abraxaslogs | [OPEN] being funny in a foreign language

[ Himeka isn't the sort to want to stay in one place for long--she's a wanderer, a traveler at heart. She's made it a habit of bouncing from Settlement to Settlement in Solvunn which does offer some variety, but being able to visit Nocwich once a moon? She never misses it.

She can usually be found in the gambling den or the tavern, trying her luck at cards and dice and generally not doing too well. Drinking and eating, though she's good at. She's got no compunction sitting down at any open table whether populated by a familiar Summoned or not. ]

Room for one more? [ Or-- ] Deal me in!

[ Himeka also likes to take this time to peruse the shops in the market. Items that may be hard to come by in Solvunn or, more importantly, any ingredients to add to her pantry are of great interest. So invested, Himeka may not be paying attention to where she's going and bump shoulders-- ]

Oh, sorry!

[ Lastly, if there is someone who wants to join her, Himeka will visit the Hunting Grounds. Weapons and the like aren't allowed in Oeluni Square, understandably so, but the woods are a much better place to inspect the flora, fauna, and maybe weave a few magicks... ]

Edited 2023-06-14 04:31 (UTC)

[ After Hilda's last interaction in the Hunting Grounds, she's reluctant to return any time soon. Funnily enough, it has less to do with the gigantic cat creature that tried to rip her throat out, and more to do with the awfully cranky man she had run into. And to top it all off, she hadn't even gotten her hands on the pesky flower she had set out into the Hunting Grounds for in the first place.

Maybe this time around will be better. It has to be, right? After all, what could possibly go wrong with practicing magic with Himeka in the woods? ]

Thanks again for agreeing to teach me some magic, Himeka. I'm sure you have better things to be doing in Nocwich.

[ Himeka shakes her head. She's always happy to be helpful and feel useful--that much hasn't changed since her childhood. ]

It's the weekend to get to spend time with people you can't normally see. You definitely count, Hilda!

[ Hilda had clicked with her basically since they met. It really is a shame that such a distance separates them on the regular. The trouble that they could get up to...

...is probably best for the Free Cities and for Solvunn. But it's fun to think about. ]

Besides, practicing is always better with someone else. But why don't we start with you showing me what you already know how to do.

[ They could still technically get into trouble in Nocwich. Or whenever the opportunity arose. But right now was super serious time (which is shocking thing to say considering it's coming from her).

Himeka's question immediately draws a dusting of colour to her cheeks. Out of habit she starts to try and temper expectations. ]

It's not much. I can do some thunder magic and a little bit of healing but it takes so much out of me, you know? [ Or maybe Himeka didn't know; she seemed far more versed in magic than Hilda did. She takes in a quick draw of breath as if steeling herself before she loses her nerves. ] Don't laugh, okay?

[ She extends a hand out towards a stump several feet away. After several beats, electricity crackles to life in her hand before it shoots out towards the tree stump. A spark of thunder glitters there before dissipating. ]

[ Super serious times with two not at all silly girls playing with magicks in an enchanted forest. The Luna don't need to be worried at all.

Himeka nods in acknowledgment. It makes her wonder if just helping Hilda redirect where she draws her energy from, she'll be able to use the healing magicks she already knows more easily? But first things first! Himeka places her hands on her hips to watch the show.

Don't laugh? She raises a brow and watches--

--is it wrong to say a spell is cute? It's kind of cute. She likes it, though! ]

Well I don't think the stump is laughing! [ A little charred now. ] So when you do that, do you feel tired too? Or is it only when you're healing?

[ Super Serious Times with...slightly sparkly thunder magic?

Hilda purposefully waits for some kind of reaction that's somewhere in the realm of disappointment or even the laugh she had asked Himeka not to do. When nothing comes though, she dares a glance towards the red head, visibly still a little bit tense. The attempt at levity does make Hilda's lips quirk however. ]

I feel a little tired now.

[ Magic fatigue is different than the fatigue that comes from swinging an axe around. ]

It's been better since coming here which is weird, but I still feel tired whenever I cast magic. [ But generally as a rule of thumb she just didn't bother because she wasn't certain if she could pull it off in time. ] Enchanting is a little bit easier if there's another medium to help me along like paints.

[ She nods as she considers. Abraxas does seem to have the ability to allow people who never had magical abilities before to tap into them now. She is sure Y'shtola would have some theories on why that is, if it has to do with the balance or abundance of aether here in comparison to the Source or elsewhere.

Himeka isn't an expert in theory, just in practice, which mostly comes with trial and error and a lot of gusto. Though one thing Hilda says doesn't quite make sense to her: ]

Like paints? What do you mean?

