Lucius Artorius Castus | "Askeladd" (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lludw) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deercountry2022-06-20 07:22 pm
lludw) wrote in deercountry2022-06-20 07:22 pm
Entry tags:
[open] listen to me
Who: Lucius and others, including YOU?
What: various May/June open prompts in the post, including Bausphomette transformation, exploring the sinkholes and tunnels, and a network memory. various calendar year 2022 prompts in the comments because oh god I'm so behind.
When: June, May, and earlier
Where: throughout Trench, Pandora House
Content Warnings: minor body horror, murder (forthcoming)
1. "Thus, it is a thing to be banished." (May) cw: minor body horror
[It starts with the teeth. Which is, frankly, annoying. Lucius's canines become, well, more canine, no longer quite fitting in his mouth. He stops coming down for the regular household mealtimes, instead trying to grab a few things in between the busiest periods. Of course, this is difficult, given the kitchen is the most popular room in the house. Emrys is no help - the one time Lucius asked him to simply fly in and grab something, the Omen had instead landed stubbornly on the table. The intended message was clearly 'come in and talk to people,' but talking is also more complicated now.
The next part is claws. Not the knife-like nails he had earlier this year when he was low, but large and vicious black hooks. This is equally annoying. It's hard to operate the Omni, let alone handle a book without tearing the pages.
But he still has no problem with a sword. Lucius has taken a more scholarly or creative turn this year, but he's never given up on hunting activities. And this is what he turns to now, joining parties of older Hunters he knows to take down larger Beasts.
Use a wolf to hunt a wolf.]
2. 'What about a bit of rope? You'll want it, if you haven't got it.' (June)
[No one can say he didn't prepare.
Lucius (now much less wolf-like) had climbed down into one of the smaller sinkholes first, his Omen Emrys standing watch as he scouted below. There wasn't much of interest in the sinkhole itself - just building rubble. But there could be some things of interest in the tunnels the leading off from the bottom of it. He had glanced into one long enough to determine it was a tunnel, or at least not a very small cave, and promptly retreated.
So that he could come back with a plan and supplies.
This time, he has his welcome bag, now stocked with: rope, chalk, the journal, pencils, kindling, several candles, incense, a small first aid kit, the water canteen, some bread, an apple, and another bag for anything he finds that can't fit in the first one. And, of course, his sword at his hip. He chooses the smallest tunnel to start with. It makes sense to go through or rule out the ones that might be shorter before venturing into the larger tunnels. Besides, it may have areas only a child can squeeze through, so no adults would have gotten to them first.
As he does in any kind of expedition, Emrys scouts ahead, flying in short bursts in the cramped space. Or, in some cases, awkwardly waddling along the ground. Caves are not made for gyrfalcons. As they go, Lucius uses the chalk to mark the wall with arrows. This should make it easy to find his way back. Being trapped is an even greater danger here than being followed.
Not that there aren't plenty of other dangers as well. The tunnels grow larger and more hazardous as he goes. In one spot, a piece of seemingly solid stone slips out from under him, dropping him into a pit. It's a good thing he brought the rope - Emrys is able to fly one end up so the boy can climb out. In one of the chambers, he rapidly begins to feel lightheaded and weak, leaving him to stumble clumsily back into and up the tunnel for better air. He spends a minute on the ground, gasping.
But it's worth it. There are blood gems in some of the chambers, and tools for making more. He finds an orb that seems to have some of the properties of moonlight. And there are books and scrolls - including a book on the Pthumerians.
Before his bag can become debilitatingly heavy, Lucius turns and starts his way back, guided by the chalk marks.
Unless something has happened to those.]
3. Network: Lucius est omnis divisa in duas partes (late May)
[This post does not appear on the network itself. Instead, it lands directly in the inbox of a few Omnis, the distribution not necessarily limited to people the sender already knows. Given that this occurs in late May, the nature of the video's contents is probably easy to figure out.
The scene is an austere stone room. There is one modestly-sized rectangular window, with a desk placed underneath to catch the light. In the corner of the room sits a bed. The only other furniture is two wooden stools, both of which are currently occupied. An older man, dressed in the robes of a monk, sits just to the side of the desk. At the desk itself, with a thick book laid open in front of him, sits a blond boy of about 10, neatly dressed in medieval garb. His hair is cut shorter than Lucius's is in Trench, but anyone familiar with the boy's face will recognize him. He is reading aloud from the book, careful but confident, a finger tracing along the bottom of the handwritten words so that he does not lose his place.]
