The Citadel of Sorcery

[YOLF]

Edelgard

Edelgard understood. Gossip was like poison, but people supped on it like milk, regardless of the contents. It was no wonder the woman would bring this task away from prying eyes. But as to the purpose, she frowned neutrally.

"Apprentices are... a pain." The Forsaken exhaled. Her body returned to the taut, casual state of preparation that it almost always was, staring long at the red-head. "Armor or weapon?"

[SINIB]

Sakura Edelfeldt

Sakura gripped Sapphire tightly, holding her up to her face. "Sapp, that jewel..." She whispered, staring at it with hungry eyes.

"Yes, it is of an impressive quality, I think you should introduce-" Sakura quickly shut Sapphire up, holding her inside her pocket dimension. She was a fool, a dammned fool.

Why the hell did she say that at her normal speaking volume!?!

Sakura awkwardly walked forward, extending her hand. "Hello, my name is Sakura Edelfeldt, and this is my friend, Edelgard."

[Aiden]

House Antioch

The redhead looked to be holding in a laugh as Sakura's magical item revealed her true motives, a hand over her mouth to cover up her smile. "T-That's an impressive bit of spatial magic you just used there, Sakura Edelfelt."

She moved her from her mouth to take hold of Sakura's, and nodded. "My name is Christina Verde. I'm a Magus of Elements from the Lapidarian Society."

Christina moved to shake Edelgard's hand too. "And I was hoping to get my apprentice some armor like mine. It's just right for channeling the mana stored in my jewels without having to hold them myself."

[YOLF]

Edelgard

She shook the woman's hand with an affirmative grunt and directed her attention at said suit of armor. It looked light, but that explained its expectations clearly. It was a practical way to have your main resource accessible, and far less gruesome than what the forsaken had seen the alchemists of the eastern strands do to keep their empowering mixtures on hand.

To the warrior, the encrusted jewels also presented grave weak points and an open window to the assets you could count on in battle, but she kept that to herself.

[SINIB]

Sakura

"You practice jewel magic, Miss Verde?" Sakura asked politely, a hunger for knowledge hiding in her eyes. "I happen to be trained in the arts myself." She grasped her hand firmly, holding it tightly as she shook it. "I'd be honored if you could demonstrate your prowess to a novice like myself."

[Aiden]

Christina Verde

"I don't have mystic eyes, you know. You can look at them." Christina smirked as she chided Edelgard for blatantly checking her out.

But then she turned her attention to Sakura, and raised an eyebrow in interest. "Oh, are you the one House Antioch alerted us to earlier? Wow; that saves me the trouble of finding you. How lucky am I?"

Christina looked Sakura over one more time, this time seriously, and nodded. "We will definitely be showing you what we have to offer when we get somewhere more private. Not here. It would be... rude, to practice in another sorcerer's sanctum like this."

The sound of chisel on metal made its point for her, a tad late.

[SINIB]

Sakura Edelfeldt

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I am. But I'd consider myself to be the lucky one, having found you earlier than I otherwise would have."

She was blushing a bit at how rude she'd been, asking her to show off her powers in another's workshop.

[YOLF]

Edelgard

Edelgard tilted her head, but stepped slightly away from the woman. She didn't understand what those things had to do with each other, but it was clear her stare was indiscreet.

She poked Sakura's shoulder and asked, "We wait then?"

[Aiden]

Christina Verde

Christina gave Edelgard one more look, frowning in concentration like she was trying to figure something out about her, but then shook her head and focused on Sakura again. "This takes priority, I think. I can pick it up after. Jenn, uh, my apprentice, isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

Then she hopped in place once, and grinned. "So, want to get right to the point?"

---------------

12:00 PM

"It's too bad I didn't specialize in Spatial Studies." Christina lamented with an exaggerated sigh as she led Edelgard and Sakura through the plazas and thoroughfares of House Antioch. "One of them could have gotten us there easy peasy."

She looked back over her shoulder at them, short red hair framing her face nicely from that angle. "So, how long have you been practicing magic for?"

From here the crowds thinned out, and they began to see what was on the other end of the area. Another wall, substantially smaller and made of stone, encircled House Antioch's territory and separated it from the lands held by other Orders.

[SINIB]

Christina Verde

Christina gave Edelgard one more look, frowning in concentration like she was trying to figure something out about her, but then shook her head and focused on Sakura again. "This takes priority, I think. I can pick it up after. Jenn, uh, my apprentice, isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

Then she hopped in place once, and grinned. "So, want to get right to the point?"

---------------

12:00 PM

"It's too bad I didn't specialize in Spatial Studies." Christina lamented with an exaggerated sigh as she led Edelgard and Sakura through the plazas and thoroughfares of House Antioch. "One of them could have gotten us there easy peasy."

She looked back over her shoulder at them, short red hair framing her face nicely from that angle. "So, how long have you been practicing magic for?"

From here the crowds thinned out, and they began to see what was on the other end of the area. Another wall, substantially smaller and made of stone, encircled House Antioch's territory and separated it from the lands held by other Orders.

Sakura

Sakura reinforced her eyes, wanting to see the patterns of the magical energy better. "I've been practicing since I was four years old, unfortunately." She smiled sadly at the thought of how painful it had been losing her old family, and the time before she gained her new one. It was a bittersweet feeling, filling her with thoughts of what she'd lost, and what she'd ultimately gained. It made her think about if it had really been worth it.

"I'm considered a rare talent." Sakura idly played with her purple curled drills, running her fingers through them. "My magical affinity is with the imaginary abyss, and my circuits are considered top quality."

[YOLF]

Edelgard

Her eyes hadn't kept still during the time they'd been walking, constantly assessing their surroundings for escape routes, weak points, and the magics shown by those that frequented these routes. A portion of her actions was intuition, and a portion was training, which she was comfortable to recall.

She was only half-processing the conversation, but Edelgard was here as Sakura's escort anyway. It was unimportant for her role at this moment. Nevertheless, some notes of Sakura's story made the warrior contemplate. She reflected on the circunstances of the mage, and her own past.

"Started... decades ago," she answered. Edelgard could not truly say that she practiced exactly, outside of the rare times when one or the other of her spells turned the direction of a battle in a time of need. It was a tool to her, and she did not improve it because her priorities had not aligned.

[Aiden]

Christina Verde

The magic seemed to grow fainter the further from the central tower they moved, as if everything in the area that wasn't tied up in a spell or enchantment or someone's body was being drawn up to that singular point. And yet the sky was still filled with the royal colors of a perpetual twilight, the noon day sun entirely obscured by the arcane miasma that engulfed the district. They sensed small wards here and there, intruder alarms and pest controls, and saw from time to time beings who seemed human but whose eyes and subtle seamed joints shone with an inner mana.

Christina let out a hum of interest at Sakura's story. "Unfortunately, huh? Interesting." She seemed to think for a moment, tapping her lips and then turning around to start walking backwards. She showed plenty of curiosity now as she watched both of them. "The Imaginary Abyss, was it? You mean your spatial magic? Well, hopefully Magister Mantala or one of her Magi have an opening for you then. Our Department of Spatial Studies is one of the best in the Nexus!" Christina winked at that, and traced a circle in the air with her index finger.

But then she frowned, slowing down their pace. "Circuits... where have I heard that term before? You mean your internal mana reserves? I know I've heard it..."

[Bern]

Amanda

12:00 pm

"come on Eru we're almost there, if you drag your feet behind anymore then I swear I'll find a way to shrink your boobs until they're smaller than mine."  Amanda threatened her partner, jokingly. But was it really a joke with the ways her eyes were spinning.

" it's so unfair.... " She turned around and hung her head in defeat. The two of them were almost at the Citadel of Sorcery now, it's towering gates welcoming them in the distance.

[SINIB]

Christina Verde

The magic seemed to grow fainter the further from the central tower they moved, as if everything in the area that wasn't tied up in a spell or enchantment or someone's body was being drawn up to that singular point. And yet the sky was still filled with the royal colors of a perpetual twilight, the noon day sun entirely obscured by the arcane miasma that engulfed the district. They sensed small wards here and there, intruder alarms and pest controls, and saw from time to time beings who seemed human but whose eyes and subtle seamed joints shone with an inner mana.

Christina let out a hum of interest at Sakura's story. "Unfortunately, huh? Interesting." She seemed to think for a moment, tapping her lips and then turning around to start walking backwards. She showed plenty of curiosity now as she watched both of them. "The Imaginary Abyss, was it? You mean your spatial magic? Well, hopefully Magister Mantala or one of her Magi have an opening for you then. Our Department of Spatial Studies is one of the best in the Nexus!" Christina winked at that, and traced a circle in the air with her index finger.

But then she frowned, slowing down their pace. "Circuits... where have I heard that term before? You mean your internal mana reserves? I know I've heard it..."

Sakura

Sakura blinked. She stopped moving, paused, brought her finger to her chin, and thought carefully.

Right. She was in another world now. She couldn't just speak magese and expect everyone to understand it, anymore.

That was weird.

"Well, that's part of it, but they also determine how much I can output, as well. The quantity and quality of a circuit is the most important consideration when talking about the innate talent of a mage."

She shrugged theatrically, holding her hands up in the air. "Me and my-sister-had the same quality, so my father decided the best course of action would be to ship me off halfway around the globe to a cold country whose language I didn't speak."

Oddly, she was smiling as she described what sounded like a traumatic event.

[YOLF]

Edelgard

Edelgard tilted her head at Sakura. Her stiffness didn't match the way her expression bent in cheerful politeness. The warrior was ignorant of the more guarded ways or customs of spellcaster clans and orders, but she was quite familiar with this concept.

"Fosterage is a useful tradition. Chance to learn beyond means of your birth," the Forsaken commented. "Dissatisfied? What was wrong?"