But You've Found It
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2023 4:11 am
TIMESTAMP: 28th Earth's Rest, Ash 122
NOTES: Open me!
NOTES: Open me!
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Given how long elves can live and how much of that projected lifespan that Chrysanthos has been alive, he had a fairly large expanse of time to choose from when it came to such things and this particular exercise. However, he did have to consider the extent of Æros' ability to dig through and find echoes of that lengthy past of his. The sun-kissed elf had half a mind to show him something from when he was around the starborn's age, but, after some consideration, he realized that such a thing would probably be beyond the other man's current repertoire of skills. That, or the perception thereof would simply be flickers, little bits and pieces of the senses, too unclear to recreate in any meaningful way with Masquerade. A shame, that was. Chrysanthos was not a Masquerade mage himself and seeing those far gone days again interested him greatly, if he were to be honest with himself. Perhaps he would ask again when Æros' skills improved?
Introspection aside, the older elf finally settled on a memory and began the process of active recall. Compared to others, his memory was a bit sharper, though this was in large part due to magical preservation performed by both himself and others. Regardless, such preservation lessened the degree to which memories of his are affected with each recall and actually made this experiment easier with him as opposed to trying to do this with somebody else. Nevertheless, the memory he picked was some twenty five years in the past and had quite a bit of clarity; it was just buried beneath everything that had happened since.
When reaching into another man’s head to read his memories, one cannot ever truly know what to expect. What storied life has another lived? And would the images he’d see now be of any value or just…one small moment in a sea of many? As Æros opened his Sembler’s eye to peer into the other elf, he found himself once more bombarded by an overwhelming amount of information, everywhere, all at once. Sorting through everything and seeing clearly was what took the most effort on his end; it was all there before him, but could he perceive it well? As the innumerable layers of information shifted before his mind’s eye, pieces began to fall into place and he was able to focus and unfocus on what details were needed, what were important.
The memory was not what he expected, but then, what would have been? He felt the heat of the desert, saw the gleam of the sands in the sun’s bright light through the eyes of the other. The horizon distorted with the warmth of the sun’s relentless rays and…wind. Wind whipped through his hair as Æros realized he was on the back of a wyvern, soaring through the skies about the Luxium. He felt an odd sort of fondness for this memory though he could not figure out why. If he focused, he could just almost make out the emotions that encased this memory, yet only almost. He knew not the day’s significance. He couldn’t figure out why the other was in the sky that day. While he knew that it was possible for him to perceive this information it was just out of his reach, and with that, he realized that what he had now was as far as he could currently read– he’d have to work with this information to create his image.
The image was a striking one. Vibrant colors, layers of depth and loving detail, Æros wove æther to recreate that which he had seen, that which he had perceived. Upon completion, “...I saw what you wanted me to see, but…I couldn’t reach deep enough to figure out why you picked that. I couldn’t watch long enough to see the context or decipher the emotions you were feeling in that moment. I hope that’s not…that that isn’t too much of a disappointment to hear.” The Færie certainly sounded disappointed in himself, his voice carrying with it a notably apologetic tone.
At first, Chrysanthos looked confused, but then his expression very quickly shifted to something bright, and he laughed. “Oh, don’t sound so dejected! You did what I asked– the image you made is clearer than I expected, actually. As for…the rest? I’ve no doubt you’ll be able to look deeper in time. Patience is a valuable skill, dear Æros….but I know how you feel. I once held a very similar attitude.”
“That being said, I would like to repeat this just one more time if you’ve the stamina for it. Your reserves of æther are enough, it’s more just whether or not you feel like it.” While he presented this offer with a soft, friendly smile, his plan here was a bit of a trick, but on his end, Chrysanthos thought he was funny.
Curious, Æros canted his head. “Oh? How could I say no?” The star-touched Færie quite liked this new friend of his, odd as he was.
Chrysanthos giggled in a puerile manner, drawing fingertips to delicate lips. “I’ve the image in my head I want you to see. Whenever you’re ready, my friend,” and when he finished speaking, a broad smile was drawn across fox-like features.
