CATCH ALL FOR FEBRUARY // ALL OPEN

[bifroster]

A // UNIVERSITY // OPEN

Being transported to that other world delayed classes … once more … but at least the university understood it was against her will and let her have her job back.

Feel free to find Jane in her classroom, pop in on a class, catch her on a lunch or coffee break, or find her in her office working on lesson plans and grading. She might even be working on some live demonstrations with gravity! If you get trapped in the gravitational pull, she apologizes and will work on refining the equations a little more next time.


B // STUDYING MAGIC // OPEN

At the library (pick any one, she can use the porter without restriction once more), Jane has selected a number of books on magic. Anything from mythology to the literature of magic to some actual serious scholarly research into it. There is one particular book, though, that is just out of reach on a top shelf … across from where she currently is … on a ladder.

We all know where this is going.


C // TAKING A WALK // OPEN

Sometimes, Jane just really needed to clear her head.

Sometimes, that meant walking around her neighborhood in the middle of the night without any real purpose. Where she ended up didn’t matter. It was what she thought along the way. Of course, sometimes, that might include some ranting about the universe and paperwork or students being lazy after all her efforts to help or stupid songs getting stuck in her head.

She really needs to apologize to her neighbors.


D // WILD CARD

I probably forgot a plot somewhere, so feel free to put that here! Feel free to do that even if we didn’t plot anything!

Comments

sorry for the wait!

[bifroster]

"So, you can speak it without having any magical effects?"

That is probably how it first developed, and then people added in the magic one way or another. Most likely intent behind the words coupled with those who could speak it properly and use magic.

"And there are people who specialize in those various schools of magic?" she asks, wondering about the terms. "Would someone be able to then specialize in a certain branch of, say, destruction? Like, fire magic or magic that is more in tune with plants?"

No worries!

[fireandhoney]

"That I can, it just requires a certain amount of control. Though I've found that after using a Shout I need a few minutes before speaking the dragon language actually does anything magic again. My mentors never did explain that one to me."

Maybe it's the way the language works, or something inherent in the Thu'um itself. Every dragon he's fought didn't just spam fire or ice breath on him, and it seemed they needed the 'recharge' too.

"Some mages excel in certain schools better than others, while other mages have been able to master all forms of magic there is. For example, I can do Destruction, Illusion, and Alteration spells just fine, but I've never been able to get the hang of Restoration or Conjuration magic."

[bifroster]

"Well, if it's using energy, I think it's like anything else that requires effort and strength. You can run a mile, but after you run that mile, you need some rest before you can do it again, or at least more training to work on your endurance."

Those were possibilities too.

"That sounds on par with what I have learned about other forms of magic in other worlds. So far, I haven't heard that there is something impossible for someone to do."

It made her wonder what the limitations of magic were, even in all its many forms.

[fireandhoney]

"I suppose if I put in the time and effort, I could master those other two schools of magic, especially since Skyrim is home to the college of mages."

Finn's been thinking about enrolling in that college, maybe honing his skills or learning brand new ones. Maybe even talk shop with fellow mages.

"Let me show you an example of Alteration," His hand glows blue for a moment, before he waves it at himself. He walks around the room, his footsteps making absolutely no noise. "This is a Muffle spell. Pretty handy when one wants to get the drop on bad guys."

[bifroster]

"Having resources and other people does help," she grinned. "That's how I earned all my degrees. It's not quite like learning magic, but close."

He really should see if he could learn the magics of other worlds! One never knew!

"No way," she said, impressed. "Does it just work on one person? How does it account for all the different sounds someone could make? Does it just dampen the vibrations a single body makes? Could it work on inanimate objects?"

[fireandhoney]

"Pretty sure this is just a one person spell, and I've never tried it on an inanimate object. Guess I never had a reason to check that out."

The spell wore off and Finn's feet resumed making noise. "I can also do this," A glowing cube appeared above Finn's clenched fist, and when he opened it, his body suddenly had a gentle green glow around it. "This is what we call mage armor. We mages prefer not to wear armor because it weighs us down, but this gives us a protective layer as if we were wearing armor."

[bifroster]

"Well, there are plenty of objects to try it on here. Maybe we could experiment with a book falling on the ground."

The armor was interesting as well. "But, once again, it's made out of energy? How much does it weigh you down? Similar to actual armor?"

[fireandhoney]

"We can do that."

Finn gestures at himself. "It's made of magic energy, I suppose. This weights nothing, unlike regular armor. I could do cartwheels in this, it's so light. Let's say you started whacking me with a pointer, that would feel like a light tapping so long as this spell is active."

