crystal

[pathlit]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Jason Talons & Viktor Tendercrisp
RECIPIENT: One thread private to Cosima, Marcus, Yseult & the current Diplomacy representative; otherwise, open.
NOTES: Context under the cut.

[ It's an ordinary day in post-sieged Kirkwall. The air is muggy with intermittent summer showers that dampen dirt and stone, invoking the scent of earth and, in the lower streets, aerosolizing the stench of a crowded populace. Reparations continue, maneuvering around them normalized.

So it's an ordinary day in Kirkwall up until the exact moment that a workshop in Lowtown erupts with a brilliant hue of blue light bursting from every open window, door and crevice. The blast is felt more than heard; a subtle drop in pressure 'round the block seconds before acute release, its pulse strong enough to rattle the foundation and knock an average-sized human off their feet.

A pillar of fire shoots out from the building's chimney, high enough to be seen from The Gallows for all of a few seconds before abruptly vanishing. Light blue particles glimmer in its wake, as if suspended amongst the humid air, then gently float downward to vanish the moment they alight.

No casualties (aside from whatever creature may have been naïve enough to roost upon the chimney's crown). Mild property damage. Elation. ]

( open )
[Viktor's voice, broadcast to Riftwatch at large, is at first distantly quiet.]

What should I—

[Suddenly much closer and clearer:]

Ehh— should anyone happen to have noticed a combustion event on the mainland just now, please be assured it's nothing to worry about.

( closed to Division Heads )
[ Minutes later, the sending crystals of the division heads light up. ]

Hey! Hi, uh-- [ Jayce clears his throat. ] Hello. It's Jayce. Jayce and Viktor. Research div. There was a-- an incident in Lowtown. That was us, not an attack. Everything's okay. Could you let the Viscount know?

[From a few metres away, raised thin with excitement, Viktor's voice:] Tell them! Tell them what we've done!

[ Jayce, with a breathy laugh and an excitement scarcely backdropped by the worry of reprimand (and-or shock of success): ] Yeah, we've-- we've got it! Runic enchantment. Viktor and I figured it out. How to do it ourselves, I mean.

Comments

[pathlit]

Sorry, sorry! It was just a little overshot, nothing serious!

[cozen]

A little...

[ No, alright, everyone else is covering the contextualization of it all. ]

I will pass along your apologies. What is it you were aiming for?

[grindset]

Yes, our sincere apologies. And, and if you can, tell her— tell her it's not like the last time. This is something new, and it isn't meant to hurt anyone.

[bouchonne]

Andraste's tits -

[ Furious: ]

You could have blown up our house. It's barely still standing after that attack.

[grindset]

You'd think so, but that would have required a completely different runic sequence, actually—

[bouchonne]

Oh, so the runic sequence you chose performed exactly as intended?

[grindset]

Aside from the brief energy spike you all witnessed... yes. More or less.

[pathlit]

[ Viktor, he adores you but please stop talking. ]

Sir, you have our deepest apologies. Viktor and I take full responsibility for the emotional distress caused by our actions. If there is any compromise to the structural integrity of your residence, we’ll work to address it as soon as leadership is debriefed.

[ The most property damage one can expect comes from whatever may have rattled off the walls—

—and hopefully no one sleeps beneath their bookshelf. ]

[bouchonne]

[ Well, at least this one has some sense. ]

You should be doing this nonsense in the Gallows. Not in Lowtown.

[pathlit]

Absolutely. Once we've resolved the consequences of our actions, we hope to continue our studies with Riftwatch. What we've struck could be revolutionary.

[bouchonne]

Or could start a revolution.

[grindset]

[From nearby, very wry, hardly caught by Jayce's crystal:]

Or keep it fed.

[bouchonne]

What was that?

[cozen]

Comforting.

[ Saved from desert-level dryness by a smothered laugh. The nerds' excitement is in fact very charming, counterbalancing the background wailing somewhat, and he wants! to know! what they were trying to do!!!!!!

But alright. ]

I'm heading home, By, [ marked by a difference in tone as an aside, before he's talking to Viktor again: ] I'll track her down and reassure her once I have word we're not disclaiming any responsibility for you.

[grindset]

Ehh, I doubt that would take.

[cozen]

We could make a good attempt.

[ Obviously not. But he's not handing out apologies until they've agreed on one. ]

You rattled some teacups over here—at the Cliffside Cafe. If you need to know how far away it reached.

[grindset]

Yes... yes, that is useful to know, thank you.

[—contains so much restrained delight.]