It was odd really.. It wasn't there before.. was it? That small glimmer on the side of that tree. It wasn't a very remarkable tree.. just average. Except for that small glowing circle. It was growing! That circle got bigger and bigger until it was touching the ground. It got taller too! stretching toward the branches of the tree until it was rather oblong and just about door sized. was it a door? Some sort of portal? It was larger now than the tree that once harbored its light. Were it a door, What could it possibly lead to?
((ooc: No one seemed interested so I thought I would continue a bit and see if I could trigger some interest!))
Suddenly the door wavered and collapsed leaving a thin glowing line in the bark of the tree. In its place was a tall, muscled man smiling eagerly. He was peculiar, Messy hair brushed at his bare shoulders and his baggy hakama blew in the wind. Though he stood in the safe zone and seemed to carry no weapons it was clear that the protective magics of The Meeting Place forsook him. "This place.. its beautiful! Glorious even! The magic that flows through here.. The beautiful trees. Now if only I knew where here was." He took a few steps away from the tree and started gathering wood to create a fire. As he picked piece up he would set them aside and they would hover, Nicely stacked, in a floating pile which followed him as he walked.
Admar was sitting on a comfortable mat in a lush clearing within The Meeting Place, a sphere of purple energy encompassing him with its vivid color. In his hands he held a glass prism which purple light emanated from, and apparently the source of the bubble he was currently engulfed in. The color invoker was meditating, a vision quest to which he sought many answers to. In his meditational journey he floated amongst the stars themselves in the black vacuum of space, astral body zipping from star to star, gathering what insights he could from each before moving on to the next. He was at this for some time before he noticed a rather strange sight before him about several yards away from his current position. It appeared to be a sort of void or emptiness within the black nothingness of space itself.
Intrigued greatly by this, Admar floated over there in his astral form to get a better look at this phenomenon. His examination revealed it to be a doorway, fluctuating in and out as though barely there. Where it led to, he could not rightly say.
After a more thorough examination with a mental glimpse into what lie beyond, Admar determined this to be a gateway to, of all places, Nowhere. Now this was fascinating to say the least. While Admar had come across many a portal and doorway, they usually led somewhere. To have a door lead nowhere at all seemed to defy many threads of logic. Some brief amount of time passed, or at least it would appear time were present here, in actuality time didn't exist in the black reaches of space. But for lack of a better description, to Admar time may have well have passed a little as he continued to gather what information he could from this strange doorway. It was white with a clear inside to it, and if he looked closer he could vaguely see the outline of a large castle within its mysterious depths. A dark forest surrounded the castle on all sides. Interesting, the mage thought both perplexed and awed at the same time.
After some more study and collecting what information he was able to, he deemed the time right to return to the material world. He zipped quickly back to his starting point, a lone etheric purple doorway floating in the midst of space. Stepping through, he was promptly returned to the clearing in The Meeting Place, the magic of the circular sphere dissipating as his consciousness returned to reality. In turn, the purplish light within the prism itself also faded, leaving it once more a seemingly normal glass prism of no real interest.
Tapping into this higher magic had drained part of his mana reserve, but Admar could easily recharge it by resting. After all Spirit Journey was not exactly a simple magical method, but one he was well-versed in nonetheless. Gathering up his mat and prism, Admar then walked through the woods of this magical place. The magic itself here was clearly evident, even to those not well-versed in energy detection. He continued to walk, his colorful robe swishing around him as he did.
Soon, he came upon a tree. A rather unremarkable tree if he did say so himself. However the tree itself was not what got his attention, nor did the rapidly fading mark on the tree capture his interest either. Instead, his gaze was drawn to a rather strange looking fellow, shoulder-length red hair and goatee some of his most notable features. Admar curiously detected the same type of energy he had observed from the Nowhere doorway in his meditation coming from this person. Perhaps this individual hailed from such a place, or rather he thought, a non-place. He smiled wryly at this absurd notion. That's what happens when one spends a lot of time with oneself, he thought. One stops making sense to even himself.
Admar waved at the other man, attempting to get his attention as the mage sensed no threat from him at all. "Hello there stranger! Lovely day, is it not?"
Sacora's life was not one filled with extraordinary or amazing occurences. While she had her magic, it was considered normal where she was raised, and other than her foster family's death which forced her to fend for herself, nothing else out of the blue happened. Sure, things got more interesting when she began her magic trinket shop and took up the occasional journey across Le'raana. But other than that, her life was mostly ordinary. That is, until she witnessed this strange, most singular occurrence unfold right before her eyes.
