[center][b][u]July 28th, 11:48 AM, New York City
Lundgrau Intelligence Services NA HQ[/u][/b]

Lady Arcana hadn’t been seen for nearly two weeks at this point, an unusual amount of time for her to be completely off the radar. Karen had seen the reports, still talking about how she had “abducted” little Timothy McClellan after Iron Eagle’s second attack on the city. She...couldn’t really argue with that, she had taken him to the Rock without a word to anyone. It must have seemed crazy to anyone that didn’t know...which was everyone but her and Sam right now.

She hadn’t really talked to anyone else since then. Hadn’t changed back to Lady Arcana. Hadn’t even gone to school until they started calling, at which point her dad made her go. After that point she just drifted from class to class, probably failing her tests. She honestly didn’t remember how she’d done, and her dad didn’t care so long as they didn’t bother him.

But she knew she couldn’t just stay like this forever. She couldn’t hide away from the world, when it needed her the most, as inept as she was at doing her job. So it was now that she found herself in New York, staring at the headquarters of one Raymond von Luneburg...the one man that could perhaps teach her how to never let anything like this happen again.

She hadn’t bothered to ask Samantha, despite her concern. She didn’t have the energy to argue with her about whether or not she was ready to learn it. She wasn’t ready for [i]any[/i] of this, but it was happening anyhow.

But how should she approach? Through the top window? No, that’d be rude. She was asking for [i]help[/i], after all.

Instead, she touched down gently in front of the ground floor. People outside the admittedly impressive steel and glass building recoiled in shock at her sudden descent, but she paid them - or their flashing cell phones - no mind. Instead, she simply walked through the front doors and approached the receptionist’s desk.

Regarding the young woman with a somber expression, her words rolled off her tongue in a muted voice. [color=orchid]”Is Mr. Luneburg here? I...really need to see him right now.”[/color]

Glancing up from the desk that seemed rife with paperwork and paging systems, the woman took one look at Lady Arcana and nodded slowly. "Ah, one moment." Her thin fingers worked swiftly across the board, punching in a series of numbers even as the headset was adjusted against the side of her face. "Mr. Lüneburg? Your noon appointment is here… I'll let her know." A subtle click sounded from the earpiece and the receptionist looked back up from the desk. "He'll be down in just a moment. Would you like a drink? There's a coffee machine just around the corner. If coffee isn't to your liking then it also dispenses water and hot cocoa."

Lady Arcana gently shook her head in response to this, not feeling like eating or drinking anything. Not that she [i]needed[/i] to in this form, but she had still sometimes engaged in it for pleasure when she wasn’t feeling so...well, like [i]this.[/i] [color=orchid]“No thank you. I’m fine with waiting.”[/color]

She had probably already waited too long, in truth, consumed by her own guilt and self-pity.

Just moments after the call to the offices, an elevator chime went off to the side of the lobby and Raymond stepped out amid a small gathering of accountants. Seemed he had previously been in the middle of yet another financial meeting, which explained why he was only too happy to dismiss them and make his way over to the reception desk. [color=0072bc]"Lady Arcana, good to see you. Wonderful job over in Arabia."[/color] A quick glance to the side and he looked over the agenda for the day on the desk.

[color=0072bc]"Lexa, I'll need you to cancel… All of those. Especially the meeting with General Stewart. Would not do well for him to wander in unannounced. Now, Lady Arcana, if you'll come with me, we can speak privately in my office."[/color] He gestured towards the elevators, one of which went directly to the executive floor and was where he was heading at the moment.

Lady Arcana had waited in silence, almost stalk still the whole time. Her eyes were aimed at the pristine marble flooring, whereas before she would’ve likely been glancing all about the no doubt impressive interior. She just didn’t have it in her to be amazed right now.

