Charlie: Cirlcet

The gemstone was complete but before it could really be inlaid he needed to enchant the circlet. It was only a rather cheap metallic thing made of Mythril that he'd bought just because it looked nice. But now he needed it to serve a proper purpose, a very important purpose. But, he needed a little break before he was ready to go about enchanting it.

The gem was stored away on his person and he slowly made his way down the stairs from his study and into Charlie and... what was the girl's name again? O-something right? Well, he's remember it soon enough... he hoped. Or maybe they'd drop it in the conversation, who knew. "Hello you two; what are you chatting about then? Anything interesting or just girl talk?"

Magnus believed that it was his right as old man and father of Charlie that he was to make any casual conversation with her as awkward as possible. "Oh, by the way Charlie, I might need a hand later on with a little project. One to help me get some of my vision back... I could really do with your help on it, just in case things end up going poorly..."

"Otherwise I'd just do it myself." He took a seat with them and leant back in the chair, the wood shifted under his spell and allowed him to lean comfortably.
(Magnus Brakkacia)

Ophrem giggled softly, her fingertips to her lips as she gazed at the blind old man across the table. "I do not zink madame is prone to talking of makeup and sleepovers, monseiur Brakkacia.

"Much to my dismay...~" she would add under her breath.

Giving the older woman a soft smile, Ophrem would then join the two in taking a seat at the table, her position and posture much more proper as she sat up straight, her long, bare right leg folding across the left. She scanned the page in silence for a bit, allowing the father and daughter pair to converse as they would for a moment.

As they would talk, Ophrem closed her eyes, exhaling softly as she picked up a pencil within her right hand. She could feel the air grow colder as her lips parted, words whispered quietly, just beyond the edge of mortal hearing, in a foreign tongue. Pleading now for aid, her eyelids would part ever so slightly, revealing milky whites that Magnus would find very familiar, were he even able to see them.

The world around her was gray and still, the sound of Magnus and Charlie speaking drifting into silence as nothing but the dull rushing of wind could be heard. Though she could not see it, Ophrem could feel the cold, ragged claw of her guardian's massive hand wrapping around her own, guiding her forward and drawing upon the paper with slow, broad strokes.

It was somehow comforting, and yet altogether terrifying at the same time, and did not last for more than a few seconds.

Her lips came shut and the film retreated from her eyes, leaving her oceanic gaze crystal clear as she sat back in the chair, pen dropped upon the table. Three points of interest had been marked on the map in ragged circles, and as the girl folded her arms across her breast and exhaled, a soft, cold mist escaped.

"Zere are trois places zat are not so hard to find. Any farzer into ze marshes zan zis, and one risks running into creatures much more foul."

And as for Charlie's final question: "I 'ave put some zought into zis, madame. Incredients wis spiritual components, and zose zat would 'elp to anchor one in zis plane. Zere is potential, oui."
(Ophrem Levonte)

Fucking old people. Always there to make things weird and awkward. An awkward glance was given to Magnus as he inquired in a way that prompted Charlie to narrow her eyes at the geezer. Clearly she was vexed as a teenager would be when a parent would come to nag them in front of the squad.

But oh boy was Charlie wrong when she'd think this couldn't get anymore awkward. Ophrem just had to say that. A murderous yet comedic glare was thrown at the employed lass, cheeks red with a fuming head to go with it.

"I ... Don't ... What ... Ugh! We're just ... Planning stuff."

No sass, no subtle jab to Magnus. Nothing, it was hallow. All the energy within Charlie had been siphoned by Ophrem's lusty killing blow. Face-table was inevitable, though she didn't actually bang it. Just a small thud, the ustesil left on the platform would vibrate somewhat in reaction.

She slowly rose again, now with two elements to consider. A nod was thrown at Ophrem confirming the good reception of the information she had relayed.

"Yeeeaaaah, planning to find critters in the marshlands for ingredients. Don't ask how we know."

Eyes remained half-closed, and a dull stare was given to Magnus as the rabbit was out of the bag anyway. Her upper body slowly rose until she could rest her back against the chair with a straight posture.

"Huh? So you're actually fixing them? I guess I co- Lemme guess, she convinced you?"

He'd not given a chance to answer that rhetorical questions.

"Knew it."

Lips pursed, her blue eyes would glance directly into the old man's milky optics.

"... Fine. I said I'd do it beforehand. What do you need exactly? Good occasion for you to learn, Ophrem."
(Charlie Avaline)

Ophrem Levonte: <-innocent giggle!->

"You know, I'm not going to assume anything between the pair of you really. I'll let you have whatever relationship you want. But at least don't act this way around the kids alright? At least until they're a bit older. For decency's sake if for nothing else." He sighed smiling, before he turned to address the real issue, the elephant in the room as it were.

