[The Common Labs] Research and Development

by **Annalisa Marin** on October 26th, 2013, 1:56 am

82nd of Fall, 513 AV

The Common Labs were ever a bustle of activity, apprentices and wizards alike moving to and fro to examine this project or that. One such apprentice was bent over her workplace, parchment scattered about her stained with ink and rejected runic layouts. Each one possessed this flaw or that and were thus utterly worthless in her perfectionist eyes, little better than kindling for the flames. The tall woman's hair was bound loosely into a ponytail, her bangs occasionally drifting in front of her face. Unlike a good number of the occupants of the 3rd floor Common Labs she had a gentle rise and fall to her chest, occasionally blinking as her brush worked long strokes over the parchment currently in front of her.

Annalisa Marin was grateful to Amaryllis for a number of things, being alive was the primary one. Still possessing access to her memories was another, as well as still being able to use her left hand. Unfortunately, the Chief Embalmer lacked a dedicated lab for magical research. The lessons Anna learned from the Nuit were political in nature, how to thrive in a place where the Undead ruled and weave through the web of Sahovan politics. Day three as her apprentice and she'd almost died at the hands at the Citadel's master of reimancy. With her luck a trio of Golem's would storm into the Labs, drag her to the Dungeons and place her under the knife of whatever master ran the place.

To an on looker Anna would appeared rather tired and worn out, her eyes possessing dark circles around them and were near bloodshot. Her cloak was tattered and torn, her clothing worn by the elements and singed by her battle yesterday. Heavy casting had taken its toll upon her, were it not fore her clear signs of life she might be mistaken for one already dead. It had not been as bad as it could have been, though it was difficult to top the suffering wrought upon her the previous season.

Anna hissed in frustration as she looked back over her work, tossing it aside dramatically and snatching up a clean parchment. The Path had been overly complex, its functionality ruined by and overlap with one of the barriers. She needed perfection here. Once she refined this construct she'd possess a much more powerful scroll, indeed one better suited to combat situations.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep and calming breaths, trying to block out the myriad distractions of the Common Labs. The design came to the forefront of her mind, three focus glyphs connected by Paths with the magic within contain inside of barriers. Switch glyphs would break up the casting into phases and they would all be bound by a single trigger located in the center. It was a much more refined version of what she'd attempted near the end of last season. It symbolized a shift in her scroll making techniques, a weapon that if further refined could potentially be made into an intricate glyphed array that could unleash a salvo of death.

First things first, she needed to actually make the damned thing. The problem here was the Paths themselves, along with the switch glyphs. The trigger itself was a simple thing, it would send a signal along the paths to the switches with in turn would deactivate the barriers to release the magic. The problem here was trying to arrange the paths so the function could actually work, without compromising the structural integrity of the whole scroll.

She fiddled with her brush for a moment, thinking on the dilemma long and hard. The Paths were connected to two points, connecting them to more than that compromised their ability to function as desired. So then perhaps she was over thinking the problem and using too many paths. Maybe she could simplify it by instead only have a trio of paths connecting to the focus, with a switch around each barrier to release it so that the magic could be unleashed. Indeed, perhaps it was better to start more basic and then to worry about possibly evolving it to release the magic in a sequence. Simultaneous release would work just as fine, and it would save her the headache of yet another failure. From the base design she could build more.

The tall woman took another deep breath before looking down at the large sheet of parchment, her brush already dipped and setting to work on the first focus near the top of the page. The whole design would be in the shape of a right side up triangle, a geometric shape to further compliment the overall structure. As she set through the broad and confident strokes of her brush she was feeling more and more confident.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes! This is the one, it will be perfect. It must be perfect. She thought eagerly, her brushwork alive once more as seemingly a font of newfound energy found her.

The focus came to life in her work with each streak of black ink, the outline of her stylized inverted triangle already shaping up. Her glyphs always too the shape of geometric designs, they made sense and were the most structurally sound designs in her opinion. This particular project would take a good deal of time, no doubt about it. One mistake and she would need to start from scratch, again.

The first focus was drawn so Anna started on the barrier that surrounded it, the tiny runes encircling the focus neatly and carefully. The barrier was always something to approach with care, unlike the focus there was always potential for a grievous mistake here. A mistake that could cost the entire integrity of the scroll. The barrier possessed a single that stood apart from the others, one that she teased lightly with her brush and handled with especial care. It was what she called a connector rune, it would eventually connect the barrier to the switch which in turn would be connected to the path.

