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| [Graded]Meeting of the Minds | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 9 2014, 05:21 AM (411 Views) | |
| 栄 Balmung6 | Dec 9 2014, 05:21 AM Post #1 |
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Combat Enthusiast
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Varriden paced quietly up one of the aisles at one of the bookstores in Belladona, his eyes wandering without a specific target from book to book. It wasn't that Varriden didn't know what he was looking for, he did - books about magic - but more that he wasn't looking for a specific book title or author in particular. Granted, Lamia Scale, the local guild, had plenty of texts on magic, across multiiple fields. Normally, they were a bit secretive about sharing their knowledge, but that wouldn't have been an issue for Varriden, who was a Lamia Scale member himself. Still, despite the overall higher quality of the books back at the guild, Varriden liked to browse some of the local bookstores and the like now and then - occasionally there was a diamond in the rough, a rare or unusual book that Lamia Scale didn't have in its reserves, and even if it wasn't one worth noting from the guild's perspective, it might meet Varriden's own tastes. Varriden stopped about halfway down and plucked a single hardback book from one of the higher shelves, a thick book with a tough royal blue cover that had obviously seen some use. Entitled "A Study of Runes in Ancient Fiore", Varriden opened the cover and glanced through the table of contents - he was versed in runes and languages of multiple sorts, but you never knew - there was always the chance that one scholar had written about something another had missed, or discovered a new one entirely. Varriden swiftly became absorbed in reading, sitting down on the floor and crossing his legs indian-style as he began to pour over the pages. After a few minutes of looking, he nodded to himself, snapping the book shut and standing upright, before taking the book over to the front counter and purchasing it for himself. The book tucked securely under one arm, Varriden stepped back out into the midday sun, shielding his eyes with his free hand - compared to the mild shade inside the library, it was considerably brighter outside. Wonder if I can discover any other rarities today, Varriden mused, his eyes slowly adjusting to the light as he stepped out of the bookstore entirely. Edited by Balmung6, Dec 9 2014, 05:25 AM.
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| Razia | May 20 2015, 12:35 AM Post #2 |
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Today was a surprisingly busy day in a certain bookstore in Belladonna. They had a whole two customers! Well, maybe that wasn’t absurdly busy, but for a smaller shop it seemed decently lively… okay who are we trying to fool. It was a bit of a ghost town in there. The store had enough space for dozens upon dozens of customers. There were aisles filled with tomes both arcane and mundane, and yet in a city home to a guild, customers tended to flock to one row: the books on magic. The only customers in the store were there, but both seemed to be rather absorbed in what they were doing since neither uttered a word to the other while in the shop. Of the two of them the smaller one seemed to be slightly more entranced by the shelves. This was her first time in Belladona, let alone this specific store. Her fingers traced tome after tome until she found the specific section she was looking for: Exquip Magic. She was a user of that magic, and since it was fairly popular books devoted to that subject weren’t that hard to come by. She’d read everything that the Grand Library of Crocus had to offer, but it was hard to tell what could turn up far away from the capital. As luck would have it, she found a single volume she hadn’t read, and it looked like it might be advanced enough to actually teach her something useful. After parting with a tidy sum of jewels, Razia departed the shop with her purchase only a moment after the other patron. Normally she wasn’t the nosy type, but he had been browsing the magic section as well, and Razia was looking for other mages that could help her grow stronger. What could a little small talk hurt? ”So, whatcha end up buying?” It was a friendly question whose tone was devoid of any ill intent. She spoke like they were already old friends, as she already felt a unique bond with this man. He was one of the rare ones in this world, and she knew that. At long last… she had found someone else that actually liked reading! |
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| 栄 Balmung6 | May 20 2015, 03:27 AM Post #3 |
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Combat Enthusiast
