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 Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2015 4:54 pm
”I suppose asking the point of it all would be fruitless.”
The page leaned heavily against the metal guardrail separating him from a short fall into the river. It raged and railed against its confines as it did at any time of the year; he couldn’t understand the propensity to jump during the winter months when the force behind the current had battered jumpers to death in the summer months. The lot of it seemed so insignificant now, in perspective of the heavy waves.
In his hand, clasped between frail fingers, sat the curious ring of bone that started this whole endeavor. It remained folded in palm with the spine digging into palm, a constant reminder of its presence in his life. Even without its physical existence, the thought of it often tugged at him during the usual, bleary rounds composing his life. Routine found no adherence with the simple ring. And with it came some manner of ability that left him a stranger to others, that lent him some kind of increased physical capacity with no outward reason or purpose. He hadn’t asked for it, but that wasn’t what bothered him.
“I could say it’s been fun, but I’d be lying.” The ring was held up and inspected. It offered no response; no amount of anthropomorphism rendered it as a sentient being, though it always felt to him that the ring had some kind of agenda. The circumstances for its arrival felt too suspiciously convenient otherwise.
His explorations with the ring and its abilities lasted a count of days, half a week at most, before its newness wore off and left him in the same tired, indifferent mire that he treaded before. He only vaguely understood the relation of the ring and ‘Scholomance’, and felt no need to pursue it further. Taking strolls while donning his new mantle afforded little relief, and the entertainment of willful lawbreaking under an unrecognizable identity managed only meager motivations before dying out entirely. ‘Scholomance’ was too little, too late.
If nothing else, you’ve served at least that purpose.
He held the ring outward, at arm’s length, pinched between index and thumb beyond the banister. The fingers opened without great sendoff, and the ring dropped into the rushing waters beneath. The splash looked insignificant, almost unnoticeable, and the relief that came with its passing equally so.
I suppose ‘closure’ is a pretty tale, he thought to himself, but as his attentions scattered, he endured a peculiar sensation that he hadn’t quite liked. Instinct warned him of presence, but he determined that it couldn’t be accurate.If he’d been a smarter man, he would have been at home and not out wandering around looking for trouble. But then, if he’d been a smarter man, none of this would have happened anyway, would it? He wouldn’t spend his time pushing at work, pushing at patrolling or fighting; he’d just get some goddamned sleep and stop sticking his neck out there for any idiot he came across.
Colin had never been that sort of person though, and as Aegir he was even worse. It didn’t matter that she was out there, somewhere, possibly hunting for hapless senshi or knights, he was out doing his goddamned self-appointed Errands and playing hero. Even if he ended up in the Eldritch b***h’s hands again, it was marginally better than trying to sleep and being subjected to the night terrors and sweats. Not by much, but enough.
Camlann would have kicked his a**, if he knew that Aegir was out patrolling alone again. Or he would have just given him a dirty look, sworn at him in Russian and called for Mont Blonc or Methone to insist on tagging along. Monster-hunts weren’t Camlann’s forte, while the others didn’t mind so much. Aegir enjoyed it, for the most part - but he always hoped that rather than some monster he’d find a new friend. A new friend was easier to deal with, certainly, and also had much less chance of him ending up with a sprained ankle, broken arm or worse. September’s still pissed about last time, best hope it’s easy today.
The sunny-haired Super Senshi of Silence tried to stick to less populated areas during all but the latest hours now - he had learned to be more wary, he had. Which was why he varied his patrol-routes even more than he had at Thraen’s suggestion, but he was still stupidly optimistic and hopeful that those he would encounter would be friendly to some degree or other..regardless of their powered affiliation. Or that he could keep civilians and other non-combatants (like Hver) safe and sound, even if he couldn’t make any sort of larger difference.
Which was why, upon seeing a figure standing at the guard-rail and looking off at the water, he’d been ready to shift to action, save the jumper before something terrible happened. Only instead of throwing himself into the water, the guy dropped something that he couldn’t see and seemed to reflect on it. Which was damned strange and only served to pique the blond’s interest. He had to check it out, he really did. It was necessary. Absolutely.
He really was going to get straight-up murdered one of these days.
“Yo. It’s not nice to litter,” Approaching openly, boldly, and without consideration that this could be a Terrible Idea and he’d just said something painfully stupid to someone he’d never met before. Good job, way to alienate someone straight off. Faust would tear me a new one for that…Scholomance heard the man - heard him as clear as the call of his name the day the ring showed up to ruin a good time. He smiled, but it only met the cloth covering his mouth. What did it matter when it showed in his eyes? So he turned from the river, without removing the mask, and approached the apparent dancer that saw fit to hail him.
