Completed The Scholar and The Guard

[Ricky Maze]

The question did pose some consideration into the amount Clyde wondered on, and if Ricky were to consider the fact that the quantity of meat the fish held needed to be edible… then Clyde certainly would have to consider his quantity carefully in terms of edible parts. From what Ricky knew almost the entire fish save the tail, head, organs, and skeleton could be eaten, which meant that if he were to consider the weight of a fish total then out of the hundred pounds… "Dat’s actually a very complex question mate. A lot o’ de fish can be eaten considerin’ ‘ow much meat dey pack, but dat’s where it gits tricky believe it or not." He mused with some thought put into it. "Say Oi catch ya roun’ fifty pounds wort’ o’ fish, be dey large fish mind ye, den Oi’d say ‘bout twenty-five t’ t’irty pounds can be saved from it. Again t’ough the weight o’ a single fish alone ‘s what counts, de heavier de fish den de more meat it’s bound t’ carry."

He felt slightly confident that the detail there would be something heavily to consider, but another important subject Clyde needed to cover was the salting method. Though troublesome at times because it could take a day, or several in some cases, when it came to removing salt the method wasn’t entirely easy. The first time he’d learned the process the salt wasn’t even applied that long, so in order to remove salt that remained for longer periods of time the method had to take longer in turn. "Dat’s actually somethin’ ye’ll ‘ave t’ work int’ a schedule mate, see saltin’ de fish will help as will de cold dis season, but unsaltin’ it is a meth’od dat takes time. Ye’ll need t’ soak the fish in fresh water, an’ occasionally rub out de salt from de meat. Might take a few days, an’ changin’ de water in dat time period ‘s definitely somethin’ t’ remember." He added with arms crossed, a little confident that he’d covered what he needed to. Though it’d been a long time he still recalled the first time he learned how to preserve fish, and since he was a fisherman it became imperative that he familiarized himself with it.

"Now ‘bout de pounds ye’re askin’ f’r, Oi can manage a hundred but dat’ll take time. Dat said Oi can make sure Oi send large quantities o’ fish, dat way ye’ll ‘ave more meat t’ pack instead. Dat also bein’ said…" He recalled a certain fish that would certainly help in his endeavor, one that was heavier than the lot because of its size. "Oi ‘adn’t caught me one o’ dese in a while, but Oi’ll be sure t’ include Bovine Guppies because they’re rich wit’ de meat. Lots’a protein f’r someone like yer good self." He assured Clyde with a smirk, rather thoughtful to the challenge that would likely rise from this.

[Clyde Sullins]

