Dark Magic Anxieties

Are you saying that, knowing the future, we should do nothing? We should simply allow people to die in order to preserve "fate"? [closed Knoll RP blog affiliated with fireemblem-rp]

[maiden-of-dawn-blog1]

darkmageknoll

Knoll studied the girl for a moment then turned to erase what he could of the sigils. “It wasn’t anima magic at all, actually.” He said over his shoulder as he carefully kicked lines out of place and covered other parts of the sigils with dirt.

“It was ancient magic. Dark magic, meant to assist with the regrowth of plant life in an area.” He rolled up his robe sleeves carefully and straightened as he finished with the sigils.

“The tremor you felt was an earthquake. Nothing at all to do with my magic.”

“You’re a practitioner of dark magic? Fascinating! I’ve always been a bit curious about dark magic,” Micaiah admitted, her face brightening with interest, “the plant life? I didn’t realize dark magic was capable of such things.” She admitted, sharing a cordial smile. She stepped closer, glancing to the ground where the sigils had once been etched in the earth. As it was now, she couldn’t make out what the shape had originally been intended to be.

“Were those sigils necessary to cast the magic?” She inquired. Her curiosity was genuine, though she had an awful habit of asking numerous questions while revealing little of herself. 

[darkmageknoll]

“Dark magic is capable of more than most people realize. Calling it ‘Dark’ magic is actually incorrect in itself. It is more akin to ancient magic that has been tabooed or otherwise lost and not in use anymore. It is very rarely actually bad or dark, just misused because of its power.” If there was one thing he could talk at length about, it was magic. Especially dark magic.

He glanced around the area to make sure anyone who stumbled upon it truly would be unable to make sense of what the sigils were ever for. Though he was secure in the knowledge that he was really the only one who could. “For larger magics, sigils, wands, tomes, and spellbooks may be necessary to assist in the channeling or control of the magic. Multiple mages working together on a large spell has the same effect. It divides up the power or channels the magic so that it does not overwhelm the user.” He paused and focused his attention on her once again.

“In other words....Yes. They were necessary.” 

[darkmageknoll]

@mysteriousveil

Knoll wasn’t necessarily a lover of music. While he didn’t mind listening to it, a lot of his time was spent in the quiet of his library and not much noise was present there. Still, he found himself entranced with the singing and dancing of this girl, who didn’t seem to have noticed him quite yet.

So he waited in silence, until she was done, then clapped quietly, trying not too make too much noise and startle her. “While I certainly have no experience when it comes to dancing, I must say your dance was…..interesting to watch….” Interesting wasn’t quite the word he wanted to use but it would do.

[mysteriousveil-blog]

Azura had gone around to local places that she could visit. Being in magvel was no exception to this rule. She hadn’t seen this area before though, which meant that the people here hadn’t heard of her tale, or had seen her dance. Which was good for her, because then they wouldn’t know what they were expecting.

She found a small part of the town and cleared her throat, her song came out in a clear voice and her dancing slowly followed suit then. Her hips moved flawlessly and she quickly gained the attention of many people around her. Her dances never were long but she knew that they grabbed people and they became entranced. 

Once the dancing was over, some people left but a man approached her. He had stated a few things and she gave a small smile. “Why thank you. If you wouldn’t mind, would you want to go chat somewhere? I’ve never been to this part of town and I would like to know more about it. As I’m sure you’d like to know more about me.”

[darkmageknoll]

When Knoll went up to compliment (was that the name of the thing he just said?) the girl, he was expecting a thank you maybe. Not an invitation to talk. A little stunned, he simply blinked at her for a moment before nodding slowly.

“Yes....I would not mind, certainly.” He glanced around quickly, spotting a quieter tavern than most in town. At least, it was from his experience. Not that he had many experiences with the taverns in town.

“This place over here is usually quiet. If you don’t mind, at least, I am no good in crowds.” The only reason he was calm enough to stay and watch her dance was the fact that everyone was distracted and he had stood at the very edge of the crowd.

[darkmageknoll]

maiden-of-dawn‌:

Dark magic. It was a study the maiden had always held curiosity towards, though she could not practice the trade herself. As a priestess of light, she had dedicated all of her ability to learning light magic. It required nearly dauntless faith and relied solely on one’s devotion, rather than knowledge. Light magic had come naturally to her. Yet, it was troubling. She was a person of mixed blood, with no true direction. With her mixed blood, she was hardly pure. She often wondered if it was this mixture that drew her to chaos that was dark magic.

