hadriel_logs | [CLOSED]

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Who: Ignis & Carlisle
What: A chance meeting~
Where: Spire two!
When: Feb 8th-ish
Warnings: None yet~

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[It's early morning, though just how early is hard to entirely ascertain with the peculiar cycles of dark and light on this planet. Ignis kisses Kate goodbye at her door, lingers there for several minutes more, then finally tears himself away to take the many staircases down to the ground level.

As he goes, he hums softly to himself, idly straightening his jacket and shirt along the way. He passes each floor mostly unhindered, until he passes the fourth, where he meets someone who is familiar only in face and name, yet entirely a stranger otherwise.]

Carlisle.

[He greets him - it would be rude not to. It wouldn't be the first time that they had passed one another in such a manner. First impressions had not been stellar, to be sure, but there was certainly no precedent for rudeness.

And besides, he had no wish to make any enemies of any of Kate's friends, even if she would vehemently deny her fondness for them.]

I trust you're well.

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It was a sacrifice he made to protect the crown city.

[Regis had sacrificed much to protect Insomnia, as the last bastion of a Lucis free of the Niflheim Empire. Some might have said too much, but Ignis had always understood as much as one not directly performing the act could.

Ignis falls silent for a moment, a small frown knitted between his eyebrows, then seems to dismiss whatever was troubling him with a small shake of his head.]

... Thank you for helping him, Carlisle.

[Though he has his eyes off Ignis as they descend the spire, Carlisle hears that quiet shift in the other man's voice. He recalls what the old king told him -- of his sacrifice, of his death, and of those he left behind, his son included. His own voice softens, but remains impassive.]

It was my honor and duty in the service of the Clarity to help him. Think nothing of it.

[Ignis wonders just how many similarities he might be able to draw between himself and this man, should they continue to converse. 'Honour and duty' sounds so much like something that could easily come out of his own mouth that it almost gives him pause.]

I have spent my entire life in service to the royal family. [He replies, not quite so impassive, but certainly with a hint of pride.] It would be difficult for me to think nothing of choosing to ease King Regis' pain, when you had no obligation to do so.

[What lingering poor impression he might have had of Carlisle is being quite handily wiped clear, just as he hoped it would be by managing to talk to the man outside of an active combat situation.]

I'm glad he could pass his time here in relative comfort. He... deserved that.

[~~He'll ruin that impression again eventually, Ignis. Just give him time.~~

Though a hair surprised Ignis is some sort of a servant -- he would be familiar with the king then, now wouldn't he? -- Carlisle says nothing of it for the moment.]

He struck me as a man with many regrets.

[Said as someone who can empathize, even if he'd rather not.]

We all have our regrets, don't we.

[Spoken softly, as if he didn't intend to say it out loud. Ignis would never seek to compare his life to that of Regis - he wouldn't do the man the disrespect of that - but even at so young an age he keenly understands regret.

Quickly, he shakes it off, bringing himself swiftly out of his own thoughts and back to the conversation at hand.]

I think he was, though he would need to be hard-pressed to admit it. He was a wise and just king, but the pressures of duty took much from him.

[More than his life, but his relationship with his son. Something far more precious to Regis, though Noctis had not realised it until it was too late.]

Did he tell you that he was only fifty years old?

He told me the magic had aged him. I could tell that much from my examination.

[He feels some of that himself, the initial signs of fatigue showing as they reach the bottom of the spiral. Carlisle steps aside so that Ignis can pass him, using the moment to cycle a breath through his lungs. His own curse might not age him outwardly, but it has undoubtedly taken a toll on his health throughout the years, even more so during his stay in Hadriel. The machinations of the gods have not been kind.]

[He takes the opportunity to step neatly around the man as they leave the spire. A soft breath is taken himself, too, though for an entirely different reason. Ignis finds he thinks of home little, in an active sense, and yet it's always on his mind in the background of his thoughts, like a soft hum of white noise over everything else.]

