(no subject)

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

[In which Eska meets Serena and they discuss quantum physics comparative magics, Sooty promises to take Eska to Diagon Alley and Eska vows to try and meet Thom]

Eska is sitting on the floor in front of a coffee table by the fire. She has a book on transfiguration from the Wand World in front of her, and is making notes in a large leather bound notebook.

From the disapproviing  expression on her face, they may be corrections.

Comments

[mortisbelle.livejournal.com]

The new no-face at the bar watches Eska. A figure clad in midnight blue robes with golden trimming.

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

Feeling unseen eyes on her, Eska tils her head to see the cloaked figure. A puzzled smile on her face, she narrows her eyes to pick out any magic around it.

Well, it's not Him, at any rate. She smiles welcomingly.

[mortisbelle.livejournal.com]

The figure indeed has a faint aura of magic-ness around it.

"Good evening..." Soft, wispy voice, with east european accent.

And also, the hood moves in a nod.

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not like Eska's actually been to Eastern Europe. Or Europe for that matter. The voice sounds Uberwaldean, though. Interesting that. Or just scary, depending on your opinion on the undead.

She bows her head, cautiously, and subconsciously reaches out to close her hand reassuringly around the staff leaning against the table.

"Evening."

[mortisbelle.livejournal.com]

The robed figure rises, and moves over. Once closer, it offers a half-bow. "I am Serena." Features completely hidden by the robes and hood. Ooh, and if Eska can see the difference, now that the Hooded is closer, the aura of magic seems... ahem, 'necrotic'...



(*mun snickerfits and giggles uncontrollably*)

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

She can't. All she can see is the faint octarine glow. She can observe more than just magic, though, and bows in return.

"Nice to meet you, Serena. My name is Eska Smith."

[mortisbelle.livejournal.com]

"A pleasure." The hood moves in a nod. Eska can guess she is being watched over, details being taken in.

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

That's OK, Eska has nothing to hide. If Serena can detect magic herself, she might notice that Eska and the staff under her hand seem to act as a focus and storage point for the latent magic in the area, the magical equivalent of a capacitor.

"I've not seen you before. Are you new to Milliways?" She's still cautious. Sure, Sooty can sleep with all the 'nice' vampires he wants, Eska's not going to feel any better about them.

At least it's not a bloody werewolf.

[mortisbelle.livejournal.com]

"Rather new, indeed, I am. Arrived only a few nights ago... and such even was quite unexpected."

Serena tilts head. "you are ill at ease, because of what you sense about me. do not. I mean you no harm."

"Currently." Serena adds, almost as an afterthought.

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

Eska smiles embarrassedly. "I'm sorry. I have preconceptions, that's all. I'm working on them." she doesn't respond to the 'currently'.

"How are you finding Milliways?"

[mortisbelle.livejournal.com]

"as of now, a better prospect than a collapsing castle in the mountains. past that, I am still learning about its nature and limits. this gathering of people, living and otherwise, is, to say the last, puzzling." Serena makes a brief gesture around the bar. "People, from different worlds and times... all gathered here."

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

Eska smiles.

"I don't think anyone's quite worked out the mechanics for the transportation here, but once that is accepted as an unknown, the presence of people from all worlds and times is almost a given.

"We're at the end of the universe: the end of time itself. For us to arrive here requires some form of time travel in itself, in the same way that a vist to a normal tavern requires movement through space. Therefore, there's no reason to assume we've all travelled from the same time to arrive here, and a person's 'when' becomes as variable as their 'where'.

"The existence of different universes within that is just another extension of that."

Vitalism is forgotten when geekery beckons.

[mortisbelle.livejournal.com]

"I arrived here by casting a portal spell myself, to escape a collapsing castle. I had expected to emerge near my home."

Oh, yes... she is still standing.

[asar-suti.livejournal.com]

"Hello Esk!" Asar-Suti says, turning up to feed the trilobite.

"What's wrong with that book?"

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

"The same thing that's wrong with the entire magical practice on Gil's world," Eska doesn't look up, but flicks through the book some more. "They take each spell as a separate entity, and don't bother with fundamental principles, seeming to think that if something works, then it should be left alone.

"Look at this: a discourse on how to change a cat into a dog, and then pages later, a completely separate spell for a natural dog into a cat. They don't even use the same procedure, and no one appears to have noticed this."

