First day at the job (Scintillance, look here!)

by Silvern Gleam Fri Mar 08, 2013 5:56 pm

Year 4, November 15, 8 pm

Just as the morning before, Sil was sitting in a corner of the HQ, her horn constantly aglow, but seemingly doing nothing. This time she wasn't waiting for unicorns wanting to learn magic, though she would be happy if one was to show up. She was here to meet with her new assistant and introduce him to his job. Definitely a much more exciting prospect than yesterday, it would probably be like introducing a foal to magic. The last time Sil had trained an assistant, it certainly had been like that. And Scintillance did seem like he would be easily excited. Hopefully he wasn't late.

by Lance Sat Mar 09, 2013 3:52 am

Scintillance stormed into the HQ (eyup, he's late) and skidded to a stop, his eyes gazing around the room, until the locked onto Silvern, and he finished his dash towards her,tripping over a chair on his way over. I'm so sorry! I just couldn't get myself to get up this morning; too many late nights in such a short time, I was never a night person, you see...

--------earlier that day--------

Lance slowly peeled himself off his cot, stretched, and stood still for a moment. ...Nope. he dropped right back onto his cot, fading back to sleep, before his eyes shot right open Oh wait! I need to... see... sil... vern...zzzzzzz

--------back in the moment-----
Sorry!

by Silvern Gleam Sat Mar 09, 2013 7:13 pm

Good impression for the first day, Silvern said, clearly annoyed. Scintillance had luck that the last hour hadn't been entirely wasted for her, she always had her gems with her to do brainstorming, calculations, whatever there was other ponies usually would do with pen and paper.At least now you're here. Follow me, I'll show you my shop. She picked up her saddlebags - without magic - and stepped outside. Your magic doesn't seem purely self-taught, where did you learn?, she asked, walking towards a tunnel leading south, the same where the entrance to the new cave system was.

by Lance Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:08 am

Scintillance obviously was no gentle-colt, but seeing Silvern carry all her saddlebags like that triggered a natural reaction within him. No no, allow me. using his magic, he levitated the bags for Silvern; an effortless skill for him. Realizing his action may have appeared "weird," he tried to think of what to say... oh, um... it's the least I can do after... coming late...
Lance thought back to his school years. They felt so long ago... long enough for him to forget. I... I think you're better off saying that pretty much all of my magic is self taught. I used to learn at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but when the war started... well, let's just say I did something nopony should ever do, and forgot just about everything from school. From what I can do now, all school taught me to to hold a small wight in telekinesis, and to make my horn glow bright. Everything else... I taught myself. I trained myself to better my telekinesis, at first, and that evolved into so much more... I'm not sure how much detail you'd want about it, it's sort of a long story.

by Silvern Gleam Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:01 am

Sil's horn began to glow in response to Scintillance suddenly levitating her saddlebags, and he would easily notice that he had annoyed her even more. Okay, let me make this clear right away: When I want help, I ask for it, she said, positioning herself underneath her floating saddlebags. Suddenly the golden glow of Scintillance's magic flickered away, he would feel losing control of the spell, and the bags fell into place on the back of their owner.

You've kept more of it than you think, Sil replied. You might have forgotten many things, but the style of your magic still tells of the education. They walked past the opening to the new tunnels and headed further south, towards the Industrial district. But it doesn't really matter. I have a much different approach to magic than what any of the big magic schools taught. By the end of the day, you'll probably feel like you've never done magic before. Pleasant anticipation quickly drove the annoyance away, the prospect of having an assistant again was more than enough to overlook such trifles.

by Lance Sun Mar 10, 2013 5:40 am

Scintillance wasn't sure if he was if he was excited, or incredibly concerned. probably both. He's been in psychological battles with other unicorns before, pulling at an object with his magic while the other did the same in a mental tug of war, but what happened just now wasn't a simple pull against his own, but rather a direct attack at his own spell! never before had he seen such a thing, and it certainly had him interested in Silvern's abilities. on the other hoof, he just ticked her off. Right... sorry...

Listening to Silvern talk about her "different" approach to magic, Lance let his mind wonder. learn by doing? Nah, she's competent with her spells, but she seems frail in her spell-casting... I mean, not using her telekinesis to hold her own saddles? Not exactly what I call conventional... oh hold up, You talk like you've taught magic before?

by Silvern Gleam Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:25 pm

Sil nodded in response, teaching magic was something she had experience with. Yes, before the war. I've done courses on advanced magic regularly, and... you're not my first assistant. She didn't say more about it, the hint of sadness in her voice hopefully being enough for Scintillance to not ask about his predecessor. Being able to sense magic as I do makes it pretty easy, I see exactly what has been done wrong and where there's room for improvement. Though, I've been told that my explanations are not always easy to understand.
Or downright confusing, she thought with a slight smirk. She couldn't help it, with nopony sharing her perception of magic, misunderstandings where bound to happen.

by Lance Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:15 pm

Lance could see that Silvern had not wanted to talk too much about her previous... assistant... but something definitely concerned him. Well, Two things. First, whatever it is that happened to your first assistant, should I be worried about it happening to me? dangerous artifact you should've warned me about or something? And second... you're not just "seeing" magic, are you?

