Meeting of Destiny? (Nascent)

[nascent]

"Clearly." Magus remarked. "And they all employ various forms of potent energy as well..."

"I ought to thank you for your aid. I'm a sorcerer by trade; the crafting and culminating of energies is key to the arcane arts, so perhaps I could help you towards this technique you're developing?"

[prythian]

"Hmm. Perhaps." Prythian said, musing. "The goal of the technique is to allow me to move faster in battle, giving me a better chance of hitting with my techniques. The source of the energy is a combination of emotions and this." Prythian held up his right hand showing the crest of the King of Hearts. "There is near limitless power inside of this crest, but the amount of energy that can be produced seems to be limited by my emotions. At least, such is the case with me."

[nascent]

"Move faster, you say...?" The faintest of grins ghosted across the shadowmage's features. "If that is all, I think I can aid you greatly."

Stepping back some, Magus' eyes closed briefly as he muttered an archaic chant under his breath. At his feet a ring of light formed, spreading across the ground until its radius was roughly five feet. Dust from the dry ground began to spiral round about him as esoteric runes and symbols formed on the ring's outer edge -- and something else, something more familiar: the hands of a clock, spinning quicker and quicker.

"A spell called Haste." Magus explained. The clock-hands struck midnight, and in a flare of golden light the mage was enveloped, his body infused and enhanced with magic.

"Come, take a few strikes at me," He offered, stabbing his scythe blade-first into the ground and stepping away from it. "And I'll show you how well it works."

[prythian]

Prythian's lips twitched into a smile. "Now this is far better training than fighting mere Heartless..." He dashed forwards, drawing his energy sword out once more. He feinted a strike at Magus, then pulled back into a barrage of kicks towards Magus. He had speed in fighting, but it wasn't speed in covering distances, which was what he needed.

[nascent]

He wasn't seeking speed because he lacked agility in combat, that much Magus realized very quickly. Prythian's attacks would have been extremely difficult to dodge were it not for Haste's peripheral time-distortion effect -- while to Prythian the mage's responses and movements seemed almost twice as swift as before, to Magus the warrior's movements came in slow motion... "slow" being a very relative term in this case.

The energy sword was unexpected, but the warlock was able to sidestep it -- barely -- and after that the kicks were a simple matter of tracking the "bending logic" of his opponent's body. The attacks were still quick, but tolerably so.

Then Magus decided to demonstrate just what Haste could do. In a blur of motion he cycled around behind Prythian, gave him enough time to react, then sped out of reach before the inevitable follow-up could come his way. Casting his cape behind him dramatically, Magus dispelled the magic in a flurry of luminous golden particles.

"Perhaps you'd like to try it for yourself? You need only stand close by while I cast the spell, Prythian. Perhaps the experience will help you conjure a like effect with your own powers."

[prythian]

"I could sense something resonating from within the crest..." Prythian said, almost absentmindedly responding to Magus. He had turned around to face Magus, only to find him farther away than he thought and frowned. He was holding his hand in such a manner so as to examine the crest. "I think..." His eyes widened. "Of course... your spell was cast in a magic circle. I think that maybe that would be key for sustaining the energy... looping it into itself..." He held up his hands and concentrated. Red energy began to gather in the crest.

((Mind if I use it the skill without having actually bought it? Since this is a good thread for him to learn it in.))

[nascent]

(OOC: Sure, go ahead. If you want details, here's the write-up for Haste from Magus' abilities list:

Haste:
Working his will upon the fabric of space-time, the shadowmage generates a spell which allows those effected by it to act out of sync with the normal flow of time. As the spell activates, a glowing rune-scrawled image of a clock with its hands spinning rapidly appears at Magus' feet, effecting himself and any ally standing within it. Those with Haste cast on them are able to move at twice their regular speed -- to the effected, though, the world will seem to move in slow motion as they act normally. This does not effect the recharge, cool-down, or charge-up times of abilities.

"True, the circular pattern is a stabilizing agent in arcane lore..." He looked at the energy now radiating from Prythian's crest, wondering silently what exactly it was. He had said it was based on the strength of his emotions... being a Nobody, perhaps such a power was now outside of Magus' ability to grasp. It could be he had taped directly into the power of his heart... then again, it could be nothing more than a form of empathic magic. Still, he was curious about it. If Prythian succeeded, perhaps it would reveal some clue...

