faderift | Our aspirations are wrapped up in books

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Our aspirations are wrapped up in books

WHO: Hermione Granger and Open!
WHAT: There's a new ~~witch~~ mage wandering around Skyhold. Come say hello?
WHEN: Backdated to her arrival near the end of Guardian and onward throughout Drakonis.
WHERE: ~~The library.~~ All over Skyhold. ~~But mostly its library.~~
NOTES: Feel free to run into her pretty much anywhere, or have her run into you. And be prepared for all the questions about your character and Thedas/their homeworld and everything in between.

If not for the fact that Hermione had spent so many of her formative years in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Skyhold might have been overwhelming

As it was, the sprawling fortress was a little hard to get used to, since the academic environment that had given Hogwarts some sense of structure amidst the chaos wasn't present here. There was a library, thankfully, and she spent much of her time there, though it was so small that she was certain she'd end up reading every book in there in two weeks' time if she didn't actually go out and explore the rest of her surroundings.

And so every so often, she pried herself away from the cold little corner she'd set aside for herself and wander the rest of the area, though granted, she more often than not was carrying at least one book with her. Usually it was one of the books that had survived the trip through the Fade; anyone who might spot her in the garden or tavern or a safe distance away from the sparring going on in the training grounds might notice her engrossed in such unfamiliar titles as Hogwarts, A History or occasionally digging through Spellman's Syllabary in the vain hope of finding recognizable runes on various inscriptions throughout Skyhold.

After all, just because she was endlessly fascinated by all the new people and cultures and history and magic, it didn't mean she didn't occasionally need a bittersweet reminder of home. Especially when her other major reminder was her wand, which - despite the fact that she'd taken to finding the most solitary places she could find and practicing with it harder than she ever had the night before an exam - still wasn't behaving properly at all. Apologies to those of you who end up slipping on some wayward ice or getting sprayed with pebbles from a spell gone wrong.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hey, I don't make the rules, I just caution about them." She had a fair point, even if she's mostly joking, but she's come into their world, which is what people will go by.

"That sounds like someone you really respect." That was something rather important to always consider - being prepared for anything. Not that it always worked out, but better to be than not. Speaking of vigilance-

"So I take it you do not have something like the Fade where you come from? How does your magic work? Has coming through had any affects on it?" He's heard that other users of magic from other realms have had issues when they first came here.

"And I appreciate it," she tells him. "Though all things considered, I highly doubt I'm among the rudest of the foreigners here. I try to be mindful of what I say and apologize when I'm not."

Silent for a moment to allow herself to school her features, Hermione softly responds, "I did. A great deal. It was a great shock when he passed away." Apparently, constant vigilance can't always prepare you for the cowardice of someone who was supposed to fight by your side.

She's glad to answer his questions, since not thinking about the war is quickly becoming one of her favorite pastimes. "We don't have the Fade, no. I'm assuming we would have found out about it, if we did. Magic is just energy, very old and very primal, something that fewer people are born with the ability to use every generation, it seems. But it seems as though that energy is... dampened here. Or that the Fade may be directly interfering with it. Or that my wand might have suffered from unseen damage when I'd arrived here. Either way, things aren't coming out quite right, so I've been practicing with it on my own every so often to try and get it back to where it's supposed to be. I haven't had great success."

"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear about that." From how she had talked and smiled about him before, Sam would not have thought that- He falls silent for a moment, giving a light sigh as he rubs the side of his neck slowly.

Good thing they had a change of topic.

Each generation had fewer people who could use magic? Wouldn't the Chantry just love something like that here. "You use a wand to cast magic? How does that work?" He knows of wands, but they're not exactly the best thing for a mage to use to focus their magic here. "Well, I'm not sure what kind of energy you're pulling from. Here magic is tied to the Fade. If you aren't able to connect to it..."

It's sort of surprising how many people she has fond memories of are no longer among the living. Surprising and depressing. But that's what happens after a war.

"If I'm not able to connect to it, then I'm out of luck," Hermione murmurs, smiling mirthlessly as she carefully tugged her wand free from her sleeve, holding it do that he would be able to examine it, if he wants to. "I focus all of my energy through it, as always, but nothing haas been coming out quite right. Of course, I can still do some magic, and I've heard it theorized that those of us who came through a rift have some sort of direct connection to the Fade anyway, but... all I want to know is how to do my basic offensive and defensive charms. I don't like not having any way of protecting myself, especially considering what things had been like when I'd arrived."

He might not have put it that way, but yes, not being able to connect to the source of magic here would leave her in a bit of a bind if magic was what she relied on.

It takes a moment for Sam to realize that the item that she is pulling out is the wand in question, but when he does his brows raise and her carefully takes it to give it a look. The design is certainly nothing he's used to that's for sure. He's definitely still paying attention though - so she has been able to do some magic.

