Completed [The Prairie] Of Blades And Magic (Annalisa)

[Fubuki Kouri]

The Prairie, 22nd of Bell, 8th of Winter 513 A.V

"Ahahahahaha! Die!!" Another swipe of a flying chakram and fresh greenish liquid flowed out from the creature's neck. The sight of four flying weapons each composed of four daggers could be seen in the Prairie that night, controlled by an eerily floating translucent little girl with very long white hair and crimson eyes. Four thick pulsating tendrils as black as night were spawning from the girl's back, each tendril held one chakram, the girl's eyes narrowed into reptilian slits as she commanded all of her chakram to whir rapidly, emitting loud sounds akin to a angry hornets. She was surrounded by strange dog-like creatures with rotting flesh, glowing green eyes, and greenish veins. However, the little girl didn't look worried at all, no, she was actually the one hunting the failbeasts.

"Come now, cute doggies~ Let's play! Plaaaay!" With a childish high-pitched giggle, she brought her chakrams near her waist then with a ballerina-like twirl of her small body, her metallic familiars followed suit. The chakrams revolved around her as they expanded outwards, slashing through the flesh of the monsters. The dog-like creatures were snarling and barking at the ethereal white girl, their simple minds couldn't register emotions such as 'fear', they simply wanted to destroy the girl. However, the girl was a phantom and their fangs and claws were useless against her, they didn't give up though. Six members of their pack had fell to her blades, only six remaining. The largest of the rotting creatures, the Alpha, barked and charged to the girl from behind. It was so close, so close... just one leap and...

"Got you~" The Alpha felt its neck being grabbed by the girl's small hands as she turned around just before it reached her. "How does it feel? Comfortable, right?" Kouri had materialized her right hand and sent deadly cold sensation flowing to the dog's body. The creature yelped in extreme pain as hissing sounds akin to dry ice touching a warm surface emitted from where Kouri grasped it. It struggled for a few ticks before went limp, falling victim to the ghost's touch of death. "Hmph..." Like a child bored with her toy, Kouri tossed away the creature as she unmaterialized herself, her attention returned to the remaining five dogs. With a flick of her hair, she returned her chakrams near her side, the dagger-blades glistening with sickly green glow of the creature's blood. "Who's next, then? Ehehehe~" With a giggle, she hunched down and launched forward, flying like an arrowhead, her blades buzzing with bloodlust.

The ghost girl was frustrated and sick of this undead island, her little sister was dusted, she was hunted by malevolent spirits, and also bound in an inescapable contract with Amaryllis. She hated being here, but she couldn't leave due to the favors she owed Amaryllis and Wanda, to make things worse, she also promised to do 'anything' for a girl named Celeste after she saved her from a soulmist-hunting monster back in Fall. In short, Kouri needed to vent her frustration and slaughtering these failbeasts was the perfect way for it. With this, she also helped Celeste and her peers clearing out the monsters. Killing two birds with one stone.

With a giggle, she spun around and two of her chakrams launched to two targets, stabbing their eye sockets. She continued to ravage them, before violently pulled it out, fresh green blood flowing out like open faucets. Only three left now. The dogs didn't relent, they snarled at the girl, spewing their foul saliva then simultaneously charged at the phantom. An act that would bring about their doom. With a grin, Kouri pulled back all of her chakrams and the four of them rotated around her waist. As the dogs arrived, their fangs were met with a mouthful of steel and cold iron, blood spewing everywhere as Kouri continued to butcher the remaining three. "Ahahaha! Aaaahahahahaha!" Her echoing giggles decorated the prairie that night. After a few moments, the dogs died, a whole pack of failbeasts fell victim to a little girl.

"Aaaah~" With a satisfied exhale of her misty breath, she looked around her. Her floating waifish form stood in the middle of the battlefield, flowing white hair and glowing soulmist body, accompanied by four blood-soaked chakrams held by black tendrils sprouting from her back. "Ahahaha ehehe~" She giggled happily as Kouri examined one of the dogs, materializing her right hand to poke at the creature's torn flesh. She should tell Madame Anna about this, maybe the sorceress could finally see her power. She was unprepared the first time, but now, if she encountered one of those spirits again, she would be ready... her chakrams would utterly decimate their body into pieces! And then... Madame Anna would be happy, she would be safe, and all would end well.

