Closed Marked by Magic and Chaos. (Clyde)

[Annalisa Marin]

48th of Winter, 513 AV

The ground floor of the Gug Andjak was as always a bustle of activity, pulser's and Nuit alike moving to and fro as they handled this project or that one. Of the pulser's here one was given a wide berth by the apprentices, the silver ring with the symbol of a burning scroll wrapped around her finger denoting her rank as a Wizard. She wore relatively common clothing, a tunic, trousers, and a pair of leather sandals. Her long black hair was bound up into a ponytail, her form was unmarred by starvation in fact she looked the picture of perfect heath. It was only the faint black circles that ringed her eyes that told a different story.

Annalisa Marin sat at her workstation, a sheet of parchment sitting before her and ready to be adorned with her art. Her brush hovered above the parchment, not yet inked as she visualized the scroll sigil in her mind. It was really the most important step, the visualization process before the scroll would be born. If one made a faulty design then the scroll could easily malfunction, which in turn could explode in the face of the wizard who made it.

Once she had a clear image in her mind the Sorceress dipped her brush in ink and started on the outline of her Focus Glyph. The stylized inverted triangle came to life with each confident stroke of her brush, the ink staining the parchment in the all too familiar pattern. Her work was smooth, though it lacked the breath taking ease of a true master of her art it still possessed an instinctual appearance. Like her hand rather than her mind knew what needed to be drawn.

The Focus was done quickly enough and from there the Sorceress moved on to the Barrier, a ring of smaller Glyphs being placed around the Focus. Each one of these were given the task of containing or holding, designed to make certain the magic within the Focus would not escape it so easily. She looked to have completely forgotten the outside world existed, her mind becoming engrossed in the Glyphs and their sequences. Her Barriers were simple really, just repeated patterns of stylized geometric shapes. Then again, the purpose of the Glyph itself was rather simple as well.

After this the woman halted, her thoughts turning inwards as she pondered the last Glyph. The Trigger required much more thought than the other Glyphs did, because the phrasing was very crucial. To vague and one might have a time bomb, if they attempted to get too specific it could twist and turn to create a loophole. One needed to watch the wording of their Trigger very, very carefully. After a few chimes Anna nodded to herself and started on the Trigger, it seemed like a fair enough Trigger all this considered.

When the following phrase is spoken by I, Annalisa Marin, the Trigger will activate and lower the Barrier, releasing the magic contained within the Focus.

-When air meets fire let the sparks of chaos fly.

Anna put her brush down and stood from her chair, looking over the scroll for any residual mistakes. Finding none she moved back from the workstation a bit, rolling her shoulders in preparation for magic use. It would be a simple thing she made today, a scroll with three spells contained within the Focus. Nothing fancy, just a quick little weapon she could whip out if the need presented itself rather than waste her Djed.

The sorceress focused within herself and found that tapestry that made up her very being, the weave of her Djed. She tugged upon the fabric and lightly pulled the threads loose, willing a purple translucent gas to rise from her body. The act would appear natural to any onlooker, as easy as breathing and requiring just as little focus. Though the amount was relatively small all things considered, Anna still felt that tingle of pleasure course its way up her spine.

She moved the gathered cloud of purple res outwards and upwards, splitting it into three distinctly separate clouds. No gestures were given as she enforced a transmutation upon the clouds as she willed them downwards towards the Focus, no incantations either. The only warning one would receive for what was about to happen would be the air around the clouds starting to crackle malevolently, purple sparks dancing in the air.

The clouds arced down, fully transmuting into three moderately sized streaks of purple lightning. They were only in view for a short time, before they entered the Focus and vanished from the world until they were ready for use. Anna felt good for the casting, a pulse of pleasure radiating down to her core. Using magic bred an almost primal and indescribable kind of pleasure in her, making it all the more addictive.

