video; un: rosseland

[hatinacat]

Greetings and salutations, my esteemed captive audience!

[TODAY. . . your video feed is taken up by the face of a young man with a teardrop painted on his cheek and a top hat adorning the crown of his head. he presses a hand against his chest and gives the camera a polite and tiny bow, though it's clear from the angle that he's holding said camera with his other one]

Ahaha! Was that joke a bit too gauche? My apologies, I couldn't quite help myself.

[he does not actually look apologetic at all. look at him he made a funny]

All humor aside, I'm a relatively new resident of this. . . [a beat] Lovely city. ["lovely"] I haven't been here long, but already I'm learning much about worlds other than my own. Which brings me to the purpose of this communication.

[it's brief, but the astute may see Lyney flick his wrist subtly and suddenly, until a small red rose blossoms to life between his fingers. he twists the flower idly in his hand as he speaks]

I have a particular interest in magic, you see. Stage magic, to be more precise. After all, I am a great magician, and being brought to this strange land won't change this fact!

[another flick of his wrist, and he closes his flingers around the rose, which seems to just. . . vanish into thin air. where did it go??]

But I am now aware that magic can vary from world to world. In addition to stage magic, my world has Visions, and I've further learned about the existence of something called "magecraft."

If you're feeling a little bored, won't you share with me the nature of magic in your world? It's for research! I promise.

[HE'S JUST A CURIOUS MAGICIAN, THAT'S ALL]

Comments

[hatinacat]

She must have quite a bit of experience in welcoming new arrivals.

[he does remember her saying she had been here for about six months or s, so perhaps that isn't surprising]

[excaliburden]

... Probably!

[Six months' worth... that's a long time.]

And now we can pass it along to everyone else, too. Hopefully we're lightening her load that way.

[hatinacat]

[places a hand against his chest and takes another bow]

I'll do my best, of course.

. . . do you know how often new people arrive in this City?

[excaliburden]

Hmmm... I'm pretty new myself, but I've heard it's about once a month?

I don't really get it... I feel like there are already enough people stuck here.

[hatinacat]

[once a month. . . is it like clockwork, he wonders? and if so, then why?]

There are. I was told. . . a dozen or so over one hundred? That's quite the pool of subjects.

[holding his chin thoughtfully]

But perhaps whoever brings us here has need for as many people as they can find, be it ten, or one hundred, or one thousand.

[excaliburden]

[... Yeah she has no idea. She has not been following the plot and is useless at such things.]

... Well! I think there are lots of people who are trying to figure all of that stuff out, at least.

[hatinacat]

[MEANWHILE HE IS TOO NEW FOR PLOT]

The answers to the many mysteries laid out before us, you mean?

[his smile is a bit wry]

Are you one of those actively seeking out answers?

[excaliburden]

Oh, no... not me.

[Ahaha... ha...]

I'm not very good at that sort of thing. It's definitely better left to people who can organize and handle information on a larger scale.

[Who have a full brain cell.]

genshin spoilersssss!

[hatinacat]

[YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT'S FAIR. . . even in the Fatui, people's jobs were divided up based on their skillsets. someone good at gathering information might not be as good as muscling their way out of a bad situation, for instance! it was all about relying on one another to excel in one's chosen job]

I'm certain it's quite a bit of information to process, too. A job too large for merely one individual.

[excaliburden]

[Sure, she'll take that out.]

Right! There are really smart people here who are working on it, I think. If you're curious, talking with them will probably help a lot.

[hatinacat]

Don't worry; I intend to.

[the Fatui agent in him can't just let things be, after all. plus. . . doesn't he have a family to return to? a sister who is probably beside herself with concern?]

But that's quite enough about that. We were talking about magic!

[excaliburden]

[She laughs a little at that, nodding.]

Right! Magecraft!

Does that mean you've got more to say about it?

[hatinacat]

Not at all.

[LYNEY. . .]

But I am curious if you've run into other magic other than "magecraft" while trapped in this city.

[excaliburden]

[A contemplative pause at that.]

I... maybe...?

[Hmmm...]

I've met lots of people who say they can do some sort of various of magic. I guess it just... never occurred to me to classify it as anything but their unique version of magecraft.

[hatinacat]

From your perspective, that isn't wrong.

[all she has ever known is magecraft, after all. so why wouldn't anyone else's magic be magecraft, too??]

[excaliburden]

Now that you mention it, though...

[It's possible there are magics entirely separate from magecraft, huh...?]

I wonder what differentiates all of them...? Is it just what we call them? Or is there a really significant difference?

[hatinacat]

[nodnods! she gets it!]

I'm curious about that, too. It's why I posed this question in the first place.

[excaliburden]

Have you gotten any good answers?

[hatinacat]

A few, yes. A kind gentleman has told me about the Small Science of his world.

[which bears both similarities and differences to the Visions of Teyvat]