in-progress novel that is awkwardly called Exchange Magic at the moment. I'm Wayne Early, an obvious author stand-in from a previous #NaNoWriMo book, and your interviewer for the evening. Ladies, good evening.

[Spotlights come up, picking out the two women as they are named. The entire stage is then more naturally lit.] Kaelyn: Good evening!

Daisy: Hello Wayne!

Wayne: So, first off, do either of you even have last names?

Daisy: Huh! Um, yeah, no, don't think so. We don't really use them in our society, I guess.

Kaelyn: Sometimes in my village people refer to one another as, say, Bob, John's Son, but usually that's just extraneous.

Wayne: So no last names, huh? Could this be because the author is kinda lazy and couldn't think up two names per character?

Daisy: [Laughing] I make a point of not mocking people who created me.

Kaelyn: While I can't pretend to know the mind of the author, I feel that there's a certain internal consistency to names in our world. It's generally a title followed by a personal name, and the title is omitted between good friends.

Wayne: Just saying he gave me four names is all. And I probably have yet another name.

Ann Nation: Dad, stop making this about you.

Wayne: Right, quite so. Apologies. So, back to you two. Daisy, how would you describe healing magic?

Daisy: We call it an art, and I think it's appropriate. We spend a lot of time learning the nature of things around us so that we can then use them to cure people who need our cures. But every person is different, and so is every plant if it comes to that. If healing were simple, you could just write it all down and anyone could create salves and tinctures. It'd be like cooking! But it requires more than that; you have to gauge what is needed in every situation individually.

Kaelyn: Yeah, that's why we tend to carry a lot of things in our satchels, and we each pack our own. A healer knows what she will want to use out there, what cures work best for her when she's out visiting. You can't prepare for every situation, but you can prepare in general.

Wayne: Kaelyn, how would you describe the differences between healing magic and wizard magic? The two seem to be able to work together.

Kaelyn: I think really any of the arts can work together, with one obvious exception. Ellis talked about healers who have become priests, healers and druids have a lot of overlap as well. It's all down to the principle of exchange, really. What you put into it is what you get out of it.

Wayne: Daisy, you seem to have found a way around the principle of exchange, more or less invalidating the premise of the novel. What can you tell us about that?

Daisy: Oh, I wouldn't say that, Wayne! I think I found the root of the principle of exchange. Like Kay said, the arts are compatible, if you have the understanding to practice more than one of them, or see how they fit together. I think there are a few, I don't know, potential sources of power in the universe? Like, order is a source, but it doesn't do anything until acted upon by a person.

Wayne: So what about science?

Kaelyn: ...

Daisy: ...

Kaelyn: You mean, like, Alchemy? I know the wizards sometimes study that.

Wayne: No, I mean, the study of natural principles, and the rules that order the universe.

Daisy: That's what we were just talking about.

Wayne: Okay, yes, kind of. But I'm talking about, like, physics. Observing how things move when they're not being acted upon by a person.

Daisy: Except...observing is acting on a thing.

Wayne: Okay, that's actually a good point. Let me give you an example. In our world we don't have magic. Instead of healers, we have doctors. They don't do spells, don't make curse nets, but they use medicine, which is a branch of science. Medicine is a general term for any of a number of chemicals which can be administered to help someone heal.

Kaelyn: O....kay, that sounds a lot like what we do.

Wayne: Yeah, bad example. Okay, here, Airplanes. We have things called airplanes. They are like...coaches, except they fly thousands of feet in the air, and can travel hundreds of miles an hour, and there's no magic involved. They're machines, made entirely according to natural principles. The wings of the airplane provide lift through the action of the air around the curve of the wing, regardless of the will of anyone in the airplane.

Daisy: Wow! So they fly themselves?

Wayne: [Sigh] yeah, some do, but most are flown by a pilot.

Kaelyn: No, Daisy, I see his point now; it's like ships, or pulleys. I don't really understand how a pulley makes things lighter, but someone does, and it clearly works, and a pulley works if you have a human pulling on it, or a donkey, or even...I guess a rock would work.

