Re: Clearing the Land

by Torvallis! Wed Dec 17, 2014 2:56 pm

Torvallis! face lit up like the fire they were about to start.

"YES! YES YES YES! We shall start right away! So, first, I have to ask, are you literate?"

by **Timmean** Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:16 pm

Timmean chuckled, "Really? It looks like quite a mess to me... but we'll clean that up soon enough. Once the burn is done, I'll do a little work on the soil, get everything flattened out. With any luck, we'll actually have a workable little field. But I'm getting ahead of myself; we need to get a little water into these ditches. I have a little talent with water magic, but nowhere near enough for this job... I expect my contribution will be more of the 'carry bucket from pond' variety. But I know you're familiar with water magic also; what do you suggest?"

by Volkihere Malacalo Wed Dec 17, 2014 9:00 pm

"Yes I am." He replies, with a hint of nervous ness in his voice.

by Torvallis! Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:11 am

"Ah, marvellous! Then the next step is to get you to SEE mana!

Now, this is a very spiritual step. In one sense, you've seen mana all your life, but without understanding its complex workings, you've begun . . . to ignore it. To look past it like one might ignore a stain on a window, or the slats of a fence when you're watching something on the other side.

The first thing you must understand of mana's workings, is that mana is always in flux. When we carry around nodes of mana, we act as though hey are balls, and spheres, but they are actually intersecting flows of magic coming from the world around us, and tied like a knot of flowing rivers together. We do not carry the mana, it flows through our hands and selves like water. We carry the knots. The knots don't want to stay together, they always want to disperse, and if someone who isn't aware tries to hold a knot, it will soon flow away from them.

The lines of mana, the flows, the rivulets that tangle from beneath the earth to above the heavens, not all of them are visible to the aware. The more attuned we become to our elements, the weaker the flows that we can see. And if we spend our time, we can grab, we can guide some of these lines together to make a knot, if we are guided and blessed by the elemental lords.

There are some who theorize, that all of life & space is filled with flows of mana that are too weak for anyone to see, and we see only those flows where the mana is greatest.

There are some who theorize, that what we see is not mana, but the flow of mana from one place to another. Much like we do not feel the temperature of the air, or the forge, but the exchange of temperature from the air or forge to our flesh, the lines we see are not the mana, but the exchange of mana from one part of the world to another. These mages call themselves thermomagicists, or sometimes dynamomagicists if they study a lesser element.

There are some who theorize, that all interaction between matter is actually mana. That the interaction between my feet and the ground is the energy that is mana. That the heat of a fire is mana. That the light of the sun & moon is mana. That everytime a child is created, that is the work of essence mana. That everytime a life is taken, that is the work of void mana. That our actions neither create nor destroy mana, but that the forces that govern our actions are mana. Two dark minerals that attract each other, they are both effected by earth mana trying to flow, but trapped in the rocks. The cycle of water from the earth, to the sky, to clouds, to rain to the earth, that this is air mana blowing and trapping minute amounts of water. That the flow of rivers and brooks, that is water mana. According to these theorists, our bodies use water mana to make our lifeforce flow, they use air mana to help us breathe and talk, that our body heat is from fire mana, that our bones and flesh hold each other together with earth mana. They called themselves fundamentalists, as they believe the 6 magics are the fundamental forces of the universe.

You do not need to believe these things. I explain these views to you as shorthand, for the all of the evidence and they data that they gather, that supports their theories. I could speak for many months on the nature of mana and what data has been found around it, but it is easier for me to express to you what others have concluded from that data, so that when you experiment and learn, you can guess what they must have found to be true, that they would find these theories plausible.

Now, I want you to focus on my hands, until you can see an orange, blurry, outline of a tentacled sphere.

Do you see it?"

by Ira the Elf Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:55 am

Ira gives Tim an amused smile as Volk and Torvallis! continue with their lesson.

"Right, so to get water into these ditches we can draw water up from the ground or," Ira licks her finger and holds it up in the air feeling for a breeze, "we can draw water from the air itself since it's quite humid. In fact I think I can use my magic to cool the air into a fog and then further concentrate it into a directed stream of water that we can use to fill the ditches. Does that sound good to you?"

Ira spins a tiny cloud of air in her hands increasing speed to rapidly lower the surrounding temperature. A cloud slowly forms in the centre of the vortex. The cloud is misty but tiny water droplets are visible in the cooled air and on her palms. She shows the cloud to Tim as proof.

by **Timmean** Thu Dec 18, 2014 3:13 pm

Timmean raises his eyebrows, visibly impressed.

"That sounds great. As long as we soak the ditches - and perhaps a bit of the land and plants on the outside - we should be alright. Of course, we want to keep the burn area good and dry. As to the specifics..."

Timmean steps back and makes a slight bow. "...I deffer to your expertise."

by Volkihere Malacalo Thu Dec 18, 2014 5:55 pm

Volk says nothing and begins to focus on Torvallis's! Hand looking intently at the nothingness he is holding, until his eyes begin to widen with excitement. A smirk grows on his face

by Ira the Elf Thu Dec 18, 2014 7:32 pm

Ira's face lights up and the tiny elf starts bouncing with excitement. "Excellent!"