She had just been walking in the woods of the Meeting Place, collecting some herbs here and there, but above all enjoying her little stroll, when suddenly the tree before her began to glow with the outline of a door. She stopped right where she stood, paralyzed like a deer that has seen its predator, unable to tear her eyes from the sight until a tall red-haired shirtless man came out of said door and commented on the beauty of the Meeting Place. Sacora continued to watch him in stunned silence, frozen in her spot, as he began to gather firewood.
When he started moving off with the floating firewood trailing after him, the fire mage let out a deep breath and moved slowly after him. He was so curious, this man. She wanted to speak out and say something to him, a question perhaps, when another man in colorful robes approached the clearing and said, "Hello there stranger! Lovely day, is it not?"
"Indeed, it is a lovely day to be outside," the young woman responded, either revealing her presence to either two of the men for the first time with this statement, or not. "An even lovelier day to be emerging from magical doors in trees." She turned questioningly to the red-haired man. "That gave me quite a scare back there. What school of magic do you belong to?"
"Oh hello!" The red haired man spun around. "I'm Laran!" His firewood clattered to the ground in a pile. "what school of magic do I belong to? None at all! I belong to myself!" He smiled. "How are you fine folks this afternoon in..." He paused and thought for a moment, Tasting the air "Where... are we anyway?"
"Oh hello! I'm Laran!"
"And I'm Sacora," the fire mage said. In response to her question of which school of magic he belonged to, Laran happily quipped that he belonged to none other than himself. Fair enough--Sacora wasn't going to pry (although he might have misinterpreted "school of magic" to mean an actual, substantial brick-and-mortar school; what she had really meant was what kind of magic he practiced).
"How are you fine folks this afternoon in...Where...are we anyway?"
Sacora looked about them before responding, "We're in the Meeting Place. Pretty much an area of forest and meadow terrain that is connected to all other places in the world through access points. I myself came from Serendipity. Perhaps you crossed through such an access point? Although I never knew one existed through a tree." She tilted her head slightly in saying this, to show that she was a bit confused. Her soft hair blew in the breeze and moved along with her movements, causing her to reach up and brush a stray strand behind her ear before it could fly in her face.
It was then she noticed the firewood pile dropped haphazardly on the ground. "Oh, sorry about that. Would you like some help with it? I'm a fire mage."
"Oh. No no. I know how I got here! Just wasn't sure where here was! I decided there was a door on my end but one can never be sure whats on the other side of a door until they've been through." Laran plopped down where he was standing and pulled out a sheaf of disheveled pages. He started sifting through them haphazardly. A quick glance would reveal that they were once maps but much of the detail had been lost in a jumble of red, black, and blue lines, circles, and numbers drawn across them seemingly randomly. Most were of familiar places, Serendipity, Connlaoth, Espera, And eventually he pulled out one that had no markings other than the original mapping. This was labeled "The Meeting Place" in large red lettering across the top. He swept his hand across it as though flattening it out and as he did a golden dot flashed like a lightning bug beneath the page. He jabbed his finger down on the spot eagerly "Aaaha! Right here then? interesting! Ive never come out in this place before!" when he lifted his dirty digit from the page a black circle stayed in its place with a strange character in the middle. He collected up the pages and placed on top of them a much stranger map.
This page seemed as though someone had created it in reverse: Taken charcoal and colored the entire page, then smeared away sections leaving yellowish gray visible in the shape of an island carved from the blackness. The whole island was covered in forest save a small castle fortress in the very center. This map too had no markings but when he pressed his hands to it to flatten it down thousands of marks flowed across the surface too quickly to follow. Finally he pressed a thumb to the page, Pinning down a mark as it passed through an outlying bit of forest near the blackness. The small character matched the other and hung like an ember on the page for seconds before fading into nothingness. Emblazoned across the top of this impossible map was one word. A fairly common word by itself but something in the way it was written made those who read it feel as though it wasn't quite what they thought. It hung in their minds for a few seconds after reading.NOWHERE
"There. Now that that is all squared away. Come sit. Ive got a roaring fire and comfy chairs!" It was impossible to tell if he had simply disregarded the question of assistance with the fire or if he hadn't heard but in either case it was clearly unnecessary. In the blink of an eye the wood had somehow stacked, and lit itself, and grown into a large warming fire. Laran was sitting on a small stump and two others were placed a comfortable distance from the fire, though only moments ago this was not the case.
"Oh hello! I'm Laran!"
"And I'm Sacora."
"And this mage standing before you is known as Admar, who is at your service." he bowed just a little to the two before him.
When asked about where they were, Admar let the young mage do the talking. He recognized her as such, not just by her clothing but her energy was most surely that of a mage, a fire mage, he reckoned.
The red-haired man was of an energetic signature that very heavily resembled the Nowhere doorway. As to his kind of magic, Admar was also very curious, intrigued to know himself. Constantly looking for knowledge of any flavor or variety, he wasn't called Admar Knowledge-Seeker for nothing! What he was able to glean from his observations during his meditation was that it was a unique form of primal magic, one he was unfamiliar with. Admar was most eager to learn what he could.
The color invoker noticed the discarded firewood on the ground and immediately exclaimed, "Oh, do let this old man help you with that. Admar insists! Tis' only courteous!" He immediately began helping with picking up the various logs and pieces on the ground as Sacora also inquired about whether Laran needed any help with this.
"And while Admar and his comrades are having such a lovely conversation here, why don't all present sit down and have a cup of tea while conversing? Admar's treat of course!" He continued to help pick up the dropped firewood. "Ah, where would you like Admar to put this?" Indicating his head to the logs in his arms.
As Admar was collecting the firewood, he had been listening to Laran speak and also noticed his disheveled maps but was too busy with what he was doing to get a good look at them.
Suddenly the firewood in Admar's arms disappeared and reformed in another part of The Meeting Place nearby, and soon was blazing with a merry fire! "Fascinating!" Admar quipped. "You must tell this mage more about how you did that! Tis' truly spectacular!"
He rummaged through his bag, looking for something. "Aha!" Admar exclaimed loudly. "Just what this mage likes! Admar is rather partial to blueberry green tea if he does say so himself!" He headed toward the chairs situated about the fire, and said, "No worries, Admar will share as promised! There is plenty to go around!"
((I tried to catch up as best I could.))
((You're doing splendid))
While she and Laran had been introducing themselves to each other, the colorfully robed man gave his name as Admar. He seemed like a nice and jolly fellow to Sacora, so she supposed there was no harm to fear from him. He was also another mage, as he had said to the both of them. As Laran was given the name and description of his present location, he pulled out a sheaf of confusing maps and marked the Meeting Place magically with his finger. "Aaaha! Right here then? interesting! Ive never come out in this place before!"
Sacora watched silently as he did so, taking in the curious-looking maps and marks on them. When he came to the inverted-colored map, Sacora was fairly surprised to see that it was labeled NOWHERE. She knew of no place that could bear such a name. Then again, she wasn't the most informed mage in all the country. What education she had pertained to her magic, and went no further from there the day her foster family passed away. She had not the time to ask about it when Laran put away his maps and invited them to sit with him by a hearty fire and some comfy chairs.
Which reminded her about the discarded logs. "Oh, do let this old man help you with that. Admar insists! 'Tis only courteous!" And Admar began picking them up whilst talking about some tea he could make for them--but the wood suddenly disappeared from his arms and then appeared elsewhere perfectly arranged and lit as if someone had already set them afire--another spectacular show of Laran's power. "Fascinating! You must tell this mage more about how you did that! Tis' truly spectacular!"
"...Indeed, you must," Sacora parroted almost breathlessly, taken by surprise by this trick. She wandered over to a chair and sat down. Admar was coming over to take a seat as well and invited them all to some of his tea. "Blueberry green tea? That would be wonderful." And, remembering something, the fire mage reached into her bag to draw out a little parcel. "I also brought along some berry cakes I made before coming here...if any of you don't mind some..." She said this with a slight blush, for she had never shared any food she made with anyone else before, but she wanted to do so now to show them that she wouldn't make use of their hospitality and generosity without paying back somehow.
Admar settled himself comfortably on the chair reserved for him. He quickly began preparations to make the tea, getting out a pot, a large flask of water, a metal holder of some sort to prop the pot over the fire, as well as the blueberry green tea itself and three spoons with matching tea cups.
He talked as he worked on this, saying casually, "So, Admar heard you mention something about a doorway you decided to make appear on your end. Where exactly do you hail from, this mage is quite curious to know."
Admar thought he already knew, but didn't want to reveal his knowledge too soon, so as not to make anyone suspicious of him. He had learned that the hard way many years ago, when he was still somewhat of a young age and still had much to learn of his magic then. Quite different from today, he mused.
