@necrosemancy replied to your post “[pm] Hey honey- you need coffee? I know we've been...”:
[pm] You're doing better than me, kid. I've been blacklisted from coffeeshops. They're scared I'm going to drink them out of all their coffee or something. [...] I [del: hope] think so! Bringing in Henri was definitely a good call. Better than just the two of us banging our heads against a wall. I've read enough articles on potato batteries to last a lifetime.
[PM] Oh, Rosemary, that's not good. Have you been getting any sleep? [...] I'll bring some of my tea later. It's not coffee, but maybe it being different will help? [...] Definitely glad you thought of him. Between the potato batteries and bioelectrogen...whatever- Just hope all that reading wasn't a waste. [... ...] A friend of mine died. I always assumed he was a human but I can't help but wonder if it has to do with everything that's happening. If we had started working on this sooner, he might still be
@necrosemancy replied to your post “[pm] hey have you heard from Metzli?”:
[pm] maybe... I don't like that they went from answering and being talkative to just total radio silence.
Yeah. I figured they were just busy playing along with the cult but [...] they said something about Eloy moving things forward? [...] Have you talked to Kabil? We should get things in motion. Fast.
TIMING: Current
PARTIES: Zack, Rosemary ( @necrosemancy ), and Henri ( @hollow--sun )
SUMMARY: Zack, Rosemary, and Henri hit the books in search for an answer to the question of Wicked's Rest's magical problems.
CONTENT WARNINGS: None!
When Lil had reached out with the concept of a sort of battery for the magic in Wicked’s Rest to replace whatever demon (sure, absolutely, why not?), Zack had immediately been on board. While the blackouts were more of a nuisance to him than anything else, he knew that it was far worse for shifters, and the undead, and fae. Not to mention spellcasters like Rosemary who actually used their magic. And Zack didn’t want to find out what might happen to the town should the magic degrade even further. There was no telling what parts of Wicked’s Rest depended on magic and how big and bad the consequences of losing parts might be.
It just lucked out that Zack had begun poking at the idea of the origins of magic on his own. A lesson with Rosemary had brought the question to his mind: What exactly was the ether, the astral plane, where magic apparently lived and existed. And if it was always there, what exactly was going on with Wicked’s Rest? Was the town more like a spellcaster, an entity that had the ability to reach out an access magic, than a source of magic itself?
The picture had come together more clearly in the history that he hadn’t been present for: the greater demon and its connection to Wicked’s Rest, to magic, to Netherville. Of course it was all connected, like a cycle. Like a body of water that rippled out and out. While what the exact magical source would end up being was anyone’s guess, they could at least get to work on the battery that would get its energy from said source. And Zack had a syllabus already in place.
Armed with a collection of books on magical theory and the intersection of magic and human technology from sections of the library he maybe wasn’t technically allowed in, his next stop was Rosemary. Settling at her kitchen table with two cups of tea and Zippo dozing nearby to discuss the finer points of magic had become a comfortable routine, lately. With this project, though, Zack was thrilled to be something closer to a colleague with his teacher. He wouldn’t say equal, not when Rosemary had a whole lifetime of magical knowledge behind her, and he was basically just starting out. But they were both working at a disadvantage to discover the possibility of a magical battery. It was a lot of collaborating, back and forth. Some late nights that Zack imagined might be like what cramming for an exam would be like, had he gone to college. In the end, there was only so much they could discover on their own.
There was the proof of concept that magic could in fact be combined with human technological components, that, with some tweaks, you could use magic as the fuel powering some sort of battery cell. And the beginnings of a sketchy list of components that would potentially help to siphon and channel the magic off whatever the eventual source would be. But it seemed they were up against an issue that hadn’t occurred before, which meant all attempts at remedies were untested. At least, Zack himself couldn’t locate any resources that provided any evidence to the contrary.
