[open] december will be magic again

[kingsroads]

Who: everyone!
When: the evening of D15
Where: A small meeting hall on the moon, close to the portal to the carnival
What: a whole bunch of show-offs meet up to show off their magic, people interested in magic come to learn about said magic, and other people show up to see if something inevitably gets set on fire. (aka mage club)
Warnings: none so far, will edit if needed.

The meeting hall is a large open space, with hardwood floors and a rustic decor. A few chairs and tables are scattered around, though there aren't enough for the amount of people who'll hopefully show up. Some food has been set out: mostly finger foods (tiny sandwiches, fruit, veggies & dip) though there are some savory options and plenty of home-baked cookies, courtesy of Rin. Drink wise, there's water, hot chocolate, hot tea, and a few bottles of wine because tipsy magic sounds like an awesome idea and this is what happens when the alcoholic makes the dinner menu. Aside from the food table and the few tables, there's not much of anything in the room: plenty of open space for showing off or getting out of the way of someone who wants to show off.

One of the doors of the meeting hall leads to the outside. There's a wider, 'backyard' sort of area with plenty of room for people to cast magic as large and impressive as they want. A fire pit stands outside also for warming your hands and other fire-based magic. Please don't set the building on fire.

This is all very informal. If pressed for details, Strange would have told anyone to just come whenever, stay as long as you like, and so on and so forth. The emphasis is on learning about each other's magic, displaying one's skills and talents, and helping anyone who wished to learn magic decide on a path for them to take.

Showing off is just a given.

( ooc: This is an open mingle log! Feel free to make your own top-levels & tag around! )

Comments

[lonesomewanderer]

Incantations for such a simple spell. That seemed to be the norm here for many. Unfortunate.

Solas stares at the man's hand for a brief second before taking it. For the sake of learning the other's magic, he could do something so simple. Even if he was growing to detest the man with every word he spoke.

"You are opening a pathway elsewhere then?"

[kingsroads]

"I am," Strange answers, not even bothering to hide the haughtiness in his voice. He's opening a pathway and it is super cool and super impressive magic and this'll wipe that smug tone out of the elf's voice. "The pathway is to the cabins."

Strange takes a step towards the ice. Once both feet are resting on the icy patch, Strange and Solas vanish through the ice. The process itself is almost instantaneous as there's an amazingly brief feeling of falling before the two reappear on a different patch of ice in one of the more populated areas of the moon: a few cabins stand close to each other, all obviously used.

Once they've reached the cabins, Strange lets go of Solas's hand, steps off of the icy patch (which is now icy and entirely solid), and looks so amazingly proud of himself. "I assume you have questions."

[lonesomewanderer]

While impressive for the fact that it is instantaneous, the smug look doesn't dissipate. It becomes more calculating as he studies the ice after they reemerge, testing it with ball of his foot. Solid, as he suspected. The magic is more than he thought Strange was capable of though hardly what he had hoped to witness.

"And this type of travel is unusual for your world?" Because it reminded him of the eluvians in a way without the Crossroads in the middle. This presented less of a practical use for traveling than what Solas was accustomed to.

[kingsroads]

"It is," Strange admits. After all, though magic has returned to England, he doesn't know how many magicians dare venture out on the king's roads. He feels perfectly confident saying that what he does is unusual.

"It's a modified spell from what I use in my world. Back home, the mirrors and reflections lead to something called the King's Roads: roads built by the Raven King in another realm. The mirrors were the doorways." Strange continues talking, as if he's lecturing someone or explaining something to a student.

"Here, however, the King's Roads don't exist. The Raven King never entered into the Ringmaster's domain. So, a little reworking of the spell, and the mirrors still serve as doors, but they link to each other."

[lonesomewanderer]

His eyes light up in recognition. Finally the man says something of interest. This is closer to what the elves of Arlathan used then after all.

"That is similar to magic that lays dormant for us as well. We call those mirrors eluvians and they function much the same." Including leading to another realm. It was odd how many worlds he was learning of that shared such similarities with his own. "What is the Raven King?"

The way Strange speaks, it's almost as if he's talking of another fae.

[kingsroads]

Wait a moment. Eluvians, he's heard of that term before. Strange had a very long and lovely conversation with Lavellan about the similarities and differences of the magic between their worlds. The problem is, he has no idea that Solas is from the same world as Lavellan in the first place—and likewise, hasn't yet realized that this dude is Solas.

"You must be from the same world as Lavellan. We had a long and lovely conversation about your eluvians." The similarities are odd. After all, mirrors hiding entrances to other realms? Apparently not as novel a concept as Strange had thought.

"The magic of my world, however, does not lie as dormant as yours. The metaphorical veil's been torn down already."

Which Strange is far too pleased about. And it doesn't occur to him that in his bragging, he completely forgot to answer Solas's question about the Raven King.

[lonesomewanderer]

Of course, the man has spoken with Lavellan. It was hard to miss her in such a small gathering and he had no doubts she answered Strange's call over the walkie talkies when it went out. Learning had always been an interest of hers.

Fortunately for Strange, Solas will be happy to revisit his question about the Raven King. Later. He's far more interested in what has now been said.

