Exceptionalism (Matthew)

[Ignotus Everto]

3rd of Spring, 515AV

The night in Zeltiva was cold. Winter's chill had not fully lost its grip on the city, and the streets were still slick with patches of ice as a figure cloaked in black glided down them, cane rapping out a brisk rhythm as he traveled. While most business establishments in Zeltiva were winding down, A Touchy Subject's windows were still lit and its doors as open as ever. For places such as it, these bells were times of peak traffic. While most at least spared a glance over their shoulders as they entered its somewhat dubious steel doors, he strode in with the confidence that only seasons of immense power could bring.

A pair of attendants and a man who was secretly in charge of most of the honey in Zeltiva loitering in the front of the lobby gaped in surprise for a half-tick, then quickly regained their composure. One of the attendants- a red-headed young lady clad in a black dress that was more lace than fabric- saw the man beckoning her with a pale finger, and wound her way over with as much sensual energy as she could muster. Ignotus Everto struggled to suppress a smirk at her disappointment when she saw the indifference towards her body in his eyes.

"Would you like to see the Madame, my Lord?" she asked sweetly, a trace of curiosity in her voice.
"Not tonight, my dear." replied Ignotus as he produced a slip of paper from his shirt pocket. "I wish to meet someone else. I trust you will bring him to me with a speed that will make me want to praise the Madame for, however." A flush of nervous energy and faint desire to be recognized for competence floated over to the attendant with Ignotus' words, making the young woman blush slightly. "Of course, you will tell me your name so I will remember it when I do so." the Hypnotist said with a smile and a subtle injection of craving for approval.

"Rosaline, my Lord." she said quickly, her composure breaking for a quarter-tick before she regained it in full and took the slip gracefully, and with a teasing sway of her hips. "Might I interest you in anything else?"
The wizard suppressed a chuckle at that, "I am not of that inclination now, no." he said ambiguously. "For now I wish for you to find the name on that slip."
"He might be busy..." Rosaline said as she read with a faint frown.
"No matter. Bring me to him." Ignotus commanded. If the Nuit wanted to be honest (which he rarely was), he would have said he wanted Matthew to be busy.

[Matthew]

The Harlot sat quietly in the center of the bed, mere ticks into his break. He used moments like this to clear his head and attempt to rejuvinate his body. He started with focusing on a single point within his very center, an imaginary core of sorts. He forced his awareness to wrap around that one single aspect of his inner being, pushing aside all other thought and sensation. After a few chimes of intense focus, he would find himself alone in that core. There would be no more thought. No more sensation. Merely an emptiness. From there, he slowly ventured out, exploring the innards of his own body. He mentally verified that his blood still flowed through his veins, that air still rushed through his lungs. He checked the multiple bruises that had recently been lashed into his back due to the angry passions of his latest customer. The man had wanted Matthew to roleplay. He had wanted Matthew to roleplay as the person he wanted to take his frustrations out on. The Harlot had found it interesting who he had chosen.

Realizing his thoughts were wandering, Matthew tried to refocus himself, restarting the process of casting away all of the stray thoughts. It was then that Rosaline quietly knocked and stepped into the room, offering Matthew a smile as she delivered the message that she had been given. "Matthew, Ignotus is here to see you. Lord of Council? He asked for you by name." She flashed him the piece of paper, to which Matthew blinked at. Eventually, he slowly nodded, reaching for the mask that the Madame had them all wear when they were downstairs. "Thank you, Rosaline." Nodding, Rosaline smiled, satisfied with her performance as she slipped back out of the room.

Pulling the blank white mask over his handsome features, Matthew rose and headed for the door. He was halfway there when he realized what an interesting coincidence this was. The words of that last customer rang through his mind, remembered because of how unique Matthew had thought they were.

"Who's the Lord now, Ignotus? You petch the city, now I petch you."

~

Matthew gracefully made his way through the crowd of employees and clients on the first floor, dressed sharply in the black suit and tie the Madame provided him with, blue eyes glinting in the light. As he approached the waiting Lord of Council, the nearby lighting caught his eyes in an odd way, briefly making a ring of dark blue shimmer around the irises. In the next tick it was gone, the Harlot pausing in front of Ignotus and offering a polite smile. "Hello. I am Matthew, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am assuming you did not come to purchase my services, since you did not go to the Madame first. We can step outside if you like. It would allow me to be a bit more polite and remove the mask that I am required to wear in the Touchy Subject." His voice was soft, each and every word carefully well-pronounced.

