Academic Pursuits, Maybe

[Grey]

The silhouette of a hand was the only thing providing shade against the scorch of the noon sun. A voice was shouting.

"Get up! You can't sleep here!"

Who was sleeping? Grey felt the prod of a wooden stick into his rib cage, realizing suddenly. Oh. It was him. He didn't particularly feel tired though. Just hot. And a little sore, after another prodding or two. His hand went to the broomstick, shooing it away and unleashing the full might of the sun directly into his eyes. Lovely.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Grey said, as a child would to his mother. He stood and dusted off his travel-worn robes, the dark colors doing wonders for trapping the heat. He looked down at the wicker baskets that were formerly his seat while he stretched. With luck, they were like that before he got there. The furrowed expression of the man with the broom said otherwise. Grey had a mind to withdraw a coinpurse to give some form of compensation, right up until the man began grumbling his troubles away in a very animated fashion. Something something foreigners. No good travelers and sailors, ruining everything. Endless complaints, even as Grey stammered in the occasional apology, until finally the man stormed away.

How tragic that they couldn't be friends. Truly.

The man's complaining did raise a question though. Just where was he a foreigner to? Yesterday he remembered being in Bern, but now he had to run down something of a checklist. The architecture, the heat, and all of the bloody sand made it relatively clear. When did he reach Nabata? And more importantly, why was he napping in the mid day sun knowing this? Was he even actually napping? He didn't even remember having to open his eyes. What was he doing here?

A low wind carried through the street as Grey pondered his position, not making it very far without a frame of reference. He could hear the gulls in the distance, the bustle of people. His hand ran through his mussed up hair as he considered. The birds likely meant he was near water, and the number of people... Khan Yunis? Yes, it must have been. There wasn't much else in Nabata, after all. That left perhaps one... No, two options. He was either here for research, or he was press ganged by sailors and left for dead at the end of the trip.

Or both.

For now, Grey had no option but to settle on the former. There was a faint memory, tugging at his mind. There was something in Khan Yunis that was important for him to find. An academy? A person? He began walking through the streets, his eyes fixed to the pavestones as he thought, people passing around him without paying him much mind otherwise. Who was he looking for? He remembered something... A woman?

He didn't end up walking long before the heat caught up to him once more. He had stopped sweating a while ago, which may have been a third reason he woke up in a pile of baskets, now that he thought of it. His stomach rumbled, as though he hadn't eaten in days.

"Hardly getting anywhere like this..." Grey mumbled to himself, pausing in his tracks in the middle of a busy road, looking skyward. The deep azure made the sun seem all the brighter, with not a cloud in sight. The harsh light illuminated the street before him, littered with vendor's carts of all sorts.

Serendipity, in a word. A small smile graced his face as his tired eyes glanced around for something vaguely food-shaped that he could stuff in his face with reckless abandon.

After one rushed transaction, Grey took his prize somewhere quiet to enjoy in peace. He chose the steps of some larger building - Unbeknownst to him, the steps of Akademeia, the very building he may or may not have even been here to find to begin with. In this moment, he had already forgotten the thought. He wasn't paying much attention to anything, including whoever he may have been sitting in the way of.

Right now, there was only him, and this warm piece of bread.

[Belinda]

Right now, Belinda was in serious thought. She sat at a table within Akedemia's library. The sunlight filtered in through the library's vast windows. Outside, the world continued on as normal. Normally, she would be out there with them. Probably out grabbing a light lunch from one of the many vendors outside. But, not right now. Now she was in the middle of deciding something terribly important. If a person from the outside were looking in, they would see Belinda staring down at three similarly looking tomes.

Each book was bound in thick black leather. These three distinct tomes of dark magic, each with their own strengths, weakness, and secrets to learn. One tome used the Nether to manipulate the invisible forces that held man to the earth. The force that has been theorized to be responsible for the earthly orbit and other celestial bodies. Another that held the power of turning the Nether into a tangible physical force. Able to forge the Nether into a physical, solid, object that can be swung or used as a shield. And the third with the ability manipulate the nether into a sort of liquid with terrible corrosive properties. Each new tome possessed a possibility of new personal growth for the young shamaness. But, that growth and understanding of said magic came with a whole host of consequences that she would need to come to terms with. The shamaness did not like to use her magic outside of an emergency, but these tomes have the potential to be used in a more practical means. 

