(it surprises her when he's up with a flash, stopping her before she can leave. she can't tell if she's grateful or resentful of it -- maybe it's a bit of both. she doesn't rip his balls off but she does put her her hands against his chest, trying to use her magic to blast him back from her. whether it'll work on a god or not? she doesn't know. what she does know is good intentions or not, his arms feel like another cage.
she wants to bite back that he doesn't know. it's not the same. and she wouldn't do what he did -- but wouldn't she? what wouldn't she do to to feel free? who wouldn't she hurt for power and agency?)
I'm smarter than that. I won't fall into any trap. But I can't just stay here and read books when there's a noose tightening around my neck. You sound like Tissaia.
(not that he knows her mentor, but hadn't she said as much before.
you need to control chaos, right now you're letting chaos control you.
she takes a few breaths, trying to steady her breathe, that pounding heart in her chest. being patient has never been one of her talents, especially when her back is against the wall....but she also doesn't want to end up in a worse situation and that possible here, right? somehow, things can always get worse. she'd never say the words but he's right. she needs to be smart.
she needs to stay. she finally meets his eyes, violet orbs that are still rippling with a tsunami of emotions underneath them. she's not happy about this.)
[ He might be a god, but that doesn't make him immune to magic. So when her powers come rippling out, they have the intended effect -- launching him a distance from her and into one of the shelves. There's a crackling of static around his chest as his body quickly repairs the damage, but he grimaces all the same. Fucking hell, that smarts.
He looks up at her, brow furrowing in mild annoyance. ]
Are you?
[ His counter to her statement about 'being smarter than that.' Like, hello! She just flung an ally off with magic. She definitely does not seem to be thinking with any sort of logic right now!!
Tech sits up and dusts himself off, looking toward the entrance expectantly -- waiting for that little gremlin to come and kick them out. But when it doesn't come and Yennefer agrees to stay, he finally stands again and goes over to right the chair. ]
Good.
[ He sniffs, a bit miffed -- but regardless, he's no less willing to help her. Tech straightens his chair and then settles back into it like nothing had happened, returning to his opened book. ]
It's not just reading. It's coming up with a clear next step. You mentioned looking into Mammon's creatures. There is an annual carnival they have here and it should be coming around soon. I'm not sure if you were around for the last one which was held on Mammon's island, but it's possible even if it's not held there, he may donate some of his creatures for display. The set up for the last one began a month in advance. The perfect opportunity could present itself if you can intercept demons setting up the displays.
(she doesn't take comfort well and her moods are erratic at the best of times, let alone right now, which are as far from them as possible. she expects him to get up and leave her to her mess, part of her is almost daring him too. it's what most people do.
people don't stick around when you become too difficult to love.
but he stays. he recovers, he gets up and he stays. he doesn't try to touch her again and she's not sure if that's comforting or disappointing but she sits back down all the same.)
I didn't experience any carnival, I think I arrived shortly after it. But if there are creatures brought here....I should speak to Geralt about that part, monsters and creatures are his speciality, not mine. But how long will it be until that carnival? Should we search the forest for any of them first?
(he's right they need a next step but what that next step is? it's hard to see when her mind is running a million worst case scenarios at once.)
We don't know how much time we have until he tries to finish it.
[ The carnival spanned two weeks, but there's one particular day that stands out above the rest. The day he and Monika went in the love tunnel. The day his relationship culminated in him tearing her heart from her chest. The devastating fallout that followed him even now. His jaw tenses and he keeps his gaze firmly focused on the page. ]
...about what you'd expect in hell. A bunch of sinners got kidnapped and...
[ He glances toward her, toward the point of her ears, then back down. ]
Altered to Mammon's liking. Displayed like some of his prized creatures. The carnival should be within the next few months, which gives you the chance to check the woods first to see what you can find out there. And that seems like a good next step -- identifying the creatures and seeing where they may be found.
[ His brow wrinkles when he finds the referenced spell, scanning it initially for counters. Nothing. But maybe there's still use in it. ]
The spell they noted is just a similar thing. This one doesn't have anything to do with souls, but links hearts and bodies to the caster. They're bound for life, when the caster breathes the cursed can breathe and if the caster dies, the cursed will die. I'll send this one to you as well, and in the worst case scenario -- I can teach you how to pronounce the words of the spell. Maybe this would work on Mammon and you could control him?
