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Post by magmarhyme on Jul 10, 2011 18:04:04 GMT -5
Magma was roaming the grounds at the cult's headquarters. She'd not had much time to herself to explore the grounds since her training with Watermark began, and that happened so soon after she joined that she barely even knew any pony in the area besides him. And yet, Magmarhyme felt she could tell the cultists from regular ponies by now; they were different in manner and talents from the other ponies of Equestria. She peeked her head into several tents, trying to stay quiet so as not to draw attention to herself.
Well, more attention, anyway. Walking around with molten slabs of ash caked onto her skin kind of made her stand out without trying. The trail of soot she left after using her powers wasn't really helping either. Then there was the wet ground, which made her leave a path of small hoofprints behind her. If one followed the trail, one pony would see she had walked around the whole camp rather chaotically, but had explored almost every inch of it by now.
She sat down in front of the tent she had been spying into and hummed a little tune to herself. Then, she sang, poorly:
"Fire! Fire! Ferocious fire!
You restless wall of flame.
Fire! Fire! Roaring higher!
Your fury to never tame."
Magmarhyme had made up the song when she was a child, the day she found her talent. She thought now on the lyrics. "But I'm taming you now, aren't I?" she said, now looking at her cutie mark. Watermark's training had given her a strong will over her magic. While not perfect, she wielded it with a greater control, which only served to make her crave more training. She hummed the song over and over to herself, sitting idly.
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Post by Watermark on Jul 10, 2011 18:30:53 GMT -5
Magma did not expect a voice from the tent to erupt with singing much like hers.
"Water! Water! Raging water!
You restless wall of waves.
Water! Water! Striking harder!
Your insistence never fails!"
And though the singing came from inside the tent, the hoof that tapped Magma's shoulder came from behind her. Watermark had his little eyes and ears all over the Cult encampment, and was following Magma's stroll carefully. Finally deciding it was time to approach her again, to see if she was ready to continue her training.
After all, he saw much of himself within her, and was eager to put his teaching methods to the test. Red Charge had taught him well, but the ultimate teacher was experience, something Watermark did not have as much as he wanted. Of course, he was a tremendous mage, and his students all agreed his teaching was amazing. But he had only been teaching for so long.
He needed a star pupil, someone to emotionally invest in, and help grow. Trixie caught on fast, and had great skills besides her magic potential. Willow was passive and easy to instruct. But Magma, was a personal challenge. In a way it was making up for never truly getting better at fire magic. He could teach fire mages fire magic, but could he teach someone who's core essence was very much like that of fire itself?
"Hello!"
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Post by magmarhyme on Jul 10, 2011 19:13:51 GMT -5
Magmarhyme had grown used to Watermark's sudden intrusions. She no longer winced or exploded into flames when he appeared suddenly near her. Internally, it still shook her slightly and made her apprehensive to find herself alone one minute and with company the next, but externally, Magmarhyme made no sign to show how shaken she was by the other pony.
"I like mine better," Magma said with a big smile and closed eyes, referring to her song, and turning around to be face to face with her teacher. Her smile faded quickly, however and her demeanor grew more as her moment of solitude left as quickly as she had gained it. A mischievous grin replaced the childlike beaming.
"Hello, Watermark!" she replied, her voice now full of enthusiasm. She hopped to her feet and began trotting around him wildly. "How are you? Where have you been? What am I learning today? Will it be fun? Can we start now? I'm ready!"
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Post by Watermark on Jul 10, 2011 19:30:20 GMT -5
Watermark grinned, "Today, I'm gonna teach you how to make, one of THESE" He presented a hoof, and from within the tent, one of the small water golems Magma had seen all over the camp hopped on it.
Watermark's grin persisted as he explained, "Elemental golems! While not TRUE golems, the knowledge of how to create those is lost with the Golem Maker, they are completely under your control and will do as you command!" He said, as the water golem suddenly leapt, splashing magma in the face as it turned back into water. Unfortunately for the fiery filly, that particular golem was larger than normal, or at least condensed, because it managed to soak her entire head.
"The technique for creating Fire Golems was invented by Ash Rider himself, because Fire Golems, being energy, similar to lightning golems, are very difficult to control, and the formula for creating them was incredibly difficult to find out. Mind you, I managed to do so in just several days, but then I found my fire spell book, and it turns out I had the entire thing wrong. So instead of Fire golems I actually invented lantern golems. But that's for another time!" He stopped his rant, still grinning.
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Post by magmarhyme on Jul 10, 2011 19:42:57 GMT -5
Magmarhyme reeled back as if shot by an arrow. "Argh!" she exclaimed, frustrated, as she flopped onto the ground. For dramatic effect, or perhaps from shock, she had a short coughing fit before standing back up. Her hair was completely drenched, and hung down into her eyes, rather than its usual manner of spiking upward like flames. When the water hit her, it let off a hissing sound as it met her heated skin. Additionally, the ashen coat over her own coat was partially washed away, leaving pieces of her real coat color showing through the dark ash. She grunted angrily as she sat up.
