Office of the Battle General - Chyril 23rd MT - Elissan

[Tristam]

The light led Elissan across the main campus past the classrooms and labs and across the greensward that was within the university walls. Mages studying scrolls and books gave way to mages sending arrows into a straw targets or a friendly sparring match with wooden swords.

Elissan reentered the stone walls of the spired keep that was the training grounds of the battle mages and wound its way up one of the spires. They stopped at a door at the top. From the ball of light came the registrar's voice. "Elissan, a Kislovani Adhiel lady, seeks entrance to the school of battle magic!"

The ball of light went out and left her in darkness and silence. "Then let her enter." A calm strong voice replied beyond the door.

The door opened to reveal a pleasant looking office of warm earthy colors. The desk and the many comfortable chairs and couches before it were made of rich lustrous woods polished until they shone. Sunlight streamed in through a window whose sill was covered in flowering plants in clay pots. Standing behind the desk with his back to door was a man.

The man is a little tall for an adhiel, a little short for a human, his hair is silver-streaked brown and in one long braid that brushes his hips. He is wearing a tunic, leather breeches, and knee boots. He stood with his hands clapsed behind his back. They are a soldier's hands, thick with callouses and scars. His left hand lacked his smallest finger.

"So Elissan," he began with out turning around, "tell me about yourself and why you seek instruction as a Battle Mage."

[Guest]

Elissan was pleased with her choice as the followed the light through the campus to the Battle General's office, skirt swishing even as she kept her head still in the walk of the upper-class to stop her loose hair from swinging. The combination of physical and intellectual was just as the registrar had suggested, and would suit her purposes perfectly.

"Good sir," Elissan began, curtsying slightly even though the man who looked more like a soldier than a mage was facing away from her, "As already said, I hail from Kislovan where I am the daughter of a noble family." Definitely a minor noble family, she added to herself, but didn't say that out loud. "As you are no doubt aware, the situation there is fraught with tension between adhiel and human, sometimes spilling over into outright violence. An unfortunate encounter with the Brotherhood of the Wolf several years ago left me vulnerable and at their mercy, rescued only by chance and the good will of a commoner. I seek instruction as a Battle Mage both in order to protect myself come the day I return to my homeland, and to protect my people.

"I do not wish to limit my studies to the purely offensive and defensive, though," she qualified. "Apart from the benefits in administration that magic such as divination could offer, magic has offered me a lifelong interest and I fully intend to devote myself to my studies in as many fields as possible without compromising excellence in any of them. Even if Kislovan were peaceful, I would still wish to study magic; it is the present set of circumstances, however, that leads me to the art of Battle Magic."

[Tristam]

"I could not ask for better motives to seek battle mage training." The Battle General said softly. "Though it pains me that civil war should be the crucible in which your desires were forged." Joachim turned and Elissan could see the milky whiteness of the General's eyes. Yet, he stared intensely at her or perhaps through her for a long burn.

"Very well." Joachim nodded at last. "You are worthy to test. Prepare yourself Elissan. Take a position where you are comfortable yet alert. Sitting or standing does not matter. Only that you are aware of your body and have as few physical distractions as possible matters." The Battle General instructed.

"There is energy all around you Elissan." He continued. "The light through the windows. The life in the plants. The earth in the stone walls. That energy can be seen by mages, must be seen in order to learn about it and manipulate it. That is what you prove to me here today. The ability to see the Aether. I will guide you."

"Close your eyes." He instructed. "Take deep cleansing breathes. The only thing that keeps you from seeing the Aether is the distractions of your own body and your own doubt. Breathe. Relax. Focus on each and every sensation of your body and then ignore it. Cast it away from your conscious mind." His voice was calm and soothing. Somehow it aided her task instead of the sound intruding on her calm. "When at last you float in a serene void, stretch forth with your senses. See what can be seen." Joachim gently urged her.

"I cannot tell you what you will see." He explained. "All see the Aether differently. Some see lines of color, others spheres of sound. I know of one that sees veins of minerals and another that sees books in Library. But all mages will know what is fire, and what is life. It is all a personal code. Relax, focus, and tell me what you see."

OOC: You get to determine how you see the Aether. If you do not understand what I am asking you to do, drop me a PM.

[Guest]

Here is a man who understands the heartbreak of civil war, Elissan thought to herself as the General spoke. Her own thoughts wandered has he stared intently at her; she thought of Gerard, and her will was resolved.

