[b]Name:[/b] Ayer Lecomte
[b]Age:[/b] 27
[b]Appearance:[/b] Just linework. Too lazy to color. [hider][img]https://i.imgur.com/01RWwaT.png?1[/img][/hider]
[b]Height:[/b] 5'11
[b]Race:[/b] Human 
[b]Home Nation:[/b] Arcadia

[b]Magical Capabilities: [/b]

Ayer possesses a few 'devices', which emulate different node circuits that copy something of a mage's abilities. Simply put, with these tools, Ayer has a wide arsenal of spells, rudimentary as they are, that he would otherwise not have access to normally or are out of his expertise. These 'Ars' devices have a few uses before they need to be cooled off for a while and recharged through arcane sensitive conductors. Multiple uses from them in a short burst is highly dangerous and will probably destroy them entirely, causing indeterminable levels of extreme arcane meltdown. 

[b]Ars Core 'Alpha' - Mark 4.3 // “Wax Jury”[/b] - His most simple device, though bulky, complex, and crude as it may seem. A series of make-shift mana-lines, essence condensers, and coolants are connected and packaged with the main power unit to ensure full safety and functionality. Though not the most proud looking piece of equipment, Ayer had to work with what he had. Depending on the ‘core’ used, housing different selections and alignments of mana sensitive gems and jewels, the device will expel raw arcane power through a specialized barrel. The complexity of spell is rather simple, with elemental effects, such as water, wind, fire, and electricity being the most stable type of magic being emulated. Increased intensity will cause the arcane essence to be unstable, resulting in dangerous elemental explosions.  

[b]Ars Core Prototype 'Beta' - Mark 0.8 // "Callous John"[/b] - Recently lost. 
[b]Ars Tool 'Gamma' - Mark 2.2 // "Jupiter Dawn"[/b] - Recently lost. 

Aside from this, his talent as a mage is quite lacking. Despite possessing a library worth of technique and understanding across all manner of schools, though namely the Elemental, his actual ability is [b]Novice[/b] at best. His arcane nodes had always been weak, no matter what he did. 

[b]History:[/b] [hider] Magic brought the onset of wonder and imagination of the sentient races to an overgrowing peak, a force of miracles, a display of the soul and will all at once. But Ayer knew the limitations of his own frail body. Still, he never stopped trying to disprove the impossible. 

He was the type of boy to risk his life to prove a point, to satiate his wild curiosity. Ayer was always a troublemaker and odd-ball, often arguing with everyone in his village, even his parents, who thought his wild clockwork inventions and doo-dads were a waste of time. Once he was old enough, Ayer would take his savings, accumulated over his young life, and depart the dusky old hamlet he was born in. He would set off for the ivory capital of Arcadia, the center for intellectual and magical significance in the entire world. 

As an 'arcane theorist', though purely self-claimed, his intention was to get rich quick by partitioning off his 'grand, revolutionary ideas'. But it was not so easy as the naively optimistic boy imagined. Naturally, because of his lack of social awareness and over-inflated ego, Ayer was the laughing stalk of every place he went. He may have been well-versed in his small village, but the mages and alchemists, who've spent their entire life studying and brooding over tombs, articles, and papers, there did not see the charm in his passion. It didn't help he always started off introductions by proclaiming himself a prodigy and genius of this generation, the 'next Frugel', followed by hair-brained theories that any rightful mage or alchemist would find ludicrous. Quickly, he earned himself a reputation. The 'Theoretical Arcanist' as those of the magic world would come to title him, openly mocking him for his original self-proclaimed title. It was not easy for the eccentric boy, who often slept in the cold of the streets as he would foolishly spend his money on futile, fruitless experiments, acquiring research materials, and collecting intellectual readings of 'rivals', purely to spiteful debate them in his loneliness. Luckily for Ayer, he was pretty talented when it came to fixing things and turning junk to working contraptions. And the fact that he actually shut up when he was focused on work, made him rather tolerable for a while. Otherwise he truly would've starved.

Although he would owe his survival to his job at a small workshop in the city, thanks to a misguided admirer, he always criticized the musk and pollution that steam technology would bring about. 

As a year passed with no progress, for many this would be the end. But Ayer never gave up, despite all the remarks and comments and labels instilled upon him by his colleagues. He took their cruel beatings and continued to attend every conference, meeting, and talk, to expand his knowledge. One day, eventually, things changed for the wild dreamer. While attending a lecture by an acclaimed mage in the Arcadian Academy of the Arcane Sciences, of which he furiously debated with the professor mid-lecture, his greatest idea dawned upon Ayer while he was being dragged out of the building. Though, it could be argued that perhaps it was delirium from his head hitting the concrete. That being said, drawing mana was impossible from environment to body. That much was an agreed and establish arcane law, an irrefutable fact. But that was because of fear of self-destruction. However, what if we used a medium to circumvent the influx of energy, eliminating the chaotic imbalance and instability that rendered our blood and flesh to ash and muck... If one was able to circumvent the frailty of sentient form, perhaps then, Mana can be used for other purposes? It was far-fetched, indeed, but he has seen it work on a smaller scale. This idea was the same with heat and steam, generating kinetic force, was it not? The most difficult part of this theory was how to siphon and control mana from the environment, as mana was a volatile form of matter, and mages are only able to do so with the arcane nodes located in their body. But if these nodes can be artificialized and replicated, then that would lead to a revolution in science and magic. 

