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jiubilant · 2 years

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How easy do you think it is to learn spells and magic in the TES universe? Ingame it seems simple, you just read a book and bam spell knowledge acquired but surely it can't be that simple. How hard do you think it would be for the average non mage to teach themselves a basic novice level spell?

i think that learning magic takes a lot of study and a lot of practice :) few skills come naturally and spellcasting is no exception. the first thing that apprentices are taught upon enrolling at winterhold is the proper technique for tapping into and controlling one's magicka, since there's a learning curve even to that fundamental step of the process. from there they spend years in their chosen school both studying theory and practicing rigorously. an apprentice of destruction might enroll at the college able to spark a flame with a snap of her fingertips but go on to spend months learning to safely kindle that flame into a fireball. summoners are extremely careful—a conjuration first-year might spend an entire semester studying runes and summoning circles before being allowed to call forth something small like a scamp. you'll probably be old by the time you're skilled and strong enough to bind a dremora. and alterationists learn to levitate feathers long before levitating themselves. when one misstep or mispronounced syllable can set you on fire or turn your soul inside out it pays to practice your art with caution and circumspection and to make absolutely sure that you've mastered the rudiments before moving on to spells that are world-shaking and dangerous

teaching YOURSELF magic without the guidance of a teacher is both difficult and strongly discouraged by most mages because of how much can go wrong. skilled wizards who studied under a master or two still almost always keep a series of amusing anecdotes under their hats about how they almost exploded themselves in their youth. self-taught and book-taught mages on the other hand tend to explode themselves for real (or unknowingly develop unsafe casting habits that blow up in their faces later on). onmund for example demonstrated magical aptitude at a young age but his father forbade him from studying under the village witch—so he practiced on his own in secret and burned down a barn. no one was happy. it's not impossible to teach yourself magic but it's unfortunately all too likely that you'll hurt yourself or someone else in the process

keeping in mind that attending an institution is not the only way to learn magic (country folk for example tend to learn spells from their families or from a village witch or warlock, townspeople can often apprentice themselves to practicing sorcerers, and a jarl's child might learn from the court wizard) here's how a young mage-prentice's time at the college of winterhold is regimented:

apprentice: a catchall term for all students, but used primarily to describe the first-years (and by masters to describe students in their school of magic or under their specific tutelage). apprentices spend their first year of study learning the rudiments of their chosen school

novice: second-years and beyond. novices focus on the core curriculum of their chosen school and are rarely permitted to pursue their own research projects (though they are occasionally allowed to assist adepts in their research)

adept: graduates of the novice-level curriculum who are continuing their studies under the tutelage and supervision of one of the college's masters. adepts often collaborate with their masters on academic publications and assist them with their research while pursuing their own studies on the side

master: to earn your robes of mastery at the college of winterhold you must write and defend a dissertation (which often takes several years) and pass a series of rigorous practical exams. upon being declared a master you might take on a teaching position in order to secure funding for your research or go on your wizardly way

#ask #magic #college of winterhold

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whitedragoncoranth · 1 month

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The Great Reading...

It was Rocket Strange who greeted Rocket the Grey at the Doors.

"You're late!" the orange-robed, cyan-cloaked son of the Sorcerer Supreme snarked.

Clad in his grey hat and robes, Rocket the Grey took a puff from his pipe then cheekily replied, "A Wizard is never late, Mr. Strange. He arrives precisely when he means to!"

For a moment, the two looked at each other--and then, a little teary-eyed, they embraced! "Err... am I late? They haven't started the Reading, yet, have they?" the Grey Raccoon asked, worriedly.

"Oh, nah," Rocket Strange answered, nuzzling the apprentice of Mithrandir, "but you're the last to come here. So many made it tonight, come on!"

With that, the two opened the Doors and stepped into a titanic Colosseum that was full of... Rockets! Thousands upon thousands of Rockets from all walks of life, albeit they were mostly kind and good; those who were too cruel or were slavering beasts from the darkest of worlds weren't allowed here.

Thousands of Rockets, many accompanied by a Lylla or their Humies, but also many without. Jedi Rockets; Wizard Rockets; a Maori Chief Rocket and his Uplifted Racccoon Tribe; Purely organic or machine Rockets and all in between; a Rocket and Lylla who were ghosts united, a Rocket and Lylla whom were living stars; Time Lord Rocket and Time Lady Lylla; Rocket Knight and with him Kitt, the TransAm in a Berth at his side; Honourable Pirate Lord Rocket, and with him Pirate Queen Lylla; Egyptian Pharoah Amun-Ro-Khet I, his Queen Lylla, and his Terran Attendants; Rocket Raccoon but with him a Peter Quill who was also a raccoon; Native American Shaman Rocket the Medicine Raccoon with his Uplifted Raccoon Village... and on, and on, and on...

High above, upon a throne of metal - clad in purple armour and helm to contain the mighty Power Cosmic - Great Procyon ROCKETUS the Life-Bringer, the Creator of Worlds, banged his Staff upon the stone floor. "CALLING FOR SILENCE!' he boomed. "SILENCE, PLEASE!" When the noise of the great Colosseum hushed, Great Procyon Rocketus continued, softer, "Tonight's Reading is about to Commence, and it concerns one Terran Human we all know by the pseudonym... Raccoon Falls Harder..."

Almost immediately, utterly joyous cheering was heard as the Rocket Collective clapped, stomped their feet, whooped and howled and raccoon-called with sheer joy! The Great Raccoon smiled, let it all continue for a moment--but then, he cracked his Staff upon the ground again, "Silence, silence please!" he commanded, and all complied. "This beloved Terran has written a new work." Reaching for a beautiful, illuminated manuscript scroll, the Great Procyon unrolled it. "It is titled simply, 'Machinery'. Let the Reading now Commence!"

The Colosseum quieted, and - drawing gently upon the Power Cosmic - Great Procyon Rocketus used it to create the eerie, disquieting sound of a mechanical heart, Ka-chunk-hnk. Ka-chunk-hnk. With this as ambience, he started to read aloud from the scroll, his audience listening, enraptured,

"'Rocket scrubs his knuckles against the fur and flesh that have grown over his metal sternum. His ribs strain like creaky bellows, lungs splitting and bruising against the bones...'"

Two extraordinary, captured rare images of Great Procyon Rocketus before his power accidentally burned out the camera. Images taken before he joined the Multiversal Gathering of Rockets. (All credit to original artist, you're amazing!)

#rocket raccoon #multiverse rockets #great procyon rocketus #meeting of rockets for fanfiction reading #originally rfh ask #gotg #ALL THE ROCKETS

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raccoonfallsharder · 1 month

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It was Rocket Strange who greeted Rocket the Grey at the Doors.

"You're late!" the orange-robed, cyan-cloaked son of the Sorcerer Supreme snarked.

Clad in his grey hat and robes, Rocket the Grey took a puff from his pipe then cheekily replied, "A Wizard is never late, Mr. Strange. He arrives precisely when he means to!"