"That's amazing!" she said, putting more excitement into the statement than needed. She figured that if her sarcasm got her soaked, than pure complimenting would keep her dry. It seemed a simple enough formula. She imagined herself leading an army of golems behind her, torching whatever she commanded, having true control of fire, her obedient little element. True excitement replaced her false praise.
She ran in circles around Watermark, leaving a little trail of molten hoof-prints around him. "That's so cool! I mean hot! I mean, whatever I mean! Teach me! I'm ready! I wanna create a golem! I wanna learn! I wanna!"
She stopped suddenly, remembering something she promised herself to ask him. "Um, but, before we begin? I wanted to ask you about your... um... markings."
She remembered how they had animated themselves the first day of her training with him, but then she was too afraid to ask about them, fearing that Watermark would use her to demonstrate his point. Now, having spent more time with him, she trusted that he didn't actively try to hurt her, or she hoped, at least.
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Post by Watermark on Jul 11, 2011 13:32:58 GMT -5
"Oh these? They're nothing special! Now come on, we have a lot of training to do!" The mysterious unicorn said, bouncing over, leading Magma to the large plaza around which the Red Mages compound was built. "Okie dokie! Ready to learn how to make some elemental golems?" He asked, conjuring up a few of them and sending them dancing around.
One couldn't help but wonder how he kept that grin on for so long. Wouldn't his mouth hurt? His grin wasn't just a grin, it was a WIDE grin, one that was very obvious. His changes of personalities were also a thing to wonder about. Changing one's entire presence in an instant from one to the other like that, was not a regular feat.
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Post by magmarhyme on Jul 11, 2011 14:02:42 GMT -5
Magma followed Watermark but she kept her eyes on him regardless of the golems encircling the plaza. He wasn't going to answer her. She supposed she had suspected that from the beginning. Still, he also hadn't lashed out at her for asking, so there was no harm done. His smile caught her attention. It was too eerie, the way he kept it long after it was needed. Unnatural. Her own face registered no emotion as she watched his. Then, she realized with a jump, that he was probably expecting an answer. She hurriedly recalled what he had asked.
Right! Golems! "I'm ready," she replied. At least, I hope I am, she thought.
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Post by eclipse on Jul 11, 2011 14:05:12 GMT -5
Willow was getting used to the setup of the camp by now; a tent here, a hut there, with the ever-present pyramid looming over everything. Not very many of the members seemed to like being outside, for some reason, so she took her walks in relative solitude regardless of where the sun was (or wasn't) in the sky, with a few chance encounters.
Apparently this was a day for one of those encounters; as she walked by one of the tents she noticed Watermark and that firey pony discussing something. Willow paused for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to just let them be, but decided she should at least say hi. Knowing Watermark, he had probably already noticed her, and she'd rather not try to avoid him if that was the case.
She walked over to the small gathering hesitantly, then nodded. "Hello," she said unintrusively, smiling weakly at the two rather intimidating ponies. "Hope I'm not intruding on anything."
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Post by The Great and POWERFUL Trixie on Jul 13, 2011 19:30:07 GMT -5
"I'm here!! I got it!!" Trixie burst through the rear flaps of the tent hefting a very thick and old-looking leather bound book in her saddlebag. Her horn glowed and she lifted the book out of the bag and set it on the ground next to Watermark with an audible thud. She sat down, hanging her head low to rest, it was obvious she had ran a long distance, and hurriedly, to get this book to Watermark.
Trixie made a strained groaning sound and cracked her neck ever so slightly as she rose her head to meet Watermark's eyes. "Sorry i'm late. It was a nightmare trying to find that book, especially because it has no title on the binding or cover." Her words sounded out of breath, and she lowered her head again, her chest heaving as she panted for air. "But I got it... I got it." She managed, her head still lowered.
After a few seconds she raised her head again. "Oh dear that wakes you up. Aaghh.. yeah." She cracked her back to release the tention of strained muscles from her sprint across the camp. "What are we working on here, again?" She cocked her head to the fiery pony next to Watermark.
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Post by Watermark on Jul 13, 2011 22:37:58 GMT -5
"I was just about to teach Magmarhyme how to create elemental golems. You two can watch and learn as well. But since you are not completely elemental by nature, you will probably not be able to use such a high level elemental spell. In exchange, when we're done, I will teach you something else."
Watermark, didn't even bother opening the book, before turning back to Magma, "Magmarhyme, you have mastered the control exercise I gave you, and that makes me proud. And now we will exert that control even further. Please create a ball of fire."
