Initiate Elementalism (Self-moderated)

[Kevin Girth]

The Month of Ioannes in the Season of Summer,
of Era II of the Celestine Mandate Era XI,
Post Fractum in the Age of the Darkening.

Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Kevin continously mulled over the four elements, musing over their possible influences upon himself and the world around him. Well...he was walking on earth, but he was breathing air. Nearby there was fire, or at least the warmth of it, and water was everyone - that of course was necassary to live. Which one would he choose? Rather, which one would choose him? He had read long ago about Elementalists specializing in one given element and coming up weak in another. Sometimes the primary element was a drastic change, in others it was subtle and hardly noticeable. Regardless, Kevin never saw himself being the strong, bulky type of person of the earth, or the flimsy whimsy type of structure as air. Water was too...all over the place, and fire? Fire was just too dangerous. So which one was he?

Dressed in his dark-green cloak that nearly concealed all of his given apparel, Kevin made brisk strides towards the Institute, the garment gliding ever so slightly behind him with each step. A slender pale hand ran upwards and through the dark-brown tussles of his hair; bright hazel eyes stared slightly upwards at the massive stone building that began to tower over him. Like a sentinel it loomed over the smaller buildings that encompassed it, a quiet reminder of the history and very nature of the island. A crescent smile flickered across curved scarlet lips as the Human continued to approach the Arcana Institute. Shouldering his shortbow and quiver, and resting his left hand upon the pommel of his ancient longsword, Kevin grasped the mighty door's handle with his free hand and tugged open the heavy wooden structure. Quietly closing it behind him - completely contrary to his initial visit to the Academy - he silently padded into the hallway and waved to the clerk with a cheerful grin. Remembering the directions the Human behind the desk had given him two brightenings earlier, he quickly took the left hallway and made his way down it, coming to a halt at the third door to his right.

Pacing in front of it, Kevin was met with the final chance to contemplate his decision. A frown slightly marred his hansom features as he began to deliberate on if he was truly sure this was the road he wanted to take. He could see the goals and desires awaiting him at the end: fame, wealth, power. And, because he was more insightful than most other humans, he could also see the traits needed to attain those things: patience, passion, wisdom, and common sense. It was the latter of all those things that persuaded him to knock twice on the blue door, and it was the primer that helped him wait patiently for a reply. Much to his surprise, the door opened to reveal an elderly human mage, dressed in red robes with four stripes running up either side of his sleeves. "Ah...Serale there! You must be Kevin?" the Elementalist spoke with a bit of a grin as he opened the wooden door further, revealing a comfortable classroom. "I am Master Nicholas...Master of Elementalism, that is," the aging Human continued as he stepped aside to let his student enter.

Kevin's mouth parted slightly as his bright hazel eyes came into view of the room - or rather the other way around. Glancing about the room, Kevin saw several floating spheres of light bobbing about various corners of the area, floating in midair! One richly-woven tapestry of silk hung to the left side of the room, depicting several Air Elementals and one Air Elemental Lord in flight upwards towards the Heavens. An entire shelf filled the opposite wall, lined with books and other weird objects any non-mage student would find unusual. A finely crafted mahogany desk was juxtaposed to the third wall of the room, nearly beside the entrance. The opposite wall was lined with mirrors, coated in a protective Field of Force, but enabling the students and Master to notice all the things in the classroom. For decorational purposes, it also made the small room look much larger to the untrained eye. A glistening marble table with nothing on it reflected the light from the Glowing Spheres, and two comfortable mahogany chairs sat on either side, cushioned with velvet and padded like armchairs should be. Unlike previously, the room was in much better shape with no mounds of loose papers lounging about in corners or tucked beneath furniture. "Er yes, yes Master. It is a pleasure to meet you," Kevin spoke as he bowed his head slightly, still keeping his eyes locked onto that of the Master's. He had arrived.

[Kevin Girth]

"Tea?" the plump elderly Master asked his pupil as he glanced over to search for a nod or shake of youth's head. He was greeted with a no-thank you and a shake, in which Master Nicholas quietly poured a cup for himself and left the liquid smoldering in the kettle. What was interesting about the situaiton was the fact that there was no kettle, Master Nicholas had simply heated it up with an elemental shock that had contained a minor remnant of the Astral Plane of Fire. Of course, a Master Elementalist could not channel a large portion of the entire Plane across the astral transcendance and into the Physical Plane, but rather he had taken a mere handful's worth of the element and broke it down to the core of its being: heat. Afterwards, he channeled the spell directly into the teapot with the technique alteration. A simple yet increasingly useful little tidbit, that even a mere Apprentice could have performed with the given task and the right mind. "Very well then Kevin, let's start then," Master Nicholas spoke with a kind-hearted grin as he settled into his mahogany chair, his red-striped robes folding over themselves atop of the scarlet cushions. In fact, almost everything about the man seemed to be red...the chairs, the stripes on his robe, the plush round rug that encompassed the furniture, even the tapestry had vibrant borders of an orangish hue. The plump yet stocky Mage took a seat opposite of Kevin across the marble table, sipping his tea silently as his pure blue eyes took the Initiate in. He could see power, and subtlety, a rare combination. Patience was discovered soon-after, as well as a thirst to learn...which would be proven later. The Master's gaze pierced further into the youth's, the keen pupils beginning to make assumptions of things he thought he could detect from Kevin's nonchalance personality. There was talent, possibly. But there were also flaws, faults one may say. He could see frustration, desire, and even rage if the pupil was inflamed or emanciated over something. Yet those were the balances of all good students; it was the time that transpired with them that proved the victor.

