route_1065 | Magic, Legends, and Wine

Entry tags:

Magic, Legends, and Wine

Who: Sion, Ryner, and Kayneth
Where: Azalea Town
When: June 18
Summary: Talk of magic and legends ensues over drinks.
Rating: PG
Log:
Recalling his own previous visits to the town, as well as Kayneth's post the month before, Sion had had the foresight to purchase a few bottles of decent wine prior to leaving Goldenrod. He hadn't really expected to use them, mind, but, well, you never know, and while he hadn't the faintest clue how this whole storing objects in the "PC" and being able to retrieve them somewhere else thing actually worked, it sure did make things convenient and worth occasionally stocking up on a few extra supplies.

As it turned out, however, it was quite the apt preparation, as Kayneth himself was, in fact, still in Azalea when Sion and Ryner arrived. So it was that Sion was able to offer the promise of rather better drinks than the local fare, if Kayneth were interested in joining him and Ryner once again for more discussion on the various details of magic between their two worlds.

Needless to say, it really wasn't long at all before the three of them found themselves back at the inn with a bottle of wine or two to share as they talked.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As it turned out, Kayneth was even more in need of a drink than he had been during last post, so he was very quick to agree. Between that and the potential to get more information on the legends of this world... well, how could he say no?

The discussion was probably going to be about other things, but... still, it was likely they'd have something to say about it. But first, time to get pleasantries out of the way-

"It's been quite some time since we last spoke in person. How has your research been faring?"

"Actually much better than usual, if you'd believe it," Ryner replied. "I'm not even just talking about one new article, either."

He was looking forward to chatting with Kayneth again. The last time had proven very interesting, after all. The differences between Roland's magic and that of the world Kayneth came from were simply fascinating. And, well, there was a lot that could be said about him, but no one could deny that he was a magic nerd at heart.

...Plus, secretly, much as he was convinced that spreading the news of their find too far around wasn't such a good idea, he was excited about their find, even if he was subdued about it. And Kayneth was trustworthy enough.

"Although we could have done without that horde of zubat along the way..." Sion said in an exasperated tone. Really, had it not been for that, it really wouldn't have been that bad an excursion even if they hadn't found anything. Fortunately, however, what they had found had made it worthwhile.

"I trust you won't share this information," he turned his attention back to Kayneth, "but you're familiar with Lugia, I presume?"

"Really? Well, I'm even more interested now."

...well, then again, it wasn't like Lugia was integral to figuring out a way back to his own world and retaining his memories while doing so, at least from what Kayneth had read. Well, it was still fairly interesting... he nodded at Sion's request, then spoke after he and Ryner were done talking.

"One of Johto's legendary Pokemon, correct? I've been a bit more interested in finding out about other region's myths, but it's come up enough in more general books on legends that I have a good idea of the myths that go with it."

"Finding out about other regions' legends is seriously like pulling teeth..." Ryner commented with a hint of exasperation. Hunting for new pieces of information for months and only coming up with the same blurbs over and over again was a frustrating business indeed, even if the more distant ones sounded really fascinating. Like the twin dragons of Unova, much as he didn't like to think about how he'd learned about those two... but today's topic was Lugia.

"Ahh, anyway. I don't know if you were around two years ago, when Lugia ended up flying all over Johto and flying off somewhere," he started. "Nobody knows where it flew off to, but everything pointed to it having come from the Whirl Islands. So Sion and I took a trip out there for a few weeks to look around, and..."

"Well, it took some searching, but we've found proof that it's been there at at least one point," Sion finished. As he spoke, he took out a small case from a pocket and opened it, revealing a beautiful silver feather inside.

"It isn't much, but at least it's one step closer to learning more about these 'legendary' pokemon."

"Tell me about it," said Kayneth, his exasperation far plainer than Ryner's. "I've been looking into Sinnoh legends for ages and while I've found some scattered names and some traditional artwork, I've barely been able to find anything else... but that's not the topic at hand."

As for what the topic at hand was...

...well, that was a bit striking. Even if it wasn't totally relevant to his own goals, he looked mildly impressed.

"Sadly, I missed that event... but my word, that is quite the find. If only I had the ability and the equipment to analyze it..."

"Even without that," Ryner commented, "it's still something we can hold in our hands and look over in person. Which is way more than I've found in any books."

"Not to mention, it's proof that the legendary pokemon do indeed have places they visit regularly, if not make their homes. Places where people might even be able to find them, if they have the means and daring to try."

He paused briefly, then added, "Of course, that's precisely why we don't want word to get around just yet."

"Oh, I understand completely," said Kayneth-admittedly somewhat distantly, as he was mulling over what could be done with this feather in the state everyone was presently in. "I would like to give its habitat a look myself, when I have the opportunity... of course, given my current pace, that would be quite some time from now."

That, and he didn't fancy the idea of going it alone... though he certainly would if necessary.

