Expanding Knowledge [training/solo]

Ariella’s Kodor test had left a bad taste in her mouth. Being pitted against an ex-romantic interest had been painful, drawing up memories of a time when she had been insecure and frightened of being used and seeing Kitana that day had been a blow she had not been prepared for. The anger she had summoned during that fight, the utter and complete desire to inflict pain and suffering on the Kou woman had shocked Ariella later, when she had reflected on the fight. Normally, that kind of anger was reserved for people that took joy from hurting others, like that man in Kios. Memories of Kios made her smile, the small town holding a special place in her heart. She had loved seeing the village thrive and grow, the families all working together to make lives for themselves. She had not seen Kios since the conflict with Kou and she worried about the damages it may have suffered. Thoughts of Kou also reminded her of her desire to become stronger, to protect those around her. Most magicians of her skill level had stumbled upon a magic combination they favored, but Ariella had never really felt the desire, preferring the pure simplicity of her own spells. But, she had to admit there were advantages to combining magic types, even if it was more difficult.

As she thought through her magical preferences, her mind flashed back to her parents, one favoring heat, while the other preferred life. Between the two impressive magicians, they could destroy and repair nearly anything. More, they had learned to combine each of their individual magic types into a frightening method of razing enemies. Using Evelyn’s life magic, she ordered the rukh to seek out signs of life. As the rukh identified sources of life, Adamus ordered the rukh at his command to follow Evelyn’s rukh, destroying anything living in its path with flame and ash. It was a terrifyingly effective combination while on a battlefield, Evelyn able to direct her rukh to seek out their enemies so Adamus could burn them to a crisp. It also held the potential for friendly casualties, the rukh simply ordered to find life within a given area. Ariella pondered on if she would be able to clarify the spell further, making it more precise in the life signatures it identified and ‘approved’ for destruction.

She wandered through the library in her childhood home, scouring the shelves until she found what she was looking for, the notes from when her parents had created their magical combination. She sat down in her father’s chair, flipping through the journal the two had worked on together, a nostalgic smile crossing her lips at seeing her mother’s flowing script. While it was easy to be angry about her upbringing, with her mother now deceased, it was even easier to forget about the alienation she had felt and to remember the pleasant times. She gently pushed her sadness to the side, wanting to devote her full attention to the documentation of the combination they had created.

The journal started off with the concept, the two wanting to find a way to target even those opponents they could not see due to darkness, cover, or illusion. By seeking out their life signatures, there was very little way for their opponents to hide. The faint glow of rukh as it fluttered and flowed across the battlefield would identify where a life signature was centered. It was a common spell for Life Magicians, the ability to seek out life. Adamus would often have Evelyn perform a seeking spell before following up with his attacks, but they wanted a way that was more efficient, a way that reduced the amount of time their enemies had to react and counter their attempts.

They found that by pairing off the rukh, for lack of a better explanation, the act of seeking and destroying could essentially become the same act. By the time an opponent realized they were being traced, it was too late to prepare for an incoming attack. The entwined intentions of the rukh allowed it to find life and destroy it, all with the same list of commands. Ari flipped the page, reading through the different commands her parents tried, the list rather lengthy and some of them nonsensical to her until she began drawing the connections between each command. Her parents had done extensive work on researching their individual magic types to make certain of what they were doing and Ariella was fascinated by how her parents had suffered some of the same struggles she had. She had grown up thinking they were just masters of their craft but the journal made it quite apparent they were masters because of their endless research and practice of their skills. It was a telling experience, knowing that even masters still went back to the basics on a regular basis to improve their craft.

The next several days were spent reading through the journal and taking numerous notes of her own. She filled page upon page with scribbles, doodles, and runes, making sure she understood the interaction and connection between each command and how a command for one magic type might have a different effect for another magic type. The original intent behind the magic combination had been to quickly and efficiently destroy enemy lines, but Ariella did not think she wanted something quite so broad spectrum, so she would need to tweak the spell slightly. She wanted just enough of a delay to make a decision about if she wanted to consume something in flame. Her primary desire was not mass destruction but rather a more singular experience, seeking out and targeting a single opponent, not several. Perhaps one day she would need to expand on that, but for now, her focus was on the one, not the many. She little by little, she made tweaks to the command formula, occasionally calling Adius in to check her theories, her brother providing invaluable insight on the magic types. He had picked up where their mother had left off in his magical studies, favoring Life Magic and working every day to master his efforts towards that end. He was a peaceful man, wanting to expand on the healing aspects of Life Magic, not the destructive capabilities, though he understood what Ari was trying to do. He did not begrudge her for using Life Magic as a means to destroy life, understanding that she was often in situations that required she protect and defend herself.

By the time she began to feel even slightly comfortable with the idea of testing out her small changes, she had filled an entire journal with notes. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed the theory behind magic, not just the thrill of knowing the rukh would respond to her request, but toying with what she could ask of the mysterious fluttering birds. Finally, she was ready to try out her concoction of commands and requests. She asked for Adius’ assistance, the man capable of creating life constructs that her own Life Magic would recognize as a true life signature. He was happy to assist and the two headed for the large field behind their house. Not much grass grew in the area, which was often used for testing out new magical ideas. When they were to have guests, Adius would come out and encourage life in the area to make grass cover the scorch marks and barren dirt, but generally, it was easier to simply leave the area alone, as it would likely be destroyed again soon.

Preparing the ‘test ground’, Ari used a version of gravity lift to move boulders around to create ‘cover’ for the life constructs and then Adius began his portion, murmuring to the rukh, asking it to create small life constructs and then placing them under cover as Ari hid her eyes so she would not know where they were placed. When he signaled he was ready, Ari hummed softly, closing her eyes and clearing her mind to center herself before murmuring to the rukh, asking it to perform a new spell, Hunt and Kill. With a flurry of red and purple rukh, the tiny shimmers scattered across the field, Ari’s eyes tracing the path of the spell with a sharp eye. To one that could not see rukh, it would appear her eyes were following nothing, but her eyes chased down the rukh as they scoured the area for signs of life. Behind a rock, the rukh centered for only an instant before the area was ignited in flames, destroying the life construct that had been located.

Adius clapped at the successful execution of the spell, proud of his sister for improving on a magic combination even their parents had found difficult to control. Ari gave a squeal and jumped up in happiness, clapping happily as the rukh dispersed, its command fulfilled. She knew that if it had been her parents’ variation of the spell, the rukh would have continued to hunt down and burn life signatures, so she was pleased she had been able to keep it singularly focused. The hours and days of researching had paid off. Ariella now had a new, powerful spell to add to her arsenal.

[1549/1500]

Ability Learned: