Capítulo 9: The new home and new friends, Part 2
Fasnilthar
SURPRISE! The narrator changed! And in the middle of dialogue?! No way! And why? Hey, I'm just here writing about my experiences. The editing and decision making is for the more trained among us. Though I might have insisted a bit to the planners that invading the other writer's sections could be fun. That said, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't give in just for that. Not yet, at least. Either way, since his section is sort of cut off on that spiel about violence and the job, maybe I should also address that a little? To start off, yes, I am a trained killer. Even by seventeen I was already pretty good at that, and in the two years of official work that I had I grew a lot better at that part of the work. That doesn't necessarily mean our job is defined by fighting, and that when fighting is needed that we're expected to kill on command or anything of the sort. And despite the fact I know why Senshin threaded carefully around the idea of getting used to this, to an extent you at least gotta be fine enough with it to live out a relatively normal life the rest of your time. If you can't deal with that, I would recommend staying away from any work that might involve some manner of combat. Believe it or not, getting hurt occasionally tends to be the easy part of the job for most people. Hurting others as part of your living, now that's something not anyone can get used to.
I guess this might also be a good time to talk about what we did? This kind of depends on what exactly I'm being asked to do at any given time by the guild. But we're kinda like wardens of the sections of the wild world that social races have access to, hence why our official position was that of Pact Warden. So for the most part our job is either enabling normal people to have some reach in this part of the world, or to protect them from the occasional issue that shapes up in a region. What exactly that consists of, again, this varied a lot.
Occasionally that involves taking on bandits hiding in the wilderness, or hunting rogue mages. Or maybe solving conflicts between wild magic kin that are having some trouble within their territory. At times we also do less dangerous things, like collecting herbs that only grow in the wild, or supporting a researcher with getting in more dangerous zones. At times we also simply help escort people who need help reaching outposts away from cities or any town surrounding one. Or to keep watch over a small scale merchant trying to save money on train fees that needs to travel by a particularly unsafe road. Usually only small scale stuff. If things grew too much in proportion, knights typically handled it. That, and the really high level trouble, like powerful groups of rogues, or sudden appearance of demons would normally be handled by the sisterhood. At higher levels, some associates would also be sent deeper into the wild world, but that wasn't the sort of expedition we had the ability to try by that point.
And for why violence is so natural to me, that is more or less just a consequence of work, as well as the life of a mage. Not sure if you ever thought of it as much, but training combative magic is effectively a way of turning your body into a weapon, right? A real effective sort of weapon at that too, to the point it would be unreasonable to expect someone without magic to beat even a low level mage, so long as wave tactics or ambushes weren't involved. This is part of the reason why the wild world is so unwelcoming to normal people, you know. The Pact of Union would mean most magical beasts would be forbidden from killing social kin that don't defy their end of the bargain, though the pact doesn't really protect us from harassment, or from having our way blocked. And boy, are wild magic kinds easily bored! Most combat I've seen in life didn't happen during training, or when subduing actual foes, but because a random group of magical beasts decided fighting us would be entertaining while the gang and I were heading for an actual obligation. Our end of the bargain implies playing along with this as well, so it kinda becomes a normal part of work.
Which is also all to say, the type of job we're given when combat is a requirement is usually meant to match our kind of weapon. Depending on the level of a spellweaver, this will usually imply loads of violence. Usually against relatively defenseless targets as far as mages are concerned. To put into perspective, do you know what reaching initiate stage 1 means for a mage? It implies that in a straight fight, a normal human would have no means of matching them. On the contrary, depending on the initial forms chosen by a mage, a stage one initiate level caster is expected to be able to match 10 armed humans single handedly, if both sides are given a neutral battlefield*. Being that humans are put as the measuring stick because we're considered the most dangerous normal animals on this planet. Spears, ranged weapons, poison and traps more than make up for our lack of natural fighting prowess on many occasions. And though a massive group of charging bears may sound intimidating on paper, organization isn't really their strong suit, and it's oftentimes way more useful than pure power when trying to confront a superior force.
(*Neutral as in, if one side gets cover so does the other. Distance isn't extremely biased for one end. Either both sides are hidden from each other or all locations are well known. And the settings for either end aren't blatantly in favor of one of the sides. For one, I could use hiding places, distance and cover much better than a normal person holding a bow, or even a team of them. Mostly because I could fire attacks displaced from my hiding spot, permitting me to shut down threats without revealing my position.)
I mean, even at that point in time, overpowering normal living beings wouldn't be considered that high a feat for me. Not just because of ranged magic, either. My levels on infusing magic were really low by that point, but I still could harden my skin and bones to the point of surviving the bite of almost any normal land roaming animal. Taking into account the strength of my Light Veil as well, the few that would be a problem suddenly would start breaking their teeths in an attempt to bite me. And honestly, it doesn't take that much investment into might infusing to overpower normal beings either. I was far from the physical peak for a human woman or anything, though it turns out even somewhat above average blows could hit really hard when they were put under a little bit of multiplication. It's not like spears and arrows would bounce off my skin or anything either, though for the most part so long as my magic was activated damaging me through normal means would already be hard, and I had the least potent direct defenses in this group.
The main reason humans are seen as the bigger threat is because we're more likely to succeed in crippling a sorcerer before their spellcasting takes effect, as well as planning methods of circumventing it. That kind of method required tactics, and when both groups were equally harmless the normal beings better fit for strategy are simply more effective as a whole. In the same way, gaining tactical advantage versus bears or tigers wasn't a problem either. Predators don't tend to like "hunting" things that can easily kill them, and like most animals that notion is automatically applied to anything that can use magic. Same logic applies to big herbivores as well, just with the matter of territory. Even we hummies can do nothing but plan around starving someone of life essence once they pass a certain level.
That strategy becomes next to impossible against spellcasters at their peak, though. And even if we were still far from that peak, following that initial formula would put most of us between the equivalent in threat range to 45 to 60 normal humans, being that Nalfimiria and Finarkzir likely would already be deep into the three digits, with Nalfimiria already likely being near or even barely crossing the fourth. This type of unit always operates in smaller numbers than their targets, and small numbers with a massive gap in quality leads to a load of violence in this type of situation. Frequent exposition to extreme violence changes people quickly.
If we fail to convince a resisting target to surrender from the start, even if the battle doesn't last during a short few minutes we're each the center of a lot of brutality, bordering on cowardice. Especially since although the comparisons may make it sound like we were already invincible, they predict the mage is using their concentration half decently. Even if by using barriers, my veil, some of my control forms and the relevant infusing types effectively I would already have been capable of beating a bear to death, I was still basically a normal human when my magic wasn't activated at that point. Without needing to use projectiles for the bear comparison, I mean. Honestly, if projectile spells are legal in this comparison, if ten bears charged at me at that point in my life they all would have died before putting a scratch on my clothes, if I had some tens of Fyetrij between us.
Spell casters are living weapons, and the most deadly kind of weapon that exists on this planet. Ultimately, adapting to this reality is the biggest challenge of beginning our carriers. I would say a lot of that comes down to what motivates you to live like this in the first place. In my case, it's pretty simple. I think of my parents, or my little brother. Back home, we were never starving or anything, but my family was kind of poor. Hiring a mage directly likely would take multiple months of saving from their part, and probably would require burning through most of their emergency savings as well. And if they got caught up in an emergency like the kind we sometimes work to solve they would have no means to protect themselves. I doubt they would be treated with priority either. In the end, all they would be able to do was to hope the people responsible for answering to this kind of problem would act quickly. There are a lot of people like my parents in the world. And though my work wasn't often directly connected to them, many times they were the first affected if the things we took care of fell out of balance. So, I fight for them, since they can't.
Matters of right and wrong are typically a lot more complicated, so I've always preferred keeping in mind simple things like this. Sometimes the job would require us to do things in defense of others. Other times simply to try to keep order, against people I might have an easier time sympathizing with than their supposed victims. Regardless, I thought having such a straightforward goal was the easiest method of facing any question concerning this lifestyle. It might be painful, both in the literal and psychological sense, but I was capable of dealing with it, and it kept others less able away from the line of fire. Knowing that was enough for me.
Either way, I think that's enough of an explanation for our work. After the heavier topic died down, we talked about who would want to go next, and Sowanar offered himself. Made sense to go over him somewhat early. Based on the equipment he brought with him, it looked like he was the member of the group most focused on direct combat. I thought it was pretty easy to guess his abilities based on that equipment as well. Still, having someone hold a line on low level units was a pretty big deal, so having him go early would give us a lot of useful information.
—Like lord Nalfimiria, I practice Nairsylvir, being that my other field would be Favighea. If I had to name a primary it would be Favighea, but in regards to practice both have been shown attention. As the combination might hint at, I am trained to operate in short ranged or close quarter combat. My direct fighting is centered on the Earthen Hold* and Tremor Blade styles, as the two styles compliment each other well. Thus the main strength I seek to offer is extreme levels of short ranged pressure for longer periods, due to my practice with Soul Augments. — He wasn't kidding or exaggerating with the extreme part. With how high he could stack up his level of might and force infusing, this man could probably bulldoze a building with his arms, based on the information of his file. My earlier judgment had been spot on, in other words.
(*One of the Major Styles of the Formless Assault¹, the Greater Style inspired by Lady Saenomalia. All of the Greater Styles are briefly mentioned and explained in the glossary.)
—Other than direct fighting, most of my options fall in the expectations for my styles of practice as well. In other words, kinetic blasts and earth casting, for the most part. The other abilities listed are ones I'll apply based on circumstance, however I can guarantee some proficiency with each. The forms and materials I've assimilated so far are also listed in the file, however considering how straightforward earth assimilation can be, there is nothing in there that my lord can't accomplish herself. Merely simplified projectiles and secondary weapons sustained through conjuration. — While he explained these points, I glanced over the file and his listed magical forms.
Sowanar was very specialized for his desired function when compared to me, so the pattern his training choices followed wasn't that difficult to spot. Even if he hadn't said it, guessing at his fighting style wouldn't have been considered a feat exactly. The "I hit things very hard" energy was basically imprinted into everything from his choices for magic, to his equipment or figure. Some of the details in his assimilated list also interested me, as my thoughts imply below. This, combined with the rest of his information told quite a lot about how this guy thinks. The summary is, pragmatic, practical and vicious, if my comprehension wasn't failing me.
"Yep. Normal weapon list, for the most part. If anything is unusual, it's the presence of ice and silver. Guess he isn't entirely uninterested in heat control, just prefers doing it through the shortcuts. There are some kinds of alcohol on his water list as well, huh. Let's hope he never feels the need to use it." Silver was a common choice in assimilation for conjurers who wanted to make thermal based spellcasting more effective. Putting the target in contact with it or any other material that was highly heat conductive not only would effectively increase the area the spell can effect in order to damage them but also make the effects take root quicker. Conjuring ice directly would help with that as well. "Based on the objects he can conjure, I'm guessing the point is to use the cold as a means of lowering a target's resistance to curse magic, or just to affect their concentration*. Guessing he has a preference for physical curses. Clever way to disarm someone, would reduce the needed concentration and wouldn't require him to focus as much on a single field. The guy is smart. Or at least he is trained to fight with what smarts he does have. Might be where his title comes from. Powerful like a tempest, but still serene enough to fight with reason, huh?"
Considering Sowanar practices the two Greater Areas known for their brute force approach, it was relevant to keep that in mind. Doesn't really matter the focus, using your brain while fighting always will make you more dangerous. And people tended to expect his type not to use it as well, which is quite a wonderful point to exploit in some occasions. "Still doesn't look like he is as good at this as I am, yet it definitely looks like he is aware of that little trick, at least. He'll be a good partner, though likely a somewhat ruthless one, if I'm judging the situation well."
Knights didn't need to obey laws concerning combat cruelty as strictly as we did, and I got the impression Sowanar was the kind to put them to use if needed. I mean, the list for his abilities sort of suggested he could use heat aggravation the same way as suppression of it. As much as people think "fire" and "frost" magic are separate things, in the context of Favighea they're just different applications of the same technique. You can't train one without developing the other, even if for the sake of that code most people avoided using fire too aggressively. The chain trick I explained earlier could just as easily be used to fry someone, though. Especially considering this guy could conjure burnables, which more or less suggested he at least was willing to use them, even if just to do the good old water caster forced surrender technique**.
(*Making someone unnaturally cold will automatically direct some of their inner self's power into protecting the stability of the body's temperature, therefore decreasing the resistance the target can pull off against curse magic. This makes it way easier to incapacitate a foe without harming them too much.)
(**Spray something burnable on someone, light them on fire and offer to put it down on the condition they throw their weapons away. The trick is infamous enough to where some mages will give up as soon as they realize the spray of burnables has connected. Some people try to fight through the fire at times, though, or just put it out with their own magic. Surviving being on fire for some minutes is within the abilities of a mage as well, I should note.)
—Lastly, perhaps a brief discussion into my main Lesser Styles as well? Both of my Major ones are fairly varied, if still tied by the same practice. In any case, those would be the Charging Mountain Range and Crushing Rock Wave, however for the latter I'm still in early ranks, due to its more advanced nature. — Sowanar mentioned, the names being ones I thought all of us must have been familiar with.
For what these styles are like, I'll try being very brief. Charging Mountain is mostly centered on applying Earth Casting to use floating weapons around you between normal fighting. Hence the association to earth in the name. This concept is definitely not unique to Favighea, by the way. In this particular case, the common weapons used are shields. Both for their defensive purpose, and also for bashing. If you think a shield's only purpose is to block things, try taking a good bash of one to the nose and tell me your conclusions (Nearby a healer preferably). Basically, it is a style focused on forming a one person shield wall and occasionally ramming people.
Crushing Rock Wave is similarly simple. It's centered on usage of mass manipulating infusing and Earth Casting to swing your weapon around with far more power, speed and a smaller interval than your body could accomplish just by focusing on one of these spell types. It's way harder to pull off than I'm making it sound like, and the massive swings the style results on are not friendly to clumped spaces or nearby friendlies. Or to mercy, for that matter. The weapons used with this style are often shaped to be easily extendable through conjuration as well. If I had to summarize the style in a short sentence, it would be, "SWING BIG, SWING STRONG, SWING FAST, SWING MORE." Not exactly the stereotypical fighting style of an intellectual, even if I suspected our friendly knight wasn't into this practice just for simplicity's sake.
"Just as you might expect of a titled champion, I guess. They're expecting far better from Sowanar than the common soldier." All of this yelled he was being offered a lot of trust from the people training him, as picking up some of the techniques those styles required at initiate level would take some devoted training, from both him and his teachers. Coupled with the fact he was practicing other Major Styles with focus as well, that would suggest some personal attention from his teachers was being offered to him. That type of trust didn't come easily even when your employer was the guild, who was far less rigid with us than the knights were with theirs. "Our friend is pretty ambitious too. Getting the hang of these things at this stage can't have been easy, even if only superficially. Guess I'll have to hope he is either content at this or good enough to keep up with these excesses."
—You must be working hard, then. I guess the styles from the Tremor Blade were likely picked to intensify the Earthen styles? — I asked, based on what was being suggested.
—Indeed. The emphasis each has might be slightly different, but they are similar Major Styles, at their core. I'm currently trying to prepare myself to advance more in Nairsylvir styles as well, however. I've been trying to mix flexible weapons with the Crushing Rock, as part of that process. — As he said, I felt as if my thoughts in regards to his ambition were growing more accurate.
"I guess he is practicing the Tidal Blade as well, then? He likely doesn't have the levels to pick up all of its ground styles, but even training the basics at this point might be tough." I didn't think it was realistic to expect him to leave the fundamentals for that one quite yet. It didn't seem like he put enough focus into Nairsylvir to have all the needed types of magic for it, and as the style was centered on mixing traits of the Tremor and Roaring Blades, there probably was still some growth in the latter he needed before he could cover the roots of the style. Getting the initial instructions with some anticipation was the norm for mage warriors, especially for the Greater Areas that had more depth in their practice, but doing it half a decade ahead of time - like he might have been - was starting to sound worrying. That was starting to look more like a potential obsession, and obsessive tendencies very rarely lead to purely positive effects, from what I heard.
—That sounds difficult. Manipulating unpredictable bodies with a form centered on potency likely makes the process all the harder. Is it an exercise of control, perhaps? — Chiaisei asked, having apparently made a similar yet slightly different connection than I did. I took some time to throw a not entirely subtle glance at Nalfimiria over my girl's voice, to see if the sister would confirm if my worries had any merit. She seemed to acknowledge that look, but she neither said nor hinted at anything I caught notice off in response.
—Mostly so. The fine control over raw power is part of what characterizes the strengths of Nairsylvir, and putting that principle into practice now should make it easier to adapt to the higher levels of this Greater Area, even if through a different form of magic. Thus, it feels to me like that would be a good practice before any eventual need to further my skill with the Roaring Blade or other styles of the Blade Wave¹. The Formless Assault¹ and Blade Wave tend to compliment each other well as a whole, as well, thus mixing their techniques feels relatively natural compared to some of the other combinations. In a sense, this is also preparation for that.
"He is thinking even further than I did, then. Welp, just gotta hope he is more moderate about this than what I might be fearing." With that surprise being added to the potential negative signs, I observed the conversation proceed in silence while reaching that conclusion.
Either way, with Sowanar's style covered, he mostly finished his part of the explanation. There was also some stuff concerning weapons he knew how to use, but nothing that should surprise anyone. As useful as it was for mages, people typically avoided picking up the sword as their only weapon type. Never hurts to have a longer option. That and most of the other kinds of weapons you would consider carrying physically were far easier to pick up than a sword, especially so for a mage. I mean, I would be really surprised if someone looked at a spear and found themselves confused as to how it is supposed to hurt something else. It's a pointy stick, if not thrusting what else could you do with it? Same applies to a lot of other things with a single striking point. The bow being the main exception to that rule, though considering what he said about his preferred fighting styles I don't think it should be that shocking to hear archery didn't fit well with his usual plans. He also could throw stuff pretty well, with his magic or without. There was nothing stopping him from using both powers either, being that most of his usual choices for throwables were listed in his physical conjurations. Being good at launching things is a pretty big deal for anyone focused on infusing, so maybe that shouldn't be that surprising as well.
This left us with three more to go, being that Chiaisei and Finarkzir would be going through this in sequence when it got to them. The rest of the group offered Senshin to talk up next, with that said. Why? Guy spent half of the day's walking reminding us to do this crap, so once we realized we got three people in before forcing him to go through his part we all agreed to have him go next. All things considered, the utility of putting the front liners first aside, a part of me felt like he should have gone first just for the occasional annoyance spawned from that. I still chose to go early either way, since the urge to take initiative kinda got over my head.
Especially after hearing our elven friend who-definitely-wasn't-going… (Nope. Too many - to add!) Excuse me. Who definitely wasn't going out of her way to make it blatantly obvious she was hiding her actual skill level talk about her practiced fields. I felt opening the sitting with the most honest lies I've ever heard felt like a bad example, so I decided as one of our veterans there I should try to make what these talks normally would look like to our novice friends as soon as possible. Also, trying to see behind some of the blatant lies she was telling us sort of distracted me from my plans to throw Senshin up to the task as soon as possible. Not that he would have interpreted any of this as an attack in either case. Nothing short of a literal jab probably could get through to him. Anyway, the talk!
—I practice Iscathnerin, and do so solely. My training was focused on learning the arts of illusion as soon as possible, and I've already picked up the basic external forms of it. And as my sole practice may indicate, I've got all initiate level structures at least unlocked by now. Focus on training is malleable combat. I can fight well in any range, but can't beat a specialist while being locked to one. I'm good at fleeing though, as well as mobile fighting in general. My preference is for the bow and longswords, yet I can fight with most weapons, or even my fists. My main style is the Havoc Spring*, though my skill with the Thousand Shades is comparable. One of my main goals in training is to continue honing the arts of the All Slasher, though likely with a different focus than sister Nalfimiria. My assimilation list is similar to Sowanar's, just better adapted for spiritual constructs instead of the elemental kind. Is a list needed? — Senshin said, direct as always. He still sounded detached to the moment, though his speaking was somewhat faster paced than usual, and he didn't look as uninterested as he had most of the time.
After mentioning the list, he showed the part of the identification that had it, before Nalfimiria produced some copies of it once again. Glancing over, mostly the expected things were there. Weapons to serve as projectiles and the properties within the expected norms for those found in accessible materials. There were some cases that were slightly more extreme, probably since the sisterhood had access to better materials to prepare imitating conjurers, though this didn't change the plan implied within his choices. Using constructs as a constant supply of projectiles while also occasionally applying them alongside reflection to make it easier to put pressure in multiple directions with it. Combining both this list and the rest of his skill set, I couldn't help but wonder if he should have swapped the order to tackle the spiritual areas at that point.
(*It was brought up before in the context of Nalfimiria, but since this time it is by itself, I figured why not explain it briefly? Like all styles centered on Iscathnerin, this one has adaptability as one of its core principles. What distinguishes it is that it is the style most centered on agility and aggression within the spiritual areas. It has a lot of techniques centered on skirmishing, swiftly altering between different ranges and attacking postures and generally acting while within enemy lines, aiming to disturb the order of an opposing force. Thousand Forms Shade is a similar style but centered on using these established traits as a method of protecting allies and yourself.)
"He went for the advanced areas that are ahead of the Laenixir curve, but overall there isn't much here of what separates the spiritual areas. Or rather, what seems to have been prioritized so far seems to only have been done so to empower the camouflaging magic. His usage of the assimilating advantages also seems to be limited. Not sure if the way he is training is worth the risk of using Iscathnerin by itself. Maybe I should try to talk him into putting some more time into a secondary area by now." I thought, while trying to measure the advantages of this choice against the risks of it.
The short of it for people without much knowledge on magic, Iscathnerin and Laenixir are extremely similar as magical forms, and with few exceptions most abilities available to one also extend to the other. There are some skills that are different in manifestation as well, like how each area conjurers barriers. But for the most part the clearer difference is that Laenixir spells are more potent and Iscathnerin goes harder on the flexibility thing, something in common between both Spiritual Areas. The most radical shift between them though, is something called the spirit core and how it affects each.
