Let's Get All-Catching

[coordination]

CHARACTERS: Yzak and anyone!
LOCATION: Various places around the station.
DATE: Different times (will be noted).
CONTENT: Catch-all containment zone.
WARNINGS: Any will be added to prompts.

(( Getting things rolling with current plans! Got some prompts in the comments, but feel free to throw me brand new ones! I'm here for it all. ♥

As always, down with multiple comments to do more than one thing with others. And contact me by PMing here, at gaignun, or Tara#1768 for any questions/plotting! ))

Comments

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel's in the sunlight room, sprawled out next to the stream with her eyes closed. She's not sure if her surroundings are real or just a clever technological illusion, like the simulation room, but it's a better place to meditate than most other parts of the station.

After the desperate fighting and more than a week of grueling spellwork, it's nice to simply immerse herself in the Charter, with no need to draw anything out. Instead, she simply watches the marks circle, noting which ones she recognizes and which ones she doesn't.]

[coordination]

[ Yzak stops a short distance away from her when he notices her eyes closed ... napping?

There's no weird chill, or frost on her body, so at least he knows she isn't doing that whole going into Death thing. ]

Sabriel.

[ Said a little softer than usual, on the off-chance she is trying to rest so he doesn't startle her. ]

[bindsthedead]

Yzak?

[Sabriel's eyes open and she sits up, clearly not sleepy even as it takes a moment for her eyes to refocus on the world around her, to remember that there's grass beneath her rather than Charter marks.]

Here to talk?

[He doesn't sound upset, so he's probably just here for conversation.]

[coordination]

I guess so.

[ He doesn't move to sit or anything just yet, but he does close the distance between them. ]

Were you trying to rest?

[bindsthedead]

I was meditating- Immersing myself in the Charter. I've already slept.

[For more than eighteen hours even!]

That mission was... enlightening. In several ways. As was the chat I had with Viveca afterwards.

[coordination]

You better have slept enough, with how you looked before.

[ She does look better now! Which is - good. Good!!

Yzak perks up when she mentions Viveca. ]

What did she say?

[bindsthedead]

She explained the Orb's intentions, and those of the people she's working with.

[Sabriel frowns, her fingers digging into the dirt.]

The orb does have an agenda- chaos. This station was built to contain it.

Also, given what it allows rulers to offer in exchange when they make a bargain... I think we should make sure the orbs never fall into the hands of anyone with any kind of authority when we're on a mission.

[coordination]

A station built to contain chaos.

[ He crosses his arms in thought. ]

So that means they had a familiarity with the orb before this all, if the purpose of this station was to contain it. I wonder what kind of familiarity, if that's the case. Before, or after it was broken into pieces? What was it doing before then, just roaming free in one, big, potentially even more dangerous piece?

[bindsthedead]

I didn't ask. But from what we saw on Gyeonje, the orb probably wasn't broken recently. Perhaps the breaking came from someone else's attempt at destroying it, or at least containing it.

[A dangerous entity broken into many smaller, weaker pieces would be easier to bind piecemeal. Although if that was the case, it's clear the fragments have broken through whatever was made to imprison it.]

Beyond that, we'll need to ask. The other worrisome thing is that the orb will get stronger the more of it is reunited, so... I suspect that's the answer to what's in the locked wing of the station. And Viveca suggested she might need my help in the future.

[coordination]

This one alone affected a city to that extent, so a larger power has the capacity for a hell of a lot more. And that's not even knowing how many pieces of this thing there are.

Funny you should say we shouldn't let it fall into the hands of an authority when this ... commander as he called himself, just assured us to leave things to him. It'd be nice to hear a bit more from him, if he's here and keeping tabs on what we're bringing back.

[bindsthedead]

True. He's probably hiding somewhere on the station, but... that's another thing to ask Viveca about and see if she'll answer.

Still, as we don't answer to him... we may not need to worry about being used as chips in his bargain.

[Hopefully he's smart enough not to make one. Viveca's group seems to understand the orbs enough to know that using them would probably be a bad idea.]

