"That's very interesting to hear," Lucas says when she talks about longevity. "As you say, we all know that sometimes a longevity ritual expires due to a crisis and needs to be redone. So it's clear that they can be ended without magic, though not on a timetable. I suppose it's not surprising that they can be ended with magic as well. The trick,a s you observe, is to get fertility back. And if our information is correct, your uncle managed that somehow. I'd like to know how. And I'd like to know how he managed to have Gifted Twins. I mean, I know that it's possible. But it's also possible to be struck by lightning five times in a single evening. Possible, but not very likely. What was it that made your uncle different?"
"Any guidance or lab texts or anything that you could point me toward to help figure out this mystery would be greatly appreciated. An introduction to Ophillio would be wonderful. I've heard of him, of course. Who in the house hasn't? And I believe my pater knows him. Talbot knows everybody, he's been around so long - though not as long as Ophillio, I'm sure. But since he's officially retired, I haven't sought Ophillio out for any reason. It would be nice to meet him in general, quite apart from the matter at hand. When do you think would be a good time?"
"Oh, and since I'm travelling already, I'll pop over to the Baearics right after we finish here and speak to Fleur about your visit. I'll let you know as soon as I find something out."
My uncle was a Rudolphius. Our blood is mythic. And there is a ritual, a Mercurian non-cult mystery. There is no hard evidence that it works. My prents used it and here I am a High Priestess. But many have tried with no benefit.
[color=green]How about now?
An elderly wizard wlks into the garden. He appears to be a dignified 90, but moves like he is 50 and is actually 192. He carries an ornate stff,? his robes re moderate, and he wears the bejeweled phalrchy bearing the bdges of his ranks (Mercurian Grand Potentate, High Master, Pontifex Majore, and others.
[color=green]Mny are the mysteries of the power of life and the secrets to vitality. I have dedicted my life to advance the understanding of life and longevity. Because of the techniques and secrets I helped pioneer and collect, the lifespan of a magus my often exceed a century and a half or more!
Suffice to say, I have heard tales similar to yours. And I want the Order to have this power. I am to old and tired to start new project. Twilight cold claim me any day if I am not careful.
But I am willing to enable others to advance this reserch.
Tell me what you know, what you need, and I will see what cn be done.
(OOC: Edith and Vera are both on Ibiza. Vera is a dedicated student and assistant to her new matter, Fleur. Edith is being fostered by Roberto, who has declared that she is already a maga and is taking her out monster hunting next year to prove it.
Lucas may not know this, since he went to Harco (and started this thred) on the heels of the Picnic with the gods. That works. Cornelius and Roberto made and greement just after Lucas took off.
"And that's the kind of information that I'm looking for to help my research," Lucas replies. "Is there any way I could see a copy of that ritual? I'd swear to keep it confidential, of course. And I'll certainly look into your genealogy among the Mercere records - see if there's an increased number of Gifted children in your bloodline. This could be just the start I need in my research."
"Pontifex Ophillio," Lucas says with a bow of his head. "It's a true honor to meet you at last. My pater, Talbot, has told me much about you." Then he moves right into the meat of the conversation. "I've seen that it's possible to reverse a longevity ritual and in doing so produce Gifted twins. It's really quite remarkable, and it got me intensely interested in fertility research. I suppose I've embarked down that path that so many have before in trying to understand what makes a Gifted child Gifted. But unlike in the past, I have others, like yourself. whose research I can build upon. I may not arrive at a solution - though I hope I will - but I can certainly move things forward. I also have a sodalis who is working on similar research. It's possible that together we might find a proper solution as well."
"I'm looking for anything that might give me insight into fertility magic, the Gift, and even the infertility effect of the longevity ritual. If you're aware of a ritual that will reverse the infertility effects of a longevity ritual, that would be of immense use. Beyond that, any research or rituals that would have any effect on a newborn child - a ritual to increase the chance that a child is born with the Gift or any other characteristic would also he helpful. Even something to influence a characteristic as simple as eye or hair color could prove useful."
blahblahblah? I hardly know what to make of that. Is what Lucas says so dull that it can be replaced by blahblahblah? I really do try and keep my posts from being boring.
Doesn't she deserve 15 years of training by the Code? Or is Roberto training her "as a maga?"
The yaddayadda bit was me trying to minimize the amount of text I was quoting. No offense intended
Roberto was also a seven-year apprentice. Battlefield gauntlet. His master was killed at Las Navas. Roberto avenged his parens and survived the battle, and stood on the victorious side.
