Rift looked between the two, a little surprised. Was he the only one that didn't know this Envy then? Perhaps Sebastian was right and he needed to get out more often. Or maybe Envy should visit them in the cave. He also wasn't sure how Pride would be able to get the berries to them, after all.

Perhaps Pride hadn't noticed the pile of resin he had scooped out of the tree so he stepped to the side and gestured with his muzzle to the pile he had created. "I left some out of the tree - will this be enough for what you need to do for Envy?"

He looked at Amras, his ear twitching with amusement. "Perhaps you can delve deeper into magic? Discover all the spells! Become a master in everything!" That was certainly something to think about, but there was an uncomfortable twinge as he realized something. That would mean that Amras would also have to learn the spells that the diseased horse had used to bring chaos to the forest or even worse. Rift wouldn't be okay with that. Definitely not.

@Pride

Pride listened as he worked, at last leaning back and looking toward Amras. "Theoretical composition" sounded complex, but try as he might, he couldn't make meaning of the words--not without context.

"Composition..? Of what?" he asked mildly, curiosity striking him. His gaze then shifted to Rift, and he flicked an ear in amusement. This, the master and guardians of plants, didn't know that sap dried..? Or perhaps he did, and simply didn't realize the time frame Pride was working with. He needed to perfect this before ever taking it anywhere near Envy.

"It will dry and... harden long before I can make use of it," he answered in the same mild tone. He flicked his tail to and fro, for a moment, then looked to Amras. "Envy has a fire and... strength of will. What they face has made them--stronger. If I fail, your aid would be more than welcome. They should not suffer so."

It was calmly stated, but solemnly so. Morals didn't factor in; no one, Pride thought, should need to live with pain.

@Amras

The thought had certainly occurred to Amras, deep in the back of his mind, but for it to be expressed by another brought it to the forefront of his mind. To be a master of everything, was that even possible? Certainly he had met gembound with such ambitions, including Envy of course, but he had always dismissed it as folly. Could he actually do that though? Then again assuming he didn't die at the hands of another there was no indication that he was limited by time. Like all gembound his body had completely stopped showing signs of aging after a certain point. If they actually were effectively immortal then there was no reason why he couldn't delve deeper and deeper until something completely different and unknown might become apparent by the study.

"Composition of the elements and their spells." he clarified, "Magic acts a bit different for me and weaving spells could be described closer to Rift arranging different types of flowers or you experimenting with methods of processing sap here than to breathing as seems to be the case for most others."

As Pride indicated the sap Amras began to move in a bit closer, eying the collection as ideas churned within his head. "Perhaps" he muttered as he lifted a single talon and gestured it toward the congealing mass.

The gem on the back of his forearm began to emit a soft white glow as he tapped into his native element, feeling as magic gathered in an ethereal aura that collected around his hand. Since he was not touching the target he would have to form the energy into small tendrils, which rippled across the barely visible energy like sharp spikes across a body of water. Subconscious shaping poured into the collection as his intentions of 'liquify', 'distant', and 'sap' were translated into the nature of the spell.

All at once the magic sprung into being as the ghostly energy gave off a bright white light and reached out toward the sap in a series of beams like living string. The magic bore deep into the substance and immediately it collapsed into a pile of liquid, pooling into imperfections of the rock surface on which it rested. Too much, too fast, the sap was beginning to flow off the side of the rock! The gryphon immediately twisted his talon and attempted the bizarre move of inverting the shape of the spell while it was in place.

Around the edges of the flow a wall formed of flash frozen sap, cool mist pouring off it as it battled against the melted sap in the middle which it was designed to stop.

"Sorry, I probably should have asked before seeing if I could remedy the problem."

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags: @Rift @Pride
notes: None

Rift opened his mouth to contradict Pride, but he looked over as Amras beat him to the point, already casting the spell that Rift would have suggested Pride to attempt. He watched the master of magic weave a spell that instantly began to soften the sap and backed away a bit as it went a little bit out of control.

He looked over towards Pride. "I was going to suggest using that spell to make it softer once it hardened. If you need help carrying it back to Envy, I can certainly help. Or if you would rather bring them here, perhaps that would be easier. I wish I could say I could help, but I know little magic beyond the realm of plant and limited others. If it is required, though I will help in any way I can." There were a few herbs that would make Envy purposefully sick in case they ended up poisoning themselves or perhaps use plants to keep open their mouth in case they chocked. But Rift wondered if they would appreciate that or not.

