[open] Distant light, memory, Dark Shadow that swallowed me

[penumbrals]

🧙 WHO: Gaia and you?
⚔️️ WHAT: catch-all for February!
🕒 WHEN: during February
🗺️ WHERE: various
⚠️ WARNINGS: the crystal quest is in comments here, so npc death!


crystal quest (for caster) | aftermath | magic practice | valentione's day (for ryne)

Comments

[emet_sulk]

[ He comes across her by chance, meandering his way up to where the trolls live (though if challenged, he would heartily deny that he intends to help). He watches her from afar at first, recalling their first meeting on the way to that strange, ethereal city. But seeing her struggle to master the Dark, he feels obliged to drift over and raise his voice. ]

Need some help?

[penumbrals]

[ She looks up in surprise at the sound of his voice, folding her arms over her chest as if it will protect her pride somehow. She knows that she's hardly alone in her experience here, but going from from natural magical talent to something with which she struggles... She hates it, hates how weak it makes her feel in a world where she already hardly understands a thing.

And speaking of weak... once upon a time, she had a poker face, did she not? How come, then, her frustration is displayed across her expression for all to see, including Emet-Selch himself?

Gaia sighs. ]

It is a strange day indeed when the Oracle of Darkness struggles to find her footing with dark-aspected magic.

mild headcanon

[emet_sulk]

[ He raises an eyebrow, but recalling her reticence when pressed about her identity before, he does not question further. Instead he stares at her familiar. It's unmistakably voidsent, just as the Oracle of Light's had been a sin eater. ]

Have you always struggled with it?

[ He starts to lift a hand as it to demonstrate, only to abruptly remember he is bereft of those magicks here. He gestures at the ground instead. ]

Darkness is not a thing to be commanded but surrendered to. Unlike Light, it is a relentless force which seeks to fill the void. Keep a tight hold of yourself but let it consume aught else around you, and then instead of forcing it to your will, shape it according to the flow.

potential spoilers from here on in!

[penumbrals]

[ In response to his question, she shakes her head. Has she always struggled? Has she ever struggled? ]

Even when I could remember naught else, my powers came to me naturally. ...Sometimes too naturally.

[ It is the closest she will get to mentioning Mitron's hold on her, the uncontrollable nature of her powers when he would use their bond to manipulate her in his attempts to reach her. ]

But here... [ Another shake of her head, the frustration ever-clear on her face. Here, the powers she has come to rely on are completely gone, replaced by something supposedly similar and yet entirely different. ] Here, I feel... weak. Like I'm looking for something I cannot find.

[ And if she's honest? She is not entirely sure she likes the idea of surrendering to the Dark. After everything she has experienced... Still, she can at least try, can she not?

Closing her eyes, she reaches for the thread of darkness again. This time, instead of pulling, she tries to sink herself into it, letting it open and surround her... ]

Tell me what you see.

[ Her voice is quiet, distracted with the focus she's placed on working her magic. ]

[emet_sulk]

[ He knows the feeling, he wants to say. In the other world, his power had been greatly diminished. That had allowed Felih to untemper him - but here he is with no power whatsoever, only able to dispense advice to those who need it. Like her.

He watches as she makes her second attempt. ]

An aura of dark energy. You are doing well, [ he says just as quietly. ] Darkness is nothing to be afraid of, whatever others may say. It can only corrupt you if you allow it.

[penumbrals]

[ In response to his words, Gaia's eyes open, taking a breath or two even as she tries to remain calm; if she's too excited, she'll lose the magic as soon as she's created it. And sure enough, there's an aura around her, just as he said. It's with a sigh of relief and a smile on her face that she releases the magic. ]

I think it is true to say that any element can corrupt, if allowed. Even Light.

[ They need only look at the First for evidence of that. ]

I know I have no reason to be afraid.

[ Although perhaps that is not entirely true either. Her soul was tempered once, after all, just like his. ]

[emet_sulk]

Indeed. 'Tis good that you understand that.

[ There is a bit of wistfulness as he watches the aura fade but his expression quickly sobers. If he could, he would have liked to show her how much more one could do with Dark aether. ]

'Oracle of Darkness' is quite a bold moniker. Care to explain how you came to bear it?

[penumbrals]

[ She catches the look on his face just before it disappears, and there's a moment of confusion on her part before the pieces come together to make sense of the situation: the gesture of his hand, the wistfulness of his gaze... He must possess an entirely different sort of magic here. Which, she thinks, has to feel significantly worse than her own experience.

She is considering asking him about it when he questions her instead. The reason for the title... By now, she has avoided enough of his questions that skipping over this one feels too impolite. Besides, surely she can tell it in a way that does not immediately reveal the truth of her nature...

She's quiet for a moment, mulling it over. ]

It was Urianger who gave me that name. I have power over Darkness in much the same way the Oracle of Light has her opposing power; I can sense and control it in degrees, including the summoning of voidsent.

[ She gestures at her familiar, sure already that Emet-Selch would recognize its type. ]

[emet_sulk]

Interesting. I don't recall the creation of such an avatar being amongst our plans.

[ Not the voidsent itself but her. Voidsent are plentiful in the ruined shard that is the Thirteenth after all. He mulls it over a bit before eventually shrugging. ]

I suppose it doesn't matter now. [ His gaze drifts off for a moment, seemingly following something, before he pulls it back to her. ] Was there aught else you hoped to achieve? I find myself with quite a surplus of time on my hands these days.

[ At least half of which he tries to spend sleeping. But it's hard to sleep when Hythlodaeus is about. Not to mention, he feels a need to nurture those who would dabble in the magic he knows best. ]

[penumbrals]

[ Gaia's response is a shrug of her shoulders; she watches the way his eyes drift off for a moment, and she wonders - with a hint of dread - what he might be seeing; the moment passes quickly enough, however, before his gaze is back on her. ]

Sometimes, things happen despite our best-laid plans.

[ Her specific case is certainly something unique. She lacks knowledge enough about the Ascians to know if others have been in the same particular circumstance as her own, or if hers was some strange fluke. Perhaps later, once she owns up to the truth of her identity, they are questions she can ask of him. But not today, no matter how much curiosity he seems to wield toward her past. ]

I am not sure. Truthfully, I have just been trying to improve my skills in magic here where I can. They are different enough from my abilities back home... it will just take some time.

[emet_sulk]

I see.

[ Ought he say something more? With her keeping her secrets close to her chest and he being the taciturn - if deeply curious - sort, he's not sure what else to offer. ]

Well... If you have questions later, I suppose you can call me on those communication devices we were given.

[ It's a very awkward farewell for him, but he turns as if nothing is amiss, intending to walk on. ]