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Post by Althea on Jan 23, 2017 22:11:11 GMT -6
Set the day after Crashing Tides, early afternoon
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For her part, Althea was rather happy to have the forward bow of the ship mostly to herself. It wasn't that she... DISliked people, exactly, but she did quite like having the time and space to herself to recharge after interacting with others to a large degree. And the previous day had most certainly qualified - during the overwhelming pirate attack she had been forced to coordinate with that other shaman, what was his name, Drei right? More than that, she had been forced to try to direct a small group of defenders as well, some of whom who had tracked her down and been effusive in their thanks. Lucio in particular wouldn't shut the f**k up about how great of a leader she was to anyone in earshot, and it had eventually come to the point that she was either going to Mire him in the face or disappear until her calm returned.
That had been two hours ago, late in the morning she believed. While she was in a much better mood now, all the free time mostly to herself aside from occasional visits from sailors cleaning and working, she hadn't really budged from her spot up here in the raised bow. She could barely see the ocean from her chair, a line of white raising above the railing in the distance; rather than the harsh death it had brought yesterday, now it felt as though the water was more of a friendly porter, a little wet and wild but not that dangerous. It was a welcome distraction from the ancient grimoire she'd been poring over, as well as the paper she'd been writing about her adventures in what was most assuredly NOT actually Nan Madol, but definitely linked, she had begun to argue.
For right now though, she was just... happy to live, to exist. She didn't feel as though there was anything she needed to accomplish right now. It was a pleasant kind of relaxation that the workaholic shaman wasn't entirely used to.
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Post by Drei on Jan 23, 2017 23:45:03 GMT -6
Ever since the conflict, Drei'd been holed up in his bunk almost exclusively. He'd been pouring over his father's tome. Quietly trying to better research the locations of the tombs marked upon it. He'd deciphered his father's code, but translating the code to traditional context in his mind was still difficult. He no longer needed a paper and quill to jot down notes, but he still needed peace and focus. So he'd spent the time recovering from his wounds and mostly hiding away. A few people had tried to speak to him here or there having recognized him from helping in the battle. He did stick out a bit to be fair, even if he shied away from the attention like a turtle who had already retreated into its shell.
That said, he knew that if he didn't make himself get out of the bed once or twice he wouldn't ever want to leave. So he made himself leave to go to the upper deck. If nothing else, to get the fresh air. He'd always enjoyed the ocean. If nothing else it was a nice change of pace from well...boring stagnant land. Land didn't change. At-least...normally. If land was changing it was usally magic, or a natural disaster. Both of which were likely bad. Especially the later of the two. Avalanches, Mudslikes, Rockslides. Really all three weren't just fatal towards one person but destroyed entire towns. He recalled one town they used to visit getting destroyed by a large mud-slide. It'd been sad really. The bookstore there was one of the few he'd encountered with a decent collection of literature. A nice little gem nestled away.
Drei quietly lowered his hood, enjoying the sea-breeze for once as he shifted to the bow end of the boat and quietly made his way up the steps to the upper deck. There were too many people on the central deck and the stern's end near the wheel. If anything, it was likely to have less people here. To that end, he'd come only to notice the long pale silken hair of the shaman from the other day. Drei's gaze drifting to her as he walked past her. He did not sit down, but quietly stood near the railing off to the side and gazed out to the expanse of endless sea, and crashing tides.
"You've remarkable control over Elder Magic. I've never seen magic used quite like how you utilized it, Althea."
It wasn't much of a greeting. More or less just a statement, but Drei wasn't too great at Conversation either. So it was a solid start.
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Post by Althea on Jan 24, 2017 1:29:42 GMT -6
She hadn't heard the footsteps approaching at all until Drei was a presence at her side and traveling beyond to the railing, surprising the sitting shaman and garnering her attention for the moment. She hadn't seen the other shaman at all since the battle, when she'd er... fallen asleep... with the battle still ongoing. That was ah not her finest moment in retrospect - certainly nothing akin to making a victory lap around the roaring battle upon wings of shadow, or whatever other silliness she could imagine. But it had been necessary unfortunately, she had simply overexerted herself beyond her capacities. Much as the exertion itself had been. She would never have been able to muster that last penetrating beam if not for pouring all her magic into it, and coming uncomfortably close to pouring her soul into it as well, in retrospect.
