At the Edge of things, Becoming a Sage

Nifredil landed in the sands of a small island off the shore of Anar, he had not noticed this place before despite spending a majority of his time among the wilds of the Fae lands, and as his feet shifted through the soft white sand he approached where his friend was sitting perched atop a rock structure…”Vedui’ Acacia. It has been a while since we have talked last.”

Acacia had looked up at the soft sound of feathered wings approaching, and watched as her friend landed in the white sand. Lifting off from her perch she spiraled down to where he stood. “Miye Nifredil, It always seems like a long time between conversations, but that is because I enjoy them.” she dug her toes into the sand, reveling in the feel of the sun warmed sand. “Anar delights me, It always changes and yet stays the same.”

Nifredil watched as she landed softly before him, his head tilting slightly as she moved from her perch on the rocks…”I hope I was not interrupting anything.”…he would turn to look over at the horizon of Anar, skyline spotted with trees and mountains alike…”We have vastly different feelings when it comes to nature. You have a deeper affinity for the elements than I do.”

Acacia smiles, and reaches out a hand to him, while also reaching out for mental contact, “This is an edge place, The earth meets the sea here, the sky meets the earth, and the fire of the sun warms it all.” moving to stand at the very edge of the water, Sending through the link if it was accepted, *Let me share with you how it feels*

Nifredil would move with her as she also opened the link between their minds, he allowed her to take his partially gloved right hand as she lead him to the edge of the shore…”It is places like this that I did my very early practices with the elements myself, what I did…what I still do is in a drastic contrast to talking to them.”…he would closes his eyes for a moment to feel the warmth of the sun, the gentle cooling of the breeze against his skin, and his ears would twitch from the sounds that he heard around them

Acacia wrapped her fingers around his glove hand and opened her mind to him, as she trusted him, *Feel the balance here, there is a deep solid strength in the elements that does not exist in the power of the weave, That was pure rush and vitality, This has depth* Her mental words tried to explain the difference in the feeling between the two,

Nifredil would listen to her words, and attempted to recreate what she explained to him to do; only to shake his head in frustration as he responds telepathically..’I am sorry my friend. I can feel the well of power, and though the deity I was taught to follow by my mother is heavily rooted in the natural magics…I can not experience their depth as you do.”…his eyes would open to look at her as she hovered before him, her soft blue hand placed in his palm with her fingers hooked under the opening of his glove as he spoke again…”What you have developed is something truely special.”

Acacia blushed slightly. “I recall the night that I decided to pursue this path, It was while we were fighting the undead of the Monolith, When I was attacked, it was as if the water wished to fight them before I even touched the weave, I saw there the strength that came from having a willing ally in the elements.”

Nifredil nods to her slowly…”I have never truly been able let myself rely on such things. Gods, elements…it was not until recently I have allowed myself to trust in those around me in my life.”…he would look directly into her eyes as he slowly withdrew his hand from her, his arcane sight would peer deeply into the aura of magic around her before smiling softly at her…”You’ve more to tell me…”

Acacia took a deep breath, “Can you imagine combing the two, blending them to have the solid depth of the Elements with the wild power of the weave?” She let go of his hand to weave her fingers together. “The combination would be a fine thing, much as you have woven your classes together, to be both a user of arcane and divine magics,”

Nifredil would cross his arms over his chest, the edges of the hard leather curias he wore digging into his biceps to cause his veins to swell slightly, and the fingers on his right hand would rap lightly on his left arm…”The combination would be something to see, and something that I have never seen before.”…his head would lower till his chin tapped lightly against his breastplate…”And it sounds like a careful line that you will have to balance yourself along.”

Acacia holds one hand out to the left, “The wishes of the elemental lords, they are what create that depth, they must be honored and observed,” she held the other hand out to the right, “The power of the weave” she smiled impishly at him. “Or as some say, the power of the gods, It is a lot to balance, but when your suceed, it would be power and depth.”

Nifredil grins at her as she used his own words back at him as she explains the point of balance…”And are you the one that will find that balance, Acacia? Will you be the one to pioneer that path that treads on the line between evoking and commanding?”…he raised his head enough that he could look into her eyes once again as she stood before him with her arms spread wide

Acacia straighten her shoulders, and met his gaze, Bringing the two hands together in front of her, she spoke confidently, “I am.”

Nifredil nods to her as his arms slip from being crossed over his chest, hanging at his sides as the tip of each of his fingers touch the tip of his thumb…”Very well my friend. Then allow me to help you along that path as you helped me along mine.”…he would then take a step back from her, his boots sinking slightly in the sand as he lowers his head to her in respect

Acacia clasped her hands to her chest, as if holding something precious. “I would like it very much to work with you. to explore the bounds of what magic can do,. Thank you, the offer means much to me.”

