faderift | Sixteen books on magic spells

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Sixteen books on magic spells

WHO: Hermione Granger and rifters (or anyone who saw her note and wants to chat)
WHAT: Adelaide is having Hermione find out about magic in other worlds by interviewing rifters ~~for SCIENCE~~.
WHEN: Mid-Drakonis and onwards. There's no deadline on acquiring knowledge!
WHERE: The default is Skyhold's library, otherwise note in the subject line if your character would have arranged to meet her somewhere else.
NOTES: Nothing comes to mind; will change if necessary.

Anyone frequenting the library has probably become used to the curly-haired young girl who's claimed a small alcove as her own. She can usually be found sitting in the corner, nose buried in a book as her brow furrows, attempting to bridge the gap between her worldview and that of Thedas'. It's not always an easy task, and sometimes names and dates get jumbled, which is why she can sometimes be found just a few steps away at the nearest table, books and journals and bits of parchment scattered about as she tries to make sense out of all the reading she's done.

Still, what at first glance appears to be a mess is actually rather organized, and for however engrossed she seems to be in her work, she's always been happy to talk to new people. After all, each conversation counts towards research, even if it isn't in the particular field she's been asked to study. Go ahead and ask around for her if you don't know where to find her; chances are she's hard to miss, and many will be able to point out the inquisitive rifter if she happens to be around.

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She looks up as someone approaches her, offering him a small smile. Her hand is already reaching for her notebook in which she'd been jotting down notes about rifters and their magic, even as he's introducing himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she says cordially, her free hand gesturing to one of the other seats at the table. "I'm assuming you've come because you wouldn't mind answering some questions? If that's the case, please sit down. Before we start, what would you like me to call you? A specific title? Ser Highwind? Everyone here seems to have different preferences."

"Just Kain is fine." As much as he's pickier about his title when it comes to home, he's gotten not to care either way when in another world. It's probably obvious enough given the armor that he's a knight of some sort, though. He also doesn't go anywhere without it.

He sits down, eyeing the materials set up around the table. "I'm no mage myself, but I can still tell you quite a bit about my world's magic... I've noticed that it's not completely like what they have here." There are similarities he's seen, yes, but the things that are different are huge. Especially summoning. But he'll get to that.

"Kain, then. I'll remember that." It's much easier to remember than many of the stranger names she's come across here.

Opening up her notebook to a clean page, she looks up at him, smile on her face and pen poised. "So you come from a world where magic exists out in the open? That's fascinating. What is the world called, and what can you tell me about it?"

"Why wouldn't magic be in the open?" Kain raises an eyebrow, not having heard anything like that before. But then, up until recently, he'd never realized there were worlds without dragons out there, so maybe she comes from yet another with unusual characteristics.

Anyway, on to the questions to answer, "Some call my world the Blue Planet, or simply the Earth. There are several different nations... I come from Baron, a mighty kingdom known for its military strength and its airships in particular. My world is also well populated by all manner of magical monsters... it's wise to take precaution when traveling."

"If you've seen the trouble between mages and non-mages here," Hermione explains gently, "you might understand why some people may have opted to hide the magical world completely. I come from one such world." And she'll be happy to answer any questions on that, once she's done hearing about where Kain had come from.

"My world is also known as Earth," she tells him cheerfully as she jots down his name and the name of his world. "But I've never heard of Baron, and as I'd mentioned, magic is hidden, where I'm from. What sort of creatures do you have that you'd put under the umbrella of 'magical monsters'?"

Nodding, Kain sees her point. He'd never really seen it like that- but then, there aren't exactly many 'non-skilled' people where he's from, mages or not, so special abilities don't get looked at as a problem. What he's thinking right now is that somehow her world is even more terrible than Thedas, with potentially more awful repression of mages. Well. Things to find out about later.

"A great deal... Around Baron, it's common to see floating eyes, hell divers, imps... I spent a considerable amount of time on a mountainside populated by zombies, revenants, ghouls and similar... We have dragons in my world as well. There's plenty more beyond those, and monsters are typically regional... We could be here for a while discussing them all. Many of them use some combination of physical and magical attacks in battle."

Hermione's explained her world so many times that she can't help but feel as though she should simply publish pamphlets, but then, maybe compiling all of this different information can serve a similar purpose. She can go on forever about her world, but right now, what matters is the other rifters and what they have to say.