"Mister Girth, if I may be so kind as to call you that," the old man spoke, a twinkle majestically dancing in his sapphire eyes before he continued, "would you be as kind as to tell me why you desire to learn Elementalism? It is not an easy sphere to muster, you should know," Master Nicholas spoke with a sigh, lounging back in his chair and achieving his goal of a more comfortable position.

Kevin grinned, his own eyes returning the same twinkle of mirth that danced in his Master's. The elderly Human seemed to be one of jolly, with a decent sense of humour. A joke or two would certainly crack the man up, yet Kevin felt a foreboding sense of grave seriousness emitting from the man too. Or was he wrong? Regardless, a full set of pearly white teeth glinted neatly at the Master, and Kevin leaned forward slightly, showing the attentiveness of a good speaker as he listened to the Master's question. "Master - would you prefer me to call you Master or Master Nicholas? - I must be honest and straight forward, up until two brightenings ago I was not sure of which sphere of Arcana I had wishes of pursuing. And yet I wanted to become a Magi anyways. I was in a state of turmoil, unsure and confused about the different spheres and definitely unable to pick one I'd stick to..." Kevin spoke, noting Master Nicholas' increasing attention as the old man sat up from his hunched over position. "So, I took a walk on the shores of Endiness. Now, I must warn you I am new to Demios and more of a tourist at this point in time," Kevin mentioned in a light tone and bemused grin, "and I found the shores to be quite popular with the locals. However...I also found something else there. I found peace. I was able to walk along the northern side of the Isle in quiet deliberation, and it was there that Nature's sense really fine tuned me. I narrowed my opinion down between Druidism and Elementalism. Now, when I originally lived in Natura I had hopes of becomming a Druid. But...I wanted something more. I love Nature and always will, but I could not discover the earnest inside myself to protect her. Instead, I decided to protect what a portion of her represents, the elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. I found all of these on the Shores of Endiness. I was walking upon the earth, the very grains of sand beneath my boots, and the coming tides were obviously composed of water. Air was all around me, fluctuating as it always does with the coming breeze, and fire I found within my heart. I suppose you could say I am more of a lover, not a fighter - that is, a lover for my art. As I came to decide upon Elementalism, I realized it is not a mere tool that you use to destroy...rather, it is an Art one must practice to create..." Kevin trailed off in a faltering tone, unable to carry on in his speech as he took a deep breath and looked up into Master Nicholas' eyes beseechingly.

Yet Master Nicholas had heard enough from the very beginning. The passion in which the lad in front of him had spoken had very well convinced him from the start, in accompany of the boy's tone as well. As Kevin spoke, he did not pay attention to the elderly Human standing up and coming around the table, ignoring the Master for going back to get more of his tea. However, Nicholas simply maneuvered himself behind the talking lad, and placed two fingers upon the back of his neck. Kevin could feel, through that, his world changing. It was as though he had been blind from the beginning, his eyes letting only some light transpire while a much vibrant world lied beyond unnoticed and unchanging. Slowly, starting with the edges of his vision, colour brightened and the life of the world seemed to pry into his eyes forcing him to take notice. Kevin remained quiet, having finished his speech, but stayed silent for a matter of minutes while the brighter light began to replace the fading dull.

His new world, the new Him, released to Kevin's senses for the very first time, seemed humongous. And it was quite true, since the Initiate's mind had been opened not only to the three dimensions of Nature but also the fourth - that of the astral plane. He could now see the energies that were being drawn from his world, and transpiring back into the one he had just discovered. Probing around in his mind, more energy pressed: feelings and thoughts that attracted more interest than anything physical Nature could offer. They were surprisingly recognizable to the Human, though they probably were for all magi. Far off in the distance Kevin could note a bright, warm energy of benevolence and order that signified the power of the Thaumaturgists, and farther still the infernal and dark essence of Necromancy. Others were present, and seemed much more closer - the fiery flames and cool ice that symbolized Elementalism existing directly before him, while the soothing etheral chords of song and trembling force of sorcery seemed to be nearby.

"Amazing..." Kevin spoke in a low tone, his eyes blinking several times. Yet it was no longer the arcanic energies that was amazing him. It was Master Nicholas, who had strode boldly out into the center of the room and began spellweaving. He had seeped into Clara in a matter of seconds, and had already created an Arcalysis and thus produced Mana. From this he began to weave a spell with such delicacy so fine Kevin felt an Emperor to be priveledged a view. The spell, Freeze as it was formally known - a Master spell -, was swiftly taking shape before Kevin's eyes. Without hesitation Master Nicholas gathered the essence of Water from its respective Plane and channeled a reasonable amount into his spell, enlocking it within the Mana before shaping it to create its second-degree form of Ice.

Binding the spell to the Physical Plane, it began to take shape within the classroom, spreading over the Tapestry along the sidewall and moving quickly to the right. Within seconds it had breached the second wall and was beginning to turn upon the shelves of books on the third. A moment later and the ice had encompassed the pupil and his Master, and was beginning to gather thickly across the ceiling and floor. The glistening reflective substance shined off the walls, furthermore reflecting the light from the floating spheres and sending it off sparkling in all different directions, making the room quite bright. It did not help that large icicles were beginning to form above the duo's head, or that the floor was becommingly increasingly slick as layer over layer of ice grew upon it. A minute later: everything was coated in a one inch layer of pure, cold ice save for Master Nicholas and Kevin's chair. The Initiate's eyes were as big as boulders.

"Welcome, Kevin Girth, to the sphere of Elementalism. Your Initiate course begins now."

[Kevin Girth]

He was there, and yet he wasn't. Both events seemed to correspond with one another; as if he was looking into a tiny snow globe at himself. He felt...unusual, to classify it broadly. It was as if his soul had been lifted out of his collapsed being, and he was able to stand back and watch. Regardless, the situation he had been in before had changed drastically. He was no longer sitting in a frozen classroom, shrouded by the reflecting light of ice. Nor was he in Master Nicholas' company. He was...somewhere else. Somewhere dark. Wait, was it even him that was there? He had no body, no physical being to attach himself to. He simply was. And thus his unbinding carried its toll on him.

