[OPEN] between a rock and a...

[hardrocklife]

Who ⬤ Zelgadis and you!
What ⬤ Catch-all for the month: trying out new jobs, rooftop brooding, whatever else
When ⬤ September
Where ⬤ Various
Content Warnings ⬤ Nothing too noteworthy! Drinking, mostly.

Various prompts will follow. Feel free to contact me at pzue / Journal PM / Discord DM if you'd like a starter!

Comments

[hardrocklife]

[He grumbles something like "I doubt it."]

Enma... They're focused on law, order, and administration work, right? You got some experience in one of those areas?

[divisors]

I am of the Ruler class. Heroic Spirits who are off that class are marked as those who are impartial and can delineate judgement on others.

So yes. And on top of it, order is my bread and butter.

[hardrocklife]

So you're some kind of bigwig. [Mild surprise. He certainly sounds self-important, but Zel didn't fully expect that someone sporting what looks like clown makeup would hold actual authority in some system.]

What's a "Heroic Spirit"?

[divisors]

You could consider me that, yes.

[Criminal mastermind rights, after all.]

Mm. Imagine a familiar summoned by a mage. We're similar to that, but we are legends and figures of history that come in the form of magical beings made to exist for a purpose.

[hardrocklife]

[

A long look.]

Okay...

[That's a lot to process. Is he even telling the truth? Is it worth doubting? They're in Hell; anything's possible.]

So were you summoned here by someone?

[divisors]

I don't think so. Perhaps the clan itself. It's hard to say.

[Its all up in the air, man.]

[hardrocklife]

Summoning, hm...

I wonder if that could be a way to leave this place, if we needed to.

[divisors]

What, by being summoned? But you're a physical being? Unless someone teleported you out of here...

You wouldn't want to be a Heroic Spirit. That would assume you've died at some point, if you're not some sort of god-like being.

[hardrocklife]

[So this guy's technically dead... Perhaps he should have guessed as much, from the part about such spirits being legends and figures of "history." Anyway.

Zelgadis shakes his head.]

You're right; I've got no interest in dying. Nor would I need to be the one summoned.

When a being is summoned from one dimension to another, it creates a momentary connection between those two places, one that bypasses what normally divides them. Under the right circumstances, a skilled sorcerer may be able to take advantage of that connection.

[divisors]

...Mm.

[Now that makes him think for a long moment.]

Using a summoning like putting a foot in the open door before it closes....but ah, once again, Heroic Spirits aren't the way. I highly doubt I could be summoned directly to another place, and if I do return to the Throne of Heroes, that is no place for a physical being.

[hardrocklife]

It's a place on the spiritual plane, then?

[The concept is familiar enough for Zelgadis to know that he probably doesn't want to try to go there.]

... Damn. And I'm not sure my summoning magic would cut it, even if I got my power back...

[divisors]

Eh...yeah. Let's go with something like that.

[He kicks his heels a little with a shrug.]

It was not a terribly bad idea. Though...you have summoning powers?

[hardrocklife]

Just the basics. I know a spell to summon a common familiar, but that's about it. I specialize more in shamanic magic.

[divisors]

Shamanic...like conversing with spirits? The dead?

[hardrocklife]

Not exactly. Shamanism refers to the disciplines of magic that draw power from the natural world. Spells that use the elements of earth, fire, air and water... and astral magic, which interacts directly with the spiritual plane.

[divisors]

I see. Not too different from mages as I know of them. Some specialize in specific elements, even.

Is there any element you typically go for?

[hardrocklife]

[He thinks for a moment.]

I'm proficient in all of them, but I suppose I lean towards the earth and astral elements most often.

[divisors]

The earth makes sense. [After all....Rock Man.] Astral, though....harnessing the stars?

1/2

[hardrocklife]

... It's a coincidence.

[The rock stuff. God damn it.]

[hardrocklife]

[-- Ahem. He clears his throat.]

... Astral magic can be used to attack a target's spirit directly on the astral plane. It's useful against beings that can't be harmed physically... demons and the like.

[divisors]

Hehe.

[:3c]

Oh. That's why you asked about the Throne of Heroes...though it sounds like in your world, several creatures do not exist physically in the first place. Rather useful.

[hardrocklife]

Yeah. I'd be dead a few times over if not for that.

What about you? From what you've told me so far, I'd have to assume you have some special talents.

[Otherwise, why would anyone summon this guy?]

[divisors]

Of course I do.

[He puffs out his chest a little...]

I'm a mathematician, a shrewd mind, a man who sees the probabilities and rolls the dice regardless. A preeminent genius who lays in the shadows. I remove malevolence and evil. These are among many of my abilities.

[shut up nerd]

[hardrocklife]

... People summon you to do math and remove evil?

[divisors]

When you say that, it makes it sound lame! No!