Sed quoniam, ut praeclare scriptum est a Platone, non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vindicat, partem amici, atque, ut placet Stoicis, quae in terris gignantur, ad usum hominum omnia creari, homines autem hominum causa esse generatos, ut ipsi inter se aliis alii prodesse possent, in hoc naturam debemus ducem sequi, communes utilitates in medium afferre mutatione officiorum, dando accipiendo, tum artibus, tum opera, tum facultatibus devincire hominum inter homines societatem.
[He has evidently reached the end of this section. The boy looks up, waiting for some signal from the man. The monk nods. His face and tone remain impassive as he speaks.] Good. Now, what does it mean?
[Lucius returns his gaze to the text. He does not rush to reply, his eyes skimming over the page a second time, then a third. Rather than placing his finger under the lines, now he puts it next to them. His finger returns to the top of the page, and he begins to speak with the same confidence (mostly).]
But since, as Plato has brilliantly written, we are not born for ourselves alone, but our country claims a part of us, and our friends a part; and since...[he pauses a moment, brows furrowed] as it...pleases? [he glances up at the monk, who waves at him to continue] the Stoics, everything that the earth produces is created for man's use; but men are created for the sake of men...[another pause of concentration, but it is not long before Lucius continues with determination]...so that between them they are able to help one another; in this we should follow nature, to contribute to the general good by serving each other, giving and receiving, then by our skill, then by our labor, then by our ability bind society man to man.
[Again, he looks up at the monk, who face gives nothing away as he lets out a thoughtful "hmmm." But, suddenly, he smiles.] Very good.
[Lucius grins. It's an expression that would be called mischievous if the context weren't...translating Latin.
The monk nods.] Yes, you've done very well today. [He pats the boy lightly on the shoulder.] We will discuss 'justice' more tomorrow.
[Lucius's own nod is enthusiastic, as he rises from the stool.] Thank you, Brother Cei.
[Well, that's not one of someone's worst memories! Nice to see something pleasant.
It's less so, though, for Lucius himself. Because it's not his, not really. It belongs to the version of himself he briefly became early in the year. A life he now remembers in snatches, but which is nearly as different from his own as Trench is from his world.]
What: various May/June open prompts in the post, including Bausphomette transformation, exploring the sinkholes and tunnels, and a network memory. various calendar year 2022 prompts in the comments because oh god I'm so behind.
When: June, May, and earlier
Where: throughout Trench, Pandora House
Content Warnings: minor body horror, murder (forthcoming)
1. "Thus, it is a thing to be banished." (May) cw: minor body horror
[It starts with the teeth. Which is, frankly, annoying. Lucius's canines become, well, more canine, no longer quite fitting in his mouth. He stops coming down for the regular household mealtimes, instead trying to grab a few things in between the busiest periods. Of course, this is difficult, given the kitchen is the most popular room in the house. Emrys is no help - the one time Lucius asked him to simply fly in and grab something, the Omen had instead landed stubbornly on the table. The intended message was clearly 'come in and talk to people,' but talking is also more complicated now.
The next part is claws. Not the knife-like nails he had earlier this year when he was low, but large and vicious black hooks. This is equally annoying. It's hard to operate the Omni, let alone handle a book without tearing the pages.
But he still has no problem with a sword. Lucius has taken a more scholarly or creative turn this year, but he's never given up on hunting activities. And this is what he turns to now, joining parties of older Hunters he knows to take down larger Beasts.
Use a wolf to hunt a wolf.]
2. 'What about a bit of rope? You'll want it, if you haven't got it.' (June)
[No one can say he didn't prepare.
Lucius (now much less wolf-like) had climbed down into one of the smaller sinkholes first, his Omen Emrys standing watch as he scouted below. There wasn't much of interest in the sinkhole itself - just building rubble. But there could be some things of interest in the tunnels the leading off from the bottom of it. He had glanced into one long enough to determine it was a tunnel, or at least not a very small cave, and promptly retreated.
So that he could come back with a plan and supplies.
