533/Magic Practice

Magic Practice
Date of Scene:	03 September 2014
Location:	Njorun Station - Ring of Philosophy
Synopsis:	Shirou encounters an entirely different sort of magic.
Cast of Characters:	Staren, 112, 236, 411, 560

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Yamato (112) has posed:
    The hologram section of the Ring's main door opens out into similated sea air, a light and fresh breeze, and the metal deck of a modern-day warship. The door is, in fact, arranged as part of the superstructure. Contrary to the actual vessels, in this simulation there is no gun turret on the forward deck either.

    It's just a stage, really, because the Lady of the Line is here to practice her magical powers. In full Deployment, Mikase Yamato elevates her guns, hesitates, and then fires a staccato staggered salvo of rounds announced by great, thundering booms of sound and huge plumes of smoke and fire.

    About thirty seconds later, another warship in the simulated distance is struck, several sections of the superstructure blasting free. Two impacts are right on the waterline, and the target starts to list. One shot just outright misses, hurling up a geyser of water.

    Probably not what people expected when she mentioned magic.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    The scene that greets Emiya Shirou isn't even REMOTELY what he was expecting. Some kind of arena, colosseum, firing range, maybe? That would make sense. So would a workshop or a dojo.

    Instead...

    Blink blink. He steps out the door and... ".... A ship?" States the obvious, in quiet disbelief. There is WATER in here. Lots and lots of seawater. And he's on a ship. The ship should be moving, but the place he left wasn't.

    Immediately, the logical quarrel about all this gives him a small headache. Rubbing his forehead, he staggers over to the deck's edge and gazes out at the sea... only to be nearly DEAFENED by huge artillery going off. "Uwagh!!"

    This is a dangerous place. A seriously dangerous place! The panicked half-assed Magus flips up to his feet , sucking in air and wondering strongly if he shouldn'tjust go back out through the door he came in on...

Yamato (112) has posed:
    After the rumble of guns fades off and the breeze blows smoke back across Yamato's armored figure and extended guns, she pauses with her eyes closed. It's only after the impacts, some half-minute later, that she opens them again to gauge her performance with a critical frown. "Number 3 was a little low and forward..."

    Stepping back from the railing, she swivels her turrets down and to either side, the guns de-elevating to 0 degrees (relative) in the same motion. With all the noise that Shirou had been reacting to, she hadn't noticed even his surprised shouting. It's only when she turns, which moves the shoulder turret that was obscuring her view of him, that she notices the magus has even arrived.

    "Oh!" Immediately assessing his condition, Yamato lifts a hand, "Uh, sorry. Did you walk in right when I opened fire? That must've been quite a--" One of the ammunition bunkers on the destroyer in the distance explodes, ripping the vessel in half. Yamato pauses, then finishes, "--surprise."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou's just STARING at the Fleet Maiden and her... attire. As a Magus, he can actually somewhat sense the stupendous amounts of magic at work here, and he, in comparison, is like a drop in a bucket. So don't blame him for jawdropping a little.

    he's quite stiff in getting his bearings, using the deck railing to steady himself and finally speak up while the distant ship smolders. "I was expecting something like a dojo or ring." He snorts out reluctantly, an obvious admission of how startled he is by this.

Yamato (112) has posed:
    "A dojo?" Yamato hesitates on that for a moment, "But at the ranges my guns can reach, that'd be awfully cramped. I might even hurt myself that close." There's a flickering shimmer across her exposed metal before it evaporates. A moment later, the haori and hakama likewise disappear, leaving the girl in more ordinary clothes befitting a Japanese student.

    The two meter height, however, remains.

    "This is a holographic training simulator. I use it to practice my magic because it's much less of a drain for me here." Lifting a hand, she gestures herself, "I'm Mikase. Yamato Mikase." Her name is on the patch on the shoulder of her windbreaker, along with some other lettering-- 'IJN BB - YAMATO'

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    The redhead is dwarfed by a full 33 centimeters. He's seriously not used to dealing with girls who are taller than he is.... THIS much taller, that is. It's a somewhat awkward encounter as he blinks at her, but he's smiling quickly enough.

    "Emiya Shirou. Sorry, I didn't know you were still in here!" He's very quiick to apologize, and quite sincerely at that!

    "You call that magic, but it looks more like a one-woman war. Yeah, no way a dojo would work."

