[The Archons were Albion's first kings, rulers of the Old Kingdom. A history so old and ruined that it might have become nothing more than myth if the ruins weren't still visible in certain locations. The Heroes were their descendants. After their apparent loss, Albion's history is more recent. It's a good starting point.]
You may bring them to your quarters. Keep them on the castle grounds and be sure to take care of them. This is the queen's favourite section.
[ A simple, understanding nod. Jasnah might put her personal collection — back home — through the proverbial wringer, but she intends to treat someone else's with the utmost respect. ]
...Does your sister also have an interest in history?
In a sense... She has an interest in Heroes, which are an important part of our history.
[While Logan was learning all about the territories and leaders shaping and remaking Albion over centuries, his sister was more concerned with adventures. She asked about myths and legends, and Logan was never as good as storyteller as their father or his friends.]
[ Well. Useful information to be tucked away should she ever find herself once again in an audience with the queen — patting the book in question, and then also tucking it under her arm, Jasnah resolves to start with the Heroes. ]
Heroes. Sounds very...on the nose. [ A quirk of her mouth. ] Although I suppose I shouldn't throw stones, considering a not insignificant faction in our history involves Knight Radiants.
'Knight Radiants'? [Logan lifts an eyebrow.] It's a shame you don't have your own library. That sounds like it would have been a fitting cultural exchange.
Perhaps we can discuss them instead. [Books are unrivalled, but conversation will do in its absence.]
[ A fitting cultural exchange. It would be a grand thing (she supposes) if proper diplomatic ties could be achieved — she knows it'll be far, far too much to ask another kingdom, another planet, to throw in with Roshar's lot. But a lot could be learned from one another, all the same.
She sets the two books down on the edge of a study desk, nodding. ]
It's complicated. [ She warns him not because she doesn't think him up to the task — although, frankly, she wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't. She's so so so unaccustomed to discussing academic matters with men. ] But I would tell you what I know — the bits we've confirmed, as some of it is still hearsay.
[Logan folds his hands and lifts his chin out of habit. A lifetime of being told to stand straight and tall. In contract to his stiff demeanour, his expression is one of curiosity.]
Is any history not complicated? Is it ever clear and unbiased?
[If anyone knows that it's the tyrant who was pardoned by the sister who overthrew him, though he doesn't say so aloud. He knows what history will say about him, and he knows the truth. Two things so different, but one will almost certainly be choked out by the other.
Jasnah must know this too, he thinks. Any decent ruler should, even without becoming a historian.]
[ A soft exhale through her nose — not a laugh, more like an apologetic huff. She can see how she might have misled the moment, and she's quick to clarify. ]
You're correct, of course. History is never so straightforward. Rather — I meant the very nature and function of the Radiants are complicated. More Realmatic Theory than history. More physics than folklore. And to explain them, I'd have to start us off with some very dry concepts.
[ She sounds like she's not opposed. ]
A little outside of my specialty — but I'm confident I'm up to the task.
[ Ah. If her expression appears to hedge, it's only because Jasnah is in the unfortunate position of nearly knowing just how much she doesn't know. Oh, yes, she might be one native-born Rosharan with the most experience of the Realms — the Cognitive Realm, certainly — but she's only scratched the surface compared to others in the Cosmere.
She has the good grace to look a little apologetic when she admits: ]
I'm confident Realmatic Theory is at the heart of how I ended up here.
[ A soft breath. She'd been holding this card a little close to her chest, until now. Partially because of the complexity, and partially because she wonders whether she won't sound mad. ]
...It's the study of the three realms. The Physical, the Cognitive, and the Spiritual. Does Albion have anything like it?
[Logan's brow rises as he listens. Not only is it very relevant, but it doesn't sound completely foreign.
Stepping over to the books Jasnah set down, he pulls one aside and flips it open. A couple of pages in, near the start and turns it towards Jasnah. There's an image illustrating...]
The three Heroic disciplines: Strength, skill, and will.
[It seems that learning about Realmatic Theory is exactly what he needs to do. To help Jasnah, as his sister instructed, but also to potentially learn about his own people.]
[ With the index finger on her right hand, she pulls the book a few inches closer. She touches the image — a soft sound catching in her throat. Perhaps it's not the hardest of evidence, but it's heartening to see something whose shadow is at least familiar. ]
I was in the Cognitive when I — [ she pauses. Reconsiders her words in the last second. ] When I unintentionally ended up here. The realm of thought and perception.
[ And...skill? Maybe. She can follow the stepping stones, however distant they are from one another. ]
[To think they might have come across such a poignant commonality so soon. The potential discoveries urge Logan to speak with just a hint more enthusiasm than he might otherwise have shown.]
These are the Heroic disciplines. Strength isn't simply about power, but all things physical. Endurance, health, resilience. Skill is more nuanced. Those with great skill can be extremely fast and nimble, stealthy and cunning, exceptionally accurate, but also skilled in conversation. Will is the ability to control magic. There are all manner of uses for this, from raising the dead to creating great hurricanes.
Mastery over them are what makes Heroes what they are. Most often a Hero might only be adept at one, perhaps two of them. It is a rare and extremely powerful gift to have all three. [And, because it will be relevant, he adds,] Like my father. Like my sister.
[ The word is little more than a whisper. It's not a perfect mapping. But why should it be? One world to another world to yet another — none of them would take the exact, perfect, and identical paths. No. Like Logan, she suspects there's something here.
He mentions raising the dead. He mentioned hurricanes. And she frowns, so tempted to ask, but warns herself to stay on task. ]
[ She straightens from the slightly canted posture she'd taken over the book, sliding her palm over the table's edge. ]
This — [ she gestures to them, the room, the world perhaps. And then holds out her bare right hand flat in the air ] — is the Physical Realm. Straight-forward. Familiar.
[ And in a rare moment of movement, she raises her sleeved left hand — sitting it a few inches below her right. ] You can think of the Cognitive Realm as sitting just beneath the Physical. Perhaps like an inversion of it. But everything there is thought and perception. Things gain more or less detail depending on how often they're — well — thought of.
Travel between the realms is possible. And I was in that layer, sometimes called Shadesmar, when I ended up here.
[Jasnah has his full attention. The explanation seems simple enough on the surface, but it leaves Logan with a great many questions. Along with the question of which question to ask first.
Coming to the library first was a dangerous idea... productive, but dangerous. They may well never leave.
[ Ah. The Spiritual Realm. She chews her lower lip — just briefly — while gathering her thoughts into a coherent order. ]
Somewhere I'm considerably less acquainted with, I'm afraid. However, I've had it described to me as a land of essences. Souls, and all the Connections they have to one another. It's less a place where one can go and more a map of all the ways we are bonded or related to one another. Our families, our homes, our planets.
[ ...Ah. That. What an astute question. Jasnah had planned to withhold this information for as long as humanly possible, but in her burst of excitement over these three qualities in common, she'd let the academic in her run away with the truth she was trying to hold so close to her chest.
Her mouth quirks into a brief, self-reproaching frown. ]
Not a device. But it does require a power source we call Stormlight. [ She wets her lips, cautious. ] And oaths.
[Logan sees the annoyance in her expression, but he doesn't understand it. She's been very forthcoming, almost excited, in the topic. Yet now she's suddenly hesitant?]
That doesn't sound familiar to me. 'Stormlight'. Oaths sound like promises, but that's a practice we have, not anything magical.
[Maybe phrasing his curiosity as an exchange will help ease her sudden uncertainty.]
[ If pressed, she would claim that Stormlight is more science than magic. But it's a thin boundary to quibble. In many respects, the two feel interchangeable.
Gently, with a two fingers, she closes the book. ]
Stormlight is a — well, a kind of light. [ A wan smile. ] Or maybe more like a gas that emits light. We capture it in gemstones during dangerous weather patterns known as highstorms. An infused gem of average cut can hold its stormlight for about a week. And that stormlight can be used to power mechanisms or — abilities, of late.
[ She'll talk around the implication but it's hard not to see exactly what she's saying. Whatever these abilities are, she has access to some. ]
[It makes sense that someone as powerful and well connected as a queen would have access to something as rare as magical gems. Or, gas captured in gems. Logan's not sure he understands how that works, but now is the time for broad overviews not getting caught up in the details.]
