Senshinzako
When I arrived, they had still been training. I watched Nalfimiria and Sowanar trading blows for a moment, before sitting down and having part of my mix and the food that had been readied. The matches between the two of them were quick, as I would glance at them while having my meal. Sowanar would try to find the space for a faint, or to throw repeated jabs, only to have the thrust parried or dodged and immediately get hit in response. Not that I thought he wasn't fighting well, even if the circumstance meant neither were putting their real strengths to use. Nalfimiria simply appeared to have an easy time determining the potential points of his attacks in each set, as well as the proper response to each. It looked like responding by reflexes and her greater cognition alone would have been enough in this scenario, yet Nalfimiria still looked focused on predicting those attack patterns ahead of time. This made me interested in joining, even if I had yet to realize the complete context behind the situation.
The chance had been denied to me for that moment, however. Mainly because the others decided it might have been best to discuss the unit's functioning at that point, something I could hardly disagree with. Our first task would be delivered later that day, after all, and it was best to start discussing it with some awareness of how we could work as a group in the first place. Before we could start, Fasnilthar suggested I rinse myself, though. Just so I could swap out of the morning workout clothes, and preferably clean off any sweat accumulated through that day's exercising. I thought this wouldn't be the most efficient usage of time, seeing as I would be returning to training as soon as the strategy talk was over, but it didn't feel like I was being offered a choice in the first place. Besides, combat practice not only resulted in less direct strain oftentimes, due to a more thorough usage of my spirit veil, it was of great relevance to daily practice. It would be best to avoid angering my most likely partners, as a result, especially as I was very curious to learn more about how each of them choose to fight.
Upon my return, the other four were seated around the table they had set up, while Finarkzir had been perched near the chair Chiaisei was using. Taking my seat, I realized they had been discussing some sheets of paper Nalfimiria had produced, probably through conjuration. After glancing at one with my name on it, I realized those were registering each of our effective ranges for our different types of spellcasting. Mine were accurate, and from the looks of things the others had been verifying if this applied to all of us. It appeared that the goal was to initially discuss how the group would position itself while in march and during the start of potential fights.
In short, the theory behind this was to simultaneously offer us the distance and positioning that would allow each to use their abilities to their greatest, while also making it easier for us to help each other if there was ever a need. Nalfimiria brought up some of these points for each of us, with the exception of Finarkzir, since the eagle was deemed fast enough to cross most normal battlefields in but a second. This effectively granted her unlimited range if analyzed in the scale of the maps the elf had produced as examples.
The easiest one of us to use in illustrating this point was Fasnilthar. As the spellcaster with the longest offensive range among us, she ideally would be placed somewhere she could cover the entire battlefield from. She was also one of the most skilled at gaining information for us, as well as the only member of the unit capable of conjuring group barriers. This meant that ideally she would always be positioned in a way to cover most of these usages over a battle or to quickly gain such a placing at the start of one. The general conclusions reached as a result of this analysis were as such.
Sowanar, as the mage with the shortest range between us, should ideally always be placed near the center of a situation. In part to attract more attention towards him, due to the power offered by his abilities in direct fighting making him more effective while placed under a lot of pressure. But also so that he would have an easier time relocating to aid any other of us without disorganizing the unit, as he represented our most consistent front line. Nalfimiria and Chiaisei would be hanging around his general position. In the elf's case, since being at the center of the battlefield would make it easier for her to command the rest of the group, as well as put her conjuring support into effect, not to mention the fact her barriers only took effect at her direct surroundings. It also meant that in the case of an issue arriving, she would be positioned to deal with it quickly, as our most potent combatant. This was also helped by how independent and flexible her skillset made her, compared to the rest of us.
As for Chiaisei, having someone offering her time and defense would make it easier for her to focus on group suppression, in case her skills were needed. Being within the confines of her wind wall would also mean Sowanar wouldn't need to worry about projectiles as much, and if he had the need to reallocate, Chiaisei would have an easy time following, as one of our most agile fighters. That, and the wind currents would make it harder for opponents to approach them, and easier for Sowanar to push them away. There was also some level of synergy in their other skills as well. Chiaisei could employ sand or ice Sowanar can conjure within her wind blasts to make it easier to hurt someone with them, and the same applied on inverse, if both coordinated the timing of their strikes. And though they weren't very adept at it, using fire casting would be easier when assisting each other, especially considering how their additional elemental casting types would compliment the effort as a whole.
