Let the Training Begin

[Deleted]

Adrain watched as Lucinda entered her meditative state, there wasn't much that he could do to directly help at this point. Lucinda would have to reach into herself to pull out that which formed her base, her core. Element always represented on some level the personality of a person. Over the course of time when he witnessed it to be a fairly consistent trend.

When Lucinda began to have a ball of water manifest around the crystal in the mana amplifier, he chuckled a little. Water seemed to suit her, and even reflected part of her style.

"Water, it suits you I think. A flexible element that has great potential. It can attack, defend, and even heal." he states as he holds his hand up as a number of water spheres begin to manifest around him, taking various shapes and forms. "Recall the feeling you just had, and it will become more natural. Once you are used to water spells, spells in other schools will come to you. Try forming a large ball of water by sustaining the feeling longer, traveling along your arm to the amplifier."

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda heard Adrain chuckle and opened her eyes to see the water about the same time as he announced it. She nodded in agreement with his statement, listening as he gave examples of what the element could be used for and then instructed her further. She smiled and then nodded, keeping her eyes open this time. It helped that she could still hear the fountain behind her. She thought for a moment, recalling the feeling of the water on her skin. She focused on that, holding on to it, then shifted that focus to her arm. She imagined the water trickling down her arm and pooling into her hand. Her blue eyes glowed faintly as the ball of water manifested in the amplifier.

The princess grinned up at Adrain, clearly excited and proud of this small accomplishment. As her focus lessened, the ball of water rippled and then exploded as if it had been filled with her emotion. It wasn't a very big splash, but it did surprise her. She made a little 'oh!' sound. "This is going to take some practice, I see," she mused, not being disappointed at all.

[Deleted]

"Most interesting abilities do." Adrain says warmly with a smile in response to Lucinda's comment about the fact that magic was going to take practice. "Form another sphere, and then feel the flow of energy that maintains it. Get a grasp for the current of the flow, and then try to form a cubical shape out of it." Adrain says, holding his hand vertical as he manifests a large ball of water and then has it contort and twist into a cube shape, then flowing and letting rain fall around Lucinda in a perfect circle without actually getting Lucinda wet.

"Water is one of the best elements to have for learning control since it's generally pretty harmless and can allow for some more amusing exercises." Adrain says, then waiting for Lucinda to carry on. After some time of waiting, Adrain would hold both hands up as man flow occurs and a serpentine, water dragon manifests floating around in a figure eight overheard. It would seem almost alive, but not quite being such, shifting in and out of an ice state as it went.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda nodded, returning Adrain's smile as he acknowledged that it would take more practice. "It take a lot of focus to keep it together. I'm surprised but yet, not surprised. Does that make sense?" she asked, laughing a little.

She listened as Adrain instructed her to try and make another sphere and turn it into a cube. "I can probably do that," she said, nodding. Lucinda was, by nature, a very optimistic person. She watched for a moment when Adrain made a ball of water, which then twisted easily into a neat cube before falling as rain around the young princess. She laughed a little, smiling, before turning to the task at hand.

Concentrating, the princess again recalled that feeling with the fountain. The sphere itself only took a couple of minutes this time for her to summon, but that was the easy part. She tried to focus on the sphere and feel the current. That was a little trickier. Her brow furrowed for a moment. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax instead and noticed that she could feel the mana, like a trickle of water almost, flowing down her arm to the sphere. Lucinda focused on that, feeling it strengthen. She looked at her sphere and tried to morph it into a cube. It was a slow process but after what felt like an hour and was actually just a few more minutes, her water sphere turned into a cube.

Lucinda grinned, excited. She looked up at Adrain, noticing that he now had a sort of water/ice dragon flowing about in the air. "Oh that's amazing," she commented, looking impressed. "I did hear you about water being great for learning control, by the way. I was just trying to concentrate. This is possibly the most mentally tiring thing I've ever done," she added, still smiling and looking quite pleased with her efforts.

[Deleted]

"It makes perfect sense, I have to encourage you vigorously, but if you want to really become potent it takes years of practice to get the fundamentals down and grow your abilities. Granted...I doubt you want to conjure a hurricane or something, but I would definitely feel better if you knew basic defense with magic, plus it's something to bond over." he says with a warm smile to his beloved princess.