But - in the end, they had succeeded. And they had both lived. That was all that really mattered. Though it seemed Drei had not yet managed to master the art of casual conversation, something she had hoped had just been an awkward exchange in the midst of battle but was rapidly turning out to simply be a fact of life. ...It would be rude to sigh, though. So Althea just fixed a thin smile on her face at the compliment - she recognized it as such anyways - and greeted him as she pondered a response. "Hello, Drei."
The pale shaman wasn't quite sure if she would use the words 'remarkable' when describing her control over dark magic, but she supposed it was more sculpted than Bryn's at least, if not much else. Drei himself seemed to have mastered a very different path than her, possibly better, he seemed more comfortable with his Ruin magics than she with her Mire. So was he just flattering her? Did he want something? Or was he honestly trying to give a simple compliment? Bound to overanalyzing things Althea was temporarily paralyzed by indecision before realizing she should probably say SOMETHING at least. Eris seemed to be asleep or at least quiet today, a blessed difference from the night before, so if nothing else they could have a pleasant conversation... hopefully.
"Yesterday was a good opportunity for experimentation," she admitted. "I'd never tried it either. Though your Ruin magics seemed quite powerful... ironically enough given what you said a moment ago, I've never seen them used in action as you did. Have you been through much combat like..." She bit her lip, gesturing vaguely back towards the deck - towards the site of countless deaths and screams and agony not even twenty four hours ago. "...That?"
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Post by Drei on Jan 24, 2017 18:42:09 GMT -6
Ohhhh right. Conversations starting with Hello. Yes. That was what he'd been forgetting. Though it was earnestly a bit too late now. But he did turn from his spot to gaze back at her observantly. Indulging himself another glance at her while he enjoyed the faint churnings of the ocean waves that spanned out into a blue limitlessness. So it seemed, at-least. His left hand lightly drifted to his father's tome within the folds of his robe, quietly running his finger along the length of it idly. The tome's hardened leather feel had always given him a calming feeling to merely touch upon. Honestly, he enjoyed listening to the sea as well. All the crashing waves that broke upon the ocean rumbling all around. It was almost like listening to thunder from a great distance.
He reflected upon her words briefly. His gaze going back to the sea while he turned around with his non-occupied hand clasping at the wooden gnarled rail of the ship's external side. He quietly marveled. For having never tried it prior, the results were remarkable. It was also a very malleable magic seemingly. Energy infused and fluid. He almost lamented not knowing it himself, for it would've made for excellent performances with his shadow shows. The boy quietly pondered her question, before speaking first upon her initial comments.
"Well I would say the results have spoken for themselves. It was impressive to see, to say the least."
His ruin magic. Now that was something he could talk about without having to feel awkward or too open.
"Ruin. It is...difficult. It gets is power from the ability to physically manifest the nether. That is fairly common knowledge if you've read even a standard tome on dark magic I suppose. What they don't tell you about as often though, is the weight. It physically interacts with everything. It suffers gravity. Resistance. Obstacles. An enemy struggling to be restrained increases that much more strain on myself to maintain the spell. It can get...very tiring. You are right though, it can be strong. Though...I am far from perfect with it."
That brief admission was about as much self doubt as he was willing to express. His contentment in the conversation plain. Until she brought up combat. He was glad his gaze was averted and his back mostly to her in that moment, because he did not enjoy the topic and his disdain bled into his expression. He hid it from his tone though and spoke quietly. A pause before he did.
"...I have. Most of my experience in combat was with brigand raids on towns. Unpleasant business. Homes burned. People killed. Things like that. Sometimes against monsters as well. Though I guess the lines between person and monster blend sometime. ....What about yourself? Is this type of strife familiar to you? "
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Post by Althea on Jan 24, 2017 22:26:38 GMT -6
This Drei fellow did seem fairly interested in her personally, not something Althea was... exceptionally used to, she didn't really do much on the 'actual relationships with real live human beans' scale of life. So there was always the slight worry that he just liked her body and she wasn't really sure how to react to that, at all, ever, period. But at the same time, the smol shaman had to admit it was nice to have someone pay attention to her at all, and he certainly came off as more of the 'I REALLY like dark magic' style of interest, for better or for worse. And she was only human after all. It was hard not to feel slightly better about someone flattering you. She WAS proud of yesterday's efforts... maybe the first time Althea had really felt like that, honestly, as though she was actually stepping up to an entirely new caliber of magic. Actual personal growth. A bit alien to her, but enjoyable nonetheless.
