Midwinter Showcase [Solo | Training]

Training:

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The favorite hangout took on a more serene feel this day as Reed looked out upon the plains from his bedroom window. A crisp chill frosted the glass and encroached upon the center of the portal, leaving only a small oval for Reed to peer through. Winter never got so cold here in Magnostadt, but at times the weather would chill the air and force the inhabitants to walk about in warmer clothing. Reed adopted a more casual, comfortable wardrobe for the day, especially given the weather, and walked out of his room, hoping to enjoy this rare occasion.

The streets were frosted with a light, white blanket of snow as the children played and cheered, catching rogue snowflakes on their tongues as the wind whipped biting air around the plaza. Reed shivered as he walked around the city, taking in the sights, and the cold air. He found his way inside of a bookstore and ran his fingers along the bindings of various scrolls and scripts in the storefront. A title of one book caught his eye and he immediately snatched it from the shelf, opening to find it a sort of manuscript on the principles of wind magic.

"Amazing! Who would've thought I'd find a textbook on the fundamentals of wind rukh in this dingy place...I haven't really particularly tried to learn this kind of magic. Maybe I will give it a go?" A few other patrons of the store shot him a dirty look for talking out loud (and possibly offended at the very thought of insulting their favorite shop) and scoffed as they left the storefront. Reed paid them no mind as he sat down on the floor by the bookshelf and opened up the tome to examine its contents. The volume talked an excessive amount about irrelevant information: the "theory" of wind magic, famous magicians who have utilized the power of wind rukh, and types of 'breezes' which seemed like nothing more than fluff to plop in to pad the binding of the book. Reed rolled his eyes at the frivolous writing but decided to read it intently anyways, hoping to find actual pertinent juicy information that he could actually use. There was something in there about the practical application of wind magic, and today was as good a day as any to put that application into practice. He got up from his reading nest and rushed outside, finding the one fairly open stretch of space within the city walls where he could freely practice his magic.

"Okay...here goes..." Reed muttered, waving his wand in the air, attempting to conduct the rukh. He tried his best, but all he could muster was a few wisps of wind and small gusts before they fizzled out into the ether. He was stumped. There had to be some way to make this work. He tried giving better commands, more commands, random commands--still the rukh seemed to ignore every single idea Reed came up with on the fly. Reed flopped to the ground and laid down with his face to the sky. He watched the flecks of snow drop to the ground, a few of them landing on his face and his eyes as he watched the sky. He closed his eyes, pleased with the serenity of the moment, and began to hum a tune his sisters would always croon when they were little. The air around him buzzed with melismatic chorus, the sound rukh overstimulated by this particular tune. Eureka! That was it! Reed shot up from the ground and held his wand firmly in his hand, his entire being now filled with more indignation and conviction than ever before. Reed waved his wand around, the violin bow like a paintbrush illustrating the air around him with the melodious vibrations of sound rukh in the air. Reed began to hum the melody his sisters used to sing and kept conducting his wand, the air around him picking up in intensity as he felt a sharp breeze darting around him. As he waved his wand, the wind almost solidified in front of him, taking the shape of visible wind pockets lingering in front of him. The vibrations of the sound rukh diminished in volume as the stationary wind gales increased in fervor. A brief smirk came across Reed's face as the wind whipped around him in stylistic glory.

"Diminuendo!" Reed chanted, unleashing the gales forward, ripping through stone twenty meters away. Reed cheered at the very scale of power his new magic was capable of. He attempted to cast the magic again, but nothing happened. Perhaps it would take much longer to master this fearsome and awesome new magic. Reed decided to call it a night and head to his room and sleep on it.

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Reed woke up to the sounds of morning, where he was pretty sure a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooed directly into his window in order to wake him up. As soon as he awoke, he grabbed his wand and headed for an open space in the academy quad to practice the magic again. This time, he repeated the routine: brilliant conducting of the wand, humming of the family tune, and smug confidence and the "performativity" of the magic. The wind around him whirled and whipped and held still as he handled his wand with finesse, until finally waving it forward, releasing the wind bursts with expert abandon.

"Diminuendo!" The gales blast forward, ripping into the ground before him in an impressive flash. Reed attempted to cheer, but he didn't want to over inflate the quiet victory he won today. That was the purpose of the spell after all--he learned to quell bombastic frivolity in order to create a magic so beautiful, so minimalist, that it could deal impressive destructive force. For the first time in his tenure at Magnostadt Academy, Reed was truly on the path of being a force to be reckoned with. And with that, he spent the day finally enjoying the beautiful day of snow that he missed the day before.