Her task accomplished the Sorceress moved to collect her scroll, placing it within a nearby scroll case. It would certainly provide a nasty surprise to whoever or whatever she used it against, the trio of lightning bolts being enough to reduce most to a rain of charred chunks upon the ground. Scrolls were handy things to possess in a pinch, increasing one's magical output potential massively. Such was the nature of wizards, always seeking more security and power.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde's notice had been drawn by a feeling, a odd feeling he had not really noticed before. He could sense something, something familiar, yet foreign... Odd to the senses, yet natural. Whats more, he could feel the feeling not as he so often did via Auristics, when he could feel some sort of magic upon the air or down his spine, but instead he could feel it in his chest. To be precise, he could feel the tug and the sensation in a spot in his chest where he had once been stabbed, and then been healed by the blood of a God. His Chaon mark. It took Clyde a moment more to realize what it meant. There was another Chaon about, here on Sahova. But the reason for them being here, that was something he did not know. Clyde had been sent here on a mission by the Ebonstryfe to integrate into the island and become a wizard, in hopes that some day down the line that position might lend some power or opportunity to Ravok and Rhysol. A vague mission at best, and not really a short term one. But Clyde had not been told of another of their group being here also. Which either meant they had not bothered to tell Clyde of this info, which was not unlikely being that this involved either the Black Sun or the Ebonstryfe... Or... Or it meant some randomly marked Chaon was here, for unspoken reasons, for unspoken motives, working on this island, either in a way that would aid Clyde or possibly even interfere with him. Regardless of the reason, Clyde knew he needed to investigate and see which one of the two was true... Or if it was some other third option he had not thought of. Following the sensation, Clyde headed through the labs, finding the source of the feeling not to far off from where he had first sensed it. The first thing he noticed though upon entering the lab was a smell, a taste, upon the air. A small he knew all to well from his own Reimancy, that of transmuting lightning. Walking into the room he looked about for the source of the magic, not seeing any signs of a lightning bolt striking... This meant more likely than not it had been absorbed or stopped, which meant either shielding or Glyphing. Considering how common Glyphing was in a lab setting Clyde was leaning towards that magic, but was not sure just yet if that was what had taken the lightning. And across the room, was a female wizard, putting a scroll inside of a scroll case. This fact seemed to back up the thought that it had been Glyphing at work, seeing as how a scroll was one of the most commonly used iterations of Glyphing. It seemed a logical enough conclusion, adding further credence to his supposition of lightning and said lightning being absorbed, probably by said Glyphing scroll. This female wizard though, a pulser like him, a living wizard, was the one marked by Chaon like he himself was. Clyde cleared his throat once with a cough, and then with a neutral expression spoke across the lab to the female wizard. "Hello there. Lightning is it? Are you a Glypher then? I see your scroll you were putting away, where you preparing a scroll then? I would not mind seeing it, perhaps to compare or critique your work."

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna felt something, a throbbing over her heart where that precious mark of her connection to Rhysol existed. It was akin to a tugging sensation, something that pulled at her and directed her to a certain direction. It was a primal kind of feeling that was akin to when strong magic was used nearby, a tingling sensation that just wouldn't leave. A voice drew her gaze towards it, grey eyes slightly widening by the sight they beheld.

A rather tall dark haired man had addressed her, and though he bore no ring of office that was hardly what mattered to her. She felt some form of resonance with him, instinctually knowing that he had been touched by the blood of Rhysol as well. He was another Chaon, another person blessed by the divine glory of Rhysol. She had never met another person so blessed by her master, and now that she was literally staring at one she found herself at a loss for words.

A mix of emotions filled her mind at this point, elation, excitement, and caution chief among them. She had thought herself alone on this seemingly Rhysol forsaken island, and yet here another of her kind stood before her. It was one of those things where she didn't know exactly how to feel, because emotion she could be were valid. Anna realized that she had been staring at him, that probably might give the wring signals. He had greeted her after all, best to return the greeting and try to get a read on this strange Chaon.

"Ah, I suppose there is no harm in it. Let me get it out for you, come around this side." Anna said, brushing a loose bang from her face with her right hand and granting the stranger a clear look at her Wizard ring.

The tall woman carefully removed her scroll from its scroll case and placed it gingerly upon the workstation. Her grey eyes would flick up to the man, as though to make certain he were not some kind of mirage placed to trick her mind. Now the question remained how to broach the subject of their bond through the same master. Something to inquire after at a later date she supposed.

