Merrion Priddy (merrymage) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-05-24 11:24:00 |
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It was difficult scheduling a casting room. Not all of them were safe yet to enter, and most of those that were open were booked. But with the workload slightly lessened and the election over, Merri took a moment to dig out the Aeroga scroll he had procured some months back from the debris of his room, took the next available slot for a room, and hoped that Peony might be available to help him. Luckily, she was. And so Merri waited patiently outside the casting room, having arrived more than a few minutes early to go over the contents of the scroll again. Wind, luckily, was one of his greatest strengths, so he hoped that he would not have to waste too much of Peony’s time trying to learn it. He would have liked to have attempted it a few times, at least, but the situation being what it was, studying the scroll in as much detail as he could was the best he could do. Hopefully it would be enough. Merri looked up to see Peony approach, and he rolled up the scroll and peeled himself from the wall to greet her. “Hi, Peony,” he said with an appreciative smile. “Thank you so much for helping me, and I’m sorry for inconveniencing you.” “It is no inconvenience,” she assured as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. “Self-improvement is always a worthy use of time, and I am glad to help a friend and colleague.” She looked him over discreetly, noting again that he seemed less melancholy recently than he had been for some time following the disasters in the city. It was a relief to see; his mental state had been one thing that had remained in her worries and prayers. Slowly but surely, the city and its inhabitants were healing. She held her hand out for the scroll, glancing over the familiar runes. Everything seemed in order here (unlike, she thought, some other scrolls Merrion had been unfortunate enough to acquire in the past). “Have you made much progress with this yet?” she inquired. Sheepishly, he shook his head. “I haven’t had much of a chance to yet. I’ve only been able to read it so far, and I think I understand it.” It helps that it was a complete scroll, at least, so there was no gaps he’d had to fill in for himself. He did, however, worry about his ability to be able to learn this spell; he had tried years ago with Firaga, but he’d found his magic sorely lacking at the time. Hopefully, it was an issue that had been solved after years of practice and learning and months of practical and desperate usage. “I must admit, I am somewhat unfamiliar with your current repertoire,” Peony admitted, handing the scroll back. “Have you learned any other third tier spells since the last time we worked together?” If he had, it would certainly be of aid, but she did not think it was necessary. Merrion’s greatest problem had always seemed to be his confidence -- she had no doubt he had the power necessary to cast this spell, if he applied himself. But until he believed it, she suspected there could be some difficulty. “No, not since then. I haven’t really tried until, well, now.” It had been a while since he had attempted to learn any new spells, even. He had been trying to improve his sword technique in the meanwhile. “Most of the spells I’d been learning these past few months have been more defensive or support Synergist spells, mostly,” he said the last bit more quietly, wincing and face falling. “Guy had been helping me with those.” “I see.” Not the best question, under the circumstances, but there was nothing to be done about it. Instead of dwelling on the loss -- she, too, had lost -- she said, “Sometimes, it is both stimulating and comforting to work on something new. I am doing the same.” Her own scroll, found weeks ago now with him at her side, was still a work in progress, but it was certainly a distraction, and there were moments that even she needed exactly that. She loved to stand at the edge of the room, near the door, gesturing that he should join her. Once he was there, she said, “Can you please cast Aerora for me?” A simple enough start when moving up a tier -- ensuring that the foundation was solid before building up. Merri nodded, tentatively beginning the incantation. He knew that there should no difference between casting in the confines and security of one of the Tower’s specialized rooms and the battlefield, and he knew that he knew the spell well enough not to let it go out of control, especially since he could cast two of them at the same time; it’d been years since his Aerora had spun out, and besides, he knew Peony was well-equipped and trained to handle it if he did. Still, he was nervous, and he’d had to start over, but at least when the spell was cast, it was more or less as it should be. Peony watched, her face betraying nothing though she noted the imperfections in the spell. Nerves, she thought. He had done better in her presence on other, far more stressful occasions, but recent events had everyone a bit jumpy. When the spell had faded, she simply said, “Again. Keep casting.” She fell quiet then as he obeyed, repeating the spell two more times. The last incarnation was perfect in form and function, and the edges of her mouth curled up ever so slightly in a tiny smile. “Now,” she said, taking his hands, “follow.” It was different than casting small magicks through the hands of scholars, but from his side, she directed his gestures with sure, smooth strokes, the spell forming in the air on the opposite end of the room. Like Aerora, but not -- a widening here, a lengthening there, an additional curl of magicks around the heart of it to send the wind howling higher and stronger. The air stilled after a few moments, as though the spell had never been. “You can feel the difference, I think,” Peony said. “It is not entirely dissimilar.” Merri nodded slowly. He had always admired Peony’s ability to perform any spell with apparent ease, and that she made Aeroga seem just as easy as Aero even for him gave him hope that he might be able to master this spell, someday. But he did feel the stronger pull on his mana than Aerora took, some of the more intricate, more indescribable ways in which this spell differed from the other tiers, and he had paid attention to the movements Peony had directed his hands. It was all good in theory, of course; in practice, it would take some time. “I can,” he affirmed. “Though it’s hard to explain, but I can tell there’s something different.” He tried to mimic what Peony had done to see if he could recreate it, but when he was finished, nothing happened, and he felt little different except maybe a little more disheartened. She watched, noting the errors; when he had finished, she took up the scroll and pointed them out, one by one. “Take your time with this,” she said, running her fingers over the runes, “and do not tense up here. It feels larger than what you are accustomed to channeling; it is normal to draw back from that, but you cannot if you wish for it to succeed. Once more.” She guided his hands again, murmured along with his recitation of the incantation. She gave the spell a push, let it come into being. He was closer than he realized. “It will take some time,” she said once they had finished with their concerted spellcasting. “I recommend limiting trials to a practice room until you are certain it is controllable. But you will be casting this within the month, if you give it its due time and energy.” “You really think so?” Merri asked hopefully, and at Peony’s smile, he felt reassured. And so he began to cast the spell again, more slowly this time and checking and rechecking the scroll, this time with a little success. Once more, Peony guided him through his mistakes, and this continued until they were both called off to their other duties. |