Ulrich looks down. [color=green]"All I have is my memories of Rose. Usually, I think that's enough...it's kept me away from Celestria so far, but I'm not sure how long I can last." He sighs, closes his eyes and pictures Rose in his mind for a minute to refocus.
[color=green]"It's hard, though, when someone just...gives you such a tantalizing peek of flesh. I guess I just have to try to discipline myself and not be tempted, and try to think of Rose when I am. I just wish it wasn't so hard all the time, not being with her. Maybe someday..."
"If you and Rose should develop a life long bond, take comfort in it, that you may be able to grow old with one another, some of us are not as blessed as you."
((OOC comment from the peanut gallery: Would Ra'am think about suggesting that they exchange tokens? Would he go on to discuss the potential security implications of such arcane and symbolic connections to each other?))
A few days after their arrival at Le Maison, Ulrich (who has been his typically mopey emo self since Rose left) nervously asks Ra'am, [color=green]"Master? May I ask a question?"
[color=green]"I'm glad that you are all right, and that the accident didn't do any lasting damage. But it did get me to wondering: if anything were to happen to you, what is to become of me?"
Ulrich looks genuinely nervous as he asks the question.
"As a matter of Hermetic law, you would probably become Prospero's apprentice. My will states my Hermetic estate with some exceptions goes to Prospero, or if I have filia, then my filia first. There is a two year period where you may become Elizabeth's apprentice. It's not something you have to be too concerned about, though."
He looks thoroughly unconvinced by Ra'am's reassurance that it's not something Ulrich has to be too concerned about, though.
[color=green]"Are you sure I'm not cursed, or a jinx?" he asks. [color=green]"My first master has disappeared without a trace," he says as he starts ticking his points off on his fingers. [color=green]"I was fostered to Apollodorus, who was murdered. And now you're almost killed in a magical mishap."
"We will discuss more later. For now, I'm not concerned about my longevity. My actions aren't as carefully monitored as Apollodorus or Silviatos." His tone has an air of finality to it as he says, "I think we'll have you and Elizabeth extract vis from the aura while we are here, go ahead and tell her and follow her lead, she can ask Prospero to use Tria's lab or the guest lab if it is available, but Tria's lab would be better." This effectively closes the conversation with Ra'am, and keeps Ulrich (and Elizabeth) busy for the remainder of the season as Elizabeth is nearly relentless in this process.
Ulrich does as he's told, and will spend the rest of the season assisting Elizabeth in the lab, extracting vis from the aura. But he will also think about what was said...and was not said, and the way Ra'am suddenly changed the subject when Ulrich started talking about being cursed. And he starts to wonder if maybe he is cursed, after all.
But he won't say anything to Ra'am, Elizabeth, or anyone else, nor put anything about it in his continuing correspondence with Rose.
After being informed of what Ra'am wants, she goes to Prospero and gets permission to use Tria's lab, in her former sanctum. Ulrich notes that the sanctum marker is no longer there. Elizabeth takes a quick inventory of the lab and sets about organizing it to her tastes. "Alright, Ulrich, have you ever distilled vis from a magical aura, or otherwise assisted in the process?"
"Well, it isn't. But it's useful and necessary a lot of times. Many covenants don't have good access to a VIm vis source, so when they need Vim, they tend to distill it from the aura. Vim is so useful, because it's necessary to open devices for enchantment and tends to get used by the Aegis of the Hearth ritual that it always seems to be in short supply, or have plenty of demand."
Ulrich does the best he can during the distillation process, asking questions at the appropriate time, making sure he understands what's being done, and how and why, falling into his role as student to Elizabeth's teacher. He still has no idea how Elizabeth could (potentially, in tragic circumstances) become his domina, or why for only two years – unless Elizabeth is two years further along in her apprenticeship than he, which them makes him wonder what would happen if Elizabeth hadn't been Gauntleted yet.
He tries to show no trace of his doubts or suspicions over the next couple of months, however. ((Com 1 + Guile (to women) 3 + die roll of 9 = 13.))
((I just thought of something completely nerdy and teen-romance-esque. Since Rose's symbol in their correspondence would be somewhat obvious, and most girls who are that pretty are never actually sweet, Ulrich's secret paramour nickname for her should be Thorn. And she should have one for him that has something to do with being the Light of Her Life. Sunrise, or Apollo, or something like that. They can have this whole squishy sweettalk language about how his rays of light yearn to reach out and make her grow, without either of them realizing the sexual subtext of it all because they're too gorram in love.))
I saw this in this morning's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode, and instantly put it on Ulrich's "To Do" list. Of course, he'll need to buff his Animal score, but still...
