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I knew everything when I was young - Sohalia - 08-25-2025
Dark magic. What even qualifies as dark magic?
Soh padded along the edge of the sea, lost in thought. Her quest was nearing its completion, the end so close she could practically feel her mothman scale vest settling over her shoulders, and yet this last piece of the puzzle had her stumped. Despite knowing people with magic, the details of its use eluded her, and she wasn't sure where to go or who to ask for help.
So here she was, doing what she did best: mapping. She carried a journal with her and, every so often, would pause to make a denotation among its pages, drawing a small-scale map of the shoreline that would later help her piece together a larger one of Caido and its seas. So far, her efforts had focused on land, but with more and more people seeming to take to the water, it was time that her business did, too.
So she walked, and she mapped, and she thought - until, that is, she looked up to find a tall, familiar figure. Closing the distance between them, Soh made one final mark in her journal before tucking it into the satchel on her shoulder. Waving to Deimos, the Luminary approached with a friendly smile. [say]"Good afternoon,"[/say] she said as she came closer. [say]"I hope you have been well, Deimos."[/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Deimos - 08-26-2025
The ocean was a wide world on its own, and while he certainly wasn’t diving through it, he finally had the time and the opportunity to press his wake into its entity. Flying overhead, he’d gone for long stretches as an eagle along the coastline, unleasing and unfurling his sienna plumage across the horizon, blazing and forging his own path upon thermals and sea-salt air. Every so often he’d spot stray fins below, the promises of sharks or encantandos, but do nothing more than observe – figuring he could foster the information along his mind, without going too far out – saving it all for later.
Eventually he landed upon the precipice and edges, though he didn’t expect anyone else to be out here. He’d had a few moments of relative repose, shifting to stand along the rocky ledges and gaze out over the waves and currents (as serene as they had once been in Isilme; a birthright to anyone along the Moonlit Tides). The winds came rampaging upwards and he grinned, content with the arrangement of its Leafchange breeze; before he heard another’s footsteps.
He likely should’ve seen her from his vantage points above, but hadn’t wholly focused on the vestiges laden about the fringes of the world – more foolishness on his part – so when he turned, his brow was arched, not displaying his inward surprise. [say]“Sohalia,”[/say] he nodded his head in greeting. [say]“I have been.”[/say] Peace had eventually solidified across his shoulders and he’d understood the idea of repose more; no longer going out every day to fight a war. [say]“How are things for you? I heard Stormbreak was cleaned.”[/say] Presuming, of course, that the Luminary had sought to take back her throne.
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Sohalia - 08-27-2025
Soh returned the nod of greeting, pleased to find that Deimos had been well. She supposed it was something of a relief for him to be entering what promised to be an era of peace; he was among the strongest of them, even without being a demigod, and the burden for protecting Caido had been partially on his shoulders these past years. She hoped, in her own small way, that he was finding rest and respite now, with the Family banished and things returning to normal.
[say]"It is,"[/say] she said of Stormbreak, offering a small smile. [say]"I lost my companion in the battle against a Void dragon, but the region is free of infection now."[/say] It was a small consolation, but even though Tarak's loss still lingering in her chest with every heartbeat, it was growing easier to exist in a world in which he did not. [say]"We've been working on re-establishing the government. I'm certain we'll be able to share more soon."[/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Deimos - 08-28-2025
He didn’t expect the details of Sohalia’s companion, eyes widening for a moment as she gave over the admission – prices and burdens paid, but at a high cost. [say]“I am sorry for your loss.”[/say] The severing of a bond could be more than just traumatic; and though he’d heard of some, like Alys, aiming to gain their beloveds back, he didn’t offer it, figuring she was already aware. And it was a tricky subject – to ask if they were going to venture after what had been faltered in the process of regrowth and renewal.
Stormbreak re-establishing wasn’t a surprise, and probably a welcome change; it’d only be a matter of time before its subjects would file back through the stony layers and floating isle. [say]“Good to hear.”[/say] Especially since the latest destruction and menace had been void-enhanced; there was likely much to do. [say]“Let me know if you need any help.”[/say] They could always send over more laborers if the notions were necessary.
