spellbinders | [OPENING] magical training log

[OPENING] magical training log

Who: Brie, whichever newbies want to show up.
Where: The beach.
When: Day 4
Open/Closed: OTA

[It's about noon on the island, based on the position of the sun. The newbies have had a few days to settle in, but that doesn't mean they've fully mastered their newfound abilities.

As much stock as Genette puts into telepathy, Brie is more concerned about their other newfound gifts. She's aggressively tried to wrangle as many newbies as possible onto the sandy shores of the beachfront area for some magic practice.

She's got a list of everyone's magic -- only a few vague notes, limitations are for you to discover -- and she's handing out missions for magic training. If you want to participate? Feel free. If you don't? Suit yourself.

But understanding your magic isn't just an activity that benefits the group. Learning your magic's abilities may be what stands between you and survival, which is something she makes perfectly clear.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That would be...much appreciated. Thank you. For all we know more crabs will suddenly emerge at Brie's command and start attacking us as an extra training exercise soon enough.

[that's probably not how crabs work, but what does he know]

[Waver sets himself down in the sand, comfortable enough given that he isn't inclined to being outdoors, never mind near anything sandy.]

Please don't joke about that. What did she assign you to do anyway?

I'm supposed to fly two people up there, eventually.

[jerks his head up and to the right, towards one of the peaks that form the highest points of the island]

Of course, that requires getting the hang of flying--and of figuring out how not to be blown entirely off my path--first. I wish we had a wind seraph here for advice.

[Ser-- oh. Right, Waver's had that conversation already. Same world, he notes to himself, then reapplies his attention to the discussion at hand.]

Eventually for that seems like it'd need more than just a day. Jeez.

What can I say? We've got a rather harsh taskmistress. It seems useful to get it under control sooner rather than later, though. At least I've discovered it doesn't affect my faculties to change shape; that's what I was worried about most here.

[really REALLY worried. that, in fact, has been the biggest distraction from him getting control of the dragon body properly; apprehension and nerves that he'd suddenly start thinking like one.]

I mean, I've had meaner teachers, but she's got uh, high standards.

[No one else can be Kayneth, thankfully.]

So do you change at will, or is there a spell, or...?

Tell me about it. She's stricter than Gramps . . .

At I can change at will, it looks like about once a day unless someone gives me a boost with their power, which was a bit of a shock earlier. If I try more than once otherwise nothing happens. It hurts a bit, but not as much as one would expect. It just also doesn't come with, um, any sort of . . . knowledge of how to use the shape, you might say. I haven't tried to figure out how long I can stay changed yet.

How does a boost in power even work?

[Waver looks around, then sits himself down on the ground finally. He might be here for a bit, so he may as well be comfy and enjoy a break from his own work.]

Jeez...they went really vague on the details for something that's this big. It's stupid that so much of it is trial and error on your part, especially since you're supposed to accomplish something in all of this.

In this case, he poked me in the chest while I was trying to transform and I immediately grew spikes and nearly fell on him. Not my proudest moment, there. He said the effects varied in how they amplified powers, though.

[he sounds more amused than embarrassed, probably because he's talking to Waver; Waver already SAW him faceplant into the beach today, so there's no use trying to stand on his dignity]

You'd think we'd get a more thorough explanation of what power we're meant to harvest for Qri to keep balancing things. How do we get it if we don't know what we're looking for...?

Well that's. Well.

[Waver feels like he got off easy with regards to powers now. Sure, he had nearly been on fire once, but beyond that things have been straight forwardih. No weird spikes or transformation or anything like that.]

I know. I think that someone would handwave it with a lot of high talk about self discovery, but that's still a pretty weak argument.

Yes...

[it's a reply to both statements, half a sigh]

Guess we just get to look out for anything suspiciously glowing or reshaping reality and hoping for the best, for now.

[Waver nods in tired agreement.]

We'll at least notice suspicious glowing. If the reality re-shape is subtle, we may never notice it.

We need someone with some kind of magic tracker ability, honestly . . . someone who can feel magic flareups regardless of the world or type. I might be able to pick up something normally, but I don't know how other worlds' magics will map to malevolence or mana...

[what a pain.]

I'll bet you that no one has that ability, and no one will unless we get really lucky.

[Waver digs his hands into the sand, moving then in little circles out of nothing better to do.]

You'd make easy money off me. Oh well, it's a good hope to have, right...?

-- aha.

[he seems to have figured something out, because he finally bunches up and half-hops to his feet with an ungainly flap of his wings. YEAH HE DID IT! he achieved verticality]

[Waver inches back automatically, all tense and unsure, but then relaxes. Good, that is a relief.]

Now hopefully the sand won't eat you back up.

Don't jinx it!

Sorry! Jeez, sorry!

[Waver fixes the stand with a disapproving glare, just to make sure it won't rebel.]

[it WOBBLES VERY SLIGHTLY, but holds. he tests one foot off the sand, then another, with a pleased chuffing sound]

Okay, this should work fine if I concentrate. You feel like a lift someplace?

[On one hand, Waver would love to not have to walk back to the beach. On the other, flying when one's still learning seems like a quick way to get a broken limb or worse. On the third hand, he'd look like a dick if he refused.]

Sure. Er, can you manage just above the tree line? I've never flown in this much open air before.

Yeah, don't worry, I'm not taking anyone up too high for a bit after that.

[he lowers his head and neck closer to the ground; it's easy to see where one can sort of scramble up and sit without hitting spikes or hampering wings]

[Waver laughs slightly at that. His concern is shared, and that more than anything else is what gets him to walk over and pause. He evaluates the best route up, then goes with it.]

Let me know if I step on anything.

Uh-huh. Don't worry, this body's nothing if not sturdy.

[spreads and angles his wings a couple of times once Waver's settled, testing, muscles bunching, then leaps into flight all at once; it's a lot more sudden than going up in Rider's chariot, perhaps, but manageable as long as Waver braced for it]

If you say so.

[For once, Waver is braced for take off. That's only because he's tense and expecting liftoff at any second, so when it finally does happen well, he's hanging on for dear life.

Waver's grip is white knuckled, mostly because he can feel his own body shifting along with the muscle movements. It takes a while to figure out what a comfortable and steady position is.]

[he can't hover, but he just does relatively easy circles around the area of beach they were on, getting the hang of using his wings; he does a couple of slightly alarming dips but for the most part the winds here aren't too erratic. they're doing fine for beginners!]

I gotta say -- even if it's a pain to master, being able to do this is certainly something --

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