And this 'Stormlight' allows you to travel between realms? If not using devices then... abilities?
[ A slow, hesitant nod. This becomes the tricky part. Why should anyone believe her if she can't demonstrate such feats? But there's no stormlight here. She's as vulnerable as she was six years ago. More so, maybe, without her connections to keep her insulated. ]
Yes. It's a power source, primarily. In fact...
[ She digs into a pocket and produces a small glass sphere, with a red chip of gemstone in its heart. Someone not from Roshar mightn't know the difference, but this particular sphere is dun. Its light long since lost and faded, so it looks more like a pretty marble than anything else.
[Logan waits, head tilted as he watches her search for the small sphere. He picks it up when she offers it to him, and turns to hold it up to the light.]
I've never seen anything like it.
[Still he turns it in his hand, as if he might uncover something else from it.]
The Old Kingdom used augments, stones imbued with magical power which could be infused into weapons... But they don't look like this. Nor have I ever heard of them allowing people to travel between realms.
[He hands it back carefully, folding his arms and stroking his chin as he thinks.]
Could that allow you to travel back to your world if it held stormlight again?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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You may bring them to your quarters. Keep them on the castle grounds and be sure to take care of them. This is the queen's favourite section.
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...Does your sister also have an interest in history?
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In a sense... She has an interest in Heroes, which are an important part of our history.
[While Logan was learning all about the territories and leaders shaping and remaking Albion over centuries, his sister was more concerned with adventures. She asked about myths and legends, and Logan was never as good as storyteller as their father or his friends.]
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Heroes. Sounds very...on the nose. [ A quirk of her mouth. ] Although I suppose I shouldn't throw stones, considering a not insignificant faction in our history involves Knight Radiants.
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Perhaps we can discuss them instead. [Books are unrivalled, but conversation will do in its absence.]
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She sets the two books down on the edge of a study desk, nodding. ]
It's complicated. [ She warns him not because she doesn't think him up to the task — although, frankly, she wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't. She's so so so unaccustomed to discussing academic matters with men. ] But I would tell you what I know — the bits we've confirmed, as some of it is still hearsay.
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Is any history not complicated? Is it ever clear and unbiased?
[If anyone knows that it's the tyrant who was pardoned by the sister who overthrew him, though he doesn't say so aloud. He knows what history will say about him, and he knows the truth. Two things so different, but one will almost certainly be choked out by the other.
Jasnah must know this too, he thinks. Any decent ruler should, even without becoming a historian.]
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You're correct, of course. History is never so straightforward. Rather — I meant the very nature and function of the Radiants are complicated. More Realmatic Theory than history. More physics than folklore. And to explain them, I'd have to start us off with some very dry concepts.
[ She sounds like she's not opposed. ]
A little outside of my specialty — but I'm confident I'm up to the task.
no subject
[That is far less in his wheelhouse. History is a topic he was raised on. Science? A curiosity he was never allowed.]
Is 'Realmatic Theory' a concept which impacts much of your culture? Or just the Radiants?
[It would be nice if the very difficult topic he's asked after wasn't entirely niche.]
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She has the good grace to look a little apologetic when she admits: ]
I'm confident Realmatic Theory is at the heart of how I ended up here.
[ A soft breath. She'd been holding this card a little close to her chest, until now. Partially because of the complexity, and partially because she wonders whether she won't sound mad. ]
...It's the study of the three realms. The Physical, the Cognitive, and the Spiritual. Does Albion have anything like it?
no subject
Stepping over to the books Jasnah set down, he pulls one aside and flips it open. A couple of pages in, near the start and turns it towards Jasnah. There's an image illustrating...]
The three Heroic disciplines: Strength, skill, and will.
[It seems that learning about Realmatic Theory is exactly what he needs to do. To help Jasnah, as his sister instructed, but also to potentially learn about his own people.]
no subject
I was in the Cognitive when I — [ she pauses. Reconsiders her words in the last second. ] When I unintentionally ended up here. The realm of thought and perception.
