Viv cocked her head and took in every word of the explanation, processing it in as much detail as she could. The words held bittersweet merit, it seemed. On the one hand, if they were true, it would prove marvelous in advancing her own abilities, as her limitations would be greatly reduced. The problem? She had a decade and a half of experience with the old system, the one she had always been taught, always had reinforced, always knew. Even if Ember was right, how long would it take her to master such a style? True she would have centuries more than they would, but obliterating the bedrock of her practice just before heading into university may prove disastrous.

"Fascinating, that would certainly help with th-words," Her smile brightened as she poured emphasis into her exaggerated lisp. It was rare that she felt comfortable enough with someone to not mind it as much, but Ember seemed as genuinely caring as they came. It was somewhat curious that Ember offered the advice so freely, many elves keep their greatest secrets locked away, only to be viewed by them and their cabal.

"You know, I came to understand magic as interacting with the art of the universe. Words were needed as they were inserted into the song, hand motions to create the painting, and actual power to provide the color. My elders were never big fans of that theory, but I felt like it helped me," Her hands waved as she spoke, anchored only by her elbows which stayed fixed at her sides. The flow of her words was ever so curdled with sadness at the end, reminding her of how teachers would scold her from lofty imaginations.

"Say, how did you figure this out? Did someone teach you or did you figure that out on your own?" Once more her head was cocked in curiosity. She hoped to gain as much information as she could in the limited time they had together on the ship.

As soon as his wheelchair started sliding forward, his right arm slung forward to push the brake lever. His head jolted up, and he hurriedly fixed his glasses and cloth mask, looking around. It's just the ship, it's just moving.

He reversed until his chair hit the wall and slumped his head back in relief, when a strange force buzzed trying to repel him. He tapped the wall with his head. What is this? A barrier? He tried to phase his head through the wall, to no avail.

Did Ember put this up? Was this made specifically for him? He would not fault her for this, he did trespass, but if she thinks there is sexual interest at play to the point she'd call him a pervert, she is mistaken.

However, this next series of moves would only do the opposite of placing him in her good graces.

His left arm twists back and he takes hold of the wall. Segments of the room's surfaces -- the walls, the floor, the ceiling -- begin to struggle and vibrate, in his attempt to uproot the barrier off the wall and make it easier to dismantle. Cracks in the barrier start to form from the side of the room furthest from him, and the loose shards of this metaphysical barrier floated towards him, reconverted into mana.

After about a third of the barrier gone, he suddenly stops. He was losing more mana from shattering the barrier than he gained from absorbing it. He slumps his head forward. It pains him that he's still a novice at his own powers.

@spiral origin
He looks up. He's drawn to the layers of gold scratching the wood floors of the deck, and eventually the stairs. That poor lad. As long as that luggage touches the floor, he should find it a lot easier to move wherever he needs to.

He stared at the noble who soon followed him. It's that fake smile again. At this point, he started to detest it. However, just seeing that is nowhere near enough to determine character. Instead, it is inconvenience that shines the brightest light at people's psyches.

It would surely be a shame if the floor suddenly shifted backwards to make him slip and fall.

"Isn't it obvious, dahling?" Asked Ember, almost shocked.

"SURELY you don't think people half the world away somehow mysteriously comply with the same dreary conventions we endure over HERE dahling?"

He folded his hand demurely in his lap as he sat down gracefully in the free chair in the room.

"Dahling, every culture has magic to one extent or another-- assuming they have sensitives that is-- over time, practice of the art gets colored by the culture's unique views and beliefs, and the magic in turn colors the culture. Its like 'the chicken and the egg' dahling. Very OLD cultures tend to think thier magic is superior, by virtue of being older-- but magic itself is older than any of us dahling. Nobody has a monopoly on understanding it, not even me."

That same coy smile graced his face once more.

"HILARIOUSLY dahling, that desire to prove that 'their' way is 'the correct' way is precisely why they hold the symposia dear. At fairly regular intervals, the university hosts guest speakers and demonstrators from the more prominent groups and regions, and they have dreary, dreadful arguments about it. Of course, I drew my own conclusions-- what was consistently the same dahling? What was universal about magic as an artform? 'INTENT' is always present dahling."

