Well if by reasonable you mean she nearly had us killed with an amulet, has ordered us to eschew all friends, and called out by our own magical senses (not the scary voice) as emanating greed-
then yeah, I guess she is pretty reasonable.
Or we could take our safety & destiny into our own hands.
Do think about it though.
She is militaristic iirc.
And wordsmithing IS the big combat magic.
Architecture is static/needs handlers and alchemists/cookers are elit footmen.
And her nephew just tired through the castle servers - on accident - when his talent has kicked in.
He is family... But a powerful mage.
She has know him since birth..... And he is still young...Malleable, to an extent.
He is also your sister's kid. So, you wouldn't even need to be that involved, just some nudges.
Basically, your nephew's tragically great talent is a great boon, both for the family and to the nation she rules. Just gotta teach him how to use it....and, more importantly, why use it.
The uncle and aunt is just nerding out on something new and interesting that shouldn't be possible, especially with a child.
That's the greed, if I got it right.
Compared to that.... Some cryptic spirit is more trustworthy? Especially when he talks in riddles?
Well if by reasonable you mean she nearly had us killed with an amulet, has ordered us to eschew all friends, and called out by our own magical senses (not the scary voice) as emanating greed-
then yeah, I guess she is pretty reasonable.
Or we could take our safety & destiny into our own hands.
She has a subject with speech based mindcontrol powers running amok and forbids speaking to anyone not protected until the subject learns to control the power.
"What?! That your son can't help but assault the minds of everyone around him? That it's instinctual for him to try and enslave others? People were HURT Katalina. Things were broken, and people were injured as your son wreaked havoc across the castle. One maid fell down a flight of stone stairs because of him. We do not even know if she will survive the night. They will be terrified of him Katalina."
She had magic supressing talismans put on him and one of those was dangerous although by their known science it shouldn't be. It was taken off instantly when the harm became apparent and didn't show any sign of insisting doing harm.
You make some good points the both of you. However from a character perspective I feel that Felix wouldn't be stoked about kowtowing to these new rules that block him from meeting new people, not to mention having just directly seen the truth/lack thereof in the words of those around him. He's a kid remember, kids can be incredibly stubborn and self-righteous. And from a player perspective, I'm more interested in the spooky voice story line.
At the end of the day this vote is about Trust. It's not a competition between the Voice and the Royals, because he can always tell the Royals later. It's just about how much does he trust them right this minute.
You make some good points the both of you. However from a character perspective I feel that Felix wouldn't be stoked about kowtowing to these new rules that block him from meeting new people, not to mention having just directly seen the truth/lack thereof in the words of those around him. He's a kid remember, kids can be incredibly stubborn and self-righteous. And from a player perspective, I'm more interested in the spooky voice story line.
At the end of the day this vote is about Trust. It's not a competition between the Voice and the Royals, because he can always tell the Royals later. It's just about how much does he trust them right this minute.
Yeah, IC he won't like those rules. (which happen AFTER our choice to tell)
Agreed on the kids being able to be incredibly stubborn.
On the other hand the idea of him feeling insecure and telling his mom to get help, to get stability, also feels very plausible to me.
Both options are very plausible state of minds, imho.
It wouldn't be that big a vote if we could change our mind later. There's a decent chance that choosing not to tell them now means Not Telling Them Ever. Kids are stubborn as hell when they wanna be.
At the end of the day this vote is about Trust. It's not a competition between the Voice and the Royals, because he can always tell the Royals later. It's just about how much does he trust them right this minute.
Structurally, it's gonna be years in-universe before we get another chance to vote to tell them. Like, yes, we could in theory tell them later, but only after hiding this and lying to them for years, which is not ideal for a variety of reasons.
It wouldn't be that big a vote if we could change our mind later. There's a decent chance that choosing not to tell them now means Not Telling Them Ever. Kids are stubborn as hell when they wanna be.
