Roy's Training (Roy and Jaffa Secondary Magic Thread)

Roy walked through the guildhall searching it for a particular person. He had just picked up a few new blades on his way back to the guildhall, they were simple but he figured that they would work for his purposes. He had put them both on either side of his belt and was eager to try them out, although hesitant as well. It had been a while since he had used swords, but they were the weapons he was most comfortable with. He wanted to try and combine his blade skills with some kind of magic but he wasn't sure if that would work out yet.

He knew that there was more than one person with access to the kind of power that he sought, but few people could match this woman's power in the art. Though he was hesitant to call it power. Nonetheless it was an ability that he sought, and at this point he felt like he needed it. Truth be told his first recourse would have actually been demon slayer magic but he wouldn't know where to find a lacrima and the only other option was to learn from a demon. Which neither seemed plausible nor enticing to Roy. Besides that why rely on demonic magic to kill demons, they could do just fine on their own and if they didn't believe him they would soon find out just how wrong they were.

Still though he had to find her, and she had to accept his request before any of this could begin. Eventually he got sick of looking around and not finding anything so he started asking around for her. Eventually he got her location down, and finally he had found her.

He approached her almost nervously, truth be told he had only ever seen her around before in passing. They hadn't ever done a job together and though he heard of towering virtue he had never really talked with her himself. Still this needed to be done, he at least needed to try. He must not only grow stronger for Sabertooth but better as well. He gathered his courage and approached her.

"Hello Sister. I'm- I mean, my name is Roy. I've only been in the guild for a little while now but I've heard a lot about you. I was just wondering if perhaps you could teach me to use holy magic. " He finished nervously waiting for her answer. If it was no, he was back to square one, and he couldn't imagine her saying yes honestly. He hardly deserved to talk to this woman, he wasn't sure how she could teach him to use a holy magic. But still, he had to try.

Spoiler:

The blonde nun was currently sitting in her wheelchair in the library. The medical staff had advised her to stay in it for the time being whilst she worked on her physio. Whilst her injuries from the molten iron dragon attack had majoritively healed, she was still not in any condition to be considered active for any jobs... although that didn't stop the Guild Master from using her as their personal secretary with all the paperwork she kept finding at her desk.

She had just finished going through the recent job reports from some of the teams, wondering how any of them managed to cope with one another the way they were so... dysfunctional at times before she heard someone addressing her. Kiersa looked up at the dark haired man who called himself Roy, and blinked as he made his request of her.

The blonde nun remained like that for a moment before blinking once more and tilting her head in confusion for a moment. "Huh?" she said before proceeding to smack both of her cheeks to make herself more awake, and to ensure that she wasn't suffering a hallucination. When she looked again the man was still there, so she could only assume...

"S-Sorry about that. Been going through so many papers lately that I wasn't sure if I was imagining things." Kiersa quickly explained, her cheeks turning crimson from her smacks, as well as some embarrassment. "You... you genuinely want me to teach you though?" she inquired, looking at him before back to her current state. "I'm... I'm not sure if you'd want to learn my magic..." the blonde nun said somewhat despairingly.

Roy smiled as the blond nun apologized for making sure that Roy was real. When he had first entered he had not noticed that the chair she was sitting in was actually a wheelchair. He had heard that she had healed so many wounds the last time that the guild was attacked that she was hospitalized. When she asked if he was sure he wanted to learn her particular brand of magic she cast her glance at her rather poor condition. Roy nodded his head confidently, and responded to her.

"Yes sister. I really do. I'm completely willing to pay whatever price I must. I know that you channel your magic through your body, and you pay the price in blood for it. I also understand that the magic you possess is not a naturally aggressive magic. I accept both of these things. And I believe I have found a way to make the magic more combative...but that's just a theory for now... Though I will admit I wasn't aware of your current condition...if you aren't up to it I completely I understand. I can come back when you're well. But please teach me one day. I'm begging you sister.

The magic that I already know I use to do...less than noble things. I spy, I mislead, and I deceive people, but most especially I hurt them. But I've always believed that there is something more beautiful to magic. Perhaps I can use it to help people and not hurt them. At least I'd like to think that I have that in me. "

Roy felt bad asking he this of her knowing that she wasn't fully recovered yet, he imagined that training for this magic wouldn't be as stressful at least physically as more combat oriented magics. But still he didn't want to strain her. He was afraid that even if she wasn't up to teaching him she would still say yes. She was too kind for her own good...but he supposed that was why he was coming to her above all other people. After all she had gained her power primarily through virtue, she had not learned from demons, or attained a lacrima to get her magic. No she was merely favored by the divine. Roy refused to go to demons to learn slayer magic, didn't have access to a lacrima, and couldn't think of a single better teacher than the beloved sister of Sabertooth. She was his best hope to not only learn the kind of magic that he sought but to maybe become the kind of man that he always wanted to be as well.