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Varriden shielded his eyes with one hand from the afternoon sun as he stepped back out onto the main street outside the bookstore. He had spent what felt like a considerable length of time in the store, but perhaps that had just been a side-effect of reading while he was inside, altering his perception of the passage of time a bit. Still, plenty of time to spend the day reading the book, looking for more books, or some combination of the two before he had to retire for the evening. He was interrupted briefly, however, by a voice asking what he'd bought. He turned to see a blonde girl standing nearby - judging by her location, she had just emerged from the same bookstore. Varriden had been so focused on the book that he'd neglected to notice it. "Just a book on runes for reference and study," Varriden said, moving the book out from under his arm to show her the cover. "I've already memorized most of them, judging by the contents when I flipped through it in the store, but now and then you'll get an author who has a slight variation on an existing rune, or a new rune entirely, so it's fun to search for it." Varriden glanced at the book the girl was holding. "That's a book on Ex-quip magic, if I'm not mistaken? Are you an Ex-quip mage, yourself?" Varriden asked, curious now. |
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| Razia | May 21 2015, 12:08 AM Post #4 |
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Interesting. Razia had met quite a few mages in her travels, but this was the first time she’d met that actually seemed… was there a nice way to say it? No, no there was not. He was the first mage to seem genuinely intelligent. The others she had met… Xiayu, Klaud, Tveda… they weren’t dumb per say, but they didn’t have the air of a scholar about them. This man was different. He spoke of runes and variations upon them as if they were as basic as the normal alphabet. Knowing whether or not he actually had magical talent was beyond her just yet, but anyone who could discuss such an arcane subject without making it sound impressive… that was a feat in and of itself. He wasn’t just book smart either. The man had immediately identified the book in Razia’s hand and put two and two together. ”Looks like I’ve been caught red-handed,” she admitted. As proof of her claim, black tendrils of magic energy swirled in her hand, coalescing into a simple dagger. With a quick spin, she sheathed it in her belt. It was meant as nothing more than proof that she was indeed an exquip mage, so she had put it away before this man might misunderstand her intentions. ”Razia Brasima, at your service.” A slight bow accompanied her introduction. It wasn’t deep enough to be formal though. Just a casual little act of respect for a fellow mage. ”And who do I have the honor of being impressed by?” Though it wasn’t intended as such, there was a slight hint of suggestiveness in her tone. Nothing enough to be obvious, or likely even noticed consciously by either of them. It was just a familiarity and comfort felt appropriate with this kindred spirit. ((Requip CD: 0/3)) |
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| 栄 Balmung6 | May 21 2015, 03:53 AM Post #5 |
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Combat Enthusiast
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Honestly, Varriden wouldn't have found it surprising that previous mages she had met hadn't seemed the scholarly type, as it wasn't something really required for them to do their jobs or finish their missions, whereas Varriden, even if he didn't have an interest in research on his own, would have had to look into magic at least a little bit, as Archive magic was all about learning about magic as a whole, not to mention specific types and ways they were used and activated. Varriden also knew that intellect stemmed from more than just books, but he also knew that the 'scholarly-type' were the first to be seen as such due to the level of detail and focus needed to pursue that path very far. Varriden merely chuckled when Razia admitted to being 'caught' - while it was a good guess on his part, given that he was in the library researching magic himself, and had walked out with a magic book, the odds that another person walking out with a magic-based book was a mage was a fair guess. To prove her point, the girl summoned a thin twist of energy which solidified into a short dagger, which she immediately took and sheathed into her belt. Admittedly, Varriden had wondered at her intentions briefly, but was relieved when she proved to just be showing the dagger off and not using it. She introduced herself as one Razia Brasima with a bow. "Varriden Stone, likewise," he said, giving a short bow of his own. "Been quite some time since I've seen an Ex-quip mage. Something of a rarity these days, perhaps since its one of the few magics that uses purchased weapons as a booster. Both a blessing and a curse, I suppose. More options without having to train, but your wallet takes a hit instead of your fatigue." "But since you were kind enough to show your magic, I'll return the favor - my own magic is Archive magic, able to memorize information about other magics and use them for my own, though perhaps not quite to the extent of the original user. With practice, I can even loan the information out - like this." Varriden said, pinching the index finger and thumb of his free hand together, then spreading them apart, a rune of lightning forming between them, before he flicked it out from between his digits with his middle finger, sending it sailing through the air to land on Razia's shoulder, where it attached itself like a sticker briefly before vanishing, tingling ever so slightly, like it was the faintest sensation of a pins-and-needles feeling. A moment later, the knowledge of how to use a technique would sudden be in her mind, as if she had known how all along and simply not remembered. Spell Razia Suddenly Knows How to Use
Edited by Balmung6, May 21 2015, 04:47 AM.
