Riyeko Lionward; The reserved and nervous inventor (thebesttoys) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-10-25 10:51:00 |
|
|||
She’d been rather hesitant to try this device with someone of Peony’s skill and magickal power levels. It wasn’t that she didn’t know the idealized outcomes, those were simple. Double the casting area of the spell, add a small boost to the casting power via the dual embedded magicite that were in each arm of the device. The backpack of the device was carried appropriately and helped to amp up the output of spell range as well. In theory, she knew perfectly how it worked. In theory. She’d tested it with Cormac several times before, trying out variations on the power levels, on the spell spread, on the release points (was it better if the spell came out as a cone? a stream?), and even on the durability of the device to maintain its use throughout an extended spell casting scenario. Finally, finally, she was pretty sure it was working well for him. Not that they had tested it too extensively after its last blow out, but she’d made a significant number of modifications, dialed down the backpack size and weight, changed out some of the materials for a sturdier hold of hoses, cooling and mechanisms and finally, finally was starting to feel like this was ready to go live again. But… And there was always a but. Riyeko needed to test it on a real mage. Not that Cormac couldn’t cast spells, but his power and spell list was so terribly limited, there was no telling it that it could stand up to someone who… Really packed a punch. In came Peony, who the machinist was certain could level an entire city if she so desired. Would the machine stand up to her explosive level of spell casting? Well, this test run was sure to tell. “As you put on the backpack, your arms will need to go into the sleeves. Kinda like a big jacket, but it’s a little heavier than a jacket so you’ll need to be careful, and let me know if it’s too heavy because I might be able to dial down the size a little more depending on how fine the mechanisms need to be but I didn’t want to make it quite that small yet as it takes a lot more time, and energy, and gil, and just resources in general. So this is still in the prototype phase but it’s a more refined version of the prototype phase at this point so I’m hoping it shouldn’t go ka-plew-y on you since your spells are so much bigger than Cormac’s spells and when it malfunctioned on him it sort of set him on fire and I really don’t want to set you on fire because you can’t take as much damage as Cormac I don’t think, not that I was trying to set Cormac on fire because that would just be kinda mean and…” Riyeko frowned. “Um, I just mostly mean that you put it on like a jacket and try casting the spell using both hands at the same time and it should kick out a simultaneous dual spell casting while also buffing up your spell spread and mildly increasing the spell power. So, um, I guess you should try casting?” Really, that was the point of the invention after all. It was fortunate that Peony’s workload had lightened somewhat with Toku’s return. It was much less difficult to take an afternoon to venture outside the palings with her oldest friend and that friend’s newest invention. Even had she not had the time to spare, however, she thought she would have managed to go. Her conversation with Merrion and Lionel at the convention was not forgotten -- she wanted very much to see this device in action, and she recognized that, if it worked as planned, it would be a rather dangerous thing to have on the market for anyone with the gil to purchase. She had already mocked up a draft of a request to the Sage, asking that the guild purchase the device for its use. It would have many invaluable applications, she was certain. But before any petition was made, the device needed testing, and she was glad that, after months of evasion, Riyeko had agreed to let her try it. She knew that the hesitations had been due primarily to worry, to which Riyeko was quite prone; if she was now willing to allow Peony a test run, that meant the new prototype was likely actually quite safe, for all that Riyeko’s long, rambling explanation showed that her nerves were not altogether assuaged. Still, Peony fearlessly donned the contraption, which sat rather heavy against her back and arms. “Perhaps lighter would be preferable, once all functional issues are resolved,” she agreed thoughtfully. Mages lacked upper body strength as a rule, with a few notable exceptions, and while the weight wasn’t unbearable, she also knew that after an hour or two, it would wear heavily on any caster carrying the expander. Once everything was in place, she thought a moment before saying, “We should start smaller, I think.” In the event that the device did not stand up well, it would be better to know the exact point of failure, she had to imagine. With that in mind, she prepared a Blizzard spell first, going through the familiar chant and motions with her