Closed [Gug Andjak]A True Staff part II: The "Staff" Step[Marin]

[Clyde Sullins]

As Anna spoke in turn, Clyde listened while continuing at his work. Winding a layer of d-wire all the way down the length of the staff was a bit time consuming, and required one to pay close attention to the actions of your hands. After all he did not want to say make a pair of wires overlap, he was uncertain what such a mistake might cause to happen. Perhaps nothing but... But better safe than sorry and a smoldering pile of djed melted slag. “ I see, so it would naturally go without saying that considering the hazards of crafting one would need to establish a balance of sorts during the actual crafting. What of the actual supplies? You mentioned a charging hammer, and this pedestal looks rather ornate, and you have reagents to place in the item itself. Are those all one needs then in the actual process of crafting an item?” "Well... Yes and no... I suppose your going to get tired of hearing me say that... For the basics of Magecrafting, all one needs is a area to keep the item in, preferably a pedestal, plus charging items, the basic reagents used, and a Magesmith. And a place to cool the object down when done. If that's all you want, just a basic effect, then yes that's all you would technically need. But the deeper the enchantment, the deeper the focus on a specific property of the item in question, then it is possible the normal reagents are not enough." "For instance I am planning to do 3 enhancements to the structural nature of the staff, by doing three steps of durability enhancement. But with so much focus on one area, there is a greater chance of complications occurring, and so I plan to also use a catalyst to stabilize the item. I'll be adding that later. So with a simpler enchantment only the basic items are needed, but for a more advanced one... More advanced and rare things are required." As Anna once more continued talking, Clyde kept on with the wiring of the staff. His hands were starting to get a bit tired from the repeated motion, but he kept at it as he was almost done. “Judging from the bedroll over there would it be safe to assume that this process is rather time consuming? You also mentioned having made the staff for durable in the process of your previous crafting, so what you are saying is that compared to a normal staff made the same way from the same material it would then be markedly stronger? Say if one tried to smash it with a warhammer, would it simply deflect the blow easily?” "Yes, it is very time consuming. This MC 4 item I am making, is probably going to take at least... A total of 15 days to do alone. If I had another Magesmith to assist I could cut down on that time, or if I was more skilled I could likely do the steps quicker... But the more steps you do, the more and more time it takes." "Oh, and MC means Magecraft Coefficient, it marks the number of steps of Magecrafting enchantment laid upon the specific item. So MC 4 means it has 4 steps to it." "As for the exact nature of the enchantment, of a single step, it is hard to say. It would certainly be better than a average staff, more hardy, but with a single step increase? I cannot say exactly how much. Perhaps a normal staff giving the three durability steps I plan to do could do as you say, but it is not a exact thing, I can't say exactly what it could do." "Also, the base item itself comes into question. As I said, the base staff was izentor crafted, so it is already pretty strong as compared to a normal staff... But with these three added steps, I would imagine nothing short of magic or something magically enhanced could break or damage this staff once it was done. Or at least nothing you are likely to run across on a average day." Done with the wiring, Clyde set down the roll of wire, and picked up the clamps. He applied one to each end, and then took a moment to look at the staff as it laid upon the pedestal. Clyde turned and began to head back to his tools, to pick up the next thing he needed. A jar of special mineral powder which was needed for the next step. “So tell me Mr. Sullins, what exactly shall we be doing today? I do believe you offered to allow me to try my hand at this craft, if I recall our arrangement correctly.” Picking up the jar, he headed back to Annalisa, and showed her the contents. "This is special mineral powder used in this step. Grab a pinch and start helping me rub it into the staff and the d-wire. Then, we are both going to hold onto the staff, on different ends, and attempt to use a personal magic through the staff, and have the effects issue forth from the skin of the wood. Ah... And which magic are you going to do?" Clyde took up a pinch of the powder and turned to the staff, and began to rub it in, getting it in between the wires, all over them, rubbing it in well till it was down all the way to the wood and began to rub it in there also.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna smirked as Clyde commented on her tiring of him saying that she was both right and wrong, considering that she had never practiced this magic the sorceress considered getting even a little understanding useful. The man’s explanation was rather clear and concise, carrying every bit of information that was needed and granting her more than a little insight. So it was likely that the Common Labs would have what she needed if she ever intended to try this herself, however for more advanced things she’d be limited. That was perfectly fine to the sorceress; she had an interest in Magecraft only insofar as it could tell her more about how to undermine her enemy.

Catalyst, the word suggested something that could affect greater change or evolution in the crafting process. She assumed that this was one of the more rare reagents that Clyde spoke of, though she opted not to press too far. The mage was being instructive most certainly, but Anna knew that sometimes there were things one would prefer to keep secret. Though she did have to wonder exactly how much those three steps in durability would be useful, were three in any one area considered a lot? Apparently so, if it required rare items for the creations without complications.

15 days of straight crafting, if nothing else Anna’s respect for Clyde’s dedication to his craft raised more than just a touch. The tall woman had managed similar things leading up to her examination, though they were geared solely towards Glyphing. World magic was not Anna’s field of expertise by any means, though she knew dabbling’s beyond Glyphing, such as with Summoning and Spiritism. It wasn’t that she didn’t respect them, more that personal magic resonated much more easily to her, the act of learning it was relatively simple as evidenced with her quick progression in Voiding.

Anna filed away the knowledge of MC meaning Magecraft Coefficient and made a note to inquire just what the petch ‘Izentor’ meant and how it affected the staff. Clyde finished his wiring and moved to place the clamps on either end of the staff, its significance still escaping here however she memorized the process. Who knew, perhaps the knowledge of how to craft a Magic Staff might very well come in handy if she ever pursued Magecraft seriously. Anything that could augment personal magic was something Anna was very interested in.

Clyde offered her a strange powdery substance, which he dubbed mineral powder as if in response to her question regarding assisting in this process. His instructions seemed simple enough and Anna took a pinch of the powder as instructed and rubbed it in her hands, covering them first to better aid in spreading it along the staff. When Anna actually laid her hands on the staff she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and a slight tingle run down her spine. If there had been any doubts in her mind that this item was magical then they were already fast fading.

Anna ran her fingers along the collection of wires; d-wire Clyde had called them, and spread the mineral powder along it, plucking at it to get between them as needed. She touched the wood of the staff itself, rubbing it down as well as she could and when she felt the need arose she grabbed another pinch of the powder and continued to apply it. As she did this she gave a good long pause to Clyde question regarding what personal magic she intended to use in this process of charging the staff itself.

The tall woman felt that Clyde was both a possible ally and still a product of curiosity, his name and mark from Rhysol being rather big curiosities. However the fool that trusted too easily was a very dead fool soon enough, and Amaryllis had taught her well in being careful who she could trust. That being no one other than herself, others were allies or tools to be used in her path to power. So it would probably be best to do what Clyde had already seen her do, reimancy, and keep her skills in Voiding a secret for the time being.

“Hmm… I figure Reimancy would be the best to use. Aquamancy spacifically, it’s not overly dangerous and rather easy to control. And you, Mr. Sullins? What do you intend to use?” The tall woman asked simply as she continued to apply the mineral powder to the staff.

“Also, forgive my lesser experience towards world magic, but what is d-wire? I’ve never encountered it before now.” Anna inquired, curling her fingers around the staff as she rubbed the powder along a bare patch between the wires and the wood of the staff.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde was a teacher at heart, a instructor, and it often carried over into his explanations. Even in such a simple setting as this, discussing the ways of Magecrafting, his skills in teaching tended to come to the forefront. At this point he was not bothered at all to teach while also doing another task, and could still get his point across quite well. But then, he had spent quite a good bit of his life teaching. It was one of the few non-magic related skills he had refined to a high level of usage. Clyde began the process of rubbing in the mineral powder, taking up a "pinch" of it, and rubbing it along the soft face of the wood. He rubbed in a pinch here and there, a dab on this bit, a small focus of the powder in this spot... Occasionally he would also take a bit and rub it up and down the length of the wire. After awhile they had managed to suffuse the surface of the staff with the powder, along with the d-wire. Once they began there next step, it would open up the "pores" of the staff so to speak, and allow it to suck it in, and take on some of their properties. Once all of the powder had vanished from sight, it would be done. A process that would be caused by the powder and the d-wire reacting as djed and magic was flowed through them, thus sinking the effects into the staff itself. Or at least that's how Clyde believed it worked. “Hmm… I figure Reimancy would be the best to use. Aquamancy spacifically, it’s not overly dangerous and rather easy to control. And you, Mr. Sullins? What do you intend to use?” Clyde nodded hearing her say she would do Reimancy. It was the same magic she had last used before him. The only one. Clyde on the other hand, was not quite sure which to use. He'd tried more or less every personal magic on this process at one time or another. Reimancy... Shielding... Auristics... The only one he had not tried so far, was voiding... "Voiding. That should work. I'll be interested to see how exactly it appears when used for this process." “Also, forgive my lesser experience towards world magic, but what is d-wire? I’ve never encountered it before now.” As she asked this question, a small smile came over Clyde's face, and he gestured at the wire wrapped around the staff. "This. This is d-wire, also known as Djed-Wire. Its a conduit for magical and djed based things and effects. Its a work of Glyphing, that allows it to become magically conductive." "I suppose in a way that's what we are doing, we are imbuing that djed carrying effect inherent in d-wire, and in some forms of Glyphing, and putting it into this staff. At a basic level, that's what a Magic Staff is. Honestly I just know how it works, not exactly how one makes it, I only learned of it when I was first instructed in making a Magic Staff. But being on Sahova, I am sure you could find someone who knows how to make it, or perhaps a book or two on the subject." Clyde paused for a moment, and then gestured at one end of the staff. "Alright then, lets get to it. Just flow your magic into the staff through the wires, and have the effect come out. Once you've done it enough, all of this powder will have disappeared, and we will know we are done." With that Clyde laid his hands upon his end of the staff, and wrapped his fingers around the staff, making sure he had skin to skin contact with both the wire and wood covered in mineral powder. Then he began to visualize nothing, clearing his mind, imaging a great big void in his mind, a emptiness through which all his thoughts flowed... He took a few moments to breath, and then began to will the opening to the void to manifest, to break open, to tear through the air and empty it of all meaning and substance... It took about a full chime of concentration, but then finally a small opening into the void bloomed into life. However it was not coming out where his hand was... Instead it had opened up a few inches above the surface of the staff, a good 2 feet away from his hand. He could feel the pull on his djed, as he fed a stream of energy to the tiny pinprick of a portal. With his will and a small stream of increased djed, the portal slowly began to swell, till it was half as wide as a miza.

[Annalisa Marin]

So, not only was Clyde a Magecrafter and Glypher, but he was also a Voider as well? Thus far she had only seen world magic come from him; it was good to know he possessed some ability regarding personal magic. Of course the question was if he was as good if not better at the art of Voiding as she was, though considering they would be casting together soon it was likely she’d be able to find out. The best way to know was to watch and see how long it would take for him just to manifest a Portal, for her it took roughly about ten ticks when unaided by Glyphing. Before it had taken her anything from thirty ticks to a chime.

Anna finished rubbing down the staff and stood back, picking up a nearby cloth and wiping her hand of any remaining mineral powder so as not to risk getting it on her good robes by accident. As she did this she listened to Clyde’s explanation of d-wire, its real name being Djed Wire, and immediately was interested when he noted it was a product of Glyphing. Hearing its properties it sounded much like a portable, multiuse Pathway Glyph which was certainly something Anna could see a use for. That kind of powerful item could very well open many doors to her, especially in regards to traps and the like.

The tall woman was mildly disappointed that Clyde had no knowledge of how to make it, however he was indeed correct. Sahova was an ancient Citadel around before the Valterrian, if any place had knowledge of how to craft this d-wire it would be here. A little trip to the Great Library would need to be arranged, Anna had no doubt that knowing how to create d-wire would make her all the more useful in the eyes of the Citadel. Who knew, it might be cause for others to seek her out rather than the other way around.

Her thoughts turned back to their task, Clyde moving to take one end of the staff and Anna moved to the opposite side quickly enough. She mirrored his motions, placing both hands upon the staff and wrapping her fingers tightly around it. However rather than immediately begin to pull at her Djed she watched Clyde concentrate on opening his Portal. She counted silently in her mind upwards, halting her count at thirty ticks as she felt she had an accurate gauge of his comfort in the art. He was as inexperienced as Anna herself had been once upon a time; mentally she shrugged it off and started focusing inwards.

She closed her eyes and found that center of her being, gazing mentally upon that tapestry that made up her being. The weave of her Djed was a delicate thing, she needed to always be cautious of unraveling too much otherwise a tangled mess would be created. She tugged lightly at a strand and focused the energy towards her hands, willing the vital liquid known as res to form. Her eyes opened to a curious sight that caused her to frown slightly, it having been unexpected but then change to slight awe as the implications set it.

Translucent purple res, not much really but a small puddle’s worth had risen out from the wood of the staff itself. That was amazing, Anna had always generated her res from her own body by here thanks to this wire and setting she had drawn res from an object. If this was what a Magic Staff could actually do as Clyde had previously stated, then Anna found herself wishing to acquire one at some point. She could think of plenty of rather nasty things she could do with the ability to draw res from a place beyond her body.

Idly and with laughably little conscious effort on her part Anna willed the small puddle of res upwards and gathered it in a small ball. She split it into two layers, one thin outer one and a thick inner one in preparation for transmutation. A quick whim from the sorceress was all it took and then suddenly the outer layer shimmered slightly, becoming a reflective glassy surface of undiluted water. Attractive forces from the remaining res prevented the liquid from simply dripping to the staff, instead she kept it hovering.

Anna noticed that Clyde had finished opening his small Portal to the Void, it having appeared above the staff rather than near his hands. Again this was only further displaying the properties at work here and they were certainly enough to get Anna excited. She was a little girl again and it was her birthday, new facets of magic she had never before seen or considered were being opened up to her. If she did not have some pride to think of she might have thanked Clyde for introducing them to her, instead she watched the staff carefully for a reaction. It might have just been her imagination but it looked like the mineral powder was being taken into the staff as they worked their magic.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde looked up to see that Anna had also began her magics, flowing res out of the staff, the purple substance the same as when he last saw it. She flowed it about and transmuted it, water coming forth and floating about via the remaining attractive effect of the res. Turning his own focus back to the staff and his portal, Clyde saw that it had shrunk once more when his attention had wavered. Willing it to grow once more, he fed it a steady supply of djed, and watched it swell back to its earlier size. He kept on feeding it djed, watching as it grew as big as a miza, and then kept going like the tide flowing outward. As he looked at the staff, he could see the layer of mineral powder, and it appeared to slowly be absorbed into the makeup of the staff itself. The "pores" of the wood hungrily sucking it up and taking in the magics effects. But there was still more left. Which meant Clyde was not down. He continued to will his magic to grow, to expand, and felt a tickle on his neck. As he did he saw a smear of the powder vanish, leaving only the clear blue skin of the wood. And another spot. And another. He was almost there. Giving it one final push, he willed it to grow as large as he could, flowing as much djed as he could in a single moment, and watching as it grew large enough for him to fit his hand through. The edge of the portal grew a bit, then wavered back, back and forth for a few ticks, until finally it reached equilibrium and he could grow it no more. That was the limit of his power. Feeling rather drained from his voiding, Clyde cut off the trickle of djed to the staff, and watched as it stood still for a moment. However a few moments later it began to slowly shrink. Clyde knew if he left it be for a bit, it would eventually close upon itself without his attention. As he looked back at the staff, he saw that all of the powder was gone. His arms ached a bit, his eyes drooped from being tired, but he was happy regardless to have another step done, and to have the one step done that required another mage. "Alright, alright, I think that's good... Cut off the magic." Clyde stepped back from the staff, and watched for a chime or so as the voiding portal slowly shrank, until finally it closed upon itself. Once it did Clyde would take off the clamps from either end of the staff, and unwind the wire. There was not a single sign that chimes ago the entire staff had been coated in powder. All of it had been absorbed. Heading back to the table, Clyde put away the wire and the powder and clamps, and picked up a pair of hammers that where charged. "Alright then, how about we do a bit of work on the next structural step of durability enhancement, and then we can call it a day."

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna watched as the powder was indeed absorbed by the staff as she kept the attractive forces going upon her res, a thin constant trickle of Djed fueling the magic. The sorceress opted to simply keep it like this, figuring the force of attraction would be more than enough to charge the staff as needed after she had drawn res from it shaft. Clyde for his part continued to work his Portal; since her particular spell was hardly taxing the tall woman opted to observe him as he worked the personal magic. Anna was no aurist so she could not view the process of his casting on a deeper level, however she could easily see his struggles and concentration.

Voiding as Anna had discovered was a very delicate discipline, as well as a highly dangerous one given her experience with things that dwelled beyond. It took a disciplined mind to properly utilize and a great deal of intense focus, however the sorceress felt it held even more potential than reimancy in terms of sheer destructive power. Clyde’s expression was one of utter concentration as he worked the weave of his Djed and fed it to the hungry vortex, expanding it slowly. As he did the powder continued to vanish as both wizards let their Djed flow through the staff to fuel their respective spells.

In this moment Anna felt something, she couldn’t say what exactly at the moment but actually collaborating with this man felt… good. It wasn’t merely because he was a fellow Chaon, or even a fellow pulser but rather because he was a wizard of power comparable to herself. He was skilled in some fields, and he obviously was unskilled in others. Anna certainly didn’t trust him, however she felt somewhat comfortable about working with him in the future if the opportunity presented itself. A rare ghost of a smile flickered on her face as she focused her Djed through the d-wire; it vanished so quickly that it could have been dismissed as a trick of the light however.

After all the powder was gone Clyde said they had accomplished what they had needed and Anna simply removed her hands from the staff, moving the res without forcing her Djed through an intermediary. The tall woman moved the small ball of water coated res towards her as Clyde collected the clamps and wire from the staff, opening her mouth to allow it entrance. The sorceress closed her lips around the small ball, the attractive forces being dropped as the water was swallowed in a single gulp. The res she gathered around her tongue and willed to return to her body, the rather bland taste filling her taste buds for a bit before it was reabsorbed.

It appeared that this was all one needed to do in order to make a Magic Staff so Anna memorized the process carefully, filing it away in case she would ever need to draw on this knowledge again. She doubted she would ever make much of a Magesmith, however it helped to keep one’s options and mind open to possibilities. Who knew, she might be able to use this knowledge when bargaining with another Magesmith. If nothing else she had emerged from that experienced more enlightened towards the act of Magecraft, which would arm her better when she gained enough support to start to actively move against Silverheart.

Clyde returned with a pair of hammers that looked a bit odd, it appeared that she would be getting to try her hand at actually assisting in adding a step beyond the Magic Staff step. Anna was a little excited about this, as it would now doubt further her knowledge of the actual act of crafting an item with increased traits. The sorceress suspected that with the knowledge gained from this little session she could probably attempt to try her hand at the act, though with much emphasis on stabilization glyphs before ever daring on her own.

“Certainly, Mr. Sullins. Seems like a fine idea to me, though I’ll likely be pestering you with endless questions as a fair warning. Better to know something as well as one can, especially in regards to magic. Those hammers for instance, are we simply going to strike the staff like a blacksmith might towards metal?” Anna inquired, remembering watch the slaves in the Forge work their metal.

[Clyde Sullins]

It seemed if nothing else, Anna was quick to take up the idea of actually doing some Magecrafting, and trying her hand at it. Clyde let out a small sigh, knowing how it was when a new initiate to Magecrafting tried their hand... His last time working with one had been his own apprentice back in Ravok. He had to go back over her work, and readjust the flow of the djed so it was in harmony. A new Magecrafter just did not have that "sense" for balance within a enchantment, did not have a sense for the lay of the lines of power within the object, and where and how the power should be added. “Certainly, Mr. Sullins. Seems like a fine idea to me, though I’ll likely be pestering you with endless questions as a fair warning. Better to know something as well as one can, especially in regards to magic. Those hammers for instance, are we simply going to strike the staff like a blacksmith might towards metal?” Clyde shook his head. Striking them like a smithy did a hunk of metal... Magecrafting was more complex than such a simple thing, deeper and wider and more destructive if one failed... One would end up with far worse than a mangled piece of steel if one mishandled Magecrafting. "It's not about the power of the strike, not about how hard you hit it, as it is in smithing with metal. This is about... The contact of the strike. The angle of it, the bend of the hand, how you come at it. One could tap it as daintily as one wanted, and do good Magecrafting, or one could hit it with all ones strength and do nothing at all, or do badly." Clyde paused for a moment. Usually in another magic he would give a example, and then have the student follow. But since he needed to go back and fix any issues her action caused, he would need to let her go first. "I want you to hold the hammer, and think of the change you want to affect. Picture it in your mind, of the staff becoming more hardy, more sturdy, of being impregnable... I want you to focus on that, on those hard thoughts, steel, stone, a stout tree that has stood for centuries... And then picturing all this, focusing your thoughts on this, look at the staff..." "Look at the staff, and strike it in a way that does not harm it, but that injects it with djed along the grains of its flows. Go with the grain. Then give the staff a few light taps along it." That said, Clyde began to open his Auristical vision. He had been given a few chimes to rest after his Voiding, and was feeling marginally better. Luckily Voiding did not tend to be as draining as Reimancy could be... Even more luckily, Auristics tended to be even less draining than either of those magics. Clyde focused on the staff before him, and willed djed to his eyes, willing his auristical vision to bloom into sight. It also helped that he was ensconced within the Glyphs. Any Auras outside of the barriers would be blocked, which meant the only Aura's he could even observe would be within the circles. With less distractions, it would be easier to concentrate. Of course he did not yet consider the fact that Anna was also within the circle...

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna took the hammer and listened carefully to Clyde’s explanation regarding how Magecraft actually functioned, pondering the implications of his words and her understanding of them. So, Magecraft was about precision and balance and knowing how to get a feel for the overall level of control one had over their own creation. The sorceress really did not want to know how badly a mistake could petch her over, so she opted not to think over much on how terrible it might be. Instead she focused upon Clyde’s instruction as she examined her new tool for her job today, pondering its use and how to best approach the act of striking the staff.

She admired the relatively light and ornate charging hammer, testing its heft as she would her sword and tightening her grip around it experimentally. Luckily Glyphers tended to have steady hands and Anna was no exception to that, hopefully that would contribute to her finding a balance. According to Clyde, this whole thing would be easier if she was an Aurist and while Anna knew of the art through light study she had never applied herself to it. Perhaps it might be a good idea to look into learning more about the discipline if she intended to delve any further into Magecraft.

Anna heard Clyde’s instruction regarding how to strike the staff and the process of how she should do it, carefully going over the ideas in her mind as she slowly approached the pedestal. So she needed to find a good pattern and balance, to attain some form of symmetry as she worked on charging the item’s Djed and changing it. Her tongue peeked out from behind her lips and ran itself over her lips, her usual tell of being a little nervous regarding trying this whole thing. Then again, she was not alone and no doubt Clyde would stop her if he noticed anything going horribly wrong.

She closed her eyes, beginning to cycle her breathing in a common meditative manner in through her nose and out slowly from her mouth. She attempted to clear her mind of all distractions other than needing to visualize exactly what Clyde had told her, it helped that this part of the labs was fairly isolated. She just needed to find her center, just like when visualizing her own Djed in order to use personal magic. It was different this time certainly but the idea was the same.

A tree, strong and sturdy against the advances of time and the wear of the elements took shape in her mind’s eye. Its branches were many and thick, gnarled with age and its trunk was large and indomitable when confronted with threats of mundane means. The staff was that tree, a structure that would stand as a testament to the power of Djed and of the wizard that wielded it. She visualized the staff before her becoming sturdy beyond sturdy, being strong enough that even the mightiest of weapons forged by mortal hands would be insufficient against it.

This image firmly in her mind and her mind cleared for the moment Anna opened her eyes and ran her eyes up and down the staff, grey eyes becoming slightly clouded as she attempted to block out everything else. The only thing that was important was this staff and the hammer in her hands, the universe was empty of anything else but them. It was her mindset she took when Glyphing, pushing aside all others and devoting her full attention to her project. She kept in mind Clyde’s words, strike the staff in a way that would not harm it but rather would infuse the staff with Djed and to continue from there along the grain.

She rose the hammer up over a certain spot, her mind fully focused on the idea of adding strength to the staff and making it something more. With these concepts in mind Anna very softly and almost timidly tapped at the spot, feeling the hairs on her neck immediately rise from the radiation of Djed from the object. The tall woman would give a very brief glance to Clyde before starting to give light taps along the grain of the staff, the strikes still held a bit of hesitation behind them. She was almost trying to be a little too cautious in how she went about her task. Still she held her focus upon the actual act of her tapping, stopping once she had given about four of them along the grain after her initial tap and favoring Clyde with a raised eyebrow.

