Lucius nodded and waved his hand, causing all but one of the pools of water to sink back into the ground. The one that was not used, to be specific, as Lucius expected that a clean up would have been necessary, but he was precise enough with his magic to not need it. Instead, next to the pool of water, another platform raised up, holding a handful of normal candles and a large bushel of incense. Another mutter, and the sky seemed to descend in pieces, congealing around the candles and permanently staining them black. Once lit, they would also burn black instead of the normal color of flame.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“Do not use the minimum, use as much as you need,”</span>Lucius said, moving towards the stairs.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000"> “The tower will ensure you find your room when you are done. And they will rouse you when it is time to wake.”</span>And with that, Lucius disappeared into the antitower. Once he was certain he was out of range for all of Xiu’s senses, Lucius’ step staggered. The size of the mark determined how much mana that could be given and after all of what he used during the day on top of the ceremony under the darkmoon, he was nearly tapped out. Without a word, he stumbled his way to his quarters and found himself rest.<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/>Lucius had largely left Xiu to her own devices over the next couple of days. While he was more than willing to show her where she needed to go and ensure she did not get into something she was not supposed to be in, Lucius gave her the space she required after what all had happened. The ingredients he had gathered were quickly preserved and experimented with, leaving minimal for the creation of potions began. Much of the supply was lost to either re-planting or simply seeing what would come of the properties when put under different, abnormal stimuli. It was dull, surely, but Lucius was clearly determined. In fact, it was not until Xiu was next to him did he notice her presence, telling him that she was ready for training. Lucius’ response was short, telling her that they would begin the next day. And back to work he went, but a spell was cast allowing his mind to work on two things. The first was his experiment, and the second was building a proper curriculum that would be appropriate for Xiu… and give him opportunities to experiment with what had caught his eye in the first place.<br/><br/>The next day, Lucius stood waiting in a large, mostly barren, large, circular room towards the bottom of the massive antitower. Lucius stood near the center, next to a thin but somewhat tall pillar that reached the bottom of his chest. On top, a white, opaque crystal seemed to hover with no visible method of doing so. He was waiting patiently for Xiu. He always woke early and had set it to where that the tower’s servants -a horde of invisible, silent, intangible beings of his will- would wake his guests once they had gotten proper rest. He had been preparing for the past two hours, but now he was simply waiting for Xiu. As she entered the room, Lucius frowned. He had not anticipated her choosing to appear as she did, though it should have crossed his mind.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“That will not do,”</span>Lucius said, snapping his fingers out of habit and sending the multitude of servants around him to do as his mental command bid.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“You are, at best, a novice of the arcane arts. While I am familiar with the style of casting that your region of the world chooses to employ, I will not begin your teaching with that method. Thus, your clothing is invalid for your training as it constrains movement.”</span>The doors opened behind Xiu, and a stack of fabric hovered into the room.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“You are to change immediately, and you are forbidden from training in your traditional attire until you have proven to me that you have perfected the somatic in the universal style.”</span>