futurology | audio; un: eliasainsworth

Entry tags:

audio; un: eliasainsworth

Good evening.

[Though the subject matter behind his reasoning for addressing the networks was far different now than the first time he had the previous month, his even, dispassionate tone of voice is exactly the same.]

I've come to realize that the time in which we will be returning back to Oska is very close to—if not exactly on—the winter solstice. [He's used to a duo of sing-songy fae stopping by his house and giving him forewarning. He actually had to use a calendar this time.] Though I doubt all worlds follow the same laws and traditions, it is a day of great importance in my own. There are several rituals I am... curious if anyone would wish to help me carry out, to give us auspicious passage through the winter months.

As I don't think the old gods of winter have any particular sway over these distant realms, I am fairly confident nothing will be dangerous.

Please let me know if you might be interested, or if you might have any questions.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's some crazy perception– [ Dipper wouldn't have even noticed. ] –but hey, I'll take it. I've only ever really done Christmas, buuut... what kinda rituals are we talking here?

There are certain things beyond the ken of most humans.

[A supernatural kind of sense, though it was that and several other things which had given him an idea of the time...]

I believe some who celebrate Christmas borrow some of them. One decorates their rooms and sometimes even selves with wards and charms made of certain plants. And then there's the burning of the yule log...

[IT'S REALLY NOT AS COMPLEX AS HE MIGHT'VE LED PEOPLE TO BELIEVE...]

Ohhh, so typical holiday stuff, huh? And here I thought you were getting ready to do some weird otherworldly thing.

Even what one might perceive as "typical" often has otherworldly trappings.

In my own world, not carrying out these traditions might have brought about the disdain of some very powerful ethereal creatures.

Like angry winter gods? You look like a scary guy yourself– [ That creepy skull head can't be just for show. ] –who wouldn't bother if it were anything less.

They are not necessarily angry. The cold of winter lacks the tempestuous fury of a summer storm. They are... perhaps "judgmental" is a better term.

[Sometimes he thinks using a human glamour would be better, to avoid multiple misconceptions, but having to both maintain the spell and feign human emotive expression would be exhausting. Oh, well.]

Regardless of my own appearance, I have realistic expectations of my own power, and it certainly does not rival that of very ancient gods.

Angry gods, judgmental gods—almost same thing, right?

[ Granted, his only experience with gods was back at Nalawi... but how different could this be, right. ]

Uh, not that I would want to get on their bad side, either way. It's definitely way easier to just decorate a room.

Gods and fae do not conform to the same sort of emotional standards as humans. So... you could be right. Or you could be very wrong.

[And yes, they could be just as cryptic as Elias. Depended on the god or magical creature.]

I agree. It's best to err on the side of caution, particularly when the practice isn't all that complicated.

[ Yeah, who knows. For all the mystical things Dipper has ran into for himself, his experiences aren't nearly as extensive as he'd like. This guy, on the other hand... ]

... Hey, do you deal with the supernatural a lot? Then again, you look like you could be a magical being yourself.

One who might assume this would be correct.

[He might not know what exactly he was, but he did know that he had natural magic, which made him a mage—and therefore supernatural, in a way, with magic being a mark of the fae.]

If by supernatural you mean not of the mortal realm, then yes. Why do you ask?

Uh—curiosity?

[ Which isn't a lie; he'd be nothing if not curious. ]

You could say I'm an enthusiast of the supernatural. I've seen some fae before, but you sound like you have a lot of experience with them. Among other things, too.

Oh, well, if that's the case.

[The words are inflected with some positivity. Elias looks kindly on curiosity, as he finds stagnation in forward thought to be perhaps one of the most depressing things.]

Indeed. I've been at least partially involved in dealings with all sorts of... what you would call "supernatural" creatures. All manner of fae, and also dragons and a few brief encounters with gods.

—Dragons? Aw, man, lucky! I've never seen any dragons back home– [ Well, in Gravity Falls. ] –so I don't know if any of those are around. I bet they're the coolest, huh?

[ He could give or take gods after Nalawi, however. ]

[Elias isn't quite as knowledgeable about them... Looking after them had always been Lindel's thing.

