The First Lesson (Qaerris)

[Basilisk]

When Qaerris chose his discipline, or at least expressed interest in Illusionism, Ellasin nodded. "Illusionism is more complex than Gravitation, but not nearly as resource intensive as Necromancy. It has a great many possible applications, but don't expect to get much out of it starting off." Ellasin said as they left the forest, the walls of Ivorian ahead of them. "Leave the rest of your questions unsaid for now though. What I will teach you is largely a secret." she said quietly as they headed back to the city.

Ellasin remained silent until they returned to the inn, where she led the way to her room. Her pet raven cawing a greeting at her. "Yes, hello, Corby." she said, motioning for Qaerris to shut the door behind him before she went over to her trunk. Unlocking the latch, Ellasin opened the trunk and pushed a small button on the inside of the trunk before closing it again and pressing on the side of the lid. The very top of the trunk moved and the sorceress lifted the cover off, revealing a small collection of rings, earrings, necklaces and even a few buckles. Looking up at Qaerris, she looked down at her collection of Conduits and picked out a few Illusionsims Conduits, setting them on the table. A ring, an earring, a necklace, and a buckle, one of each type.

"These are Conduits," Ellasin said, gesturing at her collection, "the artifacts that allow for the manipulation of mana into spells. Without these, there is no Arcana, no magic, beyond the most basic discipline of Attunement. And there's not really that much you can do with Attunement on it's own." she said, before taking off her cloak and sitting down on her bed, gesturing to the four Conduits she had set on the table. "So pick yours, Qaerris."

[Qaerris]

Resource intensive? The Mortalborn wondered to himself what Ellasin could possibly mean. When Qaerris had seen Ellasin perform her 'arcana', as she had called it, she seemed to have conjured force from the nothingness, manipulating the rocks that she had brushed aside with nothing more than a gesture. Qaerris spent the next few bits wondering as he listened to Ellasin's halting of explanation, leading the Mortalborn back to the city of Ivorian.

The winding paths were becoming rather dull, an inconvenience now that their exotic charm had died away. With the infinite possibilities that Ellasin's tutelage offered him, he had become entirely engrossed in the idea of arcana, listening avidly to his new mistress as she began to delve straight into her explanation.

As Qaerris listened to his instructor speak, he noted that she had delved into a line of jargon that the Mortalborn did not understand, though the usage of context surely assisted him in that endeavor. It seemed to the Mortalborn that 'mana' was the resource that Ellasin had referred to earlier, a resource that was used by these so-called 'conduits' that enabled Ellasin's ability to practice spellcraft.

When the Mortalborn was instructed to pick a conduit, his hand brushed along the surface of each one, a curious gaze set upon his features. These pieces of jewelry looked entirely normal! Though, so did Ellasin and she had proven to be much more than what she seemed. Relegated to confiding in the Necromancer's good faith that these items were in fact arcane in nature, the Mortalborn mused, considering carefully which piece he wished to take. Picking up the ring with two fingers, he sought to slide the piece of jewelry onto his finger, finding the fit to be rater snug.

Qaerris decided that he was satisfied with his choice, he raised his hand, showing the adorned ring to his new mentor as he went on to ask,

"Okay... so what do I do with this now that I have it? What's mana? Or Attunement, even?"

The Mortalborn's curiosity had been abated for far too long without due satisfaction, and he wanted, more than anything for his questions to be answered.

[Basilisk]

Ellasin smiled as Qaerris chose his conduit, then gestured at the chair Labrae had previously occupied. "Mana is the energy from which all Arcana is drawn from. Without mana, there is no Arcana. Attunement is the ability to sense mana. It's a good starting point." she said, before collecting her thoughts on the nature of Attunement. "However, it's not just something that can be discovered, it has to be transferred. Let me see your hand." she said. When Qaerris held out her hand, Ellasin took it and closed her eyes, concentrating, envisioning the gift of Attunement passing from herself to her apprentice and willing it to be so. After a moment of concentration, she could feel the minuscule drain that told her it had worked.

Opening her eyes, Ellasin smiled at Qaerris again. "Now then, focus. Close your eyes. Still your mind, banish all your questions, force your concerns from you. Make yourself as empty a vessel as you can be." she said, her voice calm and quiet. After a moment she began to draw in mana to her gravitation conduit. "To truly understand the purpose of a Conduit, you have to be able to see mana. To be able to see it, you have to want to see it. Focus on that desire."

Ellasin waited a bit longer, giving Qaerris time to access the Sight, though not everyone, indeed most people, didn't manage it the first time. If it was that easy, Attunement would be as common as breathing. However, after a moment, the Naerrik figured it was time. "Now, open your eyes and look at my hand." she said, holding up the hand with the Gravitation Conduit ring, still calling mana into it for Qaerris to see if he had managed to access the Sight. After a moment, she aimed her hand at her trunk and used her spell to bring the push the lid back onto her Conduit collection. "Now...what did you see?" she asked, her voice intent.