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Word Count: 1016/1000

Training:

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Reed finally located a room to appropriately practice music within the hallowed halls of Magnostadt Academy. It was an auditorium, though not a large one, but the ceilings were vaulted and the stage was grand--perfect for Reed and the solitude he desired. He had his violin and bow in hand as he walked to center stage, sitting down on the lone chair he set up there in an effort to create an incredible amount of dramatic tension. He ran the bow along the violin's strings, filling the auditorium with a cacophony of sound as he gathered himself before placing the bow in the correct spot and placed the violin correctly under his chin and began to strum the violin bow across the strings. The auditorium was enveloped with the haunting melody of the song he played--a diminished sound that seemed to pluck at sadness, or loneliness, or whatever negative emotion Reed has ever felt in his life, before increasing the speed at which he strummed, transforming the sound into something more panicked, more rapid, more urgent.

"Intense...everything going okay Reed?" A voice echoed through the hall. Reed abruptly stopped and looked up to see where the voice came from only to see his sister standing at the side of the stage, a concerned look on her face. She walked over to him and placed her hand upon his shoulder, something she'd always do to calm him down whenever his emotions became too extreme.

"I was just fooling around--did you like it?" Reed set his violin and bow down on the ground as he turned to face his sister. Lyra was always so composed, so calm--it was like between all of the siblings, Lyra had all of the stability. If there was truly a person in Reed's world that was capable of quelling the fury inside of him, it was Lyra. For all intents and purposes, Coda was a bit too encouraging.

"I was just wondering if you were practicing your magical abilities while you were here. I've spoken to your professors--they say you have immense talent, like me, but little focus...which I don't accept. For as long as I've known you, you have always been the most diligent student. Look at you now! Practicing the violin when you have no reason to..." Lyra removed her hand from Reed's shoulder and walked out to the front of the stage. Her back faced Reed as she held her arms outstretched to the entirety of the empty auditorium. She took one breath, a good breath, and belted out a beautiful note. All of the Harpers were gifted in music though Reed was the most so. Still, any one of them could carry a tune better than your average person.

"Better, though you need to open your mouth more when you sing. The note is closed, you want it open. Like this..." Reed belted out the same note, though at a lower pitch, with more resonating sound. Lyra only laughed and turned to face her brother. "And if you must know...playing like this helps me practice magic!"

"I see...in that case...show me what you've practiced," Lyra replied, a smug expression worn proudly on her face. She was testing Reed's 'lie,' or at least, seeing if he was actually telling the truth about his work ethic. Reed only picked up his violin bow and waved it around, vocalizing a pattern of notes as he twirled the bow around in the air. As wind gales danced around him he waved his wand toward the roof the building with expert finesse. Lyra quickly created a wall of ice and deflected the gales, shattering the ice and creating a small flurry in the auditorium.

"You have been practicing! But you need more--new magic is all fine and dandy but it's the rukh you are naturally gifted at commanding that can become the strongest magic in your arsenal. Think about what you're best at, listen to the rukh and let that be your guide..." Lyra explained. Reed was confused but not being one to want to disappoint his sister, he tried to 'let the rukh be his guide.' Reed closed his eyes, trying to meditate and listen to the sounds of the rukh that reverberated off the walls of the theater. Minutes went by without Reed really 'hearing' anything and he was just about ready to give up before he heard something, and inkling, and opened his eyes, surprised to have heard mysterious voices.

"I...I heard the rukh? I don't think I have ever actually heard the rukh before!" Reed was elated! He had finally done something master magicians were capable of doing, and that was freely communicating with the rukh. Lyra smiled, happy that her brother was happy, but quickly knocked him down to earth when she reminded him that he still did not do what she asked. Reed laughed and apologized, gathering himself again and this time concentrating on communicating with the rukh. He was more interested in this second go around to actually listen and hear something audible rather than just hear a soft whisper and cheer and shout hooray for doing something mildly insignificant.

This foray into meditation was mounds more successful and as he listened, the world around him seemed to quiet and quiet until he felt like he was between worlds, a foot in a world of all rukh and a foot in the auditorium. Many whispers whirled around him as he concentrated until he could finally isolate the sound of his very special friends, the green rukh. As if it were involuntary movements, Reed twirled his bow around, dropping the wand to face the ground and holding the handle in his grasp. He took his other hand and focused the rukh around his wand. With one elegant 'pluck,' Reed fired off a burst of green light toward his sister, which she effortlessly deflected with her borg.

"Intermezzo, named for how I felt when I spoke to the rukh. Well, I guess the rukh named it for me, but I like how it fits!" Reed explained, watching his sister's face light up with pride and happiness.

"Oh Reed...you are...you are truly something to behold...but that doesn't mean you can rest! We will come back here tomorrow! I have a feeling there's more potential in you that remains untapped!" The two siblings laughed and left the auditorium, sharing comedic stories about their escapades as children.