Scintillance had already learned that Silvern could see him through magic... or rather, she saw him through his magic. Moreover, she's identified his "style of magic" to originate from some kind of education... but what really pulled the wire was when she tapped into his telekinesis spell, and embarrassingly broke it.

You're tapping right into the spells you 'see,' right? Downright impressive, I must say, but... I don't know. I'm tap-dancing on thin ice here; is that what you're doing? With your magic? really digging into another unicorn's spell, to the point that you can tamper with it? Lance started to wonder, what else could she do with his spells? a hostile takeover on his martyr? He wasn't worried about her abilities, rather, he was really interested in what this mare could do.

by Silvern Gleam Sun Mar 10, 2013 4:56 pm

Silvern slowed in her step, memories of her former assistant - and especially friend - forcing a sad frown upon her face. I haven't heard of him since I had to flee from Canterlot. I don't even know if he's still alive. Please no more of that. Not knowing probably was the worst about it. If she had a single hint she would be out there instantly, searching for any of her friends she hadn't seen since the first attack. But she was left clueless, only being able to hope that they had managed to survive and didn't have to suffer. Fortunately Sil had something else to talk about, the perfect topic to get her mind off the uncomfortable memories.
As for your other questions, yes, I can tap into other unicorns' spells. And maybe I'll be able to teach you doing it, on a limited level. They left the big tunnel they've been following and proceeded through a series of small side tunnels, Sil's horn glowing for a short moment before they entered the labyrinth. And a labyrinth it most likely was, countless junctions made the way hard to remember, and two times Sil had to remove a cover to reveal their path. Meanwhile she further explained her talent.
What I do actually is what every unicorn does naturally, sensing magic through the horn and manipulating it. Only normally the horn is stuffed with a few hundreds, in rare cases over a thousand magic receptors. Make it hundreds of thousands in my case. I operate at a much more detailed level, it's like I'm using high precision instruments while you are working with a sledge hammer. I can't be sure since I've never met her, but I wouldn't be surprised if I would have been able to outmatch Twilight Sparkle herself in terms of control over magic.
The topic had done its job, she was back to good mood again, showing a confident grin that quickly changed into an amused smile. Ironically, I don't even have enough power to levitate my saddlebags for more than a few minutes.

by Lance Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:37 pm

Lance had a confused look on his face. He barely had much of a clue as to what Silvern's going on about... sledgehammers and instruments... is she... insulting me? I don't even... He held his head in his right hoof, closing his eyes, OK, you kinda left me dummer than a diamond dog on catnip, give me a sec...

---one second later---

I don't think I've ever even heard of these receptors of yours... but you're essentially saying you have a lot of magical potential? just seriously lacking on the reserves to cast anything? Stretching that, is that why I'm here, because I've got the actual base energy reserves? well, that kinda made sense. [color=yellow] But I have to ask about these receptors you're talking about. You know what they say about what happens when you assume; making an "ass" out of "u" and "me."

Scintillance chuckled, remembering the joke from one of his old and childish teachers.

by Silvern Gleam Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:31 pm

I see, you have really forgotten a lot, Sil chuckled, though she wondered if he had forgotten, or if the war had begun before he had been taught about it. Well, time for the first lesson. The magic receptors are what lets us do magic. They pick up the magic passing by and can send out magic themselves. When you have more receptors, both, your magic perception and manipulation, are more precise. But the magic they send out needs to come from somewhere, and that's where I'm lacking. And yes, that's one of the reasons why you're here. The other is your talent. That I was able to interrupt your levitation earlier was an exception, generally you're magic seems pretty stable. Your light spell is safe from me without some studying.

They entered a larger tunnel again, though the description "cave" might have been more fitting. Most of the ceiling was lying on the floor, leaving hardly a path that didn't require climbing, and the view was highly obscured, in addition to the natural darkness of this place. Ah, I have a visitor, Sil suddenly said as she lead their path through the piles of concrete. Nothing was visible yet, but after a second a faint glow could be made out, soon followed by a unicorn casting a light spell, walking towards them. Sil's horn gave a short pulse before she called out. Hello Cosmic! Here to get your order?
Hey Sil, the dark blue stallion replied, his face lighting up when he recognized her. Yes, I wanted to get it, and was rather surprised when I found the shop closed. Didn't you want to open half an hour ago?
I did, but my new assistant here has kept me waiting. Cosmic, meet Scintillance. Scintillance, meet Cosmic Dream, regular customer and star gazer, Sil introduced the two of them.
Cosmic extended a hoof to Scintillance. Pleasure meeting you, Scintillance. You must be quite in love with magic if you're taking a job as Sil's assistant!

by Lance Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:29 am

Scintillance took the makeshift lesson into account, now knowing that Silvern's going to be studying him. Well, his magic. To mimic his conjurations is not only to grasp his mastery over light, but to understand the meaning behind his conjurations, the reason they appear so different to a regular weapon, and why they're easier to conjure in their "complicated" forms, rather than simpler. Good luck with that.

the place was getting way too dark for him. he was heavily considering a light spell before another source of light appeared in the difference, revealing to be another unicorn. He kept silent until their short chat was over, and when it came to it, he shook her hoof, Pleasure to meet you too, Mister Dream. And, even with her light spell it was waaay too dark. Taking a moment, Lance conjured a far brighter orb of light, finally seeing at a more appropriate level of radiance, for his taste.

He finished his sentence, you don't know the half of it. Silve, why did you set up shop in the absolute darkest place in the under-market? I know you couldn't care less for the light, but you're kinda limiting who could come here to the unicorns with light spells! it was more of a foalish whine than an actual complaint. note: light poni no likey darky.

by Silvern Gleam Mon Mar 11, 2013 2:53 pm

If my shop was clearly visible on the surface, most of my customers would still be unicorns with light spells. I'm selling artifacts, non-unicorns can hardly use any of my items.
Besides, when it's hidden like this, I have better control about who knows about the shop, and it's always possible to bring some source of light along.
The trio continued in the direction Cosmic had come from. Hidden behind yet another pile of broken ceiling was an old and rusty metal door. It didn't look like it had been opened in a very long time, and actually it looked like it would never open again. It had apparently been hit by a chunk of debris when the ceiling had collapsed, it was heavily dented, hard to imagine that it would move an inch.
Following a pulse from Sil's horn, it swung open without a sound.
Behind it was a passageway wide enough for two ponies to walk next to each other, taking a turn to the right after only a few meters, then one to the left again. After the second turn, the tunnel opened up to a small room, first dark as everything else and only lit up by Scintillance, until Sil gave another mental command. A crystal hanging from the ceiling began spreading a white light, possibly blinding the two seeing ponies for a moment, but once they got used to it, it turned out to be just perfect.

Apart from the light source, the room was rather simple. In the center stood a low, empty table, surrounded by several pillows in different colors and conditions, though none was too worn out to sit on. On the back wall, which consisted of concrete, like most other walls in the Undermarket, was a wooden sign, the outlines of Silvern's amulet carved into it. Underneath, "The Magic Eye" was written, the name Sil had given her shop. Underneath the sign was another metal door, this one looking rusty as well, but otherwise fine.

Welcome to The Magic Eye, Scintillance. You two please wait here for a moment, I'll be back in a minute.
Silvern went straight for the next door, which opened of course on magical command and closed again after the mare was through.
You know, I'm kinda jealous of you, Cosmic said as he sat down on a pillow, looking after Sil in thought. She never lets customers behind this door, which has caused some rumors what she might have there. Boring ponies always say that she simply considers it her private area and there's no further reason. I prefer the theory that she has some kind of super weapon in the making.
That definitely would explain the explosion I heard last year, he added musingly.

by Lance Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:46 am

Scintillance followed through the corridors until the ponies reached the "Magic Eye," and Scintillance was, of course, barely phased when the new light source had appeared. "blinded by light" was kinda no longer in the dictionary of a Stallion who's focus is light magic. He dissolved his orb-spell, thinking that the strange white crystal would be sufficient enough. He was quite interested in the crystal, however. it appeared to have an enchantment similar to his light traps, but of course triggered by unicorn magic, and much longer-lasting. He was starting to wonder if the crystal was enchanted to make light, as well as store some magic, and considered "tampering" with it; perhaps his affinity to light would assist him trying to understand the spell, and considered attempting to see how Silvern could tap into spells as she did, until he was interrupted.
A super weapon? oh don't be ridiculous... dangerous artifacts, maybe, but probably nothing too monstrous to be called a super weapon. Lance himself a cushion of his own, and sat in it.

by Silvern Gleam Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:07 pm

Don't tell me you're a boring pony, Cosmic said, eyeing Lance suspiciously. She has something, might as well be a super weapon.
It had been a very short minute, as Sil already came back, presenting an amused smile in response to Cosmic's last sentence. The last time it was a portal into another world. I liked that idea, what happened to it?
The blue stallion simply shrugged. Always the same conspiracy theory is boring.
But it's still that I have some crazy device.
Don't rush me, big changes need time!
By now Silvern couldn't suppress a chuckle anymore, but as amusing as it was, she had something else to do today. Anyway, here's your lens. Be careful at first, it might be that I have to readjust it a little. Simply come by, it will be only a matter of minutes, she said, the business mare taking control of her. She laid a hoof sized, clear glass lens on the table, nothing hinting towards the enchantment residing inside. Cosmic immediately picked it up with his levitation and held it between himself and the crystal on the ceiling. Despite looking into the light through a focusing lens, he didn't mind at all. Actually, the spot of light in his face wasn't nearly as bright as it should have been, as if some of the light didn't even get past the lens. Yet, when he lowered it again, it was perfectly transparent. An eager look on his face he levitated a small bag of money on the table and stood up. Great, thanks! I'll be on my then, got to test this thing. See you two the next time! He was gone pretty fast.
My pleasure, Sil said, though he probably didn't catch that anymore. And that's Cosmic Dream. He fantasizes a lot, she added grinningly.

by Lance Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:51 pm

I am not a boring pony! just sleep deprived. give me a good ten hours of sleep, and I'll think of something less fuddy duddy to say...

