Ronin: Hyperbolic Illusionary Prism Technique - (Failed)

[19:58] The blonde child sits herself down onto the sand, tucking her legs against her torso as she stared out onto the lake. Such a serene area obviously put her at peace; she was ignorant of any others as she closed her eyes and thought to herself.
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[20:04] A wanderer approaches lake to accompany a blonde child.
Their gaze briefly looks over the other: seemingly zoned out in this rather calming scene.
Ronin had no immediate intentions on disturbing that, though the mind did wander.

He sat down in the sand, taking to crossed leg stance in the sands as well, facing the waters and taking to his thoughts.
Should time allow it, moments turned to seconds... And soon after, minutes before he spoke.

" The lake is a great place to start learning to manipulate the core elements. " He started, though he felt as though mentioning this was redundant -- This person was likely a magi of sorts.
" It's peaceful, serene... It's also where many magi start to understand the very concept of the ebb and flow of mana in the circuit."

He turned his head to glance in Blaire's general direction.

"If you don't mind me asking, is that what brings you here?"
(Ronin)
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[20:13] What little focus the girl had was broken when she heard a voice.

Vibrant blue eyes shot open and landed upon Ronin, taking in his being with interest, confusion, and mild embarrassment. To be sitting alone at a lake was an odd concept to Blaire, but she couldn't help but to find it peaceful; perhaps that's why she picked it out in the first place.

Flashing a smile, she nodded her head. "...ah, I figured a lake would be peaceful enough for me to think about things. The nearby town is... well, a town, so its too busy. Plus there's no places there that would give me the same feeling as this lake.

You're right though, I'm sort of- I'm trying to I guess... feel or think about using my magic. I'm not a mage, but I need to become one. I already have a family member that's one, so maybe that's a start..."

But she sounded a little uncertain of it all.
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[20:20] She was just like him, so many years ago -- Except, she was younger now, than he was when he started working towards becoming a magi.

"Interesting that we should stumble upon one another then."

He propped up, even standing to walk up to Blaire.
"Yeah, the lake is peaceful enough. However, sometimes it doesn't quite work like that. I know it didn't work like that for me anyways."

Ronin had an idea.
Thus far,
He knew he could warp the metaphysical into the perceivably physical.
He knew he could forge the artificial past into the truth.
So... What was to say, that he couldn't warp one's experience to create a new future?

"Sorry if I'm intruding, but I feel as though - I can help you here. I, am Ronin." He introduced himself, "--and I, plan on turning you into a magi."

" Now, who do I have the pleasure of meeting today? And what is your current vision for yourself as a magi?" He asked with a boastful smile. Truly, he either had something he was proud of, or he was absolutely confident that he could really make a difference for this girl.

(Ronin)
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[20:27] She seemed a little apprehensive.

While most of her run ins with a stranger in the wild were uneventful, a recent event left her skeptical and untrusting of people she didn't know. However, with Ronin's talks of shaping her into a mage and his generally positive demeanor, perhaps she could relax some in his presence. "My name is Blaire. My vision for myself? I don't... really know, I just want to be able to use some kind of magic, but I don't know what I can do."

She frowned a little. "I don't know if you could turn me into a mage; I have... an issue, on top of not knowing what I can do."

Blaire debated on elaborating on her 'issue,' but in a world of magi, was her problem all that strange anymore? "...actually, do you know if there is uh, ghost-magic?"
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[20:37] Learning the basic concepts of mana manipulation?
Easy...
Learning the process of becoming a... 'Ghost Mage'?

Ronin visibly paused, mentally paused, glitched even... Before replying in the best way he could to make sense of what he heard.

"Spiritmancy?" He answered, with a risen brow.
"I've... Heard briefly of it in my wanders and even sparse details in my studies but I've never really... Well, learned much of it, myself."
He stopped to think to himself, before nodding his head -- Just enough to imply that he hadn't given up on her.

"Well, looks like we'll try to accomplish it, together then!" He followed up with some enthusiasm.
If he could do this? What couldn't he do.

"There's bound to be something in the library, and I'll be more than capable of imbuing that upon you, Blaire."

He turned, ready to start heading back to town.
" Follow me, I'll lead you to the library, where we can continue your efforts. "
(Ronin)
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[20:48] Spiritmancy.

