driftfleet | twelfth labyrinth

Entry tags:

twelfth labyrinth

Who: Felix Harrowgate
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Iskaulit library
When: Today!

[Felix opens the video standing in the library, as can be clearly gleaned from the bookshelves behind him. He gives the camera a slightly more somber version of his usual charming smile]

I wanted to save this announcement when I had completed this particular project, but it may be of benefit to give some of you a preview of my plans.

[With a sly quirk, he pivots, showing the open doorway leading into a connecting room, which he carefully proceeds to back into. Behind him, the room is mostly bare, but with a rare external window opening out into the void. A small shelf and an armchair occupy one wall, and another door is open to what appears to yet another room beyond, though Felix stays where he is.]

This...study...if you will, is meant to be a home for magic users like myself to research, practice, and craft. But, as you can see, things are still a bit lacking. The first reason I bring it up now is, frankly, that I could use some assistance in putting it together. If there is anyone that sees merit in this idea and could craft, conjure, or help purchase furniture and supplies to complete the room, I would be...grateful.

[His grin gets a bit sharper for a moment, because it's impossible to resist. Honestly, the only thing he's good at when it comes to this kind of thing is spending money, and that only goes so far.

His expression grows more somber after a bit, however, and he turns just a bit so the audience can see the other doorway.]

The second reason I broach the subject is that there appears to be a glitch going around that is granting various people in the fleet magic abilities where they did not have them previously. The secondary rooms here are intended for safe practice of magic. I was not going to ward them until later, but under the circumstances I have accelerated those plans.

If this glitch is affecting you and you wish a place to stay or practice, the wards in place should contain the magic to the immediate room. [A beat] And if not, at least this area of the ship is somewhat isolated.

I may also be able to offer basic instruction in control. Likely my magic is different from your own, but years of studying and observing the systems have taught me that at the core, it is always a factor of willpower.

((ooc: even if you don't tag in here, feel free to use the warded rooms for your characters in the future. They're just empty rooms for now. I won't have an official description of the establishment until it's finished, however))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This is a good idea.

[Hawke looks exhausted when the video comes up, but for someone who's recovering from hearing the music of every star in the universe at once very suddenly, it's surprising that he's not a drooling mess of madness instead. Still, there's a reason why he's making this call from bed instead of up and at work as he's supposed to be.]

I know a few people got hit with magic and had no idea what to do with it, but also in the future when this all blows over it'll be a good place to study. I've never really gotten the chance to just study magic, you know.

[For a moment Adalwolfe gets something of an odd look for answering the call from his bed, but it matters more that he answered at all.]

I'd like to hope I have some of those from time to time. [Good ideas, that is. His brother would probably tease him about the opposite being true]

That might depend on how you define study. But I was the impression your world had proper schools for magic.

[He laughs.]

You and me both.

[At the mention of schools though, he grimaces and looks a bit dark.]

We have institutions, yes, but they're not simply for learning. The Circles are prisons, and we're actually working to abolish them. It's nothing like the school Hermione went to on her world, or where I have to assume you went, though I suppose tutoring and learning via books is the same.

[He shrugs, the darkness fading from his expression as he mentions Hermione.]

I learned in a much more rough-and-tumble sort of way. I know spells, but nothing subtle or with finesse. Anders assures me I'm not really missing anything fundamental but I can't help but feel there are gaps.

[He's not sure how to feel about those shifts in Hawke's eyes. That he's making an assumption about his tutelage is a given, but it was hardly as thorough and organized as Hermione's was, but neither was he entirely left to learn on his own. If indeed that's what he means by rough-and-tumble]

[His tone and face softens by a degree]

There will always be gaps. There is always more to learn. That is true even for those with a more solid foundation.

[His lips twitch] I am clearly no exception. [aka he fucked up and made an assumption of his own]

In any case...there are learning institutions in my world, but not in Marathat where I studied. The schools of magic I may have referred to are simply doctrines, and don't always have a physical home. The Cabaline school has a tradition of apprenticeship and my Master...[It gets easier to mention as time goes on, but he still falters for a moment here]...my Master was entirely practical in my education. I only know as much as I do because I insisted on continuing to learn even without him. But...yes...I did have the resources to do so.