—
A battery wasn’t a bad idea. Rosemary had agreed to help almost instantly. There was too much at stake, with magic’s presence in the town slowly circling the drain. Every single person the witch cared for who resided in that little coastal town would be impacted by it’s loss. They’d be in danger- whether for their appearance, or for the control that would slip through their fingertips. People would get hurt… What was more- she found herself with a refrain of a thought that whispered at the back of her mind. She knew the spell to bring Owen back had worked. But what if, when magic vanished entirely from that little town, the tether that tied Owen’s life to her own vanished with it. She’d had more than enough loss in the last year. If building a battery could help prevent more, she was all for it.
Late nights spent scouring through materials with Zack became commonplace. The radio hummed in the background as the pair poured over pages of information, the noise a reminder of who she was doing this research for. Rosemary hadn’t always been fond of group projects. She’d always been the sort to tie back her hair and hunker down, content to do the work herself if she knew she’d get the work done correctly. But they couldn’t do this just the two of them. Her knowledge of magic only extended so far. Teaching Zack had refreshed her knowledge of the fundamentals, but there was so much that she didn’t understand. So much wisdom she’d let pass her by in the pursuit of something she’d been led to believe her entire life was somehow greater.
And the extent of her magical knowledge was truly only half the battle. Despite the fact that the magic she worked could be compared to the works of science fiction, she didn’t have the scientific know-how that Doctor Victor Frankenstein had as he’d toiled away with his creation. She had been taught by a caster who was infinitely more ritualistic, more intuitive. As such, her practices reflected those of her mentors. Everything had meaning. There were no calculations, no equations that she had to solve when she was casting. It was more artistic than that. And magic aside, she’d never been fond of science in school. Rosemary didn’t have the slightest idea as to how to build a battery.
“There needs to be more than just us building this thing.” She’d grumbled to her friend in a two AM haze, her laptop glowing with instructions on how to construct a battery out of a potato!, an article that, despite its simplicity, was completely lost on the witch. She was brewing them another pot of coffee as her mind drifted from the battery itself, to the people who might have the resources to help them, or at least, know how to find them. Rosemary had groaned loudly into her fourth cup of coffee as the answer occurred to her.
It didn’t much matter if the man hated her for the things she’d done, or for how her words and actions had hurt for someone Rosemary was fairly certain he cared a great deal for. Library Guy might be the answer to their problems, as far as further guidance went. She’d dragged herself into the library where Henri O’Dea worked, and humbled herself for the sake of knowledge. She’d brought coffee, hoping that at least the promise of caffeine to a graduate student would keep him from kicking her out of the library on sight. “We need help. If we can make this battery, and it works- Henri, think of all the people this saves. Think of all the good this does by keeping the town from spilling into fucking chaos.”
__
Once Rosemary had finished explaining that they had found a way, perhaps, to restore the magic in Wicked’s Rest, and prevent, perhaps, another one of these deadly blackouts, Henri had remained silent for a while, his eyes scanning through the notes he had taken, notes that would be essential to him, notes that would let Rosemary know that she had been heard, that he was listening and that he was taking every word that came out of her mouth with the seriousness it deserved.
He did not promise anything. He never promised anything. Especially not after what happened with Jenny.
But if there was something he had learned from that dreadful month of research, it was that it didn’t matter how much time he spent looking, if he was not looking in the right place. “Magic isn’t my specialty, but…” Henri looked her in the eyes then.
Like her, he had people he cared for, people who would either cause pain or be victims of the violence, if the blackouts didn’t come to an end. He thought of Eve, who had spent the last one posted on a rooftop with a sniper rifle, keeping people safe as best as she could. He thought of his parents. Of his sister. His cousins. He thought of Estella, who had spent the longest of hours sheltered behind closed doors, scared, helpless, waiting for everything to be over, not even aware of what she was being kept away from. He thought of Mickey, of hours that passed by, hours you lost count of, just like he must have lost count of the people passing through E.R. And he thought of Emilio and how he must have hurt in the wake of those blackouts.
“I will need your help, but I’ll do my part,” and he was already gathering his things as he told her so, putting away his laptop, the keyboard Eve had gotten him, which he found less and less confusing nowadays, and the few documents she had brought along with her. “I’ll reach out to you in a few days, once I’ve checked all my sources,” and though that was no promise, he assured her then that he would be looking, and that he would do so with the same relentlessness he awarded Jenny’s life.