Lance quietly smirked to himself as the two unicorns conversed, and was thoroughly impressed by Cosmic's ability to make haste. letting Silvern finish her sentence, yes, I can see that... got his eyes among the stars, and his head where his sights are. Scintillance paused, realizing he just pulled up a rhyme. A bedhead makes a poets friend? well that's a new one. don't mind me, I'm going to experiment with this a little. Lance was sparked slightly awake, though it remained visible that he was no creature of the night... though he spent the most of the previous one awake.

by Silvern Gleam Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:11 pm

Silvern recognized Scintillance' weirdness with a raised eyebrow, but decided to continue with business. The explosion he talked about was quite real, she said with a smirk, but continued more sternly. I do have some things that might blow up when ill handled, so here's rule number one: Touch nothing you don't know, be it physically or magically. Rule number two: What's behind that door stays a secret to everypony who doesn't have access to it anyway. And last but not least: Don't tell others about this shop unless you trust them and you want to sell them something. I don't need many customers, I only need trustworthy ones. Being done with the serious part, her smirk returned. Any questions so far or can I show you what kind of crazy contraption I really have?

by Lance Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:14 am

my questions have come to an end, for how these things I am to vend. Well, pardon that, I have one more; what's all the secrecy for?

by Silvern Gleam Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:05 pm

The less ponies know about my business, the lower the risk that griffons find out and start searching for me. Magic sight alone would probably be enough for them to take me out, and if they found out what kind of artifacts I work with I would probably become a priority target. This shop is well hidden, but I still enjoy going to the surface very often, I couldn't do that if I was searched for, she explained and opened the door to the back rooms of the shop. Now, for the interesting part.

The old maintenance tunnel behind the door was mostly blocked by a wall that definitely hadn't been part of the original design. It consisted of a bunch metal plates being welded together, and only a very narrow corridor at the right side of the tunnel was still open for passage. The metal wall continued through the whole tunnel until it ended before a wall of rubble at the other end. Several doors told of the rooms behind the metal.
It's not a weapon, and it's not a portal into another world. It is however a magic generator, Sil said as she led Scintillance through the narrow corridor. The fourth door opened at magical command and a soft blue glow came out of the small room. Its source was what certainly could have been a super weapon created by some mad genius. In the center of the approximately five square meters of space stood a slim crystal that would have reached to Scintillance' shoulder if it had been standing on the ground. It was mounted on top of a metal frame, with several rings of significantly smaller crystals placed at its base, sharing the blue color of their big neighbor. A little hidden from direct sight and only revealed by a green glow being emitted from inside the frame the crystal collection continued. This central device alone probably held about fifty of them. Those were joined by crystals of white color placed in sockets on the left wall of the room, only six of them, but with just as many sockets still to be used on the right wall. The size of those white crystals differed widely. While the first of them was half a meter long and thick as a pony's leg, the one in the next slot was already only half its size, followed by the rest being a little over hoof sized. All the light in this room came from the central contraption, were the large blue crystal pulsed irregularly. Silvern simply stood next to the entrance and waited for Scintillance' reaction.

by Lance Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:26 am

right, stupid question, sorry... Scintillance followed through until they've reached the crystal, and he didn't even have to try to probe at it with any magic to know that this was something big. pun unintended. literal meaning unintended either. OK, literal meaning somewhat intended.

so... this thing caused the great and powerful explosion on Cosmic's logical scale? Scintillance couldn't help the strange feeling that he'd just caught himself between two worlds, or something. must be an effect from that giant awkward crystal contraption. and you're certain this isn't a portal to another dimension? I can't help the feeling that this room should be colder, and with more... cubes...

At this point Lance had realized that he stopped rhyming, and facehoofed. Whoah, I'm really losing it... what is this thing!?

by Silvern Gleam Mon Apr 01, 2013 6:51 am

Do you at least make sense to yourself?, Sil asked, honestly amused by the continuing weirdness, and not seeing any connection to temperature and especially cubes. Anyway, as I said, it's a magic generator, my energy supply for the shop. It collects free magic energy passing by and delivers it to whatever I connect to it, the light for example. Or the heating, or the trap that protected the front door, or several other security measures.
For now, simply stay away from it. It IS the thing that caused the explosion. One of my storage crystals - she pointed at the white crystals on the wall - overcharged because of a malfunction. Luckily only a small one, but it still caused some damage. Magical explosions are just as bad as their physical counterparts.
Though they look pretty amazing to me, she added with a smirk.

by Lance Mon Apr 01, 2013 5:42 pm

Lance took a deep inhalation, and exhaled, silently, but visibly. but for Silve, "visibly" shouldn't have seen a thing, unless her ears are quite heightened. It's...I don't... alright, it's a magic generator... Lance was feeling a slight headache, and backed a little towards the exit, stopping himself from falling back. those things... are packed with magical energy...where does it even come from? If there's anything I've learned at Celestia's school for magic, it's that energy cannot be created, or destroyed...