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Word Count:1086/1000

Training:

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Reed returned to the auditorium he practiced in the day prior, but a little early this time, so he had time to practice before Lyra met him here and he could wow her with his natural ability to perform whatever she had planned. I suppose it would have been easier to just wait for her as he had no idea what exactly she was looking for, but if he covered all of his bases, he guessed that wouldn't hurt either. He sat in his chair he set up yesterday, his boding facing the seating as if he were to perform a solo piece for a large audience of people. There was something calming and quieting about being on stage, about being a performer, that quelled Reed's whirlwind of emotions. He grabbed his violin and strummed ever so gently with his violin bow, creating a bright sound. The room echoed and reverberated with the tonal quality of sound of his violin playing. Truly, Reed was a talented musician, but a talented magician? Well, that was for Lyra to decide. Still, he took to playing a lot more intensely than he wanted to at first, and before he knew it, Lyra had walked into the auditorium, giving Reed a roudn of applause for her fantastic musicianship as she set down a stack of books on the stage.

"Quite nice, don't you think? There was just something so mesmerizing about playing in here--I mean the acoustics are just incredible. The ceilings are vaulted perfectly for the sound to resonate in here!" Reed explained to a smiling Lyra. Resonate, now that was a word that seemed to be popular with Reed today. The word lingered in his mind: "resonate, resonate, resonate," it couldn't escape him. But, he had to make time for his sister's lesson, so he put down his violin and did away with his thoughts, for now, and gave her his full undivided attention.

"I always did admire your skill! HOWEVER, the violin is unnecessary for now: so, we've established that you are primarily a magician that specializes in the manipulation of sound rukh. That's simple enough. For some reason, you have a reasonably high aptitude with wind magic, which really goes against the principles of magic here but many magicians tend to defy that rule so I'll write that off as just you being another outlier. If you're truly looking to be seen as a talented magician, we're going to off to add some creativity into your rukh commands. How about...we try this: start with the spell you learned yesterday, Intermezzo, and we'll go from there. Sound good?" Lyra spoke with the sophistication and knowledge of a Magnostadt professor. Reed was purely in awe of her intelligence--there was nobody quite like his sister. She did have years and years of foundation from their parents, but her ability to regurgitate this knowledge and even apply to teaching was exceptional. So, Reed did as she asked, lowering his wand in his hands and commanding the rukh around him to form a brilliant bow of green. He aimed toward the roof of the auditorium, this time focusing all four beams of sound all at once toward his target. The recoil knocked Reed back a bit--he was not used to firing all the blasts at once. Lyra made quick work of the spell, deflecting it with her shield of ice and creating a flurry inside the auditorium. She stood there and tapped her chin, pondering as to their next move in learning new magics.

"You said that playing music gives you inspiration? I say play right now. See where the music takes you...I'd like to watch you as you play. Maybe something will click for me before it clicks for you, eh?" Lyra asked, taking a seat on the stage as she gestured for Reed to 'hurry up and play.' There was something about Lyra's teaching methods that soothed Reed's mind. He merely shrugged and picked up his violin and violin bow and began to play, playing the same melody he was playing before Lyra interrupted him earlier. Suddenly, the word came back into his mind as quickly as it had left. Resonate. Resonate. Resonate. Why did that word seem so important? Why couldn't Reed shake it from his thoughts? Perhaps there was something important with the word resonate. Perhaps it was the rukh speaking to him and he could hear their words as clear as day instead of just as a faint whisper. He started to listen more to the environment as he played, and after a short while, "resonate" made more sense. He heard the sound bounce off the walls and flutter through the air. He noticed the sound would linger in some areas before darting around, as if the wind carried or stopped the sound. That was it! Reed abruptly stopped playing and dropped his bow and violin on the ground. He winced at the thought of causing any damage to his instrument before shouting out in joyous delight.

"I figured it out! Oh Lyra it was so simple! It was hitting me in the face all this time! Listen to the music in this room--do you hear how it travels? How it bounces around? The wind--that's what's affecting how sound travels! If I just apply this principle and utilize it with sound magic, I could manipulate it! I...here...watch! Oh, I feel so inspired Lyra!" Reed was absolutely overjoyed, and so was Lyra, and the two siblings had smiles as wide as their faces as Lyra watched Reed experiment. He centered himself in the stage, pushing out a few things, before grabbing his wand and regaining his composure. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes, listening intently to the rukh. It was then he swirled his wand in a radial motion around him, revealing four pockets of swirling green, that seemed to hum at low frequency. The vibrations got louder, and they moved more quickly, until the vibrations became so loud that Lyra had to cover her ears from the noise.

"Here it is, Lyra: Rhapsody!" Reed chanted, releasing the pockets of sound that encircled Reed. They 'popped' to reveal a bloodcurdling scream, filling the auditorium with deafening noise. Reed smiled as his sister looked on in wonder.

"R-Reed...you've just created composite magic...that...I am proud, brother... Oddly enough, there were tears in Lyra's eyes. Reed wondered why but dared not to ask. Instead, he went over to hug her, himself crying tears of joy for feeling so much pride in his abilities.

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Word Count: 1100/1000