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- #61
ScribeAmber looked back up at the two grown-ups. "Um, which one are we again?"
The librarian smiled. "Here, it will be easier to see on this page." She turned the page to a map focused on the mirror Europe. She then pointed at a country colored a bright red.
Germany.
Or rather, an early 20th century Germany that still contained most of Prussia. No, even that wasn't right, as it seemed to include Austria. Amber looked over the rest of the countries to gain a better clue, and found... everything was off. Many of the countries were wrong, and so was the land. Shapes were different; coastlines didn't quite line up. Denmark connected to Sweden as a solid land mass. Norway and England were not the shapes she remembered. The more she looked, the more she found that was wrong.
Sister Band spoke up in a concerned tone. "Is something wrong, dear?"
Amber looked up at her, realizing the emotions she must be showing. "Uh, it's just..." but she fumbled to concoct a reasonable excuse. "There's... so many countries!"
The two women broke into modest laughter. They then began wistfully conversing with each other about the nature and behaviors of children.
But Amber had no way to explain what she was really feeling. To do so she'd have to explain how she was reincarnated into this world, and that was something she could not expect anyone to believe.
And yet, as she looked at the map, a thought began to spark that this might be just the tool she needed. 'Maybe this might make it easier to explain where I came from...' Amber thought about it for a moment and tried to imagine a conversation about it. It would be simple to explain; if she wanted to show what her world looked like, she wouldn't have to make crude drawings, she could hold up a map of this world to a mirror.
Amber looked over to the window. It was snowing now, and the darkened exterior made a ghostly mirror on the glass panes. She held the atlas up to the window and shifted it to catch the light. There in the reflection she could see the map she remembered. Yes, this seemed like a great way to demonstrate her world!
And then Amber noticed the obvious.
The image of the map she was looking at was being held up by a small child.
If she tried to explain this to anyone, they would only see a child claiming to be from a world "like this one but not like this one." Easy to explain, yes, but truthfully, it was just... unimaginative. It sounded like the kind of thing a child would make up.
Amber set the atlas back on the table and looked it over somberly. 'Who would ever believe that? I could tell them the names of my nations, and it would just sound like something I made up.' She looked at the various names printed on the nations. Those names sounded made-up to her; the names she would say would sound just as frivolous to them. Norles? Gaullia-Narbon? And Italy was now Rumen... 'Wait... That sounds a lot like Roman... Was there a Roman Empire in this world?' As she took a second-glance, some of the names sounded somewhat familiar. Heberia; not too different from the Iberian peninsula. 'What if the names from my world sound just as familiar to them? Then they would sound even more like something a child made up.'
An island in the corner caught her attention; Iceland. But here it was known as... 'That's the word for 'ice.' So wait, it's still called Iceland? That doesn't make any sense, why would... No wait, why was it called Iceland in my world?'
Amber wasn't sure if this sounded more believable or less. If she told them it had the same name in her world, they would think she wasn't even trying to be creative. Of course, even if it wasn't called Iceland here, she would still be scoffed at for being so unimaginative. About the only place more deserving to be called 'Iceland' would be Greenland.
'Greenland... Imagine trying to tell someone that we call that popsicle of a sub-continent "Green Land." That's the dumbest thing ever. And yet... That's real history.' Amber remembered the history lessons about Erik the Red naming it "Green Land" to make it sound appealing. He even had to write a poem about it as part of a school project.
Never until now had Amber realized how far-fetched that story sounded. Like everyone else he had always just accepted it. But now... If she told anyone that story it would sound utterly childish and stupid. 'But it is real... That's the truth; no matter how stupid it sounds, that's the truth...'
Amber stared at the map for a while, though her mind was elsewhere. 'How much more of my history would just sound dumb and made-up to these people? Real life is full of things that just sound too stupid for fiction.' She let out a long sigh. '...What is Greenland called here anyway?'
She flipped the page back to the map of the whole world. It was using a terrible projection that made Greenland look enormous. She read the letters stamped inside its massive border, sounding them out in her head.
"What..." Amber called out aloud.
The two women looked back at Amber, pulling themselves out of their conversation. "Is something wrong, dear?" Sister Band asked.
Amber looked at them and pointed at the map. "Can you tell me how this place got its name?"
The librarian stepped over and looked at the book. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's quite simple, really. It was found by a man named 'Halfdan the Red.' That's why they named it 'Redland.'"
Amber looked down at the map and let out another defeated sigh. She briefly imagined trying to explain this to someone. "I'm from another world, it looks just like this one but backwards. And in my world, Redland is called Greenland." She winced at the thought. 'Yeah, no one is ever going to believe me.'
