ＤＲ． ＳＴＲＡＮＧＥ． (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
portalling) wrote2022-04-02 01:17 pm
portalling) wrote2022-04-02 01:17 pm
Entry tags:
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Good thing, then, that Stephen Strange is a rapt listener for a lecture like this. He’s paying attention, thoughtful and quiet and attentive. His mouth still purses like he’s bitten down on a sour lemon, but he’s managing to rein himself in.
No questions yet, just a bridge to whatever Julius’ next points are, an echoing and affirmation: “So, ostensibly started — invented — for pragmatic purposes, but then prone for misuse and abuse in practice.”
As so many control mechanisms are.
No questions yet, just a bridge to whatever Julius’ next points are, an echoing and affirmation: “So, ostensibly started — invented — for pragmatic purposes, but then prone for misuse and abuse in practice.”
As so many control mechanisms are.
"Yes," he says quietly. "A lot of things about the Circle system could be described that way." Arguably the entire Templar order, among other items. "You may or may not know, but when I first came to the Inquisition, before Riftwatch existed, I was still advocating for reform within the system. My views have changed, with time, but I think Tranquility..."
He trails off, as if deciding on his next handhold while climbing a rock face. Eventually, he lands on: "I think it's worth observing the the mage who nearly murdered an entire tower full of us had passed his Harrowing years ago. He willingly dealt with blood magic and demons in a gambit for power. Abominations are a real danger that I still think Thedosian mages need to consider how to handle. But scaring children into murdering part of their own personalities is nothing like the way. And the Chantry lost any high ground when it turned a blind eye to places where Tranquility was used to silence dissent or remove possible leaders from play."
He realizes that it's very possible no one has ever directly asked him his opinions on Tranquility before. It's evident that he has quite a few.
He trails off, as if deciding on his next handhold while climbing a rock face. Eventually, he lands on: "I think it's worth observing the the mage who nearly murdered an entire tower full of us had passed his Harrowing years ago. He willingly dealt with blood magic and demons in a gambit for power. Abominations are a real danger that I still think Thedosian mages need to consider how to handle. But scaring children into murdering part of their own personalities is nothing like the way. And the Chantry lost any high ground when it turned a blind eye to places where Tranquility was used to silence dissent or remove possible leaders from play."
He realizes that it's very possible no one has ever directly asked him his opinions on Tranquility before. It's evident that he has quite a few.
Strange listens quietly, patient, with the respect he has for a local mage’s opinion. Getting to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, from someone who’s had to live with that particular sword of Damocles hanging over Julius’ head, ever since his magic came in like both a promise and a threat.
“It’s like the nuclear option— the extreme, end-all option, I mean. And, as you say, it requires catching the right threats at the right time. And even then, it seems uniquely cruel besides.”
The thoughtful pause stretches out between them. He notes the light filtering through the windows, the distant twittering of birds on this sunny day. And then, finally, Strange contributes:
“Our worlds might be more similar than we think. Back home, there used to be this practice called lobotomy. A medical procedure used on people with psychiatric disorders, mental health issues, who were erratic and uncontrollable. It permanently damages their brain, destroying their personality and intellect, often leaving them in a vegetative or childlike state. Sometimes it was abused, people consigning family members to it if they were deemed too hysterical, too troublesome. It’s barbaric and outdated as a treatment.”
A faint pause. “I can’t help but see the parallels. I’ve mentioned before that I was a surgeon, but I was a neurosurgeon specifically: a brain doctor. So, Tranquility… it bothers me.”
“It’s like the nuclear option— the extreme, end-all option, I mean. And, as you say, it requires catching the right threats at the right time. And even then, it seems uniquely cruel besides.”
The thoughtful pause stretches out between them. He notes the light filtering through the windows, the distant twittering of birds on this sunny day. And then, finally, Strange contributes:
“Our worlds might be more similar than we think. Back home, there used to be this practice called lobotomy. A medical procedure used on people with psychiatric disorders, mental health issues, who were erratic and uncontrollable. It permanently damages their brain, destroying their personality and intellect, often leaving them in a vegetative or childlike state. Sometimes it was abused, people consigning family members to it if they were deemed too hysterical, too troublesome. It’s barbaric and outdated as a treatment.”
