<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/W3qqpen.jpg)</div><strong>NAME:</strong>Giovanni Zatara<br/>(Optional)<strong>WEARING:</strong>A tasteful black three-piece suit<br/><strong>DAY:</strong>Aug 21 2020<br/><strong>TIME:</strong>After the Drama of the Secret Sanctuary Gathering<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong>House of Cards<br/><strong>CONTENT:</strong>Giovanni speaks<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>Zachary<br/><br/><hr/><br/>"I wanted you with me, and with Zatanna." Giovanni said, and although it was true he doubted that Zachary would believe. He had ample reason not to. "You did not have to learn the magic alone, but I was too set in my ways to realize that how I came to magic and the terms I set were not terms that you would accept. I accept my share of the blame. I am not your father and your are not my son. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. I share closer ties with members of the Justice League than I do with you, and I regret that. I allowed myself to justify throwing away what we have and might have had for reasons that are petty and small."<br/><br/>He let out a long breath. "If I thought that my dying would change anything, I would have told you, Zachary. But I did not think that. I do not think I have any right to think that my life or death would be any reason to sway you in any direction. I have been terrible family to you, Zachary."<br/><br/>The older magician was genuinely surprised to see Zachary's tears. The old man simply did not think that he mattered enough to Zachary, nor that he was worthy of Zachary's tears after everything that he had done and not done.<br/><br/>"Zatanna is not my chosen heir. It is true that she is my daughter and I shared more time with her . . . but I wanted it to be you, Zachary. I see things in you that I do not in Zatanna. You have a strength that she does not. If you and she changed places, and you had her life and she yours . . . things would be very different. You are strong enough, became strong enough, to endure and overcome everything that set itself in your path. I fear where Zatanna would be without my guidance and instruction. Perhaps a slave to Klarion or Wotan, or her soul in the hands of some demon or devil." He watched Zachary kick at one of the chairs and watched it become a pile of cards. A realization came to Zachary in that moment and Giovanni nodded when the young man shared it with him. The Great Giovanni Zatara could not even stand without assistance. Giovanni glanced down at the pile of cards as Zachary demanded that the old magician use his magic to heal himself. He looked up when Zachary grasped his shoulders and yelled in his face.<br/><br/>Giovanni gave the young man a soft smile. "But you said it yourself, my boy. I lack even the power to stand on my own. What could I do in the face of a sickness that defies the greatest medical minds of our age? My powers even at their height were never the equal of yours, and I am long past that now. I spent much of my magic and myself almost a year ago, to help bar the demon lord Trigon from our dimension.<br/><br/>"You asked me what I expected would happen today, and it was largely this. I did not expect this heart to heart, but otherwise, this is what I expected. But what I hoped? Ah, Zachary, we live in such a world . . . I hoped for a miracle, for a fool's wish to be granted. But even magic has limits."