The Grandeur of Sorcery

Log Info

• Title: The Grandeur of Sorcery

• Emitter: Telamon

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: The Proving Grounds - University District

• Summary: Ravenstongue and Telamon make their way one morning to the Proving Grounds, a magical testing facility in the University District. The half-elves are not spellcasters of legendary proportion (yet), but they are able to demonstrate their abilities. The two demonstrate some lesser-used spells in their repertoires to each other, and Telamon fires off a fearsome fireball that makes Ravenstongue resolve to learn the spell herself. Eventually, it's time for lunch, and the two leave to pursue the rest of their day.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-    
Ravenstongue         5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair. 
Telamon              5'6"     140 Lb     Half-Elf          Male      A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

The Proving Grounds, University District, Alexandria

The Proving Grounds. One part magical testing facility, one part entertainment for anyone who wants to watch. It's a popular pastime for common folk who might not be able to afford an evening at the theatre -- they pack a meal, bring their family, and relax in good weather while they watch magicians experiment and test spells. The Grounds themselves are a large field three hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide, a rough rectangle bounded by stone and mithril pillars etched with powerful wards. No spell can pass between those pillars, the wards dissipating any magical effect that tries to escape the boundary.

Set out here and there at various ranges on the Grounds are targets -- some wood, some stone, some even metal. All show the signs of arcane abuse, and craftsmen working in concert with University staff replace them regularly. It's steady work.

Beyond the warding pillars are roughly crafted but sturdy ascending benches, perfect to watch what might occur on the field. The scattered commoners (and occasional noble or instructor) are happy to cheer on anyone tossing magical spells, whether an archmage or a newly-minted student.

Telamon enters without much fuss or fanfare -- not his style -- after checking in with the proctor managing the field today. Dressed in simple garments -- a dark blue tunic over breeches, and his boots -- he stretches, rolling his head on his neck as he peers up at the cloudless sky. "A bit early for me, but it beats winter," he comments to Cor'lana as they step onto the field.

Cor'lana follows close behind him, dressed in the sensible manner of clothing she often wears when she anticipates combat: traveler's cloak, knee-length violet wool dress, black woolen tights, and practical adventuring boots. The wool is light enough to cut the chill of a harsh wind without being too warm--and, most importantly, it's easy to move in.

Her violet eyes scan the field as they walk. "Better now than in the middle of summer," she replies. "Spring and fall, I think, are the ideal seasons for a reason--although I prefer spring a little more."

Which makes sense. She is a spring child, after all.

Once the pair are beyond the pillars, Telamon turns to look back and up at the range safety mage. The older man listens to something for a moment -- presumably a message spell -- then nods, holding up a bright green flag to signal to Tel. "Alright," Tel says to Cor'lana. "Range is clear, we can commence with making noise."

Taking note of several scattered onlookers, he can't help but smile and wave, yielding up a small, scattered bit of cheering. "That's always encouraging. Even if they'll cheer anyone, from Archmage Mikilos down to some lad or lass with a shiny new spellbook." He looks to Cor'lana. "How do you want to start? Close targets, long range...?"

Cor'lana looks at the onlookers for a moment before she pulls herself away, an expression crossing her face suggesting a bit of nervousness knowing there's an audience. "Umm, well," she starts at first...

And then she looks back to the range again. They're no Mikilos, that's for certain, but they're also not novices. And (for now, at least), they're not recognized on the streets yet by commonfolk. "Clear your head," she murmurs, before she looks back to Telamon and says, "Closer ones, I think." A snap decision.

Telamon has stepped a little away from Cor'lana. Enough to give them both a little room to wave their arms without bumping each other -- though not enough that she can't grab him if needed. Or him her. "Alright then. I'll take the two targets on the right, you take the two on the left." He looks thoughtful, before taking a deep breath.

His hair twitches a little, as he draws in mana, letting it flow into the patterns. His fingers begin to dance, weaving, as he murmurs, "Idim gibarbara." A gesture, and a black beam stabs out from his hand, playing across one of the wooden target with no effect, aside from a dark aura that fades swiftly. "Hmm. That works a lot more impressively on actual living targets."

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Spellcraft: (12)+12: 24 (spell identification, succeeds)

Cor'lana observes Telamon's magic as he unleashes it, giving him a sort of surprised glance in the process. "Huh," she says. "I don't think I've ever seen you use necromantic magic before. Not that it's a bad thing--everything has its use in the world, in my opinion. Just matters why you're using it."

She turns her attention now to her own target. Cor'lana raises her hand up into the air, just as she did at the Artificer's Hall the other day. She murmurs her own arcane incantation, violet eyes flaring with their own inner resolve--

And lightning cracks out from her fingertips to the target, leaving a deep scorchmark on the wooden surface. It's much more impressive now compared to the issue with the warded constructs before. "That's what that one should be able to do," Cor'lana says happily. The enchantress can occasionally do other things, too.

