RO > call me out; a forever open RP post, version 2

[midvalley]

NEW OPEN RP POST

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[cultivations]

[ That.

Is a brand new form of magic.

And suddenly, Dorian's eyes light up. ]

I've never seen magic performed that way. And to open a portal, no less? Remarkable!

[animated]

[ That look on his face oddly reminds Charlie of himself and he has to laugh a little ]

I can give you the whole rundown if you want, but let's get you settled first. After you.

[cultivations]

[ Dorian takes a tentative step forward, using his staff to support himself (and still half-expecting foul play, though that's an instinct from participating in one too many Games at court -- they are so fond of murder in Tevinter, after all). When he's completely through to Charlie's apartment (and he compartmentalizes, for now, the strangeness of the place), he turns to look back into the book store.

Ah, and look at that. He hasn't been ripped to shreds or sent through to some blasted, ruined hellscape. All the more lovely. ]

You absolutely must show me how this is done.

[animated]

[ Charlie steps through after Dorian, closing the portal with a wave of his hand ] Maybe once you're not liable to fall over.

[ and he directs him to the couch ] Have a seat. I'll see what I've got around here to eat.

[cultivations]

Please. I don't fall, I collapse with grace.

[ Still, Dorian does as he's told, taking a seat and propping his staff against the couch's arm. He inspects the room and comes to this conclusion: it's-- strange. Very strange. Filled with devices he's never seen before, furniture in styles that are completely alien to him, and far too many somethings in slim cases on shelves. Dorian wonders, briefly, if they're books -- the titles on their spines might indicate as much, but the volumes, such as they are, are much too thin. And besides, there are books lying around that are very obviously books, and they look nothing alike.

Rarely would he admit as much, but Dorian suddenly understands how completely out of his depth he is, and the realization chills him. ]

[animated]

When you're not liable to collapse with grace, then.

[ and Charlie moves to the kitchen to rummage around a bit. What does he even have that wouldn't be strange to this guy?? He settles on a simple sandwich because bread and meat and cheese are pretty common no matter when or where you go. He makes one for himself as well, and heads back out to the living room.

He catches Dorian trying to make heads or tails of his movie collection, and gives a little shrug as he offers him a plate ] If I were to tell you those are movies, that probably wouldn't mean anything to you.

They're kind of like plays that I can watch anytime thanks to the stuff on the far wall there- [ and he motions to his TV and various other DVD/Blu-Ray watching gadgets. ]

[cultivations]

[ As he accepts the plate with a nod of thanks, Dorian offers a small-- ] Ah, I see. [ Though he clearly can't make heads or tails of-- whatever it is Charlie just explained.

Best to bypass it for now and focus on things he does know about. And he knows quite a lot about magic, in particular. ]

Now, if I may ask-- is this how you perform magic? [ He mimics Charlie's spellcasting from earlier, two fingers drawing a line in the air. ] Do you not require the aid of a staff?

[animated]

That's how we've always done it. I don't know if a staff would be much good, really.

[ Though his gaze flicks deliberately to the staff leaning against the arm of his couch ] I assume that you use staffs where you're from, then.

[cultivations]

[ Without missing a beat, Dorian tears off a piece of bread for himself. ]

Ah, no, that's for show. Mostly we do a lot of sacrificing of small animals. Sometimes children, should the need arise for something more potent. There's quite a bit of screaming and crying and bleeting (if we've used goats), but staves are unnecessary.

[ And then he pops the piece of bread into his mouth, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. ]

They certainly help, though.

[animated]

[ Charlie just stares at him for a very long moment. He doesn't look especially scandalized, more like he's trying to puzzle through all that nonsense to figure out what's what.

Eventually, he decides ] I'm going to take all that as a yes.

[cultivations]

[ The amused look should be taken as a good sign. ]

They help in channeling and focusing for larger spells, but otherwise-- [ He waves a hand, and the tips of his fingers ignite. ] --not entirely necessary, no.

[ Another wave, and the flames are extinguished. ]

[animated]

[ oh, that is so cool. ]

Whoa. Wizards here can't cast without the runes, so if someone wants to make fire, they've got to do the- [ and he mimics his own casting motions ] -thing.

[cultivations]

[ His head cants slightly to one side. ]

Truly? Then in the case of an emergency -- say, a rather large, angry gentleman is bearing down on you at an alarming speed. What then? Do you tell him to please slow down for a moment, I need only a moment to cast this spell?

[animated]

There are ways around that. [ and he tugs his sleeve up, showing Dorian the tattoo on the inside of his forearm- it's somewhat stylized, but the language of Charlie's magic is there in the design ]

[cultivations]

[ Dorian peers at the tattoo with open interest, and he reaches over, as though to skim his fingertips along the design. He stops himself just a centimeter or two away, and drops his hand -- at the very least, he doesn't seem particularly embarrassed by that display. ]

Fascinating. Is it a mental connection, then? Or instinctual? Or must you physically touch the spell before casting it?

[animated]

Mental, for the most part. [ he inclines his head to indicate a pillow on the far end of the couch ] Throw that pillow at me.

[cultivations]

[ Dorian smirks at him. ]

Ah, I don't usually toss around pillows until it gets particularly heated, but if you insist--

[ He moves over to the far end of the couch and tosses the pillow, as directed. ]

[animated]

[ And the pillow just... suddenly stops, frozen in the air about a foot from Charlie. He lets hang there for a moment, before a motion of his hand sends it flying to the other end of the room, where it bounces harmlessly off a wall ]

Easy as that.

[cultivations]

Remarkable.

[ This time he has no compunctions about moving forward again, fingers tracing along the tattoo on Charlie's arm. It's not an affectionate touch, though, more like someone skimming their fingers along a page as they read. ]

And all of your spells require these runes? That sounds rather limiting.

[animated]

[ Considering he almost did it once before, Charlie is ready for it, and lets him run his fingers over the mark. ]

It is, in a way, I guess. I mean, the alphabet we have to work with is vast on an insane kind of level. Enough so that no one could hope to learn everything there is to learn in a lifetime, so we pick Specializations- runes that serve a similar sort of function- and devote our studies to those.

[cultivations]

Ah, that's familiar territory. Back home we have basic schools of magic for anyone with the gift, though one may pick and choose as they see fit. Beyond that, more skilled mages might pick up another specialization along with the basic spells.

[ Dorian, for instance, has started dabbling in the art of Necromancy -- though he decides it best not to mention that. Most people south of Nevarra tended to be rather put off by the idea of death magic. ]

Tell me-- your people here. Fond of mages?

[animated]

[ Well, it's nice to know some things are the same, sort of.

... And then some things are very clearly not the same. ]

Uh. First of all, we tend to go with "wizards". Second of all... while they're really quite fond of themselves, normal people don't know we exist.

[cultivations]

... Tell me you're joking.

[animated]

Not in the slightest.

[cultivations]

But why keep it secret? I should think magic would be a gift to be shared, not hidden and squandered away like some tome of smutty literature.