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Who: Syrlya, Strange, Lavellan
When: Day 36
Where: The training grounds
What: Three mages nerding about magic and also playing with a dangerous magical conduit.
Warnings: Something might get blown up.

With the competitions winding down and the apparent ease of the Olympics, there's some time for Syrlya to spend doing what he really signed on for--testing magic to find a solution for his own world, and he's got the Bloodstone to do it. It's something he knows Strange has wanted to see so, after some personal, careful deliberation he calls him up to invite him along to the open training area one afternoon to see it in action.

And although he didn't tell Lavellan specifically about it before, they did have a lengthy discussion about magic and he thinks she'll appreciate the chance to learn. Also, he'd like to have some assistance because he doesn't completely trust this rock in Strange's hands.

He's using one of the training dummies as a resting pole as he waits, Bloodstone, pen, and paper in hand. ARe the last two just confiscated from Strange's desk? Possibly, but they share a trailer so it's okay.

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Now that she's back to, well, being herself, Lavellan is finding the time and energy to actually pursue what she wants to -- learning more about the magic of other worlds. It's a goal shared by a number of people, and so the invitation to join Strange and Syrlya to learn more isn't a surprise, but it is welcome.

Not knowing what to expect means she's dressed as she normally is -- this time with her staff strapped to her back and the hilt of her sword on her hip. Time would be required for her to not consistently want to arm herself every time she walked out of her trailer, but she's certain neither will mind.

Seeing Syrlya, Lavellan waves, calling out. "Did I beat Strange to something magical? I never thought I'd see the day." She jokes, grinning.

Hell yes, Strange is here for this! After what feels like an eternity of 'don't touch the bloodstone, Strange,' 'stay away from that, Strange,' 'it's a dangerous artifact, Strange,' finally he's going to see what that rock can actually do.

Strange is away at the spaceship when he receives Syrlya's invitation, so it takes him a bit to return to the carnival, pick up pencil and paper of his own, then make his way over to the training area, flitting from reflection to reflection as much as possible. Unfortunately, the training area itself doesn't have an actual mirror (note to self, bug Lambert about that) so Strange has to walk that last distance. Still, there's an obvious spring in his step as he walks over to hear Lavellan's question.

"Not by much!" he teases in return. "I do have a reputation to uphold, after all."

Syrlya looks up and offers both of them a nod and smile in greeting. He has his own staff as well, ivory with some sort of rainbow magic wisping around it, so Lavellan is hardly overdressed for the occasion.

"I'm glad you both could make it. I'm sure there is a lot to discuss with the variety of our magic..." He looks between them. "Are you well acquainted with one another's abilities?"

Wismuth did not mandate a lot of combat before the concert, anyway, nor has this visit. There was magic club on the moon, but Syrlya doesn't know how extensively they spoke then.

Ah, there he is. She grins wildly at him him -- something about him has always put her at ease, but she can't tell if that's because he simply enjoys being asked questions or something else.

"I think I'm more aquatinted with yours than his," Lavellan admits with a small smile. She actually hasn't seen the magic that Strange professes to use beyond catching glimpses of his display at the first meeting. "But I would be happy to give a small demonstration if you feel as if it's needed. And I'd like to know more about yours," she says to Strange, grinning.

Somehow she thinks he'll be amenable to that.

Strange has come staffless. His magical kit is all smaller, things like a necklace he's wearing or a ring on his hand. Though, considering his attire still sticks to something vaguely 1800s, he's overdressed in other ways.

"She's right. I'm afraid Lavellan and I have talked more of the theory of our magic than the practice," he responds, with a little shrug. Not that Strange minds, of course. He can talk theory until the end of time. And besides, there's just something about Lavellan that makes it easy to talk about all these things with her.

"I know Syrlya's magic, though," he explains to Lavellan. "We share a trailer. Besides, we're all magicians. I'll be surprised if this doesn't devolve into all of us showing off." And there's a bright grin on his face as he talks. Just watching everyone do their magic is intoxicating.