Wayne: Yes! Like ships or pulleys. A ship can be sailed regardless of the intent of the person sailing it.

Daisy: But they still have to know how sails work, how the wind blows, when to furl their sails or put on more sail... so it's really the same process. But I guess I see the point; you can sail a ship as a pirate or as an officer in the navy. But...doesn't that make it worse? Isn't it better if the exercise of power is tied to an adherence to the principles that govern that power?

Wayne: I'm not entirely comfortable with that question.

Kaelyn: [Laughs]

Daisy: Okay. Next topic!

Wayne: Very well. Kaelyn, how would you describe your relationship with Daisy?

Kaelyn: I love Daisy! But, we're very much like sisters.

Wayne: How is that a “but” conjunction?

Daisy: Do you have any sisters, Wayne?

Wayne: Ah, no.

Kaelyn: Well then you wouldn't really understand. I've had to grow a lot to really understand Daisy, And I know that she put a lot of work into meeting me in the middle, and understanding me as well. And we've fought from time to time, like sisters do. But at the end of the day we're still here for each other, always.

Wayne: Fine, good. Okay, Daisy, how would you describe your relationship with Mason?

Daisy: [Laughs] is there a simple word for “I look forward to being his more-or-less-sister-in-law”? But seriously, Mason is a nice boy, very serious and very kind, and I wholly approve of him and Kaelyn being...whatever they end up being. But he's possibly too serious for me as anything other than a more-or-less-in-law.

Wayne: Well, that about wraps up our time for this episode of Meet the Characters. tune in next time, assuming there ever is a next time. Maybe we'll talk to someone from a book I'm in.

This is here for historical interest only (and maybe to pad my word count a bit). This is the beat sheet I started from at the beginning of #NaNoWriMo, it's interesting to see where the plot diverged. There are parts of this original plot I might think about bringing back.

Act I

• Kaelyn and Daisy are working for Colm, working on developing healing cures for the small village in which they live. Kaelyn is a cheerful, happy person, who is quite lonely in this tight knit community, and needs help fitting in more.
• Daisy is patient, and less worried about rules and orders than Kaelyn. She is an excellent healer and an excellent friend. Daisy seems to fit into town naturally, effortlessly, even though she also just arrived here a year ago.
• Brant needs healing from an accident in his shop; Kaelyn arrives to find Daisy already there. Brant's eyes on Daisy make Kaelyn nervous.
• Ellis discusses joining the Priesthood with Kaelyn, suggesting that Nature Magic has its place, but it's a pale shadow of the actual power of Divine Magic. Ellis explains that true power comes only from the Divine.
• Daisy is kidnapped, and the town is at a loss to discover where she is or whodunnit.
• Kaelyn suspects Brant, but the town leaders are unconvinced.
• Kaelyn tries to convince herself that doing her job as a healer is the best work she can do for the town; they don't need her to try and be a hero, she can just follow instructions and others will do the big work.
• Mason talks to Kaelyn about Daisy, and it's clear that Mason is in love with Daisy.
• Kaelyn, who met Mason first, is a bit ruffled that he doesn't feel that way about her, and starts to see herself and Daisy through Mason's eyes. She realizes some of the things about Daisy that make her a better healer, and some of the things that Kaelyn is missing.
• Kaelyn has no tools, no weapons, just an ability to heal others and make protective charms. She thinks she knows where Daisy is, and the town seems to have given up on Daisy; suggesting that Kaelyn was HALF-Right; they all think that Daisy and Brant have eloped, and think it's a somewhat annoying but romantic story instead of a kidnapping.
• Kaelyn goes to Brant's boarding room and snoops around a bit. She finds an old book that suggests the power of demons can be truly unlocked by sacrificing a maiden. It's clear what Brant intends, and she suspects she knows where he intends to do it. Kaelyn is a healer, it is her job to protect and improve life. She can't sit around any longer. It's clear to her that nobody in town is going to take Daisy's kidnapping seriously.
• Kaelyn sees Daisy in a dream (an induced vision) in a cell, deep in a cave. She hears Brant talking in this dream, and sees that the day is coming, the time of the “awakening.” Daisy seems calm and unruffled, smiling slightly even in chains.
• Daisy looks up in the dream state and tells Kaelyn “my life is in your hands, and I know you'll do the right thing.” or similar. Kaelyn wakes up and decides she is going to do what is needed. Even if she doesn't understand the dream or how it came. Dream Magic isn't known.