The strain and effort was visible on Lucinda's face as she figured out the pathways and some of the basic manipulation demanded of her to perform this feat. The fact that Lucinda was able to achieve this in a few minutes was promising, especially since she was doing the traditional, more 'raw' method of spellcasting. When Lucinda mentioned it was amazing, referring to the construct water dragon, he willed it to float over to Lucinda, wrapping around her arm like a sleeve of sorts.

"Well you're really showing good progress by being able to figure that out in a few minutes, you have a natural grasp of the instinctual control you need, you are using the traditional method so if you were to start using glyphs, you could probably produce a larger effect. If you're tired though we can take a break of some kind, your choice as to whatever that may be." he says with a soft smile.

[Lucinda Noru]

"I'm very encouraged," she said, smiling, "As far as this taking years of practice, I'm pretty young so I feel like I have nothing but time. Bonding is nice but are you concerned about my safety? Why?” she asked, curious. Was there something going on that she was unaware of? If it got too dangerous, she’d have to go home, and that was the last place she wanted to be right now.

Lucinda listened to Adrain praise her, giggling when he sent the serpent to her and blushing a little. “Do you really think so? I should probably learn to work with glyphs, seeing as how those are less dangerous, correct? Oh but a break would be nice,” the princess sighed, watching the water serpent. “I just don’t want to waste your time,” she added, looking a bit guilty. The cube hadn’t disappeared yet but at this point, Lucinda wasn’t paying attention.

[Deleted]

"Well good then, keep working at it and you'll grow rapidly. Is it really odd that I worry about someone that I care about when they are a beautiful, high profile princess?" he says looking at Lucinda with a roguish smile at her azure eyes. The statement was far less an active threat as much as it was just a valid concern as far as Adrain meant at the moment. Perhaps at the very least it would get some kind of affectionate reaction from the princess.

"Well easier and less dangerous yes, but you need to learn the basic mana control which is what the raw casting has helped you with so far. Glyphs require your elemental mana to course through them to be able to reach the intended effect. Once you are more confident with mana control, we will have you work on casting without the amplifier to get used to a full natural cast." Adrain states, then acknowledged that she wanted a break, then raising a brow when she was worried about wasting his time.

He holds his hand up, causing a squirt of water to launch at Lucinda's chin when she looked guilty. "It's never wasting time when I'm with you, don't think that way. I mean, if I was worried about you wasting my time I probably would not give you a 'teleport on command to my sanctuary' ring." he states with a laugh, then disappearing as he telported for a moment away, reappearing a few seconds later by the table with a number of pastries and tea. He puts them down, pouring some tea for Lucinda and himself while waiting for her to come over.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda flushed lightly, smiling up at Adrain when he answered. "I will continue, whenever I get a chance, and thank you," she said, "I suppose, considering the fact that I'm a mostly helpless princess, that your general worry is acceptable," she finished, obviously teasing him a bit. Though she was well aware of her position and the fact that she had little to no self defense was a bit concerning.

She sat up, listening as Adrain explained about the glyphs, nodding. "That makes sense to me and I'm perfectly happy to work on this for right now. This is pretty complicated enough without adding glyphs, honestly. This is all so exciting, though," Lucinda replied, her eyes practically twinkling. "Do you really think I'll be able to cast spells without this amplifier?" she asked, honestly.

As Adrain squirted water at her, Lucinda squealed, looking up at Adrain with her eyes wide as he replied. She laughed a bit as he mentioned the ring, nodding. "No, you're right. I'm sorry. You certainly wouldn't give me that if you were worried about me bothering you and I appreciate it," she said, smiling. She picked herself up off the cushions after Adrain teleported away, the mage coming back with pastries and tea. Lucinda's face lit up with interest and curiosity as she made her way over to sit next him on the couch. Picking up one of the delicate pastries, she took a bit, making little 'mmmm' noises. "Thank you, Adrain. For helping me with this and for the pastries. How'd you know I have a sweet tooth?" Lucinda said, smiling.

[Deleted]

"You won't be a helpless princess for long if I have anything to say about it. Even with just water elemental spells you can quickly learn a slew of spells that make your typical assailant unable to succeed" Adrain says, standing away from Lucinda and then in a flash, spikes of ice coat and surround his entire body making him a frozen porcupine of sorts. Just as quickly, they turn into a freezing fog and once more into a grid of ice lines that would contain someone, before they disappear.