"It's one of my less-lethal options, but it never seems to work right. The beam goes awry, or the target shrugs it off..." Telamon chuckles. "Of course, there are other options. Here's a trick to confound an enemy."

His fingers look like they're tying themselves in knots for a moment, and he chants, "I'iz mete gantir." A silvery shimmer passes over him, and then suddenly... there's two -- no, three! Four! Five of him, a small cluster of 'Telamons', shifting back and forth, making slightly different gestures, just the thing to confuse an opponent.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d20+7: (17)+7: 24 (dispel magic check, succeeds)

Cor'lana boggles a little at the sight of five Telamons--and a little flush comes to her cheeks, maybe recalling the incident with two of her from the other day, and thinking about what five Telamons in the house would be like--but she shakes her head briefly. Focus!

"That would confuse the enemy, all right," she says. "I need to learn something like that. I often feel like I'm sort of a sitting duck..."

She grins a little and, with a wave of her own magic, another murmured incantation, and application of will, there's only one Telamon again. "Sorry," Cor'lana says, "I couldn't handle the idea of five of you at once."

There's a cute little 'pop' as the figments wink out, and Telamon jumps a little. "...True. Sorry, love, I should've realized that might annoy you a little bit. Especially in light of prior events."

He levels a finger at a closer target, and grins. "Now, for a bath! Anumun lirum!" A flash of light, and suddenly a blast of water slaps into the wooden target, knocking it back a bit. "Huh, must've been loose or something..."

"It wasn't annoyance--just, umm..." Cor'lana blushes again. "Nevermind!"

Telamon would have to dig for the reason later. His flustered fiancee doesn't even comment on the burst of water on his target, choosing instead to indulge in a pyromaniac's preferred form of recreation--setting the target on fire with twin scorching rays of fire from a raised hand. It's a sight that's rather fearsome on such a short and somewhat unassuming lady. That poor wooden target looks rather burnt now.

"Oh, that one works brilliantly, too," Cor'lana says cheerfully. "Excellent. ...Ummm, but besides those two and the missile-casting spell, those are all the ones I know that can directly devastate the enemy."

Violet eyes flick back to Telamon. "... If you're willing, I could cast a spell on you I haven't tried out on anyone yet."

"Is it a spell you put on enemies, or allies?" Telamon asks with a grin. He curls his fingers in familiar patterns, pointing out towards the second rank of targets, and sweeps his hand out. "Mulan ukum," he recites, and a rain of silver and blue glitter rains down, coating them and actually drawing a small cheer.

That spell cast, he looks to Cor'lana. "Go ahead. But if you put me to sleep or something, at least wake me up with a kiss, all right?" He grins at her impishly, dark eyes dancing.

"Enemies," Cor'lana replies, looking sheepish. "But, ah, well, I'm not sure it'll work on you. Bracelet and all. It's not a charm so much as... Well, let's see."

She raises a hand and makes a series of magical gestures along with a short murmured incantation that provokes laughter. Somehow it translates to Telamon as: "I bought another 'swimsuit' from the market today."

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Hideous Laughter. Caster Level: 7 DC: 19
GAME: Telamon rolls Will+7: (2)+8+7: 17 (fails)

The problem is that no matter how 'on guard' Telamon is, there's a part of him that's just innately vulnerable to Cor'lana. He can't guard against her, he can't harden himself completely. No matter how he wards his mind. And so, when her words slip into his head, he has enough time to realize that vulnerability. And to think, 'Well, shit.'

Then he falls over, laughing hysterically, rolling around on the ground as he holds his sides, peals of gaiety rolling forth.

Well, Cor'lana wasn't expecting a roaring success. More accurately, a laughing success.

She can't help but snicker, too, once she's recovered from the shock of seeing her spell succeed so soundly. (And soundly it does--Telamon's laughter is probably the loudest she's ever heard him laugh!) "Oh, no! I seriously didn't think it'd work!" she says. "I feel so bad!"

Or so she claims. After all, she's laughing, too.

GAME: Telamon rolls will+7: (8)+8+7: 23 (succeeds)

Still, Telamon has gone to some effort to try and ward his mind, and he pushes back against the magically imposed hilarity. "...Oof," he gasps out, wiping his streaming eyes. "Alright, that was an experience." He sits up, grinning. "You cast the spell, and then all I heard was 'I bought a new swimsuit today!' And that was that." He looks rueful. "Still, it's a good idea to learn what that sort of thing is like here, rather than in a fight."

He gets to his feet, fishing out a handkerchief to wipe his face. "I think part of me will always be a little... vulnerable to you. Price of love, I suppose." He smiles at her reassuringly, and lets out another little giggle.

Cor'lana can't help but smile at Telamon, too. She sighs happily and decides to walk over to him, embracing him like he's the only one there and there's not a crowd watching. "It's a price worth paying, right?" she asks. "I know it's worth it for me."