[ And...skill? Maybe. She can follow the stepping stones, however distant they are from one another. ]
What are these disciplines used for?
no subject
These are the Heroic disciplines. Strength isn't simply about power, but all things physical. Endurance, health, resilience. Skill is more nuanced. Those with great skill can be extremely fast and nimble, stealthy and cunning, exceptionally accurate, but also skilled in conversation. Will is the ability to control magic. There are all manner of uses for this, from raising the dead to creating great hurricanes.
Mastery over them are what makes Heroes what they are. Most often a Hero might only be adept at one, perhaps two of them. It is a rare and extremely powerful gift to have all three. [And, because it will be relevant, he adds,] Like my father. Like my sister.
no subject
[ The word is little more than a whisper. It's not a perfect mapping. But why should it be? One world to another world to yet another — none of them would take the exact, perfect, and identical paths. No. Like Logan, she suspects there's something here.
He mentions raising the dead. He mentioned hurricanes. And she frowns, so tempted to ask, but warns herself to stay on task. ]
And you?
[ Jasnah "pulls no punches" Kholin. ]
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The question is a fair one. A little irritating, like a splinter, but fair.]
I'm not a Hero.
[None, Jasnah. None.]
What do you mean when you say you were 'in' the Cognitive?
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[ She straightens from the slightly canted posture she'd taken over the book, sliding her palm over the table's edge. ]
This — [ she gestures to them, the room, the world perhaps. And then holds out her bare right hand flat in the air ] — is the Physical Realm. Straight-forward. Familiar.
[ And in a rare moment of movement, she raises her sleeved left hand — sitting it a few inches below her right. ] You can think of the Cognitive Realm as sitting just beneath the Physical. Perhaps like an inversion of it. But everything there is thought and perception. Things gain more or less detail depending on how often they're — well — thought of.
Travel between the realms is possible. And I was in that layer, sometimes called Shadesmar, when I ended up here.
no subject
Coming to the library first was a dangerous idea... productive, but dangerous. They may well never leave.
Logan's gaze shifts back from Jasnah's hands.]
And the Spiritual realm?
no subject
Somewhere I'm considerably less acquainted with, I'm afraid. However, I've had it described to me as a land of essences. Souls, and all the Connections they have to one another. It's less a place where one can go and more a map of all the ways we are bonded or related to one another. Our families, our homes, our planets.
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You said you travelled between realms. How? Does it require a device? Or is it unique to certain people?
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Her mouth quirks into a brief, self-reproaching frown. ]
Not a device. But it does require a power source we call Stormlight. [ She wets her lips, cautious. ] And oaths.
no subject
That doesn't sound familiar to me. 'Stormlight'. Oaths sound like promises, but that's a practice we have, not anything magical.
[Maybe phrasing his curiosity as an exchange will help ease her sudden uncertainty.]
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Gently, with a two fingers, she closes the book. ]
Stormlight is a — well, a kind of light. [ A wan smile. ] Or maybe more like a gas that emits light. We capture it in gemstones during dangerous weather patterns known as highstorms. An infused gem of average cut can hold its stormlight for about a week. And that stormlight can be used to power mechanisms or — abilities, of late.
[ She'll talk around the implication but it's hard not to see exactly what she's saying. Whatever these abilities are, she has access to some. ]
no subject
And this 'Stormlight' allows you to travel between realms? If not using devices then... abilities?
no subject
Yes. It's a power source, primarily. In fact...
[ She digs into a pocket and produces a small glass sphere, with a red chip of gemstone in its heart. Someone not from Roshar mightn't know the difference, but this particular sphere is dun. Its light long since lost and faded, so it looks more like a pretty marble than anything else.
She holds it out to Logan. ]
Empty. But if it had stormlight, it would glow.
no subject
I've never seen anything like it.
[Still he turns it in his hand, as if he might uncover something else from it.]
The Old Kingdom used augments, stones imbued with magical power which could be infused into weapons... But they don't look like this. Nor have I ever heard of them allowing people to travel between realms.
[He hands it back carefully, folding his arms and stroking his chin as he thinks.]
Could that allow you to travel back to your world if it held stormlight again?
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