Her eyes light up at that. "Spiritmancy! That... that might be the solution to my problem then, or- or at least one of them... The excitement faded as fast as it came. Still holding one arm around her legs while resting her chin on her knees, Blaire rested her other hand against the sand she was sitting on.

A small, aimless squiggle began to draw itself upon the sand. Blaire was not the one doing this.

"...I don't want to go to the library; I want to talk to a person, a person that... that probably knows what they're doing. You might not be a spiritmancer, but- but I'm sure being haunted by ghosts isn't the only thing I can do. I remember hearing a woman speak about fire and earth magic, so that must mean there's water and... air, right?"

After asking her question she looked off to the lake. Perhaps that's why she was drawn to a body of water?
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[20:53] "Oh, no-no, you misunderstand. -I- was going to study Spiritmancy, and whilst I did, train you! Surely, I wouldn't have to actively practice it, to be capable of teaching you, yes?"
Perhaps, the girl wouldn't grasp his logic, but to him, it was sound.

"It's hard to explain, but I know I can. If I understand how it works, I can invoke you into accomplishing the feat." He briefly explained, "Though, if you'd prefer to learn aquamancy or aeromancy? I can do that, far easier. They're core elements, after all." He went on.

"--but what it is that you want to learn -now-?" He asked.

"I can teach you Spiritmancy, but we'll need to visit the library so I can get my hands on a book, and use what I've learned and my own techniques to appropriately train you."

"I can teach you any of the core elements, because their concepts are fairly simple and widely known. Without practicing, or even studying those, I can train you on their usage, fairly easily."
(Ronin)
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[21:02] Blaire donned a pensive expression, thinking on the man's proposal. He could learn spiritmancy while teaching her? It seemed sound, but somewhere in her heart she had some doubts about it all, doubts about learning from Ronin and also her capabilities as a mage in general. "Maybe you could teach me," she murmured, looking to the sand again.

Whatever was drawing in the sand became a bit more tangible. It looked like a shadow, a small one, perhaps belonging to a child? The child was clearly using their index finger to draw.

"...but I think I already might know, or at least in some way. If anything I just wanted to learn how to control it while also seeing if I'm capable of doing anything else other than just being haunted."

But acting as if there wasn't a shadowy form of a little girl next to her, she lookedoff to the side, to the lake.

"Tell me about water."
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[21:15] Being haunted?
That was when Ronin saw it... And nothing...
Not even the slightest shift of expression on his face.
He wasn't convinced that Spiritmancy was really much of anything beyond writing on paper. If anything would make a statement, it'd be necromancy.

He even grinned, personally perceiving the manifestation as something else. Something more... Naturally occurring to him.
Odd.

"Water? Alright then."
He turned to the lake, standing upright still.

"Its a rather soothing variant of focus, rather than the other core elements." He started,
"It's about understanding its every ebb and flow being in reaction to what is in, and around it. It does not act without reaction soon-after, nor does it push without a pull."

He took a slow inhale, before easing himself with an exhale.
He had to be relaxed, that was the only way he was to be capable of pulling off, what came next.

"Now, close your eyes and focus on what is, within." He asked of her, reaching out to lay his hand upon her head. To one whom was remotely sensitive to the presence of foreign mana, they could feel an alien presence creeping into their being, as though they were being invaded by something... Not quite tangible.

The sense of feeling was slowly being sapped away with his looming proximity, odd to those unfamiliar.
" I intend on applying a technique I've been developing. It should help... I want you to focus on absolutely nothing but the ebb and flow of this lake."

Blaire could disperse the odd sensation if she decided against it, though succumbing to it would mean she'd be subject to--… Whatever... This was...

(Ronin)
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[21:24] It was a soothing focus, more calm that the other elements? She could understand that; if she had to guess, earth could be sturdy, fire could be wild, air...? Well, she didn't have to worry about that, at least not right now. For now she had to focus on the ebb and flow of the water within the lake.

Only a nod is given in response as Blaire shuts her eyes, intending to do just that.

She had to try and feel like water, able to flow or even crash if something pushed her enough. At the same time she felt a foreign presence, something odd that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

The water near her started to stir and bubble gently.