"Well, perhaps if there's another incident where our powers are returned to us, I'll be able to give it a closer look."

...then, thinking back to his other experiences with legendary beings, he smiled (though with a hint of bitterness).

"Who knows, perhaps if you still have it on you by then we may be able to summon it?"

"Ahh, maybe." Ryner had, admittedly, mulled over the possibility once or twice. It wasn't a guarantee they could - just because it was a feather of the beast didn't necessarily mean that it would come just because they had it even if they tried - but the possibility did exist. He was a little hesitant toward the idea, himself, if he was honest, though that was mostly learned caution toward playing with forces you didn't fully comprehend.

Although, the encounter with Raikou hadn't gone all that badly, compared to other things he'd experienced, so if they had friendly intentions, things would probably be fine. Plus, there was always the possibility of gaining a new ally, if they got there first...

"It'd take a lot of preparation, though. And I dunno about anyone else, but it seems to me like something like that would probably draw a lot of unwanted attention..."

"More like attention that we can't afford, really," Sion said.

"Given all the stories that surround some of them, I suppose it wouldn't surprise me if it did have some unusual properties, but drawing any attention to it without knowing the details for ourselves and being completely prepared for the situation...." He trailed off with a slight shrug; it was all too easy to imagine what would happen if the less reputable individuals caught wind of something they shouldn't.

"Well, assuming we could find a way to execute the summoning in the first place... it is possible to do that sort of thing without alerting the whole world to it," said Kayneth with a quirk of his eyebrow. "I agree that it would be extremely unwise to, say, broadcast it over the network, which I wouldn't put past some people here... but I should know well enough that it's possible to summon beings of legend in relative secrecy."

Granted, he generally summoned things that were roughly the size of a person rather than fairly large dragonbirds, but given a large enough space inside, say, a cave...

"That's assuming it doesn't answer the summon by flying over Johto and changing the music again," Ryner commented. And that was if nothing went wrong. "But it's something to look into, anyway."

For his part, Sion wasn't too certain he cared for the idea of 'summoning' any legendary. Calling upon it to request its aid, perhaps, but somehow the idea of doing something that implied a degree of control over it didn't quite sit right. He kept his thoughts to himself, however, merely nodding along to the conversation.

"Whatever the case, it's still a tangible sign of its presence. In this case, the Whirl Islands are rather remote and difficult to navigate even under the best of conditions, but if there are others to be found elsewhere..."

"Ah... that is true," admitted Kayneth, who obviously had no qualms about such things outside of how attention grabbing it would be. "I'm more familiar with summoning things that have been long dead-something that's actually still alive would be far more complicated."

He paused and nodded at Sion's statement.

"Well, you're unlikely to find much in Ilex if you're after Celebi. I've been examining the shrine for weeks and I haven't come up with anything concrete... it feels like something's there, and every so often I catch shimmers out of the corner of my eye, but I have no proof that it has any connection to the Pokemon or if it isn't just my eyes deceiving me because I expect something to be there. It's really quite frustrating."

Ryner's own ambitions were low - in the hypothetical scenario where anything like this happened, he'd be content just to meet a legend up close again. If Sion wanted to convince it to help them or anything, he was probably better suited to that anyway. He'd had enough experience in the matter to know that just looking was more than enough, anyway.

To Kayneth's discussion of Celebi, he nodded, sighing a little. "We've been leaving offerings at its shrine while we've been in town, but I dunno if that's done anything."

"Along with gathering whatever information we can of local stories and legends, of course," Sion added.

"We'd started doing so last year, but left when it got to be late fall."

Well, to be strictly accurate they'd gone so Sion could participate in the tournament, but the weather really had been getting to be such that it seemed an unlikely time to find such a 'Guardian of the Forest' in any case.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be practically a local deity if it wasn't elusive, but I'd really like to be able to observe it," lamented Kayneth. "This seems like the sort of world where the majority of myths are true, though I have found some fairly suspect accounts over the course of my search-like some fool theorizing that one can find Mew by searching under a truck in Vermillion."

...honestly, he had to say, the existence of trucks in Vermillion was by far the most suspect part of that article...

"That one makes more sense than some of the ones I've found, anyway," Ryner mused. "Honestly. 'Talk to that one girl in Celadon City a hundred times', or whatever it was... I bet she agreed to help out with that one in secret because she wanted to get free drinks from people."

Just because he read everything he could get his hands on in the hopes that something would turn out useful didn't mean that there weren't obvious duds.

Sion chuckled a bit at their complaints.

"Ah, but isn't filtering through such accounts to find the truth of the matter your specialty, Ryner?" he said with a smirk.

"Though in any case, at least this," he lightly tapped the feather, "is proof that there's at least some truth to some of the rumors, if we can find it."

