^^ Rasp's Human Form ^^
"Hello. How do you do?" I chuckled.
She just raised a single, needle-thin eyebrow imperiously, and I gulped.
--- Greta's POV ---
She stared at me for what seemed like forever, and finally spoke, making me jump.
"Summon the most powerful thing you can think of, then, the most powerful that you can control. We will interfere if necessary, don't worry." She suddenly said, gesturing at the circle.
I nodded and concentrated, focusing on the Phoenix that had attacked us when I stole Rasp. I smiled and prayed to Hecate quickly, and then threw up my best shields, surrounding the circle with several Aegi, instead of one Aegis, like I would usually do.
Next, I drew on the strength of Gareth and Dunwal, pooling their respective reserves, after asking their permission needlessly. They'd just responded with 'Of course, Mistress, I am, of course, Happy to Serve,' and 'Oh Aye, go an' whack 'em Dead, ye?', making me giggle.
I breathed out, and then began reciting another a poem by Sappho, blushing at the extremely explicit and suggestive wording, but using it anyway, as it was beautifully scripted, and incredibly powerful.
The masters had interesting reactions, that was true enough. Most laughed or smiled, and a few blushed, while the rest simply raised eyebrows, expressions indiscernible.
I spoke the last words, and ripped a hole in the universe, gently piercing my palm with one of my nails to prepare for what I had in mind.
The Phoenix made a grand entrance, but I thought ahead, and protected my ears from its deadly cry, and grinned when the circle shook, but held. I charged forward, ducking the beak that jabbed at me, and slammed my bleeding palm into her mouth, which was held open by the stone she was biting.
A blazing white Thorn appeared on my vine, and I grinned, pulling my hand back. "I see... Frida, you are mine, do you understand? You will not burn me, or my possessions, friends, or loved ones, nor will you attempt violence on anyone without my blessing. Now please submit." I touched my grimoire to her foot as she stood tall, so massive that her astral form was unable to fit in the colossal room.
She was absorbed, and I grinned as the book got noticeably warmer for a moment, before cooling. I opened the book to her page, and smiled.
'Summoning Information;
Race: Phoenix;
True Name: Frida;
Given Name: Frida;
Age: 6167 Years, 8 months, 7 days;
Powers:Flight,Phoenix Cry,Immortality;
Captured: 1 minutes;
Capturer: Greta Falkirk;
Currently Held: Yes'
I closed the book and smiled at Master Lon, before bowing my head respectfully. She raised an eyebrow again, then smiled. "Interesting... but you cheated. You drew magic from another source, one I can't sense." She hummed, her smile replaced by an unreadable scowl.
I blinked. "I drew magic from my contracts, I wasn't aware that was against the rules." I looked at Professor Oralia, and he sighed, rubbing his temples.
She huffed. "I see. Try again, little Dove. But you do this test on your own, remember that."
I bowed my head, and sighed. "I will... attempt to do so. But I lack the magical reserves to do much without assistance. I am only 10, after all."
"Hmm... true... then order a familiar into the Ether Realm, and summon them back." She nodded, compromising.
I bowed my head and opened my grimoire, summoning Rasp, ordering him into the still-open crack his mother had made.
It closed behind him, and she raised an eyebrow again. "Two Phoenix's?"
"The second was his mother. I snatched him just as he was born, so I hatched him. Very lucky, honestly. I hadn't known anything about magic, so Mirage helped me." I shrugged, and then began reciting my first summon, Dylan Thomas; it rolled off my tongue like smoke, the words sounding unnaturally silky even to me as I spoke them, but that's didn't stop me.
I spoke the last words, and the crack appeared, then exploded, making me flinch as a man made of fire launched through it, landing on the edge of the circle, bouncing backwards.
Several other beings attempted to get through, but I threw a neutral rune of force at them, and they were tossed back, my mental determination and concentration powerful in its own right.
The crack healed, and I smiled at Rasp. "Hello, Rasp. Sorry about all of this."
He blinked, and slowly nodded, his flaming locks turning into real hair, but still flame red, and with small tongues of fire licking from his roots into the air, smoking gently. His old feathers burned and destroyed themselves, leaving him completely naked, so Mirage appeared next to him, and whispered in his ear, prompting him to nod slowly.
Pants appeared on his frame, and I laughed. "Well done, Mirage." I said, and cut the edge of the circle. They re-entered my grimoire, and I closed it with a thunk that echoed with a resounding finality.
I ate some chocolate from my pocket to quell the tiredness that was seeping into my bones from the mana exertion, and Master Lon smiled. "Well done. You pass... I think that's all of your current classes, hmm? Master Dion?" She asked the Seventh man.
He hummed. "Halfway finished, and you haven't disappointed yet. Very well. Master Cortez?" He asked the fifth man, a giant fellow with muscles that strained against the leather and fur clothes he'd wrapped around them.
He hummed, and nodded. "What do you know about making magical weapons and armors?" He asked simply.
"Uhm... I made a bracelet, recently, that absorbed godly lifhtning, and stored it in the astral plane, covered in containment runes, for a friend of mine, Daniel Thorn... his godly gift of lightning was out of control, so the bracelet absorbs energy from his lightning, stores it, and allows him to use it at his discretion." I swallowed the frog in my throats and simply spoke up after a moment of indecision.
He hummed, a deep, Vibrating sound that echoed in my chest, making my ribs buzz. "I see... what materials did you use?" He questioned further.
"Tungsten and quartz, it was a torc." I nodded. He hummed again, and I held up a hand. "Is there a way for that not to make my ribs vibrate? It's highly distracting." I asked guiltily.
He blinked, then laughed, a giant, booming sound that vibrated the very stones under me, before he finally stopped. He breathed deep, and sighed. "My apologies, I know of no way for my voice to stop making your bones quiver. It is simply how my voice is."
