asgardeventide | video; 001

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video; 001

[ the screen flashes on mid-motion, while someone—fenris—is making an angry gesture, quick and sharp. it’s that which probably switched the bracelet on—that and the fact that he isn’t very used to the technology yet. ]

...of all people, that I had to be stuck here with you.

[ the camera shifts as his fingers twitch to show that he’s addressing anders—who notices the device’s activity before its owner and adjusts his posture accordingly, in order to be seen better. ]

You know, Fenris, that reminds me—general questions seem to turn up some interesting responses in this place, don’t they? Why don’t I give one of my own a go. Dear citizens: Is there anyone that you would not, under any circumstances whatsoever, wish to find yourself kidnapped with? Someone whose very presence is an offense to all you hold dear? [ oh, is that sneer on his face too apparent? what a shame. ] Just curious! No reason in particular.

[ fenris yanks his wrist back, neatly ruining the frame of the shot. performance has never been his strong suit, despite his penchant for theatrical speech. ]

Perhaps when Hawke finds us a way out of here, you can remain behind. Kidnapped all alone, just as you prefer.

[ and the curtain falls. ]

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[ if she could see him, she'd see that terse little frown. she can probably hear it in his voice, too. ]

He thinks anyone with magic is no better than a demon.

But why? Is that actually how you get magic...?

No. It isn't. It's a common misconception held by far too many--and it's exactly that sort of thinking that's driven so many to desperate acts in the first place.

...Huh, okay...

So what do you have to do in order to use magic, then?

Learn all the spells and try not to accept all the bargains. Shoot a few fireballs when you have to and...heal everyone you can. [ that was painfully basic. ] Is there no magic where you're from? [ fenris would like that.

...the idea pains him, terrifying and fascinating at the same time. ]

Bargains? What kinda bargains...?

[She shifts uneasily.] Yeah, no magic, at least not in the sense of shooting fireballs and healing people... [Not in the 'real' world, anyway.]

The sort where someone offers you something impossible for a price too steep to pay. And, if you know what's good for you, you refuse them. Adamantly.

[ well, this is a cheery topic, isn't it? ] I...suppose I can't even imagine a world without those things. For example--who does everyone hate and blame for all their problems, if you don't have any mages?

...So that's what you mean when you talk about demons? And I guess most mages refuse that kind of thing?

In my world, I guess, we mostly blame... politicians. Or sometimes other countries' politicians.

Most…try. It isn’t as though they’re all maleficars running about wanting to control other people. They just want control of their own lives, same as anyone else. And when that much is denied to them…

[ a sigh. ] Have you ever been backed into a corner you’ve no idea how to get out of again?

...I don't know if it's exactly the same as what you're thinkin' of, but I guess that's one way you could describe it. Yeah.

So you mean they can't control it after they start using it?

When it comes to blood magic, loss of control is inevitable. You think you have it and you're certain you have it and you can't believe not having it--right up until the moment you realize you never had it in the first place. That it was always somewhere just beyond your power. And after that...

Well. Usually it's quite tragic. [ his voice is harder at this, no mirth at all. ] There's no excuse for it. They have every reason to feel helpless, but they go too far, and by then--they're already lost.

[...He's suddenly sounding a little scary or serious or whatever. Her attention is definitely now fully gotten.]

...I guess that's kind of a familiar pattern. For... addictions. [Or for a few things she can relate it to in her life.]

Sorry, but... blood magic is the term for the contracting with demons stuff?

[ he might have gotten a bit carried away there. but the whole thing is more than distasteful. it's unjust, and all the injustices surrounding it only compound the issue.

he clears his throat. ] Yes. That's it, more or less.

No blood magic where you come from, I take it. How lucky.

No, nothing like that... [It's more of a problem with people unconsciously wishing for death, but... Not gonna get into that now.]

So if it's so dangerous, shouldn't they stop using the magic? If that's what it leads to?

Magic exists to serve man... That's what they say. The good that can be done vastly outweighs the dangers at the best of times--when those who wield that magic aren't given reason to make deals with demons in the first place. When they aren't forced into situations so dire they have no other choice, no other bid for real happiness.

...I guess. If it could work that way. But then...

Okay, so why doesn't it work that way? Is it because some of them would contract with the demons even if they did have other choices? Or... what?

...Something like that.

It just makes no sense for some of us to be free to make our own mistakes while others are locked away without the right to do the same.

...Sounds like you're thinking of someone in particular. That guy? Fenris?

I guess it all depends on how much those mistakes can affect others...

Him. People like him. [ a pause. ] Maybe he's not the best example. After all, he used to be a slave himself--though he's unable to see why others shouldn't be submitted to the same injustices.

[ and that's why they don't like each other. more or less. ]

Is it better to blame everyone for the mistakes of a few? To punish them for something they've never done because someone else long ago lacked restraint or discretion?

...A slave!?

[And he said it so nonchalantly, too.]

I-I don't know, don't you have to cut him a little slack for that? If he doesn't actually go around killing people...

And, I dunno... Like, it makes sense when they try to keep other governments from making nuclear power and stuff, because they might use it as weapons... It really depends on how badly it could go wrong if the magic got out of control, right?

[ 'if he doesn't actually go around killing people...' well then. ]

Who said he didn't? Go around killing people, that is.

[ there's a pause, perhaps for effect, before he sighs. she can't see him, but he's shaking his head. ]

All right, I'll bite. What's...nuclear power? [ it almost sounds magical to him. wait, no, he knows this one-- ] Are you talking about guns? [ he's learned about guns. ]

....Does he?

[Because that seems to be a pretty good line to start drawing it at.]

...Oh, right. Nuclear power, it's... Um, it's kinda complicated, but you can get a lot of power from... I guess, working with atoms? Cuz they're the basic unit of matter or whatever. And the point is, you can get a lot of power from it, but it can also be really dangerous.

[ this requires a lot of thinking. ]

...So atoms are like spells? Or--like magic themselves. Where you're from, in any case. People seem to have different names for it all, different meanings behind it and different descriptions, but in the end...

[ magic is what he knows. magic is what he understands.

even if he barely understands it.

...it's complicated. ]

Well... I'm not a scientist or anything, but... Atoms are what everything is made out of, and they're really tiny, like one billionth of a meter or something. And some really strong force keeps them glued together, so when you break them apart, they release energy.

I don't know anything about any magic, though, so... It's hard for me to make a comparison.

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