The spirit core is the main reason why Iscathnerin has as many strange abilities as it has, since unlike the other central converters of the life core, this one manifests magic as a different kind of energy altogether, called spirit essence. The specific differences don't matter, what does matter is the following. Though the other Greater Areas can utilize spirit essence directly, Iscathnerin is initially restricted to it entirely, suffering both the boons and problems coming with it. Namely, the total capacity for spirit essence in a mage is always a fraction of life essence, the main magical energy we utilize. At our level, Senshin would have about a fifth of his life essence as spirit essence. This was both the biggest strength and problem with Iscathnerin.
Strength because spirit essence recovers at an absurd pace compared to life essence, and there are methods within Iscathnerin to speed up this recovery even further. The problem comes due to the size of this "compartment". In a single fight, running out of life essence is almost impossible, even for mages our level. Unless a battle lasts around two hours, or even more hours in a roll if the mage is fighting conservatively, it just would never happen. Running out of spirit essence though, well that's way easier. And while Iscathnerin users can convert life essence to the spirit type during a battle, making them far from harmless even then, this still weakens them by quite a lot since the process requires quite a chunk of their concentration, which in a close battle would be enough of a set back to get you killed. This is why it is unadvisable to train Iscathnerin as a beginner without a second area to fall back on.
On the mid to late levels of magic this weakness is basically erased, but while it lasts most would recommend not to rely on the area single handedly, and instead have some backup plans through other magical forms. Laenixir is the most frequent of which due to the fact someone who practices both forms can more or less alternate between using the life and spirit core for either of them, meaning it grants a method to utilize Iscathnerin spells even after emptying the spirit core. That, and some of the benefits that come from practicing both Spiritual Areas at once, which I'll not go over here. But for the people who insisted on Iscathnerin early on despite these problems, it was usually chosen for the many things only it can accomplish. Image conjuration was one of those things, so Senshin technically followed this precept, though there were some problems with executing it at low levels. So the fact Senshin kind of forsook many of those other unique advantages to rush this strategy sounded like a potential source of trouble for him.
Nalfimiria was the extreme example of someone playing to the strengths Senshin had been ignoring. The core of what characterizes Iscathnerin is bringing conjuration to its extreme, after all, and nothing spelled "extreme" quite as well like that Abyssal List of assimilation. The Greater Area can imitate almost anything the other five can do through conjuration, and oftentimes it was chosen as a method of combining strengths that normally would be incompatible because of this. Hence, if Laenixir was the "Neutral Blade", the form of magic without clear weakness or strengths, Iscathnerin was slightly worse at doing that but could devote its properties and time to become the best at any specific trait. This was also the reason why the easiest method of combining magic from different greater areas was always through Iscathnerin, the "Universal Blade", or the "World Brush", as Kalfisnar herself calls it. Even if she didn't mention it openly, it was pretty easy to guess Nalfimiria herself likely could apply some of those types of spell combination.
The problem with what Senshin was going for then will be elaborated better later on, but the short of it is, by themselves conjured images can only deceive sight. No other form of physical senses, and they are extremely brittle towards the investigation of a mage at this level. As will be said again later as well, almost every Greater Area had countermeasures against this level of illusion, so it was rare to meet a mage around our stage who wouldn't be able to spot Senshin's "invisibility", even if they never intended to do so. As an example, every member of our group had at least a method of seeing through this, being that Chiaisei, Finarkzir, Nalfimiria and I had multiple of them, many of which don't even need any active effort to trigger. The most tricky ones for him would be Nalfimiria's magic detection and Chiaisei's life detection, as neither can be deceived through this level of spell and were required no effort to stay active.
Despite what the length of text between the last line and here may be, it didn't take long for us all to look through the list. Sorry if I went a little overboard in that situation. Magic has been a part of my life since I was barely 4, and I kind of like talking about it, be it in a theoretical or practical sense. Either way, none of us really had much to ask in reaction to the list. Again, only simple stuff, most of which had been seen with Sowanar, and definitely all of it was in Nalfimiria's list. With no questions from our part, it looked like Senshin still had some stuff to say on his own, either way.
—This likely won't be immediately relevant, but the next Greater Areas I'm pondering on learning are either Laenixir or Favighea. I would appreciate discussing the choice with the coworkers that use the respective areas, if possible. Also, there was something I thought about asking some time ago, though I ended up forgetting it at that point. So, well… Nalfimiria? — It looked like addressing her directly still felt a little awkward to him.
—Hello. What do you want to ask me?
—You aren't very selective about what to train, right?
—If you're talking about assimilation, I have some standards, though I can see where that is coming from.
—Yes. Image Conjuration seems to be one of the only fields of yours that haven't been developed up to intermediate rank A, I've noticed. Do you have a particular reason? — I could see the source of the worry in his question. He was talking to someone more experienced than him in his Greater Area, and she sort of neglected the trick he was trying to use to distinguish himself with. Which might be especially weird considering she literally seemed to pick every other trick available. That made it sound like she found it unnecessary, or undesirable to have it on a higher level. I could already imagine her response to that question as well.
—Not exactly, just not very interested.
"Yeah, figured as much." I thought, before Senshin finished registering the information even. That type of spell was usually relatively simple in application, and everything about Nalfimiria's fighting style screamed she didn't like relying on simplicity to solve things. On the contrary, it's practically impossible to stop this woman from making things complicated during a battle once she feels like it, based on my understanding.
—I see. Can I ask why?
—Sure. The short of it is, the area isn't very effective when fighting under heavy disadvantage, for one. Or at least not on early levels. Everyone around this table has some means of detecting your presumed invisibility, as an example. It's too expected when used personally as well, so oftentimes I just don't see it as practical over the duration of a fight, even if paired with full translucency. For other types of trickery using it, there is also the fact that unlike normal constructs, these can't be altered as easily by this point, making them less threatening. It's not wise to expect a foe not to have countermeasures against the most literal method of bypassing their senses either. Testing methods for what's real and isn't are common and require less concentration to put into practice than sustaining conjured images. You already know all of this, right? — She said, to which he couldn't answer exactly. Or rather, he seemed to bypass the last question a little.
Senshin's magic basically had two main applications at this level. The most basic one, to create the outline of an object in a desired area. This outline still interacted with light exactly as the object would, be it had no mass or consistency. Anything you tossed towards it would go straight through, so there was a limit in how to use it. With help from a different magical form, he could turn this false image into a convincing and moving copy of a person as well, but that would need a lot of concentration. That, and even if direct contact might sound hard, matter under the influence of manipulation spells would also reveal the deception.
The second was to use this false image to camouflage himself or others. The same described weakness applies to this as well, though. Also, neither application can hide its nature from a mage's higher senses, hence why observation would make them clear to see through. Blocking out any form of higher sense would typically require at least being near the end of intermediate level, but even then it wouldn't be an entirely reliable method, as the mage would be able to tell the general area in which their senses are being blocked, and this would rely on overpowering the ranking of these senses. The first structure that specifically addresses this problem comes in the adept level, though.
Going translucent would help, especially since that operates through barrier merging, therefore helping ward off higher senses, but there were still ways of answering that, especially if you vanished midway through a battle. Area suppression is a pretty valued quality on a wizard, after all. That was still some rankings ahead of him though, and it was a part of an extremely difficult to develop form. And even then, this type of spell would always have to be applied at the right timing, preferably before a fight even starts. Those are the main reasons why it isn't considered wise to over invest into it early on.
