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Social-style log
Players: Annie, Janie.
Synopsis: Annie has asked Janie to teach her the basics of the Invoking Metamagic.
Coal Creek Ranch - Wooded Clearing
A low wooded valley lies here beyond the fence, the trees growing thicker than by the road. Cherry and hawthorn are the main variety of trees in this valley, the fruits and flowers adding splashes of red and white among the green. The grass here is thick and well-maintained, although not cropped short it does show signs of being kept off the fence and shorn to the same height though kept long.
The fence itself shows signs of maintenance as well, free of any rust or damage. The ground here could best be described as hilly, each subsequent rise growing taller the further one goes from the road. The entire area seems to be well taken care of, with weeds and scrub plants removed and any gopher holes or stray limbs removed.
When teaching someone how to call on the most primal manifestations of nature, it's generally safest to do it outside and far, far away from anything fragile. Which is why Janie invited Annie out some ways into the preserve surrounding the base for her Invocation lessons.
Annie walks with Janie, apparently enjoying her time away from the hustle and bustle of city life. She has a backpack slung over one shoulder with the tools of her trade contained therein.
Janie tilts her head back to catch the breeze and the rays of the sun while she walks, clearly enjoying the trek. Eventually, however, she breaks the silence. "Ye'll be th'second person I've taught this to, an' while I've more faith in y'r judgement regardin' when t'pull out all th'stops than I did in Slinger's, I still feel obliged t'warn ye t'exercise caution when usin' this…"
She trails off and pauses to look at Annie, lips quirking in a wry smile. "I don't think ye need t'be told this - but it's th'teacher's responsibility t'say it regardless."
Annie chuckles and nods, "With great power comes great responsibility.", she quotes amiably as she takes a moment to look the other woman over. "And yeah…Slinger is…different.", she adds after a moment as she leans comfortably on her staff while waiting to see how Janie wishes to proceed.
Janie nods. "Th'responsibility t'use that power /wisely/; t'wield it as a conscious choice rather than impulse or reflex." She pauses as the pair reaches a clearing, then nods to herself. "Here'll do. I take it ye're familiar with th'basic theory behind th'technique?"
"I've studied it on a purely academic level. So I've got the book learning, now I need the hands-on application.", Annie replies as she drops the backpack to the ground at her feet and takes a moment to look around the clearing.
The clearing doesn't have much to distinguish itself; just an opening among the trees, a brief oasis of sunlight unblocked by leaves and branches. It is, however, astrally clean - the only real criterium for Janie's purposes today.
Janie walks to the center of the clearing, then turns to face Annie. "Th'Shamanic tradition tends t'work from instinct an' intuition, so I doubt I'd do well at a literal description o'what I do — th'closest I'd get would be that when ye open th'Way to th'Astral an'beyond t'draw th'Power, ye hold on to th'conduit, then when th'Power begins t'flow, ye /reach/ out an' /push/ — or maybe /pull/ — an' widen th'conduit, forcin' it open further by addin' y'r own Power to th'flow… "
"… But that probably doesn't make too much sense t'ye," she chuckles. "So instead, I'm goin' t'demonstrate as slowly an' elaborately as I can while ye pay attention to th'Astral…"
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Magic Background vs TN 6 for "How well is Janie explaining this?":
1 1 3 5 10 = 1 Success
Annie retracts her staff to it's more compact state and settles down on the grass to watch Janie do her thing. Her attention rests primarily on the astral as she observes the ongoing demonstration.
Janie smiles as she closes her eyes. "We'll start with somethin' relatively simple…" she murmurs, then opens her senses to her surroundings and calls to the genus loci.