[Annalisa Marin]

Breath in. Breath out.

Anna inhaled slowly through her nose and exhaled slowly through her mouth, attempting to clear the clutter from her mind and focus on something else. The young Sorceress sat upon a rather large rock, her legs crossed and her eyes closed to the world around her. The desolate Prairie, long her destination for Reimancy practice but today it played host to her meditation. A dangerous proposition, if she were a lesser mage but she was not and she was in fact more than capable of annihilating most anything that crossed her path wrongly.

The cold air sent numbing sensations down her airways and with each contraction of her lungs she felt more at peace with the season of Winter. She'd needed to clear her head today, to reflect on the increasingly disturbing influence her madness was taking in her everyday life. It had nearly killed her the other day in the Forge, all because she had felt the need to try and murder a slave. If it wasn't for that mystery man she would very well be dead, but she wasn't which meant she needed to reflect. Amaryllis was likely to be livid when she found out that her apprentice had broken Council law, there was a thin hope she wouldn't ever find out but it was thin.

The Citadel was confusing her thoughts and her mind, so thus her need to get away from it and meditate in the Testing Grounds. Each breath brought her mind closer to clarity, with clarity came understanding and with understanding came acceptance. Her fractured mind was getting worse by the day, it was getting harder and harder to hide it or hold back the darkness. If she didn't find a way to conceal it she was rather doomed.

Anna idly willed Djed to gather within her mouth and pushed it outwards, the cavern of her mouth forming a translucent purple liquid instead of saliva. The formation was rather quick, though no where near Maelstrom's level just yet. She willed the liquid to seep from her mouth and gather outwards in front of her, willing it to form into the shape of a ball. This was all done with her eyes closed and only the slightest hitch of difference in the deliberate rise and fall of her chest.

She searched for the mental image, the concept buried within her mind and focused solely on that. Not on politics, not on enemies, not on manipulation just the simple concept of flame. Power, warmth, illumination in the darkness. Darkness took many forms, ignorance and deception being chief among them. Fire could clear away the doubts from her mind, give order to the chaos and channel her focus on something.

As she focused upon this concept she willed the outer layer of the ball of res to begin to shift and transmute, to ignite. Anna felt rather than saw the purple flame spring forth from the strength and steely resolve of her will. She felt both the heat it radiated and the spiritual draw from her Djed as the transmutation cost her a part of her very identity. It was nearly effortless and hardly noticeable, a bucket from the lake of her power. Firebolts were nothing to her now, where once they had left her gasping for breath and release.

She felt the slight drain and the madness attempted to burst through her peace of mind, but Anna forced it down. Now was not the time to lose control, rather it was time for much needed reflection. Rhysol's needs could not be endangered by her own state of mind, yet it was quickly becoming apparent that the more unstable she became the further away she moved from her Lord. She couldn't fail him, not he who gave her a path to follow.

Her meditation was interrupted by the din of battle in the distance, at first she attempted to ignore it. However the wind carried a hauntingly familiar laugh to her ears, one that spoke of instability worse than her own. One that belonged to a potential tool of Chaos, a puppet for her Lord to control and amuse himself with. The ghost child, Fubuki Kouri.

Anna's eyes snapped open and her grey eyes followed the source and direction of the laugh carried over to her, standing slowly. She kept the purple flame with her, taking comfort in the warmth of the Ivak's flames. Rhysol was her true master, but the elemental gods were worthy of her respect at the very least. Of them, the World Destroyer's power was the one most closely attuned to her.

The Sorceress walked towards the sounds of battle and noted quickly what the ruckus was about, an amused smile curving her lips. Kouri was currently carving the last remnants of a pack of dog like creatures, slaughtering the animals with reckless abandon. Anna would have thought it more efficient to simply drown the lot of them in lava with one fell swoop, but then the ghost was no wizard. Her power was considerable though to fell so many opponents, so Anna simply opted to watch as the girl dispatched the last one.

