~Initiate Druidism~ (Aydyn)

[Minerva]

Timestamp: Lunaria, 10th brightening of the 5th cycle of Melora, spring of Era XI in the Age of Darkening

Three days after Aydyn had first visited the Universitas of the isle of Demios, her tutor waited in the room designated to her teaching. It was a good brightening for learning, the crispness of morning contrasting wonderfully with the freeze of the winter just past. The climate on the island had always been erratic at best, however, and one could never tell when a sudden onslaught of wind or torrent of rain might take the capricious weather’s fancy. For now, however, all was peaceful, serene, and that fitted Laroalle’s mood quite impeccably. A low rumbling sounding from the back of the female’s throat partnered her staring wistfully out the window of this dreadfully dark and solemn classroom. Whilst the natural red-streaked black of the stone might have been appealing for some, Laroalle clearly did not share those same sentiments in kind. In all honesty, she would rather have been outside, enjoying the splendour and natural beauty that the island itself had been blessed with.

A persettie, the woman was a gorgeous specimen of her race. Her cream fur was immaculate, its sleek sheen marred only by a stray strand of grass placed dispassionately here and there. The narrowness of her face seemed to portray that the female wore a permanent frown, even though her bright green eyes were filled with the sentiments of mirth and jovialty. A friendly enough creature, Laroalle was truly looking forwards to teaching again, even if she did not know much about her soon-to-be student just yet. It had been a while, truly, since she had last taught another in the way of the druid, and she hoped that she had not gotten too rusty yet. Not a native of the island proper, the katta was simply staying here for a short while at the bequest of the Universitas itself, which had been quite short-staffed as a result of the merfolk war.

Turning away from her position at the window with a heartfelt sigh, Laroalle glanced about the room within which she was contained once more. Even if she had occupied herself in this trivial little exercise several times before, no hurt would come from indulging herself in it once again. A few tables here and there, coupled with sturdy looking chairs, and the ever-imposing presence of a great fireplace. To her scant knowledge, the majority of classrooms in the Universitas itself looked like this, give or take a chair or two. Sad, really, when it seemed as though there was plenty of potential with which to do more.

Inclining a furred head to stare at the door to the room through unwavering green orbs, the katta would then engage herself in waiting for her student’s arrival, waiting for the obligatory knocking which was undoubtedly to come.

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn found herself running a little behind schedule on account of the weather. After a quick breakfast at Sizzle's Place, the ethereal beauty of the island had enraptured her as she strolled down the main avenue towards the Universitas. It all seemed...magical, almost festive, in comparison to the endless stretches of crops and pastures that encircled Candaceburg. Aydyn had never quite been able to understand the romanticized vision of farm life that some people had. You woke up every morning, sometimes even before the sun had peaked up over the horizon, and spent the mornings and afternoons slogging through cow dung and warding off the ruthless chicken pecks. Sure there was the rare tumble in the hay and the night strolls along the river, but those inevitably ended up with a shirt full of hay or flesh that itched of bug bites, respectively. What was that in comparison to waking up to the tangy smell of the salty ocean? Or spending the days walking along the beach, your feet mired deeply in the sand?

Lost deeply in her newfound love for the island town, Aydyn spent more time daydreaming than putting her focus into her first day of class. Just a few days ago she had been brimming with excitement over the prospect of learning to become a druid and now her only thoughts were towards the private inlets and caves that she had been investigating. It wasn't until the universitas swarmed up into view that she actually snapped out of it and realized that there was no way that she could actually be on time!

Aydyn settled into a quick-paced walk, bustling down the pathway and into the building that she recalled as the arcana facility. Today she had no time to stop and admire the lovely staircase as she had a few days previous, instead forcing herself to save her gazing for a less hurried moment. Her feet were lively on the steps, apologies tumbling out as she squeezed past a few teachers and students.