He did receive the full 15 years of training. Santiago became his Mentor and for the next eight years Roberto was his sidekick during the Shadow Wars. So at the standrd "gauntlet age", he went from being Robin to Nightwing and here we are 22 years latter.
It's a Flambeau thing
Edith cme to Roberto already having the skills and accomplishments of a true warrior wizard. She is a killer of giants. Her sister, son, and nephew can confirm it. She saved a whole village. Her son and nephew helped, but Vulcanus was nowhere to be seen.
So Roberto counts this as a Battlefield Gauntlet. Next year sometime he is taking her out to hunt a sea monster to demonstrate her worth. Once she has done that, he will bring it up with some other Flambeau elders (like Vibria & Santiago) and make it official.
And then he will continue her training as her Mentor, just as Santiago did for him, until she has her full 15.
I just thought of something. Lucas can easilly send Horus to Ibiza and chat with Flelecia or Cidito, who will tell him about Robert and Edith and ask permission from Fleur.
Ophilio leans against one of the few trees in this middle garden area, and looks up into the branches.
[color=green]I would like to go with you back to your covenant and see this. I am free today.I would also like to visit Arans. Over half the people there have been employed by your covenant and the Mercere Qurter. And many are retired Redcaps. I know this, for nearly a dozen of them benefit from Longevity potions I brewed for them.
See this tree? It all comes from this tree of life and vitality. We got it thirty years ago from an Andalusian magus named Joshua. The fruits naturally produce Creo vis. They are juiced, pulped, ground, fermented, then mixed. Forming the nectar used as the base for the most potent potions of Longevity ever devised in the history of the Order. Magi are iving longer than ever.
There are other factors, and I encourage them. A clen Lab, a strong Bronze cord, a healthy diet. I reccomend putting Longevity off until after fifty, and having on/off cycles. Minimize Warping.
To that end, Mercuria was wrong about the ease of disenchanting longevity. It would have to be a spefic ritual tailored for the specific Longevity formula, not just the person. If they reuse the same formula, you can use the same dispell.
It is expensive, but if the on/off cycle is combined with proper environment, the Warping hazzard can be cut significantly.
Mutantes are the exception.
I would like to meet your associates. And if they be worthy, I will share my notes. There are a few trivial breakthroughs I have collected. Vanity Potions, Elixir Ingredients, Restoration Formulas, and more. No work on Fertility. Except for the Homonculus. That is an Alchemy script and text I never bothered to study. Essentially, it allows a single parent to clone a child from themselves as one would a plant. If the parent was gifted, so also the child shall be. No evidence if it works no tales cn be confirmed. But it is something.
What an excellent plan. Send Horus off right away!
"I'd be more than happy to take you to Arans," Lucas says. "And I'm free all day. My wife, Cecelia, will be particularly excited to meet you. She's a Redcap and has long talked about saving up for one of your special longevity potions."
"But what do you mean about Mutantes being the exception? Mercuria said something about us being able to harness our longevity potions. Is that really true? Talbot never mentioned that as a possibility when he trained me in Mutantes magic."
"As for my associates, I was hoping you'd share some of your notes with me so that I could do the research myself. Any of what you listed would be of interest. But I take what you mean, that you want to know who will benefit from the research you share. I'll be happy to introduce you to Fleur, who happens to have taken over the apprenticeship of one of the Gifted twins I'd mentioned. She's not at Arans, however. She's a member of our chapter house on the Balaeric Islands. We'd have to go there if you want to see her. Thankfully we can travel there by portal and regio, so it's not an arduous trip."
"I'm particularly intrigued by the homonculus idea, though. Cecelia and I had talked about having a fifth child, but it never happened. I wonder what she'd say about the idea of another me in the world. And I can assure you that we'd care for such a child whether he was Gifted or not, assuming such a thing were even possible."
Let us bump along. Horus can portal straight from Doisettep to Andorra, then through again to Roberto. He and Edith will be glad to have everyone over for supper.
"Thank you again, Roberto for having us over," Lucas says over dinner. "I know it meant a lot to Ophilio." Then he turns to the older magus. "Tell me, what do you think of Edith?"
