Qualify

[Alistair]

Qualities. Already, he had recognized that this subsect of Transmutation would perhaps consume the greatest amount of his time. By nature, qualities were infinite in nature, and while he had previously complained about their grounding in physical features, Alistair did at least recognize the sheer volume of possibilities that existed within the realm of "physical traits".

Damien had already revealed to him a stone that burnt like coals, yet without any genuine heat or flame. He could make a sword melt through a thing as if it were kindled by a torch. He could imbue the warmth of a thick quilt into a shirt, or even perhaps the icy grip of a glacier into an object prone to conducting heat.

Alistair saw a similar thread with Transmutation as he had with Rupturing - it was bound similarly to scientific fundamentals, but like with Rupturing, Transmutation defied the limitations of science. While a steel sword could be dense, rigid and durable, a linen cloth never truly could be on a comparable level - no matter how skilled a clothier was in their craft. But with Transmutation... the limitations of physical make-up and scientific reasoning were wholly invalid. A shirt could maintain exceptional durability, and resistance to external damages, merely because it could. Because of ether.

Ether filled in for what logic could not. Knowing this, his appreciation for Transmutation grew... and so did his interest. Quickly, the art became a fascination for him, as it was not constrained by set, limited principles in the same way that other magics were, at least when it came to enchanting... but also broadly; Transmutation was not a singular, limited thing, but a bouquet of different flowers all offered graciously. Understanding and superior usage of ether, mage-smithing, safety among Fractures, Absorption and other concepts that -- while ultimately and truly tied to the mastery of ether as a dominion of reality -- were vast and expansive in their potential.

In a way, it felt almost as a pure magic. A true one, where others were based in varying external concepts. Transmutation was a magic based in magic, and... he liked that. Quite a lot.

[Alistair]

However, he would not master the magic merely by conceptualizing it and theorizing. The mage was intent upon learning a quality, to-trial, and equally pursuing a separate skill as part of his progression into the interior of the magic. While crafting was certainly core to Transmutation, there remained a neglected section of it: spellcasting, like with any other arcana, or as they were called, domain magic. So, brilliance would be his final aspiration for the trial, but equally a quality.

Before him lied the feather of a bird. Soft, a white-beige plume, with a smooth and unadulterated texture. It felt much akin to the lightest puff of fur on the softest thing, these two concepts qualities on their own... though what he sought to inscribe upon other items, and thus strain over now, was the quality of weight - or weightlessness - that feathers intrinsically knew. He was not certain if it could be done without compromising the impact of the object, however, as weight was naturally tied to force.

But - if he also imbued "the force of..." or perhaps the "durability of..." as qualities, would the item not transcend the limits set by its weight? He wasn't certain. Regardless, instilling a set of heavy Terrendyte armor with the weightlessness of a feather would not compromise the fact that - ultimately - it was still a dense collection of layered, structurally integral and dense metal, that was nigh-impenetrable.

And, even if he failed to properly instill any equipment with such weightlessness, it would be a learning experience. He was still uncertain as to whether Transmutation had limits on how far it could delve into physical traits, or whether some traits were more difficult to instill. Practice, he supposed, would provide him the answer.

So - the feather. He touched its plume, and parted through it with his fingers, ruffling and rummaging through the small quills that seemed to extend from the branch-like length. Why was it considered to be nearly weightless? Because it... weighed little. Why did it weigh little? Because it was light. Why was it light? Because the material was not heavy, nor was it dense, nor structurally thick. He only wondered how it made sense to imbue lightness into a heavy, dense, structurally thick object... but again, he supposed that was the work of ether, which essentially made reality and so, worked outside of it.

[Alistair]

Alistair, after a considerable amount of time studying the feather, had determined that he knew the quality of it very well. Attempting to make objective measurements seemed pointless, particularly considering feathers were a varied object with many different possible weights, appearances and other identifications. Alistair felt that he knew the quality well enough, and that was that, which was equally inspiring for future qualities - though he knew some may have been more complex than others. To truly inspect the shocking touch of lightning seemed... dangerous to study, and he wasn't entirely certain how things like that - even when it concerned mimicking the true heat of fire, as a less extreme example - could even be done. Did a transmuter just . . . burn their hands until they fully quantified the feeling of touching flames?

No - perhaps they stood in its radiance, taking in the heat projected outward? If so...