Central Question

Will Kaelyn break out of her standard role and do what is needed, what is right, even if it isn't the “orderly” thing to do? Can she do what she needs regardless?

Act II

• Kaelyn goes to Colm and asks for help; and expresses her worries. Colm is a quiet and wise man and asks her to study what she thinks her vision means. Does Kaelyn just feel guilty for not being Daisy, or does she actually think Daisy is in trouble?
• Kaelyn finds more power in Divine and orderly magic, finds growing strength in herself. She has yet to accept that there is an inherent freedom in human behavior, and wants to follow the patterns and orders.
• Kaelyn finds a way into the cave where she suspects Daisy is being held
• The entrance is sealed by magic.
• Kaelyn finds a way to encourage nature to let her through; her spells are growing in power and she is growing in wisdom and capability
• Mason is inside the cave. He came here to save Daisy and isn't sure why Kaelyn isn't just staying in town like a good girl. He's been doing his own investigation.
• Kaelyn and Mason agree to work together to find Daisy
• Mason is attacked by a demonically possessed animal.
• Kaelyn is able to heal Mason and also banish the demon from the animal.
• Mason is injured and will have to go back, Kaelyn is on her own, no wizard with her, and Brant knows she's coming.
• Kaelyn goes back to town and asks Ellis for help, something she doesn't want to do, but is willing to do to save Daisy
• Ellis is quite disdainful of her “vision” and her “delusions of grandeur” in thinking she needs to be the one to save Daisy.
• Kaelyn goes home and is surprised when Ellis is outside her door when she's setting out again. His prayers were answered, he was asked to help her.
• Ellis is slow, meticulous, and not entirely willing to believe what is happening, even with his direct revelation. His faith is strong but he's untested in the real world and unable to conceive of changing.
• Kaelyn explains her understanding, and confesses her ignorance of how things work
• Ellis explains his view, the power of Divine Magic, the changes it has made in him.
• Brant threatens Daisy, insinuating the harm he can do to her without ruining her for the sacrifice. Kaelyn feels this event, without fully understanding it.
• Kaelyn understands something deeper; Daisy can't be permanently harmed by Brant, but Brant can be. She expresses this to Ellis who agrees, with reservations.
• Daisy is being brave but breaking. Kaelyn starts to wonder how she will actually accomplish her goal of saving her friend.
• Ellis admits that all good things must be good, there must be a reason for all powers beyond the Divine, and that they must be part of the overall plan. Kaelyn wonders if a plan is requisite for goodness.
• The Demon tightens its grip on Brant. Brant is slowly losing his mind, unable to handle ultimate chaos inside his soul. Kaelyn starts to feel the demon's influence around her.
• Kaelyn invents a spell to directly communicate with and possibly banish the demon. She succeeds in making contact
• The Demon floods the channel back to her mind, nearly incapacitating her, mocking her attempt, letting her know that he's here because he's been invited. Kaelyn is nearly destroyed, is weakened and is about to succumb.
• Ellis protects Kaelyn, removing the demon's influence from her.
• Ellis recommends they give up and go back; Daisy will be safe in heaven, But Brant is a lost cause in Ellis' book.
• Kaelyn stays in the cave, refusing to return when she knows they're close.
• The Demon starts broadcasting the feelings he's giving Brant, letting them know that Brant is all but broken, and that Daisy is not only in mortal danger but in moral danger, that Brant is exerting his influence on her as well, that she could easily be on their side, caprice bends both ways.
• Kaelyn finds that human will isn't all-wandering, but is free from Chaos and Order both, and must be so that humans can find their strength.
• Brant ties Kaelyn to the altar to sacrifice her.