Following his instructions, Elissan settled her feet apart a little and brought hands in front of her, each forty-five degrees to the ground and ninety degrees to the other, with thumb, index and middle finger touching lightly.

Slowly, she breathed out, closing her eyes.

Her head first; she pictured a slow, gentle wave of relaxing flowing down from the top of her head. Her face relaxed; then her neck; then her collarbone and shoulders.

She breathed in.

Her upper arms next, and her breasts; her back and abdomen, slowly loosening her muscles and her sensation of them.

She breathed out.

Thights; knees; shins; and finally, her feet. Her whole body was relaxed to the point that she was aware of it - but wasn't feeling it. She was floating in a gentle sea, the rising and falling of her breath like the tide, buoying her along. With languishing slowness, she stretched her senses beyond her body.

"I see... I see flowers," she said, softly at first before speaking up a little. "Different hued flowers."

No; she looked closer, focussing more. They weren't just flowers; they were...

"Roses," she breathed. "Roses of every colour imaginable; the sunlight from the windows is a pale yellow, the walls are light brown flecked with darker chips... There are roses all around."

She stopped speaking, to see what the General had to say; but she kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to lose sight of the roses.

[Tristam]

"Roses." The General murmured. "Fighting battles should be a colorful experience for you." He remarked with a chuckle. He had seen what he needed to. To his Aetheric sight, she was a blinding beacon of light, a soul completely open to the energies around her. This was the most vulnerable to Aetheric attack she would ever be assuming she diligently trained under his program. For her part, Elissan could dimly see the General in the Aether. The space around him was a riot of flowers but he was only a dim shape shrouded by clouds of gray fog.

"Very well. Release your hold on the Aether." He instructed. "There will plenty of time for that during your training." Joachim assured her. "You will be placed under the tutelage of Hile Troy, our War-Seer. However, we must turn now to the subject of payment." The general went on. "This is no great obstacle. Battlemages are always in demand. In your case, the answer seems quite clear in fact. We have a standing arrangement with the government of Kislovan. Her Majesty will finance your Battlemage training in exchange for a period of service to the crown equal to the time that you spend training here. Does such an arrangement suit you?"

[Guest]

Elissan smiled slightly at the General's comment about battle before she caught herself, so lost in the sudden joy at seeing thousands of tiny roses swirling all around her. Smoothing her face again, she let go of the Aether diligently, showing none of the pang of remorse she felt in doing so. She had weathered much worse pangs in the past.

"Such an arrangement sounds excellent, General," Elissan replied. Almost certainly, she would be able to use her time in service to search for the Brotherhood's leadership; once her service was done, she could move in for the kill - quite literally. "When am I to begin?"

[Tristam]

"Once you have signed the the contracts." The General replied simply. He walked unerringly to his desk and opened a drawer. He removed a thick scroll of yellowed parchment and a thinner one of white paper. Unrolling them both, he stepped to one side to let her read them over. The first was the contract to the University. It was written with a good deal of jargon and symbology but in essence it promised magickal training, room, and board in exchange for the tuition and aiding with the needs of the University. The second was the contract with Kislovan. It was more straightforward, promising to pay the tuition at the University in exchange for a time of service in Kislovan equal to the time of her magical training. A quill and inkwell stood ready.

[Guest]

Stepping forwards, Elissan took a few moments to skim over the two documents, her practiced eye picking out the salient points. The university contract, beyond stipulating what the University would provide, was the usual contract rote. The contract for service with Kislovan was different, but not complex; it simply stated that she would serve her nation for a period of time equal to her tuition, couched in utterly unambiguous legal terminology. Taking the quill and carefully shaking off the excess ink into the pot, she signed both documents, one after the other, with her smooth, flowing signature that had been practiced so many times in the past. Replacing the quill, she took a half step back from the table and returned her gaze to the General to see what he would say next.

[Tristam]

The General nodded. "Welcome to the Academy, recruit. Do us proud." The door opened and ball of light awaited her. "It will lead you to the War-Seer."

The ball of light led her down from this spire and across the greensward to the spire directly opposite. The students around this spire were occupied with elaborate looking kemn boards with many more pieces and spaces than she had ever seen on a traditional board. She was led past them and up two levels to a round room that takes up the whole of this level. The center of the room was taken up with a scale model of the Citadel carved from wood in exquisite detail. Within the Inner Ring one building was burned down to ashes, a dark blemish among the otherwise pristine looking model. Peering over this display was a tall man. His face was young but his hair was gray close cropped to his head.