Yamato (112) has posed:
    "No, no," Mikase raises her hands, "I thought I'd have enough time for one last salvo before you arrived, that's all." She steps across the deck the the door where she collects a tablet from its wall slot. Tapping at this, she speaks, "I'll get the setting to something a little less wide open, though..."

    On the one-woman war comment, she glances up, "Oh. It is magic. My powers are granted to me through a pact I made with an ancient spirit, the spirit of the Yamato. I'm what my world calls a Fleet Maiden."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Th... The Yamato? The ship?! ... A ship's spirit?" The idea is at least less alien to Shirou than it would be to some others in the Multiverse, given where he's from. "That's amazing. Really amazing. I've never seen anything like it. ... Man, the stuff I've been working on seems silly next to that.... except this new trick." Shirou's voice is full of admiration and amazement. About this, at least, he's quite earnest.

    He's pretty blunt, that's for sure. "Err.. the location doesn't really matter. I was just going to try a few things here, in case anything went wrong."

Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Uh," Mikase blinks up from the tablet, "Yeah. The warship, Yamato. She's my patron spirit." One last tap causes the oceanic surroundings to disappear, replaced by an outdoor dojo courtyard--The doors to exit the holograph simulator are now located where the door to enter the dojo building proper would be.

    "There's a lot of us. A few are working with the Union, too," Mikase says as she puts the tablet back in its slot, "Elasaid's powers come from HMS Hood and Rosamarie's from the USS Albacore." Turning back to Shirou, her expression is suddenly very serious.

    "But you should not concern yourself with what /I/ can do. Worry about what you are doing. If you keep looking at others instead of yourself, you will lose sight of your own improvements and only frustrate yourself."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "It's not that." Shirou sttes simply, voice warm. "It's because I'm surrounded by such amazing people that I can train what I can do in peace, and know that there's already heroes out there." Shirou casts a genuine smile at yamato, one full of faith in her abilities. For whatever reason he's accepted her explanation of what she can do without a hitch.

    Perhaps because how sincere she sounded.

    And then the new surroundings are taken in. "Huwoah! .. The whole place changed. Is this really an illusion? A hologram? It's so realistic..." He can still smell the sea air, or maybe that's jsut his memory of what he smelled...

    "It's an impressive standard to meet. Alright. Challenge accepted. Trace, on."

    Once those words are out of his mouth, his whole presence changes. Or maybe it's better to say his mindset does. Those words are as good as self-hypnosis, and with them he activates his Magic Circuit. It's only a trickle of power next to what Yamato displayed just then, but...

    "Because I'm so new at this I don't even know what I'm doing." He finally adds, before he brings both hands together as if gripping a weapon.

    The Magus closes his eyes, and focuses. At first, nothing seems to be happening, but in about five seconds...

    He's heard muttering to himself, "Creation ideals, basic framework, composition material, maker's skill, forgework, experience, all processes at full excellence...!"

    Golden light flares from his fingertips, lancing out into the shape of an overly large katana-like weapon. A bit too big for SHirou to handle properly, by all rights. The wireframe starts filling out from within, new 'folds' appearing. Every second the 'model' grows more detailed...

    And after about fifteen seconds of this, light bursts wildly up the forming weapon - and it fills in with proper texture and substance. As the light fades... there's Auron's trusty Katana, in the magus' hands?!

Yamato (112) has posed:
    Politely, Mikase stays well away from Shirou while he settles in to the new location and sets about his own magic, "It's a simulator, like I said. I don't quite know how it works, to be honest, but normally when I use my powers it's a pretty big drain--Doing things in here, I barely notice it at all."

    "But the only standards you have to meet are your own," she points out, "I appreciate your wisdom, being able to train in peace knowing others can step up as needed, but you're still comparing yourself to me. Don't do that."

    Once his magic starts working, though, Mikase goes quiet, her hands folded neatly in front of herself and simply watching. It's a very different sort of magic from what she knows or has seen so far in the Multiverse.

    Even a certain Servant's powers aren't quite as meticulous as this.

    Once it's finished, she dips her head in a quick nod, "So you can create weapons? That's a very interesting ability. Are you practicing to see what your limitations are, what kinds of weapons you can make?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren strides into the room, though he's not dressed for combat -- it's his usual synthetic shirt and pants, and his signature labcoat. He nods and offers a brief wave to those assembled. "Heya. So, you're learning magic, huh? You can conjure weapons?" Mikase's already asked the obvious questions, though.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Right behind Staren is a cute little purple unicorn. She is smiling happily as she trots along with Staren. "Although attack magics are not my focus, I would be happy to assist if possible." she says as her horn glows and the saddlebags she is wearing open before a pencil and notepad floats out so she can take notes on Emiya's magic.