When the stranger spoke of her presence, she flinched, before straightening herself. She did not intend to be rude, but manners weren’t particularly her forte either. She often acted on impulse, unable to consider the other variables unless her visions directed her otherwise. Sheepishly, she brushed a hand through her hair before taking a single step closer.

“I wasn’t spying. I was just…watching,” She replied, her words somewhat unconvincing, “you aren’t practicing typical anima, are you? This…is different.” She pointed to one of the remnants of a scorched sigil on the ground.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like that before.”

Knoll studied the girl for a moment then turned to erase what he could of the sigils. “It wasn’t anima magic at all, actually.” He said over his shoulder as he carefully kicked lines out of place and covered other parts of the sigils with dirt.

“It was ancient magic. Dark magic, meant to assist with the regrowth of plant life in an area.” He rolled up his robe sleeves carefully and straightened as he finished with the sigils.

“The tremor you felt was an earthquake. Nothing at all to do with my magic.”

[darkmageknoll]

@maiden-of-dawn

Knoll was becoming known to practice magic in the area around Grado Keep. The larger things that couldn’t be done in a practice room, at least. Which is what he was doing now. Four large sigils were written out on the ground around him. Reaching his arms out and up, he started speaking. Words to a spell long forgotten.

He was about halfway through, the sigils glowing bright on the ground, when a tremor hit the area, shaking the mage and breaking his concentration. A small explosion burst from each sigil as Knoll fell over, catching his breath on the ground.

“Fantastic...” He muttered, slowly picking himself up. With a slightly irritated look around him at the cracked ground and now useless sigils, he began to clean up.

“Spying is rude, you know, and you are not very good at it.” He called over his shoulder after a minute, straightening to look at the girl who seemed to be attempting to hide nearby.

[darkmageknoll]

@mysteriousveil

Knoll wasn’t necessarily a lover of music. While he didn’t mind listening to it, a lot of his time was spent in the quiet of his library and not much noise was present there. Still, he found himself entranced with the singing and dancing of this girl, who didn’t seem to have noticed him quite yet.

So he waited in silence, until she was done, then clapped quietly, trying not too make too much noise and startle her. “While I certainly have no experience when it comes to dancing, I must say your dance was.....interesting to watch....” Interesting wasn’t quite the word he wanted to use but it would do.

[darkmageknoll]

@dreamyarcher

Walking up to see someone strung up in a net trap wasn’t how Knoll expected his day to go. Honestly, he could say he thought he’d ever see someone actually caught in such a thing. It was almost impressive.

“Do....Do you need assistance?” He called up to the girl stuck there. Who even had put this kind of trap so close to Grado Keep anyway?

[darkmageknoll]

Puttin’ up a starter call here that I’ll probably get to tomorrow! If you’d like a starter please go ahead and like this post! I’m capping it off at 3 and they will vary in length. I will say that Sacred Stones characters are exempt!

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[darkmageknoll]

spiritforestdweller‌:

“Tremors sound terrifying, to be frank. Though I have never experienced one myself, my grandmother did before I was born.” That tale was certainly not one of Deirdre’s favorite stories. “Are there forests in Grado?” 

She noted that Knoll referred to the emperor in a past tense, but she was reluctant to probe further, especially since something else he said intrigued her greatly. “You…pierced the spells together? How fascinating. Where do you even begin with spell creation? Do you think of a problem to solve, or is it based on a creative impulse, like sculptors selling their wares at a market?”

“Certainly…” Deirdre took five steps backwards and looked at him expectantly.

“When they are small, they are not so bad. It’s when they get bigger that they pose a problem.” Though besides one large earthquake, Grado hadn’t had a bad tremor in quite a while. So far, they were lucky. “There are, yes.”

He took a breath and began casting the spell carefully. Working through the intricacies of an altered spell that he had a less than ideal amount of experience in. If it didn’t work, then at least he would have more data for the next time he attempted it.

As it was, the wind kicked up, and things that had been spilled shifted before ending up in a not very neat pile. But a pile all the same. At least it would make cleaning it up easier.

Knoll knelt to clean up the remnants of the spell and write down notes on what he had to do to get it to work properly. “Personally, I begin spell creation with what I want the spell to do. Problem solving. Then I look at current spells and change them to what I need them to be. It takes quite a bit of trial and error but it can be quite fun.”

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[darkmageknoll]

spiritforestdweller‌:

“Magvel?” She tilted her head slightly. “Ah! Yes, I’ve heard of that continent. But as I said, I’m unfamiliar with your homeland of Grado. I’ve been to Frelia before… Are the two lands much alike?” The question immediately struck her as silly. That would be like saying Agustria and Thracia were alike, Deirdre! She laughed weakly in an attempt to cover up her awkward statement.

Her eyes lit up with interest. “Spells for housekeeping? That sounds very useful. I’m constantly tracking mud into my home, or bringing in leaves and twigs that are stuck to my clothing… I do not know any, however. I wonder if that knowledge isn’t widespread in Verdane?” Then again, it was also possible that Grandmother didn’t know any spells, and therefore did not teach any to Deirdre.

“Then again, I have attempted to use fire spells to speed up cooking my meals… It typically does not go as I plan.” Deirdre carefully scooped up two bottles into her arms and placed them in the far corner of the room. 

Knoll looked up, pausing in flipping through the pages of his book. “No, they aren’t...Frelia is mostly made up of plains while Grado has a wide geographical variety. Frelia also does not suffer from the tremors and earthquakes that Grado does. Frelia is also ruled by King Hayden, rather than an Emperor as Grado once was.” He didn’t mind the questions, it was interesting to explain the differences of Magvel’s kingdoms to a foreigner.

He knelt down and set his book on the ground as he found the page he was looking for. “It is not wide spread knowledge anywhere, as far as I know. I am a researcher, as I told you, many of the spells I know are either so ancient they are long forgotten, or things I have pieced together from existing spells in my studies.”

Pulling out a piece of chalk he started to draw the magic circles he would need. “This spell, in particular, is an altered wind spell. It should, if done right, push the things that need picking up into a pile.” He stood when he was finished with the drawing and slid the book over, out of the way. Then he held his hands out and looked at Deidre.

“Please back up a little bit. Wind is not my specialty...”

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[darkmageknoll]

spiritforestdweller‌:

“That is…very kind of you to think so. But I do wonder if sometimes intolerance comes from ignorance…” She liked to think that the people who would persecute her for her heritage would feel differently if they knew her. Perhaps that was just foolishness, though. 

“You’re welcome…” The stranger wore dark robes with golden designs on the front, and their silver-purple hair fell in front of their eyes. 

“My name is Deirdre,” she said, feeling a bit silly. “I’m from a country called Verdane.” As reluctant as she was to divulge information about herself to a stranger, she felt like she should at least introduce herself to someone who wanted to aid her. 

“Ah, I realize now that we have nothing that we can use for cleaning… Unless I have some dirty clothes in my bag that I forgot about.”

“Sometimes it can. There is also willful ignorance where people do not wish to learn and grow.” Knoll had to admit, it wasn’t the most fun thing in the world. He had his own issues that he told almost no one about simply because he was afraid of being judged by intolerance and ignorance.

Knoll bowed a little bit from the waist. “As I said, my name is Knoll. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Deirdre.” He glanced around the room and reached into his robes. “I have not heard of Verdane, though that in and of itself is not surprising. Many of my travels have been limited to the continent of Magvel.”

He found the book he was looking for and pulled it out carefully. “If you can move anything fragile out of the way, I can clean up spills and such from the floor. I do not use magic often for housekeeping, but it can be useful in that regard.”

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[darkmageknoll]

spiritforestdweller‌:

“You do have a point…” And Deirdre could only pray that the Loptyr Cult never rose to power again. 

The sound coming from below her soothed her a bit. “Oh? That’s… comforting, I suppose. I feel like I’m rather naive… If I saw you on the street and we had a conversation, I might assume that you were humoring me…”

“Um… You can come up if you’d like. I would appreciate your help with the mess, and I would like to hear about the places you’ve been… If you want to tell me, that is.” 

Knoll laughed lightly. “I may humor people every once in a while. But everyone has valid opinions and ideas. And most are open to learning to help form said opinions. There are three kinds of opinions in the world: the intolerant, the ignorant, and the open-minded.”

He paused on a page in his journal and looked up. “I like to think of myself as open-minded. And it is typically better to be ignorant than intolerant. Ignorance means you can learn. Intolerant means you are not willing to grow...”

