trans_9 | Magic and Mystical: Interviews

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Magic and Mystical: Interviews

Nothing felt quite so good as to have a project on its way. If this one features slightly less graphical and arbitrary annihilation of all sense and reason to the universe so that his will and desires may stand paramount in all creation, it's no less important or relevant for all that.

Aibghalien has set aside a few of what appear to be practice areas for interviews and assessments, hoping these are large enough to use for any demonstrations necessary. If not, the courtyard outside allows plenty of space for particularly pyrotechnical displays.

[OOC: Those willing to help interview may start their own threads for people to comment on (but Abby would like to get your own lists!) If your character would have come, but you aren't able to thread it out for any reason, just put the information in the Handwaved thread for later compilation.]

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"Not very long," Aqua said. "A few weeks to a couple of months, maybe? That's assuming they know how to control the flow of their power."

The last question made her pause for a moment to think. She'd been used to thinking of magic as existing in everything--as long as you had the mind and heart for it, that made you an appropriate student.

"Well," she said, "we were all trained young, so I guess someone who's still innocent--eager to learn and not looking for power. A quick mind--easy to adapt."

"Might I suggest you consider taking on a student of magic or two?" Here, he thought, would be a good opportunity to give her a chance to step back from combat applications and feel useful and needed more in general. "I think the ship could do with a little bit more luck and protection, after all."

"That may be a good idea," she admitted. She was already planning to teach Will, after all. "The girl I mentioned before could use some more creative uses of magic. And there's another who might benefit too." Sasami had Tsunami's vast powers at her disposal. It would be a very good thing for her to learn how to use them gradually and outside of a battlefield.

"Whatever resources I have to give are yours, if you need anything." Aibghalien smiled. "Not that I have any sort of literal official power to distribute supplies or assign support, but I haven't let that stop me yet."

"That's all right, thank you," Aqua replied.

After a moment, she murmured, "Oh, right," and pulled out her Wayfinder. "One of the charms I'm good at is this. It's called a Wayfinder--it's used to allow friends to borrow each other's abilities. I've managed to get it to work on the ship too, with two of my surrogate family. I thought it might help if we ever need more healers or anything."

"That... is interesting. The magic I am familiar with does have the capability to imbue others with a limited number of spells, but what you describe sounds interesting. What are its restrictions?"

Be careful, Aqua. He's starting to speak just a little faster. The wizard's curiosity has been piquesd.

"It's slow to build up to higher level abilities, though at least when someone borrows from my powers, healing is always available," she pointed out. "The effects will wear out after some time, though when you've recovered your strength enough to try again, you can re-establish the link. It makes a big difference if you need a healer in a hurry."

"Do you retain access to your own abilities when they are being called upon by others?" If not, they were in a sense only trading the location of the powers, not the ability to use them. Handy in an emergency when only one of the pair was in trouble, but in the midst of pitched combat, it would be inadvisable to strip Aqua of her own magic, for example.

"Yes, I do," Aqua explained. "It's only a small thread of magic that connects us--just enough for a few abilities to be borrowed temporarily. The magic in the Wayfinder just...boosts the connection, I guess would be the best term for it."

"Even for a limited number of temporary abilities, that is powerful from my perspective." It offered a great number of possibilities, which he swiftly sorted in his head and set aside for the moment. "Proficiency comes with powers, I take it? What are the limitations on its creation and use?"

"Yes," she answered. "It can be cast on just about any small charm, but the thing is that you have to form a close bond with the person whose power you're borrowing. For example, the Captain wouldn't be able to form a link with me without getting to know me well. So healers would have to form some friendships with others."

Aibghalien paused to absorb that fact and its full implications, then laughed.

"That IS quite a catch, isn't it? A perfectly sensible one, as well. And since it would be all sorts of unethical to dictate whom you form friendships with, that certainly eliminates any strategic or tactical distribution of those charms."

Still, he seemed not bothered in the least. That facet of the magic simply made it more intriguing.

"Or we could always organize ship bonding exercises," Aqua suggested, a teasing note in her voice. "Although, I'm not sure how many friendships are going to come out of a bunch of grumpy people having to work together on some activity."

"Given some of the personalities aboard this ship, it might be more likely to lead to bloodshed or alarming overcompetetiveness." The latter of which would be his own problem... "These things will need to progress naturally. I would rather not put any pressure on you; I don't want you feeling like you need to question if you're getting to know someone just to make a friendship for the sake of sharing powers."

"I agree," Aqua said. "For now, maybe leave them for people who are close enough where it might help them?"

He nodded. "I'll leave it to your discretion as to how to best distribute them. I shouldn't interfere with the whole process externally... much as I want to," he admitted, smiling just a little. "Is there anything else you would like to cover?"

She paused for a moment, trying to think.

"I think that's it, really."

"Then, thank you for the time and information," he said, punctuating the statement with a formal bow. "I only hope I can find a way to put your talents to use, though I think I may have a few ideas on that subject."

"Thank you," Aqua said, bowing in response. "Let me know if there's anything I can help with."

"I will. In fact," he said abruptly, coming to a decision -- mainly that there was no point in keeping the notion secret beyond his own sense of the dramatic, which was not quite appropriate here, "if it gives you something to consider, I am pondering an organization of the Magical Department into interdepartmental detachments, such that those with the ability to aid or promote healing would liase with Medical, those with the power to conjure or manipulate small objects would be with Engineering, and so forth. In addition, I also see some virtue in both magical instruction for those with powers that can be taught, and a combat unit. At this point, since you would fit into all three, I'd like your general opinion on the idea."

"I think it's a great idea," she admitted. "It would help all of us if we could get the departments working together more, and not just in a crisis."

"Absolutely. Would it be possible, or feasible, to handle more than one role, though? Would practice for combat interfere with liasing with medical or training a student, for example?" He of course would cheerfully join all three, but then Cerilian elves didn't need to sleep.

"I think I should be able to handle it," Aqua said. Of course, there was a difference between keeping busy and overworking yourself, and she had a tendency to forget the line between them.

She wasn't the only one. Frankly, the only reason Aibghalien wasn't in the lab or the library 24/8 (Cerilian weeks had eight days) was Celena.

"Then I'll recommend it as such. Although by 'recommend' I probably mean 'implement', once I get some thoughts laid out on the subject."

Oh good, so they would be sharing the oversized coffeepot then.

"All right," she answered. "Let me know when it starts up."

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for-magic.livejournal.com - 2011-11-16 14:05 (UTC) - Expand

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