His mind ached to spin to life, wanting to blur into motion with analytical ideas of what this could possibly be about. He tried to keep it calm for now, merely waiting to hear what the Lord of Council wished. Matthew certainly had no idea.

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus' eyebrow twitched slightly at the sight of the blue rings, though the Nuit didn't pay much more attention after, instead smiling back and nodding. "The pleasure is all mine, Matthew. It pleases me to see you're as courteous as you are clever. Shall we?" A faint flush of pleasure followed the words, a thin thread of suggestion tying it to Ignotus' approval. The Lord of Council was a great deal less fiery when he wasn't speaking in front of a crowd, his movements fluid and measured as he motioned for the harlot to follow him.

"I never did get to thank you for your little intervention in Winter." Ignotus said as they stepped out into the bitter wind. "I very may have been part of the cull if it wasn't for your little interjection." Another small splash of satisfaction. He should be proud of himself for being so helpful. The suggestion was weak in isolation, but Ignotus was an old Hypnotist, and old Hypnotists knew the effectiveness of tiny prods over time. "After that little display of yours, I simply had to meet you." he said silkily, "I saw a great deal of promise in you." His lips curled into a pleased smile at that as he quickly looked the man over. "Tell me, are you an ambitious man, Matthew?" The soft swagger in Ignotus' tone suggested that whatever the wizard was thinking, Matthew's answer wouldn't change much.

[Matthew]

As the emotions swirled to the surface of Matthew's psyche, the only response that could be seen was a slow blink of those bright blue eyes. They were familar emotions but ones he could not put names to. Time and time again he found himself utterly inable to identify and describe the sensations within himself, often causing him to simply try and ignore them. Edreina's words sprung to mind, her unique Svefra accent echoing in his memory. Ignotus Everto, teacher of Hypnotism. Had she realized how dangerous it was to reveal something that was very vital to the core of a Hypnotists power?

Or perhaps she had known that even such dangerous secrets were safe behind the lips of a Harlot.

Once outside, Matthew removed the mask, revealing features that were somehow a mixture of both handsome and feminine. More of the emotions swirled up within him, Matthew blinking once more. He had no idea if Ignotus putting his craft to use or if it was just his recently malfuctioning psyche. In the end, did it really matter? Manipulation was certainly no sin, at least not to him. Perhaps he should put his Auristics to use, attempt to see if Ignotus was using his art? It would be interesting to know what such a thing looked like. But it would be an invasion.

He slowly nodded in response to Ignotus, his gaze steady and polite. "I appreciate your thanks, though I feel you had the situation perfectly in control. I just saw a chance to learn more about politics through involving myself in the moment. I owe you thanks as well. An old friend of mine, Edreina Whitewave, had told me you were a friend to her while she spent a short time here in Zeltiva. She spoke well of you." Matthew was motionless as he stood there, merely a calm and quiet presence that listened carefully and spoke slowly. He had worked on making himself an easy person to hold conversation with. At Ignotus's final question, Matthew tilted his head to the side, considering his response a moment before speaking. "In a sense, I believe I am. While I do not reach to attain what many would consider high aspirations, I have a determination to learn. Knowledge is important to me." What a unique question.

[Ignotus Everto]

"Ah, young Edreina..." Ignotus said fondly, "She was a sweet soul, if a little overeager."
"A brash fool who's strayed too far."
"How is she? I haven't heard from her in some time."

The wizard chuckled at Matthew's confusion, a pleased grin spreading across his face as he replied "Then I believe we have much to gain from each other. No doubt Edreina told you how much she learned from just a few weeks with me." Thin strings of Hypnotic Djed pulled at Matt's curiosity. Ignotus knew much, they suggested. This was very desirable. Find out what he knows.

"You have a special combination of talents that I've been looking for, so I suggest we enter into a sort of partnership. Knowledge is important to me as well. I wish to know the names of certain men with certain desires. Specifically, I need a reckless, vindictive man with a potential for violence, and I need him to desire something that could offend me. Something that he'd come to the Madame for. I'll let you decide what you'd like in exchange."

