Southern Charm [Private]

The sun shined brightly and clouds moved quickly over the Serene Cliffs. It was about noon. Vincent stood on the edge of the of this cliffs in his typical attire. It had been a few days since his return from the Yōkai realm and thus a few days since he lost his ability to cast elemental magic. Thankfully his magical power reserves were still the same, but he figured it was about time he start learning how to use his new power. He needed to get used to creating projections, first and foremost, but first he needed an image to project. The inside of a Midian dojo seems appropriate. Soon, a circular field radiated outwards from the mage and stopped when it was twenty-five meters out. All those within this circular field would be able to see a picturesque dojo interior with open sliding doors on all sides. It was snowing outside and trees without their leaves could be seen within the dojo. To the keen eye, it would appear as though the air around the edge of his field was distorted if viewed from outside.

Now I need a test dummy. A motionless, mute copy of the wizard stood across from him inside of the dojo. And now the manuals and the weapons... Vincent had spent that last few days acquiring all manner of weapon manuals for popular weapons such as the rapiers and longswords to rarer weapons such as kusarigama. His scholarly background and occupation made the process of learning much quicker than normal, but still, it would take a while before he would trust in his ability enough to battle. The wizard summoned his trusty rapier to his hand and levitated the corresponding manual up to eye level. On its own, the book opened to one of the first techniques shown and Vincent performed it on his still clone. He would perform each of the techniques one hundred successfully times before moving onto the next one listed. The wizard was no stranger to repetitive tasks, but he would break up the techniques listed in the manual with a few sparring sessions with his clone who, at those times, be granted the ability to fight back.

It was a dicey gamble to say the least why she decided to train herself to go through with this route of training that she'd wanted to do. It wasn't really something that she had normally put into her regiment, but sometimes to get better or get more in touch with the elements you channel, you have to push your limits in the surroundings. Today's little regiment though required her to be a little more well dressed, but to still be comfortable enough to do her task successfully. What might you ask she be doing? Well... against her better judgment, the blonde had decided to go full on with her stereotype by climbing the cliff side to the top. All the proper stretching and warm ups needed before she would go on this climb was successful. So now the only thing left to do was to do the unthinkable in her own experiences; climb.

She had made it a rather long way up from the ground below in some time. She had no concept of the time spent on here, having been focused on making sure she was on a firm point on the rocks to catch her breath. Suddenly, a small clang of metal connected against each other above her. She stopped for a moment and listened until she heard it again. In a hurry of curiosity, Sasha began to climb faster and faster until she could hear the metal clashing only a few feet away. Reaching up, the country bumpkin pulled herself up over the edge where she saw for a second a blur in action, attacking something strange. It was something she had never seen before, but she was curious as to the aggressor in this instance. When it settled to one position, even for a brief moment, she had continued to watch him repeat the actions over and over as though he were practicing. All the while, Sasha remained hanging over the edge, watching quietly in amusement with a small smile on her face.

She remained that way until she had gotten tired of dangling like laundry drying in the air and she pulled herself up, sitting there if he hadn't noticed her by that point. "Y'all need to set a better footing into the ground or the enemy can parry and kill ya, bucko." She advised, seeing his technique repeatedly gave an opinion she rightfully to her had to mention. "Doin' that whole '100 times over' to get better, I reckon?" Sasha asked, standing up and adjusting the sheathed sword on her side.

A person? he thought, the projection of the dojo disappearing due to his broken focus. His clone vanished along with the false interior and his floating manual fell to the grass. Vincent was thoroughly spooked by the sudden appearance of a mage. Bucko? From what far reaches of Earthland does she hail? "You startled me, miss. And yes, I was doing that whole '100 times over' successfully to get better. Might I assume that you're here to become stronger as well?" The wizard knew that he should probably start smaller and so he reequipped a large black bow while storing his sword away in his pocket space. "I am Vincent from Crystal Swan and you have found me at a bit of an awkward time. I'm usually observant enough to notice other magi within my immediate vicinity; that said, you're magical power is currently blossoming." The white haired mage didn't view this woman as a threat to him and was therefore relaxed. Even if she was a dark mage, she seemed to be new blood.

