13th Katti: [Action]

[upontheplains]

[Lyn is meditating outside of the barracks.

Or at least that's what seems to be happening. Her hands are clasped, her eyes are closed, but she's not kneeling down as if in prayer. What she's focusing so intently on is anyone's guess.

At least, until something becomes apparent at her feet. Two small twisters, barely large enough to ruffle the dirt and grass, begin to swirl. They build beneath her feet, slowly rising in strength until they're causing her clothing to flare in the wind.

Exactly what Lyn is doing finally becomes apparent in a moment, as the ever increasing force of wind actually begins to lift her off the ground! ... Granted, it's maybe an inch at best, but still!

Come marvel at this use of the spirits' power? Or, more likely, wonder what the point of putting this much effort into hovering an inch above the ground is?]

Comments

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

A couple of minutes, so not long. I didn't want to distract you.

That's cool. How are you doing that?

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Well I appreciate that. This is pretty hard to maintain.

With Kipinn's help! A friend of mine can fly on the wind, you see, so I wanted to see what I could do along those lines. This is as far as I've gotten so far.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

So the Filial Magic can let you do stuff like that if you practice with it? Very cool! And hey, looks like you're getting there. I think you'll be there before long if you're already able to do that!

...And who do you know who can fly, anyway?

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

It's really amazing what you can do with it if you're creative. I bet someone well-versed in earth magic could climb up mountains by making the ground carry them, like an avalanche in reverse. I wouldn't know though, I can't seem to communicate with the earth spirit.

Oh, her name's Valvalis. She calls herself the "Empress of the Wind".

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know Valvalis? I've talked with her several times over the months, actually. She's pretty nice. And yeah, the way she can fly is pretty awesome.

...And hm, that is pretty interesting. I wonder if someone who knows Lightning magic can rip the electricity out of buildings and use it for something.

Hm, I wonder what neat things you could use fire for...

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

She is quite kind, though... a little strange at times.

That's an idea! I'm actually best at lightning magic, Tsinku and I get along wonderfully.

Fire, hmm? Most of fire's uses are pretty destructive, I'd think. Though you could use it to keep things warm in wintertime.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

How many spirits have you talked to, Lyn? I admit... I haven't bothered to try yet. There's Tsinku and Kipinn... anyone else?

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

There's Nala of healing, Hyt of light, who can also be used for darkness, Eferin for fire, but you already know him, I believe, Sona of water and Faerun of earth. I've been wanting to contact Eferin, but I just can't seem to do it.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

[The names bring back memories of flipping through the guide. Eferin was the only one Adell really had any initial thoughts of speaking to, so a quick thought popped to his mind.]

I think Eferin's picky or something? The guide might've said something about that, if I'm remembering correctly. It's been awhile.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's what I heard too. You're fortunate, Adell.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Huh? How do you mean?

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

To be one of the ones Eferin's chosen, of course! It's always an honor when a spirit accepts you.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

...Uh. I've never talked to Eferin... or any of the spirits before. I don't know any magic.

[...Magic as his world defines it, anyway.]

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Oh. But I thought you said...

[She thinks back over their conversation rather quickly, then ducks her head a little, embarrassed.] Oh, I seem to have... jumped to conclusions a little. You mentioned wondering what you could use fire for, and I took that to mean you could use it.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

...No, you're right. I can. But it's not Eferin's power. And it's not normal magic.

[To demonstrate, he'll ball his fist and raise it in front of him. It'll ignite on fire, but oddly, it doesn't look it's hurting him at all.]

...This one's pretty much all me. Spent a lot of time training and fighting before I figured out how to do it.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

[Her eyes bulge at the sight of his fist randomly bursting into flame. On realizing that it's quite clearly not harming him, though, she simply looks it over in awe.]

You can... control fire on your own? With no aid from spirits or outside forces?

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Yup. ...But I pretty much only use it to punch things. It's kind of hard to explain, but... uh, where I'm from, there's this thing called Mana. Mana's sort of a representation of your personal strength, and when you get stronger, you can use that power in various ways.

