middaeg | ( open ) locked up in ideas

Who: Dorian Pavus & you!
When: Throughout Noveur
Where: Various!
What: Quests and general open prompts as Dorian settles in.
Warnings: None!

i. a drinking problem

[Dorian has absolutely no experience in serving drinks, but he does have plenty of experience in drinking them, as well as being served. He surmises that the opposite can’t be so difficult; it’s a job anyone could do, he’s certain, and so his experience is clearly more than enough. In fact, all things considered, he might even be over-qualified, especially given the request for applicants to be easy on the eyes. He should be able to pay the rent on the cut of his jaw alone.

Regardless of how qualified he is or isn’t, he’s determined to do well his first week at The Sly Seadog, as well as convinced that it won’t take all that much effort. He can’t say he’s interested in doing this kind of work long-term, but he has to do something to earn a bit of cune— neither he nor Brennan have the Inquisition’s coffers to support them here, and he’s not entirely certain anyone in this place could pay them what he feels their adventuring prowess is actually worth. Waiting tables seems as good a place to start as any.

He finds himself forced to lower his expectations exponentially within the first hour of the job. Balancing trays is more difficult than he would have thought, as is remembering drink orders. He’s given at least two playful winks to customers who did not appreciate them in the least, and the taste of many of the patrons here is absolutely appalling.

He makes it through his first shift easily enough, but as the week goes on, he finds himself more and more harried. It’s on one of the busier evenings that he quickly tries to sidestep another member of the waitstaff and subsequently trips, nearly dropping the entire tray on a nearby table. His instinct is to reflexively use magic to keep its contents aloft, only to be reminded of the fact that his inherent magic is now gone— as a drink falls off the tray to hit the table and spill over both it and, quite possibly, whoever may be sitting there.]

Kaffas, that’s the second time this week—

[Fenhedis, he is too beautiful for this. He sighs wearily, his expression genuinely apologetic.]

My deepest apologies, let me take care of that for you— a quick spell ought to do it.

[Alternatively, feel free to approach him throughout the week while he’s attempting to learn how to tend bar, or when he’s on break, which will find him seated at one of the corner tables looking worse for wear and as though he’s on the cusp of an existential crisis. FYI, that’s because he is.]

ii. site of the last stand

[Though far more somber than his attempts at waiting tables, this is a job that far better suits Dorian’s talents. He accompanies other volunteer Mirrorbound to the battlefield as much out of curiosity as a desire to help— this world and its magic are still new to him, but he is keen to learn all he can about it, to witness how they are intertwined and how magic’s residual effects have left their mark on the land.

The results, at present, are not pretty. He frowns as he approaches one of the many trees now bearing unseeing eyes, his arms folded in front of him as he examines it, offering his commentary to whoever else may be nearby— be they witch or monster.]

Gruesome, isn’t it? I’m tempted to say I’ve seen worse, but no tree ought to have any eyes, let alone this many.

[And they’re bleeding. Unsightly.]

The leyline method seems to be a popular one, but we must be on our guard. Truth be told, I’d rather burn the whole thing and be done with it, but I suppose the situation warrants more care than that.

[Of course it does, but it wouldn’t do to let his genuine concern show on the surface. He has a reputation to uphold. Well, not here, not yet, but that’s even more reason to fall back on his old ways, given that he has to build it from the ground up.

Naturally, he’s not just here to purge dark magic from trees. Monsters may be the designated protectors, but he’ll do his part to assist anyone who may need it in keeping Shades or wildlife as bay. He’s not nearly as effective on the battlefield as he would have been at home, but he has to start rebuilding his magical arsenal somewhere.]

iii. scholarly pursuits

[Throughout his first few weeks in Aefenglom, it seemed prudent to sample a bit of what each school of magic had to offer before choosing a specialization. Dorian still hasn’t quite decided on where he should focus his attentions, but he has narrowed it down to a few options. It is his own scholastic pursuits that bring him to one of the Coven’s reading rooms, where he now sits with a number of books spread out across the table in front of him, several of them open, along with a few sheets of paper with hastily scrawled notes upon them.

Much of his current course of study has involved looking into the laws and limitations regarding magic in this place, and on this particular afternoon, he has hit upon something that strikes him as inherently wrong, with only his own personal experience to measure it against.]

Necromancy is forbidden, and yet mind control is merely frowned upon?

[He scoffs, snapping one of the books closed and adding it to the growing stack on his left.]

Ridiculous. The former has all sorts of practical uses when used responsibly, while the latter entirely strips a being of their agency! I would argue that is a far greater violation. Just where are their priorities, hmm?