@Grade

"Luca! Do be careful with my luggage, boy! Just the case is worth more than half this ship, I suspect!" Sir Landon called after his page as he made his way towards his suite, when one of the wooden beams underneath his foot suddenly shifted unexpectedly, causing the nobleman to losing his footing and slip, falling onto the floor with an embarrassing face-first crash.

"WHAT--"

The nobleman quickly stumbled to his feet, his eyes darting around angrily, before examining the wooden board on the ground.

"This is utterly UNNACCEPTABLE! What sort of a ship is this, to be in such utter disrepair!? I could have been KILLED!" his clamorous voice rang out across the ship, making many of the crewmen and passengers look his way.

"I want to speak to the captain IMMEDIATELY! This will NOT go unaddressed!" Sir Landon stomped about, eyeing the crewmen, who were unsure about what to do.

Soon the first mate approached the nobleman, trying to calm him down. "S-sir, we're very sorry for the inconvenience... err, would a discount on your next trip with us make up for it?..."

Sir Landon eyed the sizable first mate from top to bottom, his eyes bulging with anger. "You are mad if you think I'd ever step foot on this horrid piece of wood again! A 'discount' will absolutely NOT do! I demand FULL reimbursement of my ticket, in addition to a formal apology!" he teemed with resentment. "To think that I could have DIED here, after only being on board for MINUTES!"

The first mate fiddled with his fingers in uneasiness. "Err, right then, Sir, l-let me just check with the captain and the rest of the crew and see what we can offer you. I-In the meantime, please enjoy your cabin, and let us know if there's anything else we can do for you!..." the large man said before quickly scurrying off.

Sir Landon gave a discontented "hmph!", pacing about angrily for several cycles before finally retiring to his room, giving his page an audible scolding for leaving his side which nearly resulted in a catastrophic incident.

He was trembling, trying his hardest not to laugh. That impact had no right being that hilarious. Thankfully, his amusement quickly turned to disgust after hearing the noble's ridiculous demands. Oh, that poor young assistant of his. If this is how Landon acts out in the open, how further depraved is he in closed doors?

After Landon closed his doors, this lower deck gradually erupted into a sea of rumours, mostly between the lively crewmates, some between the seemingly married couple and their female child. Whenever gossipers passed near him, he would add small details like "I saw it, he tripped on literally nothing." and "He's going to blame his clumsiness on you to cheap out on fare?" and such. Sir Landon may as well just hole up in his room and never come out for the rest of this voyage at this point, but his kind of people might have too much thick skin for their own good.

... and then there was nothing to do but wait. He didn't want to roam around to escape this boredom though. There's only so much space in this lower deck and yet so many people, it's almost awkward.

He recognized one of the people on the hammocks, the petite cloaked person from what feels like aeons ago at the upper deck, the same person he shot a needle at for senseless reasons. It's quite a long distance from his position to her hammock. Just enough for his mana to diminish on the way and turn into mere whispers. The hammock, it whispers to her. Words in random and in repetition, 'sorry', 'needle' and 'shot' being the loudest amidst this mix of syllables trying to make up a sentence.

As soon as the person looks up and glares at him again, he's going to wave his right hand this time.

@A5G

As far as getting rudely woken up two minutes after barely dozing off, the hammock whispering into her would likely land on the top five of the list. Which was impressive, considering that Verdant had experienced being waken up by creatures or people wanting to murder her, kidnap her, eat her, sometimes all three, in any order. The serpent was very, very grumpy at the moment, it took every single ounce of her self-control not to fall into the wheelchair bastard with a shank and silence him for good.

She still stomped across, of course. Very angrily so.

"What the FUCK do you want?"

Commotion on the sleeping deck. Nanashi be like:

"I'm not sure, actually. Maybe answers." He leans forward and begins a frantic tirade of whispers. "It'd be presumptious of me to think I'm your target or even in the warpath of danger, so I'm wondering who. Is it Lady DeVespe? Is it that other noble with the golden luggage? This ship's a trap, isn't it? All of you here are strapped with weapons. You've been eyeing the docks all morning before this ship departed. I am deathly curious. It's the noble male, isn't it? Who hired you all? Tell me. I promise I won't interfere." His right hand reaches out to grab her left. His dead ivory eyes hiding behind eyeglasses, fixed at this person's eyes.

