Rebecca walked confidently towards the lake as she admired the midmorning sunshine. Rebecca searched the far side of the lake toward where her cliff was. She smiled as she noted its location. It was only yesterday since she and Simon had leaped off that cliff. The whole thing was to be a team building effort, but Kira wasn't willing to take that leap of faith just yet. Rebecca laughed to herself as she continued to walk towards the lake side. Her mind wondered to Richard and his refusal to even take the swim. He was by far one of the most powerful mages in the Cabal, but stubborn as a jackass. Her laughter continued as she shook her head. As she included in her morning report, the Cabal had a long way to go before they were a force. But they were becoming more unified.
This morning, she felt as if she could face the entire world. Or at least a overly grumpy Kira who had been woken up too early. Rebecca had faced Kira's little trap to wake her sister up. It was long before Kira had wanted to wake up, but Rebecca needed a favor from her sister. Rebecca needed Kira to cast two spells on her so that she could see and speak with the spirits. Primarily the Spirit of the lake Rebecca reached the waters edge and kicked off her simple shoes. She waded in to the chilly waters till the water was washing up to her lower legs. She tried to sound as polite as possible as she called out for the spirit. As Rebecca waited, she looked around with a renewed sense of amazement. It was clear that her conversation with that spirit guardian were having their effects on her. Rebecca looked out over the sun bathed lake with renewed hope and confidence as the lovely spirit started to show herself.
Rebecca wasn't sure how to pay respects to a spirit so she simple lowered her head in respect to the spirit that had healed her just days before, "Forgive me for calling upon you like this," Rebecca said in a humble voice. She paused collecting her thoughts than continued.
"Yesterday, I met a wonderful man. He said that he was a guardian of the spirits. A Native American with strong features" Rebecca added doing her best to describe the man she met last night. She often was inspired by Richard's mental abilities, but she knew her own memory would serve her well enough today. "He brought me in to the spirit world with the greatest of ease. And started to teach me so much about spirits and our effects on your. Never in my life had I ever been so moved, um...." Rebecca paused for a moment clearing her thoughts. "Never.....more humble within my place here," she finally said as she reached up towards her chest and felt the simple wooden cross that hung around her neck. She looked down in deep thought as she felt it through her shirt in her hand. It had replaced her highly technological one that she normally wore. Rebecca wanted to make a change in her life, even if it was a simple one like this.
She normally didn't carry this cross because of how important it was to her. The simple wooden thing was created by Ryan while he was at summer camp last year. He had given it to her when he returned home. Leaving for this tour was such a hard choice for her. Being aware from them, especially her little brother was so hard for her. But she knew that this tour would open up so many new doors for her. And after what has already happened, she knew it was the right choice. Still, Rebecca missed her family so much. And this simple little cross was one of her only connections with them. It meant more to her than anything else she owned. She looked up once more towards the spirit as her thoughts on her family subsided.
"I would like to ask a favor of you. If it is possible for you, could you please relay a message to him from me please. Tell him, how grateful I am for his time and his wisdom. His words have had a profound effect on me. It was always told to me that I was meant for great things. My father raised me to to uphold his ironclad beliefs in justice, and I have taken his path as my own. I have tried so hard to walk his path. But that path just doesn't feel as if it is meant for me to walk. Now, thanks to this guardian, I am suspecting that my path will unfold before me. Please spirit, tell him if you are able that my faith tells me that everyone is worthy of salvation, if they will only strive for it. I do not mean that only through my faith is salvation possible. What I speak of, is of a much higher level. We are all worthy of peace of mind soul and heart. Relief from anger and hatred, this is the salvation I speak of. When I think of such things, I feel more comfortable than when I ponder the rights and wrongs of the world."
Rebecca paused as she looked around the waters of the lake. She felt much like those water, at peace and still of spirit. She smiled as she looked back up towards the spirit, "Tell him if you can, that I said thank you" she said softly. Her heart was once more filled with hope. "I have so many question" she added filled with such curiosity that she couldn't contain it, "I hope to see him again." she said as she lowered her head in respect. "Thank you spirit for taking your time to listen to me," she said softly allowing the spirit to continue on with what ever it was doing.
Walking away, Rebecca wasn't sure that her message would reach him. If not, just speaking her feelings out loud filled her with hope. Her father would have her return home and have her work towards his goals. But somehow being out here, she felt like this is where she needed to be. Here she felt more connected to her faith and more importantly to her own destiny. Rebecca checked her watch as she started to jog away from the lake and towards the mountains. She knew that Richard would be behind her in a little while. She wanted to talk to him but first she needed time to practice on her fire without the possibility of hurting others. As Rebecca jogged through the Colorado forest, she remembered how her fires spread out around the impostor and slammed in to Kira.