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Post by magmarhyme on Jul 13, 2011 23:02:43 GMT -5
New ponies! She hadn't seen them yet, even though she had explored the camp. Granted, she wasn't really looking at anyone as she searched; she was just taking in her surroundings earlier. She was still wet from Watermark's prank and her skin continued to let off a small sizzle from the water droplets as she jumped up. She resumed her running around Watermark, now increasing her circle to include the two newcomers.
"Hello," she said as she strove past Willow.
"I'm," she said as she passed her again.
"Magmarhyme!"
"Who"
"are"
"you?"
She stopped now. She was finally dry, and happy for it. She then watched Trixie with wild curiosity. Who was she? She was blue! Another water pony? A unicorn. Oh, no. Another water pony. She backed away from Trixie, not wanting to get soaked again. She zipped behind the other new mare, putting her between Magmarhyme and Trixie. She wasn't going to get drenched again! She peeped around the pony she hid behind when Watermark addressed her. As he spoke, she walked and stood before him. He was more likely to soak her for not being nearby.
She jumped up, and, when she landed, took a solid stance, hooves widespread. "I'm on it!" she shouted. Magmarhyme was proud that she had practiced so much for this moment. She closed her eyes and focused only on creating a small spark. Her hair didn't light aflame, but her eyes let off a deep glow when she reopened them. In front of her nose was a small ember, floating gently.
Soon, Magmarhyme's horn began to shine. Although it was covered by her hair, it let her mane give off an otherworldly light. The ember became two. Now four. The sparks of fire began to join together as soon as they divided. Soon, a ball of fire floated just before Magmarhyme's face, no bigger than her head.
It wasn't so hard as she had thought it would be. Magmarhyme had learned to focus on the minute details and let the reaction handle itself. She said nothing as she stared into the center of the fireball.
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Post by eclipse on Jul 13, 2011 23:32:32 GMT -5
Willo'Wisp blinked, not sure how to react to the fiery pony's... unusual... manner. The other pony seemed really high energy, and not just because of the odd glow to her eyes. "Um... Willo'Wisp," she blurted out after a second of thought, but the pony was already focusing on the task that Watermark had given her. Willow watched intently as the other pony created a small fireball, and backed away a little. So hot, and for such a little fire!
Keeping her ears focused on Watermark (had he really said that she might be learning a new trick today? She tried not to think too hard about it, she wasn't very patient when she was excited, and learning new magic was always interesting), she turned and nodded to Trixie politely. She hadn't had much of a chance to catch up with her roommate since she had started walking around the camp.
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Post by The Great and POWERFUL Trixie on Jul 16, 2011 23:51:31 GMT -5
Trixie froze as the aforementioned Magma ran around her and Willow at a crazed pace, blurting out words as she went. Trixie automatically planted her face in her hoof. 'Oh dear Luna, not another Watermark...' She thought to herself as she tried in vain to drown out the red pony's voice. She squeezed her eyes shut, only to snap them open again when she felt the heat and fury of a fire in front of her face.
Trixie stumbled backwards with a surprised gasp, a fireball burning right where she was. She landed on her back and groaned from the slight ache from the impact, when she turned to face Willow, who had backed away as well, and returned her nod with a weary smile, still shaking off the surprise of having fire literally in her face.
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Post by Watermark on Jul 19, 2011 4:35:10 GMT -5
"Good!" Watermark exclaimed happily, "Now, I want you to shape this fireball, shape it like an animal, whichever animal you feel closest to. Remember, focus, control, attention. Don't let anything distract you." Watermark said, demonstrating with his one of his own golems, shaping it into a variety of animals, a dog, a cat, a scorpion, crab, and even a small dragon, before turning it back to its previous shape. "Go ahead."
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Post by magmarhyme on Jul 19, 2011 13:19:12 GMT -5
An animal... I feel close to? Magmarhyme pondered. The fireball flickered uncertainly as she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and learned down so that her horn pointed directly at her conjured sphere.
The ball got smaller and smaller until it reached the size of a pebble. For several minutes, it remained there, motionless, like Magmarhyme herself. "Argh! Come on!" Magmarhyme jumped once but the sphere didn't budge. She glared at it - nothing. Finally, Magmarhyme stamped her hooves in frustration. Each step caused the ball to start losing its shape. "DO. WHAT. I. WANT!" Magmarhyme stomped her hoof hard on the ground once more and the fireball burst outward, raining soot down onto the filly.
She shook the ash from her face and grumbled. When the soot settled, she saw that the fireball had taken her desired shape - a fiery hummingbird. She ran around it several times, afraid it would burst again and vanish. "Wow! It's great! It worked! It's amazing! Isn't it amazing? It's so amazing!" She smiled wide at her creation, then to Watermark.
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