Fiona hears, "The staff! Remember the staff, it is the only way you can get back home." as if from a far off distance as the shockwave hits her and knocks her off her balance. Fiona falls, and it seems to be falling for a minute. When she stops falling she finds herself lying on, not crashed into a cold marble floor, with none of the hallmarks of Mons Electi present.
Fiona grabs the staff (is this her Talisman, or another staff?) as she falls through the portal. When she hits the bottom of the rabbit-hole, she will lay their for a moment to make sure another shockwave doesn't pass over her. She then opens her eyes and gets to her feet, looking around. [color=blue]"Bloody hell!" she mutters in Scots Gaelic as she tries to get her bearings.
(Does anything look even vaguely familiar? Perhaps how the Mons Electi regio would look if it hadn't been built up?)
Looking about yields no clues as to what this place is. There is no shockwave that happens after the final one. Fiona has both her talisman and the staff Apollodorus had Ulrich give to her.
"I should think not." Fiona hears a moment before the figure coalesces before her eyes. The specimen before her is dressed in a toga, and towers above Fiona. Fiona is instantly struck by the beauty of this being before her. Though the tone was light when he said it, as if he saw the opportunity for jest, Fiona could tell that the power behind the voice was vast. Soon after the giant man arrives other items begin appearing in the room, a large table, chairs around it, a fireplace forms out of the wall and a fire begins with no apparent fuel source.
Fiona's apparent host indicates that she should take a seat and, before her indicated chair, plates with food of indeterminate type appears as well as wine in a pitcher which poors into a goblet at her seat and then her host's seat.
"It's been some time since someone from the mundane world has appeared. The last was a man by name of Iosephus, he resided with us a while and then departed for parts unknown. And who might you be?"
(iirc, the regio entrance that Fiona was trying to block wasn't the one to Iosephus's caves, but one up high in the main tower, right)
Fiona looks around her at the materializing scene, and realizes that she must have fallen into the Realm of Magic somehow. Then she looks up at her host, and feels just a wee bit awestruck. She tries to cover it up by taking the seat her host indicated for her and taking a sip of the wine.
[color=blue]"My name is Fiona ex Miscellanea, daughter of Circe. Iosephus was a sodalis of ours until he disappeared some time ago...we were never able to unravel what became of him. It seems that he somehow found his way here...as, apparently have I."
((No, this wasn't the entrance that Tria came through and was in what was Iosephus and now Viscaria's sanctum, it was the standard regio entrance always used to get between the mundane level and the castle side. Best Fiona can determine is that the shockwave knocked her into this place when she lost her balance.))
"A pleasure!" He takes your hand and kisses it, "your arrival was expected, at some point. I am... he pauses as if considering several names, and then settles on, "the Blacksmith of Brandywine. You may call me the Blacksmith."
He guides you to your chair and invites you to sit. "I hope you won't be too inconvenienced, you'll be here for some time, though it may go quickly. I see you have a memento of home, which will be helpful when it is time to return." He indicates the staff that Apollodorus warned you to remember. "Come, tell me of the world's passing since Iosephus was here. Tell me of the Order and other news, and we shall feast and drink. Others may join us as they may."
[color=blue]"Oh?" Fiona is both surprised and a little nervous that she was expected, whether now, soon, or decades from now. [color=blue]"To be honest, I wish I were a little better prepared, Blacksmith. And this doesn't seem to be the best time for me to take leave from my covenmates. We seem to be under attack, and our covenant is literally falling down around our ears. And Apollodorus..."
Now that the adrenaline of the attack has passed, and the import of what she had seen with Apollodorus is sinking in, she starts to cry. A sob at first, but as she thinks over the dinners she's shared with him, the friendly(?) rivalry between Paul and Regulus, she loses it and will take a couple of minutes for her to regain her composure.
[color=blue]"Not to sound ungracious, but have you any idea how long I'll be away from home, as they see it?"