Well. Keeping dangerous magical forces safely contained is part of Abhorsen's duties, so at least I can tell myself this isn't really a vacation.

[coordination]

I'd would think this isn't being considered any sort of vacation by anyone!

But, I hope you're right there. [ It's true that understanding the dangers of the orb is a good thing ... but, there's always someone who looks at it and goes, "I bet I can handle it, though!"

Finally, he moves to sit as well, about a foot away from her to leave her her space. ]

Anyway. [ Right to the point. ] You said you can teach others magic, didn't you?

[bindsthedead]

Charter Magic, yes.

[Teaching necromancy would be a horrifying combination of stupidity and cruelty, even if anyone here actually had an aptitude for it.]

I've already found three students, which was... more than I expected, actually.

[coordination]

Charter Magic. [ He repeats. ]

Why didn't you expect that many?

[bindsthedead]

Because accepting the mark is an irreversible decision. And... well, perhaps it shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did, but most people in Ancelstierre... if they're not mages, they're mostly in denial about magic, and the ones who aren't in denial are scared.

People here... they're curious.

[It's been a nice change of pace. And Sabriel's even been open about being a necromancer, which she'd kept a secret even from her friends who were also mages.]

[coordination]

[ Yzak figures that the fear might be something similar wielding any kind of power that can be dangerous if used that way. When it's in your hands, you're afraid of making any sort of mistake, because even the smallest slip-up could result in the death of another, or even yourself. And when it's not in your hands ... you know you wouldn't have the means to protect yourself if it was turned on you. ]

Irreversible, but you mentioned the need to learn spells, didn't you? What if someone decided they wanted to accept something like that, but then do fuck all, procrastinate and not bother trying to learn anything?

[bindsthedead]

Then they wouldn't be able to do... well, anything. If they tried... well, they'd probably hurt just hurt themselves, and anyone standing too close to them.

Charter magic takes time, dedication... and a lot of practice to master. There are some people with the mark who don't study, but they were baptized as infants and later chose not to walk that path.

[Although in Sabriel's case, such a thing had been unthinkable. Her father had taught her magic since... well, for as long as she could remember.]

[coordination]

It was just a theoretical. It's not like I would ever slack off and do something like that!

[ He's a hardworking man who never gives up on something once he sets his mind to it! ]

But, I want to learn, if you're open to adding more to the list.

[bindsthedead]

[Oh. Oh, that's what this conversation is about!

But Sabriel's expression shifts from shock to a delighted grin in less than a second.]

You're sure? Well, for the baptism I'll need to get a bottle and- wait here. They should have what I need in the kitchen.

[Sabriel scrambles to her feet, already reviewing what she'll need to get. Water and a glass bottle from the kitchen and- well, she can use some of the plants in this room for the ash.]

[coordination]

[ Well that was a quick change of demeanor. ]

Of course I'm sure!

Why — are you suddenly this excited!?

[bindsthedead]

You're my friend. I didn't realize you were interested in- in learning magic. I thought you were more interested in technology.

I'll need to perform a baptism though, to put a mark like this- [Sabriel points to the one on her forehead.]

On your forehead, and establish your connection to the Charter. So I'll need to get a bottle of water from the kitchen for that, and some wood ash, but- in this room, that won't be a problem.

[coordination]

Well of course I'm still interested in technology! I can be interested in magic, too!

[ He pauses though, tilting his head. ] Is it really that easy to do?

[bindsthedead]

I mean, it's an advanced spell, drawing on powerful marks, but- baptism isn't draining the way Charter magic can be.

You don't need to do much, just hold still.

[They baptize infants in the Old Kingdom, and there's not much else you can ask of a newborn.]

[coordination]

So it's still a spell.

[ More to himself. Baptism almost made it sound religious which he is ... not. Not many Coordinators are. ]

Fine. I can wait here.

[bindsthedead]

Sort of. It's... different from others I've used, in ways I can't quite explain.

[But Sabriel's gone for only a few minutes, only as long as she needs to fill a glass bottle from the kitchen with water, and burn a few twigs in the sunlight room to get some wood ash to trace over her mark.]

All right. Ready to start?