It’s not nice to litter, he says. How courteous. This one looks a trifle strange, stranger still when I think that I can feel him without touching him once. It’s like he projects an energy meant for anyone to know that he’s taunting for interaction. Certainly something if he’ll approach me like this. He halted at conversational distance, heels together, hands laced over the concave stomach that he maintained so meticulously. For a while, Scholomance watched him and took in every anomaly that marked the man as so different from the rest of the populace - the dancer’s garb, the pseudo-furs, and that strange, strange energy that sang through the air.
“Would it be that I can disown my folly if I said it littered here first?” A hand left its careful placement over his valley from hips to ribs and pointed two fingers, thumb at a right angle, to one temple. “It’s a haunting little thing. An interruption. Just like all of this. Like you.”
The fingers to temple transitioned into a hand extended outward. “Scholomance,” he offered, and his eyes did not carry the smile.One of the first things noticed (aside from the aura) was the abundance of covering; this fellow was a Knight, clearly...but one of the few he’d met or seen that didn’t show a lot of skin. Camlann and Mistral made up the others...not that he cared either way. It wasn’t as though they really got to choose their costumes, right? The magic - and the subsequent equipage - chose the person, not the other way around...he’d learned that the hard way. First hand, even.
While Scholomance gave him a once-over, he stood very still with a wide, aggressive stance and gloved hands on his hips and gave the knight a once-over as well. What he saw was someone that looked far too thin to be real, even under all the cloth and trim...and a jawline and chin that could probably straight-up murder someone if they got the wrong angle. Even with the smile, Aegir found himself somewhat disconcerted...mostly because of the mannerisms and way the man seemed to be picking him apart as though looking for faults. Being stared at he was used to, but...there was more in Scholomance’s gaze.
“Being called to the fight isn’t something I’d consider littering...more like an honor.” His lips quirked as he recalled the youth of those brought into the Senshi world - those thrown out untrained and wholly unprepared for the war they found themselves thrust into. “Dubious honor as it might be.” Aegir hadn’t felt anything bad about being turned into a senshi until two years after, when he realized just how horrible the whole mess could be, when he’d discovered first hand what it was like to have someone die because he wasn’t strong enough, trained enough, or even just informed enough. Timing is everything, isn’t it? If I hadn’t awakened when I did, would I feel the same? Would I be like this guy, wanting out...or would I still want to fight? He had no way of knowing, really, and even less reason to judge.
“Sorry, not my business. If you find it a bother, then I guess dropping your ring in the drink is as good an idea as any. Maybe a fish will eat it or something.” The blond smiled, trying as he usually did to befriend the new potential comrade, regardless of his strangeness and the fact that he referred to Aegir as an ‘interruption’. That was okay - it was also fairly accurate. “I thought you were going to jump.”
He stepped closer and took the offered hand in a firm but not forceful grip and giving it a few pumps the way he would have done when meeting someone important while at work. “Nice to meet you, Scholomance. I’m Aegir. Super senshi of Silence.” ”’Super Senshi of Silence’,” he repeated in light tones. “I have no idea what any of that means. But I am quite interested in your curious outfit, Aegir. You wear it well, and were we engaged in business, I would strike an offer on it, pending its history. It is of a kind I’ve not seen before, and my sense of aesthetic informs me that not many beyond the most handsome and mannequins. But, since we are not ‘talking shop’ so to speak, I mean only to say ‘nice outfit’.”
Scholomance only continued to smile through the comment on jumping. He smiled, and very carefully reminded himself of the reasons behind his ‘gift for speech’. He smiled, and thought my commendations are not due to my diction or my arguments. He smiled, and thought my words are not the value of my conversation.
When a man says ‘you are well-spoken’, he’s not referring to your wit or your peculiar vocabulary. He isn’t complimenting the nuances and tonal qualities to your sentences. He isn’t interested in the composition of your argument. He means that you’ve done well to bite back the comments that you wanted to make, that your reins are of steel on any single word that might amount to social misstep.
So smile.
Scholomance drew a breath, paused, then in alternative considerations rolled down the half-mask that cluttered his face. It soon became a rumpled turtleneck about his throat. “I was aware of no ‘fight’, and no ‘calling’. That ring interrupted my day with the pervasive thought of the word ‘Scholomance’, and I know little more than that. Any time I consider the ring, I gain this appearance, and people who would normally recognize me know not who I am. So rather than explaining it to them, I adopted the ring’s citation - ‘Scholomance’ - for introduction.