by Silvern Gleam Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:10 pm

That is correct, and I admit the name generator might not be the best description, but it delivers the idea of an energy source. It doesn't generate magic, but collects it through the central crystal. There's always some amount of free background magic, and when it passes through here, it gets drawn into the Collector. As for where the free background magic comes from... As you said, energy can't be created, but also not destroyed. Every time you cast a spell and don't reach perfect efficiency, which is always, you send out some amounts of free magic. And so the circle closes. Unfortunately the amount of energy collected isn't constant. As if on cue, the light in the corridor went off, something that had already been expected by Silvern, but it was still acknowledged with a sigh. If it's not enough, that is what happens. After a short glow of her horn, the light went on again. The system is now running on reserve energy, which means that the heaters aren't supplied anymore, might get a little colder if the generator doesn't catch itself again in time. But off to the next station of the tour.
Sil closed the door after Scintillance was out of the room, and opened the next door to the left. Behind it was a room of about the same size as the generator room, a little smaller, and stuffed with shelves. The shelves were lightly filled with boxes of various kinds, some of them looking like jewel cases, but most being too simple to deserve this description. Very few were big enough to hold more than a few rings and maybe a necklace, but the biggest had the size of a saddlebag. All in all, there were somewhere about thirty to fifty boxes. May I introduce to you, my artifact collection, Silvern said, forgetting that this room didn't look nearly as impressive to Scintillance as it did to her, who directly saw the artifacts, and not only the containers they were stored it.

by Lance Sun May 12, 2013 7:52 am

Lance took a moment to ponder of Silvern's description, and conjured out his glowing orb. "so, I can constantly keep these crystals charging by just holding onto a spell like this?"
Following Silvern through to te room, Lace gazed over... boxes. lots and lts of boxes. If Silvern hadn't told him this was her artefact collection, he would've thought this as her shoebox collection, and he had a slightly unamused face to prove it. But, the room did carry an unseen wight to it, and Lance certainly felt it, but even still he barely minded it, and certainly not as much as his yellow companion. "Um... you sure have a lot of artifacts, it seems. and boxes. loooots of boxes. ...So, are these organized in any way, or..?"

by Silvern Gleam Sat May 18, 2013 3:29 pm

Yes, it's a possibility, but an inefficient one. A better way is to channel magic directly into the collector, Silvern answered his question regarding the generator before going on. But still, after a few minutes the energy buffer would be empty again. Only useful if you need the power very urgently.

Sil grinned sheepishly, she had never cared about seeing ponies to find their way through her storage. They are organized, but I suppose we'll have to label them for you. At least until you've learned where to find what you need. For a start, this shelf contains raw, not enchanted material, she said as she walked to the left wall, one with a few larger boxes. Sil aimed for the probably largest of them in the lower left corner and revealed it to be filled with small quartz pebbles. Especially this one you'll need quite often. They can't carry big enchantments and don't have a very good energy efficiency, but they're cheap and easy to get. Perfect training material.
Taking a few of the stones she closed the container again and exited to the corridor again. We'll do the labeling later, we have more interesting things to do for now, she said and headed past the room with the generator again and to the next door, one that stood out a little, thanks to a small blue stone right above it. An eyecatcher in the generally bare walls.
Next up, my enchanting room. It's magically isolated to some degree to reduce interference, useful when it gets more complicated. The isolation was quite a bit of work, so please don't play around with the walls.
The room was spartanic. A small wooden table in the center, a cushion to sit on, and nothing else, not even a light crystal. The walls didn't look like anything special either, only the small red stone above the door was also visible from the inside. I fear it's a little dark in here, and using magic for light in here defeats the purpose of the room. You're free to get a lantern or something, but I currently have nothing of that kind. As compromise she left the door open, reducing the isolation a bit, but at least Lance wouldn't be completely in the dark. Any more questions before we start?

by Lance Sat May 18, 2013 4:19 pm

Lance was more than ready to conjure up an orb of light in the enchanting room before Silvern told against it. Lance thought over what questions he might still have to ask... but instead, he had confirmations that needed confirming.

"So... this enchanting room... if I were to cast any unrelated spells, it's magic proofy-ness would keep it around as background magic, messing up any enchantments, right? I... can't think of any other questions. A jolt-sensation was triggered in Lance, suddenly. "Actually no! yes! I mean... bathroom! do you have a bathroom? Knowing where the bathroom is would be really nice, right about now..."

by Silvern Gleam Mon May 20, 2013 10:02 am

(( Now you actually force me to describe a toilet... Well, anyway, I had to do a little redesigning, some of the room descriptions have changed slightly. Nothing important though. ))

Silvern nodded and led Scintillance back towards the selling room at the start of the tunnel as she answered his other question. You wouldn't necessarily mess up each and every enchantment I'm working on, but if it's a complicated one, it might happen., she said and instead of entering the selling room she went past the door and to the left side of the tunnel where several pipes were running, usually the back wall of the rooms. There, pressed against the wall, was another room. The big eye catcher inside was something that vaguely resembled a toilet. Mounted on one of the pipes on the ground was some kind of funnel, large enough to sit on. Currently the bottom of it was closed, but by pulling a lever beneath the contraption Sil opened it and revealed a low water current in the pipe. The outlet is opened down here, and water for flushing you get here, she said and proceeded to pull one of two levers on another pipe near a shower head slightly above their heads. A valve opened and a stream of water rushed directly into the "toilet". After closing it again she left the room and Scintillance to his own business, while she went back to the enchanting room and worked with one of the quartz pebbles, door left open so that her new assistant knew he could enter.

