(open) look what remains

[scholiast]

who: Lucretia & you
what: open/catch all
when: before & after the chalice event
where: a bunch of places!
warnings: n/a, will add if necessary

01 gramarye magic research institute

(You might have heard about the researcher who has been asking around her colleagues about the different ways they cast and use magic.

Lucretia is working on a personal project, one that she's been heaping her free time on lately. This is what she loves to do: ask questions, gather information, write everything up at her desk for hours at a time, eyes darting between her notes and the page as she transcribes everything she's learned so far. She's even put up a general message on the Gramarye network to ask around: a simple message, asking politely for anybody to seek her out if they would like to talk about spell casting methods, and how they obtained their powers.

You can find her at her desk with a pen in each hand, writing in two books simultaneously- or leaving a lecture theater, several heavy books in her arms- or perhaps in the library, checking her phone for responses to her message board.)

02 the river

(While Lucretia has often admired the river running through the middle of the city, she has never thought to follow it before. It's with this objective in mind that she sets off on what she hopes will be a long, distracting walk out from the center of the city; her morning has been far too quiet and reflective for her liking*.

She walks for what feels like a good two hours in silence, enjoying her unorthodox method of touring the city via the twists and turns of the river through the middle of it. The sheer greenery of the surroundings is startling to her: she can't remember the last time she saw so much foliage on a world before. She even stops to take a couple of pictures on her phone, for future reference.

Eventually, she stops walking when she comes to the edge of the first wall and finds a small cove along the riverline that opens up into a beach. She finds a place to sit that borders on the sand, pulling the strap of her bag off her shoulder and dumping the whole thing unceremoniously down beside her. In it, she has her phone (now switched off), some food and water, and a book taken from Taako's shelf that she's still half-way through.

If you're in the area, you'll find her with her elbows propped up on her knees, staring contemplatively out over the water in somber silence. Anybody who knows Lucretia even a little bit might find it odd that she isn't taking notes, or sketching; she's left her notebook at home, tucked underneath of her pillow so she doesn't have to look at it.)

*((ooc: big ol spoilers for the adventure zone in corresponding thread, take care!))

03 future prowess (chalice event catch-all b/c i forgot to do one earlier hwhoops)

(While the chalice pitching her abruptly into the future might have revealed a lot of things about her that Lucretia isn't exactly sure how to even begin processing, she is at least happy with one thing: the big increase in power. Turns out she's mastered spells she'd never dream of knowing, and her knowledge feels almost limitless, like there's nothing in the world she couldn't do. It also gels with her appearance: she's a bit taller now and her body has finally been allowed to age, released from the stranglehold of the IPRE's mission. If she had to guess, she'd think she looks around about sixty years old. Her hair is white, cropped close to her skull. In Lucretia's opinion, she finally looks every inch the powerful wizard she has grown to become.

It's hard, warring with the guilt of knowing what the future brings and wanting to be excited about this, that she's been learning how to defend her, how to keep people safe. It's all she's ever wanted to know.

Today she's trialing her magic in a wide open, grassy area on the fringes of the city. Unfortunately, she doesn't have her staff, but she's borrowed a spare wand from a friend that is working out just fine. Of all the new spells in her arsenal, her favourite is a shield that she can conjure like a wide, arcing half-bubble.

She's playing around with it now, and there are several small shields rippling and shimmery in the air about her, as if she's trying to seal herself off from the outside world.)

04 inbox

(You know you wanna be the first one to post on this sweet, sweet ic contact thread.)

05 wildcard

If you'd like to plot out something/want me to write a specific starter for ya hit me up at blisters

Comments

[ 01 ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki keeps a certain situational awareness of the people at Gramarye. It's habitual, to know who works there, who might pose a threat, who might prove useful. Even if he hasn't made contact with all of them, preferring to remain in the fringes of their peripheral knowledge.

Either way, he hadn't expected Lucretia to walk into him with a pile of books that seem larger than her. Loki blinks before stooping low to pick up them up. ]

[scholiast]

I'm sorry–

(She crouches to help him make a stack of books, which she eventually hefts up into her arms again.) It's hard to see where I'm going. You're alright?