hands, which were devoid of her rod for now, though she made a note to ask whether a weapon could be wielded simultaneously for additional amplification. The device felt warm but not hot through the fabric of her clothing as the spell took form. “Shouldn’t be hard!” Though the knot tying itself in her stomach certainly didn’t want to agree to such terms, at least, not until they had aptly tested the device to assure this all made sense for now. “Yes, smaller would be good! If…” What? “Something… goes wrong… Then it’ll be a much smaller problem to deal with than the possible ramifications of a more significant expulsion of magical energy that could damage not only the area around but yourself and the prototype all at once which would be difficult to contain but I guess that’s why we came out here in the first place so maybe we’re okay.” She was talking a lot again. Darn. Riyeko couldn’t help the eagerness that she felt spiking through her. Even with the amount of tension she housed regarding the durability of the device, seeing it in the hands of an experienced, and powerful mage did make her a little giddy. The idea of it actually working, and working well with someone with the amount of firepower Peony had was… Thrilling. The outcome was encouraging as the spell worked its way through the device, lighting each appropriate marker to assure it moved through the channels required without flaw. One light. Two. Three. Four…. And… The spell blasted out, effecting twice the area than it normally would. There was an excited noise of sorts - a squeal of delight practically - out of Riyeko at the successful administration of the spell. Though, the machinists thoughts instantly started buzzing. Would cold spells help reduce the heat up of the machine? Could that be a realistic measure to extra assure the device didn’t over heat? It’d be… Almost hilarious in of itself. She’d taken so much time building in safeguards and what if it ended up being as simple as tactical casting techniques? A mental note was instantly made to follow up on that. At least this time none of the hoses popped off. Bouncing between her feet for a moment, the machinist tried her best not to get too excited. Yet, even while she reminded herself that the test run wasn’t over yet, she couldn’t help the hope welling up that perhaps, just maybe, this device would work well yet. Maybe they could even get a significant portion of data collected today. “Let me take a look? I just want to make sure that all the hoses and everything are still in place, that the energy flow through them haven’t loosened or ruptured anything that could upset the next spell.” Riyeko’s movements were quick, a little jittery, a little anxious but mostly, she was excited as she moved to be at Peony’s back and began running over a mental list of points to check. After a couple of minutes of assuring her own worry was minimized and nothing had broken or been shook loose, a nod was given, even if the other woman couldn’t see it. “Okay, good to go for the next round!” The result was indeed impressive. Ice was not Peony’s strongest element, but her Blizzard was fairly powerful, and she did not think she had ever seen one quite this big. She would have to work up to her stronger spells -- testing high-magnitude fire and earth spells in the wild was trickier without damaging the natural environment, but she had some ideas. Still, considering the device took away some of her control for more condensed and targeted casting, she would have to be careful. They had chosen a good place for her purposes, fortunately. There were no trees near the gate they had departed from, only gently rolling hills dotted with the occasional bush. “Stay behind me,” she suggested. In putting the machine through its paces, she intended to try the elements one by one to see if any differences could be observed. If this test were successful, perhaps she might suggest someone like Cyclone or Penelope for the subsequent test, to see whether the effects of status spells were similarly spread without losing potency. For now, she chanted and summoned an Aerora, aiming up. The wild wind rose from nothing, howling as it whipped through the air, high enough not to disturb the grass before it, though Peony felt the edges of it, nearly staggering from the impact. Her aim was really giving her a hard time, but the size of the spell! Her lips parted ever so slightly as she watched the wind blow itself out, her eyes shining. On anyone else, the expression might have been glee. “That is rather remarkable,” she said. “It expands from the focal point in all directions, then?” She would have to aim further out the next time so that they were not similarly impacted -- most elements would not be as forgiving as air. As Peony suggested, Riyeko moved back, not one to enjoy getting in the way normally, even without big powerful spells being flung around, this request was the least of her concerns. Then, perched appropriately in back, she could keep a better