For a moment, the two looked at each other--and then, a little teary-eyed, they embraced! "Err... am I late? They haven't started the Reading, yet, have they?" the Grey Raccoon asked, worriedly.

"Oh, nah," Rocket Strange answered, nuzzling the apprentice of Mithrandir, "but you're the last to come here. So many made it tonight, come on!"

High above, upon a throne of metal - clad in orange armour and helm to contain the mighty Power Cosmic - Great Procyon ROCKETUS the Life-Bringer, the Creator of Worlds, banged his Staff upon the stone floor. "CALLING FOR SILENCE!' he boomed. "SILENCE, PLEASE!" When the noise of the great Colosseum hushed, Great Procyon Rocketus continued, softer, "Tonight's Reading is about to Commence, and it concerns one Terran Human we all know by the pseudonym... Raccoon Falls Harder..."

"'Rocket scrubs his knuckles against the fur and flesh that have grown over his metal sternum. His ribs strain like creaky bellows, lungs splitting and bruising against the bones...'"

what an honor! (´｡• ◡ •｡`) �� oh my gosh. you're so sweet and i've re-read this like a billion times. now i gotta go daydream about being read by a council of multiversal rockets.

thank you so much, friend ♡♡♡ this made my week

#rfh asks #whitedragoncoranth

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the-down-upside-finch · 6 months

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Wait wait wait I want to ramble about magic stuff in my stories because I use the same magic system for most of my stories (since they take place in the same world).

Okay. So. I'm realizing that this goes way deeper in terms of context, so I'm gonna briefly go over some of the basics:

In this world, there is currently a categorization known as the "Main Categories of Species," which is the one most commonly used by scholars when writing about species. There are other ways of categorizing, but this one is the most accepted one (but it is common knowledge that this system is not perfect).

There are eleven categories in the MCoS: Aves, Beasts, Daemon Creatures, Drakonines, Elementals, Faerie Creatures, Intangibles, Magicks, Merrow, Therianthropes, and Therianthrosomatikos (that last one is the main issue with this current system).

I'm not going to go into depth with these right now but. There is a lot of worldbuilding that has gone into this haha.

I'm just gonna discuss a bunch of smaller things that I think would be fun to mention.

Magic has a unique color for everyone that can use it. Some colors may be similar to each other, but no two magicians have the exact same color of magic. (And family members tend to have similar colors of magic as each other!)

Beings that use magic/are in possession of magic are known as magicians, as that's just the umbrella term for it. Beings without magic are usually referred to as Magicklesses.

Witches/warlocks and wizards are two completely separate types of magicians. Witches/warlocks use physical space to store magic (like in big hats or pockets), while wizards need channelers (like wands or staves) to use magic.

Mages also exist. They need crystals to help channel their magic, and their magic is by far the most easily affected by emotions.

Emotions are tied to magic to the point that some magic is literally dependent on a magician's emotional state. It can make it easier or more difficult, which is why there is a lot of training for magicians on how to understand your own emotions.

Alchemy is not a very popular practice because in order to get a license, you have to go through very intense training with a mentor. This involves ingesting every single thing you learn to make before you are allowed to learn how to make it. Yes, you have to ingest poison in order to learn the recipe to make it. That's the law.

Sorcerers exist, and they're the ones with animal bondeds/"familiars"! This animal companion is what allows them to properly channel their magic.

Pixies, sprites, and fairies are all different species. Pixies and fairies are the small ones (around 5-6 inches tall), but fairies can decompress their magic and become human-sized (but fairies cannot fly while they are human-sized). Sprites are always "human-sized."

Pixies and fairies have wing structures like butterflies, while sprites have wings like dragonflies. But sprites keep their wings invisible unless they either don't have enough magic to do this (which means they are probably close to dying) or they are around someone they trust.

One of the traits of Faerie Creatures is that their magic is their life-source. If their magic is depleted and/or separated from them, they will die. This is why unicorns fall into this category.

Elves are descended from plants. Instead of hair, they have foliage. They have root systems instead of veins, and they really only need water and sunlight to survive (with a few exceptions). Consuming salt is almost certainly fatal.

The main trait of Therianthropes is that they have two main forms. They possess a particular energy level that they must maintain to achieve their alternate form, and their energy levels directly correlate with the lunar cycles, corresponding to how full the moon is.

Dragons, or anyone with dragon blood, cannot knowingly tell lies.

Merfolk have both gills and lungs, but their lungs are not necessarily strong enough for extended use above water. In terms of biology, merfolk born with female traits have stronger lungs, which is why sirens tend to only be female.

Merfolk and other species of Merrow use signed languages to communicate, since spoken modes of language don't work very well underwater.

Speaking of merfolk, it's considered scandalous for males to show too much skin. Seriously, you can get dress-coded in school for having your shoulders exposed.

Silvertongues are beings that can speak to all animals that use a language-like system of communication. However, dragons purposefully made their languages too complex for silvertongues to understand.

Nixies are shapeshifters, but if you can get one to tell you their name, you'll have full command over them until you give the name back. Usually this requires a trade of some sort, either in the form of a favor or some sort of item. (e.g., someone could steal a nixie's name and make a deal that the nixie has to slay a dragon or something in order to get their name back.)

Nixies are heavily discriminated against in most parts of the world. They are used as servants (because of the whole command thing) or straight-up imprisoned and executed. Because of this, nixies do not typically reveal themselves.

I realize this turned more into "random facts about the species in my magical world" but still. That was fun to ramble.

Invoking the taglist in case you guys are interested in this stuff: @my-cursed-prince, @athenswrites

#Zeta Rambles #About the OCs #Long Post #cw death #cw insects #cw poison #I have two main worlds with systems of magic but this is the one that most of my stories use

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siriannatan · 1 year

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Empires Modern Fantasy - Chapter 3

This one took entirely too long but today not Love Joy and not even Scott Smajor himself could stop me from finishing it.

While Jimmy was gone on his meeting, fWhip and Scott quickly ran out of things to do. A lot of their time was spent just hanging around Jimmy as he did his work and magic and alchemy things while waiting for him to have time and drag him out for late-night walks and to restaurants where fWhip only ordered wine, assuring the waiters he's already eaten and was just accompanying his friends for their lunch before moving on with their evening. They clearly couldn't do all that without Jimmy. Who would hold Scott's other hand? And delight them with random little facts?

No, with their beloved witch not at home best they could do was play some of fWhip's vinyl collection - a really old vinyl collection, on his over two hundred years old vinyl player. It was in excellent condition and Scott loved how it fit the living room. Well, the apartment was technically fWhip's for nearly as long as he has owned that player. Scott just somehow never ran into him when visiting Jimmy. Not that he did so often, it was usually Jimmy coming to him to ask about demon stuff or for demon favours.

Anyway, with nothing better to do fWhip was reading a book in his favourite spot with Scott slowly dozing off in his lap even if the loveseat had more than enough space for the both of them, he was just clingy as he tended to be. Both listened for the hum of a teleportation sigil activating and signalling Jimmy was back. And while he probably wouldn't have the energy for a walk but a nice meal at home was a good option too, and could be easily followed by cuddles, and they could choose their own music.