Fasnilthar needed to be close enough to protect Chiaisei and Sowanar, in case a bigger barrier was needed. The knight's shields could only do so much against energy based spells, and at most could only guard another with him. Nalfimiria's safety was largely irrelevant to the rest of us (Her durability was incomparable to the rest of the unit among other things), but having her avoid using concentration to keep us safe would help keep our strongest attacker and support available for whatever she thought was most useful at any given point. Thus an additional use on keeping our sister near those two. Fasnilthar herself would rather be outside the windwall, with that said. Calculating her projectile's trajectory wouldn't be made any easier by standing in the middle of a tornado, even if like Sowanar she could add ice and small conjurations to it as a means of empowering Chiaisei. This would make concentrating on attacking spells harder for her, reducing her ability to scout and to act as a long ranged threat.
Still, it was worth mentioning that not only the two of them were more used to working together than the rest of us, however that Fasnilthar could also use her electric conjuration as a means of empowering Chiaisei's or Finarkzir's thunder casting. If normally it would take either of them around a second to prepare a miniature thunder cloud, having someone capable of conjuring electricity directly near might reduce that preparation by half. Thus, in situations were Fasnilthar's advantages weren't that useful keeping her inside the wind wall would have been beneficial. Lastly, we arrived at commenting on my positioning and usage.
—Keeping you directly around the main group probably would be a negative, in most situations. Especially so if putting Fasnilthar near the center of the formation is needed. — Nalfimiria told me. Though the group as a whole had been taking part in the discussion, she was more or less the leader of it. She was both the most experienced of us and a direct specialist in the topic, so that was hardly surprising. I also understood quickly her likely motivation for the suggestion, yet still decided to verify. Mutual comprehension is key to those working together, thus I felt it was best to listen to her reasoning.
—I can think of a few reasons as to why. Still, could you elaborate? — I said while avoiding looking at her for too long. I can't deny the fact that seeing her serious face made her feel more attractive. I was getting better at speaking around her, however I was still avoiding anything that might lead to a loss of composure on my part.
—Most of your attacking magic is projectile based, yes? — She asked, to which I simply nodded. It seemed like we were of the same mind.
—If that's the case, my zone of control would make it harder for you to fire. Your bow probably would be greatly weakened as well, then there is your light magic. Would it even reliably cross the wind wall without detonating? — Chiaisei added afterwards. I was pleasantly surprised by how much she had been taking part in that conversation, by the way. It was good to know our other beginner was as reliable as her.
—Probably not. And if they did detonate, that would make your own control zone more chaotic. The dust rising around you would make it easier to hide normally, but harder to become invisible as well. We don't mix well. — I said. It looked like we agreed on that point.
—Correct. That, and you are one of the few among us capable of offering pressure at long ranges. Part of the reason Fasnilthar can give up the function is that you are here. Even if Finarkzir technically can beat you two by flying, her spells aren't focused either. If the two of you are excellent at target suppression and coverage, her deal is ultra mobile area suppression. You're also very independent compared to the other human mages here. This makes it easier to place you some distance away from the rest. — Nalfimiria said, glancing at me directly. Getting her attention caused me mixed feelings.
—Though of course, we can't put you so far from the rest this would place you in danger. Having you too far apart would make you a target among others things, and even if flexible, overpowering you shouldn't be as hard as the rest for a mage. Not to worry, however. The sister here will keep you safe! Even if I never met them, it wouldn't be very fair for my path siblings to deliver their boy broken. Rest assured, I'll keep you safe, even if a demon lord finds interest in your ass. — Nalfimiria said while smiling with confidence. She probably was the last person in this group I wanted to hear this from, even if the one that would have sounded the most believable.
—Thanks, but… You shouldn't be that mobile, not to keep dashing across the field after each of us. Wouldn't Finarkzir much better fit this role? — I tried brushing away the offer. That might have bothered me otherwise.
—In a way, yes… But, I believe Nalfimiria's positioning accounts for the fact that I'll be the most aggressive between us. If we swapped positions, perhaps that would be a better idea, though reserving both of the strongest members of a team for the same purpose wouldn't be wise. I'm best fit for attacking, and she is probably mobile enough, besides. — Finarkzir denied my attempts at defusing the offer. I found it hard to disagree with her as well. It's just that having Nalfimiria stand her hand so boldly served to again remind me of her role, as a sister of will. Thinking of her as such still made it harder to stay focused before her.