[asar-suti.livejournal.com]

"That doesn't sound very clever," Asar-Suti says. "It's probably a relic; spells or runes aren't always completely logical. One mage develops one, the other a totally different way, and both end up in the same dictionary. We've got quite a few runes like that as well. Magic is like a language - it simply exists, and doesn't always make sense. It gets smoothened by using it much, if you know what I mean."

Asar-Suti shrugs. "If you get to the 'Dictionary of Ancient Runes' from my world, you'll probably groan non-stop. But if you're working through the book like that, these might help."

He wiggles his fingers in his adaptation of the accio spell, and gets a few small yellow notepads. "Here - you write your note on these, pull off the small piece of paper and simply put it in the book where you want the note to be. It sticks. Much simpler than cross-referencing it in a notebook."

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

Eska picks up one of the notepads, and pulls the top sheet off, looking at the glue underneath. She tests it experimentally with a finger, and rubs the resulting glue onto her other fingers.

"It's sticky," she complains.

"Magic's not a language," she frowns, "it's energy. Wizardry, spells, runes, that's the language used to describe and control magic, but magic itself is a real thing, and the use of it can be efficient, or inefficient, controlled or dangerous," she frowns.

[asar-suti.livejournal.com]

"It's sticky so you can stick it in the book, but not so sticky as to leave glue in the book - it comes unstuck just as easily. It's really clever," Asar-Suti says.

"And of course you're right - I was a bit unprecise. I was talking about the language of magic, of course, the instruments to shape that energy - the wizardry, as you say. And you'll find contradictions like that on every world that has magic, I suppose."

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

"But it's leaving glue on my fingers," Eska points out. "It's got to leave some behind...

"Well, no discipline is perfect," she says. "Spells on my world are just as inefficient sometimes. I've got notebooks like this filled with thoughts on previous works from my world. The point is always fundamental principles. Understand what you're doing to the magic and you're halfway there.

"Unfortunately, these wizards are so dependent on magic that they never seem to sit back and analyse what they're actually doing." she frowns again. "I just wish I had a wand of my own so I could try these spells myself."

[asar-suti.livejournal.com]

"It feels sticky on your fingers, but it doesn't leave glue - these note papers don't leave glue, which is the whole principle of them." Asar-Suti is vigorously in favour of post-it notes.

"And there are a few analytical books from Gil's world, quite clever ones, but you're right, they're very much about application. Good thing we're here, thinking about it all. And if you want a wand, we can go and buy one - I went with Gil when he'd bent his, I know where the shop is."

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

Eska looks at the yellow paper suspiciously. "How do they work, then?" she asks. also, her mun just won't let her put a Post-It note in a book.

"Really? you can do that?" she seems positively delighted at the prospect.

[asar-suti.livejournal.com]

"They just work; I don't know how exactly. They're not magical; I suppose it's science," Asar-Suti says. "Chemistry; Ray might know. And yes, I can go there and take you if you want to. I can go anywhere except the past of my own world where I already am. Sometimes, it's useful to be a god."

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

"I'll ask Ray," Eska says suspiciously, determining not to use one until he's assured her exactly what it would do to the book.

"That would be fantastic, Sooty. When's a good time for you?" Eska's practically bouncing at the chance to try out Lily's type of magic. "Could we find a library while we're there?"

[asar-suti.livejournal.com]

Asar-Suti smiles; he's sure Ray can explain much better what Post-It notes are and do.

"Hmmm - how about Wednesday afternoon?" Asar-Suti suggests. Nothing planned for then, and enough time to talk to Gil, ask him if he wants to come along or, laternatively, needs something fromhis world, get a garden related shopping list from Hagrid...

A time there was when Asar-Suti would have said, 'Let's go now', but there are people now, people he loves or people he works with, and things he planned and things he promised, and so it would have to be Wednesday instead of now. Also, it is a better time for his mun, who's popping in and out of her office today, and will do unknown complicated things tomorrow.

"And there's something better than a library - there's Flourish & Blotts, the magical bookshop! I bought most of the books from Gil's world there, anyway; and I'm sure you'll find whatever you need. Alternatively, there's the hospital library at St. Mungo's; I know the librarian there, from when I stayed with Gil when he was sick."

[femme-wizard.livejournal.com]

"That's great, I'd love that," Eska grins. "Wednesday afternoon before 5pm GMT sounds good."