"Ophrem, mind explaining to me what all of that was about? Your mana circuits went crazy and, might I add, there was a hand hovering over your own hand, one that wasn't completely human. I've seen things like it before but... why do you have one?" Spirits and elementals tended to hover around people from time to time, Magnus could never figure out why, especially when it was people like Ringo.

"Anyway, she didn't convince me, she actually just examined it and told me what the problem is so now I know what to fix. It shouldn't be too hard if my theories are right... and they should be." He took the circlet off of his head and placed it gently on the table, fishing the gem out of his pocket and placing it next to the slot on the circlet's front.

"It's a simple enough thing, we're going to be focusing the images before they go into the eyes using this. The curse on my eyes works by scrubbing out the details of everything and whitewashing the result. If we make it too focused for it to disperse then I will be able to see shapes and shadows and all of that, though it will only be in black an white. I don't quite know how to fix the whitewashing just yet."

"But, I have mana sight to provide me with colour so it isn't all bad."
(Magnus Brakkacia)

"Of course, monseiur Brakkacia~!" the girl exclaimed, her voice chipper and feminine as she clasped her hands together. "I would not zink of doing anyzing... untoward around les petits...~"

A wink was given to Charlie. Poor woman.

Of course, the levity would be sucked out of the conversation fairly quickly. Ophrem had not anticipated that the older man would have been able to see the guardian given his condition, and especially considering the lower amount of spiritual energy that would have been prevelent. It took considerable amount of focus and setup to give the spirit a tangible form. The last time, excluding the incident in the square, a ritual had been required.

There was much more to these mainlanders than the young teen had given them credit for.

She leaned back in her chair, eyes focused upon Magnus as she bit nervously into her lower lip. A darting glance was given to Charlie, though whether she was silently pleading for aid or requesting permission to speak was up for debate.

After a brief moment of silence, she decided to just come out with the important parts, sparing a bit of the more salacious details. "Zat is because zis is completely inhuman, monseiur. Ze espirit is a tutrice, a..." she paused, stuggling to find the right word. "Guardian, I suppose. It is bound and made subservient for ze shaman.

"Zrough rituel." A coy glance and smile was thrown Charlie's way once more as the girl shifted her legs, folding the left across the right. "Eef zis was ever 'uman, much time 'as passed. Centuries, one would 'ave to assume, but ze simpler answer is zat zis was never mortal to begin wis."

There was an extreme amount of discomfort being felt by the young teenager at this moment, but she had come this far. And this house belonged to him. She owed him an explination, at the very least.

"Les gardiens do not typically come to women, and zis takes a considerable amount of effort to bind zem. I am surprised zat zis worked at all..."
(Ophrem Levonte)

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Eyes shifted back toward the apprentice with another unnecessary addition brought by Ophrem. The glare said it all. Exasperated, Charlie's fatigued eyes had a hard time focusing on Magnus and his circlet. Most of his words would get through, but clearly the Avaline didn't look too enthusiastic about, well, anything.

The explination seemed sound, however, prompting Charlie's head to perk up somewhat once the whole proposal processed in her mind. She ponderd it for a minute, blue eyes shifting in various directions as ideas poured into her mind.

"Uhhhh, alright, alright. So basically some magical light-filtering system to mimic an eye. Got it. If you've got the runes and setup established, this'll be quick."

Hands were clapped together before being rubbed as if she was about to savor this glorious little task right this instant. But it seemed Ophrem would respond to the bizarre comment given by Magnus concerning something about a hand and it following her. In hindsight, it'd make sense given the bird's and Ophrem's behavior. But Charlie couldn't see it, making it quite an abstract subject to her.

"So ... That ugly thing from before that made you baww your eyes out is a guardian? What? ..."

She rose an eyebrow.

"Well, I ain't complaining. It did tell us where to find the shit we need."

A sigh was released as the girl would finally stand.

"Okay, we doing this now, Magnus? The sooner the better."
(Charlie Avaline)

Ophrem Levonte: Zis is a guardian, oui. So long as it is placated.
Ophrem Levonte: Eef not...
Ophrem Levonte: <-falls silent again->

"Yes, now would be the best time for it Charlie." He decided to start working before continuing the chat with Ophrem, just to take the edge off of things really. "I have all of the runes and stuff planned out it's just a matter of writing them up and the circlet itself and then sorting out the gemstone, which shouldn't be too hard of a job."