“Do you know of more to it, then? I would prefer to know if there was purpose to this form beyond dapper evening walks and bizarre spikes of intuition that I could not otherwise explain.”Commentary on his costuming always brought an odd little grin to his face; the upgrade really had been for the best, but he couldn’t help wondering what sort of reaction this strange fellow would have to his first set of equipage. “You could say that. I’ve been doing this a while by now and I’m glad to share what I can if it will help.” Since Scholomance was interested in his clothing, Aegir gave a slow pirouette for a 360 degree view. “Thanks. It’s a lot better than what I had to start. Er, there are a few stages to this whole ‘magical transformation’ thing we both do. For me it’s senshi, super, and then eternal. For you it’s page, squire, and then knight.”
As always, he was more than willing to share what he knew, especially with someone that clearly wasn’t informed. Honestly, it wasn’t fair to anyone that they were awoken by the magic and then turned out without any sort of real information or explanation. Having one of the Guardian Cats to help field the initial what the ********> questions and thoughts was definitely a leg up; as far as Aegir knew, the Knight faction didn’t have anything like that. They just...got called by their Wonder, as Scholomance had.
“I don’t know everything, but I know enough that I might be able to clear up some things. Scholomance is the name of your Wonder, from which you draw your powers. I draw mine from the planet Aegir, one of Saturn’s moons. My magic is based on silence, so I’m the senshi of silence. And….there’s magic around us, to protect our civilian selves from those that might take advantage and harm us. That’s why they didn’t know you transformed.”
I am not explaining this very well...but maybe he’ll understand my rambling enough to get something out of it. At least he’s smiling.
But what of purpose? There was not much to say about that subject in a short span of time, perhaps it would be best if they settled somewhere less conspicuous? “We should probably find somewhere to settle, this might take a while.” The golden haired senshi glanced about, there were buildings with rooftops that would suit...or they could walk about. He put the question to his new companion with a grin on his face, “Roof or dapper evening walk-about?”This one was quite agile, and the grace was well noticeable. “I see the purpose for the ballet shoes.” Though, why he would want to wear the ballet shoes outside of performances or practices eluded him. Was it a similar reason to his own attire? Did Aegir simply find himself in this garb and dealt with it? Scholomance hadn’t tried mixing and matching his current wardrobe with owned attire; perhaps he’d find it more amenable?
“‘Magical transformation’,” he echoed. Now he was becoming fairly certain that he did die, and that the lot of this bizarre happening amounted to some kind of purgatory. He thought about likening Aegir to his Virgil, but without a helpless wench to chase down, the comparison fell flat. “So you are the middle of the road in this… Magical transformation.” He tried to take it seriously. He really did. Unfortunately, the thought that he had died or was dying and his synapses fired off this hallucination sounded far more likely than the legitimate presence of magic in the world.
The commentary on powers, wonders, and planets left him all the more convinced of his prior supposition. To test, he pinched a part of his arm and found that it still hurt. Not dead. Am I rolling and don’t know it? Doubtful. I’d get some kind of high out of it. This is real. Stupid, but real. And Cupid here is my information booth for… Looking like a Victorian throwback? It’s not even period-accurate wear.
“What ‘powers’ are you referencing? Is it the ability to look like this? You’re saying you have a connection to a distant planet that transforms you into a ballet dancer?” He tried to follow, but the explanation borderlined on ludicrous for his own understanding of the world. He expected he needed to suspend all disbelief to get through the whole of it, and to avoid holding a grudge against the overgrown cherub for jerking him around. It could be his intention to do so, certainly, but that chance came so rarely that he usually never banked on it.
Scholomance imagined that, if this was commonplace, then Aegir himself was well aware of how preposterous his explanation sounded. The page wasn’t interested in throwing the words back at the blonde in scathing rejection; if nothing else, his ability to become Scholomance proved that there was something going on that he couldn’t explain. An open mind might well be kept; he would’ve died anyway, so what was the harm in offering some belief?
Scholomance reached for a calculator that no longer remained in pocket. Exasperation crossed his features before smoothing out. “We’ll talk a walk. Otherwise, I have an office in one of the buildings here.” If presenting as Scholomance threatened to disrupt his careful calorie expenditure, then this ‘call to arms’ may have itself a deserter."They come with the magic, apparently. I've had a version of 'em since I started." Because yes, he was at the middle route in the amazing magical life he now lead and he'd been stuck with the most exposing costume previously and he was not about to bad-mouth whatever god(s) granted him shorts this time around. Toe shoes he could deal with to the end of the proverbial line, but a leotard that rode up his a** every five seconds unless he hairsprayed it? Nope. Just no. Aegir was quite pleased that he no longer had to worry about that particular aspect of his transformation.
