#sigh i odnt wanna tag everyone

[identityarchitect]

currently i am in a very taz mood i suppose and im thinking about the ipre members naming their relics

taako, lup and barry all have relatively fancy names (the Philosophers Stone, the Phoenixfire Gauntlet, and the Animus Bell); magnus and merle both go for a little bit of embellishment but pretty much state it plainly (the Temporal Chalice and the Gaia Sash); and there is no embellishment when it comes to davenport and lucretias relics (the Oculus and the Bulwark Staff. like yeah, it sure is.)

do you think lucretia thinks about it? taako names his relic after a legend, of an incredibly powerful wizard. it is not easy to be a wizard. being a wizard is strict schools, is difficult work, is clawing your way to the top. taako and lup can hardly beg for enough scraps to fight over for dinner most days. no wizard worth their salt is going to give up their books to some random street kids, and even if they do, only lup knows how to read, between them. it's a lot of sneaking in and out and pestering and bothering and reading under the hazy light of candles they're not really supposed to have lit. it is years of extreme study of stolen books, years of exhaustive spell practise until taako's got dark spots in his vision and is still saying 'just one more try', years of clawing their way to the top. taako is one of the strongest wizards lucretia has ever known.

lup's relic is no question, of course; she has always loved fire, but barrys, on the other hand, well. barry is a man of science, of study, of experiments. barry is a human man. barry is a human man who is in love with an elf. the word animus does not imply death, but life. re-animation, and that's not really what's happening. barry's a lich, now, which makes him a prime target for lousy adventurers looking for easy money. he needs some way to keep himself alive. he needs some way to have hands, eyes, lips, some way to hold lup, some way to look at her, some way to smile at the way her voice goes all croaky in the early mornings. the animus bell, in barry's mind, is not a tool of death, but of renewed life. it was never intended for anyone who wasn't used to being remade.

when it comes to magnus, it's different. divination; magnus has no magical experience. he is a woodworker, a fighter, he's strong in everything he does, from lifting logs to loving others.

when lucretia thinks about the temporal chalice, she thinks about the cycles one, or most, of them died early. she thinks about that dreaded cycle, the entire year alone. she thinks about magnus' deep, powerful drive to protect. she remembers a study, from one cycle, that stated In the absence of higher knowledge, most or all sapient, rational beings will believe that other sapient, rational beings are extremely similar to them. she thinks about the temporal chalice, and magnus' drive to protect. how they never know what they're getting. the relief on his face, mixed with the worry, when lucretia collapsed against the edge of the starblaster, after her year alone.

ultimately the temporal chalice was used for its goal; to protect. just not in the way any of them had ever intended.