He seemed to be listening which was unexpectedly nice. The witch didn’t consider herself any great talent but she did have hard-won practical experience she was willing to share.
Emily took the offered journal and quietly scanned the pages while he spoke. She could see that Markus was a very technical worker, keeping notes as he did his magic. It was a good trait for an arcanist to have, especially when one wanted to look back and see what went right or wrong. Emily had several notebooks full of meticulously documented failed experiments from her first year. The only thing she’d managed to perfect was her light charm in the first six months, but that still felt like a solid victory.
Again, she read and listened, piecing together what his first spell would do from the runework. It wasn't the most efficient work but it did work, and often that was what mattered when they were practicing. Markus went on to detail his thoughts about a nullification enchantment and Emily made a pensive noise, not looking up.
In the interest of sharing knowledge, she was tempted to show him her spellqueller. The teardrop pendant rested against her sternum beneath her shirt, a warm, familiar weight. It blocked magic completely, doing some of what Markus was looking for, but Emily hesitated. The woman thought he seemed decent, but she was still getting the measure of him, while knowing who he hung out with and, frankly, who he was related to. The deceased had not used her knowledge wisely.
So Emily kept the enchantment to herself, for the moment. Over cautious, perhaps, but she decided there were at least some anecdotes she could share. “Nullification is not my field… but I don’t think you need to memorize every spell out there to counter it,” she said thoughtfully. Leaning on the table, she rested her chin on her palm and looked up at Markus as they brainstormed. “I’ve seen the Inquisitor nullify magic in a field around him. It was like a pulse. It was a complete shut down- killed some of my enchantments and he didn’t know they were there.” She glanced down at his notebook and noted he’d favored a persistent effect of interference but it drained too much energy and didn’t last very long. “Your burst idea is good. Put it on something you can wear, have it react automatically to magic and you’d have an effective shield, yeah?”
Emily took the offered journal and quietly scanned the pages while he spoke. She could see that Markus was a very technical worker, keeping notes as he did his magic. It was a good trait for an arcanist to have, especially when one wanted to look back and see what went right or wrong. Emily had several notebooks full of meticulously documented failed experiments from her first year. The only thing she’d managed to perfect was her light charm in the first six months, but that still felt like a solid victory.
Again, she read and listened, piecing together what his first spell would do from the runework. It wasn't the most efficient work but it did work, and often that was what mattered when they were practicing. Markus went on to detail his thoughts about a nullification enchantment and Emily made a pensive noise, not looking up.
In the interest of sharing knowledge, she was tempted to show him her spellqueller. The teardrop pendant rested against her sternum beneath her shirt, a warm, familiar weight. It blocked magic completely, doing some of what Markus was looking for, but Emily hesitated. The woman thought he seemed decent, but she was still getting the measure of him, while knowing who he hung out with and, frankly, who he was related to. The deceased had not used her knowledge wisely.
So Emily kept the enchantment to herself, for the moment. Over cautious, perhaps, but she decided there were at least some anecdotes she could share. “Nullification is not my field… but I don’t think you need to memorize every spell out there to counter it,” she said thoughtfully. Leaning on the table, she rested her chin on her palm and looked up at Markus as they brainstormed. “I’ve seen the Inquisitor nullify magic in a field around him. It was like a pulse. It was a complete shut down- killed some of my enchantments and he didn’t know they were there.” She glanced down at his notebook and noted he’d favored a persistent effect of interference but it drained too much energy and didn’t last very long. “Your burst idea is good. Put it on something you can wear, have it react automatically to magic and you’d have an effective shield, yeah?”