Thinking on a boat

[Illuvia]

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Being on a boat wasn’t nearly as fun as Luvi thought it would be. The novelty of it died off in the first couple hours. Afterwards, it was a constant feeling of unease and never knowing whether she needed to brace herself. She’d spent much of the first day lurching around her room and wishing that she had wings so she could fly herself across the sea.

The only thing keeping her from bursting into frustrated tears was her ability to keep herself mentally calm. She sat on the small chair in her room with her hands clenched on the sturdy table that was fastened to the floor. She tried to allow her thoughts to flow like the waves so that she might yet get her sea legs.

In truth, the seas weren’t even particularly turbulent – Luvi was simply so out of her element that she suffered. She was disappointed, because she had planned to use her time on these sea lengths of her journey to learn runes. It didn’t look like she would succeed, but she still tried.

Luvi allowed her body to relax a little while she shifted her focus from the motions of the boat to her inner psyche. She knew that she wasn’t anywhere near as focused as she ought to be to learn a rune so she tried to think about tangential topics. She considered runes themselves and how they might function. She knew from practical experience that they were more than simply ‘magical symbols’ that granted power. She took the thought to its logical conclusion – that the runes instead amplified existing power.

The seasick woman also tried to think about how the runes actually granted their boons. They required ether to create, so did that mean that they transferred that ether into the muscles and senses? Or did they affect the soul somehow? She didn’t know if there was a way for her to find out, but she had to guess that it was the former. It made sense for the ether to somehow coat her muscles… or something of that sort.

[Goku]

Goku had quickly acclimated to life at sea. His experience with flying had given him a strong sense of balance and stability, making the rocking boat feel almost natural to him. He moved with ease, unlike many others on board who were still struggling to find their sea legs. The fresh sea air and the constant motion felt invigorating, and he found himself enjoying the journey more than he had anticipated. The rhythmic sound of the waves and the occasional cries of seabirds were a welcome change from the noise and hustle of everyday life.

As he walked along the deck, his thoughts turned to Luvi. He wondered how she was coping and if she might be interested in training together. She had seemed eager about the journey, but the sea could be a challenging environment for anyone. Goku hoped she wasn’t feeling too seasick. He knew she was determined and resilient, but everyone had their limits. He thought about their past training sessions and how much they had both grown from those experiences. Maybe some training would help take her mind off any discomfort.

Goku glanced around the narrow corridor, feeling the ship’s gentle sway beneath his feet. He knew he could offer her some support, whether it was through training or simply being a friend. As he considered his decision, he felt a sense of anticipation. The sea journey was just beginning, and there were many adventures ahead. The thought of exploring new places and facing new challenges excited him, but he wanted to make sure Luvi was ready for what lay ahead.

Deciding to check on her, he made his way through the insides of the ship. Each step he took was confident and steady, despite the boat’s swaying. The creaking of the wooden planks and the muffled sounds of the crew working above deck added to the ship's atmosphere. He reached Luvi’s door and knocked gently. “Luvi? You in there?” he called out, his voice slightly concerned. He waited for a moment, listening for any sounds from within. She could be sleeping, or maybe she wasn’t even in the room at all. He could not think of where else she might be, though.

[Illuvia]

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Luvi was scared for a moment when she heard the knock but she calmed when she heard Goku’s familiar voice. “Just a second,” she called back as she shakily got to her feet and walked over to open the door.

“As much as I would like to train, I don’t think that I’ll be able to do very much. I’ve been meditating to take my mind off of the waves… do you want to join me? You might even be able to learn a rune, although I know that might be a little hard if you’ve never done it before.”

She went back to her seat and tried to relax again. “You just, calm your mind and focus on runes. If you really want to do something else then give me some time to mentally prepare.” She flashed a smile as her eyes closed.

She was fairly good at slipping into a meditative state at this point. It only took a minute or two for her to get back to thinking about runes. She tried to pry another rune from her subconscious, but it was clear that it was going to take more than a few minutes to achieve. She contemplated why it was so difficult to learn new runes in this manner. The spark wanted her to learn more runes and it clearly had the knowledge in it – somewhere. So why was it that she had to fight tooth and nail? She concluded that it must contain the knowledge of runes but be unable to access them on its own.