[ Her device pings with the second message. Would a curse work on a demon lord? Tech doesn't know. It's dangerous, which is why he only suggests it as a worst case scenario -- when there are no other options. ]
(altered and put on display. isn't that a familiar story? not that they were put in cages, but the sorceresses in aretuza were all transformed and then debuted to the different kings they were to be assigned to. she hadn't been kidnapped but she had been sold.
the story feels all too familiar. was that why mammon had been drawn to her? because she's been altered like his favorite pets already? it's not something anyone other than geralt or jaskier would know about here...but she doesn't doubt that the lords of hell have their own ways of knowing things.
she offers the information now to tech as a sign of trust, but also because it might be a piece of the puzzle)
I was altered before -- it's part of the process of becoming a sorceress in my world. It may be coincidence, it may be part of why Mammon wanted me. I am a quarter elf and I was born...with a crooked spine. My eyes were one of the only things I kept. (that and the scars on her wrists)
We're supposed to be the most beautiful creatures on the Continent, our beauty a part of our power as much as our magic. But it had consequences, ones I didn't fully understand at the time. So knowing that's something he's into...could be useful.
(again, maybe it isn't. but they need to consider all options.)
I recognize the names of some of the monsters, even if I might not know how to look for them or hunt them down.
(her phone pings and she looks over the information.)
I could try -- I would need a large conduit of power to draw from if I wanted to pull it off, I don't think my normal magic would be powerful enough to ensnare a demon lord, loathe as I am to admit it.
[ Tech looks at her, truly looks at her, when she reveals the information about her history. The story of the alteration. It's so similar to Ava who was paralyzed and had never walked until the halo was shoved into her back, giving her new life. And he then fell in love with her story of struggle and how she overcame.
Yennefer was a beautiful woman before, but Tech sees a sort of beauty in the description of how she was born. This brilliant mind and brilliant potential all locked in a vessel no one would dare look twice at. How she must have suffered. How she must have clawed her way through life, the bird thrashing in the cage, trying so hard to break free. It's a familiar sort of feeling. It's lonely and isolating and no fucking wonder she is who she is. Because he's the same, isn't he?
Every incarnation of technology is an alteration of the previous version. He's lost so much of what he is and fights so hard to retain who he is now. But even that will be taken from him someday unless he can break free from World's grip and restore his lost memories. There's nothing Tech can do about what happens at home. Not while he's here. Not unless he finds a way to just not go home. But there is something he can do for Yennefer, a kindred spirit trapped in a similar cage.
But I'm still going to tell you that while you are brilliant in many ways... Jaskier had said. You are an absolute idiot.
Yeah. He knows.
Tech isn't some brave hero. He's not Geralt of Rivia who's going to charge in and save the day. His story has never been that and never will be that. But his story has pushed the future forward all the same. His story allowed society to grow. His story was always for everyone else and not himself. It's a story of self-sacrifice. Fire giving way to the wheel giving way to the printing press and photography and telephones and the internet. Technology exists so others can thrive.
Tech hesitates and then reaches out, placing his hand on hers and squeezes. It's not comfort. It's more of solidarity. He hears her story. He sees her. He understands. And he's invested. ]
Use me, then.
[ He doesn't know if it's possible, but in magic there's always a way. And Tech's greatest gift has always been to offer power to the world, so surely there's a way to offer it to one single woman. ]
I am a god. I'm fucking divinity. Shelling out power is what I was made to do.
[ His hand on hers tightens and he looks down at their fingers. ]
We've both suffered so much the same way. It's time to stop suffering.
