[A young woman wanders into the building, she'd walk through without even glancing around at the strange objects and head straight for the backroom. Assuming Luard is in his lab, she'd wave at him casually and glance around to see if the man is working on anything.] "So, I guess we're gonna get started now then... Bout time don't ya think? Anyway, what exactly are the basics of this stuff... Since I have, well no clue whatsoever honestly." [She'd rub the back of her head and look down for a moment, it feels odd to actually try and learn something like this, but maybe it'll help take her mind off things.]

Shiki passes by a wide storage space, a small hallway made by shelves filled with gems of various colors in order to reach the main door, opening it up, Shiki of course notes the far door, as well as various tools such as chalk, candles, the sort of thing one might expect from a generic magic place. Luard sits in the room's only chair, flicking a bobblehead as he does so. Upon hearing Shiki's voice, Luard slowly gets up. Very well then, if you insist, there are two levels of basics before you even start thinking about casting a real spell. Today we'll focus on the first, meditation. Turning around, Luard gestures for Shiki to follow him through to the back room, a smaller open place than before. Rather than any circles prepared, it simply has a series of mats on the floor, with an incense burner in the middle. I assume of course you'll wish to know why this is important. I know not about your world, but where I come from magic is simply a manipulation of the natural energy that flows through all things, a sort of life that fills the known universe. It is imperative you get to form a close relationship with this energy before even trying to accomplish anything. And so, Luard sits down on one of the mats, legs crossed in a classic pose That is where this comes in. Meditation has always been intended, no matter what the society, to help one reflect upon themselves and their place in the universe. In order to learn about the flow of the world, one must first learn about their own energy.

[Meditation... That's actually something she's done before, Kendo, and all told being fairly common in Japan. The idea is not unknown to the woman, and as far as she knows Magi tend to do such practice themselves.] "I figured something like that, it's been a little while since I've done any meditation, but the idea isn't entirely new to me or anything so that's not too tough to start out with... As for my world, there's a bit more to it than just that back home, but I'm not really qualified to explain it beyond "Older Mysteries hold more power than newer". In short, when dealing with the magic of my world the older it is the stronger it becomes, not really sure on the details though, my eyes can cut it all so why worry too much?" [With that brief info given out, the woman would sit down on a mat herself and cross her own legs. Eyes closed as she goes silent... Clear your mind right? Or is... No, she simply begins breathing in and out, focusing on nothing at all as she actually does aim to clear her mind in earnest.]

Shiki would likely feel calmer, as is the point of meditation, but nothing particularly special happening, not looking up from his own position, Luard begins talking again Ordinarily one can do this for a week and expect little to no results, however, as I'm sure you're aware, life and death are closely related. I would suggest you focus on your own "lines of death", not only seeing them, but feeling them. They may act as a bit of a... Shortcut. So to speak.

[Life and death... Hmm, that idea isn't half bad at all. She'd look down at her arms and open up her eyes, blue glow coming to life inside them as the lines come to life in front of her.] "Alright, can't hurt to try, and I know that life force flows through these things in a way beyond the physical. I can "Kill" ghosts with a damn knife after all, so it's clearly beyond simple cutting." [As she stares into the lines, she'd begin looking them over properly and seeing where exactly each of them flows. Tracing along the lines on her left arm with her right hand... There's an odd feel to them to be sure... The flow of energy huh? Yeah, there's something going on there. But, working with it haphazardly would be foolhardy to be sure.]