It did, and more pressingly so as the years passed. [As the offences and assaults from the Empire grew more frequent.] Magic takes its toll on all who make use of it.

[Within moments of stepping outside, he can feel the heat pressing down on him. The city moves, and he wonders how long they will remain here.

A quick glance catches those small signs of weariness in his companion, and he holds the door open to let him pass through after him.]

Are you alright?

[Carlisle's eyes flick to Ignis, and he offers the man a placating smile.]

I'm fine, thank you. Stairs, aheh.

[Not that that's much of an explanation, but he doesn't offer anything else as he steps outside. Despite the generally oppressive heat, he's dressed in his full layers: undershirt, jacket, tabard, full-length gloves (well, one glove, and one glove where the forearm portion has been replaced with a bandage), pants, leather boots. Despite his daily walks to his garden, the suns don't seem to have colored his skin even the slightest. A keen observer might realize there is likely more at play than his simply being cold-natured or an inside-person.]

You said you were permitted to use the king's magic. Does its use wear upon you? Or have you no access to such abilities in this place?

[Given time, the small observations that Ignis is already making about Carlisle's behaviours and habits will begin to coalesce into theories, but for now, he makes no outward signs of any assumptions. There are many reasons one might choose to dress like that even in this kind of heat, and if Ignis could stand it, he certainly wouldn't be as lightly dressed as he is.

It had taken some time to get used to wearing white shirts, after spending so long in black, but you'd still never catch him dead in shorts.]

I am a part of the Crownsguard - the royal guard of Lucis - and also personal advisor to King Regis' son, Noctis. The Kingsglaive - elite soldiers - have access to the king's power through their fealty to him, and my own, more limited abilities stem from my oath to the prince. [It's a rush of information, but an important distinction to make.]

Until recently I had, as you say, no access to that magic. But Noctis recently arrived here, and that has changed. [There's an undeniable warmth in his voice as he says Noctis' name.] Regis' aging was caused by maintaining the protective Wall around the crown city. I have no such burden upon me.

[Carlisle listens, his pace toward his garden moderate despite the heat. Noctis, right. The son Regis regretted leaving behind; the one who would inevitably bear the burden of his own lineage. That's a weight Carlisle knows too well.]

I see. Magic is passed only through the blood of royalty, then? And this, ah. Oracle person? What about those who are not the heir to the throne?

If they happen to be part of the Kingsglaive, they will be granted use of magic through their oath.

[Ignis keeps pace without complaint. It isn't too difficult, when conditions far more adversarial have been traversed through with a much quicker step before now.]

The magic used by Lucis' royal line, and the Oracle, are rooted in blessings from the Astrals. Our Gods. These blessings date back to the time of the first kings of Lucis.

Ah. Your king mentioned that.

[Or something along those lines. He idly wonders what would happen if one were to marry out of the royal family, perhaps into one from another kingdom. Or what if they were disowned? Would they simply lose their magic? What a strange world.]

Do you like magic, Ignis? Or did you find it to be a detriment to be without it?

I find it has its uses, and my life would certainly not have been what it was were it not for the protection it offered to Insomnia.

[But he frowns, just slightly, giving the smallest shake of his head.] But... I have seen the cost of it. What it did to King Regis, and-- [A sigh.] What it will do, to Noctis, and to me.

[It seems like an easy question to answer. Is life easier with access to magic, however small that access might be? Yes, or no, but the answer just isn't that simple.]

My ability to use it is limited to enchanted weaponry. Personally, I have managed well enough without it. Overall... I have often wondered if it causes more problems than it can solve.

[Enchantments, like Kate. Hm.]

How so? Aside from the cost it drains from the users of your world, obviously.

[As if that wasn't enough. Forgive him, Ignis -- his world has a plethora of magic, and he can't imagine his own life without it.]