(the first time yennefer did magic it had been to save herself from two teenagers who were going to beat her. she had portaled herself to aretuza, to istredd, who helped her get home and warned her that someone would be coming for her. and tissaia did come. tissaia came and purchased her and that was that. she has clawed her way to freedom, to power, every step of the way. what she didn't tell tech is that when istredd betrayed her elven heritage and cost her the spot she wanted, she missed her original appointment for the procedure. she had it done anyways, with no pain relief, no sedatives, nothing. she was reborn in fire and blood not realizing what she was giving up in the process. she stole back the place that was hers, and then abandoned it a few decades later as she grew tired of courtly life and the limitation it offered. when asked what she wanted her answer was usually simple.
everything.
tissaia had once told her that sometimes the best thing a flower could do is die, and she had almost felt that ways, releasing all of her chaos on the battlefield of sodden. but she survived -- jaskier has told her that and only that. she survives. and if she can survive that then she can survive whatever this place throws at her.
and maybe she doesn't have to do it alone. as difficult as trust is for her. because most people she's trusted have broken it in one way or another -- even geralt who bound their destinies together before he even knew who she was.
this time, when tech reaches out she does not violently push him away. she can practically feel the energy rippling under his skin. it is not like the magic, the chaos she knows so well, but she could use it she thinks. she could harness it. she's not above it. he said it himself, it's what he's made to do. )
You do realize if we fail, we might end up suffering more. Which means if we try this, failure is not an option.
That's why it'll be the last option. If all else fails, this is our final resort.
[ He taps the page with the spell. Tech might be impulsive, but he's well aware of the risks. If there is an easier way to break the spell, then that is the option they should pursue. Because Tech knows sometimes punishments here don't land on the people actually doing the offense. Sometimes it lands on those they care about. And if anything happened to Ava....
He gives Yennefer's hand a soft squeeze and then withdraws, closing his book and starting to pile them all in a stack -- shooing away a pesky spider that's crawling along the table. ]
So monsters first. My girlfriend Ava is, well, her powers are all geared toward specifically fighting demons. If you want more manpower. Or I guess womanpower, I can put in a word for you. And also if you want, I can look into the casino -- see what I can find out about souls and see if there's any way to restore one. Do these sound like a plausible second step?
I don't think we can afford to say no to extra manpower right now. Geralt will have to cope with not being the only demon hunter on the case. (that will be the least of the problems geralt will have with all this....she may be planning on keeping that last option a secret until she has to tell him.)
They are sadly the best we have. So we'll have to make do.
(she stands up again, less frantic this time then before, helping him clean up. once they've passed the gremlin's inspection that they didn't write notes or try to sneak any books out they exit and go their seperate ways.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
(it surprises her when he's up with a flash, stopping her before she can leave. she can't tell if she's grateful or resentful of it -- maybe it's a bit of both. she doesn't rip his balls off but she does put her her hands against his chest, trying to use her magic to blast him back from her. whether it'll work on a god or not? she doesn't know. what she does know is good intentions or not, his arms feel like another cage.
she wants to bite back that he doesn't know. it's not the same. and she wouldn't do what he did -- but wouldn't she? what wouldn't she do to to feel free? who wouldn't she hurt for power and agency?)
I'm smarter than that. I won't fall into any trap. But I can't just stay here and read books when there's a noose tightening around my neck. You sound like Tissaia.
(not that he knows her mentor, but hadn't she said as much before.
you need to control chaos, right now you're letting chaos control you.
she takes a few breaths, trying to steady her breathe, that pounding heart in her chest. being patient has never been one of her talents, especially when her back is against the wall....but she also doesn't want to end up in a worse situation and that possible here, right? somehow, things can always get worse. she'd never say the words but he's right. she needs to be smart.
she needs to stay. she finally meets his eyes, violet orbs that are still rippling with a tsunami of emotions underneath them. she's not happy about this.)
Fine. I'll stay.
no subject
He looks up at her, brow furrowing in mild annoyance. ]
Are you?
[ His counter to her statement about 'being smarter than that.' Like, hello! She just flung an ally off with magic. She definitely does not seem to be thinking with any sort of logic right now!!
Tech sits up and dusts himself off, looking toward the entrance expectantly -- waiting for that little gremlin to come and kick them out. But when it doesn't come and Yennefer agrees to stay, he finally stands again and goes over to right the chair. ]
Good.