Pretty soon, the tea was ready. "Ah, lovely." Admar remarked. He poured some of the tea into a cup and handed it to Sacora along with one of the spoons. "Ladies first after all." He then proceeded to pour tea for Laran and himself as well. "Admar would love a berry cake very much", he says. "It's been quite awhile since Admar indulged in some berry cakes, he has almost forgotten what they taste like!"
Laran's smile grew wide at the offer of food and drink and at the sudden friendship that had been struck up. "Why I would love some of each!" He said to his new companions. "And I'm more than happy to share the not-so-secrets of my magic. Although I'm sure esteemed mages such as yourselves wouldn't want to just hear the technicalities of it. You'd want to learn its practicalities! That we can't do in this place. However I am certainly willing to tell you what little can be explained without practice." He sipped at his tea briefly
"As for the land from which I hail It's rather... Complex." He thought for a moment. Weighing just how much to share with these new friends he had made so suddenly "There is a place.. Somewhat like this place, but much the opposite. A space stuffed between worlds where many paths cross. But where this place is warded and safe, My land is dangerous and full of Beasts." He looked longingly into his tea cup "I recall a time when it wasn't so. When I had just called it into being. It was to be a training ground for those who sought to learn my magic. Primal Will. Now those fools have made it nothing more than a perilous forest and a lonely castle. I called it Nowhere, Because that's what I made it from. The blank energy in between worlds. I called it forth from Nothing. and a place of nothing must be nowhere. And there in the Middle of Nowhere is my castle." He sipped at his tea again gingerly and blew across the top scattering the steam that rose from it. "As for the door.. Well its the Sometimes Door. Those trained in Primal Will can open and close them. The problem is by the nature of Primal Will you can't choose whats on the other side unless you've already been there."
The color invoker listened intently to Laran's explanation of what he called 'Primal Will', and of his home located in Nowhere.
"Tis' most interesting, indeed!" He put down his tea cup and began shuffling around in his knapsack looking for a piece of parchment, quill and an ink pot. "Would you mind terribly if Admar were to write this down? He would most love to document such an intriguing-to-him discovery! Admar will credit you, of course." he added in quickly.
Laran was more than happy to receive some tea and cakes. "Why I would love some of each!" he declared, and Admar began by pouring out the cups of tea.
Admar handed Sacora her cup of tea. "Ladies first, after all." She smiled and thanked him, taking the teacup in her hand and stirring it with the spoon before sipping. Delicious. He made one next for Laran and then one for himself. She next opened her parcel of berry cakes and began distributing one each to Laran and Admar. All the while, she listened to Laran explain his magic, a form known as Primal Will. She wondered if it was in anyway similar--or if it was a form--of primal magic in itself. He told them of how he formed the land of Nowhere from...well, nothing, and the Castle in the Middle of Nowhere.
It seemed as though the magic of Primal Will was a potentially dangerous thing, as all magicks are, since a few fools had managed to turn Laran's Nowhere into an isolated and perilous place full of dangerous beasts. While Admar was taking out parchment and quills to write this all down, Sacora listened seemingly nonchalantly as she nibbled on a berry cake. In truth she was very much enthralled, but whenever she happened to be listening intently to something, her face was mostly devoid of any betraying emotion.
"Not at all Admar. Though I do ask that you do not attempt to practice without guidance. Primal Will is about visualizing. Without proper technique all kinds of nasty things can happen. Although those who wish to access Primal Will must float in the Nothingness for a day or two first and good luck finding it without my doors! So I think we are safe. Although you were closer than most I suppose. I saw you floating around outside yourself near my door" Laran smiled wide and took a massive bite of the berry cake. "This is an absolute delicacy! Its been ages since I've had food that I didn't have to make myself. Thank you both so much! I hope I can return the hospitality in some way!"
"Ah, you must undoubtedly be referring to Admar's little meditational trip of his." Admar's eyes sparkled in merriment. He jotted down a few notes with the quill on the parchment in front of him and then looked back up again. "Yes, this mage was aware of your Nowhere home, although not all the details were forthcoming to his mind. You see, Admar practices a form of magic that is known as Color Invocation. He before you is a Master of such."
The color invoker stopped a moment to sip at his tea before continuing. "Admar can reveal more about this exclusive magic to those present here, for indeed it is exclusive, taking many a year to learn properly and is not well-known amongst the general mage populace. Those few who are schooled in its mastery and knowledge are few, living secluded from the rest of society but some do like to travel to gain more knowledge, such as Admar himself here."
