As you might have noticed, there's been some sudden movement in my Alessia stories. Chapter 5 has been uploaded, as well as a few neat pictures, and Chapters 1 and 2 have been given some minor edits. Without promising anything, I hope to have a few more chapters written soon. But before that, Chapters 3 and 4 will be getting their own minor edits.

But in the meantime, I thought I would ask you all a question: what would you wish for if you found Alessia's Lamp? To be clear, I'm not asking if you found a random Genie bottle or lamp or teapot. You find and take possession of Alessia's golden lamp. You're her first Master ever, and she's only been a Genie for literally minutes. Oh, and you've probably been shot, and then rescued and healed by this very new Genie.

I ask this question for a few reasons. First, it's fun. Second, it forces me to think about what Alessia can and cannot do, and how her magic works. Obviously, if your life is in danger, she has to save you. The only exception is old age, which the Djinn consider natural, and not therefore not dangerous.

In addition, she has to obey your commands, though she cannot use a great deal of magic to carry them out. You are therefore free to ask Alessia to "make you a sandwich" without fear of being turned into a sandwich. And there is no limit to the amount of commands you can give her. There are, however, limits to what you can command her to do. Tasks that are extreme or require magic require a wish.

And wishes are what I'm interested in. Like many, when deciding the rules of wishes, I started with the Disney Version.

1) Can't kill anybody
2) Can't bring anyone back from the dead
3) No wishing for more wishes
4) Can't make anyone fall in love with anyone else

But that first one does not apply in Alessia's world. You could wish for her to kill someone or harm someone. But, it would need to be a wish. Remember what I said about "extreme tasks require a wish?" Killing or harming someone is extreme. Be careful, though, because Alessia may pin the murder on you.

So, we're down to three rules, and they're pretty good. The basic, in world, idea for the first rule is this: Genie's can't alter or change souls. So once a person has died and their spirit gone . . . wherever it goes, they can't do anything to it. She could reanimate a corpse. It would breathe and its heart would beat, but she couldn't even zombiefy it. It would exist, more or less, in a vegetative state. Alas, this restriction also applies to animals.

Number three should be self-evident, except humans love to try and game the system. "No wishing for more wishes" also includes mystical items that grant extra wishes. Similarly, you can't wish that you possessed a second, third, or whatever, Genie vessel. Genie magic doesn't work on other Genies, and it especially does not work on their vessels. Though, I suppose if Leprechauns existed in this world, she could make one of them appear in front of you. But Genies are the only wishgranters in Alessia's world, and they make the wishing rules. You get three wishes. Deal with it.

Number four is interesting. Taking it more broadly, that rule could be restated as 'Can't mind control anyone else.'  I'm going to go against the Disney Rules for this one. Genies can alter the minds and emotions of others, and will do so if their Master or Mistress wishes it. But remember that whole thing about how Genies can't affect the soul? It applies here, too. No matter the power of the Genie or the wish, mental magic will wear off eventually.

So does that cover everything? Not quite.

5) Can't wish for information not already known

Put it another way, you can't wish for a cure for cancer, or the meaning of life, if God is real, and if there is an afterlife. No human, Djinn, or Genie know the answers to these questions. Similarly, knowing the future is impossible.

6) Wishes can only affect a small or limited number of people

This is a vague one, but important. Genie powers, while great, cannot affect large groups of people. You could wish, for instance, that your parents would stop fighting. Or that your arch nemesis was a toy. But you can't wish for world peace, or that all your classmates were turned into toys. In a way, it's similar to wishing for more wishes.

7) Can't wish for anything that would deprive you of wishes

The last rule, and unlike the others, it's sort of a safety feature built into all Genies. Let's say you wished you could fly. Your Genie (Alessia) could not turn you into a flying carpet, unable to move or, more importantly, make a wish. More generally what it means is that Genies cannot cheat you out of the wishes you deserve.

With all this said, I'll restate my original question: What would you wish for if you found Alessia's Lamp?