Ch.3: "Silver Tide" / Nyse Lagoon

[Legendary Sidekick]

Thalia places her hand over Kell's head…

"Let's see now. Pure Water… that's an easy spell. You can create enough to fill two glasses in an instant. Or maybe a dozen.

"Wave Dance. This one takes a while—you have to dance to cast it ((one round of casting))—but you can control currents and even have water shoot up out of the ground or from your hands. You could have the water come from any part of your body, but I do not recommend your ear. That would just weird people out. Water coming from your feet may sound weird, but if you want to jump high into the air, you might like that. Just don't try that with shoes on. The shoes will be left on the ground, and ruined.

"Um… how about a weapon spell? Blades of Ice. ((two rounds of casting, or one round per blade; can be cast outside of battle)) This would give you weapons made of ice. Two weapons, to be exact. You could have blades of ice that extend from your arms like swords, or they can go on your feet instead. You can skate across ice, ski across snow, or even skate over water which freezes beneath you. If you were to… I dunno—fight a sea monster or something? You could use the magic to skate and carry a normal weapon.

"Oh… and I don't really have a good spell for cooling water. Pure Water can be cooled using Blades of Ice, so if these spells work for you, I think I covered every request except heating water. Which is fire anyway."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell grins. "I can't wait to try these out. Can I become a mermaid now, or will I have to wait until I master water?"


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[Legendary Sidekick]

"Sorry," Thalia says, "the mermaid form is in your future if you begin this path today and master the element when you're ready. My intention is not to tease you, but to inform you of the long term benefits of decisions you make today. When you see Aphrodite you will find your control over magic is stronger. You will be able to use these spells anytime.

"With mastery over water, by the way, you will be able to have warm or hot water. It's nice to have this ability if you want a bath. Again: future benefit. Beginners need ice to cool and fire to warm."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell asks, "How will I know when I'm ready to master water? Or when I've mastered it, for that matter?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Thalia says, "You will know."

((You get two "level-ups" in magic. So when you get to the other area that grants magic, you'll have the option to choose other elements or master what you already know.))

Aglaia asks Leto, are you considering air or fire?"

Euphrosyne says, "From your dream, I would guess Air. You seem to favor the Valkyrie form. What would you do if you could control the wind?"

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn frowns as she thinks. "Air would be better for me, I think." Maybe she can learn about fire sometime later if she decides not to go for mastery of air. But that's a question for another time.

"Hm... well, it might be good for directing my arrows, or deflecting arrows from others who shoot at me. And just for keeping cool on hot days, honestly." She remembers how hot it was in Ogygia the day she met Kell and Akantha. And on second thought, using the wind to deflect arrows sounds a lot like what Judge Xarris did... Oh well.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Without a detailed answer, the Three Graces each try to come up with a spell for Leto.

Aglaia says, "Heaven's Arrow is a good spell for an archer. You won't have a need to carry ordinary arrows, for one, since you can just have one appear in your hand. If you hold the shot ((1 round)) any arrow will guide itself to your target like a bolt of lightning. Hold the shot longer ((2 rounds)) and you'll fire multiple arrows at once--as many as a dozen!"

Thalia says, "Ascension would allow you to levitate a little, lift things, jump high... basically you'd create an upward blast of wind. It can function in many ways. This could even save you if you fall a long way."

Euphrosyne says, "Ride of the Valkyrie can speed up a mount, should you ride an animal. If you master wind, you might be able to extend your winged form to your mount so you and the mount can fly. But none of us actually use air magic. Titania does, but she gets a bit cranky if we call her out before she's ready. So... do you like the spells we suggest?"

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn smiles at the spell suggestions. "Those all sound perfect. Ascension would complement my swan-feather cloak; I can control falls with it, but levitating would make it even better."

At the mention of making a mount able to fly, she can't help but imagine Helix growing wings. What would he think of that?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The Three Graces call out "TITANIA!!!"

A fairy with Valkyrie wings flies onto the roof. She is wearing a horned helm and a shiny bronze armor skirt and a customized backless breastplate. She draws the tiniest sword our heroines have ever seen and makes a motion as if dubbing Leto into knighthood.

"That's all you need to do. Please use your new spell so you and your nymph friend can fall slowly, and enter the door below. Aphrodite will be waiting."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn smiles as Titania appears and addresses her, then looks at Kell and holds out a hand. "Shall we? We don't want to keep her waiting."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell grasps hold of her friend's hand and gives a smile to Titania.

She tells the Graces, "Thank you for your time and for working with us."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

"Yes, thank you." Painful memories or not, she at least has her real name back. That has to count for something.

Still holding Kell's hand, she moves to a place that's safe to jump from, then takes a deep breath to focus before the leap. "One... two... three!"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The Graces all wave. As our heroines leap over the edge they can't help but overhear:

"Awww... holding hands!"

"Oh, it's not like that."

"I know. That's what makes it cute."

"Cute nothing. You're just in a good mood."

There's some hushed giggling and a high pitched groan.

"We should spend the night right here."

"Should we show them what we're up to?"

"They don't want to know!"

"I mean the magic."

Titania sighs, then suddenly our heroines float back up as the cherubic fairy levitates them. The Three Graces are all as far away from each other as they can be without leaving the rooftop.

Thalia says, "Not that we want to... how did you put it? Assault your senses? But we're going to have a bath here on the roof. If you want, we can show you something that the two of you may find very helpful."

The Graces are still clothed in their magical outfits, or in flames in Aglaia's case. The roof is just a flat roof. It doesn't look like a good place for a bath. If hundreds of gallons of water were poured onto the roof, it would likely gush over the sides and also leak through the roof into Aphrodite's chamber.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn tilts her head. "Let me guess, you're going to hold the water in place with magic so it doesn't spill everywhere?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Thalia replies, "I can't do that. Not with one spell anyway. I could create walls of ice, but hot water would melt it. Cold water wouldn't, but why would I bathe in cold water? That would be no fun."

The Three Graces all focus on an area in the center of them. A circle expands beneath their feet.

A teal glow from Thalia's hands creates watery ripples within the circle.

A golden glow from Aglaia's hands heats the circle. Steam rises from the ripples.

A fuchsia glow from Euphrosyne's hands throws flower petals into the air. Once they descend onto the circle, the Three Graces slowly sink inside.

The ice dress melts. Euphrosyne reverts from her kentauride form and lets her flower dress fall apart, adding to the petals on the liquid surface. Aglaia's flames are extinguished along with her wings.

The Three Graces are not relaxing in a hot spring. Flower petals floating on the water conceal their bodies, but as far as you can tell, they are able to sit comfortably with their heads and shoulders out of the water.

"We combined our magic," Thalia explains. "You two might think of a way to combine air and water. Experiment with your instant spells first."

Titania whispers, "I'm outta here. You can let yourselves back down."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn watches in fascination as the three nymphs combine their powers to create a hot spring in the middle of the floor. Then she smiles at Kell. "Well, we have time. I'm sure we'll come up with something once we get more used to using it."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell looks at Leto and giggles. "I can make ice blades and you can hurl them? Too bad I can't make ice arrows. Or too bad you can't just blow a breeze, so I could dump water on someone and you could airdry them,"

Then she asks, "Are you Ok? After that dream or whatever it was that made you wake up crying?" Kell's not sure there's time for Leto to answer, but she wants Leto to at least know that Kell cares enough to ask.


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[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn sobers at the question, biting her lip. "I think we should talk about it later. Maybe after we speak to Aphrodite. Thank you for asking, though." It's nice to know that Kell noticed all that upset.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The Three Graces are sitting close together, though they keep their hands to themselves.

"Hmmm..." Thalia says, "You could try blades of ice with heaven's arrows. It would be slow in a battle, but if an enemy is approaching from afar, you might have time."

Aglaia says, "None of us have air magic, so you'll have to experiment."

Euphrosyne says, "This hot spring spell was a happy accident. The pool is a magical place. If you go in Aphrodite's chamber, you won't see our legs dangling in her room. We're bathing in a whole other plane."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell shudders. The idea of bathing in another plane creeps her out.

She braces herself for the coming conversation with Aphrodite. What kind of mood will the goddess be in today? Kell doesn't mind her so much when she's in a good mood. It's when she's not that Kell generally has issues.


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