Torvallis! is scratching away with a pencil at a stack of paper

[Torvallis!]

[2017 Sep 21, 7:30am]

Torvallis! can be seen scratching away at a few sheets of paper in front of them.

Some of them look clearly destined for the notice board, written in large letters with titles and all. Others among them are noted with different headers: "ToM", "SC", "RC", and "ToMa".

Some headers can be seen on the top page, marked ToM: "Flux and knots", "Attunement and flow", "Subvisual flow", "Dynamomagicism", "Field theory of Mana and Fundamentalists", under which of each small flowcharts have been drawn.

[Zar/Herr]

Herr walks to the side of T!, getting a view of what they're doing.
"Is this part of your magical experimenting?" He asks adding "i was planning on doing some much less complex and much more specific experimenting myself."

[Ardin Gallagher]

Ardin comes into the inn and overhears T! and Herr. Curious, Ardin approaches.

"Good day, Torvallis! Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but what is this I'm hearing about magical experimenting?"

[Torvallis!]

Torvallis! looks up at the two questioners!

"Yes! Yes!

I've been trying to get back to the beginnings of my magical knowledge, the different magical theories I've heard about over the years, and knowing what I know about magic now, try to discover any truth behind them!

So the experiments are uncertain at the moment, I need to collect my thoughts and think about how things can be tested.

What sort of experiments were you thinking of doing, Herr? I've been thinking of finding some way to detect subvisual flow . . . if I had an optical device that was capable of showing me very tiny things, it is possible that aware people could witness very weak mana flows acting as the forces on things, but how could one even design such a device?

My next thought was creating some macro-version of a familiar small force, and seeing if that produces mana flows. But even if that works, how could we determine that was a general phenomena, and not specific to that force, or specific to making that force larger?

What do you think Ardin, do you have something to toss in on the matter?"

[Ardin Gallagher]

Ardin looks perplexed. "Well, admittedly you've lost me by the end of that. If you are interested in knowledge of different ways of magic though then perhaps this can be some use to you?"

Ardin lays down his spellbook for T! to see, inside detailing the notes Ardin has of several earth spells ranging up to mid-tier and unfinished studies on a more powerful earth spell and a lesser fire spell.

[Torvallis!]

"Okay, yes, okay, let me back up a little.

Of the many theories of magic I've come across, one of them states that every interaction between matter creates, or is, a mana flow, but that most of the mana flows are so weak or small they can't be seen: sub-visual.

So we all know that we can see fire mana flows out of fires, and that we can see the haze of water mana flows in the ocean and rivers, and lazy air mana flows hanging in the air. But what about the heat that is created when a hammer bends a blade into shape upon the forge? From whence does that come? If we have a giant hammer, a giant anvil, and a giant blade, would we see a fire mana flow erupting from that? Would we see an earth mana flow from the shaping of refined ores? Would we see an air mana flow as the giant hammer sails through the air?

Mythological lore says that the world was maybe created by the four elemental lords working all together . . . if that's the case, then everything was created by the four elemental lords . . . every single interaction, every single piece of energy, every single piece of matter, would have to be created by magic and mana. So subvisual mana flows is concordant with the religious studies, although not the only possibility.

Now, let's take a look at that book of yours . . ."

[Zar/Herr]

Herr ponders for a moment before saying, "i can sort if see what you mean but i'm really not interested in that level of investigation, however i used to have an item called a "spy glass" that i think you might find useful; i'm not sure how it worked but it was made of two thin pieces of glass in a tube, if you look through it one way, objects got bigger and if you looked through the other way, things got smaller. It was quite useful. Its name describes its use."

"The experimenting i plan to do is to recreate and experience i had with the sea witch. It felt like i drained knowledge from her"

[Torvallis!]

Torvallis! pushes Ardin's book away, and their own stack of paper away, and focusses intently on Herr.

"I'm not forgetting the spyglass, but tell me everything about your encounter with blasted jenny"

[Joy Rosewood]

*Joy wanders into the inn, and immediately overhears Torvallis! and Herr. She walks over and looks at Herr*

"Vait, you drained knowledge from ze Sea Vitch? Ven did you learn how to spoop?"

