Fade Rift: Inbox

[keenly]

you know what to do

Comments

[keenly]

You're doing this to take part in your heritage as much as you can. And even if it's not exactly as it would be with the Dalish, it's completely your own.

[sulahnan]

I think it's good enough that he's an elf, though. I mean...I've done loads of stuff that flies in the face of everything Dalish, [ like exclusively fucking non-elves, ] but this...it's more important, I think. And it felt right.

[keenly]

I know exactly what you mean. He cares about it as an art, and how it's going to matter to you all your life. He suggested I get little stars instead of one large one, so my family could keep growing, and it was perfect.

[sulahnan]

[ Such a small thing with such a big meaning. ]

I'm glad to know someone like that is here in Kirkwall. Sometimes I think there's nothing but bad in this city.

[keenly]

There's a lot of bad, [Colin says lightly.] But the laws of probability alone mean there's got to be some good as well.

[sulahnan]

Sounds like a law to remind you of every time you don't wanna talk to someone.

[ +1 point to Athessa on the invisible scoreboard. ]

[keenly]

That's less about who I'm talking to and more about me. But, point taken.

[It's getting to the point where talking about the other person in the conversation isn't keeping him from having to talk about himself. She has seen through his scheme.]

[sulahnan]

[ She grins, and for his sake that's all the ribbing she'll do for now. ]

What would you like to do before we succumb to the siren call of bedtime? And don't worry—it doesn't have to be something outside of the house.

[keenly]

[He wraps an arm across her shoulders.]

Ummmmm. Now you've given me a challenge, though. What is there to do outside of the house?

[sulahnan]

Hmmmm. Well it's too late for puppet shows, I think.

[keenly]

I'll have to find out what happens in this town besides crime. Let's go back to the flat. I've got painting supplies there. Or cards. Or I could make tea and we could just talk.

[sulahnan]

Or we could do a little crime I only know slaps, so you'd have to teach me the rules if we play cards.

[keenly]

...What was the first thing you said?

[He heard it, but would like to know how serious she was.]

[sulahnan]

[ She looks up at him with innocent doe eyes. ]

I only know slaps?

[keenly]

[Riiiight.]

Given I was a Circle apprentice, I can teach you almost any card game. What would you like to get up to?

[sulahnan]

Nothing much, really. Maybe getting high in the memorial gardens.

[ She really didn't have anything in mind. ]

We can just get high on the balcony.

[keenly]

I'd love to get high on the balcony, [Colin says as if that particular activity in that particular location scratches an itch he's had all along.] Come on.

[Once home and enjoying the dubious night air of Kirkwall, they relax in chairs on the balcony with their elfroot.]

So. Still feeling good about it?

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa lays on the deck chair the wrong way around, with her feet on the head rest and her head on the angled footrest. She's on her way to proper toasted, holding her left hand above her face and not-quite-touching the bandage. More like hovering her fingers over it to feel the radiating warmth. ]

Definitely. [ But now for a left turn: ] What's the difference between a spirit healer and other mage healers?

[keenly]

[Oh. Another of those mage questions that could make her scared of him.]

Well, um. Regular healing magic, it comes from the mage. So it's only as powerful as the mage is. Spirit healing is...different. And controversial. It's where you've found a spirit in the Fade who is willing to lend their healing magic. You've got to be careful and be sure that spirit isn't actually a demon trying to possess you, but the spirit is also making sure you're not going to corrupt it and turn it into a demon, so it's not unlike making a friend. You build that trust, and because of the spirit's intrinsic values, it chooses to help you. So when you heal someone, it's really the spirit's magic--you're just channeling it. And it's very powerful.

[sulahnan]

[ She hums, thinking about that. Is it scary to think that someone she cares so much about is potentially at higher risk of possession? Sure. But just as she'd told Derrica, she's seen the good that magic can do far more than the bad. And the Seers in Rivain were always spoken of highly, though she never met one in person. ]

Does it drain you the same way? Or is it draining the spirit, because it's their magic?

[keenly]

Both. It takes magic to channel magic. I don't know precisely why. There's not a lot of spirit healers out there, and the Chantry doesn't really like it much, so there hasn't been a lot of study done into it. And after what happened at my Circle, they were really, really careful about who got to hear about it at all. I don't actually know if it's more dangerous than any other form of magic if you just...take common sense precautions, but people get scared when you mention spirits. So.

[A shrug.]

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa mirrors the shrug. Without the manic adrenaline of post-Abomination chaos, it's a far easier topic to hear about, even if it's not the easiest for Colin to talk about. Athessa doesn't appear scared or nervous or troubled by it, just calm and curious. ]

The Chantry probably doesn't want more people to know anything about it that'd make them less scared. Same reason they do that shit to elves. They're served better by the cautionary bedtime stories that comes of not knowing more.

[keenly]

Well, yes. They're also served by spirit healers, but they don't want to demystify them because mages ought to be afraid and ashamed of their gifts so they'll submit to Chantry control. All I know is I don't hear demons or spirits any more often than I did before, but working with Compassion...

I mean, it's not as though we have long conversations, but I understand spirits better now, I think. If I'm channeling Compassion's magic, I must never turn it toward any harm. At best, it's a violation of trust and Compassion might leave me for a good long while. At worst, it could turn it into a demon. And that sort of...lets you know something of why spirits turn into demons, and how none of them actually want to become demons. They all can, but none want to.

[sulahnan]

So... an Abomination has two deaths at its center. The mage, and the Spirit.

[ It wouldn't be too out of place to put a far out, dude next. ]

[keenly]

[Colin’s eyes widen.]

You’re right. Huh. Sort of. Usually I think the demon’s already a demon by then. Still a death. There needs to be a lot more research on spirits. See how to keep it from happening.