Who: Lucifer & Istredd When: Eifstide's period + November Where: Thorne What: The worst people to be dealing with children (Child's Play quest). | Istredd's No Good Very Bad Reckless Experiment Warnings: N/A first thread, angry/yelling/violent Lucifer second thread.
"No. No, no, no. I have been a well-behaved teacher's aide and helped out in your classes when you and Señor Bullshit have decided I need more going on in my life but--" Lucifer threw up his hands. "I do not. Deal. With children." He had done that once. Read stories to kids in the library as part of his community service for the Hayle Incident.
Of the two tasks he had done for that--gardening, reading--only one of those he continued to do ever since, to the point that they weaseled payment for such things from one of the Conclave requests.
It followed through in the intricate web of an alternate reality, cultivating the land in the Nether with pride, later doing an upheaval of his Horizon domain to echo it, and then beginning to form a grove in the place that should've eventually become Kell's. His followers, his blood. The man may've hated what happened in that reality but there should be something here. Something left as a physical mark, when no doubt the rest of them disappear and with that their memories of him.
"I need you to do this," Ingrid said, more frazzled than usual. "Please."
Lucifer dragged in a deep breath, hands drawn together, thumbs tight at the bridge of his nose.
"I'll owe you?"
"What could you possible owe me!" he shouted, but trudged off regardless.
He was, thankfully, not alone in pulling the short straw among the Summoned. The downside of being a Summoned teacher is that you entered the chaos pool twice over. Maybe triple, Lucifer wasn't exactly keeping count.
The teachers were pressed thin and the Summoned were needed to help and Istredd was far too kind to really say no because like Lucifer, they had appearances to maintain.
One of these days Lucifer is going to say screw it all to his hard work at the position he's gotten himself to and just wipe his hands clean of it.
(But then he wouldn't be allowed near the battlefield to amplify the influence of the heralds.)
Istredd's been getting licks of his frustration over the bond so it shouldn't be too much surprise when they meet halfway that Lucifer's first spoken words are: "I don't want to hear it."
Istredd does not like children much himself. He doesn't know how to talk with them. Teenagers are difficult enough for him to process and he's still not very good with them. He's tried his best when dealing with children in the past, but it's clear this is not a comfortable role for him. Teacher and trainer, yes, but babysitter, less so. Still, when asked, he is far easier to persuade than Lucifer. He doesn't argue at all, merely sighs and rubs his temple, nodding in acceptance. His effort is needed and whatever is happening to these children, it needs to be handled gently.
It does get in the way of his actual work though. Istredd hates that. He has lesson planning to do. So he's not in a terribly good mood either when he meets up with Lucifer, although amused at the idea someone managed to bully him into it at all. "Neither of us are good choices." He shrugs. Istredd is nice but he's awkward and his infinite patience does not make him automatically good at speaking with children.
"Listen, let's just approach it like this is a spell that needs to be broken. You like puzzles." Trust Istredd to take the logical approach since their annoyed feelings won't get them anywhere. They've agreed to do this. They might as well put in the effort now that they're here. He grimaces when the group of children they've been assigned comes to them but he masks it over with an attempt at a smile. Most of the children are acting normal as of right now, but they all seem to have acquired the same toys.
I hate those dolls. I don't understand why they don't simply remove them from the situation.
"Puzzles. Right. What if the children are what need to be broken?"
Said children are already starting to get hyperfixated on their dolls and do not pick up on Lucifer's suggestion.
One day Istredd will get a doll in the form of fungi.
Lucifer will think it equal parts awful and funny and charming.
But that is not this day.
Gentle is not how Lucifer intends to deal with children. Pick them up by the scruff of they're neck like their animals is the only way he's escorting them to and fro, though he only has two hands in this form, so not... very effective.
He's reminded of the prison of his form in the most useless ways sometimes.
Go ahead. Take a doll away. See what happens. Lucifer does not particularly want to deal with screaming/crying/what-have-you children, but in the name of logic and puzzles and Experimentation surely they should witness the results.
(Lucifer's expression reveals that he does not at all think it's a good idea to take the dolls away.)
"They can hear you." Istredd reminds him, since they are in fact babysitting at the moment, although then he glances at the kids and it turns out they are not, in fact, listening. So Lucifer's veiled (and untrue) threat doesn't concern any of them.
If he gets a fungi doll he's going to throw it at Lucifer's head.
Istredd is gentler with them, unsurprisingly, even holding hands or delicately placing a hand on their backs to guide them. He may only appear to be better at this than his partner, he also is not great at it. This is why he's glad 'their kids' are teenagers already. Not that it doesn't have its own downsides, but a sassy teen is not the same as a possessed child.
Istredd pauses at the suggestion and sighs. He can't argue with the idea of testing out what happens. This is experimentation after all, and he needs to know how they react before figuring out what kind of curse this is.
"You need to pay attention, let me hold onto your doll for now, okay?" Istredd cringes because he can guess at what's coming next, but this is logical, it must happen. He picks the doll out of their hands and true to form, the child freaks out.
At first, she just panics and starts grabbing at it back from Istredd's hands, no sanity in her gaze. "It's mine!" She screeches and practically tries to crawl up Istredd's body to get to it. He holds it over her head, mildly panicked himself.
"Lucifer, help." Yes he needs help from the child, especially if they're going to study the doll, which they need to do!
He does not care that they could theoretically hear him. Maybe that would get them to behave.
There is a different drawback to children versus sassy teens. The children are (usually) less likely to be as rebellious, easier to manipulate. Then again, Lucifer once thought teenagers could be wielded into something useful, and look what that got him.
Trapped in the concept of faith, directed at him, with those kids knowing the evil that rolls beneath Lucifer's layers. Problems.
He raises a brow at Istredd's suffering but only for a moment before he's bodily hauling the screaming miscreant off of Istredd with both hands, her clawing little fingers desperate to get a last hold to the mage. The screeching, unfortunately, does not stop, and only the non-tranced kids of their group look uncomfortably their way. The others remain unbothered, transfixed to their dolls.
Kid's going to grow up to be a bruiser. He's holding her at arm's length, away from Istredd, like she may even bite one of them. Feral little beasts. Now's your chance for examination, Istredd, otherwise please give her the doll back.
Istredd takes the doll and does a quick spell on it to see if he can identify anything on it. Nothing obvious comes up right away and he cycles as quickly as he can between a few options. I was leaning toward a curse but .... There is nothing that stands out to him as one. Curses are powerful and other mages should have been able to pick up on one if that was the case.
He hands the doll back to her and she immediately goes back into the trance in Lucifer's grip. It's disturbing. "There is absolutely something wrong." They both know that but there is no more obvious evidence than that. Istredd is used to having answers so this is a little irritating. He doesn't want to have to babysit the kids forever while they turn into little dolls themselves.
