It's A Juggling Act

I placed my order just before the weekend. I got notifications that they should start showing up on Monday. I have to make it through the weekend before I have to start doing the hard work. Madam Odette has been doing her best to simulate a classroom environment which includes giving me the weekends to do my own thing. I'm going to use this time to try something. The thought of teleportation stuck with me. But to transport myself from one place to another without a steady base to build off of could spell disaster. I want to do something similar but different.

I found a section that detailed an old transportation method mages would use if they didn't have wind to sail with. They used magic to push the still air in sections to push them forward. I'm wondering if I can kind of use the same idea to push myself faster. Instead of pushing me to begin with, I'm going to start with something sturdy. If I can get the desired result I want with that. I should be able to use my muscle memory on myself and maybe prevent some injuries or falling on my face. I expect to fall on my face. I just hope that it's not too much.

I found an old post. I hope that I can push it forward and keep it standing up straight. The technical aspect of it is super simple. Nothing needs to be refined. It's a very basic mix of elements. I can use my new alchemy technique to just use the surrounding air. I push forward, throwing the post in all kinds of directions before it rolls to the ground. This is going to be harder than it looks.

The post just seems to ragdoll whenever I push it. I try from different angles and different speeds, but it just seems to go flying. I need to guide it as though it's walking down a hallway using the walls to keep it upright. That makes this a lot more complicated. Maybe…

I have to rethink this. I don't think just brute force is going to get the result I want but I need to think of how to come about this. I have a few theories. First is similar to drafting. An area where the air resistance isn't as strong while still pushing from behind. I'm thinking that it should help with the post flying everywhere. But how? This is going to be difficult. It'll be like casting two spells at the same time. Again, maybe…

Could I take the air from in front of the object, pull it behind the object, and use that to push it forward? This is going to take some practice. My first attempt goes as expected. The post just fell over forward. Actually, that's better than what it was doing by just flying everywhere. I need to even out the pressure behind the post so it doesn't topple forward or backward. One more try!

I give it a nudge and it goes forward but lands and falls forward right as it starts moving. I stand it back up taking a look at the post once more. I push it again, and again, trying different things. Eventually, I start putting more pressure on the bottom. It starts to work better. It's moving forward but still falling forward when I finally see what's happening. It's friction. The bottom of the post is on the grass so it needs more push to overcome it. If it were a person they could jump or maybe in between a step?

I keep trying and I'm getting more distance until the push below becomes too strong, toppling the post backward. Do I trust myself to use this on myself? I'll postpone it until tomorrow. I've been at this for most of the day and I'm still feeling a bit drained. Anne was the only thing that reminded me to take a break for lunch. I ate outside with a book in my hand dealing with the brisk air. I was close to getting it. I feel as though I'm getting so close to solving this!

I also know that I'll be obsessed over it to the where I won't sleep. When Anne brings me dinner, that's my cue to sit down for the night and just relax. Read a little bit on it but don't devote my entire focus on it. I'll just end up getting stuck in a loop and never solve it.

I sleep pretty well considering what's on my mind. This new spell, Madam Odette's surprise, and I still need something to make it special. I have kind of an idea but that also needs to be fleshed out. So many problems, so little time. But as morning breaks again, it's back to work. I have today for myself before my "classes" begin again. I grab the post from yesterday patting it like it's doing a good job. I start up with where I was yesterday by pushing the post a short distance before it topples over in some way.

My end goal is to get it to where it'll stop standing up. I'm getting close as it begins to sway before falling over. I'm hoping that this will be enough. I set it off to the side for now standing in its place. One deep breath to shake the nerves. Is this considered unethical animal testing if I'm doing it on myself?

That was enough of a laugh that it shook the last of those nerves. I go to take a step forward and pull off the spell. The result wasn't as expected. I did fall forward but it wasn't the spell. I was so disorientated from the sudden movement that my eyes and brain couldn't keep up with it. I almost feel sick. I went two feet forward and it felt like I had jumped through space itself. Everything just blurred before coming back into focus. That quick change was too much.

But I won't stop here.

I stand back up and take my spot once more. I close my eyes as I take that one step forward. I feel everything shift before I feel myself falling once again. I hit the cold grass rolling myself onto my back. Closing my eyes was worse. My body isn't used to the quick and sudden changes. This just got a lot more complicated if I'm going to have to adjust for a quality of life improvement.