The other shaman seemed to be very knowledgeable about Ruin, which was, er, probably not a major surprise, what with him... using it and all... yeah. The albino shaman nodded along attentively, her interest evident in her gaze. She knew OF most tomes of course, as a researcher in the field of magic she'd be a bit of a faker if she didn't even know the basic principles of Ruin, but it was for better or worse a fairly rare tome to specialize in or even use, as were all dark magics, and so she was not as knowledgeable about it as say Volcanon. Learning more of its downsides certainly put it into perspective though; in crystallizing the Nether and attaching its weight to your mind, it made sense that greater struggles would cost far more. And it put something else into perspective, too, Althea's rational mind finally putting the pieces into place, illustrating her words with a tapping finger. "That's why you were so drained AFTER the hull boring, isn't it? Not simply the magical cost, but the material you'd punctured."
Aside from being a little happy with herself for figuring that out, it hadn't made sense at the time, the shaman did notice Drei's slower response, though his words did not carry obvious hesitation - but sometimes it was what was not carried by word that was spoken the most loudly. She had no way of knowing if he simply regretted its necessity or if he had seen terrible things that haunted him still, if he hated it or secretly enjoyed it, but it simply wasn't her way to pry, nor her place to expect an explanation. Especially after the little... debacle with Eris the night before, she was in no position to complain about the secrecy of others.
"Familiar... not exactly," she admitted slowly, aware that so too in her slow response and the hesitance in her tone that there was something to be gleaned rather than from just words. "I have practiced the... basics of dark magic for some time, but rarely used it in combat until recently. Elibe truly seems to be growing more dangerous for the hour, even for those who would rather read than ravage." Ok, that last one had just been a bit of alliterative wordplay that was entirely self flagellating to even waste time thinking of. "I've never fought a monster of any sort, though. Are they as terrible as the tales?" Dammit she was on fire today.
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Post by Drei on Jan 24, 2017 23:56:12 GMT -6
She was fairly perceptive. Sure, to him that was common sense, but most might not've put the two together so instantaneously. It also indicated that she had a good memory. If she could recall his fatigue in the heat of battle, in those few brief moments before she had her lapse and began to lose conciseness. Drei's hands lightly traced the edges of the wooden railing while fingers ran along the contour of the gnarled, aged wood with a genuine curiosity. Even the more seemingly frail parts of the ship were still fairly solid in construct and composition. His head lifted to look back out to the sea while Althea spoke. Drei's lips faintly twitching into the smallest of smiles before he spoke, gaze still out to the sea.
"You...have a good memory. Yes. It does take a heavier toll, especially so after multiple casts. Sculpting the spike and maintaining its form before launching it was also a challenge, let along the force to damage the plate and hull of the ship."
He nodded in agreement while she spoke of Elibe's growing danger and her experience with elder magics. The Sacaen Shaman quietly thought back to his parents teachings, and the dancing shadows he'd learned from. Then, he thought to the monsters she inquired about. Once more taking on a quiet stance as the young dark magic user lightly gripped the wood railing with a more firm grasp. Knuckles bleeding white from the pressure before releasing it and looking upwards now to the sky as opposed to the sea. He liked to imagine...that he was seeing the same sky that had been over him all this time. It made it feel safer. More like a familiar friend. His tone was a bit more distant this time. As if further away and more reflective.
He thought back to the battle in the small village near the Laus border. The undead that had been roaming during the storm. The battle with the particularly strong revenant within the abandon house. How close it'd gotten to actually doing him in at that. He recalled the sounds and sights and...touch of such a foe before speaking.