eye on the various parts of the machine. Which would be all that much better for the both of them in the end. The sound of spells summoning wouldn’t be lost and with the sudden expulsion of magical energy Riyeko braced herself. The feeling of changing atmospheric pressures from the blast, and the collision of wind movements pushed and pulled at her clothes. The only thing she could think to do at that point was shield her eyes to some degree, but a greater desire - a need to some degree - kept her from looking away completely. The last thing either of them needed was a machine overload. Though, when the wind died down, and anything that had been kicked up cleared from the air, the machinist felt a ridiculous grin beginning to spread across her face. “Right!” The machinist chimed in to Peony’s question. It had been the simplest design scheme at the time of creation. “Would there be a better way to do it?” Really, Riyeko was attempting to keep her excitement from overflowing, so that she could best listen and inquire, this was FOR SCIENCE! after all but… It was terribly hard with a creation that she’d spent so much time and energy on finally coming to life before her eyes. “More challenging than I expected to aim,” Peony mused. “It seems necessary to focus the spell further out than normal to ensure it does not touch the caster and any allies in the field.” An arithmetician might do this piece better, she had to admit. She could execute precision strikes, but her aim was not formulaic in nature, and there was some room for error. “Perhaps if the effect expanded out and back, but not forward -- we are all very set in our ways when it comes to targeting. But if not, it is simply an adjustment period, though I suspect there will be some strain in aiming the epicenter of a very large spell far enough away to keep free of the area of effect.” This said, she smiled and finished, “Otherwise, it worked just as it ought -- from a magickal perspective.” Trouble aiming fortunately did not translate to trouble casting. “I will raise the potency once again,” she said. It would be Water, this time. She wanted to ensure she had worked out the aiming difficulties before she attempted Quake or Fire, or any of their more powerful derivatives. Waterga took more power -- and more concentration as she formed the spell and flung it as far out afield as she could reach. The ensuing deluge did not reach them, fortunately, so in that she had been successful. The machine warmed again, but did not heat overwhelmingly. As the quiet descended again, broken only by the trickling of the temporary stream she had created as all the water sought an outlet, she nodded. “It is doable this way, but challenging. A fourth tier spell will need to be aimed quite far afield to prevent injury -- and if the caster is wielding status or healing magicks, I daresay there might be some unintended targets if the user is not familiar with where and how to target a spell appropriately.” But it had worked, even better than she had hoped. She recalled telling Lionel that with something like this, one mage could replace a small army. It appeared to be an accurate assessment. “I think I have the range to try one bigger,” she said, “if you would like to test it. What was the spell that caused trouble the last time?” “Oooh!” Came the response to Peony’s explanation. Something a mix of understanding - to some degree - and pensiveness for how to fix such a problem, though a perfect solution was a bit harder than not. “What if the flow of energy was directed into a pair of gloves which had the final boost piece built into them? That might make it so that the spell came more directly from the caster themselves with the final boost coming through strategic placement of magicite into the fingertips and palm.” Admittedly, she wasn’t entirely sure this would solve the problem that Peony was attempting to present, it still may just be that the magical energy kickback was too great in general and in less she built something in to help shoot the energy outside of the caster, maybe a bit more like making the energy into bullets and the suit into a gun of sorts with the caster taking place of the gunpowder, and various mechanisms that made it possible for the gun to fire but… That might make things more complicated than not. Then off Peony went beginning to cast again, and Riyeko’s eyes fell to the machine, worry starting to significantly well up in her gut. Could it really take - what she assumed - to be a third level spell? Wasn’t it not even a few months back that her and Cormac had been exploding things in her lab with this same very machine? Well, not precisely the same exact machine, back then it had been bulkier more unwieldy, and the parts not as sturdy, but… It was still hard to believe, exciting really. To think that even just a few weeks before accidents had been occurring in test runs and now Peony was unleashing massive sweeping spells with the assistance of this device. Imagine what could be