"I'm familiar with both of yours, but... let's start with introducing our magic in its natural state, anyway. It operates very differently in each of our worlds."

He taps the bloodstone with his pinky. "This is the result of my contract, but it would be best that we are all aware of how our magic behaves or... misbehaves first." Will that necessarily give them an edge of something goes wrong? Probably not, but then nobody can say Syrlya didn't try.

"Who would like to share first?"

Her eyes light on the bloodstone -- presumably the thing they've been called here to experiment with. Still, she's more than happy to let Strange talk about his for a while yet. Every time he says something she learns something more. "By all means, Strange. I beat you here, and it'd be poor form to make you wait." Lavellan says, joking.

But also she's gotten the distinct impression that Strange's magic isn't exactly combat oriented in the way she's been trained to think of her's, and so she's curious of what difference their is with regards to that.

"Well, thank you Lavellan," Strange responds, with a little nod and a grin of his own. And hey, she said he could go first, he's definitely going first.

"My magic is a blend of English magic and fae magic. Most of the work I've done has been elemental: asking the rocks to form a road, the trees to move, the earth to reach up and grab someone, things like that. I have a focus in reflection magic and can turn into smoke."

But talking is one thing, showing off is another. Though what to do...wind would work. He wouldn't have to clean that up later! A little too theatrically, Strange raises a hand towards the sky, as he mutters a spell under his breath, before gesturing at Lavellan and Syrlya. A gust of wind follows the direction of his hand and just slams into the two. It's not enough to knock Lavellan and Syrlya off their feet, but it certainly is enough to make their eyes water. The gust is also strong enough to knock over some equipment sitting out in the training yard. Whoops. He'll pick those up later.

Once the wind dies down, Strange looks particularly pleased with himself despite the fact that his hair's even messier than before. "I am also adept at dispelling, so I can clean up any messes should something go wrong." Everyone's just a bit fucked if something goes wrong with his magic.

Syrlya braces himself against the wind as it blows, teetering slightly--and nearly losing the notebook. At least there isn't much to blow completely out of place, so once it dies down he quickly straightens back up.

"His English magic functions a little differently," Syrlya inclines his head, but he won't take over the conversation for Strange. He's sure Strange won't mind prattling on if given the opportunity. "Although... I do not believe we discussed the detriments to it."

Like it poisoning you or inviting demons to possess you. What does happen with misused English and Fae magic?

How much of what he knows focus wise is the result of the study of fae magic and how much is his own magic? She's about to ask before Strange conjures the wind and Lavellan squeezes her eyes shut against it; hair whipping back from her face before it passes. Nature magic, then, and oddly not focused around fighting. Not that Lavellan has never done magic for other reasons, but it was what they tended to focus on.

"Quite differently," she says, in agreement. At Syrlya's question, however, she nods. "Are there any?"

Which is also so vastly different from her world she still can't wrap her head around it. That there are worlds where it doesn't come with a price.

And thus Syrlya and Lavellan learn that Strange is a bit OP. Because at their question, Strange stares a little, frowns, then starts thinking, trying to come up with a detriment or a disadvantage to his magic. His expression brightens back up when he thinks of an answer.

"Well, I'm usually limited by what surrounds me. Ah, and a large amount of my spells require a verbal incantation! I've whittled a few down to something more instantaneous, most notably any spells of traveling as well as a basic lob a fireball at something sort of spell."

But it's still nothing like being poisoned or possessed by a demon. What's the consequence of misusing English magic? Not much of anything! Still, Strange has a smile on his face as he talks, like he expects verbal incantations or limited surroundings to be a solid answer and perfectly comparable to Syrlya and Lavellan's detriments.

"His magic in it's current state is still very new, so I'm sure the limits are still mostly untested." Because Syrlya doesn't believe it starts and ends there. That's like saying fire isn't at risk of burning you, as far as he's concerned.

He glances aside to Lavellan as he continues. "We were discussing the possibility of using one another's magic directly. This is a replication, rather than the actual thing--" he waves the bloodstone slightly. "So I do not know precisely how it will react to other forms of magic, if it matters at all."