@wierdw

The flow of information caused Viviana to lean back slightly, allowing her to brace and absorb as much as possible. Everything they were saying made so much sense, and yet had not been considered. The way she had always been taught, handed down by high mages with millennia of experience between them, had always felt correct, if a little too rigid for her liking. There was sure to be value in integrating this approach and thought process with her current techniques.

Perhaps the examiners would be impressed.

"Do you mind if I try out a spell, using your method?" Her voice flowed with hope and a desire to practice, to put into action what she was being taught. She was nothing if not an excellent student.

After receiving approval she straightened up, closed her eyes, laced what fingers she could, and took in a deep breath. Intent, it is all about intent...

Upon splitting her hands, an orb of incredible luminosity appeared in her hands. She remained focused on it, its rays pulsating out and filling the room. In those few moments she felt a new sense of power, a feeling that consumed her, a shift that would forever change her mind. In an instant, however, she opened her eyes and the orb evaporated. After a stunned few seconds, taking in what she had done, she looked to her teacher and squealed.

"OH WOW! That was incredible! Thank you for teaching me this!" Her excitement was so great she even did a little hop, beside herself with glee.

Although the sea was choppy and the vessel creaked like an old widower's bones, the two old friends passed a bottle of rum between each other in the dim candlelight of Owyn's quarters.

A stately room, it's decorations sparse and the floor oddly tidy "Owyn," the sellsword knocked back a gulp of rum, passing it to his friend "Wh-who the fucksh tha pompous lady on board any-anyhowsh?" they were a couple of hours in to drinking and Valen was getting lush from the rum. "An tha feller who seems to havesh a shtick up his arse, why have bloody nobles on board?" Valen coughed into his fist, attempting to shake of his drunkeness.

See, Verdant was this close to shanking the wheelchair guy and book it. However, he spoke fast enough that it was revealed he's nothing but a paranoid fucker instead of someone who recognized her from the bounty lists. Uhg, and that's why he bothered her all day? She had shanked someone over less.

"You are deranged- dont fucking touch me!" The serpent hissed as she yanked her hand back. "I'm getting away from some debtors. Now stop bothering me or else."

With that she stomped back to her hammock, anger just a hair beneath boiling over. Stay calm, stay calm. Stab the bastard later. Wouldn't be the first time, likely nowhere near the last either. Verdant can be very patient if needed to.

Ember found it hard to contain his beaming smiles. She really *WAS* a young hottie.

"Be careful now dahling-- take it slow, but by all means, DO enjoy yourself from now on..."

Suddenly, a brassy "--This is utterly UNACCEPTABLE!--" made it in through the closed door, and ember's smile turned to a rosebud tight circle of a pouty frown, bristling with consternation. He KNEW the kind of ... 'gentleman'.. that produced such tones and utterances.

And he did not like it one bit.

Vivian seemed to pick up on the sudden change, and listened intently at the door.

---"I want to speak to the captain IMMEDIATELY! This will NOT go unaddressed!"
...
...
-------"You are mad if you think I'd ever step foot on this horrid piece of wood again! A 'discount' will absolutely NOT do! I demand FULL reimbursement of my ticket, in addition to a formal apology!"

Ember's lips flattened only somewhat into a tight line as his eyes became a bit fiery. Vivian's opened up like pieplates in stunned horror.

"A truly dreadful man, wouldn't you say dahling?" ember muttered irritably. The girl's eyes just met his in stunned silence.

In a flash, the frumpy, irritable expression on his face gave way to a wicked smile and sparkling eyes.

"Hmmm.... Would you like a demonstration in some truly Advanced use of the art, dahling?"

He leaned in with a naughty air.

"We could teach that man a much needed lesson in humility."

It was a rainy day. Opposing clan's territorial town was burnt down into ashes.



A young Nanashi was chosen to kill the children of opposing lord. Surrounded by his fellow soldiers, ready to cut both of children heads. He was hesitate to do but he had no choice. He ended the first one life with a clean cut. The second child burst out with its crying. Embracing the decreased sibling. One of Nanashi's ally picked up the child to keep it hold on and ready for its turn. Nanashi took another clean cut as the head rolled down.

