We may not need to pick one or the other. While we can only pick one for now, I don't believe Ruby's Dreams are mutually exclusive. There's a lot to be said for her witnessing both. Infusing weapons with magic itself, and with technology far more advanced then what most of Remnant is currently working with? Hell yes, especially with the way Hunters build and wield their weapons. Just think, lighting magic blade death laser Crescent Rose. I can hear the squeals of joy already.
But we do need to consider her mental stability. Ruby's mostly got it together, much as any teenager does. But Blake is having trouble with just one Dream, needing to correct herself on pronouns in her own brain. Two dreams would be more then pushing it. Perhaps we could figure out a way to make it stress mortals minds less, or maybe have morals meditate and have a more solid sense of self. Because the bullshit Ruby alone could pull off with two Dreams plus her own Rubyness would be worth it, let alone the rest of the team and anyone else we take interest in.
[X] Dance with an Aura: Penny Polendina. {The final clue to understanding Aura: how does she blend your own power with her soul so perfectly? How are they related?}
Blake.
"Obsidian?"
Tonight, there shall be no training. My mind will be elsewhere.
"Is everything okay?"
Yes.
"...Okay. Could you, maybe..."
You will not dream tonight.
"...thank you."
You reach out to Penny. Her distance from the Frozen Flame is no obstacle – such a large collection of your power in one place is never outside of your reach. You reach out to brush against her Aura, tracing along her soul... and find it unblemished. Unmarked. Yet as you explore it, it shifts. Weaving patterns before and after you, areas that shift and change as you go. Meaningless gibberish to your mind, yet they exist. Her soul is more malleable than any other you have seen. Is it because of the nature of her soul, or is it the influence of your presence on your own power? Perhaps there is no difference and the two options are the same.
{Welcome. Purpose? Curiosity?}
What does it mean for her soul to be created from your power? The essence of her being is inextricably bound to you in esoteric ways that are difficult to fully define. You could experiment with how malleable her soul is, but that could cause permanent changes in her person, and the idea is... unpalatable, in some way. An option for when you are more experienced with modifying Semblances, perhaps. Regardless, the purity of the connection between you seems to have resulted in a sort of unconscious bond. During training, she responded to the Heroes' actions without conscious thought, simply knowing where she needed to be to act in tandem with them.
<Gratitude. Acknowledgement: knowledge.>
Perhaps it would be simplest to define her as "part of you." The essence of her being was created via a fusion of an existing mind-without-soul and your energy was used to fill the gap, her Aura being awakened and used to contain the shape of her soul. Thus, she is a part of you, bound to you as all your energy is, but possesses a mind and will of her own. In this case, the question becomes "how is she producing your energy"? If her soul is made of it, and her soul replenishes herself, then there must be a mechanism by which it does so. You drive your attention further, seeking the wellspring of her soul in order to understand.
{Assistance?}
When you arrive, you find... something. The core of her soul is different from all the rest of her. There is no Aura here, but a pure spark of your own power, condensed immensely. Her Aura reaches into it and tugs tiny pieces away, pieces which are refined and processed into more of her soul. The core replenishes its stolen pieces through its connection with you; the amounts are in such tiny increments you have not even noticed the drain. You still cannot, even while looking for it.
<Request: Openness. Acceptance.>
The process by which your power is refined is fascinating. Penny takes bits of your power and... "imprints" her identity upon them, making them into more of her "self." It is a process you believe you could replicate... and, potentially, reverse. If you can identify the "identity" inherent in a given Aura, then... well, if there is a bridge between Aura and magical power, then with finesse that bridge can be crossed both ways. You suspect it would be inelegant and more difficult than it first appears, and yet... the existence of that bridge offers possibilities.
{Willingness! Joy!}
Having identified the mechanism of her soul, you refine your perspective. You have not been able to read Penny's nature from her Aura because it is not centralized like the others; she exists in her entire Aura. You pull back, holding the whole of her being in your gaze, and become aware of the exchange of information that has passed between you.
<Nature?>
{Curiosity! Exploration! Affection!}
<Affection?>
{Affirmation. Family. Friendship.}
<Clarification.>
{Importance! Purpose. Clarity. Guardian.}
<Inefficiency.>
{Sacrifice. Investment.}
<Return?>
{Unknown. Excitement.}
<Consideration. Depart.>
{Understanding. Affection.}
Penny Polendina is... deeper than she appears on the surface. Her nature reflects yours in some ways, but is clearly influenced by the man she calls 'father' – who, presumably, unlocked her Aura. Does the nature of the soul change at the moment of its awakening? Or is it simply that he shaped her growth long before?
You do not have sufficient information to answer that question. Perhaps, at some point, you will have the opportunity to witness an Aura be unlocked. At that moment, if you are fortunate, you will observe the process closely. For now... you understand Penny. You understand the method by which her soul operates, and the interaction between your power and Aura. Mysteries remain, but they are not mysteries that can be solved by routine investigation.
You have advanced a skill! Aura Weaver: B+ -> A - The ability to understand and manipulate Aura and Semblances. At this level, your Aura sensing abilities are extremely precise, allowing you excellent knowledge of the souls around your awareness. With methodical research, you will be able to temporarily refine Semblances in new ways. You are able to permanently alter a Soul by carving shapes into it, but the effects are extremely difficult to predict.