There was a certain artistry in how the child moved her blades about her, one that spoke of equal parts danger and beauty as the light gleamed off of them. It was impressive, nothing compared to true magic of course but impressive nonetheless. Once the macabre dance was done Anna fixed a warm smile on her face and strode, closer her arms wide in friendly greeting. Appearances, facades, always important even to a mad woman. Especially to a mad woman who served Rhysol.

"Kouri, my dear girl! Fancy meeting you here on this most wonderful of Sahovan days, such a treat. Quite the impressive job you've done here, the Wardens should be giving their duties to you. I believe the Testing Grounds would likely be much safer then." Anna said, her tone as warm as her expression.

The purple flame still levitated nearby, dancing in the air and easily maintained. It's warmth gave her much needed strength to her limbs, and translated in her mood being easily kept up. A cold Anna was not the most happy sorceress in existence. The woman made certain to keep it as non-threatening as possible, the girl was rather unstable after all. Best to be as cautious as possible while appearing friendly, she was the girl's friend after all. Oh the lies that were weaved.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Ahahaha~ Sleep tight, doggies~" With a sick mockery of a little girl petting her pet dog, Kouri brushed her materialized right hand one last time on the dog's torn flesh before shifting to a standing position, her chakrams ever following their mistress' movements, spinning slowly beside her shoulders. What... am I doing? In the back of her mind, she felt what she just did was wrong. She was becoming her old-self, a monster who took the form of a little girl, indulging in pain and death.

"Unh..." She rubbed her left arm with her right hand in nervousness. These creatures were good-for-nothing monsters born out of failed experiments, sure, but what was her main motivation to kill them? Self-defense? No, helping Celeste? No, satisfying her murderous urges? Most likely. With a hitch of her misty breath, her quad-weapons trembled, her tendrils shaking as she felt fear rising inside her, fear for her own self. "What did... what did I just do?" Her small lips muttered under her breath. Her crimson eyes opening wide, her teeth gritting as she covered her face with her hands with her fingers parted. She instinctively looked to her left and right, praying that no one saw her act. Of course, fate was always a funny thing, Kouri gasped in horror when she saw the very woman she wanted to impress earlier walking towards her.

"M-madame... Madame Annana?" Her question was derived for her disbelief, in her fear, she tried to convince herself that the tall black-haired woman approaching her was merely a mirage. Unfortunately, she looked real, her voice sounded real, and even her floating magical flames were real. "N-no, d-don't come any closer, please..." This was strange. Why was she afraid? She had experienced a bout of insanity together with Anna when the sorceress used her strange power to flood her own mind with a exhilarating sensation, Kouri was possessing the woman at that moment so she felt the full-force of that unknown power. However, she never killed anyone yet in front of Anna... until now. This must be the source to her fear, the woman would see her as a monster and didn't want to play with her anymore.

Anna complimented her, but that sickened her further. N-no... no! This is not what I want! The ghost girl trembled, her crimson eyes locked on the flaming purple ball floating near the sorceress, she took a float back, whimpering in fear. "S-stay back! N-no! M... madame Anna, you didn't see anything! I... I didn't do this! It wasn't me... it was... it was..." Her sentence broke apart with each words, even a simpleton could see she was the one responsible. A floating translucent girl with ghastly black tendrils sprouting from her back, tendrils that held spinning dagger-chakrams glistening with sickly green blood. In a desperate act, the Vantha hid all of her blades by grouping into one and put it out of view behind one of the dogs' body. "Stay back... no, I'm a good girl, I didn't do this... I didn't... no." Her speech had degraded to the point where she didn't make any sense. She wanted for Anna to get out of her sight, but it would be impolite and rude, Anna was one of the few people she could trust in this undead island.

"..." Running out of words to speak, she just stood there, amidst the corpses with her head tilted down, her gaze refusing to look at the tall woman.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna needed to stop the smile on her face from taking on a hungry tone, the child's distress lovely to behold. Truly she was quite the unstable mess, however with the right guidance she could become so much more than she knew. A thing of beauty was what she was, a girl so powerful but so reluctant to use those powers in ways that obviously gave her pleasure deep down. However, today was not the day to push the agenda of Rhysol upon the child. That would come much later when her distress was so great that she would be willing to seek answers from anywhere. Anna being the good friend she was, certainly knew who had those answers.