—Still. A foe caught unguarded could provide you with the means of ending a battle instantly. No risks needed for either side, while probably also minimizing the need to spill blood. Isn't that good enough a motivation to pick up a magical form? — Senshin said. He had a bit of a point, even if I disagreed with him.
"That's a naive assumption. The most effective way of executing this instant finish would either be killing the main target or putting them to sleep with poison, Senshin." Figured it was best not to point it out, though. His logic had flaws, but it shouldn't fall onto me to point them out immediately. There were better people for handling this type of explanation, surely.
—Maybe. It can also end up becoming a crutch for the mage using the form, though.
—Can it? How so? — Senshin was sounding a bit more agitated at this. Wasn't sure if he was taking it all in, either way.
—Having a technique that stands out that much. A simple way to end a battle, as you call it. This kind of thing creates habits for us. Instead of using each of our abilities as a situation needs them, we sometimes look for ways of enabling that supposed winning condition instead. That can lead to inflexibility, and mistakes. A wise spellcaster should always assume their opponent has a countermeasure against their most powerful trick. When you fight like that, having a form that serves best when used as simply a victory condition becomes less needed. For a battle is not defined by what the strongest blade used inside it is, but instead by the whole of the opposing forces skill. Thus the strongest of plans oftentimes will blind warriors of the simpler paths Victory's Light may guide them towards. — It wasn't for long, though for a moment Nalfimiria kinda felt older than normal through her way of speaking. Less like a usual elven girl and more like what we might normally expect of someone over a hundred.
"Well, she is a sister, and training to be a spirit soother¹ of theirs. Changing tones like this is probably something they need to learn for this kind of job." I reasoned, seeing as the difference didn't appear to be that great to start with. Wasn't the first instance of her suddenly bringing out the counselor on us either, so I didn't find that strange, based on experience.
—I… I'll keep it in mind. This shouldn't be an issue for me. — Senshin seemed to listen. But whether she had been right about him or if he would really keep it in mind, I didn't know. He did seem to be bothered by the comment. Looked like of all things you could say about him, criticizing his skill was the thing that made him the most defensive. That was part of the reason why I thought he might not register that point. I wondered if he even would have accepted it had it not been said by a sister or a brother.
"If I do find other cracks later on, I wonder how I should address them… Ah, let's leave this worry for later. I doubt he would listen to me before I at least got a few chances to test out the gap in ability between us." If my judgment was correct, there was a considerable gap in my favor. Still, if he really was the kind to be prideful over this kind of thing, just claiming that without demonstrating it would only have negative effects. He didn't seem to be the kind to easily accept advice from people he believed were on his level. "Guess I'll need a chance to determine his skill better before trying this, then. Best to be careful when trying to establish this sort of boundary."
This was my experience as someone who had assisted in other's training for quite a lot of time by then. Hold back too much on someone weaker and you run the risk of them getting an underserved confidence boost. Go too hard, and they will grow too spiteful of their beatings to hear any pointer you might want to offer. That, and the fact you have to go hard on them might make them feel the gap isn't as wide as it really is. Giving someone chances while also making it clear what separates you is typically a pretty hard balance to strive for, so I would usually like to have chances to measure them up beforehand.
"Still, even without taking into account the whole searching for an answer thing it looks like Senshin will be giving me a load of work, huh? I wish all newbies came into the job as smart as Chiaisei did." Speaking of her, while I was reflecting on Senshin, Chiaisei stepped up to explain hers and Finarkzir's rankings. They would sort of intermingle their turns, since their usage of Favighea was so similar at that point. I don't have a whole lot to comment about them, I should add. Or rather, since my younger self already knew their skills and how they fought, together or otherwise, don't expect me to show any surprise to anything in the story's present.
—My Greater Areas shouldn't be of great shock for any of you. I've already mentioned and used Yealmyrn before all of you, and I imagine most of you have likely picked up hints of my practice of Favighea by now as well. That, and as Growth Support makes learning the same paths as Finarkzir much easier, it wouldn't make much sense to ignore this advantage. As for Finarkzir herself, her secondary field would be Laenixir. Don't expect her usage of it to be very supportive, though. Finarkzir can sustain an Aura, but she doesn't like landing very much. We won't see frequent usage of it, as a result.
—But of course. Be I magic kin or not, the greatest strength of a bird comes from its wings. Asking me to fight on the ground would be the same as asking you all to give up your weapons and tools. This does apply some restriction in what kinds of magic I can make comfortable use of, yet the possibilities of flight more than make up for any such limit. Besides, in moments of need, it falls to the strongest to fight to their hardest, not stick to assisting the frail. If I am the second here in power, then it should be a-. — It was starting to sound like that speech on strength would go on for a while longer, before the connection between us and the eagle got severed for a second.
—Quiet now, Finarzkir. Being the second power doesn't make it any better for the rest of us to hear you bragging, especially if you were planning on going on for as long as I think you might have. — Chiaisei's smile wasn't one of someone looking to negotiate. And in that front, she basically had all of the power, so there wasn't much for the bird to do once she made up her mind.
—Ah, apologies for any potential worry. Magic, being the gift of all magic kin, is often the center of great pride for warriors born of the wilds. To ascertain this power is often akin to affirming oneself, something I frequently seek chances of when meeting those who also practice this path. I doubt my wings will need to fully express their power too often, as no foe against-.
—Finarkzir, if you love the sound of your thoughts this much, perhaps I should disconnect them as a whole? Right now, I believe the rest of us have more practical topics to discuss. — With that final threat out of the way, we moved on to the conversation itself. The bird whimpered a bit in response, but it's not like she could talk without Chiaisei helping in the first place. As for my girl herself, well… That wasn't the first time I saw an interaction like that between them, and I had a hunch they happened with some frequency. Chiaisei looked as amused by it as she ever was, though.
—Excuse me for that. Now, though our areas of practice should have been obvious, I should inform you all of something that might not be quite as clear. Namely, through a combination of the effects of Growth Support and a high affinity for both of my greater areas, I've already reached the intermediate level of magic. Only for a few months by this point, but technically this means I have a small edge on the other humans in this unit. It is hardly as significant as the ones Nalfimiria and Finarkzir hold, though, especially as a lot of my growth has been directed at supportive fields. Still, it felt worthwhile to declare my stage all the sooner. — That was something I was already aware of, so it didn't hit me as a surprise. Or at least not at that point in time.
The others did seem a bit surprised, even if I had already heard those details. Having two greater areas nearing the 95 line made Chiaisei a far rarer type of mage than just those percentages on their own might hint at. Getting to overtake people who had more years of training than you wasn't a common situation, especially not when everyone on that unit passed the 80s line in at least a few greater areas. There wasn't much to be said, either way. It was a stunning feat, but in practice all it really meant was that the combined level of the unit was growing above our expectations a bit more. That, and that if we stuck around for a long period of time Chiaisei would continue to outpace us, though overall that was to the benefit of everyone else.
—To begin with my abilities, though in some ways Finarkzir's spell set for Favighea is basically a more advanced form of mine. Both in regards to Stances and Elemental Casting, I am currently focused mainly on the wind related paths. Some of this merely as a result of the benefits from our bond, but also simply because I believe this is a rather self sufficient fighting style at early levels. It grants me mobility, some defensive skill and multiple forms of potent offense simply by developing four structures. It would have been rather difficult to have a well rounded attacking form while putting so many hours into supportive abilities as there exist in Yealmyrn otherwise. Partially as a result, my other elemental forms have been mostly ignored, being viewed mainly as a method of creating light ammunition that can be added to the gale. An unintended side effect of my focus as of now is that I've been somewhat neglectful towards training Hardening magic. As a result, my speed is partially limited despite my other forms of training. I should still be able to lap the other humans here by a margin in a short dash, though my mobility is still slightly hampered over all.
