out into the unknown (march catch-all)

[funbreaker]

Who: Thancred Waters & others
When: Throughout March
Where: Thorne & the Horizon
What: Eclipse stuff, quest stuff, Horizon stuff, anything and everything.
Warnings: Will add if something comes up.


[ Starters will be placed in comments below! If you'd like to do anything with Thancred this month, please reach out at demonology, demonology#1725 on Discord, or by PM. ]

Comments

[funbreaker]

[ The compliment is one that Thancred takes with a brief smile and a shrug. He will admit he hadn't known how all of this creation "magick" (it can't truly be magick if he's capable of it, he knows) would work for him, but soon enough it all fell into place. It's almost uncanny how natural it had felt to do. He's done his best not to consider any deeper meaning to that, knowing what he does of his ancient ancestors. ]

I imagine it's easier if it's a place where you're intimately familiar with all the details.

[ Stephen's own domain had been impressive and on quite a large scale, from what Thancred can remember. A homey place like the Rising Stones doesn't seem as if it would compare.

When Stephen floats the bottle over, Thancred scoffs and shakes his head. ] Do you always do that? [ He could make a joke about how Stephen's going to go soft if he never uses his own two legs to fetch anything, but instead he takes the bottle and turns it over to study the label. ]

Ah, this was bottled in Wineport. As you can guess from the name, that means it will be high quality. La Noscea is known for their wines. [ He uncorks it without further instruction and pours them both a generous glass. ]

[sorser]

[He feigns at being unimpressed, the only thing betraying its insincerity being the upward quirk of his lips.]

One, don’t be jealous. Two, if you had the same ability, you’re telling me you wouldn’t will objects straight into your hands?

[He doesn’t believe you, sir. But he waits patiently as Thancred fills up a glass with a generous portion, appreciating the color. He takes it by its stem when he’s finished, holding it up against the warm light.]

La Noscea. Is that where you’re from?

[Is that where he’s sitting now? Or is Thancred’s domain a conglomeration of places, wrought from a man well-traveled? He likes to think that’s the impression he got, ironically, when the other had been purged of his memories. A fighter, wandering from place to place. Maybe he’s wrong.]

[funbreaker]

[ Thancred's jaw drops and he holds a hand against his chest, as if he's actually offended by the implication that he would be jealous of such an ability. He's seen Master Matoya do similar a number of times and he would be a liar if he said he hadn't considered the practical applications of such magicks. ]

Maybe here and there, but there's something to be said for carrying out a task with one's own two hands, wouldn't you say?

[ Granted, this entire place isn't entirely real, and that more or less ruins his point, but he may as well take his chance to give Stephen a hard time. His light teasing hasn't been received poorly thus far, so he plans to keep it up.

Stephen's question is an interesting one, and Thancred wears an inscrutable expression for a moment before he gives a non-committal shrug. ] I suppose it is. I grew up in a port city called Limsa Lominsa, the crown city-state of La Noscea. [ He leaves out the fact that he'd been a grubby orphan stealing from others to survive. ]

It's been years since I called that place home, however. Where we sit now is a headquarter of sorts, termed the Rising Stones. It's in a region called Mor Dhona.

[ He finds it comforting to speak of his home star, he will admit. Especially when its fate hangs in the balance, speaking of it reminds him of what he's fighting for at the end of the day. ]

[sorser]

[And here, he might remark about carrying objects with hands like these, but Stephen decides against it. He takes the needling teasing in stride, with the competency of a man who’s had to deal the sharp-tongued barbs of Tony Stark, or the frowning criticisms of Wong, or even the non-stop onslaught of questions from Parker. Thancred’s little snipes are novel in comparison, and a little amusing.

Stephen takes a sip from his glass as the other man relays names of places he can’t hope to recognize, but he slots them into memory all the same. As for the wine, its taste is unsurprising — that is to say, excellent; perfectly balanced, earthly, and full-bodied.

He raises his brows in approval, setting his glass down with a nod of acknowledgement.]

A headquarters for what? Or for who?

[If Thancred replies with “individuals with varied powers and heroic tendencies”, Stephen will just have to take an even longer pull of that wine, thanks.]

[funbreaker]

[ As Stephen reaches out to take the wine glass by the stem, Thancred does take note of those scars, and yes, it might explain a few things. Mayhap he should have watched his mouth, but he can hardly tell from a glance how debilitating of an injury it might have been, and how much it affects Stephen now.

It hardly seems like the sort of thing he should bring up when they're still fairly new acquaintances, even if Stephen has seen him stripped down without his memories, as bare as one could be.

