video / seelie / mid-august

[flashcraft]

[The young man that shows up on the lockets this time has an angular face and coppery skin, dark hair littered with braids, and a thoughtful expression as he methodically strips the leaves from a cut branch, setting them in a neat pile beside him. He's seated outside somewhere, but it's hard to say where with only the tree he's seated against as a backdrop.]

Does the queen ever actually make an appearance? It seems strange that she should steal complete strangers from their homes and expect them to fight for her without ever once even addressing them. I can't imagine many people would throw themselves into a war for a queen who is herself conspicuously absent.

[And yet apparently people are, judging by all those he'd seen around the training grounds and preparing arms. It certainly prompts further thinking on the subject. But reconsideration requires evidence that reconsideration is worthwhile, so for the time being his jaw is stubbornly set. Still, he isn't looking for a fight, so his tone is mild and trader-like.]

I don't plan on playing soldier myself, whatever the royal command, and if the queen has a problem with that then she can show herself and speak with me about it. But I have some skill with making flash, and I could use the practice. So if anyone is interested in a charmed trinket or two, let me know. We can work out a trade.

[He frowns over the thought. But nothing else seems worth saying here, so he just nods. For a moment he looks like he's about to close the locket, but then he pauses for a last comment as a thought occurs to him.]

Does anyone know who made these lockets? I'd like to meet them.

Comments

[commandertoolbelt]

[ Leo nods along at the explanation. For all that magic as a whole still tends to annoy him, this is in line with everything he’s been learning with the dwarves. ]

I’ve only worked with stones and metals, but I can do a lot of the same thing. I don’t use runes to do it, though. [ His head tilts, eyes on the pieces Hayden shows off. ] And they’re usually bigger things, [ he admits, a tinge of wry amusement in his voice. ] So it’s mostly just defensive magic?

[flashcraft]

I've made a set of flash armor before, but it's a big job. Pieces like these are less heavy and conspicuous, anyway.

[Less expensive to make, too. It's good to be efficient about your materials when you have nothing and no reliable way of getting any anytime soon.]

There's other sorts. Amulets are used by wizards to store and focus their power, so those can be used for anything. And I've been experimenting with working mundane but useful charm into pieces -- charms to repel mosquitoes or keep you dry in the rain, things like that. [And then he frowns, expression sobering.] There are other kinds of flashpieces that used to be commonplace enough, but they're forbidden now. Things that force an attraction between people, or render a person helpless...nothing a decent person should be crafting in the first place.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ Whoa, okay, that is line Leo did not need to cross. He looks startled at the very thought. ]

...Yeah, I’ve never done anything like that. As far as I know, it’s not something that can be done, the way I do it. [ And if it is, he doesn’t want to know. ] I can’t do the mosquito thing, either, but water - I haven’t done a lot of it, but there’s a way to enchant the metal I work with to repel water. I mostly work in elementals stuff and protections, but I build a lot of stuff for the war, so I guess it’s different. Armor is normal stuff for me.

I can see how it would come in handy, though. I could’ve used something to keep the mosquitos off of me in Texas for sure.