nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

Hermione is back in the Nexus. She sits at a large table, with several computer parts scattered out in front of her. She is reading a large book in her lap, that she is writing in as she studies some of the technology in front of her.

Crookshanks is keeping her company today. He is laying on a keyboard, watching her lazily. Every now and then Hermione puts a piece of technology on a separate part of the table, and waves her wand over it. Whatever the spell is, it doesn't work at first. But Hermione just makes some notes over what happened.

She then smiles up at the Nexus. "What is something new you have learned recently? Did it change how you look at your life?"

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"I am feeling a little daunted myself." Hermione explains honestly. "But this is the kind of technology that is very popular with non-magical humans in my world. And I want to learn about them. How they work."

"Do you know where to start?" the princess asks, her brow furrowed in concern. "Because I don't, honestly. And--what sort of magic exists in your world?"

She's intrigued by this.

"I have read a few books. But the hands-on portion of the learning is a lot different than what I have read."

Hermione smiles. "Spells. Charms. Potions. Transfiguration. There are several different branches. Options for witches and wizards to learn."

"It just seems overwhelming to me," she admits, shaking her head. "And I have not met anyone who could do magic, though I knew a seer once."

Kalchas. One of the men who orchestrated her death.

"Prophecy is not the same as magic, though."

"We have two different ways of prophecy in my world. Divination. And Arthimancy. I prefer Arthimancy. It actually has roots in Greece." Hermione smiles.

"I find that the runes and the numbers are more dependable."

"I could never do that," Iphigenia says, smiling bashfully. "I'd be bad at it, I think. Are you good at Arthimancy?"

"Yes. I took advanced classes in it. I just really understood it..." Hermione pats a little beaded bag at her side. "And carry my Arthimancy runes with me."

"You must be very smart," the princess replies. "I could never..."

Iphigenia has never thought of herself as particularly intellectual.

"Would you be interested in trying to learn?" Because Hermione doesn't want this woman to think less of herself.

...She hadn't considered that.

"I may be, yes," Iphigenia admits.

Hermione opens her beaded bag, and with a flick of a wand several Arthimancy runes float into the air. "Well, let me introduce you to the basics."

"Arthimancy is derived from Arithmos and Manteia," since Iphigenia spoke about being from ancient Greece, Hermione doesn't translate the Greek words for her.

"You use the numbers and runes to analyze a situation to determine both the strengths and the weaknesses of that situation."

"You can turn any word into numbers, using the Pythagorean Method, by assigning letters into digits. You stay within single digits. So one to nine."

The princess watches carefully--and is a little bit in awe--as Hermione makes the runes float in the air.

"All right, I follow that," Iphigenia replies with a nod. She, er, thinks she does, at least.

"Let me show you an example. My full name is Hermione Jean Granger."

"So I am going to assign each letter in my name their corresponding number, from one to 26. H is an 8. E is a 5. R is an 18. M is a 13. And so forth. When I combine all those numbers I get 87. Then I want to go from a double digit to a single digit. So I add the 8 and the 7 to get 15. And then I add the 1 to the 5 to get a 6. So the 6 is my single digit for my first name."

"Granger is represented by a 7. And Jane is represented by a 3."

"Finally, I add the 6 to the 7 and the 3. I get 18. One plus 8 is 7. So my final rune number is 7. The number 7 represents Thought."

Iphigenia nods.

"So, your rune number says something about you, that you're thoughtful or like to learn. Correct?"

She really hopes she's getting it.

"Right. The number 7 is the seeker, the thinker, the searcher of Truth."

"Shall we try to find your Arthimancy rune? What is your full name?"

"Iphigenia," she replies, curious now about what her name could mean.

They didn't really have last names in her time. She supposes she could include the "princess" part, but after how long she's been in the Nexus, Iphigenia feels it's a bit too much. She knows now she's no better than anyone else here.

"Let's see. Nine for the I. 16 for the P. 8 for the H." Hermione continues to do the math in her head. "That brings us to 78. 7 plus 8 is 15. 1 plus 5 is 6."

"The 6 is the Caretaker. 6 is considered the most harmonious of all single-digit numbers. The most important influence of the 6 is its loving and caring nature."

She's blushing a little right now, because she's taking that number's meaning as a compliment.

"Oh, that's so nice," Iphigenia replies. "I do try to be caring and kind to everyone I meet."

Indeed, it may even be considered a fault of hers--she's self-sacrificing.

Hermione now knows this, simply by knowing her Rune Number. "The 6 is considered the only number harmonious with all other numbers. In addition, she loves to teach and guide others, especially the young, old and less fortunate."

"Now I know your Rune number, I could perceive how you might do in a certain situation. The more information I have, the more elaborate the equation becomes."

"That sounds like it could be very useful," she remarks. "But you can't completely predict someone's behavior, right?"

"No. Of course not."

"But the equations give you a pretty good idea of what might happen, and how to prepare."

"You sound like you've learned this from experience," Iphigenia notes.

"I just recently fought in a war. And was asked to help train and prepare a number of other wizards. Arthimancy helped me to teach them, to compliment their strengths."

"A war?" Well, that hits close to home for her. "I'm sorry, that must have been awful. I mean, all that suffering and loss..."

"It was a difficult time. But we are trying to rebuild our community right now."