Admar paused just a second to take a bite of the berry cake offered to him, its flavor exploding in his mouth with its delicious taste. "Most exquisite this is! One of the most delectable treats Admar has had in a while!" He took another bite, nodding in approval. "Very tasty, Admar thanks the young lady for sharing her delightful cakes." Once finished chewing, he turned his attention back to Laran. "Oh, no worries indeed about unpracticed use of your magic. That would be most irresponsible. Admar understands better than most the absolute necessity of needing a teacher well-versed in a new magical technique to the person wishing to learn such. This mage and scholar is merely writing down the basic notes for reference purposes only."
With that he finished writing down the remaining notations on his sheet of parchment, blew on the ink to let it dry thoroughly, waited a moment, then rolled up the parchment into a thin scroll and tied a little bit of twine around it to hold it together. Admar then proceeded to put the rolled up scroll into his pack before looking brightly at the other two once again. "So, shall Admar share more information about his secretive magics? And perhaps the both of you can continue to share knowledge of your own practices? Admar is also most intrigued to learn more about this mysterious castle and forest in the middle of Nowhere. Of particular interest is how long said castle has been around."
Laran and Admar started mentioning something about Admar wandering too close to the door Laran opened; this confused Sacora, for she had not seen Admar anywhere near that area until he came up to them and said the first greeting.
"This is an absolute delicacy! Its been ages since I've had food that I didn't have to make myself. Thank you both so much! I hope I can return the hospitality in some way!"
At this exclamation, Sacora nodded and said, "You're welcome."
Continuing at the previous point, Admar referred to this as his "little meditational trip". He stated himself as a master of Color Invocation, the magic he used to--Sacora could only guess--astral project himself, or somehow search through the minds of people, for he also mentioned that through this magic he knew of Laran's home. After sipping some tea, he continued talking about his magic, "Admar can reveal more about this exclusive magic to those present here, for indeed it is exclusive, taking many a year to learn properly and is not well-known amongst the general mage populace. Those few who are schooled in its mastery and knowledge are few, living secluded from the rest of society but some do like to travel to gain more knowledge, such as Admar himself here."
They have something in common, Sacora thought. Their magicks are rare, few people know how to use them, and the practitioners are often secluded from society.
Admar began to compliment Sacora on her berry cakes as he took a break to eat his. Sacora blushed, and she said in response, "Again, you're welcome. If any of you want some more, I have four of them here." That would mean she carried seven cakes with her--while she could not have eaten all of those in one Meeting Place escapade, she kept that many in her bag with confidence because they were enchanted beforehand with a spell to keep them fresh for a longer period of time.
When Admar was finished writing, he asked if both Laran and Sacora could elaborate more on their methods of magic. He seemed particularly interested to learn about the land of Nowhere, so Sacora kept silent to let Laran continue his account.
"Certainly!" Laran smiled. "Primal Will is, at base, fairly simple. You state something, those who are learning state it out loud but it can be done mentally too, with such conviction, such honest belief behind the words, that it is true. You just have to truly believe that what you're saying is the truth and it happens. The problem is getting over that first time. Because you know it isn't true, if it was you wouldn't need magic to make it so. The solution is a quick float in the nothingness between worlds. Creation is easy out there. Stray thought becomes reality quickly because the nothingness likes to take form. Realizing it CAN happen makes it easier to believe it will. Once you believe it will you can start to believe it already has. And THAT is where the magic happens. As for the age of the castle. Well. Its been around for a while." He trailed off thoughtfully for a moment "We can certainly visit it at some point if you would like! I have no problem with taking you two there! However first I'd like to hear about this color magic of yours!" He finished the cake and licked his fingers, sucking the tip of his index thoughtfully for a moment "I ah.. would also very much like another of those delicious cakes. I promise to replace it at a later date."
Admar smiled and nodded as he listened to Laran's explanation of his magical technique. "So, it is a form of manifestation through intent. Tis' most interesting to hear about the methodology of such!" Admar took the last bite of his berry cake, chewed it and swallowed before taking another sip of tea.
"As for color invocation. Well, in a nutshell it is entirely based off the idea of color symbolism. That color is energy, and that this energy is in fact it's own unique form of magic with its own vibrational patterns that can be tapped into to create a variety of results. It is not so difficult to fathom this concept if one has ever heard the terms, 'green with envy', 'sad and blue', or 'he was so angry he saw red'. For indeed, color is just a form of light and light itself has much energy. It could even be argued that light itself is one of the highest forms of energy in the universe overall! Even the color black being the absence of light, has its own associations to it which can be tapped into. Of course, all color energies have both bad and good associated with them, which plays a major part in its theory and practice. Some colors require more mana consumption as they operate at a higher vibrational level and therefore take longer to recharge fully. There are 13 colors overall in this technique." he finished.