The hunter took the coffee cup with him, and left the library in a hurry, dialing the number that had been given to him, a month and a half ago.
The Scribes picked up immediately. It made him wonder if they were watching, or how they worked, and though now was not the time for curiosity, Henri knew he wouldn’t always be able to pretend he wasn’t intrigued.
They met him the same day at his door, with two crates full of books and files and tapes. He never had given them his address. But that didn’t matter. Henri got to work, and then, as he had told Rosemary, wrote her an email, four pages long, with a collection of annotated pages attached to it. His heart pounded with high expectation as he pressed sent.
@necrosemancy replied to your post “[pm] so is our grad student battery cohort okay,...”:
[pm] Not anything he wants help with. I got the hot gossip straight from the cranky academia man's mouth. He might be more willing to talk to you. Pretty sure he's not a huge fan of me.
[PM] Oh. Well, if he doesn't want help with it, maybe we should just leave him alone? I like the guy fine but it's not like we're really friends He might feel like we're being pushy I mean. Maybe I can try talking to him. Do you wanna give me a hint on what's going on? Now, how could anyone not be a fan of you, Rosemary Kane?
cast your first five @s in a horror movie! who would play what role?
@fearhims3lf - I think Mateo would be the character who everyone thinks is just comic relief, but then he either ends up to be a double-agent, or has some kind of really important information to help defeat the beast.
@kellydays - Absolutely the hero, the leader of the group. Kelly would make sure everyone is taken care of, and that no one falls behind, and he's the one who comes up with the plan to get everyone out of the situation, alive.
@vengeancedemon - Emilio would be the character who has to do what others can't, or won't. If one of the baddies has to get killed, he'll take care of it. He would also know about some random spot that we all could hide and take cover.
@brassandrot - Instead of casting Ishan in the movie, I would want him scoring the whole thing! Choosing the perfect needle drops and composing original stuff too. I bet he could come up with something way more iconic than the Exorcist or Halloween themes.
@necrosemancy - What's the opposite of damsel-in-distress? Badass? Final Girl? Rosemary would be that, but she would also be the brains throughout the movie. If there were lore about the baddie to figure out, she'll be the one to figure it out. She'd also help Kelly with the plan, figuring out the details to his bigger picture.
[PM] WE'RE SO BACK! I thought I felt something but I wasn't totally sure. Things got a little [...] hectic around here but this is so great! So do you think it just all worked? Just like that, magic is back and good forever? I mean as long as that [...] worm thing stays down there and magically charged?
SETTING: the bizarre
TIMING: late september
PARTIES: @zackbanes + @necrosemancy
WARNINGS: none!
SUMMARY: zack & rosemary meet at the bizarre!
Zack had to tap into more than a few connections to find just where the Bizarre would be setting up shop (It would have been easier if Levi wasn’t apparently MIA. Not that Zack cared about that.), but eventually his work paid off. Walking through the archway sent a shiver up his spine, but he didn’t think it was fear exactly. More like excitement. Or…something being fulfilled. It felt like something inside him was swelling up to meet the crackling of energy that was crawling all over the Bizarre’s grounds.
Whatever he was feeling, there wasn’t a specific item or artefact that Zack was searching for. No, he was here for information, if he could swing it. Netherville still called to him. If there was anyone who had information about the sunken city (other than its denizens), they would be here. After all, Zack didn’t think he could just walk up to someone in Netherville and start asking them about the origin of the place. But that was more or less what the Bizarre was about.
Except he wasn’t getting anywhere. He was currently caught in a conversation with what he was fairly certain was a fae, trying desperately not to promise anything in exchange for information. Zack was a poor speaker at best, and having to double-check his every word was basically an exercise in torture. “Ah, no.” He held up his hands, backing away a step from the vendor. “No, I’m not looking to...trade anything for a Netherville soul. Than– I mean. I appreciate your offer. But no.”