You have satisfied a Curiosity!
Through deep investigation and the cooperation of your mortals, Curiosity: Aura has become a new trait.
Assimilation - You have seen the bridge between yourself and the souls of mortals. If you understand the nature of a soul and are connected to it, you can, with time and effort, destroy the identity and convert it into power for yourself. Will have unpleasant effects for the mortal. On the reverse side, it may be possible to create Aura out of your power, if you understand the nature of the soul you are replenishing... but what effects would your power have on the nature of a mortal?
Mountain Glenn approaches. Two days and nights remain.
Choose a daytime action:
[X] Dream of Spekkio, the Master of War. From the End of Time, his gaze swept across all battles ever fought, and he imparted much knowledge to the heroes who slew your Progenitor. {Associated with mortal improvement, practical use of magic, and cooperation against a powerful foe.}
[X] Observe Team RWBY further. {Only one of the team has reached out to you thus far. Perhaps the others will, in time?}
[X] Dream of Dust. {How does it interact with Aura? How do things change?}
[X] Experiment with Team RWBY's Semblances. {Investigate ways in which you may interact with the team's innate abilities.}
[X] Share a Dream with Ruby Rose (may make her curious about your Progenitor):
-[X] Melchior. {Zeal's Guru of Life. A master smith and magician, it was he who forged the legendary blades Masamune and Rainbow. Starts Ruby down the path of a magic smith, allowing her to infuse magic into compatible materials in order to enhance them. Will start you down the path of shaping life.}
Life shaping? Sold!
Edit: =_=#
[X] Dream of Dust. {How does it interact with Aura? How do things change?}
For those who arrived before my edit, I forgot to add the Semblance action. Include it in your considerations.
EDIT: Also, I forgot to make a note of it in the post, but I attempted something a bit different with the Aura communication here. If it falls flat or is too strange to follow, let me know and I'll add a "translation."
Ah, Obsidian, Obsidian, you rascal you. You explored your daughters innermost depths, exchanged some thoughts, made her happy. And now she has begun teaching you the meaning of love.
Let's see.. this vote.. we can't Dream with Ruby during the day it seems. Makes sense but disappointing.
So.. while they're on break, let us prepare a new surprise for them once they get back to training. You feel that? That's their horror at feeling Obsidian unleashing something new on them after a break to let them rest. Hehehe.
And then we can probably give Ruby that dream tonight, giving her some time to make something for the big fight. [] Dream of Spekkio, the Master of War. From the End of Time, his gaze swept across all battles ever fought, and he imparted much knowledge to the heroes who slew your Progenitor. {Associated with mortal improvement, practical use of magic, and cooperation against a powerful foe.}
EDIT: New Knowledge come to attention
[X] Dream of Spekkio, the Master of War. From the End of Time, his gaze swept across all battles ever fought, and he imparted much knowledge to the heroes who slew your Progenitor. {Associated with mortal improvement, practical use of magic, and cooperation against a powerful foe.}
Might as well do this now, so that training tonight can be better for them all.
Yeah but given the roll it seems likely to be a random roll.
And the GM noted it was unlikely Yang would seek us out. And she's the one we most need more rapport with ATM.
And I imagine they'll all desire their own dreams.. that we can only fulfill during a night phase. And I imagine giving them their requests will be a much bigger bonus than just learning of their requests.
We have two days and two nights to Dream. We're on one of those Days.
We can only fulfill Ruby's request during a Night phase.
If we give her the Dream tonight she'll have tomorrow to work on it.
We can Dream of Spekkio Day or Night.
So my plan: Spekkio now. Training better for two nights.
Ruby Dream tonight, she's got tomorrow to make something.
Tomorrow establish connection again or at least try to.
That night, fulfill Dream request, giving them a bonus to hopefully something that doesn't take time in a workshop to utilize, like Ruby's desire here would.
This seems the optimum decision tree for now. Especially as I imagine dreaming of Dust is a big old tree opening like Aura was.
Dreaming of dust is tempting, but with Glenn aproaching I say we invest our time on more practical dreams:
[X] Dream of Spekkio, the Master of War. From the End of Time, his gaze swept across all battles ever fought, and he imparted much knowledge to the heroes who slew your Progenitor. {Associated with mortal improvement, practical use of magic, and cooperation against a powerful foe.}
[X] Experiment with Team RWBY's Semblances. {Investigate ways in which you may interact with the team's innate abilities.}
Since I plan to acknowledge Ruby's request to Dream with her this oncoming night, instead of snubbing her twice in a row, I don't have any incentive for the Spekkio Dream yet, since they won't be training tonight.
So my current plan is: Work on their Semblances to give another edge before Mountain Glenn (Today) -> Dream with Ruby (Tonight) -> Dream of Spekkio (Tomorrow) -> Train with Spekkio as a "final exam" for the team before their mission (Tomorrow Night).
[X] Dream of Spekkio, the Master of War. From the End of Time, his gaze swept across all battles ever fought, and he imparted much knowledge to the heroes who slew yourProgenitor. {Associated with mortalimprovement, practical use of magic, andcooperation against a powerful foe.}