It's as much a warning as an explanation. He has no idea how replica bloodstone is going to respond. "In Tyria, magic is an external energy anyone can access and manipulate it. You are most familiar with mine, which is Mesmer magic."

Edited 2018-04-06 22:25 (UTC)

Lavellan also doesn't believe that Strange's magic has no sort of consequence at all -- that isn't how magic works. There is always a tradeoff, and whether or not he's found it yet hardly matters. Well, it will, once it comes back to bite him in the ass. But she has confidence in Strange's capabilities to survive whatever it is.

She nods, however. "I am used to magic objects of some difficulty," even if her's was a mark on her hand. "But it will be interesting to see if it works at all. And -- time magic, was it not?" It had looked useful, and she was all about expanding her knowledge and her toolkit.

But she turns to Strange, unhooking the sword hilt at her waist and holding it up for the other man to look at. "Magic in Thedas, as you both are aware, is not something that simply everyone can learn. One must be born with the ability to draw magic through the Veil and reshape reality." So as to whether or not any of them would be able to use magic unique to Thedas would be up in the air. "But I believe I promised a demonstration." She no longer has two arms, so she has to take each by turns -- switching from staff to sword against a dummy -- a quick routine: various electric spells, and then unleashed in a swing by a glowing sword that is quite possibly longer than her.

It leaves a sizable gash in the training dummy she's using before fading away and turning back towards the two of them. "My magic is more combat oriented, but it can also be used for average, every day things."

Strange can't help it: as soon as Lavellan unhooks the sword hilt and holds it up, he takes a few steps closer to look it over. Well, that thing certainly is...something? It's a sword hilt. But, one that she's going to do cool magic to and that's what matters the most. He listens intently as Lavellan explains some of her magic and, as soon as the demonstration turns to the magic itself, Strange watches with rapt interest.

He's focusing more on the magic and the effects of the magic than Lavellan herself. Strange is downright staring at the electric spells then the glowing sword, like if he stares hard enough, he can spot the foundations of her magic itself. It's only when Lavellan starts speaking again that Strange turns his attention back towards her, ignoring the travel dummy for the moment. He's pumped, though. Any aspect of viewing someone's magic is enough to get Strange interested and ready to ask ten billion questions.

"Is there something important about that specific sword hilt or can the spell apply to any weapon?"

The sword is the most personally interesting part of Lavellan's magic to Syrlya. Not that it all isn't interesting, but if he could manage similarly magic based weaponry without having to wield his spells through the heavier physical form... well, it would greatly change the way that Mesmers fight.

But right now, he'll let Strange field the questions. He's already spoken up, and they probably have similar curiosities. Instead, he'll focus on writing down quick notes for himself to reference later about the behavior of their magic.

That her blade draws the most attention isn't a surprise to her, and she holds it out for both of them to look at. "Within the hilt is a spirit, willingly bound to it. It creates the blade when I will it to." Again with the willpower. It was the hallmark of magic users in her world, after all. Those that couldn't muster the will to handle magic ended up dead or Tranquil, as horrible as it sounded.

"It's the remnants of a technique used by the ancient elves of Thedas, called the dirth'ena enasalin. Spirit warriors, who used magic to increase their physical abilities to fight with weapons rather than simply relying on magic."

Strange can't help it: as soon as she says the word 'bound', something lights up behind his eyes. Willingly bound...he could do something like that. Couldn't he? Not that Syrlya or Lavellan know the specifics (and they certainly WON'T know the specifics, that blood magic quill he got for Solstice is probably something that they'll fuss at him about) but the gears in his head are already turning.

"Dirth'ena enasalin," he murmurs, absolutely mangling the Elvish in the process. And then, in full voice, he asks, "How does one bind a spirit in Thedas? The binding magic I know of is imprecise, something that could easily be broken or could not bind the spirit to something so static."