For now it was best to reassure the child and change the subject. Actually it was good fortune the Sorceress had happened upon the child when she had, as there was a little something she wanted help with. A new idea for Glyphing that had come to mind recently after thinking about the wards keeping visitors from certain areas.

"My friend you seem troubled by this display. I can't imagine why, you've done a good thing here today! The Warden of the Prairie has one less headache because of you. Besides, these twisted creatures being what they are what you have done is a mercy. You are a good girl Kouri. A bad girl would have left these as being another's problem. Your not a bad girl, my dear." Anna said, daring to move forward a step.

The Sorceress willed the flames of her firebolt to be discarded and absorbed the remaining res back into herself with a slight sigh. This thing dealt with she held out a hand for the girl to take, smiling warmly at the spirit. Best to tread lightly and not make any moves that could be considered hostile, and to show that she are not afraid of her. She needed to know that Anna wasn't going to leave, and that her actions were not so evil as she thought.

It amazed Anna just how black hearted she was in pretending to care about others, in pretending that their needs mattered at all to her. Kouri in her mind was nothing more than a tool to be used for the glory of Rhysol, however she manipulated her through promises of friendship. Perhaps madness had not completely eradicated her ability to show her faith to Lord Rhysol. Celeste was probably the only one on this island she cared halfway about, and that was more due to a possessive part of Anna that wanted to corrupt the child into being hers.

"Why don't you and I go away from this place and find some place more pleasant to sit down an chat. I was meditating not far from here, how about we go there my dear? Perhaps you might be able to assist me with some magical experiments if you'd like." The Sorceress said, her tone as soothing and indulgent as she could make it.

Kouri was extremely dangerous when she became unstable, she had threatened Anna a number of times and displayed the ability to disable the woman if she so desired. However due to some time spent with the child Anna was confident she was safer than most in approaching her. The girl had experienced some of the madness now afflicting Anna, powerful she was but she had yet to actually seriously injure the Sorceress. Mia had though and the girl was going to pay for that, she was going to pay very dearly for daring to injure her body.

Amusing mental images of the other child screaming for release and mercy aside, Anna waited for Kouri's response. She just needed to get her away from this battleground, it wasn't exactly a good place for her to be at the moment in her condition. The Sorceress didn't mind it but obviously Kouri did.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Her attitude perplexed herself, if she wanted to run, she could easily do so by flying away from the location, Anna couldn't chase her unless she had magic that let her grow wings. Yes, even with all her doubts, fears, and hesitation, she stayed put with her eyes absently watching the ground below her. Why? Deep down, she didn't want to leave, she wanted Anna to comfort her and say she was a good girl despite all of her traits that would make a normal human girl screamed in terror. She wanted someone to accept all she was, her translucent body, her ghastly powers, and her mental state. This ordeal caused the ghost girl to freeze in place, not being able to make a decision.

As Anna continued to compliment her, Kouri didn't react at first but she appreciated what the sorceress said. I did good? She slowly lifted her head, but still refused to make eye contact with Anna, long strands of white hair covering her face which magically moved by themselves to behind her ears. Anna's logic was perfect, she was right! It was a good thing to kill these creatures, they were suffering with their wretched existence anyway, depriving them of life was mercy kill. Indeed, a bad girl would be ignorant of others' problems. As swift as her blades whirred, Kouri's expression suddenly brightened up, a wide cheeky grin on her powder-white face. "Ehehe~ You're right! Haha! I don't know what I was thinking!" Her chakrams shared their mistress' delight, they shook and sprung back to life, taking their positions beside her shoulders, two on the left and two on the right.

As Anna dissipated her purple flame, Kouri's tiny form disappeared and in an instant later, appeared directly in front of Anna, she materialized herself to hug the tall woman, nuzzling her cheek on Anna's bosom. "I'm a good girl, am I~?" She cooed, her long hair also began covering Anna's body like a white blanket. Yes, she should trust this woman, Anna only wanted the best for her. Her child-like mind scarred by horrifying events and longing for affection resulted in a fickle girl who switched from being sceptical to naive back and forth constantly. In this particular moment, she was obviously being innocent.

