just gotta ignite the light and let it shine

[whattaprick]

Who: Everyone who's stupid enough to show up for this, because legal drinking ages are for people from a different century/planet.
When: Afternoon/Evening, Day 30
Where: Lakeshore
What: Local Carnival workers get wasted and set off fireworks by the lake.
Warnings: Carnival shenanigans, ie. booze, drugs, and people getting set on fire probably. Put any tag-specific warnings in your headers!

So, Wismuth happened.

Lambert's pretty willing to bet a good chunk of the Carnival is pretty happy to act like Wismuth didn't happen, but he also doesn't really care about what sorrows people are drowning or not tonight: he knows he needed this drink, and after he'd slept off the immediate exhaustion that came with running around Wismuth for nearly two weeks with the power of Creation more or less constantly burning through him, he's ready to something, anything to feel like himself again.

Fast-forward to the lakeshore. There's a huge bonfire going, a box of assorted fireworks that's been 'liberated' from wherever the hell engineering keeps their supplies, and probably a crate of wine that's going to disappear sooner rather than later. Anything else, someone's going to have to bring themselves.

[ ooc: This is a mingle log! Bring your own entertainment, food, questionable substances etc. ]

Comments

[dirthena]

If Lavellan had known Strange better, she'd have wondered how much of the trouble they've gotten into he's contributed to. As is, she thinks they get into plenty of trouble on her own. Running a hand through her hair, she nods in agreement. "I must admit I haven't spent much time among the Carnival--" on account of being brainwashed and kidnapped, "but I've started seeing the value of that."

And, because she's who she is: "As well as wanting to learn more about fae magic, if I can." Because why would she not want to?

[kingsroads]

"You know," Strange starts, with a smug smile on his face, "I do have an extensive collection of notes on the fae and their magic. If you want, I'd be willing to lend you them once the evening's finished."

Or, considering at the rate they're going through this booze, it would probably be closer to the next day or the day after that. Jury's still out on whether Lavellan or Strange would remember his offer.

[dirthena]

She brightens up at that, a grin sliding across her face. Would she? "I'd like nothing more. If I'm here for a year, I might as well indulge a little." She knows that an extension on her contract is theoretically possible, but Lavellan also knows she cannot afford to let herself entertain that thought. One year, and then she'd be back in Thedas.

Best to use it wisely any way she can.

[kingsroads]

Lavellan has no idea about the tl;dr she's getting herself into. But man, does Strange look so happy at the idea of sharing his notes, Lavellan caring about his notes, and Lavellan caring about the fae and fae magic to begin with. So many people here only cared about the basics and bare bones that to find someone who cares about it at least a little deeply is amazing. He knocks back some of his drink, still grinning all the while.

"I've tried to put some context in with the notes, though I know I've failed at a few things—Portland's a mess and a half that I don't think I'll ever be able to succinctly explain," said with a little frown. "Still, if you ever come across something I haven't explained all that well, either seek me out or call me over the radios."

[dirthena]

She does not, but paperwork and reading is something she's used to, and therefore wouldn't be daunted in the slightest if she knew. And after all, Strange seems like her best bet for getting more information on what's going on with regards to the fae, and Lavellan does so hate being out of the loop.

"I've.. gathered that about Portland. I believe it's why someone from my world chose to willingly sign on," Lavellan says, coming dangerously close to bringing up Cole in a situation where things might get complicated for reasons. "I'll be certain to do so. Thank you, Strange."

And then a pause. "I don't suppose you're going to have another mage meeting in the future?"

[kingsroads]

"I hadn't thought of organizing one," Strange muses, with a little frown. But it has been over a month since the last meeting...and they did get some new people...and it wouldn't surprise him if some people picked up some tricks from Wismuth. And honestly, it makes sense if Strange is the one to organize the meetings. After all, if not him, then who?

"Perhaps when performances are over." After all, there's no use having a mage meeting in the middle of performances when everybody's mind is elsewhere and everyone's too focused on what they're doing. "We can also use the big top if we're doing it when performances are over. There's plenty of space there."

[dirthena]

"If the Ringmaster is going to send us into places after objects even she doesn't have solid facts on, I feel as if magic will be our first and last line of defense," Lavellan points out, her hand going to her hip as she thinks about this further. "She suspects they might be in 'Heaven' or 'Hell', whatever those are. The more prepared we can be, the better."

Because Lavellan is from a world where Jesus is female and ended up married to God instead of some trinity. And also is incredibly bitter towards the concept of religion at the moment.

[kingsroads]

Strange can't help but give Lavellan a confused look...before riiight, she comes from a bizarre fantasy world. She probably doesn't have any concept of Christianity to begin with.

"I agree completely," he says with a nod. Magic the only thing here that can keep everybody safe, or at least as safe as they can be. "As for Heaven or Hell, in my world, those are both types of afterlife. If one was overall good in life, when they die they go to heaven and if one was overall evil, when they die they go to hell. Here, I think the terms are a bit more loose. The carnival went to a hell one time—there weren't any souls of the damned, but there was fire and brimstone."

And vampires. But that's a whole different explanation.

