"Yeah...yeah, there's nothing wrong with that when you're first learning." Nadine nods.
"I first started learning about a year ago." She's well beyond the point where she ought to be struggling, but it had always been something done when she needed to. And half the time she could just ride double with someone much more experienced, who could hoist her up and help her down.
Until something happened and her inability to mount a horse led to three people dying. Bandits - or at least armed robbers - but still. Once her lack of ability had a body count, it was time to seriously learn how to handle a mount herself.
"Oh!" Nadine also smiles in recognition. "Yeah, Claude's mentioned you. It's good to meet you."
Sylvain just shrugs at her explanation about the length of time she's been learning. "Everyone learns at their own pace. And you look perfectly comfortable up there, so none of that went to waste. I've known people who've been riding for years and they still look like they're going to slide right off the first wrong step their mount takes."
Nadine's smile has him looking playfully horrified, however, a hand held over his heart. "Shit, did he? Trust me, I'm sure whatever he claimed was greatly exaggerated."
"Thankfully I'm not too far off the ground." But Nadine does need to practice both steps, so she grabs the front of the saddle to keep herself steady and swings one leg over so she's sitting perched sideways in the saddle. It really isn't very far to the ground and she slides down with a small groan.
Well. That didn't go too badly. She'd hate to wipe out in front of an audience. Even one that's proving to be very supportive and non-judgmental.
"And don't worry about it, your name just came up when we were talking different schools of magic. I'm a healer by trade, but I dabble in Academic Magic."
He hums as he watches her, hand stroking the pony's neck to steady her just in case. His hands twitch, ready in case Nadine looked unbalanced, but she dismounts with ease and he flashes her a bright grin when she successfully manages it.
"Good job! See? You'll be an expert in no time."
The mention of magic has him cocking his head to the side, because he's surprised he came up under that topic at all. "Huh. I admit, all the magic in this place is still confusing as anything to me. I didn't dabble in it much back home, just some basics in black magic and white magic. Mostly for emergencies, one way or another."
"We were just sort of comparing different schools of magic, and how magic here and in your world is different and similar. And how magic can be handy in emergencies and things like that. He mentioned other people from his world being here."
Much of it in the context of Academic Magic, and what spells Nadine has learned so far. And how none of them are healing spells. But she'll tackle those when she feels ready. Her spells are practical ones that come in handy in daily life, which is what she's focused on.
Once upon a time she'd had the idea to focus on magic, but...certain events made her rethink that idea.
"Don't worry, no claims were made about your specific magical prowess."
That just makes him snicker as he shakes his head. "Well, that's probably a good thing, because I'm not sure I have any magical prowess. And yeah, the magic here is very different from what we knew back home."
He lifts a hand, calling up the flicker of white magic he knows how to channel and there's a faint glow around his hand, warm and soothing, but he douses it again, because he has nowhere to channel it to at the moment.
"Most of what I learned came from watching others cast it, or in emergency situations on a battlefield. Back in school, I only took the basic introductory class and never pursued it much further. Martial training kept me more than busy. Maybe how they teach it in Thorne is more with how I'm familiar with training magic, but the Free Cities seem to take a pretty unique stance on it even for this place."
He pauses and then glances over at her curiously. "I don't actually know what they use for healing magics in this place, I'm not sure I've even seen anyone wielding it. Do you know what it's like?"
"Yeah, they look at magic as an outdated and old fashioned system. I was in Thorne, for a while, when I first came here. That's where I started learning magic - it's not common in my world. Most people didn't even believe it was real."
As she talks, Nadine turns to begin untacking Dumpling, another thing she's familiarizing herself with.
"I haven't learned any healing spells myself, yet, but the ones in my book are cast the same was as any Academic spell. There's an incantation and specific elements that need to be in place for it to work. And healing spells are a little more complicated than the basics."
The basics covering what she knows and has more or less mastered. While none of the spells she knows are particularly powerful, they're useful.
He nods, thinking that over. "This might sound like a silly question, but are there people who teach that sort of thing here in Cadens or is that only in Thorne? It might be a little outdated, but that doesn't mean it's not still useful."
Especially when it comes to things like healing. If they're heading into a war, that's going to be imminently necessary anyway.
"I know they have schools and more official training for it in Thorne, but I hadn't considered what was available here in the Free Cities until now. Granted, I've been mostly stumbling face-first into what I've learned so far anyway."
"Not really. The Free Cities really emphasize relying on technology, not magic. I got some weird looks when I used magic during the search and rescue in Libertas. And most mages who move here move here for a reason." It's not the first time she's been asked this question. It would be a lot easier if there were any magic teachers around, but if there are...they aren't advertising.
"But you can find books, sometimes. That's how I've been studying it, I have an instructional book. But just the one, I'm afraid, and it's pretty basic." Once she finishes it...well, she'll have to try and track down a more advanced book, she supposes.
"You might have better luck just asking other Summoned, if you want to explore magic. A lot of them know a lot about it."