She clung on a sliver of hope that Anna would stay with her forever, but she was a human, humans would grow old... and Anna would die, then she would leave her. Unless... A wicked smile appeared on her small lips, the thought of turning Anna into one like her crossed her mind. "Madame Annana..." Kouri's body literally slithered up so she was eye-level with the woman, her materialized hands moved to gently cup the woman's cheeks, sending chilling sensation to her. "Don't ever leave me, promise me, okay?" It was an indirect request to make the sorceress be her playmate for all eternity, through life and death. She recalled about Kriem, her Nuit maid, if she remembered correctly, Nuits were immortal. "Hmmm~" Convincing Anna to be one of those undead was one alternative, Kouri didn't know the details about the Daek-Nuit ritual, but from what Kriem told her, she knew one must go through some kind of ceremony to be a Nuit. She didn't say anything for now, Anna wasn't an old woman... yet.

She dropped back down until she was floating just a few inches above the ground, taking Anna's left hand with her right, like a daughter holding her mother's hand. "Okay! Ehehe~" She didn't really care what assistance Anna wanted, if it meant she could cling to the woman, she would follow. Her green-blood-stained chakrams agreed with their mistress and bobbed up and down in delight. The black tendrils still giving them false lives, the silent guardian, if anyone tried to disturb her cuddle-moment with Anna, they would taste her blades.

[Annalisa Marin]

The Sorceress watched Kouri as she seemed to consider her words, the tall woman was really hoping they were phrased correctly. The child becoming violent would be extremely dangerous, if not fatal. After a time the girl brightened up, sending waves of relief through the Chaon. She did note that the blades she wielded had an unnerving habit of following her, considering the child's strength there was no doubt those could tear her to shreds quite easily. Best not to give her a reason.

Kouri materialized before her and hugged her without warning, Anna only just barely able to suppress a shudder at the contact. Still she idly tried to stroke a few loose strands of the girl's hair, a chuckle rising from her chest at the girl's affection. It was rather a pity that this was the hand Lhex had given Kouri, to possess so much power but to forever be set apart from others. The human side of her pitied the girl, that didn't stop her from manipulating her of course.

"Yes you are Kouri, the best of girls." Anna reassured, her voice as soothing as she could make it.

Anna was a little wary of Kouri's next action and her next question was certainly a loaded one. Never leave her? Well technically there wasn't much she could do about that, Kouri was practically immortal while she was only human for all her power. No, not only human, she was a Chaon as well. There were many, many times when she had considered Undeath, to seek the Daek-Nuit or even Uldr himself. Each time was cast out as an absolute last resort, only if not taking such action would result in her demise sooner rather than later.

She smiled reassuringly at the child, she couldn't tell her that of course as it would be seen as insulting. Anna had no desire to be made undead or to be made like Kouri any time soon, there was still so much to do with her mortal life. Rhysol had deemed her mortal life sufficient so that was what she would remain for the time being.

"I promise I won't leave you Kouri, so long as you don't leave me either. Now and for eternity, I'll stay by your side so long as you stay by mine. Will you echo my own promise, or should I draft up the Grand Oath for us to sign?" Anna asked, smiling down at the girl.

That last bit was intended to be taken as a joke, as the woman had yet to attempt something so very radical as to create the most binding and unyielding document: the Grand Oath. There was no higher form of contract in this world than the one sworn on the divine halls where the gods dwelled, the document had ruined many and brought others to prominence. If such a thing were created then there could be no escape from the promises made. Anna almost shuddered at the prospect of being so bound, especially to one so unstable.

Smiling still, Anna started walking back in the direction she had come from with the ghostly child still at her side. With some unease she noted that the weapons she wielded were moving as though animated with false life. Idly the wizard wondered if Kouri might desire a Glyphed weapon, they were single use but perhaps something a little more interesting than daggers. The rocks came to mind, the girl could definitely have use for those and if they malfunctioned it wouldn't be Anna getting burned.

It didn't take overly long to reach the spot she had been at before, the rock she'd been sitting on had been her only land mark really. Anna was unfortunately no initiate so the layout of the Prairie, though somewhat familiar, was not mapped out so well in her mind. Small land marks like this one helped her navigate the terrain in the empty and desolate place.

"Ah, here we are. As good a spot as any really. Now Kouri, tell me, how much do you know of the art of Glyphing? Its... a little different than other magic you might have seen used." The tall woman asked.