Ignotus' last words carried more suggestions on them. Matthew wouldn't get another opportunity like this. He needed to seize this chance- who knew when he'd get access to such resources again? Would he ever?

[Matthew]

"She was very overeager. I personally feel that one should not casually wander around in eager exploration when it comes to magic. However, I did enjoy her company. The last time I saw her she was indeed doing well." The last time he had managed to lay eyes on the lively Svefra had been back in Sunberth. He hadn't seen her since and hadn't had her cross his mind all that much until now. He was interested to find that he felt a small glimmer of hope that she was still in good health.

The Harlot found it interesting that Ignotus was so open with his powers. Perhaps he had predicted that Edreina would tell Matthew? "She did tell me that she learned the basics of Hypnotism from you. I did not pry further, though I did inform her that she shouldn't share such a secret in a casual manner. However, I do feel she only told me because I specifically asked of her history with magic. She is aware that my business includes keeping secrets that clients may wish to tell me." He tried not to think about his words too much. While the conversation seemed to be a simple one, there was something lurking on the edge of it. Something complex that he did not quite understand. He knew that lingering on it would do no good so merely continued on, taking everything at face value.

Curiosity tugged at his mind. Next was a desire, perhaps one of the things that was the most foreign to Matthew. A single blink would be the result of what Matthew considered to be mental havoc, the Harlot taking a few ticks to attempt to deal with the emotion that swelled within him. At this point, he was almost certain that Hypnotism was involved. Should he do something about that?

No. Best to keep it simple. It seemed as if Ignotus liked complex situations where he could put what Matthew assumed to be a formidable intellect to use. If such a thing was indeed occurring right at this very moment, Matthew would counter with mere simplicity.

When it came to the request that Ignotus asked of Matthew, one man immediately came to mind. However, that man had been a client of Matthew, which meant that his secrets were safe. There was a sort of loophole in all of this, however. "I can not divulge any personal information of the clients that specifically hired me. However, clients of the Touchy Subject that were not actual clients of myself do not fall under that protection." What Matthew would like in exchange? Again, it was simple. "Gold mizas would suffice as payment. I am merely a harlot and therefor can be bought. You may decide the price that you feel this service is worth and I will accept it. Does that sound fair?"

[Ignotus Everto]

"A wise sentiment to have." Ignotus said appreciatively. When Matthew spoke of Hypnotism and cautioning Edreina, the wizard sighed and shrugged wistfully. "Oh, the secret has been out for a while now. The price of saving the city."

'Edreina was too much of a novice to get the full benefit of my tutoring." the Nuit purred. "You, however, don't seem a novice to me."
He didn't actually know, of course; he wasn't an Aurist. Matthew didn't know he didn't know however, and that was the important detail. No point pretending, whispered Ignotus' magic. Best to be honest it murmured to Matthew's subconscious. If he was a hypnotist, his mind would hopefully interpret the suggestions as being open with the magic. If he was not, it would likely nudge him towards clearing the confusion instead. Either way, Ignotus learned something.

He chuckled when Matthew explained the loophole in his contract. "I suspected you were a smart one." he said approvingly as he pulled a handful of gold from his coinpurse and offered them to the harlot. "Have twenty mizas for your professionalism. You will receive another fifty for the information, once you have it. Should it prove useful, you may find more lucrative offers open to you. Now, unless there's still business to be done, I believe we both need to be getting back to our jobs."
'It's been charming, Matthew." the Hypnotist said silkily with a small bow. "I do hope we see more of each other."

OOCHoly heck this took longer than it should have. Sorry for the wait! D:

[Ball]

And the grades come rolling in.

 

Overall Comments

Aww this ended aburptly that's sad. I was hoping for more.

 

Ignotus Everto

Experience Points.

Persuasion	+1
Socialization	+1

Lores.

• Matthew: Knew of a Pupil
• Matthew: willing to giving out secrets of co-worker's clients, but not his own clients

I wanted to give you Hypnotism points, but there just wasn't enough there to consitute anything with your current level in the skill. There also wasn't much to go on post wise to award you many lores either.

 

Matthew

If you come back and would like this grade, please update your character sheet so it lists that you have been inactive since Spring 515. Then PM when ready to receive your grade.

Thank you.

Template Credit: Edric Wingard