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[h1][color=E786FF]Kamila [/color][/h1]
[h3]Bellagio Fountain, The Strip, Las Vegas [/h3]
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It truly was a majestic sight. 

How water could combine and refract light in such miraculous ways seemed like magic. What was, ultimately, just a cheap trick based on light could be made into something that could mesmerize even a magus.

Or, was that the problem to begin with?

Something which looked like magic was ultimately made mundane by a modern explanation. Did knowing how it was done diminish her experience? No, not at all. However, any mystery that it once held was completely stomped out. It was nothing more than a petty trick, and that was the end of it.

She sighed.

What should have been a dazzling display to heighten her mood only soured it. Then again, she was always a bit like that.

Her attention returned to her Servant once she started speaking. She seemed to be mostly talking to herself, but Kamila quickly changed her mind once Caster cut off her own arm and the ichor sprayed around them.


She was in shock. 

The blood(?) isn’t what bothered her, nor was the actual action of cutting off a limb. She was well conditioned for that, rather, Kamila couldn’t comprehend what it was her Servant was doing. The captain wanted to scream at her Servant for wasting this much mana, but she didn’t even want to risk gaining the attention of onlookers. Even if it was clear by this point, it just wasn’t a risk that Kamila wanted to take.

So, instead, without the ability to shout vocally, she shouted mentally.

[color=E786FF][i]“Are you insane?!”[/i][/color]

Of course, yelling at her Servant was never going to accomplish much. They were always in their own world, so it was going to fall on deaf ears. Kamila likely knew this much, but venting was always healthy. More importantly, her Servant kept the same smug look they always seemed to have.

As Caster’s stance changed, Kamila was beginning to understand that whatever they were doing, it was intentional and part of some kind of plan. While the knight could have liked an alert ahead of time, at least her Servant remained serious. Or, whatever level of seriousness they seemed able to muster. 

The question posed by Caster was odd, but the Knight Captain assumed this was just a test by her Servant. After all, a Caster of all classes should know this answer. Was that what the mocking aura was about? Or did it pick at something deeper? Kamila could never tell with this Servant.

[color=E786FF]“Hmmm, well Western Thaumaturgy is mostly based on the practices and ideas of the Greeks and Egyptians. 

For the Greeks, it likely starts with the birth of Aphrodite, emerging from the sea foam of where Uranus’ genitals landed. Outside of that, water takes a centerpiece in the ideas of Thales. He believed water was the base element from which all were derived, meaning it was also the element which life sprouted from.

There’d be later philosophers, such as Herclitus, who argued for Fire as the basis, but Thales remained the most popular among them all. It wasn’t until Plato where all the elements were categorized, and Aristotle broke them down even further, as well as adding aether to the group. Aristotle’s writings would become the backbone for Alchemical thought going forward.

Egypt is a much simpler story. All of existence, including all of the Gods, sprouted from a single Lotus in the abyssal sea, Nun. I don’t feel the need to explain much further in regards to Egypt, as this explains enough, correct?

The father of Alchemy, Hermes Trismegistus, would mix both Greek and Egyptian ideals into what the West considers Alchemy today. This is where the Alchemists of Atlas differ, as their version of alchemy is an evolution of the original Egyptian Metallurgy from which Alchemy draws from.

Now, Hebrew tradition has Fire as the basis of Life, which is something Christianity continued, if you discount that minor blip with John the Baptist. So, if you asked me, I’d answer Fire to that question.” [/color]

It was far more long winded than it needed to be, but hopefully that was an acceptable answer for her Ser-

She was cutting herself again.

Was this going to be a running problem?

Of course, once her Servant had done it and the pigeons began to appear, Kamila was able to piece it together. The explanation she was giving was wrong.

Well, not wrong exactly. They were correct. However, they were not the answer that her Servant was looking for.

[color=E786FF]“All life, from plants to humans, rely on water. If that is the case, how can any other element be associated with life?”[/color]

She was still pro-fire, of course.

[color=E786FF]“...I can fix you up, if you want. I don’t really want all of your...blood? Leaking onto my car seats.”[/color]

And so, the one armed plant Caster and the deeply confused Knight Captain stared at one another while the water and light show continued to mesmerize the crowd.