caughtinanetwork | .4 | accidental video;

[Oops! Looks like some one's SFC fell out of their bag and turned on. It's somewhere in the park, and it takes a few minutes of rustling around near by before the owner moves in to view.

Oh! It's Hubert! Looks like he's out getting some target practice. He has a good half a dozen plain wooden cut out targets set up near by, a good distance away from where he stops and takes a stance. He runs through some pretty basic moves, a few staff hits, some dual blade hits, even his pistol shots, until finally there's only two targets still standing.

That's when he jumps back, and slams his staff down on the ground, letting off a shockwave before breaking the staff apart in to pistols again.]

Dance like the damned!

[He starts shooting rapidly, and then spins around and fires off one last explosive shot.]

INSTANT VALSE!

[Wait.

Did he say... "Instant Balls"?]

(ooc: Based loosely on the hilarious Tales of Skits tumblr, and the fact that yes, it does actually sound like he's saying "Instant Balls". Everyone is welcome to hear exactly that and comment as such.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...He is very capable.

[By the sounds of it, Hubert has already figured that out, though Argilla's known it all along.]

Were you victorious?

[It didn't take long.]

... I think we considered it a draw.

[He says it with a bit of amusement. He'd been capable of holding his own, but he'd also been hit enough times that he wouldn't have lasted long in the spar if Serph hadn't cut it short.]

I see.

[Argilla looks rightly amused, too, at the thought. She knows not the rules they laid out for their little duel, but regardless...

It's good to hear he's been keeping up his strength.]

Being able to hold your own against him is quite a feat regardless, though. [Even if it had been a draw.]

So I gathered. I felt privileged to go up against such a strong opponent.

[Granted Lambda and others that he's fought were probably stronger, but he also had friends to help in those fights.]

[As he should.

Admittedly, the idea of friendly combat hadn't really occurred to her, but with the free time she has here, she definitely seems interested in it now.]

I'm sure he felt likewise.

[Judging on what she's seen here, anyway.]

Did you have a chance to try your technique on him?

[The one everyone seems to be talking about now, displayed all over the network...]

Not that one specifically. I have many others. Artes are varied and versatile, but Mystic Artes specifically are particularly powerful and used with slightly less frequency.

I have four specific Mystic Artes I can perform.

[At least she has the courtesy to not mention what everyone seems to think he said.

... he's going to have to work on pronunciation a bit.]

[Now this is getting interesting. They're called Artes...? She wonders if they are the equivalent of mantras... or rather, the skills that mantras yield.

She listens carefully though, without making any haste judgements.]

Are they a form of magic?

Of sorts. I suppose in some ways artes cast similar to magic. Making a distinction would be difficult to put in to words, though.

Ah.

[Well, if that's the case, she won't make him.]

I'm a magic user myself, so I was only curious.

One of many here, it seems. Though I wouldn't doubt you are unique in your own ways.

What sort of magic do you favor then?

I know a variety. But I favor Earth magic in particular.

[She resists it, too, which means she won't be taking much damage, should anyone else try it.

Though she hasn't met anyone else who could yet since arriving.]

I see. Earth magic is particularly useful, and versatile, from what I've seen. In fact much of the Eleth where I originally hailed from is Earth-based.

It's served me quite well, yes. [She nods, agreeing easily.]

Though I'm afraid I've never heard of Eleth, either...

[First artes and now this, too...ah, well, it can't exactly be helped.]

[Most people haven't. He's used to that by now.]

Eleth is the life force that is in every living thing in my world. Fire, water and air are the primary elements, and the three combine to create the rest of the elements of the world.

Eleth can also be concentrated in to stones known as Cryas. Should a Cryas become large enough it's then called a Valkyanis Cryas and is often a power source for a region. I only learned this past year that our world specifically holds three Valkynais Cryas, which also correspond to the three major elements.

[You're so smart, Hubert. She can't help but listen, because this is fascinating stuff--

She learns new things every day, and that might just be her favorite thing about this city yet.]

That's... fantastic. For it to become large enough to power an entire region, though-- that must take some time.

[She ponders this: isn't Lamufao generally considered to be the power source for Vatheon, a god?]

I wonder if the Coral is similar.

[His world is pretty interesting, when compared to some others. For him though this is basic knowledge, more or less.]

There are issues here and there with how much power it can supply. The Valkynais Cryas in the North, for example, is fire based but has problems with how much power it can produce before overloading. I know some one who, over the past year, has been working to find a way to remedy that and provide heat for some of the poorer regions of Fendel.

That same person is here now, though if she's found any similarities between Cryas and the coral, she hasn't said yet.

[Mostly because she's holed herself up in the garage on all her research and refuses to come out.]

[That does sound like a big problem. Argilla's had... some experience with overloading such energy sources, so she certainly has a few ideas as to what can happen; but not much beyond that. If there had been any accidents or anything, Hubert had seen fit to keep quiet about them, so she won't ask.

She simply takes in the information.]

Well, I'm sure the research is time consuming as well...

She'll have to remain dedicated.

[It's the same for-- well, anyone who wishes to learn about Vatheon, really. Information certainly doesn't seem to come easy.]

[No true accidents, but there was a very close call in Fendel.

And then there was Kurt...

But he'd rather not think about that. It's something no one has really spoken about since it happened, and it's been nearly a year since.]

Oh, she is plenty dedicated. That certainly isn't a problem.

Good...

[She only has his word to go on, so she'll take it and believe him-- especially when he speaks with such conviction, and no reason to lie.]

Then perhaps I'll meet her someday.

[After all, he did say she was here.]

If she ever comes out of the garage and decides to interact with other people, certainly.

[Don't hold your breath, though.]

[...Yeah, she won't.

She does kind of grin, though, at the image of someone so far dedicated to their work that they hardly interact with anyone. She can't decide whether it's something to be admired or... concerned about.]

All right.

[Oh well. Either way, she'll find out eventually.]

Thank you for your time, Hubert.

Yes, of course. Thank you for the conversation.

.4 | accidental video; | afternoon 8/20

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