Amras Once more Amras found himself sitting on a rock in the middle of the flowing river, his right talon resting gently upon the water's surface as the cool ripples flowed past in a comforting constant. Like the tunnels echoing with the sounds of winds above and the lake shore littered with mounds of clay this spot in view of the great spire had become yet another home to him. These caves had become another home to him. Even after the lights had flickered out earlier as they had in his youth he did not despair. In the time of their shining he had met a whole host of gembound like him, of all shapes and sizes. He had discovered that there was more to the concept of magic than just crafting waves of force. He had found a far off goal to strive for to call his own; to explore and master the art of spell weaving. It was for this reason that the gryphon was sitting here surrounded by water and baubled pebbles which illuminated his area in a soft white light. It was for this reason that the shore opposite him was filled with nearly a dozen small ethereal critters made of various colored lights. It was for this reason that his mind was focused not on how to make his magic bigger or flashier but how the rivers flow might be reflected in his physical form. If magic that borrowed from the arcane could be accessed by flowing energy through the mind then perhaps he could use a similar method to craft a spell affecting the waters around him. The rod of quartz on the gryphon's arm began to emit a soft white light as in a meditative haze Amras began to gather raw magical into a pliable form. Through his senses he could feel the magic being pulled by the river's flow, and he could feel a tugging at something greater than the simple directionless gathering of magic. There was something there, something within him that could help him give shape and form and depth to the spell if he could only see it clearly. With but a foggy image of its presence though this attempt was doomed to fail, his magic infusing into the water and flowing harmlessly away, becoming one with the caves themselves. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes: None

While @Amras toils with his magicka, an unending flow of energy is cascading above his head. It seems to be drawn towards the Spire but there is no way to be certain. Flashes of light, the subtle crackling of unrestrained energy, and the occasional boom resound throughout the cave. As he uses his magicka and his failed attempt melts away in to the water, something that looks like rain (but in reverse) beads up across the surface and then falls up, joining with the cacophonous storm above.

Amras Amras continued to sit, eyes unfocused and breath easy even among the background of the storm. This was indeed another home now, but its weather had gotten more and more violent as of late. Between that and the darkness he would need to move on again soon. Just this one last thing though, just one last discovery. Even as magic flowed chaotically he was certain he could find the secret to this element that stood just outside he reach. With lights all around and rain falling in reverse around him the gryphon exhaled and sent power to his gem once more. Where was that hook? What was it that he was missing? So close but still so far out of sight... Once more the spell rose up and began to flow, but once more the flow was disrupted and the magic diffused into the water, thickening the reverse rain around him. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes: None

The water continued to lift in heavy beads, and they grew thicker and more gelatinous the more the creature used his magicka. If the attempts had been successful he might've reversed the effects - but as it stood now, a few inches of the river had already depleted and been absorbed in to the storm. Amras would need to fix this mistake before something worse happened! Such as, perhaps, the full absorption of the river into the storm above.

Amras As more and more magic was poured into the river the unnatural ran became thicker and thicker. Where his taloned hand had once rested lightly on the surface of the water it was now a few inches above. Relaxed eyes shot open as the gryphon realized that his practice had taken a turn for the worse. This had been meant to be an exploratory study! What kind of storm was this that it was reacting so strongly to his actions. Amras watched as more and more of the river was being upended, even after he had stopped pouring magic into it. He had enough air around to breathe but even if he had been sitting on a rock his fur and feathers were completely soaked. He had to do something, had to counter the storm somehow lest it devour the river below. Fire? No that would only heat the water. Electricity, even worse idea. His own native element might push the water around or turn it to steam or ice, but all of those options sounded like they could be either ineffective or end in catastrophe. His only option was to continue on, but this time redirect his attention to the water around rather than the water below. Again he felt the magic come ever closer to its goal, and even with his hand out of the water he could feel a river flowing within him. If he could just capture that river, send his magic through it perhaps it would transmute and take on its properties. For now though with no water to disperse into the unformed magic crackled into a series of undirected pops of kinetic energy, sloshing the water around him in different directions. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes: None

Similar to the attempts before, Amras' magicka took on a life of its own as it was sent forth to harness the water. Rather than causing things to slow down or to stop, the energy continued to force the water together in to thicker and thicker droplets. After this particular dose of magicka the upside-down-rain had become something else. The drops had condensed among one another into tiny rivulets that poured upwards, in to the storm. At this rate the river would be drained in a couple of hours - and then who knows what would happen to the rest of the caves!