Once more Clyde had to delve into the mans words, trying to pierce through the accented common to the words beneath. Or perhaps he just had speech issues... "Dat’s actually a very complex question mate. A lot o’ de fish can be eaten considerin’ ‘ow much meat dey pack, but dat’s where it gits tricky believe it or not. Say Oi catch ya roun’ fifty pounds wort’ o’ fish, be dey large fish mind ye, den Oi’d say ‘bout twenty-five t’ t’irty pounds can be saved from it. Again t’ough the weight o’ a single fish alone ‘s what counts, de heavier de fish den de more meat it’s bound t’ carry." The mans words where not exactly revelatory, not in the respect of his math. He was having enough trouble figuring things out without a answer that constituted "it depends"... But it seemed that was all he was going to get. "Dat’s actually somethin’ ye’ll ‘ave t’ work int’ a schedule mate, see saltin’ de fish will help as will de cold dis season, but unsaltin’ it is a meth’od dat takes time. Ye’ll need t’ soak the fish in fresh water, an’ occasionally rub out de salt from de meat. Might take a few days, an’ changin’ de water in dat time period ‘s definitely somethin’ t’ remember." Clyde nodded. At least this aspect of things seemed more clear cut. He went over the process in his head of the desalting: soak the fish in fresh water, rub out the salt, changing the water periodically to allow the salt to come out better... Simple enough, though a arduous task somewhat. Perhaps he would find someone else to do that for him. "Now ‘bout de pounds ye’re askin’ f’r, Oi can manage a hundred but dat’ll take time. Dat said Oi can make sure Oi send large quantities o’ fish, dat way ye’ll ‘ave more meat t’ pack instead. Dat also bein’ said…" "Oi ‘adn’t caught me one o’ dese in a while, but Oi’ll be sure t’ include Bovine Guppies because they’re rich wit’ de meat. Lots’a protein f’r someone like yer good self." Thinking all the information he had just received over, Clyde spent a few moments just pondering them over, running the numbers, thinking of how much food he would need... After a few chimes he finally replied. "Alright, 100 lbs of fish then seems like not much, if only a fraction is edible. So I would like 100 lbs of edible fish bits by weight, roughly, and however much by pound of total fish that would be. However much fish it takes to get to that 100 lb worth of edible meat mark." "Or I suppose you could clean and pack only the meaty bits beforehand, the stuff that gets eaten, and so only have to send the final 100 lbs of edible meat, and thus save yourself some mizas on delivery." Clyde paused for a few moments, before continuing onward. "100 lbs, a season. At least for this season, and next season. After that, we can work out any further dealings as a separate enterprise. I'm sure I could think of something or other to make it worth your while if I still need the fish after that. And as you said, fishing is something you are skilled at, so it should not be that hard for you to get the fish." Clyde paused once more, thinking through the deal, and looking back at Ricky. "So... Fish for Reimancy lessons... I'm not sure what you even know though, nor what you expect, which makes it harder to say what exactly I could teach you. For starters, what exactly have you learned to do so far, and what is your element?"

[Ricky Maze]

oocSorry for the extended wait, I believe we can continue this and our other thread with ease now that everything seems to be in order.

As Ricky listened intently he knew very well that this bargain they would strike would prove difficult to uphold, not necessarily because it was beyond his skill but because the time of the year. The colder seasons tended to drive out some of the larger schools of fish to warmer waters and the like, therefore considering the migration of the fish Ricky had to weigh in his chances of upholding what he could of this deal whilst he worked to keep his end of the bargain. A hundred pounds of fish for two seasons… sure he could do that. He’d be working his ass off in the whole length of time but sure enough he could meet that quota, the only trick being the extra effort put into cutting off only the edible parts and preserving them until then. He felt sure he could strike a deal with the Customs Office as they would hold onto his hauls until the time came to send them off, so long as he included a proper cut of his payments toward the shipment. Technically he didn’t even have to go straight there, if he could work out a deal with a captain of a vessel bound for Sahova then that would be all he needed. He would save money and in turn find a proper deadline to send off his shipments, either way Ricky would be pressed for time.

Time he would have to cut out from the things he enjoyed most, which mainly involved spending bells with his wife and child. They would understand though, well Telion would at least. She too after all started out as a merchant, so the story behind Ricky’s bargain would be pretty clear to her as he would work to follow through with his deal. "Considerin’ de season it’ll be a little difficult t’ catch up t’ that amount f’r two seasons, Oi’ll tell ye what t’ough. Oi’ll catch roun’ a ‘undred pounds o’ fish f’r winter, an’ a extra twenty-five pounds t’ start ye off int’ de new year. Dat sound fair?" He negotiated with hopes that his terms would be agreeable, it would be a stretch but one he could keep up with at the very least. In regards to Clyde’s questions about Ricky’s abilities the fisherman shrugged his shoulders in slight shame, rather modest about it he admitted only the truth in terms of his knowledge with Reimancy. "Upon Initiation Oi’ve gained control over water, an’ Oi only know so little ‘bout Reimancy in general. Overgivin’s somet’in Oi’m familiar wit’ but ‘aven’t experienced… Oi try t’ stay well away fr’m dat point if at all possible." That being stated Clyde could very well surmise Ricky hadn’t practiced much, seeing as how the fisherman never really delved too deep into overgiving. Ricky watched the scholar with curious eyes, still hopeful that his terms and small grasp with Reimancy should prove sufficient in terms of accord.