The spirit of Kevin Girth was floating in the middle of a heavy rainstorm. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed severely all around him. Squinting into the swirl of wind and rain, the Humanoid spirit could just barely make out the outline of a rugged beach, with waves as high as men crushing down upon its soft sands. The storm raged onwards, oblivious to the destruction it was causing. In the distance, Kevin saw a fisherman's boat being tossed about like a pebble on the water's surface until suddenly a humongous wave towered above it and fell. All life was lost. A shiver tingled up Kevin's spine and he cringed visibly, albeit he was not visible to the naked eye. And yet, admist all the dreary and bleak atmosphere, one thing shown brighter than any other. A tower, dark and gray, and yet illuminated in a coat of light absorbed the storm's fury and loomed over the beach, rallying the sand to it as it withstood the forceful waves. Upon it, admist the circumfrence of the battlements, were four brightly glowing elemental lords. Suddenly Kevin felt all life drain from him, and his spirit was grasped by an invisible force and sent speeding towards the turret.

"He is mine!" an immensely powerful voice pierced through the thunder's rumbling, and suddenly a violent lash of earth pummeled into one of the other elementals. Fire recooperated quickly, springing around the turret's battlement and coming back with a fury of heat. "I....have offered more than once to take him under my wing. We know he will do well with me," the flaming figure hissed as he sent a fireball waging towards the bulky earth elemental. And yet all too soon it was frozen by the flick of her hand, and yet she remained quiet at present, watching the interaction between the two Lords whilst keeping an eye on Iffrein, the Air elemental. Suddenly, without warning Kevin's spirit was snatched by a stone hand and brought within the center of the tower's top, in between all four Elements. "He is mine!" Earth's voice rumbled out again as the stone hand tightened, grasping Kevin's body in a deathlock type of grip as the Elemental forcefully made his point. Kevin felt nothing at all, and yet he could not find the strength to move. Suddenly though, the pain began to ease, and the stone hand was brought apart inch by inch by an unseen force. Iffrein, the Air Elemental Lord came forward in the shape of a wisp, just like Kevin was at the moment. "I shall take him under my studies, and he shall prosper there. I take him under my wing - and I choose him," the Elemental Lord spoke as he turned to Kevin and smiled. Natalya simply grinned and stood by him, the water Elemental swaying silently in the wind's mighty breeze as the two stood in front of Kevin.

Of course, this did not come without problems. As Elementalists knew, one was usually extremely efficient with one element and yet found it hard to wield another. It fell along the lines of primary and contrary. Within seconds a thick mass of earth pierced through Iffrein's form and pummeled into the tower's battlement, causing the stone structure to give way and fall atop of the stormy waters below. Natalya turned swiftly to the sea and brought up the waves with a simple delicate wave, causing a tsunami so high it loomed twice the height over the tower's. Iffrein, meanwhile, quickly lifted Kevin with a bemused chuckle and whimsy laugh and the two shot up into the sky. Saslik, the Fire Lord, quickly darted around him, creating a barrier of fire. Although dissensions did not commonly occur within the Elemental Planes, when they did they were well balance and taken care of. The Elemental Lord of Earth plummeted upwards on his own building turret of rock, coming into reach of the nexus Iffrein and Kevin were floating upon. Kevin's spirit glanced upwards just in time to see Iffrein's arms raised high above his head, and between them a meteor quickly plummeting towards the earth. Well, the earth elemental at least. The rising tower of stone plummeted and was destroyed in a matter of seconds as the asteroid hit, giving up any hope of any further instigation.

And then the storm stopped. Peace came. Silence filled the air. And Kevin found himself staring at Iffrein, the wisp whose definition was only shaped by the outlining of dust that followed his body movements. "You have been chosen, and are rested. Wake up - Kevin Girth, and begin your learning."

...and so it came to be.

[Kevin Girth]

"Finally, you're awake!" the cheerful and strangely drawn out voice of Master Nicholas rung in Kevin's ears as heavy eyelids fluttered open to reveal the classroom - this time minus the ice. Bright hazel eyes pierced through the veil of straight eyelids and examined the atmosphere around them: the same cushioned seats, the marble table in the center. The light in the room was different, there were no longer any glowing balls or flickering flames, but instead simple candles. The curtains had been drawn back and golden sunlight shot its way through the glass panels, indicating by its awkward color it was the afternoon. "You have been...asleep, for some candlemarks now. Maybe three? Regardless, here, take this. It'll make you feel better," Master Nicholas spoke as he handed the youth a crust of bread and flask of water. He had remembered his first unbinding, and how ravenous he had felt afterwards. Kevin had been unconscience for some time now, and what happened within his mind was his secret to know and cherish. Master Nicholas had never shared his with anyone, a firm believer that it was meant to be known only to him. However, he had heard from some foolhardy mages that most Initiates experience dreams that foretold of their greatness or death. His was unlike that.

Kevin greedily took the food and began to eat as if he had been starved. He felt tired, and, looking into Master Nicholas' piercing blue eyes, he could see the Master was somewhat tired too. Almost as if the unbinding had had an effect on either of them. Munching on the day-old bread and taking a few swigs from the flask, Kevin adjusted his emerald-green cloak and smoothed out its wrinkles. He could still clearly remember what he had seen, and the dream was embedded within his memory forever, like carving in stone. Iffrein, the Air Elemental Lord, had chosen him as if he was a student. It was strange...and rather unique, so to say. "So, Master. Where do I begin?" Kevin asked eagerly, a majestic twinkle flickering across the cheerful orbs as they stared intently upon the elderly mage in front of them.