It was his first battle and victory.

Nanashi woke up with an awkward position on the ground. It seemed that he fell as he recovered from his nightmare. He recovered and started to roam on the ship with his katana.

In current, he is on the upper deck, leaning with his two upper arms on the railing of the edge of the ship. Staring on the whole blue sea.

The shift in the tone of the room was jarring, yet clearly not unwarranted.

"Well your lessons so far have been... Eye opening to say the least," A more daring grin peaked through her innocent facade. "If you want to teach someone a lesson in humility, id be more than happy to learn."

Quickly she packed her notebooks away, straightened her tunic, and gestured to the older wizard, "I am ready whenever you are!"

"Oh Vivian Dahling, you're in for a treat!" gushed ember with barely controlled excitement, as he stood from the chair.

"Come with me to my room, and I'll show you something that'll knock his socks off." he continued with a hip wiggle, a broad smile, and a wink, before strolling the the door.

"This way dahling--"

For a moment, Vivian had second thoughts about following this person, but she was equally intrigued by what could possibly be demonstrated, given the clear and profound nature of what they had shared so far. Timidly, and with some trepidation, she followed in Ember's wake.

"I dont bite dahling-- Well, not often.." he cooed with a coy smile. "Just down the hall here, last on the right."

A woman dressed in... something either avant-garde, --or all together made of old rags-- was conversing angrily with the 'gentleman' in the chair that had invaded his room previously, and the tone was not pleasant. Ember hoped she gave him what for, and did his best to otherwise ignore the both of them, as he flicked his wand at the door, causing it to audibly unlock, then glide open.

"Through here--"

Holding the door for Vivian, then closing it behind her furtively, he quickly cast his wand over the door and wall, and frowned. Something had been.... Chewing?... on the wards. With a momentary scowl, he quickly recast, and repaired them.

"What's that all about?" asked Vivian with adorable earnestness.

"That.... PERSON... came into my room through the ceiling, crept down the wall like some venomous spider, and had the CHEEK to interrupt me while I was working dahling. Well I wont have it! He wont be getting in again THAT way, I'll see to it!" he said, gesturing up at the ceiling, and the far wall before putting his hands on his hips, and turning to stroll to the far side of the room.

"But that's that, and not what I want to show you dahling----" he cooed once more, before "painting" with his wand in the open air, causing light and moisture to twist and refract into the appearance of a large, thick drapery dividing the room in half.

"I'm sorry, but my 'creative' process is ... very personal... dahling, so no peeking-- but I will gladly let you see the results." he said with an other hip wiggle and a giggle, before disappearing on the other side.

Hisses, crackles, pops, and flashes of light erupted from around the edges and top of the false curtain, along with delighted humming, and the occasional "Oh yes, that will do it.." and similar utterance.

After some several minutes, Ember re-emerged from behind the curtain in something sleek, but with an altogether too large window for breasts that he clearly did not have to fill the dress out. It was long, and poofy at the sides, a lovely shade of light yellow, with bunting and ribbons, with long white gloves and what looked like diamonds.

"Now the truly FUN part dahling!" he said with with a careful bob and a twirl that would have delighted any princess. "be a doll, and open that footlocker, wont you?" he said while sitting down on the chair beside the bed. "Feel free to sit on the bed honey."

With trepidation, she did as this person asked, noting how seemingly little was actually inside. Just a rather large mahogany box that seemed to open down the middle and fold out, given where the hinges were, along with 3 small drawers in the front, with a large silver compact mirror laying on top.

"When going on business trips, it's important to only pack the essentials, dahling. It was very expensive to ship my entire spring collection for this trip, and well... Allowances HAD to be made."

Vivian was confused. All she could see was a somewhat spartan 1st class cabin, with a practically empty foot locker.

"I dont see any--"

"Oh, they're all down in the cargo hold dear-- Tightly packed with magic-- let's not open them. There's not enough room on the ship." he cooed, as he flicked his wand at the trunk, and the wooden case sailed gracefully through the air on a silvery cushion.

The magic was so complex, but Ember did it so effortlessly and fluidly, it was like watching something from a fairy tale.

