Raineh Daze

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Miina Malina

Oh, blight beasts, that was… it was fine. They just had to worry about protecting a whole bunch of people again, and she didn't really have much in the way of a firm idea for contributing to… whatever plan Rudolf was cooking up. Send all the townsfolk to die fighting in one direction?

Or maybe he expected them to shape up now that people were giving them orders.

Well, she knew the assigned roll of a mage well enough in a target-rich environment, even though it wasn't one she was really suited for, she wasn't a proper black mage like Eve had been…

Not that it made a difference, none of these were individually that scary. So long as there wasn't an absolutely overwhelming tide, then the Mystrel might start to regret her indifferent approach a bit. But if it held out, this was also good experience; how was she going to work out how the really big spells worked if she didn't fully exploit the biggest ones she could do.

Sword-arm raised as nothing more than a sight to look down—

"Fira. Fira–"

Hm, now she thought about it, hopefully the militia didn't freak out about the whole mage thing? They were in Skael, and while Rudolf might be spookier, she was an easier target.

Paths Unwound — A Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Tachibana Hibiki

What did a rabbit and tank have to do with each other, and how was that related to a blue and red set of armour? Questions that Hibiki barely had any time to entertain the questions about the man's transformation before there was a much more pressing matter: dodging the laser it was firing.

Was it a laser?

Regardless, when it came to avoid things trying to fire lasers at her, she had a lot of practice, and it would have to go for more than a single shot to hope to pin her down! Although that… still left her with the question of how to damage it. The shimmering light suggested some sort of shield. Hit it harder? Well… that could be Plan B. Plan A was much more blunt: it had exposed a weapon, and that meant there was something to grab onto and tear off. It worked for a tank, so why not for some alien death machine?

… it did pretty much mean that after her sideways burst of speed the brunette was now just running full tilt at the robot, though.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Tyaethe Radistirin

So, her distant cousin had been contacted by their mutual relative but not actually paid a visit yet. That was… fine, Tyaethe could track him down on her own. It wasn’t even that hard if you knew the sort of place to look and were willing to put in the effort. Relatively easy for her, at least; the current crop of knights might find it a bit harder to pull it off without some difficulty.

Renar would probably have the best time of it. Maybe Serenity? Although, avoiding drinking would probably make her an ill fit as well. The witch… well, Tyaethe doubted she would be out of place for long, it was just the matter of getting in the door for her.

That was why she had spent an unusual amount of time this evening, as the past few, dressing and making her hair look something other than a wild mane. More effort than she had put into the ball, if she was to be honest; here Tyaethe was operating on her own merits and wanted a better impression than just ‘acceptable’.

There was also the different crowd to consider; this one would rather more appreciate the cleavage than a formal ball for an underaged princess. Sadly, this meant no bringing her sword along, even with Saint Rannigan’s feast and the tournament approaching. It would set rather the wrong tone for a private engagement.

All of this was to say: Tyaethe was out attending parties ever-so-slightly the wrong side of propriety but still well within the auspices of high society. Not for the fun of it, but because she knew the sort of crowds her great-uncle always associated with. They were also only too happy to let a famous knight and relative of such high nobility attend.

Well, so long as this didn’t turn out like those balls. Her welcome would quickly run out if she were to start something violent or be nakedly hostile to the attendees… as dull as their gossiping was. But, she would admit, at least the refreshments were good; Aimlenn was after all a trade hub, and the hosts had no choice but to show off.

She seemed to be in luck for once. At first she almost waved the maid off – she still had a full glass, after all, and she didn’t want to encourage too many attempts to curry favour. As if she would let anyone here buy their way, or a relative’s, into the order…

But the smell. Oh, that was unmistakeable. Blood. Rendered into something a normal person might almost drink by accident, stable and fluid even cooled, an alchemical trick that wasn’t terribly rare… among esoteric mages.

It took time, especially when trying to preserve and distil essential qualities of the source. Alcohol, for instance. If a party had that around… well, it only stood to reason that the host expected a vampire to be here enough to make the effort, no?

So either they really anticipated her presence, or…

“Lord Damon Cazt requests your presence,” the girl said, sinking into a curtsey as soon as Tyaethe had taken the goblet. Fine metal and, unsurprisingly, faintly enchanted, “If Dame Tyaethe would be kind enough to follow me…?”

The vampire followed along to a nearby drawing room, still close to the raucous noise of the party outside but far enough removed that nobody should accidentally stumble in. There, sprawled along a couch with a rakish grin was the exact man she had been looking for. Nestled up to his side like a cat was a much less familiar figure – a cute girl who…

She looked human, and with glasses on for once that was more than an approximation. But Tyaethe’s other senses were screaming that there was something slightly off. The demon?

“Imagine my surprise when I heard that my favourite great-niece was finally taking my advice,” he raised his own cup in mock-salute.

“Advice?” the probable-demon parroted.

“Why, to go to the fun parties, of course. The ones with handsome boys, pretty girls,” he flicked a lock of her dark hair, “And, of course, drinks a vampire can feel.”

“Har har har,” Tyaethe didn’t even try to make the laugh sound convincing, dropping into the nearby plush seat and taking a sip. As Damon had implied, and she suspected, this would affect her, “You know why I’m here, uncle.”

“You wanted to find me, yes? The only reason you ever come to anything interesting,” he sighed, “_{I still think getting out like this more often would do you a world of good.}”

She ignored the muttered aside, glaring at the older vampire. “Yes. You haven’t met Veilena yet, and I’ve had enough waiting. Tell me why I shouldn’t just kill you now.”

The other girl’s nails started grow ever-so-slightly, fingertips morphing into claws. Damon, however, seemed entirely unconcerned. Or maybe he was just drunk. “For the attempted assassination? I played an integral part in preventing that, as I recall. I simply played with the Arcedeen girl a little.”

Oh, she could – and had – forgiven that. As frustrating as he was, having a traitor was all but necessary to address the conspiracy in time and without casualty. Despite her better judgement, she trusted he had no idea what the ulterior motive was, or that it was a big distraction…

Well, mostly. But she could address that after. No, it was her duty as a paladin that demanded action.

“You let a necromancer into a tomb. A tomb with– with the Demonbreaker interred.”

His gaze sharpened at the hitch, an uncharacteristic seriousness stealing over the boyish features. “She was buried there as well, I almost forgot… that was something I overlooked, you have my apologies.”

“Apologies don’t cover it,” Tyaethe looked away, into the deep red of her drink. “Not for violating one of Reon’s most sacred tenets.”

She ignored the quiet conversation as the demon girl demanded an explanation, and the explanation in turn. She refused to let this become any more personal than it already was.

“There is, perhaps, one more thing I can share,” he sounded resigned, “Even had I washed my hands of the entire conspiracy and allowed events to take their course, I am all but certain the tomb would still have been used.”

Tyaethe’s eyes flicked up from her suddenly half-empty goblet. That…

Breaking in simply wasn’t an option.

“If that was true, you wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Quite the mystery. I hardly see the point in including myself,” his tone was back to lackadaisical, “Unless this entire affair was merely a side dish.”

That was what they knew, too, now that it was too late to do anything. Keep the Iron Roses busy, keep the crown knights on guard, and pull everyone that might be interested in the college’s secret well away from it for the night. If Damon’s involvement could be removed and the overall plan still held…

He made it easier, then? The sabotage pulled their attention further afield, and if he stood in to make the tomb accessible then the real culprit was free to move…

But that meant the backup plan was to pull the assassination off correctly, let Erich’s body be perverted even further, and hope the chaos was enough cover. It was something the Iron Roses and the rest might have stopped, but…

The immediate cost would have been much higher.

And part of being a paladin was to not make decisions on the basis of considering people necessary sacrifices, even if it was easier. You saved everyone you could, then the next, and the next, until you stopped the problem. The only acceptable loss was yourself.

Against Tyaethe and everyone else’s better judgment, she liked Damon, too. Back when she’d been new to being a vampire…

If he hadn’t gotten involved, then that necromancer would have had unrestricted access to the tomb for even longer.

“You can’t just tell me who asked for your help?”

“No more than I already have,” he was entirely unapologetic about it, too.

Sure, it narrowed down the possible candidates but… not as much as she hoped. Not to mention that it was very nearly a perfect overlap with ‘people who might ask Damon Cazt for help in the first place’; it was just additional confirmation.

Fuck.

It was a good thing that she actually had a drink here. She could pass the information on to the captain in the morning.

“Getting into the spirit of it after all?” The other vampire was all smiles now, “The party is surely starting to miss us.”

“Just don’t start throwing girls at me again.”

“Yaya, dear, that was never me. It was your chest.”

“Don’t say that!”

The Metian Institute: Project Gungnir

"More leaks…" Cellica said, shaking her head and starting off towards the security offices. "I believe we should go through security first; if there is any other record of what happened here, then I expect that we shall find it there."

If there was any greater surveillance functioning at all, that was where she would expect to find it. And from there they may find a better (and safer) idea of what awaited in each other room. Or perhaps it was already destroyed and ransacked, who could say?

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi and Miina Malina

Later that night, Izayoi found herself sitting next to Miina by the fire. Her…cousin. And didn’t the thought of that concept still prove to rattle her equilibrium somewhat? She sighed as she finished setting aside the cookware used for the evening, murmuring aside to the other mystrel.

”Truthfully, I’m still not rather used to the concept of us being family. I’d never had any relation that wasn’t a direct parental one. ‘Cousin’ simply seems unwieldy, considering the age difference between us as well. If I’ve a handle on your age correctly, only a scant few years would qualify myself from being old enough to be your mother by any reasonable standard.” She remarked idly, having never been rather adept at small talk.

“N-Nineteen,” Miina replied, tail flicking but eyes remaining firmly on… whatever it was she was drawing or writing today. Probably drawing, going by the charcoal in her fingers. Nonetheless, as she thought more about Izayoi’s response, her hand stilled and head cocked. “Mmm…”

“N-Not the same for me, older c-cousins…” she gave a half-shrug, opened coat sliding down her shoulder, “Th-That it’s dad’s side is odd, b-but m-most people I grew up with were c-c-cousins.”

”Nearly a fifteen year difference, then. I would be thirty and four in a scant few moons.” Probably. Her younger years before she lost her parents were but a haze now, but eight years old when her master had found her was most likely right. If the estimate was off by a year or two, what did it truly matter without any sort of record?

”Isshin never mentioned whether he had extended relations of any sort: only that his parents had passed years ago. The idea of possessing such a large family…is somewhat disorienting. I had only ever thought of immediate, direct relations.” Izayoi paused, frowning. ”I should hope that your father hadn’t made much of my relation to your aunt after we left. T’would be an expectation I’ve no intention of fulfilling.”

“D-Dunno,” it was another shrug from the redhead, attention drifting back down to her drawing, “Probably just means you c-c-can stay without problems. N-Not sure why you would want to, it’s m-m-more my thing…”

Oh, good. Miina recognized that. It saved Izayoi the trouble of needing to broach the topic herself. And here she thought that was going to have to be more of an awkward conversation.

”Indeed, I’ve no desire to do such. As far as I’m concerned, you are the only member of this extended family of mine I’ve any interest in knowing better.” She peered over Miina’s shoulder, trying to see what the girl was sketching. As it turned out, it was the selfsame demon they’d fought in the ruins this afternoon.

”Impressive.” Izayoi nodded, her curiosity satisfied. ”Do you draw often?”

“Umm… y-y-yeah,” Miina nodded, cringing at her drawing. It wasn't that it was inaccurate… to her. But trying to add how aether behaved around something made entirely out of magic? It probably just seemed like nonsense artistic flourishes or inaccurate shading.

“Ah, j-j-just whatever gets my interest, really,” she added, “P-P-People, ‘specially mages, landscapes, uh…”

If it was pretty, or if it had a strong presence.

”Speaking of mages,” Izayoi began, folding her arms into her kimono sleeves. ”Have you progressed upon the technique we discussed previously? I should like my Time materia back sooner rather than later, if possible.”

“Ah… r-r-right!” the redhead scrambled to find the little orb and hand it over. She hadn't quite managed the exact technique, there was no good opportunity to use or practice it, but…

Presenting it proudly, Miina explained: “I th-th-think I've g-got it down, mixing black and white m-magic.”

The more she did it, the more she was getting the hang of balancing them to achieve… well, something otherwise impossible.

”Appreciated,” Izayoi quickly popped the green materia back into her gauntlet, taking a moment to ensure that it was snug and secure. ”You have, then? Good. Show me, if you’d care to. I am no true mage, so I can provide no input of any actual import, but the practice ought to be good for you, regardless.”

Okay, she could do this. It… would probably be easier to show with some water, right? At least on a cut-down scale; none of them wanted the entire camp blown away. But no sense in wasting anything they’d actually gathered for drinking or cooking when she could just condense it from nothing…

It was a shame that magically-created elements didn’t last. Maybe if she’d had longer with the crystal… or maybe that was something that only such fundamental lynchpins of the world could do, permanent creation. She’d have to take a look in Skael.

Also, she was stalling. And looking at the new pool of water on the ground like it held some deeper meaning.

Izayoi nodded slowly as Miina conjured up a puddle, only to bite back a sigh as she saw Miina simply stare into it. For the love of…how to move this along? Unfortunately, her cousin didn’t seem the type to be motivated by the usual harsh language she would have preferred. How strange, when it had worked for Izayoi when she was Miina’s age. And younger. Would Suzume have…

She cut that train of thought off. There was company. It would be unseemly to lose herself to such things in the presence of others.

”One step. The next…?” She prompted, hopefully causing Miina to wake up from her stupor and get back to the matter at hand.

“O-Oh, r-r-right, sorry…” startled, Miina turned back to the actual problem. Well, it wasn’t really a problem, was it…? In her left hand, black magic, aether turned to destruction and violation of the natural order; in her right, white magic, that which should repair and restore, or could reinforce.

Opposed. Theoretically incompatible. But they were just manipulations of aether itself, and it wasn’t like she was trying to combine two true opposites. It wasn’t like there was a significance to the two hands, either; if she’d had some sort of better focus… but all she ever practised with or wanted was her body. Whatever was trickier in her left.

And wind, as ever, wanted to flow in all directions like the air itself. The air fought being controlled except in the broadest terms, and coercing even the meagre amount she was using for this demonstration to stay in a nice pattern… well, that was trickier.

But haste? The energy of time and speed and acceleration? Not only was it one of her most-used spells to begin with, in a way it was eager. She doubted it could stick to another magical effect like it would a person, but so long as she just gently guided it? Oh yes, it could amplify the wind far beyond what she could reasonably do with just wind.

… well, if she was using the full measure of her abilities. This was a demonstration, not an attempt to destroy everything. Miina was confident she could have created this vortex alone. Was it even possible for Izayoi to tell she wasn’t?

Nonetheless, it was a success: a hurricane in miniature, visible from how it gathered up the pool into a single whirling pillar, and the wind itself strong enough to be felt and make the fire nearby dance wildly.

Izayoi studied Miina’s process carefully, familiar enough with the spells being used despite her own need for a crutch to even cast them. At once, the primary advantage to Miina’s method of natural casting became apparent: she was far faster and more controlled than Izayoi’s destructive sword had been. It had taken far, far more time for her to even manage to even begin combining the two.

”Well done.” She nodded in approval. ”Your casting time is already faster than I could ever manage with materia. Now, all that remains is intensification and maintaining the spell’s structure as you do so. If you care to continue, do point away from the campsite, yes?”

“I c-c-could do that, b-but…” Miina shrugged. Their fight earlier hadn’t time to exhaust her reserves, and sleeping later would mean tomorrow was more or less fine even if she tried to distraction.

But she really didn’t want to do something massively loud and flashy when travelling, let alone trying to make an artificial hurricane.

“… I d-d-don’t think it’s safe to p-practise this. I c-c-can probably manage it in a f-fight anyway…”

Besides, they were getting closer to Skael, with their ultimate goal being the elemental orb. That was bound to have an effect on how easy this trick was to pull off – but in which direction, Miina couldn’t guess at; would it reinforce the natural order or allow for more manipulation of its chosen element? – and, ultimately, studying it would probably do more good anyway.

And Izayoi had her materia back, too. It wasn’t vital for her to pull this trick off.

”Very well.” Izayoi had only been curious, regardless. If Miina was claiming to already be capable of performing the arte within actual combat, it stood to reason that she had been practicing, anyhow. The girl wasn’t exactly the type to overestimate her capabilities, after all. The exact opposite was far more likely.

”If you can execute this in combat, you’ll have completed the technique years more quickly than I ever did. Perhaps enough to make it viable as an actual manuever rather than the half-realized patch job I’ve made of it.”

A slight smile crossed her face as she patted her cousin on the shoulder. It wasn’t as if Miina didn’t need the praise, anyhow.

Miina’s reaction… that was almost definitely purring, until the girl realised what was going on and her skin turned the same colour as her coat. “W-W-W-Well… y-you did w-work out what it w-was first, I’m j-just following…”

”Theory was hardly the difficult portion. I was younger and far more impulsive than you when I devised the idea.” Izayoi demurred, taking the used pot and pan and starting to rise. ”Regardless, try to sleep soon, yes? I’m still to clean these up before I turn in for the night.”

“R-Right, just as soon as I’m d-done,” Miina replied, shuffling around to her discarded notes. Yes, sleep was important, but… well, her picture wasn’t finished. As good as her memory generally was, she wanted to get all the extra details.

Just in case another demon showed up. For comparison.

Paths Unwound — A Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Tachibana Hibiki

There wasn't time for Hibiki to respond on what counted as a cataclysm or not (not that the girl had strong opinions) before something far more demanding of their attention came into view. A cloaked figure with a gun running from an oversized machine. Not bigger than some of the things that Hibiki was regularly used to fighting but sizeable nonetheless.

Not that she had any reason to know that the robot was the actual enemy, but that wasn't the sort of thing Hibiki would overthink. People could be talked with; rampaging machines (generally) couldn't.

Which was why the girl took off towards it at a sprint, relic in hand and a nonsensical phrase on her tongue: "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron."

The blinding light of the transformation made it hard to see exactly what it was doing, but her clothes were almost immediately replaced with the Symphogear's underlayer, and then the rest of the armour was quick to follow. Surely, to any sort of kamen rider, that much wasn't a surprise.

The fact that she now seemed to be a source of music with no clear origin was probably on the stranger side, or at least the more confusing to witness and interpret. What wasn't confusing was the immediate improvement in Hibiki's physical abilities… or that, no, she was indeed just running straight at it.

The reason why became apparent moments later: why not take a direct approach at the apparent enemy, ignoring the person running from it, when your goal literally was to jump at it and punch the thing? The complicated way the armour transformed into a full gauntlet over her hand and made it literally rocket propelled didn't change that… well, it was about the most straightforward plan of engagement you could get.

Paths Unwound — A Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Tachibana Hibiki

"This doesn't look so bad…" Hibiki said, following behind Sento with a distinct lack of apprehension or concern. It was an odd attitude for a schoolgirl to be having amongst ruins…

But then, neither of them knew that she had a rather large amount of experience with ruined structures. Creating them, mostly, but 'peaceful and being reclaimed by nature' wasn't much of a stretch. In isolation, it even seemed quite nice? At least compared to something completely desolate like the concert venue or the lunar ruins…

Whatever the case, the threat level so far was too low to prompt her to transform.

The Metian Institute: Project Gungnir

"We reactivated a maintenance robot. Unfortunately, it relied on some network for pathing and it seems to be simply breaching any obstacles as it heads to the facility centre," the elf was quick to reply, "The first room it opened appears to be a break room of some description, however…"

The blonde was quick to relay the violent ends of the inhabitants, but not before making the observation that the skeletons were surprisingly preserved; there was something to the conditions inside here. If it had just been cold, she would have expected more mummification; that had been an… unpleasant reality to discover in mountain passes, but now…

"Unless anyone has objections, I think we should proceed further? Perhaps with more caution," her hand drifted to her sword as she looked at the bodies. It was possible that whatever did that was still here.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Miina’s Notes

The pile of notes that Miina has been carting around since before she even left home look, on the surface, like a collection of disorganised scratchings; half research journal and half personal diary, written in a badly-spelled chicken scratch that wanders off-line with distressing regularity.

A deeper inspection (and not hard to pull off; she doesn’t seem to have any concern if someone else wants to look through them) reveals that they seem to be loosely grouped on magical theme, although prone to going off-topic or including seemingly unrelated sketches at a much higher quality than the rest of her work.

Interestingly, despite the regular dips into water, there’s no ink bleeding or water damage to the notes.

(The following are cleaned up, especially the older ones)

---

Spell Levels (?)

Zeke told me that I need to keep notes sometimes. I can’t just memorise everything (i don’t know why) when it comes to spells.

And he taught me about spells today! Mages outside don’t just manipulate aether constantly, there’s specific patterns and everything. You need to know how to form them but

---

I don’t think I like spells. Why are they stronger? They’re all so limited and you can’t control it

What use is Fire as a spell? It’s too much power to light something for cooking and doesn’t last long enough for anything else. Animals don’t need it

---

Before he left, Zeke told me about Cura and Fira and Firaga and

So more power isn’t enough? Better spells are entirely different? how do i work this out

---
gutting the mafia would have been easier if i spent more time working on these

(The next few sheets are full of strange diagrams, Miina seemingly trying to represent the manipulation and flow of aether through the process of spellcasting in static images)

---

I met some people today and finally a mage that knows more than i do! Only about black magic but that’s fine

She’s all spiky and lizardy and her tail is really neat to watch. She’s cute, and she knows bigger spells

I should ask her

but that’s scary

i’ll just watch

---

(there are occasional diagrams, but there seem to be a lot of sketches of Eve interspersed throughout here)

I mostly worked out Fira now and I think I can extend the same idea to the other spells I know, even the ones that Zeke never told me proper names for. It’s a shape(?) to it that lets the effect hook around, but it’s hard in the moment to make sure it has the right target.

But it should be stronger too, right? Am I just not throwing enough power at it?

---

White magic doesn’t use the same shape, the spell falls apart. I think it needs to be looser, more guided than forced. White magic never seems to like being pushed.

---

(the diagrams get increasingly circular and full of spirals)

Loops. The hooks can be ‘looped’ around themselves, the same effect each time stacking and stacking to… there’s a limit. Some delicate spells it’s one. Any more and there’s no spell at all.
---

Without Eve for reference, Firaga and all are gonna be hard.

I always used to think it was Fira, but more. But it can’t be. The shape doesn’t allow for it. You can’t build that big without it falling apart, and it’s too…

It needs to be less targeted.

I still hate spells. Why do they work? Is it part of the world or something people did? I could maybe do any of these effects now, but it would be completely exhausting if i just… handled it all. Too much power for a single attack.

I can’t compare to Eve, but I think I should be able to do more than one without collapsing, right?

---

Stupid grovemasters

One good look and it was at an overpowered dispel. If they had just been all alive and all not traitors, then…

(The remainder of the notes on this topic have no real breakthroughs)

---

Mages

Zeke says not everyone can be a mage. Why? You might be bad at it (i am) but it’s just something to reach out and twist.

Pretty lights.

---

Not everyone can sense the aether? That’s what he says. You need to know it’s there to manipulate it, and he isn’t sure there’s anyone who can control it without sensing it.

But then he brought back some shiny rocks from Skael, so someone made a machine that could.

---
Zeke gave me a funny look today when i described what i could see. It isn’t that obvious for him? Or anyone else he’s ever spoken to. He says that aether is just an extra sense to him. He can feel it, control it, but not… see it?

Although, he also says he can taste/smell it when it’s strong enough. Just not all the time like me. I wonder when that was?

---

I definitely shouldn’t talk about it. Normal people get confused.

---

Most mages only do some magic? I don’t get it (and Zeke can’t say why either). They just split it into two completely different types and can only use half. But generally very good.

But shouldn’t a bunch of things work with either? I can only do basic stuff, but if you learn what the aether does for one well enough you can make most things happen.

Like, you could stop a ball by just hardening yourself so the ball doesn’t hit, or you could destroy the force behind it…

It’s just like looking through the other eye.

(This page has a lot more recent scribbling, notes and diagrams surrounding it, evidence of Miina’s decision to use black magic to facillitate cosmetic healing and – more notably – working out a dispel from the same source.)

---

(At some point, Miina began listing every mage she’s met and what magic they used, as well as a rough sketch. Rudolf would probably be annoyed to realise she put him in even before his denials.)

---

Rudolf is weird. Well, weird to me, even. He’s done a bunch of magic things now, and they’re not blight-y, just really concentrated black magic. Including shields. Shields! I always said that you could stop something with black magic just as well as white magic, if you could only use one of them.

But now he’s in hospital and refusing healing.

I want to know what’s up with him anyway.

(The next diagrams appear to be of Rudolf’s body with all the places black magic was supporting him, and a lot of questions raised about how a destructive force could be wrangled into doing this. Miina’s conclusion is that it involves a lot of rejecting the laws of nature so he doesn’t collapse in on himself, and enough of it to become physical is in line with Eidolons... Just a bit imbalanced.)

---

Rudolf’s fused with a demon. That’s…

He should be able to use magic. It doesn’t matter that he can’t sense aether naturally, right? He can do it now. And the demon should be able to give some instruction.

I’m going to try and make him. Even a little fire is a start.

Then maybe I can talk to the demon. Or Rudolf can for me. It might have answers.

---

Water Magic

I never really thought about why Zeke taught me fire and frost and lightning. I just assumed those were all he knew at the time, and I had plenty of time to try and work out wind while travelling, it was always there.

Frost was close enough to water I just never thought about it.

But after Famfrit and the water crystal, i can see that it’s its own thing. Frost is more about cold, and protections against it cover a lot of water. But you also need physical.

Just, what do I do with water magic? Any water created is (probably) impermanent, unless i work out how to do elemental things with white magic.

---

I could probably work out the water equivalent of Fire and Fira (but not their names. Wet and Wetter?)

What’s the point, though? There’s better ways to hurt someone than to hit them with a wet ball. I don’t have a jar cannon.

---

I need to practice drowning things.

I should keep an eye out for lizards or things on the journey.

---

The sea destroys things pretty well, I’ve watched the waves break things up on the shoreline. I suppose that’s what offensive water should be most of the time? So I have a use for it, I suppose the most powerful spell should literally sweep the enemy away more than it damages them.

But what if I could concentrate all that into one point? I don’t know how to make it into a spell properly. I need to work that out too.

It’s another thing to do while travelling, though. We’re not in a desert now so there’s plenty of thing to pick up and use as targets.

---

Summons

I never thought about summons or eidolons as a thing until we met one in the desert. How do they work? Is it a spirit projected into the material world with a body made of aether? Or do they exist in the aether and are just given an impetus to materialise? Or do they just pull more in?

It's a shame I can't talk to Cid more; they're really pretty and I want to know how they work. Even if I'm not a summoner…

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Fuck Leviathan.

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Esben is summoning fairies now? How did that happen? And does this mean he counts as a mage? He has to have some sensitivity to aether to be doing something like this, but it doesn't seem anything at all like white or black magic from the outside. I really need to get a better look…

But I don't think he knows much more than I do. That's annoying.

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I wonder how demons compare? That F guy was solid, but he was entirely black magic (I think, I didn't exactly have time to do a detailed scan). For all they're elemental, the other ones aren't. I'm not sure if they even count as black and white magic either…

More reasons to talk to Rudolf. And involve Esben.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Miina Malina

Miina blinked once, then very slowly and emphatically raised her hand up. A hand that was icing over despite the heat from the fire.