     "Oh! And, I am Twilight Sparkle. We heard you were trying to learn more about magic, so Staren and I came here to help!" she says, smiling cheerfully.

Auron (236) has posed:
    For having a gait that is loud enough for anyone can hear, wearing big heavy clunky boots, and being a slow and deliberate walker, sometimes Auron manages feats of stealth that seem impossible for him. Like now. There's no sign of him arriving. Just the sound of his voice. "...So that's what you meant." Referring to the 'copy of his sword' that had been spoken about on the radio. That brings to mind some ideas...

    But for now he looks to Staren, Twilight Sparkle, and Yamato. "Hello," he greets. He quiets after this, so magic can be talked about. It's not his sphere of knowledge, sadly, so he has little to contribute to the conversation.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    As soon as the weapon's finished, Shirou exhales smoothly, calmly, whilst performing an inner analysis on his state. No damage to his magic circuits, no strain on his body. "It looks like all that injury came from pushing it too quickly, and with never using those Circuits before." He states clinically - with just a hint of confidence showing. He wastes little time hoisting the blade up and draping it over his shoulders with one hand, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to do.

    And, looking over his shoulder at Mikase, he gives her a querulous, uncertain look. "Maybe. Until just the other day I only used Projection Magic as practice for Reinforcement, since I almost never get that right."

    Wait a moment, he's better at making stuff from scratch than improving on whatever's already there? What kind of sense is THAT, even to non-magical folk?

    "The earlier copies shattered really easily. There must be flaws left in my image. For this to work best it has to match the real thing. --Hwagh?!"

    And suddenly, a Staren. Shirou whirls about to face the scientist, and blinks at him several times. "Yeah. I'm not sure why." And he's left utterly staring for a few seconds longer at the dazzling equine strolling up behind Staren. He unshoulders the blade, sticking it into the ground. "Uh."

    Twilight Sparkle probably knows that look. It's the look of a human who's never seen a talking Pony before! Unicorn or no.

Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Flaws in the image?" Mikase asks, but she still steps aside for Staren and Twilight to arrive without being hindered by a mountain of japanese girl, "I don't think this is my area of expertise, actually..." There's a bit of a nervous, if amused laugh as she rubs the back of her head, "Staren and miss Twilight are a lot more versed in 'how', I think."

    She steps back a bit, "I think I've spent enough of your time, so I'll make my way out and let you guys discuss magic and ways to fix whatever problem it was you were talking about." She clearly feels out of her depth, here, but feels fine leaving Shirou in the care of the two who had been studying magic much longer than she's even had it.

Staren has posed:
    Staren smiles, looking at Twilight as she speaks. The usual greeting hug was taken care of in the hallway (unicorn hugs and the accompanying advice are the best cure for being in a funk after a week of stressful social situations and faux pases,) so he's just standing next to her now. He looks at Shirou after she finishes speaking, and extends a hand in greeting. "And I'm Staren, Pr--" he pauses, mouth hanging open for a beat, "--Researcher of Problems for the Union."

    When he notices the look on Shirou's face, his smile shows a hint of a mischievous smirk and the tip of his tail flicks a bit. "So, what are you working on?"

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight can't help blushing a bit at the stare from Emiya. She'll never get used to that. It creates a mixture of embarrassment and pride to be noticed simply because of what she is. Then, she smiles to Staren as he introduces himself using her suggested title. She looks back to Emiya after that, then tilts her head in curiousity, her ears perking forward and her tail giving a light swish. "Are you sure you need help? You seemed to create that blade quite easily." she says to him.

     Yamato's retreat makes Twilight blink in surprise. "There is no need to leave. Most of my friends don't find my magic theories very interesting, but we still have plenty of fun together."

Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Ah, it's not about that," Yamato says, "I have a few things I need to take care of, myself, and I wouldn't have anything to contribute here, otherwise." Lifting a hand, she splays her fingers in a casual wave, "Shirou, Staren, Twilight, I'll see you guys later."

    This is followed by a brief bow before the kaiju of japanese girls excuses herself.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou sighs. "No, I'm not sure." He seems to at least be taking being addressed by a Pony fairly well after the initial shock and confoundment. A catboy is one thing. Also a lizard woman. But a pony?

    That's apparently stretching it in his mind. For some reason. At least he gets over it fast.

    With Yamato retreating, he calls out to her, "If you ask me, that performance was pretty awesome. Keep it up!" Better cheer her up a little, right?

    But then Shirou's left with the newcomers he wasn't quite expecting. "... I don't mind talking about theory, but I hardly know enough to say anything interesting, and there's no telling if the magic I was taught and what you learned are the same thing. ... the startling thing is exactly what you said. That I did it so easily." Well, he wouldn't call it easy, but it's clearly NOT normaly by whatever standards he holds. "... And magic beyond your ability has a price tag, a nasty one. If my teacher saw this I don't know what he'd think. Is this safe? How far can it go? Those questions need answering sooner or later."

    Almost as an afterthought, he blinks, then smiles at the pair. "Emiya SHirou. Student, and magus."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    And coming out of his own funk of being faced with a talking Pony, Shirou reaches out to grasp the offered hand firmly!

Staren has posed:
    Staren smiles when Shirou says he doesn't know anything. The smile widens when Shirou admits that there /are/ questions to be answered, and something unique about his magic. He shakes the man's hand. "That's right! Your magic is different than our magic, but if you want to figure out how it works, and how you can exploit it, we're the best!"

    His expression seriouses up a bit, but there's still the hint of a smirk and the brightness of interest and curiousity in his eyes. "You say it's beyond your ability, but it obviously isn't if you're doing it so easily. For some reason, you can do something that's difficult for other mages of your world, easily. What might that tell us about how it works? And what other hidden talents you might have?" An ear flicks, and his tail swishes. "So much to find out... How many times can you do this in quick succession? Does it tire you out?" He cocks his head to one side and taps his chin. "...Does magic /normally/ tire mages out on your world? Have you noticed any side effects or anything else different about this spell besides its ease? What limits or trends have you noticed so far? Have you tried conjuring really big weapons? Ranged weapons? Specific swords? Technological weapons? Magic weapons?"

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight giggles softly as Staren starts rattling off questions. She just stays quiet for now, her pencil and notepad floating in the air thanks to her magic. The pencil is busy writing down Staren's questions, leaving space for answers. "Hmm. So, knowing how magic works on your world is not necessary to cast it. Of course, that is true of most worlds. Even unicorn magic can be used without the unicorn understanding the spell, provided it is a low-level spell." Twilight is mostly musing to herself.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    A few calming breaths to focus, and Shirou thinks for a moment on what the two've said. "Magic... Magecraft isn't something just anyone can do. It's part skill, part talent. I hear there's big families that spend generations honing their theories and spells, and carefully breeding heirs who'll have superior talent. That's because to use Magic, you need Magic Circuits. It's this spiritual organ tied in with your nerves, and spells are just refined ways of forcing prana through the circuits." He recites this almost as if from memory.

    But then shrugs a bit. "My teacher wasn't a with the Magic Association, and he died some years ago. And I'm not his biological son, so I didn't inherit anyone's talents. My parents weren't magi either, so it's just luck that I have any talent." However crappy, he doesn't quite add.

    "He tried to teach me a few things, but the only thing I could use was Projection and Reinforcement.... making things and strengthening things. He told me not to use Projection since anything made of magic will just be cheap junk and Reinforcement's more efficient."

    Shirou glances at the still-existing sword, that looks quite solid, at his side. "This sword stood up in a real fight against a monster. That breaks the rules. I shouldn't have enough power to make copies of quality works like that. This should take way more than I have. That's why I'm a bit worried."

    Answering Staren's question while folding his arms, "And I think I could make six, eight, maybe a dozen more before tiring. It's the only thing I've tried. Projecting anything else... well..." He scloses his eyes, focusing... "Trace, on..."

    There's that mutter again. In front of him, a wireframe of a small tea kettle appears. It fills in quickly with a clean, shiny metal texture and hits the ground with a CLANG.

    "... It looks the part, but if you tried boiling anything in it..."

Staren has posed:
    "Hmmmmmmmm." Staren hmms, when magic circuits are explained. "Many types of magic in the multiverse do not require a magic organ to use. If you want to diversify, you certainly can. Although... hmmm, if the magic depends on something physical, it might be possible to augment or duplicate it. Figure out how it works, increase the power and efficiency of someone's magic circuits by stimulating the cells... providing energy or chemically manipulating them... or even building synthetic magic circuits." he doesn't have a physical notepad out, but he's certainly taking notes in his headware.

