abraxaslogs | Study Sessions Mingle Thingy!

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Study Sessions Mingle Thingy!

WHO: Castle Thorne residents, old and new!
WHAT: A mingle log set in the study room Kylo set up for awakening connections to the Singularity through group meditation. When not in use for group meditation sessions, the room is kind of Kylo's... office? where he works on his own projects, but he's made it available for any of the Summoned to use.
WHEN: wibbly-wobbly ongoing! Sessions occur periodically and are open to all.
WHERE: Castle Thorne
WARNINGS: None at present! If something comes up in your thread, please warn in the subject lines and/or let me know so I can add them here.

(This is something of a mingle log, so feel free to use this space for anything you like. I'll be putting up top-levels for interacting with Kylo specifically, please feel free to do the same if your character would be willing to help others get to the Horizon for the first time or would otherwise have use for a relatively private environment in Castle Thorne!)

Accomplishing anything at all here in Abraxas will require better understanding of the Singularity— and if Kylo and the other Summoned brought in during the first wave of Ambrose's project to touch it by proxy have learned anything, it's that the answers to their questions are much more likely to be found beyond the border of the Horizon than in Thorne's library. There's only so much to discover by studying the effects of the Singularity on this world, or even the countless others it touches. Perhaps it's better to go direct to the source.

For this purpose, Kylo has secured one of the castle's many rooms for use by the Summoned— a space where they can gather and explore their shared connection to the Horizon in relative safety, avoiding the potentially hazardous trek to the physical artifact at the very heart of the world. During sessions and at personal request, the room is open to anyone who would like to visit the Horizon. Outside of them, the room is reserved for Kylo's personal efforts to study the Singularity. Sometimes, the work goes on behind closed doors. A group of Thornean mages — Kylo's recently formed task force — gather here on occasion, but are notably absent unless specifically requested.

Beyond the common architectural notes of high ceilings, intricate stonework and rich (if somewhat faded) tapestries, the main feature of the room is the collection of sumptuous cushions spread across the floor. Drapes cover the tall windows, while the soft illumination of magical lamplight lends the space a still, restful air. Alongside one wall is a table laden with pitchers of water and tall glasses, bowls of fruit and similar light refreshments, while a large bookshelf displaying a growing collection of bizarre magical artifacts and pair of long couches with a low table between them have been set up along the other.

Meditation is the key to entering the Horizon, and that's far more easily achieved when everyone's comfortable.

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(this thread is for anyone who would like to thread out the process of activating their link to the Singularity with Kylo! While not strictly necessary, it would really help me if you could fill out a little info on your character on Kylo's permissions page. If you'd like to pair up with someone else but still want to use the study group room, please feel free to start your own toplevel. Thanks!)

Something about the quality of light and the plush softness surrounding the starkly solid bulk of Kylo Ren might feel a little unnatural, particularly to anyone who's seen him training with brutally fluid efficiency out in the courtyard— but Kylo himself seems perfectly at ease.

"Would you like to talk about it first?" he asks, apparently unaware that most people begin conversations with greetings— or perhaps he simply doesn't care. Anyone here knows what he's referring to, after all: the source of magic in this world and possibly all others too. With a touch of his hand and a little guided meditation, he can take any of his fellow Summoned to the Horizon, stirring up their own latent connection to the Singularity and its potentially endless possibilities.

His gaze is smooth, unflinchingly steady.

"...Or would you like to see it for yourself."

Stephen stands with arms crossed, his scarred fingers worrying faintly at a sleeve. It hasn’t been long enough for him to adjust entirely to his new situation, but he has no inclination to sit around and wait; idleness settles wrongly in him when the problem-mystery of the Singularity is a constant.

He gives Kylo’s offer only a half-second of consideration in-between his reply.

“I’d like to know what to expect,” he suggests, “before we dive in headlong.”

That is: he is more than content with diving in headlong, as long as he has the pretense of a barebones understanding of what he’s getting into. Stephen’s wretchedly curious, though. There’s no doubt about that.

Kylo can appreciate both wretched curiosity and the attempt to curtail it— his eyes steady on Stephen's face as he assesses him carefully. What a strange creature he is indeed, gently crackling with potential already, before they've even unlocked the fullness of his connection to the Singularity together.

