did the other day.”
“That was an accident,” argued Will.
“Whatever. The point here is this: force effects extend across both the physical realm and the astral and ethereal realms, so if you ever want to be certain of your privacy, a force-dome like this is a must.”
“Ethereal?”
“It’s like the astral but it’s physical, and considerably more dangerous to play around with. Let’s not get into that today.”
“I don’t have enough context for any of what you just said to make sense,” complained Will.
“You don’t have much time left either, numbskull, but fine. You know about congruences, places where our plane of existence touches other worlds, like Faerie. The astral plane is one that doesn’t have any congruences with our world because it touches it everywhere. It touches our world at every point. It’s sort of like skin, covering every part of your body, but in this case, it covers every part of our world, as well as every other world.
“So the key here is that you won’t see congruences with the astral, because it’s already everywhere. Another point to remember is that it isn’t a physical plane, like ours is. Only the mind or spirit, whatever you want to call it, can travel there.
“The ethereal is similar, except it actually is a physical plane and you can travel there. It’s sort of like a mirror copy of our reality, except that when you’re there, this world is intangible, ghost-like, and when you’re here, the ethereal is intangible to you. Do you understand?”
Will rubbed his temples. “I have so many questions.”
“Well, stuff them for now. We have a few high-priority things to cover before the sun goes down. Number one, your grandmother may or may not be trying to kill you.”
He had gathered that from the conversation he had overheard previously. “And you think she’s using the astral plane to spy on me?”
“She can’t access the astral plane,” said the ring. “She’s fae. They quite literally don’t have souls the way we—er, you—do. Their physical existence is actually a piece of the Faerie realm, so they can’t separate from it and access a purely mental plane like the astral.”
“Then why did you want me to use this force-dome?”
“How many friends do you have, Will? No, never mind, don’t answer that. There’s no point in me humiliating you by focusing on your stunted social growth. Think instead about how many people you know, how many you can ask favors of, how many owe you a debt, or could be paid to help. You’re still just a child. Aislinn is powerful beyond your conception. She’s regarded as a goddess in many parts of the world, and she’s had centuries to cultivate allies and resources. What does this tell you?”
Will was nodding along, having already gotten the point. “She could have all sorts of different people or beings spying on me in any number of ways. Also, you have a lot of balls saying my social growth is stunted. You were a hermit when I met you.”
“I used to have lots of friends,” argued Arrogan, “but let’s not get into what I did to them. I just want you to be aware that you can’t blindly trust Aislinn.”
“It’s a little late for that.”
“You just need to keep in mind that she’s essentially insane. She’s almost like two different people battling for control. One is the memory of her human self, the one who promised to stay true to her original principles as a decent human being, even as she was slowly being eroded away by the essence of Faerie. The other is what she actually is, an immortal, immoral, and ultimately selfish creature that vehemently despises the promises that her previously mortal self made before her transformation was complete.”
He shook his head. “I just don’t understand how she can be both.”
“Imagine this as an example. Perhaps there’s something dangerous about to come along, like a vampire apocalypse. Her promise forces her to help you, but she can justify a lot by telling herself that surviving such a thing without her assistance will make you stronger. A lot can be ignored by saying it’s for your