It's not my fault if I live and breathe; Eat, drink, sleep and put on clothes.

[heardmermaids]

Who: Sebastian LeMat, a collection of people from his cohort, and a few NPCs.
What: Podder gets a cake that a giant sat on?
Where: The Ankh
When: Givdi night.
Notes: Feel free to make your own threads, hop about, threadjack, etc.
Warnings: None. Yet.

As far as Sebastian is concerned, The Ankh is one of the better places to go in Baedal - accommodating staff, good food, nice ambiance, they're comfortable with Velcro and don't mind that he likes to sit at a table with clear lines of sight. While it's nothing he'll admit to, Sebastian knows that Christmas doesn't make him miss his friends and Britain quite as much as his birthday does. If pressed, he would likely say that the holidays are a celebration and a tradition, but his birthday has always been the sign of things to come, of the promise of a better year, and a reminder that change is always possible.

Comments

[wandandsickle]

"I suppose that's a little like if everyone was like my colleague Vivian—her family has largely been mages for generations, I believe. Genetic, then? Hence the schools for magic. We almost never have Awakened children, actually... I mean, I was pretty young as things go, at sixteen...

"And—yes, it's been that was as long as I've known magic, anyway; as long as anyone can remember, I guess, unless any of the Archmages are that old, I suppose. Everyone's used to it and knows how to work around it, but I think nearly everyone also sort of wishes we didn't have to operate in secret."

[byrightsinhell]

"We've had laws for secrecy ever since the mu- the people without magic started trying to burn us a few centuries ago. The popular conception was that it was best not to let them keep trying until they found something more effective." Cheery!

[wandandsickle]

"I suppose our worlds have a few things in common—I heard America had a series of witch-burnings a couple centuries ago—although I wouldn't be surprised if most of the ones who got burnt weren't mages." Her expression sours. "In fact, I'd suspect some of us were doing the burning. The number of mages who think that magic is a convenient way to keep others down is not insignificant, unfortunately. It's not the Sleepe—er, non-magical people we're hiding from."

[byrightsinhell]

"That isn't unfamiliar. Most of our conflicts tend to be internal as well." Arguably because English wizards did their damndest to pretend muggle society didn't exist, but even so. Though Lucius isn't so much of a hypocrite that he'll comment on "keeping others down," either.

"We call them muggles. People without magic."

[wandandsickle]

"We are all our own worst enemies," she says, with a half-smile. "Oh, we call them Sleepers—that was what I was about to say before—because they haven't Awakened yet, but they might someday, right. 'Muggles'—hah, it's a bit of a funny word, isn't it. I wonder where it comes from?"

[byrightsinhell]

"I'm not entirely certain," he says, almost surprised. "I suppose I never thought much about the etymology. There are squibs, now and then, too - people whose family can do magic, but they can't."

Which is one of the most wretched fates he could imagine, and it shows; some cultural mores fade less quickly than others.

[wandandsickle]

"Ah, I suppose that would be notable if your entire family could do magic, but you couldn't..." How do the genetics work, if it is genetics? It must at least have a genetic component. "I imagine that would be, well, lonely." And sometimes the reverse is true, too; she wishes, often, that magic was something that she could share with her family... but it's something that none of them would understand.

"Although at least then you know by adolescence or so if it's going to happen. We don't have many long-running families of mages, but there's a handful of Sleepwalkers born to them that are getting on in years and still holding out hope, since it can happen at any age as long as the circumstances are right."

[byrightsinhell]

"You're right, I do think that would almost be worse," he says, mildly horrified at the thought. At least squibs knew with certainty, and could choose to carve out a place in the world they were born to or leave - both bad choices, true, but you knew what you had to work with. But that sort of hope...

"So clearly, then, it's more than just knowing magic exists that causes an awakening then?"

[wandandsickle]

"Oh, certainly," she says. "There are a good deal of folk who know about magic who aren't awakened—friends, family, people who've had other contact with the supernatural, for instance—" She pauses to think for a moment. "The Awakening often requires, well... some kind of triggering event. It's different for everyone, of course, but for a lot of people, it's tied to some memorable event. The sort of thing that would change your life all on its own."

Don't ask about mine, don't ask about mine—

[byrightsinhell]

He's tempted, but thinks it's a bit personal for a first meeting. Instead, he says, "So the difference between mages and sleepers, in your world, is the way they react to that event in their own life?"

AND THEN I FELL OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH aaa sorry

[wandandsickle]

She blinks. "I never really thought of it that way, but that sounds about right. People who Awaken tend to be more, well... proactive in their responses, you could say, which would make sense for those who would attempt to reshape the universe."

No worries <3

[byrightsinhell]

"It's easy to forget, sometimes, that's what magic is." In his world, it's so taken for granted that now and then he forgets that it gives them the ability to remake the world - even if in small, rote ways more often than not.

(It's hard to forget, when he's experimenting.)

[wandandsickle]

"It really is! I suppose I largely think of it that way because I've always been somewhat preoccupied with changing the world in more mundane ways..." She looks a little bit wistful at that.