milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Telemain hasn't been in the bar in months. Which is why he doesn't expect his door to open to it, which is why he doesn't look up from the book he's reading while he walks, which is why he collides with a chair.

"Oh my," he manages, a few long moments later when it's all sunk in.

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There are clearly far more important things to discuss.

"Specific kinds are. We have a sort of person called a firewitch, which is just what it sounds like, and average spell casters can draw on elements to change the balances of their spells, and to use in rituals to amplify basic powers."

Dominic nods. "In my world, most magic is derived from the ten elemental planes. It's all completely morals-neutral unless it's derived from the planes of Heaven or Hell. And no one sane practices infernomancy."

"The act of deriving magic from other sources is, in my world, what really defines it. You can do it honestly, like a magician, or you can soak it up from surroundings like a wizard, which is inevitably harmful and generally considered immoral."

"Ohh, you're from that world. Magic doesn't work that way in my universe. If it did, I'd have melted into a puddle every time my mom made me do the dishes after supper."

"You're familiar with it?"

Does he know Morwen? Telemain can't help but wonder.

"I've met someone from your world before. A witch named Morwen."

A beat.

"You wouldn't happen to be Telemain, would you?"

Morwen. He grins, looking rather... well, younger and human.

Yes.

"I am. She mentioned me?"

"She did at that," says the seer with a wry grin.

"I suppose I should introduce myself. Dominic Deegan, Professor of Divination at the Quiral Academy for the Arcane Arts."

"It's an honour to meet you then. Telemain, travelling Magician. Yes, a friend of Morwen's, for all that her head is far more on her shoulders than mine."

This isn't saying much, though.

"A traveling magician?" echoes Dominic, curiously. "How do you earn a living doing that?"

He doesn't.

"Oh, I fix things, here and there, and I provide mostly for myself."

"Sounds like slim pickings to me," replies Dominic skeptically. "The wandering adventurer lifestyle isn't nearly as glamorous as it's made out to be."

[ooc: Must head bedward. Slowtime?]

"I have a tower where I keep my things and experiments."

The experiments are more important than the things.

"And how do you handle that while traveling? Keep it in your pocket, do you?"

Although the magician is wearing a vest with a lot a lot of pockets, no, he does not.

"I'm seldom gone far enough that I can't get home with a very basic transportation spell, or perhaps two. I am only travelling in so far as I am self employed and not attached to a kingdom or court."

"More power to you, then. I've never been that great at doing teleportation spells on the fly. I can make Bookmarks, but it's not the same thing at all."

"What an elegant expression," Telemain observes, rather pleased. What he calls that has over seven syllables. "I've established a few of those in my rings," he has three magic rings on one hand and four on the other, "but they're not powerful enough to work from here."

"Hm. I've created a Bookmark that leads to Milliways by incorporating interplanar travel techniques, but I haven't attempted to make one that leads out of Milliways..."

"Really."

Telemain leans forwards, attention completely captured.

"How did you do that? Even the most powerful transportation spells from my world have failed, although interplanar travel is something that is largely unexplored. I don't think there's a lot of discourse on the subject of other realities."

"I applied the same basic methodologies used to make a standard Bookmarking spell, and added some Nagasta runes used for making planar gates," Dominic replies. "I don't have my notes on me right now, unfortunately, but it's pretty straightforward once you see the diagrams..."

"Runes are not widely used in my world."

Telemain knows a very basic few, but they're hard to find books on and there's lots of easier ways to do things.

"Oh? They're quite handy for storing a spell for later use."

"We would use a word for such a thing." If Telemain says 'Argelfraster' he can squirt soapy lemon water at anyone in the vicinity. Since this melts wizards, it's kind of an important skill. "If you prepare the spell carefully beforehand. It takes more work to set up but it is more convenient in the long run, provided you have the skill to calibrate everything properly."

"Hm. In my world, trigger words are generally used for spells built for people who have no magic of their own. They need a specific way to set it off, you see."

"And in mine, people are not innately magical. It is merely a matter of having the inclination and skill needed to tap into the magic that surrounds us. We use incantations, ingredients, rituals and materials. I suppose you might say that we are no more or less magical than anything, that it is merely a question of knowing how to activate and use it. Which remains the crucial difference between a wizard and a magician."