"I wouldn't mind assisting you in your training, young woman. To do so would benefit myself as well because, I'll admit, I'm here to try and get a handle on my current magical power. In a way, we both seem to have similar experience with our magics." Vincent held his left hand up and a colored cylinder of hay was created seventy meters in front of him. There was a small yellow disk at the center, a thicker red ring around the yellow disk, and an even thicker blue ring around the red one. "To put it simply I may manipulate space and the objects in it. What about you, what are your abilities, if you don't mind telling me of course?" The wizard would never be so careless so as to reveal his magic to a stranger if felt at all threatened, but her disposition made him feel as though he had nothing to worry about.

A big cheesy smile formed on Sasha's face as the male training had suddenly been surprised by her arrival. It's not really much like it could be helped. Not everyday somebody climbs the side of a cliff to find a person, but it was rather humorous to think about. "Naw.. not at least in the same way I see y'all doin it." She replied, standing up and stretching her legs while she brushed off the dirt from around her clothing. Her eyes widened as she watched the male make a bow appear in his hands, replacing the sword he had a moment ago. "I ain't gonna lie, but I'm mighty curious how you done made that bow appear in your hand like that. Name's Sasha Martin and it's quite nice to meet 'cha, handsome." She gave a teasing wink and giggled, stepping forward toward the recently introduced mage. "So uh.. I do has like one minor question for y'all..." She paused, her head tilting from the obliviousness of her rather isolated life on a farm, only knowing what her uncle told her of the towns of Fiore. "What's a 'Crystal Swan'..?"

Creating some hay and a target across the way, he'd gone on in introducing himself while taking a practice shot at the target down the way. She remained to the side and let him continue his work in his training while he easily picked apart her lack of true possession on her magic. Still, Sasha could only laugh a little aloud, or rather very loudly. "That's for darn sure! My uncle only taught me the basics of the magic he used to use. Told me I could only truly learn from my experiences in the world." She gave a shrug and drew her sword with her left hand and then tossed the weapon to her right hand to keep it further from him. "I guess he meant I gotta go wrastle up world experience somehow... Anyway, I make some pretty auras, do some fancy element things dependin' on the aura 'round mah body. Some day I plan to be a Knight much like my uncle dun used to be." Twirling the sword around in her fingers, she sheathed it and raised her hands up, lacing her fingers together behind her head in a rather lax manner.

Handsome? That's certainly a first. "Your uncle was a knight? And you would like to follow in his footsteps? Well... before I comment on that goal of yours I'll answer your question. Crystal Swan is a legal guild, an organization of mage who cooperate on jobs to help the people of the nation in exchange for currency. Most guilds have an overarching set of beliefs - a theme, if you will. Crystal Swan in particular is a guild of artists and explorers. I would fall into the latter of these two categorizations." Vincent drew his bow and an arrow materialized between his fingers. He fired off the shot which struck the target close to the center. That's not too bad. It helps that these arrows travel in a straight line, though. "And what a coincidence - I used to be an elemental mage until very recently. I wouldn't mind sharing what I've learned over time. You don't exactly find too many mages who utilize all of the elements rather than specializing in just one." The wizard fired off another arrow, this one hitting closer to its mark.

"I've never seen a sword like yours, where was it made?" Upon receiving a response to this question, the white haired mage would finally comment on her earlier statement regarding her path. "The path of the knight is not a path many would choose for themselves, Ms. Martin. Behind all of the proper etiquette and grand gestures of chivalry, the path of the knight is wrought with bloodshed. Like you, I inherited such a legacy. I was born to two Paladins of the Pergrande Kingdom. That is the title we give our most revered and usually most powerful knights. I..." Vincent stopped himself from continuing. He felt as though he was getting too personal with this stranger who had struck a chord of his by mentioning her wish to become something that he loathed. "I would reconsider that goal of yours If I were in your position."

Again, the big toothy grin reared its head as the blonde girl had been rather proud of her goals, reaching for them in any way she could do so. "I reckon so, Vincent." She quickly piped in before his explanation of what a guild was. If it truly were something like what he had been describing to her, she had seemed to go from large, toothy grin down to a simple smile before she just had shrugged off the males guild intentions and even as much as to explain what guilds basically are, which the farm girl easily filed away as to something to ask at a later point in time. "That sounds like a mighty dandy group a people ya got there." She noted, watching him take his aim and shoot an arrow he'd made appear much like the bow already in hand before he took it and fired, nearly hitting the center. Making no comment towards the shot itself, she had been a little preoccupied by his statement of being a former elemental mage, her head shifted towards his direction from the information she'd been given. "Well how does someone even learn different magic? Actually, forget I asked.. I'm only lucky 'nuff to use it cause of my sword."