"Well the shard in your hand does seem to give you a connection to the Fade considering we've seen them close rifts. Course I wouldn't suggest trying to channel energy from it to do magic... might just open up a rift." And no one wanted that. "Considering you can do some magic, it sounds like you're just not used to tapping into the Fade. Can you only cast spells through the wand?"

She holds her breath when he takes hold of her wand, half-expecting for his magic to have some sort of negative reaction with it. Nothing like that happens, of course, so she breathes easier after a few moments.

"I'd rather not have any interaction with this Fade or these rifts if I can help it," she murmurs. "It's not impossible for someone like me to cast spells without a wand, but wandless magic is usually more difficult and requires a huge amount of focus. I'd rather work my way up to that, if I ever attempt it at all. If I can't even handle the spells I've been performing as a child, there's no sense in getting ahead of myself."

He can understand not wanting to have anything to do with the Fade or rifts, but he's not sure how that will work. Just ignoring the shard on her hand wouldn't help, and as for the Fade, that's where they got their magic from here - unless there was something else Rifters could draw their magic from? Hm.

Handing back the wand he hums some in thought. "Have you considered trying to use a staff? That's what we use here to help focus our magic."

"Korrin suggested that to me," she tells him as she takes the wand, carefully slipping it back up her sleeve. "It seems a bit more... cumbersome than what I'm used to. Besides, my wand is made from magical elements found in my world; if I use a staff crafted here, I have no way of knowing whether I'd still be able to do any magic with it."

Unless she draws it from the Fade in earnest, in which case, she couldn't just ignore it anymore. She's not sure that's an option she really wants to consider at the moment.

"I'm not suggesting that you give up on using your wand, but rather work your way up to it? Like you just said. It might be beneficial to practice with something from this world as well as your wand just so you know how." If the wand had magical elements it could have reacted in some way with coming through the rift - they had to figure out what now.

"Think you can show me how you unusually cast a spell?" He's not used to mages from other worlds so he's a bit curious.

Hermione nods slowly, clearly thinking it over carefully. "I just don't want to end up doing anything that will upset the natural balance of things; that's how magic tends to work, isn't it? There are certain limits, and attempting to stretch those limits could have some... unfavorable consequences." Granted, she doesn't plan on doing anything as drastic as building a Horcrux or seven, but she'd still rather not risk anything going awry when the mage situation is already so precarious here.

The request surprises her a little, since most mages don't seem overly interested in seeing her magic in action. "Um... all right." She turns away, then, not wanting to end up pointing her wand towards where people are still sparring, and looks around for something she can safely use her magic on. Deciding to take both his and her own advice and start small, Hermione gets out her wand again and gestures towards a rock by a nearby tree. In a low, careful voice, she flicks her wand and murmurs, "Wingardium Leviosa."

It had taken a few tries when she'd first arrived to get it right, but now that she's more familiar with how to direct her magic, it's no trouble at all to get the rock floating several inches off the ground, even rotating slowly in mid-air. Even so, she's careful to keep her wand trained so it doesn't end up flying off and hitting anyone, just barely managing to split her attention enough to say, "This is one of the first charms I've ever learned, and even this takes a bit more concentration than it should. Its very basic spellwork, and we'd started off with a feather, just to make sure no one in the class hurt one another. I've been able to lift much larger, heavier objects; and people, too, but I don't much like doing that. It scares them."

"Not sure what the natural balance of things are here, but I'm sure you can't do worse than what we've already experienced. We've had a giant breach in the sky that probably would have destroyed our world if left open, rifts are opening left and right letting demons in from the Fade, we've got people dropping in from other worlds... Unless you can manage to top any of that, pretty sure you'll be alright."

Well he's a bit strange, not like most mages. The surprise has him smiling, raising his brows to see if she'll actually do it, which grows when she agrees. Seeing her turn away he takes a step back, just in case considering she's mentioned she's not used to casting in this world yet.

It takes a moment for him to catch sight of what she had done, but when he does he gives an approving hum. Looking to Hermione he can tell it's taking a lot of concentration. "That's impressive. I have to ask though... those words. You have to say something in order to cast a spell?"

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not make any attempt to 'top' any of that. I just want to make sure I don't end up getting myself eaten or anything the next time I'm forced to meet up with a demon."

Carefully, she tries to guide the rock over to them, but it doesn't seem to want to cooperate. It moves a bit jerkily, so she stops it before it can zip over towards them, opting to gently settle it on the ground before it can hurt someone. Once it's down, she breathes a small sigh of relief.

"Incantations aren't strictly necessary, but they make things much easier. It makes the spell stronger and simpler to maintain. Wordless spells are possible, but more often than not, people find them incredibly difficult, especially for the more complex spells out there. I'm just doing whatever I can to help make sure my charms don't go amiss."

