Private Finished Extracurriculars and Extraplanars

foggydoggy · May 6, 2020

"For now, we'll have you stick to the basic spells," Adelaida said, rummaging through the stacks of paper and books all prepared by her. She picked out the most basic spells - light, water, fire, and a light breeze, all with their distinct but simple patterns made in circles and with labels of what they did on the papers. "Once you get the hang of actually invoking the spells, I'll start teaching you how to recognize 'words' and create your own circles to do effects. That's the extremely complex stuff, and that's what this is."

She pointed out an extremely thick, hardbound book with her writing on the front of it. "A lot of memory and formula goes into my style of magic, and there's no real getting around it. But once you get the hang of it, you can start doing things like this without effort."

With a pen and a blank piece of paper, she quickly scribbled a complex pattern of lines and circles, handing it over to Michi. "This one will be your homework for when we're done. You'll know if you do it correctly because it'll be like looking in a mirror."

She'd prepared an old favorite, an illusion that took on the appearance of the one that triggered it. In the past, she'd altered and used it to preview how she'd look in different outfits. Maybe when Michi learned how to control it, she'd figure out how to make it move, transform, and maybe even solidify.

Hyper · May 8, 2020

Michi stared at the stacks of materials Adelaida had and for a moment she grew concerned. Was Adelaida planning to have all of that covered today or what? Along with her worry, the chatter in her head seemed to grow. Michi nodded along as Adelaida continued her explanation, following everwhere Adelaida seemed to turn to. Michi's eyebrows raised with interest at the mention of creating her own circles, joined by a somewhat excited chatter in her mind. "Well, I'm not half bad with memorizing so, I don't think that would be a problem," she stated. Michi had always been confident with memorization: memorizing the book in its thickness didn't scare her. Trying to read it with her company in her head space on the other hand... Michi was suddenly given another paper, this time with a different pattern from the one earlier. Michi stared at it dumbfounded until Adelaida explained it. "When you said 'complex stuff', you're not joking," she mused aloud, followed by a nervous laugh. Her eyes followed the every stroke within that moment, analyzing its complexity. She did say homework, Michi thought to herself before setting it aside, in favor of the others laid out. The others, meanwhile, looked very much alike the earlier one -- simple. Straightforward. She pulled one closer to her, choosing the one reading the word 'water' under it. Just in case. A thin stream of water, she thought to herself. Her eyes narrowed, visualizing thin streams of color flow into the pattern; careful that none would overflow from designation. But that was easier said than done: since earlier the lines around her were more irregular in size, and keeping them contained proved to be a bit of a task.

a song from beyond

foggydoggy · May 8, 2020

Adelaida laughed a little at the remark on complexity. There was a reason that even with all the results she showcased back when she was a practicing magus very few undertook apprenticeships. Most preferred to work with innate, instinctive spell-work instead of the rigorous science she staked her life on.

"You're not my first student, but everyone else I've taught gave up after one or two lessons. The learning curve is pretty steep at first. Even if there are only three actual steps in the spellcasting itself," Adelaida said, thinking of all the people who'd been scared away in the past. She pitied them a little, they who would never experience what she considered the greatest feeling in the world - the high of executing an elaborate piece of spellcraft.

Seeing Michi concentrating on the water rune, Adelaida launched into a bit of further guidance. "My school of magic is reliant on will and mental strength. You control your thoughts, and the flow of magic follows your thoughts. I know you're dealing with voices in your head. Even if you are, they will bend to you once you master your own head. In a way, the first step to learning my magic is learning to control yourself. It's all about control, and you can and will control it."

She paused, and thought of her school's philosophy. Maybe it had dug deeper into her personality than she'd let on.

"...I've lost everything, but I never lost myself. If there's anything you can learn from me and my lessons, even if you choose to quit... it's that you can always be in control."

Hyper · May 9, 2020

"Three steps?" Michi echoed, looking back in what they've covered so far. What were those three exactly? Michi kept her eyes glued on the rune. Either way, from what Adelaida's shown here, it looked pretty simple. Application was a different story altogether though. Michi tried not to get distracted with the thought, returning her focus on her assignment with her mentor's guidance. Will and mental strength, she chanted in her mind, attempting to over power the chatter in her head with her own thoughts. I am in control,, she continued, following after Adelaida's words. The lines of magic moved fairly the same with the light rune, with a few lumps here and there. I am in control, she repeated in her mind. The voices only seemed to echo her words in soft murmurs. It took quite some effort, and a few more tries before anything remotely successful happened. Which... eventually led to a puddle in the room. Michi now standing away from her desk from getting spooked, looked at Adelaida with an unreadable expression. "...Too much?"

a song from beyond

foggydoggy · May 9, 2020

"Three steps. Design the spell, write it out in whatever material, and then invoke it." The process was daunting to the uninitiated, but Adelaida knew from personal experience that it eventually all became easy to achieve. Time-consuming, yes. But easy.