[Clyde Sullins]

"Considerin’ de season it’ll be a little difficult t’ catch up t’ that amount f’r two seasons, Oi’ll tell ye what t’ough. Oi’ll catch roun’ a ‘undred pounds o’ fish f’r winter, an’ a extra twenty-five pounds t’ start ye off int’ de new year. Dat sound fair?" Clyde shrugged, at this point in the dealing it was okay to make some concessions, so long as they were reasonable ones. “I still expect it to be by weight in total the aforementioned amount. So any meat by weight not done before, will need to be sent in another season. However... If getting it done in winter is hard, I am fine with having a reduced amount for that season. I may be staying on to summer, so I suppose you could also send some in that season. Perhaps splitting the fish three ways over three seasons but keeping the total amount the same would be better, so as to take into account the harsher conditions of fishing in winter. Would that work for you?” Next though it was on to the subject of Reimancy, something Clyde was more skilled in. It was not that he was a bad negotiator... But he was a much better Reimancer. "Upon Initiation Oi’ve gained control over water, an’ Oi only know so little ‘bout Reimancy in general. Overgivin’s somet’in Oi’m familiar wit’ but ‘aven’t experienced… Oi try t’ stay well away fr’m dat point if at all possible." Clyde nodded as he explained... He was new to the magic, could only do the water element, and did not really know much overall. Clyde paused for a few moments, and then turned to his pack where he fumbled around inside with his free hand. After a moment he brought it back out, now with his waterskin in it. “That is fine... Perhaps in some ways a blank slate it better. Regardless... To start I want you to show me some attraction, elemental attraction. Reimancy can be done in one of two ways. You can manifest your res and then directly transmute it into the element, in your case water... Or... Or you can use elemental attraction, and use naturally occurring instances of the element to control and use.” “Since you live by the water, you will likely always have a available source of water to Reimance unlike say someone who lives inland. Since elemental attraction allows you to control a much greater amount of material than the comparable amount of water you can make by direct transmutation, I expect you to first and foremost learn attraction, and use it if possible. A Reimancer always wants to if possible use naturally occurring elements instead of always making it, since it will allow him to do more magic by size using the same djed, or to expend less djed on the same effect if done via transmutation.” Popping off the top of the waterskin, Clyde made a swinging motion and splashed a bit of water out of the top of the waterskin, aiming to splash the liquid across the chest of Ricky. Of course doing so was a part of his lesson, but it was also simply because it was fun. But how he reacted to this odd and random action would tell Clyde a lot about how Ricky was as a student. Whether the water was splashed across Ricky's front as Clyde intended, or across the ground, Clyde would then continue onward giving his first actual directions. “Now, manifest your res, and then will the effect of attraction into being. Will the res to pull water to it. Use this to pull up the water I just splashed, and to dry yourself." "Bear in mind that though attraction is less expensive djed wise, it is also usually slower, and it always takes more concentration than simply transmutation. This is because transmutation is a natural effect of res, whereas attraction is a additional effect that you must constantly will to occur." "Oh, and don't forget to use a focus mechanism, either a incantation of some sort or some gestures. I expect you to become familiar with and comfortable in using one or the other. Find which one works best for you.”

[Ricky Maze]

By the sound of it they looked to have a bargain at hand and with that Ricky felt they were just about to reach an accord, which would mean he was by his word bound to fish up and catch a set amount of pounds for Clyde some number of seasons. If he were to push it then well enough he could try and fish. He nodded after he stroke at his beard on his chin for a few times, pretty sure he could uphold his end of the bargain should things remain as quiet as they are. "Agreed t’en mate, Oi’ll see t’ it dat ye get yer pounds wit’in de season, an’ work on doin’ de same f’r spring an’ summer t’ when Oi can manage. Oi can’t say t’ings will be quiet as not’in is certain, nevert’eless Oi’m a man o’ me word, so ye can expect some supplies t’ come yer way at least." He assured Clyde that he would uphold his part of the deal, which would in turn lead to the next stage of their agreement.