[dirthena]

"Really? And who decides who has been 'good' or 'bad'?" That... seemed like a very arbitrary way to decide where one ended up after death. "In Thedas, when anyone dies, one's spirit travels through the Fade regardless of one's previous behavior during life. I'm sure the Chantry has a way to determine what happens then, but the Dalish believe they just end up in the Beyond, guided by Falon'Din and Dirthamen."

She reaches up to trace the lines of Dirthamen's vallaslin on her face, frowning slightly. Something to think about later, Lavellan decides.

"Well, we may end up there again-- a hell? Are there more than one?" That hadn't seemed to have been a part of Strange's explanation.

[kingsroads]

Thankfully, Strange has a preacher for a brother-in-law. As such, while he's not the most well-versed in religion, he's versed enough to give a halfway decent explanation. "According to what I believe, it's decided if a person is 'good' or 'bad' based on how well they follow the Bible and the doctrines of Christ—my religion's Christianity, by the way. The Bible is the guidelines of Christianity and Christ is the son of our god who came down to Earth to spread his word."

Lavellan tracing her face tattoos is completely lost on Strange. Is that something to do with her gods? (He's not even going to try to remember Falon'Din and Dirthamen, Strange knows he'll make a hash out of those names something fierce.) It's a question to ask once they've talked Christianity to death.

"And yes, a hell. My going theory is that there are multiple hell or heaven like realms." After all, he's been to one hell, dealt with residents of another hell, and learned teachings about a third hell and really, none of them added up to be the same hell. Saying that there are multiple slightly different hells is really the best way of dealing with it.

[dirthena]

Lavellan thinks about this for a moment, but the first words out of her mouth are simply: "What is it with shemlen and only having one god?" Is it a lack of creativity? Not that the Dalish were much better, all things considered, but at least none of the Evanuris had tried to proclaim themselves as the one god above the rest. "Why doesn't this.... 'christ' count as a god if he's the son of one?"

At least her's had the dignity to make sense. Even if it was based on lies.

But more than one at least made sense, although-- "Would that mean that the one she wants to visit is the 'real' one to you?" Or would he just refuse to accept any of them as the real one, rather than face the truth that it could have all been based on lies?

She may or may not have significant baggage over this issue.

[kingsroads]

"I don't think we're ever going to visit the 'real' hell," Strange admits, with a little frown. "Or, at least, my 'real' hell." Are you ready to get into some metaphysical bullshit, Lavellan, because that's what Strange is about to drop into this conversation as he goes straight off into a nerdy tangent.

"I believe there are different...domains, perhaps? I'm still working on that word. Anyway, there are multiple worlds. That much is shown by the array of people at the carnival and the places we visit. Each world is different from each other. And if each world has a hell, each hell must also be slightly different from the other. We could visit hell upon hell and still never touch foot in the one of my world!"

He's talking with his hands as he does so, gesturing like an excited professor or someone relaying the plot of an intense sporting event. Strange is so wrapped up in talking about hell and the possibility of different realms that he completely misses Lavellan grumbling about monotheism.

[dirthena]

She is not ready, but Lavellan weathers it with grace and poise practiced as Inquisitor. Because honestly? That's a lot of conjecture and assumptions. She can see his point, however, and agrees with it in theory. "So every world we visit has a chance of having the afterlife existing alongside it, which we also may visit." Seems... reasonable enough, even if she wonders if that means they could ever enter the Fade itself.

"How does that work with your single god and his son?" Who is apparently... not a god? She's a little confused on that point, but she's willing to go with it. "If every hell is real, doesn't that stand to mean every... god has a chance of being real?" Except for her's, of course.

[kingsroads]

"Perhaps?" The alcohol causes his tongue to flow freer, and Strange to suggest more ideas. He takes a large swig of his drink before he continues talking, gesturing with his hands as he does so. It's obvious from Strange's entire demeanor that he adores this sort of conversation: nerdy academia talks are the bread and butter of his existence. And in talking with Lavellan like this, shooting off theories and what-ifs, he's having the most fun that he's had in ages.

"But does it really matter? Most people will only stay in one world all their life. This travel from world to world that the carnival does is rare and far between. If every hell is real and every god has a chance of being real, then the likelihood that most people would see more than one hell or one pantheon is slim to none."

[dirthena]

"Not every god," Lavellan says, with a certain amount of conviction. Whatever Strange's faith is, she's certainly not going to agree with it -- not even theoretically. His god, she's certain, is no more real than her's were. Which just leaves her with the theoretical discussion.

Which she is more than happy to busy herself with. "I would hate to see the face of someone who ended up in the wrong one," she muses, her amusement plain in her tone. "But it would matter to the believers, would it not? Who believe that there is only theirs, and that no other truth exists. They should know the truth about their faith."

She... may be a little more personally involved in this than she's letting on.

[kingsroads]

Obviously, Strange doesn't know the full story. But he's getting little hints of it here and there. The way Lavellan stresses the realness of her god, the way this conversation's hanging around this one point, it's becoming more and more apparent that she's got some hang-ups with regards to religion. And Jonathan 'knows the basics but isn't really religious' Strange has absolutely no idea how to help Lavellan through a crisis of faith.