His eyes flickered downward though, head tilting, recalling her prior skills, well before she’d ever thought to become the Luminary. [say]“Were you mapping the area?” [/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Sohalia - 09-11-2025
[say]"Thank you,"[/say] Soh said softly, her gaze flicking out over the waves in a clear avoidance of delving too deeply into the topic. She had come a long way in her healing, it was true, but most days it felt like staring at the wound for too long would pick away at the scab that had just begun to scar over. Instead, she shifted to talk of Stormbreak, and the changes yet to come. Inclining her head in silent thanks to Deimos's offer of help, she contemplating sharing the news: that she was not going to lead Stormbreak, but would instead help from the sidelines. In the end, though, she left it alone. It might have been something that Zavien wished to share with the other leaders, after all, and she would not take that from him.
Then Deimos asked after her mapping, and Soh blinked with surprise that he had remembered her skills from long ago. [say]"I was,"[/say] she said, holding up the journal that she held in her hands. [say]"I haven't spent much time getting the shapes of the coastlines right, so... here I am."[/say] She paused, then added: [say]"It helps me think, sometimes. What about you?"[/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Deimos - 09-13-2025
Deimos knew many things about wounds; how deep lacerations marred and how sometimes scars only seemed like they’d been healed over. Grief was different for everyone – and never quite linear, parallel for instances before juxtapositioning into such a roughened hue that it was a wonder it didn’t continue in an endless cycle. But each day grew a little easier; if only because individuals didn’t always return to the same point in the healing process.
In the silence though, his eyes went away from her, granting and giving her privacy in the midst of his hushed existence and entity – as if he were nothing more than another adrift portion of the wind meandering along the sea breeze and coast. Statuesque and poised, waiting until the other was ready, his stare was steady, certain, one of those untamed expanses who’d gone through the masses of trauma and knew how to saunter beyond the lines scarcely drawn. She’d certainly seen enough through the war – and beforehand – and to now encompass it wholly without a creature bonded to her was a serrated, jagged edge.
Only when she answered his inquiry did he direct his attention back to her, brow arching, nodding at the sentiments. [say]“Somewhat the same. I had an opportunity to explore here,”[/say] rather than be off fighting another battle for the whole of Caido. [say]“And it would be nice to put my attention on curiosity and learning for now.”[/say] He gave her a small smile, a rough inclination of his shoulders in a shrug to tear away the rest of the sculpted formation.
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Sohalia - 09-14-2025
It was nice - if a bit strange - to be able to converse with someone like Deimos without some larger purpose at work. She had grown used to interacting with him as a leader, and that was before the arrival of the Family, when any such conversation would have been about how to defeat their incursion. Now, though, in this time of peace, it seemed that things simply were - with Soh able to get back to her mapping and Deimos able to explore as he willed.
So the young woman shared his smile, nodding in agreement. [say]"A worthy pursuit,"[/say] she said. [say]"I hope we can spend quite some time focused on such things."[/say] And not on the burdens of the past. Indeed, Soh wished to look to the future - a future that, hopefully, would include her finishing her quest and finding some semblance of inner peace along the way. [say]"Say - I know this is random, but you have magic, right?"[/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Deimos - 09-15-2025
Deimos could agree on that forefront – and hopefully he wouldn’t have to eternally wait for something else to fall or drop or collide with the earth. That mantra of no complacency still beat an accord against his chest; and while he certainly would keep himself, and his region, occupied with improvements in strength and perseverance, it would be a nice change to not have a heavy layer of trepidation surrounding, pervading, his senses wherever he tended to roam.
His brow arched at her inquiry though – because she knew he held incantations. It’d been a large piece of discussion when she’d initially led Stormbreak – breaking down the primordial barriers to permit Abandoned to pass through the city without coming to a quick end. And Deimos had always been amidst the fold of those proud to bear their enchantments, no shame for the magic beating and flickering through his blood – besides, it’d served them well for many years, protecting, shielding, and devising. [say]“Yes.”[/say] Figuring that wasn’t going to be the end all be all, his gaze swung back to hers. [say]“Was there something you needed?”[/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Sohalia - 09-26-2025
It was, perhaps, a ridiculous-sounding question, given that the Luminary knew all too well that Deimos did, in fact, possess magical abilities. She might not know exactly what they were, but that he had magic was no secret. So she blushed faintly at his stoic agreement, her gaze flicking down out of embarrassment. But then silver eyes flashed upward once more as the young woman steeled herself to ask, once more, for Deimos's help.
[say]"I have a quest from Frey,"[/say] she said. [say]"To make some armor. But I have to witness someone use Dark magic, so I guess... do you happen to have Dark magic?"[/say] It was, in Soh's mind, a simple enough request, and she looked hopefully to Deimos while simultaneously wondering if her task was indeed as easy as it seemed. Maybe Deimos wouldn't have Dark magic, or wouldn't want to help her, or perhaps it was taxing to use one's magic and -
But she was spiraling. She focused instead on the Sword and any response he might offer.
