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.]

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[ Well then, Yuuko, prepare to watch as a young boy attempts his mission, which happens to be floating his little ball of light around the base camp without catching anything on fire with it. Sounds simple, but he doesn't have much control over its floating yet, and keeping it consistently active is also proving to be a bit difficult. It certainly takes more concentration than whacking things with a Keyblade, at least. He's used magic before, but they were easier for him and came in one burst rather than something he has to keep live and control over. This one just feels different.

But if she's keeping her attention on him at all, she'll probably be able to notice how concentrated he is on his white little ball floating in front of him, trying to keep it steady and ignoring everything around him ... to the point of him completely tripping over a log and landing with his face in the ground.

Luckily, one of his hands stayed up in the air, keeping the ball afloat. He hasn't failed quite yet then?! And he looks up to notice it still there. ] Hey! I've still got it — [ Before it sparks out of existence. And he sighs. ] Time to start over.

[It's hard not to notice a puffy haired kid tripping all over himself and eventually eating some sand.

It's pretty amusing, don't get her wrong, but she takes no satisfaction in watching kids fail. Everyone here should be able to complete their magic mission. This boy seems to be in good spirits though! He just needs a little guidance.

Setting her glass and book aside she raises from chair she's been lounging in to make her way over to Sora.]

That's pretty magic. Can I see it again~?

[If she sees another attempt she'll have a better idea of what he's working with. But from first glance it's appears to jut be a concentration issue. But she'll need a second viewing to be sure.]

[ As he's standing up and brushing himself off, he notices her there. ] Huh? You think so? [ He's ... kind of happy to hear that. He doesn't have much of a personal connection with this magic yet, but he's glad to hear someone likes it! ] Uh, sure! Here —

[ And he'll go ahead and have a little, white ball of light about the size of a golfball spark into existence between his hands (not quite used to making it appear with just one hand just yet, whoops). If she gets too close to it she'll notice it has heat coming off it, as it has the same properties as fire (and maybe she'll notice there are still faint burn marks on his fingers because he's accidentally touched it before). ]

I'm supposed to be floating it around the base camp without setting anything on fire. But I can't even keep it alive for very long. [ A pause. ] Nothing's caught fire, at least. [ Little victories? ]

[Yes. It's definitely warm. A light that can burn you. That's rather neat~ You usually expect a fireball or something but this is unmistakably a light. Unique and different. She likes it~]

Well, you haven't set anything on fire so you're already doing very well. I've noticed there's a lot of magic that requires heavy focus, at least at first. Controlling water or fire or light... Eventually such things become second nature. But they take great concentration in the beginning.

But you can already summon it and that's wonderful. That can be the hardest part, you know. Bringing the spell to life. Continuing to breath life into it... which can be tricky but once you master it it'll be like breathing.

[Just like dimension magic. Sending people into other worlds is no easy task. It requires an awful lot of power and magic. But after a few dozen times doing it... well, she doesn't need a big nap after.]

If you don't mind me asking, how do you bring the light into your hands? What's the imagery you use? Or do you simply focus very hard and it appears? How you start should help with how you continue.

[ Wow, not only is she knowledgeable sounding, but she sure is encouraging, too. She makes this feel a lot more doable, even though he wasn't doubting himself too much in the first place. Just a little frustration. ]

Wow, you really know a lot about magic, huh? [ It's a good thing he's had so many magically skilled teachers in his life.

But hmm. He looks at the light for a moment and then back at her. ] I guess I just sort of think really hard about the light.

Well. I wouldn't be a very good witch if I didn't know about magic.

[She's had some good magical teachers and friends in her life too.]

A ball of light is an interesting spell. It's what a lot of times you use to help visualize another spell. You want to summon fire so you think of a ball of light in your hands first. And then slowly craft the flame in your mind.

Your spell is the ball of light! And you're summoning it exactly right, obviously because it's in your hands. You think about it... well, to put it bluntly, really hard. But once it's existence is in your hands you can't lose that focus. At least at first you need that same concentration to keep it corporeal. Your goal is to move around the camp you said? You don't have to go fast. Go slow. The light is important not how fast you get it done. And~ I know you said you can't keep it maintain for long but if you keep your focus on the ball you might find it lasts a little longer. It also shouldn't get away from you. Not if your mind is focused on it.

Or at least that's how it's been in my experience. I can offer advice until the earth changes course and the sun raises in the west and sets in the east but in the end... everyone is different. I feel the fundamentals might be the same but... that still might not apply to everyone. Focus, at the very least, is important in most if not all things. You want to get something from point A to point B... Without focus no one is going anywhere.

Whoa ... [ She's a witch ... and she really does know a lot. Her teacher-esque explanation of things helps him immensely, and suddenly he's got a brighter fire burning in him to figure this magic out. He was never going to give up in the first place, but now he's a bit more excited than before to work on it.

And he nods.]

Right, got it! So the focus is what's most important, right?

Always. It's sort of like driving. When you first start you're afraid to take your eyes off the road. Your hands are tightly grasped around the wheel. You might not even turn on the radio because you don't want to be distracted. But as time goes on... you drive more casually. More relaxed but you never stop focusing on what you're doing. That's what this is like.

Take your time in getting to where you need to go. How fast you complete your task doesn't matter. [She doesn't think so anyway.] Just that you do. And as that old saying goes. Slow and steady wins the race. Which is good logic considering what you have in your hands can apparently start a fire.

[They just got here so please don't burn down the beach.]

[ He's not sure he 100% understands the driving reference since he's had sort of ... odd and specific experiences with driving (like, say, on the bikes in Tron's world —), but he thinks he gets what she's getting at. Take your time! Focus! It'll get easier! And stuff. And he gives nods throughout that to show he's paying attention and listening — he really does want to get better here!

But he makes a bit of a face at her last words. ]

It sure can. [ Start a fire, that is. ] I made the mistake of touching it earlier. Not gonna do that again.

[ He's not even immune from his own magic!! Wow!! ]

I don't think anyone can blame you for doing that. I think the natural want is to reach out and touch it just to see what might happen.

[There's no denying that even she'd like to at least hold it in her hands. If this was her power she'd probably have tried to touch it too.]

And we don't learn unless we try. We know not to touch hot stoves because they burned us once. You know not to touch that ball of light because it hurts. If you hadn't tried you'd have never known.

Mistakes bring about knowledge and understanding.

[It's all part of the learning process. As the saying goes: No pain no gain~]

[ Man, she makes it seem like it's a smart thing to touch the little firey ball of light. Better than calling him an idiot for it, at least! ]

Uh ... yeah, I guess you're right. Still, woulda been nice to not experience that though. But I guess now I know.

[ Which is ... good. He supposes. ]

[She laughs.] I imagine so. But there's no teacher quite like pain.

I do hope I offered some guidance. I look forward to seeing your success in your task! I wonder though, is there a reward for completing your mission?

[Other than getting better at your magic, of course. With all these children she'd be surprised if there wasn't some kind of incentive. But maybe everyone here is surprisingly dutiful.]

[ ... He hadn't even thought of that. Sora doesn't often think of whether there's a reward at the end of the things he does. He mostly just does them. ]

... Huh. I didn't think to ask. You think there is?

If there is I am sorely disappointed I didn't sign up for training.

[That'd have been a gift she could have taken too! Do a task. Get rewarded. Unlike the gifts that were dumped on them at the beginning that she sadly had to pass on. Oh well.]

Well... not that disappointed. I prefer this to running around in the hot sun. [She leans back in her chair for emphasis. If she had sunglasses and bathing suit this would be absolutely perfect.]

Let me know if you win a prize~

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[OPENING] magical training log

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