Then as the battle continued, her anger ran out of control. She was anger over not even hurting impostor while Richard did all the work. She saw his spells taking effects on him while her own spells had little to no effects. Her first real use of this powerful magic only hurt Kira. She couldn't control her anger as she wanted to be helpful. Instead of listening to reason, she allowed her anger to control her actions. So she unleashed her fires once more and her eyes were filled with horror as she watched Simon become engulfed in her own spell. She wouldn't allow someone else close to her, to become hurt again. That was why she wanted to make sure Richard would be behind her.
Rebecca had left Richard a short note explaining where to meet her and that she had something important to talk to him about this morning. In her note, she explained that she was working on her spells and didn't want anyone getting hurt by mistake. Because of this, she asked Richard to heed this simple warning and to look for a red scarf. Once he reached the scarf, he should call out for her so that she knew he was approaching. This why she could stop her practice and avoid hurting him by mistake. She also placed an alarm clock with the short note. She placed both items just inside his door so she wouldn't wake him up or violate his privacy.
As she jogged up the path, she reached a tree she knew well. Rebecca paused at a tree and took off her red scarf and tied it to the tree. She had learned a valuable lesson last night about magic and hated herself for hurting her friends. She wouldn't make the same mistake this time. She continued up the path till she reached a large clearing. It was a place that she had seen many times along her jogging path but it was the first time she walked in to it. She took time to search the area to ensure that it was suitable for what she wanted. To make sure that she was alone, she reached inward and activated her sights and searched for any minds or other beings that could be hurt by her actions. Once she was sure that she was alone, she paused her mind and started to calm herself.
She took a long moment to search inward as she remembered what the abyss had done to her magic. She couldn't help but wonder if there was a way to control the abyss. To use it in a way that was helpful to the world instead of destructive. She had read about the Abyss but this was the first time she ever had a direct encounter with it. She knew it by name, like a scientist knows of atoms. But like that scientist, she wanted to know more about it. She wanted to learn why it is there. What causes it to effect her magic. She wanted to study it, learn from it. But this time, she would be more careful not to cause others to suffer.
In University, she had take a T'ai Chi Ch'uan class for its health benefits. She never really cared about the martial arts side of it. However, she did find that it helped her deal with stress. She moved through her motions as she calmed her mind and heart. She allowed all negative thoughts and fears to flow from her as she focused on her breathing. Unlike her brothers and father, whom were all martial art masters. Rebecca didn't care so much for direct conflict. Though she never was one to back down from a fight. Despite her best intentions or blind sightedness, she ran head long in to conflict. She thought long and hard about how her actions brought conflict in to her life. Her conversation with the guardian yesterday made her realize that she wasn't prepared for conflicts. Her personality clashed with others, and her own stubbornness would ensure that she would face more conflicts in the future. She would have to start putting more focus on to her own defense.
As she moved through these simple steps, Rebecca started to focus her mage sights so that she could see what was going on around her. With a calm mind, Rebecca cast One Mind, Two Thoughts to allow her to split her focus on two separate important tasks. She could feel the mana from her body flowing in to her spell (Cost spent, One Mana). She would cast her spells with one thought and take deep notes with the other. She had to learn how to protect others from runaway spells. For now, both thoughts were on calming thoughts and sounds around her. She looked inward to her own soul and found peace. She closed her eyes as she reached out with her ears and listened to the sounds around her. She could feel her mage flowing and her heart and mind at peace.
Rebecca opened her eyes and searched around her for anything that could be hurt once more. Noting nothing in sight, she cleared her mind of the last bit of thoughts. Once she felt completely at peace with all that was around her, Rebecca unleashed her Celestial Fire. The fiery ball of energy reached out across the clearing as Rebecca watched the energy take shape. She saw how her own magic resonated with her Arcana. Unlike last night, she didn't allow the spell to fully slip from her grasp. Using her will over her own spell she would maintain control over the spell no matter what. She wanted to see what the Abyss would do as she willfully tempted its actions.
Before her fireball could reached the other end of the clearing and endanger any spirits over there, she let loss a Dispel Spell upon her own spell. Once more, she felt her own mana flowing as her two spells interacted with each other (Cost spent, One Mana). 'Could I as a last minute safety cancel my own spell before it hurt someone I cared about,' she thought as she watched her two spells counter each other. Her Celestial Fire spell fought to maintain its integrity as her Dispel worked to unweave it. Through her eyes, she witnessed the two different types of magic weave within each other. The sight was so amazing to her that she nearly forgot what she was doing here. Within moments, both spells were gone and no damage had been done to the nature that surrounded her.