Anna was nearly oblivious to the world around her, if Daren himself walked up to her she likely wouldn't have noticed as she was far to focused on her work.

by **Annalisa Marin** on November 23rd, 2013, 3:09 am

Anna's Barrier Glyphs followed a pattern of stylized geometric shapes, a right side up triangle came first, which was followed by a rectangle, finally followed by a diamond. This pattern repeated itself over and over until the ring was complete. The only difference or deviation was the Connector Glyph, which simply changed the rectangle into a 'T' like shape. Once she finished up the Barrier she started upon the Switch.

The Switch took the form of a stylized square with a tiny triangle pointing to each side. The importance of this Glyph was to separate functions for the overall sigil, namely deactivating the Barrier when it received a signal from the Trigger. Normally she didn't need to utilize Paths with a Scroll sigil, but since there were two other Focus' they were needed to activate all of them.

Anna finished up the Switch, dipping her brush in ink as she started on another stylized inverted triangle on the top most corner of the parchment. It was best to get the basics out of the way before attempting to connect everything together. Her brush moved easily along the parchment, the second Focus coming to life easily enough. Its creation was then followed by another series of Barrier Glyphs ringing it, with a Switch Glyph and Connector Rune bleeding onto the parchment as well.

The Sorceress looked over her work again for flaws, finding none she simply started on the last series of Glyphs needed before the actual act of connecting everything together was needed. As before it was relatively simple, a Focus, followed by the Barrier, which was followed by the Switch. By this point these patterns had been engraved into her skull, their meanings cemented within her. Scrolls were rather easy to create, though her triggers had yet to gain the sophistication that defined higher tier Glyphers. She had no doubt it would come in time.

Once the third set of Glyphs was complete Anna stood back to admire her handiwork, deciding that it was time to start on the Trigger. No time to rest on laurels, she needed to get this little experiment out of the way so she could move on to other matters. Namely creating more uniform scrolls in preparation for her journey to the Heartlands. With more scrolls her casting potential became that much more great. Her goal for today was at least six. Lofty, but possible.

The Trigger was actually going to be non-verbal this time. A risk but it was best to branch outside of the comfort zone every now and then. It was simple, 'when saliva touches this Glyph'. This particular trigger received no instructions in common because she was actually going to use it once it was completed, to test its functionality. Naturally this meant she was going to utilize air to fill the Glyphs, not really even that much. The real reimancy was going to come after she had her six scrolls made.

This task accomplished the Sorceress started on connecting the Trigger to the three Barriers via Paths. Her Paths had the opposite pattern that her Barriers possessed, going diamond first, the rectangle, and the triangle followed soon after. She took care in ensuring the pattern was correct and that it flowed as desired, a mess up might very well confuse the overall sigil. She repeated the process three times, connecting everything nicely.

The Sorceress set down her brush and focused on her center, calling the Djed within herself to gather under her tongue. From here she willed it to rise up, taking the form a small and steady stream of purple gas. The res was drawn outwards from her body and split into three small clouds, which hovered above the Focus Glyphs. She willed the gas downwards, willing a transmutation to occur as she did. A gentle breeze was absorbed into each Focus, the Glyphs rippling slightly as the magic was absorbed.

The Sorceress waited for a chime, then another just to make certain that it wouldn't fall apart. Despite her apprehension, nothing of the sort occurred and the overall sigil looked very stable. Nodding to herself the sorceress promptly leaned over the scroll and allowed a dribble of her own saliva to fall from her lips and drip onto the Trigger.

The effect was instant, the Trigger activated the Switches which in turn lowered the Barrier Glyphs to cause the Focus' to release the magic contained within them. A gentle breeze flowed upwards, blowing the strands of hair from her face. So the scroll design actually would work, that only raised further experiments. The most prominent one being how much she could actually force into the Sigil? How much magic could she funnel onto one scroll? Enough to create an explosive weapon perhaps?

It was something to pursue then, especially considering the contents of her Wizard Examination were going to involve one such design. A superior weapon and means of transporting reimantic power. Perhaps something like a wooden ball? She was trying to display her expertise as a maker of weapons after all, Glyphed Weapons. She could see it now, Annalisa Marin, Master of Glyphed Reimantic Weapons Development. Okay, maybe the name would need to be shortened just a smidge.

Anna brushed the crumpled remains of the parchment from the table and produced six new sheets of parchment. It was time for more practical creations, she needed scrolls for her little foray into the Heartlands. That would increase her casting potential greatly.

by **Annalisa Marin** on November 23rd, 2013, 11:37 pm

Anna produced another few pieces of parchment, it was highly unlikely she'd mess up here as scroll creation was rather simple all things considered. The necessary Glyphs were common to her at this point and the Sigil itself was not exactly complicated, proof of how far she had come along. Once creating six scrolls would have looked to be quite a daunting task, both as a Glypher and a Reimancer. However things changed, her abilities had matured with time which resulted in her potential growing exponentially.

Her brush moved with confidence and surety as she drew her first Focus, the inverted triangle hardly taking that long to create. Once upon a time, in a classroom in Zeltiva she had possessed difficulty just making this one Glyph. Separating the style of her instructor from her own had been rather difficult, however in the end she had done it. Idly she wondered if either he or Velia could ever imagine her living upon Sahova. Probably not.

With the Focus done she followed up with her Barrier, a bit more care shown in its creation as messing up on the pattern would confuse the rest of the Sigil. Glyphing was all about balance and consistency, without either Glyphs were rather unreliable. The form the Glyphs took was unimportant, however that form needed to be consistent. It was one of many observations she'd made regarding the World Magic.

Idly she inked her brush again, having placed the last touches upon the Barrier and was now moving onto the Trigger. Anna decided it would be best if she continued with the theme of non-verbal Triggers, best to prevent catastrophe. The Sorceress thought for a moment, nodding to herself in deciding to make the Trigger 'when blood touches this Glyph'. It was simple enough, just a drop would activate the scroll when it touched the Trigger. It also prevented any Nuit from activating it on their own as they lacked blood.

The sorceress didn't bother with words in common, simply setting the scroll aside for the moment to start upon the second one. Another blank sheet of parchment was produced and her brush was already at work with the next series of Glyphs to be bled upon the parchment. As always she started with the Focus.

Really this task was rather monotonous, very single minded and actually rather dull. It was a necessity more than anything else, to create these weapons to be used against the dangers within the Heartlands. It wasn't exciting like testing a new Reimancy technique or exploring the limits of what Glyphing could accomplish. It was actual work, doing something because she had to.

She started on the next Barrier, the pattern of Glyphs following the same as it always did. The woman sighed as she finished up the next Barrier and started on the Trigger. It was the same as the previous one, it was relatively safe to make this the Trigger for each and every scroll made today as no Undead could use it against her. Paranoid, but in her position it paid to be very paranoid.

As before she set this one off to the side and started upon the third scroll, idly wondering if someone was going to chastise her for her copious use of ink and parchment. Then again, technically she was under orders to prepare in any manner she needed to. That hadn't been Amaryllis' exact wording but bending the truth never hurt anyone. Being the Chief Embalmer's apprentice was certainly a boon, no mistake there.

The Sorceress finished the Focus, already moving her brush along its familiar patterns of the Barrier. Really she'd actually be grateful to start casting once she had these scrolls completed, today had been nothing but dull business. Though, considering her splitting headache that remained from her fight against Maelstrom, it would likely only compound upon the horrid feelings.

As she started upon the Trigger the woman thought about exactly what kind of spell's she'd need to store. Lightning looked appealing, though if not used carefully it might very well cause a bit of a disaster in the Labs. Lava was likely to catch everything around it on fire, air was too defensive and wouldn't do much for her unless she was dealing with projectiles. Fire, in large enough quantities might very well incinerate most threats. A large amount of Earthen Needles would shred most anything, so that was a definite must.

