OTA;

[a_noble_flame]

[What comes first through the flung open door of Alice's communion is warmth. To some a warm spring day, to others an inviting hearth banked to a low, slow fire. Or maybe it's a campfire, a ring of bright light against the encroaching darkness. However it is viewed it's inviting, calling for rest and calm.

She's nudged her way into several communions by now but she's never opened herself up at large and it shows. Or maybe it's just that Alice is never one to hide much save the emotions she keeps buried away beyond the light of her fire and warmth.

Alice herself ... well, her image of herself is fuzzy. Ever present fire eats at her heels and in times of passion might silhouette her. She herself though is only as sharp as her mental image of herself and she's obviously not that great at conjuring it up.

At least she still feels warm though? And her tone of voice is the same even if her words are quite business-like.]

I apologize if I'm doing this wrong in some way.

[Apology given, she dives in.]

I would like to find someone to commission a sword from. I wish to be prepared for future fighting and in order to do so I really do need to keep up my training with my other weapons as well. My current weaponry can only offer so much in terms of weight and distance.

[... Should she give an example of what she wants to commission? She's drawn up something by hand, exact specifications given from memory and years of handling this particular weapon of hers.

Amusingly -- or maybe not -- Alice's mental image of the Mähne is much clearer than her mental image of herself. It's a good six foot in length, two longswords butted end to end with grips between them.]

I have saved up some for this and am willing to work off the extra should what I have not cover the cost fully.

[... How do you close these out? Just ... leave it open for communication? There's a sweep of heat as Alice flusters just a touch.]

Th-thank you. I appreciate any assistance that can be offered.

Comments

[sheezit]

[ Shez's communion is mostly the same as when they did an initial test run: a dark, comfortable warmth, the sound of water an octave lower, more distant and practically imperceptible underneath his laugh. ]

Hey, you're really getting the hang of this, huh!

[ Since she can communicate a mental image that well and all-- and he is, of course, always excited to see a cool blade. Swords!! ]

That's a real nice blade, you know. I can probably recommend a handful of blacksmiths you could commission it from, but I have a spare if you're in a pinch. It's not like I really need it now that I can summon my own again.

[a_noble_flame]

[There's a pulse of warmth at Shez's greeting, a heartbeat in the darkness around the firelight of her own communion. They've only know each other briefly but it's clear she appreciates hearing from him again.]

I've been able to get some practice in. Thank you for showing me how to do this to begin with.

[There's an echo of her own laugh.]

I've been borrowing a sword since I arrived. Unfortunately none can quite compare to the weight of my Mähne. I need it for practicing as much as I need it for combat.

[That said though there's a feeling of keen interest now, genuine and open.]

You can summon your sword? Is this something to do with magic?

[... Okay, now she's interested in magic for real.]

[sheezit]

[ He acknowledges her thanks with a smile and quick nod, or at least that's the feeling that crosses over. Always ready to help a fellow Meri! As for her question though: ]

If I had to guess, yeah, that's gotta be some kind of magic. It's something I've been able to do way before coming to Kenos, but even the person who first shared those powers with me didn't know much about them. Gotta say, it's pretty handy that I'm never unarmed, especially with these Oracle trials just whisking us away without warning.

[ This is probably something else a newcomer like Alice should keep in mind: always be prepared for trials! ]

As for your sword, maybe you'll get lucky and it'll be pulled from the Timestream at some point. My friends and I have had some of our stuff delivered to us like that before, and I hear it happens on occasion. Wouldn't hurt to get a good replacement just in case, though...

[a_noble_flame]

[The advice on always being prepared is perhaps the best she's gotten thus far. Watch Alice sleep with a sword strapped to her from now on!]

That does sound very handy indeed. I would have liked that ability when I first arrived.

[That said she sighs gently.]

So I've heard from others. I would be willing to wait but I'm afraid I would be too out of condition with it by then. I need something of similar size and weight to keep up my strength with.

[sheezit]

[ That's... actually not a bad idea at all. That's the kind of advice he got prior to his first trial and it was pretty helpful! ]

Yeah, in that case, a good ol' commission would be your best shot, but it should be easy enough to do. Unless your sword got any special skills or powers?

[a_noble_flame]

No special skills beyond it's form. Is it common for weapons to have abilities?

[This is the first time she's heard of it but she is from a non-magic world.]

[sheezit]

I wouldn't say common, but it was also... not uncommon? At least where I come from, I mean. It took a special kind of blacksmith and the right materials, but you could imbue any kind of weapon with magic, from swords to lances and even bows.

Aside from that, you have stuff like the Heroes Relics-- they're not exactly magic, and only people with Crests can wield them to their full potential, but they have all kinds of special abilities in combat. And then you have stuff like my sword, which not even the more scholarly people in Fodlan could explain beyond telling me it's definitely not like those Relics...

[ There's a bit of frustration at that last part, but he's quick to shake it off. No use dwelling on his personal mysteries now. ]

Honestly, just saying that all out loud just makes me realize Fodlan must sound real weird to any outsiders, huh?

[a_noble_flame]

[Watch as it just now hits her a good month later.]

Oh, that's what Dimitri meant by a crest? I ... well, my family sword has a crest too but it's my family seal and nothing magically special.

[His last question makes Alice pause a moment -- and then she outright laughs. Or her mental image of herself seems to? Maybe it's just flowing through the Communion, whatever. She's laughing like this is her first real one in a while.]

I don't wish to be rude but yes. Yes it decidedly does. At least it does to me, that is.