"Its nothing special really, just a simple scroll with some lightning held inside. Any wizard worth the name would be able to make one, or at least should. Unfortunately Sahova possessed many so called 'wizards' hardly worthy of the rings around their fingers." The sorceress said, her eyes flicking to a couple of apprentices nearby at those words. They were spoken in a manner of fact fashion, no doubt if he had been around long enough he would know what she meant.

It then occurred to her that she was offering this man a peek at her work when she knew nothing about him, only that he was a fellow Chaon and likely possessed at least some knowledge of Glyphing. Also that he was an unranked visitor, perhaps even a potential hopeful apprentice. A little too early to be certain at this stage. Perhaps it would be best to just start with an exchange of names.

"Ah, forgive me sir. When one has been living on the Island of the Undead as long as I manners tend to become forgotten rather easily. My name is Annalisa Marin, Wizard of Sahova." Anna said, offering a hand to the tall man.

[Clyde Sullins]

"Ah, I suppose there is no harm in it. Let me get it out for you, come around this side." As the mage moved about, she made a none to subtle showing of her ring, making her standing within the island quite clear. She was a "wizard", by rank not by term. Though technically she was both. Or mage, or whichever term she preferred. Clyde himself preferred mage, really anything besides being called a magician. "Its nothing special really, just a simple scroll with some lightning held inside. Any wizard worth the name would be able to make one, or at least should. Unfortunately Sahova possessed many so called 'wizards' hardly worthy of the rings around their fingers." Clyde nodded. A simple lightning scroll, none to hard to make, certainly not a amazing feat one heard of being done on this isle. Something Clyde had made back when he was less than a decade old. But still, Clyde knew enough of Glyphing to be able to read more to it than that, and to know that even with simpler usages skill could be discerned, particularly by the wording of the trigger. But before she showed him the scroll, she seemed to think better of it. "Ah, forgive me sir. When one has been living on the Island of the Undead as long as I manners tend to become forgotten rather easily. My name is Annalisa Marin, Wizard of Sahova." Offering his own hand back in turn to grip, he gave his own name. "Clyde. Clyde Sullins. Nice too meet you Mrs. Marin." Gesturing back at the scroll, he turned his attention back to it. "So... The scroll then? I find often the best way to understand someone, is to see their work. Perhaps in turn I can show you something of mine, or could make something, so you could see my skills in turn. After you've let me see this already crafted scroll. Does the room have supplies, or do I need to use my own ink and parchment?"

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna would give Clyde’s hand a firm shake, a simple cordial up down that symbolized a casual greeting between strangers. His name… somewhere in the back of Anna’s mind a spark of some old memory attempted to click, it sounded familiar to her but she couldn’t quite recall why that was. Like it was something that she should know, that nagging feeling that one had when they knew the memory was there but could not quite grasp it. Considering her… incidents with a certain hypnotist is was hardly surprising that her mind was a bit jumbled, the past was something she constantly examined. Did she really remember what she did? Or was that Daren’s influence, replacing that fond memories of her life before Sahova?

The familiarity of the name was tossed to the back of her mind, her expression turning a bit pondering as she pondered his form of address to her. Technically Mrs. Marin was hardly a poor honorific, but some others in the Citadel were rather sticklers for titles. Sahovan politics were varied and deadly, even to those who were not players. Considering that Clyde was a fellow Chaon, it might be a good idea to warn him.

“Ah, while ‘Mrs. Marin’ is fine with me you might want to be more… mindful of addresses here. People are rather proud of their titles and positions, so if you see someone bearing a ring like mine, it might due to use their title to be safe. For instance, properly speaking I would be known as Wizard Marin. Just a bit of free advice, from one mage to another.” Anna said.

From this she pondered over his offer, it seemed rather fair to her as it would allow her to gauge how skilled Clyde was in regards to the arcane arts. The dark haired woman shrugged and offered up the scroll, placing it in plain view once again on the table. Her Glyphs took the form of stylized geometric shapes, though the Glyphs themselves were not as important as the sigil itself. It was the first thing any Glypher worth the title noticed about another’s work. Idly she wondered what shape Clyde’s own Glyphs took, as well as his own skill in comparison to her own.