She saw potential in the Eclipse tome. Of it's powers over gravity and levitation. The thought of being able to move objects from across the room with out the physical need of getting up was a both great and terrible. Too long had she suffered from the human symptom known as, 'I just sat down, but the thing I need is all the way over there'. And if she had the magic to do something about it then why not? There was also the thought of being able to use the powers of gravity to lighten the load of books she had to carry or cart around. 

She also saw potential in the rightfully named Ruin tome. The ability to turn the Nether into a physical object for a short amount of time had it's uses. The thought of manipulating the Nether into an extra long hand, to retrieve objects that had fallen into hard to reach places seemed to excite her.  She could finally clean out the spaces underneath the bookshelves and pull out all manner of lost coin, quill, or trinket that had been kicked, shoved, or rolled over into that dark place. Sure, Ruin had a horrible reputation at.. literally ruining things. Like flesh, limbs, and structurally sound objects, but she could work on that right? 

Then there was Mire. The tome that turned Nether into 'acid'. That was the short and long end of the argument when it came to Mire. For what use could she have for a steady stream of liquid acid? Actually, she had a fair number of ideas for it. Such as removing rust, pest control, cleaning, and disposal of waste. Something that could prove useful during the months she was out at sea. 

She kept staring at the books. She took note how each book seemed to be nearly identical to one another save for a few changes in their covers. The shamaness sarcastically wondered who was the genius who thought to make all the Nether tomes dark black. She was fortunate that the library had several copies of each tome. She had the luxury of reading the tomes before hand. Learning about them and seeing which tome would eventually fit her best. 

This staring down of the tomes and her mental musings were interrupted. Her stomach had rudely informed her that she was late for lunch. And despite her best attempts at ignoring the growling beast. It became loud enough to warrant a few stares from a few people in the quiet library. A flush of red swept over her cheeks. She sighed and eventually set the books back on their respective shelves. She wrapped her head in a simple linen shawl and made her way outside. 

[Grey]

Before Belinda had even made it out the door, Grey had already finished his food, taken a moment to relax in a very uncomfortable looking position on the stairs, and then stood up to walk away before having noticed the shamaness deep in her tomes through the window. He had only caught a glimpse, but it was enough to give him pause and make him look like some sort of stalker for that brief moment as his thoughts turned over and over at the image. Those books looked so familiar.

Before he could arrive at an answer, however, the girl seemed to very suddenly take her leave. This was less than fortunate. Oh no, he realized - What if she had noticed him getting lost in thought, and had the wrong idea? Was she on her way out to confront him maybe? His mood sank at the idea. But those books... No, he had to take a chance on this one. Those memories felt so close. Was it what he was here for? Was she what he was here for? That much he doubted, but...

She was walking out of the building. He hadn't thought of a clever way to bring up the conversation. He didn't have time.

This was going to hurt on a few levels.

"Excuse me, miss?" the haggard looking shaman called out to her, his tone eloquent but his appearance likely far from ideal, "Might I trouble you a moment? About books? The books inside, um. Wherever here is?"

He gestured vaguely to the building after stammering out whatever awkwardness one might call the stream of words that fell from his lips.

Smooth as silk.

[Belinda]

Belinda walked out of the library of Akedemia, her thoughts locked in a debate against itself, as to which of the various food stalls should she visit today. She had several options. The baker's stall was usually one of her favorites. As the man there sold bread that was warmed and usually with a tiny knob of butter. Another stall sold a variety of dried meats, that were re-hydrated into a hearty meaty slurry. Often served atop a piece of warm flatbread. A third stall that was a bit further away sold pickled fish that often stuffed into a flat bread that was baked to have a pocket in it. Hmm.. I do want some of the pickled fish today.. but do I want to walk that far out in the middle of the day? Her important decision making thoughts were interrupted by a stranger. 

