CLOSED ♦ this spell you've got on me

[verflair]

Who: X’rhun Tia (verflair), Ardyn Izunia (daemonized) & Ysayle Dangoulain (ysayle)
What: A magic demonstration and a magic lesson. Maybe a bit of chatting, and maybe Ardyn being a creepy stalker who likes to watch.
When: A few days after the beach party.
Where: The palace courtyard.
Warning(s): Nothing, aside from Ardyn being… you know, Ardyn.

ARDYN

[ Admittedly, “tomorrow” turned into “a few days”, but not for lack of trying. Settling in was one thing, learning how to use these infernal communication devices was quite another. Bless Alisaie and her knowledge of this place and its technology, because X’rhun would still be struggling if not for her.

Finding an appropriate place to host a demonstration of magical skill was yet another obstacle, but that was much easier than trying to work the phone by far. Just a question or two to some of the locals revealed that the royal courtyard was open to all as a training ground. So, one (admittedly clumsy) phone call later, and the date was set.

X’rhun isn’t here to attract the attention of the Empress, as many seem to be, so he’s found a little corner of the yard with a sturdy but well-worn striking dummy standing watch. Shady, too, which Ardyn should appreciate. He’s dressed in his full Duelist garb today. The rapier that normally hangs from his hip rests across his lap while he sits beneath one of the trees that shade his little corner, waiting for Ardyn to arrive. ]

YSAYLE

[ The little corner of the royal courtyard that X’rhun had used for demonstrating his magic to Ardyn worked out so well, that it only seems natural to use it again for his lessons with Ysayle.

He’s a bit less shaky with the phone when he calls her, but only marginally so. There’s a part of him that wonders if he’ll ever be used to this sort of technology, and he has to remind himself that it’s not that far of a leap from a linkpearl. It’s just going to take some time.

They make arrangements to meet at the courtyard entrance sometime in the early morning, and sure enough, he’s there waiting for her, dressed in red from head to foot as usual. He gives her a nod of greeting as she approaches. ]

How have these last few days been treating you?

Comments

[verflair]

[ X’rhun’s eyebrows go up at the request, his eyes flicking to the sword in Ardyn’s hand and back to the man himself. ]

With all due respect, I would like to know what I’m to expect by attacking you.

[ He wouldn’t do Ardyn harm, and he would hope that Ardyn wouldn’t harm him, but it’s better to remove the unexpected when one is swinging swords around, just in case. ]

[daemonized]

[He gives a shrug of his shoulders, not disinclined to share by any means. He doesn't even need the sword for this, not really, but he already has it out, so why not make a show?]

I'll avoid it, using my magic. Don't worry, nothing harmful will come of it.

[verflair]

[ He glances once again from Ardyn to the weapon in his hand, but in the end he apparently decides to take the man at his word. ]

All right.

[ He slides his blade free again, and steps in to slash at Ardyn. It’s not a real attack by any means, as it’s not near as fast with his blade as he had been with the striking dummy, but it should suffice. ]

[daemonized]

[He patiently waits through that uncertainty, until X’rhun’s blade is lifted. He prepares himself, and when the other slashes at him—

Ardyn phases through it, in a show of his magic, a flash of red that envelops his body as the sword literally passes through his transient form. Half a second later, he’s “solid” again, lifting up his own blade to counter X’rhun’s attack. It’s slow and deliberate, and easily read, not meaning at all for it to actually connect.]

See?

[verflair]

[ Ah, now thatrings truer to what X’rhun initially thought when Ardyn first described his abilities. Still, in spite of first assumptions, it’s impressive to see firsthand.

X’rhun steps back a little, avoiding Ardyn’s lazy counter, a grin on his face. ]

I admit, you have me a little jealous. Would that I could do that, I’d have spared myself many a battle scar.

[daemonized]

It still requires an awareness of when you will be hit, and the timing for it is very precise.

[But he's lived for such a long time, it's just second nature to him at this point. He dismisses his sword with the same magic that he used to make it appear, letting his arm drop to the side.]

But it has saved me from a scar or two, in my time.

[verflair]

I can imagine. I would probably end up with more scars just trying to get it right, so it may well be for the best.

[ Fledgling red mages have enough problems given their skill set includes both a magically-aided dash forward and jump back. A botched displacement spell has claimed more than its fair share of pride. ]

You mentioned that magic is only available to a select few, did you not? Is it a product of your birth, then?

[daemonized]

[Those born with similar magic to Ardyn's have known to suffer from a rather strong kind of nausea when first learning how to control it. And while this was a very, very long time ago, and Ardyn would never bring this up in casual conversation, perhaps one can assume that instead of getting scars from "trying to get it right", his failures were probably a lot more embarrassing. And gross.

BUT NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT and so he just answers the question set before him.]

Yes. Much of it is confined to a single family line. But there have been instances in which this magic can be shared, in a limited manner.

[verflair]

[ That is still strange to him, as people with the talent for magic vastly outnumber the people without it on Hydaelyn. But he supposes that no two worlds are identical, even if there are some similarities between them.

Strange though it is, X’rhun has ever been ready to learn, and the more he learns about the magic of Eos, the more curious he becomes. ]

A pair of questions, then: What do you mean by “shared”? And, which are you, a descendant of this line or someone with whom the power was shared?

[daemonized]

[Clever questions, from someone who he’s gotten the impression to be clever in general. He’s not surprised by his curiosities, and caters to them accordingly. Patiently, with wry amusement.]

What I mean by “shared” is that I can lend someone the ability to summon their weapons — or other items at will — and dismiss them accordingly. It's a gesture of trust and a sign of camaraderie.

[AKA he's definitely not done that in a very, very long time.]

As for your second question, I am a descendant.

