[OOM] Settling In
The room that Zevran leads Zak to, number 715, is much like the Antivan himself. Small, neat, clean, yet cheerful in its own way and a far cry from the rooms he keeps in Antiva City. Those are nothing more than a place to stay and a place to work, a place to keep the more sinister tools of his profession, not a place to really share with others.
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The Antivan merchant families' belief child slaughter was 'poor business practice' and their insistence on absorbing the children of the defeated 'House' instead of just murdering them was something the drow thought was absolutely marvelous, because Zak had no qualms with killing adults, but the idea of slaughtering children was horrible beyond belief.
"Your people's logic is admirable." Zak said fervently. Too many child corpses. Too many death screams.
Oh, yes, compared to the drow, Zaknafein definitely prefers the Antivan's way of doing business.
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The whole 'offering a chance to those who have none' sounds remarkably good in words though Zak is aware it's probably not as good in practice. Still, the attrition rate is high enough among drow commoner youths (even among their siblings) competing for status, power and openings in noble families, that Zak can hardly want to complain or criticize the actions of people who already admit to have... some morals that his people lack.
(OOC: OOH this Foreshadowing of yours is AWESOME.)
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"No armies?" The drow looks dazed As if he cannot imagine it. Which is true. He can't. All drow females are vicious when angry and most are very much armed. Be it with snake whips, or arcane spells, or blades... Female drow who are submissive and do not bear arms are too rare, unless one counts the few who are slaves.
"None at all? And women do not bear arms? No whips or maces or cursed artifacts? I begin to understand why you said that those nude beaches appealed to you..."
Zak also begins to see why it is necessary that the Crows be so feared, and reluctantly, his respect for this strange Organization grows. Especially if Zevran's homeland is as lovely as he says it is. Zak knows any drow matron who heard of such a place in the Underdark would have marshalled her forces to take such a lovely land over and burn the inhabitants' cities to the ground, enslaving the populace.
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The drow has never liked mages. The idea of a tower of them... He shudders in distaste, and the aftertaste of fear. "Demon-pacting, untrustworthy and powerful, with unpredictable natures, prickly tempers, an inability to understand the word 'no', an excess of pride, a tendency to stick their noses in knowledge no sane individual would want to learn and having a tendency to cast spells to torment others at a whim. No, I do not understand this interest of yours in mages."
*No male drow in their right mind wants to run afoul of the archmage. Zak knows his limits, and knows his place. And it is as far from aforementioned archmage as possible.
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"Thedosian mages are... different, than the ones you are used to, it seems. Certainly there are those who are not the nicest people, and those who break from the Circle or never join it in the first place. But most are happy to keep to their Towers and their books."
The assassin absently rolls his mug between his hands to warm them. "Of course, what I know comes mostly from apprentices, and one or two mages that I had to dispose of along the way. But in Thedas, at least, the Circle mages are surrounded by templars, who are supposed to kill them if they become possessed by demons. And the people are so terrified of the mages that any who practice magic are usually happy to stay as far away from those who do not as possible. Only in the Imperium do you really see those with magic lording over those without."
And everyone knows about the Imperium." ( ... )
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"The mages of my people are power hungry, prickly and proud, eternally hungry for any scrap of knowledge, no matter how forbidden it is. Most mages have pacts or can summon demons for various things, aid in battle, specific tasks, information... Mages of my people can cast spells to turn other beings into animals, or monsters; can summon and control the corpses of the dead, can blast people with fire or lightning, turn people to stone, bind elemental spirits to talks and create golems... and those are just the fairly normal spells without going into studies of specific vocations." Zaknafein said gloomily ( ... )
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Zevran does look surprised, by this information. "I suppose that mages vary between worlds as much as everything else. I do not think you would find issue with many of ours, if you met them. They receive training in magic precisely so that they become less of a danger to themselves and to others. I understand that most mages manifest ability around the age of six, usually quite dramatically. They are taken to the Towers and raised there, so that they learn to control their magic and use it constructively."
Polar opposites, for the most part. Maleficarum and apostates are exceptions to the rule, and Zevran has to admit that even all of them aren't necessarily bad. But then, his "familiarity" with a handful of mages has probably made him more tolerant than most.
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"All mages in my home learn magic mainly to kill other people with. Can Bards use magic here the way they do in my home world?" Zak asked curiously. "Many of the other disciplines and... vocations of people in my home world can use some sort of magic. A druid for example can command animals, change shape, and cause trees to eat people, though one understands the last feat is very rare."
The drow tilts his head at the other male questioningly. "You can, of course, ask me whatever you wish about my home, since you have so obligingly put up with my queries."
(ooc: off to bed for now!)
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Zak will not mention that he does have a few magic tricks up his.. currently rather short.. 'sleeves', as do most Faerun elves. He would not wish to be known as a mage, after all. He never liked them and has no desire to be sent to a tower full of them.
"I am glad to hear that the mages in your home are very little like the ones in mine." Zak says finally, sipping at his drink. "And that you have defensive measures and training in case they decide to turn against your folk."
He's not sure if he should be happy or disturbed that they hunt their mages down when said mages delve into forbidden knowledge.
On one hand, Zak hates, distrusts and does not have great respect for mages. On the other hand, all magic being reason for someone to be hunted down and trapped? Not a good thing for an innately magical being to have to face ( ... )
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