fifth labyrinth

[lord_wizard]

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]

Comments

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[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.

[lord_wizard]

[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]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[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.]

[lord_wizard]

[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]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[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.]

[lord_wizard]

[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.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[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?

[lord_wizard]

[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.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Admittedly, Wanda does not understand everything in Felix's explanation, but she does understand the overall gist of it.]

Is it normal for people to have powers like yours? Where you are from?

[lord_wizard]

[He makes a hesitant 'so-so' sort of gesture with his hand]

It's...moderately common, I'd say? Only some people are born with the talent, though I'm not sure of the percentage. We're a very visible minority, I think, but still a minority.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[That still sounded like a whole lot more than Wanda could claim. She nods her head in understanding though.]

And do they all have abilities like yours?

[lord_wizard]

Ah...yes and no? That's a bit harder to explain. Everyone born with the ability to channel magic is called a wizard, and the source of that magic is the same...although some people have more to access than others. It's all the same, but different wizards learn to use it differently. Um...to use a metaphor...every human has the ability to speak, but you typically learn the language the people around you speak. Do you follow?

[The different magic systems seemed to be a quirk of his own world, but in a lot of ways it had been a boon in his ability to try to understand the ones of worlds different to his own]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[She nods her head.]

More or less. So then, there are different abilities that are more common in different places, just as there are different languages spoken in different places?

[lord_wizard]

Close. I'm fairly certain the magic of my world has the same limitations regardless of who wields it. The different abilities are more a matter of education. Just as languages are taught, we have schools of magic that teach different ways to use magic, and some of these schools have particular specialties. Fressandran's, for example, are diviners, whereas I am Cabaline.

[He smiles patiently, pleased by her interest]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda nods her head, again understanding the bulk of what Felix was telling her. While the names "Fressandran" and "Cabaline" meant nothing to her, she assumed these were places where one "learned" different forms of magic, as Felix had said.]

So, would it be possible for someone to travel to all the schools? Learn all the different ways to use magic?

[lord_wizard]

[Once again...close enough. Though the distinction might be apparent the longer this conversation goes on.]

It would be...[He thinks of his own cobbled together techniques, as well as Gideon and countless other wizards who had tried and failed to make the transition]...unlikely.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

Why is that?

[lord_wizard]

Politics, mostly. [Which clearly needs elaboration, so he continues, a touch reluctantly] Many of the schools are also rivals, politically and otherwise. Going from one to the other also means disavowing loyalty in favor of the other faction, and as you might imagine, it's very difficult to accomplish once, let alone twice. On top of that, the schools are precisely areas of expertise, they are entire doctrines. They dictate the entire way way you look at magic and many accomplish the same goal with entirely different approaches, and to some schools this difference is anathema. Heretical.

[He cleared his throat, attempting to sweep away the uncomfortable truth there] Besides, I'm not sure if anyone is really aware of all the schools in existence at any one time.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

Your home sounds rather complicated.

[Then again, Wanda can not imagine it would be entirely easy to go into detail about the way things work back where she is from.]

[lord_wizard]

[Felix chuckled, leaning back against the table as the lesson seems to have concluded]

It can be, yes. Some days I welcome the challenge, but others I do not.

But what about you? Your home? Are there powers like yours or ways to learn them?

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Well, fair was fair. He'd spilled a little about his home, so it seemed Wanda should return the favor. She sighs, crosses her arms contemplatively, where to begin? Well, with herself seemed a good place.]

No, where I come from... I am a rather rare occurrence. In fact, I am the only one back home that can do what I do. Or well, at least in the way that I do it.

[She realizes that might have been a little too vague, so she decides to clarify a little more.]

As I said before, my powers did not so much come from me, as they were given. The same source that gave me my powers now rests with another... "person," [Really, how was she supposed to describe Vision? Person alone did not seem to do him enough justice.] so essentially it should be possible for him to do all that I can and more.

[lord_wizard]

[Felix lifts a brow and looks contemplative for a moment]

Interesting. But this person...this source...could he possibly continue to gift these talents to more people, or can it only rest with one person at a time?

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda's brow wrinkles a little, unsure of where this line of questioning is leading. Back home... only she and Pietro had survived the experiments using that "source" to give them their powers. Naturally, she's a bit prickly about even the notion of the experiments continuing.]

Honestly, I do not know if it can be used to give others powers. I don't even know how it was used to give me my own powers. As for where the person looking after it, he's not likely to hand it over to anyone anytime soon. He considers himself its guardian.

[lord_wizard]

[He doesn't yet know what that entailed, and he's always curious to hear about powers that aren't inborn, because they occur so infrequently.]

I only ask because it's unusual. And since you asked about the possibility of learning more types of magic at my home, I was curious if you looking to do the same.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[She smirks a little at Felix's response.]

Not exactly. You simply said that there were schools, so I assumed education in all different avenues would be the desire of a scholar. As you sort of carry yourself to be.

[Yes, that last part was meant to be a bit of a dig. Just some slight teasing.]