Brainstorming

Acacia Rose makes her way though the dark stone corridors, nodding to those she passed, her steps confident as if she were within the halls of her own guild. The heavy silk of her skirts brushed across the floor in a series of soft swishes. Stepping into the Magi hall, she spied Nifredil by the book cases, the rich scent of leather and old paper filling the air. “MIye Nifredil. I came to see you because I saw something more from the scrying, A red crystal….” she trailed off realizing he had given the head to Parzival.

Nifredil Evael stood over a desk as an Acolyte shuffled through several scrolls in the chair in front of him. Others shuffled about the guild hall seemingly following precise instructions as none of the actions they took were wasted…”Acacia. I wondered how long it would take you to come see me.”…he spoke as if he had made her wait on purpose, he could remember the look that she had given him the night he passed the head to the Devil King, and he turned slowly to meet her; enduring that his wings did not disturb the Acolyte studying…”I too had seen visions of the red crystal, and I can assure you that the proper actions have been taken.”

Acacia Rose tilted her head to study him, ponder how much she should say about the matters that had detained her. “I would have come sooner, but there has been a bit of unrest in the Unseelie Fae and I needed to deal with that, That area is becoming dangerous to be in.” Her look at him grew more focused. “And what actions did you take if I may ask?”

Nifredil Evael moved over to the long table, and he reached into the pouch on his hip as he listened to her…”I am sure the Hive can handle its self. What they do is of no concern of mine until they choose to make it my concern.”…he withdrew his hand from his pouch, it was clenched, but did not look as if he were holding anything within it…”You are that concerned about the precautions I took?”…he would place the cracked crystal on the table as he looked at her with an unamused look

Acacia Rose adjusted that silk scarf that hung about her hips, “Nifredil, if I were concerned about them I would not seek you out so often to discuss magic and is secrets. I trust you as one of those Initiated, but that does not mean that I know your actions, and thus I am curious. It is a habit of mine. Many find my insatiable curiosity to be tiresome.”

Nifredil Evael smirked at her…”If you trusted my precautions then you wouldn’t have glared at me like you did the other night.”…he turned to one of the Acolytes that seemed to be standing around, and he gestured for him to complete his task…”They are assisting me with some research. Looking for spells that might be useful in uncovering what secrets this still holds.”…he moves to look over the Acolyte that was sitting behind him, and suddenly took the parchment that he was reading so he could study it himself

Acacia Rose reaches to her belt lift the book that she wore there, Turning the pages she made little hmmmng sounds, as she flipped through the pages, “This one,” She said tapping her finger on the page, “This is one that has been very useful in the past for me. It takes a lot out of you, but I find that it is well worth the effort. It will tell me of the legend and lore behind an object.” Holding the book out where he could see it.

Nifredil Evael looked over the page she showed him, he had yet to crack open his grimoire during this time; choosing to let the Acolytes do all of the research at this time…”Ahh yes. One of my students came across that one earlier, and I asked them to set it aside.”…he held the scroll up with the Soul Scry spell on it…”This here could be an interesting experiment If nothing more.”

Acacia Rose flipped a few pages, “This is the one that I use to follow up that spell, It provided a great deal of insight into the person or thing. She looked up to him with a smile, “I have also discovered that the yellow waters fro the fey wilds are particularly useful for scrying.”

Nifredil Evael rolled the parchment up before handing back to the Acolyte he took it from…”I think we have a good base for ideas. We need to prepare to ensure can learn the most from these spells.”…he returned to the table, and he takes the crystal into his hand once again, holding it in his palm as he holds it out for her to inspect should she choose to

Acacia Rose took the crystal, running her fingers along it, noting the crack in it. Thinking of the crystal that she had acquire through her fight with the Fomorian. “It is shame it is not from a harder substance. There is a crystal in the Feywilds that is harder than any other, It requires a spell to cut. The color is quite lovely at least” grinning at the last to indicate that she jests as she extends it back to him.

Nifredil Evael watched her inspect the crystal, an nodded to her as he really had no knowledge of the crystals from the Feywild…”You should show me these crystals from the other plane.”…he would close his hand around the crystal as she places it back into his hand, and he carefully tucked it back into his pouch…”I have chosen to keep this on my person. It prevents others from locating that it is here as easy.”…he lowered his head to the Archmage. offering her a genuine smile…”I will prepare for our rituals. I think the rune, and mirror will serve us well in our scrying. I just need to collect a few things before then.”

Acacia Rose nods in agreement. “I will need to gather the items that I have, I will stay in touch, but we should do this soon. She looks up, “May the shadows keep you safe until then” a smile on her face as she makes her way to the door to depart