Anna was already known by a number in Sahova to be a very skilled Glypher, her work having earned praise from the Board Review as being above the norm for those that normally advanced to Wizard rank. However, there were always those better than her, always those that could be said to stand above her in terms of knowledge and power. Her abilities were not quite to the degree where she could claim to be unmatched, yet.

“I agree, besides often it pays to have second eyes upon one’s work to allow for improvement. A wizard should always be learning after all. I’d be happy to lend my own eyes to your work, Mr. Sullins. As for supplies, this workstation should have everything you need so feel free to use what you wish. The Common Labs offer use to all.” Anna said, sweeping an arm over the workspace.

It was indeed well stocked it parchment, inks, brushes, quills, and scroll cases. The Common Labs were always stocked with necessary supplies for the magic of one’s trade, most unranked used them in preparation for Judgment. Anna herself had not done so for her Judgment, using her own blood and a piece of her cloak to craft a scroll. It was amusing to look back on, that little event had triggered everything for her on Sahova. Daren, Amaryllis, Maelstrom, all of it wouldn’t have happened if she had known about the Common Labs being open for use. It was amusing to think of really.

“So, Mr. Sullins, what brings a friend of our… mutual acquaintance to Sahova? Are you seeking an Apprenticeship per chance?” The tall woman inquired casually, subtly broaching the subject of his own mark of Chaon.

[Clyde Sullins]

