5497/Locus Learning

Locus Learning
Date of Scene:	27 September 2017
Location:	The System <TS>
Synopsis:	Theurgus invites Index and Codex to come train some magic against some really weak monsters.
Thanks to:	To Lexicon for playing the Twins.
Cast of Characters:	1103, Lexicon

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Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    It's a nice day-cycle in Locus right now. It's warm, the skybox is a clear blue, and it's brightly lit in the City of Magic. The Central Spire shines like a beacon even at the height of day, its prismatic beam piercing through the top of the Drive, and seeming to spring from the Base like a giant continuous ribbon.
    A lone LDF member waits for the guests to arrive, visor down, weapon stowed on their back. Parked nearby, is an airship, a small thing for only a few people, more like a taxi than the great 'bus' ones used in the various emergency situations.

Lexicon has posed:
    "This place is great when that dumb Tower isn't here!" A pink-clad girl rushes out of the System Bus, arms outstretched.

    "..Pretty..!" A blue-clad twin lets out, following close on her sister's heels.

    "Don't run ahead, you two," Lexicon steps out, rather than running. Her voice curbs the enthusiasm a little, at least, and both younger Candidates slow to a jog instead, until they reach the Bus station's railing to look out over Locus itself.

    With a sigh, Lexicon instead homes in on the Defense Force officer, tucking her hands behind her back, "Sorry for the commotion. Your leader was expecting us?"

    That gets Index and Codex's attention, and the pair immediately dash over, hugging on Lexicon from either side, "It's time for an adventure!" "...Magic practice~..."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    The officer nods, "Lady Charta ordered me to collect you from the Terminal and deliver you to the site. Lady Diamond Soul is already there and is awaiting our arrival." comes the, androgynous voice from beneath the visor. "Please step into the airship, and I shall ferry you over to the infested island. It is in a new sector recently connected, the Poochooze seem to be very weak, perhaps for being so long without data to eat." The LDF officer mounts into the cockpit, and begins spooling the airship up to takeoff readiness.

Lexicon has posed:
    Lexicon gestures, and Index climbs into the passenger section of the airship. Codex follows, and Lexicon is the last to board, closing the side door behind her. Both twins immediately lean against the far side, looking out over Locus with a bird's eye view while the vehicle takes off.

    "I appreciate the thought your DCC put into the offer," Lexicon comments, "My sisters are still learning, so this should be a good experience for them."

    Glancing out her own side, Lexicon comments, "In Britannica, newly connected areas tend to contain stronger viruses. I heard that in Cadenza, there isn't even a pattern to it, they're weak or strong at random. Are new sections always formatted with weak viruses in Locus?"

    She might as well sate some curiosity during the ride over, since her pilot is one of the locals.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "It seems to follow the pattern of further from the Spire, means weaker Viruses, they seem to grow stronger the closer to the Spire they are, outside of the city walls of course." replies the LDF officer. They steer the airship through the traffic flitting around the city and the Spire itself, pulling out of the flow and heading off into the wilderness, where the connecting cable tracks and bridges start to vanish, only the occasional knotted rope connecting the floating islands from some brave pioneers. The location is easy to spot, once it comes into view, a fairly large island, with poochoozes, little blue and some pink blobs with canine faces, hopping about, being fended off by little bursts of flame and ice from the untransformed Mad Magician.

Lexicon has posed:
    Watching below as the magical city slowly gives way to countryside, Lexicon nods lightly, "I see, I see... It seems like every Drive formats new territory a little differently. That certainly gives variety to keep people from growing bored with the grind of daily life, I suppose. They can find a new area, or go to a different Drive with more of a challenge if they want..."

    "Ahhh!" Index bounces in her seat, hands and face pressed against the glass, "There she is, doing super cool magic stuff! Some day I'll be that cool-- no!" Eyes closing, she declares, "Even cooler!"

    Codex tucks her hands up under her chin, peering over Index's shoulder, "...Lots of Poochooze are getting beat up..!"

