Aetherius has been relaxing, enjoying the evening air as Plasmatoris arrives. He is enjoying a drink and offers him one as the Jerbiton gazes at the fountain.
"That's a good question. Why do we have limitless water pouring here and being absorbed by the aura before it falls back down? Where does the water come from? Having a pool here would be nice, although I suppose with this much water, if it didn't get absorbed by the air, we'd be quickly swamped."
"I have some level of confidence that the designer would have arranged things to handle it if the water was not devoured like everything else here," Plasmatoris responds without looking away. He begins to circle around the fountain, frowning as he examines it from different angles. "Anyone who designs a fountain without considering the location's environs is an idiot. I wonder if this was made by Plasmatoris," he muses, looking for any sign of an artist's mark on it. Then, when he comes around the fountain a third time, he notices Aetherius sitting there. "Oh."
Plasmatoris straightens himself up. "Hello, Magus Aetherius, I didn't notice you at first. I apologize for my distraction." He looks almost embarrassed as he shuffles over to settle own next to the other magus, taking the offered drink. He takes a brief sip before muttering an enhancement spell over it and taking a second drink. He looks satisfied.
"I have found more things in my workshop and lab that would assist my longterm goals, which probably matter to nobody except myself."
Aetherius briefly wonders who Plasmatoris thinks he was conversing with as he goes arround the fountain, but he doesn't press the subject to avoid embarassing him further.
"I have the feeling all of us pursued a lot of personal projects while here. Still. We do not seem to have drifted apart too much. Personal projects or not, it doesn't hurt to share. I would very much like knowing my sodales. Art projects, I'm guessing?"
He drinks casually as he talks.
The Jerbiton nods thoughtfully, relaxing into the seat he's claimed, shifting position to be comfortable. "I also believe the other selves found time to do a lot of personal projects here," he muses, tapping his nails along the goblet he's holding.His eyes swing from the Mercere to the fountain and back. "My own desires are to explore more ideas for the arts. I believe Hermetic magic can be used to enhance the quality of our society - humanity - our artistic endeavors. For the past few years, I have had the yearning to explore ancient structures and see how time has developed, to glean knowledge from the art of our classical civilizations - Greece and Rome, perhaps Egypt is what brought the other Plasmatoris here." He scratches at his chin roughly, frowning.
I met a few artistic Jerbiton, and some aesthetically-inclined Verditius during my apprenticeship. I was always struck by the Jerbiton would inevitably start using magic to create a 'more perfect' art, instead of using the magic to enhance their painting or their music. I hoped to focus on using magic to enhance the art itself - and to help other artists who may not be Gifted." He lets out a gutteral sound from the back of his throat. 'Too many good artists have talent but no Gift, and Gifted magi dabble in art but have no true vision."
"Using imaginem to enhance the colors with other senses, perhaps, or Rego to ward off against long-term deterioration, then?"
"Exploring ancient structures is a passion of mine. It's the most likely reason I settled down here. My passion is less artistic, and more magical and academic, but there is frequently an overlap, with art representing old myths and rituals."
Plasmatoris nods a bit thoughtfully, at the Mercere. "Such enhancements are wonderful ideas which most people never think about," he says with a wry grin to the other magus. "But what of the potential of using magic to restore lost art pieces? Regain the greatness of Rome or Greece history lost by repairing the ruined temples and frescoes. While a magus may need knowledge of a thing to create it whole cloth, even a magus who had never heard of an oak tree could use his Gift to heal a broken tree."
Then his smile grows wider and his eyes glimmer in the dim light, his fingers withdraw the paintbrush tucked into a small case at his belt. "And then you can conceive of art that could not be done at all without magic. A prism that will split sunlight into religious icons cast upon the wall. Transmuting wood to clay so that it can be sculpted into new forms before returning to wood. Or using magic itself as the form of art." And he lifts up his paintbrush, with a focus of thought, draws delicate points of light on the wall of the nearby building, mimicking one of the strange constellations above. The 'stars' all begin to glow.
"Part of my magic is geared towards what you say." he swallows a bit of the beer. "Although, not quite. I can repair an old manuscript and make it a new one. I suppose such an approach can work on art, too, yes. A Creo ritual." "As for restoring frescoes and temples, this is a nice idea, but it depends on the state of the building. Some buildings are definitely worth restoring, but there are times when salvaging is a better approach. There are ways to save art, however, from even the most crumbling building, by doing something like this which I find very useful."
He stands up and cast a spell [Hand of the Antiquarian, effortless casting] before tracing his index in a small circle on the ground. The ground he traced lifts from the ground seemingly effortlessly, about one inch thick. "I can move a small fresco from a crumbling building with this. Saving art and knowledge for future generations by bringing it in a place it can be safely conserved or studied.." He thinks for a moment. "Although I suppose a spell to fuse that with an existing wall or floor would be nice."
