blackjewelledmale | [For Neville Longbottom] April showers can't keep me down

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[For Neville Longbottom] April showers can't keep me down

The nights are getting shorter, which limits Saetan's time to be out and about in the great outdoors, but he's found an umbrella, a wide, black, bat-like thing which he's been making liberal use of in the late afternoons. But the weather is more settled now (aside from the odd showers of rain they've had every now and then) and it's time he got the lay of the land, the better to start preparing the groundwork for the shield that he was to raise, replacing Jaenelle's shield which vanished with her.

He'll be found roaming about the grounds, leaning on his stick, the umbrella shading him as he searches for one Neville Longbottom, a young man whom Galadriel has told him about...

Looking for a Neville, but if someone wishes to speak to the old geezer, feel free to tap the typist!

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Neville arrives for the appointment a little early, and though he has met Saetan once, he doesn't know the man well at all. He knows he's a powerful wizard though, and he's eager to help with the shield for the Mansion. The sooner they can get one in place the better, he thinks.

He smiles in greeting as he approaches the gentleman. "You probably don't remember me," he begins.

He turns to the young man, giving him a smile that's mostly friendly, but might have just a hint of danger about it. "You're a hard face and name to forget," he says, bowing, keeping the umbrella upright. "Greetings again, Neville. You've come with a high recommendation, from the Lady Galadriel."

Neville bows as well. He'd liked the older magic user, found him both charming and kind, when they'd met a year before in the kitchen. "It is a pleasure to meet with you again, Saetan SaDiablo, though I suppose the current situation could be better. I look forward to helping you with our task nonetheless." He blushes lightly at the last. "I'm honoured that Lady Galadriel thinks so much of me."

"Has she told you of the task which she's entrusted to us?" he asks, making sure that they're on the same page together, and happy to bring him up to speed if need be.

"Indeed. The Merlin explained we'll be reproducing the shields that were once in place," Neville answers. "And then fortifying them." And he takes this tasks very seriously. The Mansion depends on them for safety. He can't bear the thought of any of them coming to harm again.

"I hope to start soon, but before we can weave the wards, we need to lay down the ground work, the foundations," he says, looking across the lawn. "We need to start by working out the best points to serve as anchors."

"So what did you have in mind?" Neville asks, even as he eyes a group of boulders nearby, not far from the treeline. He may even gesture in their direction. "Are there any remaining foundations from before?"

"There are traces of the original anchors, but they are badly decayed," he says, following the younger male's gaze to the boulders. "Still, there are likely sites we can use, natural landmarks that have collected some power and that possess some strength of their own.

"I think you may have spotted one already," he says.

"Very well," Neville nods. "Then I think we should first choose what will be our anchors. New ones, that won't have any residual magic. Perhaps more of them this time so that the net of protection is tighter?" he suggests, walking toward the boulders they were both eyeing already.

He'll smile, approving of this plan. "A very astute choice of preparation," he says, limping a step behind the younger man. "Some of the Blood are not so prudent, choosing to build on the remains of older Webs."

"Those older Webs failed," Neville murmurs, and then looks at the older man, both his tone and his demeanor respectful. "Were they the work of a single magic user?" He purposely doesn't name Jaenelle, careful of Saetan's grief. The entire Mansion is grieving and he doesn't want to make thinks worse for anyone. "It's good that the new Webs will depend on two of us. And it should also strengthen the foundations, having two magic users building on them."

"Generally, one witch can craft a Web," Saetan explains. "For a working this big, three are preferred, but Jaenelle... she was Witch, she was the Dreams of the Blood Made Flesh, and that bestowed her with power not seen in the Realms in some time. She could craft a Web on her own, and more often than not, she would draw on her own power, at some cost to her self." His golden eyes might turn misty with thought and remembrance, and he pauses for a moment, recalling the Queen he had served, the daughter of his heart.

He draws in a breath and lifts his chin, his eyes resuming the look of kindly darkness. "But still I have a few tricks hidden in my sleeves and my waistcoat pocket."

Neville nods, accepting Saetan's words without question. "Together, we can make them strong. And they won't rely on the presence of just one person any longer," he replies, tone both soft and respectful because of how Jaenelle was lost.

He can't help but notice Saetan's grief. If he knew him better, he might offer a comforting hug or touch, but alas, they're not that well acquainted.