—
One of the few parcels of information Alistair had given her before they’d left for Scotland was how to find the Bizarre. Rosemary really owed them a thank you text for how much she’d come to rely on it. She’d procured a glamour for Buttons (and then by extension Guillermo), as well as a protection spell for Owen, all within the myriad stalls of the Bizzare. She’d found that bringing some of her supply of storm water and grave dirt went a long way in trading with some casters who had a similar approach to magic as she did.
She wasn’t looking for anything in particular on that particular trip- a luck charm perhaps, to keep another one of her friends from harm’s way. Or else something to have on layaway for if she ever needed to add a little extra oomph to a spell. But nothing seemed right.
She was perusing the wares of a stall run by a rather tall woman who Rosemary gathered from the slightly too eager look in her eye when she’d asked the witch for her name was probably fae, when she heard the person at the next stall over talking about Netherville. Netherville. Now that wasn’t a very common topic of of conversation among the people selling their wares. And the man talking seemed about three seconds away from giving the fae merchant everything.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’m just going to steal my friend here.” Rosemary said to the vendor, looping her arm through the man’s and tugging him away. “Look, you have got to be more careful with your word choices here.”
—
Gratitude flooded Zack’s system as a blonde with more confidence than he could ever hope to have tugged him away from the vendor. He almost made the same cardinal mistake, almost rushed to tell her thank you before catching himself. “I know! I know. I just– I barely know what I’m saying in regular conversation and I don’t totally understand the rules about fae but–” He shot her a bright smile, hoping that would convey that he was grateful she rescued him from almost unintentionally entering a fae bond.
“I…want to introduce myself, but I know there are rules about that too.” There was the correct way to tell someone your name without inadvertently losing it to a fae. Zack knew that. He just wasn’t sure what exactly it was. “Um. I’m glad you were around though. Even if I didn’t promise or trade something I didn’t mean to, I was definitely ready to end that conversation.” He was pretty sure the vendor didn’t have any information on Netherville and was just trying to scam him. Unfortunately for Zack (and fortunately for most people he ran into), he was a fairly easy target.
Turning to the woman before him, Zack tried to study her. Not that he knew what he was looking for. So, proving that endlessly guileless nature, he straight out asked, “Are you a fae?” They had to tell the truth, right? Hopefully she wasn’t, at least, and he could let his guard down a little bit, when it came to thanking her and introducing himself.
—
Oh the poor sweet lamb. The man couldn’t have been more than a couple of years younger than her, but he seemed so far in over his head, she wondered how he’d gotten this far without losing his identity. Rosemary’s mouth tugged up at the corner in a lopsided smile. “Rule of thumb is to just express gratitude without saying the t word, promise nothing, and whatever your name is, it isn’t. Use a middle name or a pseudonym or something.”
“No problem.” The witch shrugged off his thanks. She blanched at his question, before letting out a delighted cackle and shaking her head. “No, sweetness, I’m not. I’m not fond enough of mind games to be one of the fae. The mental gymnastics I have to do to keep up around here and not lose my name or wind up in someone’s eternal servitude is astounding.” Rosemary held out a hand to shake. “For now, you can call me Rose.”
She peered over the stalls nearest to them, trying to see what about anything near them seemed to scream Netherville to the man. “So what are you shopping for?” She asked, pretending she hadn’t been eavesdropping moments earlier.
—
Relief flooded through Zack as she simplified the basic dos and don’ts for deal with fae. She had dumbed it down enough for even him to follow without messing up. “You’re the best,” he said, after a moment of contemplating a fill-in for thank you. “I haven’t had too many run-ins with fae, so I’m still…learning those specific ropes.” Being honest, Zack hoped he didn’t have too many more run-ins with fae. But it was likely inevitable, on his quest to Netherville.
“Uh. I don’t have a middle name.” He floundered, briefly, as he shook Rose’s hand. “You can call me Z…eke. Zeke.” That was close enough that he would respond, he hoped. Any “z” sound tended to draw his attention, as it was. Another bubble of gratitude filled Zack’s chest as Rose asked him what he was looking for. She clearly was more knowledge than he was. Maybe she could help him out – without trying to sell him a soul or anything.
“Information, mostly,” he answered with a wooly shrug. “Have you seen the whole place underground? I’m trying to learn more about it. What the deal is, down there, and all.” It was a comically vague description of his interest, but he wasn’t quite comfortable admitting that he wanted to know about the strange magical energy of Netherville. Not just yet, not to a stranger.
“What about you? Something specific you’re looking for?” Zack asked mostly to be polite: there was no way he could offer her any help.
—
The witch smiled. “Don’t mention it.” Everyone had to learn the ropes somehow. She would have felt bad watching the guy lose his name when he clearly knew the rules to the game. He was just having a hard time keeping them all straight in his head. “You’ll get a hang of it. Everyone has their moments, though. So just keep your wits about you and you should be okay.”
“Zeke.” She echoed. A sufficient placeholder for what Rosemary assumed was another z name. Zane? Zander? Time would tell. He shook her hand, and the two turned their attention back to the Bizzare that bustled around them.
“I haven’t explored it much, but I’ve been down to the brewery they opened up down there. It’s a fun spot, so long as you’re okay with being temporarily bespelled to have blue skin or act like a mime.” Rosemary shrugged. She was hesitant to mention Guillermo. She didn’t know what this man was after, and while he seemed relatively harmless, Rosemary knew better than most that looks could be incredibly deceiving.
“Anything useful, really.” The witch shrugged. “I figure it’s better to go to people who are adept at the things I’m not- for protection charms, luck charms. Depends on the day.” She explained.
—
“Keeping my wits about me is not exactly my strong suit,” Zack admitted with a good dose of chagrin. It was mostly just luck that had kept him out of the path of any fae beings when he was last in Wicked’s Rest. There’s no way he wouldn’t have lost his name or gotten horribly bound into some deal. Or something even worse.
“That’s me,” he lied as she repeated his name-for-the-day. At least she knew he was lying – that made him feel a little better about the situation. For tonight, they were just Rose and Zeke.
When she mentioned protection charms, Zack couldn’t hide the excitement on his face. “Oh, hey! I’ve been trying to do a proper protection charm for, like, months!” Going off just postings on pinterest hadn’t been any help, though. As he dove further into research, all he had found was that he really did have to head back to Wicked’s Rest if he wanted to learn anything further. And, apparently, he had been right. “So – Are you a spellcaster too? I only barely know that’s what I am, really.” A spellcaster who didn’t excel in protection or luck… Maybe she was more of an elemental, like himself? “It’s taken me… an embarrassingly long time just to get the basics under control.”
—
“Well, then, time to build the muscle up by exercising it.” Rosemary knew it didn’t come naturally. She’d almost thanked a fae more than a dozen times when she had been learning the rules. It was counterintuitive, the way the fae operated. Doing something polite could have a negative outcome. So the witch found it easier to be blunt in her negotiations.
Her brows raised slightly at the sudden inquisition. Great. She’d let on a bit too much. She offered Zeke a tiny smile. “Yeah, I am. Don’t be too hard on yourself, the basics take time. They’re fundamental, so don’t cut corners.” It was sound advice. Alistair would have been proud of her for passing it along.
Part of what he said looped back in her mind. “Wait, did you not know you were a spellcaster?” She asked. Most casters she knew of were from established families. She’d never known someone to simply uncover it one day, like some vast family secret. But it was bound to happen- families fell apart all the time, and new ones were born of the pieces.
—-
Zack nodded and resigned himself to just…trying to be smarter. Wasn’t that the story of his whole life? But still, Rose’s breakdown made it easier. No thank you, no promises, no real name. He could do that. At least until he was sure he wasn’t around any fae, that was. “Have you known about all this for awhile?” he asked, waving a hand around the Bizarre to indicate the “all this” of it. She must have, by how well she had it all down.
Fundamental. “Right. I think I’ve got those covered.” He hoped he had – at least when it came to the elemental stuff. “Maybe this is a stupid question, but how did you learn the basics? Or even, like, what the basics are?”
Right. Duh – Zack always forgot that most spellcasters had their whole family to support them and teach them all of this. That was likely the case with Rose. “Uh, no? It’s kind of a fucked up story, but basically I was adopted and when strange stuff started happening, my adoptive family just thought I was…possessed.” It sounded so terribly stupid, now that he knew that truth. “You know. Good Christians, or whatever. But then–” Probably best to leave out the part about burning down the family home. “I ended up here a few years ago. That’s when I first found out what I was and started really working on controlling it. I’ve just kind of been…learning what I can, where I can, since then.”
—
The witch nodded. “Parts of it, yeah.” She’d known about casters like her, of course, but she’d had knowledge of the undead for almost all her life. She supposed it just went with the territory. Her father had almost always had a few reanimated corpses roaming around the house. Why would he bother paying someone to do his grunt work when he could simply create something that would do the task efficiently, and say nothing of it. It was more economical, more practical for him. Why, in her fathers opinion, should he have power, if not to wield it? Rosemary refrained herself from curling her lip at the thought. She wondered where the line was, that separated her from being like that? She wished she knew, so she could cover it in warning tape. “I’ve learned more living here, though. The world's always a bigger place than you think it is.”
Rosemary’s face softened. Did he not have anyone showing him the ropes? Was Zeke just blindly experimenting with power he knew nothing about. “I mean… Did anyone tell you the laws of magic? You know them, right?” God she hoped he did. Otherwise the poor guy was liable to burn himself out before he even got started.
The witch’s face crumpled into a deep frown. “I’m so sorry- you are not possessed. And I’m glad you found your way here- if you’re going to figure out this side of yourself, there’s a wealth of information here, if you know where to look for it.” She didn’t know if she ought to warn him about the weird, tenuous state of magic in town. She didn’t want to frighten him… in due time, perhaps.
—
“That’s good to know.” It bolstered Zack’s hope, at least, that Wicked’s Rest would once again provide him with some more answers. He hadn’t had the right frame of reference, or even basic understanding, to learn more when he was first in Maine. Now knowing what he did, and understanding himself as he did, he could build and grow his abilities.
Zack blinked a blank look back at Rose. “Like, do you mean real laws or just like. First, do no harm or something?” Magic had laws? Maybe that was why he couldn’t even get a flicker of a protection spell to work. Maybe he was just trying something illegal. Wait, did that mean that there were magic police? No. Surely Rose meant laws of magic as in, like, the laws of physics. Zack hoped, at least.
That half-confused, half-terrified look washed off his face so he could flash her a reassuring grin. “Hey, thank you. I do know that. Now, at least. That kinda thing will definitely fuck you up, being a teen and hearing it but. I didn’t take it with me.” That wasn’t entirely true, but he could say that he had gotten rid of it somewhere along the way. “That’s basically why I came back here. When I first ended up in Wicked’s Rest, a couple years ago, that’s when I first learned that I was a spellcaster, and that spellcasting was even a thing.” Levi’s bright grin flickered across Zack’s memory. “But then I kind of had to…leave. But I’m ready to really learn more and be able to do more with it.”
—
“Well… Yeah, kind of.” Rosemary nodded. “Not like ‘someone’s going to arrest you’ laws. More like the laws of physics kind of laws. Just the way that something works. Like the law of equal exchange, and whatnot.” She was a bit (not a bit, a lot) concerned that he had to ask. Maybe he was flying blind. He was learning how to be a spellcaster with no one to guide him. And Rosemary wasn’t a teacher (especially not for anyone who wasn’t ready to devote themselves to studying dangerous, complicated, and dark magic), so she couldn’t even begin to articulate the intricacies that he needed to know to keep himself, and the people around him while he was casting, safe.
“I can only imagine.” She may have never been called possessed, but the witch knew how much words could sting. Especially in those formative years where she’d thought she could be so much more, so much greater. She could just be. Except she couldn’t back then. Not when she was trying to be everything she thought someone else had wanted. Not when that thing would never have been acceptable, or good enough. “You’re definitely in the right town to learn more. I’m not much of a teacher, but I know how to point you in the right direction.” Rosemary said.