For now, I'll just have to stick with it. Another go and another fall. One more try and I bite the dirt again. I'm figuring out how to pace this for myself. The post didn't move. It couldn't adjust its center of gravity to the sudden changes. I can and that's making it more difficult. I either need to train myself to now move like I was just thrown or adjust for it. If I were to teach this to someone else, what would be easier? Tailoring a spell to someone else's unknown reaction would be far too difficult. But to just act as though you are walking normally when everything is whipping by is difficult. I'll have to go with the second though.

I take one step, then one step back without the spell. I do this over and over maybe 100 times before I feel like I can try this again. With one step, everything flies by. I stagger, but I'm upright. I braced for a hard stop at the end. That was what threw me off even though I shouldn't have. It's a mental game I have to play with myself to correct this.

I step back to my starting point. I tell myself out loud, "You're just taking a step on the path." With one step, everything speeds by, and my foot lands. I don't stagger and take another step coming to a stop. I'm upright. No issues. I look around and I can see that it's beyond my normal step. I turn around and take one step. Everything blurs by me once again before coming back into focus as I put my foot down. I'm upright! I'm steady! I think I got it!

I can't help but clench in excitement. There's nothing like the feeling of success. I have to get it down though. I have to get it to where I can't get it wrong. Maybe work on the vision issue. I can think of it as when Madam Odette and I were in the mountains. She taught me to bend the sunlight away from my face to lessen the harshness of the glare. I wonder if that would work with this distortion I'm dealing with.

Hours go by. Anne brings me lunch. I sit down and look over how visium works again. Maybe I can try to warp the image I am seeing into something that's less disorientating. Possibly clear it up so I wouldn't even know until I come to a stop. Or should I focus on increasing distance? Should I work on going further? The ability to cover large distances would be amazing! I have to pull myself back. I need to do this in baby steps.

I can push it out to seven feet before I begin to see issues cropping up. Time does not change, and neither does the time it takes for me to take a step. If I put my foot down before the spell ends, I'm shoved forward violently as I come into contact with the ground with my falling forward. I can't speed myself up anymore. I'm creating what is essentially a vacuum in front of me. If I go too fast I could injure myself in new creative ways when I come to a stop.

But I want to try and get 10 feet… I wonder… If I put a spring in my step when I push off my back foot. I worry about not being in contact with the ground but for a split second should be OK, right? Let's go for broke!

I push off my back foot with more force bringing my body into the air. I feel the rush and the jarring stop as my front foot hits the ground. I'm upright but that fucking hurt! All the force hit at once. I think I should stick with one step at a time for now. I'm afraid that I may break my leg if I keep that up.

Where's the post? I have more testing to do. With a good six-foot reach on this spell, I'm going to try and see if I can go around something in two quick bursts. I set up the post between myself and where I want to be. I'm going to go eight feet from where I am but in two bursts. I want to step to the right of the post and then move again behind the post. I'm still a solid object so this spell won't allow me to go through other objects. If anything, it'll just make running into them hit harder.

I think when I execute the spell, the remnants of it should be around so I can quickly pull them back and cast them again. I hope… The first jump is fine, the second jump takes time. It may be unavoidable that I'll have to use my own power for this. Alchemy only works if the elements are available. As magic is used, it takes a bit of time for it to snap back into its natural state. I may have to queue up a second spell if I want to do this with as little of a pause as possible.

Maybe one day I'll be able to make it all one fluid motion where I won't have to stop. That's the new end goal for this. I need to work on it in the state it's currently in first. One jump, then a second, in quick succession. I'm able to get past the post. Once more, and around again. I'm going to start getting fancy with it. Let's see if I can take a step while turning around so I face the post when I stop. One jump, twist and face the post. One more jump, and facing the post again from the opposite side. I can do it! I just have to be careful. This could twist an ankle very easily.

Anne brings me dinner reminding me that it's time to call it a day. I look around and catch myself in the cold. I had been working myself so hard that I hadn't noticed it. The two of us step inside so we can sit. I take my seat at my desk while she takes the chair. She already eats by the time she comes to bring me mine. By my order, I might add. She would often wait until I was finished. But if I was elbow-deep in a book that could take hours for me to finish my plate.

I don't have that issue tonight. I've done my reading. I'm into practical applications! I finish my plate letting her take it back to the house. She returns taking her spot in the chair until it's time for her to be dismissed. I sat at my desk looking over the assignments Madam Odette had handed me for the weekend. I barely touched them but they're not too intense. I'll be up a bit later than usual but they'll be finished.