But it's hard to turn down youthful curiosity and fervor.] They are certainly not what humans typically think of them. They are just as thoughtful, if not perhaps a little more wise, with as long as they live. [Elias nods.] My apprentice actually had her staff made from the bough of a dragon...

[He seems to have just added it on, though there's probably some explaining he needs to do there.]

Heh, I found out pretty quick that a lot of stuff doesn't quite go along with how people typically think of them. I hope I can meet one for myself one day.

Humans tend to extrapolate wildly from the few glimpses of the unnatural that they manage to get. That any of it at all resembles the truth is a miracle in and of itself.

[Dragons in his own world had nearly been hunted to extinction, seen as both a danger and a threatening rival to livestock and game in centuries past. They had retreated to an island in Iceland, and Elias' friend Lindel kept watch over them. Though the two mages' friendship had ups and downs, he believes they were in capable hands.]

It is possible you might meet one here. Someone told me that there was a mission some time ago which involved protecting dragons from harm.

[Elias had actually run a scenario on it in the simulator in Oska once.]

Oh, right, I remember being told about that too... That was before I was in ALASTAIR, though. Uh—not that it ended too great, from what I heard.

That is... unfortunate.

[He imagines if he had heard similar news about Lindel and the colony he watched after. There's an odd sort of twinge in his chest—strange, especially since he hasn't been in close contact with the other mage for a long time.]

You said that you had some experience with the "supernatural" in your own world?

[They haven't met in person so he can't tell if the boy has any kind of magical aptitude or not...]

[ He has only brief stories about that particular mission, but Dipper is happy enough not to dwell on it; given how the rest of their missions seem to be going, hopefully those sorts of outcomes aren't terribly common.

Moving swiftly on, he perks up again. ]

—Yeah! My sister and I went to stay with our uncle out in some middle-of-nowhere town out in the woods, and it turns out there's all sorts of crazy stuff there! Like, only after a week, a bunch of gnomes were already trying to kidnap her.

[ WHICH WASN'T GREAT AT THE TIME but at least these days they can thankfully say they're just kind of a nuisance sometimes. ]

[He has only the few mentions of it and his memories of the simulation. It is disappointing one of the few missions that they had been called upon to protect something, they had failed. He still views their most recent mission as a failure in the respect of the planet they had visited, despite how the Timeline had ended up.

Elias nods, as if them finding all sorts of strange things in the woods wasn't all that odd to him.] Magical creatures tend to dwell well away from larger clusters of human civilization. And... unfortunately, things like kidnappings aren't... too uncommon.

[Particularly if the children had any kind of magical inclination. The fae saw humans with arcane gifts as beloved, and would often seek to bring them into their own world to keep them—they had tried to abduct Chise in a similar manner nearly immediately upon him bringing her home.]

I take it they were unsuccessful?

[ So he's learned. ]

Thankfully? Very. She doesn't deserve to be stuck as a gnome queen for the rest of her life. [ Shudder. ] We chased 'em off pretty good.

[Having the eye of magical beings was a blessing and a curse.]

I'm sure she doesn't. [In Elias' knowledge, some humans were successfully carried off to the fae plane of existence; growing up there would instill them with fae characteristics, eventually robbing them of their humanity. That... was what he feared for Chise staying there too long, even if it would absolve her of the early expiration that her status as a sleigh beggy would ensure her.

No, no. He would find his own solution to that. He was sure.]

Very resourceful. Many and more children are usually tricked, as the fae have had... a very long time to discover the proper ways to successfully deceive. ...Well, I'm not sure about gnomes, though.

[They weren't the cleverest.]

They're not very smart.

[ You know, just to echo those thoughts aloud. ]

At least the fairies tended to leave us alone—you're lucky to spot any of them close to town. Usually it's the occasional monster you'd have to worry about.

Mm? What sorts of monsters?

[It was a term humans attributed to magical beings they did not understand and were fearful of. Elias had been called one quite often in his hundreds of years.]

Like... like the gremloblin. And actual goblins. Oh, the Summerween Tricker, too, and zombies, and a shapeshifter, and—uh, some giant... head thing in a lake? I have no idea what that's called, but it did try to eat our boat.

audio; un: eliasainsworth

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)