driftfleet | fifth labyrinth

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fifth labyrinth

Who: Felix Harrowgate
Broadcast: Fleet-wide video
Action: Waystation
When: Today

[Today Felix has seated himself at a bench in the vacant park area of today's closest waystation. It's certainly not for the ambiance, given that the courtyard is as bland as ever.]

I was hoping to beg a few moments of everyone's time... [He smiles brightly, sharp and genial - a politician's kind of smile]

As far as things that affect the fleet as a whole, it's my understanding - and correct me if I am wrong - that the library aboard the Bishop no longer has a caretaker since Krista left us. It likewise occurred to me that since we now have the Iskaulit under our control, that we might consider making use of it after all the trouble you all went to clear it out. Therefore, I'd like to propose moving the current collection to the Iskaulit with the permission of the current crew of the Bishop. At least there it would be easier for the rest of the fleet to access it.

[He pauses for a moment, adjusting the position of his hands on the table]

The other matter is more specific. I brought up the idea of having a meeting of the fleet's magic users some months ago, but that hasn't quite fallen into place. It doesn't have to be anything quite so formal as what I've done in the past... [Though, admittedly, transferring the library is a step towards just that kind of idea. The temptation to reform Chimera, or some form of it, is strong after so many years of having it be a part of his life in the castle. But he's rather not appear so selfish from the start.] ...but just for time being, anyone is welcome to come speak to me here. There's sufficient space and lack of any bystanders if there's any desire for demonstrations. [Or so he hopes]

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[Felix's offers her a grateful smile at the change of subject]

Recruiting. In a manner of speaking...

Recruiting?

[Wanda brushes her hair behind her ear, fixing Felix with a curious look.]

[He laughs, though it's directed at himself, and makes a tiny sweeping gesture with his hand]

It sounds a bit grandiose when I use that word. I'm trying to find others in the fleet who have any kind of magical talents that might also be willing to get together to speak to me about it. A social club, of sorts.

Magic?

[The notion certainly didn't seem impossible. After all, Wanda had already met plenty of other individuals within the fleet with abilities not unlike her own... yet, still somehow different.]

Do you mean something like this?

[Wanda extends her arm, crimson, etheric light swirls around her finger tips. A loose bit of stonework flies through the air and lands softly in her hand. She then holds the rock up, showing to Felix. She lets the rock go, her hand falling back to her side; however, the rock stays where it was shown, floating in mid air. It begins to levitate, circling slowly around her head. She fixes Felix with a curious expression, as if to ask if this was what he was looking for.]

[The brief startled expression passes quickly into open fascination. It was true that the ability was unlike much of what he'd seen, but it was the differences that were compelling. For every unique type of magic he'd seen, he still held the belief that something that to bind them all together.

A smile spread slowly on his lips.]

It seems as though I should have been looking a bit closer to home.

[Wanda shrugs her shoulders, and slowly returns the orbiting stone to her hand. She looks down at the rock as she begins speaking.]

To be honest, I am not so sure my powers qualify as "magic." I still do not fully understand them myself, but they are not... natural... abilities. I was more or less given them.

[His eyes are also drawn to the floating rock, though it's as much fascination as it is avoiding her discomfort with her own ability]

That may be, but that's precisely what I've been striving to understand for the last few years. Magic is often inborn, but sometimes it's something that can be unlocked or learned, though that itself begs deeper questions. It's only by asking those questions that we might have a chance to define something so abstract. If it isn't magic, then what is it? [It's partly a rhetorical question, but it's less forward than asking her about the origins of her power.]

[Wanda raises her eyebrows, looking less surprised by the question and more by how difficult it is for her to formulate a straight answer to his question.]

In my case, I do not know if these abilities were unlocked or if they were... given. Perhaps a bit of both. Though, in either case, it is still hard to determine if they are magical in nature, or if they are the product of a science that is beyond my understanding.

[She lets the stone fall back to the ground. She had never bothered to try and understand Strucker's experiments on her. She had only been focusing on the end goal; that is, what the results of his experiments would potentially enable her to do.]

[He doesn't like that stress on that work. It makes him think of Fenris and the tattoos carved into his skin. He hides the frown by watching his rock fall.]

That's something else, though...is there really a difference between the two? Some without science would look at the things it creates and call it magic. The differences, depending on perspective, can be almost impossible to sort from each other. I could be far off from the truth, but I wonder if what we often call magic is simply something people have yet developed the ability to explain.

[A slight chill runs up Wanda's back. By no fault on Felix's part, it's just that what he said sounded like something she might overhear Baron Strucker saying during her... "stay" within his Hydra compound.]

That is probably the best way of explaining it, yes.

[Wanda looks back up from the fallen rock to Felix.]

So then, if these powers of mine are magic, what is it that you are inviting me to?

[The clinical tone relents as he smiles warmly, finally looking her in the eyes]

Honestly? Mostly just a place to speak to others who may understand just a little of what it is like to have these kinds of abilities. Perhaps to help you understand them more, but anything beyond that is up to you. My previous attempts at this were meant to coordinate research and defensive matters, but I can't say this is what this will be here.

[Wanda seems to be considering Felix's words for a moment.]

I do not think I would be that much help to others. I still have much to learn about my own powers. I feel I would be taking more than giving.

You'd be surprised. There is a lot we all might be able to learn. Maybe myself or someone else here could help you to do so. It doesn't have to be something big. [Leaning forward, he smiles in a half-joking manner] In the very least, you'd be entertaining my curiosity.

