video | un: big ben

[slightlytaller]

[Hi, Trench. It's been a while since this display name surfaced on the network. This time, there was accompanying video instead of just text-- And the dour man frowning into the screen, with dark bags under his stormy ocean green eyes and his cheekbones prominent in a manner that suggested recent illness, exuded nothing short of the stony sense of a man that was done with watching the madness of recent weeks.

--Or, perhaps, someone that had actually worried himself sick over the last month. Literally.]

... Not that anyone cares, but watching all these pompous assholes call themselves 'teacher' is making me want to pull my hair out.

[And, look. He had a lot of it. Heaving a sigh, Waver Velvet plucked the wire glasses he had been wearing off and set them aside. Pinching the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache-- or collect himself-- he continued.]

Some of you know me. Most of you don't.

That's fine, I'm only here to offer a different option for anyone feeling a tad... unanchored here.

I am Waver Velvet, sometimes called Lord El Melloi II-- but most of the people here just know me as Mackenzie. I'm not a combat instructor, like that trio that really wanted to play out a real-life Tournament Arc a few months ago-- like we were in one of my kids' anime shows. I'm also hardly worth even calling a mage. What I am, however, is someone that is willing to offer tutoring to anyone that feels they need it... In basically any subject matter.

[A shrug. He waved a hand.]

Don't worry about whether or not I'm an expert. One thing I've learned after teaching for the last decade is that no one is. If you need help with something that I don't already know, I'll learn it well enough to help.

--Also, if you need someone to just listen and help you resolve a problem... I can do that, too.

No, I won't ask you to call me Professor, Teacher, or even have you use my title. Just keep calling me Mackenzie, if you wish. I won't ask for payment, either. But, well... if you insist, bring along something to eat. Anything. I don't really care what.

Alternately, feel free to talk about whatever's currently interesting to you.

...I won't arrange 'classes' either. I know that you lot of teenagers are basically free-range, and that's fine. There's probably good reason for you to not trust adults. I know I didn't while I was in school.

[He sighed, satisfied that at least he was able to remove this much of his concerns from his shoulders, and seemed to be signing off before adding:]

Oh. One more thing. Does anyone have an open venue? I have a stack of rhythm and fighting games that I'm willling to share with people needing a distraction-- in a public forum, of course. If enough people are interested, we could work on making something official.

That's all.

Private--- to Palamedes Sextus

Palamedes... When you have a moment and are up to it, I'd like to talk.

Comments

[slightlytaller]

I don't imagine so. That was quite a ruckus on the beach-- somehow, I slept through it.

[due to chronically not taking care of himself. Oops. ]

Captain Amaranth rescued a young working class man with wits the size of the ocean a few months back. He had been captured and was strung up-- and likely would have bought his own escape without her intervention eventually.

Once certain that he was safe and unarmed, they got talking... And discovered that the worlds they called Home were similar, even if they weren't the same. He needed a partner for his work as a spell caster, and she needed someone to help her with tactics-- so they joined forces.

... Although he promised to help keep her safe, and even broke his own potency by forging her a sword the was blessed with his own Vileblood, she still went off.

Whimsical as the sea, she did what no mortal should do: she made a deal with God, and her partner couldn't stop her.

[noniad]

That is quite a tale.

[Which alludes to more than it states explicitly.]

So you come from a 'Earth' as well, I take it.

The moral of this story seems a topical one. I imagine this is what spurs you to this offering to the youth of the city.

[As if the young Lord had not made that clear enough.]

[slightlytaller]

You're not wrong.

... There's a great many things I can't do, Ortus. I can't protect the people that are important to me when it counts. All I can do is offer support where it's possible.

As someone the was once a free range, wayward teen without an adult, I know what it's like to be desperate enough for a kind word and a pat on the head to find headlong into danger.

I did it myself.-- differently, mind you. And I got lucky that someone caught me on the other side.

... Make no mistake. I'm just a very flawed man who isn't even easy to get along with. The kids shouldn't have to feel lost enough to latch onto a charismatic jerk, though.

[noniad]

Would that all wayward youth were so fortunate.

I do not wish to be indelicate, nor for you to take offense at my question, but I am compelled to ask: how do you vouchsafe that you may be trusted in this endeavor?

Many who offer help for nothing do not reveal the strings tethered to their aid.

[slightlytaller]

Anything I say to that will be taken as dishonest.

The same could be said for every adult in the damn town.

I'll be honest. There's nothing else I need in this world. The man that took a piece of my heart with him when he left my sight is back thanks to the sea-- his own Okeanos, the never ending ocean at the edge of the world.

Him being here is all I've dreamed of for the last ten years. I am once more whole.

I am... Satisfied. Satisfied enough to accept my existence here in this world.

[noniad]

That is glad news.

[He is not envious. That would be foolish. To have witnessed the pinnacle of glory even once is more than he could have dreamed, and Ortus has long known how to curb his wanting.

Still.]

I suppose your admittance that you cannot be trusted is more testimony than most have yet provided as to their suitability as influences on the young.

Do you intend to teach more of the history of your world in this one, if you happened across a pupil who expressed interest in it?

[slightlytaller]

... The Earth I know is very multilayered, with histories that are kept secret from most of us denizens.

I'm from the edge of both the mundane and the secret, where they overlap. Honestly? The tabloids would make bank on my stories, but the powers that be would have my head.

It wasn't something I planned to teach. Why? Are you interested?

[noniad]

My home is much the same.

[With the power that most Is immanent here in this place, with surely no kindly considerations towards Ortus' head.]

Perhaps. Are you acquainted with the subject of the ancient gods of Earth? Pluto, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and so on.

[slightlytaller]

intimately.