When the Trigger was drawn out in its normal position in the upper right hand corner the Sorceress paused for a moment, rolling her shoulders and stretching slightly in her chair. She had to have been sitting here for about at least a Bell, probably longer. Unfortunately she was still only about half way done with the task of finishing up her scrolls. After this brief moment of respite the woman took up her brush again, starting on a new sheet of parchment.

by **Annalisa Marin** on November 24th, 2013, 12:43 am

As the tall woman started upon the fourth scroll this day she let her mind begin to wander, figuring she needed something to do to pass the time. Considering her current task and who she served it was no real surprise that her thoughts turned to Amaryllis and her petching documents. The thought brought a thoughtful crease to her brow, her mind drifting off. It wasn't like the Nuit could monitor her thoughts, though she honestly wouldn't have been surprised if that was in development by some crazed wizard.

Just what the petch was so important that those documents required so much of her attention? What were they anyway? Requisition orders? Messages from contacts in the Citadel? Suddenly Anna allowed the more humorous side of her consider the mystery documents.

Maybe there wasn't anything written on them at all. Maybe she just sat there and wrote gibberish all day to look important, bored out of that undead skull of hers. Anna allowed a snigger to escape her lips at the thought, still a bit vindictive towards the Embalmer for sending her into the Elements Sanctum blind. Would serve the corpse jumper right.

Unfortunately for the sorceress her thoughts became a little too expressed in her action, which made her strokes on the Barrier a little too sharp and wild. This came to bite her in the ass as when next she attempted to dip her brush she accidently knocked over the inkwell and spilled the black liquid all over the incomplete scroll. Annoyed and more than a little angry the woman jumped from her seat, hissing slight.

"Oh, petch me! That's just wonderful." She said to no one in particular.

Quickly she righted the inkwell, though the incomplete scroll was sadly unsalvageable at this point unfortunately. With a dramatic sigh the woman placed the ruined scroll with the failures from her previous experiment, sitting down once more to start anew. A fresh sheet of parchment was produced and placed away from the rest of the spill. She was certainly the glad for the Common Lab's copious amount of supplies. In Zeltiva that particular mistake would have cost her some Miza's.

Again she started on the stylized inverted triangle that made up her Focus, her attention being kept upon the task at hand. It didn't last and once again her thoughts drifted towards her rather mysterious Mistress. Really, other than her rank and her very skillful navigation of Citadel politics Anna knew next to nothing about Amaryllis. She had theories and guesses but nothing really solid or concrete.

The Focus was done and as she moved on to the Barrier Anna reflected upon what she did know, for fact. She was the Chief Embalmer, had a network of information that was likely unmatched in the Citadel, didn't show any signs of undeath that other Nuit did, and really had it out for this Kierra Doma. Also a possible peacock fetish, though that was hardly the most strange sexual deviancy Anna had ever heard of. That little mental image gave her a slight chuckle at her Mistress' expense.

Anna finished up the Barrier and started upon the Trigger, her brush strokes slowing accordingly. As before the Trigger simply required blood to be spilt upon it, a drop would be all that was needed. She completed this rather quickly, nodding with satisfaction as she viewed the finished product. With that she placed the completed scroll with the rest of her work and pulled another blank piece of parchment out. As before the Focus was the first thing drawn.

As she drew a jarring thought occurred to Anna. Did Amaryllis possess any ability to use magic? There was no reason to suspect that she didn't, yet in the whole of the time the sorceress had known her, which was not that long actually the Embalmer had never made any indication that she did. Her notes had never made mention of the Nuit using magic, though it was very possible that if she did use it then she simply kept it in reserve.

As she started on the Barrier the tall woman mused over what magic's could possibly fit the Chief Embalmer, the talents she could possess. She didn't have the appearance of a Reimancer if Anna were honest with herself, though considering that it was possible the Nuit had possessed some sort of... relationship with Roknus Maelstrom it wouldn't have really surprised her. Voiding seemed like it was too destructive to attribute to the Chief Embalmer, who valued the Palsa Hydrasa a great deal. Hypnotism... now that was a frightening and all to real possibility.

Anna shivered as she started on the Trigger, the thought of Amaryllis being a hypnotist was frightening to say the least. She already knew how to toy with emotions and manipulate the situation to her benefit, that she might be able to possess power comparable to Daren was certainly not comforting. Amaryllis without using magic was scary and threatening enough, the Nuit with magic was even more threatening.

The sorceress finished up the fifth scroll, placing it aside and starting upon the last one. Her brush moved more slowly, matching her ponderous thoughts regarding her Mistress. The biggest question of all was why the Nuit had chosen her exactly and what she hoped to gain from advancing Anna along.

