The year is XXX31

Gemini shuttered, pulling her parka over her body to block the cold air in the transporter pod. The stars outside were a series of white dashes as her and her instructor, Instructor Kadman, breezed through the cosmos. Swallowing, she felt her Instructor's gaze on her. His senses, such as sight, sound and smell had been taken from him at a young age. He'd never told her how, but she remembered the first time she met Kadman, the first lessons he taught her.

He was dressed exactly as he was today, his skin as beige as it was then and the same tone as his mask, a hemp cloth that had been tied around the base of his skull. The mask covered his eyes, nose, cheeks, ears and head. The mask had been decorated with the depiction of eyes drawn on it in dark blue ink. He wore a sleeveless indigo tunic that barely covered his hairless thighs . On their first meeting, he refreshed her on motifs, the symbols used by illusion mages on each mirage they conjured. She interviewed several other Mage instructors, all of whose contracts ended prematurely. After all, she was a prodigy, with a grasp of magecraft that dwarfed nearly anyone she came across. Almost anyone. 

She sat across from Kadman who held his staff over his bar thighs. To her left, a table held two cups of steaming hot tea. To her right, about eight feet away was the door, and on the other side were two of her personal guards. The lounge room was smaller than most of the other rooms in the Castle. In all of GEmini's nine nine years, she hated this room the most. It lacked features, just plain undecorated walls. A plain carpet had been thrown over the redwood flooring. A simple window gave view to the garden, though being on the second floor only let Gemini stare at the trees. THat is, unless they used blue aura. 

Gemini peaked at the world outside with her aura, unable to resist the urge to ignore her senses. It was spring on the Emperor's moon, though the flowers had not bloomed yet and the snow hadn't quite melted away as it had in previous years. Clouds took turns hiding the sun, keeping a cold chill on the Moon's surface. Gemini shivered.

The blind man, a mage named Kadman, had been in the room when she entered. He paid her no attention when she entered, not even greeting her. Instead he'd asked if her maid had already informed her who he was, and why he was there. 

"She told me you 're here to apply." She answered. 

To herself, though I don't see how a blind man is going to teach me to cast illusions he can't see. 

He snorted, waiting as she took the seat across from him. The leather reclining embraced her as he sunk into the seat. 

He seemed to be watching her, not with his eyes, but with another sense. Was it perception magick? Or was it sound?

She felt as if a thousand eyes had been laid on her, studying her with a judging gaze. She shook the feeling off, filling her lungs to the brim empowering breath. Quietly, she exhaled through her nose, noting any sign he was surveilling her with sound. 

Before she could tell if he was, he dove into an all too familiar excerpt she'd studied in her earlier years as a mage. 

"Most illusionists, like ourselves," his cadence was slow as he gestured to himself then to her with smooth hands, "Use a symbol on our mirages. In combat, it is important to let our allies know what is real and what is-"

Gemini, much younger and cockier, cut her new master off. "-What is real and what is illusion." she sighed. She had been taught this many times, too many times, by another instructor who failed to teach her anything new. In fact, she always knew more than her instructors, having to explain the simplicity of a spell to a mage over thrice her age. This one had to be at least in his fifth decade. So, despite his smooth skin, fluid movements, he was just like all the rest, old and incompetent. 

To her surprise, the instructor didn't display shock. Instead he continued to recite the excerpt, as if he knew she was going to finish his sentence.

A sneer met his lips as he continued. "The great Azura used the head of a beakless owl as her motif. Your Mother, Emperor Haethora's motif is a cup pouring substance into the golden sun."

Azura, whose legendary magecraft was considered "peak illusion magick," was often called Azura the Trickster. Gemini had heard plenty about her, since every illusionist fawned over her made a young Gemini sick to her stomach. One time, she'd been compared to the long dead mage, her blue eyes and blonde hair and fair skin. This irritated the seven year old Gemini, sparking her disdain for the great mage. Who wanted to be compared to someone called the Trickster?

"It's onto the Golden Sun." GEmini corrected the old man. 

A mound rose on his bandana where she assumed his eyebrows were. "I'm sorry?"

"Mother's motif is a cup pouring liquid onto the Risen Sun of Ra. Not into it. I would know because I've seen her motif before." She sat back in her seat, a smug smirk tugging at her lips. Taking a celebratory sip of tea, laid out prior before her entrance, she took the time to monitor the interviewees reaction. Instead of witnessing his surprise, Kadman nodded at her through her steamed glasses. He joined her in sipping his own cup of tea.

"Is that so." he breathed, not exactly questioning her, more so stating. 

Great, the Light sent me another dumbass.

She scoffed, "Why would her motif be pouring water into the sun? That makes absolutely no sense. You can't fill the sun with liquid? Now if you were to pour liquid onto the sun-"

It was Kadman's turn to interrupt her: "Perhaps the cup isn't pouring liquid. Perhaps it's pouring something other." 

"Have you seen Haethora's motif?" Gemini found herself snapping. "In person?"

"Why of course I have, girl," Kadman nodded, "Her Radiance was my Mage Instructor many years ago. In fact, she and I are still in contact after my graduation from her Instruction. Hence why i was recommended to tutor you"

Gemini stared at him a moment, her mouth opening in awe before snapping shut. He wasn't bluffing, as far as her magicks told her.

"Mother was your Mage Instructor?" Gemini raised a brow, using her inquisitorial question to draw out some sign of fallacy, even the smallest.

There's no way in darkness this old fool was her disciple!

"Moreso she was my caretaker. After losing her son, she adopted a few others. She explained to me what her motif resembled."He waited a moment, studying the young woman. Gemini didn't respond. "Would you like to know?"

So far, he hadn't told a lie. His heartbeat remained steady, his pores not leaking even the smallest droplet of sweat. He made no obvious gestures of a liar either, like turning his head to eye contact. Though that must have been because he was blind.

"Sure." Gemini sighed.

"Haethora's motif is of light being poured onto the sun of Ra. It was the name of her mostchild, whom she taught every magick she knew. Unfortunately, he was killed before he reached manhood. Her motif resembles her pouring her love- the Light- into her son, whom she named Amun. It's quite a touching story to such a famous motif, no?"

Gemini chewed her lip, only saying, "Mmhhmm."

The old man smiled, his chest flexing as he snorted. Leaning back in his chair, he folded his hands over the top of his staff, a cane of wood with a clear glass orb at its head. 

How could she be proven wrong by him in the first few minutes of meeting him? And how could everyone who taught her about Mother's motif also be wrong? 

"I'm assuming your previous instructors showed you-," Kadman paused, sipping from a cup that had been set for him. She made sure to watch him drink the tea. Peeking at him with her mind's eye, she watched his lips twitch as the hot steam touched his lips, his tongue flattened against his jaw to allow it to roll to the back of his throat. He set the cup back down, noticeably emptier than before. "Apologies. I'm sure your past instructors showed you their own motifs?" this time he was asking.

Gemini nodded. "Of course." She hesitated before diving into what the three motifs were: a rain cloud of teal swirls, a violet pawprint and an indigo fist with two fingers pointing upright to make a "peace sign."

"THen i'm sure you are aware of their aura patterns?" the mound on his forehead rose again. "Afterall, motifs should be designed to replicate a mage's aura that interacts with natural matter."

"Most of them could cast ebb, but only a few could cast flow." she replied. "Only one of my instructors could do both, but unlike me, he cast ebb to perceive and flow to conjure illusions.

"It's good you know about the directions of spell casting. You clearly had great instructors." Kadman slouched in his chair a bit, leaning back and dropping his elbows to his arm rests. He released his staff, which stood still despite having nothing to support it. "But I'm asking about the aura patterns, not how they are cast."

Now Gemini raised a brow. "I don't follow." 

The old man nodded, pursing his lips. "I see," he sighed, a light exhale that was neither irritated nor exhausted. "Most mages only know about the directions aura flows. For centuries, we studied how it flows away from us," sliding his palm against the armrest, pushing his hand away from him, stopping as he reaches the edge before dragging it back to his body, "And ebbs toward us. But mages like myself are aware of something more," the way he said the word, almost puffing the word out like smoke between his lips.

Gemini leaned in, finding herself intrigued by the old man now. 