A faint pause. “I can’t help but see the parallels. I’ve mentioned before that I was a surgeon, but I was a neurosurgeon specifically: a brain doctor. So, Tranquility… it bothers me.”
"To be frank with you, I'm suspicious of anyone it doesn't bother, at least a bit," Julius says, quietly, taking in the the idea of other worlds having something similar. "When I was younger, and had been purposely more cut off from the world, I thought ..."
He stops. This doesn't require thought: he knows he hasn't discussed this next part before.
"I taught the apprentices. At Kinloch Hold, it was part of my duties. And I always tried to help, if anyone seemed scared or nervous, because it felt to me that making voluntary Tranquility the only option other than performing the Harrowing. I can't prove it didn't prevent anything bad, but through observation, I can say that even without overt abuse, it was more likely to identify young people who were scared than young people who were a threat. By its nature."
And while Tranquility wasn't a common outcome at his Circle, it wasn't so uncommon he'd never had a student choose it. He'd never had it feel like something other than a failure.
"I also know it ... many people tend to view the Tranquil as less than human. Not always out of malice, just ... habit. The way Circles were set up. And I've certainly thought before now that I wish I knew what had happened to them, when the Mage-Templar War broke out. My hands aren't clean; I didn't get them out or do anything to help them, and I regret that." It's somehow, if not easy, then a relief to say aloud things that he mostly assumes other Circle mages know, or know enough of. There's so many threads to pull on with Tranquility, and Strange had asked.
He stops. This doesn't require thought: he knows he hasn't discussed this next part before.
"I taught the apprentices. At Kinloch Hold, it was part of my duties. And I always tried to help, if anyone seemed scared or nervous, because it felt to me that making voluntary Tranquility the only option other than performing the Harrowing. I can't prove it didn't prevent anything bad, but through observation, I can say that even without overt abuse, it was more likely to identify young people who were scared than young people who were a threat. By its nature."
And while Tranquility wasn't a common outcome at his Circle, it wasn't so uncommon he'd never had a student choose it. He'd never had it feel like something other than a failure.
"I also know it ... many people tend to view the Tranquil as less than human. Not always out of malice, just ... habit. The way Circles were set up. And I've certainly thought before now that I wish I knew what had happened to them, when the Mage-Templar War broke out. My hands aren't clean; I didn't get them out or do anything to help them, and I regret that." It's somehow, if not easy, then a relief to say aloud things that he mostly assumes other Circle mages know, or know enough of. There's so many threads to pull on with Tranquility, and Strange had asked.
This raises an eyebrow: “Students would choose it willingly, before it’s even necessary? As an alternative to trying Harrowing at all?”
Much like how Julius had looked at Kamar-Taj as another version of life for mages, Strange finds himself morbidly fascinated by the Circles for the same reason: in another world, another life, this might have been him. In all the sprawling multiverse, a boy named Stephen might have been born in Denerim and eventually sent to a Circle of Magi.
That touch of guilt in Julius’ voice is even more familiar, though, and so Strange mulls over what to say. He’s not the best at finding the right words, but he tries:
“There’s a lot of moving pieces in a war, and too many for one person to keep track of. I imagine that just getting through and surviving it was difficult enough. We can always kick ourselves for not doing enough, perpetually second-guessing if we did the right thing — but I think, ultimately, we have to know that you did the best you could, in the situation you were in at the time. That’s what I try to tell myself, at least.”
Much like how Julius had looked at Kamar-Taj as another version of life for mages, Strange finds himself morbidly fascinated by the Circles for the same reason: in another world, another life, this might have been him. In all the sprawling multiverse, a boy named Stephen might have been born in Denerim and eventually sent to a Circle of Magi.