She leans back enough so she can look into his eyes. "I'd ask if it was okay to charm you, but I think you had enough of that the other day. Besides, like you told me on the day I said 'I love you' for the first time--I don't have to charm you."

If that audience could hear any of this dialogue, they'd either be cooing at the display or retching from how sweet it is.

Telamon of course is happy to take Cor'lana into his arms, hugging her back. "Like Grandfather said. We need to be familiar with all the tools we have." He smiles back at her, and his hand comes up to stroke her cheek. "If you want me to tell you how much I love you, you can just ask. You definitely don't need a charm."

One last squeeze, before he steps back. "One more tool to test, though. I... used this spell when I was in a little bit of a rage. But you can't depend on magic like that, when you can only draw on it in panic mode." He takes a deep breath. "It's a little harder, I think, to cast deliberately." He stands straight, eyeing a target at the far end of the proving field, taking a deep breath.

Cor'lana leans into Telamon's hand as he strokes her cheek, an action that, while it reminds one of a cat, is as natural for her as breathing at this point. She smiles from ear to ear in the content and happy manner that she almost always does when she's in Telamon's arms. "Sometimes I don't even have to ask," she says. "After all, you volunteer it often." And there's not a complaint about that, either.

Then he takes a step back, and she steps a healthy distance away. "Is it the spell that destroyed the platform?" she asked, head tilted curiously. "It looked pretty powerful to me."

Telamon nods. "Evocations are, as one fellow told me, easy to develop but hard to master." He frowns, standing in a couple different stances, before settling down. "There we go," he murmurs, drawing the mana in. His hands move to his side, in a kind of cupping gesture.

The air around him seems to ripple ever so slightly, heat drawn out of it. His hair starts to wave of its own volition, like he's underwater... or someplace where gravity no longer applies. And between his palms, a spark appears. It flickers for a moment, but then begins to burn, a flame with no candle, expanding into a crackling sphere the size of a walnut with a corona of blue and white fire.

"Ganzer," Tel chants. "Lipisbala. Gaz!" And then he brings his hands around, thrusting out. The small sphere of fire goes rocketing downrange, a streak of blue and white flashing past the closer targets towards a great stone obelisk like a monolith. And there it strikes, with a thunderous BOOM and a expanding sphere of flame that rolls outward, forty feet wide, before flickering out.

Another round of cheers from the stands. Clearly this is what they came to see! Lightning bolts, fireballs, the grandeur of sorcery on display.

It's a fireball. It's the spell that everyone thinks of when the question, "What does a powerful wizard casting a spell look like?" comes up. Especially with the way that Telamon casts it, with his platinum-blond hair rising in the air as though carried by a nonexistent wind, it's clearly impressive for Cor'lana to witness. Her violet eyes are wide, and she has to bite her lip to keep from yelping in surprise.

"I'll have to learn that one, too," Cor'lana murmurs in awe once it's all said and done. "Although I don't think I'll be anywhere as impressive as you are. I'm an enchantress, after all."

Telamon grins at Cor'lana like a little boy -- it's clear her approval means a lot to him. "It's tricky," he admits. "Drawing that kind of energy and getting it pointed in the right direction is... harder than you'd think. I mean..." He points at a closer target, and growls, "Ganzer agida," sending two spears of fire into it.

"...That's actually not that hard, because you're not drawing out that much energy. But at third circle, you're starting to deal with serious amounts of mana, and it's easy to hurt yourself if you're not careful."

Cor'lana thinks for a moment on Telamon's words, acknowledging them with a nod and a tap of a finger on her chin. "And you've figured out how to do it safely," she says. "That shows that we're both progressing."

She walks back over to him and slips her arm around his as she looks up at him and smiles. "I think," she says, "that's enough magic flexing for one day. At least the explosive kind. And I'm getting awfully hungry."

There's a moment where Cor'lana looks around mischievously and whispers, "Maybe we can see some explosions elsewhere after we eat some soup." Slowly, she's getting better.

Telamon puts his arm around Cor'lana as well. "Lunch sounds like a wonderful idea, at the very least." He pulls her close to nuzzle her, as the two depart the Proving Grounds. "Hopefully next time there's a fight... or crazed construct-mages on the loose... we'll be more ready for them."

He blushes a tiny bit at Cor'lana's sly little comment, and smiles down at her. "You're as incorrigible as I am, love. Where would you like to go first?" He gives her a wink. "Maybe afterward we really can shop for a swimsuit. Or something similar."

Cor'lana blushes too, especially at the suggestion of the 'something similar'. "...Shouldn't we shop for something like that before we go home...?"

Then it dawns on her. "Oh! You meant after lunch. Unless you want me for lu--"

She bites her lip and turns bright red. "Did I say that out loud?"

Eventually, the order of how the rest of their day goes is settled, although it can safely be presumed that Cor'lana will have more moments where she happens to say what's on her mind as the hours progress--and the amusements that follow.