His hands moved through the air, leaving blue trails of mana behind until the air was saturated with it. It was in the form of a rather complex runic circle. "This is the bottom layer. I'll etch this in properly into the metal. The second layer, I'll need you to write on top while I do the bottom layer. Write it in anything other than occultic mana if you could."

The tip of his finger was extended and a small green blob formed there, he brought it closer to the circlet before a very thin stream of clear liquid shot out and began to etch into the metal. Acid burning away what wasn't needed. As he did so his other hand moved through the hovering runic circle and the pathways and lettering changed and morphed. "That's the second layer, it's used to siphon a little mana from the wearer to power it. Only a very little amount though."

He continued to etch away for now. "And as for you Ophrem, That sounds very... rural. It looks to me to just be like any other kind of elemental but then again mana sight isn't too picky when it comes to things. It has the same style of mana as any other kind of spirit so forgive me if I offended you in any way with it." He nodded though it wasn't at her, he was too busy focusing.

"Well if it isn't placated then it should be simple enough to banish. You'd be surprised at the power of us 'mainlanders'." He said the term with a smile before getting back to his work.
(Magnus Brakkacia)

"No offense taken, monseiur." Her words were gentle and kind, though she had her doubts. Ophrem knew of the elementals which he spoke, and the souls of the long dead. Necromancy was not so tabboo in her village, though dead bodies were rarely brought up as they were here. Instead, the spirits were used as mediums with which one could find information or solace.

But the tutrice... They were completely different entities onto their own, and typically were not banished without a fight.

Instead of voicing her thoughts upon that subject, Ophrem opted instead to simply fall silent, her arms folded across her chest as she listened, eyes glued onto Charlie, her instructor and mistress, with an occasional glance given Magnus' way as he spoke. If she were to be entirely honest, the less that she spoke upon the subject, the better she would feel.

Her uneasiness was not entirely her own, and she did not want to deal with an irritated spirit during what should be a pleasant learning experience.
(Ophrem Levonte)

Charlie's eyes scanned the example given by Magnus, retaining every little detail as an efficient runewriter would do. The circle was small, but absurdly complex. Not that it was a challenge for the runewriting expert, but it would indeed require a little effort.

Her sapphire optics would come to analyse the material they would be manipulating into the tool Magnus desired. With that, the Avaline could gauge the size and composites for the layer she'd be working on. Her tongue clicked as a few details seemed to bug her somewhat perfectionist mind. But eventually, she'd start.

"Just pass me the thing when you're done. This'll be quick."

A bit of a bold statement, but one she said with a pokerface. No occult mana? Good, this was going to be even faster. In the past, this method was hectic, and even borderline impossible to utilize efficiently. But now, it seemed like pure lightning was being employed.

Another oddity would be how Charlie would seem to be drawing the rune in the air as if she were making an example as did Magnus. The difference would be that the image of the runes she'd be drawing in the specific way she was instructed to would vanished barely a second later. But even if gone, those close enough could perhaps feel the static stimulate and make their body hair rise somewhat. The electrical charges were still there, the air was intoxicated with her lightning magic.

When the layer was a-ok to be applied, Charlie would end up simply pointing her index right at the direction or the artifact Magnus wished to enchant. A lightning bolt would fire itself onto the metal, leaving it red hot, but the layer of the circle fully formed with detail. The lines would seem to be releasing some sort of burning smell.

"Added some external absorption and a reserve in case you can't access your magic. Should provide sight for 24 hours if you end up in the shitter."
(Charlie Avaline)

The etching was rather slow but it was done deliberately so. The patterns were intricate and they had to withstand any amount of wear and tear. Mythril wasn't easy to erode thankfully but the circlet wasn't exactly something impeccably made, it would be able to withstand several decades of wear before it would need a proper tune up at least.

The etched runes were the most important, they did all the legwork, they were the ones that focused the light just after it went into the eyes but before the curse could get to it, it was very specific but it would mean that he would be able to see at least something. It would also mean that if anyone else were to wear it it would give them perfect sight.

The lightning hit the circlet and Magnus hurriedly encased it i na film of water, cooling it down before any damage could be done. "Do you mind not trying to warp the runes I just finished etching Charlie? They are very delicate and if any of it goes wrong it'd make my vision even worse. If you want to know how it could be worse than being blind, imagine seeing everything upside down or with a delay on it."

He triple checked the runes and re etched a couple of them but in the end the circlet itself was finished. Next would come the gem and Magnus wanted to handle it personally. He grabbed the small lilac thing and began to draw on its surface with his own mana, the crystal could not be etched into by acid and he didn't have the tools to do it by hand.