—
Zack nodded as Rose confirmed what he had first thought. Like laws of physics, right. That made more sense and also could still explain why he was having such shitty luck trying to expand his abilities. There were rules he needed to know to do other kinds of magic. “Okay. Got it. I will definitely…make learning those things a priority.” He hadn’t even known there were basics to start with before, but now that he did, he would definitely invest in learning those first.
Maybe it would even help to brush up on the actual laws of physics, considering Zack drew a complete blank when Rose mentioned the law of equal exchange. Was that the whole equal and opposite reaction thing? He vaguely remembered something about inertia, too… What a bummer, to have to go back to high school science, just to learn his spellcasting abilities…
His shoulders eased and a smile touched his face. Rose thought he was in the right place. Even if Emilio thought something was weird with the magic. And hey, he couldn’t begrudge Rose not wanting to teach him. He wouldn’t want to teach someone like him either. “Well, hey,” Zack opened his arms a little, grinning. “Feel free to point. I’m…pretty lost in all this and basically a blank slate.”
—
The witch found herself in an internal debate. She was not a teacher. She should not be responsible for anyone’s magical education. Not when she really had not just completed her own. But it was the basics Zeke needed. Even she had had to learn the foundational bits of magic in order to pursue the far more advanced magic of necromancy. Rosemary sighed internally. “I mean, in the meantime, I can try and help you with the basics.” It was better that then leave him to his own devices and have him accidentally injure himself or someone else.
“Do you know where your affinities seem to lie as far as what kind of magic? She asked. If she had some small inkling of where his talent’s lied, then maybe she could ask around the Bizzare to see if there was anyone who might be more capable of teaching him than she was.
—
A smile immediately hit Zack’s face at Rose’s offer. “Oh man, that would be awesome. I promise I won’t get clingy or anything. You’re not my Mr. Miyagi; I get it. But some help with the basics really would be amazing.” No wonder the pinterest witches had been useless. There were whole laws.
“Oh, yeah!” Zack was excited to actually have something he did know. “Fire. Almost everything I can do right now is related to fire and heat and stuff. Here, watch.” He cupped one hand to his front shirt pocket, where Zippo was happily curled up, and extended the other between them. An inhale for four counts, an exhale for eight, and then Zack visualized, careful and contained. He snapped his fingers and, in the friction of his thumb against his finger, there was a spark and a small flame. He released it with another, quicker inhale but couldn’t keep the proud smile off his face.
“I can do more stuff, and some bigger stuff too, but. You know.” He gestured around. Doing magic might not be all that strange in the middle of the Bizarre, but Zack didn’t want to draw any attention to them. “But, what about you? What’re your–” What was the word she had used? “– affinities?”
—
Rosemary almost felt a little embarrassed that she couldn’t help more. Guilt pricked at her that she couldn’t do what Alistair had done for her- not to the same extent, at least. She couldn’t teach him the intricacies of protection, or conjugation, or glamour, or enchantment- none of that fell under the jurisdiction of necromancy, so she hadn’t paid it much mind in her studies. She’d learned what was necessary and relevant, and then she’d moved on to more challenging things. But now, faced with the opportunity to mold a new caster into being, she was utterly useless.
The witch was just a tad nervous about a relatively untested caster showing off his newfound fire based abilities. She kept her fingers crossed that she’d leave the encounter unscathed, with her eyebrows un-singed. She managed not to wince as Zeke snapped his fingers together, causing flames to dance at his fingertips for a moment. She nodded her head, genuinely impressed by the magic that was something different than what she’d grown used to. “Very good. Once you know the rules and the basics, you’ll be a pro in no time.” Rosemary sounded confident, despite the fact that she had no fucking clue what she was talking about. What did she know about teaching? There was a reason she hadn’t gone into academia. “My magic is less of a natural inclination, and more like picking a major in college.” She explained, her voice dropping just so the vendors at the booths she frequented didn’t overhear her and blacklist her from purchasing anything. “I practice necromancy. Are you familiar with that term?”
