"There is no conjuring something from nothing. The cost usually comes from the mage's lifeforce, their own energy, although a well-trained mage can take energy from the elements or other sources to use as their own." From plants, animals, sometimes people, it depends on where the need is from. The other mages he knows all lean in one direction or another, their strengths found out early in the training process and then developed, just as his psionics leaning became clear.
"They rely on academic magic here, it seems that anyone can learn the exact spells to pull them off. What Ambrose did ... I think it is different." Otherwise anyone would be able to pull a book off a shelf and learn it. Perhaps there are spellbooks that dangerous and powerful, but Istredd is suspicious, knowing that the Singularity is a magical source right there in their world. "Or the truth is every use of magic here pulls from the Singularity." And that would drain it, dangerously low.
It will take some time to figure out the truth here, if he ever gets to. His eyes focus on Lucifer, less speculative and more centered. "My name is Istredd."
Anything with a spark of life in it then, perhaps.
Interesting.
Something to keep in mind, put in a back pocket. Never know what information could be valuable, and when.
"It may not be so different. The other nations learned the Summoning one way or another after Thorne. Whether or not they cracked the spell Thorne used or they used some Dollar Store knockoff brand... and what that may mean for the spell they are using..."
If it is a cheaper version, if by trying to rival Thorne (and whatever Solvunn is really doing) they're making things worse with their Summoning spell...
It's a meltdown waiting to happen.
Which... perhaps works in his favor, but not until he's ready. And aware.
And that means finally getting to the real work.
He blinks out of his thoughts. Tilts his head. Lips twitch. "Lucifer."
"I suppose we can't know if it's the same spell, at least not currently. I am hoping to eventually talk my way into seeing the Singularity myself. Studying giant magic rocks has been my most recent career." There is a little bit of dryness in that last part, but it is accurate. Istredd has been a few things over his time alive, but a monolith expert was his focus for the past few years. The Singularity just calls to him, intellectually at least. For now.
But it won't be that easy. Yennefer has made it clear that this is a bit of an uphill battle, but it won't deter him. While they have a complicated relationship, she'll help him if it means helping her general intentions here, and she's popular in the castle.
It's clear that the name symbolically means nothing to him as he just nods his head in greeting. "A pleasure to meet you, Lucifer, despite the circumstances." Istredd doesn't think the circumstances are that bad, but not everyone is as easy-going about being kidnapped to another plane of existence, probably.
"If you know Yennefer, we are from the same land. She seems to be one of the better known Summoned here." It is a bit of a risk, immediately putting his wagon to Yennefer, in case she's annoyed anyone, but it is the truth all the same. And Istredd is not ashamed to know her, he never has been.
The 'studying giant magic rocks' doesn't even faze him. His giant rocks likely are actually magical. Humanity's done dumber things from his world, making useless claims.
"Maybe I can tag along if you get that chance," he says, latching onto it.
Maybe if he can play third wheel he won't have to do as much work himself to get in anyone's good graces.
"I feel like none of my reading has provided anything to satiate my curiosity; even if it did, I don't imagine the books they have available for our consumption are... mmm..." He sways his head side to side, thinking, then shakes it, like it'll erase the sentence so that he can start over. "They seem lacking, perhaps on purpose." That may just be his own paranoia, but withholding knowledge is something he would do in their position, so...
At the mention of Yennefer there's a sharpened gleam of interest to his eyes, and then how magic works on their words slots into place with her name and locks together. Important and kept in his mind.
"I do know her," he says, then adds with complete honesty, "she's one of very few people here that I trust has a sensible head on their shoulders."
"Perhaps." A faint smile. "I'll put in a good word, if I ever manage." He doesn't guess at why anyone else would want to go. Istredd is shocked some people have no interest in it. It may be the key to magic in all worlds. That is the type of thing everyone should want to know more about, and yet.
"That is because everything we have access to was chosen specifically for us to have access to." If Lucifer is paranoid, Istredd is much, much more so. Or maybe he is just pragmatic and he's a scholar so he knows what he's looking for. "There's a bookshop nearby I'm going to go check out, see if they have texts they wouldn't allow in here."
It is still a hard sell, because they could just as easily have controlled those ones too. But all sellers have their secret rare tomes. It is how these things go. Istredd is not surprised to hear that he is correct about Yennefer. She is famous to the mages too, although currently not for a good reason. In fact, she's in exile, not that it matters to him. He would have been happy to go into exile too. But destiny is a strange path to follow.
"Sensible, oh she'd hate to hear you say that." Istredd smiles, truly smiles, it even reaches his eyes. "I've known her since we were teenagers. In a lot of ways, how we were raised and trained really suits this situation better than others, perhaps."