I mean, I guess? One thing's for certain, once the cat is out of the bag, there's no way of putting it back in. So it's certainly a no-take-backsies decision if we do tell them, but it's only a potentially permanent decision to not tell them.
Structurally, it's gonna be years in-universe before we get another chance to vote to tell them. Like, yes, we could in theory tell them later, but only after hiding this and lying to them for years, which is not ideal for a variety of reasons.
Yeah sure, but if we are right that it's actually A Bad Idea then having to lie to our greedy, controlling extended family is a small price to pay for perhaps our very freedom in the long term.
What if we tell them, they do research as TheCount suggests, find something they don't like, and decide to more permanently leash us?
Yeah that's an interesting point about them being able to do research on the matter on our behalf. We can probably do it ourselves, after all I'm sure they'll be eager for us to be educated ASAP so we can get our powers under control. But it's an interesting point nonetheless. And yeah we could have some real Demi-God hours coming up.
And you seem very eager to immediately obey the mysterious inhuman voice from beyond telling us to lie to our family and calling humans sheep. I don't trust our family to be perfect angels or not use our powers for their own ends, but I trust them a lot more than I trust the Voice and I think that's a pretty defensible position.
Like, keeping the Voice a secret is self-evidently good for the Voice, but how is it actually good for us? Our family already knows weird shit is up with us and already intends to use our power for their political ends. Unless they decide to straight-up kill us (which seems wildly unlikely in context), I'm unsure what 'cards' we're actually giving up by revealing the Voice. Like, us knowing about the Voice when nobody else does allows us to do what that we can't if other people know?
The only real down side is possible increased suspicion, but there's already gonna be a lot of that, and telling people should ameliorate that somewhat.
And you seem very eager to immediately obey the mysterious inhuman voice from beyond telling us to lie to our family and calling humans sheep. I don't trust our family to be perfect angels or not use our powers for their own ends, but I trust them a lot more than I trust the Voice and I think that's a pretty defensible position.
That's true, it's certainly a defensible position. In the end we are contending with our own visions of the narrative. Ultimately there is no objectivity possible in this medium, it's all an intersubjective game of imagination, and I'm simply creating what I think are persuasive arguments to push the narritive where I'd like to see it go.
Like, keeping the Voice a secret is self-evidently good for the Voice, but how is it actually good for us? Our family already knows weird shit is up with us and already intends to use our power for their political ends. Unless they decide to straight-up kill us (which seems wildly unlikely in context), I'm unsure what 'cards' we're actually giving up by revealing the Voice. Like, us knowing about the Voice when nobody else does allows us to do what that we can't if other people know?
The only real down side is possible increased suspicion, but there's already gonna be a lot of that, and telling people should ameliorate that somewhat.
I'd say telling would only increase suspicion, not ameliorate it. At the end of the day our powers can easily be explained by the fact of our powerful arcane parentage. Without adding the details of our visions our powers and mishap in the castle can easily be explained and understood as a child having awoken to powers he wasn't prepared for. With the details shared however, it gives our family nightmare feul to obsess over, and details to corroborate with any pernicious prophecy or legends that may be out there. This can only increase the suspicion that there's more to us than a child with powerful blood who needs training.
And the card we are giving up is the power and ability to choose more judiciously whom we share this information with. Once its out to this room theres no telling the consequences given how little we ourselves know.
[x] No, he trusted his gut and the warnings given. He passed out, nothing more.
Chapter 7: Little Liar
Life changed drastically for Felix after his awakening in many ways. One was that a lot of his free time seemed to magically disappear. The boy found himself constantly whisked from lesson to lesson almost every day. Every morning he would eat his breakfast and then be hurried on to his spelling classes and then his etiquette classes. After etiquette class, Felix would get to eat lunch with uncle Ferron and the grand court mage Secia. They would ask him questions about his magic and any changes that he felt may have occurred. Felix answered their questions honestly for the most part, but he refused to divulge anything that caused that feeling of panic to rise in his chest. He mentioned nothing about the call or that strange space. He did not mention the voice or the changes that had happened to his senses. Ultimately they seemed very frustrated as they tried to figure out what, if anything, separated him from a normal wordsmith beyond pure power and being unable to turn his wordsmithing off.