What door? What door? She glanced down the length of barricaded doorways, coming to a rather abrupt halt at the top of the stairs. A woman behind her uttered a noise of surprise when she nearly sent the two of them crashing to the floor. "Sorry, sorry," Aydyn mumbled, pressing her body up against the wall to let anyone else by without a problem. "I remember!" she announced aloud, drawing a few startled glances from a trio of students lingering in the hallway. She smiled nervously and, trying to regulate her breathing, advanced on the third door along the left hand side of the hallway.

She hesitated just outside before rapping her knuckles against the thick wood. She did not wait for an answer, but rather popped the door open just wide enough for her to stick her head in. She swallowed when she instantly met with a pair of bright green eyes staring in her direction. How nerve-wrecking! "Serale, I'm Aydyn Blair. Are you teaching druidism?" she asked nervously. She opened the door a little more, wedging her body in the opening.

[Minerva]

Eyes boring into the wooden frame of the door that permitted entry to her classroom, the katta was so taken in her innate staring and intense looking that Aydyn’s sudden rapping sent her form snapping back to the realm of reality with a start and a flurry of fur. Even if she had been anticipating her student’s arrival for some time now, she had by no means expected it at that precise moment in time. Taking a few brief moments to compose herself, to catch her breath after her recent surprise, the persettie looked to the door once more, smiling affably as her new pupil deigned to enter. The human seemed pleasant enough, if a tad nervous, but then that was only to be expected. She was sure that she had been equally as apprehensive when she had first started learning, long ago as that was, and so could not blame Aydyn for feeling the same.

“Aydyn? Yes. I am teaching your druidism classes. My name is Laroalle.”

A slight rolling sound on her r’s caused the katta’s name to sound akin to ‘Laaah-rrrrowl’, a ramification of her accent, no doubt. Bidding her student come further into the room, the persettie then gestured to one of the chairs in the room, a comfortable looking device that came complete with a nicely padded cushion. Once the human had taken the proffered seat, Laroalle would move to stand by the window once more, fixing bright green eyes on the form of her pupil before she made to speak once again, her accent clear as ever.

“First things first then, Aydyn. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself? Why have you chosen to study in the sphere of druidism, for instance?”

Even if the questions were not strictly a part of the human’s lessons, they might as well have been. Teachers all over Telath went through this brief procedure with their students, after all. Considering her student through those piercing emerald orbs, the katta would await her student’s response with a slight smile, anticipating what Aydyn would have to say in response. Whilst this little exchange had become something of a prerequisite to learning arcana throughout the Empire, it was still a matter of interest, allowing her to glean a little information on her student, to gain a bit of insight into the other woman’s intentions when it came to matters of the arcane.

[Aydyn Blair]

Kattas are so odd looking, she decided, shutting the door behind her and pushing further into the room. Just big bundles of fluffy fur that could talk. As she wiggled onto a chair, she noted that kattas were probably more fun to cuddle than an ordinary house cat. They were, after all, large enough where one didn't have to feel like they were squishing the creature with a giant swoop of a hug! And Aydyn did love to lavish attention on cats... Of course, a katta was still very different from a cat and Aydyn had no intention of mortifying either herself or her feline professor any time soon!

"Why'd I choose druidism?" She swished the question over her tongue as she contemplated it. "I was born on a farm near Candaceburg. I've worked with my hands in the fields and the gardens all my life. I've been thinking about what to do with myself now that I'm no longer on the farm and..." she hesitated, trying to gather her thoughts. "And once the idea of magic hit me, I wanted to see if that sort of life was for me. Being a druid seemed the most appealing." A wide smile spread over her face. "Just another excuse to spend more time with animals...and plants," she concluded. She offered a little shrug and with some effort worked on dispelling what she figured was a goofy grin.

She folded her hands in her lap and squirmed in her chair, trying to find her comfort zone both under the eyes of her new teacher and on the plush fabric itself. Aydyn waited to see how her response would be taken and so she watched the persetti in a somewhat guarded manner, trying not to give her hopes up. It was then that she noticed the bits of grass clinging to the katta's fur and digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands was about all Aydyn could do to keep that silly smile off her face.

[Minerva]

If Laroalle had known of her student’s silent musings of swooping a katta up into a nice big hug, it was likely the persettie would have bolted from the room there and then. Fortunately, however, Aydyn had not even intended to do such a thing, leaving the lesson to continue as normal. Ignorant of the somewhat strange thoughts that had been running through her student’s mind in relation to that, the katta simply stood, watching the human curiously through those bright green eyes as Aydyn deigned to answer her questions.

Her response sounded reasonable enough, and fairly interesting to boot. It was certainly a pleasant reprieve from the usual “I want the power” drivel she had been made to endure in the past. At least her was a person who seemed willing to study the art of druidism merely because of a want to, and to spend more time with plants and animals, the Lady Carmelya’s blessed children. Not that her reason would really have had an impact on the way their lessons would have run their course; Aydyn had paid for the katta’s tutoring now, and nothing short of global apocalypse would prevent Laroalle from instructing her now.

“Good then…Well, we might as well not waste any more time. Stay seated there, Aydyn, and I’ll tell you about what’s going to happen next.”

A short paused allowed a break during which the persettie continued to study the form of her student, the gesture partnered with a subtle swishing of the great cat’s tail. With new students such as Aydyn, there was always the puzzle of how inherently talented they would prove themselves to be, how quickly they would pick up on the various techniques and skills required of them as initiate mages. How would Aydyn fare? Would she be willing to dedicate her utmost concentration to the various procedures needed to be carried out? Or would she buckle under the pressure, not wanting or able to continue any more? So many questions to be answered, and only one way through which to go about answering them. Teaching.

“Alright, then. There’s a reason why you can’t cast magic as you are now, Aydyn, and this is because you are bound, and people have been born bound ever since the fracture of the Aethergem. Now then…Being bound simply means that you are cut off and unaware of the arcanic energies flowing within and without you, meaning that you can’t manipulate them in order to create magic…Are you following me so far?”

Green eyes narrowing in mild concern, the katta would then wait for a word of approval before making to continue. Of course, if Aydyn did not understand, then a great deal more in the way of explanation would need to be given prior to their lesson getting any further. When it did, the persettie would then strive to introduce the process which would ultimately allow the human to start using magic.

“Now, I am going to Unbind you. That is to say, remove those mental constraints preventing you from making magic. I should warn you that some initiates experience an Unbinding Dream subsequent to being Unbound; vivid images that are seemingly quite random. No one really knows what they are. However, the process itself is not too difficult, Aydyn…Simply relax, ease your mind, until you feel nice and calm, and let me know when you’re ready.”

With that, Laroalle fell silent, waiting on her student to relax, and to let her know when she was all prepared and ready for what was to come.

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn had recovered from her moment of silliness, having taken in a few deep breaths that she hoped were not too obvious to the woman. She relaxed, feeling as if she had passed the interrogation. At least, Laroalle seemed satisfied with her responses. She remained in her seat, just as instructed, although idly she wondered where else she would have gone otherwise. She glanced around the room, even as she felt the gaze of the teacher on her. Well, mostly because her instructor's eyes were on her. She had, after all, just met the fluffy katta and direct looks were a little discomforting, especially for someone who was so very conscious about social interactions as Aydyn was.

She looked quickly back when Laroalle spoke again, certainly not negligent of her lessons. She wanted to learn all there was about druidism. It would be a waste of money if she let it leak in one ear and out the other. Or...if she simply let it bounce off her head to begin with. She leaned forward as she absorbed the information, suddenly wishing she had bought some paper and some charcoal to scratch the information down. She made do with her memory, rolling it around in her head when the katta ended her dialogue about arcanic energies. She did not see where it would be all that difficult to understand. The aethergem had broke--something had distantly remembered hearing about, but since it had not affected herself or her family, she had continued on with life without giving it much thought--and so the energies were out in the world rather than contained. She nodded after a moment with a smile at the professor before announcing that she understood.