"Your veil has been torn down? That which separates the physical from the magical?" Unless the man is using the term in an entirely different way.

[kingsroads]

Strange still seems far too smug and far too up his own ass as he nods. "That's correct. Though ours was hidden behind the mirrors. I broke the mirrors of England, opened up the doorways between realms, and sent magic soaring back into my world as it was in the past!"

The more he talks, the more wrapped up he gets, lost in the idea of bringing magic back to England. For Strange, this was something beautiful and amazing. Yes, he knows the circumstances between his world and Lavellan's world are somewhat different but how he wishes he could find a way to remove their barrier, open up their doorway, just so people in that world could see magic restored to it's former glory.

[lonesomewanderer]

"Ours is hidden behind a Veil that keeps our magic separated from the rest," he says with a touch of longing. Magic had been that simple for this man to restore to his world. If only it could be as simple as smashing a few mirrors for it to pour into Thedas. At least Solas has found someone who actually appreciates having magic around so fully.

"It grows thin in some parts and damaged, but it remains intact." Unfortunately. Solas would see to changing that.

[kingsroads]

"There must be a way to change that," Strange mutters, unintentionally vocalizing what's on Solas's mind. Because there has to be. A world where magic always remains out of reach and magicians have to settle for scraps sounds downright horrible.

"I have heard horror stories from Lavellan about what would happen if the Veil were destroyed. But surely there must be a way for the Veil to be torn down and everything not go to hell."

[lonesomewanderer]

"That is my intention," he says with confidence. Though for him, if it required all to go to hell and the world to be rebuilt in the ashes, he would still go through with it. He knew the path he walked would be plagued with death.

"Many fear magic and what lies in the Fade, but the two realms are intertwined in many ways already."

[kingsroads]

Blissfully unaware of Solas's plans to flip the table and say fuck everything, Strange nods at the man. "Besides, it's better if the realms are intertwined," he states, despite knowing next to nothing about the world of Thedas. "Magic shouldn't be cordoned off, separated away for no one to use. Yes, it is dangerous, but it's that danger that makes it so beautiful in the first place."

Yes, there might be demonic possession. But isn't that a small price to pay for magic to be accessible to everyone?

[lonesomewanderer]

"My thoughts precisely. It causes more harm keeping them separate than any perceived good that has been done." That he's found some common ground with the arrogant man before him is odd, but that means he is a source of information. Something that could aid him in his plans to come. "Your magic was kept hidden behind mirrors? Entirely?"

An odd parallel to the Veil that Thedas had.

[kingsroads]

"Of a sort." And because this is going to take a while, Strange starts explaining. He talks with his hands as he does so, gesturing as he speaks.

"Magic in England is tied to one man: the Raven King. While he ruled in the north, magic flourished, and there were plenty of magicians. However, after he left the land, magic started to fade away and decay. For some reason, only myself and another man were able to access English magic, though many wanted to." Strange can't help it: he sounds a little smug at that, even though he has no goddamn clue why he was the one who could access magic in the first place.

"In my studies and experiments, I found that the mirrors served as doorways to faerie, a land full of magic. By breaking all the mirrors, I was able to return magic to England."

[lonesomewanderer]

His brows furrowed at that. "All that magic was tied to one fae? How did destroying the doorway that allowed the faerie and magic into your world create a stronger connection?"

He would think dismantling everything that allowed them into Strange's world would have stopped magic entirely rather than release it. A doorway, not a barrier like the Veil if Strange was describing it correctly.

[kingsroads]

Who's ready for Solas to get real annoyed? Because that smug smile is still on Strange's face as he explains,

"The Raven King isn't fae. He's a human, raised in faerie, but returned to the land of his birth. As for destroying the doorway, the magic was hidden behind the mirrors. Destroying them united the realms and let faerie flow into England and vice versa."

He's trying to say all of this in a matter of fact tone but Strange's admiration and idolization of the Raven King is obvious on his face and in the tone of his voice.

[lonesomewanderer]

That smug look of Strange's does nothing for Solas' mood. That and he has a hard time believing that a human, of all things, could become so intricately tied to magic. What an odd world this man must come from where humans played such a role in the magical. It was backward, as far as Solas was concerned.

"What happened to this Raven King once the mirrors were destroyed?" If his realm was suddenly merged with that of the mortal then Solas can only imagine the kind of transition the man faced.

[kingsroads]

And poor Solas is going to have even more of a headache. Because to Strange, Solas's question makes no goddamn sense, a sentiment that's writ large on his face.

"Nothing?" Strange answers, with a little confused tone in his voice. Should something happen in the first place? Strange doesn't know, but it seems to him like nothing should happen if the realms were united. At least, nothing would happen to the Raven King, something happened to England herself as it gained an influx of magic.

"I saw him some time after I broke the mirrors and he seemed fine." Strange saw the Raven King for all of one second. This isn't changing his opinion.

"Truth be told, I think he wanted it to happen." It's a pet theory of Strange's, something that goes nowhere, born from the arrogance of a man who thinks his actions could garnish the attention of a long-gone fairy monarch. "If he didn't want anyone to find the roads, he would have sealed them off better."