"Hah, I don't understand how they expect people to believe those things," said Kayneth, shaking his head and smiling somewhat sardonically. "The most convoluted rumor I've found has to be the one where you're supposed to talk to some old drunk and have him show you how to catch a Weedle, and then fly directly to the Seafoam Islands and surf along the coast. Supposedly if you do this, you'll run into Pokemon that are over level one hundred-but who's daft enough to believe something like that to try it? Maybe if I complete the Gym Challenge and I'm bored to tears..."

...ah, he'd gotten away from the topic at hand, hadn't he...

"But anyway... there are plenty of books on legends that seem reliable enough, and as you said, there's concrete proof that some of them truly do exist. I can only hope that we find more in the future."

"The number of just plain impossible things that get published, though..." Ryner complained. Sometimes it seriously felt like there was more completely inane stuff than actually useful.

"But ahh, yeah. This much, we have proof that it's true. Means it isn't a totally pointless search to look for more in other places. At some point, anyway."

"At the very least," Sion said, "with something to show for our efforts, there's the possibility of convincing others to assist us if needed. And if we can be certain of their trustworthiness, of course."

"Of course, of course," said Kayneth with a nod. "As I'm sure you've already guessed, I would be perfectly happy to assist you with your endeavors in this area in the future."

After all, he could only benefit from it, couldn't he?

"That'd be great," Ryner replied. "Can't say I wouldn't welcome your help, at least."

After all, Kayneth seemed like the trustworthy type, from what he'd seen anyway. Intelligent, too. He wouldn't mind having the opportunity to talk magic and legends and the like with him more often.

"Well, hopefully in the future we won't need to spend weeks exploring various uninhabited islands in the middle of dangerous seas..." Sion remarked wryly.

"Of course, if you find anything of interest, let us know and we'll certainly do what we can to assist, as well."

Because, of course, it would benefit them as well.

"Hah, well, I really wouldn't wish that on anyone..." said Kayneth, trailing off a bit. "Though, it would make sense for legendary Pokemon to favor forbidding locales, so I doubt we'll be terribly likely to find evidence in more pleasant locations."

It was unfortunate for everyone involved, but that seemed to be the most likely scenario here.

"Regardless, I will most certainly keep you posted."

...unless something came up that was relevant to his search. He would appreciate assistance, but even if Sion and Ryner seemed relatively trustworthy, he couldn't really risk interference.

"Thanks a lot." Even without everything else, it was always good to have another set of eyes looking out for this kind of thing.

"So, now that we've shown off our discovery, think you're up for discussing more magic theory?"

If there was one activity he truly enjoyed without any hesitation, after all, it was nerding about magic.

Sion chuckled a bit at Ryner's change in choice of topic.

"Ah, I suppose I should be impressed it took you so long to bring that up..."

"Oh, most certainly," said Kayneth, whose love of nerding about magic was only rivaled by, perhaps, his love for himself. "What would you be interested in focusing on this time?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could start with some more discussion of Magic Circuits," he suggested. "The differences between prana and the spirits of where I'm from are really fascinating."

Of course, there were dozens of other questions he could bring up, but starting points.

[[pleasetell me if I get anything wrong and I'm sorry I've been taking so long orz]]

Sion merely nodded politely and listened, for the time being. While he certainly knew enough about the magic of his world to use it himself, he'd never quite shared Ryner's intense interest in the subject. So for now he'd just listen in and offer an opinion or clarification as needed.

[[no prob! you can pm me if you have any questions, and take as long as you need]]

"No, I definitely agree," said Kayneth with a nod. "I find the differences between what actually powers our magic to be fairly interesting-in my world, it's something internal, while in yours, it's mostly external."

Perhaps it was a bit of a minor thing to pick up on, but he couldn't help but feel like it held interesting implications. Perhaps earlier in his stay in this world he would have been baffled by it, but he'd grown to find different magic systems to be somewhat fascinating-even ones that were more... egalitarian than he was used to.

"Is there anything specific you have a question about?"

"How do you manage the amount of prana you use?" he asked. "I mean, since it's more of an internal thing, there should be a finite amount, right? There hasn't been much research back in Roland on using the spirits' energy efficiently to cast spells, because it's not really needed, but it seems like where you're from, it might be important."

"Well... it's finite, but at the same time it can replenish itself," said Kayneth, trying to think of an appropriate comparison. "It's... a bit like how if you lose a respectable but survivable amount of blood, your body will be able to replenish the supply, but you'll be left a bit weak and groggy for a while. With that said, there is something of an external element to it, as there are two kinds of energies that can be converted into prana-mana and od. Mana is everywhere, while od is produced by living things. While it's technically possible to use od as your only source of power, it's not recommended, since it's far less abundant than mana. I'd compare them to actual firewood and kindling respectively-it's difficult to start a fire just using a log, and it's difficult to sustain a fire just using kindling."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Magic, Legends, and Wine

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject