"I was hoping to learn more about where the lines of lesser versus greater houses is made and the bearing of blooded versus non blooded houses. I understand from class the other day that there are different opinions on which houses are and are not considered blooded. With such a straight forward topic, why are houses blooded or non blooded status in question? If nothing else isn't the strength granted by hereditary lines fairly self evident?"

As I'm walking with him, letting him lead.

He looks sideways at you and nods. "True. We were specifically talking about the bastard houses of Gaius, if I remember it right. Back when Alerans were called Romanics and we were in a constant state of war, the greatest generals of the Romanics eventually formed and ruled the cities of Alera as the Romanics conquered them. They were the ones who formed the great houses: Gaius, Ceres, Aquitaine, Kalare, Rhodes, and so on..."

He stops for a moment and looks at you, "You're absolutely right, though. Even lesser houses have furycraft just as strong as the rest, and we all have the blood of the Romanics, who believed that strength was the greatest indicator of effective rule. Who's to say a second son's line doesn't have the same strength or more than an equally pure line as the first son's?"

"Have any of the lesser houses risen to the status of great houses before? It seems, in such a situation where those who are powerful are meant to lead, that when there is off shooting house lines, or even crossing of house lines that a lesser house could have such a claim. Or is it more common for a lesser house to join a greater house when it's power is of such a level."

During this conversation can I tell where we are walking? The vicinity of student quarters or to his firecrafting lesson? I normally go to the library after class I believe so I should have a decent amount of time for this.

While you're walking, you're approaching the kitchens, it seems. There, and what you know to be a small practice field focused on firecrafting and watercrafting specifically.

"Lesser houses don't rise up, but the branching houses do." Of course, you know that branching houses are technically lesser houses, but still have the pure blood of the high houses until they marry lower. "There's been three instances where branching houses have risen back to High Lord status. I know that they're most commonly due to jealous siblings and the juris macto to seize power of the family. Two were juris macto, but I'm not sure about the other. The names of the houses escapes me, but I think one might be Aquitaine and there are rumors it's happened to House Gaius in Romanic times."

He stops short of the practice yard you know you were walking toward. You're instead standing outside of the building to the kitchen. Vegetation has overgrown the base of the building thickly. "I'm afraid that I have to go to my lesson now, but I did enjoy our talk...Mike?"

I not at the end, affirmation that he got my name right and a friendly smile on my face, "Thank you Felix, I enjoyed the talk as well. It's always nice to see different perspectives and some things just don't come across in the books in the library. When you have time perhaps we can talk more, on the topic or others. It's always nice to have a good conversation and I don't know many here."

All said warmly, I do feel that way, but also because I'll need to figure out where his room is in order to fulfill Attis's command. I make mental note of his opinion of branching houses being above lesser houses (natural for a member of a branching house of course) and his comment of a second son having as much right to power as a first, as a potential hint of desire to take his branching house to a high lord's house, whether through Juris Macto or other means.

At the end of my day I'll write a note down and drop it off for Attis:

Working on getting the room numbers, may take some time.
Talked to F on the list today, he did end up mentioning a second son's right to power being the same as a first in regards to branching houses versus greater houses.
   -M

"Of course," he offers you a smile and doubles back before walking toward the kitchens.

You leave your message for Attis when you see that no one else is around your drop point, and walk away to return to your studies.

OOC: I'm bumping you up to 1@2 History: Alera and 1@9 Windcrafting.

Are the students quarters like mine locked? I seem to remember I'm in the first years quarters areas? Have I learned where in general the other years quarters are situated?

Over the next couple of days I'll focus on my studies and making friends in my second year classes. I need a reason to be in those quarters areas in order to see Oppalus's room. I'm also waiting for Felix to hopefully mention a time and place that would be good for him to continue the conversation.

I'll check the well drop off every other day, in case there is added instructions or more to the list.

Your quarters have no locks on them, and you haven't really been noticing but you don't believe that others have locks on their doors either.

The second years are in the same building as you are, just in a different wing. It's out of your way regardless of which lecture or lesson you're heading to, but there are no barriers for you to go into that wing.

Two days later, you've seen Felix in your windcrafting and other classes. He nods your way after you greet him, but he works in a different group for windcrafting and he seems to always have somewhere he has to go.

You check the well drop off. There's nothing new in there, but your message is gone.

I will start making friends with the others in my classes then, just trying to be social and seeing whether there are any study groups I can join. Efforts that have two purposes are useful. As an aside I'm looking for any who would be willing to help me study the furies other than air. I'd like to get better at each of them, so I will jump at any opportunity in that area.

I also want to try and find Phineas from the inn, did I ever find out what year he was in our math discussions?

You've seen Phineas once or twice around. You're pretty sure he's a third-year by the robes he wears around and his relative age. The only place you've seen him is during transit between your lectures. He worked with a woodcrafting class in a small meadow with a single tree that's on your way between your classes.

Concerning helping you study furies, something nags at you a little bit-you think that Felix said something about a firecrafting practice group he was going to that day you joined him and had a longer conversation.

You find some people who are also struggling with language and content in History that would be glad to actually form a group and study. They're relatively unremarkable with furycraft, they say, but their modest talents are in each furycraft between the lot of them. Most of them wear only a few beads of a single color, but one wears the brown beads of earthcrafting and has quite a few.

During your study group, one of the other students asks as an aside, "By the way, how nervous are you about your upcoming furycraft exams?" Everyone starts expressing concern about placement in their third and fourth years, some worried about not even being able to stay in the Academy because of how few beads they wear.

Unfortunately I don't want to take the time between by classes, getting there on time, or early is too important to me. I'll catch up with Phineas when I get a chance and it doesn't infringe on my education.

I'll ask Felix after class about the firecrafting practice group and if I could tag along for it, I haven't had much opportunity to learn any of it yet.

I'm very happy to form that group, and glad that we have a mix of fury talents. I'll try to set up a mix where we each teach furycrafting to each other as a way to break up the language and history studying. It's a good way to keep things interesting and keep us focused, while maintaining our study.

In response to the exams question, "Um, honestly I hadn't given it any thought, or even realized they were approaching. I only joined this year so I haven't gone through any yet. Do they test us in each fury? I've managed a little in everything except water has completely eluded me. But focusing our study group on covering each topic will help us all for sure, can't be too prepared after all."

You're getting pretty good at language and history now that you have your regular study group. They all have modest talents with furycraft, none of them placed in a proper focused class like you are, but they help the best that they can with one another's crafting.

Specifically, you have one of the boys stop you while you attempt to bend the wood in woodcraft. "You're doing that like an earthcrafter would, forcing the wood up with strength. Woodcraft is subtler. Try maybe letting the wood rise than pushing it up. Wood furies may act slower when you're first starting out, but they're still strong." He also informs you that woodcrafting isn't just for wood, showing you on day how he makes a small flower on the ground thrive into a healthy, budding plant in a matter of minutes.

In your study group, they explode with advice. Evidently, the magisters don't remind students of it the second year, because it's assumed after taking it the first year. It's the opportunity given to students to prove their worth in furycraft every year and potentially get placed at a higher level. If you don't secure so many beads every year, you have to make up for the deficit with performance in your other classes or be kicked out of the Academy.

Felix eyes you up and down before saying, "That all depends on what you can do. The firecrafting group requires a degree of external furycraft and a willingness to take risks."

I'll make a note that his advice on woodcrafting is likely applicable to all furies, that approaching it their way is important. That may end up being what my block to watercrafting is about.

Either way, I try bending the wood the way he mentions,  and also try to grow a small flower into a budding plant as he did.

In the study groups I'll contribute my help for directing people in math and wind crafting, since those are easily my strongest areas.  I'm careful with not suggesting flying to anyone, as the possibility of injury, but give advice on how they are using theirs. For that matter, that one boy was able to see my woodcrafting, I'll try and see other peoples windcrafting and how they're doing it. That should be useful to instruction purposes and also learning myself.

Have I earned any beads yet?

To Felix : "I know how to start a fire, given a fuel source, and I've shaped fire before but never managed to lift it from its fuel source. And I'm willing to take educated risks. I'm not going to be blind or do stupid things, but I understand one has to push at times to advance in furies."

You focus on bending the wood by letting it almost grow bent, and it feels much more natural than your previous attempts. You then turn to a small flower in a plant to see how much farther you can push yourself. With his example, you reach out to the flower and feel the potential for growth, coaxing it into expanding and growing a few inches higher and into full bloom. You notice in the process that some weed seeds in the pot also started growing around it as well.  "Wow, good work! It works wonders with the girls, too." He winks at you.

Then, you try to reach out to the others when practicing windcrafting and you can feel the external furycraft as they manipulate the wind. You can tell what is normal, forced, and the feelings behind it. Wind furies seem to respond to being released more than pushed, but both can work. It feels like you're reading the Wind's thoughts, almost. You notice that they request help with math far more often than help with windcrafting.

No, you have no beads yet. They received theirs after their last assessments. You have to be formally assessed in front of the academ body before you can receive beads for your furycraft.

For the first time, you feel like you're actually being looked at by Felix. He stares at your eyes, and looks at you up and down briefly. Then, he dons a friendly persona. "I'm not sure if you'd want to, really. We do some pretty stupid stuff, sometimes stuff that's stupid enough to get us in trouble with the magisters."

OOC:

Woodcrafting has raised from 1@2 to 1@4.

Windcrafting raised from 1@9 to 1@10.

I show a friendly smirk at the comment of using woodcrafting to impress the girls. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you for the help."

The fact that I see both pushing and releasing working for windcrafting gives me an idea, perhaps using them in tandem, light pushes followed by releases in the desired direction. I'll try this method by creating small pulses of air, pushing them to create the ball and releasing them in the direction I want them to go.

To Felix: "Perhaps I could try for a few meetings? a certain amount of stupid stuff in order to learn faster is acceptable in my book, I really want to grow stronger quicker, and a group to learn from will help me a lot. I'm a fast learner and can make sure not to slow the group down as well"

You pull and push your windcrafting, trying to form a ball that you hold at bay. Soon, you see a mini-whirlwind gathered between your hands that you're using to focus all of the power. Then, like popping a balloon and holding the balloon still, you get a burst of wind that hits the wall you're aiming at hard.

Your small group seem very impressed. "Wow", "Excellent!" and many blank stares are prevalent. One of the academs steps over and examines the wall, seeing that it's been scuffed lightly from the impact of the wind on it, with small bits of stone on the ground.

Felix Convo:

"I appreciate your candor to join, but we already have enough members. Sorry."

I smile, happy to see my method worked and the extent to which I hadn't expected. I explain to the others and offer to help them through the method of pushing the air and then releasing it.

Are any of my study group practicing fire or earth or water? I want to get as strong as possible in each before my examinations, perhaps I can get myself into more focused classes. Especially important is basic healing, in case injuries during practice happen, and as a useful addition to my repertoire.

I'll also ask about crafting exhaustion, to my study group. "Does anyone know of a way to hold high levels of crafting longer? I get massive headaches if I fly too long or keep Hermes around for too long. Are there exercises anyone knows for pushing your limits and improving in those areas?"

If we can get some metal I'll also try showing people the tricks with detecting metal and hardening and repairing metal.

Also, I want to get the group together to make a list of fury craftings they know, and roughly list them in order of ease to teach, so for students who are interested in individual areas they can ask those other students for lessons. I'll stress to put down only those talents that you're comfortable teaching, but a seperate list of things you've heard of and we could try exploring as a group would also be useful.

I'll add:
Air:
Quickened movement (*)
Pulses of air (**)
Focusing Lense (**)
Flight(***)

Metal:
Detect Metals (*)
Harden Metals (**)
Repair Metals (***)

Earth:
Increased Strength (*)

Fire:
Light Fire (*)
Manipulate shape of flame (**)

Wood:
Bend Wood (*)


Felix Convo:

"Well, thanks all the same. Let me know if a slot opens up?"

I'll continue checking the well every other day. Hopefully either something comes up or my study group will start having some sessions in students quarters or meeting up there, giving me the opportunity to observe my targets to find their rooms, without being out of place.

You have some modest earthcrafter and watercrafter, but there is one boy who is a semi-talented firecrafter in the mix too.

To your question on crafting exhaustion, they have only one suggestion: Be born a High Lord. You have to work at your crafting to improve, but everyone has a limit. It's almost like High Lords and Ladies don't.

You don't get any takers that want to sit down and make lists of their furycraft; however, a boy who is a semi-talented firecrafter approaches you. He's been practicing in his own time mostly, until you show an interest and he sees your list. "If you show me a little more detail about yoru method of capturing and releasing wind, I could help you with firecrafting in return. I haven't seen windcrafting like that before."

Well, looks like hard work it is in terms of improving my abilities. I'm determined though so that'll be just fine. I do find myself wondering what makes high lords able to craft more, and curious about where I'll find my own limitations to fall.

Not making the lists is fine, but the purpose of mine has yielded benefit already with this exchange of teaching.

To the firecrafter, I excitedly respond "Sounds like a fair trade to me. I'm always eager to learn more."

I'll walk him through the motions I went through, from the act of prepping to air by pushing it together into a ball, using my hands as the focus points, letting it build up to the desired pressure and then the swift release in the direction desired.

You walk him through your method of windcrafting, and he studies your approach more like a scientific observer than anything else. He attempts a small version in your presence and after a few tries and tips that you give him, he eventually can make a small ball of wind that he can release in a direction. He seems to focus on duration more, though-holding the wind in a rough ball shape.

However, he does turn to your instruction as well. "I see you already know how to manipulate fires and ignite them. Generating a full flame is like combining the two." He generates a flame in the palm of one hand. "Fire furies, like wind furies, are all around us, but they can be very hard to control. Still, the whole point of making a fire is loss of that control-which can be hard for some, because they're afraid of losing it and burning homes or fields to the ground."

"You say you can manipulate fire. Can you dowse the one in the fireplace?"

Then, he asks, "Can you dowse mine?"

I note the idea of holding the balls shape after release, something to experiment with later.

I listen intently as he describes the fire furies, growing a little nervous at the idea of letting go of control but accepting it as the likely fact that it is.

When he asks if I can dowse the fireplace, I try. I focus on the fire furies and attempt to disperse them throughout a larger area than they're at right now.

I try the same thing on his, but bracing myself realizing there may be added effort to negating a crafted flame than a natural one.

You focus, and separating the hot furies from the fire seems to work, but slowly, on the fire in the fireplace. Eventually it cools down, though.

Then, you try and dowse the flame in his hand, and feel some resistance. You can feel his will acting on the furies to keep them fed and strong in his hand, and there's a sense of ownership as well-they are his furies that you're trying to manipulate. The flames shimmer slightly when you try to act on them, and the fire does falter for a moment before the other academ adjusts and recovers them.

"There is something that you might want to try. When dowsing flames, you can do more than just willing the furies away from a fire. You can actually change what they're meant to do..."

He directs your attention to the kettle in the fireplace that's been heating during this time. It has water inside that's boiling. The boy holds his hand towards the flames and closes his eyes in concentration for a minute, and you see the fire die out quickly, until you see that the coals on the floor of the fireplace glisten slightly.

He opens his eyes, and sweats. He picks up a coal, and tosses it to you. To your surprise, it's actually cold to the touch. Very cold.

I'm happy I managed to at least show some effect on his crafting, and that I was on the right track that it would be more difficult.

I nod at his instruction and once he's done I set the coal down and concentrate and changing the fire furies in the coal from being cold and changing them to being very hot. If this works I also try and make it go cold again.

"Can this be used to moderate your own temperature in extreme climates? Whether in cold weather or hot weather, or just for comfort. Also I've seen people throw fireballs, and they don't get burned by the fire. I can see now how they could change what the furies are doing to be blazing hot and then concentrate them into a ball, but how do they avoid it burning them?"

Hopefully he has answers to that, in which case I'll try throwing a fire ball. At a stone wall or boulder or fire pit. Something that isn't near people and that isn't going to be harmed by fire.

"Also do people ever combine furycrafting? For example I could imagine encasing a ball of fire in air to keep it concentrated and stop another from easily diverting it. Or whipping up strong winds and lacing them with scathing heat to damage wide ranges of an army."

He nods. "Firecrafting can be dangerous for everyone, but the basic theory is that the most advanced firecrafters direct their furies to ignore them."

He scratches his head. "It's something to do with fire furies' true purpose. They either push heat out at everything around them, making fire, or they can absorb the heat from around them to make something cooler."

You're successful in heating the coal up, but sizeably smaller after it catches fire and you take a minute to dowse the flames.

Finally, he's about to head out when you ask him about combining furycraft. His only response is a confused look on his face until you clearly don't laugh off the idea. Then, he ponders more and says, "There must be some research on it, but nothing I can think of. I've heard of them being used together but not combining them."

The idea of telling a fire fury to ignore individuals is interesting, and not something that would have occurred to me. I'm glad I asked.

"Perhaps I'll look up some of that research, either way, thanks for the assistance."

I don't have anything else for the rest of the day other than checking the well drop off and going about my routine.

The next day on my way back to my room from class I'm going to take the long way that takes me through the second year rooms, hopefully engaging in conversation with my fellow students along the way, but my goal is to see which room Felix or preferably Oppalus's are. I'm assuming there's nothing so convenient as name plates? And are students assigned one to a room as far as I can tell?

In my next days study group, when we get to practicing furies I'm going to see if anyone is willing to help me with the basics of watercrafting, whatever they feel the simplest task is to get started on.