Lesson with Saba

[18:41] Saba slowly pushes himself away from his chair, as he makes his way towards the center of the room, but not before he winks at everyone in the bar. It seems like the Chieftain was in a good mood today! He'd preform some quick stretches as he prepped his body for what was to come.

"Right, so the first thing you guys want to do, seeing as most of the people here, bar Arlei can use energy magic, is uhh� Tap into all the latent mana, and in your case Ascalon, Rieka� Or is it Reika? I don't really know! Anyways, tap into that and surround yourself in a shroud of it, like this."

Once the chieftain had finished speaking, he'd let out a primal roar, as sparks of cyan energy surrounded began to dance around the man, until eventually they solidified and formed a shroud of said cyan energy. Only, for it to get 'corrupted' by his holy magics, turning it from a vibrant cyan, to a brilliant gold.

"Right, so once the shroud is out, do what I said earlier, and tap into all of your latent mana, or Rieka...Reika, whatever. It should cause your shroud to spike up around you."

The chieftain close his eyes, as he took a classic powering up stance. His legs spread ever so slightly, as he curled his hands into fists, as he let loose another roar, as he began to syphon out as much mana as he can from his circuits, without tapping into the convergence points.

After all, that was the second part of the lesson.

The shroud of brilliant light spikes up around Saba... Yet something about it was odd, as brilliant as it was, it seemed to be, dimmer than usual. Well, the only one here who'd probably notice that was Arlei.

"Right, well the screaming is optional, but it's just kinda fun to do! Now you guys give it a go. Oh, and uhh any questions?"He'd say as he quickly opened his eyes, to glance around the room.
(Saba Sugar)
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[18:59] An emerald hue watched the chieftain as they explained how to utilize one's internal energy as an aura. Of course he'd mess up the pronunciation of Reika a little. Though being from Gehenna it was understandable.

"Reika."

It was a simple confirmation that what they'd said the second time was correct. However, as the chieftains aura shifted into one of gold. The Oscuri's eye narrowed. It was due to his holy magics, yet it was still interesting regardless.

Standing up she'd give a small roar that echoed backwards towards her ancestors. Filled with the wrath of those Oscuri who came before and with the spirit of her father. A man who'd been a Super Magi of his own time.

Flickerings of pure reika lapped about the Oscuri's body. Bubbling within their lines of raw reika before bursting about their form like a blazing torch. There was no corruption of their color no the powerful shine of Emerald remained.

Their voice lowered to a soft whisper before shifting towards their normal manner of speech. Yelling had been fun, they'd have to do it more often truthfully.

"Yes, what's the point? We're all seasoned warriors. I'll admit the yelling was fun but as you said it was just for persol choice."
(Ascalon Zanders)
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[19:01] Arlei both listened to and observed Saba's lecture and subsequent 'transformation' of sorts, though he did have to cover his ears at the screaming. He'd sat in Gehenna all day with everyone barking at the regent, barking at Magdalen and. . literally barking at him. To put it lightly, he had a headache.

Though, he did learn how to speak Feral, so that was a bonus.

Watching it all was highly impressive. He was used to seeing the cyan aura, given Artaghh used it often, but the gold?

That one always impressed him. He'd only ever seen Saba pull that one off, during their spars. And it hurt. It made everything hurt so badly.

Whilst the main point of this lesson was lost on him, due to his complete lack of energy magic, there was something there that sparked his attention. It wasn't the general overview of how to form the aura. It was the gold itself.

Saba managed to corrupt his own aura with holy energies, changing its colour and, perhaps, its properties? Perhaps there -was- something he could learn from this after all.

He stood up from the table and backed away into an open space, sparking his flames up around him. They licked at the floor, his clothing and the ceiling before he reigned them in, keeping them calm and flowing, peaceful almost like water.

The next step that he was going to try? That was going to take some preparation. He simmered the lower half of his aura down and sat on the ground, legs crossed and eyes closed. His breathing steadied and his body relaxed. This was going to take a level of calmness that he'd not felt in a long time.

But this was a rare point where it'd be possible. Because Ascalon was with him.
(Arlei Zanders)
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[19:15] Mutt sprawled the freshly obtained piece of paper upon the table and held her pen, ready to write down any information Saba gave. Though, it seemed like it wouldn't be necesasry to. They started off with a more hands on approach to learning, watching a demonstration from him before performing the process themselves.

Regardless, Mutt wrote down each step and read over them multiple times, forcefully ingraining it in her head. She rose from her seat and turned to face her instructor, allowing him to see her rendition of it.