The man looked.. not great. The poor soul looked as if he hadn't slept in days. She assumed him to be a homeless man who may have been looking for coin, or some help, as he appeared to be suffering from of heat stroke. His words were jumbled to an extent and he seemed to have no idea as to where here was. But, he appeared to be interested in the books. Perhaps someone told him the library had some sort of relief for the downtrodden. They did offer free freshwater. A measure implemented by the school to keep students, guests, and staff from keeling over in the heat. Belinda took pity upon the man and decided to answer his questions slowly. 

"Sir, this is the library of Akedemia." She spoke clearly and calmly. 

"You are welcome to go inside and get some shade and water. Then you can ask any of the staff about a book you would like to learn about." And please don't pass out on the steps. 

"Excuse me." She took a few hasty steps away from the stranger. Satisfied with her response and she hoped the man would go inside and become someone else's problem for the next few minutes. Right now, she needed to get some lunch. 

[Grey]

Akedemia...? Grey's inner monologue chimed as she spoke the word. A spark of memory followed with it. Vague, hazy, but there.

He'd been here before.

As soon as the conversation started, the woman was already ready to be on her way.

"W-wait!" Grey blurted out. What had gotten into him? "Not just any books. Your books. I mean-"

Suddenly he remembered where he'd seen the covers she had been perusing through. He had an empty gaze as he remembered, but quickly went into his travel sack, rummaging. He felt awful for wasting the woman's time, when she clearly didn't have the patience nor desire to deal with him. But he had to know something.

After a brief moment's search, he produced the item he had been searching for. It was a time-worn tome by this point, but it was cherished. The very first book of magic ever entrusted to him. The very first spell he'd ever learned.

Flux.

He held it to her with a fixed expression, less lost in his gaze than before. If he was right, and the books she had been looking through were what he thought they were, then he and this pretty young woman either had more in common than he'd hoped, or he could catch someone's curiosities before they developed into something dangerous. Either way, the odds were in his favor that she'd recognize the book he held, unless it was so far gone to be unknown even to a fellow practitioner.

Come to think of it, the odds were also good that passers-by would also recognize the tome, being in front of a library for just this sort of thing. He tried to remember Nabata's general view on the practice. On top of that, she probably also deduced that he had been spying, even if only incidentally.

Time to dig himself in deeper, he supposed.

"My name is... Grey," he said, trying to be polite but struggling to remember that much, "I'm looking for something important. I think. Maybe someone. Can we talk?"

He wasn't sure why, but he got the impression that she was someone he needed to meet. His intuition was usually accurate, even if it wasn't in the senses he originally assumed or hoped for. After all, what he needed and what he wanted could be two entirely different things.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder who she was, and what their connection would end up being.

[Belinda]

She had turned her body and was about to take her first few steps away from this poor soul. But, he shouted at her to wait. And for some reason, she did. She stayed for a brief moment instead of doing what a reasonable woman would do when confronted with a man who wouldn't leave her alone. He then made a comment about her books. My books? She turned back around to see the grey haired fellow. Then she looked around and realized she was standing in-front of Akedemia's many windows. She took a moment to glance through the window. And realized that he must have seen her when she was handling the three tomes of the elder arts. Oh.. those books. 

The fellow introduced himself as Grey. Shocker. Then this man pulled out a tome from his bag. Belinda recognized it instantly as a standard Flux tome. But, this one was older. Ragged. It's.. in a similar state as it's owner.

"I see." So this man was a shaman. A fellow practitioner of the ancient and elder arts. And.. he was.. not going to leave her alone. The shamaness sighed and accepted her fate. This man was here for a reason. What that reason was.. was anyone's guess. This man seemed to not know what the reason was either. And she was just.. mildly annoyed at the whole thing. But, she wasn't about to help a man through his own journey into dark magic, on an empty stomach. She really needed to eat something. 

"You may call me Belle. Grey.. I will help you through.. what ever it is you need help with. I work here in the library. But, I must ask for a reprieve. Please wait inside. I will return in ten minutes." She had to hope Grey was going to trust her on that. The shamaness knew that her word was sound, but this stranger wouldn't know that. 