A bemused chuckle and wide grin cracked Master Nicholas' old wrinkly features, and he patted his stomach cordially while his old voice filled the room with laughter. This one was eager, perhaps a bit too much but nonetheless filled with excitement. "There are a few things I'll have to explain to ya first, Mr. Hero. For example, that state of mind you were in - where you saw the arcanic energies floating around you, and yes those were arcanic energies - is called Clara. Extremely important, that is. Without being in the meditative state of Clara, a Magi would not be able to cast spells. And what next? You were accessing the Astral Plane. Well, not really accessing it...but looking upon it from a distance you could say. Now Kevin, it is absolutely important that you know that every organic thing has arcanic energies inside of it. A tree, for example, has arcanic energy flowing through it. But it does not know that. Aerternia, a tree cannot even think! It is what we classify as bound, meaning it cannot access the Arcanic Planes. You, however, are now unbound. You can access those Planes, but you do not know how. That is why I am here. The energies that belong uniquely to each individual person are called Vis. It is always inside of you, until you run out of it. In order to gain access to the Astral Plane, you must mold your Vis with Ara, or the energies that float randomly about us. The combination of the two is called an Arcalysis. Once you have an Arcalysis, you must again use your Vis as well as the essence of your chosen sphere to create a spell. So, as you can guess, this takes up a lot of your personal energy. That is why it is extremely important, especially for an Initiate, not to push themselves too hard. Because, as I'm afraid to tell you Poppet, once you have depleted every little bit of your Vis, you no longer exist. Your Vis is what you are, and once you lose it, you die. So...

Continuing on. I want you to get yourself into a comfortable position in that seat of yours, and focus on clearing every single thought in your mind. Sometimes it helps thinking solely on getting rid of all those other thoughts, you are in fact only thinking about one thing, and then getting rid of that all together. Clear your mind. This is called Meditation, and once you are in the perfect tranquil state of it, you will feel yourself slipping into another dimension. I want you to then open your eyes, and tell me what you see. If you're successful and extremely lucky, you'll see the Astral Plane before you. Now, go ahead - try."

Kevin nodded and took a deep breath, placing the crust of bread and flask atop of the marble table before them before sitting back and curling his legs into him. Closing his eyes, he began to think about all his thoughts, and imagined himself barring them off one by one, as if locking them up and tossing away the key. His brow furrowed slightly, and he found himself struggling to keep even one thought forgotten. It seemed as if all of a sudden his mind had become enlivened with thousands of people living inside of it, each one voicing their opinion at the same time. Five minutes passed by, and still he struggled. "Do not fret. Here, take a drink of water and try again. I must assure you it is perfectly normal not to reach Clara on your first try. Less than 1% of the Empire's population ever attain it so quickly as that, except for Allerians and Dragons, of course. Okay, yep drink up. That's a good boy, now close your eyes and start over, alright? Good." Master Nicholas comforted the Initiate as he too sat intensely and roamed about Clara, attempting to sense if and when Kevin would be able to follow through with his meditation.

The Human sighed, took three deep breaths, and tried once more. He found his mind flooded with oxygen, and felt almost dizzy with the airy-type of feeling most blondes usually encounter on a regular basis. He was more determined, more dedicated so to say, and strove almost violently to gain the meditative state. Disciplined, he began to lock away his thoughts and focus only on the idea of striving to reach Clara. He had confidence within himself, and courage as well, yet a little voice lingered in the back of his mind reminding him of his first failure, and so he was a bit apprehensive rather than acting cocky. Five minutes passed by, and still he was struggling. Four more after that, and Master Nicholas had voiced his concerns for Kevin to take a break twice already. It was not until eleven minutes had ticked by on the clock that Kevin felt a weight being lifted off of his shoulders, as if he had lifted a boulder and relieved himself of the pressure of it. It was a strange feeling...as if he was floating in the clouds. He felt nowhere and yet everywhere at the same time. Quietly, frightened and perplexed, he opened his eyes and stared out into the arcanic fibres that made up the world around him. "Master! Master Nicholas - I'm there!" he spoke in an excited yet hushed tone as he whispered eagerly to the concerned Human before him.

[Kevin Girth]

And he truly was. Master Nicholas felt the youth barely colliding with the Astral Plane, yet Kevin's presence - and exclamation - was more than enough to persuade him that the Initiate had indeed attained his state of Clara. But what was next? Kevin had already mastered Meditation, albeit the fact he would be practicing it five times every day for a good month or so. The elderly Human paused for a moment, wondering what course plan would be best for his new student. It was never the same with all of them. Each person he taught had different levels of efficiency. Kevin, so far, seemed to be doing slightly above average compared to the grand majority of the pupils Master Nicholas had instructed. Oh, why not.

"Alrighty then Hero, good job. Now I will teach you how to cast a spell. Well, a spell and a technique. If you look inwards of yourself, you'll locate your Vis. I want you to Focus your Vis with the Ara around you. Concentrate on the individual fibers and strands and attempt to mold them. It is all willpower. You are in complete control. They are inferior to you. Remember that, and you'll do fine. Once you have molded the two together, an Arcalysis will occur. The Arcalysis is simply the term that defines the reaction. It allows you access into the Astral Plane. Now...this is where it gets tricky. In order to cast a spell, a Magi needs to use more of his personal Vis as well as the essence of his sphere to create essentially Mana, which is the substance that the spell is made up of. But Elementalism has four different essences: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Of course, you cannot choose an essence yet as you do not know the principals of the spell. The Spell we will be learning is formally called Glowing Sphere, and is usually the first spell any of my Initiate pupils learn. The Elementalist is to channel the essence of fire or the secondary form of water: ice, and create a floating sphere of light. Now, you'll be able to control this light, of course, but I doubt you'll find yourself able to on your first attempt. Now, go ahead and try, really. It's simple, once you get the hang of it," Maser Nicholas spoke in a slow mellow tone, doing his best to keep Kevin in a calm state so the youth wouldn't drop out of Clara.

Kevin took a deep breath and began. He found himself able to move about the energies around him if he only bent his will upon them. If he concentrated, they accelerated and things got done a lot faster. Thus it was when his Vis combusted with the Ara around him that he was able to access the Astral Plane. Things were beginning to look different. He was surrounded, encompassed by the four elements of his sphere. Master Nicholas had told him to use water or fire. From his dream, and going purely by his dream, he had remembered the Water Elementress to have been a lot more polite than the Fire Elemental Lord. And so he chose water. Yet it was rather difficult. This being the first time to gather an essence from his sphere, Kevin found the water to move towards him and yet remain firmly attached to the plane it belonged. It was not until a minute of pure, bent concentration that Kevin was able to summon barely a handful of the amount. Summoning up his internal reserves of Vis, he began to weave an interesting orb. He found that if he used his Vis as a sort of cage, and focused the watery essence into the spell, the water would be contained. Now the only thing left was to finish the weave and bring it back to the Physical Plane. "Here goes nothing..." Kevin mumbled as he finished the structure and drew himself out of his meditative state.

Slowly, ever so slowly, a floating orb appeared directly above the table, between the Master and his Pupil. At first it seemed to contain simply a swirling mass of clear blue water. And yet as the spell finished its entrance into the Physical Plane, the water hardened and then began to reflect as ice. It was magnificent! Er...was, since it only lasted perhaps five seconds before flickering and then leaving all together. Still, it was a success! "Perfect, well done Kevin! I feel that is enough for today - I cannot push your mind beyond its limits, simply because if I do you might not survive your first class, hehe! Go home, rest, and drink lots of water. I want you to practice this spell two more times today. Don't expend yourself though. Tomorrow, arrive on the candlemark after dawn in this classroom, and we will see if you have made any progress. You did an excellent job today, I'll expect no less from you tomorrow," Master Nicholas spoke as he stood up and showed Kevin the door with a cheerful grin.

[Kevin Girth]