@Pride

Pride eyed first Amras, then Rift, with a faint, yet growing impatience born of arrogance. Despite his youth, he was already irked at having to explain things to those who he deemed of lesser intellect--which was, apparently (at least in his mind) now the case.

"That magic... makes it cold and hard. Or soft and warm. But age dries sap. It will simply be... bitter. Crumbled. Hard. It must be fresh." He kept a quiet, soft tone, but looked back to the tree, continuing in as peaceful a tone as he could manage. "But a guardian of forests... could not leave a tree wounded. That much... I can see. If I find that I need help--I will come to you."

He turned, then, tail flicking once more. He knew how to work this, now; he could get more practice, perhaps, on his own. For now he turned more to Amras, though the idea of "elements" being "composed" of anything went against any common sense that he could see.

"You believe that fire is--made up of something other than... fire, for example?" he asked, hoping for clarification.

@Amras

It seemed he had stumbled into a tense meeting. Both were trying to preserve life, both were resistant to any action that could make that more difficult. Unfortunately both were flawed in thinking in his mind; if fresh sap was needed it would be best to procure it closer to time anyways, the tree would heal up naturally or at least stop flowing by the time any action could be taken. By the same token trees were much more hardy than gembound. He had seen firsthand what kind of suffering Envy had gone through and temporary injury to a plant was much less pressing than the unending malaise of a talking being.

Still, this was not his argument and he had no intention of throwing himself in the middle of it. Instead he opted to gloss over that part of the conversation and respond directly to Pride's question to him.

"For one whose native element is fire it probably is just fire. My native element is energy, which means that for me to access the fire element I have to go through certain procedures and transmutations."

Clear as mud. For one who used magic as most gembound did the only real way to accurately explain would be to show. Hopefully Rift wouldn't mind too much. Just to be sure though Amras took a few steps toward the rat cage where he would be as far away as possible from anything that could ignite. He would need full concentration and control so once he was there the gryphon unfolded his wings from his sides and let them rest behind him, shifting his center of gravity so he could stand and move about comfortable on just his back paws.

"First I have to gather magic of my native element. White, energy. You can actually see it like water if you look close enough." As he spoke he gathered as much magic as he possibly could so it would be more visible. The ghostly aura congregated around his entire arm, some spilling over to one side of his chest. He'd have to attend to that in shaping lest the spell rush out of control.

"For the fire element I save about a quarter of the energy close to my skin to act as a buffer, and then begin to twist the energy above it until it transmutes. Pale yellow, light element." Something was going wrong though, even though he had stopped consciously gathering magic it was still growing, spreading across to his other shoulder now. If he canceled the spell now there was a good chance that it would spiral out of control and hurt everyone around. It might even break the gem prison he was standing next to and release that diseased rat into the woods again. No, he had to continue on, improvise.

Indeed, after a brief pause the white energy like still water began to twist and turn, folding into itself like churning butter until something snapped and it changed color all at once. Any trace of the still white energy next to the skin was obscured by the light surrounding it. Before the gryphon spoke again the energy sped up its spread, apparently calming down as it covered the entirety of his body in a thin sheet.

"And finally I take that top layer of light energy and intensify it until it transmutes into the fire element. Once the shaping is complete I can allow the magic to manifest itself in the physical world where it will take effect based on the shaping done."

The ethereal yellow barrier grew in brightness until with a single spark it cascaded into an intense shell of orange. A wave of heat rushed out from the gryphon as the spell immediately manifested, completely hiding his body in a wall of raging flames.

"Huh, hurts a lot less than when I botched it last time" his muttering voice could barely be heard over the crackling sound. The Energy barrier was working wonderfully and even if the outside fire was more chaotic than he would have liked he was only getting some manageable burns as opposed to being cooked alive. A real improvement!

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags: @Rift @Pride
notes: None

Rift listened to Amras with both interest and anxiety. He had come to terms with Sebastian's fire magic already, but that was because he knew his brother and he knew him well. He wouldn't burn the forest down, except for areas that needed it and only when Rift said it was okay. And it was always controlled. Fire magic was so uncontrollable, volatile, and dangerous, especially in a forest.

So when Amras said he was going to cast a fire spell, Rift shifted nervously, hoping that he would be careful and that it would only be a small spell.

But still, he had to admit that what Amras was saying was very interesting. He was glued to his words, watching the light twist and shift into something else. The gryphon definitely knew how to use magic, that was for sure. For a moment, Rift envied his ability to cast from almost all the elements while he would proficient in a single one. But then it went away as he realized that it would be no help to the forest to learn some of the elements.