Scott was instantly fully awake and on his feet as soon as he heard that buzz. Running off to greet Jimmy. fWhip stayed behind, sure the demon would bring the witch to him. And he did. But... Jimmy looked ragged and tired and wasn't hiding his true form as he usually was and sadly dragging his tail on the floor. He never looked that bad after a meeting. "What's wrong, love?" fWhip asked as Jimmy slumped into his lap and cuddled close. His hat was nowhere to be seen and his shirt was partially and messily unbuttoned.

"Damn ley lines... someone messed with them and that's why my head hurts... wizards and sorcerers are all okay but they still expect me to help," he complained into fWhip's dark maroon shirt.

"Are we allowed to help or will they get angry?" Scoot asked, kneeling on the small couch and hugging Jimmy from behind, pushing him more into fWhip.

"Sure, but how?" Jimmy sighed, enjoying the pleasant chill the demon emitted after a whole day of struggling with a fever.

"Are you forgetting who you're dating? An ancient vampire and a greater demon, love, we can set a few ley lines straight if it means you feel better," fWhip chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on Jimmy's forehead.

"Yeah, and if anything crawls out I can freeze it until it dies," Scott joined in with a smile. "But for now, how about fWhip takes you in for a nice warm bath so you can feel fresher, and I'll set up a dinner for you and maybe something that can stop ley lines from affecting you in the apartment?" Scott decided, kissing Jimmy's forehead.

"What can get ley lines to stop making my head hurt?" Jimmy huffed but did not argue the bath. That sounded nice.

"A partial sub-dimension of sorts used mostly to hide things. I can explain it over dinner?" Scott explained and ran off to the kitchen after giving fWhip a kiss too.

"Energetic isn't he?" fWhip hummed while gently petting Jimmy's hair. "Want me to carry you?" he offered and after a small hum picked the witch up with ease and carried him to the bathroom.

Setting up a sub-dimension was no problem for Scott. Few candles, a piece of paper and a permanent marker to draw a sigil on it, and a short incantation later it was all done. Their apartment was technically in the human dimension but also in Scott's personal pocket dimension, mostly beyond the influence of ley lines. And hopefully comfortable for Jimmy once more. This trick would probably not work even if he showed Jimmy how to do it. He had no connection to different dimensions. He was going to explain it to him anyway.

With that done and set up in a corner where it would not get in anyone's way, Scott skipped to their kitchen to whip up a delicious dinner for Jimmy before he dragged both him and fWhip to bed. No work before Jimmy had at least some sleep. Just setting up a sub-dimension was not going to instantly make him feel better. Good food and a nap would work much better. Good food that did not need much chewing. Chicken soup then. A fast chicken soup but a delicious one nonetheless.

He was almost done cooking when Jimmy and fWhip came back. The witch was bundled up in his biggest and warmest sweater. With clearly fWhip's sleep shirt under it and Scott's exercise sweatpants. But also still not hiding his true form. He did look a bit better now so the sub-dimension was certainly working, and at the very least dampening the effect ley lines had on Jimmy. "How you feeling, petal?" he asked but did not abandon the stove. The pasta to go with the soup was nearly done.

"Whatever sub-dimension thing you did certainly works," he smiled as he sat down. "I certainly feel better, not super well enough to do any investigation into which ley lines are messed but better," he sighed leaning back as fWhip and Scott moved around each other with the soup and tea and wine and wine glasses. His tail was pattering on the floor, making a funny sound as his scales made contact with the tiling.

He didn't have to wait long for the food and once they were done eating Scott introduced him to how the sub-dimension trick worked. And while it was quite fascinating he had a question about one component of it. "Where did you even get a personal dimension? They'e damn hard to create," he asked while staring at the small altar Scott set up to make him feel better. Leave it to his ice princess of a demon to find a way to make something like that cute. In this case, by putting it next to a vase of flowers and using colourful candles and pretty candle stands.

"I won it off a dimension demon in cards," Scott grinned. "I think he's still a bit upset that's what I asked for. I usually use it to store stuff I don't need," as he spoke he swept Jimmy up. Jimmy was so fascinated by Scott's trick he missed fWhip vanishing somewhere. Damn vampires and their ability to vanish with no sound. "I'll tell you the whole story after a nap," he promised and carried Jimmy off to the bedroom where fWhip already got the bed ready for a nap. And with the sound of fWhip having a shower in the background,

While waiting for the shower to be free Scott tucked Jimmy in and sang him something in demonic until he started to snore a bit. Or just about until fWhip silently snuck in. "He just fell asleep," Scott whispered as fWhip joined him in sitting on the side of the bed. "Whoever messed with the ley lines' better off turning themselves to magic council people..."

"I totally agree," fWhip nodded solemnly. Whoever hurt their pretty witch was going to have a really bad time if (once) they found them. "Go shower now, I've got him," he added as Scott yawned.

The demon nodded and after grabbing a change of comfy bedclothes took a fast shower and joined Jimmy and fWhip in bed for some good rest. Finding whoever was responsible and punishing them came when Jimmy felt better and the ley lines back in order.

#my stuff #my stories #fanfiction #fanfic #empires smp #empiresshipping #empires fwhip #empires jimmy #empires scott #scfwhimmy #alternate universe

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mrsaguapapi · 1 year

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Ch 1

Chapter 2

Critical Hit

The Vibe:

She's a Rainbow-The Rolling Stones

I lie awake in bed, on my back and limbs sprawled out like a starfish; thinking about last night's strange series of events.

Fucking sorcerers. They're just damn wizards without hats.

"Strange people," I say out loud to myself, "Yukio, we're gonna go into the city today," I say out loud waiting for her to come to me. I feel her jump up on me and rest in my lap; I pet her and continue, "We'll go for a walk, maybe stop at our favorite ice cream shop. How does that sound?" Yukio wiggles her tale and licks my hand in excitement.

I get up and begin my morning routine feed Yukio, eat 2 bananas, shower, brush my teeth, and throw some loose curls in my hair. The great thing about Japan's winter months is that I can wear my hair down without frizz-altering humidity. I'll throw some box braid in a few months to prepare for the summer heat.

I walk to my closet and hold my hand out feeling for the tags on my hung-up outfits. Each outfit is put together and hung in garment bags along with a shoe that matches; Each bag has a permanent tag written in brail so I can tell which is which. I have a personal shopper who specializes in helping the blind; she comes in and organizes my closet every once in a while, occasionally swapping out old outfits for new ones.