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Deimos - 09-27-2025
His head tilted, listening again, while the waves crashed below. Some of the motions of the prior inquiry made sense given the circumstances, and quite an easy portion of a quest, so his brow arched, nodding along, no amount of shame for the concoctions and enchantments strung through his blood. [say]“I do. Fire and Life Drain.”[/say] Both were fond favorites; maelstroms of potential and disaster, the former anointed with minatory precision, and the latter something he’d had embedded since he was very young, with its own bedlam embossed results.
Uncertain of what might throw her into more embarrassment or fear, he figured he would let her choose – deep voice rumbling again, intending to set some portions at ease. [say]“Do you have a preference for which you would like to see?”[/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Sohalia - 10-08-2025
Waves crashed, and a breeze plucked at Soh's hair. The call of seabirds overhead rang out, the gulls straining to fly against the wind and only ending up floating in place. Soh watched them idly, thinking, for a moment, that she could relate. Sometimes she felt like she was trying so hard to get somewhere, but then when she looked back to see how far she'd come, it turned out that she'd gotten nowhere at all.
Banishing the melancholy from her mind, she brightened at Deimos's offer of fire or life drain magic, and deliberated for only a moment before answering, [say]"Fire, please. If that's alright."[/say] After all, life drain seemed like something that could only be used for nefarious purposes, at least to Soh, and fire could be used for so much more than destruction. It could bring light or warmth. It could scour things clean. Yes, fire seemed like the safest option, and she waited eagerly for some display of the magic so that she could, perhaps, learn something to take back to Frey.
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Deimos - 10-09-2025
Unaware of the sudden melancholic edges, save for that brief conversation he’d had with Zavien after the latest festival, he simply took things at face value – given it was all he had to go on. Her silence didn’t wholly pervade and materialize into the enigmatic quandaries flickering through his mind, so he let it go, head tilting and brows furrowing slightly when she brightened, only waiting for whatever she needed to see.
Which, inevitably, would end up being fire – a wiser choice than the potential of him leeching and draining life from the surrounding area. With a singular nod, his gaze fixated just ahead, along the sky, where there was nothing soaring by or seething through, and he took a long, slow breath. Concentration and focus honed in on the incantations rampaging through his veins, and with a fierce, seditious splendor, the flames sprung to life yards upon yards away from them – neither dangerous nor consuming – but there just the same.
Wild, vicious, and untamed, save for the control and mastery he had over them, the inferno sparked and swelled, shaped into configurations and images at his behest: a dragon, with flaming wings, a whirlwind of ambitious tide jaguars, a flicker of boastful wyrms.
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Sohalia - 10-09-2025
No sooner had Soh decided upon fire than flames burst forth - not nearby, as the Luminary had expected, but some yards away. She blinked as the inferno swirled and morphed, shaping into a variety of images outlined in fire: a dragon, tide jaguars, wyrms. On and on and on it went, a kaleidoscope of oranges and yellows, all shaped seemingly by some whims of fate. But Soh knew better: Deimos controlled the flickering wall of flame, and the images shaped within.
It was strange, really, that Dark magic could prove to be so beautiful. She'd expected something angry, all-consuming; she'd braced herself for some twist that would prove that darkness and death walked hand in hand - and yet, in this moment, she didn't find that to be the case. Indeed, Deimos's flames were... inspiring. Maybe that was the lesson she'd been set: that even within darkness, there was somehow light. [say]"It's beautiful,"[/say] she murmured after a moment of silent watching. [say]"Thank you for showing me."[/say]
RE: I knew everything when I was young - Deimos - 10-11-2025
In all fairness, it depended on how those Dark magics were wielded – Deimos could alter the figments directly into something dangerous, hazardous, and devouring. For the present though, it scarcely mattered; transforming the embers and coals and sparks and inferno portions into gathered images, what would’ve promised heat, warmth, and predilection, rather than minatory. He might not have been able to counter Life Drain in the same regards – but those incantations were utilized for the very foundation of the pernicious aspects of his nature.
Her murmur caused his brow to arch, and he gave a light smile, a brief snort. [say]“You are welcome.”[/say] His eyes drifted towards the enchantments, and he folded them over themselves, so they ended up being waves of flame rather than cast displays. [say]“Have you seen enough?”[/say]