The topic of Reimancy was not only present but already in affect by the looks of it, as Clyde had already gone into detail about attraction and how it works. Of course thanks to his ‘friend’ Annalisa who taught him about attraction that would pretty much put him one small step ahead compared to what Clyde probably thought. Nevertheless the fisherman was respectful in keeping quiet during the lesson, already aware that even in hearing it once he could very well learn something a second time. He was curious to see that Clyde had taken a water skin and more or less decided to literally dump water onto Ricky’s jacket, the fisherman looked to take minor offence with the notion as the mid torso area became soaked by the water that splashed out onto him. But of course what led to him being more wary about this idea were the next words Clyde chose to say, as it led Ricky to quickly glance around to make sure the coast was clear of any possible onlookers.

No doubt that would show the scholar just how worried Ricky was in letting this secret out, all the same it made Ricky nervous to practice any form of magic in an open space such as this. Yet there were no prying eyes or ears bound to pick up what would occur, so he took an easy breath and sighed as he followed along with Clyde’s lesson. Attraction. Could it really pull the wetness out of clothing? In this blasted cold air Ricky could only hope so, yet the method alone was something he’d hardly practiced seeing as how he was so withdrawn about it. Upon hearing the instruction to use an incantation or gesture Ricky seemed a bit perplexed at first; unsure at how it would so easily enhance his performance in this. Yet Clyde was the expert here, and that meant Ricky wasn’t in the position to argue.

Thus the fisherman brought his right hand up to look at the palm, and then tapped into the reserves of his Djed as he tried to build a sort of focus on the action. "Kay t’en…" He took a moment to consider which was easier for him, either an incantation to repeat or a gesture to follow as he did this… He felt weird when he thought of incantation, but that could very well be a matter of personal preference. Either way he decided to follow through with a gesture, a sort of waving movement that would travel a couple inches up and then back down as he focused on building the core of Res used for attraction. First there was the drop of royal blue ooze that seemed to form from within as his Djed turned into Res, and then that said drop proceeded to float above his fluctuating hand as he continued to focus. That drop took about several ticks but then it finally grew into a substantial enough for Ricky’s standards, at best it was larger than a pea but smaller than a plum if that were any real indication in size.

Finally the method of attraction would begin, Ricky would cease his movements just a little as he would then focus on that small sphere of Res. He would imagine it first; picture the action just as he was told in the first lesson, picture the water being pulled towards the Res in his mind and then make it happen. To do that was thought to have been hard, but when Ricky finally did it for the first time he learned otherwise. It was all based on mentality, or so he thought. With his mind he was willing for a strong pull with a certain element, and that pull would naturally gravitate towards his Res like a core. Sure enough the same exact method started to follow, and the results were just as astounding to him as they were the first time.