"Now then-- ON with the LESSON dahling. Men like ... THAT ... like to think that they control, dominate, and generally dictate the lives of everyone else around them, in a very 'narrow' and 'stunted' vision of how they think things 'should be' dahling. Further, when things go.. shall we say... "Spectacularly Wrong" for them... (giggle).. they tend to get rather vindictive. So-- To prevent any unwanted reprisal dahling, we simply MUST alter our appearances first. You first dear, hold still, don't be frightened."

Ember gingerly flicked his wand this way and that, as the makeup kit opened like a blooming flower, spilling brightly colored pastels, creams, powders and pencils like exotic petals while he worked. In shock, they whirled about her as he continued humming. "These products come from a fine old friend of mine-- Lovely products-- He's been trying to break out of the local market though, and running foul of those same kinds of vicious, dirty, narrow men who feel they need to impose GHASTLY levies on them... But you wont find a better rouge dear.. Despite the name-- Products from The Amazing Onion come HIGHLY recommended." he quipped without missing a beat.

"He gave me that kit just a few weeks ago, as a promotional offering for steering so much business his way. Oh, that lovely little man. He always did know what to get me that would make me smile... And between you and me Dahling-- Using them this way, to get the goat of such a person-- Oh, I shall surely write him about it later, dahling. Guarantee it."

Abruptly, ember leaned back, and took her in. "One last bit dahling, and YOUR look will be complete. He wont suspect a thing."

with a flourish, magic spilled from the tip of his wand, and wrapped around her like gossamer, settling into a very ornate and complex illusion.

"Those tight fitting little things you have on will work just NICELY for this dear-- Plenty of room for the illusions.. Now, the hair, and those cute little ears.."

She gasped, as her golden blonde hair turned jet black, and puffed out to conceal the pointed tips of her ears. In a continuous fluid motion, Ember called up the hand mirror, opened it with a well-practiced single-handed motion, and held it out for her.

The makeup was subdued, but really brought out the angles and features of her face without being overly flashy. The lip color was only slightly more pink than her natural tone-- but the whole totality of the disguise, made her look like a well dressed, but clearly subordinate chamber maid girl for a high class lady.

"Wasn't that FUN dahling!?" he exclaimed, before squirming back into his chair, and flicking his wand around, sending the makeup box and its ungents sailing back his direction. "Now its my turn!"

As Nanashi getting bored. He pick up his traditional flute from his origin and begin to produce a sad melodic song that can be heard anyone from the ship.

Na Mo Naki Kizu. Nameless scar. A ronin who had a bitter past. A prince who became a tool who specialize to kill for his clan. Forsaken his identity to became a samurai who followed the martial code and honor for his forster clan. Losing all of things he had, he was forced to drag into the foreign land. Became a nameless ronin who wanders aimlessly.

After the song. He keeps idle on the upper deck. Still staring on sea.

The change in clothing, the make up, the whole illusion was stunning to Viviana. She had seen the incredible illusion magics of some teachers before, but they rarely did so much to augment appearance. She was used to false walls, or illusionary items, maybe even a magic mask, but this was truly thrilling. Her joy was tempered by one realization, however, the illusion magic had not concealed much of the reality of her left hand. It was simple enough to hide such a defining characteristic, there were plenty of ways she learned to keep her hand hidden away, just unfortunate that not even illusion magic could hide the mistakes of her past.

Fortunately she was stirred to reality by the strange sight before her. Ember was certainly beautiful in many regards, although their chest just raised more questions as to their gender. Not knowing was not truly a deep problem for her, simply not knowing irked that itch in her brain that demanded perfect knowledge of everything around her.

"So, Ember, what exactly are you planning to do to this stuffy domineering man?" Her smile deepened in its sly curve, her conspiratorial tone hushed and more overdone than it had any right to be. This was exciting and different, as much as she liked being reserved and cautious, something about the anonymity and newness of the situation sent burning energy throughout her body. Her head was abuzz with pranks and trickery, something strictly forbidden back home.

But she was not back home, she was out on her own. She could experience her world, not just that of her family.

"Only what he Deserves dahling.. Don't worry, I don't intend to injure him, --not physically anyway."

"what do you mean by that exactly?" asked Vivian with a worried tone. Ember was completely unflustered, and continued his toilette with aplomb.