"At the back of the Mansion, near my greenhouse, I've noticed another large grouping of rocks. That could be another anchor."

He's grateful for the diversion from the shadows of memory lurking in his mind. "That would be ideal: a naturally occurring site close to a place of importance, where people have lived and worked and experienced life with all its ups and downs," he says, approving of this choice. "And I think there is a large oak tree behind the small temple, which could be a third anchor."

"That leave one more marker," Neville grins, pleased with their progress. Granted, choosing their anchors is probably the easiest part, but they're still very important. "What do you think of a spot near the dojo for the final location? I'm not sure what's nearby, but we could walk over and have a look?"

Saetan is referring to the chapel as a temple, yes? Just making sure. If he meant dojo, I can edit! <3

"If Genkai does not mind our venturing into her domain: she is a fierce lady, and there is a strength about her that is equal to that of some High Priestesses in my world," he says. "I doubt that she will, since she is as determined as the rest of us, if not moreso, when it comes to defending the house and its dwellers from Morgoth."

Yep! He's referring to Parsifal's chapel.

"We could choose a foundation nearby, but that wouldn't infringe on her dojo," Neville suggests. "I wouldn't presume to intrude on her personal space." He smiles, nodding in that direction. "We should go have a look around in that general area."

"Indeed, I would *not* want to intrude upon her domain," he says, his slight smile unwavering, but with a lilt suggesting he's had similar run-ins with feisty Priestesses in his world. Then glancing toward the dojo, he adds, "Let us have a look then."

Neville strides toward the area where the dojo is situated, though he doesn't approach the actual building. Or even the area close by. His gaze is intent on natural fortifications. Something strong that they can bind magic to. There's a large tree, it's roots obviously going deep into the ground beneath, but Neville discounts it. It's not as large as the oak at the temple. Such a tree could be uprooted far too easily by a being as powerful as Morgoth.

Edited 2013-09-05 22:42 (UTC)

They might come upon a cluster of fir trees, rising up into a natural pyramid with smaller trees gathered about taller ones ringed about a large tree, likely the source of the cones that spawned the smaller trees. Saetan might hobble closer, looking up at it. "Like a proud matriarch surrounded by her family," he observes.

"If we weaved the spells through the younger firs and then the larger, that will only strengthen it," Neville muses, thinking of the smaller trees as guards. "I think this would serve our needs well." He sounds pleased because he is. They've found some optimal strongholds.

"Building on and reinforcing links that are already there," Saetan replies, approvingly. "You think like one of my kind, or at least, the ones with a better grasp of their power and the responsibility that they entail. And you clearly understand the earth and its creatures."

Neville blushes slightly, pleased at his comments. "Thank you. Coming from one with so much experience, that is truly a compliment," he answers. "My school tried to teach responsibility for our powers. Our Headmaster was a great wizard," he says with much fondness and sadness too, at his passing.

Saetan would have liked Albus Dumbledore, Neville thinks. He moves forward. "Now that we have our four anchors, we can begin weaving our wards."

He notes the fondness in the young wizard's eyes. "And his teaching shows in the devotion and responsibility in the student," he replies.

"Let's start here and work backward," he says, coming back to the business at hand. Turning back to the grove, he'll approach the largest tree, placing a hand on its trunk. "I'm going to spin a Web around this tree, running the anchor threads between the trunks of the other trees," he says. "I'll need you to seal it, with a binding of your own."

Since this is so very old, shall we summarize? I think we've established their rapport and method. I'm good with summarizing they create the magical webbing in all the places mentioned and meet regularly to check on them and reinforce?

Summarization works for me: it's a bit vague as to how Webs are created (Anne Bishop seems to leave that to the reader's imagination), but it seems to involve using the Jewel to create the psychic threads to weave into the Web) and I imagine they reinforce the webs about once a month, perhaps at the new moon (somehow I see the darkness of that point in the moon cycle as especially bracing for Saetan, or it could just be a convenient time to remember, like changing the batteries on your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors when Daylight Savings begins or ends).

I suspect the webs are constructed with both Saetan and Neville's magical experience/instruction, which would likely make them all the stronger and complicated for it? I'm good with them going out each new moon to reinforce! ^^

Two forms of magic are better than one, like an alloy of metals. Works for me!!

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[For Neville Longbottom] April showers can't keep me down

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