(( Satisfied now? Probably not, I would guess you expected a magical toilet xD ))

by Lance Tue May 21, 2013 4:16 pm

Scintillance awkwardly waited for Silvern to leave the room, and once she was out of sight he spent no second wasted doing... well, let's not get into any details here.

finished and relieved, Lance left the toilet, and made his way back into the back areas of the shop. He stopped at the generator, admiring the crystal "mechanism." moreso, when he realized he could slightly see a reflection of himself, in them, and proceeded to make faces, and weird noises, laughing at himself. Realizing that Silvern was in the enchanting room just to his left, he stopped, and near-shamefully trotted into the room, hoping Silvern's blindness would hide his... weirdness.

"So, uh... what're we doing with the pebbles?" realizing that he was in the enchanting room, Lance face-hoofed. I mean... what're you enchanting them for?

by Silvern Gleam Tue May 21, 2013 6:03 pm

Even with the door opened, Sil didn't notice Lance' shenanigans at the generator room at first, to which the door shouldn't have been open in the first place, but mishaps happen. But the funny noises eventually reached her. She was already looking skeptically at at the doorway when Lance stepped in. However, when Lance asked his question she decided to accept his weirdness as trait she could live with. She finished her work on a pebble and gave it to Scintillance. This one I just enchanted to be your key. Send a magic pulse through it and the front door will open for you, and it protects you from my traps. The rest is for exercising.
She wanted to motion Lance to take a seat, but then noticed that she was sitting on the only pillow in the room. One moment, she said and quickly walked into the selling room to fetch another pillow, locking the generator room along the way. She brought the pillow back, but instead of entering the enchanting room she only threw it in and went along the corridor and disappeared in another room. Rushing water could be heard, and shortly after Sil was back with a jug of water and two mugs. Once everything was on the table, she sat down and began her lecture. I said I would turn your understanding of magic upside down, in this sense it's actually a good thing that you've forgotten what Celestia's school has taught you. They didn't teach anything wrong, it was a great school, but there are different ways to understand magic, and mine is probably the most different of them all.
First I have a question for you: What is magic?

by Lance Wed May 22, 2013 2:55 pm

Lance unquestioningly accepted the small quarts, and when asked to sit, well, he did. though half confused as to why Silvern immediately left the room. He took a closer look at his "key" until a pillow flew in, distracting him. Taking his eat, he waited for Silvern to return, and gave her the chance to speak.

"What is magic? Um... magic is... everywhere. A part of every living thing, every unliving thing, every thing... as it is a part of our world... I guess I'm losing where I'm going with this... I guess magic itself is the force that drives our world, and every pony is very much able to access and use it, only that unicorns have a much greater ability to access it than pegasi and earth ponies... I don't think there's much more I can say, for all I know. just tap-dancing on thin ice, here."

by Silvern Gleam Wed May 22, 2013 8:24 pm

Not a bad explanation, Silvern said noddingly. Though the term force was a bad choice, energy would have fit better. You use magic to apply force, but magic isn't the force itself. After a short pause, she continued. But even that wouldn't have been entirely correct. Magic can be transformed into any kind of energy, that suggests that magic indeed is energy, but at the same time we can use magic to direct energy flows, and this is where it gets interesting. Casting a spell is a everyday example for that: We construct the spell or the framework - with magic - and then send magic as energy through it. Alternatively you could also imagine it like oil forming a pipe for oil to flow through and be burnt somewhere. What kind of difficulty do you see with magic working like that?

by Lance Thu May 23, 2013 2:38 am

Lance took a moment, picturing the example in his mind... and quickly realized the awry thought. "that's... that's an oil pipe made of oil. Burn the oil running through it, and the pipe itself burns up too. That, and I can hardly imagine an oil pipe made of liquid ever working; it's not solid. so... magic used to process magic?" Lance pictured the thought further. "Oil would leak through and out of a pipe made of oil, and... magical energy would just as easily leak out a channel made of magic energy."

by Silvern Gleam Thu May 23, 2013 11:43 am

Sil nodded again, smilingly. Lance had understood the idea. Correct. The example isn't perfect, but ignoring the fact that a pipe made of liquid isn't possible the basic problems are similar. We have to keep the magic that's making up the framework from being used. When that fails, the spell consumes itself and the stored energy is released uncontrolled. A faltering spell like every unicorn has experienced at some point.

The other problem is leaking energy. I've never seen a unicorn constructing a spell that didn't leak, and I'm not that good either. Usually the amount of energy slipping through is little enough to not affect the spell and is given off as light, the glow you see when somepony is casting something. However, if it gets too much, the spell gets unstable and we're back at problem one again.