[Wanda cocks an eyebrow at him. No offense Felix, but that got just a bit creepy. Wanda brushes it off though, looks down and over at a few smaller pebbles sort of littering the ground. She swirls a finger, levitating one of the pebbles over to her hand. She has it dance around her hand and in-between her fingers as she considers his words. Vision was certainly helping her understand her powers better, but it couldn't hurt to potentially learn a few things from some other individuals with similar abilities, could it?]

I will offer what I can. Are there many others in the fleet with abilities like this?

[That's hardly the darkest he could get, but in this case his intent is mostly harmless. It's simply hard to explain his need to know more about what was out there.

He does have the good sense to look mildly apologetic at the turn of phrase, and clears his throat before continuing.]

Generally speaking, there are several that I know of. Exactly like yours, however? I'm not as certain.

[Wanda cocks her head a bit to the side. "Exactly like hers?"]

Are my abilities somewhat peculiar then? I mean, you have met others with a wide-range of abilities, but mine still seem unique to you?

[He's seen levitation abilities before, that's for certain, but that's only part of the picture]

Well...every person's magic is unique in some measure, I think. In your case it's largely a case of method. I noticed you don't seem to use anything other than thought.

[Wanda turns her attention back to the small pebble she's been orbiting around her hand and in-between her fingers. She looks again to be pondering over Felix's words.]

Something like that. More or less.

[He watches her, a little more carefully now, partly on the motion of her hands now, to see if there's any pattern he hasn't noticed]

Not that it isn't entirely uncommon - I can do the same myself, but...well, let me back up a little. There are at least three different ways I've observed for power to be channeled - through words, through objects, or through thought. Usually, it's some combination of those. Where mental magic is concerned, it's harder to track the differences, but it becomes a question of how your mind controls what effect your power has. For myself, it's visual metaphor, though I know people that use mathematics. Now, I've heard of pure mental abilties that may or may not fall under a different roof, so to speak. Psychic powers? There, there seems to be only will. With you, that seems to be the case, but the visual display of energy? That doesn't seem to fit...

[Boy, that sure was a tangent. He knows his tongue is running away with him, but he can't help himself sometimes]

[Wanda is able to follow him though. Ways to channel powers... in her case, the mind and will both seemed close to the mark. Though, she couldn't deny a certain emotional component exists as well. It was interesting though that the visual manifestation of the scarlet colored energy was such a hang-up to him. To Wanda, it had seemed natural. Or well, as natural as the mechanics of using "super powers" could get. At any rate, there was a bit in his tangent that had sparked her curiosity.]

Visual metaphor? What then do your abilities look like?

[She gives him a sort of "I showed you mine, you show me yours" look.]

[He smiles in response to that tangent. This, at least, he's not shy about]

That depends, largely, on what I'm doing with it.

[There's the briefest flourish of his fingers and an array of pale green lights appear in the air over his head, multi-faceted little clusters shaped almost like flowers. His voice takes on a calmly instructional tone as he continues.]

This spell, for example, is one of the most basic. To cast it, I like to imagine stars in the night sky, which is the metaphor I chose personally. Other wizards might use something else entirely. The appearance of the light are also highly individual, but it's the wizard that, again, that chooses that rather than the magic itself.

[Demonstratively, with no more than a look of concentration, the lights shift hue through a rainbow of colors before returning to their original green.]

Not that this is the limit of it.

[Again, he gestures, this time in the direction of one of the broken pieces of stone on the ground, left behind by Wanda's own demonstration. In a matter of moments it starts to glow like a coal, brighter and brighter until it cracks apart in a miniature explosion. It might be possible to notice that there is no other manifestation of his magic besides a slight glow in the garnets outfitted on the heavy gold rings he wears on all of his fingers]

Edited 2015-10-26 03:46 (UTC)

[Wanda takes in the sight of Felix's demonstration before her. She looks at the lights over his head in wonder.]

красивая...

[The lights were indeed quite beautiful, especially when they changed their tint for the rainbow effect. She briefly wondered if her own manifestations looked quite as pretty, but somehow she doubted it.]

What other forms can your power take?

[She fixes Felix with an eager look, an encouraging smile on her face.]

[For reason he looks the tiniest bit embarrassed the more attention she starts to pay, and his eyes flicker away for a brief moment before he continues]

Channeling energy like this is the most overt I can offer, I'm afraid. Nothing like what you can do.

[He does, however, give one final demonstration by holding his hands palm up as at first fire, then electricity, crackles between his fingers. A moment or two later, and he releases it again]

Most of what I have learned requires far more planning, nor is it very impressive to look at, I'm afraid. Generally I do warding spells, which are, in the most basic sense, keeping something either in or out. Or both, I suppose.

[Despite Felix's protestations, Wanda still finds his little display rather fascinating. Even though her own manifestation of powers had become somewhat mundane to her, seeing the abilities of others like this was still exciting.]

Keeping something either in or out? So to protect oneself from a burglar or to keep criminals detained?

[He shares the same fascination, which is why he reaches out the way he does, as part of a larger goal to understand magic as a whole. Just because he had these abilities did not mean he took it for granted.]

In the broadest sense, yes. It doesn't have to be people. It works best with energy and magic. Keeping spells contained to a particular area, for example, or on the other hand, preventing something from being affected by fire. I can't create a physical barrier, beyond simply locking a door, but that's easy enough to be subverted. Wards can be constructed to activate another spell based on a particular criteria. For example, someone not keyed to the ward in some manner might trespass and then be put to sleep.

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