She tapped into her circuits and drew mana from them, as she'd done many times before. The difference was that she'd have to form a shroud with it instead of just launching it forward like she usually did. It required much more manipulation and control than she was used to, but she managed to conjure one by imitating the technique she used to envelope herself with fire. The result was a visibly unstable aura of energy which had many empty streaks running through it. The mana was stained purple and red by the copious amount of occult within her body.

Already facing difficulty, the woman questioned whether she should continue to the next step. She knew how to draw and concentrate large amounts of mana, but they were often shot away just moments later. She wasn't confident in her ability to hold the mana there, especially if more was generated.

"I don't think I can do more than this, Saba. I can do it with occult, but I don't think I'd manage that with pure mana. I'm more of an occultist than an energy magi."


(Mutt)
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[19:21] Arlei Zanders whispers: [ how the fuck do you deal with a harem. I've got both subs pining for attention. ]
[19:30] Arlei Zanders whispers: [ Thats a noise I expect to hear in private~
[19:30] Saba's green hues dart from Arlei, to Mutt, and then finally onto Ascalon. As he figured with Mutt, their energy would get corrupted by the occult, and Ascalon had managed to bring out an all too familiar shroud of Reika. Right, so he'd address bother of his 'students' at the same time.

"Right! Ascalon, bringing out the aura was just step one! Plus it seems like you have a firm handle of step one, so we can move onto the next one... Which I have to skip with you, seeing as I don't think you can do it! Human only part, but uhh, step three? Step through you should be able to manage. I'll get to that in a second."

His gaze then shifted towards Mutt! "It's fine Mutt, you just need to focus. Concentrate on maintaining the shroud. Keep it stable, which I know might be a bit hard with being an occultist, but.. Just do what I do when I need to concentrate. Close your eyes, and drown out as much noise as you can, and focus solely on your circuits, and the mana being pumped through them. Then work on maintaining the output of said mana... If that makes sense. I believe in Mutt, ya got this."

Saba flashed the occultist a grin, before turning to face Ascalon once more. "Right, so now that you've brought out as much mana as you can! You're gonna need to weave it into your bloodstream, let it mix with you adrenaline, and use that to fuel you. Think you can do that?"

Ascalon was an Oscurit, fueling themselves on Adrenaline should be something their used to doing.

"Oh, and uhh yer doing a great job Arlei?"

He wasn't really sure what the Drakanite was doing, but it sure was something!
(Saba Sugar)
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[19:54] "I guess it wouldn't hurt too much if I tried."

She said, slightly discouraged at her lack of mastery over energy magic despite all the years she's used it. Perhaps, it had something to do with the way she's been using it.

Blasting something with a burst of concentrated mana was her most efficient way of destroying something in a short amount of time. The concept of using it to strengthen herself further than the typical increased strength and agility all magis receive was foreign to her. She'd already been doing that with occult magic.

Then it struck her.

"Saba. What if I started with the shroud and then pumped a ton of occultic energy into it instead of mana? Do you think that'd work or am I just being crazy?"

The thought of it excited her. The massive impact of energy magic combined with the debilitating characteristic of the occult? Surely something could be done with the brilliant idea.
(Mutt)
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[20:00] Arlei smelt a familiar presence, even as he was trying to slide himself into his trance. It snapped him out of it, causing him to open a single slitted viridian eye and stare at the newcomer for a second.

It was her favourite son, Skye!

A smile came over his face for a moment, followed by a nod. Two of the people he trusted most on this ground were in the room now; his wife, Ascalon, and Skye, his semi-adoptive son slash brother-in-law.

It was lucky Inari didn't know about the whole 'mom' thing. Love was love. It didn't matter.

He shut his eyes and his visage returned to a look of neutrality and deep concentration. He was thinking about all of the times in his life that brought him peace.

Being in Ascalons arms, feeling like there was nothing wrong with the world, feeling truly happy. Inari finally getting released from his cell. Laughing with Prodotis back in Crafthold, when he was too young to understand the problems the world held. Spending time with Skye on the beaches. Being the flowergirl for Emily Bell's wedding. Spending time with his sister, Tahldrig, in Levengard. Dancing during Skye's ritual.

The last one was particularly poignant. It invoked something that Arlei had never felt before. A strange form of tranquillity, but also depersonalisation. Derealization. Normally, the genderswapped Drakan only felt the latter during bouts of severe rage when a certain necromancer was mentioned, but during that instance?

It felt right. It felt like he wasn't alone, like he wasn't himself. As he'd stopped dancing on that beach and opened his eyes, he saw spirits around him, dancing with them. He'd unwittingly become a conduit for the spirit realm that day, given that the barriers between realms had been weakened through Skyes ritual.

And this place? This old tavern, up in Dusks mountains? A place where spirits roamed upstairs, drawnthere by some unknown force?