“Ah, while ‘Mrs. Marin’ is fine with me you might want to be more… mindful of addresses here. People are rather proud of their titles and positions, so if you see someone bearing a ring like mine, it might due to use their title to be safe. For instance, properly speaking I would be known as Wizard Marin. Just a bit of free advice, from one mage to another.” Clyde pondered her words for a few moments, before nodding. But he could not help feeling that the woman was being... Courteous. And considering most mages where balls of pride and anger, her reaction seemed oddly... Sedate. Of course, he did not know her in normal circumstances, having only met her now for the first time, but this meant she was either a odd wizard, or being purposely nice. Perhaps even because of their connection via Chaon. Or perhaps she was simply being passive aggressive, and planned to take her revenge for him not using her name properly at a later time, possibly even indirectly. "I will remember that in the future... Wizard Marin." Clyde happily watched as Annalisa unrolled her scroll, and showed him her work. It was a simple enough scroll, he could see that. Barrier, trigger, focus, all normal. The important thing here was the trigger phrase. That often more than anything else said a lot about the wizard and their inherent skill. Its specificity, or its sleekness of wording, all meant more than a thousand sigils. When the following phrase is spoken by I, Annalisa Marin, the Trigger will activate and lower the Barrier, releasing the magic contained within the Focus. It was moderately complex, due to several bits. For one, it specified that only Annalisa herself could activate the scroll, by her saying the needed words... Of course the wording was a bit vague in some ways. It did not specify more than her saying the words. What if someone else got her to say the words in the presence of the scroll? Or if she said it by accident when not holding it? “I agree, besides often it pays to have second eyes upon one’s work to allow for improvement. A wizard should always be learning after all. I’d be happy to lend my own eyes to your work, Mr. Sullins. As for supplies, this workstation should have everything you need so feel free to use what you wish. The Common Labs offer use to all.” His examination done, Clyde headed over to the mentioned workstation, taking out ink, a quill, and a piece of parchment. Setting them out in preparation for the Glyphing, Clyde listened to her next question as he wet his quill. “So, Mr. Sullins, what brings a friend of our… mutual acquaintance to Sahova? Are you seeking an Apprenticeship per chance?” As Clyde spoke, he also Glyphed, dashing out a focus Glyph in the middle of the parchment at his usual high speed. Conversing as he Glyphed did not seem to overly strain his attention as he drew. It was simple at first, a wavy circle a bit bigger around than his fist. Then Clyde added a second circle inside of it in contact with the first, melding them into one symbol. Then Clyde drew a diagonal slash starting from the middle of the first circle, and coming out half again past the edge of the wavy circle. With one final stroke he added a tick across the last diagonal slash, about halfway between the edge of the inner circle, and the end of the diagonal line ending furthest from the center of the Glyph. It ended with a dual circle, the outer one wavy, and a cross shaped symbol coming out of its middle most point. If one knew of the symbol, one might say it also looked like a simplified version of the symbol of the Ebonstryfe, which was a black sun with a sword piercing it. "Yes, I am looking for an apprenticeship, though I seem to be having a bit of trouble obtaining my ingredients for the Magecrafting... Funnily enough I can't requisition them until I become an apprentice, but I can't become an apprentice until I pass my judgement. And they don't have enough of the basic ingredients for what I am wanting to craft... Only enough for some of the lower level items, maybe a 1 or 2." As he had spoken he had continued onward, now working on the barrier. This time he used a series of words turned on their side, as he had in the old days, slowly tilting the words and letters so that the bottom of the words always pointed inward to the circle. In this way the words slowly looped their way around the focus in a tight ring, turning the paper as he worked so that he did not need to keep moving the quill about, instead letting the empty spot to be Glyphed next curve into his path. Words such as: enforce, hold, block, restrain, guide, impede, contain, constrain, repulse, inhibit. These words made up the barrier, circling all the way around till he came to the end, and had to use a small word to finish off the leftover space in the barrier, with stop. "But yes, it is a interesting place, though I have not seen too many wizards of much skill about. Most seem lacking in much flare or ability... But I suppose most of the good mages don't usually like to come to the common areas where such as I am admitted." With his work done, Clyde added a simple trigger symbol, one he always used, a triangle with the one point sticking into the barrier, and the flat sized facing away from the barrier out to the empty space on the edge of the scroll. Finally he paused for a moment, and then quickly wrote in the trigger conditions for the scroll. Upon Clyde Sullins, the Glypher of this scroll crafted on this 48th day of winter, upon a time when said Clyde Sullins is in possession of this scroll, and with his speaking the following words with the intent and desire for the contents of this scroll to be issued forth: "Bing bang boom", the trigger will activate lowering the barrier and releasing the contents of the focus. Done with his Glyphing, Clyde turned to Annalisa, and showed her what he had done. "I decided to make a few adaptations to your wording. I think it makes it a bit less likely to have a false trigger. What do you think?" After giving her a few moments to look it over, a sudden idea popped into Clyde's head. "Ooh, there has been something I have been wanting to try out for awhile. Perhaps you would be willing to assist me? Could you cast the same spell that you put into your own scroll, and cast it upon my scroll's focus? I'd like to test out something, to see if it will work..." Clyde said this was a small smile on his face, as if the request was totally ordinary.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna barely contained her surprise at the sheer speed as which Clyde worked through his scroll, it almost seemed unreal in her eyes. His hands seemed to move in instinctual blurs, naturally going about the task as if it were as easy as breathing. She herself was a very skilled Glypher, but just watching him work Anna could see that Clyde was in an entirely different league. A sting hit her pride as some traces of envy poisoned her mind, the fact that he was better that her at an art she was so proud of was not easy to swallow.

The mage mentioned Magecraft and her mind immediately flew to Master Goron Silverheart, her current political opposition. He was the chief magecrafter in Sahova, powerful both in his craft and in the political field. Anna's mind was already whirring in contemplation, thoughts abound for possibly getting a man close to him. If Clyde specialized in Magecraft, it would mean that Silverheart would be overseeing in in some capacity. That held... possibilities.

From the sound of it though, Clyde was having some difficulty acquiring what he needed which brought further thoughts to her mind. He didn't have access to the Synchrograph Office, however Anna did. Perhaps, if it turned out Clyde could indeed be considered a possible ally she could offer her assistance in that regard. It was a possibility she kept in mind to mention if the opportunity to presented itself. For now she kept silent, continuing to listen and watch.

The mage finished his craft and presented it before her, and though she hid it well enough this time she felt slight amazement at the sheer complexity of the Trigger. It was a massive improvement over her own Trigger, cutting out the possibility of accidental activation. She could say, without a shred of doubt, that Clyde was probably the best Glypher she had met so far. Though, one would need to do a lot to earn that admission verbally as Anna did have her pride to think of after all.