"Yeah... getting eaten by a bear or demon would not be fun." He hasn't been eaten yet obviously, but come very close with demons and wolves. And spiders - remembering that has him shuddering a bit.

"Directing spells with words." He considers that for a moment as his eyes linger on the rock even though it isn't floating any more. Looking back to Hermione he tilts his head slightly in curiosity. "Never had to use words to control a spell before. Just... kind of do it. Course it takes a lot of practice."

"I've managed to keep myself from getting eaten for nearly two decades," she remarks dryly. "I'd hate to ruin my successful streak."

Hermione looks at Sam just as curiously. "Have you ever tried using any kind of incantation? Maybe that would help make your magic stronger... though I'd imagine someone would have thought of it by now and would have said something if it actually worked."

"Can't say I've ever tried using an incantation. For me casting a spell is a series of concentration and wielding my mana into the kind of magic I need. To make something stronger... more or less depends more on your magical stamina and how much you practice it. And the materials and type of focus you're using." He can try using some words, but too often you're moving before you can speak.

"Mana?" Hermione asks, tilting her head curiously. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean by that." She finds herself wishing she had the entirety of her magic readily available to her, if only so she can easily compare and contrast it with the magic of others. But it looks as though she's just going to have to make do based on explanations.

"Oh... hm." How could he explain this? Normally he doesn't have to explain something like this since most people he talked to already knew about it. "Mana is like magical stamina, I guess would be the best way to put it. We tap into the Fade to cast spells, but it isn't like we can do it continuously, it requires us to expend energy. Depending on how big of a spell or how often you use them depletes this energy. It replenishes, but if you use more than what you're recovering it is possible to not be able to cast for a bit."

"Oh," Hermione replies, though the concept is, at best, an abstract one to her. "Is it a quantifiable sort of thing? A magical energy you can feel versus your body's normal energy? Maybe that's something I should take into account while practicing my spells here. We don't really have that back home; some spells are harder than others, of course, and practicing the more difficult ones for too long might wear a person out, but it isn't something we think of as anything other than simple exhaustion."

"There is no exact measure for it, but yes, as we learn our magic we learn how to feel out our levels of mana. Mana and your body's normal energy are separate, but they still affect one another. If you are suddenly cut off from accessing your magic the mage can easily become disorientated or a time, or if you use too much mana you can become magically fatigued and thus tired, or headaches might occur. If your body is overburdened such as being sick you might not be able to cast well."

He smiles some, rubbing the back of his head again, knowing he's throwing a lot at her.

"That can happen? A mage can be cut off from their magic?" Well... of course they can. Hermione's heard about the Rite of Tranquility, and she'd much rather forget it if at all possible. "I've never heard of a normal circumstances where a wi-... a mage would be separated from their powers. Aside from legal restrictions, that is, of being unable to use magic around Muggles. And being sick doesn't really have much interference with our magic, unless it's a magical malady or something that affects our focus, which doesn't sound like what you're talking about."

"Well... there is only one way to completely separate a mage from their powers." Well two if you count being dead. "I was more referring to temporary means. The most jarring one is probably the ability Templars have that can stop you from casting, it's a rather knee jerk reaction to it. Mages are capable of doing such things as well but by other means - there are a number of spells that can drain your mana." He considers what she says about sickness, but after a moment he shrugs. "The part about focus is pretty accurate. Just being sick doesn't affect magic, but being sick enough that you can't concentrate or makes you physically weak certainly will make casting harder."

"It's still odd, having an entirely different energy gauge to work with," Hermione murmurs thoughtfully. "Or maybe I've just never thought of it that way. But then, it would have probably been easier to learn something like that before forging ahead; perhaps the magic here really isn't all that compatible with mine."

That's... a disappointing thought, to say the least.

"To be fair, I'm sure if any of us ended up in your world we'd have similar issues." Clearly traveling to another world was not easy. "You're still able to do magic," he offers, hand pointing out towards the rock. "Perhaps thinking it as magic as 'mine' and 'yours' is the wrong way to go about it? It's still your magic, you just need to learn how to use it with different mechanics."

"Do you think I can?" Hermione asks uncertainly, looking up at him. "I've been trying to practice at it, but haven't had much luck, since I don't really know what's all that different between my magic-... that is, the magic that I'm used to versus the magic here. I'm not sure how I'd really learn, since it would probably require someone familiar with both sets of magic. Or, at least, comfortable enough with a student with a very different way of practicing it."

"I think you can." He smiles brightly down at Hermione, clearly confident that she could learn - she's already proved that she can do some, even if it was difficult. "If you're looking for a teacher or a place to practice you should consider coming to the lessons that we have in the garden. It's in the morning, but that would be a good place to get started."

Our aspirations are wrapped up in books

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