The fact that there had been a bit of a shift in the other elf’s behavior indicated to Æros that whatever he was going to see was contextually different than the two memories he had been shown prior, but there was not point in wondering about it when he could simply utilize his newest Craft to see exactly what it was that this friend of his wanted to show him. So when he did push the æther through the mark to open up this sixth sense of his, he was immediately mortified. No, embarrassed? Caught off guard?
The deep blue of his face flushed to something purple, something magenta. His golden gaze shifted down to the side and his eyes fluttered, and then, he burst into a fit of laughter. Certainly, that wasn’t what he had expected. The memory that he’d just peeked at wasn’t one that was native to the mind of Chrysanthos, no. Rather, it was one of Æros’ own memories that the other was simply picturing within his own mind, seen and copied over with the sunborn’s own Semblance rune. The memory was not a poor one, no, it was one of many that the elven Færie cherished. It simply wasn’t something he’d ever have wanted to see played back to him in the mind of another.
What he had seen was a flash of images, of feelings, of sensations, of, well, everything he’d perceived on the night he had met Khyan, all sped up and played quickly as if to indicate that the entire memory could be scanned with immense clarity in a matter of seconds by the other man. Chrysanthos appeared to be delighted by the reaction directly resulting from his little joke. “Listen…I understand the lure; especially so with that Semblance trick of his. And while I showed you that partially because I wanted to have a laugh at your reaction, there was an actual point.” He giggled again, then continued. “You really ought to consciously try and conceal what’s in your head from others. Either through your growing prowess of Semblance or through acquisition of something Runeforged. I’ve looked at conversations you’ve had with your family, too, and especially with that…new career prospect of yours, I implore you. I can even point you towards a Runeforger that would be of proper skill for the job, if you’d like.” While he maintained the lilt of levity in his silken voice, Chrysanthos did drift into a tone rather serious the longer that he spoke. It might be a bit odd for him to care about the safety and endeavors of a stranger, but he felt it would almost be cruel of him to say nothing on the subject.
Still looking quite bashful, Æros managed to meet the other elf’s gaze. “I…you’re right.” The Færie swallows, thinking for a moment. “...and it’s not as if I can even be upset with you for looking. You process all of that information…so quickly. The thought of doing that myself makes my head spin. Plus…I’ve been known to be a bit nosy with Mesmer, myself. And it would be foolish pride on my part to decline your assistance on protecting myself, so, please. Give me the name of that Runeforger– I don’t know how long it’ll take to learn how to adequately protect myself on my own.”
The two ecliptic elves continued to talk for a little while longer. Prior to leaving, however, Chrysanthos did, indeed, pass on additional information on keeping all of those precious memories within Æros’ head safe.
Introspection aside, the older elf finally settled on a memory and began the process of active recall. Compared to others, his memory was a bit sharper, though this was in large part due to magical preservation performed by both himself and others. Regardless, such preservation lessened the degree to which memories of his are affected with each recall and actually made this experiment easier with him as opposed to trying to do this with somebody else. Nevertheless, the memory he picked was some twenty five years in the past and had quite a bit of clarity; it was just buried beneath everything that had happened since.
When reaching into another man’s head to read his memories, one cannot ever truly know what to expect. What storied life has another lived? And would the images he’d see now be of any value or just…one small moment in a sea of many? As Æros opened his Sembler’s eye to peer into the other elf, he found himself once more bombarded by an overwhelming amount of information, everywhere, all at once. Sorting through everything and seeing clearly was what took the most effort on his end; it was all there before him, but could he perceive it well? As the innumerable layers of information shifted before his mind’s eye, pieces began to fall into place and he was able to focus and unfocus on what details were needed, what were important.
The memory was not what he expected, but then, what would have been? He felt the heat of the desert, saw the gleam of the sands in the sun’s bright light through the eyes of the other. The horizon distorted with the warmth of the sun’s relentless rays and…wind. Wind whipped through his hair as Æros realized he was on the back of a wyvern, soaring through the skies about the Luxium. He felt an odd sort of fondness for this memory though he could not figure out why. If he focused, he could just almost make out the emotions that encased this memory, yet only almost. He knew not the day’s significance. He couldn’t figure out why the other was in the sky that day. While he knew that it was possible for him to perceive this information it was just out of his reach, and with that, he realized that what he had now was as far as he could currently read– he’d have to work with this information to create his image.