I... guess I technically was an apprentice too. My father taught me, but it was more out of necessity. Magic as a whole is considered dangerous by religious doctrine and all mages are supposed to be given over to the Circles for life as soon as they display any talent. My father, though, he escaped the Circle and he wasn't about to give me or my sister over to them either. When he died....

[Wolfe sighs.]

The only thing we had left to learn from was his journal, but he wasn't the best note taker. We learned what he was good at, and picked up the rest as we went. As a result, my magic focuses on what's battle ready, what can protect those around me, and little else that's fundamental. I don't know how most of my spells work, only that they do, and near everything I manage I do through raw willpower as opposed to learned control.

[The Circles remind him a bit too much of the Bastion for his taste, and that recollection alone brings with it a few darker flashes of memory that shows in the sour twist to his lips]

Perhaps the way you learned was for the best, if knowledge comes with chains, metaphorical or otherwise.

[He's getting the impression that Wolfe feels he's falling short in some measure, though he has no way to compare the man's skills to that of Anders, who he knows only in passing at this point.]

It believe it matters more that you recognize these gaps. There are too many mages that learn magic by rote but never question the forces that drive it. And for most that's enough to live by. Clearly you've survived to refine what you do know. Where I come from it would be impossible for a wizard to cast most fully realized spells without at least having some idea of the structure of it...but that's a difference between the system of my world and yours...not necessarily a deficiency.

[He hums thoughtfully as the train of thought continues]

Since you mentioned her, take Hermione's magic as example. For her world, casting a light spell is a matter of both having a wand and speaking the spell, but I'm not there's more thought into it than that. Has anyone bothered to ask why this spell works as it does? I doubt that piece of thaumaturgy simply sprang out of the aether ready to be used. But the fact that it works is enough for most wizards.

I'm obviously not sorry I didn't end up in a Circle. I'd likely be dead, or worse, but it's really the only institution of learning for magic at all that's available in Thedas. Or, well, in the southern kingdoms, but the Tevinter Imperium is an entirely different story. I don't think I'd have done very well there either.

[He lets out a breath.]

For Hermione's magic, though, I did notice that. I asked her if a spell of hers summoned birds or conjured them out of nothing and she couldn't tell me. I think they were illusions in actuality but she didn't know right away. That sort of thing just seems kind of important to me, but I guess there's something to be said for just being able to cast a thing without thinking about where it came from or why it works. I wouldn't want to use a wand all the time though. I like being able to just wave my hands or wiggle my staff.

Mmm...I believe I met one of your Tevinter mages once, but sadly our magical discourse didn't last much past his mention of curses.

[He still regrets his reaction to that. He lost an opportunity in more ways than one.]

I'm sure there is a reason for their reliance on wands as foci, but it's a reason buried very far into their history. Perhaps it's a matter of balance, which I'm sure would please my Coeurterrene counterparts back home, no doubt. Her world's magic is likely some of the most powerful based on it's transformative capabilities alone, but without a wand they're nearly helpless.

Did you? Surprising. I'm from Thedas and I've only met one native. They don't leave the Imperium much. Not that I can blame them considering the south's attitudes towards mages. Especially mages with political power.

[Wolfe shrugs at that. Tevinter is basically a hot mess, but there's something to be said for being able to just be a mage and have it be something prized instead of get you thrown in a special prison just for your kind.]

I don't think they have to be, though. It could just be that it's been so long since anyone thought to do things without? I mean, I first learned with a staff. I was taught to use it to focus, but once I'd learned enough focus my father had me casting spells without the staff, saying I could be disarmed so I shouldn't rely on it. It could be that these Earth mages just never release the crutch and there's a sort of mental block there. I've met Circle mages who can't cast without a staff even at home. It's something that takes more effort, and as you said if a mage feels they can't cast without their focus, it would certainly balance the playing field for non-mages.

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