—Enough?! Pfhhh, I can beat you in anything but a direct race, birdy. It seems my junior lacks the understanding of all the power behind spirit alteration. Nothing to do but to demonstrate, then! — She claimed while getting up and stretching. Sowanar tried to reach for her, and the others looked worried for a moment, though it didn't look like she planned on stopping. I tried telling her demonstrations were unnecessary, yet she claimed the fact I thought so made them only all the more. Finarkzir was the only one approving of the sudden idea, saying she wanted to see how Nalfimiria's engineering would be compared to real wings.
After taking some distance from us, she then started producing conjurations around her. For the main part, it looked like she was creating a giant sling, alongside a strange structure below it. Multiple circles took shape after the base of the structure was done, and from them a lot of ropes began taking shape. Some of those parts holding the elastics simply surrounded the pillars supporting her creation, yet some looked more akin to a bow, or a proper, normal sling. That thing almost had the same height as our house, by the way, and the structure below it was dead in the center of all of the ropes. As of then, those didn't look like elastics, but based on the nature of her demonstration, Nalfimiria likely planned on transforming them in such as she prepared herself for the takeoff. The vision of the structure in the center also caused Sowanar to panic further, however after Nalfimiria promised she wasn't using explosives that time, it looked like he managed to calm down slightly. Some of the spells she was putting in place while conjuring that thing didn't appear to be just the result of conjuration, though I couldn't tell for a fact as that thing was put in place.
—Behold! The Atmospheric Elf Catapult version 2.7 miniature mode! It can't quite fulfill its title's promise yet, but since reaching the 2.0 version this thing has been gaining whole Fyetrijs in launching distance per version, especially when I'm using levity based gear. Today you'll witness it while throwing me in full mass, however. I won't be using explosives either, since the garden wouldn't survive them, so this will probably drop my performance a bit. STILL! Amazed you shall be by the wonders knowledge can do to improve magic! — She declared loudly while sitting at the center of the block near the center of her creation. It looked like that was the spot in which the rocks would be stored, were this a normally sized sling.
Having said as much, Nalfimiria caused all of the ropes raining from the sling to attach themselves to parts of her launcher. Once they were all in place, they started losing size, and gradually became tenser as a result. That also appeared to be the point in which she started making their properties more elastic, enabling the ropes to extend themselves further while being pulled. The base in which the elf was positioning herself also slowly began to shake as things proceeded. Once the ropes were fully tensed, the sling itself altered the place to which they were attached as well, just until the conjured cords looked ready to tear.
—That's about it for preparation! Now to launch. 1, 2… GO! — As she shouted as much, a part of the base she was laying under burst open, revealing some sort of spring. Whatever had been holding the spot she was under in place as well, as soon as it was released the sling threw her far faster than any projectile I had ever seen.
Nalfimiria soared in a straight line briefly, before reaching the peak of her trajectory, as the conjuration she used to throw herself in the first place started losing its shape. It looked like she calculated the shot to get as much height as possible, as well as to make sure she would still land on our backyard. I couldn't have estimated it well, based on our angle to her position, yet it looked as if she had at least reached a height around 4 or 5 times that of the house we were living in. Having reached that height, she did a flip before starting her descent. And in order to slow down said fall, she would occasionally use barriers and conjurations sustained by them to control her own speed. Things like jumping against floating barriers, or conjuring poles sustained by them while using them for support or to keep her acceleration from escalating. I lost count of how many times she flipped through the air while doing so, and was almost certain her method made her far more likely to lose control over her fall. Lastly, she landed by creating a kind of floating trampoline, before finally returning to the ground with a final set of backflips, for no particular reason.
—You show off. — Chiaisei's conclusion as we saw her land seemed to accurately describe the situation. Some of our neighbors or people on the street would occasionally stop by once Nalfimiria landed, to question why the hell they briefly saw an elf soaring around. I was a little surprised her clothes stayed in place through that launch and all of the flipping as well, but immediately concluded she must have been using a spirit veil to keep them on.
