Julia Wicker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
divinityfrompain) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
abraxaslogs2025-01-02 07:35 pm
divinityfrompain) wrote in abraxaslogs2025-01-02 07:35 pm
That's the terror of knowing what this world is about
WHO: Julia Wicker and OTA
WHAT: Catch-all for January!
WHERE: Thorne
WHEN: January
WARNINGS: Nothing so far
Closed and open starters below!
If you want a specific starter message theskyisnew on plurk!
WHAT: Catch-all for January!
WHERE: Thorne
WHEN: January
WARNINGS: Nothing so far
General Thorne
She's everywhere in Thorne Castle. She absolutely loves the library more than anywhere else and can be found there at all hours of the day. She's made a little corner for herself in the academic magic section, curled up cross-legged and reading through it intently, following the directions to start casting little spells right there in the library. "Don't worry," she says with a smile when one of them goes poof. "I didn't pick anything dangerous!" Probably! She seems to take to it much faster than most. She ends up with a stack of books probably too high for her to comfortably walk around with, wobbling as she tries to walk back to her perch.
She enjoys the gardens and puts her fingers into the dirt, feeling the living earth underneath them and the glow of life within it pulsating back at her. In front of people's eyes they can see flowers bloom or the greenery growing into brighter with life with just a brush of her hand. Otherwise she just sits in there peacefully or with yet another book. Julia also sits in on magic classes curiously to see how it goes and shows off her own skills when asked.
Julia can be found a little nervous in the public bathing area but she bravely does it anyway because she needs it. They're very nice but she is usually there at odd hours when it's not as popular. She is very friendly so anyone eating near her in the dining halls are encouraged to join her. She eagerly goes out to all the shops and enthusiastically looks through their wares. She can especially be found at the Winking Cauldron teashop enjoying some tea and crumpets.
Julia does make a little shrine in the land outside of the castle, tucked into a corner so as not to cause a Thing. If someone comes on her they'll see a fairly pretty and well-made shrine of stones and flowers where she's sitting in front of, praying.
library spells!
Not much of a mage himself means it's the heavy tomes on history, cartography books, and botany which keep his attention the most. Though the table he's at changes frequently, what's a constant is that he has them scattered across whatever table he's working at with one hand on the page he's reading and another busy scrawling notes in a journal. Occasionally he'll pay attention to who's around him as new faces slowly become familiar ones, and today as he returns to his table with the book on herbs in one hand a flutter of something in the corner of his vision catches his attention just in time for the reassurance as he turns.
"You know, it might make it even more exciting in here if you did," he answers with a grin. Is he kidding? Possibly not entirely though he'll pass it off as that as he sets the book down to lean against the edge of the table, clearly curious but not enough to invite himself into her space if she's hard at work. "Leaning something new or brushing up on something you already know?" Magic's present in multiple worlds that he knows of, so it could be either one.
no subject
"Something new! I know my own magic but these academic magic tests are amazing. There's like an infinite amount of spells they've researched and wrote down over time." Julia's favorite thing in the entire world is magic. She could talk about it and think about it all day if need be, so Thorne's leaning on spells she can learn better is amazing. She can do more high magic now that she has a goddess to cling to, but in general this is easier.
"I'm pretty sure there's one of anything you can think of and then some. It's also spoken word which is pretty helpful for people starting out. Mine requires very specific learned hand movements." And to her it's easy, but to newcomers they've had to learn as they go.
no subject
"Specific hand movements? Like something to call forth?" Which - sounds a bit obvious as soon as the words are out of his mouth, so he shakes his head as if to wipe that away and try again. "Sigils are what I'm familiar with though I'm far from even being considered a mage lest I make it sound like I was ever particularly good at learning magic. A friend of mine would be quick to correct me across whatever's separating us from home if she could overhear that."
A fond smile crosses his face at the thought of Lysithea, then it grows a bit wider still since she'd enjoy being in Thorne as well. For the magic, at least. Rather than go on, Claude holds up a hand to call forth one of those sigils in his palm before letting it go in the tiniest breeze that's just enough to ruffle the pages of open books nearby rather than its usual full destructive force. "One of the few things I know since I wasn't much of a student when it came to magic, but spoken word would've made studying much easier. Did you attend an academy to learn back at home?"
no subject
"Sigils are useful and I'm pretty sure they have a whole collection of those too, or something like them." They definitely have symbolic imagery that she's caught on to. Solvunn has a lot of those that connects to the gods that sometimes get drawn to them. Like whatever spell it was that helped those cultists all the time ago, she's heard about since. Julia's magic includes sigils too, usually as defensive spells.
