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[Anders]

"Ah, an abandoned child," Anders mused, allowing his interaction to become a bit more academic than it had before the boy's answer.

"Yea, I suppose that adds up," he followed. "Well may I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" Anders asked. "My own name is Anders," he nodded politely as he introduced himself. "I usually do most of my work in Syliras, its not often that I find a ghost out here during my leisure time."

He noticed that the boy was growing restless. It was as if he was starting to feel threatened or preparing for some kind of fight. Anders didn't feel threatened; the spirit didn't seem to be growing violent. Instead, Anders just detected a growing sense of discomfort. Anders wanted to take steps to simultaneously make the spirit feel more at ease and secure an opportunity to further study his subject.

"Do you ever enter into the city, itself? Into Syliras? If do I'd love to meet up again. You seem like a fun person to be around. You like pranks and such, right? I would love to see a few of your gags on a few, unsuspecting citizens. I'd even be willing to help you set up some good ones; I could help you with some more complex preparations." He offered the help with a devious grin which was almost child-like all its own. Anders wasn't planning anything, he just felt no sense of responsibility to other living beings. It might be fun to see what pranks the boy might pull. Of course, Anders realized that he would have to take a few precautions. He couldn't let the boy do anything too dangerous lest he find himself on the bad side of the knights. Still, these were all worries and concerns for later. The task at hand was to prove that the ethaefal had no desire to bring harm to the boy or his pet raven.

Anders didn't really harbor the same malice or ambition that most spiritists possessed. He saw them more as an ends than as a means. Specifically, to Anders, ghosts were not tools of power no they were living experiments to be prodded and studied. And in this boy, he had a lively one with whom he could safely interact.

[Draven]

The man had changed: no longer was he playing the role of a simple traveler, instead he had fully shown himself, being the scholar he was. He had been interested in his past life, and had been wise, or kind, enough to refrain from asking anymore annoying questions. The man had merely exclaimed his interest in the story he'd just been told. Draven didn't like it at all; he knew the man was superior in intellect, a spiritist skilled enough to be at ease in front of a ghost, and that he himself had no ways of fighting the ex-traveler. His previous plans of letting the raven defend him sounded terribly silly now, and his Projection skills were hardly capable of moving a rock about... He really did have to start practicing that someday. He heard the man state his name, Anders ~ then again, Draven had no way of knowing whether that was his actual name; he had often heard of spiritists and summoners who hid their identities to prevent any future acts of revenge by their subjects. Still, he had answered carefully: ' Draven, my name is Draven.... ' He had no intention of giving the man his premorten name, Nathanael. Wouldn't that allow the spiritist to take control of his soul? He heard that somewhere... "Do you ever enter into the city, itself? Into Syliras? If do I'd love to meet up again. You seem like a fun person to be around. You like pranks and such, right? I would love to see a few of your gags on a few, unsuspecting citizens. I'd even be willing to help you set up some good ones; I could help you with some more complex preparations." Did he look like a forest-ghost... off course he came from the city! ~ although he couldn't really blame the man for asking: Draven himself had stated the river as being his home, and why would any sensible human being assume a ghost had come to the falls in his free time? He still didn't fully trust this man though; all kids know to check the carriage for black curtains and white paint before they accept any sweets. Nonetheless, the man had made an intriguing offer, and he always enjoyed a good joke. ' I live in Syliras... at the moment, ' he began, carefully choosing his words: ' I want to be an adventurer, and I figured that'd be the best place to start...' He loosened up a bit as he spoke, and decided to ignore the mans dubious offer - : ' You know, I've heard worser stories about you spirists! You dont really look that dangerous though... how do I know you're the real deal? he had asked boldly. He did make a point there: any human could claim being a spiritist to scare a ghost, and ... the thought of seeing one at work was quite thrilling. You know ~You're dealing with a tough-child ghost; he's heard all the stories about spiritists... you guys are the boogeymen of the ghost world

[Anders]

"Draven?" Anders repeated. "That sounds like a bold name. I assume you came up with that on your own, no?"

Anders had run into this problem before, this widespread belief that all spiritsts were out to maliciously enslave ghosts. The spiritist didn't care to fool himself, it was widespread because it was true. That was the reason for most practitioners' interest in Spiritism. It was not Anders' though. Eccentric, mundane, missed potential? Maybe, but Anders' interests were purely academic.

"Don't worry, Anders reassured the boy. "I've heard those same stories and I swear to the fact that I'm not one of those. My motivations, to study and practice spiritism come from nothing but simple curiosity."

