(open.) sing it low or sing it loud

[courtmagic]

Who: Merlin and others.
Where: Sometimes the Temple, sometimes the forest.
When: Early September.
Rating: Just PG for now.
What: The Circle's gained a new wizard. He explores, and tries to not get ill.

[this is not a dream. a dream doesn't feel like this - he's trekked across enough of them in the centuries to know. and still, he wonders, because of how different it all is. that woman, and her beautiful eyes - Astoria, she'd called herself. he'd been half numb, struck and dazed when the world beneath his feet did not give. magic at the far reaches of himself, a memory halted in the process of becoming an action.

the world behind his eyes has gone silent, and he marvels at it. the sheer expanse of the unknown. Merlin breathes air utterly new to him, and cannot decide if this is for good or ill. it is, and he must adapt. freedom at a price, or the illusion of such. there is much to contemplate, but as ever, the only road ahead is forward.

--

of course, he explores the Temple. it's where they're supposed to be, after all, a place with rooms and beds and one he finds unoccupied with a single to lay his head. but beyond that, he wanders, peeking in at various areas. the kitchen is where a hopeful might look to find someone else doing the work of cooking that he can charm the result out of - why bother if he could simply get it for free? other times he's in the halls, seemingly searching for something. not someone, of course. that would be asking for far too much. but when evening falls, he heads to the outskirts, to watch the sky, a figure in pure white robes. as long as he can, he observes the stars, eyes as intent as a navigator as he traces where they are now.

but the illness is all too apparent. the sickness that infested the land cannot be lifted by hands that haven't been fully summoned, the flowers that could trail behind him not so much as sprouting. only their scent that clings to his clothes, and so he moves outward. can't stay in one place too long, trying to minimize his exposure, and the forest beckons. easy to wander, easy to take a rest nestled up a tree, where the sound of soft snoring gives away his napping, dozing with a few of the nymphs climbing on him. other times, he finds himself at the bank of water, sitting down and humming quietly a song he remembers to amuse himself, considering the plight of what's occurred. but as it happens, sometimes he is trying to converse with the sprites, so worked up are they. it doesn't seem to be excellently going, if his small frown says anything, but they'll notice a newcomer before he does, allowing enough time for greeting.]

[[ooc: please feel free to drop me a note if you'd prefer an individual starter! these can be any time, except for stargazing. choose your own adventure, and hit me with something else if it strikes your fancy!]]

Comments

[teratias]

I've also never heard of them making houses in people's hair, so we're even.

[Waver's face sours even more at that laugh. It's rude, and it dredges up a few unpleasant memories.]

What were you trying to get out of them anyway?

[courtmagic]

[his head tilts, and the one in his hair has made themselves snug.]

I'm trying to talk to them.

[teratias]

..I got that part, you idiot. I meant what are you trying to talk to them about?

[courtmagic]

And I should tell that to someone who's called me an idiot? So demanding.

[wow, Waver.]

[teratias]

[You've got him there, Merlin. Waver huffs out in response, temporarily dumbfounded. And then he follows up with the brilliant:]

Who else are you going to tell while you're standing out here? Grass and stuff doesn't respond.

[courtmagic]

Who said I was going to tell anyone at all?

[maybe he could talk to grass, Waver. you don't know.]

[teratias]

Well fine, don't then! I'll just keep walking and you can deal with that thing deciding to use your hair for a house!

[Mature, Waver.]

[courtmagic]

But the curiosity would eat you up inside, wouldn't it?

[as easily as he had spun this one up, so does Merlin shake it off. carefully, he pulls part of his hair over his shoulder, detangling the sprite and letting it rest on his hand instead for a moment before it flutters off.]

Something's stirred them up. I want to know what the problem is. If it's this plague or if something's gone awry in their kingdom.

[teratias]

It could be the plague, but the next logical question is are the impacted by it like we are, and like the surrounding lifeforms seem to be?

[Waver isn't a fan of Merlin's first response, which is why he moves past it so quickly.]

If something's awry in their kingdom, are any of us feeling well enough to actually help though?

[courtmagic]

I am.

[he's in the peak of health, so he's the perfect man for this.

(for now.)]

It's also notable that the plague hasn't gone so far as to infect the forest's plantlife yet. But that's only my theory from what I've seen.

[teratias]

So what, are you proposing that the temple has a sort of natural bounded field that prevents it from interacting with the plantlife and the larger forest?

[courtmagic]

[his ears perk up at that phrase.]

You know bounded fields?

[teratias]

I...

[Waver stops. This is a fellow mage. One he doesn't know, and that alone is alarming. His eyes narrow, slowly.]

You're a mage, huh?

[courtmagic]

You've got it!

[ah, he sees that look. he knows why it might be there. mages are an untrustworthy lot, generally, and he's definitely one of them.]

So are you, aren't you? That means you'll understand what I say when I mention that this entire situation pretty much takes the Third Magic and redirects it onto a new, undiscovered course of events.

[teratias]

I know enough to say that you're excluding the Fifth, since it relates to time travel and that is definitely a component of this experience.

[Waver's words are wary, carefully said, eyeing Merlin up and down.]

And I know enough to say you're from a different point in time than I am too.

[courtmagic]

But the Fifth can't be applied the same way as it usually is since it generally assumes one world from which to alter the timelines. Multiple worlds converging into one - it's a new hypothetical to be considered. If you have a theory on it, by all means, tell me.

[the staff in his hands comes to rest against his shoulder, his thumb rubbing against the smoothed wood.]

As to my point in time, that depends on you confirming yours. Then we can say if I am from your past or your future.

[teratias]

It's the Second, Third, and Fifth Magics being combined, as far as I can tell. [But his theories are private for now.] There are people who have memories returned to them of events that happen after they've been drawn into this Circle.

[The staff is...unusual. Waver's eyes rest there.]

No one uses staffs. You're from well before the 1990s.

[courtmagic]

In birth, yes. But that's not my point in time.

[he contemplates the idea of three major Magics being combined. Perhaps there could be a Sixth added in...]

Your jump to the 1990s says that you're from around that era.

[teratias]

You're a Fifth Magic user?

[Waver's first thought isn't Heroic Spirit at all.]

...Yeah, around them.

[courtmagic]

Ah. Your future, then.

[and yet, he has the staff. by now, it's as much habit as anything else.]

There's a lot to happen in the world in the next few decades. I can say that without interference.

[teratias]

[Waver pauses, his eyes going from the staff to Merlin. He doesn't like when mages do this, and Merlin's cryptic response sets every part of him on edge.

Thankfully, being sick does some wonder to dull what would otherwise be a snappy response.]

So you're from point A in time but coming from point B in a future well beyond the 90s, which means you're either an actual Magic user, some kind of Heroic Spirit, or something else that.

[courtmagic]

Exactly.

[the answer is all of the above.]

And you're a Master from a Grail War in that era. [his eyes go to Waver's hand, the red marks there.] Just as a guess, Fuyuki?

[teratias]

Wait, was that a yes to both?!

[Waver tenses immediately, both of his hands curling into fists. Being face to face with another Caster so very soon after dealing with his war's caster, it is simply defense.]

What of it? And which future war are you from then?

[courtmagic]

It was a yes to the "something else like that".

[composed, almost relaxed, he looks at Waver carefully.]

Does the word "Chaldea" mean anything to you?

[teratias]

...Caster. You're your war's caster.

[Merlin's question cuts the tension brewing up in Waver's body, and he tilts his head slightly.]

No?