Those names are the planets in my Earth's planetary system. Their names are Roman, but their ideas were borrowed from the same culture my King is part of--the ancient Greeks.

In your order: Hades, Hermes, Aphrodite, Zeus, Kronos. That is, the Lord of the Dead, the Messenger, the Goddess of Love, The Lord of Thunder, and Patron of Harvest.

... I noticed no mention of Neptune (Poseidon, Lord of the Sea) or Uranus ( Incidentally the same name, the Primeval Sky).

Any reason?

[noniad]

None, save not wishing to overwhelm. What of Mars? Another god of these peoples?

I believe that my home is a version of a future of certain Earths, although I cannot explain how this is so, or to what extent our history is that these other worlds, varied as they are.

It is my belief that a comparative reading of literature of these histories might provide an anchor for my theories.

[slightlytaller]

That's right.

Mars was called Ares in my knowledge. The god of war.

There's a great many people from Earth in this town, and a multitude of different Earths. I can help you learn what you wish-- but bear in mind that my knowledge is just on one Earth.

But, we can work together to fill in the gaps we find.

[noniad]

These associations, are they commonly known in your world, or are they reserved for scholars?

I have some skill in the filling of gaps. But perhaps we may ask others to collaborate, and share what they know of their own histories?

[slightlytaller]

I may not be the best to ask, because of my own biases.

However, most of my students are teenagers and they have a general idea of this knowledge. Perhaps not extensively-- there are as many religious beliefs as there are people in the world, and multiple pantheons across the various cultures. But, to my base of knowledge, the Greco-Roman ideas are fairly standard.

That said, we can certainly bring in others as needed. I'm just one man. While I am a teacher and archivist, I do not know everything.

This is okay. The true strength of people is when we work together.

[noniad]

There are many gods worshipped at once on your world?

How do you know them as gods? Do they coexist peacefully, or war against one another?

As to working together, I have seen this truth in its proving.

I am no teacher, but perhaps I may offer some type of aid to this endeavor, in exchange for my own education.

[slightlytaller]

... That's complicated.

In the ancient world, there were many religions, each with many gods that represented some aspect of the unknown and uncontrollable. Some were worshipped, others were called upon for aid as needed, and still others were respected but barely spoken of out of fear

Many elements of these still exist, although their nature has changed over the millennia. One that dominates in my era, however, is one that states they follow the teachings of a demigod, the son of the one true God and blessed with that God's holy spirit...

This man allowed others to call him Teacher, and he was said to have the power to perform miracles-- like conjuring enough food to feed the masses and even resurrect the dead. Sacraments can involve symbolically eating his body and drinking his blood...

... I try to be unbiased in what I teach, but I'm just a man. Bias is inevitable.

[And Ortus could extract what information he wanted from there. ]

... What kind of exchange do you have in mind? I've no need for a bard-- unless your talents are in more than just your words.

[noniad]

[There are many misdeeds that Ortus has discovered evoke in him a surprising amount of ire, now that he has begun to allow himself to dwell upon them. The one that the Lord El Melloi II touches upon here, however, is not among those newly found. Ortus has always held great scorn for plagiarists.]

Knowing the bias of one's sources is one of the first steps towards truth. I do not take any man's words as gospel.

[A daring statement, under the circumstances; but let it be said, and let it be known, that if there is a heart of heresy in the Ninth House it beats in his breast.]

It seems the faith of your world and that of my Empire share some commonalities. I would be most interested in discussion of such a topic.

As to what I may offer, I am a researcher of some skill, and adept at the hauling of heavy items, a task I find many scholars struggle with.

[slightlytaller]

I'm sure we can find a copy of it source book in the archives; it's among the most printed in my world.

One warning: the common beliefs of that system in my timeline don't always correlate with what's written. I doubt most believers have actually read it-- but, there's a reason I'm the worst kind of mage to be teaching the upcoming generation.

You and I are rather alike.

[Question everything, but take nothing for granted. That was the core guideline that Waver followed in his life.

It had to be. He had little else to offer.]

... I do admit, a walk through the countryside in the heat of summer gets to me fairly quickly. Although I do have someone of considerable strength at my side, a King doesn't need to spend time in libraries if he doesn't wish it. Also, my chosen Knight is having a host of her own troubles and isn't in a position to help.

...a man of some strength, a researcher, and a writer could indeed be a help.

[noniad]

The library is certainly free with all manner of tome.

People rarely pay heed to the text as it is written when it interferes with the text they prefer to adhere to. It is a failing within even the devout.

Alike in our tolerance of the heat as well. I have found a sunshade to be of some help, and I am accustomed to whiling away my hours in a library.

Let us call the matter arranged. I anticipate our collaboration.

[slightlytaller]

I have one further arrangement to add:

A mutual associate calling themselves Duty wishes to have joint sessions with you and I over a meal one evening per week-- if that is doable for you.

I shall give one warning: I will not ask my King to step away. If he is interested in joining, I will not say no... and if history is your aim, he has a better view than I in some matters.

[noniad]

[The way that the Lord El Melloi II says it, Ortus might think that Duty spoke of him specifically, a thought which makes him quite suddenly nervous and overwhelmed in a manner not wholly unpleasant.]

If Duty requests to be present, I am honored and humbled to join you in a repast and discussion of histories.

If your King wishes to be party to this I see no cause to object, if Duty, too, agrees.

[slightlytaller]

[It was fairly specific-- although Waver wasn't going to declare that. All information would become known in due time.]

Then it seems everyone is in agreement.

I'll be in touch with days and times soon. Thank you, Ortus. I look forward to further discussions with you.

[noniad]

As I you.

I anticipate it will be an enlightening experience.