I failed to expand properly on a few of my last actions:
Irine's perspective on what Fire is:
A rapid exothermic chemical chain reaction oxidizing materials using the oxygen in the air and releasing large amounts of light and heat. The desire and drive to cause change, for things to change to be better. The purification of something though burning away all else, or reducing it all to the same basic components. It's the energy to take action. The burning away of shadows and fear. the purification of food through cooking and fire. in short: fire is heat/purification/change.
She'll want to compare that to the Sword's perspective of fire.
The Sword agrees. It has no opinions on chemistry but it does agree on everything else. Fire is connected to purification, cleansing, anger, determination, change, destruction, power, consumption, courage... The only thing it disagrees with is that Fire is connected to good, to making things better. Fire is. Whether it is used for, good or evil, is in the hands of its wielder. Change can be for the better or for worst. A sick man may be purified but poison can also be purified. Anger can be righteous or a blind bloodlust. In short, one should remember that Fire is not Light despite their similarities.
regarding Creation, she's going to not so much try to access that as herself as she accesses it as her old self if that makes sense. she suspects that though she doesn't really have a Creation link, She should have once had one, and if she can get back into her old mindset as much as possible from THAT standpoint she might be able to do it, from the perspective of the creator of the stars, her moon, and the gates between worlds.
Well, the problem with that is that you were using a different mechanism to affect that universe. Any memories you have are going to be tainted by that connection. But it should at least help with the mindset somewhat. Let's see... What sort of effect are you trying to cause exactly? Which memory are you channeling? (I assume you're not trying to create a new world from scratch.) Creation can be used to do pretty much anything though it's much easier to disrupt/corrupt and harder to control than anything else.
One should note that Irine does not actually have any regard whatsoever for Laws as such, she has her own set of goals, rules, sense of justice, etc. She has a respect for systems, complexity, free will, and unpredictability. But those have nothing to do with anyone or anything but herself. She has a respect for natural law I suppose, and in a sense her self-rules could count as divine law? and she prefers openness and honesty... but she really doesn't care whatsoever about national law. just... putting that out there. From her perspective it quite simply doesn't apply to her.
The sword however
does believe in a particular fundamental law of the world, which is why it links Order to that. Maybe it's a thing with Order-aligned beings, Kassiver also had a particular view of the world. The water mages describe Order in more abstract terms as the ability to create, follow and impose rules and beliefs, to define systems, to plan and design, to make things predictable, to remove unwanted and unnatural influences. It's not being Lawful as in following the law of the state or the church but being Lawful in the sense that you follow certain rules, that you have certain convictions regardless of whether they are innate and self-defined or based on an existing system.
Irine isn't so much trying to gauge her strength compared to the sword, as to get a feel for just how strong the sword and herself actually are. Compared to, say, the sword's memories of other fire-users, and how strong it would estimate they are compared to what they might encounter.
The Sword says that any single wizard in a straight fight is no match for you, especially if you're fighting in an area with powerful Fire flows. With all their enchantments and years of both mundane and magical combat experience, a General could give you trouble but even against a General the odds would be in your favour. With the right preparation you could easily be able to take on a Dragon or a Leviathan. Still, you're not as powerful as its greatest user, you couldn't take on an army on your own at a moment's notice. Getting caught off guard, getting overwhelmed (especially at close range), it's still a possibility. Its ability to defend you is limited by the fact that while your Fire is powerful, giving it ample power, your Order and Light are not as developed. So your best bet in combat is to stay in the back and Alpha Strike the enemy before they have a chance to figure out how to get past your defences.
now for new stuff:
What is using order magic like compared to her own innate fire-realated abilites? is it still an extention of herself or is it actually a different sensation? Is she casting something or is she manipulating something?
You'd say it's more like casting or manipulation of existing systems rather than manipulation of yourself. When you use Order magic it feels more like an act of creation. When you linked those pebbles it felt as if you reached out, weaved a law into existence out of your will and then convinced the universe to follow that law (or tried to, anyway). From what you understand Order-based healing works similarly, enhancing the systems of the body that help maintain its proper state, which is why it's usually slower than other forms of healing. Order-based protection spells counter and dissolve the unnatural concentrations and flows of magical energy. Order-based oracles are supposed to be able to read the natural systems of the world and come to conclusions about the future. And based on what the General had told you, the most powerful Order magic can go as far as forcing people to do something or to essentially create a prophecy that the world is forced to adhere to.
and now for the really complicated one:
Can I shapeshift something other than myself? Normally it's a hard-coded ability but with how everything has broadened in scope and flexability it might be a thing... DO NOT TEST ON PEOPLE.
You try to transform a bug but all you end up with is a burnt bug. You think that unless a creature has been properly prepared, it won't fully turn into fire nor will it be able to maintain itself once transformed. You've been built to turn into fire but most non-magical beings require to be solid and not on fire. Who would had thought, huh? You throw someone some fire, try to turn them into fire and suddenly they're screaming like they're dying. You try to bring a light light and heat into their lives and they're just totally uncaring about all the effort you put into it, complaining about their hair or organs or some other stupid thing. Humans, am I right? Huh? Huh?
