"On his first try?" Lyse said in disbelief, beholding the creature before them. When she was little and saw her first carbuncle, she wanted her own straight away. Papalymo tried to teach her the arts of arcanima, but Lyse found it too difficult to process. In the end, she gave up and opted to ask Papalymo and other archons to conjure one for her. While adept in aetherology, her aptitude for magic was nil.
"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful, my boy! You've exceeded all expectations!" Montichaigne cheered with applause.
The twins approached the glistening carbuncle and admired its physique. No matter the color, all carbuncles usually shared the same general appearance, but this one was original as they come. If that wasn't enough, its fur was composed of multiple colors with a white tint.
"How did you do it!? I can't count how many times I've failed to summon a carbuncle with dark or light aspected aether, no matter how many times I've tried." Alphinaud said.
"That tail looks like a clover! Or a fan? Did you do that on purpose?" Alisaie asked.
Bayn could only gawk, trying to formulate an adequate response. Until a moment ago, they were indifferent to the carbuncle summonings.
The newly formed Carbuncle Opal, having just been manifested, took in its surroundings, including the twins. Despite just coming into existence, it kept a calm disposition.
"I, too, am curious. I seldom have summoned a carbuncle of this caliber in all my years." Monti said, to which the twins scoffed.
Having known the Scholarch all their lives, they knew what he was capable of. Arcanima wasn't his biggest subject, but he's more than capable of producing a familiar such as Opal if he tried.
"I don't pretend to know how exactly the shapes fit in, but I get how the math translates to physical magic. The rest was guesswork. Were the shapes intended for what's to be summoned along with the item used?" Bayn asked. Montichaigne grinned from ear to ear.
"That's an astute way of putting it. Yes, in a way. You see, the shapes in question are more so intended for the size of the summoned familiar and the density of the familiar's mass. Nothing specifically to do with the final appearance of the familiar per se, but rather so that the caster doesn't end up summoning something bigger than intended. To which to say, once again, well done!" Montichaigne said happily.
Bayn scanned over the borrowed grimoire and felt more or less satisfied with the results. He held the book up to Montichaigne, but the elezen happily waved it back.
"That's yours to hold onto, my boy, but be sure to copy your work onto another grimoire at the first opportunity. That grimoire will last for a while, but it will disappear sooner or later. It is an aether-made object at the end of the day." Montichaigne said.
Bayn held the book in his hands and simply shrugged as he held it to his person. He and Opal locked eyes with one another, and while no words were exchanged, he nodded regardless.
"I've taken up enough of your time, and speaking of time, I should go back to organizing staff meetings. I do hope to see you again in our halls, Master Bayn." Montichaigne said, as he waved to the former imperial.
Caught off guard by the title, Bayn nearly dropped the grimoire. He had been called many things in his service to the empire. Tripe, rabbel, half-breed, sergeant, quo, captain, pilus, even sir. But Master was something he wasn't sure he ever considered to be called in any regard, even if it was simply a matter of social cues.
"Alphinaud, Alisaie, give my best to your folks, would you?" he added.
"Of course, sir!" Alphinaud chirped as Alisaie started petting Opal.
As the Scholarch headed towards the exit, he stopped at Lyse.
"And Miss Hext, worry not, your inspiration will come in due time. No scholar worth their salt made a breakthrough simply because they wanted it. First comes necessity, and then innovation. Yda and Papalymo had their own struggles making headway towards getting their Archon marks. Papalymo, more so I'd say." Montichaigne said with a chuckle.
Lyse, touched by his words, smiled back at the elderly man. "Thank you, Scholarch Mongrignois." she said graciously.
With a last nod, the Scholarch exited the auditorium.
Lyse let out a sigh as she watched Alphinaud and Alisaie gleam over the Opal Carbuncle. Despite how things turned out, she couldn't be mad at them.
Opal, a gemstone that can have a base of black or white and host a myriad of colors at its core. As such, one would assume it would be easy to create a familiar out of such material, but attempts by scholars and knaves alike would not see the results they were hoping for.
Most arcanists use gemstones of the primary elements to summon their carbuncles, because of how easy it is to transcribe on paper. Fire, wind, earth, water- you can find those formulas on parchment if you're short on a grimoire. Now, the aspects of light and darkness are another story.
Light aspected aether was purged of all colors. Dark aether is aether comprised of many colors. If the principle is applied to Opals of black and white, how do you translate that to a mathematical formula?
This knowledge, just so happened, was contained in the creature of the same name. Not that anyone bothered to ask. This didn't bother the carbuncle in the slightest.
With a few words, the Scholarch went on his way about the halls. Opal observed the group talking amongst themselves. The twins looked to be bickering. The blonde was a mix of dejection and acceptance.
The group opted to go to the Last Stand since the tour was over and any Lyse finding a thesis was forgotten. The twins rather indulged in Opal and its neutral yet curious stare as it wandered the streets.
The Scholarch, even now, couldn't help but fawn over the carbuncle. How was a novice able to conjure such a creation on his first attempt? A mind so inexperienced in performing magick somehow interpreted the principles of Light and Dark aspected Aether and manifested it exceptionally. Monti prayed he would attend the Studium in the upcoming year or at least attend the lectures. He could already tell the boy was prodigious.