???; fourth wall

[grapecape]

[...This all would be a lot more enjoyable if the past week hadn't been so shitty.

"This all" being the sudden reappearance of Ondorus' monstrous features; his pointed ears, and the spiral-ridged horn attached to the front of his skull. Along with those comes his magic, with which he patches himself up. All is well...

....


yeah no not really. He can make an effort not to wallow, but recent events have him in a rather somber mood.

For now, though? He's got his species back. He's got his magic back. He can play with his Pokemon (...the ones still with him), showing them forms of different elemental spells. Deliberately avoiding any earth-based ones. He can let them touch his ears and poke his horn, just sort of...existing in monstery solidarity.

And hey, look! Wherever they happen to be at the moment, chances are they're not alone. A small, ever-changing crowd of other monsters are here to play. Some slimes, some weegulls, some ants, the occasional buffamoo or mushroom, a handful of ignis and tundras...and, of course...

...a big cuddly pile of woolies. Because it's not a rune party until the woolies arrive. also ondorus emits wooly magnet beams or something

The univir's smiles are a little forced, but the atmosphere of serenity is real, wherever they happen to be. Come hug a wooly. You know you want to.]

Comments

[enjoymyatelier]

Yes, that's the worst part of this whole thing. I know it's significant, but I don't know why and how. It certainly seems like a change, but I can't tell how much of one it really is.

[grapecape]

And who knows just how long this will last...

[Ondorus looks down, brows furrowing. He stares at the ground for a long moment.]

....I wonder.

[He pulls his bag to him, opening a pocket and rifling through it.]

Lord El-Melloi, may I ask you to try something?

[enjoymyatelier]

...I suppose so, yes. What is it that you want me to try?

[he will do it

for science]

[grapecape]

[The item taken out is a cheap journal, which Ondorus opens and flips through before handing to Kayneth with a satisfied hum.]

I'd like you to read through that. Simply scanning it would be fine. I want to see just how far this change to the rules runs.

[The journal contains (and this is where I start making shit up) about thirty pages of spell definition. It doesn't really make sense, as prose goes, half due to being half written in an incomprehensible alphabet and half due to just being bizarre. But understanding it isn't important - reading it imprints on the reader the memory of how to perform a spell. This particular one is very, very rudimentary - a simple light spell that produces a faint glow.

The question remains; will it work?]

[enjoymyatelier]

...I see. Well, I'm sure it can't hurt...

[what is this even he'll just





WOAH WAIT WHAT]

...What was that intended to do, exactly?

[grapecape]

In my world, spells can be recorded in and learned from books. I've had that on hand for a while now, as a casual experiment. As a spellbook goes, it's absolutely abysmal; a proper one would be much longer and better bound. But for my purposes - which were to have an external indication of something not unlike this happening - it works just as well as something more advanced.

I wanted to know if you would get anything from it.

[enjoymyatelier]

[...are you kidding him

he'll go ahead and try that out and yep, it worked]

...Is it that literally anyone can pick up one of these books and learn a spell from it without any prior training, or did I learn it because I'm already an extremely competent magus?

[grapecape]

Learning is the easy part, and anyone should be able to. Whether one can use it effectively or not is another matter - some people gain skill far more quickly than others, and some can practice for months and still not have adequate command over spells they've learned. I think it has to do with personal temperament, but in your case, the fact that it did exactly what it was supposed to is more than likely a result of your experience with magic.

There are some spells and powers that can't be recorded like this. Things like univir healing arts, mainly - ones bound to a species or otherwise the result of a person's nature.

[enjoymyatelier]

[...well, okay, this is a different universe and everything but-]

But for someone who had the right temperament, there's really nothing to ensure they know how to responsibly use magic?

[grapecape]

Well, one hopes they'd have an instructor of some kind. A relative, or neighbor, or the person the spellbooks belonged to in the first place. My first experiences with magic were a mixture of the three, before I was old enough to study on my own.

[misunderstanding the point, sort of.]

[enjoymyatelier]

That ensures absolutely nothing. Simply hoping that someone encounters the right circumstances isn't enough to keep one of these books from falling into precisely the wrong hands.

[grapecape]

The wrong hands?

[...color him confused.

To Ondorus' knowledge, most people do know a bit of magic. It's common, possibly necessary, and spells exist not in an elite space but in the world of the ordinary. From that frame of reference, Kayneth's implication is baffling from beginning to end.]

[enjoymyatelier]

Someone who had no respect for the sort of power that had come into their possession. I suppose I can understand a spell that only had practical utility being made public, but...

[WHY WOULD YOU EVER MAKE MAGIC AVAILABLE TO THE MASSES]

[grapecape]

Just about all of them do, if you count defense against wild monsters as a practical utility.

[no he really doesn't get it and he doesn't know he doesn't get it either]

[enjoymyatelier]

That really isn't the point--or are you implying that no one in your world would misuse it?

[grapecape]

[...blink?]

There are people with foul intentions in all places, of course.

[but what]

[enjoymyatelier]

I'm talking about people who would simply be extremely irresponsible with it.

[HOW ARE YOU NOT GETTING HIS POINT]

[grapecape]

I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by "irresponsibility".

[enjoymyatelier]

It's very easy to be a danger to others with these sorts of things when you don't respect the power you've effectively been handed on a silver platter, you know. Are you really saying this hasn't been an issue in your world?

[grapecape]

[..."a silver platter"? but that would imply...

...oh. oh. The bewilderment on Ondorus' face vanishes as the pieces visibly click into place for him.]

Of course it has. But I think, when you say that - perhaps there's a misconception? Our simple spells are no more dangerous than an average weapon that's much easier to create or purchase. Which is to say, they're certainly dangerous, just as anything that could harm someone is, but not enough to be - I'm not sure what's being implied, some sort of exclusivity? I'm not sure who would have the authority to make a decision like that anyways.

[enjoymyatelier]

...So I see. I'm used to thinking of magic as something that's almost universally far more dangerous than conventional weaponry, so it's something that should be limited. Of course, in my world, the most powerful magic tends to be in the hands of established families, so it's not as though there's too much of a problem in that area.

[grapecape]

So I see. [and he looks relieved to have that comprehension block overcome.] I don't doubt that things like that exist in our world, though I obviously wouldn't be able to name any. There are legends of rare and powerful spells that either have been lost to the ages, or can only be used by people with specific attributes or exceptional power...or both, usually. As legends tend to go, gathering into themselves all that is grandiose. [shruuug.] But, magic in and of itself is exceptionally common, whether it's human invention or natural occurrence that you're describing.

[enjoymyatelier]

Well, I suppose those would be difficult enough to come by that they wouldn't be much of a problem. If practically everyone uses magic in your world, then I suppose there's really nothing special about it...

[...that really bothers him on a few levels, but ha ha ha it's not like he ever has to go to that world, right? he is so glad]

[grapecape]

If by "special" you mean "uncommon", then yes. It's still a fascinating subject, though. I live in a settlement of monsters, where just about everyone has their own unique capabilities, so you never quite know what to expect. Not unlike with the Pokemon of this world.

[enjoymyatelier]

I can certainly imagine, particularly given the different forms magic can take even between different human family lines in my world. If it's that common, then I suppose there must be a ridiculous amount of variety.

[...okay maybe that's a little interesting but]