Spoiler:

Kiersa listened to the man's words before sighing and shaking her head. "The spilling of my blood isn't the price for my magics use." she said, starting to correct him. If he was going to genuinely learn the Holy Stigmata, then there were a few things that had to be cleared up first.

"The blood that is spilled, is more... of a side-effect than a price. It's there as a reminder to us, that life is precious and often fleeting... even as we spill our blood so that others do not have to." explained the blonde nun.

She gave a soft chuckle though. "Although, what I'm about to say later on may seem like a contradiction of what I've just said." Kiersa said as she wheeled herself around so that she could face the man properly without having to twist around so much.

"And I'd be glad to teach you how to use the Stigmata as best as I can... I'm still in the process myself of learning some of the techniques and spells, so I'll do what I can to get you on the right track." said Kiersa. "Although before I start to explain in better detail, I'd like to know what your own understanding of how magic works. So that I've got a frame of reference to work from." she explained, gesturing towards Roy. "How do you use your magic that you've used up to this point?"

Roy smiled as the nun corrected him. Right at that moment he knew he had made the right choice in coming to her. Her presence alone soothed Roy's heart and listening to her speak gave him hope. He began to wonder if he even wanted to learn magic from her as much as he just wanted to learn from her. She spoke about how precious life was, and how it needed to be protected and treasured.

She continued on claiming that she hadn't yet perfected the magic herself, but it didn't matter at all to Roy. No matter how great a magic user he became he knew that he would never compare to her, and that she would always shine like a beacon in comparison to him. Roy couldn't help but smile a little as she talked, he soaked in every word getting into the mentality of an eager student who's master is far above their caliber. He nodded his head as she spoke until she asked him to describe his own magic. He opened his eyes and no longer smiled, describing his magic after hearing her describe hers was like comparing obsidian to gold. Both useful but one ultimately more beautiful than the other.

He looked at the floor as he talked, he didn't want to see the look on her eyes as he described his magic to her. "I use smoke magic, like I said I mainly work as a spy. Most of my spells involve deceit and hiding so I suppose to use my magic I concentrate on hiding, the feeling of being hidden. No one knowing where I am, who I am, or what I want. I think of what I'm hiding from, and generally it's to avoid pain and death, and so that magic is born of fear. Fear for the light. Stepping into the light is something I've always equated to death and weakness. For myself that is. So I withdraw from the light, I stick to the shadows and I create smog and illusions in order to blind people. When they aren't looking I turn my smoke into weapons giving my lies the ability to harm, striking from behind whenever possible. Only sometimes do I use my magic to create pictures, stories, colors and other things. Mainly to entertain. Then I think of joy. But it's rare that I ever use my magic like that. If I do my job right my opponent should never see my face. I-I'd like to tell you there is more to it than that but...there really isn't. "

Roy wasn't going to lie to the sister, though he doubted she wanted to hear that. But if he really wanted to get her help, and to learn her magic then he knew that lying would only make it infinitely more difficult for her to teach him. However there were some things that he wasn't ready to tell her yet, his own reasons for coming to her that he couldn't even admit to himself fully.

Spoiler:

The blonde nun smiled softly as he spoke about what he used his magic for, how he considered what his magic meant among other desires before she gently shook her head. "That's... not quite what I meant." she said, before closing her eyes and holding out her hand, the palm facing upwards. "Maker's Solarus." she invoked, a small sphere of pure light forming over her hand before it began to hover around her like a miniature lamp.

"When I asked how you used your magic, I meant more how than how." said Kiersa, emphasising her point. "This orb of light for example... most mages would just say they channeled etherious through their body, and then transmuted it into this stable form of light that you see now." she explained, shrugging her shoulders a little.

"But, when using the Stigmata's holy magic... what you are doing is actually performing a shortened form of a prayer. You let the Maker's power tap into the magic inside of yourself, and then you channel it forth into the spells." she said, gesturing the sphere. "For small things like asking for a light to guide the way, no great toll is taken on the body from communing with the Maker... but, the ability to heal others, to shield them from harm, to take to the skies, to empower your friends and comrades..." the blonde nun said, letting the sentence hang in the air unfinished.

Maker's Solarus:

Roy nodded his head as she began to correct him, truth be told he'd never delved that deep into magical theory. He had always kind of felt his way through the whole learning process if he was being honest. Magic had been passed down in their family and was more...ritualistic than rehearsed. It was probably good that he receive a more formal education on the science behind magic. He imagined it would broaden his understanding of the art in general.

He committed everything that she said to memory and watched her demonstrate the power. Conjuring an orb of light and describing how the Maker's power influences her own natural magical potential. Allowing such a power to course throughout your own body in small doses seemed to be harmless. But as she continued explaining she revealed to Roy that the greater requests ultimately took a heavy toll on the body.