[Belinda]

OOC- Since my partner in this thread left months ago. I'm turning it into a solo.
---
Belinda returned to the library only to find that the mysterious gentleman had disappeared. Perhaps he went off to go pester another person. Or perhaps he simply left he did not believe she would return. Which was a shame. Bel had not only returned. But she returned with an extra bit of food to share with the apparent down trodden sir. It wasn't really much of a lunch. Just a bit of flat bread with some cheese and a tiny bit of jam for sweetness. She sighed softly. Once, again her hidden good intentions got the better of her. She returned to her post after eating her slightly larger lunch. She rubbed the crumbs and sticky bits off of her hands and face with a damp towel. 

Back to work. 

She went about her day as if nothing else had happened. She shelved away the books and made sure certain scrolls were in order. And then she went back to those three books she had earlier. The uses they had. And what tolls they may take on her mind. Bel didn't like to use her magic outside of an emergency or under the supervision of one of her peers. Another sigh. In a quiet moment she wondered to herself what sort of life she might have had if she didn't inherit her father's Nether magic. No. She knew the answer to that, she'd be like her sister. Trapped in an unhappy marriage to a man of wealth and power. Maybe she would have followed her brother, and travelled to Illia. It turned out well for him so far. He came back to Lycia with a wife, enough money to buy a plot of land, and bee keeping knowledge. Or perhaps she would have been a spinster. While there was nothing wrong with that, she had met a few of them, during her travels and they were all such lovely women. Or perhaps.. she would have.. been sold off towards her father's debtors. Yes.. that sounded like the most logical and horrifying conclusion. Everyone knew that towards the end, the old man cared about nothing but himself. Everything and everyone around him was nothing more than a commodity. It is a hard life now.. but it's your own. Bel.. don't forget that.

In a school like this she learned that students who were magically adept.. could learn about the Elder arts on their own terms. It didn't always prove to be a bloodline thing. And the classrooms for it were with a lesser amount of students than some of the other families of magic, like Anima. But, whether it be by blood or by choice, the study for it was terribly difficult. Not all students who start learning about Elder Arts, stick to it. She would occasionally see the few who did though. Most frequented the library as per their study. Some would even ask her for help. She kind of liked that. Especially, when it was some of the younger students. Like a fresh pupil who just finished basic training and was just learning the fundamentals of Elder Arts. She was brought back to reality by the sounds of some shuffling papers. I should seek some guidance as to what book I should choose... Or.. maybe attend a lesson. I'll have to see who lets me hop into a class and when.

[Belinda]

At the end of the day, the shamaness took a long hard look at her schedule. She wouldn't be able to have time to sit in an actual classroom for at least another week. It would be a class that she found both fascinating and frustrating. Astronomy. The study of the celestial bodies, phenomenon, and the forces between them. A complicated subject that required a strict regimen of mathematics, memorization, imagining concepts, and careful observation. She remembered giving herself a crash course on the subject when she first started to work here. As her initial knowledge of the subject was amateur at best. It was Cid who taught her the fundamentals of star charting and how it applied to navigation. After that, she decided to learn as much as she could about it so she could be of better use to her half uncle out at sea. She decided not to peruse the knowledge of the stars to become a master of it. She was perfectly content with being competent at the subject rather than an expert. And her interests were more focused onto the study of the mind and Elder Arts. 

But, if she wanted to learn more about the tome Gravity. She needed a to revisit the class regardless. Gravity was the force that held man onto the world. It was the invisible pull that guided the celestial bodies in their inevitable circular motion. But, with the Gravity tome, those forces could be manipulated. And she needed to be absolutely certain that she had mastery over the mathematics of those forces. If she miscalculated, it meant the difference between keeping something gently floating into the air, and sending it into the stratosphere. And even after taking this refresher course she wasn't sure that she would pick Gravity as her next tome. 

She did one last sweep of her duties in the library, then made her way home. She had her black and white cloak on. And her hood was up. She made a small stop at the market to buy a few simple ingredients for dinner. Which would be something similar to lunch. She didn't have much money left on her for the day. What few coins she did have left. She threw them into the box of alms, which hung outside a temple. She returned to her flat and found it to be just as messy as when she left it. The shamaness suddenly regretted the past actions of her morning self. She slept in for the first time in weeks. Her body simply demanded the extra few hours of rest, and she obliged.