When Mr. Luneburg called out her name, her head jerked up to meet his gaze. [color=orchid]”Oh, hello Mr. Luneburg. I’m...sorry for not making an appointment or anything.”[/color]

She knew that, hide it though she might try, her voice undoubtedly sounded [i]drained[/i] right now. Not at all the way she had when they last saw each other in Arabia. Hopefully it wouldn’t be [i]too[/i] notable, though, since she wasn’t here for pity. She needed [i]help[/i].

Raymond had of course noticed the shift in character. It was rather hard not to after having spoken with her before and observed her actions up close. Yet from all reports, she had a rather traumatic event in her home city, and it seemed to have left an impression upon her. For that, he allowed a few moments of silence to pass in the elevator as it slowly made its way up to the executive floors. At least, it seemed slower for the tense atmosphere within, when it was actually making fairly quick time due to the magnetic rails that guided it up the building.

[color=0072bc]"When I was younger, I also wore the lightning bolt on my chest."[/color] Finally, he broke the silence, not moving his eyes from the view of the building passing in front of them. [color=0072bc]"I was perhaps not quite as gifted as I am now, and definitely not as wise, but I had a fire in my heart that would not listen to anyone but those who told me what I wished to hear. It eventually led to me losing the power, but in retrospect it was for the best. The wizard knew who I would become if I stayed my course. In order for me to find my way back to my path, it had to happen."[/color]

Raymond turned ever so slightly, a serious look on his face as he looked down at the woman. [color=0072bc]"Have you lost your way, Lady Arcana? I understand it may seem like it after that last encounter in Hub City, but do you still hold to your principles?"[/color]

Lady Arcana had remained silent as they rode the elevator up. It was an impressive sight, she had to admit. She could see the true scope and grandeur out the window as they ascended, something that would’ve probably left her gaping like a moron on any other day. But her somber, half-responsive state was immediately shattered by those words that broke the silence between them.

[color=orchid]”...What?”[/color] Her head snapped up to the businessman, eyes wide. [color=orchid]”You...you were give these powers by that old Wizard too? B-but..how? When he gave them to me he…”[/color]

She trailed off, his final words bringing back the sobriety that had consumed her ever since her last confrontation with Wilhelm. Once again looking away from him, she reached a hand up to rub at her arm. [color=orchid]”I...yes. I still do, even if maybe I can’t live up to them right now.”[/color]

She looked back up at him. [color=orchid]”But that’s why I’m here! I...I want to be [i]better[/i]. To….to not ever let anyone down the way I did there.”[/color]

He had assumed as much, both in the reason for coming to his offices, and that the Wizard had not mentioned her predecessors. Vagueness was the old wizard's speciality it seemed. [color=0072bc]"The powers I have now have been slowly cultivated over my life, but it was only after I lost the ones given to me by the Wizard that I had need to."[/color] Of course, he left quite a bit out in regards to specifics, but those were things that were rather irrelevant to the discussion at hand. She had very nearly beaten the old nazi to death, and regardless of whether or not it was needed, it had gone against her principles to do so, at least what he had thought of them.

[color=0072bc]"Even though the old Wizard is no longer present to observe and guide, even strip away the powers of the unworthy, that does not mean the consequences are any less. I saw a few of the cellphone videos of your actions, and while you did cross a line that day, it's clear that you still at least know where your path is."[/color] The chime of the elevator let them know that it had stopped, the action of the machine smooth to the point where it hadn't even been felt.

He gestured to follow, opening the doors to the main conference room and settling into a chair towards the back. It was here where he had held most of his meetings, and also where he had observed New York City engulfed in flames of its own making.

[color=0072bc]"You can do away with your glamor, no one other than myself actively frequents this floor unless there are meetings."[/color]

Lady Arcana unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself while Mr. Luneburg discussed the consequences of her actions. She knew...knew that she had gone way too far back there. Knew that she had nearly beaten Wilhelm to death in her blind rage. She hadn’t even been [i]thinking[/i] at that point, being barely more than a rabid animal. That...that wasn’t who she was. It wasn’t who she [i]wanted to be[/i].