I find the label of one outfit,

Chunky black leather ankle boots| Stone-washed, high-waisted capri jeans Forest green knitted long-sleeve halter tank top Long black overcoat

I'm 25 now and it's been about 10 years since I lost my sight, I can barely remember what colors look like, and my memories have faded a bit. I told my shopper to pick whatever and that,

'I'm blind but I still wanna look hot

I get dressed and grab my sling bag with my essentials, wallet, keys, and my foldable cane and pack my bag; as well as leash up Yukio and begin our walk. We do our usual stroll in the city walking past several markets and shops and listening to people laugh and gossip like no one is listening. It was a nice little hour and a half of constant eavesdropping; some people watch the Kardashians I go and ear hustle the streets.

We stop at the ice cream shop and I decided to just get a vanilla milkshake and grab Yukio a puppy cone to enjoy. We sit outside the shop on a bench enjoying our cold treats when my phone vibrates and begins to speak a text to me,

TEXT FROM KAI

Hey boss, can you stop by and sign for delivery? They are refusing to release our product until the owner signs off.

DO YOU WANT TO REPLY?

"Yes," I say

REPLY NOW

"I'm about a 10 min walk away, be there asap"

ARE YOU READY TO SEND IT?

"Yes" I reply

I put my phone back in my bag and stand up, "Come on Yukio gotta stop by work real quick" I say to her as we navigate to my restaurant.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

When I arrive I hear Kai arguing with the delivery boy in the foyer of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry it's a part of our new policy," the boy says

"You think you could have notified us first? Our owner is blind she needs to know these things ahead of time"

"Kai," I say, "Thank you, I can take it from here. Wait out here with Yukio for me?

"Yes ma'am," he says before taking Yukio's leash

I walk into the building and throw my customer service voice on, "Hi how can I help you?" I ask

"Are you the owner?" he asks

"I am"

"I thought the owner was blind"

"Well, that was incredibly ignorant." I say pulling out my cane for a little bit of flair, "Is this better?"

The delivery boy clears his throat and hands me a clipboard and a pen, "I'm sorry ma'am, can you please sign for this?"

"Yes," I say taking the pen and board, "Can you guide me where to sign?" he takes my hand with the pen and places it on the board prompting me to sign there.

"Where should I unload these?"

"Take them to the kitchen, Kai will guide you, and for now on Kai can sign off on these. Thank you" I say before walking out "All taken Care of, you now have the authorization to sign off," I say holding my hand out for Yukio's leash.

Kai places the leash in my hand, "Thank you, boss, sorry for the inconvenience"

"It's no problem, honestly. The delivery boy is going to unload in the kitchen, you got it from here?"

"Yes ma'am! Have a great day!" he says before walking away inside

I let out a long sigh, before turning around and beginning to walk away.

I hear someone clear their throat from my side, "Excuse me Miss" a man says causing me to stop in my tracks and look at him, "Kiyotaka Ijichi. Gojo sent me to pick you up for your interview"

Gojo?

"Um?... What interview?" I ask

"The interview for the Combat Specialist position," he says a little nervous

Not this shit again

"I already turned down his little offer. The answer is no"

"Ma'am I-"

"You know what, call him please?" I politely demand

"Yes Ma'am" he obliges rather quickly.

The phone rings twice before Gojo Answers, "Gojo Mrs. Himari-"

I quickly take the phone from his and put it to my ear, "Gojo what the hell man"

"Heyyyy! Ari, what's up?"

"Don't play dumb, what weird shit is this? Why is there a man waiting for me outside my business, I could have sworn I told you no, did I not? "

"You did. Come on, at least come to the interview and check it out."

"Why? Why would I do that? I don't need a job"

"Because It'll be fun. You seem like you could use a little fun. I saw the way you fought it was natural for you, even with being blind. You can't tell me you aren't a little bored with your mundane life? I have a feeling you weren't always this 'humdrum'"

I scoff, "Oh whatever, don't pretend you know me, asshole."

"Come on, will it kill you to humor me?"

I hold my head back and rub my brow bone in frustration, "If I say yes will you leave me alone?"

"Yes," he says rather quickly

"Was that a lie?" I follow up

"Yes" he laughs

"Goodbye Gojo," I say before handing Ijichi the phone, "Hang up on his ass"

"Yes Ma'am"

"Take me to this damn interview" I sigh and check my attitude, "Please" I add

"Right away Ma'am," he says before opening a car door

"Yukio you first," I say. I hear her climb into the car and follow her.

Ijichi closes the door for me and climbs into the front seat, "Jujustu High is in the outskirts of Tokyo, we'll be about 20 min okay Ma'am"

"Okay, thank you," I lean my head on the cool window pain and relax for the short car ride.

----------------------------------------------- When we arrived I could smell the blossoming trees and fresh air. We must be near tons of trees and greenery. Ijichi leads me and Yukio through the halls of this supposed school; after a few more turns we stop and Ijichi opens up a door, "I have been instructed to go only this far. Please navigate yourself to your seat the principal will be with you shortly"

I bend down and unleash Yukio as well as pull out my cane, to help with the walk, "Thank you" I say before walking forward through this big room and eventually making my way into a seat with Yukio sitting beside me on the floor. There we wait for about 10min before I hear a large man walk through the room and sit behind the desk that rests in front of me.

"Himari Sanada?" he asks

"In the flesh" I dryly respond

"Principal Yaga, nice to meet you," he says, "Gojo says you're a natural fighter"

"I suppose, I am"

"How open are you to sparring with some of us?"

"You want me to fight you?"

"Yes, no point in getting further into the conversation until after I see your skills. The position is for combat not speech"

"Well, I'd really rather not. I have warded off senseless violence, Unless absolutely necessary."

"Is that because of your previous occupation?"

"Okay, so not only have I been stalked at my place of work, but you've also looked into my past. Don't get it twisted just because of what you read, you still know shit about me" I say showing my frustration

"I know you're the adopted daughter of former Yakuza boss Tonaka, at the ripe age of 6 you began training with your father, and by age 11 you were running point on missions for him, I know you lost sight due to a degenerative optic nerve condition at the age of 15 and that somehow you came out from that horrible fate stronger than ever. They called you Kokushibyō, the Black Death. You were a career criminal, an assassin"

"What are you getting at?" I dryly ask

"Mrs. Senada, every day these cursed spirits get worse and worse and jujutsu sorcerers are becoming even more of a rare breed. Last year the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, we lost nearly a hundred of our Sorcerers in that battle. As we raise the next class of fighters I see that they are lacking in hand-to-hand combat and weapons proficiency. Our children are dying, we need help."

I breathe in and cross my arms while rubbing my neck.

"I was almost hopeless and then I hear of a blind girl who was able to not only navigate her way through a curses pocket dimension but then went to kill said curse that she couldn't even see. You didn't have a cursed tool, which leads me to believe you have mounds of cursed energy within you. You seem like you want to live a good life, like a good person, and that you don't want to hurt anyone anymore and I want that for you but why let your skills waste away when you make good use of them?"

I sigh loudly and roll my eyes, "Fuck you for making me feel" I say in disgust, "If I agree, we do it my way, How many students?"

"Nine total, but we want you to focus on the first years for now; Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, & Nobara Kugisaki "

"Okay, who's currently in charge of teaching them?"