"In truth, Water is usually not seen as potent destructively like fire or air or even earth, but it can be the most terrifying if you use it correctly. A spell I know can draw all the water out of a human body...a body that is mostly water at the root. I've never had to use this spell outside of a controlled research environment, but take comfort in the fact your inherent element can be put to potent use if you ever had to." he states, then listening to Lucinda as she talked about glyphs and using the magic without the amplifier.

"Well in truth, Glyphs are easier in terms of making an effect happen but it takes longer. You'll definitely be able to cast with the amplifier once you are used to using mana, the entire purpose of the amp is to get you used to it so that it comes more naturally to you. People aren't in tune with mana until they put effort into understanding its flow and sensation." he says, chuckling a little bit. She was really enthusiastic, that would serve her well.

When she came back and inquired how Adrain had remembered that Lucinda had a sweet tooth, his brow rose.

"I remember from when you and Aria came and tried to get the ones you seemed to favor at least to my best recollection. Plus as sweet as you are, you probably love sweets being the old phrase 'you are what you eat.'" he says, then potentially realizing that was a dumb joke, mentally facepalming.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda listened as Adrain explained a bit about her element, watching in awe at his demonstration and grinning. "I really like the sound of that. I'm expected to take a guard with me almost everywhere I go but they're not always that competent either. Those spells you used just now are amazing and I can easily imagine how they would be useful in a threatening situation," she commented. As he continued, describing the spell to pull water out of a human, Lucinda shuddered a little. "Honestly, I'm rather glad you haven't had to use that yet. It sounds horrifying! I'm not sure I could ever do that to another person," she said, sounding a bit worried. The young princess had never used violence against anyone in her life, she couldn't imagine doing it now.

Adrain's answer to her question about the amplifier and glyphs brought a smile to her face. "That makes a lot of sense. I have to say, I'm really looking forward to being able to do both, use glyphs and cast freely. I want to be good at this, so I'll practice whenever I can even it's just sitting in the gardens and trying to feel the mana," Lucinda said, nodding in agreement. She knew this would take a long time but she was young, she had plenty of that. The hardest part would be somewhat hiding it from Noku, who disapproved of magic. Well, and practicing of course. This was more mentally draining than anything and she was quite exhausted now.

Lucinda smiled when Adrain told her he had tried to remember what she favored from last time, laughing at his somewhat corny joke. "That's sweet of you. Thank you," she said, making a bad pun herself and grinning. "You really know how to make a girl feel special," she added, reaching up to give the archmage a gentle kiss.

[Deleted]

"An elemental is a more reliably guard than most humans." Adrain says with a shrug as he touches the ground beneath him. He casts for several moments before a ring erupts and a flash of blue light washes over the area as a being which appeared to have the upper torso of an ice based elemental with a stream of water flowing from it's torso seemingly endlessly. The elemental stands by quietly, waiting for orders or to be dismissed.

When she expressed horror at the dehydration spell, Adrain smiled weakly. "One should always hope to never need to use force, much less through magic. However in the event that such comes to pass, you must be ready to strike quickly, decisively, and be ready to lay down a final blow if it comes to it. Hesitation is what gets people killed in dangerous situations. It's the sort of moment that determines whether you live or do not. I pray you never have to be in that position."

"Mana control is everything really. If you can manipulate and feel out he mana at the highest level, variety in spells and abilities will follow shortly after. It's like manipulating a water flow. If you can control it perfectly, you can make it do whatever you want. If you were to master the basics of control walking around the gardens or what have you, learning the specific incantations are as simple as committing the process, words, and glyph shape to memory." he says, then watching Lucinda enjoy her treat and chuckling.

When she reached up to kiss him, he leaned down to meet her, pulling her a little closer for a moment before letting go and stepping back. "That was sweeter than the pastries." he says coyly.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda watched curiously as Adrain summoned the elemental. She'd never seen a water elemental, only the air one that had been around on her first day at the arch. "Why's that?" she asked, looking at the unusual creature. "How do elementals work?" she questioned.

Adrain's following piece of advice made a lot of sense in a horrible way. Lucinda frowned and nodded grudgingly. She knew he was right, of course. "I will pray for the same thing because I'm not sure I could do it. I've never even been hunting, never hurt a living thing in my life," Lucinda said, smiling sadly.

The archmage continued to explain mana and spellcasting to her, with Lucinda listening intently as she munched on the pastries and occasionally making little 'mmmm' noises. "That makes a lot of sense. I also find that quite encouraging. I shall practice whenever I get a chance around the castle, even if I have to hide in my room," she declared, an intense determination settling on her face.

