Mysterium Meeting III

[Campanella]

Campanella's eyes shift quietly from one Awakened to the next. They linger on Corn more than once; and land approvingly on Aurora when she urges caution and the limits of her own knowledge.

"Aurora is wise. Reversing or cleansing a curse is surely a noble endeavour but never forget that such an action will always have a cost. The first objective is containment and then scrutiny; for even cursed, an artefact may impart a lesson. However, the sanctity of magic must come first - an accident allowing the Abyss to cut into reality, whatever the intentions, is still a wound against the Tapestry and that cannot stand."

He straightened a little.

"Crystal, how goes your thesis?"

[Guru]

"That's another theory I want to test." He mumbled to himself with the tone of a note being made as Corn referenced Twilight. He held up his hands, his mouth pulling up into a one sided smirk as he laughed. "That's a lot of questions where there are currently no answers. The only thing to do is use what tools we have at our disposal and study. This isn't a problem for or that needs to be solved today. Rome, etcetera." His hand waving in a circle telling himself to wrap it up as he abbreviated the turn of phrase to two words.


"Aurora and Campanella are right, safety first. Safety always first." Magic was dangerous, magic was always dangerous because of the influence of the abyss, the Lie. It was worth studying and given a long enough timeline they could manage the risks to make it worth it. Quirking an eyebrow he looked to the other Magus, wondering what he'd wrote a paper on.


Fuck...he didn't want to write a paper.

Sorry for the delay everyone.

[Crystal]

Crystal perked up a bit once Corn started talking about practical applications for his metals - creating secure places to store artifacts sounded way better to the Mastigos than just playing with shiny things for shits and giggles. It was a bit concerning that it took two to three other Mages to curb Corn's enthusiasm to play with cursed objects. Maybe he needed to refocus on less overtly dangerous studies. "While I thank Guru for the generous addition to our Athenaeum maybe we can postpone its study until we've established proper security measurements - if left alone the object seems to be dormant so far, right?" A quick glance towards the new addition-to-be. "Why don't we check out some garage sales or something for the materials you need before we poke the cursed artifact?"

Luckily Campanella acted as the voice of reason and reigned Corn in a bit. Fuck, who would get to do that once he was gone?

When he was asked for his thesis, Crystal straightened up some more and got his paper out of his bag. "I've recently finished a thesis on Magic as seen through Sleeper's perspective. While certainly not exhaustive it scratches the surface on how there is still willingness in the mundane world to accept the Supernal. Although the Lie and the Abyss might muddle things on their end, this lends proof to the thesis of our Atlantean heritage and if pursued further could give more insights into the exact relation between Sleepers' Souls and their reaction to Magic." He got up and handed Campanella his work.
"I'd like to submit this to our Athenaeum, after it underwent a reviewing process deemed appropriate by you or my fellow Mystagogues of course." Chances were Corn was the only one willing to read it anyway, with Campanella being busy with other things - but it seemed the proper way to handle these things. "I'd also like to thank Aurora for her assistance in formulating the outline of the thesis." He hadn't talked about this with her in detail, so maybe this would put her on the spot. On the other hand: she really did help him and he saw no reason in downplaying her part in this.

If there weren't any follow-up questions or remarks by Campanella he would sit down again. Of course he was ready to answer questions by the other Mystagogues, but judging by the reactions on Corn's paper there probably wasn't that much resonance to be expected.

[Campanella]

Campanella inclined his head when the Mastigos handed him the document. He raised his eyebrows and gave Aurora an encouraging smile as Crystal continued, elaborating what assistance he had received and from who.

"Thank you. Both of you. I'd like to read this, if I may, before I take up my studies toward Legacy."

He watched the group as a silence grew.

"Any other comments?"

[Aurora]

An eyebrow was raised, wise? Not a word she would use to describe herself.

Nodding to Guru, “Rushing an examination will only lead to mistakes, some which could be costly. So I am in full support of us lending our skills and taking our time. The more we understand it, the better we can contain it. I look forward to working with you.” It would be interesting to get his take on the object, learn how he pieced things together.

Adding to what Crystal said, “Could even check some second-hand shops.” Worth a look.

Then a few blinks, fuck. He took it a ran with it. Like, seriously ran with it and did it. Now she feels like an ass cause she barely had helped. Cheeks flush briefly, “I can’t take any credit, that all goes to you.” Truly. Seriously, all him.

A shake of her head, which seemed unsure, “I would like any advice on pursing my library, particularly ancient languages. I’ve gotten a pretty good understanding of one, Latin, but some are proving a bit more difficult to find material for.”

