#darkgatefortress

Of course, Zane finds out Symon is there "Dude? BOTTH of us here? What if the Mountain needs a pillar?"

So much for the peace and quiet. "Are you even still a pillar?" He asks, raising a brow. "I mean, you did the big dramatic exit and all that."

"I guess I'm not" He admits making a face "But I still worry about the lodge. And... well, you're not the one who broke Sir Frank" A shrug "I guess I was just glad they had you. You're not movig up here are you?"

"Nah. Just stopping in." He says, and then smirks a little. "Apparently just about any visiting bum can get a statue here these days."

A smirk "Hey, I LIKE my statue thanks. You should too, just think of it as oversized figurine"

"Does that mean I get to knock it over and repaint it when you die?"

"I'm torn, some of your paint jobs ARE pretty boss" he concedes, "So stopping in? that means either something brought you here or drove you here." A beat "Are Prissy and Dirk still making like Animal planet in his room?"

"Have you always been this nosy?" He asks, but doesn't sound actually that annoyed. "And yes."

"What have you heard about your neighbors to the northeast?"

"Yes" Athe nnosey accusation "I'm jus usually more patiennt about it" At the question of he neighbors "oh I'm way behind on Silverwolf lore. I know Chief Hewitt is courtingg one of their thanes but I wouldn't bring it up to either of them. Trolls can be eve more private than your kith about that. Linnae? I think that's her name. See her onnce or twice. Seems decent. Certainly a lot of lady. They're all about horses hounnds and hawks in Silverwolf. But some big auction is planned. Ailil ruled, but I figure you knew that. Nadeen is Reeve there now. From what I gather, she's actually making an efforrt for the commoners. " He shuffles through his memories for anything else "Oh, Dame Calanthe is a bit of a B... but she's dating Sir Sergei in Earth Runes. On and off. Maggically speaking, they're short on Spring magic."

"Most places are." He says, musing this over. "Hey, you didn't hear it from me, but something might be going down up there. Just... keep your ears open, right?"

A surprised look "Gotcha... anyone I should pass this onto...from annnoymous sources, of course?"

"Nothing specific. I don't think it will affect Dark Gate, but it could shake things up there."

"Completely unrelated... got a magical question for you, Mr. Master Magician."

"Considering you're no slouch with cantrips this should be interesting. Shoot"

"You ever hear about a cantrip becoming self aware?"

"Wow, that's a big one" He ponders "Cantrip's are glamour... Chimera are glamour... we are glamour with skin... depending on how you look at it. I've heard stories about fate bending gone wrong, or naming.." A sigh "Sometimes it's not so much the cantrip is aware itself but it. .reflects some other awareness or borrows it or the like. You ever read 'the wizard of Earthsea?' old fantasy novel. "

"Yeah. Not recently... that was the one that knew all about True Names, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, spoiler alert the wizard tries a summoning out of ego, summons this shadow. It kills things, siphons his strength as he tries to run. It doesn't seem to have a true name he can use against it. It seems nameless, but all things have a name? Finally, he faces the shadow and.. speaks his own name to it. Turns out it was a part of himself all along... and the dark side sinks into him, conquerred by truth and acceptence. Now I'm not saying the Author was dead on, but there's some truth to that story. Pride, Hubris mixinng with magic is a dangerous game. Confidence without falling into arrogance is the best if narrow path for wizards"

True to his kith, the satyr speaks it all with passion

Symon is considering this.

"I guess, a cantrip COULD become aware, one way or another, because too many dreamers have dreamed it possible. "

"If you took all of the memories that existed of a person, and bound them up with spells... kept them contained, and poured more energy into the binding for a decade - and then opened the box to find that what was in there- the conglomeration of psyche has become aware and thinks it IS the person... would it then BE a facet of that person? Or of the mage that created it?"

"Holy shit" he blinks "Give me a sec. I need to sit down with that one"

And he does, looking like Rodan's the Thinker, with horns

"Not a fae. We have souls. But perhaps some sort of...simulacrum. I mean...." Thoughtful. "If you could reproduce that on purpose, it might make a damn fine teacher. A way to pass on without knowledge being lost."

"mmm.." Still concentrating

Then "Dude, this is out of my league. I can tell you right now... I would not experiment with this, restoration before experimentation. This.. this could be a matter of will power too. Such a creation might actually out grow it's creator and or source. But... as it grows, so do it's cracks. Such a being would also embiggen the flaws it came with, the cracks would grow. There's a kryptonite to this, if it can be found. Like any noun that weakness could be a person, place, or thing. Look for the symbols involved. Magic leaves clues like people leave footprints."

"There is one more thing it wouold need though"

"Souls?"

"First born children?"

He says this jokingly, but then goes a bit pale for some reason.

"Glamour. It's a creation of the Dreaming, but we all fade. Outside of the Dreaming itself, it cannot hold unless it gets fuel. Unlike you and me, it can't muse, it can't create art. It can only take. It's possible you can starve it but that could leave whoever it is tied to hurting.. maybe wounded. Another option is to feed it glamour, but fuel that glamour with a type of passion, a positive emotion, something it needs. but the risk is it grows and destroys you. Famine or Feast... devil of a choice. See, giving it what it needs, not what it wants, might.. close the loop, it is fulfilled and can end."

"So theoretically, it could starved and snuffed out, harnessed and used as a weapon, or given some sort of release, which seems like an awful waste." He muses, then shakes his head, looking a little disgusted. "I think I'm going soft." He whispers under his breath.

"Only those with power over others can truly be merciful. Thus, only the strong can show great mercy" Zane says, sounding a BIT like Frank "It has awareness. You really want to carry the gun that hates you and is just waiting for a chance to 'go off' as soon as you lose focus? If it helps, think of it as enlightened self interest."

He exhales, and shrugs. "All rhetorical, of course."

"uh huh" Brow "Lots of interesting 'theorticals and rhetoricals' here"

"What would it be worth to you, from an academic standpoint, to get to observe something like that first hand?"

Symon's eyes glint.

A twitch "Dude...dirty pool. I mean, why not dangle a 24 year old Markie Post at me while I'm here. " He answers "I'd be curious as hell, but I'm not sure how much I could actually help . Chicanery is the strongest art I've got but added deception may nnot help here"

He just holds up a hand, rubbing fingers together in the universal monetary gesture, and waits for an answer to the question.

He slides over to Zane, and whispers in his ear. Nevermind what Symon's breath must smell like.

Zane's brows go up, then he hands over something from his wallet

Once it's handed over, he listens to more whispers

He slides it into his pocket, and whispers back "The would-be mistress of Silverwolf is tangling with forces beyond her ken. Rumor has it that she plans to offer herself as a host to try to placate the vicious memory-geist of her boyfriend's dead wife. It should be a good show."

"Holy shi..." A pause then he whispers back "Does Dags know?"

"What do you think?" Deadpan

"Of course, I wouldn't be caught dead helping out a Varich. Selling out gossip about one, sure." He says, straightening up and making as if polishing fingernails on his shirt.

"Yeah" He reaches into his pocket it again and hands something over

Symon taps his nose, and nods. "Pleasure doing business with you, Pillar."

"Incredible... uhm.. thanks"