"I should warn you..." immediately made Aydyn a little nervous. She resorted back to a few fidgets as Laroalle explained the Unbinding process. Aydyn associated "vivid dreams" with some rather clear nightmares she had experienced over the course of her life. She stared at the woman for a moment, second-guessing this experience...but what were a few dreams in comparison to something so mind-pulling as druidism had become to her? She wanted to do this.

Aydyn leaned back against her chair and, although self-conscious, closed her eyes. For a moment her only concentration was these dreams that Laroalle had mentioned. Dreams? What sort of dreams? She drummed her fingers against the armrests, battling her wariness, until finally she forced her attention on her breathing. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Innnn. Ouuuut." She could feel her muscles relaxing and she felt as if she was sinking into the very fabric of the chair.

After a moment, she nodded vaguely at the teacher.

[Minerva]

Humans could be so peculiar sometimes, and this specimen of the furless race appeared to be one given to fidgeting and heavy breathing. Not something she had noticed about those of Aydyn’s kind before, the katta exerted an expression akin to one of utmost concern as she wondered whether anything was wrong with her student. Of course she had known newcomers to the art of arcana to be ridiculously excited and overeager at the start, but then she was not completely sure whether that was the case now, with Aydyn. Then again, they hadn’t really started on the actual learning process yet, and the human had yet to practise flinging spells and the like about. Perhaps she was merely nervous, and needed some time to calm down.

At the nod from her student, Laroalle approached Aydyn to lay one furred hand gently on her shoulder, the movement slow and precise so as not to shock or alarm the poor girl. The Unbinding could be a harrowing process as it was; the persettie did not wish to make her student’s experiences any worse through startling her now.

The process itself was relatively simplistic, and would simply leave Aydyn with an awareness of things she had not noticed before. The magical energies within her, and those infused within the bodies of every other living thing around her. With this new consciousness of the energies both inside and around her came the potential to start using magic, to create spells, even though she currently lacked the theory.

Subsequent to Aydyn’s Unbinding, and any ‘dreams’ or visions that may have accompanied it, Laroalle would look to her student once more, bright green eyes all of sympathy and compassion, before making to speak. The Unbinding could be a nasty process for some, after all, and she had no idea of the extent of what Aydyn might have gone through.

“Are you alright? Ready to continue? How are you feeling?”

If the human needed some time to rest after that last ordeal, then so be it. Laroalle was in no hurry, after all, and wanted her student to be fully prepared before going through the mental trials of having to learn theory. A difficult prospect in any case, it was better to ensure that the human was ready, before making to continue.

OOC: Feel free to RP out any Unbinding dream Aydyn has. Since its only a dream, you can be as creative as you like, without having to worry about bunnying.

[Aydyn Blair]

With her eyes closed Aydyn could not see the motions of her teacher and the brief stillness that followed her nod created an almost impatient, nervous energy within the girl. When she would have started fidgeting again, she refocused on her breathing. She flinched back a little when the katta placed her paw on her shoulder, but the heaviness of relaxation had largely claimed her and the surprise lifted shortly after it had captured her.

A new shock to her system overwhelmed her once the katta's paw had encased her shoulder. She had expected something slow - a gradual process - but this came, not in a rush, but in a sudden pop that startled her. She did not jump nor cringe, although the features on her face shifted in some wonderment at the alteration in her atmosphere. This...difference...she could feel the presence of the magic. It tingled over her and she longed to reach out and touch it.