done if her rocket boots were combined with this? A surge of ideas, and images streaked through her head. It could be absolutely stunning, amazing really, what if they… And the explosion of water derailed her, a sense of awe striking Riyeko hard and the faintest murmur of disbelief and amazement could be heard as Waterga broke across the air in front of them. Did her device really do that? “Oh! Um! Let me take a look at the device first!” Riyeko scrambled up, feeling both more assured, and at the exact same time, more shaky about the whole thing the further up in magical tiers they climbed. Of course things needed to be tested, and Peony was a great person to test these things with but… The machinist needed to make sure her friend didn’t get hurt either. Hands through checking the various tubes and indicators as she spoke. “Do you think you can aim it okay? Would it be better with some adjustments? I don’t think the gloves would be hard but they could cause some form of kickback that might need you to have a better stance, maybe something reinforced or helping you to assure you stay upright. I mean, I wouldn’t want to pressure you into anything if you’re not comfortable with trying that high level magic before we go through with all of this. We know it can take up to third tier, and maybe we should have you practice more with those to get a better idea on spacing or make adjustments first?” She was probably repeating herself at this point, she really felt like she might be but Riyeko sometimes found it hard to prevent that sort of cycle, especially when her brain tended to work faster than her mouth. “Or…” The word was a little hesitant. “I might have another idea.” “It is not a matter of control, but of distance,” Peony attempted to explain. “As an example, say I am standing here,” she put one hand out in front of her, “and say I am casting my Fire spell here,” her other hand showed the location. “I have cast it many times. I know the edge of the area affected is here,” another gesture. “Now, with the expander, it is here.” She moved the second hand closer to the first. “On a first level spell, it is not terribly problematic. Now, say I am casting Firaja. I cast it here,” she gestured, “because it is bigger and I do not want it to touch myself or my companions. The edge is just far enough away for us to be safe. But if the edge comes in closer, I have to aim further. I can only hurl the spell so far before it becomes challenging. And, of course, if I am not prepared for the effect to expand towards me, I may be injured. “As for gloves…” She thought about it, asked, “Would the spell just shoot forward, then, instead of having to be targeted? Must I aim with my hands instead of my mind if such is the case?” That could create more problems than it solved. “I can aim better with my mind than my hands, I am fairly certain. And yes -- I can keep from any untoward effect on us, and aim as is.” As she waited for Riyeko to examine and adjust the device, she said, “I am content to do as you feel best. I must admit to some curiosity in seeing a fourth-level spell in action with your invention, but I am glad to refrain if you feel it best. What is your idea?” “Oh.” Came the simple word of understanding. It made sense that it was effectively a new gauge of area, and recalculation of target point. “Then it might not help much, no.” Riyeko’s face scrunched up a bit, trying to reconsider the current flow of energies. Could she recalibrate the focal points? Would that help? Would it even make much sense? “Oh! What if a, hrm. What if a sight was placed into the device? That could help with aiming? If it was able to gauge the focal point of interaction? Or, um… I suppose we could obtain average measurements from your test runs of the device as advisable distances to maintain?” It could be an overly simplistic idea, and maybe it wouldn’t work, but… It couldn’t hurt to ask and get feedback about! Especially, from Peony, who was sure to have a lot of good thoughts surrounding the whole thing. And there was Peony’s response regarding the next spell level. This might make things a bit more difficult all around but…. “Well, um. How do you feel about heights?” “Measurements may be the simplest solution, if the targeting can’t be altered,” Peony said. “It would then be a matter of adjustment for any mage using it, but the difficulty is not insurmountable.” She was certain that with some practice she could become quite adept at using it. The question took her aback for a moment. “Heights? I do not mind them.” She recalled their rather dangerous assault on the sea serpent then -- Riyeko on her hoverboard, herself on the back of Captain Wilcar’s hoverbike. “Considering my last experience with casting from a height, however,” she said, “I will admit that I will be pleased that no massive sea dragon is casting back at me this time. But how do you intend to get me into the air?” “Right! Measurements probably would be a lot easier, and then we can start creating