Act III

• Kaelyn realizes she can do whatever needs done. Using Capricious magic she moves herself, Daisy, and Ellis outside of bonds, to the edge of the cave, where Ellis and Daisy can also be enabled to act.
• Brant grabs Kaelyn as she is helping Daisy and Ellis, the demon tells Brant to sacrifice Kaelyn, as any sacrifice will do.
• Kaelyn willingly offers to be a sacrifice, explaining that she chooses to be a sacrifice to SAVE Brant's soul, not lose it. She says that her death will be consecrated, not desecrated, and that if she has to lose her life to save Brant's she will. The demon seems confused, as does Ellis. Nobody is sure the rules work that way.
• Daisy smiles and laughs. “I wish I had thought of that...”
• Brant drops the knife, tears in his eyes. Kaelyn holds him and leads him to Ellis, and Ellis explains that Brant can turn from the dark and be fully healed. Daisy and Kaelyn use healing magic to reduce Brant's pain at the loss. The Demon attempts a final conflict, but is repelled by a light that surrounds the humans, pure and divine, and also somewhat human.

It's after #NaNoWriMo and I'm just “doodling” now, exploring as I plan out a second draft. This is me talking to Daisy. Her comments have bullets before them. Mine don't. It was easier to write this way than full script mode. Hello there Daisy!

• Hi Nate!

So, what I want to do here is get to know you in your own words, what you think and feel about your life and the world in which you live.

• So you're talking to yourself. 😃

Sure. But enough meta-chatter. Tell me about your childhood.

• Well, let's see... I grew up in a pastoral village, just a little place, mostly shepherds or goat farmers or people who raised hay for the sheep and goats. I'm the fourth of six children, three older sisters, two younger brothers. Daddy said he kept having kids until he got a boy, then didn't know how to stop.

Huh.

• Yeah, always classy! Anyway I grew up running around a lot, outside all the time. All my sisters are some shade of blond. The older two are more “dishwater blond” and hate that description.

can't blame them.

• Right? My brothers are both “toe headed” which also means blond? I guess?

That's what I hear.

• So we stand out. My mom named all of us girls after flowers.

Oh, really?

• yeah, honestly, I think I won that lottery, or maybe she finally got good at it when she got me. My sisters are Rose, Lily, and Daffodil.

Oh my.

• Yeah, “Daffy” kind of hates her name and goes by “Dana”. Anyway, Mom is a typical farm wife, she cooks, cleans, raises kids, makes cloth, and knows enough basic nature magic to keep the house running.

How much is that?

• Oh, simple things; quick little fire spells, enchantments to make the spoon stir the soup while she does something else, nothing fancy.

Are those normal spells that everyone knows?

• I mean, all my friends' moms use them as well, so they're not surprising.

Interesting. You learn something new every day.

• Weird. Anyway, our little village has a healer, she was really young when she came to the village, but she grew to love it in our place, so she stayed there when her Sojourn was over, just became the resident.

Is that normal?

• Not exactly, but it happens from time to time. We all kind of fell in love with Healer Anna as well. She's kind, and funny, and mischievous, and happy and silly, she was a good fit for our little village. And she's a really good healer of course.

You said once that she had to spend half her time finding you and the other half healing you.

• Ha! I did say that, didn't I? It's not too far off. I liked to go out into the woods or fields; youngest of four daughters, I had plenty of opportunities to do so. Also I think I never really had any fear growing up. I never felt like things were gong to be that bad, and I wasn't afraid of doing things that might hurt if I knew I could manage the pain and get through it.

Like what? What's an example?

• Oh, like, say, climbing on a branch that has a sharp twig on it or something. I could handle the twig digging into my arm if I knew that once I got past it I could get the bird's nest I was after, or whatever. Even if it cut me, if I knew I could clean it up that was okay.

Do you not feel pain?