Any enchantments you can see that I can't? His magic doesn't cover everything, and he's found that Lucifer's skills have surpassed his in many ways, due to practice and patience.
I don't know Abraxan curses. Someone might? He doesn't drop the child but it's a near thing. He lets her go slack in his grip, now almost sedate with her attention returned to her doll. What's she seeing that we can't? It isn't like they've been drawn to the dolls, though age may have something to do with that.
He doesn't pluck the doll out of the girl's grasp, but she's easier to keep held aloft with one hand now that she's been reduced to this. It allows him to only faintly touch the object so precious to her, a fingertip traced over the edges like he's looking for any woven-in magics, a sigil, even an arcana. He's seen enough, over time. She tenses at his touch of the object, but doesn't react further when he does nothing more.
Nothing I can trace.. Annoyingly. He skims his gaze over the other children and while some eyes jump away, there are others that are curious.
Istredd glances to the boy and narrows his eyes. "Pause." Just like that, the boy does. He rarely uses his psychic abilities in this way against anyone, but this one doesn't appear to be infected with whatever she is. He needs minds to compare against, and he's not going to also be grabbing children when one of them is. The boy doesn't feel or think anything about it, he's completely normal. In just a handful of blinks he's back to himself and looks confused but ignores them.
Istredd then looks at the girl and does the same. He doesn't need to touch people to get into their minds, that's usually just what he does for a stronger connection. Her mind is a different story altogether and it shows on his face as he steps closer, eyes narrowing slightly. He can hear something. A song. A lullaby?
"Something ...." He does reach out to touch the doll, and she tightens her fingers around it, but he doesn't take it this time. He listens. "Return?" He hears something, but it's unclear, until he says that and the kids playing with their dolls all at once say it out loud. Return.
"Well that's the beginning of a horror movie in making," he says, looking at the kids and their eerie, echoed, parroted response. To them, he asks, "Return to what?" but doesn't get a response.
He finally drops the girl...
... gently ...
... enough.
She catches herself and her knees don't buckle.
He pulls out his flute, a gift from Aster in the Nether, but sometimes he misses the ornate carved instrument from the other reality. Then again, he had better skill in that reality. Still, he's gotten better from his irritating (if not generally purposeful) tunes. He plays a few long notes, attempting to break focus of whatever lullaby Istredd heard from the girl's mind.
The idea of a Pied Piper--off the German folk legend Hamelin, in which the Pied Piper plays music to lure rats and children out of town--to get the kids to go where they need them to. Except he doesn't have any musical magic, so the only children that follow after him are the non-tranced ones, asking a plethora of interested questions: "Where did you learn to play?" "Can you teach me?" "Who made your flute?" "What song is that?"
Istredd lets Lucifer distract the other kids, it's for the best because they can only get in the way at this point. They're there to protect all of them, but most are doing fine, there's only the doll ones to worry about. Keep going. The ones with the dolls are focused on them and Istredd lets his mind back away from the music and everything else. He clears it and opens the door and touches on all the minds around him.
The ones who are listening to Lucifer he can lock away. The others all have that lullaby although it starts to fade away, some of Lucifer's music coming in. He hears the return but he is more focused on the dolls, until he sees figures in their mind. Standing over the dolls. It's all on the outskirts of their mind so easy to miss if people didn't delve in deeper the way he has. He reaches out mentally, digging into their minds.
Possession, maybe, I think I have an idea. I'm going to need you to sound bad. Screech, make something that would startle them.
If he focuses on his own unwritten song, just a slew of notes, in order to push out the sheer annoyance from the presence of the children, he can see further on the edge of their linked minds. Using Istredd's own awareness, the thrum between them, the song, the children. On the edge, just a flicker. The shadowy figures towering above the dolls, not the children. There and gone, sunk under the dam of minds and the filtering-in of lullaby and would-be horror movie openings.
Lucifer doesn't so much ignore it as he does simply just listen to Istredd, changing his pitch in rapid motion first. Sharp, shrill, Lucifer's own change of tone given to song. He picked up the flute as a gag, an annoyance; began as annoyance and that's what he easily churns up.
He hopes other teachers can hear the irritant.
Shrill falls into classic haunting themes. Jarred, out of place, pulling away just shy of what should logically be the next notes in a run and drastically, rudely, going in the opposite direction.
To think that after a year of flute-dabbling he's gotten good enough that he can skillfully conjure bad and wrong.
Istredd gathers his strength for when Lucifer is ready to do his part. They are still an exceptional team when they put their mind to things, always in step. He has Lucifer's own mental strength along with his, they can accomplish much this way. His touch on all the infected children's mind is gentle until it's not. When they react to the sharp change from Lucifer, flinching and getting pulled away from their dolls even briefly, he makes the move.
Dispel. It is a dozen sharp cuts on strings that cannot be seen, only sensed. Puppet strings hanging over the children and in one slash he clips them, using his psionic power to do so. He was trained on how to manipulate minds and break them, but he's far more comfortable freeing them from the very things he could place down. This is in Stregobor's wheelhouse of creating what these children suffer from. He can backtrack it.
The kids don't outwardly react in an obvious way, they don't cry out or panic, but they seem to get dizzy and confused. A few drop their dolls entirely, disoriented. The others keep it with them but it's not clutched as tightly, it's not tied to them the same way. This was only a selection of children so it's not as if he had to clear a room of adults. They all pay attention to Lucifer's playing now, no longer possessed.
They're going to want to check in on the people who made these. I have a suspicion it was no simple dollmaker.
If they can find anyone. Similarly to there being no mark of an enchantment, I didn't particularly notice a maker's mark. Whether or not anyone--kids, parents, teachers--remembered who gave them the dolls. Wasn't there reports of dolls vanishing from shops?
Lucifer hears a lot of rumor on any given day. Most of it gets filtered out and ignored. But some of it shakes between the cracked flows of his mind to be shaken out later. He cared less about the dolls, obviously, but disappearing stuck. Disappeared, not stolen.
Better yet... He's still playing, if only because it keeps him from having to answer a renewed barrage of inane questions from the children, walking backwards in the direction that they're supposed to be escorting the flock. Without the possession, surely they can make this batch of misfits someone else's problem. He'd just ditch them here but the last thing they need is finding out the possession retook them.
Weren't the Summoned helping to create dolls last year? Again: did not care about the dolls; did care about tinkering with the enchantments. He does not remember if those dolls and these dolls have any likeness in the slightest. (They don't). But in the way of magic they don't really have to, do they? The Summoned touching anything has a chance to eventually come back and screw with the rest of them.