"Admar sees many similarities between you and he. For one, both your magic and his magic are rare with few knowing how to utilize them. However, unlike you Laran, Admar here is not the founder of this color invocation art form. There are others above he himself that Admar has learned his magical abilities from. They being the true founders of Color Invocation. This mage has simply learned from the best, but cannot claim any rightful ownership over the technique." Quickly finishing the rest of his tea, Admar added in "It took Admar many a year to learn and become great at such. He is not as young as he appears to be." smiling a bit at this.
"As for color magic's application, it requires the use of a glass prism, something that can reflect light of any kind and channel its energy to where it needs to go. Admar has one of course, it is nigh unbreakable." Smiling secretively, he continued. "The effects of that light can be channeled to reflect a certain color, such as red for instance. Then you just draw upon the symbolism of your chosen color depending on your intentions of course and that color's capability to concentrate on creating a specific result. Like red is known to boost energy, it is very fast moving energetically speaking, and is said to be quite a revitalizing color. So it can be used in this case to boost stamina and rid oneself of tiredness. Mind you, it is not a substitute for total lack of sleep though, it does have limitations. Each color has its own properties that are considered and one must know of them well before one can use this type of magic. There is much that can be done with this magic, even Admar himself is still finding out new and improved ways of using this technique, despite being a Master of it. Admar could continue on but he feels he hopefully has explained enough to understand the gist of it all."
He turned to Sacora saying, "While it is rather tempting to indulge in another one of those tasty cakes, Admar must decline. Too much sugar is not healthy overall." He smiled. "It was very delightful and Admar thanks you for sharing. Perhaps another time then."
Sacora listened quietly as Laran and Admar began speaking of their magicks. Primal Will, as Laran had described it, was a magic fueled by belief and imagination. One had but to believe something would happen, and it happened. Sacora was about to ask about instances in which one wanted to bring about something that was hard to believe in, but Laran then explained that to master that obstacle one trained in an empty dimension in which anything that came to mind would become true--thus, making it easier to believe in hard-to-believe circumstances. He also asked for more berry cake, which Sacora readily handed him.
Next was Admar's account of his magic, Color Invocation. It was an interesting concept in which one called upon the colors for different effects. What was even more interesting was that each color had a different property, mostly aligned to them by popular conceptions of said color. Red, for example, was full of energy and acceleration. While Admar wasn't the founder of his form of magic, he was a skilled master of it, and he humbly acknowledged that there was much more for him to learn despite his skill. He declined another berry cake, stating that he was watching his health, and Sacora nodded knowingly.
They both were done with their narratives of their magic practices. As Sacora took a sip of her tea, she realized it was probably her turn to talk about her magic. When she thought about it though, her magic wasn't in any way as unique as Laran's or Admar's. In fact, she had not much magical education after her foster parents died. It would be rude to keep silent, though, so she said, "Your magicks are very wonderful. It was interesting to learn a little of both. I don't practice anything too remarkable...I use a form of elemental magic, particularly fire, that was innate within me since birth. I am a Serenian," she explained, for those of Serenian heritage were part-human part-fey, and thus oftentimes born with magic.
"I can produce fire from within myself or control flames that are around me. Beyond that, I'm afraid I can't do much else." She cast her eyes downwards as she contemplated what to say next. "I...um, did not have much of a magical education after...after, well, my foster parents died. I had to provide for myself afterwards. School was not within my means."
"Hey don't worry Sacora! That's still impressive magic! And its never too late to learn more either! Besides whatever you did to make such delicious berry cakes must also have been some powerful magic!" He laughed briefly then took on a thoughtful look. " You know... The Somewhere Castle's original purpose was an academy for the study of magic. It sits empty now but Perhaps not forever? Admar, There are rooms and laboratories and such you could use to continue your study of Color Invocation. Sacora I could always teach you some small amount of Primal Will. Perhaps you could combine it with your innate affinity with fire magic to create something powerful" While he was talking he had finished his berry cake and, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, He flopped back off his chair and into the grass where he patted his stomach in a satisfied way
"Hey don't worry Sacora! That's still impressive magic! And its never too late to learn more either! Besides whatever you did to make such delicious berry cakes must also have been some powerful magic!" Laran cheerfully laughed, obviously trying to make her feel better about what she had disclosed to them. She laughed along with his last remark, that whatever she used to make such good cakes must have been powerful magic.