He stood and turned, slowly making his way up the stairs at her invitation. “I do not mind sharing. Thank you for inviting me up.”

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[spiritforestdweller]

darkmageknoll‌:

Knoll sighed and took a step closer to the stairs. He didn’t really want to just burst in on her. And mentioning the dark mage part had clearly been a mistake.

“I research ancient magics. Many magics have been lost, useful ones.” He didn’t know how to explain himself without making it sound worse. A lot of his research was a bit taboo by present standards of magic.

“I simply wish to know all I can.”

The person below moved closer. Reminding herself that it would be difficult to flee under present circumstances, Deirdre held still. 

“That’s tragic to think about… To think of all the knowledge that could be helping people, forgotten.” What if she had no access to her staves, or otherwise limited ways to heal?

“The pursuit of knowledge certainly sounds worthwhile and noble. I’m literate, but that is all. I can not hope to entertain a scholar.” A hint of excitement bubbled in her voice despite herself. Although her question seeks to soothe her nerves, her curiosity was also getting the better of her. “Have you traveled and studied much? And how does society view your work?”

[darkmageknoll]

“It is a tragedy. Though some things are better left in their books, it is a shame to let it go completely forgotten. History has a habit of repeating itself, after all.” Knoll sat down on the last step, pulling his journal from his robes.

Slowly, he thumbed through the pages.

“Sometimes, the thoughts of those who aren’t scholars are more interesting than those who are.” He knew that plenty of ‘non-scholars’ brought up interesting points and new points of view to things. 

“I have traveled a good bit, in recent years. I couldn’t stay in Grado, though that was because of personal reasons rather than any sort of exile. My work in Grado was well received, for a while. I worked with the Prince there....”

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[darkmageknoll]

spiritforestdweller‌: 

Deirdre flushed. “I like to think of myself as being rather quiet, but I suppose it can be hard to determine how one sounds…” Her heart skips a beat when he identifies himself. Dark mage?!  Oh gods… But what was Grado? She supposed she couldn’t allow him to become suspicious. But how could she escape?

“I’m afraid that I have never heard of Grado.” Could she fight him if she needed to do so? She was unsure. “What do you research?” Perhaps she was panicking over nothing, and he could actually be of help. At any rate, he seemed mellow in personality, which suited her just fine. 

Knoll sighed and took a step closer to the stairs. He didn’t really want to just burst in on her. And mentioning the dark mage part had clearly been a mistake.

“I research ancient magics. Many magics have been lost, useful ones.” He didn’t know how to explain himself without making it sound worse. A lot of his research was a bit taboo by present standards of magic.

“I simply wish to know all I can.”

[darkmageknoll]

silentfount‌:

“I just thought I’d offer”, Saleh replied whilst walking, “Maybe you need to take those robes off. When I was young I wore way too flowy clothing to walk right.”

The mountain path was clearly visible now. It was fairly steep and rocky, plus it was slippery from recent rain.

“Careful here.”

“I would...prefer not to...” Yes, the robes did get in the way. But he felt much more comfortable covered in layers. Although, he did have to lift up the front to walk carefully at this point.

Knoll sighed as they came upon the path. It would definitely be too difficult to traverse with his robes getting in the way. “A moment...I...May prefer not to wear my robes, but I am smart enough to know when they will get in the way. Do you, perhaps, have a bag I might put my things in while we walk?”

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[spiritforestdweller]

darkmageknoll‌:

Knoll paused at the end of the stairs and looked up. “It’s not a problem.” He called, staying right where he was. He had a feeling stepping closer might not work out very well. Though he couldn’t say why he had that feeling.

“You seem to be scaring some of the locals, that’s all. They have come to believe this place is haunted. Probably from hearing you move around.” He brushed a hand through his bangs. “I personally don’t care if you stay. I was just curious about whether the haunted allegations were correct.”

“Locals? Ah… I tried only coming to the building at night in order to avoid attention, but I suppose it had the opposite effect…” Deirdre shuffled her feet. “This is not your home, then? Wait, I suppose not if you were curious about spirits…” 

She tapped her finger on her chin. “I can leave, but I need to clean up my tonics first…” She wondered if she should head downstairs. Her nerves got the better of her, however, so she only moved closer to the top of the flight, just out of sight of the person on the landing below her.

[darkmageknoll]

This speaking between the stairs thing really wasn’t working very well. Though, honestly, Knoll couldn’t bring himself to move much further. Obviously, the woman upstairs didn’t want to be seen or she would have shown herself. He could certainly understand that.