"They should know, I'll grant you that," Strange admits. "But how could one explain this? In my six months at the carnival, I've seen so many unbelievable things, things that I know people in my England would dismiss as the ravings of a madman. How do you expect one to accept the truth about multiple gods if they still have trouble grasping the idea of multiple worlds?"

[dirthena]

"Is that not the point of faith, after all? That or perhaps they are not gods at all." Her name is Elera Lavellan and she's here to spread the good word about atheism and damn everyone and anyone she upsets. She'd cross her arms if she had two of them, as is her hand just sort of clutches the opposite side of her chest, oddly.

"They should still know, and be free to make up their mind. If you were mad, well--" Lavellan frowns, before shaking her head. "I should only hope they wouldn't set their dogs after you, and chase you through dreams." That's very specific, Lavellan.

[kingsroads]

"Truth be told, they mostly left me alone during my period of madness," Strange remarks, with a shrug. Because yep, that was a thing, a thing that he kind of wishes he navigated his life better and with less 'fucking off to Italy to become a grief-stricken hobo' but people make bad decisions occasionally and that was Strange's. And Strange is all too happy to shift the conversation to something a bit different.

"No chasing through dreams, though." And, because he knows she's got to be referencing something specific, he continues with a teasing smile. "Though I did have a fellow magician rudely intrude on what I was dreaming one time."

[dirthena]

Oh, right, yes. He made himself mad, didn't he. She'll never understand that part of it, although his response makes her grin. That is something she's familiar with, although it's not quite the same.

"Was he there in person, or was it... more of being capable of watching what you're dreaming? If it's the former, I know someone who might be able to help you get even by teaching you to do the same," she says. Would Solas want to teach Strange? Unlikely, but she can't see why he wouldn't enjoy it eventually -- Solas liked having students, after all.

[kingsroads]

"He was there in person. And truth be told, I don't think the poor fellow knew what he was doing." But, then again, it was early in Strange's magical career: nobody really knew what they were doing. As such, it'll just be light dragging of the other magician in question.

"I had set myself down to dream of a magician whose spirit haunted the house. I succeeded in contacting her when the other magician, a man named Segundus, accidentally found himself in my dream." Strange shrugs slightly, looking over at Lavellan. "England only had a handful of people with magical talent and, at that point early on in my career, I hadn't met any of them before. I think he was more shocked about the whole thing than I was."

Strange decided to solve the problem by yelling. Everything worked out fine in the end, though.

[dirthena]

That is... very interesting, if it's all the same to him. "When mages in my world dream, they visit the Fade," she explains, hoping that the words from their first few conversations would be familiar enough for him to understand. "But only a rare few have the power to control their dreams -- I've experienced it once or twice myself." With the aid of the Anchor and of Solas, but that seems pointless to mention at the moment.

"Well, more than once. A friend of mine takes it upon himself to regularly visit mine these days." Whether she wants it or not. Thanks, Solas. "How did he manage to leave?"

[kingsroads]

"I yelled at him and I woke up."

For all of Strange blabbering about English magic and how wonderful it is and the strength of English magic and so on and so forth, there are a few times where English magic seems to work according to 'throw something at it and see what sticks.' Still, Strange has absolutely no shame or no regrets for his strategy of yelling. It worked! That's what matters!

"If that friend of yours ever shows up here, I'd like to give them a chat. Obviously my dream magic knowledge is rudimentary at best. So even just talking the theory behind that magic would be appreciated."

[dirthena]

"That's it?" She asks, brow raised before she laugh, shaking her head. "If only we could all free ourselves from unwanted visitors that easily." For Lavellan thinks it'd be a little more complicated for her, no matter who decided to drop in. That Strange wants to chat with whoever knows magic similar to his doesn't come as a surprise, so her tone is exceptionally casual as she takes a sip.

"I believe you're familiar with him already. Solas?"

[kingsroads]

To Strange's credit, he keeps his tone and words relatively level. However, he can't hide the brief scowl of annoyance that flashes over his face as Lavellan mentions Solas. Ugh. That guy. They've only had a few conversations but each conversation ended with Strange getting the distinct impression that Solas was an ass.

Still, if Lavellan liked him, he could keep the commentary relatively positive...he hoped. "We've met. I had no idea Solas's magic focused on dreams. Tell me, what else can he do?"

This is solely for knowledge purposes, not Strange comparing the two and deciding that he's better, certainly nothing like that.

[dirthena]

Lavellan can't help but laugh out loud at his expression, grinning. He needn't say anything more -- she can tell from that alone that they've met and exchanged words. Were they aware of how similar they were? Surely they must be if they found themselves at such great odds.

That Strange keeps it polite is much appreciated, and she gestures dismissively. "He is a master of the Fade," she has no qualms about admitting that, knowing that Solas will own up to it without question. "Well versed in magic pertaining to ice and spirits as well." A pause, and then -- because she told Solas she would not lie for him: "If I were to produce a list of the most powerful mages in Thedas, he would be on it."

Sorry bud.