The thought had never truly occurred to her that she'd confessed her crimes to that of a stranger who in any moment could have been the type to attack her and take her sword to keep her from fighting back. "I 'preciate the offer, but I'm gone have to say no. If I wanna learn more, I'd rather I learn em on my own. It ain't nothin' 'gainst ya, just more fun and thrillin' to do it mahself! Ya know?" Though after having sheathed the weapon, she drew it once more as Vincent had taken an interest in her sword and where it was made from. "I don't know full details. My uncle said it was crafted from some rare magic like ores and stones. The fact it ain't got no point to it is funnier, if I do say so mahself." She'd commented, setting the blade into her non-dominant hand as Vincent began to explain his rather personal information from his own life and wherever that Pergrande place had even been. Lightly nodding, she suddenly laughed at his comment about reconsidering her choice to want to be a knight. Wrapping her arm around the back of his neck, she gripped rather tightly without realizing much of it. "My uh.. path is really yet to be made. See, my uncle told me a Knight is forged by experiences. That's why I left the farm I grew up on, ya see? I'm gone be a Knight far beyond my uncle and cuz. Show em who the real Saint is!"

She has arms like a Vulcan! exclaimed the mage in his mind when she approached and wrapped her arm around his neck. Clearly she means a knight in a different sense than I do... that's good. The white haired wizard thought more on what the young farm girl said before formulating a response. She's a holder mage, then, and her item of power is that sword? That's a rather crucial piece of information. "I understand, Ms. Martin. Nothing is better than that sense of progression and discovery one gets from achieving milestones all on their own. Learning is an active process which is most effective when one does so in solitude." The wizard tried his best to break free from her vice grip if only so that the blood could start pumping back into his brain. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I would be very cautious in revealing your status as a holder mage to complete strangers. For all you know I could be lying about my affiliation with Crystal Swan and, in reality, instead align myself with a dark guild - a guild with mages who actions are disavowed by the Magic Council. At the very least, I would recommend developing an ability like this one." As soon as he finished his light admonishment he would toss his long black bow at Sasha.

Once she caught it, or even if she simply dodged it, the bow would dematerialize and rematerialize in Vincent's left hand at the mere snap of his fingers. "I would be effectively helpless if disarmed, as a part requip mage. We're essentially a type of holder whose items of power are generally conventional weapons. To compensate, I've developed the ability you've just seen." She's so trusting. I wholeheartedly believe her story about her past on a farm. "I come from about as opposite a background as you. From a young age I studied magic in an Academy hidden somewhere in the Pergrande Kingdom. I am somewhat of a 'proper' mage compared to many of the guild mages you'll find here in Fiore." The wizard his air quotes around the word 'proper' to show some semblance of humility, even if it was feigned. After that, he planted his bow in the ground and magically unfastened his cape so that it would float closely behind him. He would turn around and raise the white shirt underneath to reveal his Crystal Swan tattoo. The mage put his shirt down had his cape fasten itself neatly back around his neck before turning around to face the holder mage once more. "Every guild mage has a tattoo of the guild which they represent. Some are more hidden than others. I felt as though you deserved some kind of confirmation of my words after I entertained the notion of being a danger to you."

Vincent took his bow out from the dirt he had dug it into and fired another shot at the target; this arrow pierced the center of the target. "Being a 'proper' mage means that I'm interested in the study of magic itself and all manner of rare magical artifacts. You might already see what I'm going to request...." I need a moving target. I wonder if there are any birds hiding quietly between the trees. The wizard created a rock in front of his nose and had it launch far beyond the target he had made and into the tree line which began far behind his hay bale. Surely enough, birds rustled through the leaves and took to the skies to escape the faux threat. The mage drew his bow and held his breath while tracking one of the larger birds. He carefully took aim and fired a red arrow which left the bow at blinding speeds and left a red streak in its wake. The arrow missed its mark. "I thought I had it..." he thought aloud before looking back to the strange swordsman. "I'm sure it will be too much to ask, but I would like to conduct a study of your peculiar blade. In exchange I'll share with you any information I manage to glean. I don't simply look the part of the scholar, you know."

