It was a clear summer day in Magnolia, the sun casting its warm glow down upon the lively city that, despite the progressing afternoon, was still packed with crowds, people that went about their daily business in this peaceful metropolis. A gust of warm air swept through Taylor's hair as she left the confines of the apartment that she had moved into just recently, her living space, for the time being, remaining quite bare-bones. She didn't have the money to pay for everything, her savings had just about financed the initial travel to and through Fiore, as well as the down payment for the space she could now call home. Not the most spacious of places, nothing compared to the kind of luxury the girl was acquainted with from her time back home in any case, but she didn't mind in the slightest. It was comfortable and more than adequate to live, at least on her own, which was just what she needed. She hadn't expected the process of acquiring an apartment to be so untransparent and tedious before, she had never handled these things on her own, but she took pride in the fact that she had managed, and was now not just an official resident of Magnolia, no, she was also a mage of Fairy Tail, the golden emblem on the side of her neck proof of that fact. It was quite the accomplishment, and she felt fulfilled that she had made it this far. She was, for all intents and purposes, free from the influence of her home, her family, her destiny that had seemed like it was set in stone.
Relatively speaking, it had not been long at all since she'd left the house of her parents and the life she had known, but it was better this way. By herself, she had made it this far, and she would make it much, much further still, that much she was confident in. In any case, the girl was now occupied with things that were much more acute and pressing than her past, something she would rather leave behind if at all possible. With a place of her own, the next thing on her list would be her work as a mage. Her theoretical knowledge of magic and how it functioned was extensive, and indeed, it had always been a subject she had not only excelled at, it had practically been forced upon her by her parents, who, much like the rest of Bellum's political and religious leadership, were unreasonably obsessed with the concept behind and applications of magic. Her practical knowledge, on the other hand, while not non-existent, was lacking, especially when compared to the things she had learned through the various private tutors and mages in her parents' employ.
This, however, was where her problem would lie. By the nature of the profession she had sought, that of a guild mage, she was expected to complete missions and pursue contracts in order to gather rewards to finance her lifestyle and collect payment for herself and the guild. This, of course, meant that she would inevitably have to use her magic in one way or another, if not for combat purposes, then at least for self-defense. The girl, after all, despite her appearance, wanted to be a strong and capable mage, and she wanted her skills and abilities as a guild mage to reflect that. This was the reason that the blonde girl had decided to use this bit of spare time she had to train in the effective use of her magic and her circuits to better learn how to effectively use and apply her knowledge practically. The blade that she had been gifted would be more than helpful in this endeavor, in fact, it had been incredibly helpful in the process of developing her own style and serving as a catalyst and anchor for the use of her elemental magic.
She found her way to the nearest park, Blitz, the sword she had been entrusted with, in its scabbard at her hip, looking for an empty and open space where she could train and use her magic a little more liberally and without bothering the other people of the city, not taking long to eventually find a quiet patch of grass before unceremoniously drawing her blade, the magic circuits on her arms gradually lighting up as her arcane powers flowed through her body, eventually reaching the weapon, which, at once, would begin crackling with blue sparks of electricity. The basis for the use of her magic was electrical energy, the electricity she wielded beginning to circulate through her body and her weapon. From here on out, she could manipulate the properties of this power, and the more of it she generated, the stronger the applications would become. She had to take care and keep focus, though, in order to ensure that she could control the power she generated. She felt her circuits drain her magical energy from her body as they generated more and more energy, the air in the vicinity of the girl set alight with more and more arcs of blue electricity that danced through the space around her.
Taylor took a deep breath, focussing her magic energies into her blade before taking a step forward. Within the blink of an eye, her form would vanish in a blast of electric sparks, reappearing a few dozen feet forward in what appeared like an instant. So that's how she could use the attributes of her electricity, as well? If she could enhance her movement speed by a multitude, the benefit this could have in combat was potentially invaluable. Now, if she could use the same electricity to strike with her blade, this could increase the power of her attacks as well. Perhaps, the girl thought, she could even modify the attributes of her electricity itself by manipulating the nature of her magic circles that were generating this same power. Ah, this was a very fruitful insight. Perhaps she should try offensive use next ...
Word Count: 1,011