    Once the craft lands, both twins rush out--and are curbed immediately by Lexicon grabbing the collars of their color-coded coats. She faciliates a much calmer disembarking, thanking the pilot with a dip of her head and then approaching Theurgus with her leashed siblings, "Thank you for the invitation. Index, Codex?"

    Excitedly, the twins bow in sync, speaking in stereo, "Thank you!" with all the excitement they can barely contain.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus twirls her staff, and with a final thud of the basecap into the ground, sends the last pair of Poochooze tumbling away, to shatter into voxels before they hit the ground. She looks up, and holds her hat on her head as the airship descends and disgorges its passengers. She nods to the pilot, who lifts the airship up, and lands it on a nearby floating outcrop so it's out of the way.

    As Lexicon and her little sisters approach, the Mad Magician covers her face with her free hand, chuckling. "Of course, Lexi. It's only right to follow through on your promises, after all." she looks at the twins. "Isn't that right?" she asks them, letting her arm drop to her side with a smug little smirk.

Lexicon has posed:
    "Of course," Lexicon nods once. Leaning, she addresses her sisters, "Listen very closely and do as she says. I'll be watching from the airship." When both Index and Codex nod in understanding, Lexicon releases her sisters and transforms, but only long enough to ascend in an arc, landing beside the airship. There, she reverts her transformation and sits with her legs hanging over the ledge.

    Immediately, Index trots right over to Theurgus, summoning her staff in her left hand as she closes the distance. A few paces away, she comes to a stop, bracing her weapon with both hands and an eager, determined expression, "Right! I'll learn everything I can!"

    Codex trots up beside her pink-clad sister, her own wand materializing, though she keeps her free hand tucked up by her chin when she stops beside Index, "Y-yeah.. We've been practicing.. But, um...Not on any viruses, Miss Theurgus.."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus grins at Lexicon, then turns her attention to the Twins. "You've been practicing, have you? I hope you've not been causing Lexi any trouble doing it~." she chirps merrily, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "So, anyway. Let me see what you've learned so far, then we can get to the fun part!" Theurgus dismisses her own staff, and steps back to give the Twins some space.

Lexicon has posed:
    "We haven't been bad.." Codex shuffles her feet when put on the spot, "..Miss Yomi was really nice though."

    "Yeah!" Index straightens her posture and squares her shoulders, "We make snowmen an' practice on those! But they don't move much, or anything." She shifts her rod to one hand, rubbing her chin with the other, "I was thinkin' real hard about what you said. That our spells are strong but there's tons of time spent casting 'em. And I was trying to figure out how you did that super fast stuff. But with Codex, I think we figured it out!"

    Codex nods, lifting her wand and giving it a swing, "Hyee--!" And from the wand's tip, an icicle shoots out. Just a small one. Index follows up with a swing of her own, shooting out an equally small fireball, "Yah! If it's not a big blasty spell, it's super quick!" Lifting her staff, she grins, "Fast weak spells, save the big awesome ones for an opening, right?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus may seem like a very unstable individual, but she does nod appreciatively at the display of quick casting. "Exactly. The essence of mage combat is ensuring you expose your foe to either your own attacks or your allies, while making yourself less exposed to your opponents." she says, her tone jovial, but instructive. "You have the barest basics, but can you chain your quick casts together? This is known as a Combo." A Poochooze comes bobbling up, making some weird, deep groaning sound.

    Theurgus turns, summoning her staff and with a quick series of twirls and a flick, looses off a firebolt, a wind blade and causes an ice spike to impale the Virus in quick succession. The Virus judders, staggers back and rolls over, before shattering.

Lexicon has posed:
    "A combo?" both twins repeat in stereo, leaning forward and watching with tense interest. As the targeted virus is pounded into submission with rapid-cast spells, it's Index who pipes up, "Fastcast! So cool!" She glances down thoughtfully, shifting her hands on her staff while thinking it over in her head. After a moment, she glances sidelong at Codex, who nods.

    "Like that...right?" "Yeah, I think so!"

    Codex keeps her wand in one hand, the other clenched to her chest, whine she sweeps the wand in an arc. An icicle fires off again, but this time she swings it right back, letting out another one right after. The arc brings her wand up over her head, and she swings it down, "--Hya..!"