The sphere acted as it’s “gravitational core” as it’s pull started to take out the water that soaked in his jacket, he’d already felt cold from the splash but even that now seemed like it was started to fade away. As the water that resided in the threads of his jacket seemed to drain out and levitate towards the small ball, the sphere soon found a water veil surrounding it as the jacket felt dry where it was once wet. "Damn." He murmured in astonishment upon finishing the act, he truly didn’t believe himself capable of attracting water from clothing until just now. Then again it no doubt had to be fresh water, and not water that’d already soaked within the threads. He didn’t know for sure, either way he was rather amazed to have completed the act once more.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde watched as Ricky made his attempt at Reimancy. It was clear soon enough what his relative skill was. Next to nothing, but not quite. But still for all extents and purposes void of skill. He doubted he could even use it in a combat situation, he would not be able to concentrate and use the magic fast enough, not with the distractions and such inherent in a fight. Which meant for now his magics were relegated to spells of the most minor nature, and small little showy examples, and only in the calmest of situations. The best way to test this was with surprise. Surprise him and force him to react, to think on his feet and act with his instinct. Only when he could use Reimancy as such, would he be of any use in a fight, or really be able to use the magic to a useful extent. Since this was his intent, it seemed to make sense to test him as such. Clyde watched as he tried different focusing mechanism, first a small line of a incantation, and then switching to that of gestures. Clyde himself predominantly used gestures, it was the most instinctive for him, the most natural. Of course, incantations did have their place... Clyde recalled back to the primeval wail he had used in Rhysol's face, or who he was half certain looking back had actually been Rhysol disguised as another, when he had been filled with pain and anger and released it all in a single scream, which had acted as a incantation without formal words. In that instance he had used magic when he was supposedly incapable of doing so, and had even managed to startle his torturer in doing so... That was yet another instance proving how important a form of focus was. “Always use a focus mechanism when you do magic, always. Either one will do, but always one. Especially in more dangerous or dire situations, in those such stressful times they can truly save your life. If I had not become as comfortable as I am now with using them, I would not be alive now. I can say that confidently. So do not underestimate them, they can save your life.” Of course many a wizard did just that, did underestimate it. But if their were two things he wanted to teach his students, it was to use means of focus, and to learn to use attraction well. If he learned those two lessons then Clyde would consider it a lesson well spent. It took Ricky a time, but finally he did as instructed, and managed to pull all of the water from his clothing. He seemed surprised however that he had managed to do so. Clyde shrugged, not really impressed. He was not a teacher easy to impress. “Decent, though remember Reimancy is about intent. You will the actions to take place, will the res to do as you say. You move the res just the same as you would a limb or a finger. Only when you can move about and control your res as fluidly and naturally as you now twiddle your fingers will you understand it. Don't forget that the res is you, is a part of you, is connected to you, and so must do as you will. Hand motions and fancy words act as a means of focusing on the act, but only by the meaning you fill them with.” “The important thing is the intent behind them though. So next time you make a gesture or incantation, think about them. What do those words or motions mean to you? How do they relate to the action you are willing your res to take? I find often that if the actions of focus are related directly to the action you will your magic to take form as then it will work better.” After saying this, Clyde held the palm of his hand directly against the mouth of his water skin, and stared at Ricky. Without taking his eyes off of him, he coursed a flood of res out of his palm and down the water skin. Liquid res trickled down the mouth and mingled with the water for a few moments before Clyde stopped the flow. Pulling his hand back he made a lazy twitch of his chin upward by bending his neck, and a surge of water shot upward out of the water skin as he pulled the res upward and also enacted attraction on the water. It flooded upward out of the mouth of the container, and came to a stop as he brought his chin back down so that it was level to its starting position. For a tick the water floated there in midair, until it slowly coalesced into a gob, or a small sphere about the size of Clyde's fist. Inside of the water could be seen another liquid swirling about slowly, a bright silvery liquid. Clyde res. “Your intent is weak. You must work on it like any other muscle. When it is strong you will not need to think about it, instead the res will simply do as you will it to just like how your finger bends when you will it to.” With that Clyde began to make a small oscillation of his index finger pointing upward, as if the finger was orbiting around a tiny spot in the middle that seemed to contain nothing. As he did, the water sphere copied the motion, however on a larger scale. Instead of making a tiny circuit, it made a much bigger one around Clyde, and began to orbit around the mage while slowly gaining speed. “You see I combined intent and a gesture. I filled the gesture however with the intent I willed, so that the two meshed together as one. I wanted the water ball to orbit me, and so I made my finger orbit. The action therefore had meaning to me, and made sense, thus my intent was strengthened. Now, you try, CATCH!” This last word was said somewhat louder than the others. As he said it, Clyde slightly bent his index finger at the knuckle, just as the ball of water rounded another orbit. As the motion was made the ball of water shot away from Clyde, heading straight for Ricky. When it was about halfway between them Clyde would give one final push with his res, and then cut off attraction, and halt the res. However the forward motion of the water continued, and the ball of water continued on its path straight at Ricky without it. Instead the wisps of liquid res slowly began to trickle back towards Clyde as he watched to see if his student would catch the water ball, or would fail at the surprising act. “Catch it and do as I did.”