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That last bit about "Redland" isn't something I think will happen in the final version, but I love how it works for that scene.
The librarian smiled. "Here, it will be easier to see on this page." She turned the page to a map focused on the mirror Europe. She then pointed at a country colored a bright red.
Germany.
Or rather, an early 20th century Germany that still contained most of Prussia. No, even that wasn't right, as it seemed to include Austria. Amber looked over the rest of the countries to gain a better clue, and found... everything was off. Many of the countries were wrong, and so was the land. Shapes were different; coastlines didn't quite line up. Denmark connected to Sweden as a solid land mass. Norway and England were not the shapes she remembered. The more she looked, the more she found that was wrong.
Sister Band spoke up in a concerned tone. "Is something wrong, dear?"
Amber looked up at her, realizing the emotions she must be showing. "Uh, it's just..." but she fumbled to concoct a reasonable excuse. "There's... so many countries!"
The two women broke into modest laughter. They then began wistfully conversing with each other about the nature and behaviors of children.
But Amber had no way to explain what she was really feeling. To do so she'd have to explain how she was reincarnated into this world, and that was something she could not expect anyone to believe.
And yet, as she looked at the map, a thought began to spark that this might be just the tool she needed. 'Maybe this might make it easier to explain where I came from...' Amber thought about it for a moment and tried to imagine a conversation about it. It would be simple to explain; if she wanted to show what her world looked like, she wouldn't have to make crude drawings, she could hold up a map of this world to a mirror.
Amber looked over to the window. It was snowing now, and the darkened exterior made a ghostly mirror on the glass panes. She held the atlas up to the window and shifted it to catch the light. There in the reflection she could see the map she remembered. Yes, this seemed like a great way to demonstrate her world!
And then Amber noticed the obvious.
The image of the map she was looking at was being held up by a small child.
If she tried to explain this to anyone, they would only see a child claiming to be from a world "like this one but not like this one." Easy to explain, yes, but truthfully, it was just... unimaginative. It sounded like the kind of thing a child would make up.
Amber set the atlas back on the table and looked it over somberly. 'Who would ever believe that? I could tell them the names of my nations, and it would just sound like something I made up.' She looked at the various names printed on the nations. Those names sounded made-up to her; the names she would say would sound just as frivolous to them. Norles? Gaullia-Narbon? And Italy was now Rumen... 'Wait... That sounds a lot like Roman... Was there a Roman Empire in this world?' As she took a second-glance, some of the names sounded somewhat familiar. Heberia; not too different from the Iberian peninsula. 'What if the names from my world sound just as familiar to them? Then they would sound even more like something a child made up.'
An island in the corner caught her attention; Iceland. But here it was known as... 'That's the word for 'ice.' So wait, it's still called Iceland? That doesn't make any sense, why would... No wait, why was it called Iceland in my world?'
Amber wasn't sure if this sounded more believable or less. If she told them it had the same name in her world, they would think she wasn't even trying to be creative. Of course, even if it wasn't called Iceland here, she would still be scoffed at for being so unimaginative. About the only place more deserving to be called 'Iceland' would be Greenland.
'Greenland... Imagine trying to tell someone that we call that popsicle of a sub-continent "Green Land." That's the dumbest thing ever. And yet... That's real history.' Amber remembered the history lessons about Erik the Red naming it "Green Land" to make it sound appealing. He even had to write a poem about it as part of a school project.
Never until now had Amber realized how far-fetched that story sounded. Like everyone else he had always just accepted it. But now... If she told anyone that story it would sound utterly childish and stupid. 'But it is real... That's the truth; no matter how stupid it sounds, that's the truth...'
Amber stared at the map for a while, though her mind was elsewhere. 'How much more of my history would just sound dumb and made-up to these people? Real life is full of things that just sound too stupid for fiction.' She let out a long sigh. '...What is Greenland called here anyway?'
She flipped the page back to the map of the whole world. It was using a terrible projection that made Greenland look enormous. She read the letters stamped inside its massive border, sounding them out in her head.
"What..." Amber called out aloud.
The two women looked back at Amber, pulling themselves out of their conversation. "Is something wrong, dear?" Sister Band asked.
Amber looked at them and pointed at the map. "Can you tell me how this place got its name?"
The librarian stepped over and looked at the book. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's quite simple, really. It was found by a man named 'Halfdan the Red.' That's why they named it 'Redland.'"
Amber looked down at the map and let out another defeated sigh. She briefly imagined trying to explain this to someone. "I'm from another world, it looks just like this one but backwards. And in my world, Redland is called Greenland." She winced at the thought. 'Yeah, no one is ever going to believe me.'
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That last bit about "Redland" isn't something I think will happen in the final version, but I love how it works for that scene.