More and more, Scholomance had a look of incredulity on his face. Perhaps Aegir wasn't explaining well enough, or perhaps the subject matter just seemed far too fantastical to be believed. He couldn't have known, but the repetition of things said at least told the blond that his new friend was listening and trying to make sense of the nonsensical, to put the fantasy against reality and match the two up as best he could. "It's a lot to take in. I know. Senshi get phones that have an information Primer. Knights, as far as I know, can use their rings for communication...I don't think you guys have anything like the Primer though. Or Guardian Cats. They are extremely helpful when you’re starting out. I could introduce you to a few, if you wanted. They know more about all this than anyone. They’re um...well, they are Mauvian aliens...that look like house cats."
Powers. He could talk powers. Kind of. "Well, Senshi get magic from the start...but if I recall correctly a Page doesn't have magic to start? Sorry, I'm basing this off the few I know. They tend to use their fists or wits in battle, rather than their item. But eventually you'll get magic. Mine is hard to explain, but it involves stealing voices and the breath from the target's lungs." He did not seem proud of this, rather sheepish and apologetic; whether it was due to his magic's description or to the fact that he did not have a greater knowledge to share with the dark-haired page was anyone's guess. "And I guess, yeah. I'm saying my planet, orbiting Saturn, provides the power I use." I don't need Aegir to turn me into a ballet dancer, thank heavens.
"It's up to you, if you would rather head to your office. Being powered up like this could bring the enemy down on us, so if you want to keep your civilian self separate, it'd be a better idea to walk on. I keep my civilian life as separate as I can." Usually. Sometimes. Fine, he was terrible at doing so because he trusted so easily and Quenton and Castor had told him it was a stupid idea to blend the two so much. Faust probably would have as well, if he'd been asked. "Powering up where you live or work is usually a really bad idea."Scholomance stole a glance back at the river, shark eyes studying its surface for signs of the ring. He hadn’t expected to glimpse it, and surely, it had carried far beyond the pair now. I’m starting to wonder if I did die. At least all of this is easier to stomach if I figure it for purgatory.
It didn’t help that Aegir, too, appeared entirely confounded by the complexities of this curious (and apparently magical) phenomenon. Scholomance tried to follow along as best he could, although his incredulity for it all provoked a margin of rage in him that he tried to suppress. The thought crossed his mind that this Aegir could be bullshitting the entirety of it, and certainly one needed a fabulous imagination to construct something so beyond typical explanation, but peculiar key experiences personally endured by Scholomance prevented him from dismissing the lot of it as madman’s conjecture. For now, he decided, he would take in all information at face value and avoid passing judgment on it yet; Aegir wasn’t attempting to sell him any persuasions or loyalty stances, so there was no need to form a decision immediately.
The page quirked a brow with Aegir’s vague description of his magic, which produced its own cheshire grin. “Ah, and that’s a very old magic, isn’t it? Steal the voice and breath from the person’s lungs... It sounds quite like the magic of blowjobs.” Poking fun at the man’s descriptors would be entirely out of line at his place of business, but who was he to care as Scholomance?
Scholomance offered silent acquiescence toward the suggestion of a walk by starting in the direction opposite the waterfront. The path drew long into the city proper, and curved twice before dipping behind a large and ancient bank building. His eyes fell on the gargoyle in the distance and he wondered, then, if those tales had any bearing or relation to these senshi and knights. “The… Discovery of this life was an active intrusion on my regular one. It seemed intentional at the time. I can guess the import of sequestering both ‘lives’ but that didn’t seem to be the initial idea. Did you not have a similar experience then, Aegir?”
And there were far more questions than that. “And how long did it take for these explanations to become anything but abstract explanation? Or do you still consider them a crock of s**t?”