Maybe Istredd even means it--to put in a good word. Even if he doesn't, well, Lucifer will find a way.
"Best of luck with that." He means it. The thought that town is just as curated has equally been on his mind.
"So don't call her that to her face--got it." There's few people Lucifer cares about staying on their good side. Actually, Yennefer might be the only one. He's not sure he could easily get on Wanda's bad side. "It doesn't appear as though there's any rhyme or reason to who gets pulled in here. They talk about great exploits, but then they pull in a sixteen year old." He has no idea how old Wilhelm is. "Luck of the draw has points in your favor, it seems."
"We'll see what comes of it. They seem to have a great deal of control over everything here." That is to say, Istredd does not have high hopes that getting books at the local shop will give him better answers. He is still going to try and thoroughly find out for himself. "I have been in many courts off and on, and none held this tightly."
In general, he understands why. They brought in many strangers who they want something out of, they need to control them and also control the narrative around them. It means that trust is completely impossible.
"Definitely not to her face. While Yennefer is truthfully one of the most pragmatic people I know, she can be very prickly about the way she is seen." She likes her image of being difficult and chaotic and impossible to understand. She always likes to be the one in control with the cards in her hands. And she always cares more about what other people think than she'd like.
"Perhaps it is the teenager's future they are reading from. Sixteen now, but destiny may have a bigger path for him."
He smirks in response to Istredd's talking of Yennefer. Truly, Lucifer could relate, though he'd never recognize that about himself. It doesn't matter what image he tries to craft for himself, he will always be seen for what he's done. Whether or not he believes himself to be justified in his actions. Devil is a title he can't shake, even in Abraxas, stitched to his person.
"I'd told the kid much the same," he agrees. 'Maybe it's not what you've done yet. But what you're capable of.' He sighs. The kid thinks himself useless. Lucifer sees potential. He'll shape and wield Wilhelm into something, whether or not he realizes. Whether or not he wants it.
He rubs a hand at his brow. "Well, the bed's open," he surprises himself to say. "No one else has taken up space here." He'd like to keep it that way, but this might work out in his favor. Someone that both isn't a pain to talk to, will likely bury themselves in the library much as Lucifer had done, and might be able to give him some sort of upper-hand down the road.
It could work.
Let's call this one a wrap and focus on the new one :D
Istredd has never been that concerned with appearances. He barely changed himself at all, when he attended the ceremony to ascend. But he understands not everyone feels that way. There is genuine power in presentation. He has seen what it can do for people. Stregobor is one of the best manipulators of image in their world, usually to the detriment of everyone else. Yennefer did what she had to survive.
"Everyone has potential, but to be brought here, it has to be a guarantee. I don't get the sense they make mistakes. He will find his way." Maybe Istredd will run into the boy himself. He is not often around youths, but he is a fairly good teacher when he needs to be. It must be very difficult though, to be here with no clear answer.
He realizes that he has literally intruded into Lucifer's space. He thought the bed empty, as now he is being told it is, technically, but within Lucifer's place. Yet everyone eventually will have to share. He can hear the suggestion and the invite and he smiles genuinely.
"I would appreciate being allowed to stay here, Lucifer. Thank you."
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Lucifer - Continuation from TDM
"There is no conjuring something from nothing. The cost usually comes from the mage's lifeforce, their own energy, although a well-trained mage can take energy from the elements or other sources to use as their own." From plants, animals, sometimes people, it depends on where the need is from. The other mages he knows all lean in one direction or another, their strengths found out early in the training process and then developed, just as his psionics leaning became clear.
"They rely on academic magic here, it seems that anyone can learn the exact spells to pull them off. What Ambrose did ... I think it is different." Otherwise anyone would be able to pull a book off a shelf and learn it. Perhaps there are spellbooks that dangerous and powerful, but Istredd is suspicious, knowing that the Singularity is a magical source right there in their world. "Or the truth is every use of magic here pulls from the Singularity." And that would drain it, dangerously low.
It will take some time to figure out the truth here, if he ever gets to. His eyes focus on Lucifer, less speculative and more centered. "My name is Istredd."
no subject
Interesting.
Something to keep in mind, put in a back pocket. Never know what information could be valuable, and when.
"It may not be so different. The other nations learned the Summoning one way or another after Thorne. Whether or not they cracked the spell Thorne used or they used some Dollar Store knockoff brand... and what that may mean for the spell they are using..."
If it is a cheaper version, if by trying to rival Thorne (and whatever Solvunn is really doing) they're making things worse with their Summoning spell...
It's a meltdown waiting to happen.
Which... perhaps works in his favor, but not until he's ready. And aware.
And that means finally getting to the real work.