Fortunately for most unicorns, the construction of the framework is done subconsciously. When you're casting a spell, what are you doing?

by Lance Thu May 23, 2013 4:12 pm

"When I cast a spell... or more accurately, one of my conjurations, I'm picturing the construct within my mind, and then bringing that mental picture into our reality by pulling... well, I guess pulling energy and forcing it together into a physical form. I figured I was gripping light itself in telekinesis, what with the glowing effect, but if the glow comes from leaking energy, maybe you're the better pony to explain it. really, I never gave the thought of casting a spell much, well, thought."

by Silvern Gleam Fri May 24, 2013 9:41 am

Gripping the light with telekinesis... The fact that light can't be gripped with telekinesis makes that pretty astonishing. You're right, it is what you do, but the important thing is what you do before that. I can't precisely explain it yet, but you somehow solidify light, you give it noticeable mass and then bind it together. But all you consciously do is that last step. We'll change that. It will be complicated, you'll fail to cast even the simplest spells, but once you learned how to do it, you'll be a faster, and especially more efficient caster. And you'll be able to do create new spells way more easily than before.
Next question, what are you doing when you enchant something?

by Lance Fri May 24, 2013 12:18 pm

Lance levitated his pack of sticky notes out of his pockets. "well, from my perspective, my enchantments are a lot like casting the actual spell, except I focus the spell to come from the object I enchant. My light traps are really the only things I've ever tried to enchant, before. what I do here, is attach a simple light-flash spell, but only partially. close to fully activate, but it would trigger once it reaches a living organisms' natural magical energy; the very barely tiny bit enough to complete and cast the spell."

by Silvern Gleam Sat May 25, 2013 2:53 pm

How simple magic seemed when it wasn't given much thought... With that description he had given it actually sounded as if enchantments were easier. Well, soon he would know very well that enchantments were not merely "incomplete" spells. You feel like your doing less, but you're actually doing more. When we cast a spell for immediate use, we are the ones keeping the structure intact. When we imprint the signature in an object for later use, we're not there to keep the structure from breaking down, so we have to make sure that it's stable. She placed one pebble in the center of the table. Cast your light spell, and concentrate on what your doing and what your magical senses tell you. Then cast it as enchantment on this pebble, with the same attention. Try to make out differences between the instant spell and the enchantment. And of course, Sil would concentrate on the spells as well.

by Lance Sun May 26, 2013 6:38 am

"um..." Scintillances' light "spell" was an instant-effect. it wasn't something made to last long, and frankly, he wasn't quite sure on how to make it last long either. "All I can do is make it 'flash' that's why I leave it as a sort of trap, not a continiouous light. If it's going to work we need to back up a little.."

Lance then did his thing; the pebble and his horn glowed the same bright yellow light, and a short while later, he stopped, distancing himself away from the seemingly normal pebble. "well, now, you can trot a little closer. enough proximity and there she blows."

by Silvern Gleam Sun May 26, 2013 8:40 pm

Silvern quickly stepped near again and activated the spell. It didn't really interest her. The effect is not important now, what is important is if you found more differences than just "not finishing the spell". Any changes in how you construct the spell. If your answer is no, try again. Keep your whole concentration on what your horn is telling you.
What Sil was telling him to do was basically to use magic sight. It was a sense every unicorn had, in a very limited degree. Without it, controlling magic would be impossible. But use of magic was so natural to unicorns, so instinctive that they hardly knew what they were doing. Or what they were sensing. It would be luck if Lance could make out even the slightest difference, but it was worth a try. She still had other methods. But even if she could sharpen his magical senses, it would take time and he would never be able to even remotely "see" as Silvern does. But it would allow him a much more flexible use of magic. Well, once he was done with constantly failing, which would certainly come as well.

by Lance Tue May 28, 2013 7:41 am

Scintillance nodded to Silvern, and retried his light trap on a different pebble, this time trying to focus on the spell, rather than the pebble. He took into account what they've talked over; specifically, looking to see if he could "sense" that whole "magic being used to channel magic" ordeal.

But frankly, he still wasn't too sure what he was looking for. he thinks, his horn glows, the pebble glows, all glows fade away, and there's another trap. He frowned, "I'm... I don't think I'm seeing what you're hoping I would. Not yet, at least. What... is my horn supposed to tell me, exactly?"

by Silvern Gleam Tue May 28, 2013 10:57 am

It's not only supposed to, it actually does tell you the structure of your spell. You'll have to learn to listen to it. The problem is that the feedback is so weak that it's very easily missed. Luckily I can cause a stronger feedback, Sil answered and her horn lit up in the usual white glow, and Lance' horn did the same, in the same color, as Sil fed magic directly into it. It wasn't much, Sil couldn't spend much energy on anything, but it was definitely more than his horn would pick up during casting. Close your eyes and try to find an unusual, slowly pulsing feeling. It's probably still not very strong, but it should be there.

by Lance Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:59 am

Lance closed his eyes, and... it was there. the awkward pulsing feeling... he wasn't physically feeling it, but he felt it. It was a very strange sensation, to him "This... this is new..."