Well, it was another can of worms, in the end. Alistair determined that for now, he was best served mastering an ability alongside a Quality, and so he pursued forward unto Brilliance. From what Damien had told him, Brilliance was the art of making ether luminous; making the Transmuter's own ether glow, radiating a light outward that was similar in theory to a torch, but not in practice, with stable luminosity that was not challenged by heat or the elements. He imagined the glowing ether to likely be colored based on the manifestation of the mage's ether. Transmutation seemed to... change one's ether, and how it appeared. Damien had told him that his own ether shifted to a forested green upon pursuing the art further, and while Alistair's ether had always been connected with the shade of black due to his portal's peculiar appearance, he wondered if somehow the craft had changed the expression of his ether. He supposed with Brilliance he would find out.

Alistair supposed, in a way, that he could think of this like a quality. The light of a torch, or perhaps even the glow of a starry sky, but imbued into his ether as a portion of its nature. To think that even the ether inside of him could twist seemed to be altering its fundamental nature, even if only for a moment. He was... adding a layer to the way it worked. Alistair only wondered if all ether could be augmented with Brilliance. Could the ether extending from his palm within Wither hold to the same effect?

He supposed he would have to try, on an individual basis, technique for technique. For now, he attempted to light his ether with Brilliance, applying a glowing effect to a small sphere he crafted above the center of his palm, hovering. A glow did emerge, but it was faint; a fluctuating, colorful splash of a deep blue and indigo color, one hue dancing within the other. It was no particular, individual shade, but a gradient. He supposed his ether had always been as such. The vanta-black of his portals was accompanied by a blazing outer layer, though this was at the behest of a spark still somehow attached to Ellasin. He wondered, now that he had begun to understand ether and develop his own intrinsic connection to it, if his tears through space could uphold the same violet blue shade.

Quickly, he... tried. Instead of speculating, he put it into practice. The portal tore through, and at the edges where his ether compromised reality's integrity, the shade had indeed changed from a damp, soulless black to the fluorescent violet hydrangea that had developed in his dimly-lit, poorly utilized Brilliance. The shape remained much the same, but the color shifted. The development of Transmutation among his sparks was significant, and ultimately, physically evident.

[Alistair]

He attempted to make a better-crafted Brilliance, putting his ether into the ability once more, as the same sphere of ether continued to hover over his palm. He imagined the brightness and focused his ether into illuminating the room, placing his intention upon the spell. This time, it seemed to work, a blue overtone flashing over the canvas of the empty, dark room and becoming bright. His coloring distorted as the light shone strongly upon his face, close-by, though one would only see his eyes open with a level of bemusement. One that only, truly showed when he'd come to utilize a new ability for the first time.

Then, he tried flicking it, on and off. Like a lantern, primed by a trigger. He attempted a few times, and was successful in doing so each time. The etheric sphere remained above his hands, and so he could channel the brightness however many times he wanted. But, perhaps each flickering demanded some expense of ether, and so he stopped. Things were well, however. He'd learned a bit about qualities, he'd seemingly mastered Brilliance, and now he could move on to learning more qualities and - possibly - even enchanting an item, immersing it into ether with Deconstruction, applying the qualities he'd learnt previously during Alteration, and returning it within the Reformation.

He would need to Bolster, next, as well as perhaps take upon the mantle of learning Ether Missile. There was much to do with a new magic, and it became easy to grow overwhelmed. But somehow, this domain was rather natural to him, and he felt comfortable in its exercise. The spark and he had bonded well, and his initial suppositions had wholly faded by now. He was content to move forward - bolstering, next. Crafting. More qualities. And then, inevitably, some other wide array of things that he would feel he urgently needed to know.

[Aeodan]

Name: Alistair

Knowledge:
Transmutation: Quality: The lightness of a feather
Transmutation: Qualities as 'fundamental, intrinsic principles'
Transmutation: Qualities can conflict with one another
Transmutation: Brilliance
Transmutation: Brilliance can be re-cast in flashes with the same base ether
Research: Theorizing on the fundamentals of a craft

Loot: None
Injuries: None
Renown: No
Magic XP: Transmutation

Points: 10

- - -

Comments:
Pretty straightforward and grindy Transmutation thread. Could have used some flavour, but, that might just be me.


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