[ CLOSED ] here in this garden of bones

[gynvael]

Who: Geralt + Various
When: May
Where: Cadens; Horizon
What: Catch-all for May
Warnings: basic witcher canon stuff, adding as we go



(( starters below. discontinued or at Noa#1979 to plot. ))

Comments

[godshattering]

[ Yes and no gets a raised eyebrow from Claude until the explanation follows. So it's not merely because of the Trials as that exists for others - nor is a long life a given past what a Witcher's already lived - and he offers a short hum in response while considering this. There's more coming together in call backs to that first conversation they'd ever had, he's pretty sure, and if that's the case: much about Geralt's reactions to what he'd shared make even more sense now. ]

Humans have a rather average lifespan back in Fodlan. If anyone lived longer lives than that, none of us were aware until recently.

[ Though - that makes it sound like it's widely known, and that's not exactly the case. He's fairly certain Sylvain has no idea, and Hilda... well, Hilda will also know someday but thanks to all those timeline complications, she doesn't know that now. Better to shift the topic to something adjacent even if he's not really answered anything about what he meant by that statement of recently. ]

The Crests I mentioned briefly back on the mountain - they come with all kinds of effects depending on the one it is, but none of them grant long life as far as I know. They're passed down through bloodlines and came from blood back at the start of them. Mine's supposed to heal me if I'm injured, but. As you saw, sometimes it does what it wants.

[gynvael]

[ Geralt turns at that as Adelheid dips into a downward swoop. ] Recently?

[ Something new they uncovered? Is it to do with the girl he mentioned when they spoke on the mountains? Lysithea? Mages are humans with long lifespans, but anyone not born with the ability to harness Chaos experience a painfully average life. Many might never meet a mage throughout their lives. At best a druid or a local witch. Certainly few encounter the powerful sorceresses the Brotherhood assigns to a kingdom's court.

He hums. ] Magic comes from bloodlines on the Continent, too. The Chaos in this world, tapped by nearly anyone willing...it's unusual.

[ Unheard of, in truth, until he arrived. The implications are vast. It suggests that one's gene or a bloodline dictates not whether they can or cannot use Chaos, but only how easily they can access that skill...depending on their proximity to the Singularity's power. It's the only explanation which makes sense to him. Otherwise, how could Jaskier gain an ability he was never thought to have? ]

[godshattering]

[ Ah. Well, that was entirely his own doing in mentioning it so it's not surprising when Geralt picks up that recently leads to something else. Or several something elses, really, and Claude doesn't answer that immediately. Not only because he has to take a second to hush Buri's grumbling over still going at too slow a speed with the descent, but even with what he's already shared with Geralt there's other considerations to make in there. ]

Recently. There were... several figures important to Fodlan's history who were believed to have passed and we discovered that wasn't the case. [ No, that's still far too vague. Even as someone who enjoys talking in circles, this is a particularly dissatisfying one for Claude and he shakes his head. Even more importantly than that: withholding this isn't exactly holding to the trust he's already placed in Geralt. ] It's something not commonly known, and only came to light because of the underground civilization I once mentioned to you threatening to end life in Fodlan as it's known. Had it not been for their attempted intervention with fate by leveling part of the land and reanimating a man who assisted them in a past even bloodier war, all of these secrets would have remained just that: unknown.

[ Probably. Claude sees no reason to believe Rhea would not have continued the charades put on for centuries, and that those complicit in it would have complied to keep the Church in power. This summary has to be confusing enough as it is, but he'll let it stand to see if Geralt has any other questions.

In the meantime, there's still magic to discuss alongside it. ]

Crests are... part of magic but not the entirety of it, if that makes sense. They're said to be blessings from Fodlan's goddess and they're less common today. Mine is a fraction of what it might've once been. But much like here in Abraxas, anyone can access magic in Fodlan should they choose to study it as a lack of a Crest won't prevent that from happening. Some of them assist with it just as others assist with combat by providing added strength.

[gynvael]

[ Hm. It's an interesting bit of history. Without context, it holds less significance to Geralt, but he tucks the information away nonetheless. Perhaps the effect is in part due to how frequently Claude has spoken of Fodlan, but Geralt finds himself, more and more, wanting to see that world for himself.

If only it were possible. (Well. It is, but not without too great a cost.) ]

Your soldiers are mages. [ That's unique, too. ] The Brotherhood trains its mages for politics. Court machinations. Few enter the battlefield.

[ Almost none. Sodden Hill was an exception, and he doesn't know if he would call that a battlefield so much as a massacre. He's about to add more when two dots in the sky makes him glance to the left. He looks at Claude, then back again. Is that...?

It is. He'd recognize Sam anywhere, and that pink hair is most certainly not Julie's. ]

Did you coordinate your flying lessons with each other?

[godshattering]

[ Mages meant only for politics - that's interesting and a definite contrast to the mages and gremories he knows. Not that they didn't have their places among the nobility or in leadership or governmental roles, but many of them helped on battlefields or to ward off bandits rather than staying at desks.

Then again: court machinations also doesn't imply that's what's happening and there's much to consider there. Are they talking someone working at Hubert's level with their hands in everything? Or merely an advisor meant to offer plans and ideas? There being one organization to train said mages rather than multiple academies also exerts a certain level of control which makes it difficult for Claude to draw on any comparison but to the Church's desires.

Now isn't the time to dwell on that since before he's found a response, Geralt speaks and draws his attention. Coordinating? Claude's about to ask what that means but then his gaze lands on the potential coordinator teaching someone else from the looks of it. He'd know that pink hair anywhere and then it's easy to break into laughter at the timing. ]

Would you believe me if I said no? I think we found why Waffle wasn't in the aerie where he should've been, though. [ If the cries from Adelheid and Buri are anything to go by, they've also spotted their fellow winged friends and Claude reaches for his reins with a grin. ] What d'you say we go catch up with them?