Issue 1 Downtime

Sean stood in front of the memorial to the lost students as he had several other times since the memorial service. He'd been unable to say anything at the service or afterward during his various visits, but now he'd decided on a course of action. He began drawing power into himself words tumbling from his lips in a strange tongue.

((Open))

Guy approached and was about to say something when he figured out that Sean was doing some magic related. So for now he just watched curiously.

The trees nearby swayed as Sean continued to chant. The words seemed to resonate with sadness as Sean reached up towards the sky and seemed to pull stars from the heavens until he had one "star" for each of the fallen. The stars circled around the memorial as Sean continued to chant. The chant grew in volume and the "stars" seemed to settle in a line. They each began to change in shape before settling onto the memorial itself.

One of the stars became a series of cogs, another became a Norse rune. Each took on a shape unique to the person it was meant to represent until Sean reached out towards the final star. His hand covered itself in ethereal flame as he cradled that final star for a moment before it too began to change shape.

It became a flower of flame and starlight before it too settled onto the memorial. The chanting trailed off and when it was finished Sean staggered and fell.

Guy broke out of his state of wonder and rushed to catch Sean.

Sean was thankful that he hadn't collided with the stone. For a moment he was quiet before pushing himself away from Guy and onto his feet. The act of which made him stumble again before just deciding that the ground was a perfectly reasonable place to sit down. He stared at the memorial sweating and breathing heavily.

The flower on the memorial continued to change and a Phoenix seemed to push itself up from the center of the blossom.

"Are you alright Hall?" he asked, trailing off as the ongoing spell caught his eye.

"That's bloody beautiful..."

"I'll be...alright, Gaius," Sean said staring at his handiwork, "It's not enough. Not nearly enough."

He gave Sean a gentle look.

"You can't bring back the dead Sean..."

"Maybe not, but this isn't enough Gaius," Sean said, "This is just a meaningless gesture, highlighting our...no my failure to be there for her...for them. Just more signs, more things to display it for the world to see."

"You aren't the only one to fail that day."

"That doesn't make me feel better, Gaius," Sean said, "I don't take comfort in that I'm not the only one who failed because I can only control what I do. And what did I do? Nothing. I was back home worrying about my own affairs."

"You're saying you should have been sitting by our window, gazing longingly at the sky as you wait for your girlfriend to return from God knows where?"

"Somehow I don't think she'd want you to be that pathetic."

"No, I simply should have been here rather than absorbed in trying to figure out my past and how to undo it," Sean said, "It would have kept for a few more weeks and maybe then I could have been here for her. Maybe Elizabeth wouldn't have died, and a bunch of cultists wouldn't have wrecked my parents house. If I'd been able to control my desires things could have turned out differently."

"You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"No, but maybe I should have," Sean said.

"Oh, so you're blaming yourself for not being bloody omniscient. That makes perfect sense!" he said with well-intentioned sarcasm.

Gaius Montgomery wrote:"Oh, so you're blaming yourself for not being bloody omniscient. That makes perfect sense!" he said with well-intentioned sarcasm.

"It doesn't when you put it that way," Sean said, "But a true mage would've been able to know."

"Oh, so you've met one then?"

"Don't mock me, Gaius," Sean growled

"The only thing I'm doing is trying to get it in your thick head that you're being an idiot. Like it or not, you're just as human as the rest of us."

Sean was quiet for a few minutes before standing up without answering Guy's statement.

"So it's the silent treatment now?"

Gaius Montgomery wrote:"So it's the silent treatment now?"

"There's not enough time to explain it, Gaius," Sean said.

"You're a great and powerful wizard, nothing is beyond you, and us lower beings just don't get it. Does that about sum it up?" he asked, both pity and hurt feelings practically bleeding from his words.

Sean turned towards Gaius his hands clenched into fists.

"Alright," Sean said, "I was going to be used as a gate for an Elder God because my parents were children of another Elder God and since they were unable to conceive another Elder God gave me the spark of life. Does that allow you to make sense of the situation a bit better?"

Guy was silent for a few moments, but didn't veer even further off his original point.

"I care about your pain. I care about your loss. I couldn't care less how you came into this world."

I just care that you're in it.

"I care about it, Gaius," Sean said, "It means I should have been able to do something. I should have been more prepared. I should have been able to keep Mira and Elizabeth safe, but instead they are both gone despite the power I can wield."

"You can't see the future Sean, and it isn't your fault that powers out of your control took them from you."

"Yes, yes it is," Sean said and began walking away from Guy.

Guy just sighed in defeat and let Sean go.