She thinks back to when they realized that Iosephus was gone, then proceeds to give him a gloss of what has passed since then. Of how Silviatos had left the covenant a(round the time that Iosephus had likely come through) for reasons of his own, and abandoned his apprentice, who was then claimed by Tria to be trained by the covenant en masse, and that so far the bulk of his training has fallen to her despite his being entirely unsuited to her Tradition. That they had entered into a fealty with Atsingani, which had recently decided to disband. (She will barely mention her involvement with the fealty, if at all.) Of how Mons Electi had been "randomly" chosen to hose the next Tribunal in only five years. Of how the Primi of Bonisagus, Jerbiton, and Mercere (iirc) had come to the covenant to press them on the Lotharingian issue. Of how much of the mundane countryside had been devastated by heavy flooding the previous fall. Of how Fieltarn had also vanished into a regio that winter and has kept to his laboratory since his return. She will, in the course of her narratives, mention the new magi to the covenant but won't go into detail about them unless The Blacksmith asks.
(Why does this feel like a Twilight experience?)
"Well, not you, precisely, but someone else was expected to come through at some point. Iosephus said there were others, and where one comes, others follow, as a matter of course."
He takes in your comments about the lack of preparation for coming, and the turmoil in place at your home, "One cannot be prepared to come here, one merely comes when it is time. You have an opportunity to recover from the horrors you witnessed recently."
"As to how long you'll be gone, all I can say is you'll be gone as long as you need to be. That doesn't mean when you wish to go, but when you need to go. Visitors come here because they have a need. You came the same way that Iosephus did, but I don't presume to understand your needs. Whether that takes a day, a month or a year in the mortal realm, who can tell?"
The Blacksmith listens to your stories with keen interest. "Tell me about the chaos at your home, preceeding your arrival here."
((Title for the thread and the name are stolen shamelessly from The New Christy Minstrels album Land of Giants, and there is a song The Blacksmith of Brandywine. Of course, everything gets turned up to 11 here, and while the names/titles are stolen, the content bears no relation to the content of the story. When I think Twilight I think of a psychedelic experience.))
[color=blue]"Would you be so kind as to tell me just where 'here' is? I assume I've somehow found myself in the Realm of Magic, although I suppose it's conceivable that I'm dead and everything I was raised to believe is wrong."
[color=blue]"Let's see. The alarm was raised that we were under attack, three magi dressed in black. I tried to turn one into a pig, but my spell didn't penetrate his Parma. Apollodorus, who apparently used to be Xenophon of Tremere, accused Valerian of Guernicus of trying to kill him for his research on the Duresca scrolls. Two of the magi, I think, got away, Valerian was making a dash for one of the sanctums that borders on a regio when the covenant started to collapse. That's when Apollodorus's...shade told me to try to hold the entrance open and to take the other staff with me, in case. I obviously failed, and wound up here. And don't know if the covenant is still standing, or who's going to take care of my Paul if I'm going to be away more than a few hours."
"Ahh, Apollodorus, Iosephus had mentioned him. I wondered what he was up to, exactly. You see your home was built on the site of a former covenant that removed itself from the mundane world a few centuries ago due to conflict with the Order in general. Were you aware of this? Was he? Based on what he told you to do I think he did know some of this. I cannot be sure, but when you say Duresca, I see that place as the start of the conflict within your Order."
Stopping to drink some wine and eat some of the food before him he appears to be in concentration, "Your covenant is still connected to the mundane world, and that should allay your concerns. Additionally, I think, since House Guernicus' behavior is nothing but consistent, this matter will be covered up. They likely think you and your sodales are unable and unwilling to challenge them as to their actions. Are they right?"
"Who is this Paul, if I may be so bold? A lover, perhaps?
[color=blue]"I seem to remember mention that the covenant had been built on the site of a former covenant that had been accused of being Diedne, but had been investigated by the Quaesitores recently and found that it wasn't," Fiona says thoughtfully. [color=blue]"So, that would have been at least two hundred years ago, if not more, that it was abandoned or destroyed or what have you.
(Just out of curiosity, what does Fiona know, or think she knows, about the Duresca Scrolls? Int 1 + Order of Hermes Lore 2 + die roll of 6 = 9.)
