Lessons from Spectrals and Wraiths

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"Duratus," Akemi whispered, waving her hand over the water she had levitated with one hand, freezing it over. It fell into her hands, and she nearly dropped it from how cold it was. "Ouch, that's cold-" she hissed in slight pain, but tossed the ice in the air again, pointing her hands at it. A shaky breath escaped her parted lips, determined to make it work. "Ad aquam formam." and back into water it melted, falling downwards, landing in her hands in a form of a bubble. It wasn't any bigger than the size of an orange, but she chuckled, quite amused and impressed. A rare smile crossed her lips.

But the Hecate kid did not revel in this accomplishment for long, as she heard footsteps behind her, and out of instinct, she swirled her hands, the water forming into a jet she shot behind her out of surprise. She did not expect it to make contact, but horror crossed her face the moment it occured.

"My biggest apologies- or- sorry, sorry about that-" she covered her hands with her mouth out of surprise. @ Loukas Makris

Edited January 9, 2023 by Akemi Lancaster

[Loukas Makris]

Loukas woke up with a startle, rubbing his eyes trying to gauge what time it was. After his first year at camp he’d pretty much given up keeping a normal day/night cycle. All he remembered was it was mid day and he had needed a long nap, judging from the fact the sun had almost set completely it must be around later in the evening; perfect, this would be a great time to ‘start his day’! Maybe he would go snoop around the Athena cabin and see if Sage was still up? Despite both of them preferring different times of day, they had found a good compromise in the evening hours; the end of her day and the beginning of his. He’d have to be careful though as the last time he came around snooping it was much later in the night and he’d been caught by Samantha. His ears were still ringing from her lecture and he wanted to avoid a future encounter from the Athena Cabin Mother Hen.

As he walked into the main room yawning, thoughts still on Sage, he received a very sudden awakening! *SPLASH* as the jet of water hit him full in the face unawares. “What the…!” he proclaimed rubbing the water out of his eyes. “AKEMI!” he yelled at his older sister. “What have I told you about waking me up this way??” He wasn’t truly mad, but this was not the first time something like this had happened in the many years they’d been at camp together. “What are you working on anyway?” he asked, more curious now than annoyed.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Loukas Makris

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi just tossed him a towel to dry off, wincing. "It's a reactive habit, Loukas. I'm sorry." she just sighed and whispered a simple incantation to siphon the water off the floor and into the kitchen sink, then looked up at him. "Oh? What am I practicing?" she grinned. "Here, let me show you."

She whispered the incantation again once more, the sphere of water in her left palm, and she tossed it to her right. "Duratus," she said once more, having the sphere turn to ice, and when she tossed it back to her other hand, it became water that hovered in her palm. She made the water land in a glass before taking a sip. "Every Hecate child can have some degree of elemental control with their mystokinesis- not as powerful as children who were born naturally, but," she used one of her silky shadows to place the glass down, "I decided to focus on that specifically. Honing a small elemental control over all the things in nature." she crossed her arms.

"What about you, huh? I've seen you around with Shadow, what are you practicing on?" she messed with her hair, running her fingers through it. She wasn't used to talking to her half-siblings, but she always had a curiosity for the more quiet ones- just like Loukas.

[Loukas Makris]

Loukas tried to quickly reach out and snatch the thrown towel, just barely catching it in-between two fingers as his other hand was still wiping bits of water out of his eye. “What has to happen to someone in order for that to be their first reaction?” he asked as he dried himself off. “It's all good though, occupational hazard of living in the Hecate cabin I guess” he joked. Akemi was a sibling he’d always been curious to get to know better but she was even more reserved than he had been so their meaningful interactions could probably be counted on one hand. Maybe this could be an opportunity to change that?