Even if it wasn't exactly a "price" per say. It seemed that this power probably required an excessive amount of humility and empathy. The effects that the spells imposed on the caster seem to reinforce this idea. The pain and the blood remind one of how precious other's lives are, and for obvious reason's keep them humble. Roy began to think of how compatible he was with this magic. He could pray certainly, he often prayed.

But he certainly didn't have a great deal of empathy. He normally only felt for the victims of his violence, but as soon as he did he tried to drink those feelings away. He would soon have to hurt more people and couldn't afford to pity them. While he valued the life of his friends he can't imagine that that would be enough. Even the most evil of men valued the people close to them, that didn't take a saint. He was sure that if he was to gain this power he would have to recognize in his heart the inherent value in life. Roy thought that he had a decent understanding of what she had already taught him. This was probably going to be the easiest part though, learning the idea behind the magic. Gaining the ability might be one of the harder things he's ever had to do. It was time he started asking questions.

"I think I understand what you've said so far. I'm not sure if I'd be worthy of the Maker's blessings but I'm certainly experienced with Prayers. What should I do to become worthy of this power...Just name it and I will do it. Even if it costs me a limb, even if what you ask me to do is pray every hour of every day for a month. If it's not a question of worthiness then whatever the first step to communicating with the maker is I'll do it."

Kiersa smiled softly and shook her head. "Everyone is worthy. All they have to do is to open themselves up to it." she said, and was about to explain further before one of her Celestial Keys glowed briefly, and a red headed woman with fox ears and a large bushy tail, wearing a kimono appeared. "What'cha gotta do is take Kiersa here out around the town, maybe take her to a bar or two to loosen her up~" the girl said all whilst the blonde nun was turning as red as the girls hair.

"V-Vulpy!" she squeaked out in embaressment. "Wh-What are you d-doing here?! I didn't call you!" she exclaimed before looking back towards Roy. "I-Ignore her! Just... just please ignore everything she's just said! Oh sweet Maker..." groaned Kiersa as she buried her face in her habit, the Celestial Spirit cackling her head off. "Oh Kiersa, ya should know that I'll always be there to give ya a helping hand whenever you're alone with the opposite sex." she said, sounding every inch like an evil older sibling.

Vulpy then began to smirk and grin at the same time somehow. "Unless of course ya swing for the other team eh? I wouldn't blame ya if ya did, what with being raised in a convent and all that." the fox-like girl said, cackling away as she moved out of range of the blonde nuns attempt to punch her.

Whilst Kiersa began to lightly smack her head against the table, groaning and muttering to herself, the fox-like girl looked over at Roy. "So, name's Vulpecula, but you can just call me Vulpy. Just think of me as little innocent Kiersa's older Celestial Spirit sister, who really wants to see her enjoy life a little. Or at least more than she does at the moment." she said with a coy smirk before blinking as she started to dissolve into motes of light.

"Awww! But I was just starting to have some fun!" the fox-like girl pouted as she spotted Kiersa holding her key and pointing it towards her. She looked back to Roy and winked. "You two play nice and have fun now~" she purred before completely vanishing. The blonde nun for her part returned to hiding her face in the table and groaning.

Roy was not aware that Kiersa had celestial spirit magic up until the moment where one of her spirit keys began to glow and a red haired spirit appeared before them. She seemed to be a fox woman and quite the interesting character at that. Roy merely smiled as she demanded that he take Kiersa out for a drink and watched amused as Kiersa begged her spirit companion to stop.

She seemed to think of herself as an older sister figure with the way she talked about Kiersa, and even addressed herself as such. He smirked and laughed as she charged him with making Kiersa's life more interesting. But as soon as she came she was gone, and as she began dissolving into translucent light he saw that Kiersa had taken out her key and closed her gate. Immediately she began to hide her face back in to her desk.

Roy might have said something during the conversation but truth be told he was still thinking about what Kiersa had said. Everyone was worthy...no he doubted that. Not that he was anyone's judge but still, he was certain that he wasn't worthy, and he had met many many men that were even worse than him. But for now, he would concede the point of his mentor. Let us say that worthiness was in fact not a factor in this. How then did he begin opening himself up to the maker's power.

For the moment though Kiersa seemed mortified about what had just happened. He had better say something to make her feel better about the situation. "Don't worry sister she's just trying to look out for you. Any sister would do the same." Roy looked at the mountains of paper work that she had been doing and in all honesty had probably been doing for a while. Perhaps her spirit friend was on to something.

"Perhaps Vulpy was on to something however. How long have you been doing this paper work? Which I might add is the duty of the guild master. Not you. We don't have to go to a bar like she suggested but it's high time you did something else if your up for it. Would you like to continue this lesson elsewhere?"