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:59 am
His companion was odd, but seemed nice enough still. Even with the sharp words and way he seemed to sway between far-away and painfully present, Aegir thought he must be a good fellow that was having a rough time dealing with some weird-a** magical s**t. It's got to be strange..easier when you're younger, maybe, to accept all this. It certainly does interrupt your life though, he's completely right there.When Scholomance's brow went up and grinned at him in a vaguely unsettling way, Aegir shifted foot to foot. The words that followed were less strange in meaning, for all their patterning reminded him of Quenton's hyper-intelligent speech. It made the blond laugh, all tension caused by that smile melting away with what amounted to a joke. "I guess it does. Never thought about it that way." But now he wouldn't be able to keep from thinking it; like someone pointing out a particularly juicy or perverse part of an otherwise normal snapshot, once seen it could not be un-seen. "Thanks, I'm gonna be thinking that every time now." Aegir was still chuckling and smiling, head shaking slightly as though he could not believe his fate. Well, I guess we're moving. With laughter checked but still available and likely to return, Aegir trotted after his new friend until they were of a level and walking together. "I was in high school when I was awakened and found one of the Guardian cats outside my school. At first I didn't keep powered and civilian life separate, I didn't know to. Later I ran into a General near the campus when I was powered down and was lucky enough to survive it. That's when I realized I had to keep 'Aegir' as far from my daily life as possible." He shrugged a little and picked at his gloves idly, looking over at the page with interest. "It's not easy, but it's been helpful. I don't want to lose the life I've built since then...but I also can't just stop transforming." Some might have been able to, or had chosen another path, and that was fine for them; Aegir wasn't able to do that. Certainly his life would have been a hell of a lot easier, but he'd not regretted his choice in this matter. Not yet, anyway. "Er, well..." How long? Oh man, he asks hard questions. I'm probably not the right person to answer this for him. Too bad Q-man isn't here, I bet he'd be able to explain better. "I found it pretty unbelievable at first, but I like science fiction so that helped. Mostly though, it still seemed really ******** up until I'd gotten some real world experience with it, fighting and the like. Now I know it's ******** up. Kids being awoken to fight some war they know nothing about..." Fists clenched at his sides momentarily, releasing only after the curly-haired senshi had given his head a firm shake and refocused on Scholomance. "Sorry I don't have more concrete information for you. I find Knights fascinating and really good to have at your back in a fight, but my knowledge is very limited. Most of the Knights I know are fairly new, if they're still around."
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:47 am
Aegir reacted well to his joke, though he sounded somewhat dejected that his magic was now forever tainted by Scholomance's lewd comments. To this, he responded by quietly forming an 'o' with his lips that quickly dissolved with a teasing laugh.
"Magic, though... I suppose that would be useful to have. I've not discovered any special properties of my own. Is there some ritual or prerequisite for it?" He couldn't hazard a guess - providing pointed questions in such a bizarre and unprecedented division of life left him at a loss. He wasn't entirely certain the questions he provided were the proper ones to ask, or the most pertinent to his existence now. How would anyone in his position know, really, when he was simply dropped into the life on a seeming whim? "Does this primer tell you how to cast it, or did you somehow obtain this knowledge from a midnight voyage to your planet, or did some house cat explain it to you and demand salmon afterward? I can only guess in so many ways - this entire situation commands so much audacity and incredulity that I doubt I am asking the most useful questions here."
Scholomance turned attention to look fully at Aegir as if scrutinizing him for a long moment. He did not initially respond. Fingers folded into their lattice, worked bone against bone, and he waited until Aegir concluded his explanation of forays into powered life before he spoke. "Two things, if I may." Each mention of numbers would find accompaniment with bony fingers. "One, you said you barely survived an encounter with a general. Can you explain this? I fail to see any danger in this life over any altercations I might normally encounter on the streets of Chicago. And two, will you elaborate on your being unable to stop transforming? If something about this life draws you to it beyond dressing outlandishly, I would like to know."
Somehow this advice is sounding like impetus to read superhero comics and science fiction novels. Granted, they hold their precedents in the world of the imaginative, but I can't believe that this is the best advice I could get. He supposed, alternatively, that there wasn't any proper preparative materials for introducing this type of life to others. Meager approximations and fantastical outlets may be the best recommendations for someone newly drawn to the war. Aegir himself might lack the proper knowledge for the questions asked, or he may know who to point Scholomance to for a more in-depth discussion. "And if you're not well-versed on knights, then can you connect me with someone who is? Social networking, while ludicrously insipid and borderline agonizing, shows great promise in situations where there's little to no information to discover on one's own. Phone numbers, email addresses, anything of the sort should help."
