this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
Aeliana paced around her coven's training ground. She supposed she was lucky that they had not only another fire witch, but one within the coven who was willing to teach her. She had always been better at her augmentation personally, so it would be nice getting some actual help with her elemental affinity.
The massive body of Nagini slithered around, the soft, warm glow of the embers under her scales providing a soft candlelight in the wooden half of the room, the other half a long open-top range for spell-slinging. The young witch, getting tired of growing impatient, tied her long hair up in an impromptu bun, and tied her sweat-jacket she had brought around her waist, beginning various stretches to prepare for what she could only assume would be a workout. That was the way they had done it back at the compound, and she saw no reason to expect any different of this new person.
"How do you think this will go, Nagini?" she asked, reaching down to stretch out her back and legs.
"I'm sure you will do fine darling. After all, he did say you would blow some things up."
She smiled at this thought. There was a certain amount of fun to be had in destruction, whether controlled or not. she gave off a small laugh to her familiar as she heard the door open behind her. Standing up from her stretches, she turned to greet the man who entered.
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Sept 30, 2017 14:35:25 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
in all honesty, kasimir is uncertain as to why he had agreed to this meeting. or rather, this request for him to teach, to demonstrate, to aid in another witch's skill development. novice though he might be, he is hardly the most social of witches, or well-known by name much less by skill - a deliberate intent to stay anonymous and unremarkable in their snake den of a coven. evidently, he has failed.
aeliana constantine, fledgling, a fire elemental and an augmenter. he reviews the basic information he remembers of the girl as he lingers before the door, hesitating before binding himself to commitment. then his fingers wrap around the doorknob, turns, and enters with quiet neutrality set into his expression and determination forged into his spine. whatever his personal feelings or confusion, he will do his utmost best to help constantine in what she wishes to learn.
the first thing he sees is pink hair like begonias, like dahlias, like saskia's swept up in a bun; a witch his sister's age standing from her stretches to greet him. by her side is a long, heavy snake with scales that ripple like candlelit shadows and embers trapped beneath her skin. despite the physical similarities between constantine and saskia, kasimir cannot see his sister reflected anywhere else in the girl that stands before him - and for that, he is glad.
"good morning," he greets quietly, encompassing both witch and familiar in his greeting. a rapid glance around and he notes with sardonic humour the irony ( and danger ) of using a ( partially ) wooden training field for learning fire techniques. ah well, it will be beneficial for practicing control. eyes returning to constantine and her familiar, kasimir tilts his head slightly. "how may i help you?"
She felt a little nervous as the man entered. His formality reminded her of some of the gangsters back at the family's compound. It made her a little nervous, not for her life, but rather it gave off an air to her of someone who knew all to well what they were doing, and didn't like their time to be wasted.
"You must be Kasimir," she said warmly, walking over with a bit of a nervous-yet-excited bounce in her step. "I look forward to you teaching me about how to use my fire affinity." She brushed a loose strand of hair back behind her ear as she examined him.
Strong. Fairly tall. Flowing crimson hair. A sad but serious tinge in the back of his eyes, one that she knew all too well of someone forced to make tough decisions. She felt for him, but decided not to let it show. She new all too well that many people like that rarely wanted pity.
"So I guess we start off with the basics right? I think I can make a flame just fine, but I don't exactly know how to fully use it." She reached out her hand and focused hard, a cute look of mental strain as she tried hard to produce a fireball in her hand. After a few moments of exasperation, a small flame sprung into being in her palm, and a sqwee of joy burst from her.
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Oct 2, 2017 13:00:32 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
there is a hint of nervousness to constantine bearing that underlies her excitement, but she greets him warmly. quite informally too - and he finds himself rather uncertain as to how to respond to this more casual dynamic than that of which he expects. in the end, he merely nods in confirmation, tucking away any hints of hesitancy behind his customary neutral bearing.
he watches intently as the girl holds out a hand to demonstrate her ability in fire creation, quietly noting the time it takes and the considerable mental strain it seems to elicit from her before a small flame dances to life in her palm. from her excitement at the feat, he deduces that either constantine does not oft use her elemental abilities, or she has consistent difficulty creating fire - or both. basics, kasimir thinks, is probably the best place to start.
"i think," he says quietly, motioning for the younger witch to take a seat even as he does so himself, "we should begin with refining flame creation and control. they are the essential basis on which any other fire technique relies upon - it is important that you are able to control your fire before attempting more difficult skills." for a fire witch, the consequences for losing control can be disastrous, catastrophic even - there are no few records in history of impulsive witches causing wildfires that have resulted in massive property destruction and losses of life.
to demonstrate, kasimir calls up a small ball of fire hovering above his palm, flicking it from hand to hand before sending it spiralling upwards where it dissipates before it hits the ceiling. "when you are conjuring, what are you thinking?" he asks, studying his temporary student. "what are you picturing? what are you focusing on?"
