[closed]

[belegurth]

WHO: Marian Hawke & Manfrea (aka Melkor)
WHERE: a park in Heropa
WHEN: Saturday, March 28
WHAT: Practicing some magic, Melkor being nosy about other kinds of powers
WARNINGS: none for now, Melkor is on his best behavior.



The park is full of life, Melkor can't say he enjoys it as he sways a big out of his face. Yet it was the ideal place to meet and have some space to themselves where they wouldn't disturb anyone else. He was intrigued at seeing a demonstration of Marian's abilities and had hoped to find out more. With any luck, he would find her will malleable enough for his own purposes. He would need more allies, those who were attuned to his will when he decided what to do with this world.

For now, he simply lays out on the grass today, looking up at the sky as he waits for Marian to arrive. The occasional bug that had the misfortune of coming his way was swatted to the side with no consideration. Perhaps he looked an odd sight to anyone else who may happen to see him- dressed in a red shirt with black pants, long hair pulled back into a braid pinned back with a jeweled pin. All in all, he was dressed more practically than he normally might have been.

The Vala sat up after a moment to shake a bug out of his hair, looking about to see if Marian had arrived.

Comments

[whathawksdo]

Looking around, he would discover that she was trying to arrive, but not quite succeeding. In sight, yes, but not quite there, all because for every few steps she took towards where Melkor waited, Hawke stops and turns back around to try and shoo away the small army of dogs that she's accumulated on the way through the park. It's an ongoing struggle, as normally she didn't mind the company of so many dogs, but now was not the time.

"Go on! Go home! I'm not here to play, you ridiculous fuzzballs!" To no avail, since the little pack only keeps on playing dumb with her. In the end, she throws her hands up in the air and turns to finish walking up to the -- as far as she knew -- elf in sitting on the grass.

Having made the mistake of visiting Heropa before in leather, armor, and a sweater, she's managed to dress a little more appropriately this time. Discovering tank tops and jeans must have been the highlight of her day sometime in the past week, likewise having chosen red for the former, just the same as her hoodie before had been. She might even manage to fit in, if it weren't for the weathered staff slung casually over one shoulder, made of metal and a jagged red gem at held in the center of the top piece. That, that is most definitely not from this world.

"I hope you haven't been waiting too long," she says in lieu of a greeting when she's close enough. "I'm afraid I've picked up an audience on the way here."

[belegurth]

Melkor stood, brushing grass of his clothes as he caught sight of her walking towards him. His eyes glance at the staff, intrigued but he got to his feet as he gave her a friendly smile despite the presence of dogs. He leaned over slightly to eye them, deciding not to approach especially when one of the dogs snarled at him slightly.

He wasn't exactly the best with some animals. Dragons, orcs, and balrogs were one thing but small domesticated animals were still such a strange thing to the former Vala. Animals here tended to sense that something about him wasn't quite right so Melkor found it best to simply avoid them.

"Ah yes, it seems so," he remarked before giving her a smile. Hopefully the dogs would go away. "I am pleased you were able to find the place, Marion."

[whathawksdo]

"Ah, hey! No, no growling," Marian first turns to scold the one that snarled before anything else, chiding it in a tone very much akin to how one talks to little children. "If you lot want to stay, you have to behave. Now sit."

And they will, behave as well as sit, although how well they'll keep to the former is yet to be seen. Not that it saves them from her sighing at them, exasperated, before turning back to Melkor. At him, she'll grin.

"Enough wandering and you'll find anywhere, right? Anyway, don't mind them. I haven't found a way to turn the entire 'dogs following me' thing off yet."

[belegurth]

"Is it one of your abilities given here?" he asked with a curious quirk of his eyebrows. That was a strange power to have and if he had been given something like that, he had to admit he would feel cheated.

The dogs seem to be eyeing him but he kept his gaze on her. Hopefully they wouldn't interfere when they were practicing. "Shall we get started? I hope we will not startle your companions," he said he made sure his long hair was securely pulled back and out of the way in preparation.

[whathawksdo]

"The porter took the term doglord a little too seriously, from what I can tell," she said, shrugging. She didn't mind the company of so many dogs, in all honesty, but this was starting to be a little much. "Or it has a sense of humor..."