[color=orchid]”I don’t want to lose control again,”[/color] she answered him, affirming her earlier statement. [color=orchid]”And I don’t want anyone like Timothy to ever have to die because I wasn’t good enough.”[/color]

When he noted that she could do away with her “glamor”, she merely cocked her head to the side in confusion.

[color=orchid]”...Glamor?”[/color]

Right, it was easy to forget that she didn't have nearly as much arcane knowledge as the name implied. He made a gesture about his face as he explained briefly. [color=0072bc]"The mask, the one which the powers imbue you with."[/color] Part of him wondered if she knew any other spells than the one he taught her, but he quickly silenced that small voice in the back of his head. She [i]had[/i] come here specifically to speak with him and seek some form of guidance, so it would do to try and find some form of restraint. Taking a moment to gather himself internally, he tried again. [color=0072bc]"Apologies, with being around another user of the arcane, I often forget that terms have changed and that few have as much experience. The glamor is what the armor of the wizard was once called, though back then it was actual armor and not a mere costume. Well, I use the term quite lightly as it seemed your 'costume' was able to take quite the hit with that nuclear detonation in Arabia."[/color]

[color=orchid]”O-oh! My transformation,”[/color] she finally understood his meaning, glancing down at herself.

Wait. He wanted her to drop it? To turn back into her human form? That would mean revealing her identity to him, though, something she’d kept a secret from everybody besides Clarissa thus far. I mean...she [i]was[/i] here asking for his help, of course, but even still…

Then again, she was utterly [i]nobody[/i]. That was probably the greatest benefit of her secret identity: that she was so utterly unimpressive as a person that nobody knew her. Even if she showed him her real face, he wouldn’t recognize her.

Besides, she was asking quite a lot of him here. Trust was important. Closing her eyes, she gently nodded. [color=orchid]”...Right. Okay.”[/color]

Drawing a breath, she spoke it. The Word. [color=orchid]”SHAZAM!”[/color]

As always, and as Mr. Luneburg likely anticipated, a bolt of the living lightning descended from the heavens above to strike her form. What he perhaps [i]didn’t[/i] expect, however, was for the person behind the “glamor” to be some brat in discount ben clothing.

Staring up - even more so than before - at the towering man, Karen exhaled. [color=orchid]”Hi...I’m Karen…”[/color]

In truth, he was expecting maybe at least someone approaching the same age as her transformation displayed, but he was not entirely surprised. She had acted rather… Was immature really the correct word for it? If not, at least someone who was perhaps not quite an adult.

[color=0072bc]"Pleased to meet you Karen."[/color] He managed not to openly speak his mind this time, though this really did explain so much. [color=0072bc]"It's important to remember that no one is perfect, and that everyone makes mistakes. When you become Lady Arcana, all those people out there look up to you, and a good number strive to be just like you, but do you stop being who you are now when you say the word? I'm sure you had hopes and dreams that were a fair bit different before taking on the powers of the wizard."[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Here's the question though, and I know that perhaps the situations may be far different, but bear with me. If you as Karen made a mistake in school, assuming you're in public school, and it was a rather dire one, would you be holding it against yourself in the same manner as you are doing now? [i]Should[/i] you?"[/color]

Karen’s eyes fell to the floor at his question. She probably looked like a pingpong table with how often they darted back and forth. [color=orchid]”I...if it caused somebody to be really hurt, or even to [i]die[/i], then yeah I would. I think anybody normal would feel awful if they let somebody die, right?”[/color]

She felt her heart clench at her last words. He wasn’t dead...not completely, right? He was still there, frozen in that horrible state. Right, that was the [i]other[/i] reason she came here. She had failed to save two people - his parents - from Wilhelm. But that didn’t mean she had to fail to save their son.