Amras Just as Amras was about to take yet another shot at controlling the water element and calling the river back down from the sky a thought occurred to him. This wasn't working, every single spell made the problem worse and worse. Perhaps if he'd mastered the spell early on he might have been able to overpower the pull of the storm, but at this point even if he did manage to invoke the power of the internal river there's no way he'd be able to pull ALL the water back down. Rather than give up hope and abandon the effort he decided to stop and think about it. Nothing he could do could probably pull the magic back down, but if the storm was attracted to magic perhaps he could lead it away? Oc course that too had a high chance of backfiring and making things worse, but at least changing location would change a variable in his attempt to stop this unnatural phenomena from claiming the river completely. Wings unfurled to their full 18 foot spam and immediately caught the updraft of the rising tides. With his impossibly light 60 pound body and the favorable conditions it only took a single flap to send him off the ground and into the air. "Follow me!" he called out to the inanimate storm, adjusting his angle of flight to veer away from the river. As soon as he had crossed over the shoreline the gryphon began to gather magic in his gem once more, but this time with no intention of pulling such a complex maneuver as attempting to transmute it within. He needed a linear element, one that was easy to shape and easy to infuse with. Wings angled downward as he saw a large bolder below. His right talon formed into a shape like holding a pencil or paintbrush as he swooped past and with more power than he had ever put into even his greatest fire spell infused the boulder with magic. The quasi-light element seeped deep into the rock, causing an almost blindingly bright pattern of red and white circles to appear on the rock face. If anything would redirect the storm away from the river this would be it! Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes: None

Amras was doing a valiant effort of correcting what he'd screwed up. If nothing else, he would have a grand story to tell to future gemlings (if the caves survived the tumult of the storm). His shouting did nothing to remedy the situation, however, by sending his magicka at the stone to create a brilliant display of neon lights, something did appear to shift. The light within the boulder was incredibly bright; the intricacies of the design reflected off of the stony surfaces, casting everything in the vicinity of the river with a violent red glow.

The pattern fluctuated as it picked up on Amras' power, and by drawing his magicka into the boulder, soon enough a brilliance shone from it that may have settled itself permanently within the boulder's cells and atoms. It took quite a lot of magicka to accomplish, but he was an accomplished magician at this point. Although it was unfortunate that his efforts to control the water had been ultimately useless, at least the caves would benefit from a nice year-round beacon.

The storm, however, did not think much about the boulder. The water continued to lift in to the swirling vortex of magicka that coated the ceiling. And then, the water seemed to slow its ascent. It lost its viscosity, becoming less and less like gel until it resembled rain again, and then things began to fall (properly, like rain). A reaching appendage-like structure made of swirling wind, water, magicka, and who knows what else, began to sweep towards the boulder - Amras had done it! He'd garnered the attention of the storm's eye. The river was forgotten.

As the dark vortex shifted towards the boulder, rain fell from its depths. First in fits and starts, then in sheets, until the downpour was drenching the otherwise dry avenue of Polaris. The water settled wherever it wanted to - mindless, empty, as water usually was. If nothing else, Amras had succeeded in redefining the path of the river. Most of it settled back from whence it came, but there was a vast volume of water spreading out like a shallow lake off to one side, and it was moving along the terrain in accordance to gravity, finding a home for itself.

The storm's eye thrashed above the stone until a tendril of force came sweeping down from it; like an array of spider's legs, the storm reached for the boulder and abruptly lifted the object clear from where Amras had found it. The violent tearing of the stone from its settled point was an obnoxious and terrifying sound - and then the vortex shifted around it, widened and contorted, becoming a great pit with swirling energies arcing from point to point, and the boulder was swallowed whole.

Amras Fortunately Amras had known better than to tarry at the stone's location. His plan had been a desperate one, but through sheer luck it appeared to be working! The water disappearing into the sky began to fall again, drenching the land as the storm drifted toward the new magically infused object. Slightly drained from his effort the gryphon did not shout or cheer, but rather simple exhaled a long sigh of relief as his gliding path veered away from the storm's epicenter. His most recent home was gone, or at least was no longer suitable for its purpose. As long as this storm lasted he'd have to be extremely careful crafting in magic in Polaris. The green glow of Tunnel N in this distance caught his eyes, and he knew it was time. The lights were gone and Polaris was unsuitable for him. With darkness overwhelming the cave, just as it had in his childhood, it was time to go back to the place of his youth. With the comforting howling of the winds above his tunnels he might practice a new skill, one that wouldn't require him to expel as much energy as magic discovery did. Of course, he couldn't give up magic; it had always been a deep and important part of his life. Perhaps though he could limit it to only small displays, improve his efficiency with it. Monoceros was far away and surely the storm wouldn't follow him underground. Before setting back into his childhood home though he had to make one last stop in Orion at the abandoned leatherworker's house to gather supplies to help. Amras tilted his wings once more and drifted toward the tunnel of glowing moss, leaving Polaris behind and sending a silent prayer to the eternal winds ahead for its safety. - Exit Amras - Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes: None

While Amras makes his escape, the storm seems to be fixated upon the glowing boulder. The object tumbles and rolls within the grasp of the vortex, its light catching in the gaps between the clouds or carrying on the flashing light that arcs from point to point throughout; there is no telling how long this sentient powerhouse will be fixated upon the object - however, even now, the light with which the boulder is imbibed has begun to flicker and dim.

With or without the boulder, the storm shifts away from the cluster of rocks, looms temporarily over the river, and cascades closer to the spire with every drawn-out moment, until it has dissipated from the area completely.