Rafalbaseer, On the Dietary Needs of Magical Plants (Part I)

[Sailor Vulcan]

Rafalbaseer, On the Dietary Needs of Magical Plants

Part I

The man wrapped in vines instead of normal clothing sat at a table in a local pub. Sitting across from him was a graduate student from Sistarra, her frizzy red hair sticking out at odd angles despite the bun she kept them in, with bangs framing her bright young face and her lithe form covered by old, ragged hand-me-down wizard robes. He listened to the wizard with a look of extreme skepticism on his lined face. The young woman's words didn't inspire any more confidence in her sanity than her rather unprofessional appearance did. Her robes looked like they had been ruined by a research accident long ago and for some reason she must have just decided to keep them that way.

"So, Miss Rafalbaseer, was it?"

The young wizard nodded.

The old druid continued. "You want me to participate in this 'experiment' of yours. Is that right?

"Of course," said Rafalbaseer, looking like she thought it was a stupid question.

"If it goes wrong, it could kill my plants. You do realize that, right?"

"Naturally," said Rafalbaseer. "You will be compensated for any and all damages, of course."

"And why, exactly, can't you use summoned plant creatures instead of real plants?"

"Summoned creatures are constructions of magic. If magical plants in general get any of their nutritional needs met by feeding on mana, it would be impossible to tell that from looking at a construction of purely magical origin."

"I didn't understand much of what you just said, but I'll take your word for it."

"So do we have a deal then, Mister Ironleaf?"

There was a pause. "You say this will help improve my magic?" the old druid asked.

"Not necessarily your magic in particular," said Rafalbaseer. "But it is likely that the knowledge gained from this experiment will be useful to the creation of new nature spells which druids could use."

Another pause.

"Very well, we have a deal."

[Sailor Vulcan]

"What are you doing!? Plants can't survive without sunlight!"

Rafalbaseer looked towards Ironleaf bemusedly.

"Havent you ever wondered why the druids of wychwood aren't trained in Earth magic? Or for that matter, light spells?"

Ironleaf shook his head. "I've thought of it before, but it never seemed important. Light is the domain of holy mages. As for Earth...I'm not sure actually." He rubbed his chin in thought.

"Isn't it strange," asked Rafalbaseer, "That those who are trained solely for the care and use of plant life aren't trained in feeding them?

"Well, we do water them..." said Ironleaf.

"That's not the same as feeding at all," said Rafalbaseer. "Plants likely need water for the same reason that we do."

"Well, everyone knows that plants need water, sunlight and fertile soil to grow," said Ironleaf.

"Do they?" She stood up from her chair and started pacing. "Then how do druids spread their vines in the Arena?"

"Point," admitted Ironleaf. "But those vines are prone to early deaths because they lack sustenance. Not to mention, those vines are magical constructs, not true plants."

Rafalbaseer smiled. "Magical constructs still tend to imitate their genuine counterparts. If real vines use sunlight and soil to grow, then it is likely that magical constructs shaped to appear as vines would also grow from sunlight and soil. And if they actually lacked sustenance they would not grow in the first place. How do you spread your vines?"

"I don't know, I just sort of will it, I guess," said Ironleaf. "Whats your point? Where are you going with all of this?"

And that was test 1, complete. Rafalbaseer knew that Druids can not only spread their vines, they could choose the paths they spread in. This meant that druids had some sort of conscious control over their summoned vines in the arena. But she hadn't known how direct that control was. For them to just use their own will to control the vines was good evidence that the druids were using either their magic or their life to sustain the vines and control their spread. But how could she tell the difference?

She hadn't ever seen any druids' health actually noticeably deteriorate as a result of summoning vines. Of course, it could just have been that there was a link between the druid and their vines made of the druid's own life force which also allowed them to cast spells through them.