There would be a pause and Atreus would only feel the barest hint of shifting air be Damian would release the spell, revealing himself now standing on the floor, leaning against the wall with crossed arms.
"You'll have to forgive my wariness, my most recent dealings with the Church has not been the most... constructive in nature." Far from the jovial and warm visage the others had seen in the Mess hall yesterday, a stern and focused look was plastered on the man's face.
It was soon relaxed however with a breath out his nose. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he let out a soft sigh. "Feels like I can't ever get a moments rest with them, regardless of which faction I encounter. No matter."
Rubbing his face a moment Damian pushed himself from the wall, hands in his pockets. "All that aside, seems we finally meet Arteus. Did you wish to talk here or your office?"
Not for the first time Damian asked himself why was he doing this again. Comfortably positioned where he could see all parts of the room he had waited since early morning for everyone to arrive. From his possible future compatriots filing into the room and making introductions to the visiting..... representatives from the Church.
The sight of them dredged up the urge to growl but instead kept silent. They weren't the main source of his ire and besides, hidden as he was no one knew he was there...except the Priestess no doubt. Seer's always made some things...difficult as it were. Still, he chose not to complain. Despite his instincts telling him to leave so as to not give the Church any more targets to destroy, he instead remained.
In the tower.
Hiding within the same room as the church members....
Why was he doing this again?
"Only the fish who swims against the river will know the source of flow..."
...ah, that's right. He wanted to damn the Elders and their divinations, but never had they steered him wrong before. Much as he wanted to simply move to the Southern continent as he had planned, he knew trusting his family's judgment was the right call.
So here he sat, hiding from all in the room. To anyone who tried to sense him out, Damian might as well appear to them as magical and as loud as a normal, unmoving wooden chair.
Didn't prevent the man from feeling this meeting was going to go swell...
With a light chuckle, Damian offered a nod. "Call me Damian, Wildlife photographer." Coming to lean against one of the bookshelves, he crossed his arms while holding up a hand.
"As per your question, Kiff, there are 4 languages total from what I could tell. It started as a fusion of both Northern Fae and Desert Pheredhel, before suddenly going into Serpent-tongue. Anyone else getting this far would only get a set of gibberish with the way how 2 of those languages were used as fake cyphers all while being overlaid with Serpent-tongue. The only word in our Common tongue we'd get is 'Milli', possibly a name but it's too early to tell. Whoever did this seems to have a love of riddles, but that's not the interesting part." With each language mentioned, one finger had risen to emphasize the point. By the end of it his arm had folded back with it's twin as he looked at the librarian proper.
"Now this is inte-" Damian cut himself short as he read the lines again.
Serpent-tongue? That was very uncommon, he would know. During all his travels he'd met, spoken with and learned from many a peoples. Those that knew Serpent were few, but he learned from them all the same. That made him think, this couldn't be all there was to this message, there had to be something deeper. It'd be too easy to just use a single language for the spell. And sadly... he was right.
"Damn, was not expecting this. Then again, this really shouldn't surprise me." Rubbing a hand over the lower half of his face, he looked back at Naomi. "Do we have anyone here well versed in ancient languages?"
"I do yes, fir-" The man paused, focusing on the egg and the new symbols around it.
"First, we'll need to get the maker of that magitech machine. It needs to be switched from lightning elemental energies. Something, or someone is interfering with the egg." Moving past Naomi, Damian would peer curiuosly at the many lines of symbols and script writ upon the petals.
"Northern Fae-tongue and the Desert dialect huh? Interesting, gimme a minute and I'll get this translated in a moment..."
The man chuckles at Naomi's enthusiasm, not at all put off by her earlier rambling. "Perhaps, there's a couple things I wanted to discuss with Arteus first before anything else happens. So, you mentioned something about the Makara right? About their biomes and hormonal variances?"
He gestures down the hall. "Perhaps we can swap notes as we walk?"
Feeling someone bump into him the moment he rounded the corner, Damian had to take a step back to brace. Thankfully he didn't step on any of the books which fell.
Seeing who it was that bumped into him, the man was a little confused, though curious. "No need to apologize, no harm done."