That touch of guilt in Julius’ voice is even more familiar, though, and so Strange mulls over what to say. He’s not the best at finding the right words, but he tries:
“There’s a lot of moving pieces in a war, and too many for one person to keep track of. I imagine that just getting through and surviving it was difficult enough. We can always kick ourselves for not doing enough, perpetually second-guessing if we did the right thing — but I think, ultimately, we have to know that you did the best you could, in the situation you were in at the time. That’s what I try to tell myself, at least.”
Quietly, to Strange's initial question: "Attempting a Harrowing and failing it means instant execution." It's a thing he didn't think to explain, a fundamental property of the way Circles used to work. "The idea, on paper, is that Harrowing proves a mage can withstand demonic temptation. That they have enough control that their power doesn't make them a danger to themselves or anyone else."
It's best it's come up, probably; in Julius's mind, it's impossible to understand Circle mages without understanding what Harrowing had been for them. Why some would choose Tranquility rather than risking it.
It's best it's come up, probably; in Julius's mind, it's impossible to understand Circle mages without understanding what Harrowing had been for them. Why some would choose Tranquility rather than risking it.
“Ah,” Strange says.
And the word isn’t enough. Imagine that: choosing an assured lobotomisation over the mere potential of failure.
— he can’t, actually, imagine that. Stephen Strange’s whole thing is that he tries, again and again, even in the face of certain failure, even when it’s desperately unwise. But not everyone would make that call. He has to remind himself that not everyone would make that call.
“That’s— I’m sorry,” he says. Can’t really put together the right words, and he finds himself reaching for his closest comparison although it comes up vastly short. “My teacher dropped me on a frigid mountain to incentivise me to portal off it before I died, but it might have been empty bluster, she might have come back to pick me up if I’d failed. And it’s not— it’s not the same. There’s motivation and then there’s institutional abuse.”
Is that rude to say? Well, regardless, he’s said it.
“What happens to mages these days, after the war? With the Circles gone?”
And the word isn’t enough. Imagine that: choosing an assured lobotomisation over the mere potential of failure.
— he can’t, actually, imagine that. Stephen Strange’s whole thing is that he tries, again and again, even in the face of certain failure, even when it’s desperately unwise. But not everyone would make that call. He has to remind himself that not everyone would make that call.
“That’s— I’m sorry,” he says. Can’t really put together the right words, and he finds himself reaching for his closest comparison although it comes up vastly short. “My teacher dropped me on a frigid mountain to incentivise me to portal off it before I died, but it might have been empty bluster, she might have come back to pick me up if I’d failed. And it’s not— it’s not the same. There’s motivation and then there’s institutional abuse.”
Is that rude to say? Well, regardless, he’s said it.
“What happens to mages these days, after the war? With the Circles gone?”
Julius may have come down in a different place, a few years earlier, on whether or not to characterize the system as abusive. Today, however, he just says with a rueful smile, "I think it's probably optimistic to declare with certainty that the Circles are gone, under the circumstances, but I know what you mean. There's no one thing happening, right now. Some are going to the Inquisition, though after Fiona's death I don't know if the Inquisition's mages are still viewed as such a definitive options. There have always been apostates who stay with their families or hide with one another; I'm sure those numbers have swelled without Templars actively hunting them down the last few years. It's not unheard of to defect to Tevinter, for reasons you can probably guess." Given how mages are treated in the South, a nation where they rule could have its appeal even with all the other factors in play.
He goes on: "But you do raise the question ... I suspect some pious parents are still inclined to turn children over to the Chantry. I was six when my magic manifested, hardly old enough to make an informed choice as to where I'd want to go if it had been offered to me." Which, to be clear, it was not. "It may be worth talking to Project Haven to see if we can find out if the Chantry has a current system for dealing with those children." The war with Corypheus has been going on long enough now families who'd prefer not to harbor a mage are probably disinclined to wait it out.
He goes on: "But you do raise the question ... I suspect some pious parents are still inclined to turn children over to the Chantry. I was six when my magic manifested, hardly old enough to make an informed choice as to where I'd want to go if it had been offered to me." Which, to be clear, it was not. "It may be worth talking to Project Haven to see if we can find out if the Chantry has a current system for dealing with those children." The war with Corypheus has been going on long enough now families who'd prefer not to harbor a mage are probably disinclined to wait it out.