Edited (scrolled down SLIGHTLY MORE and saw what I've been looking for) 2024-10-30 21:58 (UTC)
You can probably end the quest on yours to turn in :D
So someone could be taking the dolls and putting something on them. Strange thing to do. Specifically to children too. Very predatory. It could be that adult minds are stronger, and they are only testing out these dolls on smaller minds.
Now that they are with themselves though he follows with Lucifer, shooing the kids along so they can escort them back to where they're being picked up. They do barrage Lucifer with questions and Istredd is pleasantly left alone, the benefit of being the boring book guy as opposed to the musician. He keeps up the rear guard and picks up one of the dolls that was dropped. Nothing on it now, a simple inanimate object.
Possibly. Although I'd think someone would have mentioned it already if they had. Istredd doesn't remember it himself but he also is not the type to make something like that. He's not a creative. I'll check in with the mages and let them know to look out for these. Who knows what they could end up making children do in a trance. Walk off into the night, steal things. Be bothers in general.
Look, is he going to fault someone for targeting the weak minds of children?
Of course not. A+. Good plan. Seems to be working fine for whatever seed of darkness may take root and grow.
Except it's messing with his daily life so Get Out.
Enjoy your freedom from the children Istredd because Lucifer could easily redirect the questions with a few easily placed words, but he doesn't.
Kids can get into smaller spaces. But if they really want to know they'll keep a possessed kiddo under surveillance and see if they try to return anywhere. Or something return to them.
There's nearly a spike of interest but it's still too boring for Lucifer to consider. He wouldn't put it past Thorne if things start escalating beyond this though.
Lucifer ignores "do you know..." some song he's never heard of. "Can you play..." another song he's never heard of. "What's your favorite..."
Just kidding he's done. He stops playing and gestures at Istredd with the instrument. "You know he looks nerdy but this man can single-handedly swipe out a pack of Torcainse from Nocwich with his magic and not break a sweat." Lucifer can too (though not with magic), of course, and even if Istredd tries to bring it up, they've already turned their focus locked to him. "Bet you haven't seen your teachers in action like that."
And that's how they spend the rest of the walk, Lucifer primly amused by the newly distracted children and their diverted questions.
He knows Istredd is on his way back into Thorne not only because of their connection (though Lucifer has been giving Istredd the silent treatment), but because of Mace properly informing him. He hadn't deemed to even visit Istredd in the Horizon, no. He wanted his arms on the man and not in an enjoyable way. He wanted Istredd to feel it, physically. Real, concrete.
So he finishes up some magic tinkering around one of the classes and keeps apprised of timing and then he waits in their room because eventually Istredd has to return. And no matter how right and satisfied Istredd is with his little discovery, Lucifer is a falling cleaver on that. The reality check. Angry, slamming Istredd to the wall in what is likely familiar enough for them, though this time Lucifer has his entire arm fully braced horizontally over Istredd's upper chest, just below his neck.
Istredd knew that he was in trouble before he said anything. He knew he was in trouble on the way there because he already intended on testing his theory, and he intentionally didn't tell Lucifer or Kyle. So everything was a calculated risk and Lucifer's displeasure was one of many factors to consider before choosing ultimately not to care. There was always the possibility he was wrong and he could relax and declare this was not as much of a concern as he thought. Instead he was right, and usually he loves being right, but in this case, it's too alarming to enjoy that rush.
He was very lucky to only end up stuck for a few days, and considering Lucifer didn't visit and was cutting him off in their bond, he knew he was in trouble. He did apologize to the guards and while he could have hidden from Lucifer's wrath for a time to investigate the dirt, he did have to face him eventually. Istredd decides to leave the dirt for the next day and to deal with his relationship turmoil first.
He does expect this, so he's not surprised when he's pushed up against the wall, pinned there by Lucifer's superior strength but he doesn't struggle. He passively goes with it without question. He opens his mouth to immediately go into defending himself or arguing the big picture matters more, and shuts it instead of speaking.
Smart, Istredd. Don't piss off the devil any more with your inane arguments.
"What did we talk about?" he snarls.
He had told Istredd once that the mage had a tendency to be extremely focused on his goals and maybe not see the dangers coming at him. So shortsighted in his drive to be proven right.
"Stop. And think. Did you even do either of those things?"
"Yes, I thought about it, it's why I went on the trip in the first place. The soil sample was for extra research." So Istredd put some consideration into it before he made the plan. There was some stopping involved. He knows that just means he was plotting and lying as soon as the tremors started, but he had a theory.
He puts a hand on Lucifer's arm, not pushing him off, just touching him as a grounding effort for them both. He knows this all comes from a place of concern so it's why the anger doesn't bother him. Kyle's reference to Lucifer being a creature of rage was brushed off. He isn't worried for himself.
"Tell me what the better idea was. How else could I have proved it? Using a native would have killed them. We needed to know for certain."
Istredd's eyebrows furrow and it clicks, and since Lucifer knows him, he knows that it isn't something he considered. "That was different," he says quickly. "Umbvagher caused that, every other time people went into the crater it was just a trip to the Horizon."
So the odds were on his side, it was a calculation. There was a good 80% chance in his mind that all would be well. Now maybe he should have put it closer to 65-70%. "Be mad at me all you want, but the information I got is important to the big picture."
Apparently Istredd did not learn from his nightmares from just last month, when the thing torturing him was whether he'd always pick the big picture over his own life, to the detriment of the people around him. Some habits are hard to break.
"Umbvagher caused that, but Umbvagher could have changed that, and it isn't like he hasn't been around." Lucifer knows. Lucifer gave ample fuel to that power. "You have no idea what affects have been done to the Singularity and you went off on your own, alone."
At the 'be mad at me all you want' Lucifer pulls away just enough to slam back against Istredd. He will be mad, thank you, he will be very mad.
"You can't just throw yourself into things expecting the results you want just because you keep being right." It's likely a sign for just how angry Lucifer is if all of his words are being shouted, no words across their bond, just splashes of color, radiant reds and violent violets.
"I couldn't take anyone with me!" The reason for it is obvious and underlined in the silence that he didn't follow that up with. Because it could be risky. Because he wouldn't put anyone else in danger, only himself. That's why he didn't tell anyone, in case they tried to stop him or join him.
(He tries very hard - and succeeds - not to think about how hot it is when Lucifer slams him into the wall. You're welcome.)
"Lucifer." He takes a deep breath and lets it out. The anger and color flashing at him is making him want to squirm from the intensity of it aimed his way. "I'm sorry I scared you. Truly. I wanted to be wrong, and if I was, no one would have to know about it." That would have been the ideal situation. "But this knowledge could save lives."
"Why, because it was dangerous? Because you had doubts?"
Because what Istredd should have done differently is taken someone in with him. Not even Lucifer, just someone. Doom them, maybe, sure, but if he was so confident it would've been fine, then what's the problem, right?
