The elves created secret passages everywhere

[magicalarchaeologist]

WHO: Istredd and anyone!
WHAT: Catch-all for September
WHERE: Thorne, Horizon, Nocwich
WHEN: Nebulous all over September stuff.
WARNINGS: Spoilers for The Witcher season 3! PTSD from details within the season.





Starters Below!

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[magicalarchaeologist]

No, I've never heard of anyone getting good memories.

[ That might have been nice although confusing. Istredd is still overwhelmed by what happened, and tired, and sad, and he's been in an unsteady situation because of Lucifer's instability. It's been a very bad time for the two of them but they're trying their best. ]

Yes, same night. Apparently Geralt did too.

[ He doesn't know if she knows Geralt or the others from their sphere. Istredd didn't ask about Jaskier or Ciri, but he assumes they probably did. Or they would, eventually, if the three of them had it happen. There seems to be a pattern of some kind, or maybe it's more of a wave. ]

He was there, but ... Thanedd, the Brotherhood, that's our people who died.

[ It's one of those times when he and Yennefer are a unit that other people can't actually touch, no matter who they are. Because they grew up in the same place, with the same people, and the same trauma. So they ran to each other as soon as they could and shared in the grief it all brought. ]

I was captured by the mage who betrayed all of us, he wants to use my knowledge for his own gain. Yenna thought I was dead.

[carmesi]

[slowly, her hand on his back moves in circular motions, knowing that it provides some amount of comfort. a lot of these words—places, people—are unfamiliar to her, unsurprisingly, but it doesn’t make the lived experience any less real.]

What happened during that time? When you were captured?

[was that a moment that brought torment to him?]

[magicalarchaeologist]

I don't know, I remember being captured. But ... Vilgefortz is a violent and dangerous person. I believe I only have pain and torture ahead of me, until I inevitably break.

[ Istredd would love to be someone who could never break under torture, what an ego boost it would be to pretend he could be, but he's too soft for that. He hopes that he'll at least attempt to fight back and refuse to give Vilgefortz the keys to the rest of the multiverse. Even if it means pain and agony for himself to hold out, it's better than to think himself so cowardly he gives in right away.

He pauses to consider where to start this story. It might as well be general.]

There was a book that held the secrets of traveling between spheres. I'd been searching for it, but my contact said that another mage had it. I went back to the Brotherhood looking for it, and our friend Triss told me someone had been kidnapping our trainees.

[ He gives her an image of Triss so she knows if he or Yennefer bring her up again, there's reference to it. The beauty of telepathy. ]

We traced it to Stregobor, my mentor, or so we thought. He was actually being set up by Vilgefortz, and we had him arrested. Then Vilgefortz set our enemies loose on the Brotherhood and massacred most of us.

[ It's still difficult and the unfortunate thing is that the outside of the building even goes more on fire right then. Istredd hates that he's bleeding his pain too much into it right now and tries to staunch himself, but there is fire and blood and sadness and there's not much he can do about that on their connection. It's just so fresh. ]

When the attack happened, I left Triss and ran to get the book, so Vilgefortz couldn't use it. But he was waiting for me. He set the trap on purpose, to get me and the book.

[carmesi]

[to be doomed to the uncertainty of the future is a form of torture in and of itself. to awaken again in abraxas having a vision of the world one belongs to, to know that it is no mere nightmare but the grim set of circumstances that will plague one's own life.

wanda draws her hand back, keeps it to herself, resting atop her lap.]

Knowing you can't do anything now to change it... You have to allow yourself some peace.

[because, in the end, while active and going through the motions here, it's like being on a standstill.]

—I talked to Yennefer recently. She seemed to be... alright?

[magicalarchaeologist]

I think I can get there, I just need to get myself more time to cope. Lucifer didn't handle that well, he doesn't understand taking the time to feel shitty, he's always tried to avoid that.

[ He loves him dearly, but Lucifer didn't know how to help him which made him feel helpless. He tried to force the emotion out of Istredd instead; they've had some bad days recently because of the bond being messed up by the beast they killed. He thought he was making it better, which is why Istredd just gently forced him. ]

He has a lot more sympathy toward humans these days, but it doesn't mean he understands us. The soul apparently makes a huge difference.

[ An archangel is a primordial force of nature, it can't get a human just as humans can't get them. Istredd understands Lucifer more than most could, but it doesn't mean their brains work the same way. They're still different species. Explaining he needs to feel the pain doesn't make sense. Istredd still doesn't entirely understand why the soul makes such a difference, but he believes Lucifer that it does.]

Yenna's very private, if she'd already had the memory update by then, she wouldn't have said so. Losing our organization was rough, but she lost the only mother she knew too. While my mentor was a real asshole who deserved what he got, Tissaia was ... more complicated.

[ Despite saying that about Stregobor, and meaning it, there is still a stab of pain in his heart. He's not separated from the love of a parental figure, or the lack thereof. ]