She blushes at the Blacksmith's assumption about Paul. [color=blue]"No, he's my familiar. I actually don't have a lover," she says shyly.
"Oh there was a covenant of Diedne there, alright. They tore through this realm, and some of them have made a home somewhere within the magic realm."
Regarding Fiona closely, "Why do you deny your beauty, Fiona?" As he asks Fiona should be struck by the beauty of The Blacksmith and also that he is taller and much broader of build than she.
Fiona raises a brow at this. Isn't that interesting, she thinks. So, either the Quaesitores lied to Apollodorus, he lied to us, or the Blacksmith's lying to me. (Can Fiona tell if she's being lied to? Per 0 + Folk Ken 1 + die roll of 1 (followed by die roll of 7, for a total roll of 14) = 15.)
[color=blue]"Are the ones here in the Magic Realm, are they the same ones that escaped the Schism War, or their descendents?"
(In either case, I'm assuming that the House being Marched, they would be subject to the death penalty just as the original Diedne were during the schism war, right? Int 1 + Code of Hermes 3 + die roll of 8 = 12.
(Is the Blacksmith just taller then Fiona but in the same height range as she, or is he more like five or six meters tall?)
Fiona snorts derisively. [color=blue]"Look at me. I'm obviously ha'giant. I'm not that good looking. I am, for a giant, but among the humans?" Fiona shrugs.
"I am not lying." Fiona can see that he is sincere, and even remember back that Apollodorus was sincere, the Quaesitor had informed him that there was no Diedne covenant there.
"I'm unsure, I haven't followed events closely, but I imagine most of the ones who came through here are still alive, just not here. It is very difficult to die of old age here. You almost have to wish for it."
The Blacksmith stands about a meter over Fiona, and even in human terms he is stunning, "Nonsense. You are most attractive." ((Note, +1 presence I take to mean good looking or good attitude, or some measure of both, is Fiona one of those "girls" who don't know how attractive they are?))
Fiona smiles at the Blacksmith. Apparently you can hear my thoughts, she thinks. I should learn to guard them more carefully...I certainly don't want you to hear me thinking how hot I think you are.
[color=blue]"Do very many wind up here as a result of going into Twilight, or even entering Final Twilight? Or is it fairly haphazard, as my arrival was?"
Yes, she is. She grew up, more or less a hermit with her human father and Giant mother until Marós claimed her as an apprentice. Marós was an eremite on the north shore of Ireland, so Fiona had little human contact then. And when she moved to Insula Canaria, there was that gulf between magi and mundane, and the only ones who made any overture toward her were ones with a reputation for hitting anything that moved (or didn't move fast enough). Her +1 Pre I pictured as 2/3 her being cute/somewhat attractive and 1/3 her "Confident +1" Personality Trait. Even when Jormungand told her she had a nice ass, she chalked it up to him being flirtatious and not really meaning it.
[color=blue]"So...it seems that I'm here with you until I decide to die or I need to leave. I wish I had a lab set up here so I could get some work done on some things I've been putting off for way to long."
Then she thinks of something else. [color=blue]"What about the 'necessities of life'? Food, drink, sleep, things like that. Do we eat here because we must or because we want to?"
"I would be a poor Blacksmith if I didn't understand the material that I work. Your thoughts are written all over your face, Fiona." The Blacksmith tears off a morsel of food from his plate and eats it. "And if you're concerned about a lab, I have one for those such as you, with some materials, as well. More may be available, within reason, of course. I'm not skilled in your Arts, but the lab was a remnant of the previous occupants of this place. Iosephus spent a time cleaning it and organizing it to his taste and then left a bit later."
"To answer your question about how people arrive, I can only speculate. I like to think that my presence here aligns those who come to this place with a desire or need to reforge themselves. This place is about so much more than simple necessities, it is about the possible. It is for that reason that I don't believe the Diedne who came here have ever left this realm, though they have left this particular place." He regards Fiona with a strong look, a look hinting at the sensual pleasures she might avail herself, "You may satisfy your hungers as they develop."