by Silvern Gleam Sat Jun 01, 2013 11:49 am

Hold on to that feeling, that's your horn telling you that it's picking up magic. It will get weaker now, try not to lose it. And then cast the enchantment again. It will be weak, but you should be able to feel it. And if he felt it, Sil expected the enchanting to fail. He would have to put a lot of his concentration on the feeling from his horn, and by that he would interrupt his instinctive control over the organ. But even if he only managed to get a rough idea of a structure being built up before the spell's faltering that would be a great success already.
Sil reduced the stream of magic she was sending to about half its strength, and would take it completely away as soon as Scintillance' began casting the spell and received feedback from it.

by Lance Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:51 pm

Scintillance tried to "hold onto" the strange feeling, and at the same time tried to enchant another light trap... and this time, he 'saw' it. not litterally... not physically... he... it was more like he 'knew' it. 'felt' it. it's something indescribable with the words at hoof; an extra sense. The enchanted trap he made this time was trash. he knew it was trash. he felt it was trash. "Silvern this isn't a drug or anything, right?"

by Silvern Gleam Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:47 pm

No, certainly not, Silvern chuckled and remembered the day she had discovered her ability. Somehow it had probably felt like a drug, but at that age she had hardly known what a drug even was. Nowadays however, it didn't feel that special anymore. Well, at least not constantly. From time to time there was a spell or artifact that still bought the feeling back, for example Lance magic, at least to a degree. You'll get used to it in time. That's how I perceive my environment, only that my sense is much stronger. What you felt was the information delivered by a feedback channel from your spell. It's much easier to sense a spell you're casting yourself than a foreign spell from which you don't have that feedback. I doubt that we can sharpen your magic perception enough to sense and analyze spells you're not connected to, but I think I can teach you to create this connection to a spell. First however, you'll learn to work with this sense well enough so that I can magically give you instructions during spell construction. I expect this to take about two months or three, filled with a lot of theory in between. And a lot of failing with the simplest spell. I hope you're as excited as I am. And Sil indeed looked excited. She had actually considered making teaching her main profession, but in the end artifacts had an attraction she couldn't resit. Anyway, let's continue. Cast the simplest spell you know, and concentrate on your magic perception. Try to get some rough idea of the spell's structure. You should also try to successfully complete the spell, but to reduce frustration, you shouldn't expect to succeed. You'll need to completely readjust your casting to work with your sense.

by Lance Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:34 am

Scintillance heard simplest spell and went First day at the job (Scintillance, look here!) 99944359

at Silvern, before lifting a number of quarts crystals in the room with his levitation spell. "Yep, simplest thing in the history of simple things... and... huh... multiple connections... I think... wow..." Lance was starting to become lost, looking... nah, "sensing" with his newly discovered sense. One of the crystals slipped its grip and fell close to the floor, but lance noticed the "missing" part in the spell, slipping back to using his eyes and catching it with his spell. "Not... not multiple casts of the same spell... it's all one large cast extending outward to a number of objects... Silvern, this is amazing..."

by Silvern Gleam Thu Jun 06, 2013 7:44 pm

I'm surprised that you didn't lose all at once., Sil said, having expected it all to fall apart instantly. I fear you're only partially right this time. It this correct that there is a part of the spell that is independent from the target and that is used by all instances of the spell at once. But all parts of the spell that are dependent on the target are created for every target separately. You failed to maintain one of those target-bound components, and so you lost control over it. It seems you're already capable of focusing on one part of the spell and let your instincts handle the rest. While doing either one or the other is relatively simple, doing both usually requires getting used to the sense first. Well, another case of natural talent I suppose.
If he was able to do that already, it would speed up his training greatly. He could focus on and modify small parts of his spells without risking the whole thing to fall apart, but for the moment, it wasn't needed. Multicasting is a rather complex topic, even if it's one spell at multiple targets. Please reduce to only one target, it's easier to explain the basic when everything is as simple as it can be.

by Lance Mon Jun 10, 2013 1:39 pm

"Silve, this is telekinesis. like, easiest thing ever. "Instinct" is an understatement." recieving an order to lower the targets, Lance floated most of the crystals back to the table, reducing and keeping only to a single ruby in the air. "If you insist... so, what's next?"

by Silvern Gleam Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:13 am

Focus on your sense. You're quite obviously not doing it right now, otherwise your spell would have collapsed. That, or Sil would have every reason to be impressed, and not just a little. The spell would collapse, Lance didn't have a real clue how to maintain it, that was what Sil wanted to teach him right now, by taking the task off his shoulders. When he lost control, Sil would jump in and keep the spell running, so that Lance could "watch". Then she could explain what exactly he was sensing.

by Lance Tue Jun 11, 2013 12:34 pm

As Lance focused on the sense, everything went as Silvern had expected; Trying to understand what exactly he was "sensing," he lost concentration over his levitation spell, and as he observed the collapse within his mind, he didn't "wake" to catch the ruby he managed to drop, but he did sense Silvern stepping in to fix the spell for him, and he "watched" from there.

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