"Kento Nanami part-time grade 1 sorcerer, from time to time teaches hand to hand; took the time to personally train Yuji Itadori, who is probably the most skilled out of the three of them. As for weapons, Atsuya Kusakabe grade 1 sorcerer, and teacher here; skilled swordsman but no honor, he would 100% leave you behind if it meant saving his own skin."

"Noted." I stand up and dust my pants off and grab my cane, "Well if we are gonna do this, I'd like to fight the first years as well as Mr. Nanami."

"Why not Atsuya as well?" he asks

"Well from what you just told me, I've got a clear understanding of what kind of fighter and man he is. A coward and cowards are shit fighters" I respond. Yaga says nothing but laughs under his breath as stands leading me out of his office.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

He leads Yukio and me outside to what I assume is an open field by the feel of the grass under my feet. Eventually, we come to a stop and I hear a few familiar voices, "ARI!!!" I hear Gojo yell, "Are you ready to tussle?" He asks.

"Are you ready to shut the hell up?" I snarkily say. Next to him, I hear the smallest most hidden chuckle coming from Gojo's side.

"Ouch right in the heart, why don't you like me?" he asks fawning sweetness

"Because you're annoying" I laugh at him

"She's right," Nanami says, he must have been the one who chuckled

"Ari, glad you came!" Yuji says before hugging me

Fucking golden retriever

"Down boy." I laugh

"Sup," Nobara says, "You can't see him but our black cat is next to me. Say hi Megumi"

"Hi" The boy plainly says, "Is that your dog?" he says with a hint of excitement

"Hey, girl, nice to meet you Megumi, yes this is Yukio" I respond, "You can pet her". Megumi quickly takes me up and that offer and kneels down and pets her head.

I listen around me a little further and hear that there are a few other people there whose voices I don't recognize.

Principal Yaga speaks up, "Fushigoru, Itadori, & Mrs. Kugisaki front and center." he commands. The three take their time making their way to the center of the field near Yaga. "You three one at a time will fight Mrs. Senada. The match will be over once one of you are unable to continue."

"No need for one at a time, all at once is fine" I chime in folding my cane away and taking off my coat, and placing them on the ground with my sling bag; I begin to approach the others, stopping when I stand in front of the first years.

"Okay, then you heard her," Yaga says walking away, "You may begin"

"Umm this doesn't seem fair," Megumi says a little unsure, "You're blind and it's three against one"

"Worry about yourself," I say, "attack when you're ready"

The Vibe:

Swamp Bitches-Doechii, Rico Nasty

We all stand there for a few minutes, I hear them contemplate and whisper amongst themselves

"Itadori, you bulldoze and rush ahead, you've got the strength for it, Kugisaki and I all will come around the sides"

I'm sure they think I can't hear them.

"On the count of the 3. 1..2..3!"

Itadori quickly approaches throwing several punches, I manage to bob and weave between his attempts and block his last hit with my forearm, which hurt like hell; he's definitely got the strength and the speed but he's sloppy as hell. While blocking his hit with my arm I take my free hand and punch him in the side causing Itadori to topple over in pain; I finish him off with a right hook and he falls to the ground.

Finally making her move, I feel Kugisaki come up behind me and try to restrain my wrists; while she was focused on my hands I took the opportunity to knock my head back hitting her in the face. She let go suddenly in pain and I swiftly back kicked her in the stomach.

I hear Fushigoru rush toward me and decide to run towards him head-on; just as we were about to meet I used the momentum from the dash to drop kick him in the chest knocking him back to the ground. From the force of my kick, I fall down too but quickly recover rolling back and making my way to my feet.

Taking a second to assess the situation, I listen and hear Itadori sound asleep, I must have knocked him out. Kugisaki is on the ground trying to stand back up but not finding the strength in her legs. Lastly, I focus on Fushigoru and hear him coughing and gasping for air.

"Your reflexes are shit," I say out loud, "Your sight is a privilege that you take advantage of and you underestimated my strength. Lots to learn," I say that last bit under my breath. I go over to Fushigoru and bend down to him, he still wheezing, I put my hand on his chest, "Calm yourself and Breathe" I say as I breathe in deeply and out slowly encouraging him to do it with me. He does and eventually, he calms down a bit, "You and Nobara most likely have bruised ribs, take it easy and go help her up" I say standing up and holding my hand out to help him up. He walks away holding his chest.

I make my way to Yuji and bend down to make sure he's okay, he's still fast asleep, "Yuji wake up" I said shaking him. After a few seconds of this, I give up, "Gojo come get your kid" I speak up a little louder, "He's not waking up any time soon; honestly, they all should go to an infirmary" I say

"I see why they called you the Black Death, quick and painful" Gojo says

That stings, I hate that fucking name

I think Yaga notices my uncomfortablity and quickly speaks up, "Gojo take your students to Shoko"

"WHAT! Why do I have to go, it's getting so good" Gojo protests

"Kugisaki and Fushigoru can't take Itadori to shoko they are clearly injured. Go and be responsible for once" Yaga plainly states

"Fine" Gojo says defeated before he basically throws Yuji over his shoulder and begins walking, "Come on you two" he says to Megumi and Nobara who follow behind.

"I thought we were friends Ari" Nobara says as she walks away

"We still are" I laugh and yell behind her.

"Alright Mr. Nanami, you're next" Yaga says

I hear him take a deep long sigh as he makes his way to the center of the field, "Lets make this quick, you know how I feel about overtime"

I softly laugh at his demeanor as I take my position on the field, "This should be good, You can start whenever" Yaga says

We stand there for several minutes sizing each other up and planning our first move, "I am a VERY patient girl and I promise you I'm not moving first 'Mr Overtime'." I say taunting him.

"Teasing me won't work. Considering one of my only friends is Gojo, I have HIGH threshold for nonsense." he quips back, "I want to go home so I suppose I'll I make the first move" He says before suddenly throwing a punch

I quickly block him but he's fast, he manages to sucker punch me in the stomach knocking me back a bit.

Fuck, he's got some strength

I hear Yukio begin to bark and growl, she thinks this is a real fight , "Yukio Stay" I command. Swiftly I recover not allowing myself to feel that pain. I advance towards him and throw a series of punches at him, starting with two at his stomach, two at his chest, and a upper cut to his face now knocking him back. I hear him grunt as he quickly regains his stance throwing a left hook in my side and his right to my face knocking me to the ground

Jesus fucking christ that hurts; I think he broke my nose, Clearly he's got speed and brute force. I need to be more agile and quick on my feet to keep up.

While down, I take the opportunity fuck with his head, "Oh god" I wine and moan, "You broke my nose you asshole; what the fuck" I begin to cry real tears (Low key does really fucking hurt).

Nanami instantly regrets his actions and comes near me to offer a helping hand, "Shit are you okay? I knew we shouldn't have done this; i was afraid you would get hur-" he says before I punch him in throat cutting him off. He instinctively grabs his neck gasping for air; I stand up over him and side kick him in the face knocking him down to the ground.