[Ricky Maze]

As Clyde further instructed him Ricky sure enough discovered that there was in fact more to learn behind the method of Reimancy and attraction, just as he thought there would be so long as he remained quiet and watchful. Intent. It that what made the Res respond to will, the intentions to make it so like it were already part of the body? It made sense in a way, seeing as it took the workings of the mind, the thoughts of input and will to distribute and create Res. But the will to make things so was only a means to an end, when one ran out of Djed then that means would by all means lead to downfall. Ricky didn’t wish to dwell on that. Instead of worrying about what would happen in the event he would overgive, he focused more on Clyde seeing as how he was the instructor in this case.

The fisherman was all the more impressed with how easily and flawlessly the water was controlled, centered around the attraction of Clyde’s own Res as he practically wiggled one finger around, an example of the gesture he made followed with a brief summarization in regards to intent. So instead o’ puttin’ all t’ought int’ a spell ‘r technique just go wit’ intent, make it so me Res acts like second nature at best. Though the concept was still in progress of being grasped Ricky started to get a hold on the point at least, intention and gesture really made a different when it came to casting Reimancy. Therefore he would have to note future gestures and incantations that would help in the future.

Upon Clyde’s own example of intent and gesture Ricky was in pure awe as he watched the water literally fly around Clyde, orbiting him in the same pattern that the notion of his finger made until he decided to test the fisherman. The word catch stated to forewarn the fisherman that the projectile water would be coming his way, and in turn intimidating him just a bit as he had to try and keep up with the toss Clyde pulled off. Oh shyke! He took a step back out of reaction and held his right hand out with the small orb of watery Res he already held, quick to pull out a little more Djed as it converted to Res from within. The size of the sphere was exactly the size of Ricky’s hand now, with but a thin veil of water on the surface of the outer layer to cover the deep royal blue core underneath.

Next was attraction right? He hadn’t time to think on it though, no time to picture the act of force he usually followed through with. He just wanted it to pull. Pull the water toward its center as he used it as a shield of a sort. The sphere took a more oval shape in this process, as he actually tried to use his Res as though it were a floating glove, and moved his right hand over with the intent to try and catch what he could of the water. Only part of it was caught though, the intent was too… shaken? Something went wrong that was for sure, seeing as how the projectile water seemed to partially react while the rest soaked his jacket. This in turn led to him dropping his own sphere of Res as it landed on a ground with a water splash that popped like a bubble. "Son o’ a- Wow!" He shuddered quickly at the sudden blast of wet cold he felt, that was when he looked to Clyde with a bit of a nervous grin on his face. "My bad."

He hadn’t the need to give up yet though, he still recalled the lesson Anna gave him after all… Ricky looked at the puddle of royal blue that resided in the mix of water, and held his hand out towards it as though he were mentally grasping it. Fingers clenched as though he clasped at the air, he motioned for the Res to reformulate into the sphere he made before. It took a couple of ticks but the royal blue ooze looked to ripple into one core as it floated off the ground, and from there he retried the attempt to put intent into the attraction like before. He did this by turning his hand and pulling it towards him slowly while the sphere floated over the puddle, fingers opening and bending to the knuckles as though he were still clutching something invisible. In this process the puddle’s surface rippled from the outside towards the point where his Res floated, as the force of his pull tugged the water into the air once more as it enveloped his res. He then decided to remove his jacket since that was the only thing majorly soaked, all while he would still have both his long and short sleeved shirts to keep him warm, and did so with focus split between the water sphere he held in place.

The sphere itself would sort of gravitate up and down until he regained full focus on the damn thing, and in turn he would try and mimic the same gesture Clyde did. He would take two fingers with his left hand and rotate them around in a counterclockwise motion, and soon get a feel for the intent as the water ball started to do the same in turn, only it circled the small space it floated in rather than around Ricky. "Like t’at correct?" He checked with the mage hopeful that he was getting somewhere, he did try his best to be a perfectionist at times when it came to things like technique.