In retrospect, he is relieved he didn't embarrass himself too much in that moment. Besides the fact that he literally wandered into the domain of a hated foe, but the less said about that, the better. ]

For an organization called the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, of which I'm a member. [ There's little reason to hold back on the information, particularly in the Horizon where he has no cause to worry about eavesdroppers. ] We are dedicated to protecting the realm while also not being beholden to any one nation or political power. Mor Dhona is a neutral ground of sorts, so it was a reasonable place to put our base of operations.

[ He lifts up his own glass and takes a sip. There's a vague buzz of activity and conversation that comes to life around them, along with blurry, indistinct figures in the background. He still isn't quite used to the Horizon reacting to his thoughts in such a way, and takes a moment to look around before reaffirming his gaze on Stephen. ]

[sorser]

[In Thancred’s defense, Stephen’s hands are no longer a point of contention for him. He’ll remark on the state of his useless fingers just as flippantly as anyone else; he learned long ago that his purpose isn’t connected to their use, that he’s capable despite the scarring, the nerve damage. He’s taken no offense, the thought completely discarded as soon as the conversation focuses on the other’s world.]

Okay. [That sounds like a hilariously close parallel to Stephen’s own experiences. Or secondhand experiences with regards to the Avengers, though one might make the argument that Kamar-Taj performs a similar role in a general, “protect the world” kind of way.]

Here comes the next question— [Eyes flick around to the murmur of activity cropping up, filling in the details of what Thancred’s world might have been like when more than just two people existed in this building. Faded figures. These apparent Scions of repute?]

Are your services needed very often, at least where protection is concerned? We had something similar back on Earth. [He makes a face, a little half-frown.] Well, we did. A team, in a way — they’ve disbanded since then.

[funbreaker]

[ There is a sort of amused resignation in Stephen's reaction, almost as if he'd been prepared for Thancred's response. Such a thing exists on his Earth? That certainly captures Thancred's attention, though he can't say he's surprised that similar groups are called for on other stars.

Despite Meteion's discoveries and how it had drawn her into a pit of despair, the fact is that people will never stop fighting for their right to survive. ]

Quite often, I would say. Eorzea and the lands beyond it are frequently under threat from any number of sources.

[ The primals, the Ascians, the Garlean empire — the list never seems to grow any shorter. Granted, the Alliance's work with the tribal groups does mean that they should have to worry less about primals being summoned so routinely. The fact that they've been able to solve tempering was also a huge step.

Yet now, they face the Final Days. He can't quite bring himself to speak of it, not when it's still a very real danger that has not been resolved, at least in his own timeline. ]

Why did they disband? [ There could be any number of reasons, he knows, and yet he can't help but be curious. He slowly drinks from his glass while awaiting Stephen's response. ]

i waited to see if this tag would come back from the blue... but alas

[sorser]

[Quite often. Not so departed from the overall framework of a group of heroes seeking to defend their reality from constant looming threats. Suddenly, his empathy spikes; he wonders just how tiring it is for Thancred, who seems to put on a good face despite it all, because Stephen knows from his own experiences how much the job requires from a man. From a group of individuals. He had not been a part of the Avengers officially, but even as the weird sorcerous outsider-looking-in, he knew there were hairline cracks splintering the team well before he met any of them.

Well. Some hairline, a few more cavernous, if the media hadn't overblown their reports. He thinks, more or less, that they didn't.]

That's a long story. [A long story that can be watered down into a very generalized one, which Thancred does deserve to hear from him, at this point. It's only fair, since Stephen got to see his clean-slate, memory-less self.] The gist of it is this: they had just come off of a long battle against an intergalactic warlord who sought to exterminate half of all life in the universe. I got wrangled into it, too, all things considered.

[All the considered: his guardianship of the Time Stone, his (then) role as Sorcerer Supreme. He glides over all of that for now.]

When it was finished, we saved countless lives. But sacrifices were made. Several of their own were lost. [He takes a long swig of his wine here, brow scrunching up when he's done.] There's only so much trauma a single team can take in such a short amount of time. The Avengers were no more, after that.

Can't say I blame them.

punches dreamwidth for you

[funbreaker]

[ Isn't any story having to do with a group of people steadfastly working to defend their world going to be a long one? Thancred can't imagine trying to explain the whole of the Scions' history in a single sentence, or even a few of them. There are ways to boil down what they do, but as soon as you get into the details it becomes far more complicated.

Stephen is rather matter-of-fact about this warlord wanting to commit universe-wide genocide, but it's likely easier to do so when the threat is gone and has been resolved, if not without some people lost along the way.

It sounds a bit too familiar in some senses. The likes of Meteion and Fandaniel also want to destroy just about everything, dragged so far down into a pit of despair that they see no other option. Thancred still knows not what will come of all that, even if he's chosen to keep his faith in Himeka's future actions strong.