[ He sniffs, a bit miffed -- but regardless, he's no less willing to help her. Tech straightens his chair and then settles back into it like nothing had happened, returning to his opened book. ]
It's not just reading. It's coming up with a clear next step. You mentioned looking into Mammon's creatures. There is an annual carnival they have here and it should be coming around soon. I'm not sure if you were around for the last one which was held on Mammon's island, but it's possible even if it's not held there, he may donate some of his creatures for display. The set up for the last one began a month in advance. The perfect opportunity could present itself if you can intercept demons setting up the displays.
no subject
(she doesn't take comfort well and her moods are erratic at the best of times, let alone right now, which are as far from them as possible. she expects him to get up and leave her to her mess, part of her is almost daring him too. it's what most people do.
people don't stick around when you become too difficult to love.
but he stays. he recovers, he gets up and he stays. he doesn't try to touch her again and she's not sure if that's comforting or disappointing but she sits back down all the same.)
I didn't experience any carnival, I think I arrived shortly after it. But if there are creatures brought here....I should speak to Geralt about that part, monsters and creatures are his speciality, not mine. But how long will it be until that carnival? Should we search the forest for any of them first?
(he's right they need a next step but what that next step is? it's hard to see when her mind is running a million worst case scenarios at once.)
We don't know how much time we have until he tries to finish it.
no subject
[ The carnival spanned two weeks, but there's one particular day that stands out above the rest. The day he and Monika went in the love tunnel. The day his relationship culminated in him tearing her heart from her chest. The devastating fallout that followed him even now. His jaw tenses and he keeps his gaze firmly focused on the page. ]
...about what you'd expect in hell. A bunch of sinners got kidnapped and...
[ He glances toward her, toward the point of her ears, then back down. ]
Altered to Mammon's liking. Displayed like some of his prized creatures. The carnival should be within the next few months, which gives you the chance to check the woods first to see what you can find out there. And that seems like a good next step -- identifying the creatures and seeing where they may be found.
[ His brow wrinkles when he finds the referenced spell, scanning it initially for counters. Nothing. But maybe there's still use in it. ]
The spell they noted is just a similar thing. This one doesn't have anything to do with souls, but links hearts and bodies to the caster. They're bound for life, when the caster breathes the cursed can breathe and if the caster dies, the cursed will die. I'll send this one to you as well, and in the worst case scenario -- I can teach you how to pronounce the words of the spell. Maybe this would work on Mammon and you could control him?
[ Her device pings with the second message. Would a curse work on a demon lord? Tech doesn't know. It's dangerous, which is why he only suggests it as a worst case scenario -- when there are no other options. ]
no subject
(altered and put on display. isn't that a familiar story? not that they were put in cages, but the sorceresses in aretuza were all transformed and then debuted to the different kings they were to be assigned to. she hadn't been kidnapped but she had been sold.
the story feels all too familiar. was that why mammon had been drawn to her? because she's been altered like his favorite pets already? it's not something anyone other than geralt or jaskier would know about here...but she doesn't doubt that the lords of hell have their own ways of knowing things.
she offers the information now to tech as a sign of trust, but also because it might be a piece of the puzzle)
I was altered before -- it's part of the process of becoming a sorceress in my world. It may be coincidence, it may be part of why Mammon wanted me. I am a quarter elf and I was born...with a crooked spine. My eyes were one of the only things I kept. (that and the scars on her wrists)
We're supposed to be the most beautiful creatures on the Continent, our beauty a part of our power as much as our magic. But it had consequences, ones I didn't fully understand at the time. So knowing that's something he's into...could be useful.
(again, maybe it isn't. but they need to consider all options.)
I recognize the names of some of the monsters, even if I might not know how to look for them or hunt them down.
(her phone pings and she looks over the information.)
I could try -- I would need a large conduit of power to draw from if I wanted to pull it off, I don't think my normal magic would be powerful enough to ensnare a demon lord, loathe as I am to admit it.
no subject
Yennefer was a beautiful woman before, but Tech sees a sort of beauty in the description of how she was born. This brilliant mind and brilliant potential all locked in a vessel no one would dare look twice at. How she must have suffered. How she must have clawed her way through life, the bird thrashing in the cage, trying so hard to break free. It's a familiar sort of feeling. It's lonely and isolating and no fucking wonder she is who she is. Because he's the same, isn't he?