projections and proper outlines for areas of effect, which could be easily followed. Diagrams too! Diagrams always help when trying out new devices.” Though… That posed a new challenge. “Though,” Riyeko couldn’t help but start somewhat sheepishly. “I guess we’d need to start casting all over again.” It was always hard to tell what might be a boundary. Not that Peony had ever seemed particularly displeased with her but… The machinist was always unsure, always wondering when or if she might ever do something to upset the other woman, because eventually there would be a point. Everyone had one. “Oh! Okay! Right! No big crazy fifty foot monsters here! Just…” Riyeko’s eyes fell away and she swayed from side to side slightly, her hands fiddling with each other. “Um, well, you see,” Why did she instantly feel like a chastised child for potentially suggesting even the tiniest of ideas? “I have another invention that I’ve been testing on my own, and it could help if you don’t mind learning how to use that one too, but it’ll take a little time to get used to it because it’s pretty balanced but it takes some adjusting because of the hover pads inserted into the mechanized boots, but if you do mind, that’s fine, and don’t worry about it, and in fact if you do mind we can just pretend I didn’t say anything at all, okay?” Finally her eyes would rise again. Maybe Peony wouldn’t mind at all, but one could never be too sure. “Additional testing seems prudent, even if we do not measure,” Peony assured. After all, taking one successful spell as a measure of design perfectly executed would not suit the machinist any more than it would suit her -- she wished multiple trials at various power levels to ensure the best understanding of this item and its uses, for her own sake as well as her friend’s. It was clear to her -- the guild needed this. She waited for Riyeko to talk herself out before replying with an encouraging expression, “Your boots? I have been wondering when I might have an opportunity to witness them in action.” Granted, she had thought it more likely that a fighter of some nature would test them, but now that she thought of it… If the balance wasn’t too hard, hovering above the battlefield -- higher than with Float -- would keep a mage safe from many enemy attacks. It was ingenious, actually. “I am not the most coordinated, I will admit,” she said, “but I am quite willing to make the attempt, if you in turn are willing to trust me with two of your creations at once. The practical applications are intriguing.” “Right! Okay! Measurements it is! And more testing, maybe with other people too? I don’t know too many mages but I’m sure we could probably find someone who would want to test it.” Well, measurements at least until she figured out another way to make it work better, if there was another way that was. Though, Riyeko was fairly certain she could figure something out, it was just a matter of time before it came to her. The suggestion of others testing it would help them have significantly better information, and could bring up other problems with how the device had been running. Though, Riyeko wasn’t entirely sure she’d be able to get other mages to test things, but Peony! Peony certainly could! She had connections, and power to be able to get people to listen to her as well. “I’ve been testing them myself! They’re not too bad, it’s kinda like being on a hoverboard. The first real test was a little while back. I think they’re ready for other people too, and this might be one of the better ways to test how stable they really are. I mean, I can go up with you, on my hoverboard of course, and if they start being trouble, I’ll be up there with you and everything will be fine.” At least, it seemed like a good bet. “Of course I am! We just… Need to go back to the city to get them.” The last part was a little sheepish, but considering all the things Peony had agreed to already, Riyeko couldn’t help but think that the other woman probably wouldn’t mind. “I can think of several people who would be happy to volunteer once I explained to them the manner of work you are doing,” Peony said. Most mages did love to experiment. Really, she thought they would have their pick of specialists. “Then we should go now, so that we might return here as quickly as possible.” A small detour seemed a small price to pay for additional knowledge, and she had blocked out half of her day for exactly this purpose. “If you could help me out of this,” considering just how strange she might appear parading down the street in it, “then we can return to the city.” As she began divesting herself of the sleeves, she said, “I should tell you that I am incredibly impressed.” She did not express any of her emotions in a way that would make it simple to tell, even for someone who had known her many years, but she had to say it to ensure that her friend knew. “You have done quite amazing work. I hope you are very proud.” And she could not wait to see what else they would discover today. |