[prythian]

Prythian concentrated, and a buildup of energy appeared behind him. Suddenly, a circle of flame appeared in the air behind him, the outline forming just large enough to be seen. Prythian struggled to find the right words... then, they slipped into his mind, as if from an outside force. "Burning... Field..." He said aloud, the crest blazing.

"Dash!" There was a sudden burst of wind from his position, throwing up blinding sand. As quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared, revealing that Prythian was no longer concentrating. In fact, his hands were at his sides.

However, the flame circle was still behind him... and he was now hovering precisely one inch above the ground. "...I need to learn more of the crest." Prythian wondered. "These powers, I know they come from the crest... but it appeared on my hand, and that is the limit of my knowledge of where the crests come from." He shook his head.

[nascent]

Magus walked slowly around Prythian, examining what the crest-marked warrior had created. If this power could be readily identified as magic Magus could likely have diagnosed what had occurred -- it did bear a striking semblance to most novice attempts at levitation, but the similarity was surface only -- but he wasn't at all sure what this power was. It manifest in controlled flames, yet it went far beyond simple pyromancy... hmm...

"Curious. What you did certainly achieved... something." Magus mused over what little he knew briefly, then made a decision. "Perhaps you'd be willing to accompany me? My castle is not far from here, and I have assets there which might aid in revealing more about your crest and its peculiar power."

[prythian]

"Of course." Prythian said. He leaned forwards and shot forwards, faster than he had run before. He stopped suddenly, naturally falling back into a standing position. "...I think I succeeded in becoming faster, albeit in a rather different way than I expected." He said with some surprise.

He turned around, quickly discovering that it was the intent to move that caused him to move, and that leaning made him go faster, though he suspected that the latter was merely part of his subconscious. "The Burning Field Dash appears to be the answer to the flaw in my fighting style, or perhaps part of it."

[nascent]

"Ah, I think I see it now. You succeeded... but the power, like magic, reacts to and is guided by it's master's will." Magus conjectured. "You said your crest reacts to emotions, but perhaps its power can be guided by, more generally, the mind overall."

"In any case," He turned and pointed to the south-east. "My castle is in that direction, though you won't actually see it when we arrive."

[prythian]

Prythian turned to face that way. "In that case, we should leave now. You said it yourself; there may be other Heartless on the way. Nothing that couldn't be taken care of... but perhaps best not to deal with it at this time. I am, of course, relying on you to guide me, if I cannot see it on my own. Lead the way." He went respectfully behind Magus.

[nascent]

Magus led the way through the barren wilderness for what seemed like a long time before coming to an abrupt stop... in the middle of nowhere. They had arrived.

Kneeling, the mage drew a series of runes in the dust. His actions triggered something; a razor of golden light raced across the ground in a wide circle, encompassing both warriors as it ran its pattern... then, remarkably, the circle of ground began to descend.

Magus stood and looked at Prythian. "Welcome to my sanctuary. You're welcome here for as long as you choose to stay, but I ask you not to tell of this location to anyone."

In a large underground cavern sat a tall, dark citadel topped with a large dragon statue... Magus' castle, cast to the turbulent waves of time and space, had found its new foundation in this most unlikely of places.

[prythian]

"That is a very large stronghold." Prythian said, glancing at Magus. "I will not reveal its location, and most likely wouldn't be able to find it again anyways. I doubt I would be able to duplicate your actions in revealing it anyways." He smiled. "It is rather impressive, though I doubt it compares to Neo Arcadia. You'll forgive me if I don't tell you where that is; I must hide its location just as you hide yours."

[nascent]

Magus allowed himself a half-chuckle half-huff. "It has been my experience that anyone of particular worth in this universe very likely has secrets to protect. You needn't fear; I've no reason to seek out your Neo Arcadia."

The floating ground came to a rest at the castle's monolithic front doors, which Magus caused to open with merely a gesture of his hands. "You may stay here as long as you desire. There are no lack of spare rooms." He then began walking inside. "Tell me, this crest of yours... when did you get it? Or has it always been with you?"