Chiaisei said while carrying a slightly more relaxed version of that smile I had described close to the start of that day. Her voice sounded a little softer as well, probably by intention, and despite the long explanation she stated it at a relatively quick pace. Not too much to keep up with, and ultimately there wasn't a lot to consider to begin with, so no problems were had.
—Hampared? Relative to who, me? You should still be able to outpace a flying arrow, or a train within city lines. And how is a single lap an accurate description of the gap in speed between you and them? Even if all of them were fulfilling their targeted distance together, you would still outrun them, my girl. — Finarkzir said, sounding somewhat surprised by the choice for a comparison.
I kind of shared her opinion, honestly. Chiaisei, the bird and Nalfimiria were the only ones in this group with any form of mobility that wasn't just infused running, and those tended to escalate at a crazy pace compared to just our punny social legs. Hell, just based on my memories in her training period, I already got the impression my girl could jump faster than any projectile I could launch, which isn't exactly a comparison you would expect a person to win on. Alteration forms of infusing really are an absurd category as a whole. Just you wait until this girl hits the levels for Alacrity spells. Even the feat Finarkzir suggested wouldn't be that impressive for someone with my girl's skill set, honestly.
That was a tendency I noticed about Chiaisei as a whole. She seemed to like being underestimated. Or at least, she hated the thought of being overestimated by others. As a result, she had a tendency to try to frame herself in a very toned down way, often times straight up lying in the process. Be it about her general intelligence or skill or in some situations her magical practice as well. Things like making unassuming comparisons like that. Or other cases I recalled was seeing her fake insecurity in regards to a topic before completely acing a test speaking about it, only to then try to act surprised at the perfect score. Unlike the other acts she put on occasionally, this one wasn't very subtle either, or at least not for me. Below the surface, it wasn't hard to tell that very little could make this girl feel truthfully insecure.
Honestly, nowadays I feel like part of the reason I might have judged Senshin roughly from the start might also have been affected by the fact I had just met Chiaisei, and they are the same age. I've always been good at our job, be it the fighting part of it or simply the stuff connected to roaming the wild world. I didn't think I could beat her if we had the same age, though. Be it because of her absurd magic affinity, or simply because of how effortlessly she adapted to fighting, despite having no records of taking part in it frequently before we met. If I had the feeling Senshin would need to struggle to catch up to me, I felt like staying ahead of Chiaisei would be a challenge, despite the fact that up to that point she basically had been living the life of a scholar. Maybe all of the time living the experiences of a raptor alongside her own made her sharpen up in a different way from normal people, though more than anything I simply recognized her way of learning about this part of life had been similar to mine*.
(*Why use myself as a standard though, you might ask? Because since starting to train magical combat, I never met anyone at my age and level who had a favorable streak against me. The closest were people who could win 4 matches out of 10, despite a biased battleground for them. I could also keep a 40 to 50 rate against people some stages ahead, and occasionally even be the favored one in that kind of fight, if I was given some advantages. I had experience to back my confidence, and what that experience told me was that I was far better at fighting than most humans were at my age.)
—Haven't I already given my reasoning, Finarkzir? At my level of hardening, I can't ignore the shock caused by my leaps, nor can I breathe while moving full speed. Hence, unless I finished the race in a second, a break would be mandatory, right? This all might have made this implied, but I am trained in the Wind Strider* style mainly, specifically the Lesser Styles within it concerned with mobility, the Gale Sparrow*. — She took a short break to sip at what she was having, as good a reason as any to split a long paragraph.
—Now, to cover Yealmyrn… There really isn't much to say. Excluding Pacification magic, all forms of Yealmyrn of mine are unlocked and between the rankings of initiate B and intermediate E. My current focus isn't in any of the particular kinds of supportive magic, yet in developing the main perks of the area and unlocking some of the advanced structures of Soul Links, like Link Coordination and later Cognitive Flow. Almost all of the greater area is affected by the rank of Link and Bond spells, after all. I am trained in tactical support through the Army's Spring** style, and have also mastered the fundamentals of the scouting protocols of the Army's Mind** as well, though with the current arrangement I doubt I should be the one to act as the unit's commander.
(*One of the Major Styles within the Formless Assault¹ and one of the main Lesser Styles associated with it.)
(**Two of the Major Styles that belong to the Army Core¹, the Greater Style of Lady Zeymalteul. Like most of the styles in the Army Core, these are more closely tied to teaching strategic usage of magic than employing techniques directly.)
—Perhaps I should also demonstrate my skill with Life Echo? Knowing what types of life I've assimilated might be significant over our work together. I'll try giving shape to a few at the time, to facilitate explanation. Most are either small birds or small mammals, though. I believe these shapes tend to be useful for the purpose of acting as my eyes.
After telling us that much, Chiaisei put her magic to work. Some of the area around her glowed for a short second, before the outline of critters began taking shape. At first they were somewhat transparent, yet it didn't take long for most of them to start looking somewhat convincing. Small mice, squirrels, rabbits, birds of small stature… She created a few examples, before asking us to verify how convincing they were. The colors were mostly accurate, though if you paid close attention you might be able to spot evidence of the magic sustaining the things, like spots of fur or feathers with stronger colors, or the fact their eyes looked more transparent than the rest of their shapes. The behavior was mostly convincing as well, even if it could be a little repetitive. Telling the differences to real living beings was way easier through touch, though. The familiars didn't replicate the softness of real skin, and nearby it was easier to tell the rigidness of their bodies were focused on the areas this type of animal would usually put to use while attacking. That, and Chiaisei didn't have the ability to mask the life essence that shaped the conjurations.
"Still, they are fluffy enough to have some therapeutic effect. I wonder if it would be difficult to give them the ability to make noises. Maybe I should try to suggest shapes for other friendly critters as well. I miss having a "dog" around, and something like a fox or a cat would be a nice treat to hold occasionally." I thought as much while holding a rabbit she had conjured. I had a feeling that thing could bite through my hands, but the potential threat didn't change the fact it looked cute. While I got distracted by it, Chiaisei also demonstrated the types of familiar whose shaping she had been specializing for combat, some of the bigger ones including a eagle somewhat smaller than Finarkzir, an owl, a big dog and a wild cat. The magic on those wasn't concealed so they looked far less akin to real animals, likely because she had trained herself to use this type of familiar directly for combat. The discrepancy of her adorable little creations and the familiars which are more honest about their nature served as a reminder that even the cute ones could be dangerous, though I still appreciated having the fluffy ones being available. The continuing discussion did sour my mood a little bit, however.
—You've made many clever choices, I see. They seem convincing, and most belong to types that are present in many regions. Do you already have plans on how to match them with Embedded Spells, though? I hear Favighea isn't a very convenient pairing for this type of magic in early levels. — Sowanar commented, as the others were continuing the pragmatic part of the conversation. The fact I already knew the answer to that question made me want to turn away from that chat as a whole.
—Mostly so, but air that is conjured in a compressed state can be kept stable briefly within a familiar. By hiding shards of solid conjurations or acids, they can function as a small power fragment blast. An unguarded target likely could be disabled alongside those in their surroundings through this method. — The image this suggestion brought to my mind was very unfriendly to my imagination.
