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Post by Noa on Jul 11, 2022 23:20:59 GMT -6
After trying it a few more times, they came to some new conclusions: firstly, that Rhys couldn’t stay completely intangible for very long at all -- a minute, at most. But if he was only semi-intangible, it was both less taxing and also easier to maintain. It still wasn’t something he could keep up for very long, but it lasted long enough for him to zip around a bit -- and in a more dangerous situation, it would afford him a few extra moments where he could be sure of being more difficult to assault, during which he could cast some spells or run away.
So they decided to separate it into two commands, ‘Phase’ and ‘Greater Phase’. Noa had him run through both a few more times, to make sure he remembered how to perform each, and that he could produce one or the other as needed, since they would likely be useful for different situations. Rhys didn’t have too much trouble with that, since it happened to come down to just how much energy he channeled into himself.
Towards the end, Avander had also joined in, 'helping' by trying to swat the still-visible Rhys out of the air.
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Post by Noa on Jul 11, 2022 23:21:37 GMT -6
The Wiurn seemed to think it was great fun to swipe at a semi-intangible Faeron, though Noa did have to caution him to pull his blows since Rhys wasn’t always all the way gone.
After the extensive practice, however, Rhys had nearly tapped himself out again. And seeing that he didn’t have any difficulty with doing it on command anymore, Noa decided they may as well call it there.
The next thing they worked on was just a minor spell. Noa hadn't committed it to memory himself, but he'd remembered enough about it to decide it would be a useful thing for Rhys to know. He brought out his notes on it, and pored over them for a moment, with Rhys sitting on his shoulder and peering down at the book, though the Faeron couldn't puzzle out the words himself without Noa's help. "It's called 'Headwind', and in essence, you summon a wind to push back against someone else. It's rudimentary; there's nothing difficult about it beyond the fact that you haven't used a wind spell before." At least, that was the only stumbling block Noa could imagine Rhys running into, what with all the spells he knew by now.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 16:16:24 GMT -6
Perhaps he would be proven wrong on this point once Rhys began trying to cast the spell in earnest, but they could only solve problems as they arose. For now, Noa chose to believe that this would go smoothly. There was no sense in being pessimistic about their prospects.
Avander, seeing that they were poring over a book again, heaved a sigh and settled down, possibly for a nap. Noa thought he might make a useful test subject later, but for now it was better to have him out of the way.
Rhys mulled over what Noa had said, then replied, {It sounds simple. I can picture the outcome a lot more easily than a lot of the other spells I've learned.}
"See, exactly. You know what, why don't you try it? Without me showing you how I would cast it. You must know enough of spellwork by now to come up with something for a smaller work like this." It would save Noa some trouble if Rhys really could work things out for himself. Thus far, Noa had done a lot of the legwork for Rhys when teaching him spells, doing the research beforehand and showing Rhys the way he would set up a spell to cast it.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 16:29:20 GMT -6
This was the case even for spells he hadn't bothered memorizing, or for spells he couldn't cast himself because he didn't have enough of the right kind of mana. At first it had only made sense; Rhys didn't have the same background in magical study that Noa did, and Rhys couldn't read either. Rather than teaching him the fundamentals from the ground up, it was easier to just teach him individual spells. This was doubly true for the more complex spells, since it would have taken years before Rhys would have been able to handle that on his own.
But now that he had a bit of a knowledge base to draw on, it made sense to let him try with a simpler spell. If nothing else, this would tell Noa how much Rhys had managed to absorb of the theory behind spellcasting.
Rhys closed his eyes. Noa could feel energy gathering around him, though as of yet he didn't feel the aspect of it change into wind, specifically. This was the one part Noa couldn't really help Rhys with, since the mana Noa had access to was already aspected to a particular element by virtue of the node that it was tied to.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 16:38:32 GMT -6
He could always feed aspected energy to a hollow spell, but it wasn't as if he could force hollow energy into an elemental spell, or use energy of one element for a spell that required another. The energy Rhys held as a familiar was malleable though, and in theory it could be used for any spell at all.
"Don't think of a gale first. Just think of wind itself. Light, airy, that sort of thing. And you only need a little," Noa said. The tip of Rhys's tail twitched. A few moments later, Noa felt the change taking place. That was a good sign. Now all Rhys had to do was shape it...
