Mystic Development Logs - #02

Ise leads him to the library in Ardent. He gestures for him to sit down, and then spends a few minutes gathering a few old tomes before placing them down onto the table.

He sits, exhaling.

"So.. I've been researching just about all day long. Even asked Alia if she could help me figure this thing out, but.. it seemed like it was out of her ballpark."

If Vyn decided to read any of the titles of the tomes, he'd notice that they were all on the subject of the Spirit World.

"Here's what happened. I was in a spar, my mana reserves were pretty darn depleted, and I was on my last legs as far as physical stamina is concerned. But there were still a few more rounds left, and I figured I'd push myself."

"Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago I learned the basics of Energy magic. I've started using it in my spars, but in this one.. somethin' strange happened. While I was fighting, I knew I didn't have any fuel left to go off of, but somehow.. I was still able to keep going."

He rubs the back of his head, pondering for a moment.

"Nothin' special, right? Well.. the reason I'm asking you about this is because, about a year ago I went on this expedition. When we left the island we were stopped by a spirit, and I felt this strange sensation in the air. During that spar, I felt that same sensation.. but different. It wasn't circling me, it was coming to me."

"So.. here we are. Any idea of what might be goin' on? Cuz' I don't have a clue. I figured you might be able to help me, since you're known to be well-versed in well.. a bunch of stuff."
(Ise Fusatada)

This wasn't the first person to come to him with knowledge about the realm of the spirits. It seemed to be happening to him a lot quickly than he anticipated, but in the end it was for the sake of growth.

"It isn't something that is easy to explain, the nature of the spirit realm is even beyond my understanding. That being said however, I do know a bit about it, enough to give you an idea."

"What we call *energy* magic, isn't something that is a specialty. All magi are technically *energy* magi from the moment they tap into the ability to manipulate man. All *energy* magic entails is tapping into our natural mana reserves and using it in it's rawest form, not twisting and shaping it to another elemental that our bodies lean towards."

"When your control over your own mana reaches a certain point, it resonates with the realm around you, moving through the veil and into the next immediate sourceof energy. The spirit realm is something that is sort of...it's hard to explain. It's not like a separate realm, or a realm on top of this one. The physical and spiritual realm exist on the same board, just....AHA! The physical and spirit realms are akin to a coin, one side being this realm, the physical, and the other side being the spirit realm."

"Taping into energy allows you to tap into *both* versions of -Yourself-, your physical self, and your spiritual self."
(Vyn)

Vyn says, "The further you dive into that uneven feeling you get, the further you're diving into your spiritual self."

Ise runs his finger along his chin, eyes fixed to the unopened tomes before him as he nods his head several times. It was certainly a lot to take in, but the samurai learned more from his words alone than from the various tomes he'd spent hours reading.

It kinda' left him speechless for a moment, as he took in what he said and tried to properly digest it.

"I see.. so that would mean, during my spar I tapped into that residual energy, drew it from the spirit realm. I want to learn how to do that more frequently. How would I go about doing that, Vyn?"

"Tapping into both the physical and spirituals versions of myself."
(Ise Fusatada)

Vyn says, "Yes."

Vyn says, "Exactly."

Vyn says, "Meditation."

Ise Fusatada asks, "Hm.. I dunno' if I've actually ever done that before. There any sorta' trick to it?"

Vyn says, "Sort of."

Vyn says, "Thinking about nothing is a bit more difficult than it sounds."

Vyn says, "The best way to do that for me at least, is to first focus on breathing."

Vyn says, "It because easy to do after a while, but the tricky part is trying to do so mid combat."

Vyn says, "With that in mind it's very useful to have a reflexive casting style of combat."

Ise Fusatada says, "Well, I don't really use a lot of spells anyways but.. yeah, I see your point."

Ise Fusatada asks, "Hn. So, what happens if I /do/ learn how to meditate mid combat? Will I be able to draw more power from the spirit realm?"