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middaeg2021-02-08 10:01 am
battlebound) wrote in middaeg2021-02-08 10:01 am
open / witty title goes here
Who: Steak & Open!
When: Throughout the month
Where: Aefenglom
What: Quest type things (The Sordid Shield; Bejeweled, Bedeviled), Steak looking for alternative ways to learn magic, and other shenanigans to be added throughout the month
Warnings: Just for the Bejeweled, Bedeviled quest, in case things get NSFW.
— the sordid shield.
— personal investigations.
— bejeweled, bedeviled.
— wildcard.
When: Throughout the month
Where: Aefenglom
What: Quest type things (The Sordid Shield; Bejeweled, Bedeviled), Steak looking for alternative ways to learn magic, and other shenanigans to be added throughout the month
Warnings: Just for the Bejeweled, Bedeviled quest, in case things get NSFW.
— the sordid shield.
( working as a bouncer is slightly different for Steak. in the past, those kinds of duties had been bundled up in the unspoken part of the agreement made when hiring a food soul to work in your bar or restaurant. a look which lingers too long and means "and you'll take care of any trouble, too." it's something he'd come to expect.
but standing outside, dedicating all his energy to making sure no one causes trouble, isn't exactly a difficult job. even in the winter cold, with his usual, midriff exposing outfit on, it isn't difficult. he instead spends the first few hours greeting people and letting them through, with no regard for whether they're monster or witch, and is brighter still at the sight of mirrorbound and familiar faces, greeting anyone he recognises with a wave and a grin.
sure, Aefenglom isn't ideal, and he's still not thrilled to know that he has to regularly use magic, waste time learning how to cast spells (or, worse, spend extra time in the coven), but it isn't that different to Tierra, really. there's still things to be slain and friends to spend time with. what's so bad about that? )
— personal investigations.
( so. he needs to learn magic. that's a fact which has been yelled into his head by one too many people he knows, and — admittedly — once the excess magic had burnt off through spell assisting and battles, Steak really realised just how bad he'd been feeling beforehand. but, even more than his bruised pride at being given magic he never asked for (he can fight perfectly fine without it, thank you), a dislike of the Coven stands between himself and traditional magic learning. and maybe the Coven isn't so bad, but it doesn't change the fact that he can't bring himself to trust them the same way one could trust the Chef's Guild on Tierra.
he will, after all, always be an outsider to this place. someone who can be dumped in his world and dragged back into Aefenglom anew at a whim. it's better to rely on himself and his own strength.
which is why he can, for once, be found in a book store, skimming a finger along the spines of books and stopping on anything that looks interesting. Introduction to Magic, Abjuration and You, How To Make Swords and Cause Fires. a pile which slowly grows in his arms, but it isn't until he pulls down a copy of Evoking the Evocation that he notices something different:
a little doodle in the corner of the first page. something which could be easily overlooked, or dismissed as a bored kid drawing in a book without realising they shouldn't.
except, it's an odd little thing. a sun surrounded by an intricate border, too detailed for its size, and so, when Steak sees someone nearby, he asks — )
Do you recognise this?
— bejeweled, bedeviled.
( Steak isn't looking for the shop, and yet, the shop finds him. it pops up in the midst of him wandering the city, holding a piece of paper with a rendition of a sun surrounded by an intricate border and searching for its twin.
it's bothering him, and he intends to find out why.
but first, a detour, courtesy of a shopkeeper who's standing outside his shop door, waving at Steak and whoever is near him. )
Come on in! It's our opening sale!
( ... huh. )
Want to check it out?
— wildcard.
( hit me with whatever you want. or message me atisanghae / isanghae#8071 to talk something out. he's also doing out of the city and wilders training if you want to do something with those! )
personal investigations
[ Light is no stranger to books. Switching between the library and his own space, he can often be found studying when not working or actively in class. While he fully understands resentment for their situation, and even shares it with Steak, he's more than happy to accept the magic he needs while being stuck in a world not his own.
While Light soaks in the question, he observes the thick stack of books. Someone else willing to work hard for results? ]
I don't immediately recognize it.