The people of Sant Antoni de Portmany feel very fortunate to have a Magus (with the Gentle Gift) protecting their town. Not only because of prestige and security, but because he is great for the economy. Local houses double as taverns, feeding and serving the magus and his guests and workers, and it is profitable. So much so that they cheerfully overlook the negative gift effects of Ophilio and Edith.
Edith is a charming and very alluring young woman. But not lady like at all. More like a bawdy tavern wench crossed Flambeau. She drinks heartilly, sings raunchy drinking songs, and tells tales of both battle and rude behavior.
[color=green]Typical Rudolphius. Edith's uncle who is Mercuria's father, he was the only well behaved one in that whole family. The rest were examples of the randy Redcaps and bawdy magi our House Mecere is so well known for. And if her stories are even half true, she is a worthy and fit Flambeau maga. She doesn't look the part. But then again, neither does your Carmen. Yes, I am a bit envious, but I do not resent anything. She is an asset to the Order as she is. (I do hope I can get her to participate in the breeding program, marry a select Mecere magus or Redcap and mother a child for House Mercere).
Edith! My dear child, my sodale. I envy your youth I am a white bearded bald old man, hunched over and weary from a life of nearly two centuries. But I was once a vigorous youth, strong shoulders and a head of red curls. I knew your father, and his father. And many more of your clan. Growing up at the Arans Lodge in Andorra as you did, as a girl I am sure you heard many stories of the Redcaps and magi your family has produced and intermarried with. Can you tell me what you know of your father?
[color=red]Shhhure. He was a mail man and an adventuringer. Adventurer. My shister. She has a book about it. He had traveled about in every one of them Tribunals, had adventures involving monsters and faeries and secret missions. And he was lOAded with magical itemz. He was always floating about and teleporting and flying on something.
Yer an old guy. You know all the stori es I wuld know. Even whilze dunk, I can tells that what you wanna know is what he was doing after he retired. You guys may not know it, but Arans is a Redcap town. The running joke is how easilly the magi of Andorra Covenant forget about that and that the town runs the show behind the scenes. Exaggerating tales of course. But it is like this. Andorra is the third largest Mecere Quarter in the entire Order, and Arans is the number two retirement spot for Redcaps.
Dad had his longevity reversed. Don't ask me how. Ask my sister. She is into that stuff. Mom was also a Redcap, and I think her mother was a maga. Or shomthingz. Ask sister. But the love story part, I know that much. Both of them, they were hedonists and booze hounds. And that is what drew them together. They met in Valencia. She was a special service courier wit a secret message that had to be delivered directly to agents in the field. He was the transport specialist charged with getting her there. This was in the middle of the Shadow Wars, and the operation wuz taking down the Black Rose Society. A network of mundane nobles supporting the Flaming Shadows.
The stories of their secret mission go on and on. Sometimes I think they were making things up, or taking other stories and tacking them on to their tale.
But when it all was over, they decided to settle down and raise a family. They liked to say how they got married three times. The first one, they just married themselves and announced it at a party. The second one was a Mercurian ceremony that involved some weird magical blessings and szt. And then a third time, at the tiny chaple in Arans, a Christian ceremony conducted by Father Clemente.
Is he still around? I remember he taught me how to cure a hangover when I was twelve. Greasy pork sausage and bread, and if you can remember, drinks a lot of water just before passing out.
Dad died when I was only eight. And mom was aging rapidly. They both did the reversal magic, and I guess it has side effects. So when I was a girl, Father Clemente was the closest thing to a parental figure that we had. Those Redcaps were not good role models. Lost my maidenhood to one of those old perverts when I was only ten. Hey, I was looking for it and acting like I was, it was what it was. And it wasn't the last time or the only guy. Looking back on it as an adult, I know it wasn't right. My reckless brat life was of my choosing, no one coerced or seduced me into it. But a child should be restricted, not exploited. I hold no animals... cough, no animosity towards him or any of those other guys. Hell, I wouldn't mind running into a few of them again. But if I ever have kids, I will raise them to act a little different and keep them away from certain things until they are mature enough to understand what they are doing.
Szt. I am a bad mother already, ain't I? I forget I already have a son sometimes! I was barely just a woman when I had him, and Vulcanus acted like the boy was his own special magic project. After he was weened, I wasn't burdened with much responsibility. Vulcanus had Gemma for that. That bch was nanny for both Modi and Magni while my sister and I studied. Double Study! He would teach us both together twice a year, and when he determined we were useless as lab assistants, he just started feeding us books and worked us at side tasks.
