#ionys

Reducing heat and light is a matter of pride for many mages. A flameless, smokeless fire is a sight to behold, objects simply crumbling away and scattering in the whipping wind, limbs seared off with hardly a scent of burning. The excess energy is siphoned off, either released into the ambient environment as mechanical energy (wind) or stored within containers for later use.

She fights with an style all her own. There are no books on left-handed swordplay in Acaria, and left-handed students are encouraged (read: forced) to switch to their right hands before they are allowed to learn. In Acarian swordplay, the left hand is left free to either wield a scabbard or grapple with the opponent as necessary. There is no room for variation, and it can slow down the pace of instruction if a student has to mirror their teacher. At least, this is their justification.

Izil learned under no such pressures, learning for the sake of self-defense, a necessary skill for an Arferi teenager in Allegia at the time, and later learning as a soldier under the banner of rebellion. The eastern Arferi school of martial arts focuses on spear, using a uniquely ambidextrous approach. Switching grips -- from right to left and vice versa, always with the dominant hand at the back -- is a fundamental technique in eastern Arferi styles such as Kaznleb, Atlakan, and Soyunleb, the stances of these styles being built around ‘Right Grip’ -- the front foot matching the dominant hand -- and ‘Cross Grip’ -- the front foot not matching the dominant hand. It was only natural for Izil to incorporate this philosophy when she switched to using a sword.

Collagen fibers called ossein are the primary component of Meyal. They are separated from each other by a chemical solvent and an industrial centrifuge. The fibers come out in paste, which is combed (yes, combed) into a workable state by machines.

The threads themselves are microscopic when they are shipped from factories, and to the naked eye resemble a very viscous liquid or very wet dough. The process of drawing these fibers out into useful structures is a branch of magic known as fabrication, an industry that accounts for nearly eighty percent of all construction and at least 30% of the Institute’s main labor force. Though it is a relatively complicated science, fabrication is one of the most common paths chosen by students at the Institute for its high pay and job security.

Meyal is not without its downsides, though. The amount of bone required to meet the empire’s demands is astronomical, and to meet that demand huge numbers of animals -- primarily cattle -- need to be raised and slaughtered every year. In some places, particularly the outer provinces, the costs associated with producing meat are simply too high -- if it is shipped dead, it must be refrigerated or salted, and if it is shipped live, the work of producing Meyal is given up to the central provinces. Instead, ranches will focus entirely on producing bone, with meat as a waste product.

She first designed the gloves at age thirteen, when she was first starting to train seriously in hand-to-hand combat. The material deflects swords and other sharp blows easily, but is vulnerable to shock and can shatter if flexed too far. However, this is not to say it is brittle; the material can easily support double her weight and fares well in combat with other blunt weapons.