Staring back up at him for what had to be like the fourth time or something, she pursed her lips. [color=orchid]”I...I know I can’t always be perfect. But if I make a mistake, if I mess up...then I want to learn how to [i]fix[/i] it. I-I mean, magic can do anything, right?”[/color]

An equally good question, and one that he had been working on solving for what felt like his entire life. The arcane called to him, and with it he had spells that could make and unmake entire landscapes if he but had the power available. [color=0072bc]"It can do many things, and perhaps it very well could do anything."[/color] He said, giving the question a moment longer of thought as he began to pace the room. [color=0072bc]"With it, you could shape the earth and control the elements, or handle the most mundane of tasks."[/color]

[color=0072bc]"That was once a particular issue among some practitioners, in that once they found some degree of mastery they began to use it as a crutch for simple tasks. See, magic is a tool at its most basic. More than that, the arcane is [i]every[/i] tool that could be needed."[/color] Raymond stepped over to the wall, pressing his palm against the wooden paneling and causing it to recess slightly. A hiss escaped the seams of the panels and they fell back with a gust of cool air tinted with magic. It was a simple space hidden between the wall of this room and the one beside it, yet with the proper application of magic it expanded into a larger area. Anyone who had traveled to the rock would know of such spaces immediately.

It was not the space itself that drew attention, but the large book which sat upon a pedestal in the center. [color=0072bc]"I have spent so many years collecting arcane knowledge, and even I do not have all the answers. This book contains everything I have learned since the fall of Akkad."[/color]

[color=orchid]”Wah?!”[/color] Karen gasped, taking a step back when the wall collapsed into some sort of...magic dimension? That was all she could think to call it right now. It wasn’t her first time seeing something like that, but it still kind of surprised her when people did it without warning. [color=orchid]”Holy sauceballs, it’s just...there! All the other places like this that I’ve seen make you enter them before really showing you what’s inside.”[/color]

At most you’d get a little preview, but there it was...a [i]huge[/i] book, larger than any she’d ever seen before. In truth, it didn’t even feel like there was any clear separation between the world she was standing in now, and the one that existed in that space surrounding the book. Maybe cause it was really small? It was pretty interesting, imagining a little micro universe just a dozen square feet across.

[color=orchid]”Akkad? That [i]sounds[/i] familiar, um…”[/color] Karen scratched the side of her head, trying to remember where she’d heard it. If she’d still been transformed, she could’ve recalled it instantly, but alas her own memory was anything but perfect. Wasn’t it related to ancient Egypt or something?

Wait…
[color=orchid]”Hold on, isn’t that like a really ancient country or something? How old [i]are[/i] you, Mr. Luneburg?”[/color] Karen couldn’t help but ask, feeling a bit overwhelmed by that revelation.

Responding to the presence of both mages, the book opened slowly, pages fluttering in a false wind and returning to the last place of reference. Cuneiform scrawled across the weathered parchment, sometimes in ordered blocks and tightly spaced. Elsewhere it looked as if it was scratched in a hurry, lightened strokes showing fast penmanship. Raymond's hand traced a few of the spells therein before nodding slowly. [color=0072bc]"I learned how to make this space from my short time as Wizard. One of a few things I thought may come in handy at a later time. I'm sure you've already found The Rock to be incredibly useful for when something is far too dangerous to leave in the mortal realm."[/color]

As he thought, she didn't have full access to her powers unless transformed, and the eidetic memory didn't transfer over. He bitterly cursed the public education system for not teaching ancient history at earlier grades, but that was a battle that no mortal being could win. [color=0072bc]"Old enough to have watched this world change from one where magic thrived, all the way to the age of industrialization. Or as some may say, far too long."[/color]

[color=orchid]”That’s...pretty nuts, man,”[/color] Karen replied, staring at the book in awe. She knew magic could do some pretty wild things, but if he was [i]that[/i] old...did that mean he had basically found a way to live forever? It had to be pretty amazing to witness all the changes the world had undergone in all that time, and yet...he’d also have experienced the deaths of everyone he had ever loved or cared for. Possibly hundreds of times by now.