[Clyde Sullins]

As Clyde stood there, he listened to Ricky as he did his best to repeat what Clyde had said, at least how he understood it. "So instead o’ puttin’ all t’ought int’ a spell ‘r technique just go wit’ intent, make it so me Res acts like second nature at best." Clyde shrugged rather noncommittally, as Ricky had grasped some elements of his meaning, but missed other elements. “I did not say you should not think it out. Without thought and consideration magic is but destruction without control. Without thought your magic will be the master of you, instead of you being its master. And a mage that lets his magic control him is not a mage at all... He is a fool, a fool likely to die or to destroy himself. A mage must understand himself and his magics, and know what he can do and what he should do...” Clyde paused for a moment, looking over Ricky. “Don't make your magic act like it is second nature, make it second nature. Your res IS you, it is a part of you, just as your hand and foot is a part of you. Reimancy allows you to take that aspect of you and your djed, and manifest it outside of yourself. Through it you can will these effects into action, can cause such changes and transmutations. But in the end, it is you who is doing it, this extension of you. It dies bit by bit as you throw it forth from the safe vessel of your body, it spends itself to fulfill your will, and dies and decays everyone moment either through being spent or being diffused back into the world itself.” As their lesson continued, Ricky attempted to catch the ball of water as indicated. However as Clyde expected he was less than totally successful at catching it. Much splashed on by and wet his outer layer of clothing. Honestly it had been more of a test, one he was meant to fail, but a test all the same. "Like t’at correct?" Once more Clyde shrugged. Part of his problem in regards to stopping the water was that he had tried to outright stop it. Much wiser would have been to try and deflect the waters around him, to guide it around and past him. This way he would not have been fighting the momentum of the forward moving water, but instead redirecting it in a new direction by adding a additional direction of pull. Of course this was not a simple concept to explain and would likely require him to give a practical example to see what he meant. “Sort of, but not really. Your error was in trying to stop the water. However bear in mind it has much forward momentum which wishes to continue onward in the same direction. Instead of stopping it outright you should guide it wide, make it go in a new direction without directly trying to conflict with the old direction. I will show you what I mean. Prepare another ball of water, and toss it at me.” Clyde would give Ricky time to do as indicated, and would pass him the water skin if he needed it as a source of water. Either way afterwards he would step a good ten feet or so away, making sure that he was outside of the range in which Ricky could totally control the water. This would mean he would be forced to toss the water ball attack as Clyde had if he wished it to reach all the way to him. Otherwise he would find himself losing control over his res before it reached Clyde.

[Ricky Maze]

With the way Clyde lectured Ricky about Res and second nature the fisherman started to have a more firm, if not rough, grasp of the concept in general, therefore took it to heart to follow the idea as he tried to avoid over-thinking the act of controlling and casting Res. If it were to be second nature then sure enough intuition would be his best guide in this, therefore Ricky would take the initiative in exploring the bold new concept of casting as he tried to control his Res. So far the error in judgement was by trying to stop the water due to his defensive intent against the cold substance, that was before he'd been given the lecture the scholar provided him of course. Now it was time for Ricky to try it, try and see if he would be able to do the same.

First the sphere of water would piston slowly in sluggish ups and downs, as he would focus the two fingers he had on it as a key of a sort. That key being the intent to control his Res, to make that royal blue core within the water sphere act as he did. He mimed what Clyde did before and in turn with the rotation of his fingers around an invisible object at the center, his water sphere in turn slowly started to orbit him in the same counterclockwise motion in a loose manner. This cycle repeated several times as Ricky would pick up slight speed in his rotations, until at last he was at a motion that seemed quick enough for him to maintain and still hold focus over. The sphere was a little shaky in its path around him but he'd finally grasped at the concept of intent, well enough to no longer look upon the sphere with each orbit in front of him. Now the target of application for the toss was Clyde, as his eyes sharply locked onto the mage while he prepared to catch the water Ricky was to toss.