“Oh god, as if Riftwatch doesn’t have enough going on without becoming a makeshift orphanage.” Which isn’t exactly the suggestion, but it feels a little safer to crack a joke about it and a small smile, sounding faux alarmed. Imagine. Kids running around underfoot in the middle of a war.
But, well —
Strange hesitates, then. He can’t stop his mind from examining all the angles and automatically starting to consider potential solutions. Julius had seen the kids at Kamar-Taj. Some of the sorcerers-in-training were so young.
“You’re in Diplomacy,” he says slowly, “Could that be an option? Find some sympathetic Chantry mother we know, entice her to run some benevolent children’s home which isn’t likely to turn cruel. Magical training supervised by a mage or mages who need work and could guide them in their abilities. Keep it quiet. Is that the sort of thing which might pass muster in Thedas, or would people riot at the thought?”
Perhaps it’s idealistic, considering all the local baggage, but he can’t help but think about it. How lucky he’d been, to have accepting teachers.
But, well —
Strange hesitates, then. He can’t stop his mind from examining all the angles and automatically starting to consider potential solutions. Julius had seen the kids at Kamar-Taj. Some of the sorcerers-in-training were so young.
“You’re in Diplomacy,” he says slowly, “Could that be an option? Find some sympathetic Chantry mother we know, entice her to run some benevolent children’s home which isn’t likely to turn cruel. Magical training supervised by a mage or mages who need work and could guide them in their abilities. Keep it quiet. Is that the sort of thing which might pass muster in Thedas, or would people riot at the thought?”
Perhaps it’s idealistic, considering all the local baggage, but he can’t help but think about it. How lucky he’d been, to have accepting teachers.
[As promised, a thick sheaf of papers is crammed into Strange's assigned pigeon hole in the dining hall. The topmost note reads—]
[The suggested reports refer to the following files that can be found among Riftwatch's records:
- The Blood Plague - 9:44
- A Survey of Rifters Arrival Sites - 9:44
- Further Surveys - 9:47, with a brief summary of the arcane mechanical principles behind the ARRIVED network.
The remainder of the packet details (in highly anonymized, broadly academic language) the amputation of Wysteria's arm and the dissection notes taken afterward.
In summary, anchor put down roots along the limbo's vascular system and the veins and vessels of the limb crystalized since the arm's removal. Rather than a foreign object implanting in the body, the flesh of the arm itself appears to have been undergoing a process of arcane transmutation.
When exposed to refined and red lyrium, the anchor and limb initially showed no immediate reaction. However prolonged exposure saw that lyrium drawn to the severed end of the limb where it attached and appeared to expand or multiply seemingly in an effort to reconstruct the body the limb was once attached to. This progressed for roughly two days before the residual arcane energies of the anchor faded and the lyrium reconstruction faded prior to forming a full upper arm/shoulder/so on.
Further related observations of the original host (aka Wysteria) in particularly significant fade-touched environments (aka the Crossroads) suggest the removal of the arm has somehow stabilized the Rifter host's physical manifestation in Thedas. Where Rifters ordinarily take on certain physical traits whole traveling in those places, since the loss of the limb the host no longer exhibits those traits in a fashion similar to a native Thedosian.
In addition to the self-autopsy report, there is a brief series of notes theorizing how a Rifter might be affected by exposure to raw lyrium. Obviously this is entirely hypothetical and would demand cautious testing, but theoretically the author wonders whether a Rifter might safely handle raw lyrium (and thereby be capable of enchanting as a dwarf or Tranquil might) with only a minimal risk of highly temporary physical mutation or brief mental fog—both of which might be further minimized with correct handling and equipment.
Last but not least, Wysteria has included a general outline for her planned upcoming experimentation. It's an aggressive but not unreasonable course of dosing natives and Rifters, with anchors and without, mages and non-mages, with modest measures of refined lyrium to determine whether there is any notable difference between how the disparate groups are effected.