"They are strong. Resilient to most physical blows and especially to dark magic as I've found out. The hard way. They are very very hard to put down as well. They do not suffer pain, nor do they feel any semblence of discomfort. They are thoughtless buterching machines that strive for little beyond violence. They...are not a foe to ever take lightly. "
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Post by Althea on Jan 25, 2017 0:37:24 GMT -6
Hah! Inner Althea pumped her fist in joy before remembering that she didn't exist and poofed back into nonexistence. Darn skippy she had a good memory, something she could actually be proud of. She... didn't see the need to tell Drei that she didn't actually remember falling asleep next to Christa until she had been awakened in the act, though. What Drei said made sense, though. "A hybrid mental and magical cost... leaning on the physical, where my magic similarly hybridizes the experience, but leans far more on the magical." It was worded in the uniquely 'I don't know how human language works' way that Althea tended to favor when not actively paying attention to her words, her attention too caught up in actually understanding and comprehending the concept. Of course she had known that dark magic took a toll on one's various faculties rather than purely a magical cost, but it wasn't until she had recently begun to experience it for herself with such intensity, see and come to understand Drei's struggles as well, that Althea fully understood it.
"Nether magic comes with great cost," the pale shaman stated simply after a moment of thought, shifting in her seat, "...But also great room for creativity and expression. I don't think I'd have it any other way." Althea didn't know if it mattered exactly how she'd 'like' it to be, leaning a pretty strong no, but still. It was what she knew. It was her last link to her family, how she expressed herself, and admittedly the only way she knew how to fight. Regardless of the costs, regardless of the downsides, it was simply - her.
Drei's description of monsters was less, erm, ideal than she had hoped, but she did appreciate the honesty. Althea thought it quite likely that his words were true, filled with none of the honeyed lies or careless braggartry of one who did not know that of what they spoke. His quiet, hard voice suggested something else entirely; he had seen what they were, faced the fear and lived through it. The Etrurian shaman wasn't entirely sure she envied him in it, but at the same time she did suspect that sometime she would have to live through it herself as well, experience the ugly truth in all its majesty, in order to grow through it.
But something in her, despite the gravity of the situation, still drew the quirk of a smile to the tips of her lips and a joke to her tongue, her words filled not with mirth but tinged by a slight, self-aware humor. "I suppose I will just have have to learn how to hit them even harder, then."
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Post by Drei on Jan 25, 2017 17:16:56 GMT -6
She had the right of it in totality. The nether, and elder magic as a whole, was a large risk/reward style of magic. It took great time and the power brandished was no laughing matter. It was slower than anime and much slower than holy magic. However if had the most raw power behind it. It was able to puncture and crush and obliterate with far greater ease because of its nature and by necessity of it. However it was perhaps the most risky of magics. One might've accidentally burned themselves with fire magic or shocked themselves with lightning magic, but anima spirits did not try to siphon your soul. The great swirling entity of the nether was a terrible thing. After all. Cthulhu The nether didn't enjoy giving away power without taking something in return. A basic principle really.
The shaman quietly reflected on her comment before a rare thing happened. Drei chuckled. A faint smile creasing his expression despite the dark memories and darker tones. He turned to look at Althea with a most quizzical gaze. He hadn't ever encountered someone quite like her. In earnest his experiences meeting shamans outside of his own family at the circus was rare enough but compared to just...people she was a rarity even. He pondered this a moment longer before speaking. His tone was a bit lighter and more welcoming when he spoke from that point.
"That is an interesting notion...when you think about it. I know that a mages endurance magically raises as they become more proficient with their magic, but it does make me wonder just what the offensive caliber is of a stronger practitioner of Elder Magic should they legitimately dedicate their time towards expanding on their sheer power output. The undead, and most monsters though resistant to dark magic can visibly still be harmed by it. So it would be pause for speculation at just how strong one would have to become to readily dispense of them with ease utilizing magic from the nether."
He glanced at her again before turning now to face her fully, resting his weight to the railing while he lifted his hands to fold slowly over his chest. The slight rocking of the ship as it cruised over tides creating a rhythmic pattern.
"How long have you been practicing Elder Magic? If you don't mind me inquiring such a personal matter."