"Floating... eyes?" Frowning, she pauses in her writing and looks up at him as he speaks. "I can more or less figure out what most of those are... assuming you're not talking about anything stranger than disembodied eyes simply... floating around. Do you have any lore as to where these creatures came from? Thedas has a rich history behind darkspawn, for instance. And are they sentient, or pretty much just another sort of animal?"

Ah, right, there he goes mentioning something that he takes for granted as just something most people simply know about. Some things like dragons are more universal. Others, not so much. "Yes... at least that's what they're called. They're actually more like... bat-winged creatures with a single eye, right in the center, above a tooth-filled mouth."

He tries to give her enough time to get down the words, adding, "As for monsters in general... most of the ones we fight are much like animals, and most of the stronger ones started overrunning our world more recently, alongside a threat to my world. But... there are sentient monsters, called Eidolons... they live underground in the Feymarch, but they're not like darkspawn."

Hermione's nose wrinkles at his description of these eye monstrosities even as she jots down their appearance. "They sound awful. Certainly not the sort of thing anyone would keep as a pet." And she's met people who'd kept hippogriffs and acromantulas as pets.

Glancing up at him and still writing even as he continued to talk, she waited for him to finish before mentioning. "Would you care to explain these Eidolons, please? And this... threat to your world? Do you mean to say you're in the middle of a war?" That seemed to be a common theme between rifters and natives alike.

"I'd not recommend most of our creatures as pets. Though chocobos are always useful... they're large yellow birds which can also be used as mounts. Even the wild ones can generally be tamed. We dragoons have a history of raising dragons, though it's been a while since that's been done..." Nor does he see it being entirely feasible in this world. Still, dragons are basically his speciality so he'd figured they'd come up sooner or later.

"Eidolons... some are truly monstrous looking, like the fiery Ifrit, while others, like Shiva, appear almost human. They're intelligent beings, dwelling in the Feymarch until called. Only Summoners have the ability to call them forth, and when they do, the Eidolons will fight for them. There's nothing like them in battle." He pauses a moment, wondering if he could manage to eventually give her descriptions of them all. Perhaps in time. Rydia is the expert, but he's seen them plenty to know their attacks, at least. "Which is why our enemy tried to eliminate all summoners, because they were too powerful. He didn't entirely succeed... nor did he succeed in destroying the life on my world as he attempted. He was called Zemus... a powerful Lunarian, from the moon..."

"Bird mounts?" Hermione asks, apparently delighted by the idea. Sure, it sounds nice in theory, but if she actually saw a chocobo and realized that it wasn't as safe as a proper car or some such thing, she'd likely have second thoughts. "Dragoons? Is that what you call your culture or is that indicative of the region you're from?"

The description of Eidolons leaves another bad taste in her mouth, but she pushes through it, especially since following the trail of complications Kain offers her is... difficult. "So are Eidolons evil by nature, or are most Summoners evil and so corrupt the Eidolon they've summoned? And I'm sorry, but... do you mean this person actually lived on the moon, or is that a metaphor?"

"Chocobos are very fast, easy to ride... much more maneuverable than horses." Kain certainly thinks so, anyway, by comparison of the two. "A dragoon is a specialized fighter, you might also call us dragon knights. All of us dragoons train to emulate the dragons... we can jump high into the sky, using a variety of attacks, with the wind as our main element."

Kain shakes his head quickly. "Eidolons themselves are neither good nor evil, they're often more like... elementals, forces of nature and other powerful things. Of course, if the Summoner is evil..." He trails off. What happened to Rydia's village is hard for him to speak of. "But if the Summoner is good, they can be extremely helpful. The Summoners I speak of were good people, living peacefully in a village until Zemus indirectly arranged for them to all be slaughtered. I traveled with one of the sole survivors." He knows it all must sound strange, and he's already had others wonder about the moon thing too. "Zemus and his people lived on the moon. I actually traveled there to battle him and several of his monsters as well."

Hermione had never heard of anything like dragoons, and she can't help but think that certain people from home would be utterly fascinated at the idea of some sort of dragon warrior. "I see. When you say jump high, about how high would you mean? Relatively higher than any non-dragoon individual, or can you leap high enough that it almost looks like flying?"