...

Meanwhile, the spirit still manifesting itself looked to Ronin with a look of confusion -- it was the perfect mirror for Blaire's state of mind. Nonetheless, the spirit continued to play with the sand.
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[21:38] The invasive sensation being invoked upon Blaire was Ronin's own mana, attempting to tamper with her body's grasp on its senses. Whilst such a technique was typically used in hostile and combative circumstances, it was oddly applied... Here?

Ronin didn't notice the weak grasp on the lake's water. Though, as far as he was concerned -- It didn't exactly matter.
It did not matter -yet- anyways.

Ronin's hand did not go contested yet, and thus, it'd finally lay upon her head. The physical contact was enough to initiate a flood of his mana pouring unto the child. The intent was to abruptly siphon her senses from her body, to retire her perception to her mind.

Surely, one could perceive it as an attempt to physically disable them, but granted from the words that he stated prior, maybe this was a part of that same technique he claimed?
This, however, didn't mean that she was dispatched, for any means of resistance would likely break the spell he was casting upon her.

Even the spirit's presence could end up intervening, if it were to act whilst he ignored it. He was convinced it was merely an illusion cast forth to intimidate him -- Thus, he did not think it was capable of acting independently in any fashion.

He spoke aloud, but for Blaire, should she not have attempted breaking this spell-en-progress already, he would sound omnipresent.
" This technique will allow you to continue practicing, and tap deeper into your own being. By time this session is over, you will be imbued with the knowledge and experience to control the water element. If my theory is correct, far faster and with more adept skill than your typical persona!"

What was recreated, was a vast ocean... An image of Ronin stood on the water's surface, and Blaire? She would be standing on a small island of sand that spanned merely 3 yards worth of diameter.
As far as the eye could see, to the horizon -- Was water... No land in sight.

"This is a form of illusionary casting I've been developing. It's honed on your mind, so should you not attempt breaking it in your current state, your body will remain idling." He explained, before carrying onward.

"Don't worry too much about staring off into space for hours on end either... I've been working on combining the illusionary arcane with time magic, which slows down this illusion drastically."

"I don't have a good grasp as to how long I can stretch time here, but so far... I've been able to create a little over day's worth, over the course of a few minutes. If I push myself maybe I can extend this until you get the concept and art downpact."
(Ronin)
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[21:52] Blaire sat in silence.

The spirit continued to play with the sand.

While she thought about manipulating the water, her budding mana circuits flared with life -- the feeling itself was alien, but allowed herself to be lost more in the feeling. The spirit too, seemed to get a little bit more drowsy as time went on. However, when Ronin floods his own mana into Blaire's own network, something goes awry.

Initially she didn't fight against the foreign mana, but the spirit beside her rose out of their 'tired' state and looked up at Ronin, their mouth moving but no words coming out. Gradually they began to look as if they were confused.

Afraid, even.

Blaire felt her senses leaving her and the feeling of mana welling up within her body. It was overwhelming and alarming; hearing Ronin's voice all around her instead of in front made the sensory depravation all the more alarming.

The spirit of the child seemed to let out a muted shriek before they ran towards Ronin to shove him away with all of her might -- if he paid it any mind, it was clear the spirit's form was losing more and more detail, being reduced to a mere shade as Blaire ultimately lost focus. Gasping as if she just resurfaced from water, Blaire shot open her eyes and quickly scooted back from the man.

Despite hearing his words earlier, she couldn't help but to ask, "What- don't do that! What did you do?! I-"

She looked around, spotting a familiar face: Siegfried.

The spirit had vanished completely.
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[21:52] Siegfried says, "..."
[21:53] Siegfried, for his part, sits in a nearby tree. They'd notice him whenever they noticed him. Lazily hanging on a branch, he has a harp in hand, humming while he plucks at the notes. Blaire's shrill shrieking and the sudden urgency in the lesson do naught but accelerate his playing, the idling man bobbing his head while he jovially vibes.

It's as if he'd just happened to be here, and happened to be in a nearby tree, even though that couldn't possibly be the case.

Could it?
(Siegfried)
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[22:05] That spirit that Ronin didn't acknowledge earlier was indeed not an illusion. In fact, it was its own independent entity, capable of acting on its own, needing only a portion of Blaire's essence to persist.
This was made clear when it made -physical- contact with Ronin, shoving him.

Broken.


Unfortunately, the hyperbolic illusionary spell couldn't take hold.
Fear led to Blaire shattering it asunder, returning her back to her physical form and sparing the spirit that nearly lost theirs.

Ronin was bewildered, for what was supposed to be an illusion could not only -touch- him, but move him, without the need of another magic that he could note. For a brief moment he stood stunned, attempting to comprehend what just happened.

Gravity and Illusion arcanes, like himself? No. If so, she wouldn't have been asking him for help. She'd also likely take to flight, if anything-- Or used the metaphysical to disengage his practice.
No, it was only reasonable to come to the conclusion that, when she referenced 'Spiritmancy', that the spirit-like entity that affected him, was indeed... A spirit...

Somehow, this was absolutely mind-blowing to him.

"Huh? So, spirits -are- real." He started, slowly composing himself, and flickering his gaze between Blaire... And where he last saw the spirit. Then, soon after, Siegfried. If he was causing a disturbance, it was clear to see who -appeared- to be the villain in this scenario.

He gave a light chortle and rubbed at his face.
" Perhaps, there were misunderstandings from both sides of this equation." He started.
" I'm sorry you were unsettled just then. That, was my technique I was working on. Using both illusionary and time-based magics, and focusing them directly towards your mind, I can create alternate realities that you can live, unbound by time."

He removed his hand from his face.
"I was planning on using this technique to train you on your art, so that you would leave the illusion with a strong grasp on aquamancy. To you, you'd be training as you would with any other teacher, but to the world, you'd learn the art in minutes, maybe... seconds, or minutes maybe. It's still a theory."

There was a brief pause before a slight irk of annoyance surfaced.
"I'm certain I briefly explained this prior, did I not?"
(Ronin)
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[22:06] Ronin says, "This may look odd, stranger. I assure you, however, nothing but benevolent intent."
[22:07] Ronin says, "Though, I invite you to partake if you're interested. <*directed at Siegfried*>"
[22:07] Siegfried says, "I grew up at a house near this lake. Many of my friends played around here."
[22:07] Siegfried says, "Occasionally, I come to reminisce."
[22:07] Siegfried says, "Don't worry, though, we can sure."
[22:08] Ronin says, "... I think I can help you with that, as well."
[22:12] Her breathing slowly, but surely returned the normal.

"I'm- I'm sorry, I wasn't... ready, I guess." That's as best as she could explain it, however. She swallowed a lump in her throat and stood up; though she only spent a fraction of a second within the illusionary hold, she wouldn't forget the sensation.

For now, she turned to address Siegfried. "...is that why you came here? I thought you wanted me to forget you.

I was just getting help with magic from this man here, Ronin."
(Blaire Blackburn)
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[22:23] The sun was well past its way on the horizon, leaving few gleaming dots across the coming night sky.
Exhaustion was taking him over, and this attempted training session was not quite going the way he planned.

Sure, he wanted to help both Blaire and Siegfried, but how well could he really hone his own spell castings? How would he be able to help them to the best of his ability, if he was going to be too tired to keep his eyes open in a matter of minutes.

"It's alright. Blaire, right? Perhaps, it's best to wait until tomorrow, it's alright kind've late." He explained.
Yes, the attempt was rather short-lived, but tomorrow as a whole 'nother day!

"As for you, stranger." He referred to Siegfried, "I'm certain that I can help you. Reminiscing better and olden times, is often a depressing, but nostalgic experience. Though, I feel as though it is something that can be treated. In the future, seekme out in Levengard by the medical clinic. From there, we'll come back to this lake."
(Ronin)
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[22:28] The child rubbed her arm. She noticed the sun was on its way down, revealing the stars above.

"Right- yes, its Blaire. It was nice meeting you here, Ronin, thanks for... for the small lesson, I guess, even if I did freak out a little..."

A small breath of relief leaves past her lips. She hadn't expected to learn anything today, but her encounter with Ronin had certainly educated her on the world of magic at large. While she had still only had the bare basics, one thing was certain.

She needed more information.
(Blaire Blackburn)