"Ain't exactly easy mate, not at first anyway. Oi t'ink Oi got de idea t'ough." He assured the wizard with a humble smirk on his face, though it was more or less a front to try and look confident in himself. Something Ricky tended to lack actually, although he never fully worried or dwell on the matter. Why question your own confidence when it was better to just act, and hope that your actions in turn were successful. The fisherman thought to give warning for the mage but he knew Clyde well enough already, being a highly intelligent individual he was no doubt prepared already. He practically had to be ready for anything, so why drop his guard now when it could very well count. Thus Ricky changed the position of his hand to where his fingers no longer pointed up, but instead towards Clyde in the face of change as he made a notion with his gesture. That notion to send what he controlled forward, and send it off at full speed no less.

The gesture was followed without hesitation much to Ricky's own surprise, as the water sphere rounded him one last time and shot forth in the built momentum it gained. He'd already felt his grasp of control start to slip as the sphere covered the distance between them, thus in turn willed for his Res to retreat with no form of attraction towards the water. It was the same method Clyde used against him was it not? If anything Ricky was quick to observe and learn, that is when it came to grasping new things. He always enjoyed learning something new, so the natural excitement he felt in achieving the little things, the were all part of his learning process. The water soared through the air into the direction where Clyde stood while Ricky's own Res retreated back to shapelessly float above his hand, the oozy liquid molding about on it's own as he watched Clyde react the projectile sent his way.

[Clyde Sullins]

"Ain't exactly easy mate, not at first anyway. Oi t'ink Oi got de idea t'ough." Clyde nodded in response to his words, more or less hearing what he had expected. He did not expect the man to make drastic steps in regards to his Reimancy, but under his tutelage he could most surely improve by a good bit. His res was still sluggish, and slow to respond to his commands. Another sign that he was new to the magic. As he got better at working with his res, became more united with it, the lag in its usage would fall off, as in turn his area of control would expand. Clyde for instance had not found the edge of his area of control, if he indeed had it, more or less being relegated to within his sight line. Along with that as the res got further away the lag between will and action lengthened as his connection to the res became more tenuous. Clyde watched Ricky, watched him move and make gestures, and waited for the moment when he was clearly about to attack. At that instant Clyde let out a heavy breath of res laden air, and a spurt of the silvery substance billowed out of him. With his will alone he moved the res to his left, appearing to move right from Ricky's view, where it hovered just over his left shoulder. As the watery orb began to travel the space between the two mages Clyde willed the water to be called to it. As the water grew closer the attraction it gave off grew stronger, as did the intent Clyde ran through his res to pull in water. Slowly the water's course altered, inch by inch, until finally it whizzed over Clyde shoulder and smacked into the gaseous res. As it did the res and waters mixed and pushed, and Clyde pulled in a new direction, trailing the water along behind him. This time he did another small bend so that the water would arc around and orbit once behind him, only to pop out over his right shoulder and continue onward back the way it came. This time however Clyde did not release his res, and instead urged the watery orb onward directly at Ricky's head. With it still filled with his res he was able to control it and pinpoint its pass much better than a tossed water orb. Clyde kept it steady until it was a foot or so from Ricky's face. At that point he pulled the orb left, making it alter its course and buzz over Ricky's right shoulder, and then circle back around to pop over his left shoulder, slowing as it passed behind him. Once it was directly in front of him again Clyde would stop it, and it would hover in the air directly in front of him. “See, altering the orbs path is much easier than stopping it outright. Think about fighting with Reimancy like sword combat, or any kind of combat. If a person came charging right at you, would you just stand there and take him head on and tackle him back? Or would you sidestep, or use his own momentum and speed against him? When you get to a certain level of fighting, I don't think the medium matters, combat is combat.” Clyde of course did not mention that though the theory of said physical move was clear in his mind, he was fairly uncertain how he would carry out such a act in reality, should someone truly come running at him to tackle him. “Tactics is a important thing in Reimancy, as it is in any kind of fighting. Also one should bear in mind ones zone of control, the area about yourself in which you are still able to control and influence your res. If you res goes beyond this zone you will lose the ability to influence it. As you become more skilled this area will slowly expand, but you must keep it in mind until you have progressed quite a bit in its usage.”