• I feel it, I just...don't care about it sometimes? I guess? Like, someone told me that pain is a signal that you're are in danger. If you're not in danger, why listen to the pain? It's a false alarm.

Interesting. So you were fearless as well?

• Well, when I was little. When I turned, oh, probably thirteen or fourteen, in there somewhere; I started to understand that whole “fear” thing, and anxiety, and all of those things. I was never afraid of people when I was a kid, but when I was a teenager I started to be sacred more easily.

Why is that, do you think?

• Oh it could be any number of things. I wasn't traumatized by anything, if that's what you're asking. But I started to be aware of how the world works, and my family started to change. My two oldest sisters got married and moved out, and Lily moved back when her husband died, and Lily was pregnant with her second baby, which I helped Anna deliver.

How old were you then?

• Fourteen. The delivery wasn't scary, although it was eye-opening. But Lily had some hard times as a mom with no husband, and I started to see that bad things were out there. I think I was very sheltered as a kid, in a good way.

How do you mean?

• Well, like, my mom gave me space to just be a kid, she didn't force me to grow up faster than I was ready. Lily moving home was very real though, especially because it happened when Ian died.

her husband.

• Yep. So Lily having a hard time, and we were all sad about Ian being dead! I liked Ian, he was funny! Anyway it was clear that bad stuff happened. And I started to think about bad things happening to me.

I can understand that. How did you get over it?

• Have I? But I'm just kidding. I think I got through it. Bad things did happen to me, but I kept living through them.

Like being kidnapped by Brant?

• Oh that was very different. I knew, somehow, that nothing bad was going to be done to me.

Some might say that being locked up in a cell by yourself with a raving madman who says he's going to kill you is a bad thing.

• You know what I mean! I was never physically harmed. And I had a sense that I was learning something, something I couldn't have learned any other way. Also I knew Kaelyn was coming. It never felt real to me.

Back to Kaelyn in a few minutes, tell me about Lily. Does she still live with your parents?

• Oh, no, she got married again when I was an apprentice. Kaelyn came home with me to the wedding. Her new husband's a tinkerer, but only works a small circuit, so he's home every night, then goes to a different village the next day.

that's good for Lily. Do you like him as much as you liked Ian?

• Oh, that's not fair! They are very different. Davis—her new husband—is a sweet and loving man, not as funny. But! He has an amazing singing voice, and loves to sing with Lily. They just randomly practice and break into singing, so they can improvise together and do really incredible harmonies just...out of the blue.

That sounds lovely!

• Yeah!

Okay, so tell me about Kaelyn.

• Well, she's my best friend, but that wasn't always true. She hurt my feelings a lot when we were younger.

Oh dear!

• I don't think she meant to; but she was very unguarded about her feelings about me. She seemed to have a certain image of me, and she didn't like that image.

What was her image of you, do you think?

• Well, that's not entirely fair to her, but I think she thought I was a... I don't know the word. I think she thought I was a “girly girl”, a flighty, shallow girl. And it hurt, because I like being girly, but that doesn't mean I'm dumb or flighty! I like talking to people, even boys, but I'm not, you know, a floozy. I would sometimes see Kaelyn staring at me at the Fountain when I was talking to people, and I would feel so judged. It really hurt.

Do you think she knew how you felt?

• Not for a while, not until we got closer and she got to know me better. I think, once she felt safe around me, she could actually start to see me.

When did that happen?

• Again, I'm talking for her, but I think she was afraid that I would just...take advantage of her, or not like her as much as she like me? That she would invest and I wouldn't? I think it was when I gave her a notebook, just because it was pretty and I thought she would like it. She seemed really startled and touched.

You seem to have a lot of insight into Kaelyn.

• Well, we talk a lot, of course. I think the whole thing with Brant brought us closer together, in a lot of ways. And a lot of other things as well. It's not just one thing, and we went through a lot of ups and downs.

Everyone does.

• Yeah, I think so.

Okay, well, I need to get back to spending time with my family.

• And I need to get back to being fictional!

Hey, what did I say about the meta-commentary?

• [Giggles] Bye!