[dothelokimotion]

No matter. A mere pile of books is hardly going to be the end of me.

[ He glances over the titles curiously. ]

[scholiast]

Of course. (They're a mix of subjects, about as many personal discitations pertaining to magic that she could get her hands on.

Lucretia smiles, fleetingly.)

Sorry, but have we met? I'm Lucretia- I don't recognise you.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Hmm. ]

Unsurprising. I am Loki. I was one of the first here.

[ Carefully, he hands her books back to her. ]

[scholiast]

Oh. Sorry– I'm still new, so...

(Her voice trails away, and she shrugs, redoubling her grip on the stack of books as he adds to it.) Thank you. This is probably too much, huh. Did you know they actually have a limit on how many books you can check out at once?

(It's one more than the amount she currently has in her arms.)

[dothelokimotion]

[ He blinks. Loki reads a fair bit, but he rarely takes the books outside of the library itself. On Asgard, the library, in a way, belonged to the royal family. There was never a need to ferret books for himself. ]

I did not. I usually do my reading at the library.

[scholiast]

That's probably the more sensible option. I like working at my desk, though. (It's just where she has everything already set up, you know? Plus she can have food there.)

What kind of job do you have here, Loki?

[dothelokimotion]

[ As long as the food doesn't end up on the books. ]

I'm a researcher and consultant here.

[scholiast]

(Please, Lucretia respects books very much.)

Oh, I'm a researcher too. What exactly are you a consult on?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki tilts his head. ]

Magic, obviously. What else?

[scholiast]

(Lucretia blinks.)

Um, yes, obviously.

But not... not a specific school of magic, or?

[dothelokimotion]

Magic is magic to me. We do not separate it with schools of thought though I can see how most would. I specialize in illusions and the ability to tread between realms.

[ To name a few. ]

[scholiast]

The ability to- pardon? Move between realms?

(Is he talking about planes? Lucretia realises she has no free hand with which to retrieve her notebook from her jacket pocket and frowns, hefting her book stack up in her arms.)

Would you mind explaining?

[dothelokimotion]

[ He weighs her interest before answering. ]

All planes of reality are connected. I find the strongest points of entry that link them together and I can cross over.

[scholiast]

That's... incredible. (Gods that would be insanely useful. If she's staring, it's only because she's turning this tid-bit of information over and over again in her mind.)

Can... could that be taught?

[dothelokimotion]

[ His brow furrows. He does not know nor has Loki attempted to teach his arts. He simply assumes they are beyond the purview of mortals. There is no reason to believe otherwise. ]

I do not think I am capable of passing the art to anyone other than my kind.

[ Or the kind he is. Which is still a mystery to Loki. Perhaps, he is part Asgardian. Or his changed form lends him their abilities. ]

[scholiast]

Oh.

(How... disappointing. Though, Lucretia reasons, simply learning how to traverse the planes in so simple a matter almost seems too easy an out. It figures there would be conditions in play. Still, she looks discouraged all the same.)

What kind are you? If you don't- um, if you don't mind my asking, of course. (He looks human, but when it comes to the residents here, looks always seem to be deceiving.)

[dothelokimotion]

[ For a second, his tongue goes numb before Loki can hustle up the appropriate lie. ]

I hail from a realm known as Asgard.

[scholiast]

(If this is hard for him to say, Lucretia doesn't notice.)

I haven't been to Asgard before.

[dothelokimotion]

Most have not. It is far beyond the reach of most planes of existence.

[scholiast]

It... exists outside of the planar system?

(She didn't think that was possible.)

[dothelokimotion]

The fringes, more or less.

[ It's hard to explain the world tree to others. ]

[scholiast]

That's strange. (Now she really does hope her mission eventually takes her there, just so she can see it for herself.)

What is it like?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki purses his lips tightly. ]

It is golden. A shining jewel of the cosmos it surrounds. The people choose to lead aesthetically simple lives. They live long and change little. Our stories are myths. Our words are legend.