I've done my sentence but committed no crime

[wolfehawke]

Who: Adalwolfe Hawke and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: On the Iskaulit
When: Nowish

Broadcast

[The video pops up with Adalwolfe's face centered in the camera, but with the background moving behind him, clearly showing the familiar corridors of the Iskaulit. He's making his way to his new job at Málum as bartender.]

So I noticed on the list of scheduled lectures posted a bit ago that there are several on magic, not to mention several people I've spoken with having positive or relaxed reactions to its use. It's incredibly strange to me that everyone is so open and accepting of this, considering the doctrine regarding magic in my home of Thedas, so it begs the following question and I hope at least someone from outside of Thedas will indulge me:

What is magic like on your world? Is it regulated? Does everyone have the ability to use it, or only a small number of people? Are there prejudices that go along with that.

Ah, well, I suppose that's more than one question. Still, if you're willing to talk about it, please feel free to respond to this post and I'll get back to you when I'm finished with work. Thank you!

[The video clicks off.]


Action

It's only a short walk from the hanger to the bar, but Adalwolfe takes his time since he can't watch where he's going very well as he's recording on his device. Which could lead to all kinds of problems. He seems to be avoiding walls okay, but if a person, say, came out of a corridor nearby or happened to step in front of him at just the right time before he put down the little screen, he might just bowl right into them, or walk right past without noticing a mischievous foot out for him to trip over. Honestly, he's an open target. Or at least seems like it...

Comments

[wolfehawke]

Alright, now I'm confused. Are you for demons or against them?

[First she defends them as having free will in their own right and the capacity for good, and then she points out that some demons don't care about that in the slightest, which was his point in the first place.

This isn't a very pleasant conversational circle.]

[fuga]

I am neither. They exist, and so do I, just as any human, dwarf or elf might.

[wolfehawke]

You must have some sort of opinion. It's incredibly difficult to go through life without forming any opinions on things or people, especially if you've worked with them closely.

[Which he has to assume she has, being a blood mage.]

[fuga]

Why would I form a singular opinion on an entire race when I have met so few?

[wolfehawke]

[She's young, he tells himself, or looks it, and she clearly doesn't understand subtext. It's alright, he can be patient, and much more precise if necessary.]

You misunderstand me; I meant an opinion on demons you have met and interacted with. Maybe the one that taught you your blood magic, if it was a demon who did so. That's generally how it ends up being taught where I'm from so it's an educated guess, though please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Tip-toeing around this conversation is getting to be a little irritating...]

[fuga]

Ah.

[ Lauralae shakes her head, watching Hawke carefully. ]

They were as self-involved as others were, and they did not teach me blood magic. I taught myself blood magic.

[wolfehawke]

I see.

[Sort of. It's not completely unheard of for someone to discover blood magic for themselves. Magic can draw on a great many different things for power and to use your own blood for it is certainly something that might occur to people on their own with a certain temperament instead of having to be coerced into it by a demon in a time of great need. But it's rare, at least in Hawke's experience.]

Other magics are far safer, even if less powerful.

[He worries over what he actually wants to say versus what he thinks should be said in order to avoid offending her.]

Is there something you need that much power for?

[fuga]

I assume that you would tell a soldier that there are far safer occupations for him? Or that a mother expecting a child might find adoption a less life-threatening route?

[ Lauralae hesitates for a moment before she shakes her head, turning her gaze away. ]

I... Cannot die. Not forever. I desired power to live for myself, and so I used the thing that would give me the greatest strength.

[wolfehawke]

Yes. I would. I did. The soldier thing, anyway. My brother tried to run off and join the army.

[He huffs just a bit. Maker, does he miss Carver, for all his stupid choices. Then Lauralae lays it on him finally and all it does is prompt more questions.]

Did the immortality come from the blood magic? Or do you use it because you don't fear death?

[fuga]

Then your brother was a fool. It is good that you told him so.

[ Lauralae shakes her head, breathing out sharply. No hiding it now. ]

I use it because I do not fear death. I cannot die forever and so I do not fear the threat of it. That is my curse.

[wolfehawke]

[He furrows his eyebrows.]

It's more complicated than that.

[Please don't call Carver a fool. Only Adalwolfe gets to do that.]

But a curse to live forever...

[He shakes his head.]

I can imagine how that would change your point of view on things like blood magic.

[fuga]

It often is.

[ Lauralae is quiet, and soft, and uncertain, but she bows her head. ]

It has changed many things. I am eighty-two, but I have eternity before me.

[wolfehawke]

[Forget what he said about her being young. Eighty-two? Goodness, she barely looks out of her teens to him.]

How did that happen?

[fuga]

I am elven, and I made a mistake. I was cursed, and I was left in exile. It is that simple.

[wolfehawke]

Alright, if you don't want to tell me, I'm not going to push as we've only just met. Only, you know, in a place like the Fleet with so many people from so many worlds with so many different skills... it's possible you could find help here.

[Just saying.]

[fuga]

I have been told, but it is a secret I have kept close to my breast for many years. It is not so easy to tell, and I have only learned parts of it recently, from others.

[ Closing her eyes, she bows her head. ]

I have spoken to others. I will... Accept help, when it is the time.

[wolfehawke]

That's more than many can do. Have hope, Miss Lauralae.

[He smiles just a bit, trying to be encouraging. Even if she's as old as she says, she still needs help and he's in the business of giving it if he can.]

[fuga]

Perhaps. We shall see.