Kevin left the Institute after having been shown the way out of the building and quickly made way for the Shores of Endiness. It was there that he found the peace and relaxation he needed to attain Clara, and it was to the rhythym of the beach's washing waves that he found himself able to attain a meditative state faster rather than being surrounded by noises. Sitting cross-legged and allowing the waves to lap over the soles of his boots just barely, Kevin was definitely able to conjure forth the essence of water at a much faster rate. Indeed, it seemed he had an affinity for the element, yet from his dream he had remembered that it had been Air that had taken him along as a pupil, not water. Had something gone wrong? Cautiously though Kevin reminded himself that he had not yet tried to wield the essence of Air, and nor would he attempt to do so without the guiding force of Master Nicholas. All in all, Kevin was able to cast the spell successfully twice more, the latter of the two lasting for a full minute before Kevin lost hold of his concentration upon it. Beaming with success, Kevin merrily enjoyed a crust of bread from his pouch and a beautiful sunset as he sat on the beach alone thinking about his choice of becomming an Elementalist.

~~~

The next brightening, sharply at the seventh candlemark Master Nicholas heard three quick raps upon his door. A cheerful smile and two bright hazel eyes greeted him cordially before moving past the elderly frame and sitting down in the same chair they had been greeted with yesterday. "I was able to cast the spell again, twice as you said. I felt really tired afterwards though Master Nicholas. However, it was worth it! The second time it lasted for a full minute! If I keep practicing it I think I'll do well enough," Kevin spoke in a mellow tone as he watched Nicholas sit across from him, his white robe shimmering from the light coming from the early morning's glistening rays of sunlight. The old master only seemed to smile with a bemused grin and quiet chuckle. Kevin leaned forward attentively before speaking. "Now, I do have some questions, just so I make sure I understand this Arcanomechanic gig. First off...initially molding your vis with the ara around you creates an arcalysis and places your mind in the astral plane, right? Okay, that's what I thought. Secondly, Focusing is when you strive to find the correct plane, and therefore also the essence within it. Then a Mage has to Channel the essence so that he can mold it with his vis to create mana, which is what you shape the spell with. Right?" Kevin spoke, and a quick nod from Nicholas with another chuckle confirmed the young lad's suspicions. So, Mister Kevin Girth had figured out the Arcanomechanics behind Arcana after all, or at least understood them enough to teach the good news of magic to others. Well then.

"Alright Hero, it seems you've learned your stuff. Now that I don't need to remind you about the Arcanomechanics behind each spell anymore, you'll be learning one very similar to the Glowing Sphere you learned yesterday. Except today's spell is called Elemental Orb. It is, essentially, the same structure of spell...except this time there is no limit on which essences you may use. Earth comes as a ball of stone, Water as a shard of ice, Air as electrical energy, and Fire, my affinitive element, as a flaming mass of fury! Hehe, well...regardless, the orb you conjure forth will be rather small...but later on it can become an extremely effective weapon. Okay Poppet, so one more thing...you know where the essence Plane of Water is; located within the broadly termed Plane of Elementalism. You should know that each element has a counter element, fire is countered by water, water is countered by air, air is countered by earth, and earth is countered by fire. That's what makes this world go round, or is it flat? Ah...I'll be having to brush up on my philosophy, eh'? Anyways, as is the elements so are their Planes. Don't expect to find Fire in Water, or you'll have your head up your butt and we'll have to worry about bigger things than the time it takes for you to get to Clara, okay Hero?" Master Nicholas spoke with one of his trademark grins and cackles of laughter, promptly ignored by Kevin as the youth settled down in his chair.

Quietly Kevin went into a meditative state, thinking solely upon achieving Clara. He thought with some confidence, but enough to be cocky, and found it surprisingly easier to bar off the thoughts he had found impossible yesterday. With a slight strain of effort Kevin achieved Clara in only eight minutes, not the seven he had achieved on the quiet Shores of Endiness, but a decent burst of speed for classroom learning. Following through with having achieved the arcanic state, Kevin bent his will upon the strands of Ara around him and brought them towards his personalized Vis - the very life he was made up of. The two combusted and thus brought his mind into the Astral Plane, where he was to observe and yet not wholly enter. Nobody except a Master or Archmagi could immerse themselves so deeply into the Planes as to actually travel them, and even then that was dangerous. Regardless, Kevin focused and found the essence of Air next to the Plane of Water, bordering the edges of the Plane of Elementalism. He smiled inwardly as he channelled the essence, finding it subtle enough to be easily brought before him. In fact, it seemed to flow towards him. He barely had to bid it to do anything. It was almost sentient, Kevin thought, in the fact that it seemed to know where to go and what to do. Having perhaps two-handfuls worth of the element of Air, Kevin molded it with his Vis once more - noting the amount of Vis he was using cautiously - and thus had Mana! With this he shaped the spell into an orb, just as he had done the one yesterday, except this time he was filling the orb with the element of Air as opposed to Water. With a sigh that bellied his excitement and rather outlined the drain on his mind, Kevin brought the Orb back into the Physical Plane, eagerly awaiting it.

And so it came to be that a ball of static, funelling energy came to float in front of Kevin and Master Nicholas. The orb seemed to be rotating, and with it the electric power churned the opposite direction clearly outlining the white streaks of pure, raw energy. With the slight whim of his mind, his power bent upon it, Kevin caused the orb to fly around in circles above the two Humans' heads, making it go faster and faster. Unfortunately, it spun out of control and hurled itself into one of the classroom walls, dispersing immediately and sending electrical charges crawling over a span of four feet. "Er...sorry Master," Kevin spoke in an apolegetic tone, glancing back from the wall to see if the ever-cheerful Nicholas had finally become upset. The answer? Well of course not.

"Not to worry Poppet, that's what walls are built for, eh'? So we can hurl things at them! This Institute wasn't build out of sand you know! Although, I must say...you'd be amazed what you can do with sand. Minuteless tiny little grains, they are. Send them at your opponent and you can choke the life out of him! Er...not that I should be discussing that in class, eheh..."

[Kevin Girth]

"Alrighty then, your next spell will be one of a similar nature, in reference to the elemental orb at least. It is formally called Elemental Shock, and is practically the same. However, this spell delivers damage directly - straight into your target's internal being. You can cast it within medium proximity, not too far of course, and I recommend using it with fire or ice. However, the only real difference in the construction of the spell is your weave will be a bit more loose. Do not pack the Vis too closely together or it might not pass through your victim's skin. Now...lets see. Oh, yes silly me. Let me get Fred," Master Nicholas spoke as his elderly frame stood up and hunched over towards the cabinets and drawers on the opposite side of the room. Rummaging through three shelves he finally found what he was looking for: a target dummy, if you would call it so. Obviously, Fred was intended to be used for these types of spells. Now, upon closer inspection one would realize Fred was simply made out of a pillowcase filled with straw, and a stiched linen head all stitched together and attached to a wooden pole. However, someone, by the looks of it a child, had taken the time to take a piece of charcoal and draw a smiley face and two eyes upon the head, and a large round heart on the pillowcase. Kevin had every bit of intention to aim for that heart. "Very well Hero, show your stuff," Master Nicholas spoke as he conjured forth a pile of earth and stuck the pole into it, making sure to shuffle around some of the dirt so that if Kevin did indeed use Fire, it would not spread on the floor. With that, he slowly made his way back to his chair.