With her arm locked around Vincent’s neck, she seemed to be enjoying herself a little too much for having just met the man. But that was the way Sasha always was; extroverted and always looking I meet new people, have a few good laughs and a lot of fun. Trying to use her youth to it’s full height before she’d end up like her uncle. Not that he was entirely useless, but the old man was nothing like he used to be, so Sasha’s goal was to be like him in his youth; persistent in her goals and her ideals. Never letting a person tell her otherwise! Then again... she was hard headed, so it would take some major things to change anything about herself. Though as any normal person would have understood every last word he said and seen it as a major compliment of sorts, the blonde seemed to blink a few times before she broke out laughing aloud. ”I didn’t understand a good bit of them words, Vincent. I heard more complex words in that there sentence than my aunt Bessie’s prize winnin’ cow had teats on her utter.” Her rather awkward analogy might seem a bit off for Vincent in his mentioned manner of having been raised, but to Sasha it was like just another common conversation she was participating in.

”Ok, maybe not that many., but that don’t matter none. I got the point of what y’all were tellin’ me.” She replied, naturally catching a bow that was tossed her way. She only began to inspect the weapon when suddenly vanished from her hand and the grip she held onto it with had collapsed into her palm. ”Woah..” She muttered in awe of watching it first hand. Her attention raised to him Ashe began to explain a little background information about himself, which she had given her fullest attention. She was never shy about listening to anyone that spoke to her, which is what made her a rather great learner as well. ”Sounds like y’all didn’t really like the way you were reared, Vince.” She implied, trying to get a grasp around the little history lesson of her assumed-to-be friend. Though that was simply met with his sudden removal of her shirt, she smirked. She could see it was at the least to be toned in fitness, but not from a lifters perspective of being buffed with muscles. With his cape placed back on, he had moved it so that she could see the tattoo of the Crystal Swan guild on his back and she smiled, nodding as she had been explained about how they were all given this to show their affiliation. ”Kinda like how farmers brand the larger livestock to show ownership from thievin’ farmers?” Sasha asked, trying to piece together her connection of how guild marks were relevant in the situation.

Though, now that she had seen his body, she wanted a little “closer inspection” with a grin forming, she quietly snuck over and wrapped her arms around his sides. She began to poke and rub his abdomen, humming as she inspected the fit body while her chin rested on his right shoulder. ”Y’all seem to work out quite a bit~” She teased, giggling in his ear for a moment before she pushed herself away and spun around him to face his front and see his face to see if she had indeed made him a little uncomfortable. ”Hope I didn’t make you miss that shot.” She commented, watching him take aim at a bird with his bow and fire an arrow towards it. Though he seemed to be a little more curious about her sword, she unsheathed the weapon and tossed the weapon up lightly, spinning the blade to face her before she caught it and handed it to him hilt first. ”No problems at all, partner!~ Just tell me bout the Knights in your Per.. uh... Pergran.. de? Did I pronounce that right?” Finding a rock nearby of a rather decent size, she say herself on top and began to relax while she let Vincent do his inspection and story telling.

I suppose I have to make an effort to speak more plainly if she... what was that again? Something about udders? Vincent might have been a bit more confused than he cared to admit trying to parse Sasha's bizarre phrases. He had never once heard anyone make such comparisons before. In response to the comment about how farmers brand their livestock Vincent opened his mouth and raised a pointed index finger. Now that he thought about it a bit more, it seemed like an apt comparison, so he slowly lowered his hand and closed his mouth. "Yes, like how farmers brand their livestock to stop theivin' farmers." Something... odd had happened when he took his aim at the bird. The farm girl began to poke and prod at his abdominal muscles while commenting about how it evidenced some kind of workout routine. The white haired wizard was a bit more than flushed which caused him to turn his back towards her and look away when she tried to get a better look at him. "No, don't worry about it, I simply need a little more practice with my new armory" he said, succeeding in his attempt to remain composed - at least verbally. His face told another story, though.