After that Felix would leave with Secia and receive her instruction.
"The core of wordsmithing is emotion, Prince Felix. When speak we are forcing our will upon the world. But what is will?"
"Can I get up if I answer?" Felix asked from his spot on the floor. She wanted him to sit with his legs crossed, not that Felix had any idea why.
"No." She sighed as Felix refused to answer, "When we say 'will' in the context of wordsmithing we are referring to the strength of one's mind. The end result is the same, but any amount of emotions can be used to fuel that strength. Similarly, it is why a talented wordsmith can draw upon the strength of others to empower their spells. They are drawing upon the emotions of others and using that as fuel."
"Why do you need to sing to do it though?" Felix found it unfair that she got to sit in a chair.
"You do not. An impassioned speech can do just as much to empower your crew as a rousing war song. There are more specific reasons why songs are the most universally recognized form of wordsmithing, but those will be lessons for another day. What I am trying to say is that the fundamental building block of wordsmithing is the emotion that our words carry. That is why we are here today. I do not know exactly why you can not speak without wordsmithing, but I do know that having greater control over your emotions can only help with your difficulties."
What followed were lessons about how to clear Felix's mind which Felix constantly failed miserably at. He was a child and containing his boundless energy and wandering mind was a herculean task. Though Secia remained calm and patient with Felix, even when he was trying to annoy her.
From there Felix would go to learn sign language. Something that he found to be much more entertaining that his normal letters. His teacher was a kindly old man who seemed to enjoy Felix's overabundance of energy after his boring meditation lessons.
The second big change in Felix's life was how he had to stay quiet around anyone who wasn't a teacher. Felix found it very hard to not speak around anyone and failed at it constantly. He quickly improved however as each and every failure was met with a very harsh scolding at the hands of the queen. He also had to get used to constantly wearing scarves. They were annoying, and itchy, and would get caught on things if he let them unravel too much. Which he was prone to doing as his neck was constantly overheating from all the extra cloth, but they were far more tolerable than the veils that they had tried to make Felix wear.
The third and biggest big change for Felix was his newfound senses. Felix quickly learned that he could see when others were wordsmithing around him. Flame leapt from their lips, much as it did from Felix's own. He learned very quickly that the color of the flame seemed to correspond to the strength of the wordsmith. The majority of people seemed to speak with flames of red, yellow, or orange when they spoke.
There were only three people who had a hotter flame. The first was his teacher Secia, whose flame was a beautiful yellow-white. The second was a noble with whom Felix interacted very little. No one seemed to realize when the noble would wordsmith and his every word was accompanied by the tiniest sliver of an almost pure white-hot flame, tinged only the tiniest bit by yellow orange, and red. It would pierce the defenses of others like a scalpel and Felix felt unnerved around that noble and his charming smile.
The third was the first candidate that was presented to Felix.
Nia Anhedo was a quiet girl from a noble family that sponsored explorers to wander the flying isles for resources and treasures that could benefit the house and the larger kingdom. Felix knew of adventurers from his father's stories as annoying pests that tended to poke where they weren't welcome. Several of fathers stories started with adventurers poking a hydra or other monsters that hadn't been bothering anyone before they came and made it mad. So Felix didn't have a good view of the family, to begin with.
The girl herself was quite underwhelming. She curtsied as her mother introduced her. She was taller than Felix and her dress was blue and plain. Her hair framed her angular face and guileless eyes.
"Hello, I'm Nia Anhedo. It's good to see you." She said, extending her hand.