    Staren nods as Shirou explains the pros and cons of Projection and Reinforcement. He leans in to look at the sword more closely, not that he can tell anything. "It breaks the rules, but it works. The trick is to figure out why. Maybe you do projection differently. Maybe your magic circuits are /immensely/ more efficient or powerful at Projection effects."

    Staren levitates the teakettle to his hand -- an electric-blue strand reaches out from his chest, touches the teakettle, and pulls it to him. Wirelessly interfacing with the holodeck, he rezzes a small stove and a pitcher of water and gets to boiling, just to see what happens.

    In the meantime, he folds one arm across his body, and rests his other elbow on it to support resting his chin in his palm. "Hmmm. The question is, how do we tell, how do we tell... Efficiency... power... or something that looks like projection that isn't." He looks to Twilight. "Twilight, would you be able to measure how much magic he's using up or putting out when he produces different effects? That might tell us something." He then looks at Shirou again. "Are there any /other/ rules about how projection and reinforcement work? So we can check if they still hold for you?"

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight's ears are perked with interest as she listens to Emiya and Staren. When she is finally addressed, she smiles brightly. "Measuring magical output is pretty easy. Determining what kind of magic it is would be a bit harder, but I could try both." she says, then looks to Emiya. "If you don't mind me trying, of course." she says.

     She then looks at her notes, then back at Emiya. "So, you shouldn't have this much power, but you do. That...actually sounds a bit like me. If it is your talent, then it is your talent. Although it is important to know why you are able to do such a thing, it sounds more like you are not breaking the rules, merely more advanced than your training would suggest."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "I don't mind." Shirou shrugs a little. Why would he mind? He's the one who doesn't know and wants to learn! "... What do you mean, though. You're more talented than you thought?" That's aimed at twilight, with a bit of a smile.

    Al;l of Staren's ranting takes a bit to process, and Shirou's clearly thinking over that while Staren futzes with the stove. Shirou already knows exactly what's going to happen. Although the kettle does feel metallic, once it starts heating up...

    It structurally fails. Half of it simply burns up, spilling all the water onto the flames and probably dousing it immediately. The other half of the teakettle, the image broken, shatters into irregular pieces that quickly fade into constituent mana.

    "... Hm. Reinforcement, the theory is filling the cracks in something's structure with your power to strengthen it. But it's a messy process. Get the flow wrong and you could break whatever it is. Don't put enough in and it hardly has any effect. And almost everything will resist having power put into it. And prana doesn't last once it's outside the body unless it's maintained, so they don't last for long. See how the kettle faded?"

    Shirou makes a strange kind of smile. "I'm not sure what you intend, but I'll try my best. Oh..."

    Again he's facing Twilight Sparkle. "... You're really a unicorn?" There, he finally asked.

Staren has posed:
    Staren steps back out of reflex, as one should when something goes wrong with a stove. He should have put on his goggles! With a wave of his hand he derezzes the stove and water, and watches the pieces of kettle dissolve with interest. "Huh. So is it only swords, or only weapons?" Staren blinks and stands up, turning to look at Shirou. "Maybe you use something new, that isn't Projection, when you make weapons? ...Are there any other kinds of magic with weaponlike traits?"

    He takes Shirou's final question with mock seriousness, turning to Twilight and stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. Four hooved legs, one horn... Twilight, is it possible that you're actually an unusually cute mutant rhinocerous?" He cracks a grin after saying that.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight Sparkle also steps back as the kettle bursts into flames and shatters. "Oh my! I've never seen a kettle burn!" she says, seeming more intrigued than scared. She pokes at one of the fragments with a hoof before it disappears, then giggles at Staren. "I suppose it is possible, but either way, I am a unicorn. Although, there are apparently different types of unicorns on different worlds." she says, smiling to Emiya.

     She considers what Emiya said about his magic, then nods in agreement with Staren. "Or, it could be a more powerful version of the Projection spell." she adds, then looks to Emiya. "Well, go ahead and try again, and I will attempt to determine how much magic is being used." she says with a smile. "Try both Projection and Reinforcement."

