[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

[dirthena]

The fact that Rita is far more accepting of Cole than Lavellan had feared endears her greatly to her -- she likes to think of herself as an evenhanded woman, but truth be told that those who dislike her friends are met with disdain. That Rita isn't, well. She's glad that she wouldn't have to worry much about that at the moment.

"He mentioned he wanted to stay with the Carnival because he felt there was so much he could do to help. I'm glad he's been busy." Weird and annoying seem par for the course with him. "Are you familiar with spirits at all?"

[anti_nonsense]

"More than most people, where I'm from... but that doesn't say much," Rita admits with a shrug. She knows she has a lot to learn about the subject... and that's precisely why she wants to spend time talking with Cole, and with those more familiar with spirits than she is. "The existence of spirits was merely theoretical in my world, until recently."

[dirthena]

Lavellan gestures Rita off to the side, attempting to steer her towards chairs set up -- if they're going to have a long talk about magic, they might as well be comfortable. She's curious about the similarities and differences that must exist; she can't imagine that anything would be like spirits in her world. It seems so different than anything else she's talked about.

"Until recently? What changed to make them more than theoretical?" Her curiosity shines through for a moment, eyes bright. She can't help it, even if spirits had never been her area of study.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita sits and leans against one armrest. She catches Lavellan's look; seems like she really wants to know. In truth, Rita's happy to talk about it. It's one of the greatest achievements of her career as a scholar.

She tries to keep from beaming with pride as she answers, "I discovered a process for spirit conversion... a way to essentially make spirits."

[dirthena]

That makes Lavellan start -- she hadn't expected something like that from someone so young, and her eyes go wide in surprise before they narrow out of curiosity. "Make them? How does that work?"

It's not possible for anyone to make spirits, as far as Lavellan is aware. Solas might have wanted to try, but she imagines he'd have some lengthy conversation as to why that was a bad decision more than anything else.

[anti_nonsense]

"It's a complicated process, but I can try to summarize," Rita offers, cupping her chin as she considers her words.

"There's a race of intelligent monsters called Entelexia in my world. When they die, they leave behind a crystal made of... I suppose, a very dense form of magic energy." She's not sure how else to explain it without getting overly technical, so she leaves it at that. "I originally intended to use one such crystal as part of an experimental process to convert magic energy, but my formula ended up converting the crystal itself into a spirit, awakening the dormant consciousness within it and giving it new life."

[dirthena]

It's a good enough description. Lavellan doesn't try to parse it into terms that would work in her world, simply because it wouldn't matter -- spirits don't come into existence like that, and no creatures that she knows of leave something like that behind. Similar -- for her blade hilt was made from the remnants of wisps -- but nothing like what Rita is describing.

In some way, she reminds Lavellan of Dagna. Small, young, and very curious about magic. They'd get along, if they ever met, and for a moment Lavellan is caught by the memories of all the people has left behind -- not only in coming here, but in disbanding the Inquisition. It would be fine, in the end, she knows, but still --

Shaking her head to clear herself of the thoughts, Lavellan refocuses. "Do they resemble the creatures that came before them, or are they something wholly new?"

[anti_nonsense]

"In appearance and body structure, they're completely different. The way they experience the world is new for them, too. Sort of like... if a fish became a bird. That kind of radical change in perspective." It's an analogy she's used before, but it seems to paint the clearest picture of what it must be like to undergo spirit conversion.

But that's not to say there are no connections...

"It seems like they still have memories of their previous lives, but they don't fully identify as their past selves. The first thing they each did was ask for a new name."

[dirthena]

A very clear picture, and Lavellan nods her understanding. That, at least, wouldn't be untrue in her world when it came to Cole finding himself not in the Fade. He'd adapted the only way he knew how, and it seemed to have worked well for him all things considered.

"So they retain their memories, but wish to be something else. Different than the spirits in my world, but nor is it impossible for their to be a similar experience. Not how they're created, but what they remember." A pause, and she considers this. "What happens to them, after you've brought them forth into your world?"

[anti_nonsense]

"What happens...?" It's a bit of a broad question, and Rita has to think about it for a few seconds.

"Well... in the specific case of the four created so far, we asked them to help fight against something that threatens all life in the world. They agreed to lend us their strength, so... I guess we're allies now." It's a simplified version of events, but that's probably easiest to digest. "They seem to drift between the physical plane and another, some place that maybe only spirits can reach, but it seems like they're always with us in some way."

[dirthena]

"I suppose one could say the same of spirits in Thedas -- always being with us, I mean. They take no sides in any conflict if it is not in their nature to." Which would... be something she'd deal with at a later date. Perhaps she could find Cole again, in the Fade, and perhaps convince him to work at spreading their message.