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Post by Althea on Jan 25, 2017 22:13:56 GMT -6
Althea smiled awkwardly back at Drei's reaction, not... quite sure what she had said that amused him, hopefully the kinda-sorta joke, but admittedly a touch pleased that he had taken it well, whatever it actually was. Maybe there was some hope for her sense of humor yet! Or, well, not. But she could dream. It didn't take long for the other shaman to launch into a more serious response to consider, and it was a good thought in itself. Althea truly didn't know what the limits of dark magic were, but after her talk with Circe the other day... she had to admit that a tiny part of her was curious, too. What could she conceivably accomplish with enough time, practice, and training? And perhaps more relevantly... what would it cost her?
The Nether offered tremendous raw power, more than any other school of magic, but it always came at a price. Althea wasn't quite sure if she believed in the idea that it always drained the user's emotions, but it did certainly seem to feed on them in some form or another... and there was always the thought that perhaps it did so selectively. It was in anger that her strongest magic so far had been born, but rather than dissipate it only grew each time. Intriguing. Drei didn't seem to have that problem, as far as she could tell, and given the relationship to Eris, Althea suspected her problems were unique - and probably not in the good way.
"To be blunt," she began, slightly puzzling over her words but not sounding hesitant as she sometimes did, "your endurance... and thus likely experience, is greater than mine." Althea had never really been a competitive type at the best of times, though Circe did seem to have a unique ability to bring out some manner of that in herself and Eris just made her want to kill everyone on Elibe and then herself. She didn't have a problem admitting what she viewed as fact, and from her perspective it simply was objective fact. Drei's magic didn't seem to be on a level far beyond hers, but he was able to use it far more consistently and repeatedly without causing significant damage to himself. "Though I have always gravitated towards a more power type caster; I lack the mobility and speed of other shamans I've fought alongside, but in return even with Flux I generally inflicted more damage."
Not bragging. Simple fact. Bryn for example, had been the yin to her yang magically speaking, capable of nearly instant Flux orbs even while moving, but without the raw firepower of each of hers. Both approaches had their weaknesses and strengths, of course. Again. Statement of fact. "...Though my experience with experienced dark magic users is lacking at best. But perhaps someday I will get there." The question of how long she had been practicing was... well, the truth wasn't some dark secret, but it was a complex answer. "I first learned it as a child, but never had much reason to practice the arts with an eye to combat until more recently," she generally admitted.
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Post by Drei on Jan 26, 2017 18:40:35 GMT -6
There was something comforting. Comforting in the fact hat they were both poor at certain aspects of conversation. Though she was far more...genuine. Almost overwhelmingly so? Where as he was so guarded that he almost forgot at times basic things. Like starting a conversation with "Hello" or such, and merely starting instantaneously with subjects of conversation. So, all in all. He was a bit of a work in progress. However, the Sacaen shaman quietly shifted in place as he leaned further against the railing to examine her while she smiled to him. She was...strange. Almost...too kind. It didn't make him distrust her, but it did make him a bit uncertain. He enjoyed reading people. Observing, Analyzing. Seeing what made them do what they did. He couldn't do that with her. She just seemed too...genuine.
The ashen haired boy quietly turned to observe her further while she began to speak of the gap in experience between them. Though he had noted what she spoke of prior. Her magic seemed to emphasize more punch than his so to speak. At-least, consistently. The shaman lifted his hands and clasped palms together with fingers lacing with pale digits brushing his knuckles as he further listened to her explanation of her experiences. It evoked memories of his own. What few he could genuinely recall with clarity at this point. He was quiet within his thoughts before speaking, his tone dropping a bit and his gaze averting from her to intensely study the boards that lined the flooring of the ship.
"I learned at a young age. My family ran a shadow circus. A circus of performers from all walks of life, but specializing in shows utilizing dark magic. Manipulating light by controlling and guiding shadows around it, to cast larger ones or make dancing shadows. My father called it "Shadow Puppetry". He was quite proud of the shows it put on. I joined at an older age, and had gotten most of my practice through those performances. It doesn't...prepare you for the caliber of magic required for combat however. So I've noticed my inclinations towards more technical performances of magic and a less stationary style because of how often I'm used to simply...moving around."
It wasn't much to give her a chance to reply to. Perhaps another question? He was recalling the basic protocol of conversation. Question, answer. Question, answer. Back and forth.