When he heard the weapon unsheathe, he waited a moment before quickly turning and grabbing the hilt before turning away. "Thank you, Ms. Martin. I'll say it again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, but you're absurdly trusting. Some might mistake it for naivete." he said, walking away from the rock she sat upon and placing her sword down on the healthy green grass. From a black drawstring back on his side he pulled a simple looking scroll that had an enchantment already placed on it. "I'll be honest Ms. Martin, I didn't expect you to agree to my request, but I always come prepared for spontaneous examinations. There are a lot of things you find out during walks that have surprising magical value." As he said this, he unrolled the scroll and remotely controlled the sword. The blade levitate upwards so that Vincent could place his scroll underneath it. Once he did, he made Sasha's sword gently float onto the center of a complex magical rune etched into the parchment and pulled out a small vile full of grey particles from his bag.

"If you want to identify metal, then you must give up some yourself. This is a specific... example of a... rule found in magical studies." He tried his best to speak plainly. After this brief explanation, he crouched down and carefully encircled the elemental blade with metal shavings. The wizard stood up and held his open hands over the ground where the scroll, sword, and shavings lay. Vincent closed his eyes and channeled magical energy into the scroll which caused the rune to glow a bright blue. After a minute passed of the blue rune getting brighter and brighter as more energy was put into it, the shavings disappeared into a beautiful display of magical energy and the sword began to levitate. The sword would make complete circular rotations of the yaw, pitch, and roll before simply remaining motionless in the air. "The Knights of Pergrande are a monstrous sort - not the kind that you'd ever want to meet in battle. Whatever moral reservations or, err, issues you have with killing, mean nothing to them. If you allow them even the slightest of openings, a Pergrande Knight will strike you down without a second thought. It is a nation where prowess in battle is championed above all else due to the fact that the Knights are primarily conscripted to fight the monsters of Sin at the wall that separate the two lands. The Pergrande Kingdom is also known for their universal and indiscriminate hatred of all things magical."

Vincent began to get angry thinking about the kinds of warriors that were created by the Kingdom. "Remember when you mentioned something about me not 'liking the way I was reared?' Well, that's the reason. My mother has some sentimentality for magic users, but she thinks herself weak because of it. If my father knew what I really was then either he or I would end up dead. The worst part about that is that he would believe that his death meant something - he would have died fulfilling one of the highest duties of a Paladin; the eradication of the magical by any means. These are the kinds of Knights that I know. They are a true embodiment of strength and ideals, even if their ideals would drag them to their death!" He paused for a while after this little speech which progressively got him angrier as he went on. The white haired wizard needed a moment to compose himself. "Well, that's enough of that. About your sword - it has a very interesting composition. Judging by the way the handle is wrapped and shaped I would say its origin is definitely Midian, but the metal or, I should say, metals used to forge it are unknown to me. If I had to guess, I would say that they're from incredibly hidden areas of Earthland. There are metals in here that resonate quite strongly with just the slightest input of elemental mana."

"I would guess that the metal which amplifies water must have been taken from the depths of the ocean, for example. Magical properties tend to coincide with geographical location and, generally, the harder it is to get somewhere the stronger the magical properties of the natural resources. Another example would be that the metals hiding deep beneath Earthland in rivers of lava would be very good amplifiers of fire magic. The question is... how did your uncle get a hold of this? I'm no merchant, but if the materials in it are as difficult to acquire as I hypothesize, then this sword is worth at least... well, let's just say you could buy more than your fair share of cattle."

With a big toothy grin, she’d noted the way he seemed to be a little embarrassed having the blonde caressing his abdomen like she had. Though she and he both had brushed off the action in their own ways, Sasha continued to just listen to Vincent through the ways that he went about things. He was a polar opposite to the country girl to say the least and anyone could tell somewhat of that just from the way the pair had dressed comparatively, though this wasn’t really her most “flattering” attire choice, either. A professional tease always keeps some fun options in their sleeve for the sake of fun, and this farm girl was no different! As the white haired boy went on again about her overly trusting personality, Sasha simply laughed aloud and shrugged at his type of scolding, or at least to her it seemed to be. ”Well, can’t get nowhere in life without a little bit of trust!~ I’m a purty good judge’a character when it comes to folk, so I’m not worried bout it. Besides, honor ‘mong swordsman, right?” She gave a little giggle and winked at Vicent, though she wasn’t too worried about much at all, let alone letting him hold her sword for a little bit.