It wasn't to say that Anders had the morality of a Syliran knight; but it simply wasn't true that Anders cared to bring harm to ghosts. After all, these were his test subjects. One did not voluntarily jeopardize their object of study. No, Anders' disregard for safety only considered the living. Academically, they were useless to him; the worst thing that could happen to a living person was that they could be made a ghost. Barring the death not being Anders' direct fault, then this wasn't a negative occurrence anyway...

But for this particular moment, when speaking to this particular boy, Anders could honestly state that he had a vested interest in maintaining this ghost's safety (and subsequent ability to provide intellectual stimulation.)

"But then, that also brings up another difficulty," Anders explained. "I wouldn't dare perform any of my magic on yourself."

He removed a vial of soulmist and a string of soulbeads from his pocket. "I mean I can bear these tools as the proof of my trade but to actually use any spiritist magic on you would be quite unpleasant...for the both of us!"

Anders stood up after this last admission. The sun was starting to descent from its high position. He was no experienced wilderness guide so he would want to be back within Syliras' walls well before night fall.

"But for now, I truly hope that I'll get to see you again within the city." This was certainly true, Anders enjoyed this less dangerous, out of the ordinary encounter. "I know that you don't have to face any of the dangers on this road but if I were to come across a pack of wolves while traveling home, than it would end pretty poorly for me."

[Draven]

Draven kept eyeing the man intently, still unsure of whether he could actually trust this so-called spiritist. He had asked the man to perform some spiritist' magic, and was still very keen on seeing it, but he did realise that this would the man's perfect opportunity to harm him: directing the magic Draven had asked for towards himself. "Don't worry, I've heard those same stories and I swear to the fact that I'm not one of those. My motivations, to study and practice spiritism come from nothing but simple curiosity." Draven shrugged; curiosity did kill the cat every now and then, but it killed mice more often. Spiritism was - and is - primarily used against Ghosts, and even if a spiritist would not be interested in harming them; one could only learn spiritism using it against ghosts... - No point practicing on wooden dummies, Draven figured. "But then, that also brings up another difficulty: I wouldn't dare perform any of my magic on yourself." Draven had frowned, wondering what the man had intended to say. Yes, Draven was not a new-reborn ghost, having quite some skill in possession, and he would put up a fight... but then again, how was the man supposed to know this? Was he perhaps scared of them, Ghosts in general? It would quite funny, a spiritist with a fear of ghosts. "I mean I can bear these tools as the proof of my trade but to actually use any spiritist magic on you would be quite unpleasant...for the both of us!" He nodded, gaining some trust in the spiritist. The man had pulled out some beads, which looked like something a spinster would wear, ... and a vial of soulmist, something he did recognize. The man was indeed a spiritist, which meant that Draven now had a reason to be afraid; the man had admitted how dangerous his magic could be for Draven though, which had convinced Draven of the man's intentions, being somehow not harmful to him. It was quiet for a while, as Draven eyed the spiritists tools, and the spiritist himself looked towards the sky. "But for now, I truly hope that I'll get to see you again within the city.I know that you don't have to face any of the dangers on this road but if I were to come across a pack of wolves while traveling home, than it would end pretty poorly for me." 'You wouldn't want to be a ghost, right?' Draven said laughingly. The man was still very mortal, and things like that, the problems of the 'living', tended to amuse Draven. 'I won't keep you here any longer, mister spiritist. Oh ... ~ and your house is still where it used to be ... but you knew that, right?' Draven eyed the man one last time, enjoying the thought of having met a - somewhat - friendly spiritist. He turned towards his raven next, and held out his ethereal hand. Tendrils of soulmist slowly enveloping the familiar body, spreading throughout it's flesh, while Draven started fading; their body becoming as one. ' Oh, ... and I'll hope we meet again someday!... This was fun!' He smiled one last time, before fully dissapearing into the raven. Spreading his wings he then flew off, wondering whether he would indeed meet this man again someday. NoteThis was tons of fun! You can finish it if you like oh, and send me a pm once we got our grading

[Perplexity]

Riddled With Rewards Anders Experience Skill XP Earned Observation + 2 EXP Philosophy + 1 EXP Rhetoric +2 EXP Acting +3 EXP Socialization +1 EXP Auristics +1 EXP Lores • Lore Earned • Location: The Sunset Falls • Timeless Peace • Not So Great An Actor • Enjoying A Game of Lies • Draven: The “Divine” Ghost Draven Experience Skill XP Earned Possession + 2 EXP Soulmist Projection + 2 EXP Lores • Lore Earned • Promising Three Wishes • “Granting” Wishses • Entertaining A Spiritist • Anders: The Budding Spiritst Notes : An interesting thread gentlemen. It was very entertaining to read. I gave the skills I saw you use and the lores appropriates for the situation. If you have a discrepancy with your grade please feel free to PM me at your earliest convenience.