A Single Spark [open]

[upupatomway]

Who: Atom & you
What: Baby's first spell attempt. Please give him advice (or kick back with some popcorn)
Where: Outside on the beach near Flotsam
When: November 9, after lunch
Warnings: None


Atom balances a spellbook for beginners on one of the numerous rocks on the beach and raises his arms in front of him, facing out towards the ocean with a frown of concentration. He holds this position, squinting as he tries to do as the book instructed.

It's the simple task of summoning the ether energy to one's fingertips and then pushing it out to visually show the magic power, usually as some kind of spark or glow. His hands show no sign of any extra light, however. The book describes a sensation the magic has that makes this process easier to track for most readers, but for a robot any feelings in his body are limited by his sensors and his comprehension.

He squints harder, face scrunched and turning red. His creator had gone out of his way to make it so Atom could blush, though he probably didn't have this expression in mind. There's a sound, like a squeak, that might imply a spark, only for it to get lower and clearly recognizable as the robot straining.

Comments

[upupatomway]

"Technically yes, robots built like me do breathe. I don't need oxygen from the air, but I do use it to help keep my internal temperature regulated." Atom's smile goes a little lopsided. "Not sure if any of that makes sense... Sorry! I can, and do draw air in and out of my body!" He nods.

Hopefully that's close enough. He hadn't read enough of that book to get to anything about breathing. Maybe the one who wrote it overlooked it completely.

[achelord]

“I have no idea if this will work, but it’s worth a shot.” Ziel said, sitting down on the sand cross legged. He patted the ground across from him inviting Atom to sit down too. “The reason you can’t cast a spell right now is you probably only have trace amounts of ether in you.”

“Ether has a flow. It’s everywhere around you, all the time. It’s in every living thing but also just in the natural world. It’s just usually in quantities far too small to be useful to for a practical minded mage. Some people are just born with a greater ability to generate ether than others, but even if you have as much as a rock, this should still work. It’ll just take longer.”

[upupatomway]

Atom follows Ziel's lead and sits cross legged across from him with good posture. He wonders if they're about to meditate like monks. Can robots meditate? He hasn't heard of it, nor tried.

"Do you think I can still cast spells that are useful, even if I only have as much ether as a rock?" Atom asks, brow knitting with a touch of worry. He quite literally has an ether stone in his chest right now after all. "I'm not an organic person so I don't know if ether will ever... flow through me as easily as a human or elf, for example."

[achelord]

“Doesn’t matter. The Empire puts a lot of emphasis on ether stones and natural ability, but the truth is that the entire world is full of power just waiting for someone to make it theirs. If this works you’ll be able to go as far as any human mage. You’re just starting two steps behind.”

Ziel closed his eyes and idly cycled his power, reveling in how smoothly it flowed through his body thanks to Rezo’s spirit surgery. “All you do is breathe in, pulling in a tiny puff of ether, make it yours, and then breathe out. Each breath is like a grain of sand, but if you keep at it, it’s entirely possible to build a mountain.”

[upupatomway]

It almost sounds like gas exchange in the lungs of organics- without the detail of getting used up immediately. Maybe ether entered living things by latching onto oxygen? Never mind the science of it- he should try paying closer attention to his breath.

"Ether is even in the air?" Atom wonders aloud, before closing his eyes like Ziel had and drawing in a slow breath. His internal sensors respond to the cool sea air entering his chest, and the warmth from his machinery and the ether engine rises, ready to be sent back out with an exhale.

[achelord]

Ziel cracked an eye open. “I did say everywhere, didn’t I?”

He closed it again. “Eventually, you’ll have to start seeking out stronger ether sources if you want to progress, but for now this will do.”

I won’t go into the specifics, but Ziel spent the next hour or so coaching Atom on very specific ways to breathe, along with some mental exercises designed to get him started on sorting ether out of his breath.

Atom had an advantage here. Most merely flesh and blood initiates couldn’t manage the mountain heart cycling technique without stopping after a few minutes to gasp for breath. Atom might have some minor overheating problems after a while, but he could still last a LOT longer.