"Scared me?" he says, his voice dangerously low. For once, strangely, this isn't so much about him. For once this isn't about him being alone. "Istredd." It's likely adding to Istredd's difficulty that Lucifer's rage becomes something near tantalizing. "Eight. Hundred. Years. The Summoned were forced into that, across the territories, together. You were alone. You went alone. You would've been alone."
He presses his lips together in a tight line. "Yes, because it was dangerous, and because I had doubts." There's no point in saying otherwise. It would be untrue and they both know it. He made a calculated risk on his own behalf.
That explains an aspect to this that he did not consider in the least. What if he had been thrown into another vision? It might have just been weeks with his body out there, for everyone to wait to see if he came out, but his mind could have experienced many lifetimes. What would he become if he was eight hundred years alone, and came out of that? Blue eyes flicker to the side as he thinks this through. It's clear he did not think about it. He didn't see that angle.
Blue eyes look back to Lucifer. "Then I would have lived in my mistake and suffered for it." Maybe the only thing that would teach him that full lesson. He always gets away with being right. His hand squeezes on Lucifer's arm. "Would you have preferred to go with me? Even knowing the risk?"
Unfortunately, Lucifer believes otherwise, his thoughts going the same direction but coming out with different results. "Shame you likely still wouldn't have learned your goddamn lesson from it," he snaps, pulling away from Istredd's touch, but less because of the touch itself and more out of releasing Istredd, finally, from the wall.
At least Istredd isn't trying to lie about the danger.
"I'd have preferred you let someone go with you. It didn't have to be me."
Maybe he's become a little less selfish, or maybe he's gained enough trust in other people, or maybe it's a little of both and then some.
But the whole reason he was fine staying back in Thorne is because they're accustomed to splitting duties. Rarely do they actually tag-team an issue at the same location, more often taking separate courses of action with the thrum of the bond between them keeping them in sync.
"I would've gone with you though. Because of the risk."
"I might have." There's no guarantee. Istredd might have stopped learning it once he did get back and got used to normal life again. He's a very stubborn person and he gets tunnel vision, as Lucifer knows very well by now. He is no longer being pinned to the wall so he relaxes. He doesn't immediately cross his arms in a defensive posture or come back with another argument.
"At least you would have been able to say I told you so for the next eight hundred years." He reaches out to snag Lucifer's shirt cuff. Not his arm or his hand, out of respect that he's still in trouble over this, but for a point of contact somewhere, his fingers trailing the fabric.
"I'm sorry. I know I make it difficult." Istredd never apologizes unless he means it, mostly because he likes to stand by his argument for being right instead. But in this case, he's gotten enough people yelling at him from all sides to know he wasn't at his best. "I thought it was the right thing."
"I tell people you're not." It's not his fault if they don't believe him. The people closest to Istredd do know that he has a reckless streak a mile long. Lucifer is just obviously difficult, Istredd is inwardly so.
He takes a step closer to him, still approaching him carefully, getting into his space but not touching him directly yet. He knows to be cautious when Lucifer is upset so he doesn't annoy him more. He tugs gently on his shirt cuff, brushing the back of his fingers against Lucifer's hand.
"If it does, it's no one's fault but mine." Istredd was very insistent that no blame be placed on Kyle. His choice was his. Kyle did say he wouldn't have stopped him, and that's probably true. The two of them are very similar. "Can we talk about the big picture?"
Yeah he already immediately told Kyle he didn't blame him and then went out for drinks because evidently they both needed it. He doesn't know if Kyle would've stopped Istredd or not, doesn't really care. Istredd's problems are his own making.
"I fear there won't be a Dimming this year and what that may mean." While Istredd isn't forgiven exactly, Lucifer settles into discussion, and that's as close as they'll get, sign enough that they continue on, his willingness to talk the big picture--perhaps even his need. He does want to talk about it but like hell he was giving Istredd any justification without trying to get understanding through his thick head first.
He hadn't so much read the network entry, more skimmed for key details, as he's rarely one to ever engage with any form of text present, no matter the length. Usually he gets the details filled in from Istredd on anything important, which makes it funny that this was primarily one of Istredd's.
He's felt through his connection with the Singularity, similar to his early bond with Istredd, but still so very different. Thoughts and feelings expressed like a chaotic splatter painting.
For being so close to the Dimming, the Singularity should not be this alert.
"I fear the same thing. A natural cycle is there for a reason." There was a reason the Singularity typically slowed down and 'slept' briefly every year, for centuries now, as far back in history as Istredd's read. Perhaps they didn't know exactly why, but it seemed to make sense that an entity like that would need rest like any other living thing.
"I have a bad feeling about this." It's honestly what drove his actions more than anything. Something in the pit of his stomach, deep down, felt heavy and like a rock weighing him down. There was something wrong in the air, but he couldn't figure out what. Now he has a better idea of it. "There are so many ways this could go wrong, and probably in more directions than we can perceive now."
They could think of a lot, but the Singularity is a creature in itself, it could react and act in ways that they cannot comprehend. He finally risks taking Lucifer's hand and just holds it for now. He's missed him the past few days, he always does when they're apart. "I reached out to Wanda, Viktor and I both think someone should speak to Umbvagher. He's the closest god for giving answers we've had."
remembered it was Zorne's influence that Lucifer pushed recently not Umbvagher I'm outta pratice lol
"And if it keeps eating land it may just go into a long slumber." Like a food coma. On a cosmic scale. "Much longer than the usual length of the Dimming."
Though that holds no bearing to the magic of the Summoned--at least... it hasn't in the past, but that could also change. Lucifer's Abraxan magic is all set into anchors and not called up from his own power in the moment, but he can't particularly afford any change in his abilities.
"There are more of us now, it's possible our experience in the vision gave it energy. Not to mention the turmoil and overuse of magic in an ongoing war, and the power from gods appearing and causing trouble. I suspect it all could add to the Singularity. Feeding it." If it absorbs power and magic, it is probably a perfect storm for it right now. Not only the Summoned but everything that is changing this sphere and making it more ripe and chaotic. Chaos turns into a maelstrom.
"You know I love to have answers, and I am trying to follow avenues that I can, but I am truly stumped." He is following the gods as an option, he is keeping an eye on the new territory, he is going to see if there are any historical records, there are directions he plans on going in. But it's all just to give himself something to do because the reality is that he can't fix everything.
Which of course is upsetting. The inner turmoil can be felt now, the frustration and desperation to make sense of it, that may explain a little more about his recklessness. The drive to do something, anything. "If we can't stop it we what, watch as it swallows the sphere?"
"It would be hilarious that in order to stop the storms with the territories throwing us in, they just caused more problems down the road," he says, fully sarcastic. He'd think it their just desserts if it didn't potentially screw with Lucifer having a planet to live on. That they potentially fed, maybe even overfed, the Singularity (against their will) is a concern.