The more she knew the better this experiment would go as it would hopefully gain her cooperation. She needed to phrase this whole thing in just the right way, Kouri might get the wrong idea otherwise. A very wrong idea, especially since Anna technically was a Spiritist.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Ehehe~ I am? Ehe~" The much shorter ghost girl giggled with happiness at being showered with praises from from the tall woman beside her, she leaned her body to cling onto the sorceress tighter. Since she didn't need to worry about balance or actually moving her feet, the ghost girl focused on hugging the woman as Anna's own form 'carried' her. She was the best, of course she was, no other ghost could match up to her power except for the ones in Sahova such as Wanda's guardians and those mysterious spirits. She had met her fellow kin in the past, one of them being Noaru, an ancient spirit with uncountable age, yet... his power utterly paled in comparison to her own. She was a mere twelve years old girl and her might intimidated the spirit, resulting in him taking refuge in Madame Fallon's body. Such cowardice coming from an ancient being, running away from a little girl.

Of course, there was the other ghost named Shiyami along with his companion named Kimi. He was even weaker than Noaru, acting like someone who held great power by his nonchalant attitude towards the world. After he and Kimi told their history though, Kouri could understand. The male ghost was afraid he would become a monster if he kept using his powers, he wanted to redeem himself. The ghost girl felt a prickle in her ethereal heart, was she a monster? A normal little Vantha girl shouldn't have numerous blood on her hands, right? No... I'm not! I'm the best! Shaking her head, Kouri kept clinging to the woman. Madame Anna truly understood her, she didn't repulse her like those ignorant fools in Syliras. She was just a little girl blessed with powers, in her heart, she was still very much a Vantha.

How ironic was that her impact and presence upon the world rose sharply after she died, in life, she was a singer, in death... she was a phantom that carried enough power to make a difference through force. The woman beside her also had goals in her life, she wanted to change the world as well, to rid this word of evils like those spirits and Daren. In Kouri's eyes, Anna was a hero, fighting for what was right. She understood if some of traits were undesirable in the girl's eyes, even heroes had flaws, no body was perfect... not even her parents, she learned it the hard way. "Madame Annana~ Ehehe~" Her high-pitched giggles echoed, Anna accepted her offer. She would stay with her forever and ever. "I promise, I won't leave you~" One should note that Kouri's promise was similar to a child's, flexible and conditional, if she wanted to break them, she would justify the act with various reasons she formed on her own even if she didn't realize it herself.

The ghost girl took the 'Grand Oath' term as a simple exaggerated way of speech, she didn't know it was an actual magical ritual of the highest calibre. "Ahaha~ Grand Oath! It's like an Oath... but Grand?" Her head tilted innocently, seeing it as fun and games. A signed oath was merely a symbol for the promise to have a tangible evidence after all. "Sure! We'll write pretty words on the Oath! Let's make them together!" How hard it was to make a 'Grand Oath'? Just took out parchment then write 'Grand' in giant letters on it.

When they arrived, Kouri immediately claimed a spot by sitting on the ground, her chakrams lay to rest beside her in a pile of daggers. She flexed her ethereal muscles, sighing as her tendrils retracted to her back. The ghost girl then focused the soulmist on her palms to pick up one of her daggers with her right hand, absently cleaning the green-blood on its blade by rubbing her left hand on it. "Hmmm? Gly-... glyphy?" Kouri had zero knowledge about the world magic discipline, what she knew about magic was from her own experience fighting against mages and possessing some of them, including Anna. The magics she was most familiar were Reimancy and Spiritism. "Mmmm~" She shook her head, her long hair slowly following the movement. "What is this 'Glyphy'? Is it like Reicy and Spirity?" Those magical names were too complicated for her basic fluency of the Common language, using her self-made nicknames for them was much easier. "And, you want my help in this? I'm not sure how..." Kouri would continue cleaning her daggers one by one as she listened to Anna's reply.

"Oh! Since I'm a good girl and help you, can I get a gift? Ehehe~" If there was one thing she learned from (un)living on her own was that nothing was ever for free, only one's parents could give one something without take-and-give.

