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Her eyes scanned across the letter that had been delivered to her. A request to meet from Augusto, a noble from Torragon. It seemed to not include any listed reason for this meet which was irritating. Even an allusion to whatever purpose this meeting could serve would of been better than nothing which was all this invitation held for her. It didn't really matter. Noble or not her time was precious so he could wait or approach her himself if it was really so important.

Looking up from the letter she noticed motion within the Zeno's halls. Having been passing through after receiving her letter she spotted Jocasta passing through. While they had run into one another a few times by now, the last time being during that hunt to secure the surge of aberrations that had started cropping up across the city, they hadn't properly spoken yet. Given the events that only the two of them are even aware of it seemed like something big enough to warrant some form of discussion. More than that however was the fact that Trypano now knew that Jocasta understood time travel. This meant she could potentially be of help to her in developing a theory of hers, a design which could hypothetically alleviate the effects of tethering by means of a time stasis chamber and, of course, their blood.

She scanned the area with her binding senses, getting a read on the existing material nearby to determine just how many living humanoids were within the vicinity. It seemed the two of them were alone for the time being, everyone else likely being busy out with club preparations for the upcoming festival. Still, caution was warranted given the sensitive nature of the material they'd be discussing.

[color=crimson]"Ah, Jocasta. If you have a moment available I would like to discuss certain matters. They might include sensitive information regarding certain individuals and/or topics so I've checked to make sure no prying ears are listening but you're free to sense out the surroundings yourself for further privacy."[/color] 'Twas a bit of a wordy greeting but such was Trypano, thorough if nothing else.

Jocasta's greeting was the formation of a sonic bubble, dampening the sound of their conversation to all the outside world. "I don't," she teased. "Sorry, gotta go!"

Trypano quirked an eyebrow and cradled her chin with her thumb and index finger inquisitively. [color=crimson]"If that's so then why the sound dampening sphere?"[/color]

"More of a hemisphere, wouldn't you say?" teased Jocasta, but then she relented. "Anyways, yes, sure. I've got a few minutes. Is it... about... you know..." She trailed off, a nervous conspirator.

[color=crimson]"To some extent, yes. I do recall the events which transpired wherein we were forced to alter events. Though no expert on the subject of time alteration I would not rest easy given we still don't know the full capacity of what Ismette called forward nor whether the realm it was conjured from obeys time in the same way ours does."[/color]

In a small gesture she took her hand away from her face, flicking her index finger out. [color=crimson]"My purpose for seeking you out's only tangentially related to that event however. Now that I'm aware of your understanding of time manipulation I was hoping to get your opinion on a theory I've been working on since we returned."[/color] She gave pause to allow opportunity for Jocasta to speak her mind so she doesn't end up like one of those people who corners someone and just talks their ear off.

"What she engaged with, I've heard precious little about," Jocasta replied, lowering her voice despite the dampening, perhaps out of habit. "Too little," she concluded. As for your idea... I have a question for you first, perhaps fittingly only tangentally related." There was ever so slight an incline to this floor and it was annoying her to no end by trying to make her drift into Trypano's shins: a fiigurative bowling ball to the much taller woman's pin. "If you could travel freely through space and time," the tethered inquired, "where and when would you go?"

An interesting question she was posed. [color=crimson]"Where and when would I travel, hm?"[/color] She crossed her arms in careful consideration. [color=crimson]"Freely through time and space would imply that I wouldn't be damaging the fabric of space and time such as when that aberration emerged after our return to prevent the summoning. Provided I had a means of traveling without such risk to our current timeline however I suppose I would first travel to each point in time, documenting all that occurs within this timeline. That way I would have a point of reference whenever I alter something and can follow the resulting effects of each decision all the way into the future and see what results occurred compared to if such alteration had never transpired."[/color]

She had been looking up as she thought up her answer but now returned her gaze back to meet Jocasta's own. [color=crimson]"My concerns presently are less regarding time travel and more regarding time stasis however."[/color]

"That will be... useful for many things," Jocasta admitted, "but difficult to achieve." She did not bother craning her neck to meet Trypano's eyes. Her unusually tall classmate struck her mostly as the type to subscribe to social convetions only out of obligation anyhow. "There is something, when you pause the flow of time, that we Temporal users call 'Time pressure.'" She glanced upward anyhow before continuing. "An inelegant term, but it decribes the phenomenon where one's separation from the timestream causes mounting side effects. Most compare them to a building pressure in your head, like when you overdraw and, like that, all of the way to unconsciousness." She glided alongn the tiled floor, still annoyed by its tiny slope. "I haven't pushed the limit and have no desire to, but you'd best tread lightly." She paused. "Besides, and not to be rude, but since when have you dabbled in Temporal?"

Noticing that Jocasta seemed to find difficulty in keeping her wheelchair from rolling from time to time Trypano took a moment to test her progress in free-casting, extending a hand downward using a finger as her focus as she applied her binding to the tiles below, subtly molding their form so as to help keep her from rolling in that same direction so easily. Jocasta's response was to flash a quick, knowing smile of thanks.

[color=crimson]"Interesting."[/color] The binder took a moment, considering what she had been told. [color=crimson]"Since we can both count on one another to keep what is spoken here strictly between one another I can confide that during our mission from Hugo on Isla d'Amato we were ambushed inside the coastal caverns by a race of sapient reptiles. They held a significant degree of knowledge regarding both material science and temporal magic, enough so that even Benedetto was unable to oppose them."[/color] It was a risk confiding their existing to her but trust was a mutual contract. She had to trust her in order for her to trust back.

[color=crimson]"We eventually managed to negotiate our way free which is how we were able to reach the Dune Sea over in Torragon. With that encounter however I've been made aware of Temporal magic and have been considering it's applications, specifically a medical application I could hypothetically employ that would generate minimal chronological disturbance."[/color] Trypano took a pause to let Jocasta air any questions or concerns that may have arisen from her explanation.

"Was it the Sirrahi?" she asked, but she knew that she would be right. "I've been told of them but never seen one." She  glanced down at the subtle shifting tiles. "Keep doing youru freecasting practice, by the way." She flashed an encouraging smile. "Do it until you don't een have to think about it." She was falling slightly behind and gave her wheels an extra hard push to catch up. Like almost any scientific type, Trypano seemed to suconsciiously pick up the pace when she was talking about something that interested or excited her. "As for your idea, what wouldl it be? Preventing a bbleed-out at a crucial moment during surgery? Pausing the effects of trauma before they can worsen?" She tilted her head to the side wonderingly, thinking, herself, of all of the potential applications. "Oooh: preserving recently-deceased tissues to prevent decay?"

[color=crimson]"Ah, so you've heard of them?"[/color] She answered her first inquiry. It made her happy to receive encouragement regarding her free-casting practice, especially given how recently she had picked it up. [color=crimson]"They are a fair bit taller than most humans. Primarily carnivorous with a penchant for research and interspecies relations as Ingrid may attest."[/color]

She listened as Jocasta listed the number of uses such magic might have. All valid but ultimately circumstantial and none answering existing on-going issues save one.

[color=crimson]"All good guesses, the last one fairly close."[/color] She clasped her hands together before getting into the meat of her explanation. [color=crimson]"As you may be aware binding for the purposes of restoring the body primarily relies on using a mana's built-in framework of its owner's form to guide the process. It serves as the baseline for a majority of methods used to heal others using this art."[/color]

[color=crimson]"Now, and do stop me if you find the topic uncomfortable, you may be well aware that the Tethering results from the mana's paralytic effects on the nervous system, gradually rendering its users' limbs and eventually body inert until user death. I've been considering for some time on how to alter the nature of mana for the purposes of changing this so Tethered mana no longer kills its users but it occurred to me that its rate of paralysis is related to the age of the mana itself."[/color] Unclasping her hands she softly hammered her left fist into her right palm.

[color=crimson]"If I were able to create a pocket space similar to those used by Hugo and enchant the item containing that space, altering its chronological process to halt or otherwise greatly diminish the time that passes within compared to the exterior world then I could take a sample of blood from someone diagnosed with Tethering before it's symptoms have grown severe and place it in containment. That way by the time they start experiencing more dire symptoms I could remove their existing mana and replace it with new mana generated from a sample that hasn't aged since it was taken after which I could use binding to rebuild their body according to their mana's template which would restore them to a younger, healthier state. This would allow the tethered to regularly receive treatments that could prolong-"[/color] 

Jocasta appreciated everything that Trypano was saying. If someone truly could cure the tethering it would be... everything to her and many other people. Her classmate, was also wrong, however: a master within her discipline, perhaps, bbut there was precious little on the tethering because, truth be told, nobody really cared about the cripples and the bastards and the broken things. She held a hand up to interject. "I'm going to stop you there," she began, "because I think you're really onto something, but you also don't have all the information you need and I'd hate for you to start from an incorrect baseline." She came to a stop, bidding Trypano to do the same. They were not so completely on their own anymore. "So, you remember Hugo's study, but this is where my mana type gies me an advantage. I could sense a much greater area around us." She nodded as much to herself as to her classmate. "And we were not in a pocket dimension. He'd teleported us all: automatically, somehow. We were some five miles from a coast and not so far from a city of... Sirrahi. There were things I could sense the energies of but not see and I could not even begin to comprehend them." 

She shook her head. "That was one thing. The other is the nature of tethered manas. I can tell you from experience that an individual mana won't live that long. The... turnover rate among them is very high: a year from birth to death at most as soon as the colony gets large enough and starts bonding with the nerves. I think the notion of manipulating time to stave it off is a fundamentally good one, though. One I'll be happy to lend any help needed with."

Trypano nodded along, taking in what information Jocasta had to share on the matter. [color=crimson]"So he used a teleportation spell, possibly in conjunction with binding to leave an enchanted item with a function imprinted upon it. The fact that his study is located near a Sirrahi settlement is a fascinating one however."[/color]

"I think you're spot on," Jocasa agreed, nodding for Trypano to continue.

[color=crimson]"As for the nature of mana's short lifespan I do understand the quick turnover rate. They do subsist and replicate within the bloodstream however so perhaps creating an environment for them to subsist, at least temporarily, could provide enough of a lifespan for the manas gathered to survive going into a temporal storage and occasionally coming out. Depending on what dependencies the mana may require I could, from a sample, create several stages of environments up to and including an inert body modeled from the sample's memory. Testing will no doubt be required to determine what is needed for prolonged storage of the mana. The most important part however will be fusing binding with temporal magic to generate a vault with an enclosed space, removed from universal space or not, that is temporally slow enough to preserve mana over the course of a human lifespan or longer."[/color] Standing there with her arms crossed she looked back down to Jocasta. [color=crimson]"Your thoughts on this?"[/color]

Jocasta blinked. "It'll be a lot of work to get to that point, and I mean a LOT. It's a stretch." She paused, raising a finger to her lower lip. "That said, not theoretically impossible. You're a bloody mad scientist, you know that?" she half-joked. There were now other figures in the distance. "You're also not the first to approach me with some interest in learning Temporal magic. If the school refuses to teach it and people are determined to learn it..." She trailed off for a second. "At least do so under my auspices. I sense, as I imagine you do, that our world is headed for a violent clash of ideals and worse soon. It's something we should equip ourselves to be independent actors within." She shrugged, eyes drifting over to the approaching figures. "If you're amenable, I'll speak with the others and we can set something up. You should join," she added invitingly, but there may have been something just a tiny bit firmer underlying her tone.

Trypano chuckled as Jocasta referred to her as a mad scientist. [color=crimson]"You're not to first to accuse me."[/color] They were approaching the public so it seemed their conversation would need to approach a close soon.

[color=crimson]"Caution in the field of time and space manipulation is wise. Even still, bogarting of knowledge stymies growth in academic fields, slows the process of discovery. And as for the world approaching a new time of conflict it's unfortunate but not surprising. With as many actors in the current political scene this era of peace is a tenuous one."[/color] She gave a sage nod. [color=crimson]"Nonetheless I will respect your wishes and study under your supervision when involving Temporal magic. The sirrahi were kind enough to provide a manual as well."[/color]

As they approached the exit to the building Trypano held the door for Jocasta so she may exit easier whilst hearing out her invitation. [color=crimson]"Just give me an address and I'll be sure to attend. Nothing like a meeting of minds after all~"[/color] She gave a humorous spin at the tip of her response, nothing overly cutesy or sarcastic but just a dash for levity. If Jocasta had faith in these other unspoken individuals then surely they wouldn't be too dull-minded, right?

_
Later in that evening Ingrid approached Trypano's dorm.

The deal with Zarra’s family had gone well all things considered. Sadly they wanted to also make the sails but that was not too big of an issue. The biggest damn issue is those cannons. They are the second most expensive thing and the shipping cost for them is outrageous. To top all that off, with the war on the way many cannon makers are swamped with orders. [color=8882be][i]I could buy the metal for nothing and I still wouldn’t be able to get even 3! What do I do?[/i][/color] Ingrid was blessed by a memory of something that felt all so long ago. [color=8882be][i]Trypano! She made that cool cannon from blood magic! She could do it![/i][/color] Ingrid is only thinking of the Magus and nothing that she is about to ask a blood mage to do something.

Ingrid set up a meeting before the trials, meeting In Trypano’s room to be less of an inconvenience for Ingrid’s cash co- I mean best friend. Bringing nothing but some cool plants that have mouths. Kinda trippy. But hey it might impress her enough. And with that Ingrid give Trypano’s door a good knock

In the light of the lantern she sat, metal tools sat in a low rimmed silver bowl on the desk. In her hand was her own eye, still attached through the nerves, looking back at her as she focused on it with her other eye still in it’s socket. The coloration of the iris slowly began to shift, only stopping when she noticed a blood vessel spill out below one of the outer membranes. It was a good time to stop anyhow as a guest was now at her door. Oh how the time flies.

Carefully, with gentle precision she slides the eye back into place, giving her eyelids a few awkward blinks as she calibrates it. Leaving such experiment for later she quickly cleaned her hands of blood, partly with water and partly through drawing, before heading to the door to greet her visitor.

[color=crimson]“Ah, hello Ingrid. Step inside, I’m happy to talk.”[/color] She greeted her, moving aside to allow Ingrid entry as she gestured for her to enter.

[color=8882be]“Afternoon, Trypano, I saw this unique plant and thought of you,”[/color] Ingrid offered the plant only then noticing the lantern. Ingrid giggled a little, [color=8882be]“Been having some good progress with your private research, I hope,”[/color] Ingrid said as she alluded to her using the artifact of Shune as a mere lantern.

[color=crimson]“I wish”[/color] She answered back, taking Ingrid’s plant present and setting it on a free space on her desk. [color=crimson]“I swear with studies and all the research that needs to be done I’d only have enough free time in the year if I cloned myself.”[/color]

With that said she sat back down and offered a guest seat to Ingrid. [color=crimson]“In any case I am curious as to the purpose of your visit.”[/color]

Ingrid laughed lightly at Trypano cloning herself, it could either be a joke or something she may do after all. [color=8882be]“Well, if you do end up cloning yourself, can I get a clone of me?” [/color]Ingrid sat down, [color=8882be]“I know you are ever busy so I won’t hold you up. I saw you create the cannon on our mission and I was wondering if you could create some cannons for me as well.”[/color] Ingrid had Trypano figured as ‘let's get to the point of this’ so there was no need to do any acrobatics in our conversation yet.

Trypano nodded. [color=crimson]“Hm. While that should be easy work I will need to make sure to find a location where I can construct this without spectators lest I come under scrutiny from the increased guard presence in town. After all, with fervor for the Traveler’s arrest on the rise the forces rooting through his cult’s activities may be paranoid enough to mistake an honest binder’s work for blood magic and accuse me of any number of wrongdoings thereafter.”[/color] She lightly rapped her finger tips across the top of her desk in contemplation, considering the details of the work Ingrid requested of her.

[color=crimson]“After I can secure a location where I can work without interruption reliably I will create a series of standard cannons for you. I will not request financial compensation but as a favor from myself I may ask for lab assistance later on. Surely you’d be inclined to return my favor at such times?”[/color]

Trypano was right, with the increase in Traveller related incidents and the Centuries being present, asking her to do this was risky. They would have more than enough fake reason to put an 8.3 bloodchild head on a spike. [color=8882be][i]Meaning the price is going to be steep,[/i][/color] Ingrid thought and thought correctly. Favors were a dangerous thing but what could Ingrid provide as lab assistance? [color=8882be]“Trypano, may I inquire what you mean by lab assistance,”[/color] Ingrid inquired. Ingrid was certain the place to do so would be much less of an issue.

Trypano leaned back, steepling her fingers as Ingrid inquired about her offer.
[color=crimson]“To put it simply, magic involving the human body works far better when that body isn’t dead or a wooden practice dummy. Now, I can assure you I’ll avoid any procedures that’ll pose any significant risk to your health and you’ll be free to opt out of anything you deem too risky to be performed on yourself. That being said, having someone that will consent to these experiments is valuable as it is risky for myself to even ask this of my fellow binders since folks tend to get squeamish when I start speaking of medicine and their own bodies.”[/color]

[color=crimson]“So, with that in mind do you accept my terms for the transaction?”[/color] She cocked her head mildly to the side, hair swaying gently with the motion as she awaited her response.

In a completely unfiltered response, [color=8882be]“Trypano that is kinda weird. But not bad weird. Just different. Let me ask you 2 questions. The first is this. Were you able to save me and Desmond because of these studies?”[/color] Ingrid felt a strong urge to be closed minded about this but she is keeping it forcibly open for the money and because she wanted to make herself uncomfortable to grow.

Trypano gently sighed, closing her eyes but for a moment. It was natural for Ingrid to be reticent towards her craft. It was expected. Still, it was hard for her to not long for simpler days.
[color=crimson]“I’ve been studying humanoid health and medical practice since I was old enough to read. When I was twelve I began work as a nurse for the Revidian naval forces when they had hired my master’s services during a brief skirmish. At fourteen I was put in charge of diagnosing injuries and at fifteen I was a surgical assistant. Come sixteen I’ve performed operations on soldiers gravely injured in duty. All of this while further incorporating my master’s teachings through the scalpel itself. Everything I do stands upon all that I’ve been taught, that knowledge passed down from master to student all the way back to the days of Avincia where wizards of old would study the wounds of soldiers injured in combat to give us all that we know of the human body today.”[/color] Parting her hands she set her left back down on the desk. [color=crimson]“So yes, these studies are responsible for the medical aid I’ve rendered unto you and Desmond.”[/color]

Trypano took an extra long time explaining this and Ingrid appreciated it. It made it seem less culty and more like legitimate science. [color=8882be]“Okay. Now then for the second question, do you have some procedure you can do on me now? That way I can roughly know what to expect”[/color] Ingrid leaned back, relaxing now. [color=8882be]“I know that might be a bit sudden but I would want to know so I’ll give you one procedure for free.”[/color]

She stroked her chin, considering what she might have as a suitable demonstrative experiment available to her currently.

[color=crimson]“Well, a simple one to start would be a specific Mark I’ve been developing in my head for some time. Think of it like a Binding enchantment but for the flesh.”[/color] She picked up a free sheet of paper she had set on her table, loose amidst a sea of arcane notes all pushed aside away from the medical equipment so there’s no cross-contamination. Using what she had learned of her free casting lessons recently she brushed her fingers along the surface and across it a picture manifested upon it. It depicted a simple image of a crimson serpent with an eye set in its back.

[color=crimson]“This Mark has two effects. The first effect is that it will pull energy away from your drawing process, slowing it down and sending the energy it subtracts from you directly to me instead. The second effect is that it will propagate itself, growing by drawing from the surrounding air and converting it into itself. This will accelerate the rate at which it pulls energy out of your drawing process in proportion to its length.”[/color] With her explanation given she sets her picture down before looking back over to Ingrid directly.

[color=crimson]“With your permission I’ll place one on you and see if it carries out its intended functions by having you draw. Once results are documented I’ll remove the Mark and this procedure will be concluded.”[/color]

Scary Ingrid thought but she still said yes as she nodded that as well. [color=8882be]“I’m good to go Trypano.”[/color] Ingrid looked back at her to confirm one last time as it was getting scarier and scarier just thinking about it. 

Trypano nodded, keeping a professional air about her as she reached over and took Ingrid’s hand in her own. Gently setting her index finger upon the top her hand the image of a crimson serpent painlessly formed upon her hand, colored on not unlike a tattoo.

[color=crimson]“Now I will need you to draw.”[/color] Trypano instructed whilst generating a shaft of wood in her off-hand, material pulled from the desk itself resulting in it getting a little shorter. With a low level chemical spell she ignited the end of the wooden prop.

[color=crimson]“Draw from the heat of this flame. I will observe the results and let you know when to stop.”[/color]

Ingrid nodded and honestly thought the little snake was cute. Ingrid began to focus on drawing from the flame in a very controlled manner to try and give her an accurate experiment. She slowly drew from it, enough to make the flame shrink but not stop. Hopefully, this is what Trypano wanted. 

Ingrid would feel a pulling sensation begin to manifest as the energy she drew would start leeching away from herself over into Trypano. The crimson tattoo would start to grow in length, forming along the wavy pattern of an ever-elongating snake. New eyes formed along the pattern, each set right in the middle as the pattern continued to repeat itself as it continued up along her arm. Despite its growing length, however, the pulling sensation did not intensify.

[color=crimson]“Tell me, how do you feel? Is there a sensation? If so, is it getting stronger with time?”[/color]

[color=8882be]“I feel a tugging feeling. It feels pretty consistent in location but doesn’t seem to go past that starting sensation. How do you feel?”[/color] Ingrid was curious. 

Trypano lifted a hand and, after triangulating a position between two primary fingers and her thumb to set her focus at, cast a basic light spell using energy she was taking from Ingrid.

[color=crimson]“I’d liken the influx of energy to the same feeling one gets when drawing, only lacking the conscious act of focusing on it.”[/color]

With that said she leaned in, taking a closer look at the eyes proceeding the initial one. While the first eye had noticeably darkened as it continued to transmit its stolen energy the remaining eyes remained a solid crimson red.

[color=crimson]“Hm. I think I know the issue here. Nonetheless you’re free to stop drawing now.”[/color] Leaning back away from Ingrid she turned and produced the pen from her ink pot, jotting down observations from the procedure.

[color=8882be][i]That wasn’t that bad,[/i][/color] Ingrid thought. Ingrid stopped drawing and sat there, waiting to see if she needed her subjective observations again, until Ingrid had to make a joke, [color=8882be]“I don’t think anything is wrong with your spells, I just thing snakes love to hit on me.”[/color] referring only one eye changing and what happened in those caves. 

[color=crimson]“Ah yes, that reminds me.”[/color] Trypano leaned up from her papers and set her hand back on Ingrid’s new tattoo. With a slow sweep up the arm the tattoo vanished as her hand passed over it, the hand gently brushing along the skin until the final stretches of the tattoo were gone.

[color=crimson]“I have all the data necessary for now. I’ll be revising this later but for the time being you’re clear for this session. As for the cannons, provided you’re still on board with the given terms I’ll be sure to create them as soon as I’m granted a location away from unwanted attention for such work.”[/color]

[color=8882be]“Oh, that was it?”[/color] Ingrid thought it would be more intense like dozens of tests like she is doing with Zarra. [color=8882be][i]Maybe I am a little unethical having him draw so close to his limit hundreds of times… well whatever. This is okay for me,[/i][/color] Ingrid guiltily thought then ignored. She rolled down her sleeve and said, [color=8882be]“Do you want me to help secure the place to make the cannons? I have a few ideas.”[/color]

Trypano nodded. [color=crimson]“If you would assist me with that it would certainly be welcome. I have many projects throughout the day after all so any opportunity to delegate work is a welcome one.”[/color]

[color=8882be]“Alright, I’ll let you know when I can act on it to not waste your time. Though don’t feel worried to ask me for more help. After how you described it I would love to help. You're a friend after all.”[/color] With that Ingrid makes her way out.

[color=crimson]“Of course. I look forward to working with you in the future.”[/color] She bid Ingrid farewell, making sure the door was shut as she left before returning to her desk. 
[color=crimson]“Oh right, I’ll need to heighten this.”[/color] She recalls drawing from it, taking whatever material was left from the singed shaft and reincorporating it back into the desk legs. After that she took a mirror out from her drawer and looked over her eye.

[color=crimson]“Hm. A simple fix.”[/color]
[hr]
- Directly involved: [@Force and Fury],[@dragonpiece].

[hider=Trypano's club picks]
- Fauna Society.
- Blow-Flies.
- Malturra Society.
- Pragmatics.
- Strakhalists.
- Valgadiers.

- Enchanters Union.
[/hider]