Blood Magic - 101

[judgemewhole]

WHO: James Norrington, and YOU.
WHAT: Norrington gets ambushed, for information.
WHEN: Currently
WHERE: Norrington's 'office' (aka the table he's secured outside his tent to write reports)
NOTES: Warnings for blood magic, irritated Templar and probable Mage and Templar politics abounding, as well as people asking silly questions

Honestly, he really should have seen this coming. He was a known Templar Knight Commander - he had been hunting blood mages for nearly fifteen years now. His name were on several papers on Maelficarium, and he had trained Knights all over the Free Marches and even as far away as Orlais and Fereldan on how to properly hunt and kill blood mages.

Certainly, people were going to know of him. Certainly people were going to ask him about his past experiences. It was inevitable.

What he did not expect that was after coming in at the tail-end of an abomination attack to be bombarded by questions about blood magic - from soldiers down to the common folk. They crowded around him now, and you could just hear his voice over the fray of questions, stern and sometimes even caustic.

" -- NO I am not here to execute all the apprentice mages! One of them slipped - one. That does not mean the rest of them are suddenly going to start slicing open their wrists! They are children, they are learning. Is there a danger? Yes, but I sincerely doubt any of the mages here is blatantly teaching them ancient mind control rituals... "

There was a fast murmur of questions and then Norrington's voice could be heard again. "... No. You cannot do blood magic simply by cutting your finger and cursing. If that was the case every cook in the history of Thedas would be a blood mage. There are practices that someone must follow to use blood magic. If not, that is how we get abominations and demons from those failed spells."

Another fast and loud rat-a-tat of questions, and Norrington could be seen rubbing his face, "... No, not every blood mage is a Tevinter. Nor are they all Dalish. No, the Dalish do not practice sacrificing babies with Tevinter magisters -- do you know what the majority of the slave trade is? Yes, then it stands to reason that the Dalish and the Tevinter Magisters are Not In Cahoots. And NO the Dalish are not aiding Corpheyus with their tattoos -- their tattoos are not blood magic!"

Clearly, this is going well. So if you wish to help Norrington -- or just add more fuel to the fire -- please, feel free to stop by.

Comments

[aestimo]

Emmeline doesn't contribute to any of the antics of the crowd, but slowly starts pushing a few of them away before any of them get too violent. Not saying that anyone deserves it, but a mob against one man who was probably just doing his job isn't right at all.

When the majority of the crowd disperses, she stays behind and studies him for a moment before speaking up. "Shall we start setting up crowd control? We can form a line. I can make a sign, if you wish it."

[judgemewhole]

Norrington put his hands across his face, rubbing it vigorously before he gave her a dry look. A pretty enough young woman, to be sure, and witty at that. He's not sure if he's grateful for wit or just wants to bang his head into a wall.

"There should be two lines - Practical Questions and Why Would You Think That." He stated wryly, "And have I not answered your question, or are you interested in the process?"

[aestimo]

"Oh no, I had no questions." She starts, moving herself away from where she had been standing to in front of the table he had set himself up at. "You're a Templar. You do your duty, you hunt mages down that need help and that's that. There's no questions needed."

She digs the heel of her boot into the ground, marking lines. "So one line for smart and sensible questions and another for stupid ones. Got it."

[judgemewhole]

"I - well yes. That's it exactly." Well that is why he joined the Order, outside of bringing justice to families who had lost their loved ones to maelficarium. Strange how this girl just got it. He gave her a curious look, "So ... you simply came to watch how I handled the carnival?"

One corner of his mouth quirked up. "We'll still need a sign."

[aestimo]

"Pretty much." She turns to flash him a smile, stepping backwards to measure line length. "It seemed like a good idea at the time, and truth be told, Ser Templar, I was not disappointed."

She stopped some ten feet back, gave it a bit of a thought, then nodded. "We'll find some wood and paint. Shouldn't be too hard." A beat. "Ever thought of charging per question and all proceeds could go to whatever."

[judgemewhole]

He snorted softly, folding his arms over his chest as he replied sardonically, "I trust my performance was satisfactory."

He shook his head a little, before he drawled, "I believe the Commander might have some issue with me charging for answers on how to handle magical problems and blood mages."

[aestimo]

"Quite satisfactory. It was like I was back in Val Royeaux." She can't help but giggle at her words, but at least she's sincere about them. Emmy's not one to lie, but fib a little? Sign her up.

"Not if the Commander doesn't know and you donate the money to a good cause?" She shrugs her shoulders, tiptoeing around in the dirt for a moment. "I don't know. Puppies or something."

[judgemewhole]

"Aaah, I am worthy of the level of theater that is Val Royeaux. I am truly impressed." He smirked in kind, before he arched an eyebrow at that giggle. He had a feeling she was pulling his leg.

"The New Order's Puppy Donation fund ... well, it shall d for a start." He eyed her carefully, "What are you doing there?"

[aestimo]

Hey, she was not pulling his leg. She's rather fond of this templar so far, all stick in the mud and dry humor. He's different from the many she's seen before, definitely more relaxed and actually human instead of becoming the cause they serve.

"What am I doing here? I Was watching you, loitering around a bit." A beat. "Unless you mean what am I doing in Skyhold. With the Inquisition."

[judgemewhole]

His lips quirked up at the corners, as he pushed himself to his feet as he shook his head. He had good teachers - who taught him to be human was not a sin against the Maker. They had been right at every turn.

"I did not mean 'here there'. I assumed you came to watch the show. And welcome to the Inquisition, fellow soldier, but I did in fact mean, literally, what are you doing right there, there?"