arcanarumlogs | [COMPLETE] In Absinthia

Who: England, Saber
When: Monday, September 19, early afternoon
Where: around Queen of Cups (the potions store)
What: A loyal servant meets her lord, and a lord meets his loyal boss.
Warnings: probably pg, nothing bad except for gratuitous angst

It had occurred to England that morning that, although he had been on the island for a long time, he had done very little exploring. Usually when he tried to go out, his legs would carry him to the edge of the forest, and he would frantically pace back and forth in front of it, watching it longingly, before Prussia or someone else had to forcefully drag him away. Today, England wanted to focus on going somewhere else. He wanted to know if there were places on Arcanarum that could actually help him in his quest to get back home.

He found the shopping district on his own, and he explored the fresh market first. That reminded him of his home, so he lingered there for at least forty-five minutes before deciding he should move on. It was getting cooler, anyway, and it looked as though a lot of the people were thinking about packing up. The wind blew against England and he searched for a shop where he could go inside and take shelter.

What caught his interest first was a potions shop. Brilliant! It had been a while since he'd been able to use his own magic, but at least he could still mess around with spells. He smirked to himself in victory before heading inside.

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Aha, a magic user too? Perhaps a beginner. That was quite interesting. England's smile widened, friendly. "Well, that's not too bad. At least it's something, yeah? Summoning anything can be quite tricky."

What a small young lady. From far away, she almost looked like a man. Though England had figured out what she was almost immediately, for some reason. She seemed familiar to him, even with his strange afflictions.

"Summoning?" Saber shook her head slightly. "No, I am afraid I am unable to summon creatures. Casters can do such things, but Sabers cannot. Still..."

She clasped her chin between her thumb and forefinger in a gesture of thought. "The magic in this place is admittedly rather strange, particularly our summoning here."

A fleeting expression of regret flickered across her features before she could suppress it. That she was summoned as an interpretation of the legend she was trying to undo would probably be a constant thorn in her side. But already, she could feel certain changes that she attempted to suppress through her usual stoicism.

Hm. He was sure she had said summon a sword, but perhaps he had been too excited and mixed both of her abilities together. Maybe he could teach her how to summon swords in the future... If he ever got his magic back. England shrugged, mostly to himself for jumping to conclusions like an idiot. He was still fascinated.

"I was able to summon many things back at home. Monsters, objects... People..." He grimaced a bit as he recalled the time Russia had popped up out of his magic circle. "In fact, I had many magic powers back at home."

England idly picked up one of the potions nearby and looked over the bottle with familiarity and even a bit of longing. Liquid wormwood, perfect for an aphrodisiac... Maybe he would purchase this.

"Had I still had my magic, I would possibly be able to break the barrier on this island and summon us all back home." His voice had become wistful by now, less excited, more saddened by the fact that he was trapped.

It never occurred to Saber that "summoning" was used for anything other than creatures such as familiars... as well as herself. Her sword and armour, on the other hand, were a part of her that she called at whim, so long as she had enough prana for them to manifest. But what the young man described did seem rather familiar, though the term for it was different.

"Ah, so it is similar to what the magi of the current era have named 'tracing'. However, they require focus as opposed to potions, and they differ greatly."

Something else had piqued her curiosity further. "Are you a wizard in your world?"

Hopefully not like her advisor, who was prone to nicking womens' undergarments and turning her into a man when he was bored.

"A most noble goal," Saber agreed with a nod. "I have a duty to fulfil, and I must return quickly. However, my attempts to discover a method have met with no success."

"I was called a witch once," England smirked, winking at the girl. "But I really just like to study magic. My brothers and I all do. The summoning we do doesn't require potions. Just incantations, magic circles, and a lot of concentration." He held up the bottle to the light and looked into the colored liquid. "The moment I regain my powers, I will work on a way to get us out of here. You can count on that, Milady."

That, Saber had to admit, was a little strange by her standards. Witches were common enough, but whatever magic they possessed was minor compared to sorcerers or, in modern terms, magi. It was a strange thing to be called if one's magic was of the formal kind, and her confusion reflected on her face for a brief moment before returning to the passive mask.

However, the next part was much more familiar. "I see. yes, that is the usual method for summoning. Servants such as myself are summoned through a relatively simple ritual and circle, though lesser familiars do not even need so much as even that. Potions, I imagine, are used for healing or the creation of artificial beings."

With a slight nod, Saber continued. "I am most glad to hear that, sir. My own seem to be limited in incomprehensible ways."

England had lived during the Middle Ages, and he had been tortured enough. He'd always had to keep his magic practicing a secret. He gently tossed up the bottle and caught it in his hand again, moving to the apothecary, but still conversing with the young woman.

"You're a servant?" he inquired, completely ignoring the rest of Saber's words. "What did you do?"

[COMPLETE] In Absinthia

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