It was a good thing that Noa was paying attention. He had just a moment's warning to close his own eyes before the gust of wind hit them all.
Avander surged to his feet, looking around for an assailant that didn't exist, but it didn't take long for him to take his cue from Noa and calm down. Obviously Avander didn't sense anyone else around since it was just the three of them, and if Noa wasn't alarmed, then there was no real reason to be on alert either.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 19:19:30 GMT -6
"We're practicing a spell," Noa explained, because it was still better to loop Avander in at least a little bit. "It's just wind."
{Isn't magic usually quiet?} said Avander. {It's all... books, isn't it?}
"Don't concern yourself with it," Noa said with a shrug. He didn't even want to begin having to explain magic to Avander. Fortunately Avander didn't push the subject either, though he now watched the two of them with a greater degree of suspicion than before. "We'll warn you before the next one," Noa said; he supposed he could do that much, especially if they were going to test the force of the wind on Avander later anyway.
{Oh, sorry,} said Rhys, ears drooping down in contrition. {I guess that was pretty surprising, huh? I didn't think it would be so strong either.}
"Well, it wouldn't do much to hamper someone if it was just a little breeze," Noa said. "Since it isn't a big spell though, it doesn't last very long. Just enough to slow someone down for a moment." There were other, more powerful spells he could have learned, but since this one took so little energy, it could be cast over and over again.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 19:24:03 GMT -6
Rhys had managed to summon a gust of wind though, and a pretty strong one at that, so Noa was reasonably pleased with the result. "Not bad. Let's see if you can cast 'Headwind' again," Noa said.
{If you're saying 'again', I must have cast it properly the first time!} said Rhys. His spirits sure bounced back quickly. {Avander, I'm going again!} With that, Rhys closed his eyes and focused. It took him a moment to gather the right kind of energy, but then a blast of wind blew again -- from the opposite direction this time. When Rhys opened his eyes, Noa could feel a surge of amusement radiating from the Faeron.
Sighing, Noa reached up to smooth down his hair. "Yes, yes, very funny. Well, now that you're certain that you can do it, we may as well test its effectiveness. Avander, you stand here." He motioned to the Wiurn, who came forward warily.
{You want to blast me, don't you?} he said.
"That's my favorite monster. Instincts right on the money," Noa said, patting Avander's shoulder. Avander grumbled, but he didn't refuse, which was as much permission as Noa ever needed to proceed with his plans. "But first I need you to walk."
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 19:29:25 GMT -6
{Fine. But why?} Avander asked. He did what he was told, walking slowly along the bank of the river.
"To see if Rhys can push you back with the wind," Noa replied. "Okay, that's good. Keep the same pace. Rhys? Headwind?"
{Coming right up!} Rhys said. The force of his determination didn't bode well for Avander. It still took a moment before he could cast the spell properly, but now it didn't take long before a blast of wind hit Avander full force.
The Wiurn didn't stop, but he did slow, making a face of distaste. {Ugh. That was awful,} he complained. Unfortunately, he was called upon to do it again -- and again, and again. After a few tries, Noa asked Avander to try running instead of walking, and then to really put his force behind trying to resist the force of the wind. The blast that had slowed down a walking Avander didn't do quite as much against him running at full force, but it wasn't totally ineffectual either, and putting more force behind the wind would probably have taken more mana.
This would be good enough, at least for a small spell like 'Headwind'. They could stop here for the day.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 19:34:55 GMT -6
{I let you get away with it this time, but I'm not doing that again,} Avander complained. He was studying himself in a stagnant pool that ran off from the river proper, and probably bemoaning what had become of that mane that he was so proud of. Noa, who had already smoothed down his own hair from before, had little enough sympathy for him. It was just hair, after all, and when did Avander ever have an audience for his beauty to begin with? Most of the time, when people saw him, they were more preoccupied with whether they were about to be menaced or not.
{Ehehe... I guess it was kind of tough, wasn't it? You're not injured anywhere, are you?} Rhys drifted over to inspect Avander more closely, but sure enough, he couldn't find any injuries. Well, unless you counted an injured pride, Noa supposed... But there wasn't a healing magic that would cure Avander of that. He would just have to cope with it on his own.