"Unfortunately, you won't be able to remember anything I tell you," Kylo decides to tell him first. "The Horizon... is like a dream. A reality that responds to our desires, reshaping itself to suit us. But the first time you touch it, you will be reshaped. Not beyond the limits of your self, but... perhaps you should imagine it like being separated from your memories. Distilled. The essence of who you are, who you will always be, remains."

Distilled. It’s an elegant way of putting it, though Stephen believes diluted might be a better term, if what he’s hearing is correct: what’s an individual, if not shaped by memory?

Still, not the point.

“Existentially troublesome,” he says, acerbic. ‘Impossibly vulnerable’ is a close runner-up, but his interest doesn’t wane. “So since any and all explanation is going to be forgotten upon entry, a better question is this: I assume I’ll have the privilege of actually remembering with more clarity eventually, otherwise a return trip’s a moot point, right?”

Kylo's lips curve into a slight smile.

"Yes. You will remember everything that happened within the Horizon once you... wake, and from that moment on you will be able to access it by yourself, at will, and without loss of memory. Why exactly this happens isn't known— but I have yet to see anyone prove an exception to the rule."

Quite honestly, an exception to the rule would be a very exciting occurrence: a chance to better understand the mechanism of the Horizon and even the Singularity itself. From what Kylo can sense of Stephen Strange already, he may even agree.

"You will also receive... a gift. A new power or ability. Some form of transformation, often related to your experience within the Horizon, but not always."

Stephen would agree, the tantalizing notion of an outlier existing to give better context to the how’s and why’s. The logistics that undoubtedly still need to be pulled apart — and what it would mean for steadfast rules to not apply to a single individual, or a group of them.

If nothing else, it’s worth uncovering why memory loss is a prerequisite at all, and the notion is tucked away for now in favor of focusing on another interesting, offered tidbit.

Some form of transformation. Its open-ended nature is simultaneously appealing and worrisome. Stephen holds back the inclination to scrub at his eyes with the heel of a palm.

“Is that why you’re so—“ Ah, hm, is this rude? Assumptive? Well. He pushes forward anyway. “—towering? A gift from the Horizon?”

It is both rude and assumptive, but Kylo also finds it amusing. A brief, sharp and clearly rare burst of a laugh breaks out and is swiftly bitten off.

"I was always tall. But yes, a few more inches were among the gifts I have been given. It seems that if you work with the Singularity long enough, your connection to it strengthens... but it has been difficult to organise serious study without widespread cooperation. Perhaps, once your own connection is awakened, you can assist me."

Stephen scoffs a little in turn, not so much dismissive as it is his own twist of amusement, directed at two things: the idea of contact with the Singularity simply making someone taller, and that it’s been difficult to arrange cooperative study and research. Because of course it has.

“Can’t imagine why it’s been hard to get people to cooperate. It’s not as though the Singularity is the very crux of why we’re here.” The sarcastic edge falls off of his words as he continues. “And I don’t see why I wouldn’t assist you. Understanding what we’re dealing with is critical to knowing what to do with it. Two minds are better than one, especially since you’ve gotten a head start.”

He needs to understand, to know. Beyond his own base, professional interest, it is critical to moving forward with any shadow of actual direction in this world.

“No time to waste, then. I’m ready if you are.”

"Good."

And it is. Kylo's found all too often that the more ominous and unpleasant parts of his nature get in the way of cooperative progress for some entirely unmysterious reason— which makes Stephen's response extremely refreshing. It's nice to feel like someone else both understands the stakes and appreciates the efforts he's made so far.

He shifts, gesturing for Stephen to join him as he sinks down onto the cushions, cross-legged and expectant. His forearms settle on his thighs, hands resting lightly at each of his knees— easily in reach. It's an oddly fluid motion, for a man so broad and oversized.

"Concentrate if you can on the strain. The pull of the Singularity, the way you are tethered to it. And when you are ready, take my hand, and I will take you with me."

Fluidity, maybe, is a sign of practice. He wonders how many time Kylo’s done this, and for the other newcomers beyond even that. But Stephen shows similar familiarity with the practice of mediation, sinking into the cushions nearby without even a mote of awkwardness born of a novice — his legs cross, and his eyes close.

He listens to the other’s voice, he shoves away all else that does not center on this very moment. And it does not take long for Stephen to feel that faint anchor to the Singularity, unique in that it had never existed in any meditative processes before, like it would draw a straight line from Stephen to itself no matter where he was in the universe.

Without comment, he reaches out soon after, taking Kylo’s hand.