[Zar/Herr]

Herr is taken aback slightly at T!'s significant interest.
"Alright... well... I never knew what Jenny looked like, I have never seen her before. I was by the water, following a path I saw with my third eye. Jenny came out of the water and calmly took my hand, I held my breath and didn't resist as we went under the water; We went deeper and deeper until the light from the surface was barely visible. I remember seeing many bones on the floor of the ocean as we went along, I felt tugging on my hand and saw that Jenny looked... worried. I then realized that although we were underwater, I was breathing normally and that she was actually trying to let go of me; I could feel fear and something else, a draining feeling, but not that I was being drained of anything, that I was draining her of something. I began to feel a deeper understanding of the water in which we swam and I felt Jenny panic. She began to swim swiftly to the surface, still trying to remove me from her but we were connected now. As we neared the surface I felt a hint of darkness, a familiar darkness, and I concentrated on it. Jenny became weaker and could no longer pull me; I struggled to swim to the surface but managed to get ashore. Jenny was unconscious but still attached and I couldn't figure out how to remove myself, I didn't want to cut her off, I wanted more knowledge but I couldn't get anymore. I decided to drag her to the water circle in hopes of figuring something out; that's when the town noticed us and forcefully separated us, attempting to kill Jenny."

Herr pauses to let the story sink in.
"so, I've been trying to recreate that since, trying to see if I can probe someone's mind for knowledge, to take it or to read it. I want to know if the subject must be conscious, willing, or even alive; perhaps I could take knowledge from the recently deceased. who knows.."

[Torvallis!]

Torvallis! listens keenly to every word.

"Herr, if you can worry the sea witch and kill the void creatures, then there is nothing more I want personally than to become an Imp.

I suppose you don't know, but she took a dear friend of mine and I've sworn revenge.

I honestly thought she was trying to take you prisoner and eat you, as she has to others. I hadn't realized you were the one in control"

Torvallis! paused and considered something deeply for a moment. And then held out their arm.

"Just, if this works and I forget anything important, teach it back to me?"

[Joy Rosewood]

"... Oh Herr. You are truly blessed by Faerie. No one else has been able strike fear into these monsters. Maybe I've got you all vrong. "

*Joy takes off her medic bag and holds it in her hands*

"I don't know vat zis draining zing does, but if zere are any negative side effects, I might be able to alleviate zose."

*Joy looks at Herr*

[Zar/Herr]

Herr becomes a little nervous.
"I... well.. but.. okay.."
He pauses momentarily before reaching out to hold Torvallis!' Wrist, not comfortable with hand holding.
"Just close your eyes and think of something you know well that i may not."
Herr closes his eyes and tries to relax.
(OOG: nothing happens but T!'s head feels a little funny)
A few moments later Herr let's go, shaking his head.
"Being gentle or subtle hasn't been working. On a related note, maybe you, Torvallis!, can get someone to use their fearie favour on you to make you an imp? If other plans fail."
Herr turns to joy.
"You know it's my species doing this stuff right? Not really me. The white man was afraid of my species and that allowed me to kill it, just as i'm confident that my species allowed me to make Jenny afraid eithout me realizing it. Anyway, if you're sure.."
(If Joy is sure, continue, else, skip to last paragraph)
Herr holds Joy's wrist but this time, saying "let your mind wander."
Again, Herr relaxes and closes his eyes, concentrating on something. He tightens his grip and tries to mentally force his way into Joy's mind, a few moments pass but nothing really happens.
(OOG: nothing happens buy Joy's head feels a little funny)
"Still nothing. Maybe it was me at all! I don't understand."
Herr states, frustrated.
"Alright, T!. Enough about me, can we help you at all?"

[Torvallis!]

"I have a theory, Herr!

You remember how I lost my hand by sticking it into a hellion?

These beings, and the tall ghost like them, are made of pure energy of some form! If all energy is magic, like I was saying earlier, then they are made of magic. Of course, that can also be true even if not all energy is magic.

And as we saw of sinning Jenny, she was also a highly magical creature, at first being vulnerable to all sorts of damage shortly after detaching from you, and then quickly regenerating and proving invulnerable to my magics and others weapons.