Just think of trying to pet a dog and its gang around your friends before it literally explodes into a blast of magic. Your lower legs and hands had their bones shattered, your torso has a terrifying number of cuts in it and some of your pals are bleeding too much to leave you comfortable. That isn't the type of image that can easily mark the mind, and it would probably mark your interactions with animals for the next 10 years or so. That was definitely not a type of trauma I ever wanted to see someone getting afflicted with. I got the sense my girl didn't even realize how this plan of action could be considered cruel, though. Some of these ruthless ideas just came casually to her at times. "I'll need to talk to her later. Our future targets might have committed some crimes, but being stuck with the fear of friendly critters is too harsh a punishment. Some weaknesses shouldn't be exploited."
—That should be it for me. Finarkzir, should I share yours, or…?
—There is no need. I haven't been interacting with many others for the last few months, so it's best not to pass chances by. Firstly, in regards to total ability, I am at the fifth stage of the intermediate level. There is a full level gap between most of you and I, yet I promise to remain patient in regards to being matched to foes at your level. — To those curious and not in the know, that gap was large enough that even if Finarkzir was landed she still would be able to take on all of the human part of the unit single handedly, to put into perspective. The rate at which mages grow increases as our magical skill develops, so the tendency was for this factor to increase in intensity for every level that passed.
—Now for my magical practice, some of it has already been discussed by the girl. Favighea, centered heavily on the Wind Paths, as per the namesake of my kind. Excluding assimilation, nearly all of my purely wind based structures are already at the ranking of adept E, in fact. I do have some investment in the other forms of elemental casting as well, though, even if their usage is harder over flight. I should still be able to provide their utilities, however. Most of my infusions are similarly viable as well. That said, I should note that I've so far been completely ignoring the element based healing methods. They are impractical over emergencies in my case, so I believe it wiser to focus those hours into direct Healing Infusing and trust in others to handle more particular needs when it comes to this aspect of magic. — The quick summary for Finarkzir was, she is insanely fast and her air-to-ground attacking was about as deadly as it could get at this stage. Though the elf was far more well rounded in her skill set, for offensive ability, there was an argument to be made that Finarkzir was our aggressive ace as well*.
(*Both could accomplish comparable results when rated on destructive potential, but Nalfimiria's was instant, while Finarkzir left a short window of warning as she took control over the wind around her. But the mobility of Finarkzir meant her effective range was far larger than Nalfimiria's, hence if both started away from their target, the bird would always get to it first. And on the other hand again, the excessive variety of attacking methods meant Nalfimiria matched up better against defensive magic, even if neither had specialties that were friendly to defending barriers. Nalfimiria functioned well from a bigger variety of ranges as well, and could ignore hits that would force the eagle to stagger or avoid.)
—Now for Laenixir, my second Greater Area. I have covered a decent chunk of this spiritual area, but for the most part my emphasis was in the parts of it that would strengthen my ranged fighting. My main specialties tend to force me closer to a target during attacks, after all. Hence, I developed this Construct form, alongside Light Magic and other useful tricks both to bolster my ability to drop missiles on top of my unfortunate targets as well as tricks like Light Reflection or Light of Dominion to increase my ability with throwing. Some of the defensive perks of the area have been grown as well, like the Veil, Barriers and their combined effects. Also, behold! The bond between the dear child and I is strong enough for me to reflect your kind's shape through Light Reflection! They are still difficult for me to control, yet since gaining this skill I've grown to appreciate the value of arms significantly. However, I am unfortunately not good enough at controlling them to do non violent activities with them yet.
While boasting of her final feat, Finarkzir created a pair of arms through Light Reflection. She let out some victory squawks through her real voice as well. The discrepancy of her physical voice and the one she took on her mind was kind of hilarious, by the way. The topic of her boasting makes a lot of sense as well. For non socials, our hands are absolutely the most valuable part of our bodies to imitate through magic, so getting that through Reflection probably felt like a steal. Like seriously, over half of our merits are only possible because of opposing thumbs. Just look at this page. There is thumb power all over it!
—That would be it for this warrior. As was spoken earlier, I haven't devoted too much focus to Aura either, but overall my secondary area is well developed. My corporeal magic is neither as potent nor specialized as the one of the sister either, so I believe there is not much to add in regards to that other than the fact most magic connected to the winds in Favighea has somewhat lessened concentration when I use it. My movement sense is far better attuned for matters connected to the air as well, and it extends for quite the large range. It tells me of the composition of the air surrounding me at most times as well. A great tool for a hunting bird, as you might suspect.
—She can predict the weather some hours in advance as well. Having a rain alert at home has always been helpful.
—I am not sure if that purpose shall be consistently useful now, but that is true. Before finishing my report, might I offer you all a warning as well?
—As one trained to become a warden of the wild world, I have a certain pride in regards to a warrior's lifestyle. From the truths I have learned since young to the lessons I've learned from my parents, among other rules I have grown to view the act of abandoning one's comrades as despicable. To share in arms and power requires trust, and this type of implicit rule is part of what sustains it. Still, I have my priorities. Chiaisei is the one I am devoted to protecting, more than any other. In emergencies, my power will be spared for her sake, even if one of you is at risk. For the sake of this trust, I wish to make this truth explicit. — Finarkzir said, after turning to us once more. I nodded along, figuring the others likely would have no trouble comprehending the same. Some vows always take priority over others, as do our feelings. Expecting the priority or interest of others to always match your own was unreasonable.
—Of course. We all have our duties, and it is to be expected that those bound through their souls would view their partner differently from the rest. In this situation, know that even were I abandoned, I wouldn't spite you for it. — Sowanar decided to say for the rest of us, after checking on each of our reactions. In a sense, the same logic applied to him and his mission, so I thought it was fitting he offered the answer for the group.
—Oh, I wouldn't worry about that much, at least. I know this girl well. As hard as it is for her to attach herself to others, this doesn't mean she doesn't care. She wouldn't be able to forgive me or herself if I went as far as to drag her away from a battle. Worrying about her health but not her happiness would make me an unworthy guardian. Besides, my dear girl has been happier now than she has been for a long time. It would be a shame if- — Before she could keep going, we all felt the connection between us and Finarkzir being temporarily severed. Looking at the source of the spell, we found a frustrated Chiaisei, making her dissatisfaction as blatant in her eyes as possible for the sudden talking points of her companion.
—Finarkzir, idiot raptor! When I ask you to stop internally, I would appreciate it if you didn't ignore me. Have you forgotten how conversations normally go? If so, I might wish to stop sustaining these shared links all together, you hear? — The threat wasn't spoken particularly out of her usual tone, but it did stop the initial protests Finarkzir made through her screeching. We didn't hear much more of her thoughts that day.
Considering both were bonded partners and had been so for years, I also thought it interesting to note how well they could work as a pair. In a situation Finarkzir had to go on full aggression, Chiaisei would be able to assist her through Link Supports and the scouting provided by their message, yet their common field also enabled them to joint cast more easily than most. And on occasions Chiaisei didn't have the option to hang back and support, Finarkzir would have the tools to cover for her without losing all of her speed, nor was she completely ineffective while hovering at a slower pace. You could sort of tell that despite the common field, the slight distinctions on how they practice it and their additional field was measured so that they had their means of supporting each other. In some ways, that detail made for a cute way to end this part of our chat, but before cutting off the scene as a whole, there was just one more thing it seemed Chiaisei wanted to say.
