2.03 – Mace

2.03 – Mace

“Hm,” Tess said. “You keep gravitating to gestures.”

“I know.” Natalie had to stop herself from snapping at the other girl. Tess was actually patient and overall pleasant, not pushy or condescending, but Natalie’s continued incompetence made it hard to keep her temper in check. “I’m trying not to.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Natalie was taken aback by the question. “Because ... it’s bad?”

“Why is it bad?”

Great. She was being prodded to figure something out. Tess’s tone made that clear enough. “Because being able to cast with your head is better for versatility.”

“Sure,” Tess said easily. “That’s the general advice. But what did I say about general advice?”

“That it doesn’t apply to everyone. But this does, doesn’t it?” Natalie had no intentions of half-assing the learning process and falling back on crutches, even if she was struggling.

“But you’re a hands-on girl,” Tess pointed out. “I can recognize a fighter when I see one.”

Funny enough, that had gone both ways.

“And?”

“So maybe your class expects you to use gestures,” Tess said. “You’re really gravitating to them.”

Natalia had noticed that too. Her limbs were itching to be in motion. But everyone else was simply holding their hand out, at the most. Clearly, that was the right way to go about things.

“But in a fight, I’ll need my hands for fighting,” Natalie said, trying to keep the exasperation from her voice. “So even if I did better, it’s pointless.”

Tess nodded to the side of the courtyard. “Go grab one.”

Natalie blinked, then looked in the direction she’d indicated. A rack sat there, hosting a collection of varied wooden weapons. “Seriously?”

“That felt better?” Tess asked.

“Sure, but it’s not efficient.” That had been the crux of her argument from the start.

“You think it telegraphs the spell.”

“I don’t think. It does.”

“And you think monsters will recognize your tells?”

Natalie paused. It was, of course, a great point. “But duels.”

“So you’re a duelist?”

“Well ... no. But still. And some of the smarter monsters might catch on.”

“Only if it drags long enough for them to start recognizing patterns. That’s not common down in the dungeon, even for boss fights. Besides, are tells that big a deal?”

Natalie was learning to hate those raised eyebrows. Though, the rational part of her told her it was deserved. Tess was only stating the obvious ... just, not obvious at the time.

“I don’t think they are,” Tess said, answering her own question. “And besides, you could have several gestures for each spell. It’s not as crippling as you think. Sure, it locks you in to specific movements, but you can play around with that. Assuming someone studies your style, you can make plays based on their assumptions. Make that motion, they’ll expect an illusion of some sort—or that specific flash you sent. But don’t, one time. At a critical moment.”

“That’s true.” But she wasn’t fully sold. Even though it sounded stupid to her own ears, she repeated the claim from earlier. “But everyone says gestures are a crutch.”

“It’s best if you can divorce movement from spellcasting,” Tess conceded. “In a perfect world, you would. But, really, it’s not that bad. Trust me.”

“I guess.”

“Or trust your superiors,” Tess said. “Go study the styles of some fighter-mage hybrids. You’ll see that some of them—even high rankers—lock certain spells to certain movements. Makes it easier to balance physical combat with magical.”

Tess patted her back.

“It’s your choice, ultimately. Keep practicing. I’ve gotta help the others. If you want my opinion, let your body guide you. I’ll make my way back around.”