He watched intently as she demonstrated her skill over the element again. This time he made sure to be extra quiet so as to avoid being target practice again. “My-sto-ki-ne-sis” he said slowly, trying the word out. “Well, it certainly looks impressive! How difficult is it to learn? And what does Duratus mean?” he asked a bunch of questions in short succession, this usually indicated that his curiosity had been peaked. “What have I been practicing?” he repeated, “Well, just the basics I guess. Mist control mostly and we’re beginning to work on manipulating people’s thoughts with images and such and…well that’s about it…” He started to feel a little silly now about his accomplishments, they didn’t seem quite as impressive as controlling the elements. And frankly, had he not had so many personal blockers to overcome, he probably would have been a lot more advanced in his abilities than he was currently.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"Oh, Duratus is Latin for freeze. By saying an incantation in Ancient Greek or Latin, you can cast simple spells. I prefer Latin because it seems less people understand it here. Better for fights." she smiled as she noted his accomplishments, impressed. "Hm...Mist Manipulation, not sure I'm familiar with it entirely. Didn't even know it existed till a few days ago." a lightbulb went off in her head as she thought about something. "Elemental manipulation isn't difficult, per se, it's more so taxing on your body, and mind. Casting too many spells can lead you to fatigue, extreme nausea, muscle aches, etc. But nonetheless, with enough stamina practice, and experience, you could cast many, more offensive spells. The Mist depends on your mind," she placed a finger on his forehead gently. "Elemental manipulation requires both the body and mind." 

She smiled at his rapid questions. "You seem curious about it all, I'm happy to teach you. It won't be easy at first, but you can work with me and I can teach you more upfront, offensive magic. Our powers, the ones we share, are limited to only our imagination, as well as our physical strength." she whispered something in Latin once more, conjuring a simple chocolate chip cookie. Real, and formidable. She broke it in half and handed the bigger side to him.

"On one condition. All I ask is that we become friends."

[Loukas Makris]

“Ohh, well that makes sense then. An enemy who can’t understand what you’re going to cast can’t prepare for it as quickly” Loukas thought it was a very clever tactic as they could all pick up Greek but Akemi had found a way to make her spell casting unique and deadly. He continued to listen attentively as she explained the rules around elemental manipulation. “Sounds a lot like the side effects of mist manipulation. I start to get fatigue and aches when I overextend myself in practice” he admitted. Loukas had gained much in his private lessons with Shadow by heeding all his instructor had to say, and he was currently enthralled with everything his older sister had to share as his eyes followed the finger that landed on his forehead.

“Really!? You’d teach me how to do this?” He was truly excited at the opportunity to learn more magic, and a very different kind than what Shadow had been teaching him. “If I’m being honest this does sound cooler than what I’ve been learning lately. I’m not super comfortable with magic that allows you to control other people. But Shadow says it’s very important I master it. I wouldn’t mind a change of pace and a chance to learn something more offensive.” Though he did admit he would probably need to improve his physical prowess if he wanted to get better with this new kind of combat; maybe his friend MK could help with that?

“Friends?” Was that really all she wanted out of this? It seemed like a good exchange to him. “Deal!” he said, sticking out his hand to shake on it. “Besides, Shadow never gave me any cookies in our lessons” he teased, savoring the taste as he took a bite.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi shook his hand back, and grinned. "I have a good spell to teach you at first. Here," she eased him gently towards the couch, placing him in front of it after the cookie had been consumed, pointing her hand at him. She knew it was sudden, but she hoped to have at least something for him to get excited for and ready for the future days of training, something of a preview.

"Ligare," she recited, with a snap of her fingers. A full body bind spell. It was very simple to cast, in fact, it would've been even harder to cast one that was specified to one part of someone's body. But the effects could be immediate, or delayed by a few seconds. "It's up to you if you choose to cast it in Greek or Latin, but that's a basic spell. A full body bind. Consider it a preview what is to come. A spell is very easy to cast, you just need the translation of the action you want to do, expressed in words, and your mind concentrated on your target. Harder spells require more clear, focused minds, however, so be wise with it."

Akemi was curious about the fact Shadow was mentoring him, thinking about it as she released him from the spell, apologizing for him as a fast target. She didn't know why, but it felt off that he was teaching him such...advanced manipulation at first. She remembered hearing that a spellcaster's first use and practice of magic was the manipulation of the elements and physical objects, such as levitation...it was odd that he would choose that, it didn't feel right.

But she ignored it for now. Her priority was teaching her sibling. 