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| Razia | May 21 2015, 10:03 PM Post #6 |
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Looks like Razia had chosen her words wisely. Out of all the magics she had read about, Archive was one of the most impressive. Was it the strongest magic in the world? No, not by quite a bit. Though it wasn’t the strongest, Archive was one of the most technically complex and variable magics that she was aware of. The exquip mage had long since written off any attempts to learn about a type of magic that complicated. She wasn’t dim herself, but the amount of study required to master exquip magic was minimal. By comparison, she knew how to fold a piece of paper in half, and Varriden could make origami cranes with a blindfold on. She was damn impressed for sure. The thought that exquip was a rarity surprised Razia though. Sure, she hadn’t actually run into any other exquip mages yet, but it was supposed to almost as common as basic elemental magic… or so she had thought at least. It did explain some things though. She had been searching for an exquip tutor for some time, but had had no luck finding one. That’s why she was still relying on books. Some of the great masters of this apparently dying magic had written lengthy tomes on the finer points of exquip. There were entire volumes written on single aspects of the magic. Thousands of pages were written on the theory alone, and thousands more existed about the magic in practice. For a relatively simple form of magic, it was quite well documented. Then there was the demonstration of his magic. The idea of “sharing” his knowledge wasn’t something Razia knew Archive was capable of. Within an instant of his spell being used though, all was clear. A sudden clarity gripped her mind as knowledge surfaced within her. It wasn’t like she was learning it… no, it was like she had always known. She couldn’t remember learning it, but her knowledge of the spell was just as solid of her knowledge of exquip. Every little facet of the spell was perfectly clear. ”Okay… that was a bit weird to experience for the first time, but that was pretty dang effective. I’ll trust that the spell works the way that I seem to think it does, and hold off on whipping a magically infused dagger around a city street. That’s usually a pretty fast ticket to trouble.” So what now? Razia wanted to learn more about him, and his magic, but she was generally pretty awful at small talk. Her eyes lingered on him for just long enough that it bordered on the edge of awkward, but as her gaze turned away, she saw it. A guild tattoo. ”So you’re a guild mage, with Lamia Scale huh? What’s it like, being part of a group like that?” She’d read about all the major guilds in her research, but that was always an outside perspective. Hearing about it firsthand was sure to be informative. ((Requip CD: 1/3)) |
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| 栄 Balmung6 | May 22 2015, 12:27 AM Post #7 |
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Razia seemed surprised by her sudden knowledge at first, but said it had, admittedly, been rather effective for what Varriden said it was supposed to do. Razia opted not to test out the technique, though, as she said whipping around a magically-enhanced weapon tended to make authories nervous, a point with which Varriden couldn't really disagree. "True enough," Varriden said with a slight nod, "But it'll fade shortly - that's why it's more of a loan than anything, it's effective, but it doesn't last terribly long, so it has to be used up rather fast. Still, useful for providing allies with an extra bit of offense or defense in a pinch." Razia simply stared at him for a moment after that, and Varriden followed her gaze until he found what she had been staring at - his guild mark, the Lamia Scale emblem, on his upper right arm. "Indeed I am," Varriden said, turning his shoulder a bit forward slightly so that the mark was facing her briefly. "To be honest, it's fairly nice. I've got people to hang out with and go on missions with who have similar interests to my own, access to a large library with a wide range of magical tomes and indexes, and it also helps pay the bills when I go on said missions." "And while I don't wish to change the subject, or ask you to go against your own advice of 'whipping a magically infused dagger around a city street'," Varriden added, "As an Archive, I'm curious - are there any other techniques in your arsenal besides the basic requip technique? I've heard some some Ex-quippers are very straight-forward in their approach, relying mostly on the weapon and armor switching and whatever effects those items possess, while others embrace the more magical side of their abilities, using techniques to help overcome and enemy while laying into them with weapon strikes. Which do you fall into, if you don't mind me asking? Or is your fighting style something else entirely?" |
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| Razia | May 22 2015, 01:17 AM Post #8 |
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At long last, she had actually found another mage that met her criteria. Sane? Check. In a guild? Check? Able to actually hold a polite, intelligent conversation? Big check. Perfect would be too strong a word, since everyone had their faults. Razia was no different there. She had plenty of faults, one of which was probably that she spent too much time trying to find someone who could teach her rather than just honing her skills on her own. Varriden wasn’t an exquip mage, but he seemed to understand the theory of exquip better than anyone else Razia had ever spoken with. His knowledge was deep enough to understand the nuances in style between different users of the magic. That wasn’t the kind of understanding you had unless you actually understood how the magic worked well. Sadly though, his level of understanding meant that Razia’s answer was probably going to cost her some cool points in his book. If she understood the perks of Archive right, the main benefit was mimicking other types of magic. All Razia had to show off was the basics that you could read about in any introductory text. Beyond that, she had nothing. The basic requip spell and weapon levitation were the very basics of exquip magic that were known by even the most novice of users. Honestly, Razia was barely outside the label of novice at this point. Her understanding of the theory behind the magic was good, but her application still needed work. ”I’d have to say I’m more of the former than the latter.” Perhaps, by being a bit vague in her response, she could help cover up that weakness. Nah, it wasn’t worth it. Varriden was fairly sharp. He’d figure it out, even if he had to read between the lines. Might as well just spell it out, but put a good spin on it. ”Most of my fights usually end with a well placed bit of steel or lead. Honestly, most of what I use magic for is effectively just a really good backpack. I can give a more in depth demo on the magic itself if you’ve got a more private place we can head to, but the only other trick I’ve really got down is ye olde weapon levitation. If you know that much about exquip already, you probably know the theory, but I can show it to you in practice if you’d like.” ((Requip CD: 2/3)) |