Her head popped up, her hand quickly closing and dismissing the small flame as the man spoke up and motioned to the floor in front of him. She lightly bounced her way over and collapsed into a criss-cross seating position in front of him, shaking out her arms and getting to feel relaxed.
He opened up with stating they should work on the basics, and she had no objections. She looked him in the eyes as he explained the importance of a strong basis in control. She understood it well. In fact, it brought back memories from when she was younger and first started training with the current head of security for the Constantine family.
Drawing upon those memories, she took a few deep breaths, her heart rate slowing, her emotions fading. After a few breaths, one wouldn't even be able to tell they were looking at the same girl, as her years of training began to come through, her voice calm and calculated, without any audible emotion.
"I imagine a grill, doused in lighter fluid. I imagine the coals beginning to take to the gasoline. I see my soul as the spark to will the flame into existence, and I see my body as the Chalice to hold it."
In the corner of the room, Nagini curled into a ball, the pulsing glow of her ember body seeming to grow a little stronger, and an approving nod and smile seemed to come from the serpent's mouth.
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Oct 3, 2017 12:31:59 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
deep breaths, sunrise air saturating her lungs as his temporary student focuses - and all of a sudden, it is a different girl sitting in front of him; same yet different. like a pond stilling into mirror smoothness after rain, like fine-grained sand trickling to a halt, he watches with a hint of approval in his eyes as constantine settles into her skin. this quiet calm is second instinct to kasimir himself, and it is pleasing to note that the younger witch utilises such a state too - there are different methods for focusing, certainly, however this is the one he is most familiar with, and thus most confident in teaching.
"i imagine a grill," the girl begins, and again, he listens intently. it is a far different image from what kasimir uses, but that it works is the most important part. he nods as her explanation comes to a close, straightening his back and regarding her with steady green eyes. "keep that image in mind," he says, quiet but firm. "conjure a fireball, but while you do so, turn your attention inwards and try to grasp how you feel as the fire lights. if your focus slips, return to your image and start again."
it is... not the easiest of tasks, attempting to identify and grasp a nebulous feeling while also trying to retain an image in mind as well as coaxing a spark to light, but he has faith constantine will be able to succeed. perhaps not very clearly, perhaps only with a vague feeling, but success nonetheless. "do not be discouraged if your first attempts do not succeed," he tells her quietly.
She nodded and closed her eyes at her teacher's instructions, holding out her hand palm up. With a few slow breaths she began once again to envision her grill, the spark lighting the flame. Her brow furrows as she concentrates on maintaining the image of lighting the flame. It takes a few tries, but eventually she manages to get it to light.
She sits down and repeats the process a few times, focusing her mind on the feeling of the fire coming forward, existing within her hand. After a few minutes, she begins to get quicker at it, until she can instantly conjure up a small flame within her hand. She tries it with both, making sure that she can conjure it consistently and reliably before turning her head to her instructor, awaiting the next bit of wisdom
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Oct 7, 2017 15:25:45 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
he watches as she closes her eyes, brows furrowed in concentration as she attempts the exercise. it takes a few minutes for the first flames to flicker to life into her palm, but as she extinguishes it and tries to light it anew, the time it takes for her to conjure the fire seems to decrease and decrease until she manages to coax it out in fractions of the time it had initially taken her. he nods slowly in acknowledgement when she turns to look at him, not quite smiling, but something quietly approving in his eyes.
"remember that feeling," he tells her. "hold onto that feeling instead of the image. that feeling is what drives the conjuration of fire. image visualisation is merely a method to facilitate greater ease in grasping it - once you feel as if you have an adequate perception of the feeling, try to conjure without the image at all."
that is... not entirely accurate, not with the nuances and differing situations and requirements of more advanced techniques, however kasimir is of the view that the finer details differ accordingly with each individual witch, and should be self-discovered as such. what works for him likely will not work for constantine - merely listening to her image description tells him their thought processes and perceptions diverge; that, however, has little bearing on the basics, of which are all similar.
"practice that frequently," he says, then moves on to his next point. refinement of fire conjuration mostly comes down to practice and experience after the essentials have been established - there is little point in him watching as his temporary student works at repeating the same exercise over and over- unless that is what she desires. kasimir is here to help her, after all; he is not here to listen to himself talk, nor force another to listen to him.
"next is flame control," he says, and conjures small ball of fire in his palm. "conjuration is merely the beginning - the true power of a technique comes from your control over your flames. size is perhaps the best aspect to begin with." the flames dancing above his skin flare up, growing bigger and bigger until it reaches the size of his head, then shrinks down and down until it is but a pinprick above his fingers. "generally, the more mana you feed into your technique, the bigger it will become, and the more intense your flames. later, you can learn to separate intensity from size."
here, he pauses, eyes green and serious as he holds constantine's gaze. "be careful when you begin," he warns as he dispels the fireball in his hands. "increase your mana flow slowly. if at any point you feel as if you are losing control, it is much better to dispel the technique than to try and regain equilibrium. it is nothing to be ashamed of." he has no desire to see hireling's keep burn to ash today, after all.