The most obvious was a pawn in the game of Sahovan politics, a useful piece on her side of the board. However, considering her enemy and her chances of survival it seemed rather like a waste of time. Somehow Anna believed that her plans were more long term than that, as she was likely banking on the sorceress surviving these trials before her.

Anna started on the Barrier, thinking on the matter a little deeper. This venture into the Heartlands would bring Anna much prestige, if she survived. She'd gain the favor of Lector Qiao, the most powerful Nuit in all of Sahova and likely have more than a few doors open because of that. That kind of position was a useful place to have a pawn, especially one who owes a favor that could take any form.

Considering that the motives seemed obvious the sorceress could help but wonder of in fact they were less so, that they were completely beyond her own scope of understanding. Knowing the Embalmer that was the likely truth, which irritated Anna to no end. The game was no fun if the whole stakes were invisible to her.

The tall woman finished up the Trigger, throwing these thoughts to the back of her mind for the time being as she stood and rolled her shoulders. The scrolls were completed, now she just needed to prime them with spells.

by **Annalisa Marin** on November 24th, 2013, 2:07 am

The first scroll was moved away from the others by a good margin, ensuring that should the magic get out of control that nothing else important would be damaged. Naturally she also made certain to look around to make certain that she wouldn't run the risk of killing anyone. Reimancy, especially the Para-Elements, could be extremely destructive. Considering the power of her spells Anna found that she was constantly needing to check herself, to make certain she didn't kill someone. Dueling lesser reimancers would likely be a risky proposition simply because of how very deadly the majority of her arsenal was. Maelstrom had been the only time she could really cut loose, to fight for her life quite literally.

At her full power she knew that her spells would completely overwhelm and destroy the scroll, so she needed to tone down the lightning she would summon. Three moderately sized bolts would likely be enough to kill most anything, even whatever horrors the Heartlands held. They wouldn't overwhelm the Sigil either so it was a good compromise.

Nodding to herself the Sorceress willed her Djed to gather under her tongue again, focusing it to pool at a singular point. From here she willed the vital essence of self to push outwards and form as a purple gas. Each breath saw more and more of the gas be pushed outwards and the Sorceress allowed a sigh of pleasure to escape her lips. It was taking the edge off of her weariness, which was certainly very welcome.

She willed the res to gather over the scroll, splitting into three separate clouds of somewhat respectable size. Anna backed up a little, making certain that she was a somewhat safe distance from the res. Lightning could very easily kill the user if not used carefully, it was a very chaotic and fickle Para-Element. The sorceress curled her fingers downwards, which was the signal for the res to arc downwards towards the Focus and ignite.

The air around the res crackled malevolently, some of the hairs on Anna's neck standing on end as she felt the odd prickly feeling that came with lightning being formed nearby. The newly born purple lightning bolts looked like spears of destructive light, speeding down towards the Focus frighteningly quickly. The expected thunderous boom would never come however as the trio of lightning bolts were absorbed into the Focus, priming the first scroll.

Anna recovered from the tingling feeling and moved the scroll aside cautiously, blowing herself up certainly not being on the agenda. Likely if any human or Nuit were struck with that much lightning they would be reduced to chunks of flesh. The Sorceress felt the waves of pleasure from the Djed expenditure, the urge whispering in her mind for her to do it again. For one of the few times in her history of magic use, the woman decided to comply with the urge.

Another of the unfilled scrolls was produced and already more gaseous res was being formed, the urge strengthening as she placed more of the vital substance outside of her body. The woman stepped back once again as a trio of clouds were gathered over the scroll, taking a couple of deep breaths to attempt to calm herself. She couldn't let her urge rule her, the lightning bolts she created now were hardly the most powerful spells she could create. Besides, she still had four more scrolls to fill after this.

Anna curled her fingers downwards again, moving her arms down to signal for the clouds to repeat the previous actions of the other clouds of purple res. Purple sparks danced in the air dangerously, harbingers of the powerful and deadly constructs to be made. Less than a tick later the rest of the transmutation occurred, another almost blindingly fast salvo of lightning arcing down towards the Focus.