In another place or circumstance, Rhy might have felt right at home in this lavish room, might have stretched out on the cushions and tried to chat up the nearest attractive man or woman who caught his fancy (and there are several to choose from even now). He might have taken a stronger interest in the possibilities of all the magic suddenly available to him, and being encouraged to use it.

But being here has left him feeling-- unstable. Unmoored. What is the point of it all? What is he supposed to do when he is all alone?

So Rhy sits with Kylo at the invitation, if it can be called that, mostly because he feels he should. He is still searching for... something. There has to be a way to reach Kell.

If he can't do it in this flesh and blood place, maybe he can find a way in there.

"I'm told this is a place only those from other worlds can access. Tell me how it works."

Kylo watches Rhy with a particularly steady gaze, curious about something himself— but for now, he's the one being asked a question.

"The Horizon is only for us, it's true," Kylo tells him. "There is a physical, tangible object in this world, the Singularity, that surrounds itself with another... layer of existence. The Horizon. We can enter it physically, or access it through meditation on our connection to the Singularity. Yours..."

He pauses, examining Rhy closely. Whatever he sees there is clearly worthy of note, if not comment or explanation.

"All of the Summoned have a connection to the Singularity. We have to access the Horizon to activate it. I have an active connection, so I can... carry you. With me."

"And this Singularity is meant to be the source of all magic, through which power we were brought here." It's not a question, really; this is what they're all told, and Rhy knows that much. He just doesn't know yet how to feel about it, or how the others like him feel about it.

"Is the Horizon a way to access its power? Can it help us reach to other worlds?"

"We're still exploring the limits of the Horizon," Kylo offers. "It appears to be something like a dream. Reality there responds to our desires, allowing us to create anything we would like... but our creations remain inside it when we leave. If it is a way to use the Singularity here in this reality, this world? We haven't discovered the method to control it yet."

Rhy's question about other worlds is a little more telling, however. Kylo's lips pull into a twist of a smile, not entirely pleasant.

"All the Summoned were brought here from other worlds through the power of the Singularity, but none of us know exactly how it was accomplished. Ambrose is keeping that secret close to his chest. But. If he could learn the method..."

He trails off, leaving the rest unspoken. Surely, anything Ambrose was able to accomplish should be something any of the Summoned could learn, given enough time, effort and access to the same resources and materials.

None of this seems to surprise Rhy; he figured that if there were a way to reach other worlds, someone would have told him, as it seems most people who were summoned like him have left things behind. None of them had been asked, after all.

His lips twist with distaste, but Rhy says nothing. Only nods.

"Assuming it can even be reversed. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I understand what you're saying: we're all stuck here for now without a way to reach anyone who'd miss us."

And a whole lot of people are going to be missing Rhy. His parents are surely frantic. Maybe it is a good thing, after all, that Kell ran. Because Rhy has to pretend, for now, that he believes Kell is all right despite the last moments he can remember in the orchard. The pain. He'd thought, naturally, it had been Kell, but--

The mages here had told him that he is connected to their Singularity now. That it brought him here. Maybe that pain hadn't been Kell's, after all. Maybe it was whatever had dragged him out of his world, away from his brother, and into this place. Maybe Kell is free of him, at last.

A few moments pass, uncomfortably, in silence as Rhy gets lost in his thoughts. It is unlike him, but no one here knows what is really like him anyway. He needn't wear the face of the good-humored prince here.

"...you were saying? About taking me into this Horizon?"

An expert by now, Ronan doesn't need any help reaching the Horizon. While the others take their time under Kylo's guidance, he lingers in the waking world, waiting to make himself useful in other ways.

Because he personally hates it when others (except Kylo) watch him sleep, he does them all the courtesy of not sitting there and staring awkwardly while they try to meditate. He's some distance away for the duration of the session, his long body draped languidly across one of the couches while he listens to his iPod on discrete earbuds — these being less distracting for others — instead of his usual chunky headphones.

It's only after everyone's finished with their spiritual experience that he sits up and tugs his earbuds out. He's not really a friendlier face than Kylo, but he does have a reason for being here.

"Hey," he speaks up. "Before you fuck off, give me your order."

He’s on his way out—his mind still churning from the experience, how to parse it and how it may be utilized in the near future—when Ronan snags his attention with an unexpected question. Stephen doesn’t hide the way his brow arches, the fleeting moment of a once-over glance at someone he’s noticed as a background figure and little else, before asking for clarification.