[Loukas Makris]

Loukas wasn’t expecting to get his first lesson right away, he assumed his older sister would prefer to keep practicing the magic she was working on. So when she said she had something for him now his curiosity and excitement grew in tandem. What element would she teach him to control he wondered, a little confused as she re-positioned him in front of the couch. Ligare? Well he knew it didn’t mean freeze, but what could it mean? An approximation of the answer came when he felt his entire body go stiff as he tipped over onto the couch. Thank the gods she had moved him somewhere comfy!

With no way to move, Loukas’ only option was to listen to Akemi explain the magic. This was fine for Loukas anyways as he’d already planned to pay close attention. In fact it was pretty cool to experience the first hand effect of the spell while simultaneously learning about it; a binding spell was much more preferable than getting splashed with water! It was good to know the thought process behind its casting, it wasn’t too much different than what he’d be learning with Shadow, just with maybe a more physical toll. He really would need to reach out to MK for some PE training, thankfully she was a bit of a night owl like himself.

“So what’s next?” he blurted out as soon as she released the bind. “Do I practice that spell myself? Or do you demonstrate another one on me? I don’t mind you know!” Loukas was willing to show his eagerness to learn more and have a mentor in addition to Shadow. Between the two older siblings there was a lot he could learn.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi gave a small smile as she listened to his questions. He was- endearing, to say the least. Eager, most definitely, and she could deal with that. Wasn't nearly as bad as rejecting her lessons entirely, and she was willing to teach him what she knew. It was by no means perfect, but she knew her stuff, and she always wanted an apprentice.

She dusted her hands by swiping them together, making slight clapping noises as she crossed her arms. "Human targets are easiest. That's who the spell is meant for. At first, your spell will be weak, only lasting for a few seconds. Think of it as... like a rubber band." she conjured one into being with a simple phrase, stretching it between her fingers, "When your spell is first cast, your pull is weak, and it can easily snap," the band snapped between her fingers to prove her point. "The stronger you get, the more control your pull is, and sooner or later," she released the rubber band in example, "You can control it entirely. In other words, you won't be easily able to hold me in a binding spell for long...it takes practice. Now, try it on me. If the word is similar to 'bind' or 'trap' or 'ensnare' in anyway, Greek or Latin, it should work."

[Loukas Makris]

Just like his sister had done earlier, Loukas repositioned Akemi so that she now stood where he had moments before in front of the couch. Loukas had no idea if he’d get the spell right on his first casting attempt, but he’d hate it if he did and his sister fell on the hard floor; she probably wouldn’t be too thrilled either. The last thing he needed was an angry elemental spellcaster after him! He quickly tried to “re-remind” himself of everything she’d explained over the last several minutes. It wasn’t that he hadn't paid attention to any of it, he was just excited that it was now his turn to try it out. Loukas was usually a restrained and quiet child, but also a very curious one and when he got curious he got excited. Growing up this got him in trouble quite a lot from his very stern no nonsense father.

Standing a little ways away from Akemi he paused, taking in a deep breath before letting it out, practicing the breathing technique Shadow had taught him. He didn’t exactly know any Latin so instead he racked his brain for a good Greek equivalent. Settling on one he stood his ground, bracing himself to feel whatever physical side effects the spell might cause, pointed, and said “Pagída!” as the magic released towards Akemi.

 

[GM rights to Dusk to "grade" how effective the spell was]

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi felt her body bind tightly, the signature feeling of a binding spell as she fell over. "Ow- oof." she felt her back hit the ground and she coughed. "Should've anticipated it more," she said as she could feel the squeezing subside. It wasn't bad for a first attempt, but nonetheless, due to his inexperience in spell casting it didn't last long and she got up, brushing herself off. "Not bad, not bad," she acknowledged, putting a hand on her hip as she looked him up and down. "It shows you have experience with some magic, but not enough to be considered decent, unfortunately," she said bluntly, but softened up as she twirled her hair around her finger. "But nonetheless, you have a lot of potential. Nice work."

The spellcaster tapped her chin. "Would you mind casting that spell over and over until you feel tired? I'm fine with being your training dummy, the best way to learn is experience, after all." she fiddled with her hair again, not meeting his gaze out of nervousness. "I need to see what your stamina is already, so I can help you accordingly." She didn't expect him to last long, but if he had been training in Mist manipulation, he'd definitely have a decent amount of energy in him.

