faderift | open to all

WHO: Character(s)
WHAT: Various open prompts for MAKING FRIENDS
WHEN: Eh, nowish
WHERE: Around the Gallows
NOTES: Potential references to slavery, anxiety, and injury.

i. The Courtyard, night
There have been times in the past when Tertia has had a bed to sleep in. But when she was servus publicus, she slept on a thin pad on the hard floor, and when she was fighting with the People she slept in a bedroll out in the field. She had a bed with the Magister, though. Soft and stuffed with goose-down. Gentle cotton sheets.

So sleeping in a bed has proven to be nearly an impossibility. And so at night, she's been taking a blanket and a thin pillow out to the courtyard, and she's been laying them down on the ground beneath the stars - or the clouds - to sleep.

The downside to this, though: she's likely a near-invisible figure in the dark. Someone taking a late-night stroll might well trip over a small sleeping girl, or might be startled to find that something out of the corner of their eye when they're having a smoke is stirring, elf-eyes glinting in the dark.

ii. The Library, daytime
There are signs when someone isn't a particularly adept reader. Tertia bears those signs: her lips move as she reads, forming the sounds unconsciously, and her finger traces along the lines as she goes along. But she also doesn't waver. She sits for actual hours, focused intensely on the work, determination in the set of her jaw and the furrow of her brow.

iii. The Training Grounds, daytime; action brackets preferred
Excuse me.

[ A young elf woman might approach you while you're training. Her staff makes it clear that she's a mage. Her manner is softspoken and mild, and she asks - ]

Would you tell me a bit more about your fighting style? Where did you learn it?

iv. Wildcard
[ do WHATEVER ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ That makes her all but glow as she comes forward, pleased as anything with those words of praise. ]

I think -

[ She's still smiling, even as she tries to look solemnly thoughtful. ]

I'm not very accurate. And I probably use too much energy.

Mm.

[ —a middling kind of sound. She isn't wrong, but it's not everything, and he is obviously considering his way around it. The problem in itself can largely be corrected with practice and drills, anyway. ]

When you cast that way, [ instead ] without concern for form, what do you reach for instead?

[ She furrows her brow. ]

What do you mean?

You move with anger.

[ It doesn't sound like criticism, nor compliment. Neutral observation, prompting. ]

[ She hesitates a moment - then touches her jaw, a pensive gesture. ]

Usually when I've been casting, I've been looking at people I - [ Hated. ] Who've done evil sorts of things. And I think I cast stronger when that's the case. So I think that - maybe I do think about them a bit.

There's strength, [ he'll grant her. ] But it compromises your control.

[ Which is dangerous. He doesn't say this. It isn't necessary, in this moment. ]

Sometimes anger can feel like fear, and the other way around. Do you find that?

[ A hesitation - a long one - as she thinks. These are things that she's never had to examine before. ]

I...think so. But fear is more - heavy, perhaps? Anger feels lighter. [ Another hesitation, and then she asks - ] Do you ever lose yourself to it, Enchanter? Fear. Or anger, [ is an amendment, because Marcus doesn't seem like fear is the things he's prone to. ]

Sometimes.

[ But he doesn't leave it there, silent as he quests around for a better answer, before opting to speak more frankly. ]

In the Southern Circles, most of them, mages are taught strict governance over their emotions. Our emotions interact with our magic, and to pull wildly and without control from the Veil, to let our own guard down, is to open ourselves to demonic possession, and so. Expressions of feeling, of reliance on feeling, is trained out of us.

There's wisdom to it, but I don't think it's everything. Anger [ to confirm ] is something I must draw from, at times. It's kept me alive. But it requires practice, and control. Understanding my limitations, but also my abilities, and their fullest manifestations.

I wouldn't wish to encourage it out of you, but you should treat it as you would a wild creature. Nothing to fear, but in need of taming.

[ Something in the middle catches her attention. ]

Emotions open you to demonic possession?

[ A shake of his head. ]

Not so directly as that. A loss of control of feeling is what creates opportunity for demons to tempt, or to overpower. Sorrow, fear, anger. If it's what you reach for, those feelings, then you need to guard against what might reach back. A demon needs only a moment.

But [ to circle back ] with control, and practice, those feelings can be a form of strength. Southern Circles would prefer us weak and safe, rather than strong and dangerous.

[ That sounds familiar. ]

Okay.

[ She nods. But - ]

So...how do I tame it?

[ That part sounds hard. But Enchanter Marcus has clearly mastered it - he's so calm and steady, like nothing ever disturbs him or gets under his skin - so maybe it's not as hard as she thinks. ]

[ Definitely. Just no one tell her about the constant cigarette smoking and occasional violent outbursts. But certainly, this perception of him is not an accident, nor only performance. ]

Knowing it, [ he suggests, after a second spent thinking. ] Reckoning with it, at its fullest strength. Recognising the moment your grasp of it might slip.

But to speak practically—

[ He glances to the weapons racks, and back to her. ]

Were you ever educated in fighting with staves? Without magic.

[ She shakes her head. ]

No. Never.

I found it useful. We can fold it into our lessons, if you'd like to try it.

You did?

[ She blinks, both surprised and interested. ]

But - It's hard to imagine you needing anything besides magic.

[ you're so cool and powerful. ]

Magebane can render a mage too drained of their vitality to access their magic. Templars are able to silence a mage's connection to the Fade. Sometimes, an enemy may simply slip too close to allow you to cast.

[ The implicit flattery of her query is eased by as he recites these things, gently. His visible scars probably had to come from somewhere, not being so cool and powerful as to leave battles unscathed. ]

But [ he adds ] in learning precision and speed and power, it was useful to me as an exercise without needing to manage magic at the same time.

Who could teach that?

[ If he thinks it’s worth it, it’s worth it. And probably not worth his time - he’s a teacher of magic, after all, and anyone can teach sticks. ]

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