She nods at his explanation. After all, the Elder Wand isn't necessarily evil, but if the person who possesses it is, it can wreak all sorts of destruction. Despite the various monsters and mounts and strange abilities he speaks about, the only thing that really stands out as strange to her is the moon thing. "But... how? Is the moon colonized, where you're from? Because as I know it, it has no life and can't support life, having no atmosphere to speak of."

"The latter," Kain replies, wishing he could demonstrate now, but the library's ceilings are still far too low. "I'm out of sight for the duration of the jump, and then I can descend on enemies from above. It's highly effective." He looks very pleased at that, a confidence coming out when he talks of his battle skills.

It was the same with Korrin and Sam, apparently the whole moon thing really is more outlandish than he'd realized. It seems a rare thing for anyone to have traveled to other worlds like that, he's seen. "This moon has life... it's populated by those people called the Lunarians... they appear similar to humans, and they're often especially skilled with magic. For what it's worth... we were told that the moon we visited, called the Red Moon, the one the Lunarians inhabit, was created by them. There are two moons, and we only visited that one. The other has no life, as far as I know."

"That's... impressive," Hermione remarks. She has no idea how much she can believe him, and if his abilities are as dampened as hers are, there's no way for him to prove it here. But she's going to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially since there's no reason for physical abilities to be as awry as magical ones. "I'd very much like to see that sometime, if an opportunity ever arises."

Traveling to other worlds is one thing. Traveling to a moon to fight a battle with an enemy and a bunch of monsters? That's something else altogether. Still, the fact that he isn't claiming the barren gray rock she knows of as the moon is secretly inhabited by people called Lunarians, of all things, makes it just slightly more believable. "Ah. So it's not so much a moon as it is a... satellite, of sorts? Or an asteroid or some such celestial object that has somehow been terraformed?"

“I’d be glad to demonstrate sometime. I often spend time training, so you might find me there often… but really, any wide open space will do.” He dislikes fighting in enclosed spaces for this reason… while he can and does sometimes have to get by with just pure physical combat, his specialized abilities are what really give him an advantage on the field of battle.

He ponders that question. “I don’t know the full extent to how they formed it, but it sounds like the latter that you’re describing. Since the Lunarians are such powerful mages, they must have the ability to form a world out of a barren one. They’re also very skilled with mechanical things as well.” Really, that combination of magic and technology makes them a force to be reckoned with.

"No place with a low ceiling, I assume?" Hermione asks, cracking a small smile.

She's absolutely fascinated by what he says, though also a little wary. The power to create a livable atmosphere where none readily exists? Being skilled with machines and magic? Most of the wizards and witches she knows are absolutely boggled by any sort of machinery and are equal parts enthralled and distrustful of modern technology. "I see... are there any such Lunarians here?" she asks, jotting down the term and other key details. "Meeting with them would be a real eye-opener."

"Right," Kain nods agreement. "I had to fight in the middle of a train... it was far from pleasant." No room whatsoever to even use his weapon properly. The whole thing could have ended up a disaster.

The whole thing is still astonishing to Kain as well. Airships are normal, part of his life growing up, but all the rest of what the Lunarians could do... space travel and so forth... it was certainly a lot to take in. "Unfortunately, not at this time. I'm the only one from my world here, that I've noticed. You wouldn't want to meet certain Lunarians, anyway, like Zemus... and most of the good ones are locked away in slumber. My best friend is half Lunarian... he grew up among us humans, but even so, he could describe what that's like... I wouldn't mind seeing him here, anyway."

"A locomotive train?" Hermione asks, just to be sure she has the right idea of it. "I can't imagine fighting in that sort of atmosphere would be at all pleasant, regardless of your area of expertise."

The idea of someone being half-Lunarian - half moon-person, really? - boggles Hermione's mind, but she tries not to make it stand out overly much. It has little to do with magic, which is supposed to be the sole focus of her research at the moment. "What do you mean by 'locked away in slumber'?"

“Nor could I, before it happened. Ah, but that didn’t happen in my own world, though… Before I came here, I was pulled into a battle between two gods, an unending war where parts of our worlds were drawn together… including that train car.” Yes, it just gets weirder, his whole story. He’d not realized how strange any of it seemed until he’s talked about it with others.