With his new theory brimming in his mind, Ayer bade farewell to the ivory city of Arcadia. And for once, he received cheer as he walked out the academy after proclaiming his great venture. Though it was probably not for the reason he would like to think. The young arcanist would spend the remainder of his teen years dedicated to honing this theory, one he was convinced could work, seeking to understand the nature of these arcane nodes and the relation that mana had on the physical world. Mana existed in all things, and he believed sentience only aided us, while the ability to manipulate mana is a product of the restructuring of nodes that already exist. And nodes, though small, tiny, and insignificant surely must exist elsewhere. In fact, they already exist.‘Psy-Stones’ were physical objects that were able to transfer mana, similar to that of an arcane node. The main problem that many before him faced was how to hone that chaotic energy while removing the ‘mage’ from the equation entirely. And the fact that acquiring such things were beyond conceivable for his measly budget, meant getting any sort of proper data was very difficult. Ayer scoured the entire world, traveling to this dangerous spot to that, volcanic crags, icy tundras, and blistering deserts, hoping to find something others overlooked. This went on until he found himself nearly drowning in the eastern seas trying to observe the nature of massive spark-eels. 

Maybe it was a stroke from the divine? Or the fortune of a luck-starved bastard. Though most likely, even the carnivorous eels didn't want any of the sour egg. Waking up in an underground cavern, was when Ayer discovered the breakthrough of his theory. There, in the cavern was a host of crystals that glimmered and sparked. Taking a shard back to his mobile laboratory for analysis, he discovered something. There was nothing special about these gems at all, aside from a striking harmonious mana reading. Analyzing various other types of gems and crystals, he discovered a common trait. That, due to their internal prismatic geometry, this allowed gems to contain an astonishing network of arcane nodes within them. At least, potentially. However, ordinarily, a large majority are dormant and inactive. With this new data of the glimmering sea-crystals, he realized that this innate potential can be unlocked through stimulation by a harmonious frequency and stable current of mana. This whole coastline was famous for one thing, the 'Festival of Glimmering Storm'. What made it unique was that this implied 'storm' was actually triggered by the mating rituals conducted by the looming, great spark-eels in seasons of heat. This was known to be quite the sight, as though the ocean before the coast would bloom like lights in the sky, stirred by the stormy electricity released by the eels. During this day-long ritual, the tides to rise and fall at regular intervals until the impassioned creatures tired out. The shores and seabed would be washed with enriched mana. Luckily, crystals contained the charge for a long time, as it would seem the nature of jewels physical construct appeared to easily trap mana. 

Ayer had intended to make it on time too, but he was delayed a few days and thus, missed the event. However, that blunder proved to be the key to all of this. Truly, it was a stroke of mad coincidence. 

Perhaps ‘frequency’ was the key? After acquiring a large number of varying gems, he would begin the heavy experimentation period of any proper theory. He soon discovered a few things, actually. Carving them into select-shaped jewels allowed further personalization and specialty, intensifying or waning the concentration of mana contained within. Similar to how a mage would practice and hone their own nodes for specific spells. Using both his knowledge of science, machines, and the arcane, he would develop a interconnected two-point charge that used multiple gems to mimic a network of nodes. Very similar to how Psy-Stones operated, except on a grander, more condensed scale. However, he would instead reverse the whole process. One would be dormant, while the other contained a charge, which when stimulated by a reverse charge, would begin to trigger an influx and absorb mana from a nearby source. Of course, that lead to a series of failures, until he was able to perfect the frequency to allow for steady influx flow. Ayer would create basic devices or 'Ars' that would be able to absorb and trigger a stored mana charge. Like a compact, activate-able 'spell' that required little to no mana usage from the user. Finally, after years of labor and frustration and ridicule, of eating the scraps of the wild and begging for left-overs, Ayer had something to show for it all. He would be able to return to those pompous, cowardly intellectuals and prove them he was worth something. 

All that was left was to test and see the results. What he found, was troubling. This process was maybe a little too [i]efficient[/i].

In the end, while there was nothing really 'revolutionary' about these devices, more like glorified elemental payloads, they proved that the newly named 'Arcane Energy Conversion' theory was possible. Maybe it didn't break or contradict any arcane law, but perhaps it was the next big step in technological advancement. Just like the steam engines before him. Ayer knew he had [i]something[/i], but he refused to go back with a half-baked invention and data. Not until he can come back with a theory so great and so undeniable. One that will completely wipe the cheeky smirks off the stupid faces of his detractors. Bolstered by his spectacular failure, he set his eyes on the next step of improving his theory. First step? Probably to get funding to appropriate a new laboratory. Perhaps one that was more flame-proof this time. 

And so, the inventor, the self-proven Arcane Theorist, would continue his journey to revolutionize the entire world. 

...[/hider]