—Nonsense! The unneeded steps make it easier to practice my acrobatic skills, thus were fully necessary for the purpose of training. — While Nalfimiria said as much, I saw Sowanar was holding his head in relief after observing the launch. He was recovering, but still looked somewhat stressed out. Before any of us could answer, we heard him whisper softly, as if he was still unsure of how to think.
—She is the biggest threat to the mission I was given. Even if I pity anyone who would try to kill her, her methods… If they can't be called reckless, I don't think anything can. — It looked like complaining about this between all of us made him more relieved, at least.
—Oh, if I couldn't survive this level of magic I wouldn't even be able to dream of taking on a demon lord. Gotta aim higher if I plan on keeping up.
—So that wasn't a figure of speech?! — The possibility seemed to frighten our knight all the more.
—Over the course of your lifetime, it might as well be. My plans from after this phase are long turning and ambitious, though! Anyways, what's got you so thoughtful, little Fasy? — Nalfimiria said, which caused me to glance towards Fasnilthar. Unlike the rest of us, she barely reacted to the sudden idea of Nalfimiria slingshotting herself, and instead looked like she was estimating something to herself.
—Using real ammunition, a 20 Fjorwiec shot from this sling probably would travel for over thousands of Fyetrij while still carrying deadly force. It could also probably easily ferry loads of bullets at once, and even if it took a really long time to prepare, a downscaled version of it could still work to deadly effect as a method of long ranged fighting. If used as a trap, it could also have the same effect as a gravity catapult, and if paired with a levity curse or a… — Fasnilthar seemed very focused on her calculations as she started listing out parts of them to us. I was surprised at how quickly she turned to the practical applications when confronted by sudden demonstrations of skill like this. Especially seeing how random Nalfimiria could seem at times.
—Hey girl, attention please! That discussion isn't going to be of much use right now. Back to the issue at hand, shall we? The group members were mostly brought up individually. Excluding the eagle, but flight, so that discussion is irrelevant. There is a final topic as well, but it involves your surprise, doesn't it star girl? — Nalfimiria interrupted her before she could continue for much longer, though. This seemed to immediately put cracks on Fasnilthar's focus.
—Oh yeah, the surprise! You got it on the way, right? — Upon remembering the idea, she turned towards Sowanar while asking as much.
—I did, though I'm not very confident the surprise will be very effective… Still, I had been keeping them near for when they were needed. Here. — While saying as much, he headed to the bags which he had used to bring us the bread we had been having with our meal.
From it, he took out a different bag, smaller and seemingly filled with some objects. By the looks of it, there were three boxes in them, and each appeared to be equipped with some magical features. One was slightly smaller than the other two. The boxes were then passed on to me and Chiaisei, and upon holding it I confirmed it was mostly solid. It was some kind of equipment, and while checking a compartment near its center, I found the core behind it. This compartment hid something akin to a wrist watch, which could be connected or disconnected to the larger device. Once the compartment meant for it was opened, it also looked like the tool had a designated spot to be held by, and from the looks of it that part of it could react to contact. To be specific, it felt like there was a magical flow in it, from which a mage could connect to greater and smaller mechanisms. I recognized this kind of utensil, and as such carefully removed the smaller piece, before trying to adjust it around my left hand.
—Thought communicators. Seems like not all of them are identical, however. — I said, while occasionally glancing at Chiaisei's device. It was slightly smaller, and the magical structure of it felt different, both as far as my eyes and magical senses were concerned. The third box contained one for Finarkzir, being much smaller to fit the feet of the raptor.
—Of course! Chiaisei has some of the abilities these things enable, so hers is built to facilitate and increase the range of her communicating spells. Finarkzir's isn't as potent, but the two of theirs are matched, to make it easier for Chiaisei to share some of the effects of their internal speaking with the rest of us. — Fasnilthar explained gleefully.
In city thought communicators were often bound by supporting structures to be of any effect. As a result, they were unfavorable to the point the devices needed to be specifically adapted to field work before starting to see use in it. One of the main alterations being the restriction on how many targets the spell engine can connect with, as well as range and the fact mages would need to use their own life essence and concentration to run the mechanism. Drawbacks aside, these still were said to be incredibly useful for those working on the wild world. Not just as a means of facilitating communication between members of a team, yet also due to the fact they enabled communication with magical beasts, in the cases where neither side had a practitioner of Yealmyrn to assist. The larger structures below likely were meant to expand their reach further, even if they likely wouldn't be capable of spanning through a city district, a rather unimpressive feat compared to the stationary versions of the spell vessel. Not like those could be carried around easily, either way.