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| 栄 Balmung6 | May 22 2015, 07:07 AM Post #9 |
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Razia admitted to being more of the traditional type of Ex-quipper, the type to use weapons and armor and their effects for the most part, without relying too much on other magical effects that weren't bound to the items themselves. "A fair way to fight," Varriden said with a nod. "A respectable number of Ex-quip mages go that route. Most usually lean more towards the physical or magical side of their own abilties. The only thing close to an exception I've heard is a mage by the name of Larkin Falzo who was a member of Fairy Tail awhile back, according to the records. Mixed in magical attacks with his physical ones, but still ended up being more on the hack-and-slash side of things instead of splitting it fifty-fifty, if reports from the Boscan War are to be believed." Razia seemed reluctant to admit her tactics - almost embarassed - but Varriden saw no fault with it. "Most battles usually end with a well-placed strike. It's just that the one-sided battles end that same way, but much faster really. You don't need to always out-muscle your foe, just out-think them. Once when I was fighting a group of thugs who were trying to keep me away from helping a friend of mine during the aftermath of that Boscan War nonsense, instead of fighting all three one-by-one, I used a spell to cause a small quake and cause a nearby chimney to collapse and half-bury them in rubble, rendering them harmless. Though I did dig them out afterward," Varriden added. "They might have meant me harm, but I'm not so heartless as to leave them pinned to the ground." "Still," Varriden continued, "Even just using your magic as a 'backpack', is something I can't do. Most of the spells I copy have a similiar effect, but I can't use the storage spell Ex-quips have - involves opening up their own pocket dimension, but I don't have one, so the spell has nowhere to go when I try to use it." "I would like to see the weapon levitation technique," Varriden said with interest. "I've heard of it in books, but I've never actually seen it used in person." Varriden glanced around, looking for a place that would be out of the way enough, eventually heading down a side alley two buildings over and back, leading to a small concrete clearing, an intersection of multiple backalleys. "This should be safe enough, as no one else is around." Varriden said with a nod. |
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| Razia | May 22 2015, 07:44 PM Post #10 |
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The exquip mage listened closely as Varriden spoke. It wasn’t often that someone actually drew her full attention, but she had already realized that the Archive was far different than most folks. He was a wealth of knowledge, and that earned him as much respect as she had to offer. His tale about the fight with the thugs was intriguing for sure. Actions spoke louder than words, but talking about past actions still gave a good deal of insight into one’s character. Varriden seemed like a generally good man from what she had gathered. He dealt with problem individuals, but he dug them out of rubble so that there was no risk of them dying needlessly. Perhaps a bit too soft for his own good, but that was a hard judgment to make without having been there. Then there was his style of dealing with multiple foes. Using the environment to your advantage was almost certainly one of the smartest ways to go about things, whether you were outnumbered or not. Razia had a few tales of that nature herself. That’s usually a pretty solid plan. I’ve sent a few monsters and bandits off cliffs and into pitfalls in my time. I’m not at the point where I can roll over my enemies with raw strength, so I try to stay a few steps ahead by actually using tactics. Using my head is what’s kept my alive this long.” She was honestly downplaying her talents in that area quite a bit. Many of her adversaries were, by comparison, braindead. Monsters and bandits tended to use little beside raw force. They blindly charged towards their opponents with little regard for their safety. Terrain, weather, bystanders, risk, and reward. All of those were factors that Razia sifted through in an effort to come up with an adequate battle strategy. Compared to “just run at them and hit them,” it was quite a bit of effort, but it was generally worth it. She was still alive, and that’s what mattered most at the end of the day. Varriden continued his musings about exquip magic, and decided that he wanted a demo of Weapon Levitation. They made their way to a back alley, and Razia took the chance to show off a bit. ”Yeah, this’ll do nicely.” Without even touching it, the dagger unsheathed itself from her belt. It floated across the space between the two mages before it began an intricate dance in front of the Archive mage. Twists, spins, flips and bends. Every direction it could move, it did. ”Controlling something like a dagger is easier than something like a polearm. There’s a lot less of it, so there’s less to focus on. It lets you do more precise movements like this.” At the end of the demo, the handle was facing towards Varriden, and the weapon hovered at eye level. ”Let’s see just how fast your Archive can pick up on a technique.” With those words, the dagger started to drop towards the ground. Would he just catch it by the handle, or could he figure out the technique in the time before it hit the ground? ((Requip CD: 3/3 Weapon Levitation Duration: 1/1)) |
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