Anna moaned softly in pleasure as the trio of purple lightning bolts were absorbed by the Focus, ecstasy alight in her grey eyes. Truly there was no sensation that approached the sheer primal joy of casting, the placing of the powers of the world at her fingertips. Likely if Rhysol had not claimed her first she would have been a very devoted worshiper of the elemental deities. Already she respected Ivak, Zulrav, Makutsi, and Semele second to the Lord of Lies. Without them her power would be useless.

The mist cleared from her vision and Anna reigned in her pleasurable thoughts before they wandered down a very dangerous path. She couldn't afford to be controlled by her magic here, precision was needed to create these scrolls. She still had a bit more work ahead of her, thought the really difficult and taxing casting was now out of the way. Para-Elements, being a combination of two elements working in harmony often were a bit more taxing. The remainder of her spells, while moderately sized, would simply be utilizing the Prime Elements of Fire and Earth.

by **Annalisa Marin** on November 24th, 2013, 2:57 am

Anna held both of her hands out before her, willing Djed to gather underneath the palms of her hands. From here she willed the vital energy to push outwards, translucent purple liquid gathering in the palms of her hands rather quickly. Again the urge was brought to the fore of her mind, however her casting here was not going to be overly large compared to the lightning bolts she had previously discharged. Simple firebolts were going to be contained within the next two scrolls, nothing fancy but each scroll would contain three of the simply reimancy constructs.

The warm vital fluid moved up past her wrists, sheathing her hands in the purple liquid. Anna willed the liquid to move outwards from her body, three balls of smooth liquid forming easily in the air over the new scroll. Compared to the lightning this task was nearly as simply as breathing to her, the lower tier spells being nothing to her. Theoretically she could probably have summoned a storm of the things and still have reserves to spare, her reserves being quite deep in terms of res to draw upon. Nothing as powerful as Roknus Maelstrom yet but still rather powerful.

Once the balls were in position Anna willed them to start circling above the scroll, flicking her wrist idly as they danced around one another. The res ignited and small tinges of pleasure washed over her mind as the three balls of flame were born. The purple flames danced and flickered, the outer layer of the balls having been transmuted to flame. Most skilled reimancers layered their transmutations to keep maximum control of their spells until the last possible moment, Anna was one such reimancer. This was especially true for most fire related spells, letting the flames get out of hand was a poor idea.

With a slight movement of her index finger she signaled the dancing balls of flame to speed down towards the Focus, one after the other. As they approached the scroll the Sorceress willed the inner layer of res within them to transmute in sequence. The first one was absorbed into the Focus, followed by the second and finally the third. The flames followed the similar path of the lightning, appearing to have vanished for all intents and purposes.

The urge was now a little more forceful, and the desire to cast more was settling very firmly on her mind. Perhaps if she made the next spell a little bigger, just a little bit larger...

No. She had a plan and she was going to stick to that plan. Carefully Anna set the primed scroll aside and brought out the next empty scroll, res already forming in her palms. She took another few deep breaths, trying to keep control of her emotions as long as she could. This was not the place to lose control, she controlled her magic not the other way around. She was a sorceress, a professional wizard for all intents and purposes. Being consumed by her own powers was not how she intended to go out.

Again the woman held out her hands before her, willing the translucent purple liquid to sheath her hands. As before she willed the liquid to move outwards from her body, forming three hovering balls of res to circle over the scroll. Today was a day of repetition it would seem, though the Reimancy was a fair bit more exciting than the act of Glyphing common scrolls. It was also a little thrilling to control the dangerous elements and stuff them away inside of pieces of parchment, turning mere parchment into deadly weapons.

Anna flicked her index finger out again, willing the res circling above the scroll to ignite. Three balls of dancing flames flickered into existence as the outer layer of the balls ignited, the action sending a pleasure fueled shudder down her spine. Sex didn't even come close to this kind of power trip. Well... okay maybe that was stretching it a little. Anna had to admit that ever since leaving Zeltiva she had possessed one big itch to scratch, unfortunately the island's undead inhabitants were likely lacking in ability. Ah, such was the trade off for living in a place of unequalled magical knowledge.

