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[cloakand_danger]

Who: Yuan and whoever answers
When: Now.
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: The library on the Iskaulit

[The feed comes on to show Yuan in the library, with a scattering of handwritten notes in front of him. He addresses the camera in a calm, businesslike tone:]

So there's something I've been wondering about for a while now, since I started meeting people here, and now seems as good a time as any to start a conversation on the subject: there seem to be a fair number of different kinds of elves in the Fleet. Where I come from, elven blood is the only source of magical abilities, at least for mortals. [He holds up a hand, palm upward, and a crackling ball of lightning appears hovering over it in demonstration. Once he's sure his point has been made, he lets it wink out and continues.]

If anyone's willing, I'd like to hear about the elves of your worlds and their relationship to magic, if there is one. And if you have magic that doesn't derive from elven blood, I'd be curious to hear about how you came by it.

Comments

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[halfbloodhatchling]

Human. [ Weird. ] Sidhe and unsidhe can have children together, but the child will either be sidhe or unsidhe. To cross-breed with humans is completely impossible, where I'm from.

[ For one thing, elfin hatch from eggs and humans...don't. ]

I suppose so. I don't have much [ any ] magical training.

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[cloakand_danger]

Well, as I said, there's only one kind of elves on my world, as far as I'm aware, so I imagine the situation is different.

If their magic isn't the difference between - what was it - sidhe and unsidhe, then what is?

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[halfbloodhatchling]

Culture. Genetics. The sidhe are always light-haired and dark-eyed, and the unsidhe are dark-haired and light-eyed.

[ Kai's hair is pretty obviously black, and his eyes are a very dark purple. Most people assume that he dyes his hair. ]

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[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan nods, but then tilts his head, visibly scanning Kai's features.]

You don't look like either. Is it common to modify one's looks, make it more difficult to tell between the two? [Half-elves that can pass for human or elven sometimes try to do so, in Yuan's world, while others take pride in their visibility. It's certainly relevant to his interests to find out how elven-kin from other worlds interact with one another.]

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[halfbloodhatchling]

Ah. No, it’s not.

[ Kai smiles sharply, fangs showing for a moment. ]

I’m special.

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[cloakand_danger]

Special in...what way? [He continues staring at Kai's mouth for a little too long after the fangs vanish, before he realizes he shouldn't stare and forces himself to blink. Elves don't have fangs where he comes from, either.]

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[halfbloodhatchling]

I was created out of sidhe and unsidhe, as an experiment. So I am both.

It's not natural, and I'm given to understand it wasn't easy.

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[cloakand_danger]

['Created'... Yuan's eyes and mouth tighten a little, like he's remembering a painful regret.]

...I have a lot more questions about that, but they're all things I'd be a fool to expect a straight answer on, and straying off today's topic besides.

One last thing, then: you said you don't have magical training yourself, but do you know how it's learned, for those that do? It seems strange that it emerged into the world alongside elves if it doesn't originate from being of their kind.

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[halfbloodhatchling]

Ask me some time when I've been drinking, maybe.

[ Depends too on what exactly the questions are. ]

I don't, I'm afraid. I think there was some week magic in the humans before the merge, but it seems more like post-merge there was more potential power to reach for.