45th of Ashan, Arc 719
Continued from Learning to Dance
"I can't help—" Praetorum declared as his third dirt tower tilted sadly— "but feel like I'm doing something wrong."
Edyn looked over at him, and down at the slightly off center pile of dirt. "No one's expecting you make a field of spikes on your first try, you know."
"You would if you thought you could get away with it." Prae grumbled, before continuing. "What I mean is, the earth is... responding when I ask it to do these things. But it doesn't really seem happy about it. I don't know. It just feels wrong." Prae rubbed at his muzzle, frustration written in every line of his face. "What I did with my shield and the air, that just felt good. Like we were... "
"Dancing to the same beat?" Edyn nodded slowly. "It's worth remembering, its not just you and the elements. Your spark, that has its own personality. I mean, it's part of you, and it's a part of them. But it is its own thing, its own... person, in a sense."
"That was—" Praetorum said slowly— "possibly the most unhelpful thing you have ever said to me. How can my spark be both me, and the elements, and itself at the same time?"
Edyn sighed. "It's... think of it as a conduit. A river connects the mountain caps to the oceans, but it is itself neither of those. Except it's... a two way river that brings water in both directions. Your spark and its nature colors every interaction you have with the elements, like... like the language you speak, or the place you were born in—"
This was very rapidly moving into the territory of absolute gibberish to Praetorum, and Edyn paused, evidently seeing that none of what she was trying to explain was coming across properly. "Look." She said finally, giving up on the metaphors and metaphysics. "Your spark's personality matters when you use defiance. You mentioned something about a new mutation the other trial; what is it?"
He told her, about his dip in the harbor, the ease with which he'd swum, and the way the water had tossed him about like a rag doll when he'd tried to take a breather. He even admitted, a little embarassed, that water had sulked at him for several trials afterwards. To his relief, Edyn only nodded.
"These things happen, especially early on." She reassured him. "It takes some time to figure out how to relate to them, what they will and won't tolerate. And it takes time for them to get comfortable with you too. But you think your spark prefers, what, for you to move?"
Prae nodded. "I got the impression it doesn't like for me to stay still. I've been feeling antsy myself as well. Getting up in the middle of the night for a run isn't exactly normal for me, but here we are." Oh! Oh. "You think it's because these—" he gestured at the piles he'd created— "are... still?"
"Maybe? It's worth a try. Magic isn't an exact science, and even if it was, we don't know even close to enough to be able to say for sure. Or at least," she sneered here, "most of us don't."
That piqued Prae's interest. He hadn't ever seen an expression like that on his mentor's face before, as far as he could remember. "Most of us?"
"What the bloody Seekers know, only Yvithia could say. Fates know they don't tell the rest of us." This answered none of Prae's questions. "Fekking snobs. Anyways, let's give it a go. Maybe in motion..."
Praetorum was already miles ahead of her. Manually nudging the dirt towers over, Praetorum lifted his hand over the dirt, and then began to sway it back and forth, urging the earth to follow.
This time, it listened; as the moonlight cast the shadow of his hand over the dirt, the small patch of ground under his hand began to roil like the surface of a lake, waves sweeping back and forth as his hand moved. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent a tiny wave of dirt towards Edyn, grinning as he watched it bump into her foot. "Like so?"
Praetorum blanched when she twitched her fingers at him, and quickly scrambled out of the way as a four foot tall wave of earth came crashing down where he'd been sitting. "Yeah, something like that." She snickered as he glowered. Idly, she picked up a branch, and lit it by passing her hand over the head.
The movement reminded him of something, from back in Zi'da. "Edyn—" he began, then yelped when Edyn threw the makeshift torch at him— "Oi, don't throw these things! Do you know anything about joining elements to your weapon? I think I saw it once, in a duel." Shortly before everything had gone to the dogs, at any rate. Prae never wanted to get struck by lightning again, nevermind that he'd survived it just fine then.
"I know it's possible, but I've never done it myself. I haven't really relied on weapons since leaving Evonshire, you know." Edyn gestured at the torch in Prae's hand. "Give it a go, see what you can do."