Okay, old man, perhaps you are smarter than the average instructor. 

"And that is?"

"Well, I'm afraid I can't teach all eight of them to you today, but mages usually cast spells with certain vibrations. Vibrations determine how aura interacts with natural matter of the world." he pointed his staff at the door. "I'm sure most of your instructors only cast using the fourth vibration pattern."

"What's the fourth type?" SHe had heard of vibration patterns. She'd skimmed over the chapter on it in her tome. The spells there weren't interesting enough for her.

Holding up his right hand, each finger separated, he began to tell her. "Well, the fourth pattern is in between Liquid and Gaseous, and it's called Vapor. Though often it's called Steam, Fog or-"

"Mist." Gemini gasped. She remembered how her instructors' mirages seemed to float like colored clouds.

Kadman nodded. "Mist, or vapor, appears both shapeless like water while being weightless like air. It's easier to conjure with the vapor vibration since most mirages are neither solid nor plasmaic."

She heard these words before in her younger years. The vibrations seemed to be based on the three states of matter- solid, liquid and gas. Assuming the remaining five vibrations were based on the phase between matter, like vapor being between gas and liquid, Gemini sat back in her chair and nodded. Mirroring Kadman, she also sipped her tea. As the vapor touched her forehead, steam fogging up her round glasses, she felt a warm full feeling in her chest. IT wasn't the tea that slid down the esophagus, but something else. Something deeper. Something immaterial?

Before she could ponder this feeling more, she blurted, "So I also cast using mist vibrations?"

"I'd assume so. Based on what I've heard of your casting, and the vibration pattern your instructors must have taught you in…" he set his cup down. Both of his brows furrowed, nodding slightly. Gemini peaked at him again, observing how pleased he was with the taste of the tea. 

She continued to watch him, where he was also watching her with his own skills. Opening her mind's eye a bit more, the light of his aura filled her brain, the same dark blue as his aura. Around him in the air were several indigo eyes, crude depictions of ovals with dark circles at their centers. AS she studied them, she noticed how complex they were, each one shaped like an actual human eye, with colored irises and lashes and-

At once, the eyes turned on her, their brows rising before lowering into a frown. All of them, probably about a dozen or more, blinked at once. Then her mind's eye blinked shut, her mind forced back into the seat of her brain. Her head was pounding, blood throbbing against her head like a migraine.

"Aaughh," she hissed, her fingers rushing to her temples. She cursed, unable to restrain herself like she should in front of an elder. 

The throbbing in her head didn't die down for a minute, each thump thump thump against her skull lasting for a few seconds at a time. 

Over the pounding in her head, she heard Kadman voice, muffled and distant, as if she was under water and he was yelling at her from a great distance away. 

"I see your mind's eye has opened. ITs rare for someone your age to have their mind opened to the aural world." He gestured to her mug with his cane. "Drink your tea, girl."

She did, fumbling to grab the handle on her tea cup. The pounding in her head died down before she realized the cup she grabbed was also an illusion. Between her pinched fingers, she held the fizzling aura that slid down her fingertips. Something like electricity ran up her hand, burning her nerves.

Something in Gemini snapped. She didn't know what had caused it to snap, but she felt a rage swell within her. The act of touching the illusion ignited something that she didn't see the origin of. Unbeknownst to her, the first spells of many had been cast on her.

It was already enough this old man had proven himself capable of teaching her something new, to force her mind's eye to squeeze shut. But for him to also taunt her with cheap tricks! "I will not be made a fool by your parlor tricks in my own home!

"Forgive me, girl." He shrugged nonchalantly. "But I need you to place your ego aside for the moment. There are some things I must ask you."

Her chest rose when he breathed the word ego. Was he implying she was some big headed idiot when he called her that. "What?"

"Based on what I've already taught you about aura vibrations, have you been able to identify my vibration pattern?"

She opened her mouth to tell him that it had to be vapor, since all illusionists cast with that pattern. Hell, even she cast in a vapor pattern, but she preferred the term mist. 

But she closed her mouth, stunned when she realized Kadman' mirages didn't feel like the steam that rolled off her face a moment ago. His conjuration was hot, like fire. Rubbing her numb fingertips together, she pondered even further.