Kevin had to work hard to attain Clara again, having lost it after casting his Elemental Orb. He quickly barred off his thoughts and achieved it with little pressure - yet pressure was still evident as his brow furrowed many times. Afterwards he combined his personal reserves of Vis, noticing enough for at least one more spell after this one, with the strands of Ara around him; bringing his mind to Arcalysis. He then focused to find the Elemental Plane, and upon noticing the strong Fire Elemental Plane, he waited patiently for it to subside. Fire was strong, powerful, and greedy. It would envelope him if it could, and he had to be extremely patient with himself to channel just barely enough for the spell to be complete. After combining his Vis with the essence of Fire, he began to use the Mana to weave his spell...constructing a spear-like structure that was loosely tied together. Filling it with the Fire Essence, he checked things over once more before bringing the spell back to the Physical Plane, allowing it to form momentarily.

A flicker of flame, and then a steady burst developed between Master Nicholas and Kevin. "Impressive. Now, I want you to direct the spell towards Fred with your mind. It is under your control, and responds to your will," Master Nicholas explained with a cheerful grin as his eyes locked onto the relatively small flame, ready to dispel it if Kevin lost control. Luckily, this was not the case. Kevin, taking Master Nicholas' word and deciding to follow his Master's bidding, hurled the spear at Fred. It was too hard to tell if it passed through the heart directly, but it made it through the pillowcase and ignited the straw on fire; soon Fred was a flaming mass that was drooping slightly. "Well done!" Master Nicholas stood and quickly dispelled the Initiate's spell, allowing a smoldering, somewhat ashy Fred to droop in silence on his pole. "That was quite a task, and I'm pleased you were able to finish it. You have three more spells to learn, plus another technique. Consider this a halfway point in your training..." Master Nicholas grinned. He had already decided what he would be doing to Kevin on the last day.

[Kevin Girth]

"Your next spell is formally called Elemental Grasp. Similar to the Initiate line fo Elemental spells - this one envolves coating your hands in the given element, as you have probably already guessed. You basically envelope your hands in the aura of any element, most usually choose fire or ice, and it will not harm you. Now, Mr. Hero is asking how, am I right? Well, you practically weave the spell around your hands, make sure you dont let physical contact occur. It's usually good to create the vis cage about one inch away from your skin, just in case. Now, this spell as I would imagine is primarily used for hand-to-hand combat, but I wouldn't be surprised if some thug uses it to make mugging an old lady of her purse a bit easier. Anyways, go ahead. Your choice on the element, but I want you to punch Fred here in the head. Don't worry, if it falls off we can sew it back on - he's use to it," Master Nicholas spoke with a cheerful wink before standing up and moving over to get some tea from the kettle; he was well aware it would take Kevin a long while to reach the state of Clara once again.

And it did. Eight minutes later, Kevin finally felt the penetration that kept his mind from attaining it quicker break and eventually crumble, leaving the arcanic energies to flood the breach and paint the new world he was becomming accustomed to. With a self-confident smile Kevin glanced at Master Nicholas, an easy signal that he had attained his goal and was no longer worrying about closing off thoughts. With some ease Kevin began to focus upon the strands of Ara around him, bending his will upon the Arcanic energies. He combined them with his personal supply of Vis - noting he had enough for this spell and the next before he would potentially run out - to create an Arcalysis. Here he traversed upon the Elemental Plane and began to channel the essence of water, combining it again with his draining supply of Vis. It was then that he began to weave the spell, cautious to allow the ice to coat around his hand rather than touching it. He wove a simple sphere, ball-like in all circumfrences, and channelled the ice into it. He was beginning to get the hang of this - the spellweaving and whatnot. It wasn't as complicated as it had seemed so long ago - two days in reality.

Bringing his spell back to the Physical Plane, Kevin grinned broadly when he saw a coat of solid, hard ice at least four inches thick envelope around his right hand. "May I have the honors?" he politely asked a bemused Master Nicholas who bidded him to continue with the instruction. Bringing his fist back somewhat awkwardly (it was slightly bulkier after all), Kevin hurled it at Fred's head with all his might. He clipped it on the right side, not a noticable miss but a miss nonetheless. As the block of ice caught the simple linen, it rolled off and nearly hit the wall. However, a second try justified Kevin's patience as it hit Fred square in the nose, ripping off the stitches and letting it glide to the ground.

"Well done Kevin, well done. Your next spell is called Earth Spike. Basically, you will be summoning forth the essence of Earth and target a place in the ground for it to form into a large spike. It forms a decent barrier, rather deadly if you can time it perfectly. Understood?" Master Nicholas asked. He wanted to test Kevin this time. See how well the lad could adapt back into Clara, casting one spell after another like that. He wouldn't give Kevin the bit of respite the boy had known earlier, no...this one would be a direct follow-up.

Kevin nodded and felt around within Clara. He had lost the Elemental Plane after having tranversed back into the Physical, so he quickly summoned up the surrounding Ara and created yet another Arcalysis. He then stumbled onwards to the Elemental Plane of Earth, noticing that the drain on his Vis was substantially slowing him down. With a frown Kevin tried to grasp the rocky element, but it churned away from him, avoiding him. His brow knitted and sweat tensed there momentarily before he was able concentrate hard enough to channel it forth properly. Even then he barely had enough for the spell. Evening it out loosely he weaved a cage out of his vis in the form of a small spike. He was working on a limited amount of the element, after all, and didn't want for it to fall to pieces before Master Nicholas. Creating it rather hastily as he felt his hold on Clara slipping, he checked it over briefly before bringing it back into the Physical Plane.

The spike formed within seconds, shooting up from the earth and standing almost as proud as the Initiate had been moments before. Now he was just tired, pooped, worn out. Whatever you would liek to call it - Kevin felt like he was going to collapse. The rush on his last spell for the day had been awkward to say the least, and very tiring. Now he had to live with its consequences. Nonethelesss the elemental spike was successful, if barely. It fell apart minutes later, the dirt - Kevin had not been able to conjure anything more than packed mud for all Master Nicholas saw - collapsing in on itself. But that was fine.

"You did a swell job lad. You should be proud adjusting so quickly to the overbearance. I want you to go to bed early tonight, get some rest and a good meal. Nothing helps more than that. Understood?" Master Nicholas spoke, putting down his cup of tea and walking to the door with his Initiate. With a grin, he waved him off and stared after the receding form.