She bounds over to the edge of the plot and commences spinning and weaving the air into a dense fog over the grasses and trees outside the burn zone. As she does so, the air outside the burn becomes heavy with water vapour, the plants and trees growing damp. Ira begins walking around the perimeter of the burn extending and thickening the fog incrementally. By the time she finishes, the plot is encircled by a dense cloud, the ground at its edges laced with beads of dew. Grinning broadly, Ira hops over to the nearest ditch and places her hand on the soil. She immediately becomes solemn, closes her eyes and murmurs something unintelligible. Water begins to well up in the ditch an eerie mist forming over the surface and obscuring the sides. Ira moves on to repeat the process with the remaining ditches, oblivious to the goings on between Torvallis! and Volk.

Upon finishing she looks at Timmean.

"Is this satisfactory Mr. Tim?" she says cocking her head slightly.

by Torvallis! Thu Dec 18, 2014 7:42 pm

Torvallis! looked quizzically at the silent, smirking underage drunkard.

"Hello? Are you in there? Has your mind wandered off? Be careful, it's too little to be let out alone!"

by Volkihere Malacalo Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:29 pm

He shakes his head "Sorry just distracted, yes I can see it."

by Torvallis! Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:30 pm

"Hmmm, is that so? So quickly? So what can you tell me about her hair?" T! said, pointing at Ear-y.

by Volkihere Malacalo Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:34 pm

"Who's hair he asks quickly turning." A empty flask falls out of his pocket he attempts to grab it but it fumbles and he drops it again

by Torvallis! Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:35 pm

"Ailleyn's hair! The elf I'm pointing at! The one with the ears and the heresy!"

by Volkihere Malacalo Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:36 pm

"Who's hair." He asks quickly turning, a empty flask falls out of his pocket he attempts to grab it but it fumbles and he drops it again

by Volkihere Malacalo Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:51 pm

"It is black, wet, and as per one of the theories you proposed made of mana, nothing more than... and it looks, to be holding something, that looks like it is, and is not, there." He looks at Ira's hair as if he had just found Waldo.

by Torvallis! Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:56 pm

"Of the theories I proposed, none of them stated that. The *forces* of the world are the not the same as the *matter* of the world: mana itself is immaterial, much like force. The theory states that it IS force, in some form. That earth mana is the binding force, that water mana is the moving force, that fire mana is the heating force, that air mana is the transference force.

What does her hair look like it's holding? What do you think it is?"

by Volkihere Malacalo Fri Dec 19, 2014 9:23 am

"But didn't one stait that all matter is mana in a weaker form, also her hair looks to be holding somthing like the mana you held but green and blue."

by Torvallis! Fri Dec 19, 2014 11:08 am

"No. None of them did. All *interactions* between matter. All *forces*."

by Volkihere Malacalo Fri Dec 19, 2014 12:01 pm

"I must have mis heard then, please continue."

by Torvallis! Fri Dec 19, 2014 12:08 pm

"Now, much as it is easy to see the fence again, it is easy to see mana if you focus and are told where to look. It is much harder to continue seeing it, or to see it without being told where to look. It is a skill you have to practice for weeks simply to see the knots. It is a study in understanding where and how each element works, to see the flows of each element. Right now, all around us, I see strings of fire mana all around, twisting and turning, moving from the earth to the sky in swirls of orange.

Your eyes do not want to see mana. Mana blocks out what is behind it, what you are trying to focus on. Unless you know why fire mana does what it does, it will simply twist and turn in unpredictable ways, and your eyes filter it out like your nose filters out the smell of an outhouse when you're constipated.

You will be unable to see it again unless you practice, and uncertain of it even when you practice.

With time, and study, you will be able to see the streams of fire magic that I see, and you will be able to guide them together into intersections of power flowing through and around each other like you have seen in my hands.

Here, gently take this fire mana from my hands, and hold it. Focus on holding it. Feel the heat that emanates from it, and feel the potential behind it if you would shape it with your words & rituals. See how the strings that lead into it pulse with your intention"

by Volkihere Malacalo Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:15 pm

He leans next to the back of the tavern and stairs at the mana he was handed.

by **Timmean** Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:57 pm

Timmean breaks into a broad grin, chuckling quite loudly.

"Ira, my friend, I hope you're always as willing to lend your talents to the farm. If you're able to produce water like this anytime, we'll have no fear of dry weather."

Smiling and glancing at the ditches and boarders once more, Timmean gives a final nod.

"That is excellent; I think we're ready to proceed. I suppose it's time for... TORVALLIS!"

(OOG: my apologies for the delayed response, haven't been online much since Potato Day.)

by Torvallis! Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:38 pm

(OOG: I've been waiting for Volk to do something stupid with the fire mana! I'll give him two more days before posting with something, ugh, responsible)

by Ira the Elf Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:08 pm

(OOG: Should I also wait for Volk to do something stupid?)

by Ira the Elf Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:43 am

(OOG: Well looks like Wil isn't showing up just yet so I guess you're going to have to be responsible Chickie)

"Glad to help Tim!" says Ira. Finally noticing Torvallis! and Mr. Volk staring at her backside Ira gives the fire mage a scornful look.

"What nonsense are you telling him now Torvalli - OH MY GOODNESS YOUR HANDS ARE ON FIRE!" cries Ira.

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