It'd be interesting to find out which.

"But like I said, don't mind them. If they don't like it, they can wander on back off to their actual owners." Hopefully. Hawke paused to look back at the dogs one last time, then around at where Melkor had been waiting. "Depends on what we're starting with. I don't think they'll appreciate it if we start setting their park on fire."

[belegurth]

"You are not able to control your fire?" Melkor asked with curiosity. He had a very precise control over his own powers, he had such experience with them after so many ages after all. He just hoped the dogs would not be startled by the use of their powers, he really did not want to have to deal with that.

"We have a wide open space and you do not fear hurting me, I am sure the earth will endure as well," he said as he gestured for her to give a demonstration. He was confident that he could handle any potential backlash if necessary.

[whathawksdo]

Well, that was an implication that caused her to bristle some. For her, only metaphorically. For the dogs, at least one picks up on it enough to growl, though that only has Hawke shooting another frown their way.

"I can control it fine, it's only that fire has its own mind once you've set it to something," Hawke answered, looking back towards Melkor from the dogs. "Right?"

Set something on fire, it usually remained on fire until it burned itself out, but if he wanted a demonstration, she could do that.

It just meant not weaponizing it for once, as outright trying to set someone on fire might not be the best way to make friends. The initial motion she made was akin to pulling something out of the air. It was quick and, while not graceless, certainly not elegant. Magic forms as red light first, in her palm, focused until it bursts into flame. Instead of directing it at any one person, though, her next gesture was a sweeping motion towards the ground between them.

The spot of earth there explodes with flame, rising up high and demolishing what springtime grass may have been creeping back to life there, then sinking back into a campfire size. It won't last for too long, with no fuel to keep it going, but it would do for now.

[belegurth]

"Unless you have mastery over it," Melkor pointed out but then again, being a Valar gave him a different experience. He had once been able to literally bend the earth to his will- the elements had been no exception.

He did not move back at her demonstration, watching the fire burn down. "Are you able to direct it precisely where you wish it to go?" he asked after a moment, raising his eyebrows. "I am curious how well you are able to shape it to your will and how much influence you are able to exert over this magic," he added, his tone only curious as he looked at her.

[whathawksdo]

"We might have different ideas of mastery. The magic is what creates the fire, but once you let it go,
it's only fire that's left, at least until it dissipates on its own."

She had to pause for a moment to consider how to explain it. Not every spell was the same as something elemental. Even now, the fire she'd created was burning itself out, quicker than a regular fire might. The magic it had attached to it wouldn't stick around forever, burning up and returning to where it had come from, although the where was a mystery here.

"I can make as much or as little fire as I want, put it where I want it to be, within reason. Most of it fades once the magic that made it is all burnt up and the job is done. Then there's magic like what I showed you before, that shield. That goes on for as long as I will it to be."

[belegurth]

"Ah I believe our magic must work in different ways," Melkor said with greater understanding. The fire burned out before he could bend over to touch it, not worried about it burning him though his fingers. But it was gone and he straightened up, listening as she described more of her powers.

"If you do not mind me asking, how long are you able to maintain the fire?" he asked as he looked at her, creating a small amount of fire in his palm. It grew to a small ball before moving to his fingers to hover there, balanced carefully.

[whathawksdo]

"You mean before I set it to something else?" Hawke asked, though with how he was already demonstrating, she already knew the answer. That wasn't something she'd bothered with since she was still learning, to simply maintain something like fire and do nothing with it.

"But that's... incredibly dull," she added after having asked. "Though I'm sure I can hold it for awhile."

Not that she could give an actual estimate of how long awhile might be. They would simply have to find out.

First she slid her staff off her shoulder and set it out of the way, if only to remove the currently useless weight. After that, she more or less mimicked what Melkor had done, drawing her own magic back into the palm of a hand and willing it to be fire. The flame burned just above her hand, though, unlike his, it remained stationary.

[belegurth]

"Perhaps but being able to exercise control gives you a greater power," Melkor pointed out as he let the fire hover over his fingers, just burning. "You will be able to use your energy wisely instead of wasting it," he added as he let the flame move back down his palm.