The puddle that formed after the water began dripping from the rune wasn't too special, but as with all of Michi's attempts, Adelaida became more and more certain that she had a lot of raw power going on. Taming all that power was going to be a challenge.

A flash of white fire surrounded the puddle and evaporated it in an instant, before disappearing itself. "A bit much, yeah. I can't confirm your magical reserves, but I'm ninety-five percent sure they're absurd. It's a lot harder to properly lower and control your output when there's more to work with. It's like you're a big jar with the lid open and you're trying to get it to only pour out a small bit at a time. You're getting better at actually getting the magic to happen at least."

Naturals like Michi were rare. Adelaida however considered a more sinister possibility. She knew Michi's background, and a thought crossed her mind - what if all that power was inflated by something else?

It was a good thing she still knew her tricks. Carefully, she drew a variant of the basic light spell - one that was more complex and would alter the color of the light if conditions were met. If Michi was drawing from somewhere else, it would not be white. What she would do if it were true... she wasn't yet sure.

"Hey, try this one next. It's a light spell, but it changes color based on your magical... reserves."

Hyper · May 11, 2020

"Sounds easy when you say it," Michi mumbled idly as she watched the puddle be incinerated with a white flame that seemed to come from no where. Though knowing Adelaida's ability, Michi didn't have to ask questions. Still, that didn't really stop her from thinking having such control of their ability was very convenient. Michi returned to her desk, still amazed how dry the area was now, even after seeing the puddle vanish before her own eyes. "So... you mean to say I just need to learn to filter that properly, is that right?" she asked, hoping she got the gist of it. If that was the case, then the basics could be more simple than she initially thought. Adelaida gave her another paper containing a different rune again. She wouldn't have figured out what it was if Adelaida hadn't told her herself. "Another light spell?" she mused aloud. She would have asked how exactly Adelaida could determine 'reserves' from the color of light but figured Adelaida would provide her that after. Doing it again, Michi tried to focus her magic into the symbol, the same way she did the last. She was careful not to overload it a third time and maybe end up disintegrating the rune again. The rune was likely sturdier, but Michi could never really gauge her own power. In a few minutes, the rune lights in a blueish hue.

a song from beyond

foggydoggy · May 11, 2020

"Pretty much. It's all in the control."

Adelaida fell into a bit of a silent squint, contemplating the light. On one hand, it confirmed her theory that there was an external force affecting Michi's magic. On the other, the light wasn't too far removed from the white of pure magic, which meant that the "corruption" wasn't progressing too far.

She couldn't think of what to do next. There was the option of letting Michi know, but what would it even change? The influence of this otherworldly entity would likely deepen the more its power was used, but to get rid of it in the first place, Michi would need to learn magic. There was an impasse in place now.

She just fell silent, thinking of the possibilities and possible outs. The weight of the consideration showed on her face, and it was obvious there was something going on in her head.

Hyper · May 11, 2020

Michi watched the light curiously which remained steady for far longer than the first light spell did before it faded out -- much to Michi's relief. She didn't want to burn another one by accident.. Though part of her thinks maybe she should be disappointed? Adelaida had explained earlier that it changes color by reserves and she was theorizing on the color saturation being the basis. She wouldn't know until Adelaida explained it and she has not in fact started explaining at all. Michi looked up at her mentor, seemingly deep in thought. She would have assumed Adelaida was contemplating--analyzing what they got from there, but whatever was going on in her head, Michi had no clue. "So... uh. Is that good or bad?" she asked, breaking the silence.

a song from beyond

foggydoggy · May 11, 2020

She had to decide quickly. Adelaida decided that the truth - the full truth - might be a little much for Michi at the moment. But there was a guilt there. She knew the decision to know more should not be in her hands.

After yet another concerned pause, she smiled hesitantly and began to explain, skipping around the nastier parts of her conclusion. "It's... hard to explain. But basically, all you need to know is that there's an... excess. Not enough to be dangerous. A little unhealthy, but as long as you let it out by using it regularly it shouldn't have effects."

She hoped that being vague about it would stop the questioning. Hopefully, Michi would rather learn more about magic than her nature. Adelaida knew that if she was asked she would cave, and had to avoid that.

Besides, if Michi knew the truth... maybe she'd walk away from the path of magic.

Hyper · May 12, 2020

Adelaida taking too long to answer didn't quite ease Michi's concern. If anything, it was making her anxious, and the voices only seemed to grow along with it. It had started to overwhelm her by the time Adelaida responded, letting Michi miss the hint of hesitation from her mentor. It took a moment for Michi to process the response, let alone piece together a response. Though she managed to somehow on her own. "Well, if that's the case then... there's nothing to worry too much about, right?" she managed to say. The noise in her head hadn't quieted back, but it had subsided enough to hear her own thoughts. Among those was her worry that she couldn't proceed because her 'magic reserves' proved to be abnormal. And if that was the case, she couldn't go down this path to help herself and her friends. "So, then do we proceed as normal?"

a song from beyond

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