As for his question, she shakes her head. "No, I was intentionally left out of the magical university, a whole it's your destiny to learn on your own reasoning. Which is hard because outside of that university, it's difficult to find and learn magic." And that means that hedges like her have to work twice as hard to find one spell that was just hanging out in the university. Those students never had any idea how lucky they were, they squandered it so much. "But it made us witches tougher."
no subject
"Huh. Sounds like that's standard everywhere since I've heard plenty about the schools of sorcery in Fodlan limiting who could attend either through intentional ways or less obvious ones like high fees." Lorenz, after all, had told him plenty of times about that particular school in Fhirdiad and its particular exclusivity. "An unfortunate commonality and even more so if it involves limiting magic to learning it there or somewhere else alongside it, all of which can be said for the academy my grandfather sent me to." Let alone the tutors he would've had in Almyra if he'd stayed.
Still - a slight grin crosses his face at the mention of it making her stronger. "I've always enjoyed a challenge myself even if it's one that shouldn't have to be faced. And it sounds like it helped if what you've shown here is anything to go by, or out in the gardens since I think I've seen you out there, too. If pulling upon nature is another way to do the magic I'd be all for that since I've always preferred to lean upon that over, say, faith in something."
no subject
"The thing is that the majority of my world doesn't know magic exists, up until a short time ago I thought it was only in fantasy books. If you don't get into the college or are from a magical family they wipe your mind and we have a whole lot of possible magicians who will never know what they're capable of. It sucks." She wonders if they ever think about how the well drying up with time if they keep being selective and elite. If the less magicians that they train lead to the eventual death of magic as they know it, because they haven't taken in all possible students who give more variety.
Magical politics! Go figure.
"Hedge witches, that's people who had to learn spells on their own, we're kind of bold and reckless because we have less training. But we love magic, you know?" Otherwise they wouldn't risk so much for just a touch of it. It isn't about power, not the way Brakebills might want to imply, it's the same reason trained magicians do it. The thrill, the love of something put into your very blood. "It's always a challenge." She smiles at him and shrugs. "I do wish I could like squirrel away some of these books and portal them home, the things they could come up with if they had access!"
no subject
"You and I share wanting to bring some of this back with us if we can since the world I come from could make good use of even just a tenth of what's available here. The Free Cities were who brought me here and there's more of a focus on technology than magic but so much would be of use if the nations at home could use it to make a difference for those who need it most." Everyone, preferably, if there'll be a chance for him to get his way on that when becoming king to make it so. A push towards equity for more than the nobles would do much - to say the least.
"For what it's worth, I've often found challenges make for a better understanding of something. For what I've been through, anyway, since it made me all the tougher for it." In good and bad ways, but that's perhaps a bit too much to go into upon just meeting someone and perhaps it goes unsaid as a fact of anyone going through something difficult as it is. It's with that latter thought in mind regarding meetings that Claude realizes something important to add as he sits up a little straighter in his lean against the table behind him. "I'm Claude, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
no subject
"But in Solvunn they only really seem to do magic related to the gods and I've been trying to teach them my spellwork, which has gone well. But they're pretty stuck in their ways, they might not want anything from Thorne." Solvunn isn't as hateful toward Thorne as the Free Cities, they didn't make a move in the war until it seemed too dangerous not to. But they might find non-god magic distasteful. 'Stuck' is one way of calling stubborn disregard for new options.
"I agree. I'm definitely tougher for all of it." For better or for worse. Julia smiles brightly when he introduces himself. "Oh shit I didn't even realize we hadn't done that, too focused on the convo I guess, I'm Julia. My boyfriend lives in the Free Cities, maybe you've met him? The Doctor?"
no subject
Better to set those problems aside as his expression brightens at the mention of one particular Summoned. "I do know him! We've talked a few times here and there and he's rather delightful." And then some, though that feels like the most succinct way of putting it when Julia knows her partner far better than he does and the rest is all sincere as said. "I get the impression he's lived a rather interesting life just from what he's told me in those conversations. I don't know about you, but I'm always grateful for the Horizon to make the distance a little easier even for as much as I like being independent."
Which is most of the time, content as he is to go about whatever he's doing - but being limited to small in person visits isn't ideal when longing for someone. The same applies to now though a bit in reverse since now those Claude spends most of his time with are scattered elsewhere to lessen that separation just a bit.
Thorne Help Needed
"Oh boy am I ruining this dress," she mumbles to herself after getting soaked head to toe in the rainstorm, wringing out her skirts. "Usually I keep the rain off but uh, guess not here."
Julia delivers food to soldiers and guards and uses her magic to help them with small repairs wherever she can, although usually the tiny things. Quentin's the one with the fixing spells, honestly.
The most of her time is in the infirmary though. Julia is a powerful healer and she walks through the beds, her dark hair pulled up, laying her hands on people and healing what injuries she can as she goes. Wounds close up, bruises brush away, bones are set, and she sits by bedsides to chat with people as they heal. "The only thing I can't do is take away pain," she says with a sigh of regret. She'll sit by bedsides into the night, staying late and holding hands or looking over people who are worse off than she's able to heal.
The Doctor