She hung her cloak and bag up on a nearby chair. There must have been some particularly high winds earlier in the day. Her flat floor was dusted with a fine layer of sand. Her "windows" were small, and glass was a luxury she could not afford. Sand constantly came creeping in from the outside. Sometimes it wasn't always sand that came in. Scorpions, spiders, and beetles occasionally crept in. And she had learned to deal with them as she continued to live here. She grabbed a broom and went to work. 

[Belinda]

The day of the Class
--

Belinda arrived to class a solid hour early. She didn't mean to. But, one thing in the morning, led to another, and suddenly she found herself in front of the door to the Astronomy class with half a egg sandwich in her hand. She finished her breakfast and let out a satisfied sigh. She stretched a slight bit before pulling herself away from the door. She pulled out from her bag a single book and made herself comfortable under a torch. 

Akedemia was a marvel in architecture. Famous for it's windows, arches, and ability to keep it's inhabitants relatively cool in the harsh desert sun. But, there were some sections of the school that were not so glamourous. There were several rooms and halls underground. Former storage spaces that were converted into classrooms in order to meet the demand of attendees. Their students came and went in surges, just like the tides. The hall she stood in was lined with torches enchanted with little elementals that provided light. This light was enough to keep one from tripping over their own feet, but it did not go far. There were dark spots in between the torches. Mischievous students often hid within those dark spots to scare anyone else coming down the hall. Belinda had learned to be wary of the dark spots, and to look closely at the way in front of her. The children could hide, but they were not invisible. The only other source of natural light was located upstairs, on the ground floor. 

Belinda opened up her book and read quietly to herself. The underground hall was eerily silent. The only noises she could hear were the occasional crackle of the fire from the torches or the squeak of a mice close to her feet. Rodents were a problem everywhere. And Belinda was used to seeing them scuttling about. And if she were in the privacy of her own home she would probably chase them off with a bit of flux magic. She couldn't have cats in her flat, due to her partial livelihood at sea. So she had to learn to deal with the mice and the nests that would sometimes invade her home. Flux was flexible enough to squeeze into the little holes they would hide in. And since, they were small targets, Belinda could keep her spells small. Which reduced the stress needed to cast the spell in the first place. She couldn't do that here, not with out someone seeing her, and then deeming her to some sort of cruel sadistic woman. 

She stayed in the hall of silence by herself for about ten minutes. Completely comfortable being alone in the flickering darkness. Her solitude was interrupted by the slinky sounds of shuffling feet. Some other staff members came walking down. Gossiping about something that she wasn't particularly interested in. They stopped talking once they realized Belinda was in the hall with them. She did give them a simple 'good morning' as they walked past. And they returned the greeting with one of their own. Before walking down the hall and into another corridor. Belinda could have sworn she heard them mumbling something about her. Then again she might have imagined it. She resumed her reading. Another ten minutes had elapsed.

Footsteps again, Belinda turned her head up to see. This time it was the professor. He was a tall and slender man who wore a bright red turban. He sported the cloak of the school over his regular clothes. And he had a long black curly beard. In his hand he had several books, and scrolls precariously balanced upon the hard covers. Belinda offered her assistance and the man accepted. 

"Ah Bel. You are early." He spoke in a clear voice.

"First day back as a student. I need to make a good impression. Professor Najima." Belinda spoke calmly. 

"A temporary student, dear. You don't need to be so formal until class starts." 

[Belinda]

A few rounds of witty banter later, Bel found herself inside the professor's classroom. She took a seat at one of the few empty desks in the corner and made herself comfortable. She had brought with her a good bit of parchment, quills, and ink. She gained the attention of a few of the students, many who were used to seeing Bel within the library stacking books. Once, Najima was settled he went through roll call followed by a brief overview of what was went over in his previous lecture. It seemed that the students were learning about the forces of the celestial bodies and their orbit. Something that Bel found to be both interesting and useful. She would spend countless nights out at sea on Cid's ship staring out into the sky. Cid taught her all about constellations and how they could be used to orient oneself in the dead of night. She remembered cold nights curled up in the corner of his Captian's office reading through various star charts, moon phases, and how it all connected to the sea and tide. And once she started working here she was entranced by the impressive archive of Naval history and geography. 