The result of her first test was not very conclusive. She had to spend a spell to cancel her own spell. She wasn't sure if she could reflexively cancel the spell before anyone got hurt. But she was able to see how her spell unweaves another spell. This knowledge would be helpful in unweaving other spells. She wanted to master the form of defense. 'Could I unweave a vampire's power?' she wondered as she resumed her T'ai Chi Ch'uan movements. She resumed her efforts of clearing her mind of any negative thoughts. She had to keep her mind clear and calm if these next two tests were going to work. Far from being a master like her father and brothers, she was still determined to master this art of balance.
Once more, Rebecca unleashed her Celestial Fire and once more she tempted the Abyss' attention. This time, she saw the abyss reaching out towards her magic to taint it. With a smile she said, "I have your attention now." She watched as it reached out towards her magic to taint it. However this time she was ready for it. This time, she reached in to her own being and summoned up more of her own magic. She poured her heart in to the spell to protect it from the taint of the abyss. She once more felt the mana flowing from her (Cost Spent, One Mana). She saw the effects of her magic forcing the taint of the abyss from her spell.
In her mind, she was awe struck by what she was seeing. It was truly remarkable for her to be able to watch. The colors and chaos that was the Abyss as it tried to influence her spell. It was so beautiful to her. But like a colorful sleek snake, it was very deadly. No matter her efforts to protect her own spell, the effects on Rebecca were not so easily defeated. Once more she felt the Abyss' effects on her own body once more. Just like the night before, her body started to glow, warning her of the dangers of what she was doing.
"I am not done with this yet" She said as her breath started to become labored. "You will teach me" she demanded as she once more cast dispel on her own spell before it could hurt anyone or anything. Once more her two spells fought against each other as she poured her magic in to it (Cost Spent, One Mana). Just as before, she managed to dispel her fire ball before anyone or anything could be harmed by her own spell. But this time it seemed harder for her to unweave her own spell. 'Was that because of the Abyss' taint or my own spell growing stronger' she wondered. The effort took a toll on her.
Bending over as she rested her hands on her knees, she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Did the Abyss oppose my desires to dispel my own spell?" she mumbled. She took a moment to recover her strength once more before continuing with her last test. As she caught her breath, she knew that by pouring her own mana in to her spells, she can protect them from the tainting of the Abyss. This test proved to be very helpful. But there was another method she could keep the Abyss from her spells. She saved this test for last. Her father's words echoed in her mind.
Maybe you are just over your head. You should come home. "Am I over my head" she questioned herself. "NO" she answered loudly. "I was chosen to be here for a reason. I can't believe that this reason was simply to fail."
She rose up once more as she felt her anger raising. But instead of using it, she decided to let it subside. She took a moment to clear him mind and heart once more. Once she was at a prefect state of calm, she felt ready to take part in her next test. She resumed her stance. She allowed her body to flow as she cast Celestial Fire once more. This time, the Abyss was much more intensely focused on her actions than before. This time, Rebecca forced herself to act as filter for the Abyss. She wanted to test her own ability to purify her magic. She felt the cold, emptiness of the Abyss touch her as it sought her own magic. She let out a scream filled with pain as she wasn't prepared for such a sudden onrush of energy touching her own life force (Rebecca claims one Lethal Wound from this test). To her horror, it wasn't enough to protect her own spell.
She watched as the Abyss tainted her spell, Her reflective action had failed her. What played out in her mind and within her vision is what happened last night with Simon. She watched as the Abyss lashed out in all directions seeking a target to draw her spell towards. She watched the Abyss reach towards a large tree as Rebecca's second thought kicked in. She cast Dispel as her adrenaline pumped through her veins. It was incredible how her body reacted to her call for magic (Cost Spent, One Mana). She knew what had to be done, she didn't think about it. She just reacted to it. She unleashed her dispel as her mind focused on both of her spells. Within moments, both spells were gone and the clearing was once more silent.
Rebecca dropped to her hands and knees as exhaustion took hold of her. Her mind and body suffered from her experiments and she had learned so much from what she had done today. But she didn't dare tempt the Abyss again. She could barely breath as her mind raced. Her flesh once more glowed like it did the night before. She rose her head up towards the tree and wondered why the Abyss chose that tree to direct her magic towards.
She wondered if she would be able to dispel her spells in the uncontrolled environment like combat. Only time and practice could tell. She looked down and saw a blood drop from her nose. She leaned back and touched her nose. Allowing the Abyss to scour her body was more than just a slap in the face. It was a serious wound that should only be done in the most extreme situations.
(OOC: What I wanted to do here was to have Rebecca actually test what the Narrator said we could do. I didn't make any rolls for what was seen here, but I did pay the Mana and took the point of lethal damage. If the Narrator wishes to void or change anything that he sees here, I will respect any changes he wishes to order. This is only meant for storyline so that Rebecca has an understanding over how to mitigate paradoxes and to control her own spells. You can expect her to push her limits more in the future. 
)
Unified, The Cabal Stands (Richard and Rebecca)
