draculabutbackwards

Fuck, I hope she does. No one else can keep Trevor in line.

[He's kidding. Only not.]

But yes, should she, you'll probably be interrogated at length. Sypha's a proper magician. I know the basics, but my approach has been unavoidably confined to the practical lately.

Most of my knowledge is theoretical at this point, anyway. It's not like I can use magic here without the staff your dad gave me.

[Because inmates can't use magic. Obviously. Not because he doesn't have any.]

[Which Adrian is entirely willing to believe--he's simply not very good at duplicity--but which also tells him to immediately go diving for a solution.]

Not innately, perhaps, but most proper magic from where I'm from is a matter of skill, not power.

[He'd be surprised if Father hadn't at least touched on this.]

It really is a pity we don't have Sypha. She'd probably be a better teacher than I would. But we can give some basics a look.

For my realm it's both. You need to have the innate capacity, the right organs, and actual training. Most prestigious schools require that you know a few spell circles already before you're allowed to apply.

[And despite himself there's a faint smile, almost nervous on his face. He likes talking about magical theory.]

Your dad's been teaching me magic from your world.

[Figured.]

In most respects he's a better teacher than me. And my teacher, for the most part. I will say he's so absolutely removed from... the possibility of difficulty? That I'm glad to be on tap if you get a bit stuck. And he's a purist about funny things.

I've been able to keep on top of everything with him so far. Seems like he's starting off with some pretty simple spells. [Yeah there he goes, there's something almost animated to him as he continues:] It's... actually kind of fascinating to compare them to the spells witches use back home, the somatic components especially. Nearly all witches cast using circles, the physical act of casting is what activates our magic, but for the stuff Dracula's been teaching me it's more like a single component.

[Oh, good, definitely want to encourage this.]

One method among many at home, yes. To shamelessly lift from Sypha, magic in its fundamental form is just intent. Ritual language, ingredients, and sigils are just ways to manage that.

There aren't many spells circles that require ingredients, largely that's more reserved for the Potions coven, stuff where they have to actually make things. I'm- not actually familiar with other languages, but there's supposed to be some kinds of glyphic language from the Savage Ages, I've read a little about wild magic that could--

[But his eyes suddenly widen, and he glances briefly up at Adrian like he's done something wrong before he looks away quickly, and that energy is locked back down.]

-- um-- never mind...

[He's improved his technique at this point. Can't come at Hunter directly. Can't even make emotional appeals. But.]

You can't go neglecting the value of responsible scholarship. Ask Belmont about his family library sometime. Tomes and tomes of horrors, some that would be devastating in the wrong hands. But if the right people can't access it when needed, things get worse, not better.

[A little slimy. But. Baby steps, here.]

Who decides who the right people are? [It's almost accusatory.] If something has been outlawed then there's nothing to be gained from studying it. There's nothing responsible in actively seeking out information that could hurt people if it goes wild.

Only in a scenario where you can rely on that information staying lost. And when magic is involved, and multiple worlds?

[He doesn't think anything Hunter's mentioned maps to what he knows of, say, hell, but they're all subject to the barge and its travels, so he doesn't need to reach too far.]

That's more or less a guarantee it won't.

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