Of course he was hardly one to speak of restraint and patience. He would have preferred to let the fire in his palm go to burn this park and let the flames spread.

But for today, the flame merely hovered and he showed no signs of fatigue. "Do you draw your energy from yourself? How long do you believe you can keep it in your palm?"

[whathawksdo]

"I could do this all day," Hawke claimed, though she had no real idea. It wasn't something she expected to even have to do all day, anyway. "And the magic usually comes from the Fade, only that doesn't exist here, at least not in any way that I can feel it. Channeling it into spells, on the other hand, that's all me."

Which was actually a weird point she kept meaning to try and figure out, but maybe another time.

[belegurth]

"If it does not exist, it must be powerful indeed to work here," Melkor said thoughtfully though it made him wonder. His own powers came from Eru who did not seem to be here, but somehow the both of them were able to use their abilities, though perhaps not to the fullest.

"What is the Fade, if I may ask?"

[whathawksdo]

"One theory is there's a link back to it through that porter everyone keeps mentioning," she added with a shrug. "But a theory's just a theory."

Something that couldn't be proven yet. The Fade, though, how to describe the Fade left her silent for a moment and thoughtfully looking down at the flame still caught in the magic focused in her palm. The Fade was a lot of things, depending on who was looking at it.

"It's another realm beside the physical one, where everyone goes when they dream, but outside of those, it's the realm of spirits and demons."

[belegurth]

"That is interesting and intriguing. To be able to connect to so many worlds," Melkor said but he made note of that for later. It could prove useful at sometime but he would have to find more information on this device.

He come closer as he watched the magic in her palm intently. There was no fear, no wariness but he was curious above all. "Spirits and demons? Is there anyway to get to the Fade aside from dreams?" he asked. "We have nothing like that where I am from, I do not believe the elves are able to dream."

[whathawksdo]

"If I could just figure out a way to get a closer look at it..." But if she remains resolute in staying unregistered, the options, she assumed, were glaringly few. Not that it would stop her from thinking of ways, of course.

The flame she was keeping trapped within her magic faltered some at Melkor's following questions. They weren't startling, just dividing her attention. Fire was something she didn't normally keep around for longer than she needed to set someone on fire with it, having long since passed the need to learn that kind of basic control. It wasn't passive, there was no 'turn on and forget' switch. It didn't go out, however, and that was what counted!

The questions, though, at those she pursed her lips for a few seconds, then frowned, but answered.

"Well, most commonly a mage will use lyrium to visit it." Which was hardly the only way to do it. She knew a few others, but some were horrific and the other belonged solely to the Dalish. It might not matter here, telling someone from another world entirely, but she still kept it to herself. "Really? You can't dream? Strange. Our elves certainly can."

[belegurth]

"Our kind do not require sleep, which I have been told are necessary for dreams," Melkor explained, curious as to what elves would require sleep. "The elves are a part of the world- immortal beings given everlasting life without sorrow- at least that is how it was supposed to be."

There was always someone who had to ruin it. He bounced the fire in the palm of his hand idly before letting it simply vanish with a bright pop.

"That is interesting. I would be curious in trying to reach it- to see if I may be able to."

[whathawksdo]

"It might be harder than you think. If you can't dream, you can't touch the Fade, which means you'd certainly not have magic in Thedas," Hawke said that with an idle shrug, like it was an inevitable truth. It probably was, since they would need to be in Thedas to really reach the Fade, regardless of what connection the porter might have.

"Although it could be the elves of Thedas were like your own at one point, at least the immortal part of it, but that's all ancient history now."

[belegurth]

"Your elves are not immortal? Only the creator himself could take away the blessings of the Firstborn and they are most favored," Melkor said with interest. He had done his own experiments with elves, stripping away what he could from them but to take away their immortality was something interesting.

[whathawksdo]

"Well, assuming they even were at all, whatever happened to take it away happened when the Imperium conquered them," she could explain that much, at least. "But I'm no historian, especially not when it comes to elves."

The most she knew came from Merrill, anyhow. The point of view of one lone Dalish blood mage might not paint the most accurate of pictures.