As her fingers twitched, another sensation overcame her system. The magic altered and it seemed as though she opened her eyes for a wave of images flashed against her. She was back home, all the way at the outskirts of Candaceburg. She was tending the chickens with her niece Karissa, laughing with the child as the chickens fled from them in a hailstorm of feathers and sqwaks. Karissa had released her small basket of eggs in pursuit of the hens, sending the shells and their precious yolks splattering across the ground. A silly memory - pointless, happy, and yet with an overshadow of dismay at the wasted eggs - but it had come back to her, as if to remind her of something.

Aydyn came back from the dream with a spasm of her shoulders. Although it had not been frightening or upsetting, it nonetheless sent a slight chill down her spine. The memory had been so realistic. She shook the images out of her eyes with a glance around the room. She soaked in what was real and tangible - the chairs, the windows and the nature that swayed beyond them. And the magic.

She touched her fingers to her temples where a dull headache had settled itself. She looked up at her teacher with a somewhat dazed look on her face. "I'm all right. Just a little headache." She lowered her hand from her forehead, gripping the armrests. "And a little dizzy," she admitted after a moment with a faint smile. "But I'm okay. Ready to continue!" The magic distracted her, almost teasing her senses. She longed to reach out and to touch it.

[Minerva]

As a response to Aydyn’s words, the katta exerted a somewhat concerned smile, eyes narrowing in meek scrutiny as she tried to gauge whether or not there was any truth behind her student’s words. More than once in her time as a teacher her pupil’s had simply pretended to be alright, eager to learn the ways of arcana as they were, whilst all the while they were suffering inside. Not a good thing at all, even if keenness was something of an edge when it came to learning something as outwardly complex as magic. The human looked as though she could handle a continuation in their lesson, even if the Unbinding had left her inflicted with a dull headache and a spot of dizziness. Besides that, the woman would be given a short amount of time to recover whilst Laroalle explained some of the theory behind what it was Aydyn would eventually be able to do.

“You are sure? Then we’ll continue. The Unbinding can affect some people much worse than others, although I’d say you look more or less alright. Now then…”

Straightening in her position, the persettie’s fur almost seemed to bristle with excitement and anticipation as she made to explain the technicalities of ara and vis, one clawed finger outstretched and pointed towards the ceiling as she began to lecture her student on what it was she needed to know.

“You are aware of the energies around you, correct? Well, these energies are known as ara, and are a part of living thing around you. Plants, people, trees, flowers…ara is present in each of these. You, too, have magical energies within you, but these are called vis. In order to begin casting a magical spell, ara and vis must be brought together, but in order to properly see them, and thus manipulate them, you need to be in a state of meditation, called clara.”

The katta looked to her student then, hoping to the gods that she had not lost her somewhere along the way. She had not yet managed to get a good idea of how quickly Aydyn could pick up on the knowledge she would need as an initiate mage, and, at the same time, Laroalle did not wish to overload her pupil with too much information in one go.

“Clara gives you a heightening sense of perception, but in order to reach it you first need to clear your mind of all thoughts. Try to focus on one thing, letting go of your other senses one by one…and then clear your mind completely. When you have entered clara, you will be able to open your eyes unto the arcane plane, to see the magical energies around you. These appear differently to different people, so don’t be too surprised if what you see seems quite strange.”

A soft smile, and Laroalle was looking to her pupil once more, hoping that Aydyn had recovered a little more thoroughly from her experiences during the Unbinding, and the subsequent after-effects it had caused.

“If you feel ready, try it for yourself. The time for an initiate to enter clara usually takes anywhere between five and ten minutes, so do not feel too frustrated if it seems to take you a long time.”

There, Laroalle would stop, tail swishing idly back and forth as she waited for what it was her student would do next.