[Clyde Sullins]

As Clyde watched Anna do her strikes, a loud sound reverberated through his head. It was like the clang of a bell, and then another, and another, and another, as the sounds bounced off of each other. A frown crossed his face, as he saw the echoes of the sound reverberate through the staff and its djed. Petch... It only took another moment, and then swift as could be he bent down and tapped the staff three times with a light but firm strike, once in the middle, then again one third of the way up the staff from the middle towards the top, but striking the side almost where it touched the pedestal. Then the third strike, two thirds of the way up the staff from the middle, but in the other direction near the base... This strike was on the opposite side as the second strike, but closer to the top side than the last strike. As he made these quick blows more notes rose into his ears, and the expanding waves of djed and sound inter-meshed in a better way. Not as good perhaps as if he had done it all his own, but far from the first sour notes Anna had made... Normally his strikes sounded like the peal of metal on metal, a thin sword blade tapped on stone and sent reverberating... But hers sounded like someone gonging a thick iron bell. "No. You focused too much on the hammer, too much on the staff, and not enough on yourself. You have too believe the hammer will do what you want, will change what you want. You can't be so afraid of the hammer damaging the staff that you don't even hit it. You have too trust yourself, or how will the staff trust you?" Clyde paused for a moment, and then handed Anna his hammer without looking at her. Instead he continued to stare at the staff. "Bring me the left most hammer, and the hammer three from the right end, and set these used ones aside." With that Clyde was done, and waited expectantly for Anna to bring him his indicated hammers. If she went to them as directed, she would see that they were lined up by size, with the smallest ones being the farthest to the left, and the biggest ones being the farthest to the right. The tiniest one which Clyde had indicated was small enough that one could hold it between thumb and forefinger, and was made of solid gold. The other was a bigger hammer, almost as large as one used in smithing.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna watched Clyde frown and then quickly tap the staff with his own hammer thrice in quick succession, her raised eyebrow remaining arched. Had she done something wrong in the act? She had focused upon the staff and the hammer, as well as ran the hammer along the path he had designated and yet it appeared there had been some flaw in her design. The dark haired woman saw Clyde work, feeling the Djed radiate in a harmonious manner from his taps though not quite understanding how one could learn to feel the flux of energy. Perhaps it had everything to do with harmony, and feeling overwhelmed by the energy was actually a bad sign?

Clyde sternly explained exactly what had been done wrong; Anna pursed her lips slightly as she felt rather like a scolded student. She technically was a student here, but one would be hard pressed to get her to admit that as she had some pride to think of. She soothed her pride by confirming that Clyde was still only a visitor and a possible Apprentice while she was a Wizard, she still had the power here. So the slight pushed aside she focused on heeding his advice, pondering on needing to trust herself along with the hammer and staff. Seemed a little strange but Anna supposed it made sense to some degree.

She took the other hammer he offered, frowning again as she moved to inspect the other hammers, setting the used ones aside. One was a very tiny hammer made of gold and the other was a much larger hammer like the one she witnessed Osd using. She quirked an eyebrow at the sight, shrugging as she took up both of them and moving back to the pedestal and held them both out for Clyde to take whichever one he was after.

“You mentioned Auristics being a useful thing in the actual crafting process. I’m assuming that one could also attempt to gauge it based on the Djed flux of the object? As in, without the actual sight but more utilizing the feeling one gets from the object itself?” Anna inquired as she returned.

“Also, what significance is held in possessing different types of charging hammers? Should one regularly switch off hammers?” Anna asked, nodding to the two hammers of vastly different sizes.

The sorceress could make a few guesses to their overall purpose; however she didn’t want to risk making wrong assumptions in this alien discipline. She had already made something of a mistake in the process of crafting; the dark haired wizard did not want to risk causing an explosion. Not exactly a good end for her to die from hazardous crafting, ignominious really. Clyde obviously knew what he was doing so it would be best to simply swallow some of her pride and follow his lead here.

Looking at the staff thought, Anna couldn’t really note any change though she certainly felt the hairs on her neck rising. All wizards possessed something of a sixth sense regarding magic and being able to detect is since they worked with it. They often got feelings, chills, shivers, tingles that told them that something they knew intrinsically was nearby. It was nothing as accurate as auristics but it was certainly there.