But Aegir's explanation of powered life being '******** up' gave the Page pause. "Yes, about that 'war'..." He paused to gesture about whimsically. Hands offered to alleys, buildings, even the sky. "Where exactly is it?"Syrie sorry man, i was doing isaiah tags tonight
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:02 pm
Well, there were worse things to have associated with one’s magic. Besides Scholomance’s “o” face brought a rather undignified snickering from the blonde, he couldn’t really object when he found it funny himself, could he? Beyond that, it wasn’t as though he had any objection with the subject matter - he just hadn’t thought about his magic in those terms. “It can be, especially when fighting.” Aegir hmmmed softly, eyes looking up as though considering what he knew about Knights and their magic. “Honestly, you should talk to another Knight…I’m pretty sure you guys don’t get your magic until you’ve upgraded? Not sure why, but that seems to be the norm, so far as I know. Until then, it’s your fists and wit, if you get attacked.” As for learning to cast his magic, he could answer that a bit more easily. “When Derpraline - one of the cats - taught me to transform, she also told me what to do and say to use my magic.” Sort of. He’d figured it out with Derp’s help, same difference, right? For Scholomance’s purpose, it was accurate enough. “Mostly, it’s something you feel, I think? It was for me.” He did try to give decent answers and to smile even though he knew it sounded like a giant load of horseshoe. Insane horseshit. “I know, it’s really weird and I wish I could answer your questions with a bit more surety…” Scholomance brought further probing questions, wanting more information about certain things and he simply nodded that the man should proceed and he would continue giving answers as best he could. “I once met a General when I wasn’t powered up. Usually they yank out starseeds…and if he’d reached into my chest to do it, he would have found out I was more than some dumb kid and killed me.” He shrugged a little bit, the horror of the situation had long passed, “He didn’t and I was lucky. I’ve been battered, energy drained, seen friend’s have their starseeds yanked…it’s not pretty. You lose your starseed, you die. Not immediately, but very quickly. The body can’t survive without it…I guess it’s like a physical manifestation of our soul.” Aegir was over-explaining a bit because he figured that the information would be something that his companion wanted. And it was damned important information, too. “Suppose it’s not much difference to non-powered danger, but since you’re already powered, they’d probably corrupt you into their team.” “Oh, sorry. It’s…I have people I want to protect, as best I can. The Negaverse was, and is still, hurting people that are innocent and don’t deserve it. For a while they were only doing energy draining, which wasn’t hurting civilians as much. That was better, but now they seem to be back to destroying people wholesale. I can’t accept that, so I feel like I have a duty to fight, to try to keep people safe in this city. Not everyone does. The Knight Hvergelmir has taken an Oath to be a non-combatant, unless her life is in danger.” The curly-haired super senshi smiled; he respected Hver’s choice - even if he personally couldn’t have done it. It wasn’t Aegir’s place to judge how anyone wanted to live their life - civilian or powered. “I can see about introducing you to Mont Blonc, he’s a Page like you…but Hvergelmir would probably be better, since she’s been around longer. Also, she’d be able to talk to you about not fighting, if that’s how you wanted to approach powered life.” But how to contact Hver now that Scholomance had tossed his ring? Aegir knew that the Knights could use their signet rings to send missives, as long as they spelled the name right! “She’s often in the theatre district, on the Avenue of the Stars. If you still had your ring you might’ve been able to send her a message that way.” The War. It was real, but his pale companion couldn’t see it from where he currently stood. Once he found himself face to face with an agent that didn’t care to chat, he’d realize that it truly did encompass Destiny City. “Often civilians don’t realize what’s going on around them. Or they've convinced themselves it's just some local gangs or something. But when you’re powered it seems to almost…seek you out. Every time you power up, you’re sending a beacon to anyone interested in looking. Big sign going “come get me”…and the stronger you are, the stronger your energy signature. Mine’s stronger than yours, but say…Hvergelmir’s would be like a hundred foot neon arrow pointing at her.” Which was why he wanted to keep moving.
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 8:27 am
"Right. Cats." So much of these magical adventures demanded his belief. How was he supposed to take this? He imagined that going out drunk every night so he could take this information in stride may cost him greatly. But believing it all at face value felt so much like asking someone to swindle him. Aegir didn't look or sound or feel like the type, so why had he found it so difficult to give the man a modicum of credence? Had hard science affected him so deeply?
Apparently.
"It doesn't surprise me that I would need to solicit someone of my own... Kind," he answered back with tentative pause. Asking you to explain my 'role' to me is unrealistic - if you know of another knight who fosters some awareness for the intrinsic qualities of being a knight, then I'd appreciate it if you would share that name. Otherwise I suppose I could resume toddling about with my thumbs up my a**." At least the lattermost prospect promised some enjoyment. He hadn't yet had a bad time with his thumbs up his a** before.