—
Zack knew the woman was most likely just being nice, but he couldn’t help the warm glow that sunk around his chest at her praise. “Hey, I appreciate that.” And if it were even the slightest bit true… It was nice to know there was something within his power that he could do to better his abilities. He had never been the best student, that was true, but he could apply himself in this case, he was sure. Rather than just relying on the somewhat chaotic world of magic itself and hoping that he could get his arms around this entirely intangible concept. Studying and learning laws seemed a lot easier than all that.
Less of a natural inclination? Did that mean she hadn’t had magic exploding out of her at puberty, like Zack had? Was magic not something that seemed destined to steamroll over her? He wasn’t exactly jealous of her but… It did sound easier. When Rose offered her own specialty, Zack recognized the word but only vaguely. It seemed like a word that he knew he should have known the meaning of, but didn’t. “Ah. Not really? Sorry.” Hopefully she wouldn’t be offended by his inexperience.
—
“No problem.” Good. He’d remembered not to throw around thank you’s in a place where they could be easily used against him. Zeke would catch on fast. Rosemary had faith. And besides, she was only responsible for making sure he knew the basic workings of spellcasting. How hard could it possibly be?
She let out a tiny sigh, masking her relief as trying to find a way to explain a complex situation. He had no baseline for what was taboo with magic. She was his introduction. Of all the people he could have found… “Well, it’s a tool in the way that a knife is a tool. It has practical uses- can be used to do good or harm. But it’s dangerous in the wrong hands. I can heal with it, but it isn’t easy, and it can backfire if you don’t know what you’re doing. And it takes a lot of practice and studying. It’s… I’m going to call it, like, the PhD of magical studies.”
—
Necromancy, as Rose described it, did not sound like something Zack wanted any part in. He had enough danger with his own fire abilities, thanks very much. He would like the opportunity to heal, but not with a high probability of backfiring (things always seemed to back fire, with Zack.) “Oh, man, that sounds like a whole heavy lift that would be way over my head.” For all that his own magic had its difficulties and problems, it at least wasn’t very complex. There was fire and there was heat and that was it. “I’m not really a great…student, traditionally speaking.” He was already nervous about the laws of magic he apparently had to learn.
“But it sounds cool!” he rushed to add, not wanting his new friend to think he was disparaging her spellcasting path. “Really interesting, just too complex for me.” He knocked on his head, grinning, as if to indicate it was hollow. “I didn’t even really realize there were, you know. Different kinds of magic until recently. Or that somebody could do different kinds.” In theory, at least, even if he had yet to master anything other than flames. “You must have been practicing and studying for a long time.” Rose had said she’d known about “parts of” magic for a while, so she definitely had a leg up on Zack.
—
Thankfully, it didn’t sound like Rosemary was going to be teaching any necromancy. Her point of reference had gone and left the country, and she was hardly in the position to be anyone’s teacher. “You’ll be okay. We’ll start you off nice and easy- baby steps. Nothing practical until you understand the theoretical.” She promised. “We’ll have you at least with a bachelors in whatever magic you specialize in in no time.”
The witch laughed. “Sweetness, you have no idea. I could have studied something else and had it mastered a decade ago.” Rosemary crossed her arms, looking down the row of merchants in the Bizzare. “Tell you what- I have to buy a few things, but after that, let me buy you a coffee, and give you a light briefing on what the basics are. Consider it syllabus day for your magical education.”
—
Even something as simple as the ‘you’ll be okay’ from Rose was encouraging. And with someone like her, someone who really understood magic in a more intimate manner than Zack could even imagine, he thought he really might be okay. He would be careful not to bother her too much, but even the knowledge she’d already given him was a huge help. He felt a renewed passion toward learning magic, a sense that he really would be able to this time. “Baby steps sounds perfect for me.” A Bachelors in Fire Magic – it made him laugh. That would be the first degree he ever earned.
The excitement, and gratitude, was plain over Zack’s face. “That would be amazing! I came here just looking for information, which I found, from you, so no rush but I’m ready whenever you are.” He didn’t mind wandering around the area as Rose got whatever she needed. If nothing else, he was getting inspiration for some weird art. “Make it tea instead of coffee and I’m there.” He caught himself just before saying it’s a deal, as that seemed to fall into the ‘dangerous to say in case of fae’ category. He could learn, after all.