She couldn’t imagine having to watch her dad, Clarissa, Zoey or any of the other friends she was starting to make just wither away and die while she remained young forever. But...but that was what was going to happen, wasn’t it? She was going to stay young, while they…

Taking a step forward, Karen reached out and gave Mr. Luneburg a quick and gentle hug. [color=orchid]”It had to be really hard, living so long. I’m sorry…”[/color]

Realising she was hugging a stranger again - it was a bad habit of hers, she quickly stepped back and scratched her head. [color=orchid]”Anyway...I guess you’re pretty much the number one magic guy in the world if you’ve been at it all that time, huh?”[/color]

For a moment he wasn't quite sure how to react to the hug, though he allowed it as it seemed already the girl's mood had improved significantly from when she walked through the front doors. [color=0072bc]"Few understand the burdens of immortality."[/color] He said at last, waving a hand across the pages of the book and causing them to turn rapidly.

As they fluttered to a stop, the words were no longer symbols on the parchment but instead actual english and dictating simplistic spells. [color=0072bc]"It has been my life's work to accumulate arcane knowledge, so I suppose that would make you correct in assuming as much. These spells are rather basic, and you should be able to cast them even in this form. Channel as you did before, though try and focus on the instructions of the spells. Also… Don't touch the book. It responds to auras, and will seek to provide what it thinks you desire most."[/color]

Staring forward at the book for a moment, Karen could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She hadn’t tried to use magic in her human form. Not since she had first gained her powers, and didn’t even realize how to transform. She still remembered what it felt like to channel, though. It had made a solid enough impression that even her normal memory could recall it pretty clearly.

[color=orchid]“R-right. Make a little globe of arcane energy in my palm,”[/color] Karen read the description of the spell. That sounded simple enough. Harmless and easy. Pursing her lips tightly together, she curled her fingers around her left wrist and focused on it. Trying to draw the magic from inside her like she had when she was Lady Arcana, she ended up wincing her eyes shut as she struggled.

[color=orchid]”Nnngh…!”[/color] She continued to fight to draw out some kind of magical power from inside her...but unlike before it just...wasn’t...happening…!

[i]Pssshft![/i]

Her eyes widened, briefly darting behind her. Cheeks growing red, she waved her hand in the air. [color=orchid]”Don’t sniff, please.”[/color]

Raymond observed passively, sensing the movement of magical energy in the world-space around them. It became almost immediately clear the problem, producing a quite predicted failure. She was trying to draw on the Rock, and not reaching for the much more available magic that pooled around them just below their feet. [i]That must have been why the channeling didn't go as expected…[/i] His thoughts returned to the present along with a disapproving frown. A simple motion of the hand and he cast a spell to clear the world space back to its original state before opening, the book remaining unmoving even as gusts of chilled wind swirled around them.

[color=0072bc]"Don't think that's the intended result by far, though I think I understand your troubles. Firstly, you're trying to draw directly from the Rock it seems. Obviously, you won't be able to do so unless you wear the glamor, and even then you would just be wielding raw magic. There is an ocean of power beneath our feet, and even as human as you are now, if you reach out with your mind you should be able to sense it there."[/color]

Karen stared down at her feet where he gestured, feeling embarrassed that she thought she could wield magic like she could as Lady Arcana. Of course, that made sense. She wasn’t connected to the Rock of Eternity right now, so that wasn’t possible.

[color=orchid]”Right, okay. Reach out…”[/color] She quietly repeated, closing her eyes. Focusing now instead on feeling the world around her, she initially saw only the blackness of her mind. Then, like a tiny spark, she saw it: a glimmer of light in the abyss. Furrowing her brow, she concentrated on that flicker of hope. Slowly but surely, it began to expand. What was once a spark began to stretch until it became a river, one connecting to other similar estuaries of light.

