#reclaimingsecond

god i hope not, don’t want to be associated with that l0s3r gina too much yknow?

      “Sure I do. I might not know how to use all of it—” Octavia’s expression twisted, her voice pained. There’d been no mistaking the Templars’ efforts to keep mages ignorant of their own potential, obscuring the very existence of certain “unsanctioned” forms of magic (which, as she had come to understand, encompassed any magic of which the Chantry did not approve).

       They preached and they propagated, often through the mouths of Enchanters as they taught young mages to harness their gift (though they never called it that). A mage was more likely to trust another mage’s insight, after all. More willing to swallow the Chantry’s doctrine if it was fed to them by one of their own.

       But it hadn’t worked on her, at least not to the extent they’d wanted. Perhaps it was because she’d only been in the Circle a few years compared to others—and had spent most of that time devouring every book she could get her hands on—before the mages rebelled against the Templars. Against the Lord-Seeker himself.

       Octavia shivered at the memory. Blood and chaos.

       She looked down at her hands. “The Templars were always so afraid. If we asked for a little more lead, they’d just shorten the leash even more.” Or toss them into the dungeons and forget they were down there. She’d heard the stories. “And they never missed a chance to remind us what dangerous mistakes of nature we are.” Octavia gave a short, humorless laugh, then shrugged. “You don’t work that hard to keep knowledge away from people unless you know they’re capable of doing great things with it.” And terrified that they will.

❝ Hmm, ❞ Jasper bit his lower lip and rubbed his thumb against the pad of his forefinger. That's not what he meant, or was it? Of course, she knew she was powerful, he knew he hadn't bumped into an ignoramus when he and Monty quite literally stumbled into her. But did she understand what lay sleeping at her fingertips?  Jasper spared himself ever having to step foot in the Chantry's gilded cage, but if it was anything like his alienage, then the oh-so-holy shems would've done everything in their power to keep Octavia's mind as placid as a puddle.

       The alchemist found himself nodding in agreement as Octavia continued to navigate her words and he was bitterly reminded of the shortcomings of the leaders he had put too much trust in.

       ❝ Yea, it's the bad habit of the weak and irrelevant. I'd be my left ear that some shadowy group of robbed codgers was mortified at the invention of books. That there was a time when the pages of your favorite bedtime story were considered the tools of demonic influence. ❞ His face and body twisted into a mockery of what the young elf thought befitting of a curmudgeonly shem.  ❝ They fear and envy what they can't have. And they hate that their little societies wouldn't have so much as a toe to stand on without magic. ❞

       The laugh that followed was a mix of macabre and resignation as he returned to the concoction he had been fuddling with for the past hour. The glop inside the flask had been a silvery tinge last he looked, but now it was a vibrant-to-the-point-of-obscenity pink.  The alchemist blinked and held the flask up to the sunlight as if that would somehow dispel the wonky color.

       ❝ Huh, ❞ he hummed to himself, ❝ that's...different. ❞

       Jasper set the flask off to the side of his rock perch and decided to start from scratch, keeping his discarded experiment as something to observe as daylight dwindled. ❝ Looks like it might be luminescent,  ❞ he prattled to himself as he squinted at the flask one last time before returning to Octavia.

I totally get ya. And I won’t pretend I haven’t been that person who drops off the face of the planet from time to time so I actually appreciate pokes during plotting coz I can be especially bad about that lmao. I mostly just responded coz I know even when I disappear it’s not a personal or active choice to ignore ppl and I’d hate for anyone to feel like it is.

not an attack or anything! js i get the frustration but it might not be personal. it definitely isn’t for me.

BR IN G I T ON

i think u mean MY brand this is basically copyright infringement