[As if that wasn't enough, indeed. Ignis is used to magic being held by only two or three people in the world, and has seen first-hand the grief it can cause to those who care for those people.]

That, and what that cost means. To watch someone that you care for slowly destroyed by the use of something that they have never had any choice in wielding. [And Ignis knows he has been privelaged in that position. Not many people would get to know the king personally.]

And then there is the Niflheim Empire's twisted use of it. Magitek.

[Carlisle paws idly at his chest at Ignis' words. To be destroyed by something they never had any choice in wielding. They resonate in his head, a near perfect description for himself.

Kate now knows, but he wonders just how secretive she will be with such information. Better her than Faith.]

I can already tell I would not like this 'Magitek' from the word alone, if it is what the name implies.

[Carlisle's voice is flat, resigned. Mingling practices he adores with something he abhors is a recipe for disaster if you ask him.]

[No doubt Ignis' disgust of the concept is clear simply by his tone when he speaks the word. It isn't his knowledge of the practice that drives that distaste, as much as the way it has been used against his country and his king for as long as he can remember.]

Centuries ago, magiteknology was used by a now lost, but formerly powerful and advanced civilisation. Through research into that, and in the pursuit of recreating the 'glory' of Solheim, the Empire discovered a way to weaponise the daemons that plague Eos thanks to the scourge infecting our planet.

[There is a tightness in his voice as he goes on, as much as he tries to keep it objective for the sake of Carlisle's curiosity.] They use them in their armies. It took only two years for their most powerful developments in infantry to overcome Lucis entirely.

[Yep, the godforsaken union of magic and technology. That is exactly what Carlisle figured it was, and he's just as disgusted by the concept as he anticipated he'd be. His nose wrinkles as he mentally takes note of more terms, some familiar due to his chat with Regis, others as foreign as a world with very little magic.]

I'll be honest, lad. Your world sounds just awful.

[The candor is enough to break any tension that might have built and Ignis chuckles, a small smile breaking into his previously stony expression.]

I have only told you the worst of it, I'm afraid. Eos has many redeeming qualities, but the realities of war and the Starscourge shouldn't be ignored.

[There is so much good he could speak of, too, but Carlisle asked about magic, and sadly, magic is the cause of much of the planet's suffering.]

It is unfortunate that many worlds can be judged upon their worst qualities, even my own. This place has, albeit unintentionally, given me some perspective regarding my home, and how much worse it could be.

[And that is saying something, given his status in relation to his own world and his peculiar condition. He'd rather be ostracized and with magic than without it, though. He's damned even if he doesn't use it.]

But it has also revealed how it could be better, and what I have never known I was missing, for better and for worse.

Edited 2018-02-15 10:27 (UTC)

[There's a thoughtfully wistful edge to Ignis' expression. 'What I have never known I was missing' is a phrase that can be applied to a great deal of things that the young man has been able to do since his arrival in this place.]

Hadriel does grant a level of removal from our usual lives that gives an entirely new perspective not offered by simply moving elsewhere in our own worlds, I agree. [It's given Ignis a great deal to think about, especially in the last few weeks.]

And insight into others that we would have ordinarily remained unaware of. Even the worse qualities of those places could offer a valuable frame of reference.

Indeed.

[Carlisle sighs, falling silent as he gets mired in his own thoughts, still walking toward his garden -- it hasn't yet crossed his mind to question where Ignis is headed.]

[Ignis is content enough with silence. There's no need to push for conversation where it is neither needed or wanted, and he walks quietly by Carlisle's side until they reach a point where their paths diverge.]

I'll see you again.

[Not so much a promise as a statement of certainty. In a place like this, they're bound to see each other again.]

It's been good talking with you.

Of course.

[Much as he did in greeting, Carlisle gives a polite bow before heading on his way.]

Until next we meet.

[Hopefully not in the stairwell again. He doesn't want to think of why Ignis would be there multiple times. He really doesn't.]

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