Sixteen books on magic spells

[bookish_lioness]

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.

Comments

[lennethvalkyrie]

The pronunciations were different, but it was close enough to her truth to confirm they spoke of the same thing.

"I am," she replied with a nod, "or... was. I cannot truly perform any duty that would give credence to the title here in Thedas. Here I am simply another blade. Although I retain some fragments of power: sometimes I still hear the cries of the souls of those in mortal terror--if they are close. But I cannot gather them within me after they fall. Even if I could, there is no great hall to take them to." She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. There was a sadness in her eyes, but not an overwhelming one. It had been months since she'd been pulled through the rift that brought her to Thedas--the grief of losing her purpose, and those she'd served it for, had dulled.

"Do you wish to know of Divine magic, or of the sorcery that mortals practiced on Midgard?"

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione was quiet for a few moments, taking that all in. Perhaps religion in all its many forms stemmed from having met people from other worlds and simply constructing a belief system around such people. It would make sense, in some respects, especially if magic was as different between each world as it seemed to be. Even Hermione might be looked on as a goddess by someone who'd never seen her type of magic before.

"That's... a lot to take in," she said, deciding not to explain that she doubted any truly divine origin behind Lenneth's powers. After all, that sort of thing seemed to be largely a matter of perspective. "And it seems like a tremendous change. I'm sorry you have to experience that"

Already drawing up two columns and labeling one as "divine" and the other as "mortal", Hermione told her, "I wouldn't mind hearing about both, if you've the time. Is Divine magic more intrinsic when compared to what mortals practice?"

[lennethvalkyrie]

"Departures from everything one has grown to 'know' are rarely simple to reconcile," she said, reaching to remove her feathered helmet and set it on the table beside her, careful not to disturb any of the papers. Even in her world, there had been those who didn't believe. She had come for them anyway. It was only the facts of their lives and deaths that mattered to her--not whether or not they thought they would see a valkyrie's wings at their passing.

"Forgive me if I sound imperious. I am still... taking it in--as you say--myself. As far as your question," Lenneth paused, frowned slightly in thought. "I would say not that divine magic is more intrinsic, but that its use is.

"There are mortals born naturally with the capacity for power, but they are not born with the understanding of that power, nor how best to bring about its fullness, or what shape its fullness will take. For mortals, it is by and large a scholarly pursuit; although limited by each one's personal capacity both for power and innovation. I, however, was created with an intuitive knowledge of my power--what I can and cannot accomplish. I cannot speak for the others, but as I have never seen a collegia of gods attempting to seek out and illuminate the dark corners of their magic, I believe it to be the same for them." She smiled wryly. "After all, power is beloved of gods and mortals alike. If we could improve our magic with study, Valhalla would be a school rather than a festal hall."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione eyed that helmet for a moment, wishing she was decent at sketching so she could draw the various accouterments many of these rifters wore. They were all rather fascinating, and if she could possibly draw parallels between some of them and follow a common thread from one world to another, that would open up an entire new line of research possibilities. But for now, at least, she would stick with what she knew, speedily jotting down everything she could.

"So what you're saying is that, while mortals are aware of magic and are able to study it and some might even be learn to do a few spells here and there, 'gods' come into being knowing everything there is to know about magic." It makes sense, that any divine being would be omniscient when it came to that sort of thing. Assuming she could bring herself to believe in true divinity, that is.

"Do mortals ever interact with the gods beyond prayer in your world, or vice versa? Would a god ever have reason to actually help a mortal with their magic?"

lawd mercy I gotta replay this game

[lennethvalkyrie]

"I would not go as far as to say 'everything there is to know about magic.' The All-Father certainly knows more than I about such things--if we simply knew everything, that could not be so. It is more that what we are capable of does not need to be taught. I did not need to learn how to create crystal--I simply did. An extension of myself, as you might reach out an arm."

...Had she needed teaching? The thought made her frown. After all, had Freya not needed to remind her of her capabilities upon her awakening? It had not been an instruction, for proficiency had come naturally as she tried--but she had not remembered to try. Was it simply because she had just awoken? Were there things she could yet do that she was unaware of? Perhaps it was an unknowing hubris to assert such knowledge on behalf of her people. Her frown deepened--she decided to try the following question.

"The gods do not interact overmuch with mortals since I was re-awakened. We prepare for Ragnarok--a great war between the gods--and thus our focus is elsewhere. I have walked disguised among them, to watch. Sometimes to intervene when darker forces are involved. If they are beset by spirits, the undead, else that is not of their world. If the others do as well, for their own purposes, it is not known to me.