[Kevin Girth]

A candlemark before dawn Master Nicholas heard the earnest rapt upon his door. Carefully placing his cup of green tea upon the marble coffee table, the elderly man stood and slowly meandered his way to the entrance of his abode, fully aware that Kevin had arrived - on time - for the last day of his Elementalism training. Grasping the bronze doorknob and giving it a swift yet ardent tug, the wooden door opened to reveal Kevin, hair neatly combed and face washed, standing cheerfully in the doorway. "Come in, come in. I take it you slept well?" Master Nicholas spoke, observing the young man's cheerful disposition, especially at this hour in the morning. After receiving the reply he had expected, he led Kevin into the room and closed the door behind him, ordering the pupil to sit in his regular chair while he himself took up the one across from it.

"Alright then Hero, today will be, no...is your last day. We have only two things to learn, the technique dispel and the spell Inner Radiance. These are perhaps the hardest things to grasp in any Initiate Elementalism course, besides Clara. Inner Radiance is a defensive spell, one out of a handful for Elementalism. The purpose of this spell is to create a field of energy around you with the essence of fire. As you might imagine, this creates an aura that is intensely heated. At higher profiencies, you might be able to use actual fire to lash out at the victim, but for now it is simply intense heat. Now...I'm going to let you figure out how to weave this one. It's similar to your Elemental Grasp. Go ahead now," Master Nicholas spoke, giving his usual brief and short memo for the day's lessons before allowing Kevin to experiment for himself. Nicholas was a firm believer that you could teach a pupil anything, but they would not fully understand it until they had fulfilled it themselves, perhaps even multiple times.

Kevin quietly went through the straining process of attaining Clara. He barred off all his thoughts, focusing only on his goal with slight confidence from previous experience. Seven minutes later he was sucessful, and once more the arcanic energies flooded his senses and depicted a world no longer entirely unknown to him. With a self-assured grin and a glance to Master Nicholas Kevin began to focus on the strands of Ara around him, drawing them with his personal supply of Vis as they created Arcalysis. From this he was able to locate the Plane of Fire, channel it, and take a bare handful of its essence. He didn't need a large amount because he neither wanted to create the true intent of fire but only its heat, and also he was not favorable of falling prey to the element's power. Combining this with his Vis once more he was able to use the Mana to weave the essence of the spell, creating a layer that was an inch away from his skin and an inch thick. With the Vis serving as a cage he infused the Essence of Fire inside of it, allowing it trickle around his entire body before shutting off the openings and bringing back the spell to the Physical Plane.

Master Nicholas watched keenly as he saw a flicker of light appear around Kevin. Heat was not always visible to the naked eye, but Kevin's appearance was distorted by a slight haze around his body. With a grin, Master Nicholas reached out his hand and made a fist, bringing it slowly to Kevin's right arm. About two inches away from Kevin's body the aura came in contact with the Master's bare skin. It wasn't scolding hot, of course. Kevin was a mere Initiate, and this was his first time practicing the spell. But there was heat, and that was sufficient. With practice it could grow to more.

[Kevin Girth]

"Alright then Kevin," Master Nicholas spoke with a deep sigh, withdrawing his hand from the Initiate's spell. It was sufficient to say that having allowed your hand to bake in a heated aura for little more than ten seconds, Nicholas was completely justified in massaging it and blowing a bit of cool air atop of the now-red skin. With a cheerful grin he glanced up at his student before picking up his cup of tea and finishing it in one last gulp. Setting the porcelain back down atop the marble table, he lounged back further into his padded armchair and smiled politely, waving his left hand gracefully in the air before continuing on with his speech. "The last thing you are to learn from me as an Initiate is called Dispel. It is a technique used sometimes to counter spells, but mostly to end their very existance. For all practical purposes, the name fits the meaning quite exactly - you are dispelling your spell and breaking down its physical manifestation. Now, both of us know that to create most spells you need a cage of Mana, that is...your Vis and the essence required. In a way, dispel is basically channelling your essence out of the spell - puncturing the cage and allowing the essence to seep freely out and back into its Plane. Go ahead and try it on your Inner Radiance; you seem to have concentrated long enough for it to remain. Go on and give it a shot Poppet," Nicholas spoke once more before bringing his hands up in front of his chest, fingers touching but palms separated as he contemplated Kevin's success.

Kevin did as he was told. Having been in Clara, he quickly found the spell he had weaved moments before. Dealing with the task at hand, he bent his will upon the arcanic energy and punctured the Vis cage in several different palces, watching the fiery essence gush outwards and dissipate before his very eyes. Quickly by the millisecond, Kevin's spell became progressively weaker until it finally collapsed upon himself and became nonexistant. Satisfied, Kevin left Clara and returned his mind fully to the Physical Plane, the one he had known ever since birth. This Arcana experience for him certainly had changed a few things in his line of thinking...

[Kevin Girth]

Surely enough, Kevin was finished with his Initiate Elementalism training. Well, almost finished. "I have but one last task for you Kevin, and then you are free to call yourself an Initiate in our Art of Elementalism. The last task I bestow upon you is this: describe to me the process of casting a spell - any spell for that matter - and be as in depth as you possibly can. I want to make sure you understand the full arcanomechanics behind Arcana before you start to use it in the real world. Understand? Now, please go ahead," Master Nicholas spoke in a mellow tone, leaning back in the familair old chair he had been using throughout Kevin's entire time here. It would be a sight the young Initiate would always remember: Old Master Nicholas' weary frame bent back in his comfortable chair, hands pressed together before him as he contemplated whatever next was to happen to his pupil. Taking a deep, full breath Kevin bowed his head in acknowledgement and did as he was bidded. He began to recount what had transpired over the last few brightenings.

"First, one must attain the state of Clara. I have learned that it is better to enter meditation with some confidence but not too much, otherwise you become full of yourself and indefinitely fail. Hehe...regardless, I usually do this by barring off all my other thoughts and focusing only on the thing that matters: Clara itself. If I attain my goal, my mind will be completely clear of all thoughts, and I will be able to concentrate on the arcanic energies around me. Ara is the arcanic strands that surround me, Vis is my own personal arcanic energy that makes up who I am. By focusing on the Ara and blending it with my Vis - the first time that is - the two combust and create an Arcalysis...bringing my mind to the Astral Plane completely. I am then set to the task of finding the correct plane and chanelling my desired essence. I combine that essence with my Vis once again to create Mana. Then I simply weave the spell, chanelling the essence into the vis cage that contains it. All that is left after that is bringing it back to the Physical Plane," Kevin explained, almost exhausted from having not stopped to breathe even once in his entire explanation.

~~~

"Done. Finished. Completed." The words echoed in Kevin's ears as he recalled what Master