I feel my nose bleeding down my face, so i back up a few paces and swipe the blood off my face and wipe my hands in the grass, "Get up" I say before I take my hands and placing them on both sides of my nose before I quickly break my nose back in place, "Fuck me that hurts" I yell.

I hear Nanami groan and struggle to get back up, eventually he stands back and begins to speak, "That was a shitty cheap trick" he says with a raspy voice

"That was shitty is that you came into this fight thinking it was an easy win. I'm a fighter in my own right treat me like one." I say holding my hands up a defensive position.

Nanami rushes me and throws a few more punches, this time with less focus; he is pissed, "Your anger is making you sloppy" I say before grabbing his punch and twisting his wrist as I swing my legs around his neck using my weight and his to pull us down hard to the ground. I soften my land with body and quickly crawl up him resting my legs on his upper arms pinning him down and for extra measure I have a hand around his neck and my other ready to knock him unconscious if he moves, "Do you concede?" I ask. He says nothing but uses what mobility he can and taps my leg with his hand.

I take the hint and release him and roll off of him and eventually stand up. I offer a hand to him to help him up; I can tell he's hesitating, so I gesture again for him to take my hand and eventually he does. I help him stand up, this is the first time I've been this close to him and actually let myself be aware of his height and how he towers over me.

He smells so nice, like evergreen trees and lemons

"Good fight" he says to me bringing me back from my inner thoughts. Eventually he lets go of my hand and for some reason I'm a little saddened by that. Yukio makes her way to me and begs at my feet. I bend down and pick her up and reassuring that i'm okay.

"I've seen enough" Yaga says pulling both of our attentions, "You've got the job if you want it"

"I'll take it" I say, "You have me Mondays and Wenesdays for hand to hand training. Fridays for weapons and Sundays will be open to staff who want extra training. I own a restaurant so my Tuesdays and Thursdays will be dedicated to that unless discussed beforehand and Saturdays are for me."

"Deal" Yaga says, "Welcome to Jujustu High"

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suhopark143 · 1 year

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#poll #polls #funny polls #tumblr polls #marvel #marvel poll #mcu #mcu quotes #funny quotes

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rosemarythorn314 · 7 months

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Playing Baldur’s Gate and i’ve made what could only be described as an Atrocious character build. Hear me out.

Moon druid 2

Bard 4

Rogue 1

Storm Sorcerer 1

Wizard 1

Fiend Warlock 2

Eilistraee Knowledge Cleric 1

You pick up around 18 cantrips depending on your race, you can eat spell scrolls to gain wizard spells of higher levels than you could normally learn and use those high level spell slots for fireball and other similarly big spells. Get every ritual spell and longstrider everything friendly that moves. Get the hat that lets bardic inspiration heal, the gloves that give you an extra use, and the necklace that gives healing word and mass healing word to have bonus action heals forever. spec heavily into charisma and eat auntie ethel’s hair, mixing it with your one ASI from bard 4 to get charisma to 20. get agonizing and repelling blast as your warlock invocations and eldritch blast as your main damage dealing option.

The only item that’s really essential to this build is auntie ethel’s hair. You could do it without you’d just be missing out on a bit of charisma. But like. you get:

•6 Expertises

•Too many cantrips

•Every ritual spell you want

•Flight from storm sorcerer

•Wild Shape

•Bardic Inspiration

•Temporary Hitpoints on every kill

•Jack of all trades

•Enough dialogue options that you effectively never need to select default ones anymore.

This is my first playthrough and i’m losing my mind.

#baldur's gate iii #baldur's gate 3

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teslacoil-wizard · 1 year

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A Field Guide to Magic Users in Loam

The reawakening of long dead gods created a shift in the fabric of the universe. Instead of being solid with immutable laws, it became flexible and soft. From hard steel to fraying cheesecloth, able to be folded and manipulated provided you know how to find the strings to pull. The people born into this new world were just as frequent to change, taking on new forms and abilities as magic interrupted evolution. As time marches on, the fabric of the world frays more and more, and even greater feats are achievable with magic- creating life, dimensional rifts, just about anything you could imagine.

So, of course, exactly what kind of magic user you are and how you define each title is wrapped in inane levels of rules lawyering and academic debate. Below are the more or less agreed upon titles for magic users of various fields, as well as my best description for them

Mage

The basic title for anyone able to wield magic. The least contested, a safe bet if you don't know the specific flavour of magic a mage subscribes to and you don't want to be magic missiled.

wizard (not to be confused with Wizards)

The field of magic based around specifically finding and documenting the arcane words and symbols that make magic possible. One can identify a powerful wizard by their large hat and thick beard. They usually live in big towers, but have been known to also keep large moving mega-structures or floating islands.

Witch

A Witch uses herbal magic and potions as means to their ends. They tend to live in bogs and a sufficiently powerful Witch will start to take on attributes of the old hag all Witches strive to be, like wild hair, a shrill voice that can speak to animals, and being far too old and powerful to put up wit anyones shit.

Battlemage

Another more general term, a battlemage is any mage who uses their power for fighting. Anyone from an adventuring parties wizard to the kings gladiatorial Sorcerer is a battlemage, regardless of specific training or field.

Sorcerer

A dangerous type, Sorcerer's simply brute force their way through any given problem. They tend to be naturally gifted, as this kind of magic is incredibly intuitive, hard to learn, and harder to master. Without the aid of the wizard's spellbooks or the Witch's herbs, the Sorcerer simply uses their innate talent to force nature to bend to their will. The lightning rods of magic users

Warlock

Commonly called magical parasites, Warlock's siphon magic from other sources to strengthen their own abilities. Some use pacts and contracts, some simply perform rituals in areas of great magical power to bolster their own

Necromancer

The decomposers of the magic world. They take excess magic in an area and transform it into something that can be reabsorbed back into nature, usually in the form of undead skeletons in a dungeon. What they do with that dungeon is up to the Necromancer.

Bard

though it is debated if music is truly magic in the same way a spell is, one cannot discount the power of a proper ballad. A skilled Bard can turn a people against their ruler, kill with their insults, and turn an enemy into a friend with only their natural charm.

Apprentice

A mage who has not yet fully mastered their specific title. Usually used more in academic settings where one would be training to gain a specific title like a wizard's apprentice

There are, of course, an innumberable amount of new, increasingly specific, titles being coined everyday, as well as some mages who refute titles all together. These are simply the most well known, well defined titles.

#world of loam #loam lore

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lostsouldier · 1 year

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@bokketo : "I still maintain that a sorcerer is just a wizard without a hat. Hell, I could be a sorcerer with one of those ring things... maybe I should get a hat." sam is grumbling into his beer.

' Choose a gimmick, you can't have 'em all, ' Bucky says, taking a sip of his own beer. Not this argument again --- Sam could go on for hours, and Bucky would fully enable him. It's kind of funny, and he kind of enjoys playing Devil's Advocate with Sam if only to see him launch into a fit of passion to prove him wrong. It came about around beer number four, so Sam is predictably on track. ' You've got wings and a shield --- you want a hat and rings, too ? You're going to end up looking like my great Aunt Ida, rest her soul. '

#bokketo #bokketo ft. sam.#ic ft. barnes.

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doctorstrangeaskblog · 2 years

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"Positions? Like a wizard?" "Doctor Strange is not a wizard, he's a sourcer" "a sourcer is a wizard without a hat"

Potions, yeah, we study potions and runes.... But witches, wizards and sorcerers are all different.

#doctor strange #marvel #mcu #stephen strange

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verkja · 2 years

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Pt. 18

Previous | Masterlist | Next

The mercenaries try to adjust to a new dynamic and decide where to go next.

CWs: Referenced past death, amnesia (sort of), implied depression, implied self-hatred. New POV! This is SFW.

Words: Just over 2.5K

A lot had changed over the past seven years. The fact itself was no surprise, but Catha hadn’t anticipated the ways it might manifest. She hadn’t anticipated returning to life after almost a decade of death either, though, so she could forgive herself for this easily enough.

Radomil looked older. He’d shaved off the moustache and beard he used to wear, and the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes were more pronounced than before. He seemed to think longer before he spoke, which was saying something, as he’d been thoughtful to begin with.

Meanwhile, she appeared exactly the same as on the day of her untimely death. Even the dust caked on her armour was the same greyish-brown stuff that had blown about in the storm in Athamdind, on the field where she’d died. The damage caused by her magical overexertion had healed, but other than that she was physically unchanged.

Mentally, she had lived - or rather, existed - somewhere she didn’t remember for seven years. There were differences in the way she thought, the way she felt, but she couldn’t call their causes to mind. This didn’t bother her much, and she was glad of the distance from her old comrades’ deaths, but it was disconcerting to be cast abruptly into such a changed situation with no time to adjust.

Radomil was travelling as an adventurer more than as a regular mercenary now, for one thing. For another, he was no longer part of a company, unless one counted his single companion.

She wasn’t sure what to think of the wizard. In the past, she and Radomil had rarely travelled with just one or two companions - only when looking for a new company. At first she had thought that this was so here, but figured out quickly that it was not. Her old friend was clearly closer to the other man than he’d been to past allies.

Catha’s sword had not come with her when she returned to life, but luck smiled on her; an enchanted sword numbered among the artefacts in Isa’s collection. The enchantment itself was a whimsical one. After analysis, the mercenaries had found it allowed the wielder to identify any of the thousands of types of bird Isa had catalogued by their calls alone. While interesting, this seemed unlikely to be of much benefit - yet as the sword itself was well-made, Catha saw no reason not to wield it.

Thus equipped, she’d been ready to set out into the mountains. Her leather armour was not ideal for extended travel, but would protect her from freezing until they reached a source of better options. Radomil had promised to make her a hat in the evening with some wool he was carrying. They'd assembled a few ancient blankets from Isa's tomb into a third bedroll, and the two men's supplies would suffice for three travellers if they rationed it carefully.

For much of the first day, her old friend recounted the events of the years she’d been dead, in terms of both personal and worldwide scope. Mures was mainly silent, trailing behind them without saying much. Though mostly occupied by Radomil’s stories, Catha kept a curious eye on the sorcerer. When they stopped for lunch, and Mures got out a spellbook to read, she and Radomil wandered away from the road with their food.

‘So,’ she said. ‘Tell me about your travelling companion. How did you come to meet him? Have you been comrades for long?’

‘Several months now. We’ve worked with a few different parties; the first was how we met. There was a contract that hadn’t gotten much attention because of how risky it was, and we both signed on to a group planning to accept it. We got along well and decided to stick together afterward, and ended up friends.’ He grinned at her. He’d been doing that frequently, but this was a more normal sort of smile than the giddy, almost disbelieving look he’d cast her way more often than not.

‘And so you continued together after your last contract ended?’

‘Yes; we’re together for the foreseeable future. He can definitely handle himself in a fight - well, as long as no one gets in close, but that’s standard for a wizard.’

‘Indeed. He’s not our usual kind of companion, I note.’

‘I suppose not. I’ve been working with a wider range of mercenaries since you - died. Specialists have more weak points, but if the group coordinates things and has the right people it’s not a problem.’

‘If you’re forming new parties from scratch each time, I imagine it might even be preferable - just less efficient for companies like the one we had, where people cycled in and out. It’s more like what we did when we first started out in the life.’

‘Right. Though perhaps I should offer to show Mures a few tricks for close-up combat, anyway. Not everyone we meet thinks much of dark wizards. I’d have done it earlier, but until recently he probably would’ve told me to shove off.’ He didn’t sound annoyed; if anything, his tone was fond.

Catha watched him carefully. It was strange to look at someone so subtly yet undeniably different from what she remembered, though she doubted the signs of age were exaggerating her friend’s apparent emotions.

‘He’s a touchy fellow, is he?’

‘Yes.’ Radomil looked suddenly serious. ‘Be nice to him, Catha. Not that you wouldn’t be, but - he sometimes takes things the wrong way, and I understand why. And we had some bad times on the way here.’

‘Of course. It seems you’re quite close,’ she observed.

‘He knows about the dream.’

That shocked her. Prior to her death, Catha had been the only person Radomil had told about his prophetic dream, to her knowledge. Unless he had changed far more than she thought, he wouldn’t tell anyone except an exceptionally dear friend. She resolved to speak to Mures when possible. She’d already planned to do so regarding her own resurrection, but this added another degree of intrigue.

‘How’s the dream been of late - the same?’ she asked Radomil now.

‘The same as ever.’

‘Have you made any progress towards finding a way to avoid it?’

He sighed. ‘No. But in all honesty, I haven’t been looking. I know!’ he said, as she opened her mouth to respond. ‘I know it’s not what you wanted, or what we wanted. I haven’t - there are a lot of things that haven’t been what we wanted.’

‘What do you mean?’ She’d known it had never been easy for him to believe they could prevent the events of his dream. It wasn’t easy for her to believe either, but it was easier than accepting that the world would end so soon. She’d thought he’d begun to share her view.

Perhaps he had, but much could change in seven years.

‘I couldn’t write a song for you when you died,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, Catha. I know you wouldn’t have wanted for me to… To slip backwards like this, after all we went through together.’

She couldn’t reply for a moment. It was true; she hadn’t wanted that, but he thought he’d let her down, and this wasn’t the case. Catha wished she could’ve been there, as she’d always intended to be, until his dream came to pass or they found a way to stop it.

In a way, she felt as if she had let him down by dying, though there’d been little choice at the time. It disappointed her that she’d been unable to protect her friend and the castle at Athamdind without falling herself. Saying that would help nothing, however, so she pushed the thought down and conjured a smile.

‘No need to apologise! We’ll write songs together for when we eventually need them, which with luck on our side won’t happen for years. And certainly we can stop your dream from occurring; if I’m here again after years of death, there’s no reason to believe that’s beyond our abilities.’

