[03 ~ video]

[blahblahblah]

Okay, so... what was that thing a few weeks ago? I remember seeing something exploding, and... No. I'm not gonna think about that right now. That... creeped me out. [Guess she's still spooked by the Bad End virus... In any event, she shakes her head.]

Anyway, life's surprisingly dull around here, so I'm working out some new magic... It still needs a name, and I'm not sure on the incantation yet, but it looks like this.

[Rita takes a few steps back so you can see all of her, and closes her eyes; she's out in a clearing in the woods. A purple magical circle comes to life under her and starts to shine, and after a few seconds the circle blazes and her eyes snap open, a sphere of darkness suddenly appears near a stump and explodes into darkness, leaving behind... not much, where the stump was. Rita grins at the result.]

So, what do you think?

Comments

[mightletyouknowme]

You can make new magic?

[blahblahblah]

It takes some work, but yeah. There's a lot of research and testing involved, and there's a lot of math to it. There's some restrictions on what kinds of magic I can make, too; no matter what I do, I can't get light magic to work, to give you an idea. I can't heal, either; that's something else entirely.

[At mention of healing, Rita's face turns pensive, but it passes after a few moments.]

[mightletyouknowme]

[For now, Sena doesn't notice.]

Can you teach magic to people?

[blahblahblah]

[There's a long pause before Rita's answer, and she's careful about how she words it.]

I could teach you, but Yuri implied that other worlds than ours didn't have aer. That's what our bodhi blastia use as fuel for spellcasting, among other things, and without it... I don't know if you'd be able to use artes anywhere but here.

Plus, there's the matter of actually having a bodhi blastia. They're not exactly abundant.

[mightletyouknowme]

But if I get one, you can teach me to use it there?

[blahblahblah]

If you can find one, sure. I'm serious, they're not easy to come by. I only have mine because of my position with the Empire's blastia labs.

And why do you want to learn magic in the first place?

[mightletyouknowme]

Yuri will help me find one! [He probably won't.]

[Eyes all but show up in her eyes.] Wouldn't it be amazing? I'm a very fast learner so I could do it easy.

[blahblahblah]

Optimism may be a good thing, but it has its limits, Sena. We'll see, though.

And let me make one thing crystal clear. I don't mind if you have fun with magic. I invite it. But magic is more than an art for me; it's a science, and any student of mine will show it the respect it deserves.

[mightletyouknowme]

Heh, I can do that!

video;

[denies]

What, you're expecting us to applaud you now?

[ you could at least be a little more enthusiastic, ange.. ]

[blahblahblah]

No, I was honestly asking opinions, actually. I didn't want to ask any of my friends here in my world, since dark magic isn't looked upon highly.

[denies]

I don't think usually anyone would think well of dark magic. It's the 'dark' part and all. [ a shrug. ] But on the other hand, most worlds don't even have magic to begin with.

[blahblahblah]

Yeah, that's true. Then again, I'm a top researcher on blastia, and magic artes for that matter, here. So I think they're willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, even if some of the other Imperial researchers are afraid of my wrath.

That's... odd, that the other worlds don't have magic, though. How do the physically weak defend themselves? I know Yuri said most worlds don't have monsters, but... monsters aren't exactly the only threat to peace.

[denies]

Yeah, there's much worse things than monsters. In fact, I'd prefer monsters over people, at least with monsters you can be pretty sure what you're up against. With people you never know if they don't actually want to stab you in the back. ... So to answer your question.. the physically weak don't defend themselves usually, that's why they wind up used by horrible people like that.

[blahblahblah]

[The words stir up a recent memory in Rita, and she frowns.]

We've dealt with something like that recently. Let's just say positions of power get abused on occasion. Frequent occasion. The townspeople never stood a chance.

...I guess I was trying not to think about that possibility. I was hoping it was only here that power drives people mad, but that's not exactly the way the world works. Any of them.

[denies]

.. It's the same no matter what world. That's the sad truth. [ even if she manages to say it in a calm tone. ] It's just since that's the way humans are, and humans don't change no matter the world.

[blahblahblah]

A universal truth, huh... I guess not everything "good" is actually a good thing. [Rita glances at the destroyed stump.] Just like everything "dark" isn't necessarily bad. 

Gah, this was all so much easier when I just did research in Aspio...!

[denies]

[ she gets a little less serious, blinking at her. ]

You did research before and left?

[fated_circle]

Not bad at all.