He's focusing his attention still on the sword hilt, still staring at it as if that will somehow cause the blade to precisely reveal it's inner workings.

Syrlya does lean in to inspect it more closely this time, hold his hand out in silent permission to take the hilt and give it a more thorough review. "Is it inscriptions?"

He's not expert in spirit magic--it's different manipulating an element than trying to work alongside what is s sentient form of energy. But he knows enough that if you wanted to unite a spirit with a physical object... "At least, in Tyria you would use etchings that maintain the spell even without direct involvement, thereby keeping the spirit in place or--whatever else you wished to bind."

He glances aside to Lavellan. "Is it a spirit of a similar nature to Cole, or something else?"

"It depends -- binding something like a spirit against its will is far more involved than asking one to remain in a sword. But yes, there's some sort of enchantment laid down first, depending on what you want with the spirit and what you intend to do." She would never bind one against its will, as should be obvious. At his question, she shakes her head.

How to explain Cole -- "Cole is... different. The spirit bound does not have an attachment to a physical form, and is... diminished, before the binding." It's the best way she can put it, and givs them both a shrug as she hands it over to Syrlya.

Thankfully, Strange knows enough about Cole that he gets what Syrlya and Lavellan are talking about. They haven't talked much (gee, wonder why the spirit with a thing against being bound doesn't like the guy who's aokay with blood contracts) but it's a small carnival, you can't ignore people.

Still, all of this is intensely interesting. Asking one to remain in a sword? Spirits without physical form? This is like catnip to Strange as he takes all the information in. Already, more questions are jumping into his mind.

"What about you?" Strange asks, as he looks over at Syrlya. "My world doesn't have things like Lavellan's spirits—though I assume talking to the trees could be seen as a primitive form of that sort of communication. Does your world have spirits?"

Syrlya turns the hilt slowly as he inspects it much more closely. 'Diminished', he assumes, means it's a weaker or less sapient spirit. Perhaps one closer to an elemental than Cole. Which makes enough sense, given Cole's reverence for her.

"Yes. There are natural spirits, part of the essence of Tyria itself. And then there are the spirits of the dead. Some linger, some are simply powerful enough to be called to or cross over to."

He furrows his brow, turning slightly from the two of them and holding the hilt out in form--wondering if he can beckon the spirit out himself, if it'll respond to his desires to materialize.

"You would bind or communicate with them in a similar manner, and it is easier if they are willing." He tilts his head sideways in confirmation to Lavellan's words.

It does not, but then again it took training before she was able to -- there's no shame in not being able to. She shoots Syrlya an encouraging look to try again before refocusing on the conversation at hand. "There are no spirits of the dead in Thedas. Well --" She frowns, thinking. "Sometimes a spirit might imprint upon someone recently dead and take their shape, but a person crosses over the Veil and into the Fade after death."

That much everyone agrees upon, at least.

"Is it not something relatively common?" It wasn't really in Thedas, either, but it just depended on where one went. Lavellan's curious to know if it's the same.

"Not in my world," Strange explains, with a shake of his head. "I've only encountered one spirit of the dead and that was one I had to directly summon."

Souls could be brought over from the realm of the dead to the living via necromancy but there's no way in hell Strange is bringing that up to Syrlya or Lavellan at the moment. Instead, he stares off into space, obviously lost in thought somewhat.

No spirits of the dead, no spirits like Cole, only a handful of magicians, they haven't figured out the magical flaws yet...Strange knows his world's magic is fairly new: after all, it's only just been restored. But there are moments like this where it's all way too apparent that the magic of Strange's world is new and he feels annoyingly inadequate.

Syrlya isn't too disappointed when it doesn't work. He's definitely not the spirit master, and he's generally had the help of others when he's needed to contact them... or dealt with those with enough sense of self to make their own deals.

But he looks up, because a spirit adopting the identity of the dead is something Tyria doesn't experience. Spirits of nature and ghosts were two very different entities, and he raises a brow.

"Really, not a one ever lingers? Can the realm of your dead be reached at all?"

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in which i make shit up

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