Entering A Magician's City[Open/Training]

((As per training thread rules, all word counts in this thread are reduced by 25%))

At long last, Yakuroro found himself standing before the entrance gates to Magnostadt. The grand walls of the city were impressive and made even the giant Imuchakk dreadfully aware of how small he was in comparison. But the blue mage's eyes didn't linger on the walls for long. His gaze would settle on the gate itself as Yakuroro mustered up the courage to attempt the entrance examination. There was a line of 8 candidates or so which Yakuroro joined at the back as the 9th. Being far taller than all the humans applying, Yakuroro got to see a good view of each applicant's attempt. Wonder filled Yaku's blue eyes as he saw magician's of several types cast their magics. It was all new to him and made him realize that his suspicions about magic being a much bigger world than water spells were correct after all.

Fire, Lightning, Light, Life, and even a fellow Water magician all passed and were granted access into the city save for three poor souls who simply couldn't muster the magoi output required. At last it came to Yaku's turn and he stepped up to introduce himself to the old mage that oversaw entrance exams. "I'm Yakuroro, a Water Shaman from Imuchakk!"

The sagely mage would stroke his beard and raise a brow at Yakuroro, "Shaman eh? Well, let's see what you can do. Cast a spell that shows you know magic." The professor ended his instruction by reaching out from his elevated seat on a podium to bonk Yakuroro on the head with his staff, "And don't call yourself a shaman! We train Magician's here." He grumbled something about youngsters these days and sighed. Clearly it was time for Yaku to show his stuff.

Yakuroro stepped onto the marked spot on the ground where he was to stand and faced a barrier encased stage of sorts where he would be casting his spell. The large Imuchakk held out his great unicorn horn staff and focused his magoi through it's rough coral-like structure in preparation to cast a spell. "I just need to prove I can cast magic right?" The muscular northerner asked to be sure. When he got an affirming nod, Yaku smiled and turned his attention to the head of his staff which was inside the barrier for the spell area. "Forecast!"

In an act of what could be perceived as humbleness, Yakuroro cast one of his smallest and most simple spells. Blue rukh fluttered into life around Yakuroro's staff and then began dropping to the ground forming droplets of water. The rukh rained steadily from the staff for about ten seconds before the spell ended. With his casting complete, Yaku removed his staff from the barrier and turned to the old man examiner with a grin as he declared, "It will rain tomorrow."

The old man peered at him as if he didn't believe Yaku's forecast, but being able to produce water from the rukh was proof enough of magic for the Imuchakk "shaman" to pass and become a "magician" assuming he were not just there to visit. "You pass. You're welcome to enter the city of magicians. Please speak to one of the professors waiting beyond the gates if you are here to join the academy." The old man gave Yaku his blessings and the doors opened for him. The large Imuchakk stepped through a dark hallway with a bright light shining through from the other side thanks to the sun making it hard to see. Holding a hand up to his eyes, the blue mage emerged and his eyes adjusted to focus on a magnificent sight!


The view opened up into a magnificent view of the magician's city which caused the Imuchakk to gape in awe. Never before had he seen a city so large and impressive from such an angle. But more impressive than the city was the sheer number of magicians and magic tools there were. It was as if the magician's had found a way to incorporate magic into just about every aspect of their lives. The giant blue haired mage use his flight spell to ascend into the air to get an even better view of the city. Yaku felt himself become over joyed as white rukh fluttered around him in response to the hope and vigor that accomplishing a life long dream granted. Yoooaaaaaaa!~ I made it to Magnostadt!" The Imuchakk let out a joyous roar before simply staring at the city in wonder. Yakuroro would have floated there gawking at the view all day had a nearby professor not called out to Yaku and all the other magician's who were hoping to become students at the city's famous academy.

The professors informed the group that they could choose whether or not they would actually join the academy in a few weeks when the next classes would be starting. Until then, they were encouraged to enjoy their stay in the city and go sight seeing while they still had time. It was warned that once magic classes started it wasn't uncommon for magicians to become buried with studies. So it was best for each of the hopeful magician's present to make the best of what free time they had now. Some of the scattering transfers saw this as a great opportunity to wander around like a tourist, but Yakuroro only saw a fine chance to brush up on his magic.

