"Curses!" Nero complained, fittingly enough. This guild master character would just not get off his case. Now seeing Ayame's assistance as a foregone conclusion, but not overly upset about it, he was prepared to sidle off into the distance while the poor little girl was given shelter and food at Phoenix Wing. He did not at all expect for Jamie, in a fit of heroism, to volunteer his or her own self to Nero's test. All of a sudden, the world seemed to the dark mage to be a much brighter place.
"Woohoo! Oh, excellent, jolly good! You will not regret this, my ambiguous friend. Alright, time to tell you how this works. In its current state, the Law of Manifestation cannot be cast on someone unwilling or even unaware. It requires the full cooperation of a helper, but since you've given me it, I think we're good to go! Shall we sit?" He gestured to a bench on the sidewalk. "You will be getting your wish, by the way, if it's in my power. Cross my heart and hope to die!" His gaze drifted back to little Ayame. “Don't worry, dearie! Once Jamie sees how harmless my awesome spell is, you'll be allowed to try it for sure! Then you'll get a wish too! Genies never give only one wish, right?”
"My wish is for Fiore to be stable, for magic to be appreciated and for everything to be alright. Which is beyond magic," jamie replied, with a shake of his head.
"I'd prefer to remain standing," she replied to then, "What does your little spell do?" Jamie rolled her weight to the balls of her feet, arms behind her back.
At this moment Ariel arrived, only adding to the fun. Nero, now on a roll, was pleased to answer both questions at once. "I'm already on that, see? Granting wishes and making people happy can show how great magic is! Okay, the Law of Manifestation. It's all in the name. A nice fellow I once knew who used Archive magic gave me a magical book called a 'Thesaurus', which is why I know that 'manifest' means basically the same thing as 'make appear'. What my spell does is to take a fragment of the person it's used on, an 'aspect' let's say, and converts it into real thing you can touch and throw around! If I ever get it working, it's gonna be huge: tired of overeating? Let me take away your Indulgence! Do your friends all stink to high heaven? Say goodbye to your Sense of Smell! Wise guy always cracking jokes? I can remove his Sense of Humor. And of course, any Aspect can be restored by eating it. That's the theory."
Nero cracked his knuckles, pleased as punch that he'd been able to come up with a few good examples on the fly. He adjusted his broken spectacles and ran a hand through his hair, as if trying to remember something, before continuing. "Alright, what I'd like you to do, good master, is to picture something about yourself. Let's start small, something that won't affect you too much. Hmm...aha! How about your Sense of Balance? Or maybe you have another idea?"
Master Jamie doubted the magic would be truly effective against him, but he just nodded looking to Ariel as she joined them. "I rather much like my sense of balance," she said,"I don't fancy taking a step and falling flat on my backside, thank you very much," he said, moving slightly.
"Something that won't effect my ability to walk, talk, and hear thank you," Jamie said in an almost dull tone. They watched the genie type mage, wary.
Having not expected that his first suggestion would be overruled, Nero resorted to a head-scratch to churn up another idea. "How about...oh, this oughta be pretty cool. How does your Shadow sound?" For all that Nero knew, the Law of Manifestation was unknown territory. Any number of things could work, and a Shadow struck him as just as good as anything. Its temporary loss shouldn't affect Jamie in any way, but out of respect for the somewhat fickle nature of his Curse Laws, he didn't think he would separate the two for long.
Master Jamie thought about that a moment, and then nodded. The loss of his shadow wouldn't be anything too serious, he knew. And oddly enough, no one had ever noticed that while her body changed with his shifting, her shadow didn't. It amused Jamie greatly, this small fact. She nodded and said "Fine, but I better get it back. It's...quite special.” he said with a chuckle, rocking back on one foot.
"No problem! Like I said earlier, it won't work if you're displeased. Now, I want you to think about your Shadow. A lot in your life you've been alone, but not really, because there's always someone there...someone just like you. Though only one shade, it can be cast at many different angles. Picture yourself walking along a high wall in the evening, with your Shadow moving along with you. It is every part of you, but none. Can you see it?" Nero scrunched his eyes tightly, and when his lips began to move his voice had changed. It hummed with power, the strength and imagination to convert ideas into reality. "I call upon the Law of Manifestation," he recited formally, "Friendly stranger, at feet attached, without danger, come unlatched."
He reached out with his hand and laid a clammy palm to Jamie's forehead tentatively. What came next depended entirely on the guild master. Nero was literally digging into her psyche, which felt a lot like reaching down into the water and trying to scoop out some sand. Any sort of current and the silt would slip away; only complacency would allow Jamie's Shadow to manifest.
Master Jamie let Nero do what he was doing feeling slightly unnerved about it as Nero touched him. Jamie wasn't too sure if she was meant to feel anything, or if it would just happen.
Perhaps he should have asked that although it didn't seem like Nero knew what he was doing. Jamie sighed softly, and began to image her true form, and the accompany shadow.
It was fairly easy even though Jamie hadn't used his true form in years. So much safer using others forms, really.
”Okay.”
All at once, Nero let out his breath in a tremendous sigh. He pulled back his hand, and at first, it seemed like nothing had happened. Then everyone present became aware of something in his hand, a flickering sort of shape, such as one might see out of the corner of their eyes. The more closely each looked, the more solid the shape appeared, until it could be easily identified as a pitch-black, wispy figurine about a foot tall. “By the Horned One!” Nero breathed, his face alight with joy, “I've done it! Oh, wow, your shadow is pretty big! I wonder if that means you've left a lot of yourself in the world?” He peered more closely at the figurine, not knowing that he was looking at an exact replica of Jamie's true form in miniature. “Huh, this is interesting! Here, have it back.” Nero handed it over, still enraptured with the object he had created. When he looked down at the ground, he found that indeed, Phoenix Wing's guild master cast no shadow. “Just stick a bit of it in your mouth and gobble down. It'll rejoin you, probably. Man, am I glad that didn't send you into a coma or rupture your brain stem or anything. This proves that it's safe!” The young dark mage nearly danced around, so excited was he by the first successful test of his original magic.
Jamie gave a soft chuckle, amused. Nero wouldn't know that the figure was Jamie herself. of course, it was still hard to tell if Jamie's true form was male or female and wouldn't be able to be seen, except when Jamie used the form himself.
Jamie smiled, taking her shadow back. She did as Nero instructed, to gain his shadow back only after studied it for a moment. It really was a shame that he didn't use that form more.
Maybe, one day.
"Do you think I would let you kill me with a stroke? Master Jamie, of Phoenix Wing, killed by a stroke? No." Jamie said with amusement, looking to see if the young girl was still there. "If I approve of her wish, you can give mine to her. But if you make it backfire, in any way, I won't hesitate to...make you pay."
“Dearie me! I thought our unique relationship had transcended death threats! Lucky I'm such a forgiving guy!” Nero feigned indignation, but the exuberance on his countenance prevented it. “I must say however, this whole 'giving wishes' business is awfully tacky. I'd much rather the little lady help me with her own trial. Being generous and kind, however, I'll leave that up to her.” He addressed Ayame now, trying to ignore the stinging on his cheek and the ache in his head, present since he had performed the Curse Law. It was a worrisome moment before he found her; she was excellent at making herself inconspicuous. “Removing bad characteristics is a fantastic wish in and of itself, you know. My spell is its own reward! What'll it be, chum? Grab the low-hanging fruit Jamie wants to force-feed you or earn your own wish?” Deep down, Nero knew that many poor folks -himself included- resented charity. They wanted to make their own way, to prove that they could—that they were worthy of respect, not pity. He wanted to know if that instinct developed in a creature as young as Ayame.
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