[verflair]

How fascinating. Most people of Hydaelyn are possessed of the ability to manipulate aether to some degree, so the rest simply comes down to training. Your own situation is nearly the opposite of what I’m used to.

How was it your family line became able to wield these abilities? Or do you even know?

[daemonized]

I do know, but the answer lies thousands of years back in Eos' history.

[However! He seems to answer it easily regardless.]

It was a gift from the gods; magical artifacts and the ability to wield magic both, so that our lineage would be able to fulfill a certain... prophecy in the future. But the answer is truly as simple as that: it was given to us by Bahamut.

[verflair]

[ Prompto sort of explained the differences between Hydaelyn and Eos— that though they shared the same names as the gods of the beastmen, the gods of Eos were the gods of… well, everyone. Still, of all the names to drop, it had to be that one. Titan, Garuda, Ramuh, or even Ifrit, he could have taken in stride, but the mention of Bahamut makes his eyes widen in shock. ]

Truly? I… forgive me. Bahamut as we know him on Hydaelyn would not be so generous, to make an extreme understatement.

[daemonized]

[Ardyn has a lot of Feelings about Eos' Bahamut, and if he gave himself free rein, he could go on and on about how much he absolutely despises him. But... well, that would change the tone of the conversation rather quickly and require a bit more explanation, and he instead hooks his attentions on what X'rhun is telling him.]

...Is that so? Tell me about your Bahamut, then.

[That they should share gods -- even if only in name -- is something worthy of questioning.]

[verflair]

[ X’rhun rocks back on his heels a bit, arms crossed over his chest. It’s not that Bahamut is something he doesn’t want to talk about, but rather how does one find the words for such sheer destructive power? ]

He isn’t known as the Dreadwyrm for nothing. All of Hydaelyn nearly met its end well before the Storm thanks to him.

[daemonized]

[Oh, now there's an irony.]

So he exists to do what? Bring destruction to your world?

[SO MUCH. IRONY.]

In ours, he exists to protect it. As best as he can manage, the poor thing. [That was definitely a small bit of patronization.]

[verflair]

[ X’rhun quirks a brow at Ardyn’s tone, but religion is often a touchy thing. Given that he knows that Eos’ sun was snuffed out, it’s reasonable that one might have some misgivings towards the supposed protector of the world.

Besides, he’s not here for a debate. ]

You should know, just because he shared a name with your god does not mean our Bahamut was one himself. He’s what we call a primal, a manifestation of prayers and desperation and vast amounts of aether. They are leeches, draining aether from the world by their very existence and warping the minds of those around them.

Bahamut was kept captive by the Allagan Empire— a people long gone from the world even before my time— who thought to use the primal for his power. For centuries, he was left alone with his mounting hatred and resentment. When he was finally freed, he turned his wrath on all of us.

[daemonized]

[A primal? What an interesting concept, to have something born of "prayers and desperation". And what desperation it must've been, he thinks -- what sort of anger it harbored, to feel that sort of world-ending wrath.

Something about that oddly runs parallel with his own circumstances on Eos, though he can hardly point that out.]

Then his anger is a product of mistreatment. Of being used as nothing more than a tool for other people's needs. Tell me, how does one fend off such a creature? I assume that since your world was not destroyed then and there, he was defeated in some manner?

[verflair]

I think primals by their very nature are angry, but this one had reason to be especially vengeful.

[ Granted, he hasn’t had a lot of face-to-face interaction with primals, not like his one-time student and full-time primal slayer, the Warrior of Light. ]

I know not just how he was defeated, only that he was. Some call it a miracle. What I do know is that it would have taken an incredible amount of power to contend with that beast, so much that its wielder surely perished along with the wyrm.

[daemonized]

I very much would've liked to see him, if only out of some strange curiosity born of having a Bahamut in my world.

[Not that he would necessarily have wanted to see the destruction. (Maybe. That would've been interesting, too.)]

Our Bahamut is, as I said, a god -- an Astral. The Bladekeeper, the leader of the Six. Tasked with protecting the world he helped create.

[verflair]

[ X'rhun snorts. ] No you would not have.

[ Bahamut was a monster, a force of pure vitriol and destruction. There was nothing fascinating about him- only terrifying. But what is fascinating is the differences between the primals and gods of their worlds. ]

If I may, who are the other Astrals? Hydaelyn has a different pantheon altogether, though I have heard that your gods share names with primals rather than the Twelve.

[daemonized]

[To be fair, X'rhun doesn't know him well enough to realize that Ardyn actually would find some strange appreciation in a being of pure destruction. Annihilation is annihilation, and whether it's due to the ferocity of a primal or the long, decaying bleakness of eternal night, it's all the same.

Still, he can answer the question rather easily, naming them off without having to think about it.]

The other five are Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh, Leviathan, and Titan. Do those sound familiar as well?

[verflair]

Aye, I know of them all.

[ Though obviously they are less of a shock than Bahamut, given X’rhun isn’t gaping and staring. ]

Save for Shiva, they are all gods of the various beast tribes of Eorzea, and have been summoned forth as primals. Shiva has a complicated history. I believe she was once a saint, and then summoned as a primal by the people who worshipped her.

[daemonized]

[Shiva has a complicated history. Something about that seems humorous to Ardyn, in the way his smile becomes a little lopsided at the remark.]

And once summoned as a primal, all manner of saintliness has long been departed?

[verflair]

A primal is… a copy, I suppose you could say. Aether is a strange thing, and when enough of it is in one place, it reacts to strong desires, prayers or fear, and thus a primal is born. So the Shiva that was brought forth by her followers may have been exactly like the real thing, but it was not her.

[ He shrugs, as if to say “what can you do?” ]

Forgetting her relationship with the Holy See of Ishgard, that in itself is a complicated situation to say the least.