"Impressive, most impressive. You've cut out most possibility for accidental activation. No easy thing for a Glypher to accomplish. A complete overhaul one might say, I'll need to keep it in mind when crafting my next Trigger." Anna offered, offering moderate praise to its design, as one might appraise a particularly eye catching piece of art.

A slight red flag rose in Anna's head as he requested her to utilize her reimancy again, to fill his scroll with a trio of lightning bolts. She looked to consider it for a moment, weighing the possible motivations he might have for the request before finally giving a slight shrug of her shoulders. It wasn't exactly a powerful thing to give up, just a little bit of reimancy in the grander scheme of things. Anna did find it a bit odd that he made a request of a Wizard he had just met, though perhaps the Chaon mark granted him some sense of camaraderie.

"Sure, why not? Though, you'll have to explain what this little test might be. Place it down on the station and step back, lightning can be a bit hazardous after all." The tall woman said, stepping back herself and taking her own scroll up to move it out of the way.

If Clyde did as requested Anna would reach within herself and tug a bit more at the tapestry of her Djed, unraveling it just a bit more. She willed res to manifest and pretty much as soon as she did purple gaseous res began to radiate out from her body, a thrill of pleasure entering her mind. The action appeared effortless, res generation as easy as breathing to one like her. When she had gathered enough the woman would start to shape it.

The cloud of res that formed above her split would into three smaller sections and move out towards the station where the scroll would be. The Sorceress then arced them downwards, willing a transmutation to take place. The air about the purple clouds crackled malevolently, purple sparks rising here or there before fully transmuting into three arcs of purple lightning. They would then speed down towards the Focus of Clyde's scroll, vanishing within the sigil and priming it.

Anna herself felt the urge lightly whispering at her mind, the dark and insidious desire to cast more ever present. She shoved it aside, it was not overly strong and six only moderately sized lightning bolts were hardly the most taxing things in the world to create in terms of Djed drain. Though, her stomach did rumble slightly, hunger setting in and would definitely be addressed as soon as she could. For now she merely arched an eyebrow at Clyde, wondering what he would do now.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde waited upon Annalisa, for her inspecting her work in kind as he had done hers, to see what she thought of it. Her reply did not take long. "Impressive, most impressive. You've cut out most possibility for accidental activation. No easy thing for a Glypher to accomplish. A complete overhaul one might say, I'll need to keep it in mind when crafting my next Trigger." "Well, often the trigger is the most important aspect of a sigil, except when its not... I do enjoy puzzling through new and improved ways of wording them. Certain things though just can't be used in a functional capacity unless one is skilled enough to harness the runes properly. If a lesser Glypher tried the same wording as either of us used... I doubt it would end well." Clyde paused for a few moments, lost in thought, glancing over his newly created scroll again. "Almost as tricky as wording a grand oath... Those blighters though never seem to get easier, you always need to be at the top of your game for those. You never know what unexpected result might come from a ill formed sentence." Shrugging, Clyde turned back to see how she reacted to his request for her to add her own Reimancy to the scroll. "Sure, why not? Though, you'll have to explain what this little test might be. Place it down on the station and step back, lightning can be a bit hazardous after all." In part Clyde had requested her to do the Reimancy, so as to not show his own skill in the magic. But more importantly, he wanted to test his own skills to channel and trap a hostile spell not of his own making. That was the true test of a Glypher, if they could use their runes on such things. Only the best of Glyphers could do that. By her reaction to his request, Clyde was unsure if she realized just what he was asking her to do... That if he was not only a top tier Glypher, but also a better Glypher than she was a Reimancer, then his Glyphs would fail and the lightning would go on unimpeded. That being said, when she warned Clyde to get clear of the lightning area, Clyde did so after setting down his open scroll in the proper place. In fact, he probably went a bit further from the area than was strictly necessary for the experiment. But he felt caution was the best way to proceed here. Clyde watched as she worked her Reimancy, exuding out the res quite proficiently. She seemed to be a pretty skilled Reimancer, which meant the experiment had that extra added bit of danger. It also meant that if it worked, it proved his skill that much more. Soon enough the purplish res of the female wizard was being issued forth and shaped, and Clyde closed his eyes to block from the flash of the lightning being transmuted. Then boom and bang the lightning was gone with a burnt smell on the air. Clyde opened his eyes to see that the lab was... Totally unharmed. "It worked? It worked!" Clyde would come forward again, a grin on his face, looking down at the scroll before him which now held three lightning spells. Fetching his quill and wetting it, Clyde went to the scroll. Bending down, Clyde wrote in plain common 3Mo-Li on one of the empty corners of the scroll. They marked the scroll as holding 3 moderate sized lightning bolts, as classified by his own system. Looking back at Annalisa, he grinned, and gestured at the scroll. "It caught it! It didn't blow up or anything! Surely you realize how hard it is to catch a hostile spell in a focus! And you, a different person to myself, casting a powerful Reimancy spell at the focus, that surely counts as a hostile spell! And it caught it!" Calming down for a moment, Clyde looked back and forth from his scroll, and his new acquaintance, before he remembered himself. "Ah yes... Well that's why I needed you to do the spell, since it would only be hostile if I was not the one casting it. And it did work. My runes were even able to affect and catch a real spell from another wizard."