He blinks out of his thoughts. Tilts his head. Lips twitch. "Lucifer."
no subject
But it won't be that easy. Yennefer has made it clear that this is a bit of an uphill battle, but it won't deter him. While they have a complicated relationship, she'll help him if it means helping her general intentions here, and she's popular in the castle.
It's clear that the name symbolically means nothing to him as he just nods his head in greeting. "A pleasure to meet you, Lucifer, despite the circumstances." Istredd doesn't think the circumstances are that bad, but not everyone is as easy-going about being kidnapped to another plane of existence, probably.
"If you know Yennefer, we are from the same land. She seems to be one of the better known Summoned here." It is a bit of a risk, immediately putting his wagon to Yennefer, in case she's annoyed anyone, but it is the truth all the same. And Istredd is not ashamed to know her, he never has been.
no subject
"Maybe I can tag along if you get that chance," he says, latching onto it.
Maybe if he can play third wheel he won't have to do as much work himself to get in anyone's good graces.
"I feel like none of my reading has provided anything to satiate my curiosity; even if it did, I don't imagine the books they have available for our consumption are... mmm..." He sways his head side to side, thinking, then shakes it, like it'll erase the sentence so that he can start over. "They seem lacking, perhaps on purpose." That may just be his own paranoia, but withholding knowledge is something he would do in their position, so...
At the mention of Yennefer there's a sharpened gleam of interest to his eyes, and then how magic works on their words slots into place with her name and locks together. Important and kept in his mind.
"I do know her," he says, then adds with complete honesty, "she's one of very few people here that I trust has a sensible head on their shoulders."
no subject
"That is because everything we have access to was chosen specifically for us to have access to." If Lucifer is paranoid, Istredd is much, much more so. Or maybe he is just pragmatic and he's a scholar so he knows what he's looking for. "There's a bookshop nearby I'm going to go check out, see if they have texts they wouldn't allow in here."
It is still a hard sell, because they could just as easily have controlled those ones too. But all sellers have their secret rare tomes. It is how these things go. Istredd is not surprised to hear that he is correct about Yennefer. She is famous to the mages too, although currently not for a good reason. In fact, she's in exile, not that it matters to him. He would have been happy to go into exile too. But destiny is a strange path to follow.
"Sensible, oh she'd hate to hear you say that." Istredd smiles, truly smiles, it even reaches his eyes. "I've known her since we were teenagers. In a lot of ways, how we were raised and trained really suits this situation better than others, perhaps."
no subject
"Best of luck with that." He means it. The thought that town is just as curated has equally been on his mind.
"So don't call her that to her face--got it." There's few people Lucifer cares about staying on their good side. Actually, Yennefer might be the only one. He's not sure he could easily get on Wanda's bad side. "It doesn't appear as though there's any rhyme or reason to who gets pulled in here. They talk about great exploits, but then they pull in a sixteen year old." He has no idea how old Wilhelm is. "Luck of the draw has points in your favor, it seems."
no subject
In general, he understands why. They brought in many strangers who they want something out of, they need to control them and also control the narrative around them. It means that trust is completely impossible.
"Definitely not to her face. While Yennefer is truthfully one of the most pragmatic people I know, she can be very prickly about the way she is seen." She likes her image of being difficult and chaotic and impossible to understand. She always likes to be the one in control with the cards in her hands. And she always cares more about what other people think than she'd like.
"Perhaps it is the teenager's future they are reading from. Sixteen now, but destiny may have a bigger path for him."
no subject
"I'd told the kid much the same," he agrees. 'Maybe it's not what you've done yet. But what you're capable of.' He sighs. The kid thinks himself useless. Lucifer sees potential. He'll shape and wield Wilhelm into something, whether or not he realizes. Whether or not he wants it.
He rubs a hand at his brow. "Well, the bed's open," he surprises himself to say. "No one else has taken up space here." He'd like to keep it that way, but this might work out in his favor. Someone that both isn't a pain to talk to, will likely bury themselves in the library much as Lucifer had done, and might be able to give him some sort of upper-hand down the road.
It could work.
Let's call this one a wrap and focus on the new one :D
"Everyone has potential, but to be brought here, it has to be a guarantee. I don't get the sense they make mistakes. He will find his way." Maybe Istredd will run into the boy himself. He is not often around youths, but he is a fairly good teacher when he needs to be. It must be very difficult though, to be here with no clear answer.
He realizes that he has literally intruded into Lucifer's space. He thought the bed empty, as now he is being told it is, technically, but within Lucifer's place. Yet everyone eventually will have to share. He can hear the suggestion and the invite and he smiles genuinely.
"I would appreciate being allowed to stay here, Lucifer. Thank you."