[Corn]

To Campanella Corn simply answered "Yes! We should organize a farewell party. Perhaps throw in a food competition or something to make it special for you and your culinary pursuits. Or without the competion. Every one brings something, preferably home-made. Aurora can bring her beer or beers if she wants, Guru his baked stuff and I would bring my aunt's homemade peach marmalade. Just so you know, this jam is made from homegrown peach.
What do you all think?"

[Guru]

Guru gave a one shouldered shrug, brushing off the thanks with a smile because it wasn't a problem. He'd invited Aurora to examine it with him first after all, at least he remembered something about nerd shit. Guru took a deep breath and messed with his hair, before the product pushed it back to place when the talk of collections and libraries was discussed. "Uh, so. my connections aren't that great out here in Sac Town and I mostly deal with smugglers but I can have my people check black markets for you if you'd like." He looked around the room for a second. "What, don't say you're surprised." He said with a laugh before shaking his head.


The mood was bitter-sweet, they were leasing a dear friend, colleague, and mentor. A hole would be left in such a great absence but who couldn't be happy for the reason why. It was a goodbye with a promise of another hello. Like atoms the addition and subtraction of an element will have an effect, what happened next would determine the shape it would take.


"Think Morde would probably like to talk about that on a philosophical level if not Academic." Sounded a lot like what he's heard other Ladders talk about in the past. Something about a seed, he couldn't remember. Then Corn brought up the best idea so far, "That's a great idea! Potluck style! If we want to keep it like super chill and casual we could even do it in the park like a picnic. But really that's for Campanella to decide." He looked over to him, still smiling, but softly now.

[Crystal]

Crystal gave Aurora a lopsided grin when she pushed away any credit for helping him. Frankly, he hadn't expected anything different from her. But hey, he threw her a bone and would double down on it if Corn was to take over the Mysterium and make academic contributions mandatory or something.

Speaking of, he kind of imagined the Moros being somewhat more.. excited about this? Not that the Mastigos defined his self-esteem through Corn's approval, but still. "Thank you, Daduche." One way or another: he knew that it held up and if Campanella wanted to read it it wasn't all for nothing.

Moving on.

Apparently there was a chance to repay Aurora the favour. "Depending on the languages I think I can be of assistance, or at least hook you up. My Mentor is really into middle-eastern stuff for some reason." This wasn't much, but the extend of his help would kind of even out to what she's done for him. If that wasn't a good sale, he didn't know what was. Guru's offer made Crystal chuckle. Fuck, he sure hoped the Shaman decided to join the Order for good. Maybe they were due for another night of revelry.

Crystal heard Corn's suggestion - no surprise in Guru's enthusiasm for it either - and carefully watched Campanella. The notice he gave his order today seemed pretty final, so a farewell party seemed out of the question. Maybe he was just misjudging the Moros. "I'd be up for it, if Campanella's schedule allowed for it."

[Campanella]

Campanella chuckled: a genuine and hearty sound that even bought a twinkle to his eye.

"You honour me too much. No. I thank you but no. Your enthusiasm is commendable Corn but you should be more focussed on the business of the Order when I step aside. I am well aware of the pain my parting may be causing and do not want to increase it further."

His eyes slid onto Guru and fell most heavily on Aurora

"But thank you, all, for letting me know how valued I am. It is a rare gift."

[Aurora]

Seemed her request was to fall on deaf ears. Whatever. She’d made it this far working on her own, she could make it the rest of the way.

An absent nod, “I can provide whatever is needed.” Though would she attend such a gathering? She wasn’t sure. It would be painful, more painful than it was sitting here, playing cool.

A shrug to Guru, “Connections are connections.” Was she surprised? Not really. But she was never one in a position to judge how others lived their lives.

But then Crystal surprises her, and offers to help, a grateful smile offered, “Thank you Crystal. I have made a list of the languages I am hoping to study further, and perhaps we can discuss it later.” Since he was the only one to offer. Why share with the rest?

She catches the look from Campanella, and holds his eyes for a moment before looking away. Her eyes both showing pain and how uncomfortable she was. This was why she hated goodbyes. They caused pain and emotions and those sucked quite frankly. Life was easier without them. And now it was complicated. She was complicated, and she hated it.

A deep breath, “You’ve been such a valued member of this city for as long as I can remember. You’ve defended it and helped those who have resided in it find their way.” Her specifically, “You deserve to have a party for us to celebrate you and everything you’ve done.”