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna was a bit surprised when Clyde looked so elated that her spell had fit inside of the scroll so easily, his mannerisms rather excited all things considered. Personally she didn't understand what his excitement was all about; her eyebrow was quirked slightly in inquiry. She filled scrolls on a regular basis; really it was a relatively simple task all things considered. Nothing she would jump for joy at its success, though he was quickly scribbling away with a grin on his face so obviously it meant something to him.

As he spoke his next words Anna felt a pit in her stomach form, feeling just a little bit queasy at the rather hazardous bit of knowledge Clyde just imparted. Anna had in fact been very much unaware of the dangers of trapping hostile magic, she had simple assumed the scroll sigil would take hers as easily as it would take whatever magic Clyde used. She had never come upon a situation where hostile magic was used against either hers or someone else’s Glyphs, so she had not possessed that knowledge until just now. If Clyde hadn’t such a skilled Glypher… Anna felt a little uneasy with that line of thinking.

She felt a little used honestly, though really that was not something she could blame Clyde for as he no doubt suspected that a Glypher of her caliber would know this bit of knowledge. Still, part of her roiled in anger at that notion, feeling just a tad miffed for the knowledge of just how badly this could have gone. The sorceress settled down just a bit, the notion of what Clyde had done and its significance beginning to overtake any negative feelings. Excitement rose from her, the possible applications for something like this being… well massive.

”Fascinating! I wonder… could then the applications for this be taken beyond mere scrolls and be added to more complex layouts? Say two Focus’ bound together via a Path? Where hostile magic might enter one end and the exit the other as a form of redirection?” The sorceress postulated, spit-balling a theoretical situation as she leaned against a nearby workstation and drummed her fingers on her chin.

”I can only imagine the possibilities this discovery might create, the doors it might very well open. In many ways it could be just as effective, if not more, as the art of Shielding! Certainly not in repeated use, but rather it combative applications that Shielding isn’t designed for. Though… I wonder what the upper limits might be? Say if I wasn’t the only reimancer casting a spell into the scroll, but another was added to the equation. Would that then tip the balance?” Anna said, falling into a pondering monologue and her expression falling into a contemplative one.

Something like this… it could very well be useful knowledge; especially considering her field of research involved the weaponization of both Glyphing and Reimancy. Perhaps creating items designed to contain much like that scroll sigil had her magic, redirecting magic back to an enemy. She could already think of several possibly applications in that regard, though they were all just strictly theory at this point. Tests would need to be run.

Anna came out of her contemplation, remembering that she was not exactly alone and shook her head slightly to dispel her distractions. She fell into theory far too easily when it came to Glyphing, such was the nature of her affinity towards magic. The dark haired woman allowed a small smile to fall upon her lips, almost apologetic but not quite. Again, she did have her pride to consider.

”Ah, my apologies. Once I get a theory in my head it tends to rattle around up there for a while. Especially in regards to Glyphing, though honestly what wizard does not lose themselves in thought every now and again?” Anna said, shrugging slightly.