Fiona feels disappointed in herself at this. She thought she had gotten pretty good at hiding her feelings, at not letting people know when they had irritated her, when their unthinking jibes struck too close to home, when she didn't want those around her to know how much she was hurting. Apparently she was nowhere near as deft as she had thought.
[color=blue]"Hmm...why would he do that?" she asks. [color=blue]"Obviously he didn't expect to leave as soon as he did. Or he wanted to leave something for anyone who came after."
[color=blue]"So, apparently I was drawn here because I need to reforge myself, to become what I need to be," Fiona muses. [color=blue]"Which means I need to figure out just what I need to be before I can do that. Until then...we can start. I can start by seeing what I have as far as a laboratory here goes."
Fiona blushes for a moment as she looks up at him, making no effort to hide the desire she feels, not that he wouldn't see right through her if she did. [color=blue]"I will definitely do that," she purrs. She's never been with anyone bigger than her, and she finds herself dying to find out what it would be like.
[color=blue]"Will you show me where I'll be staying?" she asks after dinner. Assuming that he does, she will walk with him, looking up at him sideways until they reach her destination.
[color=blue]"Please don't think me a trollop, Blacksmith," she says softly as she moves close to him, [color=blue]"but I do have a hunger that I would like you to satisfy."
Fiona feels disappointed in herself at this. She thought she had gotten pretty good at hiding her feelings, at not letting people know when they had irritated her, when their unthinking jibes struck too close to home, when she didn't want those around her to know how much she was hurting. Apparently she was nowhere near as deft as she had thought.
[color=blue]"Hmm...why would he do that?" she asks. [color=blue]"Obviously he didn't expect to leave as soon as he did. Or he wanted to leave something for anyone who came after."
[color=blue]"So, apparently I was drawn here because I need to reforge myself, to become what I need to be," Fiona muses. [color=blue]"Which means I need to figure out just what I need to be before I can do that. Until then...we can start. I can start by seeing what I have as far as a laboratory here goes."
Fiona blushes for a moment as she looks up at him, making no effort to hide the desire she feels, not that he wouldn't see right through her if she did. [color=blue]"I will definitely do that," she purrs. She's never been with anyone bigger than her, and she finds herself dying to find out what it would be like.
[color=blue]"Will you show me where I'll be staying?" she asks after dinner. Assuming that he does, she will walk with him, looking up at him sideways until they reach her destination.
[color=blue]"Please don't think me a trollop, Blacksmith," she says softly as she moves close to him, [color=blue]"but I do have a hunger that I would like you to satisfy."
"Well, don't forget, I can read your thoughts. What is plain to me, is a mystery to someone else."
"This would seem to be a rhetorical question, but I'll answer it anyway. Iosephus was not one cut out for life in your Order, over the year he was here, I got to know him. And remember, he took over a lab. A lab that was here before I was.
The lab is a rather ordinary, if large hermetic lab, with some amazing equipment.
"I have no such social conventions to judge the women who enjoy my embrace. My gift is freely given, and to be blunt, sex can be as much a part of the process of reforging oneself as anything you can do to look within."
When Fiona joins the Blacksmith in his bedchamber and she experiences a night of endless pleasure. The Blacksmith's stamina is impressive, and seemingly endless, at least as compared to Jormungand. The Blacksmith doesn't stop until Fiona's passions turn to exhaustion.
Fiona wakes up the next morning, refreshed and satisfied, and lies in bed thinking, until she gets hungry. There is so much for her to think about, things that she had never consciously thought about but simply taken for granted.
Such as Iosephus's feeling that he didn't belong in the Order. Granted, he was a Criamon, a house she has had some unpleasant experience with and always made her head hurt trying to figure out. And he had kept to himself after his arrival. But if he didn't belong, why had it taken him so long to figure it out?
And, more to the point, do I belong in the Order? she thinks. She had never doubted it before, and didn't really doubt it now...but she had to consider everything when trying to figure out why she was where she was.
Or am I getting ahead of myself? Perhaps, before I can figure out why I am where I am, I should first figure out who or what I am.