     Twilight's horn starts to glow after that, and a soft purple glow fills the area shortly after.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "A Super Projection?" Shirou sounds ponderous about this idea. his lips purse but what can he do to confirm or deny? "That sounds like it would be just too convenient to be true..." But, by his tone, he might be buying it. Too good to be true, but maybe plausible.

    "Alright. Reinforcement and Projection..."Though he seems satisfied by Twiligght's nswer, he nevertheless peers curiously when she starts GLOWING.

    It's a nice color glow though!

    Inhale, exhale. Shirou focuses. And mutters, again, "trace, on." Whatever that means.

    His whole body sizzles with... a candle flicker of energy, compared to what pretty much any mage in the Union has. It's even less than Staren's supply! Though probably not by much.

    And since he has nothing else to Reinforce, he works on his clothing. Power flows through his shirt slowly, but it speeds up by a few trickles. It takes about ten seconds and--

    *KSSSSSSSSSSHHT*

    .... A ten centimeter tear splits up the left side. The flow stops. Shirou's eyes open, and his expression is somewhat disgusted. "Hrmngh... should I just try Projection instead?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren looks back towards Shirou. "Is it only swords, or only weapons that you're able to project effectively?" Staren asks. He watches the Reinforcement attempt, and... a tear? "What does that mean?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "It means I bungled it." Shirou grumbles. "... And I don't know. I've only tried it with two swords I've seen. A good look was enough to get a feel for how it was made, but coming up with a design from scratch hasn't worked. Guns, not at all."

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight blinks at the measure of magic she feels. She watches Emiya work, then eeps softly when his clothing rips. "Well...I'm not sure what to make of it. You used very little energy that time, and you feel like you have plenty to use. Maybe not as much as some people, but enough. Why don't you try Projection, since that is the one which seems augmented."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou reaches a hand up to feel the rip, and tchts. A little mendwork will be in order later. "Alright. There's Auron's sword here, so I'll try the other one."

    Again he sinks into focus, brings his hands together to grip the weapon that shall soon exist.

    Power flows, and out it pours! A vast framework of golden light shoots out, forming a blade that seems almost twice as long as he is tall. The framework is extremely detailed - it looks like a wireframe, and details kep filling in with surges of light the more Shirou focuses. Prana sizzles visibly from his hands and scorches up the weapon as it forms. A dull gold hilt, a somewhat traditional - if large - katana grip, and a curved blade of carefully forged steel fills in from the hilt upwards. A careful examination of the process shows incredible detail that's missed on a single glance. Every fold in the metal, every tiny flaw, even the tiny signs of wear and tear appear in a rush!

    The whole process takes about fifteen seconds, and then the glow's over. Only the sword remains...

    "H-h-hwaaagh!" And Shirou, not strong enough to hold it, promptly topples to the side with a THUD. The weapon hits the ground and sinks in at an angle.

Staren has posed:
    Staren watches with interest. "So... you can only copy designs... but it only works well with swords. Or possibly melee weapons. Hmm. Try another type of melee weapon... bludgeoning, or stabbing, for instance..."

    He jumps back when the giant sword CLANGS into the ground. Curious, he draws and activates one of his beam sabers and tries to cut the sword, just to see how durable it is. "How much of the detail is your memory, and how much is magic filling in the gaps? Do you, perhaps, have an unusually detailed memory for swords, that makes their projection much easier to use?"

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight watches with rapt attention as the weapon is created. And what she feels is just as interesting. "Hmm! That's impressive! It took about twice as much energy to cast that one, but from what my magic is telling me, that's still only a fraction of what you -should- be able to draw upon." the cute little unicorn says, an analytical look on her face.

     "You are unable to make original designs?" she asks Emiya. "And, are you sure you used all the elements necessary for the first spell? I'm not sure of what all is involved, but it seemed like the spell was...incomplete?" She scratches her head with a hoof. "I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with this kind of magic, so it is hard to make an analysis."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "An original design?" Shirou ponders this in a somewhat rough, uncertain tone. But before he answers Staren, he listens to the person who KNOWS what they're talking about. "All the elements... No, I'm not sure. Before Unifying? Reinforcement... well, the success rate was less than one percent if I had to measure it. It's a miracle that I managed it twice in a panic since then. It's what I was taught." And practiced, every night, for years.

    With such a low success rate.

    What the hell?