Oh you know, like -

[ Hilda realizes that she's wearing the lantern necklace she had been fiddling with. It's not the bracers that she had been working on, nor the other in-progress pieces, but it'll hopefully suffice as an example. She pulls out the lantern from underneath her shirt to hold it out for Himeka to see. It glows a faint, warm light not so dissimilar to a candle. ]

I enchanted this by engraving the rune for light into it. [ She frowns, pink blooming on her cheeks as she stumbles through her explanation feeling a little bit silly about it. ] Or maybe I enchanted it and the rune made it stronger? Anyway - I did something similar by molding runes for protection into some bracers I'm testing but that's what I mean by medium.

[ She tilts her head to one side and then leans in to take a closer look the necklace. She can feel something in the aether as she draws closer, not dissimilar to an activated piece of equipment...mayhaps enhanced with materia? (She shudders to think of how many attempts it may have taken...) ]

I think I understand! It gives you a little boost to your abilities.

[ Himeka pulls back with a nod and a smile. The explanation isn't silly at all! ]

Magic is also easier for me when I have something to channel it through.

[ She takes the staff from her back, lovingly crafted by Jayce in a seamless combination of woods and metals--suitable for White and Black Magicks. His gift was really thoughtful. ]

It's more...refined? Makes it easier to control.

[ Though Himeka is also prone to be a little chaotic in her own right. ]

So the way I started with magic was really just reaching out with my own aether to grab at the aether around us. That definitely as worked best for healing. There's another tradition where you pull from the natural leylines of aether and dip into that pool for more powerful offensive magicks, but I admit that I find it easier to just to... you know, grab from whatever is around.

[ Is she a lazy White Mage even when she's a Black Mage at times? Absolutely. ]

I'm thinking maybe if you start to pull more from outside of yourself and use that aether more than your own, you won't feel as tired after casting.

[ The silence doesn't really stretch as long as it does, but that's what it feels like to Hilda. Her worry sets her heartbeat racing and the heat in her cheeks only seems to persist.

For a moment she wonders if she's talking out of turn. Most of what she says has been learned from Jayce after all and she'd consider him more of an expert than she is. Or maybe she's more nervous that saying something will make her seem like she knows more than she does when in reality she only knows the bare minimum.

But then Himeka tells her that she understands. That she uses a medium to help with her magic too. Relief washes over her as she nods, listening intently to Himeka's explanation even though some of the words don't make perfect sense to her. ]

I don't think I understand what aether and leylines are, but I do think I understand the gist of what you're saying. [ Work smarter, not harder, right? There's something akin to admiration in her voice. ] Is the magic in Abraxas similar to what you have at home? Is that why you know so much?

Edited 2023-07-03 05:31 (UTC)

[ She chuckles at that. New terminology, yes, she completely sympathizes with feeling like you're playing catch up. That is what most of her early career in formal magical training had been. She'd floundered and fell hard.

To the question, though, Himeka actually shakes her head. ]

There are parts that are similar? I think all magic has something in common, we just call it different things. Whether it be aether, chaos, or...whatever it is here, I believe it's all the same substance. We just have different ways of tapping into it. But the magic they use in the Commune is really all focused on making a connection and appealing to the gods. . I'm not sure how different it is elsewhere?

[ Which does make her wonder... ]

The Free Cities...they aren't too fond of magic, right?

[ Everything Himeka feels like a bit of an, "Oh, duh," moment to Hilda. Different terminology from a different world feels so obvious now that it's laid out in front of her.

Learning about things in school had never really interested in her. Magic theory proved too confusing for her - or at least that's what she was quick to claim. It feels different now that she's here in Abraxas, applying it to things that feel relevant to her interests. ]

I wouldn't say that exactly. [ She pauses a moment trying to best figure out how to explain. ] I think it comes down to the type of magic being practiced and where. New Magic is probably the most commonly practiced — that's the kind of magic that they use with all of their inventions and machinery. Kind of my little necklace.

[ At the mention of it her hands go to fiddle with the lantern around her neck. ]

I don't think they dislike it though. They sure use a lot of it to make their lives easier. [ Tilting her head to the side she regards Himeka curiously. ] What do they use magic in the Commune for?

[ Himeka is honestly much of the same--traditional learning, schooling, study? It never really clicked with her. But just going out and experiencing it herself is really what led her to understanding. Of course, trial and error with magic can be dangerous, but at least she can help others learn from her (many) mistakes.

She honestly doesn't understand much of New Magic, in no small part because the Commune is highly uninterested. It's an affront to the Old Ways and the Gods that lead them. Her eyes drop to the neck as she nods. She...thinks she understands. With trinkets and baubles? A bit like Magitek, but maybe not quite. They don't seem to have the same level of industry as Garlemald. At least not yet. ]

So magic acts as kind of the fuel for this?

[ Or maybe that's an over-simplification? ]

Magic in the Commune is...well, it's everywhere. People appeal to the Gods for guidance in their home, to ease their work, to bless their travels. It can be a little different depending on who you talk to, but there isn't a person around who doesn't have a personal shrine or one nearby that they go to frequently.