    The offending poochooze is struck twice, slowing the first time then solidifying from the second. The third blow, a lighting bolt, cracks down from above and shatters the viral slime.

    Codex clutches her wand, "..I-I'm sorry..Mister Poochooze..!"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus watches the Twins, then glances up to Lexicon as Codex displays the fastcasting ability after seeing it demonstrated once. "Good! You're picking it up quickly." she says, turning back to the Twins. "Now, you also want a trump card, something big you can pull out in an emergency, or to finish off a foe in style." she says, chuckling that disconcerting chuckle of hers. "I would show you mine, but where's the fun in that?" she asks, covering her face once again with the palm of her right hand, peeking one eye out between her fingers.

Lexicon has posed:
    "It's hard to do it that fast..." Codex admits, shrinking like a violet in the sun.

    "It's okay!" Index insists, "It's hard 'cuz we've never done it that way before! We just gotta practice with Theurgus!" She reaches out, supporting her twin with an infectious smile, "We'll do spells together, as fast as we're both comfy! That way it won't be bad, right?"

    Codex nods once with a little 'mm' sound, and only then does Index turn back to their magical instructor.

    "By big stuff, do you mean like what we showed you before? My Explosion is my best spell!" Balling up her hands, she bounces in place, "Blowing up the bad guys is the best!"

    Up on her ledge, Lexicon cradles her chin in one hand, leaning on the other elbow. Her expression is thoughtful, watching attentively.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "I mean bigger." replies Theurgus to Index. "You may want to use Ice elemental magic for it, you both feel more attuned to that than Flame." She drops her hand to her side again, then takes a step towards the Poochooze group, who pause and turn as if one being toward the DCC as she approaches. "Darkness Beyong Twilight. Crimson Blood that flows." She stops, lifting her staff high, a pinpoint of intense Flame magic forming over the marble, which shifts to the flame-like orange-red to match. "Buried in the stream of time, is where your power grows!" She shifts, leveling the staff at the Poochooze, who begin to charge... wobble... at the DCC. "In my great name, I pledge myself to darkness, And all those foolish to stand before me, shall be destroyed by the power I alone possess!" The pinpoint of magic expands, gains a corona of multihued rings. "Digital Severance!"

    An impulse expands from the DCC, then an explosion rips through the island, engulfing many of the Poochooze, sending others hurtling off the island from the concussive wave. The infestation is now only a small handful of Poochooze on the far side of the hill, protected from the blast. "Flame magic is indeed impressive and powerful." Theurgus says, turning her back on the explosion. "Ice magic can be even more deadly, as a master practicioner can freeze their target's very soul."

Lexicon has posed:
    "Bigger?!" Index is immediately interested. Though she doesn't voice it, Codex's interest is also clearly piqued, and both girls listen intently. As Theurgus begins her demonstration, Index leans forward, bunching her hands up under her chin while gripping her staff tightly. Codex folds her own hands together primly in front of her, watching with equal interest, though not so much body language.

    In fact, it's Codex who shields her face when Theurgus' spell goes off. Index doesn't pull her eyes from the display for a second. She might not even be blinking, at least until it's over and the majority of Poochooze are eliminated. She leans back, then, and rubs her eyes with the back of one hand, "--Wow! So awesome!"

    "Ice spells..." Codex thinks out loud, looking down at her wand, "...They are a little easier... So a big spell with ice would be easier too..."

    "We'll have to think of some really super spells!" Index bounces on the balls of her feet, "I already have some cool ideas, too! Not just for a big finisher spell but some new middle spells too!"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "Good. Now, how about I let you two finish off the stragglers." she offers, gesturing to the three or four that poke up over the ridge to see what all the commotion's about. "I'll be here in case things get out of hand, so don't worry, and work together. You're stronger that way." she steps back, dismissing her staff and conjuring up a little chair made of ice to sit on, crossing one leg over the other. She pulls a little can from her Inventory, pops the tab then sips from it.