The Imuchakk couldn't help but do a LITTLE sight seeing as he made his way through a wondrous city of magic and sorcery. There were all kinds of things to see and do, but the blue mage had his goals for the week set. Yaku would try to master several new water and ice magic spells before joining the academy in hopes that it would better prepare him for any tests he may have to face. He purchased a few jugs of water at the local market and then found a small park where Yaku would be able to practice without bothering anyone.

The first day was spent trying to create a simple new spell that would allow Yakuroro to hide his presence and detect others nearby. He commanded the rukh in the water jugs he had purchased to pull the water inside apart until its density became that of a thick vapory mist. By concentrating on how his magoi was dispersed through the mist, Yaku found he was able to sense when anything disturbed the cloud. It was useless on smaller scales, but when Yaku shrouded it over a large area he found it made for excellent concealment.

The day would end with one new spell under Yaku's belt. But it would only be the beginning.

~187+/187 Word Count~

Spoiler:

The second day's training called for learning a more offensive spell that would serve to aid Yakuroro in combating close range opponents. In the early morning hours the Imuchakk made his way to another park, although this time he found one with a pre-existing fountain of water as opposed to bringing jugs full of his own supply. The blue haired magician would sit on the edge of the fountain and watch the water fall for a good hour before he felt inspired to create a new spell. As his blue eyes watched the surface of the water, Yakuroro thought back to his days with the Imuchakk and the many underwater creatures he'd seen while swimming in the arctic waters of his homeland. The source of his muse was ultimately one such sea creature, the octopus, and its wriggling tentacles.

With the spell's nature decided, Yakuroro tried commanding the rukh to form water from the atmosphere into the shape of a watery whip. So long as he kept feeding the spell magoi Yakuroro could reshape the whip, even if it were splattered. With this new spell in hand, Yakuroro began practicing his aim and control with the whip until he felt satisfied with his ability to make it wrap around limb-sized branches on nearby trees. It only took Yakuroro until noon to master this particular spell, but it was almost as simple s they came so that wasn't much to brag about. With a couple warm up spells learned it was time for Yaku to start pushing the limits of what he could do with water magic. It was time to start making ice magic spells!

~187+/187 Word Count~

Spoiler:

The change in magic type called for a change in location and an increase in the level of commands he was giving the rukh. With half a day still ahead of him, Yakuroro decided to begin training his ability to produce ice magic from the water in the in atmosphere all in one spell rather than condensing water and then freezing it. The Blue mage decided that this meant a change in location was due as having a local water source nearby would not serve to help with such training. It would only tempt him to use the local element to make his job easier and that simply wouldn't do for an offensive spell! Yaku was lacking in the magical offense department and knew that he required a greater variety of spells.

The large Imuchakk stood out as he made his way through the magician's city, yet some how he felt like he fit in far more than back home. The weather was nicer and the people around him understood the greatness of magic! The Blue mage asked around for a good location to practiced ranged magic spells and was referred to a large field that had a few trees in the distance. There were lots of burnt trees and some that had been caved into the ground or twisted into some kind of creature shape. It was clear that all kinds of magic was being cast into the area meaning no one was foolish enough to go strolling out there.

Without wasting any time, Yakuroro began commanding the rukh to freeze all the water particles in the air and and then gather them. The result of this brilliant command was....A snow ball! Fantastic, the individual water droplets formed snow flakes. That wasn't quite the effect Yaku had been hoping for, so he scratched those commands and tried a different approach. The blue mage back his rukhcraft by commanding the water particles in the air to quickly condense and then freeze only to condense once more and freeze again. The third command was then to repeat this process. This spell had made progress as now Yakuroro had a big ball of ice, but that alone wasn't very dangerous. Yakuroro canceled his magoi output and the ice ball fell to the ground shattering upon impact.