"Well, cooking and baking seem to be magic in themselves. You find the right ingredients, slice, chop, season them the right way, and then put them within some heat...and voila, you have a dish." She laughed out the last chuckle and then sighed it out, but not in a bad way. She had not meant to burden them with any guilt in her honesty about her education. She just wanted to tell the truth, and if she felt any embarrassment, it was on her part and in no way meant to guilt or annoy the other two. She would have hated to do that.
Laran then grew thoughtful and said, "You know... The Somewhere Castle's original purpose was an academy for the study of magic. It sits empty now but Perhaps not forever? Admar, There are rooms and laboratories and such you could use to continue your study of Color Invocation. Sacora I could always teach you some small amount of Primal Will. Perhaps you could combine it with your innate affinity with fire magic to create something powerful"
It was very nice of him to offer such opportunities to both her and Admar. It sounded very promising to Sacora, although she felt a little skeptical about using Primal Will with fire to create 'something powerful'. Not that she debased Laran's words in any way; however, she just wanted to be careful, in case her imagination caused something too destructive to curb. Fire was, as everyone knew, very destructive when out of control. "If you would not mind teaching me, that would be well," she then said. "And indeed, maybe I could use Primal Will with my fire magic to make something unique. However, I'd want to go about this carefully, since I don't want to do anything foolish or hurt anybody. Therefore, it will take some time before I mix the two, but with your guidance, I believe I'll be able to use it wisely in the future."
After Sacora had told them about her fire capabilities, Admar could tell she was feeling awkward about it. "Not to worry, dear Sacora!" Admar reassured the fire mage. "Admar himself has always found the elements, fire in particular, to be quite fascinating even though he does not profess any sort of talent for it. He has been more focused on his color invocation studies even though some of his fellow comrades do have some other magical skills, fire being one of these. Admar is most interested in seeing what you can do with it! Any skill is commendable in Admar's viewpoint." Laran also did what he could to reassure Sacora's confidence in her abilities.
When Laran mentioned that his Nowhere Castle was intended to be a school and place of experimentation that currently sits empty and unused, Admar's ears perked up with great interest. "Ah, that would be most lovely! In fact, Admar could use a change of scenery from his overcrowded library in his own organization! Mayhap there could be something there to spark further ideas for his studies? After all, color is everywhere even in planes that exist at a Nexus Point! And this mage is most eager to see this place for real, instead of with his astral vision!" He paused, then continued. "He is also wishing to know more about these forests that surround your Castle of Nowhere, and the beasts that lie within them. What sort of beasts need all beware of? Any in particular? For safety reasons of course. And perhaps further study, mind you." he winked at the both of them. "After all one never knows what sort of interesting trinkets they might drop if vanquished. Although Admar would hope any conflicts of the sort would be minimal."
At the mention of cooking and baking being its own kind of magic, Admar laughed along with the others, agreeing. In a sense, it was true he reasoned. It was just a different sort of creation, one that people could eat! And those berry cakes were something... Although, he wanted to put a limit on how many he consumed, for health reasons of course. Admar hoped to have more of these berry cakes at a later time, perhaps in the Castle spoken of.
He fully understood and agreed with Sacora's explanation of being careful with the destructive powers of fire. It was good she realized this and wanted to be responsible with its usage. Not all mages were that concerned with safety, he knew. Admar respected Sacora all the more for it. In fact, he told her so all of this flitting through his head. "That is most wise, Sacora. Being responsible in one's magic is something that Admar reveres very highly and all mages should too. Although, some do not unfortunately." He frowned a little at this thought.
This little outing in the woods was turning out to be quite delightful, complete with food and drink, discussion and a roaring fire. Admar wouldn't mind at all more of these lovely encounters. "This has been a most wonderful experience Admar does declare. Intelligent discussions over some good food and tea is always great, Admar says. The both of you and Admar should do this more often in the future."