Once she has collected her data, she means to examine the findings and determine whether exposing Rifters to raw lyrium constitutes a reasonable and productive risk given the noted dangers of exposure. However, she theorizes that in addition to the obvious benefits of training Rifters to smith runes and enchantments, raw lyrium (or refined lyrium in some quantity) might be advantageous to stabilizing a Rifter's presence in Thedas, and/or may be leveraged to modify the advancement of the anchor's transmutation of the flesh to which it has been attached.]
Doctor,
Here are the copies of my notes regarding the associations between Rifters and lyrium, some notes regarding Mister Dickerson and I's preliminary explorations of the subject, and so on. In addition to this, I would recommend seeking out the following files from Riftwatch's records. I have done my best to note the correct drawer in which they might be found, however it has been some time since last I assisted the Seneschal and it's possible that these papers have found a new home in the interim.
I'm quite cheered by your interest in the subject and look forward to continuing our work together.
Regards,
W. A.P.dF.
[The suggested reports refer to the following files that can be found among Riftwatch's records:
- The Blood Plague - 9:44
- A Survey of Rifters Arrival Sites - 9:44
- Further Surveys - 9:47, with a brief summary of the arcane mechanical principles behind the ARRIVED network.
The remainder of the packet details (in highly anonymized, broadly academic language) the amputation of Wysteria's arm and the dissection notes taken afterward.
In summary, anchor put down roots along the limbo's vascular system and the veins and vessels of the limb crystalized since the arm's removal. Rather than a foreign object implanting in the body, the flesh of the arm itself appears to have been undergoing a process of arcane transmutation.
When exposed to refined and red lyrium, the anchor and limb initially showed no immediate reaction. However prolonged exposure saw that lyrium drawn to the severed end of the limb where it attached and appeared to expand or multiply seemingly in an effort to reconstruct the body the limb was once attached to. This progressed for roughly two days before the residual arcane energies of the anchor faded and the lyrium reconstruction faded prior to forming a full upper arm/shoulder/so on.
Further related observations of the original host (aka Wysteria) in particularly significant fade-touched environments (aka the Crossroads) suggest the removal of the arm has somehow stabilized the Rifter host's physical manifestation in Thedas. Where Rifters ordinarily take on certain physical traits whole traveling in those places, since the loss of the limb the host no longer exhibits those traits in a fashion similar to a native Thedosian.
In addition to the self-autopsy report, there is a brief series of notes theorizing how a Rifter might be affected by exposure to raw lyrium. Obviously this is entirely hypothetical and would demand cautious testing, but theoretically the author wonders whether a Rifter might safely handle raw lyrium (and thereby be capable of enchanting as a dwarf or Tranquil might) with only a minimal risk of highly temporary physical mutation or brief mental fog—both of which might be further minimized with correct handling and equipment.
Last but not least, Wysteria has included a general outline for her planned upcoming experimentation. It's an aggressive but not unreasonable course of dosing natives and Rifters, with anchors and without, mages and non-mages, with modest measures of refined lyrium to determine whether there is any notable difference between how the disparate groups are effected.
Once she has collected her data, she means to examine the findings and determine whether exposing Rifters to raw lyrium constitutes a reasonable and productive risk given the noted dangers of exposure. However, she theorizes that in addition to the obvious benefits of training Rifters to smith runes and enchantments, raw lyrium (or refined lyrium in some quantity) might be advantageous to stabilizing a Rifter's presence in Thedas, and/or may be leveraged to modify the advancement of the anchor's transmutation of the flesh to which it has been attached.]
It's something he hasn't really thought about before so concretely; as Strange has just mentioned, it's not as if Riftwatch has the personnel to spare to offer to take anyone in themselves. But the second idea is one he turns over.
"You'd be asking anyone affiliated with the Chantry to take a massive risk," he says, after a few moments. "Yes, we could frame it as a wartime necessity, never meant to be permanent, but sanctioning it would be a tacit admission that the Circles effectively do not exist right now. That's mostly true, but if the Chantry admits that, it is going to be much harder to shove mages back into them after Corypheus is dealt with and the Templars aren't all on an Exalted March. If someone did that without permission, there's a risk they could be branded a heretic."
With his arms folded, he taps his fingers above his elbow, absently thinking it through.
"It's a couple of problems together, I think. I've no doubt we could find at least a few mages willing to help with some rudimentary training and instruction. But without at least a veneer of Chantry involvement, parents like mine aren't likely to voluntarily send their children to a mage-supervised situation. Sympathetic parents, maybe, or those who are just so scared they want a mage out of their house and don't care where they go. But there's enough piety in Thedas that there would be resistance, even beyond the Chantry itself." He shakes his head. "I don't think it's impossible, but it's going to be a challenge. On the other hand, if we could establish something now, it will give us some bargaining power later. And it would give at least some children somewhere safe to go."
"You'd be asking anyone affiliated with the Chantry to take a massive risk," he says, after a few moments. "Yes, we could frame it as a wartime necessity, never meant to be permanent, but sanctioning it would be a tacit admission that the Circles effectively do not exist right now. That's mostly true, but if the Chantry admits that, it is going to be much harder to shove mages back into them after Corypheus is dealt with and the Templars aren't all on an Exalted March. If someone did that without permission, there's a risk they could be branded a heretic."
With his arms folded, he taps his fingers above his elbow, absently thinking it through.
"It's a couple of problems together, I think. I've no doubt we could find at least a few mages willing to help with some rudimentary training and instruction. But without at least a veneer of Chantry involvement, parents like mine aren't likely to voluntarily send their children to a mage-supervised situation. Sympathetic parents, maybe, or those who are just so scared they want a mage out of their house and don't care where they go. But there's enough piety in Thedas that there would be resistance, even beyond the Chantry itself." He shakes his head. "I don't think it's impossible, but it's going to be a challenge. On the other hand, if we could establish something now, it will give us some bargaining power later. And it would give at least some children somewhere safe to go."
Strictly speaking, this might not be Strange’s problem — not his circus, not his monkeys — but no one here’s going to care much about the technicalities of the difference between a sorcerer and a mage, and if it weren’t for that shard in his palm, he’d be considered one just the same. And people look at rifters with much the same dubious mistrust; he’d heard some of the arguments for giving them the same treatingment after the war. Their fates might be more intertwined than he’d like.
It’s no surprise, then, that he identifies as a mage himself, and finds himself invested in the problem. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
“The other risk,” Strange says, “is that you wouldn’t want to accidentally recreate the Circles all over again, just under a different name. History repeating itself. One would want it to be better than what came before. We might have too much on our plate already to tackle this too, but we’re also uniquely-situated by having so many free mages publicly organised under one roof, and so we might be positioned to think about alternatives. And presumably having some option available somewhere on the continent is better than having no options at all: staying at home or being turned out on the street.”
Or worse. He wonders how bad it gets in the even less tolerant villages, finding a child’s manifested as a mage.
Probably bad. Let’s not ask.
It’s no surprise, then, that he identifies as a mage himself, and finds himself invested in the problem. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
“The other risk,” Strange says, “is that you wouldn’t want to accidentally recreate the Circles all over again, just under a different name. History repeating itself. One would want it to be better than what came before. We might have too much on our plate already to tackle this too, but we’re also uniquely-situated by having so many free mages publicly organised under one roof, and so we might be positioned to think about alternatives. And presumably having some option available somewhere on the continent is better than having no options at all: staying at home or being turned out on the street.”
Or worse. He wonders how bad it gets in the even less tolerant villages, finding a child’s manifested as a mage.
Probably bad. Let’s not ask.
maybe wrap up for now but circle back to this potential idea in a thread closer to the present?
overharrowed
2023-10-28 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"There is that," Julius agrees, quietly. "I used to think reform was the better way forward, for ... there were reasons, some lack of information, others lack of context. But I know the tendency well enough. There are mages who are rightly wary that anything too similar to the Circles would slide back into being the Circles with minimal prodding. That said..."
