Floor 5, Room 3

[leewards]

ITHAQUA

code

Comments

[dyingtohealyou]

And yet.

[fellheart]

Maybe we should take it less as a sign of potential incompetence and more of an indicator of the level of threat we're dealing with...?

[ dryly. look at how generous they're being. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

I'm continuing to practice offensive magic.

[fellheart]

A practice well merited, it seems. Though now that you've piqued my curiosity, is there a specific brand of offensive magic you're pursuing?

[dyingtohealyou]

Not yet. My power's still too weak to manage much on its own, so... I've just been trying to see what I can draw on from the natural world so I don't have to use up as much energy trying to generate anything wholecloth.

[fellheart]

I see. In the world I came from, we would call that 'anima' magic... well, some of the older, more specialized texts would, at least. Truth be told, some of the distinctions of the various labels were lost as certain branches fell out of common usage.

[ awakening's conspicuous lack of light magic, ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Really...? Does your world tend to categorize magic in terms of what it manipulates or uses?

[fellheart]

[ he clicks his tongue, mouth pressing thin for a moment before he responds. ]

Magic is quite a broad practice, you realize, and people like labeling things. It has evolved through the ages based on the needs and means of its practitioners.

[ hm. settle in, ahito, and either start tuning him out or prepare your questions; it looks like this might be something of a lesson? ]

Likewise, the terms used to refer to them have changed over the years as well. Anima, as elemental magic, would have been considered under the banner of black magic once upon a time; contrasted to white magic, which survives for the most part to this day as itself, though not with quite the same name. The two categories were separated not by distinctions such as one being dark, or fell, and the other less so, but simply by intent:

Black magic was offensive, destructive magic, whether it be elemental or holy or dark or anything in between. White magic was somewhat more esoteric, encompassing things ranging from simple healing spells to the invocation of summoned spirits to do one's bidding.

These days you don't see those particular terms used all that often anymore. Magic is magic, and healing or inflicting ailments is simply what once does with staves. There is a distinction made for dark magic, but ... again, I find the classifications rather arbitrary when I have just explained how easy it is for them to shift over time. [ what he isn't explaining is that some mages simply do not take to certain kinds of magic as easily as others, and dark seems to be relatively more particular in this way, but he's never had a problem picking up any form of magic, therefore. can't relate. ] This isn't even getting into the various magics that you wouldn't see as often in a battlefield setting.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Why's north got not just one but two magic aficionados...]

Would battlefield magic be your specialty?

[fellheart]

I was a battlefield tactician through the course of several wars, so.

[ sometimes, the conclusions draw themselves. ]

It is the magics I have most often used, but I would say I have a fair amount of familiarity with ritual magic and curses as well. Though here the latter seems to be more favored by the spirits of the East... Other than that, I've had time enough to dabble in and research a fair few doctrines.

[dyingtohealyou]

You have that much time?

[fellheart]

[ a soft, quiet laugh. his expression doesn't quite match it. ]

I would hazard to argue that I have nothing but time.

[dyingtohealyou]

...

How much time are we talking about?

[fellheart]

How much would you guess it to be?

[dyingtohealyou]

[Given the way Robin asks... hm.]

...Hundred...s?

[Tacking on a plural at the end there. Why not. It's all pretty unfathomable to him either way given the expected lifespan of magic users where he's from.]

[fellheart]

[ amused: ] I'm not even 40.

[ physically, anyway. if mauyn did the math right between when chrom would have conceived lucina and her approximate age upon mumble mumble plus the ingame timeskip because concrete ages for anyone other than chrom and lissa don't actually exist...

but anyway. physically. that's probably not actually answering the spirit of the question and ahito is free to call bullshit on it. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

How does that account for all the time you supposedly have?

[fellheart]

This flesh has yet to see forty years of existence.

The mind and spirit, on the other hand.

[dyingtohealyou]

...

And how exactly did that happen?

[fellheart]

Surely you've heard of the concept of reincarnation?

only sort of here

[impacter]

[oh? do tell, buddy]

[dyingtohealyou]

I've heard of it. ...Not sure how many people actually believe in it in my world, though.

Does it actually happen in yours?

[fellheart]

It would be the simplest way to explain my situation, but I am somewhat of a unique case regardless. Remembering the events of previous incarnations is not a regular occurrence in mine either, I assure you.

[dyingtohealyou]

Is there a reason it's different for you?

[fellheart]

[ wryly, softly: ] I'm just unique, it seems. What I can tell you is that there is nothing and no one else quite like me. Not in the realm I hail from, at least.

[ a man-made divinity, rejected by his creator when the man feared he would not be controlled. ]