Campaign, Ike!
"All right, so actually getting to the Leviathan's lair would probably take too much time out of our itinerary plus it's also way too far away. We're gonna need to commandeer a well in that case. And also find a Dark wizzard of some kind to help us out."
"Also we're about to be clocked by that scout flier unless somebody with magnificent fire, crystal or miscellaneous artillery powers wants to shoot it down before it makes us, so take that under advisement."
Maybe somebody in our warband can shoot down that flier, ask around.
Also, consult the memoripedia about where we'd be able to find some Wizzards of Darkness.
Participate in the scouting thing, I'd probably be pretty okay at it.
Finally, get this caravan train rolling at the soonest opportunity. Eastward, to victory!
The brass knows how to do it by knowing who can do it.
Dark magic is heavily regulated so it's highly unlikely to find one outside of the Tower or the Army. Your best bet would be to find some criminals that know of an unlicensed Dark magic user. Or you could go find an army garrison or that resistance that's fighting the Sovereignty, they might have a licensed Dark magic user with them. Then again, Irine did say that someone was casting Dark magic on the villages coming up ahead, trying to drain magical power away from this land. So that means there's certainly a Dark magic user there. The problem is how to capture them and get them to cooperate. I mean, you could always betray those guys traveling with you in exchange for his help but Dark magicians are not exactly known for their honesty, they'd probably just backstab you and suck your brain or something the moment you turn your back.
You do the scoutman.
If you keep following the road East you'll reach the town of Traveller's Rest. It's a small town but it's one of the sources of Dark magic Irine sensed. It's almost certain it's been captured by the Sovereignty and that there would be at least a small garrison stationed there. Then again, going around it would take some time, since you would have to take the caravan off road for a while until you reach the next road. That means more chances a patrol could spot you or some other thing happening. Maybe it would be best to just scout ahead, see what's going on and decide what to do then. Or you could just ditch the recruits and try to stealth the rest of your way to your destination. Or you could try something else.
Which birds were we recently ambushed by? Those were monsterbirds, right? Use their talons for armour spikes.
Yep, those were monsterbirds. Okay, let's see...
You add enough talons to turn yourself into a cactus. You accidentally prick yourself and spend the rest of the day with no feeling in your arm and your face frozen in a slack expression.
"We have a glider at twelve o'clock! Canon ready, archers ready, slingers ready! Hold fire until I say. Lune, prep the crossbow, standard bolts."
Brace a signaller on the ground like a mortar and tsar it. Try again if the results are underwhelming. Aim slightly ahead of the glider. Wait for it to come a bit closer. Fire! Hoping to either score a lucky hit or blind its pilot with the ultra bright tsar flare.
On the off chance the braced signaler becomes too large for me to handle myself, try using an innovative recruit-based tripod system.
"Irene, Zech, you're welcome to use this fire and its light to power your magic."
<Okay...>
Flare the flare when it nears the glider, in a signifigant sort of way.
Zechariah to Nikolai, Irine: <I'm not sure if I can extend my powers to that range, but I will try.>
Try forming crystals from the flare's light into a sort of crystal grenade. Let it build for a bit, and then launch it at the glider. Try to bring down the glider without killing whoever is in there. If we are successful, then locate the crashed glider.
You wait for the Glider to get closer. It's still quite high in the sky when it turns around and starts heading away. That's when the signal to attack is given. Everyone and their
dog fox hits the Scout Glider with enough firepower to leave only shredded ashes falling to the ground. No kill like overkill. Someone nearby might have seen the attack, you literally just launched a gigantic flare into the sky, but it's daytime and if they're sending gliders to patrol in this area they most likely don't have other units around.
Alan, Substitute Milkshake Girl
Alan's mind conjures a perfect compromise for this dilemma. "Nyaa, tell my step-father I'll be with him shortly, nyaa," he says in his most serious anime girl voice. He then does what any rational person would expect him to do, and tries some stupid shit.
Attempt to summon a pair of cell phones with video call capability. If successful, hand one off to a servant (I'm a princess spider, why wouldn't I have servants) and tell them to carry it to my new friends and make a call to me, so I can both chat with my new friends and go meet with my new dad at the same time!
Just go meet with step-dad if this ends up unspectacularly failing.
((I did not forget Alan. You saw nothing.))
You summon a pair of smartphones and hand one of them to one of the guards. You direct him to your friends, with instructions to call you when he's there. The guard holds the phone like it's a bomb. Old men, am I right? So technologically illiterate. He's probably one of those guys that make a Facewatch account and think they know how to internet. You should take a picture of his fail and post it on Instafail.
He opens his mouth to say something but restrains himself. He makes a motion to move but doesn't start walking away either. Oh, poor guy must be suffering from social anxiety. He must be afraid of meeting your friends without you to introduce him. But your step-father has ordered them to do whatever you ask so he feels like he can't decline either. You should give him some words of encouragement. The spider-legs on your chest quiver in agreement.
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