Confident to Competent

[Miro]

7th day of Spring, 513 AV

Miro had been working with Rayage on his casting skills, and promised to bring him to a new level of understanding. Today would mark the first day of their serial training, though it would not drain all of their time. Only enough that on choice days, they could progress at the same training exercise. A few days back it had been introduced to Rayage and tested. Targets made of Reimancy were produced and manipulated by Miro, and Rayage had the task of casting at them. To keep the challenge from growing stale he would increase the difficulty through a few simple tricks.

The first would be to add distance between targets. It took careful planning to set a spell on the right path to hit a target, especially one moving. Another challenge would be to add more targets. To have to cast in chain, or even several spells at once, added a level of difficulty. Especially when casting rapidly caused fatigue to build and hinder performance. Adding in the final challenge of manipulating the target's path and speed made the training possible to challenge even a master. Too many targets at too far a range moving too fast and sporadically, even Miro would struggle to hit all of them. And before long he would become fatigued.

Truly it was the perfect set up, and they had the perfect spot in the training grounds to work from. The invitation had been set, and they would meet at their regular time. The sun was at its highest, and Miro sat waiting patiently with his staff in hand. He had spent the past couple bells arguing with Ender of the decision to dedicate training to Rayage instead of the Familiar. It was growing tired, as they seemed to always run in circles, but the Irylid was adamant on his position. Even so desperate as to concede to training alongside the Nuit. It was a curious offer, one that may even be agreed to. But only if it would not hinder his true apprentice.

"Not only can I learn to cast, but to produce the targets, as you would. I even would be able to train the Nuit, even cast against him. The best motivation is fear of death, and it will bring out the best in him. We are nearly matched in skill too, only I have far more talent, and can control water and wind as well as ice. With me as well to assist in his growth, there are many possibilities afforded to us. And out of consequence of his growth would come practice for me. To learn control, restraint, precision. A chance to hone my skills. It is not too much to ask, especially when I so often do not ask anything at all."

Miro tapped his staff anxiously. Both because of the impending arrival of the Alchemist and the weight of the request issued to him. "It was not but the other day you were denying the potential of the Nuit. Is still he so weak that he can not commit? You can not understand him, nor properly communicate with him, and dislike the man. I have lost track of the times you have threatened to kill him, and this seems the perfect chance for you to kill him without interception. My trust in your motives is too slight to risk any possible benefit you offer. Tell me you would do any different me in position."

Ender gave a nervous chuckle. "This is different though. I have everything to gain, and would only lose by betraying your trust. I do not think you would let our training go without moderation, and also with it Hypnotism. Ensure that I am true to my claim, unable to harm him, and that our session heads in a positive direction. I encourage all of this, for when I get the best out of him, it shall inspire the best of me. When the best of me is brought to the surface, you are stronger for it as well. This can work to everyone's benefit Miro." The Chained One became still for a while. "I will consider it, but no promises. We have much to see play out before then, and plenty of time to for training."

[Rayage]

The wizard trudged through the wasteland. Today was the day she told Miro he’d find some time for her to practice. It wasn’t that the wizard minded really coming out all this way, but it all took time. By the time Rayage had even gotten out of the Citadel a couple bells had past, and that is not even including the walk to the ‘usual spot’. Overall it was an experience that Ray would rather do without, however she understood the importance of being outside her lab when practicing. As big and spacious as the lab was, it did carry things that were more valuable than the wizard herself. It would be best to practice elsewhere.

She thought on all what Miro had taught him so far, and the wizard indeed knew much about personal magic, more so than Ray would have expected. The Alchemist was no master at personal magic, but she wasn’t a stranger to it either. All the years of surviving the magic of hypnotism had been invaluable, and it was probably because of that magic that she is alive today. The boy had no idea of the extent of Rayages experience with personal magic, and that was something that Ray would like to keep. However, she suspected since she was so easily catching on and using Reimancy, that the boy must be somewhat suspicious of her more personal powers. Though the extent of the paranoia is, as of yet, unobserved. She had admitted seasons ago that she did dabble in personal magic.

The jaunt there was slow and filled with nothing but emptiness. She saw nothing really exciting on her way, not until she saw Miro in the distance. The boy stood out in the space, and although she knew she was going to practice Reimancy, she decided, for once, to try to view the boys aura. As she walked, almost automatically towards the other wizard, she would seem dazed, all her concentration on the boy, eyes locked onto him. She dug deep into her soul and tugged at it, willing it to come forward and activate a power which she hadn’t used in a while: Auristics.

Though even as she walked, she stopped as color started to fill her vision. How could she be so blind to this fact? About ten feet away from Miro, Ray stood there wordless. The first thing which came to her were the colors, an aura of ‘golden black’, a darkness which seemed black but also had hints of gold within. A tainted gold? A hero fallen? A heart sank into a lust for power? The details eluded the wizard, but she took in the aura, admiring just how far it was off of the boy. It was possibly the biggest aura she had seen to date, and the color of it had offset her. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but she felt unsettled in the presence of this aura. She had never been unsettled by Miro before and so she pursed her lips and dared to look deeper. Willing herself on she concentrated more.

The ‘deeper’ she looked the more gold the black aura seemed. The unsettling feeling was still there, but she couldn’t pinpoint what was causing her to feel such a way. The reading so far has been less than advantageous, though she was well out of practice. The more she looked, black started to fade to gold, gold to blue, and accompanying that color was a chill. A psychic shiver was sent through the wizard as she started to feel the cold grip of ice. The wizard had a strong connection to the ice, snow… or at least something cold.

Though in this cold there was a warmth, which Rayage followed. Expending even more djed, the wizard continued her own trip through the aura of the wizard. This warmth led her again to the uneasy feeling, a dominating, and dark feeling, a will to hurt, to destroy, to kill. Plain as day, death was written on the aura, but it was covered in a veil of black, with a sheen of gold, with the feeling of ice… The wizard strongly radiated a desire to dominate everything and cover the world in his darkness, whatever type that may be.

Pulling out of the vision, Rayage smiled at Miro, realizing that some time, how much she didn’t really know, had passed without a word. ”Hello, Miro,” she greeted the wizard, ”I am just preparing for today’s tasks.” she informed him, ”I suspect that we will be working on the targets again, as well? Last time my performance was not too spectacular.” Her words seemed distant and meaningless, distracted as she tried to piece the puzzle together in her mind. Auristics was a mysterious magic, indeed.

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