He had turned to greet her just as she entered. "You are prompt recruit. I am War-Seer Hile Troy, Commander of the School of Battle Augury. You may call me sir or War-Seer." He instructed.

[Guest]

Elissan's eyes hovered on the intricate model of the Citadel for a moment before they flicked to the War-Seer. It was really quite an incredible piece of work; the dark spot of ash lead her to wonder if magic was involved in the design. Surely they would not have burnt a model building destroyed by arson, as it presumably had been, instead of replacing it with a different model, or simply removing the building and marking it. Then again, maybe they had. Perhaps she would ask soon.

With a curtsey, Elissan dipped her head low. "It is an honour to meet you, War-Seer," she said precisely. "I presume no introductions are needed on my part if you were aware of my imminent arrival?"

[Tristam]

"Augury comes in many forms, recruit." The War-Seer replied. "Your arrival was heralded by a probability mirror which shows much but says nothing. So I will need to know your name, then you may ask one question of me, and then we shall proceed to find your limitations and move you past them."

[Guest]

"Ah," she replied. "My name is Elissan, daughter of the Kislovani house of Lestelle. As for that question, I am curious as to the nature of this model of the Citadel." She gestured to it with a wave of her hand. "Is there some magic involved`in its construction, or has it simply been made with a careful hand and altered as time goes by, such as with the burnt building there?"

[Tristam]

"The answer to both questions is yes." The War-seer replied. "The model itself is not built my magic but it is built for magic. As far as is possible, each building incorporates a bit of stone or wood from the actual building it represents. This sympathetic resonance makes divination rituals involving Citadel to be for more accurate that your average augury." Master Troy picked up a wooden pointer and touched the burned building. "A routine sweep of the island's physical condition revealed the burned nature of the Red Banner and a weaving to recreate the events there caused this model to go up in flames. In that sense, we learned little more than we already knew." The War-seer grumbled.

OOC: Going to summarize here a bit. Let me know if you would interrupt at any point and we can go back and play it out.

"Now to your physical assessment." The War-seer bid Estelle to follow him. Over the next mark, Estelle learned her definition of physically fit and the Battle Academy's differed greatly. She was asked to demonstrate her running speed and her ability to lift ever heavier weights until she reached her limits. Her skill with the bow and dagger were judged adequate for a recruit of her age but her complete lack of training with the sword and unarmed combat techniques was a glaring lack that would be remedied immediately if not sooner. A daily training regimen was crafted to increase her strength and speed alongside her weapon drills and sorcery training.

"Now in the case of the weapon skills." Troy explained. "You are required to learn the sword and a ranged weapon like your bow. You are encouraged to train in others as time permits. Similarly, there is a base curriculum in sorcery with a focus on battle applications and then your specific lessons in Battle Augury with me or my staff. You are again encouraged to learn other skills as your time permits. You have the rest of the day to yourself to settle in your new quarters and get acquainted with the grounds. Your lessons begin tomorrow at the crack of dawn. If there is nothing else on your part, you are dismissed."

[Guest]

The answer to Elissan's question on the nature of the model was not one she expected, but it made sense nonetheless and rested her curiosity somewhat, though it did spark her excitement at the possibilities of being able to look into the past when the recreating weave was made.

The physical assessment was brutal. The War in War-Mage sounded more and more like it was short for Warrior - something which suited Elissan quite nicely, though she puffed and strained to lift even meagre weights. A life of pampering and luxury wasn't the most conducive to a physical workout, but she grit her teeth and pushed on.

Likewise, she had little training in larger weapons like swords, or with no weapons at all, having always relied on dagger and bodyguard. Those, too, would prove useful though.

"No other questions, War-Seer," Elissan replied, slightly red faced. With a slightly ruffled curstey, she turned and left the office. Rather than spend the day aimlessly, though, she intended to make a head start on her physical training - particularly, her sword skills.

OOC: Is it possible for me to make a thread leading directly off this one to the training room, even though I've made a thread later on in the day at the Ha'Penny? There would be no lapse in time after all, and the change of thread would simply be for convenience.

[Tristam]

Sorry for my absence. Yes go right ahead if haven't already done so.

[Tristam]

Archived due to lack of activity.