⚜ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ᴛʜɪʀᴅ - video

[deathsought]

{ Zeref takes a moment to adjust the device. He's leaning forward, fidgeting with... something. The sound of a heavy object behind the screen being adjusted behind the device could very clearly be heard. The device seems to be placed strategically to leave as little detail about where he could possibly be posting from; the area behind him was non-descript, except for a simple bare, wooden wall, typical to buildings in Fayren. There were no nearby windows or any decoration of any kind behind him. }

Is the concept of a 'mage guild' truly so foreign to other worlds? Other worlds with magic, of course. { Zeref had never been a part of one, nor did he have any desire to join one, but they were such an integral part of society in his world that it seems strange to him that so few others seem to know what they are. At least they exist in Fayren. } I'm curious... in those worlds in which they do not exist, what, exactly are mages expected to do? Join the military? Live as hermits? Die?

{ He's aware of more than a few worlds where mages are persecuted out of fear by non-mages, if not killed outright. }

[ Pivate to Mavis - text; backdated to the 14th ]
Can you meet me at Scribes and Scripts? There's something I want to give you.

[ Pivate to Erza Scarlet - text ]
Hello, Erza. Are you available? I'd like to talk about something if you have time.

Comments

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[deletesmagic]

Where I'm from, people that can use magic usually join the Magic Knights. I guess it's kind of like a military. We are all picked by leaders of different squads but our goal is the same, protect the Kingdom and its people.

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[deathsought]

So it's like the Alvarez Empire in my world, then. In other kingdoms, like Fiore, it is illegal for mage guilds to involve themselves in geopolitical disputes between nations. { On paper, anyway. In practice, this particular law was ignored the moment it became convenient. }

In Alvarez, it's considered their patriotic duty to serve in the military during times of war. Do these 'Magic Knights' serve the king or queen, then? Or is it more to serve the kingdom as a whole, and not necessarily its rulers?

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[deletesmagic]

[He has no clue what it means to get involved with geopolitical disputes..but they do fight against other Kingdoms from time to time.]

We do have a King, but I don't think anyone thinks of him. No one really has respect for him. But people like the Squad Captains a lot. And the person that has the most respect is the Magic Emperor! He's the leader of all of the Magic Knights and one day, that's gonna be me!

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[im_gonna_heal_u]

I couldn't actually tell you. They probably exist in our world... or rather, the world attached to ours.

Mages in my world have to stay hidden, though magic itself is more of a secret of knowledge than bloodline. On the bright side we do get trained and sent off to help people so long as we aren't careless on who we reveal magic to.

It's starting to fall apart given that we're needing to save the magical world from extinction, but... yeah. That's the state of things before I got here.

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[deathsought]

There's plenty of 'secret knowledge' in my world, too. { He would know this better than most. } Some forms of magic are considered taboo, while others were simply lost to history. But magic as a whole is as much a part of our world as electricity and gas are a part of Genessia City or Attleton. Society as we know it wouldn't be able to function without it.

{ He just can't imagine a world where mages have to live in hiding. He's never been to Edolas, but after having seen the Hands of Decay in this world... he could at least see what could cause a world like that to exist. }

What is causing magic in your world to become extinct, if I might ask?

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[im_gonna_heal_u]

Hmmm. This is slightly complicated to explain... no, it's more like you'll need a brief history lesson.

Once, a very powerful mage from our world, a few thousand years ago, managed to create the Magical World, anchoring this alternate dimension to a heavenly body next to our planet, called Mars. The magic feeds off of the energy produced in the real world. Alas, that energy was both finite and unknown to the majority of the mages that moved to that world. Should it disappear, the humans that practiced magic would be stranded on Mars and would likely start a desperate war with the humans on Earth. So magic itself wouldn't go extinct, but a very nasty thing could happen if we didn't solve that problem.

Negi-kun was my teacher back on my world. He was there to teach English, but he was pretty bad at hiding his mage status and I discovered that my family was a class of strong mages, so he taught me magic as well. When we learned that the Magical World was in danger of going extinct, Negi-kun was working on a plan to stop the magical world from fading.

[Video]

[swordprincess]

There might be mage guilds in my world, but I haven't heard of any. I would think mages can do whatever they want.

...But why would anyone expect them to die?

[Video]

[deathsought]

Were you here during the Hands of Decay crisis? There are plenty of non-mages out there who see the very existence of mages as a threat to themselves.

[Video]

[swordprincess]

...I think I remember that. But you were speaking of other worlds. I've not heard of any specific mage guilds in my world, nor some organization that sought to eliminate all mages...