—I see. Was this meant to be the surprise? — Fasnilthar seemed excited when watching us take the items, but I couldn't quite comprehend how those would be a surprise to anyone. This type of device was basically considered mandatory, and likely had been supplied to us directly by the association.
—I mean… Yes? How can you be so casual about receiving our work tech? — It looked like she herself ended up shocked by the fact the reaction appeared to be shared among the others as well.
—Well… These are listed among basic work supplies. The association had also told me they would be delivering ones for me whenever I found a group, and I'm supposing the same was told to Senshinzako. Besides, the three of you all have similar tools already, and those wouldn't be of as much use if the set wasn't completed. You had told me the union provided yours before as well. — Chiaisei explained better than I could have.
I hadn't paid much attention to those regulations while signing in, though I had noticed how common the gadgets were on pact wardens. Seeing as most of those I observed on our colleagues had similar quality as well, it wasn't too wild a guess to suppose their distribution happened from within. The association had plenty of connections to magical workshops, and even their own maintenance teams, after all, not to mention all of the spell engines used in their operation. Besides, these were hardly the most complex type of spell vessel or conduit you would see employed by pact wardens. Supposing they were offered by the union itself wasn't that great of a logical leap.
—Yeah, I guess I did… I might have received mine before really reading that part of the text when I was joining the guild. Welp, the surprise idea was ruined from the start, but since you know how they work, let's link ours to each other's. Yours is better than the rest of us, so maybe you should carry the core of the connections. Is that an issue…? — Fasnilthar said, referring to Nalfimiria near the end. The communicators used by members of the sisterhood typically could match the stationary ones built by social creatures, if enough concentration could be devoted towards them. Thus, even if we were using inferior devices, keeping connected to Nalfimiria's would be way easier, regardless of how the distance between us might be altered.
—Not at all. If I'm to be the leader I should be hearing all our exchanges during work, anyway. Not much of a point in having stronger vessels without using their perks either. Still, for the matter I was alluding to. We should always be close enough to each other to speak through these things. In the case of the bird, that might be slightly harder, though Chiaisei should be able to handle that part for us.
—Of course. If her flight gets in the way of the communicators functioning, I'll work as the common link. It should be easy enough, especially while supported by a conduit.
—Alright, that should be it for this talk, then. Unless any of you have some questions? — Nalfimiria asked, to which there weren't many additional requests. Chiaisei asked for references in studying tactics, but other than that we all agreed we needed no further discussion as for organizing ourselves during work as of then. We briefly tested the functioning of our thought communicating bracelets, then moved on to the next issue. Or rather, perhaps not an issue, yet simply a suggestion some of us made.
Namely that of collective practice, mainly through sparing though also defensive training as suggested by Fasnilthar. Since the backyard wasn't quite long enough to serve as a proper ring, it wouldn't be the best choice, still it did provide us with sufficient space to fight while in close quarters. This did require moving the table we were around, to offer more space to those sparing, however it didn't make the option any less valuable to keep in mind for that day and later ones. The limited space did mean Chiaisei and Finarkzir wouldn't have been capable of practicing there, something that when coupled by the gap in skill between the 3 remaining humans and Nalfimiria, restricted our options while there a lot. Still, it would be enough to try to learn more about each other's habits, or merely to put our skills to test in a more direct way.
The lack of distance and plain battleground would greatly weaken Fasnilthar, but as she herself said this wouldn't be an issue, Sowanar, her and I agreed to have some rounds between us. Oddly enough, Fasnilthar did also say she wanted to observe me fighting some more before we had our first few matches, though I didn't particularly mind it at the time.
Seeing Fasnilthar practice with the knight among us would be enough to estimate her ability. And even if I was curious to learn about how she fought directly, in such a small enclosure her skill would always be restricted, regardless. Especially since we had been warned to take care not to damage the house or the fences around us, meaning the potency behind her projectile spells would likely be restricted as well. Nalfimiria also placed some spell vessels around the designated training area, ones meant to assist our unoccupied barrier casters at keeping the surroundings guarded.