Simple. I'm a giant. But...why did I answer that, and not "I'm a maga", or "I'm a woman", or "I'm a Scot"? She rolls over onto her side and stares at the wall.
Of course I'm not just this or that. I'm more complex than that. But that must be why I think that bringing peace between humans and giants is important. Because I'm tired of feeling like an outsider. Of standing there while people make ignorant statements without thinking about the people they're insulting. Is that why Ma and Papa lived out away from everybody? She thinks, but can't remember if her parents had told her where they lived before they got married. She had always assumed that he, at least, had lived in the same cottage she had grown up, but now she wonders if he had given up everything to be with her mother...or if he had not had any choice in the matter, that his people had run him off when he fell in love. And she wonders if she would have that kind of strength, to sacrifice everything she had known for something she believed in. And she suddenly realizes that she doesn't – she's always felt that giants and humans should coexist, but she's never done anything to start the wheels in motion.
She sits up in bed and looks out the window, trying to gauge the time of day. She pauses to perform her Parma Magica ritual, on the off chance that she would need it. She suspects that if the Blacksmith wanted to do anything to her, her Parma would be of absolutely no use, but it's best to keep in the habit lest she forget how it's done if she's to remain in the Magic Realm for very long.
When she's done, she gets out of bed and starts to pace as she thinks. This may tie in to what brought me here. Acting as a bridge between Mons Electi and the Magic Realm...or at least a Magic Regio. I doubt that the portal was supposed to wind up here...perhaps when the shock wave knocked me off my feet, it also affected the portal somehow, sent me somewhere other than where the portal was supposed to take me. But nothing with magic is an accident...obviously I was meant to be here.
Perhaps I'm supposed to be a portal, a bridge between two worlds. And I'm supposed to be here until I figure out how to make it happen. It has to be possible for man and giant to live together – my parents did, and quite well. I suppose my having a convocation of Giant-blood magi on the matter at the Tribunal is a start, but that's still rather passive.
Fiona sighs and walks to the window, ignoring the fact that she's still naked from the night before. Maybe that's why I'm here...to come up with a plan on how to bridge that gap. And while I'm here, work on some spells to aide my mother's side after all these years.
She nods decisively to herself, and finds herself wondering idly whatever happened to her parents. Her father, it would not surprise her to learn that he had passed away a long time ago. But her mother should still be around, somewhere, since giants don't age as humans do, and she feels embarrassed that she never bothered to ask her cousin about it when she saw him last year.
She moves to the mirror and stands there, examining herself critically, trying to see what Jormungandr and the Blacksmith saw in her, looking at herself impartially. After a few minutes, she realizes that maybe she's been wrong about herself all these years. Not as curvy as Laetitia, but nowhere nearly as thin as Ion is. No grey in her hair, although she does have a couple of wrinkles around the eyes that she wishes she could get rid of. She starts to wonder if she was guilty of the same prejudice she had just been railing against inside earlier. Perhaps she had gotten so caught up in humans being smaller than her, that she had assumed that they didn't have what she needed to fill her needs. Jormungandr was human, and while the Blacksmith is not as small as the average man, he's nowhere near the scale of her giant kin, either. She feels a blush of shame at her racism, her hypocrisy, and resolves to try to do better when (or if) she returns to the Mortal Realm.
She then decides that she's reached a good starting place, and heads off to examine the laboratory while she decides what to do first, without bothering to dress. There's nobody around but her and the Blacksmith, and he's already indicated that he didn't mind seeing her body.
The lab appears different today. It now has a still, much as Fiona's does. Actually, upon a careful inspection it seems as if this is Fiona's lab, or a careful replication of it. There are enough differences that she can tell it isn't her lab. In addition there seems to be a vast store of Muto vis held in traditional pawns marked with the symbol for Muto.
There are some notes that are left out in Iosephus spidery script. One of the notes indicates he was working on transforming his need to be in the presence of exemplars of whatever Art he was studying int some other limitation of his Gift. It goes on and details what he did over the course of a season, it leaves off at the point where he consumed 20 pawns of an indeterminate type of Vis.