[Annalisa Marin]

Of course the child wouldn't have heard of the Grand Oath, though that actually brought up something of interest. Anna was well aware that Common was a little difficult for the girl, perhaps this little fact could be exploited if she chose to take that route. Not so much binding herself to the ghost, but rather binding her to the Sorceress. It was a possibility to consider and certainly an amusing one if she were being honest, the possibility of trapping the girl in an unbreakable contract. If nothing else it could eliminate the wariness she felt around the ghost.

Okay, so she had absolutely no knowledge of Glyphs and that was not really a surprise. So perhaps just giving her the bare basics would assist in moving this along, just a little nudge. Nothing that might give the girl a knowledgeable edge if worst came to worst, at least not yet. So she thought in terms of how a child could be made to understand the finer points of magic.

"Glyphing... is different than those disciplines, but at the same time its actually the means to understand them. In so few words Glyphing can be used to affect magic both positively and negatively. You know how Res in Reimancy takes a while to create and casting time can cripple a Reimancer's response time? Well if I were to place Glyphs on my hands then my Res generation would be much smoother and cast much faster, eliminating much of the speed deficiency." Anna explained, sticking with examples she might understand.

It was a very basic example but the best one Kouri might understand, it was really all she needed to know to understand what Anna wanted. Wards were a new thing for Anna, but after experiencing Possession Anna wanted to see if such Glyphs could actually prevent Kouri from entering her body. If that actually did work, then perhaps larger sigils could be utilized using soulmist to effectively prevent spirits from going places she didn't want them to.

"One function I'm hoping to try is to create a kind of shield against possession, after my... incident down in the Caverns it seems prudent to try it. To do this I would require both a ghost and soulmist, which you can provide." Anna stated, careful to play up the threat those hostile spirits had posed rather than something used against Kouri herself.

Anna thought for a minute after the child requested payment for this assistance, really there wasn't much a ghost could use. Anna could provide her with Soulmist, though it would be rather subpar all things considered. There was also the possibility of providing her with a scroll or two, though giving an unstable ghost child access to scrolls that she made seemed risky at best. At least while she was still only an Apprentice.

Still, it wasn't as though she'd grant her something extremely powerful like lightning or lava. A couple of firebolts, maybe some earth spikes and there was no reason she couldn't put off payment until after she became a full Wizard. The Triggers would need to be specific of course, possibly with an overriding function if that was even possible. Anna smiled at Kouri in response.

"I suppose it is only fair to reward a good girl like you for her hard work. If you help me and stay a good girl like you have been I'll give you the ability to use magic without need for possessing a mage. It will take me a while to prepare, but I'll get it to you within the season. How does that sound?" Anna said, reclining back against the large rock.

Non-wizards tended to be amazed by the simplest of things in Anna's opinion, just because one used magic didn't mean they were a wizard. Scrolls were very useful things and could give great power to the uninitiated, it was a pity Velia had never wanted to make weapons from her Glyphs. The girl certainly knew her way around a scroll and around her Glyphs.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Ehn..." The ghost girl made some echoing low voices as she tried to absorb Anna's explanation. It was some kind of complicated magic stuff and to make it worse, her fluency in Common was not that great. She could speak complicated words and sentences in Vani, her voice flowing with the lyrical language, but her Common was limited, and obviously difficult magic terms in Common perplexed her. Kouri scratched her hair, slightly tilting her head as she smiled nervously in a thin attempt to hide her confusion. From what she could gather, Glyphing could hasten the flow of magic or something, in other words, it hastened Anna's spells. "I see." She nodded, but her large eyes still twitching in confusion. "So with Glyphy, you can attack faster? Great then!"

The girl finished cleaning a dagger then picked up another one, frowning in disgust at the green-blood coating her precious blade along with strips of rotten flesh. She hummed a tune, slowly swaying her head from side to side like a girl who was playing with her doll. Her daggers were precious to her, each of them could be given life by her power, slicing and dicing foes with great efficiency. Though she could slice with her serrated tendrils just fine on her own, these metallic familiars greatly enhanced her power. "Ehehe~" Petting the dagger like a pet, Kouri continued to clean them as she listened to Anna's continuation of 'Glyphing lecture'.