The image was a striking one. Vibrant colors, layers of depth and loving detail, Æros wove æther to recreate that which he had seen, that which he had perceived. Upon completion, “...I saw what you wanted me to see, but…I couldn’t reach deep enough to figure out why you picked that. I couldn’t watch long enough to see the context or decipher the emotions you were feeling in that moment. I hope that’s not…that that isn’t too much of a disappointment to hear.” The Færie certainly sounded disappointed in himself, his voice carrying with it a notably apologetic tone.
At first, Chrysanthos looked confused, but then his expression very quickly shifted to something bright, and he laughed. “Oh, don’t sound so dejected! You did what I asked– the image you made is clearer than I expected, actually. As for…the rest? I’ve no doubt you’ll be able to look deeper in time. Patience is a valuable skill, dear Æros….but I know how you feel. I once held a very similar attitude.”
“That being said, I would like to repeat this just one more time if you’ve the stamina for it. Your reserves of æther are enough, it’s more just whether or not you feel like it.” While he presented this offer with a soft, friendly smile, his plan here was a bit of a trick, but on his end, Chrysanthos thought he was funny.
Curious, Æros canted his head. “Oh? How could I say no?” The star-touched Færie quite liked this new friend of his, odd as he was.
Chrysanthos giggled in a puerile manner, drawing fingertips to delicate lips. “I’ve the image in my head I want you to see. Whenever you’re ready, my friend,” and when he finished speaking, a broad smile was drawn across fox-like features.
The fact that there had been a bit of a shift in the other elf’s behavior indicated to Æros that whatever he was going to see was contextually different than the two memories he had been shown prior, but there was not point in wondering about it when he could simply utilize his newest Craft to see exactly what it was that this friend of his wanted to show him. So when he did push the æther through the mark to open up this sixth sense of his, he was immediately mortified. No, embarrassed? Caught off guard?
The deep blue of his face flushed to something purple, something magenta. His golden gaze shifted down to the side and his eyes fluttered, and then, he burst into a fit of laughter. Certainly, that wasn’t what he had expected. The memory that he’d just peeked at wasn’t one that was native to the mind of Chrysanthos, no. Rather, it was one of Æros’ own memories that the other was simply picturing within his own mind, seen and copied over with the sunborn’s own Semblance rune. The memory was not a poor one, no, it was one of many that the elven Færie cherished. It simply wasn’t something he’d ever have wanted to see played back to him in the mind of another.
What he had seen was a flash of images, of feelings, of sensations, of, well, everything he’d perceived on the night he had met Khyan, all sped up and played quickly as if to indicate that the entire memory could be scanned with immense clarity in a matter of seconds by the other man. Chrysanthos appeared to be delighted by the reaction directly resulting from his little joke. “Listen…I understand the lure; especially so with that Semblance trick of his. And while I showed you that partially because I wanted to have a laugh at your reaction, there was an actual point.” He giggled again, then continued. “You really ought to consciously try and conceal what’s in your head from others. Either through your growing prowess of Semblance or through acquisition of something Runeforged. I’ve looked at conversations you’ve had with your family, too, and especially with that…new career prospect of yours, I implore you. I can even point you towards a Runeforger that would be of proper skill for the job, if you’d like.” While he maintained the lilt of levity in his silken voice, Chrysanthos did drift into a tone rather serious the longer that he spoke. It might be a bit odd for him to care about the safety and endeavors of a stranger, but he felt it would almost be cruel of him to say nothing on the subject.
Still looking quite bashful, Æros managed to meet the other elf’s gaze. “I…you’re right.” The Færie swallows, thinking for a moment. “...and it’s not as if I can even be upset with you for looking. You process all of that information…so quickly. The thought of doing that myself makes my head spin. Plus…I’ve been known to be a bit nosy with Mesmer, myself. And it would be foolish pride on my part to decline your assistance on protecting myself, so, please. Give me the name of that Runeforger– I don’t know how long it’ll take to learn how to adequately protect myself on my own.”
The two ecliptic elves continued to talk for a little while longer. Prior to leaving, however, Chrysanthos did, indeed, pass on additional information on keeping all of those precious memories within Æros’ head safe.
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