How do they draw back its food source then, without gutting themselves? He's maybe pushing that thought back. He's wants to gain power again, not lose what he's already achieved. That consideration is NOT remotely on the table right now.
"There needs to be a balance, we know that," he says, humming to himself, drawing their joined hands to his own face in his idle thought. "For whatever anyone wants to say about that reality, that's a lesson to be learned from it. Overuse or underuse comes with its own problems, related to the Singularity itself. So how do we give a rock indigestion?"
"Well they started all of this in the first place by Summoning us, so of course if they can make it worse, they will." Humans! And he is a human, but he still knows that humans is a reasonable response to that. Istredd's been annoyed about the Summoning since the start. He wants to be here, he wants them to stay there, but it doesn't change that every new group probably destabilizes the sphere more. They rip apart time and space to bring each person here.
He runs his thumb along Lucifer's face when he brings their hands there, keeping that grasp. He always appreciates physicality between them, sometimes he really does need it to even think clearly. It's always better when they're working as a team. Sometimes he forgets that (hmm, wonder when).
"The Summonings need to stop. They won't listen to us, but that would be a place to start." They can't bring more people in, especially as he's noticed the number of people leaving has gone down substantially too. There's more of them sticking around, taking up space and energy. Alucard pointed it out on his post. "Maybe we should stop going into the Horizon. It could be feeding into our energy every time we're in that space it created." But his library! He would hate that.
"Maybe if we can finally convince them that they're feeding their problems instead of what they're trying to achieve," Lucifer says, "but that requires all three territories agreeing, and being at war," har whoops, "means they have little reason to agree to it. If Thorne stops Summoning, Free Cities will take the advantage--with the argument once more surely won't sunder the world--and who the hell knows what Solvunn is up to at any given time, stealthing around as they do, despite finally getting real attention on themselves."
Lucifer has said since the BEGINNING that there was no such thing as a neutral territory, after all.
"Or every time we change it." The Horizon is a thought, but the old gods have a layer somewhere, too. Maybe if they could combine the spaces...
Your stupid dirt, sorry, Istredd, it's not stupid, where's that stand? Istredd had already mentioned a soil sample, and he knows Istredd wouldn't have gone and not gotten any more dirt anyway. They can't get near the crater, especially if it's moving, so they have no way to verify. Is there some lie we can spin?
There's the reason why it's the first time Lucifer's been more words than emotional thought over the bond since Istredd got back. It's the whole reason Lucifer from the get-go pushed the form of communication, though he would never understand the extent of it, or what he was agreeing to at the time. Privacy, security, and never trusting Horizon Instant Messaging.
Use it and the tremors as some form of discouragement towards the Summoning ritual?
"Solvunn thinks it's the will of the gods that the spell works and they're here. Stopping it would require the gods to tell them to stop it." And there's no control of those as far as he knows. It would work to get Solvunn to stop, or maybe the Summoned can try to speak for the gods. In a way, they would be the easiest to handle with the right angle.
"The Free Cities is the problem because they want to destroy the Singularity and don't believe in much of anything outside of their own power. They would see it as a chance to be stronger. And I don't think any of our people have enough sway." Thorne there is a small possibility, but not enough. Stopping the Summoning would be a way, although it's a guess on their part. All of this is a guess, but theorizing is what they do best.
It proves that there's more magic on the soil now then there was before. My initial examination before was that there was no more magic in the crater than anywhere else. That's different now. It's more powerful. So it only confirms what they think. The Singularity is growing in power and it's showing itself in the very earth beneath them. It's effecting more of the world.
"If we could stop the ritual and stop visiting the Horizon, we could see if there's anything visibly showing the change. But the Dimming is too soon, everyone would have to agree to it immediately. If it's not slowing down, I'm not sure we can stop it. It's possible it's already too late."
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abraxaslogs2024-10-02 03:49 pm
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"No. No, no, no. I have been a well-behaved teacher's aide and helped out in your classes when you and Señor Bullshit have decided I need more going on in my life but--" Lucifer threw up his hands. "I do not. Deal. With children." He had done that once. Read stories to kids in the library as part of his community service for the Hayle Incident.
Of the two tasks he had done for that--gardening, reading--only one of those he continued to do ever since, to the point that they weaseled payment for such things from one of the Conclave requests.
It followed through in the intricate web of an alternate reality, cultivating the land in the Nether with pride, later doing an upheaval of his Horizon domain to echo it, and then beginning to form a grove in the place that should've eventually become Kell's. His followers, his blood. The man may've hated what happened in that reality but there should be something here. Something left as a physical mark, when no doubt the rest of them disappear and with that their memories of him.
"I need you to do this," Ingrid said, more frazzled than usual. "Please."
Lucifer dragged in a deep breath, hands drawn together, thumbs tight at the bridge of his nose.
"I'll owe you?"
"What could you possible owe me!" he shouted, but trudged off regardless.
He was, thankfully, not alone in pulling the short straw among the Summoned. The downside of being a Summoned teacher is that you entered the chaos pool twice over. Maybe triple, Lucifer wasn't exactly keeping count.
The teachers were pressed thin and the Summoned were needed to help and Istredd was far too kind to really say no because like Lucifer, they had appearances to maintain.
One of these days Lucifer is going to say screw it all to his hard work at the position he's gotten himself to and just wipe his hands clean of it.
(But then he wouldn't be allowed near the battlefield to amplify the influence of the heralds.)
Istredd's been getting licks of his frustration over the bond so it shouldn't be too much surprise when they meet halfway that Lucifer's first spoken words are: "I don't want to hear it."
At least Istredd isn't alone in the task, right?
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It does get in the way of his actual work though. Istredd hates that. He has lesson planning to do. So he's not in a terribly good mood either when he meets up with Lucifer, although amused at the idea someone managed to bully him into it at all. "Neither of us are good choices." He shrugs. Istredd is nice but he's awkward and his infinite patience does not make him automatically good at speaking with children.
"Listen, let's just approach it like this is a spell that needs to be broken. You like puzzles." Trust Istredd to take the logical approach since their annoyed feelings won't get them anywhere. They've agreed to do this. They might as well put in the effort now that they're here. He grimaces when the group of children they've been assigned comes to them but he masks it over with an attempt at a smile. Most of the children are acting normal as of right now, but they all seem to have acquired the same toys.
I hate those dolls. I don't understand why they don't simply remove them from the situation.
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Said children are already starting to get hyperfixated on their dolls and do not pick up on Lucifer's suggestion.
One day Istredd will get a doll in the form of fungi.
Lucifer will think it equal parts awful and funny and charming.
But that is not this day.