"Was there ever another school of magic that interested you?"
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Post by Althea on Jan 26, 2017 20:45:31 GMT -6
"A... shadow circus?" Each word came out as though the shamaness was actually tasting them, feeling each consonant and syllable running and dancing across her tongue; a concept so alluringly alien and quaintly cute that she could hardly wrap her head around it. "I've never dreamed of such a thing!" There was a speck of almost girlish excitement in her words, Althea's struggle to even understand the concept joined by the dawning mental image of how it must have looked, moved, felt. Almost everyone knew of the concept of shadow puppets of course, but never had she thought of tying magic into it on even a conceptual level, much less the practicality of building an entire circus act around it.
It also explained Drei's combat style, as he noted, and Althea couldn't help but feel a little bad for disparaging it before in her mind. Not that she had said anything outright insulting, simply that even if it was still suicidally brash to dance madly in the middle of a melee, it did at least explain his focus on mobility and use of the environment as a result of his schooling rather than simply an ill thought out approach to dying in combat. It also brought to mind her own beginnings in contrast, a perspective she had not considered. "I wish I could have seen it. My introduction to magic was... less exhilarating," the slender shaman paused with a wry smile finding its place on her tender lips. "I was already surrounded by books and magic, so I suppose it was natural I be taught the basics of self defense, though my interest in it..." The smile disappeared as quickly as it had come, "waned after a time."
Like that one time where all the good men and women from around town had strung up the heretics and burned them alive for witchcraft. That had been fun! "Mixed with my tendency for perfectionism and the strong fundamentals of combat magic instilled in me from a young age, I admit I'd never really considered mobile magic as an alternative." As for dipping in other schools of magic... she didn't really see the need. "Nor have I thought much about branching out. I suppose I have an Anima using friend now, but I'm not sure what I'd do with it. Perhaps staves. They sound useful, though I'm not cut out to be a woman of the cloth."
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Post by Drei on Jan 27, 2017 22:59:54 GMT -6
Drei was quiet while he observed the girl, gauging her reiteration of his families wandering art. His amber hued gaze drinking in her expression as he focused on her tone. It...caught him off guard. He'd never known anyone to be particularly excited or even react much to the idea. So there was a small moment where Drei's features brightened. Eyes widening ever so faintly and his lips parting as his expression not only softened, but nearly glowed for a second. He closed his eyes after the smile, and for a brief moment, he saw it all before him. The boat fell away and the tides breaking waves vanished. He could see it. The large tent cast above his head. The tarp cast atop to form the great tripe dome of orange canvas. The lights and torches strewn about with torrents of dark magic swirling about as colossal shadows danced along the walls and ceiling.
Drei quietly opened his eyes before he let his hands drift along his side. Nodding fondly towards her while he tried to replace some semblance of his mask upon his visage. His tone though considerably warmer towards her while he responded after a long enough pause to listen to what she had to say.
"It was...the most comforting place for me. A place where everyone just accepted you for who you were or what you wanted to do. Guided. Sculpted. Encouraged. Welcomed. People came there because they wanted to see our magic. So we never had to worry about the biased mindset that follows Elder Magic on most of Elibe. Though that also left me unprepared for it when I did experience it in full while on my own."
The Shaman tilted his head, smile dropping from his expression as he began to delve slowly back into the more analytical aspect of the conversation.
"I've no interest in holy magic, or that of staves. Anima magic does house some modicum of interest for me however purely because of the utility it seems to provide. With so many elemental spirits to draw from it seems to be a diverse school of magic. I imagine it's also a bit more comforting communing with a spirit than with the nether itself."
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Post by Althea on Jan 29, 2017 17:57:04 GMT -6
Something in Drei's demeanor lightened in the wake of her words, and Althea felt the vague impression that she had said something 'right' - but the more repressed shaman gave no real sign as to exactly what she had done to earn that. Bereft of the ability of mind reading she could but guess, thinking that maybe it had had something to do with her description of the archives they had lived in, if it linked as such into his own story? Hmmm... regardless, what he shared almost felt as though it was familiar to her; both in that his description was vivid enough to evoke the senses he felt in her directly, and also in how it reminded her of the place she had long ago called home as well. The occasionally dusty library, the omnipresent smell of parchment and paper and knowledge, the occasional visitors.