[ Placing his own books on the table, he turns back toward the book; the symbol now has his full attention. ]
What book are you reading?
no subject
...annoying. )
This? ( ah, hold on. he's picked up enough books today that the titles are beginning to merge into one long, unintelligible string of words in his mind. )
Evoking the Evocation. ( he has no idea whether he'll take to this particular school of magic but... why not? he won't know if he doesn't try it. )
no subject
[ Light wasn't a fan of coming into a world where he was literally among the weakest of people. He took to learning magic as if his life depended on it. And it may have. ]
Are you planning to specialize in it?
no subject
Then why not the others?
( a water droplet, the wind. why make it so intricate a drawing in the first place?
hm. maybe, for once, he's looking too hard into something. but as for the other topic; )
I don't know. It seems best to practice everything I can.
( maybe not to specialise in every single type of magic, but then again, he has nothing but time to do so. )
no subject
That's my approach, too, but there's a start point for everybody. Evocation is really good for offensive spells, and it's useful in normal life, too. It's one of the places I started.
no subject
Battle spells are always a good idea. ( he nods. a very wise choice, stranger. ) I also want to conjure shields.
( but he hasn't found the precise spell for that, yet. )
no subject
Abjuration would be the class for that. The books make it go a lot faster, but it's not going to be a good replacement for the classes they offer. But I can recommend some of the books I've read. I started with Evocation and Abjuration, too. It makes the most sense to work on both offensive and defensive magic. As a benefit, they both offer healing spells so if you're interested in that, you'll master it even more quickly.
no subject
but then this man suggests the Coven's classes, and Steak's expression twists, just a little bit. he isn't particularly fond of that idea, or of spending more time around the Coven than absolutely necessary. )
How hard can it be? I won't need classes.
( famous last words. but for now, he's just going to pick up one more book he can read. how about... this one? it looks like it's on beginners abjuration. )
no subject
You sound ambitious. As someone who's learned from the Coven, outside teachers, and studying books, I can say that some kind of teacher, even if it's not from the Coven, is going to help you learn a lot faster.
[ There seems to be a lot of distrust from the Coven, and Light can understand why. The paranoia and worry are highest when you're first pulled into this world. ]
A book can't catch a mistake or an assumption you might make when you're connecting things that aren't simple instructions.
no subject
damn, he's been through a lot in this place. and who would have thought that being a chimera would be an easier time than studying all these fields of magic? )
You have a point... ( he's not opposed to having a teacher, but fellow Mirrorbound can disappear at the drop of a hat, and jumping from one Witch to the next could be as difficult as going it alone.
he flicks open the book and the rest of his argument dies on his tongue, because staring him in the face is the same doodle of a sun. )
What is going on here?
( what a strange, detailed doodle to appear twice. )
no subject
The drawing catches Light's attention as well, pushing the previous conversation into the back of his mind. Frowning, he reaches out to touch the symbol, as if that's going to be enough to tell him the answer. ]
Can I join you?
[ Now, he really is curious. If there's something special in this book, he wants to know. ]
no subject
but Steak is no stranger to putting pieces together, at least. )
Sure. Let's look. ( books are quickly dropped on a table, and Steak holds out the first to the young man. ) See if you notice anything strange in this.
( he'll look through this one about shielding. )
no subject
If we don't find anything, I know some people who've been here longer. They might be able to help.
[ Light's attentive but quick as he turns the pages. ]
The library isn't the first place I'd think to find a puzzle outside of the words in a book.
no subject
Are they also Witches?
( he knows plenty of Monsters, but he's not sure why they'd know anything about a mystery hidden in magic books. )
It could be an elaborate prank. ( he'll say that outright. the design is very much identical, and intricate, but that doesn't mean that scoundrels haven't vandalised library property for nothing but their own amusement.
but, as he flips to a new chapter of this book, the title seems to shimmer. )
Protection circles?
( now what could that mean. )
no subject
[ There are a few monsters here and there, but a lot of his time is spent studying magic. Light is just more likely to meet other witches than he would monsters. That only makes it more bothersome that he doesn't recognize the symbol. ]
Protection usually falls under abjuration, which is a different study of magic. Does it list the spell?
[ The shimmer quickly draws Light's eye as well. ]