[Aydyn Blair]

As Laroalle settled back into her lecture of ara and vis, Aydyn shifted to sit near the edge of her chair. She stretched her legs out in front of her and positioned her folded hands in her lap. Her gaze was intent on the persettie and as she spoke Aydyn was aware of the barriers she was slowly, and mentally, constructing between herself and the magic, at least for the moment. It was a distraction that she could not afford if she wished to understand what the katta had to teach her. And Aydyn had to admit to herself, it seemed just a little more complicated than she had thought it would be. Having had no family or friends who had set out down this path, she was relatively clueless about everything relating back to the topic. Ara and vis were words she had never heard before and, as fascinating as her new awareness was, it wouldn't do her any good if she could not make any use of it.

"So ara is around me and vis inside me," she repeated in a quiet voice as her teacher paused. She nodded slightly, repeating the information in her head. That would not be a difficult concept. It would merely be a matter of keeping the words themselves separate.

Aydyn put her rapt attention back on the druidess as she continued. Clara, however, made Aydyn's head swim just a little. How did someone manage to push aside the senses? Aydyn supposed she could manage silencing her thoughts for five or ten minutes, but the senses... That seemed a feat in itself! She canted her head to the side slightly, giving the katta a somewhat puzzled look. Well, if she had to toss aside her senses, she would simply have to find a way how. There were clearly plenty of people who could do it. It obviously wasn't impossible. "All right," she said after a moment. She would have to try, at the very least.

Drawing in a deep breath, Aydyn pushed herself down the length of the seat until her spine was resting against the back of the chair once again. She kept her hands folded somewhat primly in her lap, figuring that the more they touched the more likely she was to be aware of the associated sense. Looking around, her eyes locked on a chair across from her. That would be as good as anything. It certainly wasn't going anywhere and if Aydyn intended on keeping her focus on something for longer than five minutes, it would have to be stationary.

Aydyn fell back on her earlier breathing exercise. Even if her instructor thought it was weird--which Aydyn was very blissfully unaware of--it worked to relax her and kept her focus on the bare minimal. After a short minute or two, Aydyn no longer had to repeat breath in, breath out to herself. When she became comfortably aware of her body sinking into the cushion of the chair beneath her, her attention gripped the chair across from her. The passage of time became inconsequential as her steady stare slowly began to dissolve her forced concentration. She may as well have been a shell of something, her thoughts having fled and her senses wandering anywhere other than at her beck and call.

With this newfound serenity came a different awareness. A sweep of energies pushed around her, enveloping her. Some arcane forces were stronger than others, brighter and more tangible, while others seemed like mere imitations of what Aydyn could better perceive. But they were there, all bound up on the arcane plane, thrumming with energy.

ooc: I hope that last bit was okay I had a hard time figuring out what exactly to put down!

[Minerva]

That her student had managed to enter a state of clara on her first attempt came as a great cause for joy in the heart of the persettie. Even at this early stage, it showed that Aydyn had potential, that she could do very well in her lessons here, and go on to be a highly capable initiate in her chosen sphere of arcana. Then again, entering a state of meditation could perhaps be considered the easy part; after all, there was still all that fiddling with ara and vis to be done, as well as the coaxing of the essence of nature to do the woman’s bidding. No…perhaps it was still too early to be making judgements and assumptions about Aydyn’s progress but, on a whole, Laroalle was pretty impressed with what her pupil had managed to achieve thus far, even if that did not really amount to much.

“You have it, don’t you? Good! Alright, then let’s not waste anymore time…I want you to try casting a simple spell, but don’t worry! I’ll talk you through it.”

She hoped that Aydyn would not find the prospect too daunting, but this was how Laroalle had chosen to structure their lesson this brightening, after all. Still, perhaps it was too early for the human to be flinging spells around…she had not really spoken of the theory at length yet, but then she found such things so dreadfully boring if prolonged for any great length of time. Better to let Aydyn try her hand at one of the simpler spells of initiate druidism, rather than have her distracted by the overwhelming desire to play with arcana. She knew that she had been the same, way back when, a fidgety little kit failing to conquer the want to cast spells, to skip the combatively tedious stage of learning theory and listening to boring lectures in favour of something altogether more exciting.

