( one. ) voice • scientia potestas est [ id: nightingale ]

[ettersberg]

[ thomas nightingale does, in fact, know how to use a smartphone. he's owned one for quite a while before the end of the world; google maps in particular has always struck him as rather useful. the knowledge of how to operate such a device comes in handy now as well, though he's not entirely sure yet why he's bothering.

(the answer is peter; peter would want to know and nightingale would hate not to have any answers at all by the time his apprentice wakes up. because peter will wake up, surely. eventually.)

so there is no fumbling, no pauses when the device clicks on except deliberate ones, and a smooth, very british and posh-sounding voice inquiring: ]

It seems magic is not out of the ordinary, here. Someone has already inquired about those who believe in or practice magic, but I'd be interested to hear how magic was regulated, if at all, in your worlds. That, and whether there were particular ill-effects to it.

[ here, there is one of the aforementioned deliberate pauses. ] I'd also appreciate hearing of your experiences with employment.

Thank you.

Comments

audio | un: zevran

[agradecido]

[The sound he starts with is almost a laugh.] No one has thus far been particularly enamored of the Chantry when I tell them about it. You're certain you wish to know?

[ettersberg]

Quite.

[ nightingale has seen things he would have preferred not to have seen. he's done things he'd prefer not to have done, too. some things are not worth knowing. it's why he kept peter from seeing the worst of the experiments when he'd had the opportunity.

but some knowledge shouldn't be lost entirely because to forget its horrors make repetition more likely. nightingale bears the weight of plenty such knowledge.

this, he imagines, will not be quite as bad as that, but he steels himself regardless. ]

[agradecido]

All right, how about the short version, then? I'm told I often go on at length, occasionally to the point of disdain.

[You can almost hear the smile. He either doesn't believe that, or he does and it amuses him. Then, he starts going over the distinct points.]

Demons are the reason for all of the trouble concerning the Chantry and mages, and this is the first thing that I must impress. Demons try to possess the living, and the easiest means is through ones' sleeping mind. Some people are born mages, and demons are especially attracted to mages.

As such, the Chantry--a religious body--keeps a very close eye on mages. A great many live in the Circles, which provide education and housing at the price of segregation from the rest of the populace and varying degrees of... [There's an audible inhale and a slight hum.] Shall we say...confinement?

[He's going to press on in a moment, so get the questions ready.]

So, how is that for ill-effects?

[ettersberg]

Ah.

[ a noise of acknowledgement of what has been said more than any indication of surprise or judgment. nightingale has far too stiff an upper lip for that kind of thing.

after a moment, he offers: ] Demons are more of an ill-effect than I'd considered possible. What do they do, precisely? Once possessing someone, that is.

[agradecido]

It rather depends on the type of demon. Each kind feeds on a different emotion: pride, wrath, desire, and the like. So in that aspect, they all do the same thing, but the results are very different.

Wrath is simple, and merely lashes out in an attmept to destroy. Despair causes and consumes suffering. Pride and Desire are more complex, using deceit to turn one's nature into the agent of their doom.

Sloth demons rarely do much possessing--they rarely do much of anything, really. When they do, they send one into an arcane slumber and feed off of their victim's life. Like Wrath, they seem to take a more direct approach.

[ettersberg]

I see.

[ it all sounds rather more christian than nightingale would have expected, but perhaps the fault in that lies in his expectation more than anything else. why shouldn't it? newtonian magic is entirely unrelated to religious notions, but that doesn't mean much, he supposes. ]

That did not happen in my world as far as I'm aware. [ though people might have believed it would, long ago. ]

[agradecido]

I had the dubious honor of seeing such creatures often while I traveled with the Wardens some years ago. They rather seemed to invite all sorts of trouble. Perhaps the Maker has a sense of humor?

Your world seems kinder in comparison.

[ettersberg]

The Wardens?

[ on the whole, nightingale supposes he'll have to agree — though there is plenty unkindness in his world. not only the war; spending time with peter has opened his eyes to much of the structural injustices that still exist, things he'd never noticed due to his privileged position. ] I suppose that it was, yes.

[agradecido]

I refer, of course, to the Grey Wardens, an order tasked with ending the Blights. Which is in itself a whole other story.

[There's a pause at the other end of the line, and then he continues thoughtfully.]

Though I suppose it's a related tale. At least, according to the Chantry.

[ettersberg]

I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with everything you just mentioned.

[ none of that made sense, in other words. the blights? ] Are the Blights an illness?

[agradecido]

If a plague could cause crops to wither in the fields, animals to shamble along in the same parody of life as the few people who don't merely die, where even the worms and bugs cease to be until no corpse can decay and the soil will never again support life?

Then yes, I suppose it would come close to what a Blight is.

[ettersberg]

That sounds extreme.

[ and very unpleasant, naturally. ]

[agradecido]

Quite so.

[Zevran pauses, tapping his chin with one finger, and smiles.]

A man of few words, I see. You rather remind me of an old friend of ours.

[OK, "friend" is stretching it, really. Sten mostly just...tolerated the lot of them. Zevran was, of course, near the bottom of the list.

Well, except for Cousland. She was the exception.]

[ettersberg]

A positive association, I hope.

[ nightingale's tone is polite more than expectant. ]

[agradecido]

[Unfortunately for the Englishman, Zev has a tendency to talk at length. He warned you.]

Quite a bit! I was rather fond of the Sten.

[ettersberg]

[ that's quite all right. if this were an interrogation, nightingale would be glad for it. it isn't, but he's still content to listen. ]

And what did Sten do?

[agradecido]

He was a commander of men, part of the military phalanx of the Qunari army. Charming fellow. He likes paintings, sweets and being obstinate.

[It's said fondly, at least?]

[ettersberg]

[ commander of men is not technically incorrect when it comes to nightingale, but really? he only commands one man, and half the time, peter does what he wants regardless. which is a fine quality in an apprentice wizard. ]

I'm not quite certain if I should take charming as a compliment, or obstinate as an insult

[agradecido]

Well, I can't speak to whether you are obstinate or not! But it truly was part of his charm. And his pertained primarily to himself and anything regarding the Qun.

[He thinks a moment.]

A trait he seems to share with a number of his kin.

[ettersberg]

And the Qun are — ?