Gentle is not how Lucifer intends to deal with children. Pick them up by the scruff of they're neck like their animals is the only way he's escorting them to and fro, though he only has two hands in this form, so not... very effective.
He's reminded of the prison of his form in the most useless ways sometimes.
Go ahead. Take a doll away. See what happens. Lucifer does not particularly want to deal with screaming/crying/what-have-you children, but in the name of logic and puzzles and Experimentation surely they should witness the results.
(Lucifer's expression reveals that he does not at all think it's a good idea to take the dolls away.)
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If he gets a fungi doll he's going to throw it at Lucifer's head.
Istredd is gentler with them, unsurprisingly, even holding hands or delicately placing a hand on their backs to guide them. He may only appear to be better at this than his partner, he also is not great at it. This is why he's glad 'their kids' are teenagers already. Not that it doesn't have its own downsides, but a sassy teen is not the same as a possessed child.
Istredd pauses at the suggestion and sighs. He can't argue with the idea of testing out what happens. This is experimentation after all, and he needs to know how they react before figuring out what kind of curse this is.
"You need to pay attention, let me hold onto your doll for now, okay?" Istredd cringes because he can guess at what's coming next, but this is logical, it must happen. He picks the doll out of their hands and true to form, the child freaks out.
At first, she just panics and starts grabbing at it back from Istredd's hands, no sanity in her gaze. "It's mine!" She screeches and practically tries to crawl up Istredd's body to get to it. He holds it over her head, mildly panicked himself.
"Lucifer, help." Yes he needs help from the child, especially if they're going to study the doll, which they need to do!
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There is a different drawback to children versus sassy teens. The children are (usually) less likely to be as rebellious, easier to manipulate. Then again, Lucifer once thought teenagers could be wielded into something useful, and look what that got him.
Trapped in the concept of faith, directed at him, with those kids knowing the evil that rolls beneath Lucifer's layers.Problems.He raises a brow at Istredd's suffering but only for a moment before he's bodily hauling the screaming miscreant off of Istredd with both hands, her clawing little fingers desperate to get a last hold to the mage. The screeching, unfortunately, does not stop, and only the non-tranced kids of their group look uncomfortably their way. The others remain unbothered, transfixed to their dolls.
Kid's going to grow up to be a bruiser. He's holding her at arm's length, away from Istredd, like she may even bite one of them. Feral little beasts. Now's your chance for examination, Istredd, otherwise please give her the doll back.
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He hands the doll back to her and she immediately goes back into the trance in Lucifer's grip. It's disturbing. "There is absolutely something wrong." They both know that but there is no more obvious evidence than that. Istredd is used to having answers so this is a little irritating. He doesn't want to have to babysit the kids forever while they turn into little dolls themselves.
Any enchantments you can see that I can't? His magic doesn't cover everything, and he's found that Lucifer's skills have surpassed his in many ways, due to practice and patience.
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He doesn't pluck the doll out of the girl's grasp, but she's easier to keep held aloft with one hand now that she's been reduced to this. It allows him to only faintly touch the object so precious to her, a fingertip traced over the edges like he's looking for any woven-in magics, a sigil, even an arcana. He's seen enough, over time. She tenses at his touch of the object, but doesn't react further when he does nothing more.
Nothing I can trace.. Annoyingly. He skims his gaze over the other children and while some eyes jump away, there are others that are curious.
Hell. Just what they need.
"What are you doing?" a boy asks them both.
"Nothing," Lucifer answers.
"It doesn't look like nothing!"
"It looks like nothing of your business."
The boy's cheeks puff out, annoyed.
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Istredd then looks at the girl and does the same. He doesn't need to touch people to get into their minds, that's usually just what he does for a stronger connection. Her mind is a different story altogether and it shows on his face as he steps closer, eyes narrowing slightly. He can hear something. A song. A lullaby?
"Something ...." He does reach out to touch the doll, and she tightens her fingers around it, but he doesn't take it this time. He listens. "Return?" He hears something, but it's unclear, until he says that and the kids playing with their dolls all at once say it out loud. Return.
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He finally drops the girl...
... gently ...
... enough.
She catches herself and her knees don't buckle.
He pulls out his flute, a gift from Aster in the Nether, but sometimes he misses the ornate carved instrument from the other reality. Then again, he had better skill in that reality. Still, he's gotten better from his irritating (if not generally purposeful) tunes. He plays a few long notes, attempting to break focus of whatever lullaby Istredd heard from the girl's mind.
The idea of a Pied Piper--off the German folk legend Hamelin, in which the Pied Piper plays music to lure rats and children out of town--to get the kids to go where they need them to. Except he doesn't have any musical magic, so the only children that follow after him are the non-tranced ones, asking a plethora of interested questions: "Where did you learn to play?" "Can you teach me?" "Who made your flute?" "What song is that?"
Well, look. He's got some of the kids' attention.
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The ones who are listening to Lucifer he can lock away. The others all have that lullaby although it starts to fade away, some of Lucifer's music coming in. He hears the return but he is more focused on the dolls, until he sees figures in their mind. Standing over the dolls. It's all on the outskirts of their mind so easy to miss if people didn't delve in deeper the way he has. He reaches out mentally, digging into their minds.
Possession, maybe, I think I have an idea. I'm going to need you to sound bad. Screech, make something that would startle them.
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Lucifer doesn't so much ignore it as he does simply just listen to Istredd, changing his pitch in rapid motion first. Sharp, shrill, Lucifer's own change of tone given to song. He picked up the flute as a gag, an annoyance; began as annoyance and that's what he easily churns up.
He hopes other teachers can hear the irritant.
Shrill falls into classic haunting themes. Jarred, out of place, pulling away just shy of what should logically be the next notes in a run and drastically, rudely, going in the opposite direction.
To think that after a year of flute-dabbling he's gotten good enough that he can skillfully conjure bad and wrong.
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Dispel. It is a dozen sharp cuts on strings that cannot be seen, only sensed. Puppet strings hanging over the children and in one slash he clips them, using his psionic power to do so. He was trained on how to manipulate minds and break them, but he's far more comfortable freeing them from the very things he could place down. This is in Stregobor's wheelhouse of creating what these children suffer from. He can backtrack it.
The kids don't outwardly react in an obvious way, they don't cry out or panic, but they seem to get dizzy and confused. A few drop their dolls entirely, disoriented. The others keep it with them but it's not clutched as tightly, it's not tied to them the same way. This was only a selection of children so it's not as if he had to clear a room of adults. They all pay attention to Lucifer's playing now, no longer possessed.
They're going to want to check in on the people who made these. I have a suspicion it was no simple dollmaker.
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Lucifer hears a lot of rumor on any given day. Most of it gets filtered out and ignored. But some of it shakes between the cracked flows of his mind to be shaken out later. He cared less about the dolls, obviously, but disappearing stuck. Disappeared, not stolen.
