ORIGIN

Emerging from the shadows cast from tattered walls, the equine wondered briefly if she should stop and though she wished to continue, a part of her knew that again her mind was too wrought with musings to try her hand at casting. So it was, Delphine resorted to wandering once more, this time finding herself at the throne where once she was able to fit within its confined space. There she had had a conversation with her dearest friend, Adeyemi. At the time, it was a reunion too long postponed and oh, how glad she'd been to see him again. Although he'd grown slightly duller and wore scars upon his legs, he was still the same in every way. She was grateful that he was so unchanged by the tides of time, it was reassuring to come back to something that was more grounded than it seemed the nature of sentience.

Slowly her head dipped to brush her muzzle against the throne without thought or purpose, it simply seemed the right thing to do. A kind of reverential gesture yet just as her lips touched the stone, her magic flared and short spurts of random images flashed in her mind. Nothing made sense in that moment, it was as if she'd been thrown from her body for just a second before she blinked to conscious thought. What had she just seen or felt or heard? So much of her senses had been overloaded in that moment, Delphine was very simply baffled. Stilled to immobility, she mauled over the brief flashes of voices and sounds unheard, steps that clicked against the floors in a way that was unlike her avian creatures yet not quite like hooves. Her eyes narrowed skeptically before she heaved a sigh of defeat, unable to make sense of what she'd seen or how she'd even evoked such powers.

It was an enlightening discovery no less and something she made sure to file away for future note should she ever aspire to see more blurry images and nonsensical babble. Yet more questions to file away.

In a quick survey of her surroundings, the young mare decided the vicinity around the throne room a decent place too to continue her practice without having to walk the distance back to her earlier grounds. With little thought to spare, she honed her senses and heightened her connection to the earth, willing its scent and existence to permeate her every facet. There she felt the source of her power stir, its lazy but potent energy flickering with a life of its own, a will of its own. It would explain the fickle nature of her magic or it could have been her attempting to justify her own lack of concentration.

Her eyes closed as she found it easier to center herself without the visual distractions all around and indeed, it was. The sands shifted from beneath her feet, stirred to wake by the power that licked about eager to see the extent of what she had to offer. Then she released the kernel of magic she'd been holding, directing it outward in a shield about her. As if in response, particles of sand rose from the ground, congealing and forming into sharp shards of glass that enveloped and blanketed her without seeking to cut its host. Because she willed it to act as her shield, it did exactly thus. Her eyes then flickered to the rocky floors just ahead of her and the glasses shot forth, shattering against the ground with little resistance.

A smile, wide and true, curled smugly along her lips at yet another success beneath her belt. There was no questioning that she was proud of these small accomplishments particularly in light of the fact Delphine did not consider herself to be particularly gifted with her magic. Unless she focused herself, there was a higher possibility of it working. Otherwise there was no telling how often her casts would backfire upon her. That one, specifically, was one she never wanted to experience forcibly thrown upon her. As it was she'd already lacerated her forelegs just below the knees from a misfired dislodge, she bore no desire to add to the growing list of scars.

Perhaps she was growing cocky in her continued success and a part of her knew it as it was happening. Without rest, she pressed on, wanting to cast a spell she'd failed once before. The second time around she'd been more fortunate in creating a small diamond but otherwise, Delphine had yet to try once more in creating gems. Again just like much of her spells when first she tried them, the mare was confused as to the purpose of such magic. Surely the ability to create gems was one that was perhaps more catered to aesthetic than any practical means yet even so, she was inclined to try until she succeeded. Perhaps along the way she'd come upon an epiphany as she did when attempting to create armor without realizing that that was what she aspired for.

POST-ROLL EDIT:
From a pile of debris, naturally collected overtime, the equine focused her energy toward its center. She imagined instead that the power that lived within her was cast into the pit of the amassing of rocks, churning and working through the minerals until she saw a shudder and tremor. Without warning, a small collection of jadeite gems peeked from within the debris, buried still by the stones that remain unchanged but it was unmistakable. Delphine had created this beauty that lay before her and it was she who birthed this verdant jewel here by a pile located just to the far right of the throne. She smiled then, no longer so worried for the uses of the spell when left in the wake of her own amazement at its simplistic beauty. She wondered if that was what she must have seemed when first she was in her own gem, though perhaps bigger than this but the idea of it was enticing and her heart thud with a joy that came of knowing that this was something she created. Nothing for the purposes of fighting but something that was very simply beautiful in and of itself.

Delphine beamed and took the moment to herself to appreciate the jadeite formation.

Again. She wanted again to create something so marvelous because unlike her other powers, this was something that spoke true to her character. Though she desperately wanted to play vanguard to the helpless she also became rapt, in that moment alone, with the notion of creation. Delphine did not wish to play God, she did not think herself so omnipotent but that she could craft from the rocks such little splendors was something of a commodity in their time. Not unlike the idea of hope or goodness. Her heart swelled and with little regard for her rapidly depleting pool of power, she again refocused her attention on a nearby cluster of rocks.

'Just one more time,' she thought.

There her energy festered and broiled, churning the core with the same ferocity as she had earlier and just as soon, she began to see the results of her efforts. Obsidian shards jutted forth, emerging to a height that though did not surpass that of its jadeite pair, rivaled in its beauty instead. She was caught then by the thought of exactly what it was her subconscious thought and desire had created. Here in her first success was a fragment of her own self, jadeite remnants to remember her by. To play companion piece and perhaps more significantly so were the obsidian shards bursting in a shocking display of esoteric grandeur. It reminded her exactly of Meredith and it was exactly his stone that now sat in stark contrast beside the verdant colors of her gem.

Suddenly she was swept by a wave of longing to see her dearest friend. Although they still spent time together, it seemed it was in less and less frequency. An inevitability perhaps or they may well have discovered different interests yet regardless of the fate, her heart quailed at the thought of his sleek, damp form nestled against her and without another thought to spare, she laid upon the floors and pressed her gaze to the two gem formations. Meredith would surely love to see what she'd created.

She hoped he would.

exit delphine!