Her lips parting in amazement at this sight, she couldn’t help but genuinely smile for the first time since that day. [color=orchid]”I can [i]see[/i] them!”[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Those are the leylines, what your presence as the Wizard has revitalized."[/color] In the world-space around them they flowed differently than just beyond the doorway they entered from, instead of streaming to connect with the ones back on Earth proper, they spiraled off into the abyss. There in the darkness far away was The Rock itself, sitting in the space between dimensions and feeding the magical conduits.

[color=0072bc]"The arcane flows along those lines very much like streams and rivers, connecting into literal oceans in some rare places, and it is quite appropriate that it does so. On my second point as to why you have difficulty utilizing your magic, both here and as Lady Arcana proper, is that you are trying to seize it and [i]make[/i] it do what you want it to do."[/color]

He stooped down to the ground, resting on his heels and reaching down with a hand to draw up some raw magic from the leyline. It flowed very much like a liquid, dripping between his fingers and pooling on the floor before seeping back to rejoin the rest. [color=0072bc]"Magic is a very fluid substance when physical, and it wants to move and fill the voids even as you move it between your fingers. Treat it as you would shaping water. If you just try and force it to your will, then no matter how strong you are, it will run through your fingertips and thwart you at every turn."[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Instead, be careful and gently coax it to what you need. For most spells you don't need grand motions, and especially here you don't need to work with urgency. If it helps, you could even just try asking nicely. Sometimes it actually helps."[/color]

Karen only opened her eyes when he began to speak. Surprisingly, the laylines didn’t fade from sight right away, but rather slowly began to dim after her focus was broken. It took only a few moments of focusing again - but without closing her eyes - to regain sight of them, however. It looked...odd, seeing them flowing through the world as they were.

Listening closely to Raymond’s instructions, she once again adopted the posture she had before. Off-hand around dominant wrist, she didn’t strain this time. Rather, she drew in a deep breath before slowly releasing it. [color=orchid]”Right...Mr. Layline, please give me a little bit of power for a ball of arcane energy!”[/color]

Focusing on her open palm, albeit not forcefully so, she imagined small streams of arcane energy flowing from the river into the center of her hand. Nothing happened at first, but she didn’t rush it. Like Mr. Luneburg had said, she didn’t need to rush things. Continuing to draw measured breaths, she kept focusing on the image while whispering softly for the layline to give her a little power.

Finally, in incremental strands, the energy began to coalesce into her hand. Swirling until it formed a shimmering orb, Karen’s lips stretched into a bright smile. [color=orchid]”Hey look, I did it-agh!”[/color]

The moment she stopped focusing, the ball exploded with an audible [i]pop[/i] that left Karen painfully wringing her hand. Frowning slightly, her shoulders slumped. [color=orchid]”Okay, maybe I didn’t.[/color]

Once more he observed passively, unmoving as the arcane responded to her request and slowly formed into the spell. Of course it had dissipated, a little violently unfortunately, but at least there was credible progress. Being the Wizard afforded her more innate ability he figured, even if her human form was far from adept at handling magic.

[color=0072bc]"It doesn't matter quite as much if you fail to cast in the end, as long as you can understand [i]how[/i] to properly cast. Even simple spells like these take time to master for the uninitiated. I would try for maybe something less… Volatile though. Perhaps the lamplight spell?"[/color] With a simple motion he drew in a wisp of magic from the leyline, spinning it around a finger until it resembled something very much like a ball of cotton candy. Nevermind that it was of a vibrant hue and glowed quite unnaturally.

With a flick of his wrist the puff of spun magic detached from his hand and began floating above the ground, gently bobbing up and down as it lit the area. [color=0072bc]"One of the most useful utility spells any wizard could know, it takes minimal magic and the spell-failure consequences are harmless. Go ahead."[/color]

Karen nodded gently at this, extending a single index finger into the air just like Mr. Luneburg had. Once again focusing on the laylines surrounding her, she made another quiet request for aid before imagining the same effect that her teacher had just displayed. Nothing major, just a little light on the tip of her finger. LIke before it took a few moments to accomplish, but she did eventually summon the wisp of light as he had.