If your skill does not effect us, and it is not unique to the void creatures, then perhaps it is that it acts on magical beings! Indeed, you certainly had a lack of reaction to the magic cast by the tall ghost!

So I feel this is very related to the research I was literally just doing.

As an experimental design, I think we'll need that spyglass you mentioned, if we can focus it right, we'll need a magical creature of some sort, perhaps a mana bunny, we'll want a control, that can be anyone, and we'll want my gal Val, if she is capable of drawing mana, as a comparison for energy flow"

[Joy Rosewood]

*Joy puts her hand to her head*

"Zat vasn't nozing, I felt zomezing.. but eet vasn't very much."

*Joy looks at Torvallis!*

"You zink a mana turtle might be useful to experiment vith, as vell?"

[Torvallis!]

"Yes, yes, the greater a selection, the greater a chance we have of triggering the conditions under which Herr's apparent ability shows true!"

[Zar/Herr]

"Interesting! I don't think it would be of much use for me to probe a hellion; i doubt they know much, but that's a very interesting idea. I could see if there's a spyglass the next time i visit Applevale."

[Torvallis!]

"Ah, for some reason I thought you said you had one.

Alright, let's write down the experimental procedures and then set about procuring the experiment materials. Then we can table this until we have acquired the pieces, and set to work designing and conducting other experiments.

So, experiment preparations:"

Torvallis! begins quickly jotting down notes, reading them aloud as they write:

"First, we shall obtain a non-magical creature and some magical creatures, including hopefully mana bunnies and flying turtles. We may also wish to add elves, elemental kin, and other fae at a future time when the harm or potential harm is better understood.

Second, a selected examiner, likely me, will examine closely the interaction between each of these creatures and a normal touching by a control subject, closely with a magnifying spy glass of some sort.

Third, Herr will approach the non-magical creature first, and then the magical creatures, and attempt his ability while watched closely by the examiner.

The control subject will allow us to rule out the normal mana flow interactions between people and magical creatures, and the non-magical creature should allow us to rule out normal mana flow interaction between Herr and creatures in general.

We will be hoping to see *some* mana flow interaction between Herr and the creatures, and we will separately be hoping for Herr's confirmation and exploration of his ability.

Materials needed:
A magnifying spy glass
A normal creature (probably a rat)
A magical creature or creatures
Good lighting conditions (likely daytime)"

Torvallis! places the sheet of paper separate from their other stacks and titles it with a header: Experiment #1: Herr & Subvisual mana observation experiment

"I'll be sure to look for a spyglass when I caravan to Applevale.", they tapped their finger on a note they had on the table, ready to pin on the board, "Are you interested in Caravanning with me, Herr? Sign on to the sheet if you are, I'll pin it up. Take a while to consider if you want"

"And moving on from that, the next thing on my menu to look at is flux and knots, which is a quick name for how I see mana as mana flows that have been tied together. However, many other mages see mana in vastly different ways. Thus, our first move should be, now that we have a great deal of mages in town, to ask the other mages how they understand mana and collect the subjective reports in one place for observations of similarities and underlying trends."

[Zar/Herr]

"Sounds good!"
Herr will sign his name on the list.
(I'm sure i saw that on another thread)

[Torvallis!]

((OOC: should have included a link! https://epochnl.canadian-forum.com/t336-seeking-caravan-to-applevale))

[Joy Rosewood]

"... I need to go to Applevale too. I might as vell go zere vith friends, yah?"

[Zar/Herr]

Herr looks away from Joy.
"are we going to go there prior to continuing things here?"

[Torvallis!]

"Depends.

The magnifying spyglass could be necessary to study the manaflow, so if we can go to Applevale soon, which will be whenever we have a sizeable enough Caravan that we all feel safe going with all the monsters about, then I would prefer we put it off until then.

I'm guessing that you will be conducting experiments with your abilities regardless of us, so our part in that element of the experiment will mainly just be helping you find magical creatures anyways."

((OOC: I guess I'll be waiting on a response from Sharon wrt my training requests before we head off to\come back from Applevale?))

[Joy Rosewood]

"I can help you find some zings to try your powers on. I can even record ze results."

*Joy sighs*

"I hope ze roads are safer, now zat ve have ze points tezered."

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