Interesting... the earth itself wasn't magical, really, just held together by it. Its impact against the barrier was mostly kinetic, and the barrier absorbed it without difficulty. Did kinetic impact make it stronger? Or only when magic was involved? " Remi ," the bard called out. "Could you throw a rock - big as you can manage, and as hard as you can - against it, please? I want to see if that flare happens on impact or only when magic is involved."
He scowled as Vervain's arrow reflected back at them, stronger than before, just as he'd initially feared would happen. He was forced to shut his notebook for a few seconds as he stumbled back, but as soon as the wind died down he had it open again, writing a note about the 'air'row's effect.
Lightning from Zariah and Ashetta had a similar effect, rebounding back. But where was the barrier getting the power to magnify the attacks upon their return? It was so big, was it simply drawing the power from some other part of the shield, redistributing it until it could heal itself?
Ah, but the fire showed promise. It didn't even look that powerful, but the thinning was obvious to Jigano's sharp eyes, and his wicked smile returned as he underlined Zariah's name and the effect of her flame for later. He had just started to turn to Edy to ask her to step forward when things ground to an unexpected halt.
Jigano's eyes flickered up as he continued writing, watching Archibold approach Vervain. He tensed as his boss reacted violently to whatever the Ascended had whispered in her ear, inaudible to the rest of them but clearly unwelcome. He took a step towards her in case the fanged man retaliated - but most of the others present did the same, and with far more dangerous magic at their fingertips, as they had just demonstrated. The bard subsided, grimly amused at how, for a moment, they really had all been in synch, even his intense antipathy towards Ashetta forgotten as they had been willing to close ranks around a shared friend.
Though he was curious to see if Archebold would be ejected from their gathering, Remi found a different use for the Ascended that had a pale brow arching in surprise. He hadn't thought the boy so cold-blooded... but then, the vampire had just done something to upset his mother, apparently. The lorekeeper would dutifully record the outcome, feeling disinclined to speak up for the man for much the same reason. He had no delusions of his own sainthood, after all.
Regardless of Archibold's response, the rest of the gathering began to pipe up with their hidden talents, and it was fascinating even without the Barrier test to hear what disparate magics they had. Upon hearing that Ashetta had access to water, the lorekeeper grit his teeth in frustration as to why the foolish girl hadn't used that instead of just repeating Zariah's attack - though at least he'd been able to record that the barrier had reacted the same way to two different mages using the same spell.
That Vervain was a healer was good to know - not now, but perhaps later. Descriptions of the Spire Demon had sent a few ideas wriggling in the back of his mind, and that might come in handy for more reasons than one. The sheer amount of fire magic on hand was interesting as well.
He lifted his head from his notes to raise a brow at Remi , grin a touch wry. "I'm curious as to what effect water might have. I'm more worried about combining your lightning casters into a cooperative attack - it seems to be rebounding back in a logarithmic fashion rather than a linear one. If they attack together the rebound may be more than they can handle, and could strike out at the rest of us." His grin turned a touch sharp, though it was aimed at the barrier rather than the young man. "But did you see how little it liked the taste of fire? And conveniently, that seems to be the most popular magic between those gathered here. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
He scowled as Vervain's arrow reflected back at them, stronger than before, just as he'd initially feared would happen. He was forced to shut his notebook for a few seconds as he stumbled back, but as soon as the wind died down he had it open again, writing a note about the 'air'row's effect.
Lightning from Zariah and Ashetta had a similar effect, rebounding back. But where was the barrier getting the power to magnify the attacks upon their return? It was so big, was it simply drawing the power from some other part of the shield, redistributing it until it could heal itself?
Ah, but the fire showed promise. It didn't even look that powerful, but the thinning was obvious to Jigano's sharp eyes, and his wicked smile returned as he underlined Zariah's name and the effect of her flame for later. He had just started to turn to Edy to ask her to step forward when things ground to an unexpected halt.
Jigano's eyes flickered up as he continued writing, watching Archibold approach Vervain. He tensed as his boss reacted violently to whatever the Ascended had whispered in her ear, inaudible to the rest of them but clearly unwelcome. He took a step towards her in case the fanged man retaliated - but most of the others present did the same, and with far more dangerous magic at their fingertips, as they had just demonstrated. The bard subsided, grimly amused at how, for a moment, they really had all been in synch, even his intense antipathy towards Ashetta forgotten as they had been willing to close ranks around a shared friend.
Though he was curious to see if Archebold would be ejected from their gathering, Remi found a different use for the Ascended that had a pale brow arching in surprise. He hadn't thought the boy so cold-blooded... but then, the vampire had just done something to upset his mother, apparently. The lorekeeper would dutifully record the outcome, feeling disinclined to speak up for the man for much the same reason. He had no delusions of his own sainthood, after all.
Regardless of Archibold's response, the rest of the gathering began to pipe up with their hidden talents, and it was fascinating even without the Barrier test to hear what disparate magics they had. Upon hearing that Ashetta had access to water, the lorekeeper grit his teeth in frustration as to why the foolish girl hadn't used that instead of just repeating Zariah's attack - though at least he'd been able to record that the barrier had reacted the same way to two different mages using the same spell.
That Vervain was a healer was good to know - not now, but perhaps later. Descriptions of the Spire Demon had sent a few ideas wriggling in the back of his mind, and that might come in handy for more reasons than one. The sheer amount of fire magic on hand was interesting as well.
He lifted his head from his notes to raise a brow at Remi , grin a touch wry. "I'm curious as to what effect water might have. I'm more worried about combining your lightning casters into a cooperative attack - it seems to be rebounding back in a logarithmic fashion rather than a linear one. If they attack together the rebound may be more than they can handle, and could strike out at the rest of us." His grin turned a touch sharp, though it was aimed at the barrier rather than the young man. "But did you see how little it liked the taste of fire? And conveniently, that seems to be the most popular magic between those gathered here. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