Better yet... He's still playing, if only because it keeps him from having to answer a renewed barrage of inane questions from the children, walking backwards in the direction that they're supposed to be escorting the flock. Without the possession, surely they can make this batch of misfits someone else's problem. He'd just ditch them here but the last thing they need is finding out the possession retook them.
Weren't the Summoned helping to create dolls last year? Again: did not care about the dolls; did care about tinkering with the enchantments. He does not remember if those dolls and these dolls have any likeness in the slightest. (They don't). But in the way of magic they don't really have to, do they? The Summoned touching anything has a chance to eventually come back and screw with the rest of them.
You can probably end the quest on yours to turn in :D
Now that they are with themselves though he follows with Lucifer, shooing the kids along so they can escort them back to where they're being picked up. They do barrage Lucifer with questions and Istredd is pleasantly left alone, the benefit of being the boring book guy as opposed to the musician. He keeps up the rear guard and picks up one of the dolls that was dropped. Nothing on it now, a simple inanimate object.
Possibly. Although I'd think someone would have mentioned it already if they had. Istredd doesn't remember it himself but he also is not the type to make something like that. He's not a creative. I'll check in with the mages and let them know to look out for these. Who knows what they could end up making children do in a trance. Walk off into the night, steal things. Be bothers in general.
finger guns (sorry Istredd)
Of course not. A+. Good plan. Seems to be working fine for whatever seed of darkness may take root and grow.
Except it's messing with his daily life so Get Out.
Enjoy your freedom from the children Istredd because Lucifer could easily redirect the questions with a few easily placed words, but he doesn't.
Kids can get into smaller spaces. But if they really want to know they'll keep a possessed kiddo under surveillance and see if they try to return anywhere. Or something return to them.
There's nearly a spike of interest but it's still too boring for Lucifer to consider. He wouldn't put it past Thorne if things start escalating beyond this though.
Lucifer ignores "do you know..." some song he's never heard of. "Can you play..." another song he's never heard of. "What's your favorite..."
Just kidding he's done. He stops playing and gestures at Istredd with the instrument. "You know he looks nerdy but this man can single-handedly swipe out a pack of Torcainse from Nocwich with his magic and not break a sweat." Lucifer can too (though not with magic), of course, and even if Istredd tries to bring it up, they've already turned their focus locked to him. "Bet you haven't seen your teachers in action like that."
And that's how they spend the rest of the walk, Lucifer primly amused by the newly distracted children and their diverted questions.
after Istredd's Singularity Experiment
So he finishes up some magic tinkering around one of the classes and keeps apprised of timing and then he waits in their room because eventually Istredd has to return. And no matter how right and satisfied Istredd is with his little discovery, Lucifer is a falling cleaver on that. The reality check. Angry, slamming Istredd to the wall in what is likely familiar enough for them, though this time Lucifer has his entire arm fully braced horizontally over Istredd's upper chest, just below his neck.
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He was very lucky to only end up stuck for a few days, and considering Lucifer didn't visit and was cutting him off in their bond, he knew he was in trouble. He did apologize to the guards and while he could have hidden from Lucifer's wrath for a time to investigate the dirt, he did have to face him eventually. Istredd decides to leave the dirt for the next day and to deal with his relationship turmoil first.
He does expect this, so he's not surprised when he's pushed up against the wall, pinned there by Lucifer's superior strength but he doesn't struggle. He passively goes with it without question. He opens his mouth to immediately go into defending himself or arguing the big picture matters more, and shuts it instead of speaking.
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"What did we talk about?" he snarls.
He had told Istredd once that the mage had a tendency to be extremely focused on his goals and maybe not see the dangers coming at him. So shortsighted in his drive to be proven right.
"Stop. And think. Did you even do either of those things?"
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He puts a hand on Lucifer's arm, not pushing him off, just touching him as a grounding effort for them both. He knows this all comes from a place of concern so it's why the anger doesn't bother him. Kyle's reference to Lucifer being a creature of rage was brushed off. He isn't worried for himself.
"Tell me what the better idea was. How else could I have proved it? Using a native would have killed them. We needed to know for certain."
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His voice is that same snarled tone, but his thoughts are shrill, piercing. "What happened the last time anyone went into the crater, Istredd?"
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So the odds were on his side, it was a calculation. There was a good 80% chance in his mind that all would be well. Now maybe he should have put it closer to 65-70%. "Be mad at me all you want, but the information I got is important to the big picture."
Apparently Istredd did not learn from his nightmares from just last month, when the thing torturing him was whether he'd always pick the big picture over his own life, to the detriment of the people around him. Some habits are hard to break.
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At the 'be mad at me all you want' Lucifer pulls away just enough to slam back against Istredd. He will be mad, thank you, he will be very mad.
"You can't just throw yourself into things expecting the results you want just because you keep being right." It's likely a sign for just how angry Lucifer is if all of his words are being shouted, no words across their bond, just splashes of color, radiant reds and violent violets.
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(He tries very hard - and succeeds - not to think about how hot it is when Lucifer slams him into the wall. You're welcome.)
"Lucifer." He takes a deep breath and lets it out. The anger and color flashing at him is making him want to squirm from the intensity of it aimed his way. "I'm sorry I scared you. Truly. I wanted to be wrong, and if I was, no one would have to know about it." That would have been the ideal situation. "But this knowledge could save lives."
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Because what Istredd should have done differently is taken someone in with him. Not even Lucifer, just someone. Doom them, maybe, sure, but if he was so confident it would've been fine, then what's the problem, right?
"Scared me?" he says, his voice dangerously low. For once, strangely, this isn't so much about him. For once this isn't about him being alone. "Istredd." It's likely adding to Istredd's difficulty that Lucifer's rage becomes something near tantalizing. "Eight. Hundred. Years. The Summoned were forced into that, across the territories, together. You were alone. You went alone. You would've been alone."
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That explains an aspect to this that he did not consider in the least. What if he had been thrown into another vision? It might have just been weeks with his body out there, for everyone to wait to see if he came out, but his mind could have experienced many lifetimes. What would he become if he was eight hundred years alone, and came out of that? Blue eyes flicker to the side as he thinks this through. It's clear he did not think about it. He didn't see that angle.
Blue eyes look back to Lucifer. "Then I would have lived in my mistake and suffered for it." Maybe the only thing that would teach him that full lesson. He always gets away with being right. His hand squeezes on Lucifer's arm. "Would you have preferred to go with me? Even knowing the risk?"
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At least Istredd isn't trying to lie about the danger.
"I'd have preferred you let someone go with you. It didn't have to be me."
Maybe he's become a little less selfish, or maybe he's gained enough trust in other people, or maybe it's a little of both and then some.