Fortunately, most of the stuff covered within today's lesson were things she knew about already. And Najima himself was a good teacher. He explained the nature of orbit in detail and used several visual aide's. But, then Najima started talking about the mathematics of the heavenly bodies. And that's when things became a bit more tedious than she would have liked. Belinda scribbled down the practice problems that Najima listed on the board and simply went to work with it. She understood the terms and the formula's involved. Belinda was not afraid of the numbers involved with these sort of calculations. After about ten minutes she had the correct answer to the first problem. First of three. She mused to herself then went to work with the second problem. Fifteen minutes later she had solved the three equations and handed her work to the professor for an evaluation. 

Najima squinted slightly at Belinda's tiny but neat font. Eventually he followed her mathematical work down towards the answers and smiled. 

"Good Job." He check marked her paper and handed it back to her.

"I expected nothing less from you Bel, but if I may ask why the sudden interest in returning to the classroom? Are you thinking of teaching?" He made a motion for her to sit down at the chair. 

"No. Najima, I am actually looking forward to advancing my own magic." Belinda spoke as she took a seat. 

"Ah yes.. I remember now. You are a shaman. A wielder of dark arts and forbidden spells." That struck a small cord within Belinda.

"Please address the magic by it's correct name, Nether or Elder Arts. It's a magic that is older than all of us in this school combined and should be respected as such." She corrected him. 

"Nether has the power to manipulate forces, gravity, mass, weights, energy. In the wrong or inexperienced hands it can do some terrible damage.  I don't want that to happen. So, I am doing the responsible thing in educating myself in the forces behind the forces." 

"If only the Shamans of the past had your foresight dear, and what do you intend to do with your advancement?"

"I do not know. Nether has the ability to become one of the three states of matter or something else entirely different. It's possible I may not peruse Nether magic as a means to manipulate force. Though, this morning I was entertaining the idea of using Ruin as a means of pest control. Nearly had my fingers nipped by a family of mice in the book shelves."

That got a chuckle out of the turbaned man. A student in the class raised their hand and the conversation between the two was interrupted. Belinda returned to her seat and the rest of the lesson resumed without any other incident. Belinda left the classroom and went back to the library. She grabbed a copy of the Eclipse tome she had before and opened it. The ancient text graced her eyes and she started reading. She put an apple down on the table in front of her and just for a moment. Tried to focus. The power of this new spell felt.. odd. It wasn't like a flux tome. Flux to her felt like she was trying to manipulate a pair of slimy thick vines except it was Nether. Difficult yes! But, not impossible.

But, this spell. Just trying to even tap into the very fundamentals of this Gravity spell, felt like she was trying to manipulate mud with her mind. Not just any mud either. Heavy, thick, mud, almost like it was cement paste or sludge. And she was to move this strange new force towards the apple. Which was exuding it's own.. feeling of heaviness. She couldn't put it into words. It was impossible to put into words. That was one of the many difficulties of being a shaman. The Nether wasn't just a single solid force of magic, like an Anima mage's Fire or a Bishop's light. It was a power that exists in multiple forms be it as a part of this world or existing in a realm all it's own. All that power tugging, pulling, condensing, exploding, sometimes all of it all at once. How the ancient ones even managed to put into written words the power they felt was beyond her. Bel found herself struggling just to even stick a proverbial finger in all that gunk just for a chance at maybe, being able to move the apple a centimeter off the ground. Bel broke her concentration with the Nether and slinked into her chair.

Her body was damp. She could feel thin beads of sweat on her forehead. Sweat was running down her back. Her eyes widened a bit and suddenly felt herself gasping for air. I didn't even feel my body react.. She coughed into her sleeve which caused a few curious heads to turn in her direction. She closed the book and grabbed the apple. She took several desperate bites out of the fruit. She kept the fruit pieces in her mouth and let the tangy taste slowly bring her back to normal.