OOC: Yes, yes you can

Naoya walks along, and sees Luard's property, feeling like he should at least greet Luard with a hello and so, he decides to walk in, seeing Shiki with him in there. "Ah, hi Luard and...uhhh" he strugles to remember Shiki's name despite meeting her not so long ago

Well naturally, after all, ghosts are almost nothing but life energy. As one with the ability to.... Luard loses his train of thought at Naoya's entrance, flinching as the other man speaks. He's almost afraid to open his eyes, but there were no breaking sounds, so it should be fine Hello again Naoya. I was beginning to teach Shiki here how my own abilities function. Unusual circumstances, but there is more potential than one could normally expect, so I've made somewhat of an exception. Luard takes a deep breath and looks back at Shiki, though they might have gone beyond meditation at this point, the most basic element has at least been covered Now, I want you to draw a connection between your own lines, and that covering... Say, the mat you're on. The faint... Pulse, is how I often describe it, of energy hidden just beneath that ability of yours. It shouldn't be much, but this... Connection is one of the fundamental parts. The recognition of a... Oneness, between all forms of energy.

"That's interesting." Naoya sits on the floor nearby and watches out of curiosity.

[Connection huh... The glow in Shiki's eyes would grow even brighter as she stares down at her arm. For a moment, she'd not really notice anything between herself and the things around her... But after a while of staring, she'd begin to feel a slight... Link? She's not quite sure how to put it, but looking into the lines on herself for a while, really focusing on the energy she feels in them. After doing that for a bit, she'd open her eyes just a bit wider and stare down at the lines on the ground around them, and as Luard said... It's faint, much fainter than inside herself. Or for that matter, the energy she'd feel upon looking up to Luard and Naoya for a moment, but it is fact there.] "I see what you mean... It's only barely there on the ground, or the mat, but it is there. Is everything like that then? A tiny spark somewhere?"

Everything that exists. Luard pauses for a moment, closing his eyes and angling his head downward for a moment, as though in deep thought. In a moment, Luard sighs and opens them again That is to say, in my world we classify existence by this trace spark. However, there have been... Exceptions. Another researcher in my time once created a... Thing. It lacked this life, this essence that even the rocks and trees contain. This rendered the creature completely immune to all traditional forms of magic, among other... Less pleasant effects. In addition to this, some beings possess the spark. But in a less... Manipulable manner. Primarily deities, among other things this renders them a resistance to these effects. The point being, while it is present in everything one is likely to encounter, there are rare exceptions. Typically of the kind you should run away from very fast.

[Everything one is likely to find, with exceptions one should stay clear of... Sounds just like her lines really, the few things immune to them are the few things even Shiki wouldn't want to face. And what kind of person would want to make such a creature? Heh, sounds like a crazed Magus to be sure.] "I see... I'll keep that in mind then, my "lines of death" are much the same in that regard really. Precious few things do not have those lines, and among them, I can't name any beings I'd actually want to deal with... Almost makes me wonder if they're working off the same kind of force."

While I will admit to not fully understanding this ability of yours, here's my interpretation. Your eyes allow you to see Death, that is to say, a way to introduce the concept of "death" directly into their lifeforce. In order to do that, they also indirectly help you perceive their life to begin with, so as to enable you to strike them at that point. On the other hand, my magic focuses on taking this lifeforce, and applying it to other means, typically by causing a chain reaction with the "spark" as you called it earlier of the world around us. Luard sighs and takes a deep breath, briefly coughing into his sleeve before continuing In other words, both have to deal with life energy, in your case, your eyes use Death as a medium with which to get to life, while mine deals primarily with the life itself. after taking a deep breath Luard slowly gets up from his position earlier, walking into the office-like room, and gesturing for Shiki to follow Sorry if this seems a bit short, I've been... More exhausted lately. I believe I shall retire soon, yet for your first day you've made wonderful progress. So much so I'm willing to give you homework. Congratulations. After glancing around for a moment, Luard opens a drawer.... Only to find more candles. A sigh is heard as he closes that drawer and opens another, this one containing a single, small, paperback book. Its cover is far more intricate than the work itself, and it almost resembles something one might find in a curio shop. Luard takes this book out, and offers it to Shiki Consider this a handbook of sorts, a guide to the runes I write between the circuits, those that amplify and give shape to a casting. It shouldn't be needed until lesson three, but you may wish to have it to look at for now. Besides, I've already memorized it, so its not like its serving any purpose lying around here.