For Pride or Glory? [Johann, Sophie]

Well, that wasn't exactly as impressive as she was hoping for. He was just demonstrating standard techniques and spells that she was already well-versed and familiar with. For the moment she refrained from saying anything given that she had told him to start as he pleased. This was just so utterly plain and uninteresting that she tried not to look too unimpressed but Sophie looked rather neutral about the whole display.

No point acting impressed. Perhaps his spellcraft was quite orthodox then, what a shame. She was really hoping to see something impressive but if he was going to make a display out of his own personal techniques then she would be more than happy to witness those.

"Ah, that would be good. Showcase those. I will demonstrate my own studies if you wish as well."

If he was sharing his secrets it was only fair that she did as well right? Unlike those twats of shinigami Sophie liked to think that the quincy were far more forthcoming to share their knowledge and become stronger together rather than be restricted to a weird parasitic relationship with an icky sword.

It was just a tool after all as far as she was concerned.

Hm. It wasn't too surprising that she wasn't very impressed. Well, he had warned her that he was fairly traditional and standard. Nevertheless, he gave a firm nod in response. It was good for them to learn together, to get inspiration and build the foundation for their powers to grow in the future.

"A good idea. Learning from one another can be an excellent foundation for the future. Apologies that my spellcraft was rather typical, however."

Without another word, he held a hand out, gathering Reishi into his hand as the temperature of the room began to lower.

"Ydalir!"

In an instant, the Reishi gathered exploded outward in a fast, almost violent manner, encroaching the room in a frosty shell. In seconds, every atom of Reishi within the training hall was frozen. Letting out a sigh, his breath visible in the suddenly cold room, He turned to Sophia, gesturing out to the room.

"For the sake of this demonstration, I'd like to ask you to try and form a bow and a sword."

Resting his hand on the back of the other, leaning against his cane, Johann waited for her. Should she try and form a bow, or quite frankly any ranged weapon, she would find the process considerably easier than it would have been normally. With the sword, however, that would be tremendously difficult. Even those with greater skill than he would have some trouble forming any kind of close combat weapons.

"This is the teaching tool, Ydalir. A word only termed once in the Poetic Edda, meaning 'yew-dales'. They're a special type of tree, their wood specifically used when making bows."

It was a good thing her body temperature ran high, the fiery heritage made her one of the last to get cold on a chilly day. It did make her sleep pretty hot though and she's woken up more than once feeling a bit uncomfortable from her body's naturally high temperature. It was a pain to tell the medical staff that she wasn't actually febrile when she goes in for examinations but that's not important right now.

"My preferred spirit weapon form is not to those specifications but it can be arranged."

She channeled the ambient reishi in the environment, hand reaching up to yank the cross away from her necklace and be clasped in her hand. The heilig bogen appearing in her hand relatively simple, she gave it a few examinations before it disappeared and she tried again to form the blade with a bit more resistance until the thin rapier was constructed.

"Suited for forming bows, huh. It's quite convenient but I understand it's quite archaic. Not all of us still rely on the bow and arrow, it carries issues such as damage to the hands and fatigue to have to draw the bow and fire the arrow. A firearm or any number of weapons are more frequent. Would it be possible to adapt it to be suited for spirit weapon construction broadly rather than bows?"

Perhaps a little insensitive to tradition on her part but Sophie saw these as tools. If she could eliminate the critical error of a tool and make it more useful then she had solved an issue. With the demonstration done, she cast the sword to disperse into reishi and pocketed her quincy cross after having torn it from her neck.

He would be lying if he said he didn't feel a certain amount of pride in these unique abilities. A light, but still confident smile came to his face as he took a look around the room, turning to her as she complied with his request. It was an ability that he had designed to aid those who struggled to form bows -- it was, after all, the easiest way for one to start creating Spirit Weapons.

"I've already taken that into consideration. Bows are the easiest and first form that many learn to manifest Spirit Weapons, as well as it being my personal preference. I just wanted you to manifest them as examples for the demonstration. In essence, the ability is meant to aid those who struggle with forming ranged weapons, making it considerably more difficult to form weapons like swords and the like."

He took a moment to think, sighing softly as he readjusted the grip on his cane. To him, there was at least some level of tradition that should be maintained. Even if it was little, some things should certainly be upheld.

"While I believe that Quincy at their core are people who pride themselves on ranged combat...times are changing. Even still, the young men and women of the modern era should at least have some competency at range. They must be ready for whatever comes their way. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

A steely look suddenly came to the old man's eyes, and his fingers tightened around Ullr. The insult to tradition and his pride was of little consequence -- for him, he wanted to ensure that all of those in the Vandenreich were capable in every way that a Quincy should. Even if they were welcoming other races into the fold, there were still basic foundations that could be laid for them.

If they struggled, he would help them. If they fell, he would be there to pick them back up. He would ensure that the next generation would be prepared for whatever the future would hold.