A sigh. It's a problem he's been turning over for a long time, and he truly does appreciate the fresh perspective. That said, it's a large tangle to try to tease apart and it hasn't gotten any smaller in the past few years.
"I think it was good. Seeing Kamar-Taj. Thinking about ... the training, the chance to talk with other mages, or sorcerers rather. That there were some good things we might be able to build a different way." He hadn't fully expected it to be so affecting, in the moment, but it's clear Julius has thought about it since.
"If you're interested in getting involved, native mage politics are messy, but you've raised an excellent point about children. If you haven't, you might want to talk to Mme de Cedoux, some. She has an interesting perspective as another rifter who can use magic, and she's gotten more fully involved with our efforts here. Obviously," with a wry little smile, "we're all here for Riftwatch, and that's the more immediate priority. But what happens to mages, now and later, is a thing some of us have been working on simultaneously. And history shows that rifters are likely to be lumped in with us. Even the ones who can't do magic." Much less those who could.
A sigh. It's a problem he's been turning over for a long time, and he truly does appreciate the fresh perspective. That said, it's a large tangle to try to tease apart and it hasn't gotten any smaller in the past few years.
"I think it was good. Seeing Kamar-Taj. Thinking about ... the training, the chance to talk with other mages, or sorcerers rather. That there were some good things we might be able to build a different way." He hadn't fully expected it to be so affecting, in the moment, but it's clear Julius has thought about it since.
"If you're interested in getting involved, native mage politics are messy, but you've raised an excellent point about children. If you haven't, you might want to talk to Mme de Cedoux, some. She has an interesting perspective as another rifter who can use magic, and she's gotten more fully involved with our efforts here. Obviously," with a wry little smile, "we're all here for Riftwatch, and that's the more immediate priority. But what happens to mages, now and later, is a thing some of us have been working on simultaneously. And history shows that rifters are likely to be lumped in with us. Even the ones who can't do magic." Much less those who could.
“A good idea.” As if they don’t already have enough on their endless to-do lists, but, “Between being a rifter and a magic-user, I’ve always felt you and I are more in the same boat than not. I’ll talk to her and hear what she thinks.”
It’s a sunny day, warm and a little drowsy with the daylight trickling in through the windows. Strange has been working too long, pent-up with these Sashamiri reports, and could probably do with a break. Nothing like stretching one's legs after dealing with weighty philosophical conversations about the fate of an entire people.
“Y’know what, let’s go for a walk,” he says, sweeping his paperwork back into a tidier pile. “I’d like some fresh air.”
It’s a sunny day, warm and a little drowsy with the daylight trickling in through the windows. Strange has been working too long, pent-up with these Sashamiri reports, and could probably do with a break. Nothing like stretching one's legs after dealing with weighty philosophical conversations about the fate of an entire people.
“Y’know what, let’s go for a walk,” he says, sweeping his paperwork back into a tidier pile. “I’d like some fresh air.”
Edgard walks into the infirmary with what looks like paper that's been ripped out from a book that's blank and a small piece of charcoal.
"Still want some art? Have some time."
He straightens his very muddy self to his tallest height and rubs his hand across his face, making a smudge. He gives Strange a serious look.
"Give you a consultation."
"Still want some art? Have some time."
He straightens his very muddy self to his tallest height and rubs his hand across his face, making a smudge. He gives Strange a serious look.
"Give you a consultation."
Thankfully, the infirmary’s empty — no long-term inhabitants currently, not since Strange finished reviewing Loki’s exhaustion and finally signed out the patient — and so the room is empty besides the doctor himself, who’s currently sorting through some paperwork.
There’s a look of faint alarm when he looks up and fully takes in Edgard’s appearance, this walking talking adult Pig-Pen; the doctor is neurotic about his tidiness and cleanliness, and so many of the surfaces here should be kept fastidiously sanitary. But so he waves him over to the head healer’s desk, the set of chairs, a safe surface for the paper.