"Oh, you know-- take the wind from his sails? that sort of thing-- You'll see dahling..." he quipped with a sparkle in his eyes, just before letting his hair down, teasing it into voluminous silky curls, then giving it a dab with his wand, giving it a shimmering golden hue and lustre.

As he worked, his already decidedly feminine looking features intensified, until the point where nobody would ever suspect he was anything other than a finely dress, drop-dead-gorgeous woman in her mid 20s. The makeup was practically luminous-- rather than dark, giving a vibrant, healthy and vivacious candor to his face.If you didn't already know it was Ember, you would have never guessed.

"Now then-- " he said, as he stood up, then pointed his wand down the front of his bodice, at each side of his chest, one-- then the other. Fantastically well-wrought illusory breasts bloomed inside, neatly and fully filling the loose fitting garment until it looked ready to burst at the seams, before giving them a shake, sending them jiggling.

"How do I look?" he quipped with a naughty tone, while gesturing with his free hand that she should take in the whole ensemble.
"Illusions are supremely useful dahling-- When you get good at them, they even have false substance-- Look how perky they are!"

"But it's not yet complete dahling-- Since I'm going to be doing the talking, there's one last bit that's needed..."

He flicked the wand in the air just in front of him, and a tiny, vaporous 'puff' clung to the air, which he then promptly inhaled, before giving a cute little cough.

"....So? How do I sound? Did I get the timbre right?" he drolled, in a practically princess-sounding voice. ".. A fun little trick dear-- By making the air just a teeny bit lighter, it changes the tone of your voice. You don't have to risk injuring yourself by trying to alter your voice directly dear-- Clever magic works at the problem from the sides-- But it does make you feel a bit flushed after awhile, so don't use it for long."

With a flick, he vanished the curtain, then gestured toward the foot locker, sending the makeup kit and the mirror gently sailing, as they neatly put themselves away before the lid closed with a thud.

"Shall we get going? We shall need names to suit our identities--- I think I look like a 'Lilly'. And you dear? Hmm.... Perhaps ... 'Alice'. Yes.. Alice."

He grinned mischievously, as he gestured toward the door. "Ready Miss Alice? Let's go say hello to that 'charming gentleman'."

It's been several minutes. The cloaked child seems to be at their hammock sleeping, and this black-haired man on a wheelchair has been busy making what seems to be a pocketbook made of cloth, with text, details, and the frames that hold every page square-shaped, all made of silver. The title in front reads...

He looks up from his work and turns his chair counterclockwise as the door just to his left opened. "Hey, you, I apologize for barging in your cabin, it was an acci...dent? Who are you?" The person was tall and gorgeous, but had blonde hair and a more sizeable bosom than the one he saw in that room earlier. Then this smaller person came out, with puffy black hair, green eyes, and a metal string around her neck that connects to what seems to be a pendant underneath her dress.

He tilted his head. "Viviana. You look ravishing. Don't let Nanashi see you, I think you're going to give him a heart attack."

He turned his head slightly back at what, by process of elimination, could only mean Ember. "You sure are well-versed in this... fashion thing. I don't understand it myself. Could you make me one? I don't have trinkets on hand right now but you could just send us an invoice, they'll get back to you in around 3 days."

@wierdw @Zim0cron

@Dark Cloud

Captain Owyn poured himself another cup of rum, chuckling at Valen's comments about the nobles. "The lady I don't know much about, just goes by Lady DeVespe. Ah think she's some sort'a foreign diplomat, real shy type, 'specially for keepin' 'round so many guards." He took a gulp of rum, relaxing back in his chair.

"Other fellow... Sir Landon Gaensburg, e's some Duke's nephew. Could definitely use less o' him 'round here... don't tell 'im ah said that though." Owyn chuckled again, taking another gulp.

"But nobles, they pay good gold... well, as long as they don't go askin' fer refunds after." He grimaced, glancing towards the door. "I may have been avoidin' that Landon fella..." he whispered conspiratorially.

"...Anyway, don't you go accusin' me of sellin' out to nobles now. A man's gotta do what he can to stay afloat!" He took another chug, another satisfied gulp. "Don't tell me you've never worked for a noble before?" he gestured his cup towards Valen with a curious lighthearted grin.