But the whole reason he was fine staying back in Thorne is because they're accustomed to splitting duties. Rarely do they actually tag-team an issue at the same location, more often taking separate courses of action with the thrum of the bond between them keeping them in sync.
"I would've gone with you though. Because of the risk."
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"At least you would have been able to say I told you so for the next eight hundred years." He reaches out to snag Lucifer's shirt cuff. Not his arm or his hand, out of respect that he's still in trouble over this, but for a point of contact somewhere, his fingers trailing the fabric.
"I'm sorry. I know I make it difficult." Istredd never apologizes unless he means it, mostly because he likes to stand by his argument for being right instead. But in this case, he's gotten enough people yelling at him from all sides to know he wasn't at his best. "I thought it was the right thing."
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"And everyone thinks I'm the difficult one in this relationship." Not that he isn't also very difficult, but it isn't just him is the point.
At least Jaskier now also gets the misfortune of realizing that. Hmmmm maybe sharing is caring after all.
He lets Istredd's faint touch linger.
"You always think it's the 'right thing,'" he whispers. "That's the problem, Istredd. One of these days, that's going to catch up to you."
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He takes a step closer to him, still approaching him carefully, getting into his space but not touching him directly yet. He knows to be cautious when Lucifer is upset so he doesn't annoy him more. He tugs gently on his shirt cuff, brushing the back of his fingers against Lucifer's hand.
"If it does, it's no one's fault but mine." Istredd was very insistent that no blame be placed on Kyle. His choice was his. Kyle did say he wouldn't have stopped him, and that's probably true. The two of them are very similar. "Can we talk about the big picture?"
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"I fear there won't be a Dimming this year and what that may mean." While Istredd isn't forgiven exactly, Lucifer settles into discussion, and that's as close as they'll get, sign enough that they continue on, his willingness to talk the big picture--perhaps even his need. He does want to talk about it but like hell he was giving Istredd any justification without trying to get understanding through his thick head first.
He hadn't so much read the network entry, more skimmed for key details, as he's rarely one to ever engage with any form of text present, no matter the length. Usually he gets the details filled in from Istredd on anything important, which makes it funny that this was primarily one of Istredd's.
He's felt through his connection with the Singularity, similar to his early bond with Istredd, but still so very different. Thoughts and feelings expressed like a chaotic splatter painting.
For being so close to the Dimming, the Singularity should not be this alert.
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"I have a bad feeling about this." It's honestly what drove his actions more than anything. Something in the pit of his stomach, deep down, felt heavy and like a rock weighing him down. There was something wrong in the air, but he couldn't figure out what. Now he has a better idea of it. "There are so many ways this could go wrong, and probably in more directions than we can perceive now."
They could think of a lot, but the Singularity is a creature in itself, it could react and act in ways that they cannot comprehend. He finally risks taking Lucifer's hand and just holds it for now. He's missed him the past few days, he always does when they're apart. "I reached out to Wanda, Viktor and I both think someone should speak to Umbvagher. He's the closest god for giving answers we've had."
remembered it was Zorne's influence that Lucifer pushed recently not Umbvagher I'm outta pratice lol
"And if it keeps eating land it may just go into a long slumber." Like a food coma. On a cosmic scale. "Much longer than the usual length of the Dimming."
Though that holds no bearing to the magic of the Summoned--at least... it hasn't in the past, but that could also change. Lucifer's Abraxan magic is all set into anchors and not called up from his own power in the moment, but he can't particularly afford any change in his abilities.
He's not interested in Umbvagher.
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"You know I love to have answers, and I am trying to follow avenues that I can, but I am truly stumped." He is following the gods as an option, he is keeping an eye on the new territory, he is going to see if there are any historical records, there are directions he plans on going in. But it's all just to give himself something to do because the reality is that he can't fix everything.
Which of course is upsetting. The inner turmoil can be felt now, the frustration and desperation to make sense of it, that may explain a little more about his recklessness. The drive to do something, anything. "If we can't stop it we what, watch as it swallows the sphere?"
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How do they draw back its food source then, without gutting themselves? He's maybe pushing that thought back. He's wants to gain power again, not lose what he's already achieved. That consideration is NOT remotely on the table right now.
"There needs to be a balance, we know that," he says, humming to himself, drawing their joined hands to his own face in his idle thought. "For whatever anyone wants to say about that reality, that's a lesson to be learned from it. Overuse or underuse comes with its own problems, related to the Singularity itself. So how do we give a rock indigestion?"
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He runs his thumb along Lucifer's face when he brings their hands there, keeping that grasp. He always appreciates physicality between them, sometimes he really does need it to even think clearly. It's always better when they're working as a team. Sometimes he forgets that (hmm, wonder when).
"The Summonings need to stop. They won't listen to us, but that would be a place to start." They can't bring more people in, especially as he's noticed the number of people leaving has gone down substantially too. There's more of them sticking around, taking up space and energy. Alucard pointed it out on his post. "Maybe we should stop going into the Horizon. It could be feeding into our energy every time we're in that space it created." But his library! He would hate that.
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Lucifer has said since the BEGINNING that there was no such thing as a neutral territory, after all.
"Or every time we change it." The Horizon is a thought, but the old gods have a layer somewhere, too. Maybe if they could combine the spaces...
Your stupid dirt, sorry, Istredd, it's not stupid, where's that stand? Istredd had already mentioned a soil sample, and he knows Istredd wouldn't have gone and not gotten any more dirt anyway. They can't get near the crater, especially if it's moving, so they have no way to verify. Is there some lie we can spin?
There's the reason why it's the first time Lucifer's been more words than emotional thought over the bond since Istredd got back. It's the whole reason Lucifer from the get-go pushed the form of communication, though he would never understand the extent of it, or what he was agreeing to at the time. Privacy, security, and never trusting Horizon Instant Messaging.
Use it and the tremors as some form of discouragement towards the Summoning ritual?
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"The Free Cities is the problem because they want to destroy the Singularity and don't believe in much of anything outside of their own power. They would see it as a chance to be stronger. And I don't think any of our people have enough sway." Thorne there is a small possibility, but not enough. Stopping the Summoning would be a way, although it's a guess on their part. All of this is a guess, but theorizing is what they do best.
It proves that there's more magic on the soil now then there was before. My initial examination before was that there was no more magic in the crater than anywhere else. That's different now. It's more powerful. So it only confirms what they think. The Singularity is growing in power and it's showing itself in the very earth beneath them. It's effecting more of the world.
"If we could stop the ritual and stop visiting the Horizon, we could see if there's anything visibly showing the change. But the Dimming is too soon, everyone would have to agree to it immediately. If it's not slowing down, I'm not sure we can stop it. It's possible it's already too late."