    "Well, it's true I admire swords. No reason I can think of. But don't be crazy. That kind of memory would be..." Really, really strange. Shirou frowns. "... Hrmngh." Seems Staren might be on to something, and maybe Shirou's in denial over how weird he is?

    "An original design... Trace, on!" Theer's that strange chant again!

    The golden lightning flares again, forming a new wireframe. This time, it's a long shaft with a winged point at the end. A very straightforward spear.

    But Shirou's struggling, judging by his suddenly clenched teeth. The model flickers, parts of it growing thicker a bit weirdly around the grip. It does start filling in, slowly. This is easily taking three times as long as the MUCH SMALLER sword, and Shirou's starting to grunt through it all. But with a flash, it's finished!

    The end result is a steel spear with a blue shaft, crimson grip wrap and a silvery-steel tip. It's utterly lacking in decoration and detail, and Shirou doesn't seem happy with it as she stuiicks the butt in the ground with a disgruntled grunt. And just lets it stay there, impaled. "... That didn't go nearly as well. How do you make a spear...?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    The beam meets resistance for a good several seconds, or blows, depending on how far Staren pushes it. But with a bit of effort, the sword - one that, by most accounts seems to be of Elite quality - is cut in two. The beam saber does melt what seems to be real steel! .... But the bisected sword then develops hairline cracks spreading from he break, and shatters into tiny pieces which start fading.

    It seems these things are really fragile, but only once their illusionary existence is made clear. They can take some hits.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight blinks as Emiya suddenly tries to form a spear from scratch. She tries her best to supress a giggle at the finished product, then walks to give Emiya a pat on the shoulder with a forehoof. "Perhaps a bit of study on different weapon-types, their production methods and compositions." she says before thinking a moment. "Apparently, it is much easier for you to make weapons with which you are familiar. The sword came out very clean and quite resilient, but the spear came out crude and...I am guessing it is not structurally sound."

     The glow of the magic detection spell fades, then Twilight's horn glows again before surrounding the spear. She attempts to refine it, to smooth it out and strengthen the composition. She, after all, is quite familiar with transforming objects and fixing things with her magic. She's hoping that if she refines his design, he'll be able to repeat it in the future.

Staren has posed:
    Staren's eyes widen a bit at how long it takes to melt through the sword. "Okay, this is /much/ tougher than the teapot." Staren blinks at Shirou. "You don't know? You take a stick, you take a kite-shaped piece of flint, and you tie them together with vines or something. Of course, once you have metal, you can more properly bind a shaped steel head, with a steel binding." He rezzes the described parts to show Shirou.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    It's nooooot structurally sound at all. Twilight Sparkle now has the most interesting experience on her hands: trying to physically manipulate and restructure another person's illusion-made-real.

    Unfortunately, the moment she starts tweaking it she'll feel resistance. It's like trying to mold stiff mud, except her touch is water. Some parts of the spear straighten out, the innards taking to the adjustment - and Shirou's watching with rapt attention. Never before has he seen magic like this!

    Unfortunately, a little too much prodding the weapon and it just starts fading away. The illusion was none too sound to begin with, and now two people's different ideas of what it should be are at war.

    Of course it's natural for it to give away.

    "Not sound at all." He agrees, sighing. "What kind of magic is that? Do you even need a spell or did you just will that to happen?" There is AWE in his voice and for good reason. He's stunned by the Unicorn's trick!

    But then Staren distracts him from the admiration and he blinks at him, then peers at the materials... "Not what I mean! no, now I'm not sure what I meant."

Staren has posed:
    Staren deactivated and holstered the beam saber when he started discussing spears. "Hmmmmm. So, you're no good with spears. Okay, try another cutting weapon. How about an axe?"

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight's ears splay in disappointment as her magic interferes with Emiya's. Her inexperience with his type of magic proves to be the spear's undoing. "Ohmy..." she mumbles to herself before her ears perk back up as Emiya asks about her magic. She smiles at his awe, looking a bit embarrassed by it. "Ah...well, I do need a spell, but I also will it to happen. The spell itself takes concentration and knowledge. Especially a transmogrification spell like the one I was trying to use. For instance..."

     Twilight holds up her pencil using her magic, and it shimmers before reforming into a wooden sword. It is a bit small. She started with a pencil after all. "I believe he needs to see a sample of the weapon in question before he tries to form one." Twilight says to Staren. "That's why he could form Auron's sword, but not a spear of his own design."