[upupatomway]

Atom's system notes a rise in internal heat after a while, but nothing demanding additional cooling systems, and his breathing keeps it in check.

Atom follows Ziel's lead carefully, and time flies during the lesson. He isn't sure if he's supposed to feel a certain way, or if that way is something he can pick up on, but it can't hurt to keep trying what he just learned.

"I'll practice this type of breathing and review my memory of your instructions," Atom tells him. "How do I know when I have enough ether for a small spell? Is there a good one to start with?"

He couldn't help noticing that Ziel actually looked a little happier during the lesson, so he figures it won't hurt to try asking for a little more. Any hints about the content of lesson two, Unexpected Sensei?

[achelord]

"I don't know. I've never tried to teach this to a robot before."

Ziel opened his eyes. "Cycling is an ancient tradition of magic that rewards hard work and dedication, and it can take years to see meaningful results. If you want magic now, there are a dozen other traditions that might suit you better. It focuses on the fundamentals first and foremost, however, so even if you end up doing something else doing this on the side of whatever path you end up following would still be to your benefit."

[upupatomway]

Ziel's reply makes it clear that Atom has important decisions ahead of him. He hadn't realized how many approaches to magic there were. He had just flung himself into it in hopes it would lead to ways to make up for his lost strength and keep him occupied between missions. He should have approached it more thoughtfully.

"You've taught other people before, right?" It sure comes across like Ziel has experience. If it's his first time explaining things, he ought to consider being a teacher. "What paths did your students take?"

[achelord]

“I was the star pupil of the Dawnwing sect, and eventually a teacher there. The technique I’m showing you was the first step on the path we taught. It focuses on energy efficient defensive magic and body reinforcement. It’s how I was able to hold up multiple tons of stone in the collapsing mine.”

Ziel was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke again, his voice had an edge to it. These were not good memories.

“At the very end I guess I was technically the leader of the sect, just by default from all my elders being dead. And all my students. I’m the leader of a sect of one.”

[upupatomway]

The way Ziel's expression shifts isn't the normal kind of gloom that he carries himself with. And then he explains. Atom is at a loss for words at first.

He thinks of saying the typical I'm so sorry that Ziel has probably heard countless times. Or asking if it was the empire, but he's not sure if Ziel would want to talk even vague details, even if it was a roundabout invitation to express his anger with the enemy or his clearly deep heartache.

"But..." Atom starts, voice nearly stopping in his throat for a tense second. "You shared the first lesson with me. You didn't have to, but you still helped me by sharing your sect's traditions. Thank you, Mr. Ziel."

[achelord]

Ziel bit back a sharp retort, which wouldn't have been fair to Atom. It wasn't the kid's fault that these memories were full of jagged edges.

"Yeah, well...If I had just let you be, you might have actually spent all day trying to decode Abenthy's meandering lectures. It would have bothered me."

[upupatomway]

"You saved me a lot more time being confused about what I was doing," Atom agrees, chuckling with his own attempt to lighten the mood again. Even if Ziel doesn't mind talking about his past, it was clearly painful for him to do so. No need to dwell on the subject if it wasn't relevant.

Atom glances towards the book on the sand and back at Ziel. He rubs his neck, and smiles, pushing himself to go on and ask him, "Would it be okay if I came to you for other book recommendations? Or... maybe even lesson two, when I'm ready?"

[achelord]

"As long as you understand I'm not going back to being a full time teacher, you can do whatever you want."

No matter how hard he tried to just give up on life, life always found a way to get its claws in him and make him care just a little bit.

[upupatomway]

"Yes, sir! Thank you! I promise I won't bother you too often. We both have important duties to take care of after all."

He's serious and trying to be very professional about it, but there is a sparkle in his eye from the excitement brewing up inside him.

Inevitably, Ziel would get a message on the network a few days later asking about which book to read next out of a few Atom had found at the library; avoiding anything by Abenthy, of course. It would seem he intends to take Ziel up on his agreement.