It was then that Amras burst into flame and Rift's eyes widened with shock. He screamed loudly, scrambling back from the inferno for fear of the plants on his back catching fire as well. From his jaws, instinct arose and a jet of water shot from his mouth, dousing Amras and hopefully putting out the fire on his fur and feathers. He continued shooting water until his legs shook and he could not longer handle the spell anymore. He released the magic and gasped from the effort, taking deep breaths to steady himself, his eyes still wide with fear.

@Pride

Pride listened closely, along with Rift. He found it all odd--perhaps slightly overly-complicating things, the way the gryphon explained it all. Or perhaps magic just--didn't come as naturally to him as it did to Pride..?

"Perhaps merely the focus aids you..? I have never seen it work this way for others--" He is on fire. Oh.

Pride blinked, his reaction swift--though a beat after Rift's, his familiarity with his own magic not strong enough to allow an instant response. Instead there was a delay as he froze, and thought, and only then did he act. When his magicka flickered up within, he did his best to rapidly form mist around Amras--following on the heals of Rift's water. It wasn't a strong spell, by any means--and the fire was likely already dealt with. But perhaps, at least. it might feel nice.

"This reminds me. The one who trained me--she knew little of why magic... fluctuates. So very much. Why at times it comes powerfully... and at others is weak, or--even lashes out. It seems moreso in Polaris--stronger. Do you know why it is so... variable?" he asked, tilting his head as he peered at Amras.

@Amras

Amras closed his eyes, takin gin the feeling of the spell so her might be able to replicate and control it better in the future. This was no smolder step but something more akin to that spell's logical conclusion. He could feel the protective layer of energy around him, thicker than it would normally be in the lesser version but still struggling with all its might to keep the fires above from cooking him. He could smell the dust and dirt and bits of his own feathers charring away as the heat that got through consumed everything it possibly could. The pain was definitely uncomfortable, but in its own way it was nicer than many parts of the caves. With his thin coat of fur and single layer of feathers across most of the body he was built for hot conditions like his home under the winds.

Before he could relish for too long in the blistering heat a blast of cold water assailed him. In a single instant the fiery blaze that was beginning to singe the gryphon swirled up into nothingness, leaving only a charred patch on the ground below the drenched Amras.

Amras slowly opened his eyes as steam, or perhaps mist, began to billow in a cloud around him. Had his fires been that intense that just their after-effect was boiling the water? If so perhaps it was a good thing he had been knocked out of his concentration. With a quick look behind him it was more clear that that was certainly not a spell he needed to maintain for very long- patches of the green in his feathers had been deteriorated as flame burned away at them, leaving behind splotches of the natural bright blue below. The gryphon let out a small sigh as he turned his attention back to the others. He'd have to concentrate on plant magic a bit more later- one color or the other looked good but not this halfway-between state.

"Sorry about scaring the two of you. It is good to see though that between all of us we would have been well equipped if something in the environment had caught fire despite the clearing."

Amras folded his currently mottled wings by his side again and dropped to his talons so he would no longer towering over the other two. "That is one mystery that I have yet to fully understand. I personally use the model of magic being like a lesser gembound- you can understand their habits and you can utilize their presence, but you can never actually tame them. Perhaps it really is a non-physical entity like the lesser ones or the golems, with our kind arising as conduits to attempt to put order into the chaos."

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags: @Rift @Pride
notes: None

For a moment, Rift just stared at the two of them, his heart still beating fast and his fur still fluffed up with fear. Many of the flowers on his skin had been overtaken with black petals and his fur almost looked like it had changed a different color from the amount that had grown. After a few moments, the black dropped away and he smoothed back his fur and sat down, his tail lashing and neck lowered, as if wary of the gryphon now.

He never quite imagined exactly how dangerous magic was sometimes. Sebastian never openly practiced fire magic and he had never seen him cast anything like that before. It reminded how volatile and dangerous magic could be and, suddenly, Rift feared to be around the two any longer. He looked from Pride to Amras and then sighed, returning to his feet. "I'm going to return to my tree now," he announced, ignoring Amras's apology. "If you have need of me, look for the giant tree that rises above the rest. I live beneath its roots." He turned towardstowards Pride. "I would like to help Envy if I can, but I cannot leave this cave. There is too much to do. If you ever bring them here, I shall do what I can."

He glanced at Amras with an unreadable expression in his eyes before turning and leaping towards a tree, scaling it in seconds before beginning his travel through the branches, quickly being swallowed by the canopy of the forest.

*exit

@Amras @Pride