“And I’m putting in an order for what, exactly?”

If he had been expected to prepare some kind of, what? Requisitions request? Well, that memo never crossed his figurative desk.

"Whatever you want."

Everyone seems to struggle with this offer, but Ronan doesn't know what's so hard to understand. Wishes are easy. Surely everyone has dozens of them swimming around in their heads at any given moment. It hasn't occurred to him that people might want time to prepare a list before he puts them on the spot. Then again, it's not like this is a one-time offer.

He holds up his iPod as an example, giving it a little wiggle. Even if this guy has no idea what it is, the thing is obviously not of this world. "Anything you're missing," Ronan clarifies. "Deodorant? New boots? Magic sword? Seriously anything."

Wishes are aplenty, but Stephen might argue against the fact that wishes are easy, else there would be far fewer swimming around in any one person’s skull. And maybe that’s the part hard for him to immediately wrap his mind around, that it would be so simple to dredge up anything just like that — beyond the constraints of basic conjuration and transmutation spells, he assumes.

His eyes move from man to iPod, iPod back to man. Brows cinch a little.

“Anything? How?”

It feels reasonable to ask.

“Looks to be setting yourself up for some very ridiculous requests.”

Ronan snorts in amusement. He's yet to hear a request more ridiculous than what his mind is inclined to come up with when left to its own devices. Not a single person has asked for a way to make cows fly.

"I could explain how," he replies, "but you're just gonna have more questions when I do. Anyway, yes. Anything. I'm fucking incredible."

He points to Kylo's bookshelf of oddities, his unsubtle but unnamed shrine to Ronan Lynch. Some of the artifacts are obviously magical, like the perpetually-burning candle that's emitting darkness instead of light, somehow making its corner of the shelf more shadowy than the rest. Others are seemingly plain until one interacts with it, like the jewelry box that emits a high-pitched human scream when it's opened.

"That's just what I do when I'm bored."

Why, yes, Stephen would likely have a multitude of questions prepared to fling at any given explanation, and it’s highly unlikely he’d refrain from prodding even if his wonderment was dismissed — it’s just how he is, in possession of a mind ever-grasping at understanding what he does not yet know. Widening the keyhole of knowledge, as someone he once knew would put it.

But in some circumstances, a live example is just as good as a thorough explanation. Eyes fixing on the bookshelf nearby—items in which Stephen can feel the magic radiating, if not always see it—the scope of what Ronan offers broadens. He considers his own relics, now gone missing in this world, left behind in the multiversal transition.

“Then how about another magical relic? I had a cloak once,” he begins, experimentally, unsure just how much description is required. “The Cloak of Levitation. Red, well-tailored, and a little sentient. It allowed its wearer to fly. Do you think you could cough up something similar?”

"Yeah," Ronan answers without a moment's hesitation. "Easy."

He's clearly pleased by this request. It's rare for anyone to get creative with their wishes. Usually what they're missing is the most mundane of conveniences, and Ronan feels more like a 7-Eleven than an almighty creator. He still hasn't gotten over being asked to deliver a pierogi once. Possibly, he will never forgive it.

"Do you want your cloak friend to be a copy of the one you used to have or should I wing it?"

A brow rises. So not only is it an easy request, but this man can be exacting about it, too? The questions are inevitable from Stephen at this point, prying.

“How would you make an exact copy without having seen it? Am I supposed to draw you a picture?”

A reply that would be vaguely more sarcastic if it wasn’t an actual possibility, for all Stephen can guess at.

"The Horizon," Ronan answers with a hint of shitty condescension, as if that much ought to have been obvious, even though it's perfectly reasonable for someone not to have made the connection yet. "We're in each other's heads, man. You can show me anything you want over there and I can bring it over here."

Stephen doesn’t bristle at the tone, though a frown presses at his lips. The Horizon — right, a new factor that he’ll have to take into account in regards to everything since that he’s freshly back from his first trip; it makes sense, now, why this man would ask only after the newcomers have returned to “reality” as they know it.

“Right. So a skip and a waltz around mind and memory,” he says, equating the Horizon to both, “and you can recreate whatever anyone’s lacking. Relatively ingenious of you.”

The praise isn’t without sincerity, but a dry edge exists in the face of Ronan’s obvious self-importance. Still, no point in taking offense when the offer is still on the table.

“I’d prefer an exact copy.”