A starseed is a physical manifestation of your soul. Isn't that cute. The name sounds terribly innocent too, given its purported connection. Purported? I'm not going to continue playing pawn shop owner until I have at least some idea of what this Aegir thinks is going on. He has no credibility for or against him. Hazel eyes settled on Aegir while he turned head to watch him patiently. The information given proved as difficult to swallow as all the rest, but that soon came as no surprise to him. "So from what I understand, these Negaverse agents are capable of wrenching your soul out and ending your life. But since I am a knight, if they wrench my soul out or otherwise detect my capabilities as a knight, then they will find it in their best interests to corrupt me rather than leave me for dead. And what does it mean to 'corrupt' and join their team? I imagine it's far less dangerous than murder. I see no particular indication that any one side of this 'war' is worse than the remainder."
His gaze strayed ahead while Aegir volunteered more information concerning the Negaverse, though his eyes belied a hardness that betrayed his acerbic thoughts. There are no innocent people. And 'deservedness' is a toxic concept. Looking at the world with a sense of 'deservedness' is what causes others to feel our lives are skewed and unfair. Because we deserve better. Because they deserve less.
Well, let those people suffer with their energy draining then. This strife is what keeps my business alive.
"Taken an oath? How quaintly medieval. I imagine that works out quite well for her if she's still alive." The Avenue of the Stars... Attempting to locate her when he crossed into the area might prove useful. As a knight, an established knight, she would know far more about their purported duties than anyone else, he imagined. "Well, lucky for me, I can get it back pretty easily." A moment's concentration left Scholomance imagining the slight weight of the ring in the midst of his palm, the smooth surface pressing an o to his hand. And surely enough, the bone ring he previously tossed now reappeared in his possession. "Shrewd trick, isn't it? And you say I can write messages with this?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 6:28 am
Aegir frowned a bit at the tone of Scholomance's voice, which plainly spoke of incredulity and a dash of scorn. Even so, there was no blame set upon the page; he had believed, but there really were so many parts of this 'story' that read as fever dreams or psychotic-break fantasies. He found himself repeating a line, "I know, it's incredible and seems like a load of s**t, but it's very real." The frown that had been pulling the corners of his mouth down dissolved as Scholomance seemed to accept some things, including the need for a Knight to speak to another Knight - at least for the deeper questions, since Aegir really did not have answers. I'm going to have to talk to Hver and Monty, maybe Mistral again...see if I can learn more to help in situations like this."I definitely recommend you seek out Hvergelmir...or maybe Mistral." He snorted at the thumbs up a** comment, unsuccessful at stifling his automatic reaction. "Well, it'd probably be more fun if you had your thumbs up your a**? Just don't do it when powered up...like I said, being powered up allows people to sense your aura and seek you out." Scholomance's understanding of the situation seemed to be pretty accurate in all the important ways. Colin nodded, "They can also drain energy instead of yanking starseeds, but while that is unpleasant you can survive it. Usually. They'd still feel that you've got power and probably corrupt you anyway." He pushed a hand through his curly hair, breathing out in a sigh that was directed at the Negaverse, not the page. "It means they pump your starseed full of Chaos energy to turn you into one of their servant-soldiers. From what I understand, it's excruciating. You lose your current self and memories when it happens." Although he personally was fairly strongly against the Negaverse, he'd once courted the idea of joining their side. For Power. To protect those he loved. In the end, it hadn't happened and he was glad it had not. But he was trying to not flavor things strongly. Scholomance should make his own decisions...Aegir just wanted him to be prepared, to be capable of making an informed choice (and hoped that he'd see the right of the Order side). "Last I knew, Hvergelmir was alive and well. She's definitely your best bet." Scholomance's ring returned to his palm and Aegir's eyes went wide with astonishment. "That is amazing! I had no idea you could do that, it's fantastic." He continued peering at his friend's ring intently and almost missed his last inquiry. "Oh, uh..yes. You can send messages to senshi and knight alike. Write on paper, address it to the recipient and as long as you spell it right, it'll be delivered!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 3:04 am
When Scholomance looked to Aegir, his gaze spoke of part suspicion and part approval. Something in that phrase sounded familiar. "Stellar," he added as a subtle pun.
"It would be more fun if I had my thumbs up my a**. Gives me something to look forward to." Besides, it was difficult to get arrested for public indecency as a page, he noted. Lawbreaking hadn't traced back to him with this alternate identity. Not that he tried - but it sounded a safe assumption given the lack of recognition that friends afforded him when in this form. "That aura business is awfully inconvenient. Is there some way to prevent it? Or would that be similar to a pulse?" Scholomance was uncertain how many parallels could successfully be made to real life and other situations he was familiar with, so venturing out often came with some hesitance. He disapproved of being wrong.