She didn’t feel like she was ready to make it float around, though. It’d almost certainly dissipate if she did so.

[color=orchid]”T-there, that’s right, isn’t it?”[/color] She stuttered slightly to Mr. Luneburg with only a slight flick of her eyes to him, struggling to maintain her focus on the light. She couldn’t repeat her mistake from before and let her mind wander too much.

[color=0072bc]"As before, you've got the idea of it down good enough. The lamplight spell is especially good for beginners in that the wording is not picky or exact, and the end result is quite open to interpretation. In magic those kinds of spells are the most ideal for the creative mage, and can be excellent ways to showcase ability."[/color] Almost to emphasize his point, he stood and dispelled the previous orb.

Drawing in another strand of magic, this time he counter-spun it with wider movements. It solidified much the same as it did before, but instead of looking very much like a floating cotton ball, this time the puff was like a ball of steel wool. Detaching it, he gave it a gentle spin and another light infusion of magic. Where before the lamplight was stationary to a point, this one began a slow rotation around its caster, lighting up the area.

[color=0072bc]"With just a little bit more added onto the spell, some slight variations, it has become something unique. You could even change the colors of the light if you wished. Go ahead and make another one, though try something different in casting."[/color]

Pursing her lips, Karen allowed her first wisp of light to dissipate. Once again focusing on the laylines at her feet, she gently requested more power from it. It wouldn’t be enough this time to simply create a light. She had to do something [i]unique[/i] with it. Probably something different than what Mr. Luneburg had done, not that she felt like she [i]could[/i] do that even if she tried.

Ah, there was a thought!

As the arcane energy was drawn from the layline and to the tip of her finger, Karen tilted it downward and began to slowly bob it up and down as if trying to shake a drop of liquid free. After a few moments of this, the wisp of light finally detached from her and hit the ground in a [i]bounce[/i]! Like a little rubber ball, it a skipped along the floor until it smacked up against the wall, finally dissipating in a tiny flash.

[color=orchid]”Wow, I just...imagined it being like a bouncy ball and…[/color] Karen trailed off, her eyes still staring at where it had vanished.

Raymond raised an eyebrow in surprise, not quite expecting that one. [color=0072bc]"Not bad actually. Instead of letting it float freely, you gave it a little bit of mass and set it free. I knew a man in the Yucatan years ago who used a very similar technique when exploring caves."[/color] Drawing in a little bit of the arcane, he copied the motions and produced a small orb of light as Karen did, though it was a bit more focused in intensity.

[color=0072bc]"It was before things like submersible flares, and so it was quite difficult to explore the deeper parts of the cave systems. Problem with the basic lamplight spell though, is that it is quite obviously lighter than air to a degree and floats. Makes it rather difficult to submerge, and the cave systems of Central America are rather… Moist. He had the idea that if he condensed the strands enough, they would form a solid orb that he could then drop into the caves and light his way."[/color]

[color=orchid]”Oh,”[/color] Karen replied with her mouth slightly agape. [color=orchid]”I was just thinking about bouncy balls.”[/color]

Though what he said [i]did[/i] sound interesting. Anything she learned as Karen here, she could surely use as Lady Arcana. Use it a lot [i]better[/i], more than likely. She kind of understood why he had her transform back to her human form now. Because she couldn’t “cheat” by just drawing on the Rock of Eternity, she had to learn proper channeling technique.

[color=orchid]”Is this how you trained in magic back when you were a kid?”[/color] Karen couldn’t help but ask, her mind drifting back to the fact that he was from a time far removed from her own. If she had learned such a thing even a few months prior, she would’ve still been shocked...but after seeing wizards, harpies, Atlanteans, magitech war suits and everything [i]else[/i] that had happened to her since that fateful day last November, this stuff was starting to seem par for the course.

