[ john clasps his hands behind his back and offers a somewhat apologetic smile to zhongli. he hopes doing that shield thing isn't too costly energetically since he's ultimately not going to be the one that needs it. ]
Ah, well, if it were that simple, it'd be over with already.
[ he shoots john (the archivist) a look because he thinks he should learn to appreciate things like cool dramatic timing, but that's neither here nor there. more importantly, john (the emperor) has to go about making sense of this for people with no experience with the baseline rules of necromancy. it's fine. this is why he insists on being called Teacher with a very intentional capital 'T'. ]
The field — whatever it is — interferes with my ability to manipulate thanergy. It prevents me from walking in there and taking it apart necromantically, and you really don't want to see me in a physical fight. [ that light, self-deprecating laughter again. ] It more or less recreates something like the original conditions of the experiment, which was intended to challenge a necromancer's ability to master a specific technique.
[ even though the information is technically useless outside of his own world and he isn't actually giving anyone the theorems themselves, that deeply ingrained distrust rears its head again. john keeps his hands behind his back so he won't be tempted to fidget, but there's a tension in his shoulders now all the same as he gets more specific. ]
Necromancers are paired with Cavaliers, non-adepts trained in martial arts and weapons skills. A sufficiently skilled Cavalier would be enough, aside from the obvious problem I just told you — which is that they aren't necromancers. That thing is made of perpetual bone. It will regenerate faster than you could hope to destroy it unless it's taken apart in a specific sequence, which is a puzzle that can only be solved by — you guessed it — a necromancer.
[ reluctant or not to explain it, john still considers this a very elegant solution and sounds quite proud of it. ]
But I'll cut right to the point. [ wow, about time. ] Constructs are useless here because the field negates my theorems. They have no protection. A living soul, on the other hand, doesn't have this problem. That is, the solution of the original experiment requires the necromancer to work through the Cavalier — via their soul — and see through their eyes. In doing so, allowing the Cav also to see the sequence. Does that make sense?
[ and this is where he looks between the two of them to see if he's lost them along the way. "hey, i need to touch your living soul to share my senses so you can fight a giant bone monster" is one of those huge asks where it's good to make sure everyone is on the same page, after all. ]
no subject
Ah, well, if it were that simple, it'd be over with already.
[ he shoots john (the archivist) a look because he thinks he should learn to appreciate things like cool dramatic timing, but that's neither here nor there. more importantly, john (the emperor) has to go about making sense of this for people with no experience with the baseline rules of necromancy. it's fine. this is why he insists on being called Teacher with a very intentional capital 'T'. ]
The field — whatever it is — interferes with my ability to manipulate thanergy. It prevents me from walking in there and taking it apart necromantically, and you really don't want to see me in a physical fight. [ that light, self-deprecating laughter again. ] It more or less recreates something like the original conditions of the experiment, which was intended to challenge a necromancer's ability to master a specific technique.
[ even though the information is technically useless outside of his own world and he isn't actually giving anyone the theorems themselves, that deeply ingrained distrust rears its head again. john keeps his hands behind his back so he won't be tempted to fidget, but there's a tension in his shoulders now all the same as he gets more specific. ]
Necromancers are paired with Cavaliers, non-adepts trained in martial arts and weapons skills. A sufficiently skilled Cavalier would be enough, aside from the obvious problem I just told you — which is that they aren't necromancers. That thing is made of perpetual bone. It will regenerate faster than you could hope to destroy it unless it's taken apart in a specific sequence, which is a puzzle that can only be solved by — you guessed it — a necromancer.
[ reluctant or not to explain it, john still considers this a very elegant solution and sounds quite proud of it. ]
But I'll cut right to the point. [ wow, about time. ] Constructs are useless here because the field negates my theorems. They have no protection. A living soul, on the other hand, doesn't have this problem. That is, the solution of the original experiment requires the necromancer to work through the Cavalier — via their soul — and see through their eyes. In doing so, allowing the Cav also to see the sequence. Does that make sense?
[ and this is where he looks between the two of them to see if he's lost them along the way. "hey, i need to touch your living soul to share my senses so you can fight a giant bone monster" is one of those huge asks where it's good to make sure everyone is on the same page, after all. ]