Having finished his encouraging chat with Lares, Argentius clasps both hands behind his back and starts to wander in the pleasant evening air. The fountains natural curiosity draws him in that direction, and as he gets closer the sound of voices pulls him closer. He nods a greeting to his sodales.
"Can I join you?" asks the handsome Verditius with a smile. He chuckles seeing the drink.
"That fountain is making me thirsty."
"Hello there, Argentius. We are just sharing a beer, enjoying the fresh air from the fountain and sharing our interests. You're welcome to join if you want to chat."
"Thank you. It's been quite a day," smiles Argentius as he fills a cup for himself.
"Sharing interests? I was just talking to Lares about some of the same. I woke up thinking one thing this morning, but now I'm not entirely sure. I'm not sure I like who I became here, at least from the few clues I left behind."
Plasmatoris turns from what he was doing at Argentius's voice.
"Magus Argentius!" the Jerbiton says with a cheerful tone, a smile on his features. The distraction from his little light-painting and the swiftness of his turn means the Jerbiton's paintbrush leaves a smear of glowing blue-white light in the air. Plasmatoris tucks the paintbrush into the wild hair behind his ear. "A delight for you to join us. Please," he gestures to the drinks that Aetherius had gathered.
"I am sorry to hear you are not pleased with what you see as your future. It is one of the reasons I have adamantly decided that I am not the person who lived here before. I may share the same name, and history, but they have made choices I have not. I will take what knowledge I can to live my life well from here." He gives a nod to his own statement.
"Hello Plasmatoris," greets Argentius with a smile made brighter, perhaps, by the cheerful energy the Jerbiton generates. The artificer listens to the artist share the way he's responding to the situation. He takes a drink of the beer before commenting.
"I think I'm coming to that same conclusion: it's a fresh start. The clues I left behindā¦ I'm not sure I was happy. How do I have no record of my familiar for the past dozen years? The path I pursued led to obsessionā¦"
Argentius takes another swig of the beer.
Aetherius takes the foot-long circle of ground he was holding as Argentius arrived and puts it back in its rightful place in the ground. He then sits back down. "I would agree on a fresh start. That being said, I haven't found anything I really regret that I seem to have done, thankfully. So I guess I'll see this old life of mine I don't recall as a source of inspiration, but chart a new path."
Argentius nods to Aetherius. "Yes, but perhaps not an entirely new path." He takes another drink.
"Look around us. Look at what was accomplished here at Al Kufra. It's not a bad place to get our start. There is no possible way I would be starting out in a lab as nicely appointed as the one I'veā¦ inherited. The library? The vis sources and stores? If we can keep itā¦"
Argentius shrugs and looks off into the night sky.
"So yes to new paths built on the foundation of old ones." The Verditius raises his mug in a salute to the past selves.
Plasmatoris lifts his own drink, then frowns. He lowers it, peering inside. "Empty," he explains, before getting his mug refilled, and casting a brief incantation over his drink, and raising it once again. "To new paths on old foundations," he agrees to the Verditius. He takes a drink, then he adds, "And to failing our promise to avoid talking about this situation. And, also, to hopes renewed." He takes another long swig and smiles.
((OOC: plasmatoris is using Taste of Herbs and Spices to just enhance the flavor of his food and drinks. Because you need to Live Well, says the Jerbiton.))
Aetherius shares in the toasts, refilling his drink during the moment. "The essence is that we are talking about who we are. We'll need to know each other if we're to be part of the same covenant. A few days ago, I was in Durenmar. I don't know that I dreamed of this place, but I certainly dreamed of a far away place, and of this kind of life. It's not a bad surprise to be here, far from it."
Argentius listens to Aetherius, smiling at the magus's comment.
"Just weeks ago, I was feeling pretty good with myself: apprentice winner of The Contest, soon to complete my Master Work to complete my Gauntlet, dreaming of establishing myself as a great maker of magical rings." He chuckles and gestures at the buildings. "I was wondering where I would sink down my roots apart from my parens and his machinations." He takes a drink.
"Now that I think of it, this might be just the place to do just that. Have either of you seen any evidence of faeries around here?"
"Not really, no. My familiar hasn't seen any faerie aura from the air, anyway."
"Was thinking it might be worth an effort to make contact with my father's people," comments Argentius with a shrug.
"Or maybe not. Always a risk."
"Generally," Plasmatoris says thoughtfuly, fingers tapping away at the drink. "Generally most Jerbiton actually don't like faeries. They thrive on the work of humans, and make life more dangerous for those who do art and poetry. Clearly, this line of thinking did not follow for the other Plasmatoris, since I have a plethora of faeries living in my sanctum."
He swallows from his drink again. "I was looking forwards to stepping away from my Master's domain, to seek out inspiration in the world. He cultivated my urges to paint and sculpt, but he always guided them into directions he preferred. I was looking forwards to travelling and studying art and architecture in different places."