therookery | Wands and Staffs.

FORM: Crystal.
SENDER: Newt Scamander.
RECIPIENT: Everyone with a crystal, though the message itself is directed toward fellow magic users/mages in particular.
WHAT: Wizards and mages and their proper tools.
WHEN: Early Justinan/June, after the Grand Tourney.
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: Unintentional (and otherwise) sexual innuendo, magic talk, Newt making an unintentional fool of himself (but what else is new?), etc. Will add more warnings if they become necessary. There is probably a good chance this post will not be safe for work.

[Trying desperately not to think about the recent news about the phylacteries, Newt mostly focuses on his own work in the Research division. But during his down time, his mind yet lingers on the uncomfortable possibilities of said recent news, and so he tries to distract himself by sating his own curiosity about something he's happened to notice about the native mages in Thedas.]

Hello all! Pardon me if I'm not using this crystal device correctly; it's, oddly enough, more advanced than some of the Muggle technology from my own home.

If we haven't yet met, my name is Newt Scamander, and I'm a rifter. [A brief pause as he considers what he wants to say next. Perhaps it isn't wise to announce himself as a rifter with magic so openly, but, frankly, he would like to reach out and connect with others with magic, to get himself familiar with the magic of this world if he can help it. It's much preferable to dwelling on the phylacteries, after all.]

A wizard rifter, to be precise, and so this message is mostly geared towards mages and others with magic themselves, particularly those native to Thedas.

And because it must be said, no, this message is not about phylacteries of any kind.

I can't help but notice that you lot use staffs to conduct your magic instead of wands. I just wanted to know: what is it like using such large tools to do so? Do not get me wrong, the staff work I have seen so far has been very impressive. And they are very neat-looking, and seem to make for good weapons, especially for hitting things. But they also seem so unwieldy? And a pain to carry around everywhere. Do you charm them to make them lighter?

I myself use a wand, which is much smaller and of a different kind of build. Perhaps, if you would be willing, we might compare our instruments some time?

[Newt says all of this with a completely straight face, entirely unaware of how he sounds. He is genuinely curious, and he's engaged with some very interesting conversations through these sending crystals before. He looks forward to the responses, though he can't yet know how they might turn out.]

Honestly, the magic of this world is fascinating, and I look forward to learning more about it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes. Supposedly he's still locked up in MACUSA the last I heard. But that won't last long.

He's a powerful wizard, and he's trying to start a war in the name of dominating those without magic. "For the Greater Good," is his justification. [Newt tends to twitch every time he hears that phrase, no matter how it's meant.] He'll do anything for power.

Yes, well. The problem is they already assume us to be demons, so even getting them to listen to us without pitchforks feels like an impossible task.

Well, I can't quite stay in contact with him, unfortunately. And he did know about my magic, once.

[His voice grows sad here.]

MACUSA made us erase his memories. Their laws and all that.

[ Why is it that when people talk about the greater good, they're so often using it to justify evil? Aro finds all of that very unpalatable. That it seems to happen everywhere is no consolation at all. He'd much rather believe in the good in people, but there are some who seem determined to make that hard. ]

I know, they think we're demons. The thing is that's already assuming that every kind of demon is terrible, and they're not, necessarily. My world has creatures called tieflings who often suffer because people think they're evil, just because of how they look. I've known as many who were good. That sort of...blanket approach to everyone who shares a certain look, or trait or whatever it is, it's never the right way to be. Can't change it at home any more than I can change it here.

[ He'd like to. He'd like a more tolerant world in general, but it always seems out of reach. And Aro's no kind of politician. ]

Your friend's a good example of it. If he could be good to you, perhaps other Muggles would be too, only they'll never be able to show it. It's a shame.

You're only too right about that. I see it all the time in my work with creatures. Some of those with less favorable looks garner poor reputations just because of that one trait. Meanwhile, certain 'pretty' creatures have gained undue popularity solely because of how much they adhere to standards of attractiveness. I find it all quite mindboggling, frankly.

It is. Although, I can understand where MACUSA is coming from, given that groups like the Second Salamers also exist.

No, you're absolutely right. Most people don't look beyond the surface. You see it here, with how afraid everyone is of dragons.

[ That, in part, is because they're all actually evil here, but in Aro's defence, that's not what he's used to. To him it's still prejudice, not fact. ]

Sorry - what are the Second Salamers? Have they something against wizards, like the humans here?

Not to mention, how people fear magic and rifters.

[Which, in a way, Newt ought to understand well enough; people are always afraid of what they don't know. But still. The tinge of bitterness in his tone is quite distinct.]

Yes. They believe magic should be eradicated. Luckily, most Muggles don't take them seriously; they're viewed as an extreme, but MACUSA will step in when necessary, too.

And elves. And I don't think they're terribly fond of the Qunari, either. They've their work cut out for them with all that fear.

[ Why can't we all just get along? In any world, at any time. People really can be depressing. ]

How is it that these Salamanders even know that magic exists, if you all go to such lengths to hide it?

Indeed. It's a wonder they can get anything done, given how diverse and full of varying walks of life Thedas is.

[People being depressing and terrible is why Newt prefers dragons. And other magical creatures, of course.

He snorts at Aro calling them Salamanders. That it sounds close to his own last name only amuses him further.]

Not everyone with magic in our world is subtle. And Muggles have habits of stumbling into lairs of various creatures.

Not diverse enough.

[ If humans weren't so much in the majority, they wouldn't have these problems, he thinks.

Not that humans are entirely the problem. Everyone seems to be part of the problem here. ]

I suppose it can't be easy keeping a whole world of magical creatures secret from them, as well. I mean, don't they see them? It's very hard to miss a dragon, I've found.

Perhaps not.

Well, that's why we have an entire section of the Ministry dedicated to help people forget what they see. Dragons are hard to miss, indeed, and people can be right idiots about them.

But then, so can witches and wizards, too.

Oh, yes. I know they can.

Where I'm from, dragons have quite a bit of diversity. Chromatic dragons are often as dangerous as everyone says, but the Metallics are really quite different. It's right to be respectful, but not to be afraid. Fear is the last thing you'd want to show, anyway.

Wands and Staffs.

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