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 Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 6:23 pm
An Enumeration of Esteemed Exorcists
who Evren Candemir and Lorenzo Fisch
what A meeting to refer Evren to a well-matched exorcist for his situation.
where Lorenzo's office in Durem.
when An early January day, around early afternoon.
weather Slightly snowy, quite brisk.
Lorenzo's schedule had not slowed down much since he had summoned Veles to bargain with Xiu, even though the necromancing world was slowly returning to normal. The people who had been raised against their will during that hectic time had stayed undead, so all necromancers on Gaia found themselves with extra clients who needed rehabilitation, and there were still other problems to deal with here and there. Because of his unsanctioned interference, even if he had a hand in fixing things, the Licensed Necromancer Society had also put Lorenzo on probation, and amongst other things, that involved taking on extra work for the committee pro bono as penance.
Still, he had time to make for Lab guardians, even if their problems weren't directly related to Lab. He wasn't sure he would be summoning any death gods for them again anytime soon, but the one who contacted him, Evren, seemed to just need a simple consultation about exorcists. Lorenzo was more than happy to help.
He hadn't heard of Evren before, and though he was aware that he wasn't the most outgoing person, it seemed like Evren was a newer guardian. He remembered the warm welcome Claire and Rhedefre had given him, so he hoped he could pay it forward. In service of this goal, he had put very good peppermints out in the candy dish on his desk, and had also done his best to make the various necromantic accoutrements in his office look as friendly as possible, thanks to the ever-handy and extremely niche necromancer community on Pinterest. He had also attempted to deter Buddy from coming in and sleeping in the comfiest client chair, but Buddy refused to be budged.
Lorenzo checked the clock and got up, looking in the living room where clients were sat to wait. "Evren Candemir?" he asked. "I can see you now."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:00 pm
Some people might have seen the haunting of one's place of research as a frustrating hurdle. Evren considered it an opportunity. Not only was he given a chance to help out a bunch of people he liked and an organization he supported, but he had an excuse to make contact with one of the guardians from the Raevan list. So he would still get some research done, even if it wasn't in the way he'd planned, and now he had the chance to swoop in and save the day. He couldn't ask for much more than that.
As a normal human whose only magic was made on the screen, with no real experience with death, much less undeath, he'd never even thought of visiting a necromancy office before. Yet that was where he found himself, waiting in one of the chairs, hoping to get a recommendation for an exorcist. And to think, just a few days ago his life had been painfully dull. This whole Raevan thing was turning things around for him already.
He flipped through a pamphlet, mildly interested to learn that undead dogs could, in fact, learn new tricks, when he heard his name called. "Yes, that's me," he answered quickly, putting the pamphlet back on the table and standing up. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Mr. Fisch. I know this isn't quite your specialty, but I really wasn't sure where else to turn."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:21 pm
Lorenzo escorted Evren into his office, shooing aside his apology. "No, no, Mr. Candemir," he reassured. "Glad to make your acquaintance."
There was a file already open on the desk, full of profiles of exorcists Lorenzo knew and trusted, with business cards carefully clipped to each one. "Anyway, this is very much part of my job, even if it isn't officially- helping people who are unfamiliar with the world of post-life care and supernatural phenomena is all good for community outreach."
He thumbed through the file to select a few profiles he had sticky tabbed. "I didn't know all the particulars of your case, but I went ahead and marked a few exorcists who are known to be neat and unobtrusive, since you said it was in a library. I wouldn't think that they would want too much damage to property involved."
Looking up at Evren expectantly, he asked, "Do you know what kind of demon or spirit you'd need to be exorcised? Everyone has different specialties. Where the creature is from, what type of being it is, any of that can help me find you a still better match."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:46 pm
Evren hadn't known what to expect from a necromancer's workplace. His mind conjured up images of cold, dark chambers lit by wax-encrusted candelabra, or symbols drawn in blood on stone floors. Maybe a spare limb here or there. What he was not expecting was a fancy office with elegant furnishings and tasteful wallpaper. He was almost disappointed. But there were some dripping candles, and a few stray chalk marks on the floor, so that was something. And over there, behind the desk- was that a skull?
Okay, this was pretty cool after all. Not that that was the point of his visit, but there was no rule that said he couldn't enjoy it.
