In the blood

[bleeding_heart]

Who: Merrill, Waver Velvet
What: Merrill and Waver talk about blood magic
When: August 31st
Where: Forest Shrine
Warnings: Only for my action bracket laziness

[It's been a few weeks since the gods' last test in the caves, when Merrill and Waver spoke about magic and their respective connections to it.  Blood magic in particular had been a topic of interest, and the two had resolved to talk about it later.  Well, now it's later, and Merrill has decided that it's as good a time as any to have that conversation.  After sending a quick invitation to Waver's Warp Band to meet her at the Forest Shrine, Merrill heads out herself to wait for him.  This would normally be the sort of thing she'd be content to talk about in their usual haunts at the library, but a practical demonstration would of course involve her own blood being spilled, and she's at least considerate enough to know that splashing it all over the texts stored there would not only be rude but also result in a very irritated Bilbo Baggins.  So the forest it is.  She's waiting there, sitting up against a tree as she turns over her Spiritomb's Keystone in her hands and looking thoughtful.]

Comments

[bleeding_heart]

It's much easier. That was the magic I started with. The magic of my people. I trained in its use as First to the Keeper. It's as natural to me as breathing.

[untalented]

[A nod.]

That makes sense.

So. How have you been able to reconcile yourself with the both of them?

[bleeding_heart]

They don't really have anything to do with one another, apart from their historical association. It isn't difficult or painful knowing how to do both - it's no different than knowing how to speak Dalish and the common tongue. But I can show you what it looks like so you can see the difference.

[untalented]

....If it's not an imposition.

[He scratched at his cheek nervously, wondering if it was going too far to ask this much of his felllow academic.]

I'm really curious to see how everything compares to what I know from Sanctuary.

[bleeding_heart]

No, it's fine.

[Merrill crouches down to retrieve her staff, standing up and concentrating for a moment. As she gathers her power, greenish energy tendrils emerge from the ground in an area around her, entwining around each other and grasping around for a target.]

This is called Wrath of the Elvhen.

[untalented]

[That spell looked more familiar-- if he were to try to emulate it or create something similar, he would use a Grass-typed mechanism as a base and borrow from the vining tendrils that many appropriately typed pokemon used for their actions.]

...That's an entirely different style than what they teach in Sanctuary, [he pipped up, watching with intent fascination.] There didn't seem to be a standardized channel for it-- is it an art that anyone can learn, or is it passed down like Enlightened traits?

[bleeding_heart]

[Merrill looks a bit quizzical at that, blinking for a moment as she thinks.]

...I don't know. I'm not the only one who can use it, though. It was taught to me by the Keeper. But if I had the potential for it the whole time, I could have developed the talent myself, right? So... maybe it's both?

[untalented]

I see....that's really interesting.

[It inferred that he might not be able to learn it, but there was still the possibility that he could come up with something similar if he was given enough time and put in enough effort.]

[bleeding_heart]

Well... I suppose that's about everything, unless you had any other questions.

[untalented]

I think I understand the basic idea of everything, Merrill.

...Thank you.

[bleeding_heart]

You're welcome. I hope it helped answer your questions.