07.12g Aftermath of Arrival

[Joshua]

(OOC: A good example of a flashback.)

Quin will shrug. "First, make sure you keep it in focus, or you'll have to do it again. As for the difficulty, it is something I cannot have firsthand knowledge of. It is overkill to protect yourself from my senses*. However, I asked you to do it to demonstrate the other protection. If I may..."

He gestures for Jiga to step away.
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*: Probably how he got the two psychic impressions.

[ShadowOfPreservation]

The Tengu takes care to make sure she's well clear of whatever is about to happen.

[Draylen]

The bear nods a little, frowning slightly. He keeps a good grip on the Pattern in his head, looking at Quinn, a little confused.

[Joshua]

Among those of the city, there are many who would debate as to why Dworkin tolerates Quin. Most assume the jester is some kind of manservant, a first conjuring that went awry. Perhaps the jester is some kind of lynchpin to access to the castle, a key hidden in plain sight. Others, who have been around for a long time, realize the jester hides many secrets. Perhaps the most thinly veiled of these is his ability to shapeshift*, although a close second is his sorcerous skill.

There is a rapid fire barrage of zero-lynchpin** spells running the list of magic. Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Fira, Blizzardra, Thundera, Firega, Blizardga, Thunderga, Poison, Bio, Quiet, Blind, and more*** that slam into Aibne, scorching and marring the ground but not touching the bear.

After several minutes**** of this, he slows down, then stops. He's visibly panting and sweating in the oversized and ridiculous outfit. "And that's... just the basics of what you gain; that I cannot have."
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*: He often demonstrates automatic shapeshifting in basic situations.
**: Distance to target must already be set. Very odd to hang a spell that way.
***: Most of the Final Fantasy Black Magic list. Barring Meteor and Quake, but likely including Flare.
****: For those of you who are mages, this is about 60 or more prepared spells. A weeks worth of work.

[ShadowOfPreservation]

"Ashes!" Jiga swears as the torrent of destruction consumes Aibne. She takes to the air as it becomes obvious her idea of being "well clear" wasn't enough. When the magical maelstrom abates and Aibne's form resolves, showing him to be unharmed, she repeats her cuss before gliding back over and alighting next to Aibne, looking at him with a mixture of concern and awe. "Are you Ok? That was insane! How...? I..." Her words trail off, at a loss after that incredible display of power by both the jester and Aibne.

[Draylen]

The bear blinks, stupefied, by the destruction around him. He opens his mouth, and then closes it. He frowns a little, closing his eyes, and takes a deep breath. "I... see," he says, giving a small frown. "I might have to practice this, then. To be unharmed in the face of such power is... is..." He bites his tongue, breathing in slowly. "Amazing. Beyond amazing."

[Joshua]

Quin walks over. "From what I understand it's a matter of greater powers verses lesser powers. Sorcery, while useful and powerful, is a lesser power. Pattern, being a greater power, utterly defeats it when they are in conflict." He will take a breath. "Sorry, normally, I wouldn't push myself like that, but you needed to see what it means. Once you had the defense up, the rest took nothing. Correct?"

[ShadowOfPreservation]

"Amazing is a good word for it. I've never seen anything like that." She pauses, apparently deciding something before resting a hand lightly on Aibne's arm. "I really don't know anything about what the Pattern really is or how its power works...but you've been given a gift I think. An amazing one. I'd call it a tool, albeit an extremely powerful one, but yet a tool like any other to be used for great things in the right hands. It doesn't define you rather you define it in how you use it..." After a short pause she adds, "but as I said, I've only been here a short time and don't fully understand any of this, but that's just what I see, if my opinion counts for anything. It sure would have been nice to have had that sort of power myself back in the dungeons..."

[Veyska]

((The timing of the messenger's arrival is entirely flexible, crosswinds are conveniently fickle like that...))

A spun-glass bird carrying a small tightly-rolled scroll will flutter up to Quin at some point. Once the scroll, which clearly bears a bit of writing in Asai's hand on the outside, is taken the bird fades away in a faint sparkling of light. Inside is as mentioned elsewhere*, and the short sentence on the outside reads, "Mildly impressive, that. -Asai" Somehow she even managed to include the impression of a wink in the style of her handwriting**.

(*The revisions aren't "This could have been done better" and so forth. Much more like one professional making a few friendly technique suggestions to another, along with a decent handful of "What about X instead of Y?" comments that could be suggestion or curiosity or most likely both. There's probably a little bit of 'professor lecture' flavor to the analyses, but that's par for the course for Asai and it's very much the "Isn't this interesting? Let's dig into it together" kind of professor rather than the "I know better than you which is why I'm the professor and you're the student" sort.)
(**It's entirely up to Quin precisely what he reads into the meaning of this. Asai could be showing off and going "See what I could tell from across the city", it could be a rather roundabout compliment of sorts, or a "I know X much more of what you can do", or..., or... In reality it's mostly a cross between a scholar's "Ahhah!" and the cheerfully smug attitude of a cat who just caught a particularly elusive toy/mouse.)

[Draylen]

The big bear nods a little, blinking at the little messenger. "Asai?" he asks, head tilting slightly, before shrugging a little. "That... I'm... I didn't really realize that there were such different levels of power in play," he says, musing a little. "But if the Pattern can counter it, can it add to it? Can a mixture of two or more Powers, even greater ones, make something even greater than the sum of their parts?"

He shakes his head a little to Jiga. "It doesn't matter what it is. It's... not really a gift. A tool is certainly adequate... everything is. But this is a power that... I don't need, or understand. Even if it was helpful in saving Rogbar." He muses a little and shakes his head. "It's fine, it's fine. This just..." He breathes out, closing his eyes.