...This is one of the ways I've figured out how to use it.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

That's strange. There's mana in my world too, but as far as I know, only Magi can use it, and it's for casting spells.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've heard about Mana working differently in other universes too. So far, it sounds like my universe is pretty strange in how it works.

Do you remember when I did that attack to appear behind Rebecca when she was Berserked? I used Mana for that, too.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Oh, so that's how you did it! I'd been meaning to ask. So what else can you do with it? It seems quite versatile.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Pretty much anything when it comes to fighting, if you train hard enough. In the Netherworld, people know all sorts of special skills with different weapons that use Mana power to function. We usually just refer to them as special attacks.

Like, you use a sword. If you had enough Mana power, you could learn to kick up a powerful windstorm around a foe. [And here, Adell begins gesturing with his hands, imitating a swirl, like a tornado.] Those gusts could carry them into the air where they're left wide open for a couple of attacks.

It's not foolproof, though. People can still escape it or block the attacks if they're strong enough. But Hurricane Slash is a favorite of a lot of sword users there.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Amazing. All of those sorts of things, if anyone could even do them, qualified as magic back in Elibe.

Though, that technique you described, it sounds a lot like what I've been developing with Kipinn's help.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Oh really? That's pretty awesome. You're certainly getting creative with a lot of the magic here. I never would've thought of trying it like that.

...Though it reminds me that I need to get to work developing new attacks myself. I've been going too long with a limited special attack arsenal...

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Flexibility is important. As soon as I found out I could learn magic here I got started trying to figure out ways I could use it. Of course, that was at least partially because of the magic weapons I've seen at home...

Well there's no time like the present! What do you think you'd like to try?

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Magic weapons? Like flaming swords or bows that shoot shards of ice or spears that strike with a crash of thunder?

Hmm... I'm probably going to work on some ways to draw ranged foes into close combat. Not being able to close the distance when you fight without a weapon makes fights difficult. I don't really like ranged attacks much. And I know I can find more ways to punch things with fire.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Yes on the flaming swords and change spear to axe. No bows like that though. Pity, Rebecca'd probably love one.

Well, if that's what you're looking for, I'd imagine Kipinn would be the first spirit you'd want to talk to.

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Well, now I have an idea for a birthday present for her, if I can stir one up. With all the random stuff and people with strange powers here, someone's bound to know of a way to do it...

Kipinn sounds like the right one, but I have to wonder how much I can learn on my own. If Mana power can make tornadoes around a sword blade... I think I can figure out some stuff. I just need a lot of time to practice. ...Good thing time is something that we've got in spades here.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Oh that would be perfect for her. I've heard of a few people who can do enchantments, maybe they could help.

Hmmm... well, how would you do it? Would you drag them to you or rush over towards them at high speed?

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Well, I can already do the high speed thing. But sometimes people here are still fast enough to evade.

[He pauses to think and suddenly has a realization. He sets his water bottle on the ground, and walks several paces away. Looking down at the earth, he looks back to the water bottle, then to the ground below him. He pauses, takes a deep breath in, and furrows his brow with focus. With one swift, solid punch to the ground, he sends a very small shockwave forward, which rocks the water bottle, but doesn't quite knock it over. It was only a few paces away, but he wasn't at full power either... and that was the first time he even tried something like that.]

...I might be able to work with that...

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

[Her eyes follow his movements as he strikes the ground, then the shockwave. Her eyebrow raises. Just how strong is he, anyway?]

As a stunning move, you mean?

[vulcanblazer.livejournal.com]

Stunning or knockdown, maybe. Even if it just makes them lose their footing, it can help. Something like that. I'll have to think about how to get it to work, and then practice it more.

[He walks over and picks up his water bottle again.]

It might not even work, but we'll see, I guess.

[upontheplains.livejournal.com]

Well if you never try something because you aren't sure it will work, you'll never get anywhere. I say try your best at it, you should be able to figure at least something useful out.

After all, I didn't think my attempts with Kipinn would get me anywhere, but here I am!