As before Anna willed the Firebolts to speed downwards towards the Focus of the scroll, transmuting the inner layers as they drew close. They entered the scroll one after the other, priming the Sigil to the brim with the reimantic power. The sorceress allowed her shoulders to slacken slightly, the exhaustion of the amount of casting here starting to get to her. Unfortunately she knew that she couldn't stop now, as there were only two more scroll to fill up. Once she was done with that then she could rest.

by **Annalisa Marin** on November 24th, 2013, 3:40 am

Anna decided to pause for a brief chime or two to gather herself, to try and maintain control of the waves of pleasure and the urge to cast ever larger spells. She drew in a deep breath through her nose, holding it in her chest, only to release it slowly out her mouth. The tall woman pinched her temples, squeezing them to try and stave off the splitting headache. The taste of iron was not yet on her lips and her nose was not yet leaking blood, so she wasn't at her limits or near the. However if it remained to be seen if that would be the case if she continued as she did.

After those chimes Anna allowed a loud sigh to escape her lips, releasing her hold on her temples as she did. Just two more spells, that was all she needed to squeeze out here and then she could finally rest. They weren't going to be very large either so it wasn't going to be that big of an issue. At least that was the hope, overgiving was certainly not something she needed or wanted to experience anytime soon. Her fight with Maelstrom had already pushed her towards her limits, going past them now and bleeding into overgiving territory held high priced. Very high.

The sorceress gathered her Djed underneath the flesh of her arms, willing it to push outwards once it was focused there. Fat purple droplets formed on her skin, rather like sweat but not quite natural. She willed these droplets to move outwards from her flesh and hover in the air all around her. Dozens of the things surrounded her, shaping to her whim to resemble a shark's teeth in both size and sharpness.

Anna willed the droplets to move upwards and over the scroll, sighing in pleasure but feeling the exhaustion of the actions weigh further upon her. It didn't really register at the moment as the sorceress was so focused upon the task at hand, willing the outer layer of each of the spikes to harden and transmute. Soon enough dozens of small earthen spikes hovered above the scroll, poised and ready to be released down into the Focus.

The tall woman held them there for a moment, before pointing to the scroll with her index finger. The things immediately and very quickly swarmed downwards, a barrage of earth that would likely have shredded through whatever was in their paths normally. It was not her most powerful of spells, but if nothing else it might prove a distraction if she encountered a particularly nasty creature in the Heartlands.

The shards of earth poured into the Focus, the shredding storm being taken into the Sigil to prime it. As she finished a similar production of res was formed on her arms, the urge pounding at her skull for her to produce more res. For a moment she almost did, almost completely surrendered herself to the feeling of casting. The utter joy of toying with the base elements of the world. Through an effort of will though she managed to keep control, preparing a similar display for the final scroll.

This was the last thing she needed to prime, then she could simply store them away into scroll cases for when they were needed. Hopefully these would be enough to stave off any threats and increase the ceiling of her spell output. There was no prepared like being overly prepared. Perhaps, if she actually managed to convince someone to accompany her on this seemingly mad quest, she'd also need to construct scroll for their use. Though in that case there might not be a Heartlands left when they left, as they would be a walking arsenal of reimancy.

Anna willed the droplets out from her and rose them up above the last scroll, gritting her teeth as she willed the transmutation to occur. Dozens of the earthen spikes hovered above the scroll, poised to be unleashed at her command. The taste of iron was now upon her lips as she willed the constructs downwards, watching as the shards were absorbed by the scroll.

The sorceress allowed herself to slump back in her chair, pinching her temples once more in an attempt to stem the throbbing pain within her skull. A slight trickle of blood was felt working its was down her nose, which she quickly covered with her free arm. Considering her Triggers it would be very, very unwise to bleed all over the very dangerous scroll. Being blow to smithereens by her own magic would be rather embarrassing after all.

Idly the woman reached to her torn cloak and tore off a small section, scrunching it up and sticking the piece of cloth up her offending nostril. That should handle that little problem long enough for her to safely store the scrolls away in the nearby scroll cases. They were cheap and made from leather, but they would keep the scrolls safe which is all Anna was concerned with.

Wiping her clammy and sweaty hands on her cloak the tall woman slowly stood and carefully, delicately rolled up the pieces of parchment and stored them away. This task accomplished the Sorceress gathered them up and headed towards the direction of the stairs, her steps slightly uneven as she did. Six scrolls completed, one step closer to being prepared for the Heartlands and not facing a sure death.