[Goku]

Goku gave Luvi a reassuring smile as she opened the door. "No worries, Luvi," he said warmly. "I get it. The sea can really mess with your senses." He followed her into the room and listened as she suggested meditation.

"I’m not much for meditation," he admitted with a laugh. "But I’ll give it a try. Who knows? Maybe I’ll surprise myself."

He settled down on the floor, mirroring Luvi’s posture, and closed his eyes. The sound of the waves and the gentle rocking of the boat were supposed to be calming, but Goku found his mind wandering almost immediately. He tried to focus on his breathing and clear his thoughts, but the more he tried, the more restless he became.

After just a few minutes, he sighed and opened his eyes, feeling a bit defeated. "Meditation is harder than it looks," he muttered to himself. He glanced over at Luvi, who was deep in her meditative state, and decided not to disturb her.

Instead, Goku’s attention was drawn to a tiny droplet of water rolling around on the wooden floor. It was mesmerizing in its simplicity, and he found himself focusing on it. He remembered his training in defiance magic, a skill he hadn’t practiced in a long time. He extended his hand subtly, concentrating on the droplet.

With a deep breath, he focused his energy and willed the droplet to move. At first, it barely budged, but then, with a bit more effort, it shifted slightly across the floor. A small, triumphant smile spread across his face. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

[Illuvia]

Luvi said, “you should try it, it’s actually quite relaxing,” before letting out a peaceful hum that faded to silence over the few minutes as she attempted to push out the rocking of the boat once more.

The woman was not used to meditating with someone else in the room. Goku’s presence was distracting. Not because he was bothering her, but she felt like she needed to be aware of what he was doing. She didn’t want to go into such a deep trance that she’d ignore him entirely if he spoke. She decided to keep her ear trained on him.

Her idea paid off when he said he gave up on meditating, but he didn’t leave or suggest that they do something else. “So, what do you want to do now?” she asked, not knowing that he was hard at work trying to move the water droplet.

Her mind wandered back to runes as she awaited his response. Her thought process was that if she could understand exactly what runes were, then maybe one of the next runes would make itself known to her. She thought about how runes likely worked by injecting ether into muscles or the sensory organs. That would explain why more ether produced greater results. That got her thinking about other things she might be able to enhance. She could bolster strength, basically every sense, even her endurance. The only logical next step was to alter her speed. Was there a rune that made people faster? She would find out, one way or another.

[Goku]

Goku smiled at Luvi’s suggestion, appreciating her serene approach to dealing with the waves. “I’m practicing defiance,” he said softly, “so I’ll stick around for a while. Right now, I’m moving a water droplet. You can keep meditating. I’ll leave when I get bored.”

Settling himself down on the wooden floor, Goku’s eyes focused on a tiny droplet of water that rolled with the gentle sway of the boat. His experience with defiance magic had always been sporadic, but he felt a sense of determination now. He concentrated, feeling the familiar but faint tug of energy within him.

The water droplet quivered under his gaze. It was almost imperceptible, but Goku felt the connection strengthen. He urged the droplet to move, imagining it gliding smoothly across the floor. The boat’s movement made it challenging to maintain control, but he was persistent. Slowly, the droplet slid a few millimeters forward. A small, triumphant smile crept onto Goku’s face.

He continued to focus, blocking out the creaks and groans of the ship as it cut through the waves. The droplet, though small, represented a significant effort. Goku’s control was delicate, the slightest overexertion could scatter the water or send it off in an unintended direction. He exhaled slowly, using the rhythm of his breath to stabilize the magic’s flow.

The droplet rolled to the left, then to the right, mimicking the rocking of the boat but with a more deliberate motion. Goku’s fingers twitched slightly as he guided it, his eyes never leaving the tiny bead of water. It moved around in small circles, then ventured in a straight line. Each successful movement bolstered his confidence and reinforced his connection to the defiance magic he hadn’t used in so long.

[Illuvia]

“Suit yourself,” Luvi said, taking a peek to see what exactly Goku was doing. He claimed to be using magic but she couldn’t see anything happening. She did feel like something was happening. She didn’t know why, but a small tingling feeling made her hairs stand on end. It was as if something was warning her that someone else was using magic, but she had no idea what was causing the effect.

The feeling made her uncomfortable, as if she was in danger. She didn’t bring it up, instead forcing her eyes closed to try regaining focus. Failing that, she tried to see if there was anything she could do to make the uneasy feeling go away.