The look of determination melted as Adrain returned her kiss, replaced by a smile and a lovely blush at his following comment. When he stepped back, she stood, dusting her hands off. "I think the sweetest thing around here is you," she returned, still blushing. It was a silly comment but no one ever accused her of being witty. "Are we continued with the training then?" she asked, walking over and settling herself back on the cushions.

[Deleted]

"An elemental isn't bound by normal human fears of well being for life. Many people when pressured with a do or die typically take the death minimizing path which includes leaving a charge to die. That isn't all people of course, but it's something to take into consideration. Plus elementals have an intimidation factor as well as abilities such as to dissolve into mist and reappear behind someone." Adrain says, explaining a little bit about elementals. "Forming contracts with elementals takes some effort, but it's a nice card to have in your hand."

"Well then we agree, lets move to another subject other than the grimy reality of the world" Adrain says when Lucinda echoed his sentiment about not wanting to hurt others if they could help it. When Lucinda made comment about practicing as much as she could, he laughed slightly, amused at her innocent determination. He trusted she would be smart enough to not fling magic at Noku's face, so it would do her well to have a project to work on that she seemed to really enjoy.

When Lucinda commented about him being the sweetest, he shook his head, but when she suggested going back to training, a mischievous grin crossed his face for a moment. "Well if we're going to train you to be sweeter, we have to work across the entire body" Adrain says, tugging the lower end of Lucinda's outfit up, but not enough to actually seriously attempt to take anything off. It was mostly just to fluster her as he was often want to do.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda listened intently to Adrain's explanation on the elementals, a look of understanding settling on her face. "That makes a lot of sense. Sounds like maybe I should put in that effort at some point, then at least I could leave the castle more often without nosy guards. How do you make a contract with an elemental?" she said, laughing a little and sounding curious.

She very much liked the idea of not having to have human guards to go places but at the same time, it could complicate things with her uncle if she did that. The princess had a bit of mental issue in that she really was curious about the world in general and she wanted to experience much more of it than she was really allowed or could actually handle on her own.

She nodded seriously, though, as Adrain suggested a change in topic from the gory thought of hurting others. She smiled as he laughed at her comment, not sure why he thought it was funny but finding his laugh rather pleasant enough on its own.
The mage's next comment about her training incited the blush he was likely looking for as he tugged at her short skirt. She shoo'd at his hand playfully. A spike of heat flashed through her body, registering in her eyes for a only a brief moment before she took a breath and smiled.

"You're a bit of tease, you know. Do you not like my body enough as it is?"she stated, still blushing but now smiling slyly. "Though, that is a good point. I suppose perhaps I should start working out or something, yes?" she asked, on a more serious note.

Once she was settled back on the cushions, Lucinda took it upon herself to go ahead and focus again on the feel of the mana running through her. It took a few minutes of concentration but she tried thinking about it as flow of water, making it a bit easier. This would definitely take her a lot of practice to get used to, even with the amplifier.

"You'll have to show me how to take this off and put it on myself if I'm to practice at the castle, you know," Lucinda stated, continuing the thought from her mind. It might seem a bit random but she felt like Adrain would pick it up easy enough and she was a bit distracted. A few minutes of further focus and she managed to summon the water sphere back. It danced above her hand, spinning lightly.

[Deleted]

"You have to earn it's respect, a number of factors such as power, mastery over element, and disposition among other things. A number of uncontracted elementals visit the Arch every so often. It is a mutually beneficially arrangement typically since they siphon a very small amount of mana perpetually from the bond you form with them. You can't even feel it really." he says, pointing out the small side effect of getting an elemental. There was definitely reason to at least be honest with Lucinda about all elements of the elemental.

When Lucinda made the comment about her body after swatting his hand away as expected, he shook his head and scooped Lucinda in his arms, spinning her around before putting down and whispering into her ear. "No you got it all wrong, I love your body as it is, I meant...to sweeten it.." he says, then whispering something into Lucinda's ear, then stepping back and waiting for a reaction, smiling amused.

When Lucinda would ask to show her to put on the amplifier, he sits next to her and then reaches for her hand. "It's really just taking the rings on and off. You need to set it up in a way so that the Crystal has a gap and give at the end of the chains, though I suppose I should make you a more customized amplifier that is focused for water and doesn't require the dangling crystal on a chain bit."