The final thing his new senses was an innate ability to tell if someone was lying. He could tell when someone was lying and, if he focused, he could even discern the emotions of the people talking to him. He had to exert effort for that to happen, and the amulet under his shirt always grew hot when he did. However, even with it on he could always tell when someone was telling him a lie. It was difficult for Felix to describe, but there was a distance to lies. A distance that left them cold and lifeless to his ears.
Felix looked up at his mother and she nodded, "It is good to see you, Nia. I am Felix Caelus." Felix noticed Nia's mother frown.
Their parents exchanged their own greetings before moving away and when they did Nia Anhedo lied to Felix. Again and again, she lied. She lied when she said that she had never entered the palace before. She lied when she said that she was so happy to see Felix. She lied and lied and lied. They flowed from her mouth with every breath and with everyone Felix grew more uncomfortable with her presence. Which was something she seemed to pick up on as her voice took on a nervous tone.
"One of my favorite games is Kings and pirates. Do you know how to play it?"
"No, " Felix said, "But I'll try it."
It turned out that Knights and Pirates was a board game. One that had one player play as a king with a lot of troops and the other as pirates trying to steal the king's treasure. The game was simple on the surface, but Felix could tell that there was a startling amount of depth to it. Not that he much cared about that. He just followed her advice and played. And he won, again and again, but he couldn't take much enjoyment in it.
"I lost. You picked up on the game really fast." Nia lied.
"I guess. The games pretty easy. The pirates are so strong."
Felix didn't take much issue with her lying. Ever since he had awakened his powers he had quickly realized that the world was full of lies. Servants lied about being happy to help him. Most nobles lied about everything. His mother lied to him that she was well when he knew she wasn't. But even so, there was often truth mixed in with lies. The maids weren't always happy to help him, but some seemed to like him. Just not the tasks that he needed them to do. The guard didn't lie much at all unless Felix asked them about their bosses and his mother only ever lied to him about herself. She genuinely loved the people she worked tirelessly to help. And nobles didn't lie about liking money and power, even if they did tend to lie about almost everything else.
It was that Nia seemed to tell him nothing but lies. And the lies that were grating Felix the most were the little 'compliments' after every game he 'won'. She lied that he was learning the game quickly. She lied that his moves were good. She lied that she was having fun. With every line that came out of her mouth, Felix wondered why she was even here. She didn't like the palace, she didn't like him and she wasn't even trying to play the game properly. She was just letting him win, over and over again as she sat there sweating for some reason Felix couldn't even understand.
But Felix wasn't sure if he should call her out on it. Maybe she didn't want to be his companion and was trying to make him bored. Maybe she was lying to herself? Maybe she was just trying to be polite. Or maybe that was just how she is. Even more than all of that, it would be rude to call her out. He really didn't want his mother to punish him.
What does Felix do?
[] Nothing. Felix doesn't know what she is doing or why, but he isnt that interested in finding out.
[] Felix demands that she take their match seriously.
[] Felix calls her out on her lying.
[] Write-in
A/N: Decided to cut up the companions into smaller chapters that each focus on different companion.
She has probably been told by her parents to be as nice as possible. Demanding the truth from her could backfire if Felix can't control her wordsmithing.
Maybe something like this:
[X] Felix tell her that if she isn't genuine he won't consider her as his companion.
She has probably been told by her parents to be as nice as possible. Demanding the truth from her could backfire if Felix can't control her wordsmithing.
Maybe something like this:
[X] Felix tell her that if she isn't genuine he won't consider her as his companion.
[] Ask her about things she shouldn't have to lie about, like favorite foods, color, dreams.
[] Talk more about your interests and see if she honestly likes anything in common.
@DangerKitty, are these too much?
Can I combine both into a single one?
[] Ask her about things she shouldn't have to lie about, like favorite foods, color, dreams.
[] Talk more about your interests and see if she honestly likes anything in common.
@DangerKitty, are these too much?
Can I combine both into a single one?
[X] Ask her about things she shouldn't have to lie about, like favorite foods, color and dreams. Also talk more about your own interests and see if you have anything in common.