"Ah." I sighed.
"Mm. And as for Daniel, he is my grandson, and I am very aware of his... problem. That you have helped him, however, does not ingratiate you to me in the terms of this test, understood?" He asked sharply, his squinted eyes narrowing slightly further.
"Uhm... yes sir? That explains the voice, actually. Thor, thunder, booming voice, all makes sense now." I nodded.
He grinned. "Good. Now. Back to the test... you chose very common, and honestly, slightly substandard ingredients. Why? Silver would have been a better conductor, and Diamond would've been a better storage."
"Well, I wanted it to glow when it absorbed too much lightning, and heated up, so that he would have a clear signal that he needed to control it better, or calm down. I don't know how to make silver do that." I explained.
He nodded. "I see..."
"And... I don't know about you, but diamonds are... difficult to obtain in the quantities that I used." I blushed.
He clenched his eyebrows. "Oh? How much?"
I snapped my fingers, and a image of a small dot next to a gigantic spiked ball appeared. "That dot is this room." I smiled.
He blinked slowly. "Oh. Well then... quartz must've been much easier to make for that."
"Make?" I asked incredulously. "How do you make crystals? No, I bought the rights to a quartz mine, and then the entire harvest, after it was completely played out." I shook my head.
He blinked, then laughed again. "I see... yes, interesting. You like him that much? You went to a lot of trouble for just a small token..." he grinned.
I blushed, looking at the floor as I felt my ears heat up.
Master Lon snapped at him, reaching and whacking his head sharply. "Enough, that's none of our business in this exam hall, and shame on you for embarrassing the poor girl! Be professional, you misbegotten Oaf!" She snarled, and I gazed at her with awe as he cowered, covering his head protectively. She winked in my general direction, making me chuckle.
He coughed into a fist. "Ahem. My apologies. That was rude of me, bringing personal matters into a test. Please, forgive me. Moving on... what do you know about chemical reactions?" He asked.
I blinked. "Umm... could you be more specific?"
He nodded. "What happens when I mix oxygen and hydrogen?"
I blinked slowly. "Umm... that's water, right? Two hydrogen, one oxygen?"
He nodded again. "Correct. What happens when I mix carbon and oxygen?"
"That's... smoke? Carbon mon... monoxide? I think?" I answered slowly, racking my brain.
He hummed softly. "Yes... and What else?"
I blinked. "What else? Umm... I don't know."
"And how much of the air in the world is Nitrogen?" He asked.
I blinked again, confused. "I don't know."
"What's the chemical makeup of Steel?" He pressed.
"Ummm... that's... uh... iron... and... is it oxygen?" I asked/answered.
He chuckled. "Yes. Iron and oxygen are the key components. Do you know the process by which steel is made?"
"I think you inject oxygen into hot iron? I'm not really sure." I shrugged.
"And how about Alchemy? How does one turn lead into gold?"
"One doesn't. You can't simply 'turn' something into something else. What you'd have to do is find out how many protons and electrons gold had more or less than lead, and make up the difference, forcing an elemental change." I said clearly, happy I knew that much clearly.
He nodded again. "Very good. How would I do that?"
I was completely stumped. "I... don't know. Gods I hate saying that..." I grumbled.
He laughed. "Mm, we know what you mean. No worries, you're doing wonderfully for someone who never learned this subject... how about something easier? What is the philosophers stone?"
"The philosophers stone is the ultimate culmination of Alchemy. It has the ability to shift any matter into different elemental structures, through the method I spoke of, but without any thought on the users part. It is said that very few have ever managed to make a successful one. The failed Stones are called 'Chaos Stones', because they make any matter they touch other than their owner explode violently." I recited from the text I'd read yesterday.
He smiled. "Well done, well done indeed... I like it..."
"Master Cortez. Have you measured her abilities and aptitude yet?" Master Dion interrupted, not amused.
"Sigh... Yes. Greta, unfortunately, you don't know much of basic chemistry, so I'm sorry to say that your knowledge of Alchemy and Smithing is beginner's, at best, but with your talent, I'm recommending you to my class next term. Unfortunately, you have failed my test." He spoke softly, remorseful, it seemed.
I bowed my head. "I understand. I'm happy with what I got, having not studied your coursework at all, and only having read a few passages in a textbook."
He nodded. "Indeed. Master Harper?" He asked the woman next to him.
She smiled at me, and nodded. "I don't suppose you know anything about musical history, practice, a cappella, or Mora?"
I grinned. "I've been told I have a nice voice, but no, I don't know anything about it's history or... whatever those third and fourth words were." I answered easily.
She hummed gently. "A cappella means making music with only your voice, no instruments. And Mora refers to rhythm. Both have applications in magic."
"Oh... well, I don't know anything about those, other than singing a little. I only ever sang for my sister, so-"
"If you have a nice voice, I'd like to hear it." She interrupted gently.
"Why?" I asked, confused how magic and music had anything to do with each other.
"I am the Master of the Musical Aspects of Magic, and also the leader of the Musical Institute, which enrolles both magical and non-magical students." She said in that same soft voice, lilting and flowing to my ears like... magic?
"Are you using magic right now?" I asked, confused.
She smiled, and the feeling went away. "Indeed. I was trying to send you to sleep. You have a sturdy composition, and a strong mind. It's hard to use magic on a mind so focused... you have the ability to do as I do, if you have the patience to learn. Now... would you sing for me? Nothing masterful is expected. Just something you like, something with rhythm." She asked, her smile widening to expose more of her pearly teeth.
I nodded slowly, and sighed. I closed my eyes, and focused on breathing. Then I parted my lips, and sang.
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