"of course Sacora, I wouldn't have offered if I thought you would be irresponsible. I'm glad to hear that you both value responsibility highly when it comes to magic!" Laran stood up and stretched his legs for a minute before settling back into his seat. "As for the nature of the beasts... " He paused thoughtfully, Sacora and Admar could have glimpsed just a split second of deep sadness cross Laran's face. "They used to be people, Humans, mostly. Or at least they are descendant from beasts that were. Its a long story but the short version is simply that they rejected the mental control and training required to use primal will. They felt that, as they put it "pure creation" Without them trying to control it was "More divine". The chaos of Uncontrolled Primal Will corrupted their bodies and minds and they became violent creatures with no interest in anything but killing. I banished them from the castle but never could quite get them out of the woods. However you needn't concern yourself with them! I'm sure I can get us straight into the castle with the Sometimes Door and we won't ever even see one!. When we are done here I would be happy to open my door again! Just let me know when you're ready to go!"
"That is truly tragic." Admar sympathized. "Admar was not aware of this. He had speculated the beasts were the failed attempts at creation with Primal Will, not your former students themselves. How very sad." He shook his head sorrowfully, before beginning to gather up all his things, putting them back into his knapsack including the tea cups and spoons that the others had finished with, closing it up securely. "Well, Admar is ready whenever everyone else is. Should be a most enlightening trip for certain."
(OOC: Hey guys, I was wondering how you would feel about a little combat, I don't intend to kill or maim anyone, Just a little excitement? Didn't want to throw you both into it unless you wanted to.)
((I don't mind at all. It could be interesting but isn't required. I'm cool with whatever.))
((I don't mind some action either XD))
Sacora nodded as she listened to Laran and Admar's comments about her being responsible in learning new magic. She thought the same of them as well. "This has been a most wonderful experience Admar does declare. Intelligent discussions over some good food and tea is always great, Admar says. The both of you and Admar should do this more often in the future," Admar stated, and Sacora nodded once again in agreement.
"Indeed. It has been a most wonderful visit to the Meeting Place."
Then a sense of shock and horror spread through her features as she listened to Laran's account of the origin of the beasts in the forests of Nowhere. They weren't the creations of the reckless students of Primal Will -- they were the students themselves! They had, as Laran put it, believed that using uncontrolled Primal Will was more "divine". "However you needn't concern yourself with them! I'm sure I can get us straight into the castle with the Sometimes Door and we won't ever even see one!. When we are done here I would be happy to open my door again! Just let me know when you're ready to go!"
"Well, Admar is ready whenever everyone else is. Should be a most enlightening trip for certain," Admar answered.
"I am ready as well," Sacora added, shouldering her bag.
(OOC: Sorry for the delay you guys! I'm a horibble person, I know. Its just that it was finals week and I have been SO busy. :'( )
Laran stood up and smiled "The fire has gone cold!" He stated with a tone as solid as iron. Suddenly, instantly the fire look as if it was weeks old. "There. Now then! Pack up whatever you need and we will be on our way!" He turned to face a nearby tree and took on a serious and focused expression. A small circle appeared on the tree and started expanding outward. After a few seconds it was around six feet high and four feet wide. It looked like ice, the tree visible on the other side of it. "That surface is a door!" Said with the same tone of irrevocable fact. As he finished his sentence purple flame sprouted in the center of the ice and melted it outward until all that was left was a purple flaming ring the dimensions of the original circle. The center was now only slightly transparent with a shimmering curtain of light wavering as if blown by some foreign wind. "You guys go through first and wait just on the other side for me."
"Ladies first." Admar gestured with a hand to the door indicating that Sacora go on in first.
He looked at the door with interest, noting it seemed to be of the same type of transparency and energy that he had seen in his astral journey from before. "Quite a remarkable thing." he stated aloud, thinking of all the wondrous study opportunities he would no doubt be given whilst there in the place called Nowhere.
He waited for Sacora to enter first, before he in turn went in also.
((Indeed you are a horrible person to keep us waiting, do you know how long it has been, LADSJFOIAHETAER!?!?!?
It's totally ok, we understand ^^ [I was being sarcastic, btw]))
Sacora watched as Laran commanded the fire to grow cold and created a small circle of what looked like ice on the trunk of a nearby tree. After it expanded, Laran commanded for it to be a door with as much surety as a king who was confident his orders would be carried out. The ice melted and became nothing but a purple flaming ring through which a shimmering curtain of light waved as though it were a window channeling a draft.
"You guys go through first and wait just on the other side for me."
"Ladies first," Admar then stated, gesturing toward the door for Sacora.
She stood up and, with her bag on her shoulder, nodded to Admar as she stepped through the portal.
((OOC: I completely forgot to comment on your previous comment. Life happens, don't worry about it, we understand.))