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Conjuring vs TN 3 for "Force 3 Great Form forest spirit. First off, the regular call to see if it's home.":
3 4 4 4 5 5 8 = 7 Successes
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Charisma vs TN 3 for "Soaking L drain — F3 is less than half my charisma.":
1 1 3 3 4 5 5 = 5 Successes
Janie lowers her Masking to give Annie a clearer view of the patterns of Power rippling along her body and reaching out in a direction there are no words for. Unlike Annie's own Elemental summonings, however, Janie's call does not punch through the Treshold and into the elemental Metaplanes, but rather draws the Power down to infuse it into her surroundings, guiding the very soul of the place into awareness and sentience in her own image…
Annie nods as she continues to watch Janie, "Interesting, and oddly enough our styles aren't as different as most people assume."
Janie's lips quirk in a smile at Annie's words, but she doesn't verbally acknowledge the woman as the critical point approaches - the Power flowing from /there/ to /here/ like a smooth current - and all of a sudden it's /there/. She lets out a brief grunt as her aura does something indescribable, wrapping itself around the intangible current and infusing it with a gestalt formed of knowledge, the purest expression of the true extent of Janie's abilities clearly visible for once as she /pushes/ the conduit open further.
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Conjuring vs TN 2 for "3*2=6, -11 for Janie's init grade.":
1 2 3 4 5 7 8 = 6 Successes
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Charisma vs TN 2 for "Soaking another L drain.":
1 2 2 3 5 5 9 = 6 Successes
Annie doesn't speak much beyond this point until the demonstration is complete, not wanting to distract the shaman at a potentially critical juncture. Probably not a huge risk when dealing with such a minor spirit, but good practice nonetheless.
The spirit didn't seem like anything special until that second rush of power hit it; now, however, it seems much more defined, more refined, more /aware/, more /there/. Much like one of those monster training cartoons that were all the rage among kids during Annie's own childhood, this feels almost like a more /evolved/ form of the same spirit somehow - the same basic features, but with much more definition.
Annie stands and moves forward once the summoning sequence is obviously complete. She observes the spirit curiously, probing it with her astral senses. Finally she turns to Janie and offers a smile, "Very nice. Quite powerful too for such an initially mediocre spirit. The invoking brings out a lot of its potential to the forefront."
Janie nods. "That's one way t'describe it," she agrees. "But it's a little more'n that now as well. It's no longer bound t'its domain, f'r one."
She smiles. "And f'r another…" she raises one hand, fingers curling in a beckoning gesture as she calls out again.
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Conjuring vs TN 5 for "Force 5 wind spirit, this time. Again, invoking.":
1 1 2 3 4 5 10 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Charisma vs TN 5 for "Soaking M drain.":
1 2 3 3 3 5 19 = 2 Successes
[Auction] «Silk» Kassandra says, "9,000"
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Charisma - 2 vs TN 5 for "Soaking M drain. (KP 1)":
2 2 2 3 4 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Charisma - 2 vs TN 5 for "Soaking M drain. (KP 3)":
1 4 4 5 7 = 2 Successes
Again, Janie's Power reaches out; but where first she called to the forest, now she calls to the skies, whispering to the breeze and enticing it downward where it dances playfully around her body, causing her duster to billow up behind her. This one seems significantly larger than the first…
And again, that intricate, elaborate gestalt snaps into focus, interposing itself into the flow of Power like a lens of sorts, amplifying and magnifying…
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Conjuring vs TN 2 for "5*2=10, -11 is still 2.":
1 1 3 3 3 10 19 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[1477]» Janie (#4136) rolls Charisma vs TN 2 :
1 2 2 2 3 3 3 = 6 Successes
The increased flow feels /much/ wilder this time, and Annie can almost 'hear' the crackling hiss as it strains against the gestalt's, but the construct holds and the power is funneled into the second spirit according to Janie's intent, expanding the breeze's astral shape until it fills the clearing and beyond.
«Plot» Janie says, "Reach +2, body +1."
Annie watches quietly, once more not wanting to interrupt Janie…especially given that this beastie appears somewhat bigger.
It's still not nearly as big in terms of sheer size as some of the Elementals Annie has on call… But on the other hand, it didn't take several hours to summon either. The spirit blinks once at Annie, then turns to regard its summoner.
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