[There's a soft sound of rustling, like Joshua's making himself comfortable.]
As you probably know by now, activating shards requires some kind of memory or feeling of your home world. Any memory or emotion will do, as long as it's strong. The next level above the activation step requires a more specific memory in order to affect the world around you. The step above this level of shard magic, I don't yet know, but I would imagine it gets more complicated and specific the higher you go.
However, there are some things that I've come to conclude about shards. They have an intimate connection not only to us, but to the world we come from. They're tied to that world so strongly, that no distance can sever it. However, what if you died? What happens to that connection between your shard and your home world? It's a guess on my part, as I have no sufficient proof, but I believe that the world suffers an incredible amount of damage for losing a shard that's connected to it. If that's true, then it's not so far of a stretch to conclude that when all of the shards connected to that world are lost or in some way have their connection severed, then the world dies and ceases to be.
In that case, our shards are far more precious and powerful than anyone can truly conceive. Rather fascinating, isn't it?
Yeah, I know about that. I've been working with Lancelot to learn more about how to use my shard, too, we're just... not that far into it, yet.
[ He quiets for the rest of the explanation. Leo isn't exactly sure what he expected to get out of asking this, but that is... not it. ]
...Oh. I... I guess that makes sense, in some really screwed up way. [ Gods, that's kind of terrifying. Now, he's doubly glad that there are at least three others here from his own world. If he dies somehow, they'll still have a chance. ] I wonder what the extent of the damage would be, assuming you're not the last one to lose a shard from your world.
[ A thought occurs to him suddenly, and Leo pauses before continuing, ] What about the people who disappear? The ones who don't die, but aren't in this world anymore?
I suppose that depends entirely on the amount of Shardbearers in one world. Fifteen Shardbearers in one world versus, let's say, three. One of the fifteen loses their shard and the damage isn't quite so bad, as there are fourteen more connections to that world to mitigate the damage. However, if a Shardbearer from the trio dies, then the impact would be much larger. As long as there's one Shardbearer from that world, it'll continue to live. At least, that's what I've been able to conclude.
[Joshua hums in thought.]
A very complicated question. Shards anchor us to our worlds, so you can say that we have a somewhat symbiotic relationship with our shards and our world. My guess is that the reason they left is because their connection was severed in a significantly different way. These people aren't dead so much as they are lost between the worlds. What that means precisely, I don't know and might never know for sure. Given that we can come back either with or without our memories of this place, it's impossible to know what truly happened.
On the other hand, if this severance is a death, then the question is why do some people come back? My only guess to answer this particular question is that the parallel worlds theory holds water. Let's say you disappeared from this world, Leo. Perhaps two months later, a Leo Valdez returns with no memory of the Drabwurld, but with the exact same memories of the events that happened to you in your home world. However, this version of Leo likes playing Yahtzee, even though you hated it. A very small difference and most will never pick up on these differences with how closely similar the two of you are, but he is still a different version of you in a very strictly technical sense.
[ Okay, that's interesting. Leo can only imagine the damage that must have happened when Clarisse died, her being one of the strongest demigods of all of them. It's reassuring, however, to know that even if some of the others have been... disconnected or whatever, that their world will still be okay as long as the rest of them live. ]
Yeah, a few of my friends have been through that, [ Leo says, nodding. ] They've been... disconnected, I guess, and brought back a few times, and never remembered anything. There must be some specific way of losing it that makes it happen, but I don't know what that could be.
[ He listens to the explanation, frowning. ]
I do hate Yahtzee. And I guess that would explain why some people from home remember things I don't when they get here - or things that just haven't happened yet. [ It's frustrating, especially when Leo can tell they're hiding something from him. He just doesn't know what, or how to ask, or if it even matters. ] It's like the monarchs can time travel when they claim us or something.
[ That does bring up another question, though. ]
What if one of the Shardbearers has already died in their world, but not this one? Would that be a parallel universe, too?
[ Like Luke. Is it a special case? Or do such people simply come from a different point in time, from before they died? If Luke were to lose his shard here, how much would that damage their world if he's already dead there? ]
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voice.
voice.
voice.
[ Assuming he even knows anything besides the usual, that is. This was a wild guess. ]
voice.
[There's a soft sound of rustling, like Joshua's making himself comfortable.]
As you probably know by now, activating shards requires some kind of memory or feeling of your home world. Any memory or emotion will do, as long as it's strong. The next level above the activation step requires a more specific memory in order to affect the world around you. The step above this level of shard magic, I don't yet know, but I would imagine it gets more complicated and specific the higher you go.
However, there are some things that I've come to conclude about shards. They have an intimate connection not only to us, but to the world we come from. They're tied to that world so strongly, that no distance can sever it. However, what if you died? What happens to that connection between your shard and your home world? It's a guess on my part, as I have no sufficient proof, but I believe that the world suffers an incredible amount of damage for losing a shard that's connected to it. If that's true, then it's not so far of a stretch to conclude that when all of the shards connected to that world are lost or in some way have their connection severed, then the world dies and ceases to be.
In that case, our shards are far more precious and powerful than anyone can truly conceive. Rather fascinating, isn't it?
voice.
[ He quiets for the rest of the explanation. Leo isn't exactly sure what he expected to get out of asking this, but that is... not it. ]
...Oh. I... I guess that makes sense, in some really screwed up way. [ Gods, that's kind of terrifying. Now, he's doubly glad that there are at least three others here from his own world. If he dies somehow, they'll still have a chance. ] I wonder what the extent of the damage would be, assuming you're not the last one to lose a shard from your world.
[ A thought occurs to him suddenly, and Leo pauses before continuing, ] What about the people who disappear? The ones who don't die, but aren't in this world anymore?
[ Like Piper, Percy, and Annabeth. ]
voice.
[Joshua hums in thought.]
A very complicated question. Shards anchor us to our worlds, so you can say that we have a somewhat symbiotic relationship with our shards and our world. My guess is that the reason they left is because their connection was severed in a significantly different way. These people aren't dead so much as they are lost between the worlds. What that means precisely, I don't know and might never know for sure. Given that we can come back either with or without our memories of this place, it's impossible to know what truly happened.
On the other hand, if this severance is a death, then the question is why do some people come back? My only guess to answer this particular question is that the parallel worlds theory holds water. Let's say you disappeared from this world, Leo. Perhaps two months later, a Leo Valdez returns with no memory of the Drabwurld, but with the exact same memories of the events that happened to you in your home world. However, this version of Leo likes playing Yahtzee, even though you hated it. A very small difference and most will never pick up on these differences with how closely similar the two of you are, but he is still a different version of you in a very strictly technical sense.
voice.
Yeah, a few of my friends have been through that, [ Leo says, nodding. ] They've been... disconnected, I guess, and brought back a few times, and never remembered anything. There must be some specific way of losing it that makes it happen, but I don't know what that could be.
[ He listens to the explanation, frowning. ]
I do hate Yahtzee. And I guess that would explain why some people from home remember things I don't when they get here - or things that just haven't happened yet. [ It's frustrating, especially when Leo can tell they're hiding something from him. He just doesn't know what, or how to ask, or if it even matters. ] It's like the monarchs can time travel when they claim us or something.
[ That does bring up another question, though. ]
What if one of the Shardbearers has already died in their world, but not this one? Would that be a parallel universe, too?
[ Like Luke. Is it a special case? Or do such people simply come from a different point in time, from before they died? If Luke were to lose his shard here, how much would that damage their world if he's already dead there? ]