"I can't help—" Praetorum declared as his third dirt tower tilted sadly— "but feel like I'm doing something wrong."
Edyn looked over at him, and down at the slightly off center pile of dirt. "No one's expecting you make a field of spikes on your first try, you know."
"You would if you thought you could get away with it." Prae grumbled, before continuing. "What I mean is, the earth is... responding when I ask it to do these things. But it doesn't really seem happy about it. I don't know. It just feels wrong." Prae rubbed at his muzzle, frustration written in every line of his face. "What I did with my shield and the air, that just felt good. Like we were... "
"Dancing to the same beat?" Edyn nodded slowly. "It's worth remembering, its not just you and the elements. Your spark, that has its own personality. I mean, it's part of you, and it's a part of them. But it is its own thing, its own... person, in a sense."
"That was—" Praetorum said slowly— "possibly the most unhelpful thing you have ever said to me. How can my spark be both me, and the elements, and itself at the same time?"
Edyn sighed. "It's... think of it as a conduit. A river connects the mountain caps to the oceans, but it is itself neither of those. Except it's... a two way river that brings water in both directions. Your spark and its nature colors every interaction you have with the elements, like... like the language you speak, or the place you were born in—"
This was very rapidly moving into the territory of absolute gibberish to Praetorum, and Edyn paused, evidently seeing that none of what she was trying to explain was coming across properly. "Look." She said finally, giving up on the metaphors and metaphysics. "Your spark's personality matters when you use defiance. You mentioned something about a new mutation the other trial; what is it?"
He told her, about his dip in the harbor, the ease with which he'd swum, and the way the water had tossed him about like a rag doll when he'd tried to take a breather. He even admitted, a little embarassed, that water had sulked at him for several trials afterwards. To his relief, Edyn only nodded.
"These things happen, especially early on." She reassured him. "It takes some time to figure out how to relate to them, what they will and won't tolerate. And it takes time for them to get comfortable with you too. But you think your spark prefers, what, for you to move?"
Prae nodded. "I got the impression it doesn't like for me to stay still. I've been feeling antsy myself as well. Getting up in the middle of the night for a run isn't exactly normal for me, but here we are." Oh! Oh. "You think it's because these—" he gestured at the piles he'd created— "are... still?"
"Maybe? It's worth a try. Magic isn't an exact science, and even if it was, we don't know even close to enough to be able to say for sure. Or at least," she sneered here, "most of us don't."
That piqued Prae's interest. He hadn't ever seen an expression like that on his mentor's face before, as far as he could remember. "Most of us?"
"What the bloody Seekers know, only Yvithia could say. Fates know they don't tell the rest of us." This answered none of Prae's questions. "Fekking snobs. Anyways, let's give it a go. Maybe in motion..."
Praetorum was already miles ahead of her. Manually nudging the dirt towers over, Praetorum lifted his hand over the dirt, and then began to sway it back and forth, urging the earth to follow.
This time, it listened; as the moonlight cast the shadow of his hand over the dirt, the small patch of ground under his hand began to roil like the surface of a lake, waves sweeping back and forth as his hand moved. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent a tiny wave of dirt towards Edyn, grinning as he watched it bump into her foot. "Like so?"
Praetorum blanched when she twitched her fingers at him, and quickly scrambled out of the way as a four foot tall wave of earth came crashing down where he'd been sitting. "Yeah, something like that." She snickered as he glowered. Idly, she picked up a branch, and lit it by passing her hand over the head.
The movement reminded him of something, from back in Zi'da. "Edyn—" he began, then yelped when Edyn threw the makeshift torch at him— "Oi, don't throw these things! Do you know anything about joining elements to your weapon? I think I saw it once, in a duel." Shortly before everything had gone to the dogs, at any rate. Prae never wanted to get struck by lightning again, nevermind that he'd survived it just fine then.
"I know it's possible, but I've never done it myself. I haven't really relied on weapons since leaving Evonshire, you know." Edyn gestured at the torch in Prae's hand. "Give it a go, see what you can do."