Did this mean he cast using gas vibration? The mug dissipated like hot air, or fire. 

Once again, as if reading her thoughts, he answered the internal calculations. "It isn't a gas pattern."

Then what is it? 

Can a mage have more than one vibration pattern? That would make sense since the handkerchief was solid and- No, no it wouldn't make sense if his pattern wasn't flux. She scratched out the possibility of having two vibration patterns, but still held on to the possibility of it. 

Colors, I have much to learn from this old man! She admitted.

"I'm afraid i dont have the answer, sir." she folded her hands in her lap, dropping her eyes to the flower pattern in the rug. 

"It's not something you would know. After all of your schooling, I'm sure most of your teaching didn't include the fourth phase of matter, plasma." Holding up his hand again, he held up four fingers. Behind his hand, he conjured the illusion of a second hand, lacing its fingers between the real ones. THe illusion wasn't the misty aura she was used to, nor was it clearly solid or gaseous. Instead, it vibrated, a blurry stubs forking out between his fingertips. "Plasma particles are looser than gas particles, and vibrate faster. It takes a lot to keep plasma vibrations  as a mirage because of that, but illusions aren't what we'll be using this vibration for."

Quietly, Gemini re-added the possibility of having multiple vibration patterns to her  mental notes.

"Instead I'll teach you how your mist vibration pattern can amplify the spells you cast with your mind's eye."

"Are you saying my pattern is mist then?" She hissed, scoffing at him. He nodded slowly, "THat was before I watched you open your mind's eye."

"And if i never opened my minds eye in front of you-"

"You're too prideful to not flex such a talent, especially in front of someone you feel challenged by."

"Why would I feel challenged by you?"

"Because you haven't stopped studying me since we've met."

"That's a poor way to determine if I feel challenged by you." Gemini had no idea where this rage came from, but her words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. Not that she wanted to. "All of you mages think you're hot shit, all of you old mages do. You come in here and tell me you have such sights to show me, but trip and stumble when you find out I'm leagues above you dried up hags!" Angrily, she jabbed a finger in the direction of her Gemini. She took the pause to catch her breath. "Most of my magecraft comes from old texts containing spells beyond your limitations because every mage instructor can't teach me shit!" Her finger honed in on Kadman now, who hadn't moved an inch as Gemini threw her fury directly at him. "AND you think your sooo wise coming in here with your stupid mask and ugly grin and shirt ass tunic, trying to teach me, a prodigy way behind her years in illusions, about fucking vibration patterns and some secret fourth bull shit phase of matter that, mind you, is in none of my physics books." A laugh escaped her in a gurgling pop. "you can shove your staff and vibration patterns up your ass, you blind fuck!"

Shame burned her cheeks when she finished her rant. Gemini had know clue where that came from, that sudden spew of rage and irritation, but it felt good to release. That warm intangible feeling in her chest  grew larger, though her cheeks and forehead were under fire. Irritated, she adjusted her glasses, dropping her eyes. 

Kadman said nothing, just staring at her, if you could call it that. "You are wound is awfully tight, girl."

"My name is Gemini." She snapped. 

He smirked, this time raising his eyebrows with cynical exaggeration. "I'm sorry?" he said, copying his hand by where his ear would be.

"My name…" she inhaled, trying to maintain her composure. "Is Gemini. Not girl."

"Ah, apologies," he nodded once, sipping his tea again. "I was unaware of which of the twins I was to be instructing. I'd hate to call you by your sister's name on the first meeting."

That was fair, many people had often confused Gemini for Aquarius and vice versa. But Gemini knew he didn't need to call her "girl."

"Before we end our interview, I have a few more questions for you, Gemini." 

She had already decided to keep him on as his new Mage Tutor. His knowledge on vibration patterns intrigued her enough. THat and the amount of mind's eyes he had… She'd be a fool to miss out on the opportunity to learn more about that.

WHen she asked him about his availability, his pay request and when he could start, she told him to leave.  A guard opened the door and led him to what Gemini assumed was the front door. Her mind was focused elsewhere. Holding out her hand, she conjured a small orb, watching it dissipate. She did this over and over.

Mist was a better term than vapor.