“Yes, of course. The mural’s going to take a while, so we do still need posters in the meantime, and I’m glad to have the assistance. Edgard, right?”
There’s a look of faint alarm when he looks up and fully takes in Edgard’s appearance, this walking talking adult Pig-Pen; the doctor is neurotic about his tidiness and cleanliness, and so many of the surfaces here should be kept fastidiously sanitary. But so he waves him over to the head healer’s desk, the set of chairs, a safe surface for the paper.
“Yes, of course. The mural’s going to take a while, so we do still need posters in the meantime, and I’m glad to have the assistance. Edgard, right?”
He nods gruffly in answer to his question.
"You are Strange." He says and then immediately panics. "I mean--you--your name's. You're not. Well, don't know you might be--"
Edgard does a sweeping gesture as to erase everything that's just been said and takes a huge breath.
"We met through the crystals. Describe the posters you need."
He panics again. "Please."
"You are Strange." He says and then immediately panics. "I mean--you--your name's. You're not. Well, don't know you might be--"
Edgard does a sweeping gesture as to erase everything that's just been said and takes a huge breath.
"We met through the crystals. Describe the posters you need."
He panics again. "Please."
There’s a twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Don’t worry, I’m used to it. It’s a veritable Who’s On First routine every time.”
Strange rearranges the desk, moving more things out of the way so Edgard can sit down across from him and set down the paper and charcoal. As for the poster pitches…
“I have two main ones in mind. First, something with instructions to ‘WASH YOUR HANDS’, with an illustration of some hands mid-wash, and maybe an instruction to do it for at least 20 seconds? Besides the artistic part, my handwriting isn’t tidy enough to write legibly: we want large, plain, easy-to-read script.
“Second, this might sound a little odd, but it’s a pain scale. From 0, no pain, to 10, unimaginable pain, and illustrations along the way to depict that escalating pain. So that even if they can’t read, someone in this office could point at one of the faces to say, this is how I’m feeling. Does that make sense?”
Strange rearranges the desk, moving more things out of the way so Edgard can sit down across from him and set down the paper and charcoal. As for the poster pitches…
“I have two main ones in mind. First, something with instructions to ‘WASH YOUR HANDS’, with an illustration of some hands mid-wash, and maybe an instruction to do it for at least 20 seconds? Besides the artistic part, my handwriting isn’t tidy enough to write legibly: we want large, plain, easy-to-read script.
“Second, this might sound a little odd, but it’s a pain scale. From 0, no pain, to 10, unimaginable pain, and illustrations along the way to depict that escalating pain. So that even if they can’t read, someone in this office could point at one of the faces to say, this is how I’m feeling. Does that make sense?”
( There’s ambient noises in the background as he answers: the occasional rush of wind, the distant sounds of the harbour. The doctor’s out for a walk? A constitutional? Something. )
Crystal’s fine, I think, unless you’d particularly prefer to meet in-person yourself— I like to multi-task. Besides, this makes it a little easier to play back the recording and take notes later if I need to.
So. The End of Time? ( A beat, then, ) That sounds bad.
Crystal’s fine, I think, unless you’d particularly prefer to meet in-person yourself— I like to multi-task. Besides, this makes it a little easier to play back the recording and take notes later if I need to.
So. The End of Time? ( A beat, then, ) That sounds bad.
I have n…oooot, ( Strange says slowly, warily, drawing out the word as he wracks his memory and sifts through what he can recall of all the books at Kamar-Taj. He has a very, very good memory.
And yet it doesn’t ring a damn bell. Concerning. )
Which feels like something of a glaring omission, professionally, since it’s got the word time in it. Tell me more.
And yet it doesn’t ring a damn bell. Concerning. )
Which feels like something of a glaring omission, professionally, since it’s got the word time in it. Tell me more.
This is he. ( He picks up and unconsciously answers like he might answer a phone, and there’s the brief pleasant surprise at being referred to properly as doctor. Not everyone here remembers. )
Who am I speaking to?
Who am I speaking to?
Page 6 of 38