Every incarnation of technology is an alteration of the previous version. He's lost so much of what he is and fights so hard to retain who he is now. But even that will be taken from him someday unless he can break free from World's grip and restore his lost memories. There's nothing Tech can do about what happens at home. Not while he's here. Not unless he finds a way to just not go home. But there is something he can do for Yennefer, a kindred spirit trapped in a similar cage.
But I'm still going to tell you that while you are brilliant in many ways... Jaskier had said. You are an absolute idiot.
Yeah. He knows.
Tech isn't some brave hero. He's not Geralt of Rivia who's going to charge in and save the day. His story has never been that and never will be that. But his story has pushed the future forward all the same. His story allowed society to grow. His story was always for everyone else and not himself. It's a story of self-sacrifice. Fire giving way to the wheel giving way to the printing press and photography and telephones and the internet. Technology exists so others can thrive.
Tech hesitates and then reaches out, placing his hand on hers and squeezes. It's not comfort. It's more of solidarity. He hears her story. He sees her. He understands. And he's invested. ]
Use me, then.
[ He doesn't know if it's possible, but in magic there's always a way. And Tech's greatest gift has always been to offer power to the world, so surely there's a way to offer it to one single woman. ]
I am a god. I'm fucking divinity. Shelling out power is what I was made to do.
[ His hand on hers tightens and he looks down at their fingers. ]
We've both suffered so much the same way. It's time to stop suffering.
[ It's time to fuck shit up. ]
no subject
(the first time yennefer did magic it had been to save herself from two teenagers who were going to beat her. she had portaled herself to aretuza, to istredd, who helped her get home and warned her that someone would be coming for her. and tissaia did come. tissaia came and purchased her and that was that. she has clawed her way to freedom, to power, every step of the way. what she didn't tell tech is that when istredd betrayed her elven heritage and cost her the spot she wanted, she missed her original appointment for the procedure. she had it done anyways, with no pain relief, no sedatives, nothing. she was reborn in fire and blood not realizing what she was giving up in the process. she stole back the place that was hers, and then abandoned it a few decades later as she grew tired of courtly life and the limitation it offered. when asked what she wanted her answer was usually simple.
everything.
tissaia had once told her that sometimes the best thing a flower could do is die, and she had almost felt that ways, releasing all of her chaos on the battlefield of sodden. but she survived -- jaskier has told her that and only that. she survives. and if she can survive that then she can survive whatever this place throws at her.
and maybe she doesn't have to do it alone. as difficult as trust is for her. because most people she's trusted have broken it in one way or another -- even geralt who bound their destinies together before he even knew who she was.
this time, when tech reaches out she does not violently push him away. she can practically feel the energy rippling under his skin. it is not like the magic, the chaos she knows so well, but she could use it she thinks. she could harness it. she's not above it. he said it himself, it's what he's made to do. )
You do realize if we fail, we might end up suffering more. Which means if we try this, failure is not an option.
no subject
[ He taps the page with the spell. Tech might be impulsive, but he's well aware of the risks. If there is an easier way to break the spell, then that is the option they should pursue. Because Tech knows sometimes punishments here don't land on the people actually doing the offense. Sometimes it lands on those they care about. And if anything happened to Ava....
He gives Yennefer's hand a soft squeeze and then withdraws, closing his book and starting to pile them all in a stack -- shooing away a pesky spider that's crawling along the table. ]
So monsters first. My girlfriend Ava is, well, her powers are all geared toward specifically fighting demons. If you want more manpower. Or I guess womanpower, I can put in a word for you. And also if you want, I can look into the casino -- see what I can find out about souls and see if there's any way to restore one. Do these sound like a plausible second step?
no subject
I don't think we can afford to say no to extra manpower right now. Geralt will have to cope with not being the only demon hunter on the case. (that will be the least of the problems geralt will have with all this....she may be planning on keeping that last option a secret until she has to tell him.)
They are sadly the best we have. So we'll have to make do.
(she stands up again, less frantic this time then before, helping him clean up. once they've passed the gremlin's inspection that they didn't write notes or try to sneak any books out they exit and go their seperate ways.
what could go wrong?)