“It must be my abrogation spark,” she thought once she pushed away all other possibilities. “I knew the discipline was good at defending against things but… this feeling gives me the impression that it’s good at countering other mages.” She thought some more, finding all interest in hone falling to the wayside as she contemplated abrogation for once. She wondered whether it was good against other magic by design, or if that was a convenient side effect. She imagined that it might have made sense for a magic to come into existence to thwart others… but that was under the assumption that magic was ‘created’ by someone.

It was a lot to think about. Far too much for even a master meditator so she opened her eyes to look at Goku again. “Okay, I’ll bite. What are you doing? I don’t see a damn thing happening.”

[Goku]

Goku had been resting for a while before Luvi spoke. When Luvi asked what he was doing, he opened his eyes and gave her a tired but earnest smile. “I’ve been moving some water,” he said, nodding toward the table. “See that water droplet?” He raised his hand and, with great effort, focused on another drop of water. This one was on her table. Slowly, it began to shift and roll across the surface.

“It’s not much, I know,” he admitted, sweat forming on his brow from the concentration. “But I saw my mentor do some really impressive things with defiance magic. With enough practice, I might get good at it too.” He watched as the droplet inched along, each movement a small victory in his mind. It reminded him of the vast potential defiance magic held, and how much more he had to learn.

He let the droplet settle back into place, feeling the strain ease off slightly. “It’s a versatile skill, but it takes a lot of practice and control.” He could barely get a drop of water to move. How was he supposed to summon a pyre of fire like Roshi had?

Goku stretched his limbs, feeling a bit more energized after the short break. “I’ll stick around for a while longer,” he added, looking at the droplet one last time. “But if you need some peace and quiet to meditate, just let me know. I don’t want to be a distraction.” He laid on her bed, closing his eyes briefly to savor the tranquility of the moment.

[Illuvia]

Luvi stared hard at her table until she saw the droplet that was, in fact, moving. It was hard to tell but this droplet was different from the others. She wasn’t that impressed. Moving a single water droplet seemed insignificant, much less than what she would expect even a low grade mage to accomplish. Then again, she knew nothing about defiance’s capabilities so she didn’t verbalize her thoughts.

“That’s neat. I suppose eventually you’ll be able to work with much larger bodies of water, or even help steer ships. I’ve little experience using my ether to affect other things but I imagine it’s difficult.” She paused, considering his follow up statements. “Sure, feel free to stay, leave, whatever you want. Though, I’m probably going to try to go into a deep trance to learn another rune. Please don’t bother me because it can take many hours, and even then I might not succeed.”

She calmed herself once more and after ten minutes or so would push out everything, even the nagging feeling about Goku using magic and even that she was even on a boat. She pushed so deeply inside her mind that she imagined that she was floating in a black void. It was peaceful at force, but then she started thinking about umbral runes. Earlier she had come to the conclusion that runes probably injected ether into the body to bolster it, so she thought about how umbral runes might do the opposite – they might weaken the body by sucking the ether out of it.

[Goku]

Goku sighed, feeling a mix of frustration and resignation. "Yeah, that's partly why I never practiced it much," he admitted, his voice tinged with a hint of disappointment. "Moving a droplet of water seems so inconsequential, and it would take so much work to really get good at it. It's hard to stay motivated when progress is so slow."

He looked at Luvi, appreciating her willingness to let him stay. "Alright, I'll take a nap if you're going to keep meditating. Luckily, I don't snore." He gave her a small, reassuring smile before getting comfortable in the bed.

As he settled in, he let his eyes drift shut, feeling the gentle sway of the ship beneath him. The rhythmic motion was oddly soothing, and soon he was drifting off into a peaceful sleep. His mind wandered through thoughts of mastering defiance magic, moving vast streams of water, and using his abilities in ways he had only seen his mentor do.

Hours passed then Goku stirred, slowly waking up and blinking against the dimness of the candle light. He stretched, feeling a soreness in his muscles from the weird position he woke up in.

He looked around, searching for Luvi to see if she was still hard at work. If she was still meditating then he would watch her. He was jealous of her ability to concentrate. He would try to meditate as well but all that did was make him sleepy. He forced his eyes shut while he crossed his legs and tried again.