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[priceofmagic]

Where I'm from, mages can carry any sort of job that they want. We just don't draw attention to ourselves.

We have a magic military too, though? It's our job at the 'MASQ' to make sure the mages can live quietly, but safely. We don't want to be public knowledge, but magic users shouldn't be afraid to use their magic to quietly help society either.

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[deathsought]

So, it's something of a middle-ground between my world, and worlds in which mages have to live in secrecy.

{ Interesting. He's come to learn since living in this world that, while magic itself is mostly the same between the various worlds (with a few notable exceptions), those who use it - and how they are viewed - is where the true difference lies. }

What are some of the ways your magic users help society?

[Private text] -> Action?

[fairysoul]

I'm almost done. I can be there in about half an hour.

[And, indeed, exactly half an hour later, she pushes the door of the bookstore, the little bell jiggling happily in greeting.]

Zeref? I'm here!

Action

[deathsought]

Over here, Mavis.

{ Zeref was behind the counter. It was kind of a slow day today; he's barely had any customers, and the store was currently empty. Zeref rather liked the quiet, actually. It gave him time to read, undisturbed. He enjoyed being at Fairy Haven - Gods does that feel weird for him to think to himself - with her, but while that place was many things, quiet was not one of them. }

Do you know what today is?

[Text]

[redhairedknight]

All right. Would you rather talk through this, or in person?

[She's out patrolling, but things have been pretty quiet as of late.]

[Text]

[deathsought]

In person, if you don't mind. I'm upstairs, in mine and Mavis' quarters.

{ Specifically, a small, nondescript corner of Fairy Tail's private library. }

[tofightistolose]

Most worlds that I know don't have mages, though there are a few. I suppose the closest thing to a mage guild though would be the Jedi order. Which in the recent war, has essentially become a military force.

[deathsought]

I keep hearing the term 'Jedi' used in recent weeks. What exactly is a Jedi?

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[trivialization]

Not totally foreign. When magic was secret and self-governance was the most proximate means of enforcement of the laws the Associations were guilds in all but name. That didn't mean there wasn't exile and death, though. Where there are guilds there are standards and where there are standards there are people who can't or won't meet them.

In the age of commodification of magic they've lost most of the power they had. When magic is just another tool people associate based on their goals, not the means.

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[deathsought]

That's more or less how it works in my world. Guilds in Ishgal who toe the line of the Magic Council are licensed and are entirely privately operated, usually accepting contracts from third parties or even governments for money. Those that don't are declared 'dark guilds,' and are treated as criminal organizations.

{ But 'commodification of magic?' }

What do you mean by 'commodification?'

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[lullabyatsea]

The realm I came from used to be home to a powerful Magi Guild, but magic in the realm came under fire from beings beyond their abilities. They had to see the Guild dissolved for the safety of its members and those who lived in the Guild's vicinity.

[Which was a lot of lives to consider, being based in one of the world's most massive cities and all.]

Those threats are long since defeated and the recent years mages are seeing to the Guild's restoration, but it's needless to say that many are apprehensive to gather again.

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[deathsought]

What kind of 'beings?'

{ He's heard that story before. People with magic they didn't fully understand, learning things humans simply weren't meant to know, and paying the price. It was a story he, in particular, knew all too well. }

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[greenmagick]

Those with magic are feared in my world.

[Terra's fingers brush across the delicate curve of her cheek as she continues.]

It's either hidden, destroyed or used.

I wish there were places like magic guilds there.

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[deathsought]

Another world like that, then.

{ Then again... if he remembers correctly, she was from the same world as Kefka. Frankly, if that's the standard of their world, he can't exactly blame them; kind of like how for nearly a century after the end of the Dragon Civil War, Dragon Slayer Magic became feared and reviled.

Acnologia became a symbol of everything that could and did go wrong with that plan. }

What about you? How did you manage?

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[truesmiles]

It depends on what those with magic wanted to do. For me, I worked for the King with a title for my rank. [Because shit hit the fan really and that ended really badly.]

Other could do whatever they wanted to, but usually, for big tasks, I was called on because of my rank.

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[deathsought]

So more like my own, then. { It wasn't uncommon at all for royalty to surround themselves with mages who were unaffiliated with guilds. It's even rumored that the Princess of Fiore was a mage, or at least had a working understanding of magic. And then, of course, there's Zeref, himself. } I never did ask you before. What kind of magic do you have, Fai?