[The Sunken Conundrum] Drowning the Will (Hadrian)

[Cheshire]

Isaac sat beside Hadrian, watching him as he prayed. The boy would have seemed to be watching the mage curiously, looking for a way to pray to Ionu, but it was more than that. He watched Hadrian almost as if he understood every prayer reverberated in his mind. He did understand them. He could hear them. They were for him. A smile came to the boy's lips as he scooted closer to Hadrian. "That is beautiful but you should pray for yourself too don't you think? What if Carrick comes back to get you?" Isaac looked up at Hadrian as he spoke. It touched him that the mage would worry about a child before himself. It was also a good way to get killed. "You are interesting Hadrian. You aren't as exuberant as others I have taken a liking to but you are something to keep an eye on." Isaac looked forward, admiring the walls of the temple. "Don't judge Carrick. He was simply a man following orders." The boy shrugged slightly. "Or you can, I don't care either way. You are the adult in this situation. I'm just a kid, right?" The way the boy was speaking made him seem like more than just a child of Alvadas. There was more wisdom behind his words. "What you did was admirable Hadrian. Don't worry on it too much. Carrick won't die." Isaac had the whole thing figured out from the start. "He could have killed you though. Weren't you scared?"

[Hadrian]

Hadrian blinked and turned to look, to really look, at Isaac. In Alvadas, it seemed that anything was possible. Carrick had seemed the aggressor and Isaac his victim, but the boy didn't seem frightened now. Seemings were just that, and it was difficult to navigate by seemings alone. But could Isaac be... surely not. Perhaps he was an illusionist himself, rather than the source of illusion. "You were the one asking for help," he said carefully. "I was raised in Syliras. Part of me wants to answer those requests. Illusionists have petched with me since before I even got here, but I took care of the first one and evaded the last one. Carrick will die if he comes after me." Carn would have died on the ship, his lungs full of Hadrian's water, if Hadrian hadn't pulled the water back out and allowed the Konti to tend to him. Now this after that aborted trip into the hedge garden that he could not quite remember. "Scared?" He shrugged. "I suppose. Not enough to stall in inaction. I didn't like him toying with you just because he could, but don't worry. Someday I will hypnotize the hypnotists. And the illusionists too, the ones who only want to take advantage of people. There are so many constructive things one could do with their gifts. It's despicable to waste it on such sadistic, self-serving pursuits." He stood up. "Ionu keep you," he said. "And Eyris too. They say her chosen can see through illusion. Perhaps they are too wise to be hypnotized too. Remember what I said. Asperenus owes me a favor, and you can have it if Carrick comes after you again."

[Cheshire]

The way Hadrian spoke. He was so nonchalant, almost as if he thought his actions were expected of him just because he could preform them. It was not that he was wrong of course. His words were honorable. The words of a man who was somewhat selfless, at least in this respect. "Well… thank you again." Isaac hoped that Carrick would know enough not to try and approach Hadrian now, even if he had been told to do what he did. Ionu save him if he was stupid enough to try it. "You are really kind. A little dull…, no offense, but kind." Isaac, or better yet, Ionu had made the right decision when laying it's eyes on him. He may not have been as showy and exuberant as others that the trickster had marked but he was smart and clearly had Syliran morals drilled quite elegantly into his skull. A son that a mother would be proud of, perhaps even more so after the man left the library. Hadrian had now met and played with Ionu. He let the deity test him and push his boundaries and did so with grace. Hadrian had proven himself. Before Hadrian could stand up, Isaac wrapped his arms around him in a hug. The mage would notice the outcome of this embrace the next time he saw his right shoulder blade (although that part of the body was hard enough to see as it is). A beautiful inverted triangle had formed there, marking him as one of Ionu's illusionists. Letting the man go, Isaac watched as the man stood up. "Ionu keep you as well Hadrian." He smiled slyly at the mage. "Let's hope Eyris keeps her eyes off of me though. She already knows too much."

[Cheshire]

Character: Hadrian Experience: Morphing +1, Reimancy +2, Hypnotism +4, Rhetoric +1, Philosophy +2, Auristics +1, Swimming +1 Lore: Literature: Windows of the Soul by Yr Maugham, The Mechanics of Hypnotism, Ionu, Ionu's Many Forms [Isaac] Gnosis: IONU +1 Additional Note: I hope I finished the thread up okay! I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you did too. Hadrian is the first PC I ever gave a Gnosis to! The mark is all added to your SS thread so you are good to use it whenever you like. PM me with concerns.