"Oh! I see, I see!" So this 'Glyphing' could be used to block possession attempts, interesting. Kouri didn't know it could affect ghosts as well, but with magic, she wasn't surprised anymore. Anything could be done with magic, the ghost girl wondered if her tendrils could be considered 'magic'. Eh... nah. As far as she knew, magic was complicated while her abilities came naturally to her. It must be connected to her ghostly state. Now she understood why Anna came all the way to the Prairie, she was searching for her or at least, a ghost. The sorceress needed one of the ethereal beings to provide her with soulmist. "Hmm... okay~" She accepted without further thought, if it could be used to protect Anna form those voices, she would obviously help. "Can you make so uh... those monsters can't uhm... bite me in half again?" It was a horrifying experience, one she didn't want to relive.

The reward was very enticing, Madame Anna would grant her the power to cast magic! Without all the hassle and need for a host to boot. It was a very sweet deal, a mutual benefit. Kouri could wait, she had an eternity left in her frozen age. The Vantha nodded rapidly, her face showing childish delight. "Un! Un! I want! Hehe~ I want to launch ice spears! It will look really cool!" Being a Vantha, she was naturally inclined to Morwen's element, ice and snow. It could be said that her deathly cold touch was a twisted manifestation of her Vantha self.

The prospect of a reward spiked up her interest, the girl abandoned her cleaning for a while, then disappeared before reappearing in front of Anna in a sitting position. "What do I need to do? Tell me! Tell me!" And since Anna wanted to create a possession-blocking magic, she could test it immediately as Kouri possessed the power. However, would it work against the immense power of those spirits? The ghost girl wasn't a good example since her possession severely lagged behind her other two powers.

[Annalisa Marin]

Well... at least she seemed to grasp the basics if nothing else, which was really all Anna needed her to know at the moment. This accomplished and her agreement gained all that was required was to gain her Soulmist and Glyph her body with it. Considering Kouri's power it would stand to reason that her soulmist would be better than any she might produce. Anna had no desire to seek Mistress Wanda and attempt to ask her assistance, that would be... inconvenient and probably a waste of time.

Ice, now that was a bit of a problem considering her lack of access to the Para-element at the moment. Likely it wouldn't be long until she could gain access to it, however until she did this deal would take a little while to make good on. Once she did get access to the ice Para-element, well, she would essentially be counted among the greatest Reimancers of the modern age because all four elements would be hers to command. What came after that though? Once she reached those heights, what remained?

Well Glyphing still needed to be improved upon obviously, and Voiding was still waiting for her to unlock its inner secrets. Shielding was untapped potential and Spiritism could also become a very potent weapon against hostile ghosts. Not only that but once she did have complete mastery over the four elements it didn't mean she couldn't try to utilize it in more creative ways. Who knew what other magic there was to be learned as well? Likely she'd have her entire life to figure it out... if she didn't die first.

Kouri was right up in front of her, eager to begin which pleased the Sorceress as she herself was also eager to begin. Anna herself slowly stood and took off her cloak, the cold air becoming even colder. She would need to disrobe to properly place the Glyphs upon her body, hopefully the child didn't possess too much modesty.

"Right, I'll need you to provide me with a portion of your soulmist. I'll need to utilize it to place Glyphs upon my body, once I'm done I want you to attempt to possess me. If the wards work as I intend then you'll be unable to enter my body." Anna stated, removing her shirt.

In the end she was left standing in her small clothes, the cold air of the Prairie causing her to shiver slightly. It was still winter, Sahovan winter might have been much warmer than Zeltivan but Morwen didn't spare anyone her touch. Luckily she'd only be like this for a short time before being able to put her clothes on again.

The bright scar over her heart was displayed proudly in broad daylight, the essence of Rhysol himself and his claim over her. It wasn't often she displayed the scar so openly, but to most it was just a scar and its true nature was unknown. If only the fools realized the power of chaos that was bestowed unto her because of it. Then again if they realized it, then they would be turned away as Rhysol and his followers were rather wrongly persecuted.

She sat cross legged upon the rock again, staring expectantly at Kouri for her to provide her part of the exercise. The wards would take a little while to make, especially since she was only going to use her fingers to place them on the key points. Hopefully Kouri had the attention span for such a thing, though honestly given her child-like nature Anna had her doubts.