#devotedscholar

starter for @devotedscholar

Under the moonlight, far from the hotel where most were probably slumbering, Tethys escaped to somewhere more peaceful and serene to be by herself and... focus.

She channeled it once, in the throne room, but never again. Perhaps it was out of desperation, but the few runes she was able to read from tomes that have only told her about divination came to life that day. She might not be an expert, but she knows magic left unexplored and uncontrolled can be dangerous. If she gets it right, however, and can actually use it properly... perhaps she’ll be a step closer to being more than just the beloved dancer from the desert.

Her golden bangle jingles lightly as she sways her arms as if she’s weaving a ball out of thin air. She sweeps her legs once on the cold sand, forming a small crescent as she continues to sway.

The shimmer and glow normally present in her dance fail to form, and what coats her instead are small embers. Warm and soothing fire... but it doesn’t last for long. Crimson flames turn dark, red replaced with purple hues. They swirl around her, still warm but eerily so. She’s reminded of the Queen back in the throne room and how mercilessly she attacked not just them, but her own child. 

Her focus breaks, the sigil below her forming. It looks similar to the one before, but slightly different. Instead of a ball of dark energy forming in front of her, all around her, the purple energy spreads and gathers just a few feet ahead of her. It explodes in the center like fireworks, only it made everything darker, grimmer. And she swears, for a moment, in the middle of the darkness she saw eyes glaring back at her.

Forget. Focus.

She shudders and breaks the spell she did not intend to do.

What did Saleh used to say about magic... Her visits to Caer Pelyn were rarely to discuss such a topic-- she doesn’t even do so with Ewan. It’s not her forte, and she doesn’t have the same affinity Ewan or some of her peers did. But it did come up, once, twice... Something about how it affects the body and soul and how she needs to--

“Pace yourself.” She takes a deep breath and starts again, eyes closed, stance reset. Focus. Focus.

He jumped at the sound of his name, eyes wide until he turned slightly to see who it was addressing him… and they grew wider still after that. “Wh- you’re- err.. thanks?” He took the water with an appreciative nod, grateful for the excuse to mull over his thoughts just a moment whilst he sipped at it.

Was all of bloody Elibe bound to show up here? At this rate, he’d not be surprised. First he’d met the Fang brat, then Lyn, then Eliwood, then the Other Fang, and now Erk, that one mage guy who’d escorted Serra for a bit way back–

–Serra…

Zurvan - How would your muse define justice? Would they go to the utmost of ends to obtain justice for themselves, or for a loved one?

This one is probably more nuanced than I can quickly think of, and tbh, I may need to revisit this again someday. (Caspar too, and his tea party war phase lines seem to indicate he still hasn’t figured out the answer to this question.) Even though his allying with Edelgard could be taken as this if one discounts their friendly relationship and his admiration for her (self-)honesty (he points out her "always [being] real critical of [herself]” in their A) and staying true to her ideals/self, Caspar’s initial idea of justice is not (blindly) fighting for someone else’s or a figurehead’s ideals if he at any/enough points finds them disagreeable. That’s exactly why he takes issue with Dimitri in my bad end AU, and that’s what he takes issue with Catherine for, even from their C. “I don’t think I could do it [cut down even armed children] even if it meant disobeying orders, even if made to for self-defense or to keep them from doing it to each other in revenge.” He also takes issue with Catherine’s ability/preference to “blindly” trust another’s justice (which, in a manner of speaking, is the goddess’s--so this could double as an answer to that age-old ask I have in my inbox on superstition(/occult) if I interpret that as belief in the goddes, heh - but I think Caspar would also take issue with that tenet to “not kill, harm, lie, or steal unless such acts are committed by the will of the goddess” especially if the target of such actions from him are groups he’s sympathetic to). I don’t know if taking life or “deciding between life and death” is inherently hard for Caspar since he can get very into a fight and has absolutely no problem killing bandits or other groups he deems too evil to live (from the first bandit fight: ”Are all real battles this exciting? Come on, let's get on to the next one!“). His “Might makes right” war phase victory line doesn’t help this either.

Elise jumped excitedly and gave a twirl, long twin tails whipping behind her. She'd met Erk before, but it was just the one time. If he was coming up to her to compliment her pretty new ball gown, that must make them friends now!

Extremely Personal Questions

“The days we of the Black Fang spent together before… things changed. All that can be done now is to keep those times close to the heart.”

Nino’s eyes sparkled a little— both at the sight of Erk and the sand dollar he found. She began to find further appreciation for the things she already appreciated. Time with her friends was one of those things. Sand dollars were another— she couldn’t even remember the last time she had seen a sand dollar. 

“It is neat...!” Nino smiles, a little bit of her radiance coming back to her. “Let’s go find more— I bet we’ll find tons more! Can you show me where you found it? We can start there!” Nino had a small wish— nothing more than just a little hope in her heart that they’d find a bunch of nice sand dollars on the beach. She heard whispers of how this place granted wishes— she hadn’t really been taking advantage of it.

With the ball in full swing, it was questionable whether she need to stand off to the side, watching. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, in her line of sight anyway, and she had a need to move around a bit, as she was starting to feel a little stiff. 

Her attention was drawn by someone approaching her with a couple glasses of sparkling water. Not recognizing him, she assumes he is affiliated with another house. She tilts her head slightly at his question, or lack thereof, but is able to connect the dots when he holds up the second glass.