—Anyways, before we finish this part of the talk, there is also something else I would like to mention. Namely, it concerns my ability with Soul Bonds. Or rather, not necessarily my ability, but my intentions with it. I'm not really sure if I like the idea of forging magical bonds between any of us, as of now. Or at least not the more powerful kind. — Chiaisei warned us, after a moment or two of silence, about her interaction with Finarkzir. She didn't carry the usual fake smile of hers, making her look more serious and resolute before this issue.
"Yeah, that's hardly surprising. Of all the people I know who use Yealmyrn, Chiaisei probably would be the last one to go around casually creating soul bonds." Which might sound strange, after all, why develop a magical ability if you have no plans of using it? That would sound weird in most cases, but in this particular one it is pretty easy to understand. Are there many people around who you would want to know everything you feel, or think? Not only that, the effect would have to be mutual. And sure, permanent bonds didn't start out at this level of power. For most of the development of one, its growth mostly will only make it easier for two partners to connect to each other through Yealmyrn based magic. Still, while that would be helpful Yealmyrn can still work well without going through all of that. And even if it's not a permanent thing, the process of developing a magical bond does frequently involve whole connections to the partner's soul. During the connection, anything that comes to the mind of either companion is fully shared. Physical sensations or emotions, memories they might recall, their thoughts.
Normally Chiaisei - as with any other user of the form - would be capable of selecting what she wishes to share more clearly. Even when forming short term links, she can control whether she is just sending information, if it is two sided or the degree of that information. To the point she would also be capable simply of creating links that only enable link support usage. The creation of permanent bonds reduces her control over the form, and therefore how much information she can keep out, however. With no control over what she is trying to share, it is no wonder she - again, as with most Yealmyrn practitioners - would be very selective as to who to bond with.
In the old gang, Falminoria barely ever deepened the bond between her and any of us as well. I was the closest one in that sense, but even then we didn't go as far as to form a permanent one. Hell, she wasn't even permanently bonded to all of her animal bond companions, much less to the rest of us who she hadn't even known for a few years. "Even if she was willing, not sure if I'm ready to go along with that either way." It would be hard to say no, being put so much trust in me and all, that said even from the perspective of the one who didn't have the area this still would feel strange. And on this end we don't need to share quite as much as Chiaisei would, by the way.
—Won't that diminish the efficiency of your spells? — Senshin asked. He likely was the only one who didn't get the issue. Probably because he didn't seem to hide much of what he thought or felt in the first place.
—It will. My link supportive spells grow in range, get diminished costs for concentration and grant other benefits when used through a strong bond. This would also greatly aid in the ability of the group to communicate, I am aware. Thought communicators could never beat the range of a communication spell from someone at my level. Still, I refuse to do it for now. I'm not willing to discuss or shift from this point, either.
—Understandable. I would be worried for anyone who would roam around starting magical bonds without hesitating at least a little. — Nalfimiria said, showing little to no shock at the declaration. I mean, she was sort of a specialist in this kind of thing, being a therapist and all, especially if she was training as a soul soother. If people would normally be fine with the idea of having their minds read, they wouldn't look for specific people trained to do it.
—I agree with my lord. Besides, even if you were willing, I can tell all of you now that I wouldn't be, at least. Sharing my unfiltered thoughts with someone I don't even know for a couple of months sounds like madness.
—Yeah. For now, just worry about doing only the stuff everyone else can do. Putting what only you can do to use without suffering for it. Nobody else needs to sacrifice their privacy or anything of the sort to use their magic to the best of its power, so it would be unfair to ask that much of you. When you feel more comfortable with the idea, we can try to talk about it again. Forming connections takes time, and anyone would feel pressured about trying to rush through them, especially when doing so through magic. Once you think you're more comfortable considering this sort of thing directly to some of us, maybe we can talk more about it then. — I said while putting a hand against one of her shoulders, as we were sitting directly to the side of the other. Seeing this, she rested her head against me, still looking somewhat unchanged by the topic.
—I will someday, you can count on it. That might be a little awkward for you as well, though. — Chiaisei whispered towards me, before returning her focus to the others.
—Of course, even if I put no focus towards advancing the process, the strength of a bond still develops slowly simply through time spent between one's allies. So I will still be progressing in that, to an extent. If I do grow to feel more comfortable with any other of you, I'll try to bring up the topic at that point. Until then, disconsider my bond magic rank, and simply think of me as any other link magic user. — She said. It looked like the rest had also accepted this explanation.
—Fine. Any reason to develop bond magic in the first place, then? It should have been a recent choice, from what I recall of the needed rankings for it. — Senshin asked. He seemed to obsess over the logic behind our training choices a little. "Funny, considering how many bad signs his own practice indicates towards." I figured after watching him repeat the same deal a few times by then.
—Oh, that? I simply chose to do it so that it became easier for me and Finarkzir to talk. We spent part of my childhood with some strict limits on how long we could chat with each other per day. Hence, I promised her since then to never stop advancing on this sort of magic, so that even if we're distant, the bond can still at least give us some indication of each other's presence.
After finishing that part of the explanation, we went over some detailed information about each. Mostly to make sure we had a precise reading of what each ranking meant. Stuff like essence count, range, concentration in numbers or trying to show off what to expect of each other's potency. Sowanar brought up the matter with formations at one point, but Nalfimiria suggested we go over that at a later date. From there, most of the group took some time to relax. It isn't good to skip training, but given the day we had gone through, most agreed it was fair to pass it for now, though we each still went through daily guidance. Except for Senshin, who spent a good chunk of the afternoon alternating between spending his spirit essence and replenishing it through meditation, or the occasional testing of the backyard's workout functions.
The elf brought up the fact that at the amount of times he was repeating this cycle, his growing efficiency wouldn't be considerable from some point on, but he continued, saying he knew that. Said that slow growth is still better than none. However considering how slow we were talking about, that attitude isn't something that creates any considerable advantages, I should add. Some of the stuff we had bought arrived over that period as well, so there was more prep work to be done at the house. That pattern would partially follow to the next as well.
At one point, Nalfimiria took out a lyre to play along with the conversation. At another, I grew bold enough to try a sip of what the elf was having. I decided to quit there though, since a sip alone was almost enough for me to start feeling my head growing dizzy. During this time, we traded more stories about our homes, countries and lives, even if not well detailed ones. Occasionally Senshin would look over from his corner, and I decided to accept that as a good sign. A part of me suspected that was happening because our singing elf got him flustered, however. Eventually, while the sun neared dusk, we decided to start preparations for dinner, as we all agreed to eat earlier than usual back then. Just the basics, with some of the easier things to prepare that we had put into storage. It wasn't anything that special, but still a good meal, and a good introduction to our new elvish cook. Simple but effective.
We also used this to teach Chiaisei and Senshin a bit about assisting in the kitchen. After that, it wasn't that too long before we called it a day. Our eastern friends were still getting used to our time zone, yet even so, the group predominated early risers. The time we had to chat before bed was still precious, as we used it to continue talking about ourselves. Getting comfortable with each other quickly is a pretty big deal for this sort of job, especially if your group is living together like us. Nalfimiria also seemed interested in drilling some tactics in the new guys' heads. Especially Senshin's, as in her words —I'm sure that will be a productive lesson between his meditation sessions. But in the end, we left that for tomorrow. Nearing my time to go to bed, I decided to put some of my thoughts about the day in order, while on a balcony on the second floor that looked out to the streets. Time was cold, so I had a jacket on, and looking out, I thought back to how this unit was formed, or at least some of the details Nalfimiria explained early on that day. Namely, about the mention of priority when receiving guests, and what that might imply for some meetings of my past.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder