Chapter 128: Happy to Assist
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Chapter 128: Happy to Assist
Tala hesitated. She and Rane had each just finished up their weapons form and were getting ready to depart, but something was eating at her. With a sigh, Tala turned to Rane. I still need to thoroughly test these Tala lifted her arms, indicating the bracers that shed dutifully put back on after every self-cleansing.
Ready to tell me why you havent practiced with the tether so far?
I only just finished reading the booklet on the items this morning.
He waited.
Tala looked down. I dont know.
He didnt comment.
Its silly.
Rane just gave a patient smile, lips sealed.
Tala grunted. Fine She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. Most of the language in the booklet was lifted from that of the prison items manual. II dont like thinking of myself as a prisoner, even a voluntary one.
He cocked his head but remained silent.
Her voice was small as she finally spoke, once again. What if he made it wrong, and Im trapped forever?
Rane let out a long breath, then, clearly considering. That sounds terrifying.
Tala gave him a skeptical look.
He smiled in return. What? It does. That said, it comes down to one question: Do you trust him enough to give it a try? If not: Return it, and he might be willing to refund some of your funds. If so: Why not give it a try?
After a long moment, Tala nodded. That makes sense She now felt a bit foolish for hesitating. Thankfully, she hadnt lost that much time. She really had just finished reading up sufficiently to empower the tether that morning. Alright. Ill try it once we find a new training spot. Alright?
Sure. He glanced to the side. You know, Im happy to help, if I can.
Tala nodded. I do know, yeah. She looked to Terry, seemingly asleep in the corner. Terry?
The bird opened one eye to regard her.
Are you alright with relocating, higher into the tree?
He lifted his head, then let out a soft, warbling note that conveyed indifference.
Tala grinned. Fair enough; shall we go take a look, now?
Sure. Rane pushed himself up.
Terry flickered to her shoulder, and they departed, together.
Once theyd exited the facility and were heading up the second tiers seventh spiral, they had a brief conversation about how they would approach finding a new spot to train. As part of that, they decided that they should walk through the third-tier marketplace, on the way up to a higher level.
The market looked much the same as the previous times Tala had walked through it, but this time, she was firm in her resolve that she wouldnt buy anything else. So, once they made it to that tier, she was focused more on the buildings and other, less sales-oriented, features.
Caravan street? Tala was looking at one of the street-signs that shed not really paid heed to before.
Rane looked at it as well. Yeah. If I remember correctly, they had some fun with naming the streets, here: Caravan, Wagon, Courier, Fleet, Ship, and the like.
Huh, I suppose it makes some sort of sense for a market area.
Yeah. It doesnt fit quite as well with the services and restaurants here, but it lends a bit of amusement, I guess.
They continued walking down the road, seeing many of the roads that Rane referenced.
Hey, theres a barber right there. She glanced to Rane. Is his hair longer than usual? Well, obviously it was, hair grew constantly. Do you usually keep your hair short or was that just how you had it when we met?
Usually short.
Do you want to get it cut?
Rane reached up and checked his hair. Maybe He glanced to the barbershop, frowning slightly.
It looks like its over a pie shop! I could get something to eat, while you get your haircut.
Rane seemed to contemplate, but finally, he shook his head. Not today. Ill probably get it cut short, just before we leave again.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
Tala shrugged. Alright. She glanced back to the barbershop. If you want to come back here, it looks like this ones on Fleet Street.
Rane shook his head. Im sure there will be barbers closer to where Im staying. Thank you, though.
Tala shrugged, and they continued on, talking about the various establishments that they passed. Even as they climbed higher, seeking the upper tiers, they kept up the conversation, pointing out various oddities, or intriguing places as they went.
All in all, it was a fun way to pass the time.
* * *
Tala took deep breaths, striding purposely away from the anchor that shed just empowered.
The wooden spring-clip rested on the floor, in the center of their new training area.
Tala walked towards the outer wall, a large, transparent section of wood that showed a beautiful view to the east.
She wasnt getting closer to the window. She could easily see the dimensional power acting on the space in front of her, but that was the only evidence that she could see that anything was happening.
She looked down, and the wood beneath her seemed to stretch as she moved her foot forward, pulling back to normal as she continued with the other foot.
With a sudden motion, Tala dove forward, sensing the space around herself expand even as she rolled and returned to her feet.
She was no closer to the wall.
Tala pivoted, turning to face the simple item, laying on the floor.
Hey! Youre alive. Rane grinned from beside the anchor.
She glared back. I wasnt afraid of dying. Her glare faltered, and her voice quieted. I was afraid of being trapped.
Ranes smile softened. You alright?
She shrugged, then nodded. I think so.
Alright, how can I help?
Can you pick it up?
Rane picked it up with ease. Seems so.
Tala growled this time. No. Its ridiculous. Its a stupid training method. She knew she sounded petulant, but it was irritating.
Tell you what: When you can do it, Ill buy you dinner and take you somewhere fun to celebrate. But you have to try again, now.
She cocked an eyebrow. She thought through the offer before shrugging. Cant hurt to try.
She walked back inside, pulling out the first ball in Jevins training set.
Thin wire surrounded the wooden ball within the most permeable of the spheres. The wires were coated with something to prevent them from rusting or spreading iron around, and that added a slightly reflective sheen to the metal.
Tala sat down, cross-legged, placing the wire ball in front of her on the floor.
Her left middle-finger pressed into her thumb, and she focused on the wooden ball.
Her attempted lock broke on the iron cage as it tried to settle through it. Just like every time before.
Rane sat across from her. Ive watched you try this, off and on, for days now. I think the issue is that you arent using one of your greatest assets.
Tala looked to the Archon, eyebrow cocked. Do tell.
What does your lock look like to your mage-sight?
It makes the target glow.
Rane shook his head. Youve described your abilities to me before, and thats not true. The lock highlights the target for you, thats not a function of your mage-sight.
She opened her mouth to object, then stopped. Huhheshes right.
Tala frowned, refocusing on her spell-working. Almost absently, she pulled out a bit of jerky and flicked it to the side for Terry, then she drew out a simple notebook, setting it beside the wire ball.
Thumb and middle-finger still pressed together, she focused on the notebook. She pulled as much power from the workings visualization as she could, while adding power to her mage-sight, causing even the slight magic in the air to become almost painfully bright.
Among the normally faint, swirling lines of power, Tala saw her lock: the magic had the look of a hand, reaching out and grabbing the notebook. As the fist closed, the book began to glow, indicating a successful lock.
Its a hand, grabbing onto my target. And Tala felt a smile tug at her lips. Of course, it was a hand. She grabbed onto her target with her power, then she had the power to manipulate it. What else would it be?
He nodded. Thats what Ive seen while watching. So, why? Why is it a hand?
Im taking the target in hand. She shrugged. It just made sense.
Could you use a tether? Or something else?
Tala glanced to her bracers. Their connection to the anchor, currently on her belt, simply looked like a faint line of power, even with her mage-sight enhanced.
That seems to work well enough, right?
Tala grimaced. I suppose so
Your spell-lines dont require the visualization of a hand. The use of such likely makes it less efficient, honestly. You just dont need such a complicated construct of will. All you are doing is marking a target.
She released her lock on the book and focused. All I need to do is mark it. That was true. How would I mark something? She could use a brush to paint a dot. That would be a lot simpler.
In her mind, she imagined stretching out and painting a dot on the book. It made sense. Then, her magic would know what to affect.
She felt herself grinning. Her eyes opened, and she magically reached out to lock onto her notebook once more. She felt a small bit of power leave her, and a small mark blossomed on the book to her mage-sight before the book blossomed with a secondary glow, indicating it as a designated target.
Tala jerked, her left eye twitching violently. OW! It felt like someone was driving a spike into her temple. She curled in on herself, taking deep breaths as the agony passed.
When she finally lifted her head, Rane was still sitting across from her, contained concern evident on his face. Are you alright?
She knuckled her forehead furiously scratching at an internal itching sensation. Yeah, that was a deep mental pathway that I just bypassed.
Rane gave her a sympathetic smile. I actually had something similar that Master Grediv had to break me of.
Oh? She was somewhat interested, but more, she needed time to collect herself.
Yeah, I was imagining my defensive scripts pushing me; I was picturing hands imparting the energy. It was slower, less efficient, less precise, and more jarring. He gave a self-deprecating smile. It took me weeks of work to change my way of thinking, but mainly because I refused to have Master Grediv help. Hed pointed out a flaw, and I wanted to correct it, myself. His smile faded as he shrugged.
Tala smiled at that, the pain mostly gone. That sounds so unlike you.
He snorted. It is exactly as I was, and unlike how I strive to be, now. He quirked a half-smile.
Well, Im glad I had help.
Its painful, but so long as you dont fall back in your thinking, you should be fine. Id recommend practicing your lock as much as possible over the next few days. If I may ask, what did you replace the hand with? I can see a small splash of power, but I dont know how you enacted it.
I imagined marking it with a small paintbrush.
Thats a good one. Yeah, Id recommend focusing on marking your targets, instead of grabbing, or indicating, orwhatever you were conceiving, before.
I think it was simpler than that. I used my hand to activate the target process. So. She shrugged.
Rane grinned. That would do it. So, dont do that.
She snorted another laugh. Fine.
She released and retargeted the book a dozen times, and when she was satisfied, she turned her eyes back to the wire ball.
With the practice and the new mental image, it was trivially easy to reach out, her power lancing through one of the gaping holes to mark the wooden ball, within.
HA! Tala held her arms up in triumph. I did it!
Ranes eyes snapped open from his meditation, and he gave a seated, smiling bow. Congratulations, Mistress.
How long was I working on that? Probably close to twenty minutes. It was kind of him to leave me to it. Tala stood. Youre right. I want to celebrate, what do you have in mind?
He stood. Well, you mentioned missing plays, so I got us two tickets to a show tonight: Hypocratease, a comedy aboutwell, he gave a small laugh, thats probably pretty obvious.
That sounds great. She hesitated, frowning. Wait, you said wed go if I succeeded.
I did.
But you have tickets for tonight.
I do.
She gave him a long look. After a lingering moment, a smile pulled at the side of her lips. We have time to get cleaned up and changed? She gestured his way. I think the theater would object to your current outfit.
Rane looked down at his bare chest and mid-thigh shorts. He laughed. True enough. Itd be like walking in with a bared sword. Meet back here in half an hour?
That sounds perfect.
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Chapter 128: Happy to Assist
Tala hesitated. She and Rane had each just finished up their weapons form and were getting ready to depart, but something was eating at her. With a sigh, Tala turned to Rane. I still need to thoroughly test these Tala lifted her arms, indicating the bracers that shed dutifully put back on after every self-cleansing.
Ready to tell me why you havent practiced with the tether so far?
I only just finished reading the booklet on the items this morning.
He waited.
Tala looked down. I dont know.
He didnt comment.
Its silly.
Rane just gave a patient smile, lips sealed.
Tala grunted. Fine She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. Most of the language in the booklet was lifted from that of the prison items manual. II dont like thinking of myself as a prisoner, even a voluntary one.
He cocked his head but remained silent.
Her voice was small as she finally spoke, once again. What if he made it wrong, and Im trapped forever?
Rane let out a long breath, then, clearly considering. That sounds terrifying.
Tala gave him a skeptical look.
He smiled in return. What? It does. That said, it comes down to one question: Do you trust him enough to give it a try? If not: Return it, and he might be willing to refund some of your funds. If so: Why not give it a try?
After a long moment, Tala nodded. That makes sense She now felt a bit foolish for hesitating. Thankfully, she hadnt lost that much time. She really had just finished reading up sufficiently to empower the tether that morning. Alright. Ill try it once we find a new training spot. Alright?
Sure. He glanced to the side. You know, Im happy to help, if I can.
Tala nodded. I do know, yeah. She looked to Terry, seemingly asleep in the corner. Terry?
The bird opened one eye to regard her.
Are you alright with relocating, higher into the tree?
He lifted his head, then let out a soft, warbling note that conveyed indifference.
Tala grinned. Fair enough; shall we go take a look, now?
Sure. Rane pushed himself up.
Terry flickered to her shoulder, and they departed, together.
Once theyd exited the facility and were heading up the second tiers seventh spiral, they had a brief conversation about how they would approach finding a new spot to train. As part of that, they decided that they should walk through the third-tier marketplace, on the way up to a higher level.
The market looked much the same as the previous times Tala had walked through it, but this time, she was firm in her resolve that she wouldnt buy anything else. So, once they made it to that tier, she was focused more on the buildings and other, less sales-oriented, features.
Caravan street? Tala was looking at one of the street-signs that shed not really paid heed to before.
Rane looked at it as well. Yeah. If I remember correctly, they had some fun with naming the streets, here: Caravan, Wagon, Courier, Fleet, Ship, and the like.
Huh, I suppose it makes some sort of sense for a market area.
Yeah. It doesnt fit quite as well with the services and restaurants here, but it lends a bit of amusement, I guess.
They continued walking down the road, seeing many of the roads that Rane referenced.
Hey, theres a barber right there. She glanced to Rane. Is his hair longer than usual? Well, obviously it was, hair grew constantly. Do you usually keep your hair short or was that just how you had it when we met?
Usually short.
Do you want to get it cut?
Rane reached up and checked his hair. Maybe He glanced to the barbershop, frowning slightly.
It looks like its over a pie shop! I could get something to eat, while you get your haircut.
Rane seemed to contemplate, but finally, he shook his head. Not today. Ill probably get it cut short, just before we leave again.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
Tala shrugged. Alright. She glanced back to the barbershop. If you want to come back here, it looks like this ones on Fleet Street.
Rane shook his head. Im sure there will be barbers closer to where Im staying. Thank you, though.
Tala shrugged, and they continued on, talking about the various establishments that they passed. Even as they climbed higher, seeking the upper tiers, they kept up the conversation, pointing out various oddities, or intriguing places as they went.
All in all, it was a fun way to pass the time.
* * *
Tala took deep breaths, striding purposely away from the anchor that shed just empowered.
The wooden spring-clip rested on the floor, in the center of their new training area.
Tala walked towards the outer wall, a large, transparent section of wood that showed a beautiful view to the east.
She wasnt getting closer to the window. She could easily see the dimensional power acting on the space in front of her, but that was the only evidence that she could see that anything was happening.
She looked down, and the wood beneath her seemed to stretch as she moved her foot forward, pulling back to normal as she continued with the other foot.
With a sudden motion, Tala dove forward, sensing the space around herself expand even as she rolled and returned to her feet.
She was no closer to the wall.
Tala pivoted, turning to face the simple item, laying on the floor.
Hey! Youre alive. Rane grinned from beside the anchor.
She glared back. I wasnt afraid of dying. Her glare faltered, and her voice quieted. I was afraid of being trapped.
Ranes smile softened. You alright?
She shrugged, then nodded. I think so.
Alright, how can I help?
Can you pick it up?
Rane picked it up with ease. Seems so.
Tala growled this time. No. Its ridiculous. Its a stupid training method. She knew she sounded petulant, but it was irritating.
Tell you what: When you can do it, Ill buy you dinner and take you somewhere fun to celebrate. But you have to try again, now.
She cocked an eyebrow. She thought through the offer before shrugging. Cant hurt to try.
She walked back inside, pulling out the first ball in Jevins training set.
Thin wire surrounded the wooden ball within the most permeable of the spheres. The wires were coated with something to prevent them from rusting or spreading iron around, and that added a slightly reflective sheen to the metal.
Tala sat down, cross-legged, placing the wire ball in front of her on the floor.
Her left middle-finger pressed into her thumb, and she focused on the wooden ball.
Her attempted lock broke on the iron cage as it tried to settle through it. Just like every time before.
Rane sat across from her. Ive watched you try this, off and on, for days now. I think the issue is that you arent using one of your greatest assets.
Tala looked to the Archon, eyebrow cocked. Do tell.
What does your lock look like to your mage-sight?
It makes the target glow.
Rane shook his head. Youve described your abilities to me before, and thats not true. The lock highlights the target for you, thats not a function of your mage-sight.
She opened her mouth to object, then stopped. Huhheshes right.
Tala frowned, refocusing on her spell-working. Almost absently, she pulled out a bit of jerky and flicked it to the side for Terry, then she drew out a simple notebook, setting it beside the wire ball.
Thumb and middle-finger still pressed together, she focused on the notebook. She pulled as much power from the workings visualization as she could, while adding power to her mage-sight, causing even the slight magic in the air to become almost painfully bright.
Among the normally faint, swirling lines of power, Tala saw her lock: the magic had the look of a hand, reaching out and grabbing the notebook. As the fist closed, the book began to glow, indicating a successful lock.
Its a hand, grabbing onto my target. And Tala felt a smile tug at her lips. Of course, it was a hand. She grabbed onto her target with her power, then she had the power to manipulate it. What else would it be?
He nodded. Thats what Ive seen while watching. So, why? Why is it a hand?
Im taking the target in hand. She shrugged. It just made sense.
Could you use a tether? Or something else?
Tala glanced to her bracers. Their connection to the anchor, currently on her belt, simply looked like a faint line of power, even with her mage-sight enhanced.
That seems to work well enough, right?
Tala grimaced. I suppose so
Your spell-lines dont require the visualization of a hand. The use of such likely makes it less efficient, honestly. You just dont need such a complicated construct of will. All you are doing is marking a target.
She released her lock on the book and focused. All I need to do is mark it. That was true. How would I mark something? She could use a brush to paint a dot. That would be a lot simpler.
In her mind, she imagined stretching out and painting a dot on the book. It made sense. Then, her magic would know what to affect.
She felt herself grinning. Her eyes opened, and she magically reached out to lock onto her notebook once more. She felt a small bit of power leave her, and a small mark blossomed on the book to her mage-sight before the book blossomed with a secondary glow, indicating it as a designated target.
Tala jerked, her left eye twitching violently. OW! It felt like someone was driving a spike into her temple. She curled in on herself, taking deep breaths as the agony passed.
When she finally lifted her head, Rane was still sitting across from her, contained concern evident on his face. Are you alright?
She knuckled her forehead furiously scratching at an internal itching sensation. Yeah, that was a deep mental pathway that I just bypassed.
Rane gave her a sympathetic smile. I actually had something similar that Master Grediv had to break me of.
Oh? She was somewhat interested, but more, she needed time to collect herself.
Yeah, I was imagining my defensive scripts pushing me; I was picturing hands imparting the energy. It was slower, less efficient, less precise, and more jarring. He gave a self-deprecating smile. It took me weeks of work to change my way of thinking, but mainly because I refused to have Master Grediv help. Hed pointed out a flaw, and I wanted to correct it, myself. His smile faded as he shrugged.
Tala smiled at that, the pain mostly gone. That sounds so unlike you.
He snorted. It is exactly as I was, and unlike how I strive to be, now. He quirked a half-smile.
Well, Im glad I had help.
Its painful, but so long as you dont fall back in your thinking, you should be fine. Id recommend practicing your lock as much as possible over the next few days. If I may ask, what did you replace the hand with? I can see a small splash of power, but I dont know how you enacted it.
I imagined marking it with a small paintbrush.
Thats a good one. Yeah, Id recommend focusing on marking your targets, instead of grabbing, or indicating, orwhatever you were conceiving, before.
I think it was simpler than that. I used my hand to activate the target process. So. She shrugged.
Rane grinned. That would do it. So, dont do that.
She snorted another laugh. Fine.
She released and retargeted the book a dozen times, and when she was satisfied, she turned her eyes back to the wire ball.
With the practice and the new mental image, it was trivially easy to reach out, her power lancing through one of the gaping holes to mark the wooden ball, within.
HA! Tala held her arms up in triumph. I did it!
Ranes eyes snapped open from his meditation, and he gave a seated, smiling bow. Congratulations, Mistress.
How long was I working on that? Probably close to twenty minutes. It was kind of him to leave me to it. Tala stood. Youre right. I want to celebrate, what do you have in mind?
He stood. Well, you mentioned missing plays, so I got us two tickets to a show tonight: Hypocratease, a comedy aboutwell, he gave a small laugh, thats probably pretty obvious.
That sounds great. She hesitated, frowning. Wait, you said wed go if I succeeded.
I did.
But you have tickets for tonight.
I do.
She gave him a long look. After a lingering moment, a smile pulled at the side of her lips. We have time to get cleaned up and changed? She gestured his way. I think the theater would object to your current outfit.
Rane looked down at his bare chest and mid-thigh shorts. He laughed. True enough. Itd be like walking in with a bared sword. Meet back here in half an hour?
That sounds perfect.
Chapter 128: Happy to AssistTala hesitated. She and Rane had each just finished up their weapons form and were getting ready to depart, but something was eating at her. With a sigh, Tala turned to Rane. I still need to thoroughly test these Tala lifted her arms, indicating the bracers that shed dutifully put back on after every self-cleansing.Ready to tell me why you havent practiced with the tether so far?I only just finished reading the booklet on the items this morning.He waited.Tala looked down. I dont know.He didnt comment.Its silly.Rane just gave a patient smile, lips sealed.Tala grunted. Fine She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. Most of the language in the booklet was lifted from that of the prison items manual. II dont like thinking of myself as a prisoner, even a voluntary one.He cocked his head but remained silent.Her voice was small as she finally spoke, once again. What if he made it wrong, and Im trapped forever?Rane let out a long breath, then, clearly considering. That sounds terrifying.Tala gave him a skeptical look.He smiled in return. What? It does. That said, it comes down to one question: Do you trust him enough to give it a try? If not: Return it, and he might be willing to refund some of your funds. If so: Why not give it a try?After a long moment, Tala nodded. That makes sense She now felt a bit foolish for hesitating. Thankfully, she hadnt lost that much time. She really had just finished reading up sufficiently to empower the tether that morning. Alright. Ill try it once we find a new training spot. Alright?Sure. He glanced to the side. You know, Im happy to help, if I can.Tala nodded. I do know, yeah. She looked to Terry, seemingly asleep in the corner. Terry?The bird opened one eye to regard her.Are you alright with relocating, higher into the tree?He lifted his head, then let out a soft, warbling note that conveyed indifference.Tala grinned. Fair enough; shall we go take a look, now?Sure. Rane pushed himself up.Terry flickered to her shoulder, and they departed, together.Once theyd exited the facility and were heading up the second tiers seventh spiral, they had a brief conversation about how they would approach finding a new spot to train. As part of that, they decided that they should walk through the third-tier marketplace, on the way up to a higher level.The market looked much the same as the previous times Tala had walked through it, but this time, she was firm in her resolve that she wouldnt buy anything else. So, once they made it to that tier, she was focused more on the buildings and other, less sales-oriented, features.Caravan street? Tala was looking at one of the street-signs that shed not really paid heed to before.Rane looked at it as well. Yeah. If I remember correctly, they had some fun with naming the streets, here: Caravan, Wagon, Courier, Fleet, Ship, and the like.Huh, I suppose it makes some sort of sense for a market area.Yeah. It doesnt fit quite as well with the services and restaurants here, but it lends a bit of amusement, I guess.They continued walking down the road, seeing many of the roads that Rane referenced.Hey, theres a barber right there. She glanced to Rane. Is his hair longer than usual? Well, obviously it was, hair grew constantly. Do you usually keep your hair short or was that just how you had it when we met?Usually short.Do you want to get it cut?Rane reached up and checked his hair. Maybe He glanced to the barbershop, frowning slightly.It looks like its over a pie shop! I could get something to eat, while you get your haircut.Rane seemed to contemplate, but finally, he shook his head. Not today. Ill probably get it cut short, just before we leave again.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.Tala shrugged. Alright. She glanced back to the barbershop. If you want to come back here, it looks like this ones on Fleet Street.Rane shook his head. Im sure there will be barbers closer to where Im staying. Thank you, though.Tala shrugged, and they continued on, talking about the various establishments that they passed. Even as they climbed higher, seeking the upper tiers, they kept up the conversation, pointing out various oddities, or intriguing places as they went.All in all, it was a fun way to pass the time.* * *Tala took deep breaths, striding purposely away from the anchor that shed just empowered.The wooden spring-clip rested on the floor, in the center of their new training area.Tala walked towards the outer wall, a large, transparent section of wood that showed a beautiful view to the east.She wasnt getting closer to the window. She could easily see the dimensional power acting on the space in front of her, but that was the only evidence that she could see that anything was happening.She looked down, and the wood beneath her seemed to stretch as she moved her foot forward, pulling back to normal as she continued with the other foot.With a sudden motion, Tala dove forward, sensing the space around herself expand even as she rolled and returned to her feet.She was no closer to the wall.Tala pivoted, turning to face the simple item, laying on the floor.Hey! Youre alive. Rane grinned from beside the anchor.She glared back. I wasnt afraid of dying. Her glare faltered, and her voice quieted. I was afraid of being trapped.Ranes smile softened. You alright?She shrugged, then nodded. I think so.Alright, how can I help?Can you pick it up?Rane picked it up with ease. Seems so.Tala growled this time. No. Its ridiculous. Its a stupid training method. She knew she sounded petulant, but it was irritating.Tell you what: When you can do it, Ill buy you dinner and take you somewhere fun to celebrate. But you have to try again, now.She cocked an eyebrow. She thought through the offer before shrugging. Cant hurt to try.She walked back inside, pulling out the first ball in Jevins training set.Thin wire surrounded the wooden ball within the most permeable of the spheres. The wires were coated with something to prevent them from rusting or spreading iron around, and that added a slightly reflective sheen to the metal.Tala sat down, cross-legged, placing the wire ball in front of her on the floor.Her left middle-finger pressed into her thumb, and she focused on the wooden ball.Her attempted lock broke on the iron cage as it tried to settle through it. Just like every time before.Rane sat across from her. Ive watched you try this, off and on, for days now. I think the issue is that you arent using one of your greatest assets.Tala looked to the Archon, eyebrow cocked. Do tell.What does your lock look like to your mage-sight?It makes the target glow.Rane shook his head. Youve described your abilities to me before, and thats not true. The lock highlights the target for you, thats not a function of your mage-sight.She opened her mouth to object, then stopped. Huhheshes right.Tala frowned, refocusing on her spell-working. Almost absently, she pulled out a bit of jerky and flicked it to the side for Terry, then she drew out a simple notebook, setting it beside the wire ball.Thumb and middle-finger still pressed together, she focused on the notebook. She pulled as much power from the workings visualization as she could, while adding power to her mage-sight, causing even the slight magic in the air to become almost painfully bright.Among the normally faint, swirling lines of power, Tala saw her lock: the magic had the look of a hand, reaching out and grabbing the notebook. As the fist closed, the book began to glow, indicating a successful lock.Its a hand, grabbing onto my target. And Tala felt a smile tug at her lips. Of course, it was a hand. She grabbed onto her target with her power, then she had the power to manipulate it. What else would it be?He nodded. Thats what Ive seen while watching. So, why? Why is it a hand?Im taking the target in hand. She shrugged. It just made sense.Could you use a tether? Or something else?Tala glanced to her bracers. Their connection to the anchor, currently on her belt, simply looked like a faint line of power, even with her mage-sight enhanced.That seems to work well enough, right?Tala grimaced. I suppose soYour spell-lines dont require the visualization of a hand. The use of such likely makes it less efficient, honestly. You just dont need such a complicated construct of will. All you are doing is marking a target.She released her lock on the book and focused. All I need to do is mark it. That was true. How would I mark something? She could use a brush to paint a dot. That would be a lot simpler.In her mind, she imagined stretching out and painting a dot on the book. It made sense. Then, her magic would know what to affect.She felt herself grinning. Her eyes opened, and she magically reached out to lock onto her notebook once more. She felt a small bit of power leave her, and a small mark blossomed on the book to her mage-sight before the book blossomed with a secondary glow, indicating it as a designated target.Tala jerked, her left eye twitching violently. OW! It felt like someone was driving a spike into her temple. She curled in on herself, taking deep breaths as the agony passed.When she finally lifted her head, Rane was still sitting across from her, contained concern evident on his face. Are you alright?She knuckled her forehead furiously scratching at an internal itching sensation. Yeah, that was a deep mental pathway that I just bypassed.Rane gave her a sympathetic smile. I actually had something similar that Master Grediv had to break me of.Oh? She was somewhat interested, but more, she needed time to collect herself.Yeah, I was imagining my defensive scripts pushing me; I was picturing hands imparting the energy. It was slower, less efficient, less precise, and more jarring. He gave a self-deprecating smile. It took me weeks of work to change my way of thinking, but mainly because I refused to have Master Grediv help. Hed pointed out a flaw, and I wanted to correct it, myself. His smile faded as he shrugged.Tala smiled at that, the pain mostly gone. That sounds so unlike you.He snorted. It is exactly as I was, and unlike how I strive to be, now. He quirked a half-smile.Well, Im glad I had help.Its painful, but so long as you dont fall back in your thinking, you should be fine. Id recommend practicing your lock as much as possible over the next few days. If I may ask, what did you replace the hand with? I can see a small splash of power, but I dont know how you enacted it.I imagined marking it with a small paintbrush.Thats a good one. Yeah, Id recommend focusing on marking your targets, instead of grabbing, or indicating, orwhatever you were conceiving, before.I think it was simpler than that. I used my hand to activate the target process. So. She shrugged.Rane grinned. That would do it. So, dont do that.She snorted another laugh. Fine.She released and retargeted the book a dozen times, and when she was satisfied, she turned her eyes back to the wire ball.With the practice and the new mental image, it was trivially easy to reach out, her power lancing through one of the gaping holes to mark the wooden ball, within.HA! Tala held her arms up in triumph. I did it!Ranes eyes snapped open from his meditation, and he gave a seated, smiling bow. Congratulations, Mistress.How long was I working on that? Probably close to twenty minutes. It was kind of him to leave me to it. Tala stood. Youre right. I want to celebrate, what do you have in mind?He stood. Well, you mentioned missing plays, so I got us two tickets to a show tonight: Hypocratease, a comedy aboutwell, he gave a small laugh, thats probably pretty obvious.That sounds great. She hesitated, frowning. Wait, you said wed go if I succeeded.I did.But you have tickets for tonight.I do.She gave him a long look. After a lingering moment, a smile pulled at the side of her lips. We have time to get cleaned up and changed? She gestured his way. I think the theater would object to your current outfit.Rane looked down at his bare chest and mid-thigh shorts. He laughed. True enough. Itd be like walking in with a bared sword. Meet back here in half an hour?That sounds perfect.
