. (singapore) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-02-18 22:24:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, siri d'albis, toku matsudaira |
WHO: Siri D'Albis & Toku Matsudaira
WHEN: Today, afternoonish.
WHERE: A casting room in the Mages' Tower
WHAT: A request.
STATUS: Complete
Sometimes there is anger. The kind that makes your insides both freeze and burn, legs feeling like lead, and it is those days that she casts best. Fueled by feeling and madness. And she knows that her place is in a training room casting over and over again. Because she — what? She had to and Faram is conspicuously absent; always asking for more. The ice casted burns silently, interrupted by the chime of the bracelets Siri wears, constant weight to remind her of the now. Thundaga. The ice shatters beneath that pressure and she holds her hands out, a little more forcefulness and her joints protest; exhausted. Siri has been casting and casting; stonega, quakega, thundaga but nothing with the element of water (which she ought to learn, had to — would do so). The walls of the casting room hold the sounds of her magicks raging inside. In the silence of the corridor, what had started as slight annoyance at the blatant disregard of regulations (time slots established for the convenience of all guild members) morphed slowly into concern as his knock on the door went unanswered. Barging in would be quite dangerous, as he had no way of knowing what manner of spells were being practiced inside the room, but if an accident had occurred and somebody had been hurt, he had to assist. He knocked again, then more insistently when this too received no reply. Once more, and then he would enter to make sure everything was all right. That incessant tap broke her concentration and the spell died at her fingertips. Siri didn’t come back to herself, dark eyes still lost to whatever spell she had been visualizing before stopping it abruptly. No, someone was outside. Was she asleep? Things that knocked doors waited for her to open before springing at her throat and eating her alive. Do you know the sound of crunching bones and tearing muscle? Anxiety froze her in the spot, Siri didn’t want to answer the door — did not wish to open it (but she always did, never able to stop herself). “Come...in?” She always tried her voice first, if this was a dream it would go ignored and then she would know. Her words, like the crackling of her spells, did not travel into the hallway. It was that silence, and the fact that she was not opening the door (perhaps a sign that something was wrong) that led Toku to turn the knob and peer inside the room. Relief flooded him when he saw Siri D’Albis standing there, seemingly unharmed. “I apologize for the interruption.” Though it was he who had reserved the room to use, and she who had gone over her allotted time, the words came automatically. “As you did not answer the door the first time I knocked, I merely wished to ascertain that everything was all right.” Not a shade. Not a monster. Just a man. Siri blinked slowly, his words ringing hollow in her ears — “No, there was no interruption.” Except there had been, and they probably both knew it but couldn’t call it out; just as Siri knew she must have exceeded her time in the room for Toku to have come in. “I lost track of time.” A side apology because he was still her superior and to be treated with the utmost respect. “I was practicing, but the results were not satisfactory.” Siri cast him a hopeful look, as if he may hold answers for her behind his years of experience. Anything at all. The request was implied, and Toku nodded and closed the door again behind him. “What spell were you attempting, if I may ask?” "Stonega, quakega, thundaga." Siri recited dutifully, "but they are not enough." Not powerful enough, too simple, too something or the other that didn't suit her. They had been casted well, that was not the issue, the issue was the lack of power and the need for more knowledge. He paused at her words, and there was the slightest frown as he said, “Focusing on a single spell at a time is generally considered the most efficient way to practice.” Red mages practicing Dualcast were another matter entirely, and irrelevant in Siri’s case. "But in a battle we cannot focus solely on one spell throughout. We should be able to change with as little difficulty as possible." Siri tilted her head, assessing; her eyes focused on Toku, "Each spell should be precise, solid blows." Teach me more. “Quite true. However, I have found such freedom comes after thorough familiarity with each individual spell,” he said. He was aware that not all mages pursued such study methods, but he could not help but feel that the basics should be honored. “Why do you feel that those spells are not enough?” The questioned was churned, dissected. "They are not the final step yet. I know more comes after, until you master each element as if it were a second skin. Only then will I begin to perhaps be slightly satisfied and from then on learn other things." Slightly. He wondered if she could truly enjoy learning like it was a race, but the desire to master as many aspects of magic as possible was what had led him through four different classes, and so he could hardly fault her for it. “I am afraid I cannot help you, if it is Water you seek to learn. I am certain you would have little difficulty with it, however, if you studied the scroll,” he said. “Are there any other spells you have a particular interest in?” Siri smiled, wide and open. It was pleasant and sane, an eager student to learn more because she, like Toku, desired knowledge. For different purposes perhaps, with different motivations, but the result was the same. More. "Osmose." To transfer magic from one to the other, that was a skill worth learning. Dark magic to take and take and wipe the opponent clean. Toku nodded. He had reserved the room to do some practising of his own, but he saw no harm in assisting Siri in her studies before he tackled his own. He had told her to ask if she ever needed anything, after all. “One session will in no way be enough to master it, but I can help you lay the groundwork, if you wish,” he offered. "As a student I will not disappoint you, any tutoring I shall repay in kind however I am able to." Siri bowed her head, respectfully - half pleading and hoping to learn whatever Toku was willing to share, he was a councilor — he had magic, knowledge and power. His bow was shallower than hers, but an acknowledgement of the request. "The greatest reward for a teacher is to see the student improve," he said. "I shall teach you the incantation for Osmose in a moment. For now, focus on the magical signatures in this room, yours and mine. Picture them as water veins you can tap and extract energy from..." Siri gave a soft smile and followed his instructions. This? This she could do. |