This was also a place where the barrier between the realms was weakened.

It took him a good while to clear his mind. So much had happened recently, with the news of Kotts death still weighing heavily on him. It took a lot to force that to the backburner, but it had to be done. He could grieve appropriately later.

Right now, he saw himself once again on that beach, dancing in tune with everyone else. A moment of true peace, a moment where he could really be himself with people that he cared about. He recalled the emotions he was going through, burning them into his blank slate of a mind.

And something began to happen.

His flames twitched. Not with movement, but with colour. For a moment, they weren't a burning auburn, but a cool blue. It quickly faded, but it happened, unbeknownst to Arlei.

The spirits that found their homes upstairs in the tavern. The ones that never came down. They twitched too. It was enough to cause three of them to poke their heads through the ceiling, staring down upon the motley crew that practiced downstairs.

And as they grew closer, his flames twitched once more. A vivid blue. A ghostly blue. Transluscent, yet still warm. A strange warmth, not one of heat, but of. . something eldritch. Something that only Saba and, perhaps, Ascalon would know. An all-encompassing calm radiated from the fires, with odd whispers emitting from his aura.

The flames of those long since passed. The blessing of Ryujin, perhaps? No.

Arlei had become a conduit once more, even if only temporarily. But he knew what he was doing now. He knew how he felt, and he'd never forget it.

A quiet, small roar echoed faintly throughout the tavern, overpowering the faint, ghostly whispers that came from Arleis body. The spirits saw that as their opportunity to retreat. They didn't want to anger a spiritual Ryujinite; they probably thought Arlei would try and send them back to the spirit realm.

And as they left, so did the blue flames, returning to yellow for a moment before fading out entirely.

Arlei gasped, opening his eyes wide. He'd found himself gripping his axe, sweating profusely. The axe of Zanders, a man long since gone, used as a form of conduit to the ethereal immaterium. An antenna of sorts.

Arlei didn't know what had properly happened, but he remembered the feeling. Peace and comfort. Isolation from reality, yet at home in another world.

He released his grip on the axe and fell backwards, bracing himself as he impacted the floor. This seemed like a good place to rest; that had taken a lot of energy from him, leaving him feeling weak and feeble. He resigned to simply watch his wife in her efforts.


(Arlei Zanders)
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[20:00] Looked over at Arlei. Ascalon had a hunch what they where trying to do. Which was interesting he'd not seen them practicing at it for years. Maybe they where trying to get back into the swing of things.

Shifting their gaze back towards Saba the Oscuri would take a deep breath. Mix the reika with is bloodstream? Full himself with adrenaline. Really that wasn't hard to do. In fact she'd done it naturally for most of her life.

The corusing reika began to lash out from their form as they focused inwards towards their own bloodstream. The fiery reika was already there when they looked intermingling with their natural adrenaline. Wait, if it was already there that'd explain the constant rush for something to do. Could she perhaps add more? It'd be like taking a rage potion at that point. It'd probably be fine if they tried it.

Taking a deep breath they'd push more reika inwards. As they did so the fiery aura bout them dimmed. Condensing downwards, inwards. The reika burned inside her body. Feeling like they where drinking liquid rage mixed with acid and oil.

In short she was just getting red in the face. The gnashing of teeth echoing as they struggled to maintain an ever increasing temper from the effort to pump themselves up on reika. That sweet, sweet reika.

With a deep breath they'd start to let go of the rush. Though to say they'd do it smoothly was a bit of a lie. Their body shaking every moment of the process.
(Ascalon Zanders)
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[20:12] Wow, Arlei sure was doing something neat! Probably, in all honesty he had no idea what she was doing, but boy was it a thing!

Right, well it was time to pay attention towards the people he could actually teach! Sorry, Arlei! Green hues shifted from them, and onto Ascalon, silently observing them as they attempted to weave their Reika into their bloodstream. Which if he was going to be completely honest about, he didn't even know if they could pull it off. Reika was a bit different than normal mana, so it's hard to say!

Yet, the woman had managed to achieve it! Well, for a moment anyways.

"Right, well I think you have the general idea for it, right Ascalon? Just keep practicing it, and if you have any questions, feel free to send them my way!"

He'd offer the Oscuri a thumbs up, as he turned to face Mutt, who had a wonderful idea!

"Hm, I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's a really good idea! Mhm, mhm!" Once more he'd flash them a giant grin, before continuing."Feel free to give it a go! I'm actually curious to see if it works or not."

The chieftain smiled, before letting out another roar of his own, as he syphoned mana out from his circuitries convergence points, causing his shroud to spike up around him once more.

"Once you get that sorted out Mutt, I'll teach you the next step, okay?"
(Saba Sugar)
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