Staren has posed:
    Staren blinks. "Oh." Staren rezzes a great big two-handed battleaxe. "Like this? Do you think he can copy holograms? If not," He reaches into his magic bag and pulls out a gunblade (the vibroblade type, not the shooting type) "Do you think you can copy this?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Hmmm.... Alteration!" Apparently Shirou recognizes Twilight Sparkle's feat. "... I could probably do that, but..." Why bother, when Projection seems to be so much more reliable? That goes unsaid. "... So it's not so different. Oooooh, that's pretty neat! Will it stay that way or turn back if you leave it alone?"

    And then, answering Staren's call Shirou extends a single hand. "An axe.. ooagh!" The redheaded magus is getting a bit excited by all this. For the first time in ever, he can actually DO SOMETHING with his magic. Something kind of cool, something that might be useful!

    Although, this time the process goes much as it did with the sword - only a tad slower. Even though, what forms is...

    Not a ginormous warrior's battle axe, but a simple woodcutter's axe. An ergonomic, lacquered wooden shaft and a classic traditional wedge blade lodged on it. Something you might find in a toolshed. It's even showing some bits of rust and tarnish.

Staren has posed:
    Staren activates the beam saber and tests the sturdiness of the axe's blade.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Yow!" Shirou tosses the axe off to the side when Staren goes a-testing. He's not gonna lose his hand to that thing! But he doesn't criticize Staren over that, at least. Resists the urge.

    Man, scientists can be dangerous!

    ".... what's that?" He asks, peering suspiciously at the Gunblade(?).

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight releases her spell, and the pencil returns to being a pencil. "It depends on how much energy I invest in the spell. I -can- make permanent changes, but it takes a lot of effort." she says. Then...she blinks at the axe. "...does your magic make substitutions for other designs...?" Twilight asks, pointing a hoof at the woodcutter axe and seeming confused.

     Then Staren just suddenly cuts at the axe. "Staren! Be careful!" Twilight exclaims.

Staren has posed:
    "Hey!" Staren telekinetically grabs the axe with another glowing tendril, and pulls it over for a durability test with the beam sword. While he does that, he says, "As far as I can tell, it's a sword that uses explosions to vibrate the blade for a brief burst of cutting force." Staren scrunches his face slightly. "I was aiming for the blade, not his hand... if he'd held still..."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou's STARING at the weapon. The Gunblade has his attention, but he's making a troubled face. "That blade..." He can't put his finger on what. But he's giving it the weirdest look. ".... I can't put it to words too well. Something's weird about that weapon. Is it even a-..." No of course it's a sword. But apparently Shirou's having trouble recognizing it as one?

    Whatever he feels is wrong about that weapon, it might be instinctive.

    The Axe fares about as well as one would expect a store-bought woodcutter's axe to. THAT, at least, was made fairly well. The wood burns and smolders, the metal melts and - ... and once some serious damage is inflicted the whole thing shatters and starts slowly fading out.

    "Substitutions?" He blinks at Twilight. "... I just used the axe from my shed as a base...?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren hmmms. "So. How un-weird it feels might have something to do with it. Although, if you felt a giant sword too heavy to lift was more normal than this..." he trails off. The gunblade is put away, and the beam saber is deactivated again. "Okay, so the axe was more solid than your spear, but not as tough as the sword. Interesting. So it's something about swords feeling right to you..." He scratches his head. "I think we may need to get some more tools. Like Abstractum..." He looks to Twilight, "Or at least think of more tests."

    Staren then yawns, and looks a bit surprised as he covers his mouth. "Whew, it's getting pretty late... perhaps we should continue this a later time?" He looks to Twilight and smiles slightly, "I could walk you home..."

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     "...oh." Twilight says sheepishly, then smiles. "Well, I'm afraid I need to get back to Ponyville. This was fun, though! We should get together and explore our magics more some other time!" the pony says happily, then looks to Staren and smiles warmly. "I'd like that." she says, giving Staren a nuzzle against his shoulder. "See you later, Emiya!" she says before waving goodbye with a forehoof.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Oh... geeze, what time is it?! Sorry, did I use up too much of your time?" Shirou's quickly apologetic over this, but only the basics. "... You've both been really helpful! I wouldn't have thought about some of these things... yeah. Let's do this again later. I'm almost out of prana anyways. Phew..." His shoulders ag as he focuses on breathing for a bit. His body temperature's gone up from all of the magical energy and he's now sweating a litle!