[color=0072bc]"If only."[/color] He said with a grim chuckle. It would have been all too easy if he had a guide for his journey, someone to show him the proper ways beyond simply giving him the very basics and setting him loose. Perhaps things would have been very different in such a scenario. [color=0072bc]"Unfortunately, I was already a man by the time I learned I had the potential. My youth had been spent, and little remained to me with such promises."[/color]

Memories came to him of his slow mastery over fire spells in particular, and the rather necessary need to learn restoration magics that swiftly followed. Trial and error was historically one of the best tutors, but not the kindest by a long shot. [color=0072bc]"I was given the basics and set loose more or less, and as I'm sure you can surmise, it was not an ideal start towards becoming a wizard of any calibre."[/color]

Karen’s shoulders sank slightly upon hearing about his rough start. It seemed like he had endured a lot even before he gained immortality. She honestly didn’t understand why the Wizard would have rejected him, though, he seemed like a really cool guy from where she was standing...and he knew a hell of a lot more about magic than she likely ever would.

[color=orchid]”So even back then people could go a long time without ever knowing they had magic?”[/color] Karen replied, unable to suppress her curiosity about his era now that she was thinking about it. [color=orchid]”I guess I just expected there to be [i]something[/i], y’know? Like Hogwarts, eheh.”[/color]

[i]Gods[/i] that probably sounded really stupid. She just figured that a magical school was a natural step, but maybe that was just how the modern world had conditioned her to think.

Raymond's hand rested on the book as he drew in a little more from the leylines beneath. Pulling away, the pages seemed to part from the binding, but it was actually copying itself onto new sheets woven from the air around them. [color=0072bc]"It was actually fairly common for people to go their entire lives without ever knowing they had the gift. What schools did exist back then, they were for the very privileged few, almost always the aristocratic elite or the priesthoods. The common man was thought to be beyond such gifts."[/color]

The pages in his hand glowed briefly as they parted from the book, words writing themselves as he watched and ensured the proper spells were written. They were rather simple affairs, easy to cast even when the leylines were shallow. [color=0072bc]"Here are some more practice and utility spells. They should help get you up to speed on the basics of casting, channeling and even the first portion of auramancy. With some practice a couple times a week, you should be able to achieve decent control over the arcane so that you could afford to cast these as Lady Arcana."[/color]

Karen eagerly accepted the pages when he offered them to her, staring down at the magically written words in amazement. Despite everything that had happened to her, it was simply [i]impossible[/i] to not be excited at the fact that she was learning [i]real[/i] magic at last! And not just as Lady Arcana, but as regular ol’ Karen Hernandez. There was no way she was going to restrict herself to just studying it twice a week though. She’d spend as much time buried in these things as she possibly could, and then come back once she felt that she had gained a solid grasp on them for even more!

[color=orchid]”Thank you, Mr. Luneburg!”[/color] Karen smiled up at him in genuine gratitude. [color=orchid]”After everything that happened that day, I...this all means [i]so[/i] much to me!”[/color]

[i]Finally[/i] she felt like she was making some progress towards becoming a more competent Wizard! Or at least one that wasn’t a total and complete screw up. She knew Samantha wouldn’t approve, but now that she had the magic in hand, she didn’t [i]need[/i] her approval anymore!

[color=0072bc]"You are quite welcome. Glad to be working with magic more closely again personally, and I've got you to thank for that. If I can be of some assistance ensuring that you come into your powers properly, then perhaps we'll have you as the wizard for some time yet."[/color] Regardless of how beneficial it would be to him and his cabal to have the Wizard looking favorably upon him, there was an undeniable satisfaction towards helping start one on their arcane journey. More than that, it was clear that his efforts had a marked effect on her mood, and as a father it was difficult to suppress a smile in response.

[color=0072bc]"I think for now we can return to the offices, as I think you've got a pretty good grasp on things for today."[/color][/center]