A smile manifested itself on Laroalle’s face as the katta reminisced, a gesture which showed a few white, pointed teeth, although only for the briefest of moments. For now was not the time to dwell on matters of the past; not when she had a student eager and waiting to be taught. Shaking her head dismissively, the female looked to Aydyn through those bright, slanted eyes of hers as she made to speak once more, each of her words clear and concise as they left the haven of her mouth.

“Alright, now you can see ara and vis, correct? Now, I know I said that this means you’ve reached the arcane plane, but that might not necessarily be correct, even if you can see the magical energies around you. So, what you need to do is draw ara towards yourself, using your vis as a beacon, or lure. Don’t force it, however! Be gentle with it, and once you think you’ve gathered enough, begin to intertwine it with your vis. This will set off a reaction known as arcalysis, and result in the production of mana. Drawing more ara towards yourself will result in the creation of more mana, although you won’t need much for the spell I am going to teach you now. As well as that, it will allow you to ensure you have reached the plane of arcana, also known as the Astral Plane.”

Pausing there to catch her breath after all that talking, it was all Laroalle could do to hope that her student had managed to understand at least some of what she had said. It was a lot to take in in one go, after all. Still, the persettie would rather have completed her explanation in its entirety prior to asking Aydyn if she had any questions, and so she ploughed on, her voice as clear and concise as it had been before.

“The Astral Plane is the convergence point for all the Essence planes. Essence is needed for whenever you want to create a spell, through being combined with the mana you have already made. In order to draw it, you must concentrate on the essence most relevant to your sphere. In this case, that would be the essence of nature, drawn from the Plane of Nature. Mixing this essence and the mana together, you will finally be able to work on shaping your spell.”

Again, Laroalle paused, and again, the interval was only intended for her to recover a little from the amount she had been saying. In truth, there was a lot more she could have gone over, but nothing of significant importance where initiate-level training was concerned. Now that she had explained the process of creating mana and mixing it with the relevant essence, however, all that was left was to explain the process of how to actually form the desired spell.

“Now then, the spell I want you to try is called Globe of Fireflies, which is pretty self explanatory. You will conjure a Globe of Fireflies into being, and they will light your way whenever you find yourself in the dark and unable to see. To do this, you will need to concentrate on converting the arcane mixture you have already created into a sphere of fireflies, living creatures. Imagine it happening within your mind, see the energy change itself into an array of the little beings…If you feel ready, try it now. Unless you have any questions, that is?”

Truthfully, Laroalle would be surprised if Aydyn had already gathered together an abundance of questions to be asked. Arcana was not the easiest thing in the Empire to learn, after all, and not many were able to understand its intricacies on their first try. Whether her student would prove to be one of these people was yet to be discerned, although all would be revealed when she next deigned to speak…

OOC: It's fine, honestly!

[Aydyn Blair]

If having been unbound had made her tickle, clara had escalated that tickle into a sturdy poke in the ribs. More tangible than before, the twists of energy around her were akin to some piece of candy dangled just out of reach from a child. Aydyn simply had to reach it. This is why when the persettie announce that she would actually be learning a spell almost immediately, a stir of anxiety and excitement flipped through her. Aydyn had to maintain some focus between her breathing and the words of her instructor in order to keep her mind from really straying. She didn't want to botch everything she had already gone through!

The vis is the cheese and the ara is the mouse. Aydyn visualized a little mouse trap set in front of a mouse hole, a lump of cheese stuffed onto the metal prong. She couldn't force that little bugger out of hiding, but she could sure as Aeternia tempt it out with something. It wasn't a very loving analogy, but it put into perspective the task in front of her. Tempt, not force.