[ She smiles. ]

There's one God in particular I have been trying to form a relationship with, and there are certain benefits to it, I'm finding. But! I can assure you it's not at all necessary for Conjury.

[ Luckily Hilda is all about over-simplification. Why work harder when you could work smarter? Especially if the smarter way still leads to the same outcome. ]

I guess you could say that - at least about my necklace. [ She pauses, trying again to think about how best to phrase this. ] I've seen some really talented inventors use magic as a stand in for a part, or to figure out how to get their invention to do the thing they want it to do. [ Her lips curve slightly at the next bit. ] Or you're just lazy like me and you don't want to keep casting it over and over again.

[ All she had ever known of magic was to hurt or heal. There hadn't been any other alternative in Fodlan. Maybe there would be some day when advances occurred, time passed, and they were no longer in a time of war, but who's to say that it would even occur in her lifetime?

Until arriving here, she didn't think it would have been possible for her to see it used the way it was never mind have any interest in trying to learn how to use it herself. ]

You're trying to build a relationship with a God? [ She's obviously surprised, but there's curiosity there too. The thought of Gods walking amongst them also isn't something she'd ever thought she'd see either. ] Can you actually speak with them?

[ She does have to laugh at that--honestly, something that can hold a cast and be used again and again does sound like it would be a boon in battle. (Especially if you can move while ejecting that stored cast...the true blight of being both a White and Black mage.) ]

If it serves your purposes, that's all that matters. Mayhaps we can also try and teach you a spell that helps restore your mana base?

[ Lucid Dreaming, at least, is fairly straight forward. That alone may help Hilda stave off exhaustion longer in any types of magic she wishes to practice.

She nods to the question, folding her hands in front of herself. ]

People pray to various Gods for various reasons, but there's one I made a connection with a while ago, back after the first Dimming.

[ She turns her attention out towards the forest. ]

Their shrine was in some disarray, but when we made an offering, I heard a voice. And when I returned later when so many had been taken away... They offered me a vision, which helped us connect Josselyn Creed-- [ She keeps her voice low when mentioning the former Councilwoman's name. ] --and her connection to the kidnappings. They also bid me to help restore the land that was blighted by foul magicks. I think I saw them as well. They looked a bit like a walking mushroom, if I'm honest.

If there's really a spell like that, why not?

[ There was plenty of magic theory in Fodlan which means that there's probably plenty of theory around it too. ...Not that she's ever paid much mind to it. Whenever Marianne needed to rest up, she simply prayed. Maybe it was something along those lines. And frankly, the thought of making her friend proud by means of her attempting to bolster her magic skills brought some comfort.

Interest sparks in Hilda's eyes. ]

Talk about the gods really looking out for us.

[ A God intervening in matters like what they had gone through would be unheard of in Fodlan - but then again, what did Hilda really know? Those more devout than her would argue otherwise. And knowing that they'd had a hand in pointing them in the direction of the culprit behind the awful two months they'd had to endure certainly made looking at what they had done to said culprit a little more sense.

There are however more important things to address namely... ]

And wait - a mushroom? How big of a mushroom? Like a small cute one or a really big one?

Great! Maybe that will be the first one we'll work on, then.

[ That way when they branch out into more healing, Hilda won't have to worry about getting so tired while she practices. In theory!

Himeka is well-aware that the Old Gods are a contentious subject in Abraxas, especially after what has happened with the Summoned in the past few moons. And it's understandable--many have suffered due to the fervent worship of these gods, a theme she's seen time and time again. It doesn't make it right, nor does it make the gods themselves all-powerful, but it does make them terribly relevant.

She knows she needs to be careful about getting too close to them, but without the fear of being tempered she is...admittedly, feeling a little safe. ]

He--

[ Erm. ]

--He's...I'm not sure, actually. It was a vision of him kind of in the forest so...

[ She pauses, tapping her chin. ]

I do wonder if He would be willing to meet with me in person. From what I can tell, He's normally fairly elusive. Oh, it would be so cute if He were pocket-sized, wouldn't it?

[ TINY Mushroom God? Yes. ]

[ Hilda wouldn't say she's rushing to meet an Old God any time soon. She hadn't attended Jocelyn's execution, but she'd heard enough recounts of it to know that it had been particularly gruesome. Any God - old, new, somewhere in-between - that could do that to someone was a little more than scary in Hilda's eyes.

But a cute, potentially tiny, mushroom God? Her eyes practically sparkle at the thought; maybe she could make an exception for that. And Himeka isn't worried about them, then that definitely meant they were pretty friendly then they're probably less of a "smite all the flesh from your bones" God, right? ]

That would be so cute! [ There's a pause. ] Do you think He'd come out if I were here? Or is there anything we could do to coax Him out if he's a little shy?

[OPEN] being funny in a foreign language

[OPEN] Nocwich

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