Ronan doesn't seem particularly bothered by Stephen's tone. It's fair to counter shittiness with shittiness, and anyway, he doesn't exactly care about impressing a random stranger when he's already quite self-assured about his awesomeness.

"Whenever you're ready to go back to Wonderland, then," he replies. "It won't take me long to make it after you've shown it to me."

“Do you visit it often?” he asks with little preamble. “I can seek you out in the Horizon sooner rather than later if you’re a frequent visitor — or the other way around.”

Odd, talking about it like it’s a new neighborhood to roam around in, but the comparison isn’t inherently wrong.

“Unless you’re itching to get my ‘order’ over with here and now?”

"It won't be over with here and now anyway," Ronan answers. "I prefer to work without an audience."

Kylo excluded, of course. But guard duty doesn't really count as spectating, anyway.

"And I don't go into the Horizon without a reason, so we'll have to make an appointment whenever you're in the mood. I'm not in a rush if you're not in a rush."

Being conscious and aware of other individuals acting as an audience during a meditative stint had never crossed Stephen’s mind — chalk it up to Kamar-Taj’s training, where the sight was common, expected, though very rarely interrupted.

“Tomorrow morning,” he decides, which may say something about whether or not he’s in a rush. The cloak had always been an important asset, and some representation of it—original or not—would be very welcome. “I can be found in the place I’ve already started conjuring up, assuming you care to go looking. A townhouse with a circular skylight.”

Yennefer is not always in attendance when it comes to these Horizon study sessions, her studies and worth with the Horizon being of a more private nature and generally without larger audiences. But this is also not her first time within these walls, and as she sweeps inside, her familiarity with the space is quite evident, and where Ronan has his own couch along one of the walls, Yennefer has a separate one that is her's - though it's unclear if it's her's due to how often she is here, or simply because in that moment, she has claimed it.

Prior to everyone's entrance into the Horizon, she will be approachable enough - a goblet of wine in hand and a curious, though sometimes bored, expression on her face. There will be moments where she seems more distracted than others, especially in the time leading up to what appears to be the most of the Summoned are entering the Horizon, in which she will very suddenly stand to join, without having had much interest in it before that point.

However - if you catch her either before or after your own trip into the Horizon, you might catch her watching. And if she notices you looking back, there will be a smile in return - casual, cordial, polite. "Well? How was it?" Additionally, feel free to approach her with your own questions, or even catch her in one of her walks around the room. She will spend some time in this room, so it won't be hard to find time where it's just her, though she does drift between the Summoned as well.

Even though Abigail spends a considerable amount of time in the Horizon, she's pretty sure she's only really scratched the surface of what she's able to do there. She has to keep reminding herself that this is all for her own development, that no one's going to try to catch her out and that essentially they're all in the same boat, even though most of the Summoned who've remained in Thorne seem far more adept than her.

She's never been good in group situations and mostly hangs back, trying to listen in to the conversations of the others around her and glean any tips she can. When she catches the woman watching her from across the room she manages a smile that's both polite and a little nervous.

Yennefer catches sight of Abigail across the room, and a curious thought comes to mind. She'd spoken of the girl with Kylo, back when she first returned and the circumstances around it, and Yennefer had been meaning to follow up with her, but realizes now that it must have fallen aside amid her other more pressing matters.

But in seeing her now, though, Yennefer finds herself smiling and getting to her feet. Abigail stands off to the side, alone amid the slight crowd within the room, and when their eyes meet and Abigail offers a polite, nervous smile, Yennefer's smiles back - warm, welcoming, and honestly all together a bit of a change from the normal stand-offish expression she holds.

She waves Abigail over - the couch she's sitting on is big enough for them both - and hopes she understands.

Abigail tentatively waves in return, though she hangs back a moment to make sure that Yennefer is definitely inviting her over. She makes her way over, circling around the outside of the room so she doesn't have to weave through the rest of the people.

She seats herself next to Yennefer, perching on the edge with her hands tightly laced in her lap.

"Hi."

"Hello."

Yennefer's smile is honest, as Abigail sits down and Yennefer shifts so that she both has plenty of room but also is still as welcoming as she can be. Honest, inviting - she's been quite curious about the girl since Kylo told her that she'd returned after running to Nott, and upon meeting her now.

"I'm Yennefer." She offers, before nodding towards the room at large. "I don't know if I've seen you here before today?"

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Study Sessions Mingle Thingy!

Activation with Kylo Ren!

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