"Cheer up. At least it wasn't you having to learn something. I know how much you hate that," Noa drawled. Avander never had any shortage of gripes in their own sessions either.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 19:39:16 GMT -6
{There's nothing more to teach,} Avander shot back. {When have I ever lost a fight?}
What he said wasn't strictly true, but to be honest it wasn't terribly far off the mark. Avander was pretty well trained now, to the point where there were diminishing returns to working with him any further, as opposed to the likes of Nightshade or Azalea... or even Grunty, really. And he hadn't lost in a long time either, though winning that tournament had definitely gotten to his head.
Still, there was no point in trying to break the spirit of one of his beasts. Overconfidence could become a problem, but a little arrogance was definitely preferable to a creature who had no heart to do anything. So Noa let it go, and began packing up their fishing supplies instead.
{I wish I could say the same,} Rhys said despondently. {It feels like we'll be having these sessions for a while, huh?}
"Don't you want to get stronger? The more you learn, the more you'll be able to do," Noa replied. "I thought you'd be happy to learn magic." He arched a brow at the Faeron, but his line of questioning here was a genuine one.
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Post by Noa on Jul 14, 2022 19:43:26 GMT -6
After all, Rhys had never balked from helping Noa with his research unless he had some sort of moral quibble with what they were doing. Honestly, a slightly lazy familiar might have been easier to handle. Noa could find ways to motivate a lazy creature, but didn't really have the patience for ethical debates. And learning magic had seemed to be a venture of infinite possibility for Noa when he was still a novice, before he began running into the limitations of what he could do with his nodes... And, of course, before it became about finding a way to save his own life. There was nothing quite like the looming possibility of death to take the enjoyment out of just about anything.
Rhys fell quiet for a moment. Noa thought that he had simply chosen not to respond, and had gone back to packing up the fishing tackle, when Rhys finally said, {Then next time, can I choose the spell?}
"Sure, as long as it's not something too ridiculous," Noa said. After all, what could Rhys possibly ask for? The worst thing Noa could possibly think of would just be something useless, like a silly cosmetic spell, but if that was what Rhys wanted, then so be it.
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Post by Silver on Jul 31, 2022 23:19:54 GMT -6
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Post by Noa on Jul 31, 2023 16:28:15 GMT -6
It had been a long time since Noa last had the occasion to come down to the river. When he had been working with Avander, he had come by more often; there was a lot of space here, and sometimes he could get away with some fishing while teaching the Wiurn a new skill. Now that Avander had learned most of the things that Noa wanted him to, he had changed focus to Nightshade and Azalea… But his worsening health meant that he didn’t get out as much as he used to, in general, and much of his time outside the Gracehaven estate was inevitably spent in the mines, digging up more stones to trade in town for crystals.
Still, that strange trader in the city also dealt in crystals sometimes, and sometimes they asked for things from the river. Which meant that, sooner or later, Noa had to do a little fishing, or at least a little shell gathering, too.
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Post by Noa on Jul 31, 2023 16:28:32 GMT -6
He considered bringing Avander again, for old time’s sake, but Nightshade needed the work more. Besides, Avander was a more reliable guard for Gracehaven while Noa was away from the grounds. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Briar -- though then again, it wasn’t as if Briar had proven himself particularly trustworthy -- but if Noa and Rhys were both away, Avander was clever enough to at least recognize if something suspicious was going on. He wasn’t as sharp as a person, but he’d been raised by Noa all his life. And between his training and his breadth of experience, Noa had given him more free rein over the years to make his own decisions, much like a shepherd with an experienced dog.
Nightshade was, to put it lightly, not like that at all. Someday he might be, but not yet. The nice thing about him was that he enjoyed the work.
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Post by Noa on Jul 31, 2023 16:29:02 GMT -6
Where Avander was liable to complain, Nightshade instead seemed eager. The dark Wiurn seemed a little disoriented by the teleportation spell, but nevertheless recovered enough to follow Noa closely as they made their way down to the water’s edge. Rhys, sitting on Noa’s shoulder, helped hold things with his telekinesis while Noa set up the equipment. None of this was novel for Nightshade, who had seen it all before, but the Wiurn still watched them with more attention than Noa thought the process deserved.
It really had been too long since they were last out together, hadn’t it?
After a moment of debate, Noa decided to use one of the fancier hooks he’d gotten from the tackle shop when he had first started out. At the time, given that they weren’t particularly durable, he had seen them as too precious to use on his early trips.
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