[Loukas Makris]

Loukas felt a tinge of regret as he watched the magic take its effect on Akemi even though this was all a part of practice. Growing up, Loukas had seen magic used to deadly effect before and was still working towards getting over his hesitation of it. He started to take a step forward to make sure she was unharmed when he paused, she was a capable instructor and would probably rather take care of herself. Either way, his spell didn’t last long enough and soon Akemi was back to her feet. He waited anxiously to hear her judgment on his attempt; being his first endeavor he wasn’t sure what to expect. “Darn” he mumbled, “the way Shadow talks about it he says I pick things up fast, but I guess this is a different kind of magic.” Loukas wondered now if maybe Shadow had been exaggerating, but he wasn’t sure why he would have a need to. He cheered up though near the end of her feedback, it could just be his sister would be a stricter critic; that could prove beneficial.

“Challenge accepted!” he said eagerly, “as long as you truly don’t mind?” Re-taking his position he turned back to face her. “Pagída!”. As time passed he cast it again, again and once more again sometimes switching up the Greek word. At first the duration of the spell increased with practice, but as the fatigue wore on it dipped back down until Loukas felt like he’d been sprinting for hours. It felt odd, he hadn’t been moving, but just as Akemi warned spell casting exerted quite a physical toll. Loukas looked for a nearby chair and sat down, breathing heavily now. “Well….how'd…I…do?” he asked in between breaths.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi observed the young spellcaster's expressions as she provided her feedback. He seemed to not be told so bluntly how he's doing, which would prove interesting. Criticism was a part of life, magic or not. But as she prepared herself for this endeavor, she cracked her knuckles out of a nervous habit. As he began spell casting, she took note in the second's change and improvement in the effectiveness in the binding spell. Surprised, she got up and dusted off herself before moving forward to check on him.

"Hm. Not bad, that was a decent amount. Of course, this spell is elementary, so this is like, a base comparison. Not bad though, take a rest." she tossed him a water bottle. "We can start improving with this spell, build your stamina with it. Overtime, I can teach you proper elemental manipulation." She was impressed in his casting, though; she didn't expect him to come this far already. But it gave her a good insight into his skill and was excited to see his improvement. 

[Loukas Makris]

“Thanks!” Loukas said as he reached out to catch the water bottle, steading himself so as to not fall out of his chair. Twisting the plastic cap off he tossed it towards the trash can before greedily gulping down from it. She had warned him of the physical toll this would take but there was a difference between lecture and experience, a difference that he was currently feeling first hand. Still, Akemi seemed pleased overall with his performance and that was more than enough for Loukas. If she was going to spend her time teaching him it mattered that she not find it a wasted effort and that he give it his all.

“Earlier you mentioned that human targets are easiest, does this mean I can use this spell on animals…or…or monsters even? What makes them harder to bind than people?” he might be near the edge of exhaustion but his curiosity was peaking again. “Shadow only ever talks about the effects our magic has on other humans, he mostly ignores my questions that aren’t related to that.” He paused reflecting on things, “You know, you’re a very different instructor than he is. Not in a better or worse kind of way, just different” he stated, emptying the water bottle.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"It's a more accustomed target for humans. But nonetheless, it'd work somewhat effectively on animals, so you can practice on those. Like squirrels, and rabbits. It's easier, since the veil of magic you're casting is smaller, and more focused. For monsters, it's a lot harder. I've been working with magic since I got here, and that was 3 years ago. Even now, I can't really bind a monster for more than 5-6 seconds. It's strenuous and leaves you vulnerable. Depends on the monster, but usually they break free."

Her attention was caught with that comment on Shadow. "What's he like, if you're okay with me asking?" Akemi's hand traveled to her hair, twirling a couple strands around a finger. "He has this aura around him. Mystery. A bit of danger. He's always running off somewhere...he's a distrustful guy, but I can't help but want to know him, you know?" she thought for a moment, levitating the cap that had been on Loukas' water bottle as she listened to his comment on her. "I'm not exactly an instructor, so bear with me. I'll be a bit more...forceful. Because magic is an important thing to master. And now," she flicked the cap towards him with telekinesis, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to test his reflexes. "I'll have to push you a bit harder. You've got that spark, all I need to do is encourage it. It won't be easy."