This Clyde… he was certainly an interesting man all things considered, in fact Anna wagered his Glyphing abilities far outstripped Master Markus. If he wanted to he could probably have amazed the Judges beyond their wildest dreams, they would be fools not to snatch him up. He mentioned his difficulties in acquiring supplies for his Magecrafting, Anna knew exactly zero about the art… but perhaps an exchange could be arranged.

”In any event, you mentioned difficulty obtaining materials for magecrafting correct? That sounds like something that would be ordered at the Synchrograph Office… Sahova’s requisition center. A visitor is not permitted there but apprentices are… as are Wizards.” Anna said, leaving Clyde to fill in the blanks at the end of the statement.

It was rather a loaded comment, one that suggested that Clyde might very well have found a possibly middle woman in his dealings with the office. However, he most likely could also infer that nothing was free in Sahova or in dealings with fellow Wizards. That was just common sense really, everyone always wanted something for something.

[Clyde Sullins]

”Fascinating! I wonder… could then the applications for this be taken beyond mere scrolls and be added to more complex layouts? Say two Focus’ bound together via a Path? Where hostile magic might enter one end and the exit the other as a form of redirection?” "Of course, it would be but a simple deviation upon the already shown application. If the magic can be captured, it can be channeled, if it can be channeled, then it can do as you indicated." "Of course normally hostile magic won't be conveniently aimed at a specific focus, which means you would need to make it more complex than that to catch said spell. Another set of sigils to act as a catching mechanism, which would then guide it to the correct exit focus." ”I can only imagine the possibilities this discovery might create, the doors it might very well open. In many ways it could be just as effective, if not more, as the art of Shielding! Certainly not in repeated use, but rather it combative applications that Shielding isn’t designed for. Though… I wonder what the upper limits might be? Say if I wasn’t the only reimancer casting a spell into the scroll, but another was added to the equation. Would that then tip the balance?” As Annalisa said this, a thought occurred to him... Discovery? That implied she had not known this fact before, and was not simply putting the theory to practice as he was... Which meant... He had just shown her a high level application of Glyphing that she had not known of. He was fairly certain that was what had happened. It of course had not been his intent, but it seemed he had already done this wizard a great favor by showing her something she had not known of. "I suppose it would depend upon the inherent skill of each of the Reimancers, or at least the greatest of them, versus the skill of the Glypher. It would certainly though require a high level Glypher to do such a thing and keep it intact..." "Also it would only specifically work against a djed based construct, so if they did not transmute the res the Glyphs would not work for such a purpose... I believe shielding allows for more deviation than that at some levels, even if as you said it only allows defensive usage. But yes, Glyphing could allow for more offensive uses in a specific set of circumstances." ”Ah, my apologies. Once I get a theory in my head it tends to rattle around up there for a while. Especially in regards to Glyphing, though honestly what wizard does not lose themselves in thought every now and again?” "I understand, I do likewise quite often, particularly when dealing with Glyphing. It has much more theory to it than many other magics, particularly personal magics." ”In any event, you mentioned difficulty obtaining materials for magecrafting correct? That sounds like something that would be ordered at the Synchrograph Office… Sahova’s requisition center. A visitor is not permitted there but apprentices are… as are Wizards.” Clyde paused for a moment thinking over her words. Clearly she was saying she had the access he needed. And clearly with other considerations, she seemed likely to want to aid his cause, particularly them both being chaon. "Yes, the last time I was here the TAR worked, and things were much simpler. Well at least in that one aspect. But yes, I do need some help. If you for instance were willing to aid me in acquiring what I need, I am sure I could find some way to repay you." That was when Clyde realized something. He needed a second wizard for his task, for making the magic staff. He could not make it alone. Which meant he needed another personal mage, such as this wizard here. "Perhaps in exchange for your acquiring the needed resources, I could show you a bit of Magecrafting? Have you sit in on one of my sessions, perhaps even assist and try your hand at it if you would like? If nothing else the Glyphing wards I must place before doing my work would surely interest you. I tend to spend a good bit of time on them, adding in multiple redundancies, layers, and such."