"Usually, he says." Energy draining killed, apparently? How difficult. "So these Negaverse agents are running about casually ending lives and stealing energy, but for what purpose? 'For funsies' hardly seems the proper motivation to undertake a felony offense and self-endangering activity like murder. Energy draining, I imagine, counts as assault. And that only reflects some of the legal ramifications - the social ones include provoking passersby into attacking you, and if there's some recognizable factors between Negaverse agents, then sussing those out and forming a type of guerrilla counterinsurgency is very, very possible. And considering that the 'for funsies' excuse only occurs on the individual or small group scale... To have such actions span an entire organization demands impeccable reasoning. Do you know anything about this, Aegir?" It may help understand why I should bother fighting against them. So far as I can tell, there's no perfect suggestion to either side. If I have no one to answer to, and no real alliances, then I could be as Switzerland as I please.
Fingers deftly pinched the ring between forefinger and thumb, then proceeded to roll it across the ball of his thumb and back without missing a beat. "While it's an interesting little trinket, I haven't noticed anything useful about it. You're saying I can send messages with this... thing? How? There must be more to it than 'write a letter and address it properly' if I'm not using the postal service. Do you, perchance, have any paper on you? If you've got a minute for it, we can try this out."Syrie not sure if you were aware, but the only ring he has is his weapon! the bone ring could be confused for a signet ring to the less well-versed, though!
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 2:06 am
Stellar. Schlomance was quipping at him again, which was a good sign. A sense of humor really was important for survival in life - and certainly for the new life Scholomance had been thrust into in Destiny City. “Not that I know of…it gets worse the stronger you get too. I guess it could be likened to a pulse.” Would that make his Aegir’s zombie when he wasn’t powered up, since by that measure he’d not have a pulse? Interesting thought. Well, he assumed if you drained enough energy out of a person, they’d not have enough for their organs to continue functioning and would die - perhaps as really creepy desiccated corpses that crumbled to dust, the way youma did. “They use it for their leader, who wants to take over the world.” Which, okay, that really did sound 100% like bullshit. “More energy to fuel their misdeeds, from what I understand. As I said, I was out of the country for a bit shortly after becoming Aegir, so…I really don’t know as much as I’d like. As for the legality of it…well, they’ve managed to convince a goodly number of citizens that we - er, senshi - are the actual terrorists. Plus, a regular person isn’t as strong as a powered person, there would be no easy way for the police to make an arrest, even if they used their gun.“ Dismal, really. The more he thought about it, the less sound he was making the side of Order seem. He will make his choices by what he learns and experiences, not what I tell him. All I can do is offer what little I know to give him a hand’s up.. “It’s your signet, isn’t it?” He wouldn’t have known the difference, just at a glance - or even if he’d been offered the ring to hold. Aegir wasn’t as well versed in Scholomance’s brethren as he might have liked, sadly. "From what I understand, they're like our communicators, though more magical in nature than a phone." Paper? No, he didn't. Powered down, yes, since he'd have his dance bag...but he wasn't powered down and while he found Scholomance quite interesting and felt they could be friends, he wasn't going to give up his civilian identity just yet. "Sorry, no paper on me. I suppose I could try texting you, see what happens..." And then he'd have his new friend's information in his phone! This seemed an excellent idea to Aegir. Strickenized Thankie! I forgot and also he's dumb enough to not know, so it works out well for this! :3
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2015 2:58 am
"I don't think it's a good sign when your heart pounds harder or softer as you age." Scholomance wasn't entirely certain he understood the concept of aura sense. It gets worse the stronger you get? Worse as in more intense? Less noticeable? What does that even mean?
"This is sounding sketchier and sketchier as you keep going." Scholomance leveled a lidded stare at the other man. "So the Negaverse is trying to take over the world with human energy, and everyone thinks senshi are evil. What's to say they aren't? You know, there were several individuals over human history who tried to take over the world. Not all of them were terrible choices. What I mean to say is, what's to qualify the Negaverse as bad or the senshi as good?" What was to say he had to pick a side at all?
The page hummed his inquisitiveness when Aegir brought to mind his ring, and he glanced at it. "This? I have no idea what it is. I got it shortly before I started powering up. Not sure what it's good for, if anything. It's not even worthwhile as a decoder ring. Sad, isn't it?"
To his later comments, the squire blinked. "... Wouldn't that require my personal cell? I wasn't given any kind of phone as a knight, and ..." Scholomance paused, then dropped the comment altogether. Perhaps magic worked nonsensically enough to allow a ring as both a postage stamp and a mailbox for digital messages. He couldn't know. Perhaps it didn't even emulate technology at all.Syrie approach a wrap with this? it's gone on for a while
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