"As far as aiding their magic... there are sorcerers who fall honorably just as warriors may, and it is necessary that their skills be honed as a warrior's may be. As to aiding them during their lives, there are those mortals who ask for aid with magic just as they might ask for aid in any other sphere. Whether or not it is given is the choice of whom they ask, and why."

Trying to explain was... disconcerting. There were things she didn't know that she should. Things she did that she could not remember how. Areas of knowledge with fine detail, and yawning spaces that she would not have not thought to search out without being questioned. Her forehead creased.

it's okay I still need to re-read these books >_>

[bookish_lioness]

"A natural inclination, then," Hermione corrected. She paused for a moment before asking, "What sort of crystal are you referring to? Crystals don't have inherent magical properties where I'm from, unless they've been enchanted. Or unless you count crystal balls, but that's just a load of hogwash anyway."

Her pen never really stopped as Lenneth spoke, even if she felt as though she were writing a mythical tale more than she did the actual facts of another world. She could think of all sorts of logical explanations for what she was hearing, but considering she'd literally been dropped into Thedas while dreaming, logical didn't really have much of a part to play in any of this.

"So the people of your world believe that they need only ask the right question of the right god, and their requests will be honored?" There had to be more to it than that, she was sure of it, but as she looked up at Lenneth, she at least managed to keep the incredulity from her features.

[lennethvalkyrie]

"A... simple explanation, but not incorrect. If you have needs, you make requests, and they are granted or not as they are judged on their merit by whoever it is you make the request of, yes? And you would ask whoever you judged most able and likely to grant that request. There are things the gods can grant that mortals cannot, and so the gods are asked. Not all requests are worthy, and not all that are worthy are granted, but there are enough that are," the valkyrie replied. "And if they believed in the gods enough to ask, then they believe enough to see the truth of the answer." After a short pause she tilted her head, looking at her interviewer with a keen curiosity. "Are there no gods in your world, that this is strange to you?"

[bookish_lioness]

It was one thing to hear about gods and such when they were simply explained as something similar to magical beings; after all, anyone with any kind of power runs the risk of being worshiped. But when Lenneth asked about the gods in her world, Hermione paused, her pen going motionless for the first time in a while.

"There are... belief systems," she answered carefully. "A variety of them, and they don't always see eye-to-eye. I can't say whether or not any of them are true, since I'm agnostic myself. That means I'm open to the idea of one day finding concrete proof of a God or gods and having my beliefs altered accordingly, but that I don't pin all my faith on any particular system of belief."

*crawls out of the darkness!*

[lennethvalkyrie]

"I find myself, for the first time, in a similar position." The valkyrie's lips twitched with... some emotion. Wry humor? Chagrin? Even she was unsure exactly what the feeling was. "That of not knowing, I mean. I have heard many stories of the Maker, of his bride. I hear the elves, those with markings, have their own pantheon." She looked over Hermione's shoulder through the window to the overcast sky beyond. "It is easy to know the truth of divinity when you are summoned to kneel at the All-Father's feet--when you witness his power, feel within you the strength he granted. Not so now. None have called for me here, and I would not know where to go to find them--or who I would find--even if I had the power to.

"It is... lonely, being mortal."

She paused for a moment, then shook her head and looked back at Hermione. "I fear that particular line of thought tells you little you wished to know. If you like, I could demonstrate to you what the crystal I spoke of means, and the differences I have perceived between my use of magic in Thedas and my use in my world."

\o/

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione was silent for a long moment, taking that all in. At length, she murmured, "I would have thought it would be lonelier to be immortal." Shrugging slightly, she acknowledged, "But then, immortality in my world comes with a horrible price."

She's glad to get back to a topic that she's feels more comfortable with, and Hermione shakes her head in turn, sitting up straight and poised to take notes. "Yes, please, by all means. I'd like to hear about the sorts of difficulties other people have experienced in attempting to do magic here, and what work-arounds, if any, that have been developed."

[lennethvalkyrie]

"Perhaps," she said, a half-smile tinged with sadness on her lips, "it is simply lonely to be separated from those who are as you are." Or were.

Lenneth shook her head in an attempt to banish the slight melancholy, then surveyed the floor before getting up and moving the chair she'd been sitting in to grant a bit more space.