Right, he definitely knows they’ve gotten off course, a little, though talk of the Lunarians should help re-focus it eventually. “In the moon’s core, they were able to simply… put themselves in a long-term sleep, using their magic to aid them. But Zemus… he was forced into the sleep. The moment he stirred, he attempted to destroy our world, using his powers of mind control…” He trails off, something about the topic is clearly uncomfortable to him. “He’s a good example of the darker side of magic. I don’t think magic in itself is bad, though, as with the summoners and Eidolons, it depends on the mage to use their powers for good or evil means.”

She actually draws back just a little at his continued explanation, one hundred percent certain that he's pulling her leg. But he doesn't seem to be, or if he is, he's a rather fine actor. You... lead a very peculiar life."

Mind control is never an easy topic for anyone, so Hermione lets that go without bringing it up again. She knows enough about that sort of magic, at least insofar as it relates to her own world, so she focuses on what she doesn't know much about. "Why do they put themselves to sleep like that?"

She hesitates for a moment before bringing up, "And magic is only as dangerous as a sword. If someone doesn't know how to use it or uses it towards ill means, then it can be devastating. But if someone uses it towards good, well, more often than not, I'm sure you can guess as to what happens."

It probably helps that Kain is utterly stone-faced and serious when he speaks, not a trace of jesting to be seen. He’s never thought of his world as strange, but even Korrin and Sam had both been alarmed by the things he’d revealed. “I suppose it is strange, compared to many other worlds…”

“The Lunarians slept because… they believed the time wasn’t right, they weren’t ready to coexist with humans yet. Or actually, it was us humans not ready to exist peacefully with them. They’re awaiting a day when we can all live together peacefully.” Unfortunately, Zemus had been unable to go along with that whole idea.

He nods agreement. “That’s all too true, about magic. Where I’m from, there are many varieties of it. White magic is used mainly for healing and defense, while black magic is used to attack and damage your enemies. Not that black magic is bad, though… I traveled a great deal with a black mage summoner who used that destructive magic for good causes.”

"It's all right," Hermione replies, offering him a gentle smile. "My world is a bit strange, too. I suppose the idea of an entire world behaving fundamentally different from how you're used to is bound to seem a bit weird at first."

She continues scribbling down her notes as Kain speaks, though she can't help asking, "So they all just... went to sleep? As a whole? Was it some sort of ritual, or do they share a hive mind of sorts?"

A little confused, Hermione asked, "Black magic isn't inherently bad? In my world, we have the Dark Arts, which are spells and potions and such whose sole intent is to cause harm. So in yours, black magic just implies that it's offensive rather than defensive?"

“I suppose it is. And with so many of us from so many different worlds, we’re all bound to find each others’ worlds more than a little unusual…” Even getting used to some of the ways of Thedas has been tough. He still finds a lot of their views peculiar.

“A ritual or spell of some sort. It seemed. They’re very good at mental manipulation, even telepathy,” which of course is right up there on the list of things he’d rather forget, having that voice in his head, “but I don’t believe they’re so closely intertwined that they share a mind. Zemus awoke individually, for instance, as did another.”

Huh… that’s an entirely different concept to what he’s used to, magic that’s in itself inherently evil. Kain considers what she’s saying, finally nodding. “It makes the most sense to look at it that way… yes. Black magic can include elemental spells, for instance, spells of fire, ice or lightning. We don’t have any magic that’s considered evil in itself… just occasional evil mages.”

"I'm sure hearing about my world would be just as confusing for you as it was to first hear about Thedas," Hermione acknowledges. "That's why I'm trying to find out as much as I can about as many different people as I can; it helps to be culturally sensitive, after all."

Frowning a little as she tries to process Kain's information, she murmurs, "Can they even use those abilities of mental manipulation on themselves to incite that sort of thing?"

With a small sound of disapproval, Hermione takes a moment to think of how to best explain it before settling on, "It takes a certain kind of witch or wizard to even want to perform the Dark Arts. The most the average person learns is how to defend oneself against it. Unless you're willing to make terrible sacrifices or truly want to harm someone with all your soul, most of the spells that are classified as Dark magic won't even work properly... though there are always certain exceptions, I suppose."

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