As the boy had come to start his inspection, Sasha walked around curiously watching from many an angle until she was across from him and she plopped herself down on the ground, her chest pressing against the ground while her hands cupped underneath her head while holding it up with her elbows rested on the ground as the stand. The blonde watched like a content little child as her eyes locked onto the way that he was moving around the weapon with some form of magic that she wasn’t really familiar with at all, but she was very much enthralled in what he was doing. The way he had been moving it around, inspecting the whole thing intently while being able to learn all sorts of things about it that Sasha had already known some of... not specifics such as what they were, but she had some little knowledge of things based around them. ”Well, I mean he did make his way down deep past the fishes to get the ore. We’d gone down fishin’ for the weekend on a family reunion type deal. I watched the old geezer dive on in and vanish. Man came up bout half hour later with a rock in his hand.” Her feet kicked back and forth idly and chuckled. ”I’ll never forget it. It had this really wonderful glow to it. Purrtiest thing I done ever did see~” Her recollection made her smile, thinking up the memory in her head of his hand erected high above the water and holding it out proudly.

Her body popped up off the ground and she pushed herself up onto her rear end, snatching up her sword and taking one hand to the hilt and the other gently cupping underneath the blade. ”Lets Just say, this weapon is worth more to me than anything. There is nothin’ up in this world that could make me give this sword up.” She flipped it around and sheathed it to the scabbard on her side before she stood up. ”From what he told me bout it, it was forged once he got all them there stones you was talkin’ bout. He wanted to be a Knight with the versatility to combat any situation of any enemy of type or element. Then there’s them secret techniques that go off an innate power inside us that lets us use this magic in the first place. Our family done has this small fire of magic inside, but we can’t tap into it ourselves.” She shrugged it off and reached up, lacing her fingers together behind her head in a relaxed manner. ”So.. do you care if I asked a question? Kinda personal like, but still.” Sasha waited a moment and if he had agreed, she would continue. ”So, what made y’all wanna join a guild to begin with? And why this one? Aren’t all of them the same?”

A pretty good judge of character? I worry for this girl.... The farmgirl's next question was certainly an odd one; she wanted to know why Vincent chose his current guild and shared a belief that they were all the same. "The guilds of Fiore are all quite different in goals despite all of them helping the nation's population. Fairy Tail, for example, is an independent guild due to some rather questionable choices in the past and primarily focuses on being a band of mercenaries for hire. Silver Wolf on the other hand, another independent guild, focuses on the research of magic. My guild, Crystal Swan, focuses on exploration and artistic enrichment." The white haired wizard decided to take this time to preemptively answer a question he felt was going to be asked. "You might be wondering why I don't bear the sign of Silver Wolf given my occupation. The reason for that is simply because I'm not as trusting as you are. I would feel as though there is a constant threat of my work being stolen in a non-legal guild full of individuals who are capable of understanding my notes. Crystal Swan provides me the perfect opportunity to travel to foreign lands to collect data and rare materials due to their specialization in exploration. Additionally, it's categorized as a legal guild meaning that it is less likely that someone will attempt to steal from me - though I doubt the thief would be able to do much with it." Vincent sat down on a nearby large rock to continue this brief explanation on the guilds of Fiore. "To make a long story short, Lamia Scale is a legal guild which hunts monsters, Sabertooth is a legal guild which guards our world from otherworldly threats, Black Rose is a legal guild focused on trade, and the West Fiore Trading Company is an independent guild which focuses more on trade as well."

The wizard took a breath. There was one significant kind of guild type that he hadn't mentioned. "There's also a third type of guild known as 'dark guilds,' which exist outside the law. These dark guilds have varying goals, though none of them are good. They are willing to kill, steal, and torture indiscriminately to achieve whatever ends they have. If you ever meet a mage who bears either of these signs, run. They are the signs of Basilisk Fang and Nightmare." As he mentioned the dark guilds, he held up his hands and created floating black glass sculptures of the guild symbols belonging to both dark guilds. "That's about it as far as guild information goes. I will now take the opportunity to formally extend to you an invitation to Crystal Swan. The benefits of being affiliated with a guild are innumerable, though one is a strong network of mages to come to your aid when you need them. Another is a place to live and eat without the pesky expenses typically associated with such things. I'm sure you get the idea." Vincent still didn't completely trust Sasha Martin - it was almost unbelievably that there still existed such naive people with so little knowledge of the greater world in which they lived, but still... she seemed to be honest. The fact that she allowed him, a stranger, to fiddle with her most prized possession which also happened to be the source of her power was itself enough to more or less convince him of her nature.