This time, he has his welcome bag, now stocked with: rope, chalk, the journal, pencils, kindling, several candles, incense, a small first aid kit, the water canteen, some bread, an apple, and another bag for anything he finds that can't fit in the first one. And, of course, his sword at his hip. He chooses the smallest tunnel to start with. It makes sense to go through or rule out the ones that might be shorter before venturing into the larger tunnels. Besides, it may have areas only a child can squeeze through, so no adults would have gotten to them first.
As he does in any kind of expedition, Emrys scouts ahead, flying in short bursts in the cramped space. Or, in some cases, awkwardly waddling along the ground. Caves are not made for gyrfalcons. As they go, Lucius uses the chalk to mark the wall with arrows. This should make it easy to find his way back. Being trapped is an even greater danger here than being followed.
Not that there aren't plenty of other dangers as well. The tunnels grow larger and more hazardous as he goes. In one spot, a piece of seemingly solid stone slips out from under him, dropping him into a pit. It's a good thing he brought the rope - Emrys is able to fly one end up so the boy can climb out. In one of the chambers, he rapidly begins to feel lightheaded and weak, leaving him to stumble clumsily back into and up the tunnel for better air. He spends a minute on the ground, gasping.
But it's worth it. There are blood gems in some of the chambers, and tools for making more. He finds an orb that seems to have some of the properties of moonlight. And there are books and scrolls - including a book on the Pthumerians.
Before his bag can become debilitatingly heavy, Lucius turns and starts his way back, guided by the chalk marks.
Unless something has happened to those.]
3. Network: Lucius est omnis divisa in duas partes (late May)
[This post does not appear on the network itself. Instead, it lands directly in the inbox of a few Omnis, the distribution not necessarily limited to people the sender already knows. Given that this occurs in late May, the nature of the video's contents is probably easy to figure out.
The scene is an austere stone room. There is one modestly-sized rectangular window, with a desk placed underneath to catch the light. In the corner of the room sits a bed. The only other furniture is two wooden stools, both of which are currently occupied. An older man, dressed in the robes of a monk, sits just to the side of the desk. At the desk itself, with a thick book laid open in front of him, sits a blond boy of about 10, neatly dressed in medieval garb. His hair is cut shorter than Lucius's is in Trench, but anyone familiar with the boy's face will recognize him. He is reading aloud from the book, careful but confident, a finger tracing along the bottom of the handwritten words so that he does not lose his place.]
Sed quoniam, ut praeclare scriptum est a Platone, non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vindicat, partem amici, atque, ut placet Stoicis, quae in terris gignantur, ad usum hominum omnia creari, homines autem hominum causa esse generatos, ut ipsi inter se aliis alii prodesse possent, in hoc naturam debemus ducem sequi, communes utilitates in medium afferre mutatione officiorum, dando accipiendo, tum artibus, tum opera, tum facultatibus devincire hominum inter homines societatem.
[He has evidently reached the end of this section. The boy looks up, waiting for some signal from the man. The monk nods. His face and tone remain impassive as he speaks.] Good. Now, what does it mean?
[Lucius returns his gaze to the text. He does not rush to reply, his eyes skimming over the page a second time, then a third. Rather than placing his finger under the lines, now he puts it next to them. His finger returns to the top of the page, and he begins to speak with the same confidence (mostly).]
But since, as Plato has brilliantly written, we are not born for ourselves alone, but our country claims a part of us, and our friends a part; and since...[he pauses a moment, brows furrowed] as it...pleases? [he glances up at the monk, who waves at him to continue] the Stoics, everything that the earth produces is created for man's use; but men are created for the sake of men...[another pause of concentration, but it is not long before Lucius continues with determination]...so that between them they are able to help one another; in this we should follow nature, to contribute to the general good by serving each other, giving and receiving, then by our skill, then by our labor, then by our ability bind society man to man.
[Again, he looks up at the monk, who face gives nothing away as he lets out a thoughtful "hmmm." But, suddenly, he smiles.] Very good.
[Lucius grins. It's an expression that would be called mischievous if the context weren't...translating Latin.
The monk nods.] Yes, you've done very well today. [He pats the boy lightly on the shoulder.] We will discuss 'justice' more tomorrow.
[Lucius's own nod is enthusiastic, as he rises from the stool.] Thank you, Brother Cei.
[Well, that's not one of someone's worst memories! Nice to see something pleasant.
It's less so, though, for Lucius himself. Because it's not his, not really. It belongs to the version of himself he briefly became early in the year. A life he now remembers in snatches, but which is nearly as different from his own as Trench is from his world.]