Taking a knee Damian started grabbing some of the books that were out of the woman's reach. "Here, miss." Handing them to her with a small but warm smile, he gazed at the tome titles with curiosity. "Interesting set of tomes, miss. Which reptile are you focusing on?"
Seeing the man leave Damian huffed to himself, smiling with a shake of his head. Not feeling that hungry himself he made his way out of the mess hall, opting to simply venture about for the next while, see what some of the other places here was like...
Esper Clairvoyance (Past Sight): Given a target Damian can look into the past of any person, place or thing to witness a piece of their story.
Summon (ghosts): When trying to find an illusive animal, Damian can summon forth a shade of the target in order to better track them down when traditional hunting methods prove too slow or unusable.
Telekinesis: Damian has a minor affinity for telekinesis, only able to move objects only a few pounds in weight off the ground.
Forced temporal realignment: Combining his Clairvoyance and Summon abilities, Damian is able to repair inanimate objects by forcing their current broken state to match their past unbroken state.
Invocation Animal Magnetism: A passive ability that allows Damian to calm and befriend animals of all kinds more easily. Whether normal, magical, mystical or summoned, Damian has a greater chance to bond with them far sooner than most. Note, this ability does not hamper or interfere with the bonds Summoners and Invokers have with their own Summons.
Whisperer: Damian has the ability to communicate with and understand animals of all kinds and species. This includes the feeling emotional spectrum of any given animal he's speaking with.
Spirit Infusion: By calling upon the name of a given animal or beast, Damian can infuse his body with their strengths and abilities. This technique can be used to enhance standard objects and other people as well.
Will of the Hunt: With a bit of magic Damian calls upon the trait of Hunter predators. Infusing his gaze and aura with their will any caught in his gaze will be enveloped by the sensation of Prey about to be chased by the Hunter.
Silver tongue: Due to Damian's time as a highly rated Photographer, he has a wealth of experience dealing with various levels of the upper class. Primarily, how to speak with various Nobles and not get exploited or ripped off. His reputation, presence and use of words make it difficult for most to ignore him and his logic. Those of high intelligence and willpower can resist, but should still take heed lest Damian's Charisma sway them without knowing.
Survivalist: Having to live in the wilderness for long periods of time in order to get the photographs he needs has forced Damian to learn how best to survive in the wild against all manner of beast, aberration and the miasma. If someone is ever stuck in the wilderness and Damian is with you, you are as good as saved.
- Well used travelers backpack (Bag of Holding) - Cooking supplies - Survival gear (compass, rope, flint, etc) - Hunting knives (Machete) - handmade Tomahawks - Standard Long-sword - Portable camera gear - Pendent - Guitar - Tea kettle and set - Tribal paints - notebooks
Brief Background:
As a photographer of world renown, The Beast Whisperer, Damian's reputation for expertly taken photographs is widely known. The same goes for how often requests are sent his way. He had been sent invitations from the Tower every year since it's inception, however he had neither the time nor the interest to accept them. After completing a recent job however, Damian decided it was finally time to see what all the hubbub was about and ventures to the Tower to at the very least listen to the Headmaster's request...
Anything else we should know about you:
Damian is a calm character, a professional who takes his job seriously though, he has been known to crack a smile every now and again. Apart from his reputation for excellent quality, Damian is well known for treating all clients equally, regardless of bearing or birth. This has garnered some annoyance from the upper Echelons of society but Damian doesn't care. His skills allow him to essentially do as he pleases, if a client proves uncooperative it's their reputation that gets damaged, not his.
Unaffiliated with the Mage's Association Damian works as a free agent without oversight. While it has led to some slander from certain Nobles, his skills proved that the slander hold no water. The slander he merely scoffs at, but the mistreatment of those unable to use magic is a line that many learn never to cross. Apart from bad food there really isn't much that ruffles his feathers, so to speak.
While many have tried getting close to him, either in genuine interest or to get dirt on him, none have been able to gleam anything past what is already widely known. Having traveled the world Damian holds a unique perspective from meeting and learning from people of all stripes, one that's a little more open to the stories of many.
- Has abnormally strong mental defences against psionic intrusions - Loves to learn about different cultures, through cuisine, music and mythologies - Has near encyclopedic knowledge of the worlds fauna - Is an avid tea enjoyer
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Eviledd1984