Waver uttered, his words quick and dismissive even as he slid the box of glass slides towards Ortus. Surely the man in what he guessed was ceremonial paint of the Ninth House would have a bone or two lying around.
He narrowed his eyes as he adjusted the focus of the lenses, the scope itself adjusting the relative height of its lens with every turn of the dials. While he was always fascinated by discourse of gods and lore, he had more important matters-- and, evidently, an eager student.
"As humanity grew and became more aware of its place in the world, various individuals started applying their senses to understanding the world around them. The Mysteries that made them fearful of the dark began to wane after those who studied the world collected their knowledge together and created the Sciences. Since then, magic has eroded-- and most people use tools like this."
Brows lifted when he finally got focus, and the tiny wiggling epithelial cells were revealed. The solution they swam in carried familiar sediments-- clear, round circles that were probably collected salts and other materials found in saliva. But, also--
He clicked his tongue, satisfied. A minute shift of the glass had revealed what he was looking for. It was a round particle of Vileblood green with a haze around it's edges and a mottling over its surface that resembled mushroom spores he had collected during a lesson in basic identification. Spore prints could be crucial to telling the difference between a toxic amanita and an edible agaricus.
Motioning for Ortus to come take a look, he continued explaining.
"When the Mages Association was founded, they enforced a strict Concealment of the Mystic on all practitioners in order to protect what was left of the mysteries of the ancient world. As a result, the very same people that use tools like this have no idea that the same text message they're sending on their phone is being conveyed with ink and paper by touch of a skeletal hand repurposed for the task. Likewise, the people choosing to keep alive the learnings of their three-times great grandfathers would never be willing to entertain the idea of using a cell phone."
no subject
Waver uttered, his words quick and dismissive even as he slid the box of glass slides towards Ortus. Surely the man in what he guessed was ceremonial paint of the Ninth House would have a bone or two lying around.
He narrowed his eyes as he adjusted the focus of the lenses, the scope itself adjusting the relative height of its lens with every turn of the dials. While he was always fascinated by discourse of gods and lore, he had more important matters-- and, evidently, an eager student.
"As humanity grew and became more aware of its place in the world, various individuals started applying their senses to understanding the world around them. The Mysteries that made them fearful of the dark began to wane after those who studied the world collected their knowledge together and created the Sciences. Since then, magic has eroded-- and most people use tools like this."
Brows lifted when he finally got focus, and the tiny wiggling epithelial cells were revealed. The solution they swam in carried familiar sediments-- clear, round circles that were probably collected salts and other materials found in saliva. But, also--
He clicked his tongue, satisfied. A minute shift of the glass had revealed what he was looking for. It was a round particle of Vileblood green with a haze around it's edges and a mottling over its surface that resembled mushroom spores he had collected during a lesson in basic identification. Spore prints could be crucial to telling the difference between a toxic amanita and an edible agaricus.
Motioning for Ortus to come take a look, he continued explaining.
"When the Mages Association was founded, they enforced a strict Concealment of the Mystic on all practitioners in order to protect what was left of the mysteries of the ancient world. As a result, the very same people that use tools like this have no idea that the same text message they're sending on their phone is being conveyed with ink and paper by touch of a skeletal hand repurposed for the task. Likewise, the people choosing to keep alive the learnings of their three-times great grandfathers would never be willing to entertain the idea of using a cell phone."