[He’s not necessarily talking to anyone in particular, really— he does love the sound of his own voice— but anyone nearby is of course more than welcome to engage with him, or, understandably, tell him to keep it down.]

iv. wildcard

[Something else in mind? Hit me with your best shot. Feel free to leave a starter of your own or hit me up via PM or at necrofancy if you’d like to work something out together! Dorian will be a frequent presence at the Coven during his first few weeks here as he does research, but will also be found sampling the offerings various taverns or doing his part to help out beyond the Bright Wall.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Alucard does not mean to eavesdrop. He is sitting quietly with his own small stack of books, focused not on magic or theory or anything, but fiction. A mystery novel this time, with a hard boiled faun detective trying to recover a missing magical artefact of some great note. It is silly. Predictable. Wonderful for those two reasons, and something Alucard has to admit, is not the kind of indulgence he'd ever expect of himself.

And yet here he is enjoying a dumb novel when a voice he knows pipes up about oh, necromancy.

He can't help it. It is a knee jerk response. Alucard is still himself.]

I'm fairly sure that the moment you try to use the term "responsible necromancy" is the moment an entire society begins to justify the harassing of the dead for pettier and pettier reasons.

[It's fine— he'd said it loudly, after all.

He raises an eyebrow with interest as he turns towards Alucard's familiar voice, his momentary outburst offset by the smirk pulling at one corner of his mouth. Ah, given on what he'd been able to pick up on in the dreamscape, he's not surprised that Alucard might have an opinion on this— Dorian isn't exactly sure of his situation, but he's certainly not human, or at least not completely.]

Well, harassment is right out. It's not as if there aren't standards.

[He's not a barbarian!]

Oh?

[There's two levels to the word: one that's pure condescension, because Alucard is still himself, and one that's genuinely curious. He makes it work by sheer power of his own will and perhaps hoping that his good looks might help a hair.]

Such as....?

It's not as though people are going around knocking on coffins and dragging people out of their graves.

[Well. Some might be, but it's highly frowned upon. There are all sorts, he supposes. Either way, his tone is almost painfully flippant.]

It's less about the dead themselves, and more the spirits that are drawn to it. 'Death magic' is such a terribly reductive way of referring to it, but even in my own world, it is largely misunderstood outside of certain cultures. In both theory and practice, there is no violation taking place. I cannot say the same for mind control.

[Blood mages. Depending on who you ask, it's fine if it's some of your own, but when you start using other people's, things get tricky. He'd rather avoid the whole thing altogether, for a number of reasons.]

May I ask what kind of spirits you're speaking of? In most texts I've read that deal with the topic [aka: Dracula's library which is full of terrible information like this] if additional spirits are mentioned besides the dead themselves, they're usually demonic spirits from Hell itself.

[Alucard knows that his own book access is deeply biased, and so it is worthwhile to ask.]

In addition, how are you so sure that your system of magic, including necromancy, will include those same types of spirits here?

They tend to vary— and some are certainly prone to becoming demons under the right circumstances. Mages, in general, are wont to do their best to avoid those. More often it's the spirits of the dead with a bit of unfinished business lingering about, looking for some brief purpose.

[For as closely as he tiptoes to the line of what is and isn't taboo even at home, he doesn't wish to cross it himself. Demons are right out.]

Of course, there's no telling what two worlds may have in common, if anything at all. My former talents may be of little use here, but that is hardly the issue— it's the principle of the thing. Outright forbidden, and yet merely a slap on the wrist for robbing another of their free will, their agency?

[He lets out a distinct 'tch.' He has some Feelings about this.]

Please.

But if it's often spirits of the dead, how does that interact with necromancy itself?

[It seems a very thin line in Alucard's opinion. He doesn't push though, not yet.]

Mmm. A principle, but in my experience laws as they relate to regulation of magic tend to have two forces and reasons for them: poor past experiences and ambitious individuals. In this particular case, I do wonder which one outweighs the other.

A fallen enemy can still have some use from time to time, and many spirits are willing to oblige in helping make such a thing possible. The spirits themselves are often quite helpful on their own, but will only respond favorably to a mage with very specific talents.

[They can be slippery little things.

Alucard's shared thought does get a laugh in response, though it's short, curt with a bitter edge to it.]

Ambition can indeed be a dangerous thing when left unchecked, but it would be a mistake to try and quell it entirely. Without ambition, we would have no innovation. Past experiences do, admittedly, play a part in almost any opinion, good or ill. How necromancy has been used here, I cannot say, but any sort of control or exertion of force over the mind or free will of another is strictly anathema where I come from. Even those who practice the more dubious magical arts consider that to be a line one does not come back from, once crossed.

Interesting.

[It's said with a deep hum. He really does mean it, but where to poke for more information, that's the true question here.] I assume you're one of those mages with specific talents if you speak that knowledgably.

[It's a compliment, yes, but Alucard's gotten the impression that Dorian does respond well to such things. Just a hint and--

--and then things veer and Alucard recognizes some of that bitterness. Then the conclusion becomes a little too obvious: there's been genuine issues with mind control in Dorian's home before and that's terrifying.

Sobered, Alucard inclines his head slightly.]

That circumstances conspired to make that such a line is something I'm sorry came to ever pass for you.

( open ) locked up in ideas

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