He smiled back at her, a little wan but genuine. ‘I hope you’re right. When you say it - well! I’ve missed your confidence, my friend, along with everything else.’

She clapped him firmly on the shoulder as they turned to return to the road.

The sorcerer glanced up from his book as they approached, then rose and put it away. With Radomil’s words in mind, Catha nodded at him and grinned. He stared at her; after a minute, his thin lips gave a stilted little twitch that might’ve been meant as an answering smile.

She wasn’t surprised that Mures had found cause to be cautious. It was difficult not to guess at once that he was a dark wizard, based on his frankly unsettling appearance. The fact that he wore black robes did not help. The knitted hat did, but he hadn’t been wearing it when she came back to life.

Those first few moments had been deeply disconcerting. She’d known she was alive again, but not why or where; the room in which she’d appeared was strange, and the only other person present looked disturbingly like a malicious necromancer, though his face had been oddly blank as he gazed at her. Had Radomil not come through the door, she might have attempted to incapacitate the sorcerer until her situation was clearer.

Now, as the company walked on through the valley in the darkening evening, Catha was relieved she hadn’t done so. Not only would it have been an unnecessary wrong, and made a poor first impression on a good friend of her friend, but since Isa’s tomb did not allow the casting of spells, he’d have been unable to defend himself at all. Perhaps he was sturdier than he looked, but his build suggested he’d snap like a twig.

He’d taken quite a risk in resurrecting her, she thought as they neared a bend in the road. Perhaps Radomil had painted her in a more generous light than she merited where restraint was concerned.

‘That looks like a good place to stop for the night,’ Radomil noted, indicating a cluster of trees not far from a rock face. ‘The wind’s picking up, but it shouldn’t be too strong inside the grove.’

Catha set a fire while Mures laid out the bedrolls and Radomil assembled supplies for dinner. She noticed that as her old friend bent to gather various items, he would sometimes wince or make a quiet huffing sound. He hadn’t done that so often before.

She watched the sparks she’d made flare into fire and closed her eyes, smelling the woodsmoke. Seven years was not so long, she reminded herself. She’d lived well over thrice that before Athamdind. Some things had changed, but many had not.

Radomil joined her, hanging a pot above the flames. His hand brushed hers as he set it in place. The contact was minimal and she thought nothing of it, but he paused, looking at her as if to confirm she was still present and real.

Catha slung an arm about his shoulders and squeezed playfully hard before going to find their other companion. The sorcerer had finished unpacking and now stood some distance away, looking at the fire, or perhaps at Radomil - though his empty gaze suggested the former. She raised a hand in greeting and chose a nearby tree upon which to lean.

‘Mind taking a moment to talk?’ she asked.

‘What about?’ His tone was neutral, but a trace of suspicion laid in the swiftness of the reply.

The mercenary gestured at herself. ‘This! Why you brought me back. If I understand the device you used to do so, you knew in advance it would only work once, even if it didn’t shatter. Why use that chance on someone you’d never met? I’m grateful you did, but am curious about your motives.’

Mures’ shoulder jerked in a sharp half-shrug. ‘Radomil told me about you. It seemed like you were a good person who died too young.’

‘Many good people die young.’

‘Well, I haven’t met most of them. Besides, who else should I have brought back - my old master? Some former ally? They’d all have gone off to hurt people as soon as they understood what was going on. You’re more likely to do some good in the world.’

He paused, as if debating whether to voice a thought, before adding, ‘Besides, Radomil cares a great deal about you.’

‘And you care a great deal about him.’

She’d meant it as a kind of compliment, an acknowledgement of their friendship, but the sorcerer glared at her. ‘Inability to elicit an emotion in others doesn’t render one incapable of feeling it oneself.’

Then he stalked off to the edge of the grove, grabbing a book to take with him on the way. Catha stared after him, startled. A minute later, Radomil came up beside her.

‘What happened?’ he asked.

‘I’m not sure,’ she said slowly. ‘He was explaining his motives for my resurrection, and then it would seem I said something wrong.’

‘Huh. What did you say?’

‘Only that he must care about you.’

Radomil looked nonplussed for a moment; then his expression shifted to something faintly sad. ‘Ah. No, you didn’t say anything wrong. Can you watch the soup, and I’ll… just watch the soup, if you will.’

‘Of course.’

Her friend hesitated, then walked in the direction the sorcerer had gone. Catha returned to the fire and stirred the soup, watching the silhouettes of the two men through the trees. Mures had been hunched over his book; he straightened up as he saw the spellsword approach, but still looked tense. Radomil said a few things - she couldn’t hear what they were - with a casual air. After a short while, the sorcerer’s bony shoulders relaxed somewhat, and they appeared to strike up a light conversation.

Circumstances were, indeed, quite different than they’d been before her death. Catha smiled to herself. She hadn’t much liked the subtle shifts in the world she’d noticed earlier, but larger changes were a different matter - they were a challenge.

That was what she’d been missing, she realised. Dying had thrown off her plans for the future, and starting from scratch was a difficult thing when she had no idea where to start. Finding an obstacle to her understanding gave her a place to focus.

Her companions soon joined her by the fire as the soup finished boiling. Radomil had brought a map.

‘We’re on the road to Habrseng now. I doubt we’ll find any contracts there, though it’s worth a try; if not, do you two want to head back north, or keep on eastwards?’

‘I’d say east,’ Catha suggested, ‘or even further south, if we can find the gear for it. The harsher the conditions, the fewer parties will be around to contest with.’

‘True. What do you say, Mures?’

‘That’s sound logic.’

She heard no lingering resentment in his voice, and when she met his gaze across the fire, he looked back without any apparent ill-will.

‘Maybe east to the next major city, then, and south after that if we don’t find anything,’ Radomil said.

That seemed sensible enough. Catha chatted amiably with her old friend as they finished eating, the sorcerer occasionally interjecting with a concise comment or two. They dragged the bedrolls closer to the fire afterwards, and Catha began unbuckling her leather armour.

Radomil peered at the bedrolls consideringly, then tugged them so they lay side-by-side, slightly overlapping.

‘I think this is our best option until we pick up more equipment,’ he said. ‘I can be in the middle; I don’t toss and turn that much, so with luck I won’t slide out. If I do - maybe we can lace them together tomorrow.’

‘It’s fine by me,’ said Catha. She’d given little thought to sleeping arrangements, but the weather did lend itself to such a solution.

Mures was less composed. He looked almost incredulous, and for a second she feared they’d insulted him somehow, but he nodded in agreement soon enough.

As they settled in to sleep, Catha reflected that there had been something other than incredulity in the sorcerer’s expression, although she couldn’t figure out what it was.

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There is a sort-of illustration for this chapter here, showing Catha's memory of her and younger!Radomil.

#radomil is having the time of his life right now #we'll see how long that lasts #i don't know yet as i have no more idea where this is going than anyone else :')#whump writing #my writing #cw:amnesia #i guess?

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