>>@SUBUBI | @ALL

[excelsus]

I may be completely alone in this, but is anyone else disturbed by the alarming dearth of rebel archivests?

Fortunately it seems that the number of books outnumber the actual people who wish to burn them which is rather fortunate because some of these things I can actually read. The Malleus Maleficarum is actually quite a facinating read if you're interested in the true barbarism of this world.

Malleus refers to a hammer and Maleficarum is the plural of Maleficar which refers to one who is wicked or depraved. In this sense it seems to loosely translate as Hammer of Witches...I laughed admittedly.

I'm certain it would be Hammer of Mages where I come from, but that is completely apart from the point.

Apparently these people believed that magic was some sort of delusion of the mind precipitated by demonic seduction through visions and dreams. They blamed the most rudimentary of problems on people, captured them, tortured them into fraudulent admissions, and then killed them.

The magic and spells they discuss are not even real magic, not as I know it anyway...unless one considers mathematics, philosophy, and general enlightenment magical.

I suppose I would define magic as the ability to expend mana...or putting it more simply, the ability to burn my accuser's face off by willing primal fire into being.

And here I thought the Southern Circles were bestial. Flaying someone alive for anomalous intelligengence, very dyed-in-the-wool dedication to the extermination of magic...and that there could be a book devoted to the finding and killing these so-called magic users.

It's certainly telling, not completely unfamiliar either. I'm certain the Southern Chantry has their own step-by-step process for teasing out mages and spiriting them away to the Circles.

Comments

[chariotry]

[ Achilles is something of a head turner himself, but he's taken measures so as to not draw too much attention to himself. He didn't come in here clad in a full military uniform, for starters, forgoing the entire outfit completely for something a little more inconspicuous. It's still a little flashy, but Achilles couldn't help himself; he doesn't like blending into obscurity. At least this way he appears to be moderately rich rather than a military pig, so he won't be immediately starting a brawl in the bar, though one .... may ... be inevitable.

Also, he may be wearing a top hat, just to cover the mess of green hair on the top of his head. The dark cropped hair of his undercut can be mistaken as black under the dim lighting of candles.

Dorian is a striking presence. As he strolls in, Achilles can see a few women turn their heads, which prompts him to do the same. The staff draws most of his attention first, since it's the mana he's most interested in rather than the potential lay.

He gets up to his feet.

And proceeds to sit beside him. This may or may not be his attempt to get his attention or usurp the attention he's getting from all the ladies. Maybe it's both. Because he's petty and also a glory hound. ]

Who does the skull belong to? An enemy of yours?

[excelsus]

[Well, Dorian can't blame Achilles for wanting to monopolize his attention, it's a flattering gesture honestly and the mage reclines back in his seat draping his foot comfortably over his lap, adopting his posture to something more comfortable. In spite of the attention he's received so far, no one has made a move to sit with him and no one has spoken of his staff as something more than just a prop, believing the skull to be fake. This young man believed that it was a real skull and one of his own enemy no doubt, so Dorian can only assume that this was his date for the evening?]

I have no idea who the skull belongs to, it was looted from a ruin and was made by an Aavar, I can only imagine that the skull is that of an Aavar...or the skull of an invader perhaps? [Dorian wasn't completely certain, the Aavar were an odd bunch of savages that inhabited the southern Frostbacks.] Death attracts spirits though, so the skull is ideal, but not the most interesting thing about this staff.

[There was a notch in the staff that contained an orb and Dorian wedged the thing out before holding it up to Achilles to take if he wanted to examine it.] Do you have any familiarity with runes? This is a spirit rune, it amplifies the spiritual damage of the staff and adds to my own considerable abilities.

[chariotry]

[ Achilles regards the orb with a look that almost appears apathetic. Taking it within his hand, he lets it roll back and forth from his palm, to the tips of his fingers. He's never been that interested in magic and his own magic isn't that potent. From what he can tell, though, this orb can only be as useful as its user.

Honestly, he would have been more interested in the story of the skull and how he acquired it, if it'd been through the means of violence. But if he had just gotten it from a shop, then it isn't a compelling story at all. ]

Your way of magecraft seems old-fashioned. [ He rudely tosses the orb from one hand to the other, like he's idly playing around with a baseball. ] Not that I have much knowledge about this stuff to begin with... I'm no mage, after all.

[excelsus]

If you have no knowledge about this stuff, then how do you know it's old fashioned? [Dorian wasn't perturbed, but he wasn't the easiest man to get a read on given the pleasant expression he always wore. He did, however, draw the orb back to his own hand, not by any physical means, but by means of magic it seemed drawn to his hand by some magnetic force.

As for the staff, Dorian didn't acquire it from a shop, but from the Still Ruins of the Western Approach. Shops did not usually carry such rare artifacts. The details of that quest didn't matter all that much, however, what did any of that mean here?] It's enough to topple dragons, darkspawn, and demons. It's enough to carry me short distances without moving, it's enough for me to slow things down or speed them up. It's enough to defeat my enemies with terror alone or to be able to kill them by passing through their bodies. The utility of magic vastly outweighs whether or not it's dated.

[Dorian explained this while attentively replacing the rune.] So why are we here?

[At least there's wine now, finally. The mage is predicting a very brief conversation given his companion's lack of interest. Being a mage was a huge part of Dorian's identity after all.]