"...I feel the same." The slender shaman smiled thinly, fondly, opening up a little bit more to Drei than she would have anticipated at the start of the conversation. But how could she have known of the similarities they shared? When he spoke of his childhood, it was as though he was speaking of hers, just with a few of the details changed around here and there. "The... archives I grew up in... my parents believed that all knowledge was inherently valuable, magical and academic and practical alike. It wasn't a large town, but they provided education, advice, even magic training to those with the talent. That they were dark magic users was known and somewhat distrusted, but they were..." Althea trailed off, fishing for the right word. "...'Our' druids. Others knew them as people, not merely as evil users of the blackest magics."
And how well that had worked out for them.
Changing the subject to some degree, she continued on a very different note. "Communing with anima spirits does seem interesting; as far as I know they are not generally sentient, but possessed of some level of intelligence and will of their own."
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Post by Drei on Apr 19, 2017 9:34:42 GMT -6
Archives. An environment he'd never gotten to enjoy but had always wanted to indulge in. What a dream it must've been... to be surrounded by countless tomes of to all schools and topics really sounded like a delight. Enough so that for another sparse moment the corners of his smile widened slightly. It wasn't noticeable really, unless under direct observation, but internally he felt a small warmth while simply envisioning it. Sitting at a large oaken square table, a stack of tomes besides him with a few scrolls littered about pouring over a veritable treasure trove of of knowledge most might never imagine to exist. By candle light or day light.
Such a place posed a legitimate danger to him though. He could become so easily engulfed in reading that he might lose track of all sense of time or priority. To this end, the shaman had to rouse himself even from his fantasy. Honeyed hues brightened somewhat as the pale haired shaman lifted palms to the back of his neck and chin simultaneously. Althea had started further expounding upon his point of the elemental spirits and it did raise a line of thought that quickly blossomed into its own topic.
Craning his head to the left a bit while scratching his chin in thought he quietly pondered her observation. It was true, certainly. Limited perceivable sentience. However...
"What this makes me wonder though, is with their altered perceptions and comprehensive abilities how they actually are. Their sentience could seem limited to us, but through different means of processing information could they be vastly more capable than we will ever know? It's...strange to attempt and word..but is it possible there are things we cannot possibly perceive that they do as a norm, and as such are possibly more than us as a result?"
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Post by Althea on Apr 19, 2017 12:46:18 GMT -6
The discussion of anima spirit perception moved in unexpected though not unwelcome directions as Drei launched into his thoughts on the subject and Althea attempted to keep up, forcing herself to stay focused on the subject rather than allowing her single line of thought to spiral into countless fragmented distractions that would render her rather useless in general for a time. Of course she had recognized the possibility that spirits worked in different ways than anticipated, but Althea's interest in the Anima school of magic had never been especially deep beyond an intellectual level and she had thought little of the subject until recently.
The slender shaman DID have a certain incentive to learn more about spirits now, though.
"It is certain that communication is a fundamental flaw in our relationship with the spirits of nature, that they may be more intelligent than we believe. Some believe the same of animals, I hear." She didn't really know how she felt about that. Althea liked animals well enough - at a distance - but she wasn't really convinced they were exactly sentient or even that intelligent, rather simply conditioned to react in certain ways. She was.. open to the possibility of being proven wrong, but didn't care enough about the subject to find out. And there were few in Elibe who had made any real scientific attempt to discover the truth regardless. "Perhaps... sometime I shall look into it. Though..."
Althea bit her lip for a moment, not quite hiding her hesitation as she tried to think of a good way to word her question without revealing too much. Admitting much detail of Eris would simply set her up as a lunatic. "Do you know anything of spirits of the Nether?" There was a very slightly off tinge in her voice but little more betrayal of her nervousness; she wasn't lying to him after all, just omitting some minor unimportant details, and she really did want to know if he knew anything about those sorts of creatures. Eris seemed to be asleep for the time being and in truth Althea knew next to nothing about the nature of that sort of being, or even if they truly existed. She had seen firsthand what Eris was capable of after all.
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