“Yes, only visiting a place at night does tend to give people the wrong impression. Though I wonder how much noise you had to be making to make them assume there was a ghost about....” He was accused of the same thing from time to time, if only because his sleep schedule was such garbage.

“If you need assistance, I don’t mind helping. However, I don’t really wish to impose myself upon you...” He paused and shuffled his feet a bit. “Though, I should introduce myself beforehand. My name is Knoll, dark mage researcher of the empire of Grado.”

[darkmageknoll]

Not So Haunted - Open

[spiritforestdweller]

darkmageknoll‌:

Knoll frowned and moved further into the house when he heard the sound of someone (or something) moving around the upper floors of the building. Carefully, he took the stairs up to the second floor, pausing slightly when a strange fragrance drifted through the air.

“Hello?” He called out again, hoping maybe this time someone would answer. “I am not sure if you might be a spirit or some other being haunting this building, or even human but I must insist you show yourself….” He paused and thought about how rude that sounded for a moment, “if you please.”

He found himself climbing up more stairs that seemed to lead to an attic, where the smell was coming from. “I am not here to do anyone harm, I promise.”

The stranger did not sound as though they meant her harm, but that meant nothing to her. The closest exit from the home would require her to run past the staircase. Her only choice was to stay and…talk? Fight? Deirdre swallowed.

They moved ever closer to her, even voicing that their intents were not malevolent. Sweat dripped down her nose. She called down the stairs. “I am so sorry. I thought this place was abandoned and used it to store medicine. I… I can go now if you wish. Or, erm, I can clean up my things first. That way you don’t need to do so…”

[darkmageknoll]

Knoll paused at the end of the stairs and looked up. “It’s not a problem.” He called, staying right where he was. He had a feeling stepping closer might not work out very well. Though he couldn’t say why he had that feeling.

“You seem to be scaring some of the locals, that’s all. They have come to believe this place is haunted. Probably from hearing you move around.” He brushed a hand through his bangs. “I personally don’t care if you stay. I was just curious about whether the haunted allegations were correct.”

[jehannasands-blog]

darkmageknoll‌:

Knoll nodded and sighed. “I believe mistakes may be too light of a word for the things that happened, Your Majesty…” He could feel the guilt creeping up from his stomach into his throat but attempted to remain calm. Ismaire was being nothing but kind to him, after all.

He startled a bit when she mentioned a shaman spreading word to her about the Dark Stone. “I…Probably knew the shaman you speak of….Though I can’t say I would know of where they would be.” He heaved a sigh and gently rubbed his thumb against the hem of his robes.

While he was here, he would divulge the entire truth of the matter to Ismaire. Perhaps not now…But at some point during his visit, he was sure it would come up. “Thank you. I will inform you immediately if I find anything of interest…And I want to assure you that anything I do find…None of it will be put into practice. Ancient magics….I have found that they are best left in the books they have found themselves in and not practiced in the world anymore.”

It meant something to her that Knoll would be so brave as to stare his countries’ faults in the face and not shy away from them. Ismaire could appreciate a fair and honest man. She felt her guard lowering, her expression turning soft around the corners of her mouth as he continued speaking.

“He was an older man in the private company of Grado’s former prince. I imagine that is how he knew of its existence,” Ismaire mused, thinking back on the time as though she were somehow removed from it. It was the only way to keep the guilt from rising.

“I trust you shall,” Ismaire reassured, curious however of a latter detail. “Although, I do wonder… What point do you find to studying something you will never put to use?” While she could understand studying things like history, even that was for the sake of understanding the present. What was he hoping to find in something he would never put to practice?

[darkmageknoll]

“I...Believe I know who you are speaking of. I didn’t realize he had been able to leave before.....everything...” Knoll was impressed by the actions of one of his former colleagues. He only wish he had thought to do the same, though loyalty (and more) kept him at Lyon’s side right up until being imprisoned and nearly executed.

The mage pulled a small journal out of his robes and fiddled with the pages. “Knowledge for the sake of gaining knowledge, mostly. An understanding of past magics can help to develop new magics now. Even knowing the runes and circles they used back then can help to make something that could, even if not originally intended, help people....”

He shrugged slightly. “That aside, I really just enjoy studying spells and the like, regardless of whether or not I use it.”