But the analogy ended there. A trap snaring a mouse didn't exactly blend with what her instructor described and it certainly wasn't a very pleasant thing to think about when it came down to it. From there on out Aydyn would have to rely on sheer memory alone. But weaving the two energies together seemed logical to Aydyn. A mage couldn't very well keep the two separate. If that was the case, then pulling the two together in the first place was pointless. After this, Aydyn began to have her questions. What exactly was mana anyway? The more ara she combined with the vis, the more mana, that much Aydyn knew...and that it was used to produce spells. But what was it?

Before she could put forth her question, the katta pushed onward with her lecture and Aydyn catalogued it for future reference. As long as she knew what actions to go through, she figured it wouldn't matter whether or not she knew the definition of a word. Besides, that would only delay her interaction with the energies and she could always ask Laroalle after she had tried the spell.

As Laroalle explained the concept of the essences belonging to each specific sphere of arcana, the varying strengths of the energies around her were suddenly explained. One throbbed with a darkness that bothered Aydyn, but that one was the least vibrant. Aydyn would have to probe the stronger essences in order to figure out which one was nature. Nature went with the mana, which she still didn't have a firm definition of and it was this, and not the initial combination of ara and vis, which spawned a spell.

When the druidess paused, Aydyn did a quick mental recap of what the katta had told her. You tempt the ara with some vis, twine them together to create mana, which gets combined with the essence of nature...to make a spell.

It all seemed extremely complicated and for a moment Aydyn doubted she could really do it. But she only had a moment to doubt as Laroalle continued and as the katta spoke about the spell she was to manifest, her doubts were overcome with the eagerness that had pressed upon her earlier. Globe of Fireflies seemed easy enough. All she would have to think about was a round little ball created of a bundle of little fireflies. Well...that and a whole bunch of other things leading up to.

"I think I'll give it a try," Aydyn stated after the woman had concluded her lecture. She'd ask her question about mana afterwards, although she wasn't sure the katta would approve of that. Ah, well, the energies were calling and Aydyn had to do something about it!

Aydyn shifted around on her chair until she had managed to get comfortable again. She focused first on the vis, the image of a little cube of cheese popping into her head as she teased the magic that sat within her. Very slowly she drew the vis around her, clustering it. The next part seemed trickier to Aydyn. Lure the ara. Aydyn kept herself attached to the mouse idea. She pushed the small collection of vis towards the ara and very patiently prodded the energies of Telath towards her vis. It was not exactly a mouse running to grab the cheese, but the ara began closing in around the vis and she drew the growing combination of the two towards her even as they began to clung to one another.

When she thought she had enough ara, Aydyn turned her full concentration of what she had gathered. The two energies swirled about one another, a wisps shifting away to escape. Intertwining came next, she remembered as she twisted the energies about with her mind. She worked on creating a small sphere of twined ara and vis...something much like a pair of yarn balls that a kitten had gotten a hold of and managed to tangle the two together. She surveyed this next triumph, allowing herself a moment of elation. But she quickly reminded herself that she was not finished and that there were a few more steps to follow through before she could behold a ball of flashing bugs.

What do I do next? She licked her lips, trying to jog her memory. Oh! Oh! The essences! How could she have forgotten those? Her focus shifting between the manifested ball of ara and vis, Aydyn reached out towards the essences next. She brushed against each tingle of energy, getting a feel for them, until she finally found that of nature. Clamping her lips shut and drawing in a deep breath, she beckoned the essence towards her, urged it to combine its strength with the arcane energies she had already collected. She nearly lost it then, trying to maintain both of them, but she firmly grabbed a hold of both and gradually drew them together.

Now, Aydyn surmised, came the fun part. She already had formed a sphere out of the energies and so envisioning a sphere of bugs was not going to be too far of a stretch. Aydyn was also quite familiar with fireflies, having spent many summer evenings in her youth capturing the blinking creatures in jars. She recalled their tiny glowing forms to memory and imagined fifty of the little buggers inhabiting the little ball of magic she had created. Lots of little fireflies in the mix, she said over and over in her head as she concentrated on their little bodies with their blinking butts taking shape.