[bifroster]

"Hmm."

Jane grabbed a nearby highlighter. "Could I? I'm curious about its impact strength too. Does this armor do better against attacks than regular armor?"

[fireandhoney]

"Blunt attacks are softened when I have this spell active, but blades not so much. It doesn't protect me from being stabbed, but it's slightly more protective against slashing attacks. It also doesn't really protect me against magical attacks."

Finn lays on the table again and intentionally rolls off, onto the floor. He then pops right back up. "Didn't feel a thing."

[bifroster]

Well, that worked better than poking him with a highlighter!

"So, it's still advisable to not go around and get stabbed regardless."

[fireandhoney]

"Well, that's just good advice whether you have magic protection spells or not," Finn grins, the spell wearing off and the glow vanishing.

[bifroster]

Jane laughed. "Yeah. Can you make shields and such as well? And would it be like the kind you attach to your arm or more like a dome to cover you from all sides?"

[fireandhoney]

"Oh yes, actually," Finn takes out his sketchbook and starts on a quick doodle. "You have Wards, which are basically magical hand shields that block incoming enemy spells, and there exists magic to summon spiritual weapons into your hands like swords, daggers and axes."

Finn turns the sketchbook around. The drawing shows a person with their hand held in front of them, palm out, and on their palm is a circle that's blocking some fireballs.

"Wards are part of the Restoration school, while Bound Weapon spells are part of the Conjuration school."

[bifroster]

"Whoa," she replied, looking at his quick drawings. This was great to see! She wished more people understood the fundamentals of their powers like he did! "What are their ranges? Am I correct in assuming it depends upon practice and how much energy you have? Do you need to block the spells head-on, like you would a physical projectile?"

[fireandhoney]

"Exactly. The Ward can be sustained for as long as it takes for your mana to run out, and bound weapons only last a few minutes but I've heard they can do in a pinch." On more than one occasion, Finn's managed to disarm a mage with a sword, only for them to summon a bound dagger into their hand. "And yes, Wards mainly fend off direct projectiles of magic."

[bifroster]

"Bound weapons are ones you can ... summon?" she guessed. "Or are they made out of the same energy as your warda and shields, hence their short manifestation?"

[fireandhoney]

"Bound weapons are magical weapons summoned from another plane of reality, and they fade after a while."

Finn makes up another couple of doodles, this time as a short flip book. The flip book shows a simple cartoon character of an unarmed mage waving his hand, and then a glowing weapon appears in his hand.

thank you for your patience!

[bifroster]

Jane grinned in delight at the flip book, because that was fairly accurate.

“So, will someone notice their sword missing for a while? From that other reality?”

Np!

[fireandhoney]

"Bound weapons come from a realm called the Soul Cairn. It's a plane of Oblivion, where lost souls roam. I went there once, not sure I'd ever want to go back."

Even if he got to meet one of his Dunmer heroes and a badass dragon, the place was rather creepy and desolate.

<333

[bifroster]

"Creepy place?" she guessed. "I guess this means it is more along the lines of borrowing. But can you summon anything then, so long as it's there?"

[fireandhoney]

"Very creepy. Everything's super dark, and it's like walking through a graveyard." Finn opened up his sketchbook to show her a landscape drawing of it. Because when he got back from his last port-out, he felt the need to draw the place.

"Almost anything. You can summon the bone-men who roam there, certainly, and I guess one could summon the spirits of those who passed. I could summon a skeletal horse from that place, but that particular power seemed to get lost when I ported back. I also have a Shout that could summon an undead dragon who lived there. I tried to summon him here, but no luck."

Finn took that to mean that was because the Soul Cairn, like all planes of Oblivion, were part of Tamriel, and that was all the way back in another universe.

[bifroster]

Jane's jaw dropped at the image.

"Whoa."

She shuddered as well, because those were some terrifying abilities. It probably took more energy and skill to bring forth more complicated objects and beings, but maybe that was a good thing.

"It might be because you can't connect to that dimension anymore here."

Otherwise, they might be able to use that to gain access to other dimensions. Other's home worlds.

[fireandhoney]

"Funny, that was my theory too. Though, going there wasn't all bad, because I actually met Saint Jiub. He's kind of a historical figure among my people. Grandfather claimed he met the man when he was alive, but Grandfather also claimed that he tamed a minotaur."

Grandfather was always making up weird stories, and Grandmother said most of what he said was bunk.

[bifroster]

"Guess it's the people you meet while you're there. If you met, say, a horrible school bully, I doubt you'd like it as much."

Though his comments about his grandfather made her snicker.

"Did Saint Jiub ever confirm that?"