Ash 66th
A thick mist hung over the mountains betwixt Lorien and Daravin. They'd neared the border the night before, and Alphonse had been gotten her bearings fastened nice and tight in the time since her Initiation into Transposition. Breathing a fog into the morning air, Alphonse shrugged the call of Nod from her limbs and stretched tall like a cat rising from a nap. "Mornin, Ves'," said she to the old, leopard-spotted cat-crone gazing out over the mountainous steppes disappearing off into the fog below them.
"It is a fair morning, Alphonse. The weather seems peaceful enough. Do you have a sense for where we are, yet?" she asked. Alphonse had been suffering from Spacial Amnesia, unable to remember where she was, or any landmarks really.
Crossing her arms, Alphonse rolled her neck. "Yeah, think so. A little fuzzy, but... Lorien is down that way," she pointed, "and Daravin--it's down that way." She pointed up the mountain trail. "Right?"
Glancing at her, Vesta resumed her gaze over the beautiful valley, giving only a token nod. "...I don't mean to seem insensitive, but are you ready to carry on with your training?" The cat tore her gaze from the lands below, turning to face Alphonse. "There is still much to teach you. Come, let's converse as we hike." She tilted her head, and started walking up the trail.
Slinging up her scabbard and pack, Alphonse trotted up to Vesta's side as they crossed the jagged trails of these high mountains. Her eyes peered upwards into the rocky crags, spying the occasional higher elevation eagle and rodent, but nothing more. This kind of place always unnerved her. "So, Transposition?" Alphonse said as they crossed a treacherous section of trail.
Vesta paused, gazing back over her shoulder before taking a careful step. "To Transpose is to seize upon a stream of Aether, and compress it to bend the fabric of reality upon itself until you have folded two points. Watch my tail." She straightened then curled that thick, tubular fluff-noodle, bending it at a tight arc until the tip curved around halfway up. "Imagine space as my tail being straight. A portal bends the flat plane so that two points of space are connected. Does this make sense?"
"Sorta," shrugged Alphonse. She thought of Vesta's Windowing portal she'd witnessed over a week ago. "I think so."
"That's good enough for now. If you haven't gotten it yet, it'll come to you given time and practice," said Vesta, pulling herself up over a stony ledge without much grace. Alphonse simply brought her leg up and stepped upon the higher area, leaning forward to keep away from the edge.
"Is that all I need to make one?" asked Alphonse, her breathing slightly labored. It wasn't easy hiking in the mountains, especially a trail as rough as this one.
"No," said Vesta. "I'll need to teach you a bit more theory. The first is 'The Aether Flux', which supposes that existence is raw aether given different shades of form, purity, and density." Vesta paused to lean against a rock between two high hills, crossing her arms as Alphonse joined her. "Aetheric density will determine the state of matter for a given substance: solid, liquid, gas, plasma, even raw aether."
"So aether's in everything, huh?" questioned Alphonse.
"That's the going theory," replied Vesta. "It's important to consider this, as denser, more complex forms of matter cost more to transit through a portal. Light--visual information that hits your eyes. That comes cheap. You'll be able to Window shortly, but listen: don't try to push yourself too hard with this. You'll know when you're ready."
"That's kinda hard to follow," admitted Alphonse. She would have scolded Vesta for being so perplexing before, but she was strangely ...getting used to it? "I'll get it eventually, I guess."
"Portals are sort of self-explanatory, in a way," said Vesta. "It's what we call the connection between those two points in space. It's just a flat hole, but you've seen one before. I've shown you. Don't try and push something through a portal that isn't configured to accept Aetherically dense materials, or you'll be wasting the Aether you spent to open the portal in the first place; it'll collapse."
"So do I just stick with visual stuff at first, then?" asked Alphonse.
"That would be wise, yes," replied Vesta. "You'll want to know how to make one. It's not so simple as it is with your Pyromancy; there's a process. Mental hoops to jump through. These are components you must consider to every portal. The first is a Node. Nodes are clustered masses of Aether drawn together by you, the Transpositioner. They serve as markers, locked in a chosen spot using your memory or sight--your spacial perception. These Nodes will determine which area your portal will connect to."
Alphonse growled as Vesta's words rattled her brain. "That's... I can't even imagine," she complained.
"When you have opened a Window as your first portal, it will make more sense. Again, I am teaching you theory, not application," said Vesta. "Just listen and think about it, you ogre." She sighed. Having Alphonse's quiet attention, she spoke again. "The next important concept is the Stream. It's a... flow of of aether between two sets of connecting Nodes. Sometimes natural Aether can be bent into shape, but most end up creating their own. By concentrating, you can collapse the stream in upon itself, this folding the fabric of space so that the nodes collide. This collision sparks the portal, like striking a stone to make sparks."
Alphonse bit her lip, fidgeting. She couldn't sit still. It all sounded so weird. She wanted to hit something and drink, not think. "Grrrghm, I barely understand uh-"
Vesta interrupted. "-Next is the Anchor. It's something you'll need to make when the Nodes have collided, locking them in place so they do not drift apart. An anchor requires visualizing both the ingress--your side of the portal, and the egress--the end of the portal, at the same time. You must split your concentration to create one, and this is not so easy for some. I suspect you will struggle here, but I will help as best I can."
"I didn't understand the first thing, and I didn't understand any of that built off of it. I guess I'll just need to try making one and you'll walk me through it step by step," said Alphonse. "Is now a good time?"
Vesta hesitated, looking Alphonse up and down. "...Yes. Perform a simple sight portal, a Window. Create Nodes over there," she pointed to the sheer cliff face, "and Nodes in front of you."
Alphonse shook her mitts and held them out, looking up at the wall. "Okay, let's give this a try," she said with a confident smile. Staring at a spot on the rock wall, she could feel a very subtle layer in space that only grew more detailed as her mind assessed it. She was starting to see what Vesta was on about as she concentrated, slowly forming the Nodes as she visualized where they should go. She couldn't see them, but she could feel them as they took shape, feeding them plenty of Aether through her intent.
Taking a step back, Alphonse created another set of Nodes in front of her just above the ground. With both sets of Nodes in place, she let her concentration dwindle and found it pleasantly surprising that the Nodes stuck around. "So I can sorta make these in advance, huh?" mumbled Alphonse.
"Yes, dear, but keep going. You're doing good," said Vesta. "Now create the Stream."
Waving her hand to aid with concentration, Alphonse shut her eyes and concentrated to feel around between the Nodes. Finding nothing Vesta spoke of, she instead kept them both in mind, prodding at them mentally to offer herself to those constructs of magic. As she did, she felt something buzzing in her head, a sensation that gave her the guidance she needed. A steam of Aether formed, and she connected it from one Node to another. "Ah, there you are. Fecker."
"Excellent," muttered Vesta. "Now, your Anchor."
Thinking about both Nodes, Alphonse was able to relate them in her mind. Drawing that connection inward across the bridging Stream, she found herself tingling as the Aether left her, prompting a shudder from the woman as her soul was taxed of what it could give. Like a newly healed wound, the magic was tender and taxing upon her. Still, she smashed both those sensations together and opened her mind in that same instant, a smile spreading across her face.
There, before her, was a little white window into reality, a mirror looking down upon her from the canyon surface. "This wasn't that hard. Why do you gotta make everything sound so complicated, you old crone?" asked Alphonse to the elderly mage with a cheery smile.
Vesta just shrugged and shook her head.