And as for sacrifices made, well, how many nights has he spent dwelling on those? He stares at the glass of wine in front of him for a few moment, well aware of how often he'd turned to drink while mourning his inability to keep Minfilia safe. It does feel like he's finally made up for it as best he can, and he is no longer in such a dark place, but the memories are fresh all the same. ]

Aye, that's fair enough. The Scions have also lost people along the way, though mayhap not in such quick succession. We've managed to stay together thus far, but the threat we were dealing with before I arrived here was the most wide-spanning of all those we've faced.

[ This isn't something he's brought up much save with those who are already aware of it, and he permits himself a deep exhale as he finally takes another sip of his wine. Then he shoots a glance back to Stephen. It's best they don't dwell on that subject overly long. ]

You didn't consider yourself a part of these... Avengers, even though you helped them?

[sorser]

[The similarities keep on piling up, though Stephen is sorry to hear about this one in particular. A wide-spanning threat -- just how wide? It bothers him, not knowing, his imagination wanting to fill in the holes with nothing to work with. Leave him hanging like that, Thancred, and you'll have Stephen wanting to nose around for more information on principle alone.

He almost asks in the pause that follows, uncaring if it interrupts Thancred's lingering exhale and sip of his wine, wanting to know. But he's beaten to the punch, asked something else instead, and Stephen's lips twist.]

Me? An Avenger? Maybe in some alternate universe. [And even then, it sounds silly. Stephen's far removed from the team dynamic lifestyle, happy to be relegated to his role as the weird sorcerer guy.] No, I have a different set of responsibilities in my own order. The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj usually deal with magical threats. The Avengers dealt with more Earthly ones.

[Thanos was just... a particularly special case. Magical restrictions do not apply when half of life in the universe had been turned to dust.]

[funbreaker]

[ Magical threats, Earthly threats — Thancred does not quite understand the difference, if he's honest. It might be due to the fact that most of the threats they deal with back home are somehow magical in nature, save for that of the Garlean empire. It would not make much sense to draw such a distinction, but magick must serve a different role in Stephen's world.

Either way, Stephen doesn't appear to be too bothered by this, as if he'd rather not have to function as part of a team. It isn't for everyone, certainly. ]

A sorcerer of Kamar-Taj. [ Thancred repeats the words between another sip of wine. That seems to be Stephen's title, something quite lofty and important from the sound of it, and Thancred thinks back to his slightly hazy memories of his domain. ] Is that a place? One of the structures in your domain, perhaps? And what magical threats do you typically have to deal with?

[ He's asking a lot of question, but he feels comfortable doing so within the privacy of the Horizon. Stephen has been a useful ally thus far, and Thancred would like to learn more of him, especially given what Geralt mentioned about him at the summit. ]

[sorser]

[He used to have a much loftier title, but Stephen isn't here to flaunt that, despite how exasperated he sometimes gets when the subject's brought up around Wong. He swirls the wine in his glass idly.]

Kamar-Taj was the area surrounding the main building in my domain. That [the building, he means] was one of my Earth's Sanctum Sanctorums. Think of it as one of a handful of magic headquarters stationed around the world. You'll have to visit properly next time.

[Not that he would've turned him away during Thancred's first visit, but his companion had been eager to wander like all newcomers. Stephen wasn't about to stifle that.]

As for magical threats, just about any you can think of. [He realizes that doesn't narrow it down at all, so he rattles off a few examples.] Dangers from across the mulitverse, beating back dark entities, or monitoring instances of dangerous magic being used planetside.

What about you? Magical or otherwise, what's the average threat your group faces?

[It was only a matter of time before the question niggling at him made itself known.]

[funbreaker]

[ Magick headquarters? Thancred would say the best example of that in his own world is Old Sharlayan itself, to say nothing of the smaller guilds scattered among other citystates. It does sound like something that it would benefit him to see with his own eyes, and so he nods in agreement. ]

I'll make certain to pay you a visit sometime, if your doors are open.

[ He understands that not everyone wants their domain to be invaded or inspected with any sort of scrutiny. Stephen, however, has been quite open thus far. The fact that he had offered to show Thancred into the Horizon in the first place speaks volumes.

The term "multiverse" means nothing to him, but dark entities and improper use of dangerous magick? Aye, he's familiar with such things. He notices his glass is almost empty and reaches out for the wine bottle to refill it, offering to do the same for Stephen as well. ]

By this point, it's become any number of things. [ He heaves out a sigh, not certain where to even begin with explaining Meteion. He won't start there. ] In my world, it's possible for beings of great magical power called primals to be summoned. Generally this is done by a group of worshippers who believe the primal will keep them safe, or as a show of power in a conflict. However, primals draw large amounts of aether from the earth, and will also temper anyone in close enough proximity, turning them into their thralls.

[ While the primal threat has in many ways been contained now, it's a decent place to start given how long the Scions had been focused on them. ]