"There is one other skill I have regained since coming here, but it has no visible outcome, so this shall be the best example," she said. The valkyrie frowned slightly in concentration--she'd not quite managed an effortless cast yet--and then a cool blue light coalesced around the fingers of her right hand, which she drew back to her hip, then arced out and down in a tossing motion. There was a high crystalline sound as the light shot along her fingertips and continued to the floor; where it touched, a clear crystal structure of a similar cool blue grew quickly to just below knee height.

Lenneth looked pleased with herself.

"It will support weight, or it may be shattered and the pieces used for--" She frowned, tried to think of a reason "--whatever you wish crystal pieces for," she finished lamely. "They will float on water as ice may, but it is not ice. If cast on a surface, this crystal forms, but upon a living thing it will surround and trap it... until it breaks free. There is one thing else it may do, but I must destroy it to do so." She paused then, in the case that Hermione wanted to look at it before she did so.

[bookish_lioness]

"That's... certainly true," Hermione agreed, trying not to think too hard about it. She was lonely, but she'd much rather not swell on it if she could help it.

She listened to Lenneth, trying not to be too disappointed by the thought of there being only two skills she'd apparently regained, likening it to the thought of Hermione only reacquiring two spells. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to live like that, not in a place as dangerous as Thedas, but she didn't say as much, only focusing on the example at hand.

Having never seen anything like these crystals, Hermione first assumed that they were ice, at least until Lenneth told her otherwise. She wanted to examine them, but given that she didn't exactly have any of the sort of tools she'd need to properly examine unfamiliar magic, she instead quickly jotted down the characteristics as Lenneth described them before asking, "And what is that other thing?"

[lennethvalkyrie]

Taking Hermione's curiosity as permission, she repeated the spell twice more in quick succession--the first caused the crystal to begin growing, and the second, in a small flash of light, to powder it. It began to drift very slowly floorward as a scintillating cloud. Pretty, but not of any seeming use until Lenneth gathered her skirts, hopped nimbly above it, and landed as if it were as solid as the nearby table. She "rode" it down to the floor, the particles fading and disappearing as they touched down, leaving no hint that anything had ever been there. Lenneth smoothed her skirts and pulled the chair out to sit again.

"It can carry you farther, if there is space for it to do so," she gestures toward the railing that separated their second story balcony from the rotunda below, "A small thing, but versatile.

"As far as the rest--well." she lifts her shoulders slightly, then drops them. "I had few skills that could be considered magic to begin with. I am no true sorcerer."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione wasn't sure what she was expecting, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't that. She couldn't even be entirely sure what she was seeing until it was already over, after which she frowned a little as she kept scanning the area for the remnants of Lenneth's spell.

"Versatile, yes," she murmured before turning her attention to Lenneth again, smiling a little. "Have you tried relearning other spells, or have you simply been using this one in whatever flexible way you can manage? I'm curious as to whether magic can be fully relearned or even altered here."

[lennethvalkyrie]

"For now? This. The others..." Lenneth narrowed her eyes slightly in thought, "may be considered magic, but I do not think they could be called 'spells'. I admit though that I have not been forceful in my attempts to regain my abilities." She frowned. "I experienced something the first time I attempted magic in this world. Something blocked me from it; like a wall, or a shield. Angered, I tried harder. It caused a great pain in my mark, a crackling of energy. I stopped there, but a young elf experienced its final result and, without intending to, opened a rift within Skyhold some time ago. It was said she was practicing magic at the time.

"I believe if those of us with shards attempt a spell too forcibly that we are at risk of such a thing. I also no-longer believe that it is the shard that was preventing me, but something the Thedans have deemed 'the Veil'."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione hesitated, frowning slightly. She'd heard about a mage who'd inadvertently opened a rift in Skyhold while practicing magic, and she absently brushed her fingers over her left palm as she wondered over whether she'd ever experienced anything like that before while attempting to relearn her magic. She didn't think so, and she certainly wasn't the type to continue doing something even when it hurt or could obviously cause some rather large problems.

"The Veil is supposedly a barrier between this world and the next," Hermione allows carefully. "But I don't know that I would say I feel any sort of real barrier when I do magic here. It's more like... the energy is getting circumvented somehow. Deflected, to the point where the spell's outcome isn't what it should be, or it doesn't go where I'm aiming it, or it's harder to get it to do exactly what it's supposed to do. So I suppose that's where the 'block' is for me,even if it doesn't really feel that way, if that makes sense."