It took Evren a moment to bring his attention back to the reason he'd come. "From my understanding, there's already been a fair bit of damage, so avoiding any more would be great." He hated to think about how many books might have been lost already. The sooner this issue was resolved, the better for everyone.
"Unfortunately, I don't know much about the situation. One of the librarians told me that the spirit was using the books in the library to assault the staff and patrons. They've had to completely shut down, and none of the exorcists they've tried have had openings this month." Which was ridiculous as far as he was concerned. He had no idea what exorcists spent most of their time doing, but this had to be a high-priority case, considering it involved a popular public building, and people had already been hurt. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. I do know it showed up first on Sunday, according to reports from patrons who used the book return slot, but that's about all I've got."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:54 pm
"I'll try to find someone flexible, then," Lorenzo murmured. "Although I do suggest preparing for when you meet them. If any of your patrons got a picture or a video or something on their phones, that could be helpful. Bringing in a damaged book could also prove useful if there are any distinguishing marks left." He made a slight humming sound, tapping a finger on the desk. "Knowing it showed up first on Sunday is helpful- that does rule out certain kinds of demons."
He stroked his chin, and after a moment, selected a few of his marked profiles, pushing them over to Evren.
"I'd say try one of these. All of them are excellent, though admittedly somewhat green." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be honest with you, it's been a busy time for the necromantic community on Gaia, and exorcists have been as overworked as we are. There was something of a magical disruption in December, we're still playing catch up." The less said about that, the better.
Seeking to change the subject, Lorenzo asked, "Out of curiosity, Mr. Candemir, what connection do you have to the library? It's unusual for a third party to contact us like this, although in this case, it sounds like the library itself just lacked the connections."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:13 pm
"Someone flexible would be great," Evren said enthusiastically. Really, having this many options was more than he'd hoped for. "I'll talk to them about the picture angle, though it sounded to me like they were mainly concerned with getting everyone out with all their limbs intact." Then again, they did live in the age of smartphones, so you never could tell. "And as far as I know, the damaged books are all still inside, so that's something."
He didn't care if they were new, or even overworked, as long as they did the job. And if they came with a recommendation from an obvious professional in whatever constituted the undead community, he had no doubt that they would be able to handle one ghost, even a volatile ghost like this one.
Before Mr. Fisch asked, it hadn't even occurred to Evren that making the request on behalf of an organization he wasn't officially affiliated with might look weird. "I'm a volunteer," he clarified. "I do readings in the children's section on alternate Sundays." If that sounded like shameless self-promotion, well, maybe it was. Readings were always more fun with a bigger audience. "But I'm also a patron. I had gone to do some research on..."
Would it sound too awkward if he said he was looking for a murderless soul? Sure, he was speaking to a guardian, someone who would have had to deal with the same challenge. But he still felt awkward about the whole thing, and he didn't want to suggest that he was having second thoughts. He wasn't! It just made sense to be careful and look at every possibility.
Would he salvage his pride, or would he do the right thing? As a would-be hero, there was only one possible answer.
"I wanted to research possible souls. I'm afraid I didn't quite understand what I was getting into when I applied for this program, and I was hoping to find something that I could use without... you see... I don't want to hurt anyone, Mr. Fisch. Not even for a cause such as this one." That sounded more melodramatic than he'd intended, but he felt strongly about this, and couldn't water that down. At least he'd avoided the m-word.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:27 pm
"Excellent." Lorenzo said, reaching into a small box and handing Evren one of his own business cards. "Do text me when you've decided on one, and I can call ahead and tell them I'm sending you to them."
He wondered briefly if Vesna was quite whimsical enough to enjoy hearing childrens' books being read aloud, but he decided this was a question for when the library was not in disarray to begin with. Furthermore, an excellent segue had just arisen for the next topic he wanted to steer the conversation to, so he chose to seize it.
"I was wondering about that," he said. "I'm impressed you're doing your research. From what I gathered, it seems far more of the soul captures at Lab are a bit more spur of the moment, and as a necromancer, that can obviously be uncomfortable to hear about." He frowned slightly. "Personally, I became a guardian simply because I had a client who could not be helped through traditional methods. I applied to Lab 305 all in service of the soul." He looked ceilingward, adding, "The raevan in question has been living with me for a little less than a year now. She's not much like the soul that she came from, but, in this case at least, that is in some ways a positive thing."
He picked up the other exorcist profiles and put them neatly back into their folder, opening up a drawer to file them away. "I assume, Mr. Candemir, that you applied to Lab 305 in hopes of becoming a parent? That's another common incentive I seemed to notice in my research. I didn't quite understand it at first, but now that I've looked after Vesna for this long, I understand the impulse a little better." Not, he reminded himself, that he was Vesna's father. He still felt too young, and even so, the idea made him feel uncomfortably unprofessional.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:49 pm
"Thank you so much." Evren took the business card and put it in his wallet, removing another one, which he passed across the desk. "This is the contact information for the library. I'll keep them informed, of course, but if there's any other information you need, someone there might be able to help more than I can."
The subject of soul snatching would be uncomfortable no matter who he brought it up with. To some extent, Evren had expected it to be easier to discuss with someone who knew what he was dealing with. Instead, he found himself more than a little disturbed. "So most people just dive right in?" He had to stop himself from asking what kinds of souls they ended up with, what kind of tragedies had ensued. While he was at a necromancer's office, he didn't want to totally freak himself out.
For a moment, he flashed back to the instant Max had tried to inspect the bottle. That might have been a closer call than he'd realized.
It had never occurred to Evren that someone might look into a magical adoption process for work-related reasons. But then, unless he wanted to adopt a rubber monster suit, why would it? "I've never met a Raevan, myself," he admitted. "I wasn't looking for this specific answer, but it's the one I found." Which probably didn't make much sense to anyone other than him, but that was fine. Nobody else needed to know his reasons.
Except Mr. Fisch called him a parent, and even though he'd been looking at adoption and knew what that meant and had two magical adopted siblings, he'd never thought of himself as a parent. Guardian was fine. Guardians protected and nurtured and cared. But parent kind of terrified him, even though the words were practically synonymous in this context, and it showed on his face. "I... I never thought about it in so many words." Parent. Him, a parent. Was that really what he wanted?
Not that he had a choice at this point. It was too late to turn back now.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 7:31 pm
"Some people just dive right in," Lorenzo amended. "But since a life is at stake, as a necromancer, I can't quite imagine doing such a thing."
His hand hovered over his phone, half thinking to text her, but Vesna was out with her grandfather today. "I would offer to show you a picture," he said, "But my raevan feeds on reflections- she can't be photographed." He didn't quite know what the question Evren needed answering was, but he didn't necessarily feel like prying further. There was nothing he could do to question the Lab, nor was it an issue he had time to confront. He merely had to trust that a man willing to research souls was responsible, and that the Lab knew what they were doing when they selected guardians. As a forum moderator, even on an all-wizard site like cov.en, Lorenzo had difficulty believing the best of people, but he knew better than to tear his hair out over issues that had nothing to do with him. He didn't even necessarily have the right to judge Evren, considering that he was facing a crisis over what role he should play for his raevan, himself.
"Well," he said gently, remembering that he, too, had been overwhelmed when he talked to Claire, "Just remember that insofar as you have expectations of your raevan, so, too, will they have expectations of you." He remembered what a headache it had been for him to learn to communicate with Vesna. "And you don't have to be their parent, per se- but you do have to help them grow."
"I will say," he admitted, "That it's easier to think about who you want to be for a raevan before they arrive. Forming a bond with another living thing is rewarding, but it's difficult to redefine that bond once it's formed. When I was in your position, Lab 305 was my answer to a very specific question. But when I became a guardian, I found that I was unprepared for the, er, follow-up questions that my answer provoked."
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:05 pm
At least someone else shared his mindset. Evren found that a little calming, even as his brain tripped over the thought of eating reflections. What the heck did that even mean? Did she eat mirrors? Wouldn't that hurt? Or, if she couldn't be photographed, was she some sort of vampire? Maybe reflections were the safer alternative to a blood-based diet?
Well, he had asked for magical adoption. He couldn't let something like this weird him out.
At that moment, he was far too busy being weirded out over the use of the word parent. The role of a parent wasn't so different from what he'd imagined for himself, but the actual word was like a wake-up call that this was really happening. The soul capture was only the beginning. He was going to have to be responsible for whatever came of it, for the rest of their lives. The realization was exciting and terrifying all at once.
"It takes two to tango." Not that he expected to literally tango with his adoptive whatever, but it was meant to be more of an acknowledgement that their relationship would have to be figured out together than a dance card. "If I wasn't ready to do the whole nurturing, protecting thing, I never would have applied for this. It's just... something about that word makes everything look different." Especially when he thought about the future in terms of his relationship with his own parents. Which was something he really didn't want to do right then. Or ever, really.
He wasn't sure how planning a relationship with something that hadn't even been born yet would work, especially if he was supposed to let things happen naturally, letting the Raevan have some say in things. But he had time to think it over - or he would in a few days, once this exorcism business was over - so that issue could afford to wait a bit. "If you don't mind my asking, what follow-up questions have you been dealing with? I mean, if it's personal, you really don't need to talk about it. I'm just wondering, I guess, if there's something I'm overlooking here." It certainly wouldn't be the first time.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:27 pm
Lorenzo scratched his head. "I understand that," he said, referring to the idea of being a parent. "When Vesna asked to call me 'Dad', it threw me a bit off balance. At first, I was willing to see it as a reasonable request. Now, I'm less sure it was a good idea in the first place." He grimaced, remembering the dressing down he'd gotten from the Licensed Necromancer Society. They hadn't brought up Vesna, but he felt like that had been dumb luck more than diligence on his part. He could rationalize it however he wanted, but he had stopped treating Vesna as a client a long time ago.
It was long past time to change course.
If that was even possible.
"Don't feel pressured to be a parent if that's not the role you're best suited for," he advised carefully. "Think about what's best for you and for the raevan."
Drumming his fingers lightly on the desk, he said, "Apart from that, well, it's just been difficult to care for Vesna in the way a necromancer should and also the way a parent should. She wants the latter, but she needs the former. The former is the role I've been trained to play for her. I try to accommodate as many of her wants as I can, but it's hard to tell where the line is. Her situation is unusual- maybe not for a raevan, but for an undead person, certainly. And I'm used to dealing with the undead side of things."
He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I wouldn't say our situation is one that you could draw much of a lesson from if you weren't in a similar relationship with your raevan. It's awfully... specific." Smiling encouragingly, he said, "If being called a parent is making you see things differently, though, you're already more prepared for, uh, 'follow-up questions' than I was. You have some time to think, and you don't have a timetable you need to capture a soul by. I was working on a time sensitive schedule, so as soon as I was accepted into the program, I was pressed into capturing a soul."
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 9:49 pm
So if he did opt out of the precise parent role, at least there was some precedent. Evren wasn't sure if he was relieved by that or not. Though it would save him from hunting for an appropriate title. He really didn't want to be anyone's Dad, partly because of his interactions with his father, but he sure wasn't a Mom either. And Parent would just sound stupid. Why weren't there more options for this sort of thing?
"I'll bear that in mind going forward." And maybe consult the dictionary to see if there was an exact word for what he was going for. Once the library was ghost-free, he had a lot of research to do.
Unfortunately for Evren, none of these other problems were applicable to his situation. Which did nothing to reassure him that there were no problems he wasn't aware of; he just had to be overlooking them. "I really can't imagine what it must be like to combine something like this with a work obligation. But at least you're well-equipped to handle this stuff. I mean, my work involves kids, but I'm not really an expert when it comes to working with them." He was rambling at this point, as his insecurities bubbled to the surface. Could he really do this? Was he being totally selfish for even trying? "There's a certain point where you have to stop reading and just do something, but what if you've read the wrong thing, or you don't apply it right? And now you're not just messing things up for you, but someone else who's counting on you for support and guidance, so you're both just totally screwed?"
He stopped, first to take a deep breath because he was running out of air, then because he realized that he'd just blurted out his fruitless worrying to a total stranger. Not exactly the sort of icebreaker he'd been hoping for.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't... I don't know what I was... that was uncalled for." That didn't really make sense, but nothing he said seemed to sound right. "I'm sorry."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 8:23 pm
Lorenzo was not the most socially adept man, but he could recognize anxiety as someone who also suffered acutely from it. He grimaced sympathetically and put aside his own compulsions to try to reassure Evren.
"A raevan isn't exactly a child in the first place," he said. "When Vesna emerged she already spoke and acted like a teenage girl- many raevans seem older. I've only met two who I would actually identify as children." In both cases, the guardian seemed well suited to care for a child, which was a small blessing in and of itself, but Lorenzo doubted that factored much into what a raevan would become. After all, he wasn't exactly suited to raise a teenage girl.
"Everyone makes mistakes," he insisted. "Children- and, in my experience, at least- raevans, are resilient. They can handle a few scrapes and bumps along the way." He thought of the hard year after his father died- a year of recovery, during most of which, he did not even remember that Lorenzo was his son. "Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily say that there's a right way to be a parent. I was raised by a necromantic law specialist and an undead man. Many Gaians would have seen my upbringing as unorthodox or unacceptable, but it was something that was suitable for me. And as a guardian, in turn, I've raised Vesna in a way that is very different from the guardians who raise her friends, each of whom has a radically different upbringing from the others."
He smiled faintly at Evren. "I quite understand your concerns," he reassured. "Please feel free to voice them- bottling these things up tends to make them worse, and you're among friends. Well, among friend. Well, among someone who understands, at any rate."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:04 pm
Mr. Fisch's calm words - and a few well-timed deep breaths - helped stave off the impending panic attack. The world looked a little less terrifying, a little more normal. Or normal for Gaia, at any rate.
As relief sank in, so did embarrassment. Why was he blabbering like an idiot? Yes, this was all serious, but he wouldn't have put himself in for it if he didn't think he could handle it. He knew parents weren't perfect from personal experience. Most mistakes weren't life-changing. (But what if he made one that was?) The only way to learn was through experience. (But what would he do until then?) It was too early to think this would be a catastrophe. (But after it turned into one, it would be too late.)
It was, Evren decided, time for some more deep breaths. Time to listen more closely to what Mr. Fisch was telling him. Time to stop panicking and start trusting that everything would turn out okay. He had time to figure it out. And, if all of this was true, he had someone else on his side.
"Thank you. I just- I know that there's no such thing as the perfect... parent." That word was still weird, but maybe, in time, he'd get used to it. Or figure out a good alternative. "That doesn't mean I can afford to give it anything but 110%. And if that's not enough, well, that's what friends are for?"
He hadn't meant it to sound like a question, but they had just met. Then again, it would be far less humiliating to panic in front of a friend, rather than a total stranger.
"I guess this is where I ask for whatever other sage advice you have on tap, barkeep." And where he pulled it together and stopped bellyaching about everything that worried him. Voicing concerns to a friend was okay in moderation, but obsessing over minutiae wouldn't help anything.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:29 pm
Lorenzo, who had never given anything less than 110 percent towards any endeavor in his life, nodded encouragingly. "That's what you do, really." he said. "You give it all your effort and all your expertise, and if you lack expertise, you work on building up a base of knowledge." He pulled out one of his homemade pamphlets, which enthusiastically exclaimed 'SO YOU NEED A NECROMANCER?' on the front. "Coming from my profession, when someone is brought back from the dead, a necromancer like me may revive them, but there are many other types of necromancer that specialize in various things and help an undead citizen recover when my services won't fit their needs. Treating a raevan like a client may not always be the most fitting solution, but realizing that you yourself don't need to know every solution for every eventuality is important."
He grinned and added, "I'm not saying that the raevan you'll provide care for will necessarily need a necromantic veterinarian- er, unless you capture a werewolf, I suppose- but it's good to know that if you can't, say, figure out what kind of allowance would be suitable to budget, someone in your social circle's been there and done that before." Claire had been an invaluable source of plain old parenting advice for him- and it had been more necessary than he imagined once Vesna had decided he was Her Parent. If she hadn't been there to talk him through the finer points, the last year would have been far harder. He reminded himself to thank her again some time.
"You're not there yet, though," he digressed, "The best you can do as far as future problems go is just to expect the unexpected and try to adapt." He furrowed his brow. The phrase sounded a little familiar- somehow he thought he might have picked it up from one of Vesna's anime, but at least the advice was sound. He demurred. "Furthermore, you seem to have put thought into capturing a soul, which speaks well to your resolve. I suppose if I have any other sage advice, it would be speaking as a necromancer moreso than as a guardian: Capture a soul willingly given, and not taken by force. A second life is a great opportunity to give a soul, but only if it is wanted in the first place."
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