[Belinda]

After a few minutes of apple therapy, Belinda felt a bit more normal. She finished the apple and threw the core back into her bag. The core will be thrown into a compost bin at some point. The shaman put the eclipse book away and decided to call it a day when it came to thinking about advanced Nether magic. With her day done, she returned home, and simply rested there. She found herself siting up in bed and thinking about the day's events. Yes she said she was done thinking about Nether magic for the day, and that was true. Instead she caught herself thinking about all the other ill effects that happened when she tried to prod deeply into the secrets of Eclipse. What she might have lost in the attempt. How her body reacted and her failure to realize said reaction. 

Perhaps.. it is too much for me. Her thoughts shifted briefly. Back to that of her old man and his cruelty. She could hear the venom in his words as he would berate her for even the simplest errors. The shamaness rubbed her temples. That era of your life is over Bel. Do not think of him. Then she fell back into her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She wondered a bit about what would be her next move. Should she try her luck with Ruin or Mire? Or should she hold off until she had a better grasp at the ill effects of Nether magic on her body. She shook her head. The shamaness knew the answer to that. She was already committed to the advancement of her own study. She had to progress. She had to do something before the world in it's never ending change robbed that opportunity away from her. The world beyond the desert was changing. Elimine's influence was becoming more and more common. And Nether magic outside of the school system were slowly phasing out of existence. Even within Akedemia's the enrollment for new Shaman's were diminishing year to year. 

It isn't the easiest subject for newcomers to learn. She sighed. The tiredness of the day was starting to catch up with her. She felt herself slowly drift off to sleep. The next day Belinda was up early. She did her morning routine of fixing breakfast, cleaning herself, and stretching to keep her body limber. She made her rounds around Khan Yunis and then returned to her regular work in Akedemia. During her break she took a moment to head outside towards the training grounds. In her hands she had a Mire tome, one that was borrowed from the library. She skimmed the first few pages earlier and found it to be much more reader friendly than Eclipse. She decided to test this magic outside so as to reduce the chances of an accident. Last thing she wanted if for her practice to become successful and then be responsible for a large hole in a table or floor. She didn't want to be fired. 

Belinda arrived at the training grounds and found it surprisingly empty. The shamaness approached a training dummy, opened the book, and cleared her mind. She steadied her breathing. Steady. She felt herself tap into the infinite energies of the Nether. She started to channel her power towards the training dummy. The power of the Nether swirled around the dummy's base. Slowly. A toxic ooze of unknown substance started to appear at the dummies feet. Stray nips of straw that came into contact with the noxious substance fizzled and cracked. Mire was proving itself to be a lot easier to deal with than Eclipse. And unlike Eclipse she could feel how her body was reacting to the spell. Prolonged "holding" of the active spell was starting to wear her down. The Mire tome itself didn't 'feel' like Eclipse. For lack of a better term it wasn't as thick. But, to her mind.. to the tether of Nether it attached itself too, it felt like dealing with particularly viscous slime. The same sort of slime a hagfish would emit when it was caught on a hook. The Mire magic was moving smoothly, slowly, but if she didn't keep absolute focus on the spell, it would slip between her 'fingers'.  Bel slowly eased her 'grip' off of the spell. The toxic ooze of magic started to smolder then fade away. The only thing left of it's existence was a small ring of "burned" sand and light damage to the dummy.

Belinda was a bit winded after that small display of Mire's Magic. But, not nearly as winded as she was with the Eclipse. She found the Mire spell to be something that was acceptable. And she could see herself using this spell in several places. Though the concentration needed to keep the spell held in place and making it do what she wanted it do was taxing. And she needed absolute focus and quiet to do so. She could see herself having incredible difficulty casting this spell in battle or on the deck of a ship. Nether acid and Chaos.. No. But, she had to give herself a little bit of credit where it was due. That was a good first try on a spell she knew little about. Perhaps. In the future we shall revisit this one. She mused to herself then returned to the library. 