Yakuroro started over the same as before, but as the rukh were repeating their task, he added in three more commands to the rukh. First he would have them grow the ice length wise 3 meters with a sharp point at one end making a large ice spike. Next, he would have this single spike grow several smaller spikes creating a cluster of pointy doom for his target. The final command was simple...Fly towards the target! "Crackle!" Yakuroro thrust his staff towards one of the trees and the spike cluster of ice flew through the air 10m/s.

The ice spell crashed into one of the trees and crushed the wood badly enough that it was now bending over unable to support its weight where the spell had impacted. The ice shattered and melted leaving only a sense of success in the Blue mage. A new ice spell had been created.

~536/375 Word Count~

Spoiler:

The next day, Yakuroro would set out to create yet another new spell. This time it was one that might slow his enemies so that they might be open to follow up attacks. The blue magician began his approach to the spell by commanding the rukh to gather water from the atmosphere into two spheres orbiting his great unicorn horn staff. Yakuroro then ordered the two balls of water to fly towards the target at 10m/s. On his first attempt, Yakuroro commanded the rukh to freeze on impact, but this just cause a deformed icicle on the target which would fall off harmlessly.

Frowning at his failed efforts, Yakuroro began anew and held his staff high as magoi flowed from his body and into his staff. The two orbs of liquid formed as they should and when flying towards their targets which were currently limb sized tree branches. This time he commanded the water to spread and wrap around the target sticking to them on impact and spreading enough to encase an entire limb. The rukh is then commanded to freeze using the same set of commands used to form crackle the day prior. The ice would be formed in layers as more and more water from the atmosphere is pulled in until the ice became binding casts that could freeze a limb in place for a short time. "Frostbite!" the Imuchakk shouted as the freezing bonds sealed.

The basis of the spell was completed but there was more work for Yakuroro to do. Hitting trees was all well and good, but hitting a moving target was another matter entirely. Yakuroro used sacks of grain and small logs to make dummy targets and then commissioned a local strength magician to use gravity magic and make the targets float. With his practice field set, Yakuroro spent almost and hour flinging balls of water at targets. His magic was naturally slower than other mages which made hitting the swift targets all the more difficult. The Imuchakk welcomed the challenge but under estimated its difficulty. It took Yaku three days of practice to master his timing and have a hit rate one could actually consider successful. 70% of his shots could snare the dummies as he intended by the time he decided to consider the newly learned spell truly complete.

~387/375 Word Count~

Spoiler:

As Yaku spent his days learning new magics he spent much of his time that wasn't spend training on brainstorming new ways his magic could be of use to him. As of right now, his unicorn horn staff was not a great weapon that Yaku could rely on for close quarters engagements with the enemy. With that in mind, one spell he decided to create was Frozen Horn. The concept was simple enough, create an ice extension of his staff which could be used as an effective melee weapon. But Yakuroro found that in practice it was actually far more complex than he had initially anticipated.

The Imuchakk began his training by the fountain again to make the strain on his magoi easier thanks to the local blue rukh within the clear waters. His first approach was to gather ice around the staff and harden it, but Yakuroro found that the blunt horn staff was useless as it simply didn't have the weight required to deal decent damage. Increasing the amount of ice was the next logical step, but the result was a bulky and odd looking club. From there, Yaku tried a number of different shapes and weapon types. Adding a blade made the weapons balance feel awkward but at least it wasn't as bad as a hammer head which just didn't feel right.

At last, Yakuroro settled on making the ice grow on the staff in a fashion that resembled all the parts the Imuchakk had originally carved off the horn. Yaku then sharpened and refined these branches to create a sharpened rampaging unicorn horn of ice. Once Yakuroro had managed to get the density correct he could hold the spell for a good few attacks. He tested the edge of this weapon of pigs hide and found it effective at cutting nice and deep into flesh and breaking bones on impact. With the ice weapon spell complete, Yakuroro spent a few days getting used to its weight and balance. The Imuchakk spent quite a while testing the spells limits and came to realize that it was not sturdy enough to stand more than a couple blows.

Yaku could have improved the spell further, but for now it would do its job splendedly. With that, Yaku felt as though he'd reached a new stage within his magic. Perhaps it was now time to try joining the academy?


~399/375 Word Count~

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