But Solas has always had a way with spirits, and Lavellan knows she would not stand a chance against him should it come down to that. "No wonder Cole is your friend, if you don't intend to harm them."

[anti_nonsense]

A touch of redness can be seen in Rita's face, and she glances away. "Yeah, well... Spirits are capable of helping humans in a lot of important ways. I'd have to be an idiot to antagonize them." Evidently, Rita's not very good at admitting she cares.

"But... I can't be sure that everybody in my world's going to share that view," she adds, her expression darkening.

[dirthena]

A quick smile, perhaps gone too quickly for Rita to notice. But Lavellan is glad that someone cares, even if she has a hard time expressing it. 'Not antagonizing' is decent, when the normal reaction to Cole generally seems to be pointing and crying at the 'demon'.

"Understandable. Are you working to change their opinion at all?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita shakes her head as she replies, "Not currently. Only a select few even know about spirits at the moment. It'll be a different story once I've brought more into the world, though..." She waves a hand dismissively. "I'm just being realistic about my expectations, given everything I know about human nature. Somebody's bound to try and screw things up. But... yeah. I intend to prevent that."

[dirthena]

Something about that catches Lavellan's interest, but it might not be the thing that Rita expects of her. Leaning forward, and with one brow raised, she continues. "It's rare to find a shemlen so aware of the shortcomings of one's own race." Said casually, as if it didn't matter so much to her. But most of the humans Lavellan has encountered seemed so willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[anti_nonsense]

"Shemlen?" Rita repeats, uncertain. "What's that?"

From the context, it would seem she's talking about humans, but Rita can't help but wonder if the foreign word has connotations unknown to her.

[dirthena]

“It’s the elven word for humans where I’m from,” she says, gesturing at her ears. The vallaslin would have made that even more obvious, but she knows that no one who wasn’t from her world would understand them. “It means quick children, because they aged and died while the elves of that time did not.”

[anti_nonsense]

"Elven? Wait... you're an elf? I thought they were just a myth."

In truth, this is about the fourth elf Rita's met, but seeing as elves just aren't a thing in her world and she's encountered other races that happen to have pointed ears, it genuinely never occurred to her.

[dirthena]

Lavellan laughs at that, shaking her head in amusement. "No, we are not a myth. Not in Thedas, at any rate. Our glory of the height of our empire might be, but elves live and breathe as you do." She's silent for a moment, and then grins. "As you've met Solas, you can now say you know two."

He is, by all estimations, the more mythological one. But if he has not seen to divulge that, she can keep it as secret as she can under their terms.

[anti_nonsense]

“Right... well, I guess elves aren’t the weirdest thing to turn out to be real,” Rita says with a sigh, seemingly willing to accept this new information despite the potentially wide-reaching implications.

There is one extraordinary thing Lavellan mentioned about elves that can't be brushed off, however. “You said the elves of 'that time' didn't age or die. Does that mean they somehow went from being immortal, to not? How is that possible?”

[dirthena]

A smaller chuckle, for Lavellan will give her that. But it's her other question that takes her by surprise, and for a moment she wavers on how best to discuss this. It's new to her, too, and the person who'd know more is unlikely to be as forthcoming as Lavellan is.

"It does, yes. What do you know of the Veil, from Solas and Cole?" Beyond that it exists, and one must pull magic through it to use magic at all.

[anti_nonsense]

The Veil... It's come up briefly compared to certain other topics, but she can recall some things that were said about it. Put simply...

"Only that it's what keeps the Fade separated from the physical world," Rita answers.

[dirthena]

It's enough, and Lavellan nods before continuing. "It was created, an artificial barrier made for a purpose. But it came with unintended consequences -- the Elven empire which existed at the time relied on the free access to magic, as did the immortality of the elves. Without it, Arlathan crumpled and the elves fell to sickness and old age."

A myth, once. One she knows is true now -- but it wasn't the humans that brought about their destruction. Just one of their own, desperate and driven by grief and rage.

[anti_nonsense]

"Someone made it!?" Rita's eyes widen. Even having never seen Lavellan's world for herself, she knows that can't be an easy feat. "And no one's been able to undo it?" Surely someone would have tried, if it could mean regaining immortality. It sounds like it's been in place for a long time, too...

[dirthena]

"Someone made it," she repeats, humor in her tone if not her expression -- she thought much the same thing when she found out. Disbelief, for no one had ever considered it hadn't always existed. "No one thought they could, for anyone who remembered it was long dead. But its creator has recently given it his best effort and failed, although he will try again."

Unless she can stop him from being such a damned idiot.