So he'd have to do it by magic. Tiny jets of water blasted into the crystal wherever he drew them, redoing the stone away into the runic lettering. "Thanks for the additions Charlie but they weren't necessary. The main runes themselves are build to withhold any mana they absorb for a good while, but, added with yours there's a complete failsafe now."

"And Ophrem, it better not be a problem around the kids." He said so off handedly but the threat was still there. From the palm of his hand the hissing of water could be heard as it worked it's way into the crystal.
(Magnus Brakkacia)

Ophrem merely sat in silence as she observed the proceedings, drinking in the entire experience with the impeccable eye of one who wished for nothing more than to learn. It was why she came to Charlie in the first place-- the fact that she was an attractive woman being only icing upon the cake. Though small lessons had been given here and there, this was the first time real practical demonstration had been given to the young teen and she was eating it up.

A giggle escaped her lips at the banter between the two, and she could not help but feel a bit envious of their relationship. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. These things were alien to her, just as they were to all of her village, and she could not with all honesty say that she had been better off not knowing the people that had sired her.

As she watched and pondered, it took her a moment to register the not-so-subtle threat that had been issued by the elder Brakkacia. A fingertip tapped upon her arm as she regarded him for a brief moment, her mind distracted by the magic that permeated the air. The static was causing a tingling upon her flesh that was pleasant, if not a bit inappropriate.

Ophrem cleared her throat, toying with the strap of her dress upon her shoulder as she looked at Magnus. "I would not 'ave done zis eef I were not asked, monseiur." she responded, her tone a little agitated that she was taking all the blame. A curt look was given in addition to Charlie.

The words were only partial truths, tasting of the slight bitterness of a lie. Certain things were expected of her after all, and not just by her hostess.

"But you need not worry. Les tutrice do not act out upon ozers unless ze shaman is threatened. And eef ze are not satiated, zen ze one at risk is ze one to whom zey are bound."

A subtle, dark smirk played upon her lips. "Eef zis does turn, I will try not to let my mangled corps scare zem too much...~"
(Ophrem Levonte)

A hand slammed onto the table upon hearing Magnus' unnecessary remark. Charlie was now very much annoyed, and the massive smack would be followed by a wail of some sort.

"AHHHHHHH! Stop being a nagging old geezer! You're not fifty just YET! ... Give it a couple of months ..."

A mix of slight anger and sassy malice was the best way to describe her rather loud reaction.

"But really, c'mon, who do you think you're dealing with? I was what? Eight when I started this? You really think I'd be amateur enough to fry the other layers? PLEASE!"

And of course, a little overreaction to make it clear she didn't approve of this grandpa complaining. She'd even cross her arms and pout like the teen she seemed to be at this very moment.

"Now Ophrem, now you saw how experts do runewriting! But, as you can see, NEVER do it around nagging old people! Only once you've mastered the art can you oppose the Magnus ..."

Now she was just being silly. Emphasizing words, making it seem like Magnus was some sort of dreadful tyrant and the ultimate trial for a runewriter. Charlie was pretty much addressing her apprentice as if she were some sort of impressionable child.

"Hey, homicidal spirits were not part of the descriptive, love. Anything weird happens and an exorcism is happening. And they definitely hurt! Well, mine do anyway~"

A small smirk.
(Charlie Avaline)

Magnus smiled during Charlie's outburst but he did his best to hide it from her. She really had been doing it for a long time, but Magnus had been doing it for longer and he like to slap around his seniority every once in a while. What was the point of getting old if you couldn't shove it in people's faces? The gem in his hand went quiet as the runes were carved into it, it was very rough to touch now and more than once his skin got caught in a sharp crack.

"You heated the metal up enough to make it glow, that's going to cause deformations no matter how experienced you are. It's not as if you're a metal mage or even a fire mage. Still though, good work, you've saved me some time on it at least and you added things that I would have overlooked. So thank you Charlie. You are definitely my successor in all things."

"I've trained you well and you took that training further beyond. You now have your own specialties beyond my own and I can honestly say that I am very proud of you and that you are my equal in many areas." He bowed his head slightly at her and grabbed the circlet. To his mana sight the runes began to glow as his skin made contact.

The Gem wasn't inlaid yet but that can come at a different time, preferably when he was ready to be able to try and see again. It was going to be a big moment and he couldn't exactly do it willy nilly, he needed some time to prepare for it. "And Charlie is right, if the spirit acts up in anyway one of you is going to be leaving the house through the roof."
(Magnus Brakkacia)