Post:An Interview with Empath Researcher Salvur - 08/25/2012 - 23:17

An Interview with Empath Researcher Salvur · on 08/25/2012 11:17 PM CDT	1041
An Interview with Empath Researcher Salvur As witnessed by a passing student. [Empaths' Guild, Hall of Research] Smelling slightly of crushed blocil berries, the hall features a marble-topped counter against one wall. A copper basin with a small drain is mounted on one side of the counter, while the other side features a stove and other assorted experimental tools. Above the counter, a plain wooden cabinet with clear glass doors displays shelves of mortars and jars ready for use. You also see a modest metal door. Also here: Empath Researcher Salvur and a spritely Moon Mage interviewer. You see Biomancer Salvur, a Human Empath. Salvur has a square face with frown lines around his mouth, deep-set dark eyes and a crooked nose. He has thinning dark brown hair with a white streak running through it, with weathered skin and a stocky build. He is short for a Human. He appears to be venerable. He is in good shape. He is holding a slender ironwood walking stick topped with a heavy platinum knob in his right hand. He is wearing a bone-white spidersilk shirt, a heavy platinum signet ring, a wide leather belt with a large platinum buckle forged in the shape of a Vela'Tohr leaf, a tooled leather belt pouch, a pair of fitted leather trousers and a pair of fine leather boots clasped with gleaming platinum buckles. The interviewer says, "Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today." Salvur says, "It is my pleasure." The interviewer asks, "Can you tell me a bit about the guild you belong to, the Empaths' Guild, first of all?" Salvur says, "Most people, be they ever so ignorant, know that empaths are healers. Some might say we are healers first and foremost. It is certainly the thing society seems to value most about the guild. There is a great deal more to empathy, however, and a great deal more to being an Empath." The interviewer asks, "Like what, exactly?" Salvur says, "Well, my research has often taken me to places filled with dangerous creatures. My empathy allows me to reach out and sense if any such creatures are near. However stealthy they are, they cannot hide their life force from me. Another invaluable application of empathy for one who would travel in the world's less hospitable areas is empathic manipulation. It's true we cannot harm a living thing without unpleasant consequences, but a purely defensive fight can grow tiresome after a while. We can manipulate creatures with an untainted life essence to consider us friends, instead of foes, sometimes moving them so powerfully that they step in to fight those who would do us harm. It's much surer than the Ranger's way, though not as lasting." Salvur gently taps the platinum-clad tip of his cane against the ground, smiling vaguely. The interviewer exclaims, "You mentioned that empaths can suffer unpleasant consequences if they harm others. Empathic shock, right? That must be quite an inconvenience. I don't know how you Empaths manage!" Salvur exclaims, "It is a little-known fact that all sentient creatures are born with a measure of empathy, since the time of the first empaths. That includes you!" The interviewer exclaims, "Me? I think I would have noticed if I was an Empath! I think Kssarh would have noticed, too!" Salvur says, "Well, you haven't got any empathy anymore, not supernatural empathy, in any case. In most people it's a very small thing, crushed out of existence in the course of childhood and adolescence. But you did have, we all did have, a tiny measure of that supernatural empathy. Even Kssarh, though perhaps it's best you don't say anything to him about it. Empaths, instead of shattering their empathy through harming life essences, simply nurture and bolster that empathic spark. For empaths, it becomes almost another sense, and just as important and relied-upon as all one's other senses. Though it does seem an inconvenience to others, most of us would no more wish to do without our empathic sense than we would wish to be deaf or blind." Salvur says, "The loss of empathy, the empathic shock that deadens sensitivity, is a purely physical reaction, however. Many Empaths attach a morality to empathic shock, as do many non-Empaths, for that matter. Empathic shock is a negative consequence, but is not a punishment, as some would have it. There are no rules to follow regarding violence, or oaths to break, or the Gods know I would not be standing here now. Shock is simply an automatic reaction that arises by virtue of the Empath's heightened sensitivity to the life forces around him. If you dwelt in a cave for a year and a day, and then wandered out into the noonday sun, the bright light would hurt your eyes, and you would be temporarily blinded. This is much like Empathic shock, which is pain followed by a temporary insensitivity that is caused by over-stimulation of one's empathic senses." The interviewer asks, "Supernatural empathy... What -is- empathy, exactly, then?" Salvur says, "Its name sheds some light upon its nature, though the matter is still a subject of scholarly debate. It is almost a breaking-down of the separation between two beings, at least for a highly skilled empath. Most of the interesting applications of empathy derive from that closeness -- link, manipulate, healing, and others. In more technical terms, empaths can sense and manipulate life essences. Not simply life mana. The distinction is important." The interviewer says, "You are a researcher. What is it that you study?" Salvur smiles thinly, grinding the tip of his cane into the floor. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts before answering. Salvur says, "Ah. The Modien -- that is, the Khalo rae Modien, decided that my talents would be best invested in study of the Vela'Tohr. They are sentient, quite fascinating plants. Twisted dreadfully by necromancy, unfortunately. It has been my task to study them, as well as to see if an untainted population might somehow be established. I have learned quite a lot about them, but as yet, I have not succeeded in my other task. If you ever wish to see an untainted specimen, one may be found on the grounds of the High Temple in Zoluren." The interviewer exclaims, "Well, thank you so much for your time, Salvur!" Salvur nods politely. Salvur says, "The pleasure has been entirely mine."
This message was originally posted in The Empaths \ Empath related Events and Empath Lore, by DR-EMPNPC on the play.net forums.