[Loukas Makris]

Loukas was pleased to hear he could practice on smaller animals too, he wanted to get better and as nice as Akemi was, he doubted she’d want to be target practice every time. Besides, there was one particular squirrel who kept stealing his lunch whenever he ate outside. A bigger fellow with an odd white marking on its forehead, Loukas wouldn’t mind binding him a few times in revenge.

He paused when Akemi asked her question about Shadow. “Oh Shadow is the best!” he exclaimed. “He’s quiet for sure, but he’s always willing to go into detail and provide examples when we’re practicing magic together. And he’s always willing to help! I didn’t even have to try and convince him to mentor me, he offered freely and was even excited to. I wouldn’t say he’s distrustful, not at all, he’s very open about wanting me to succeed in magic and says I have a bright future in it. He's go big plans for me and says that's why we have to train extra hard.”

Listening as his older sister explained how she would be a different kind of instructor he nodded in acknowledgement. “Well, I’ll do my best to push myself just like I do for Sha…whaa” he stopped as he saw the bottle cap hurling toward him, he moved his head in time to avoid a direct hit but it still bounced off his cheek. “Wow! When do I get to learn that??”

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi took mental notes on her mysterious sibling's mentor...this man could possibly be the worst thing for him. Big plans? Akemi wouldn't press what they were, but that certainly didn't seem good at all. It wouldn't do anything good for her, or her brother to press for answers about that at the moment, so her lips were sealed. But it was becoming clear to the spellcaster that Shadow had ulterior motives with him. All that Akemi could do was get that information from Loukas, while she teaches him all that she would know. But something tingled in the back of her mind; was it her responsibility?

No, of course it wouldn't be. But Akemi would make it hers, to keep Loukas from getting hurt. Hopefully. She smiled as she looked at her brother as he witnessed the bottle cap flying, "Oh, anyone can do this, even you. It's levitation, or telekinesis. Just say something like 'control' or 'levitate' in Greek, and bam, you can levitate certain small objects. Of course, you can't levitate everything, it's like weightlifting. The more you lift, the more you can carry, right? That's pretty much the same with levitation. The more strength you have, the heavier the objects become when levitating. For example; I can levitate swords. Animals. You know, the works." she whispered the spell in Latin as she sent another thing flying at him; a pen.

[Loukas Makris]

“Really?” Loukas exclaimed, a look of devilish joy passing over his face. This time he anticipated his older sibling might try and launch another object at him and he was able to just barely dodge it. Without wasting a second he scanned the table until he spotted something, a small paperclip. “Elenchos!” he proclaimed, sending it across the room in a simi steady manor until it veered off course and landed underneath the couch.

“Hmmmm…well I guess that wasn’t too bad. Ummmmm…Elenchos!” this time sending the fruit bowl from one side of the table over to the other. “Oooooffffff, yea the paperclip was easier, I see what you mean there about the weightlifting analogy. Guess I have a lot of practicing to do before our next lesson huh? Well, I mean assuming there will be a next lesson? Shadow has always been willing to continue teaching but I shouldn't just make that assumption about everyone, sorry! I really do appreciate you taking the time to teach me everything. You’ve opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me, that was worth getting splashed in the face with water for” he laughed.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"I'm willing to teach you some more, so look forward to that, alright?" she had a smile on her face. "For now, practice binding spells, alongside levitation for a while; I'll meet up with you in about a week or so to see what progress you've made. Don't worry if it's not a lot; two weeks is still a significant amount of time. Next time, if you're doing well enough to levitate something and control it for at least a minute, or can accurately cast a binding spell on small animals...I'll teach you some elemental manipulation." Akemi had a grin on her face, crossing her arms.

"Looking forward to my lessons with you as well, alright? If you have any questions...just look to the shadows. Kind of literally." she chuckled, patting Loukas on the shoulder. "And I suggest you take up some Latin as well. It can benefit you in the long run; I know it's kind of hard to master, but it benefited me." 

-- End Thread --