mylittlejamjar | First Burn [Visual]

[A new face looks down on the scroll, eyes screwed in a look of complete and utter disbelief at the situation he has found himself in. A dark-red unicorn, just... staring for a long moment before he scoffs and starts to speak with a flip of his blond, braided mane.]

...I'm sorry, I can't -- you actually expect me to believe --

[He gestures vaguely to himself with a hoof.]

That this is a thing that's happening right now? Haha. No thank you. If I knew that helping a Pandaren with his house chores would lead to... to... hallucinations or something... Am I in the Emerald Dream? Did I get hit with some magical incense or something? Because I would've liked some kind of warning if that was going to happen.

[Yeah, he's rambling now. But really, where else can a pony vent when he's just been thrown in a situation like this? After a long sigh, he shakes his head and turns back to the scroll.]

Okay. Sorry 'bout that. So just in case this isn't the product of me making one too many healing potions, the name's Artuan. Bracher. I... was a mage.

By the way... Anyone else from Azeroth sharin' this fever dream I'm having? If so... uh. Find me, I suppose. We can reminisce about the good ol' days when Deathwing was destroying Stormwind and everypony -- ["Everypony"? He pauses for a moment to consider the sudden and automatic change in lingo with a bewildered expression before continuing.] Was freezing up in Northrend. Or something.

...How do you end these th--

[And the message ends abruptly. Looks like he found out.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh -- so that's what the horn's for.

[He's mildly taken aback by the sight of another talking pony, but he manages to keep his expression fairly neutral-looking, especially since he's being offered actual information of some kind.]

I kind of got that. But... of all the things I've seen, this might actually be the weirdest. And I've sat next to giant wolf-men in taverns.

If werewolves classify as 'weird' in your terms of scale, then you are in for quite a surprise. Do try not to lose your head.

Wonderful. I'll try not to.

Good. I am unsure if Equestria handles mental health care.

Now, in regards to you being a 'mage'... What sort? I admit, I am curious as to how magic is practiced in other worlds.

If it does, it's still probably better than any system we've got back home.

Ah... well, short story is, there are three basic branches: arcane, frost, and fire. You can study two of the three if you want, which is what I did. I went with the first two.

[There's a beat as she writes that information down offscreen.]

That is quite a degree of specialization. Almost cripplingly so, unless each covers a broader spectrum than I usually see. I practice mainly a seven-elemental system, myself: Sun, Moon, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth.

Makes it easier to teach us all the basics in magic academies. We learn different ways to channel the three, but that's practically it.

...Arcane can get a bit on the time-travel side, though.

[Artuan tilts his head to the side and hums.] Hm. Sun and Moon -- that's kind of what druids do, from what I understand. Shamans handle the Earth side of things, along with others. Noooot sure about Wood and Metal, though... unless that's a goblin or gnome thing.

Split among various disciplines... I see. Very good for specialization, but doing it in such a manner limits the ability to explore the relationships between each element, which may create some disparity in-

[...Yeah, she's talking to herself while writing. Give her a moment, or yell at her. Whatever works.]

[Oh, he doesn't mind. He remembers studying a good majority of this at some point himself.

Artuan busies himself with experimentally poking at the ground with his hoof while she takes notes.]

[This goes on for a few seconds before she addresses him again.]

Do you use a focus of any sort? Staves, hands, books, that sort of thing? Or are you one of those silly mages that wiggle around a wand?

Mostly, it's a thing you do through your hands, but staves help, too. Even swords or daggers, if you're good. [He can't help but smile at the mention of wands.] Wands... used to be a major part of things. Technically, there are probably a few left who still use 'em. Me, not so much.

Versatile. That's good. Nothing would be more insulting than somepony calling themselves a mage to be reliant on something like a wand.

[She could give an entire school's worth of examples, but she refrains.]

In our defense, they were pretty good for throwing out a little damage when magic was out of the question. 'Course, that doesn't mean they still didn't look stupid as hell.