Sylvain gives a quiet sigh, raking his fingers through his hair as he frowns. "I can understand some of their reasoning, but can their technology really do the same - or as much - as a healer could with their magic, when it comes to someone wounded? I feel like you should have a better system in place before tossing out the old ways, otherwise what's the point?"
He knows firsthand what a skilled healer could accomplish, despite how dire a wound could be. He hadn't seen much evidence of that even in Libertas, even though he had fallen back on some of his white magic at the most dire times.
"I guess I will see if I can find some books, then. Claude would probably know where to find some." He muses that thoughtfully, because their room is always cluttered with books these days, he swears, every time he finds Claude he's surrounded by at least ten new ones. "But asking around to the other Summoned isn't a bad idea either. Especially since some in the other Factions might have more information on how to go about it."
He watches as she works at untacking her pony, a smile returning to play at his lips. "You're pretty good at this part, clearly. I'll let you finish with her, but if you ever need help when it comes to this sort of knowledge, at least, I'd be happy to help if you need some." He gives Dumpling another fond pat.
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"I first started learning about a year ago." She's well beyond the point where she ought to be struggling, but it had always been something done when she needed to. And half the time she could just ride double with someone much more experienced, who could hoist her up and help her down.
Until something happened and her inability to mount a horse led to three people dying. Bandits - or at least armed robbers - but still. Once her lack of ability had a body count, it was time to seriously learn how to handle a mount herself.
"Oh!" Nadine also smiles in recognition. "Yeah, Claude's mentioned you. It's good to meet you."
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Nadine's smile has him looking playfully horrified, however, a hand held over his heart. "Shit, did he? Trust me, I'm sure whatever he claimed was greatly exaggerated."
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Well. That didn't go too badly. She'd hate to wipe out in front of an audience. Even one that's proving to be very supportive and non-judgmental.
"And don't worry about it, your name just came up when we were talking different schools of magic. I'm a healer by trade, but I dabble in Academic Magic."
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"Good job! See? You'll be an expert in no time."
The mention of magic has him cocking his head to the side, because he's surprised he came up under that topic at all. "Huh. I admit, all the magic in this place is still confusing as anything to me. I didn't dabble in it much back home, just some basics in black magic and white magic. Mostly for emergencies, one way or another."
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Much of it in the context of Academic Magic, and what spells Nadine has learned so far. And how none of them are healing spells. But she'll tackle those when she feels ready. Her spells are practical ones that come in handy in daily life, which is what she's focused on.
Once upon a time she'd had the idea to focus on magic, but...certain events made her rethink that idea.
"Don't worry, no claims were made about your specific magical prowess."
no subject
He lifts a hand, calling up the flicker of white magic he knows how to channel and there's a faint glow around his hand, warm and soothing, but he douses it again, because he has nowhere to channel it to at the moment.
"Most of what I learned came from watching others cast it, or in emergency situations on a battlefield. Back in school, I only took the basic introductory class and never pursued it much further. Martial training kept me more than busy. Maybe how they teach it in Thorne is more with how I'm familiar with training magic, but the Free Cities seem to take a pretty unique stance on it even for this place."
He pauses and then glances over at her curiously. "I don't actually know what they use for healing magics in this place, I'm not sure I've even seen anyone wielding it. Do you know what it's like?"
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As she talks, Nadine turns to begin untacking Dumpling, another thing she's familiarizing herself with.
"I haven't learned any healing spells myself, yet, but the ones in my book are cast the same was as any Academic spell. There's an incantation and specific elements that need to be in place for it to work. And healing spells are a little more complicated than the basics."
The basics covering what she knows and has more or less mastered. While none of the spells she knows are particularly powerful, they're useful.
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Especially when it comes to things like healing. If they're heading into a war, that's going to be imminently necessary anyway.
"I know they have schools and more official training for it in Thorne, but I hadn't considered what was available here in the Free Cities until now. Granted, I've been mostly stumbling face-first into what I've learned so far anyway."
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"But you can find books, sometimes. That's how I've been studying it, I have an instructional book. But just the one, I'm afraid, and it's pretty basic." Once she finishes it...well, she'll have to try and track down a more advanced book, she supposes.
"You might have better luck just asking other Summoned, if you want to explore magic. A lot of them know a lot about it."
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He knows firsthand what a skilled healer could accomplish, despite how dire a wound could be. He hadn't seen much evidence of that even in Libertas, even though he had fallen back on some of his white magic at the most dire times.
"I guess I will see if I can find some books, then. Claude would probably know where to find some." He muses that thoughtfully, because their room is always cluttered with books these days, he swears, every time he finds Claude he's surrounded by at least ten new ones. "But asking around to the other Summoned isn't a bad idea either. Especially since some in the other Factions might have more information on how to go about it."
He watches as she works at untacking her pony, a smile returning to play at his lips. "You're pretty good at this part, clearly. I'll let you finish with her, but if you ever need help when it comes to this sort of knowledge, at least, I'd be happy to help if you need some." He gives Dumpling another fond pat.