[Belinda]

The next day.

Belinda went about her morning routine and returned to work the very next day. Her job today still involved the library but, it involved scribe work. Some merchant wanted specific documents copied for their personal record and Belinda was the only one capable of reading through the messy handwriting. She recognized this merchant's business seal and knew pretty much what the documents were going to entail. So she commandeered a table, a decent chair, scribe's supplies, a cup, and a pitcher of water. And so she went to work, diligently transcribing the scribbles of one piece of parchment onto another piece of parchment. She was careful and neat with her letters. I see.. old Dalan is still doing inventory. She felt the warmth of an old teenage memory and smiled softly. After a few hours of transcribing and several breaks, she finished the job assigned to her. She delivered her work and browsed through the books on dark magic. It was about three pm now. Most of the students were done with their studies for the day. Some were strewn about the library. Noses firmly faced towards one book or scroll. Students outside were tearing up the training grounds. The sounds of chaos could be heard. Then sounds of the older mages yelling and staff trying to put some order to the chaos. Just another day. 

As long as the chaos from the outside didn't come inside, things would be just fine. Her finger tips glided down the spine of the well worn books. The library rumbled slightly. Some rowdy mage was being creative with a Gaea tome no doubt. Some of these books have been in circulation since the time of the Scouring. She stopped at the Ruin tome. She sighed softly. She picked it back up and blew away the sand. One of the many occupational hazards of living in a Desert place. She went to an empty nook of the library and sat down. She opened the Ruin tome and started to read it quietly.  She frowned slightly. It seemed some trouble maker wrote in the book. There were various etchings of words through the margins of a few pages. At first she dismissed it as gibberish. But, the more she read, the more she realized they were translations. Perhaps done by a foreign student who was unfamiliar with the ancient tome. The little illustrations showed various things that could be "made" with the power of the Nether. A long tendril. A hand. A knife. And various dangerous looking things. But there were also nice things that could be made with it. A flower. Plants. Animals. Granted none of those things could be alive with the Nether. Ruin wasn't the right tome for that sort of thing. But she could see it as a means of making it like an art piece.. or as a need to describe something to someone who didn't speak well. What a clever way to communicate. 

Belinda closed her eyes for a moment. Just quietly collecting herself before she came to an internal understanding. Belinda set her empty cup down on the floor. The wooden object was just a few feet in front of her. She had a clear view of the cup and looked around. No students around to distract her. No one coming immediate down to see her. The young shaman flipped the page of the old book back towards the beginning. She read over the words once more. Carefully. Slowly. 

She felt the familiar tug of the Nether magic on her mind. It was slow. Subtle. She focused that power towards the cup. The floor beneath the cup slowly distorted. A series of dark strands of Nether crawled up the sides of the small wooden cup. The parts of the cup that touched the raw nether, sizzled briefly. The thread like strands came together to form slightly larger strands. The now yarn like strands of Nether magic started to take a more solid form. They merged with one another to form a single solid tendril that spiraled around the cup. The hissing from the Nether keeping contact with the cup stopped. Belinda slowly manipulated the small tendril strand so that he cup rolled around. Upwards. The tendril held the cup about two feet up on the air.

Belinda could feel her mind racing. Things were slipping. The Nether was pulling at her mind a little harder now. She could feel her temples pounding. That's enough. She slowly cut her ties with the Nether magic. The yarn like threads of the Nether magic retreated back into the shadowy distortion of where it came. And the empty cup fell down to the ground with a small thud. The shamaness sat there for a moment a little bewildered. Breathe slowly. Clear the mind. Belinda thanked her foresight to try and use this ruin tome while seated. She was certain if she was standing, she probably would have been on the floor. It took her a good ten minutes of resting before she felt well enough to get back up. She picked the blistered cup off the floor and examined it. The cup was still useable. The blister marks left behind from the mini Nether tendrils gave the cup a strange but pretty pattern. 

Belinda nodded to herself and decided. She would go through the motions to acquire this Ruin tome for herself. And after a lengthy talk with her superiors and a small fee. She was able to keep the "vandalized" Ruin tome. 
----
End Thread.