Ishtar looked down as she realized that what she attempting was extremely difficult. I see. I will have to what I can to try to make sure I can study more often, maybe I can leave some post it notes in some places. Hmmm, I am sure I can come up with some system that works. Ishtar did realize how difficult it was for sister to even know some Japanese, unlike herself whose happen to be fluent in it. It took much help from Ishtar for her older sister to even be able to be navigate around Tokyo the few times she went with Minerva. Now the situation was reversed and she was learning the language of runes.

But first Kanoe need her to clean the dinner plates and tea tray. [color=LightSkyBlue]Oh sorry, I will get on it right away.[color] Ishtar gathered the dinner plates and took them into the kitchen, then she returned for the tea tray. Once she made it back to her kitchen she began to wash to plates and tray. After a few minutes she had cleaned and put away the plates and was ready to return her studies.

The witch sighed, this one was going to be the most difficult out of all her apprentices. The woman obeyed well enough but had no sense of initiative, doing the bare minimums to pay for these studies. It was rather troublesome. Well at least the woman was pretty. Kanoe waited as the student took the tray and dishes into the kitchen and cleaned them. She flipped through a few of her books and picked out the one that had the most relevant information that Ishtar could possibly use.

"Well, show me your progress so far," she said simply, "We can go from whereever you left off and make sure you have made no mistakes." Kanoe rose to her feet to move behind the other woman. She would look over her shoulder, reading what notes she could from the notebook as Ishtar explained what has been learned or ask any questions that needed asking.

Ishtar eventually returned from the kitchen and returned back to the table. Ummm, sure. Ishtar took a moment to pull out her notebook and turned it to the pages that had her notes on what she had translated so far. Most of the runes she had translated were a smattering of different runes that were the basis of many spells. However, the order in which she translated them were random with really no rhyme or reasoning, and many of those were translated wrong. While some of the pieces were there was nothing for her to learn other spells yet. However there was section that appeared to be related to summoning...things. Those were fairly accurate, which seemed to be out placed for the young woman.

Guess she had no reason to be surprised on how disorganized these translation notes were. She was uncertain if this was due to Ishtar's poor memory or if the woman was naturally like this with her notes. "This needs some work," she sighed, pointing out various scribblings, "For someone skilled in one path of magic, you lack alot of focus. Perhaps you were trying to decipher this like a cipher but that generally does not work with spellbooks. The information runes provide are not natural so trying to translate them like ordinary sentences will just leave you more confused than you already are. Try to go in order and if the runes happen to be going in a circle, start at the top and go clockwise. This is a mess and there are alot of errors."

She blinked as she found a few pages that were rather clear. "This... Is is alot more organized," she witch said calmly, "Were these notes you already had or did I provide these? I do not recognize the runes. Where did you get this?" Kanoe was rather curious about the writings Ishtar had in her possession. She was a bit annoyed that such information was not brought to her attention sooner though.

Ishtar was a bit disappointed that Kanoe was initally unimpressed work she had provided so far, she had thought she was doing well in translating the runes. It was then that her mentor pointed out her mistake, she was simply trying to translate the runes individually without understanding how they interacted with each other. The meaning of one rune was actually dependent on the rune proceeding it, Ishtar suddenly felt stupid that she didn't realize that. Oh, I had no idea. Then most of my notes are pretty useless then. I am going to have to completely start over. The blue haired girl was annoyed at herself as she had wasted so much time ineffectively.

Then she notice the witch pause for a moment as she came across her next set of notes. No, they are not. I don't know why but those runes were extremely clear to me. Maybe I had studied them at my previous school. Ishtar shook her head a little. I did not always have these issues with my memories and sometimes I find that some memories in my head are locked up until I stumble upon them again. It is kinda really weird, because most of time my memory can be like a thick fog and its difficult for me to bring out anything, other times its crystal clear and was like it happened a few minutes ago.

"Not entirely over. If you just organize them, you might be able to salvage what you have worked on so far. No need to worry, trail and error is part of learning magic," she replied with a smile. It was perhaps the first time she saw Ishtar annoyed about anything. She could not help but smile as it reminded her of her own failures when learning on her own.

What little Ishtar could say about the rest of her notes was a bit worrying though. With that poor memory of hers, it could be anything. Could be summoning some demon that is the cause of this haze over the woman's thoughts. Still, curiosity gnawed on her to make note of this new information. "I doubt it is safe to do anything with those runes. But I shall make a copy of them to study later. And also..." she flicked Ishtar's forehead, "Do try to remember when you have information like this available. If I am to allow you to see what I have, I expect the same from you, understood?"

Ishtar took a moment to collect her thoughts on what Kanoe had said. Well if go back and find the first rune, I can perhaps rebuild what I have done. Maybe then I can fix some of my mistranslations then, well at least it is wasn't all a waste of time. Ishtar sighed as she realized that while she might be able salvage some of it, there was still alot of work that needed to be done if she was going to hope make any of this usable.

Ishtar felt a sharp pain on her head as her mentor flicked her on her forehead. Ishtar instinctively rubbed her forehead a bit as she tried to think about her response, Please make a copy of them, I should have shown them to you earilier but I must have assumed you already knew about them. Ishtar struggled for a moment trying to figure out where she had learned it. I have no idea off hand, I will have to go through my notes and see where I found out about them. I will also go through my books and see if there anything about runes. I was in an occult club before I came to this school though, I wonder if I learned them there.

"The world of magic is rather vast and we are just mere students of it. Whatever information you find is useful. Even if it is over something I already know, there may be a new interpretation for it. Without any high class mages to guide us, it is up to us to pool our knowledge together. Besides, it will give me something new to look at." she said, smirking slyly.

"Hmm... You did come here to work on stamina. Would you like to continue using the spells you know to tire yourself out? If not, we can continue with studying runes and text as well as correct any mistakes you have in your notes. Also, you never answered if you were staying the night again or returning to your own room?" she asked as she began scanning the woman's notes to copy what she had down. The witch was uncertain if the runes would be of any use. But being written so clearly meant that the student maybe knew something about deep within that void she called a memory.

I see. Well I when I get back to my room I'll see what other notes I have and bring them with me next time. I might have some more information that I would be happy to share anything else I might have learned. Does that sound good?

I suppose I can work on my spells while you are copying runes. I am sure I can cast three spell now. Ishtar began to concentrate a bit as she tried to think about something to create with her illusions. The young woman still haven't really thought about staying the night, her last encounter was a bit too much for too think about what her mentor may want to do with her this time if she stayed. Still the young woman wanted to impress the witch because ultimately she was the best person to learn magic from on Shokushu.

"Sounds fine to me," she replied, "You seem to have a steady grasp on your magic so I shall continue working on copying these notes down. Remember not to push too much or you will harm yourself." Ishtar had been reasonably good with her magic so far. The woman was forgetful and tended to go with the flow no matter what was happening. She was troublesome but mostly reliable as far as these studies went. Kanoe had no worries as she continued to study the woman's notes and copied them down onto one of her journals.

"If you are able, tell me a bit about the process you go through when casting your spells," she said, "Do not leave anything out. Tell me how you channel your mana, what you are thinking, and what sort of strain or feelings you have during the casting."

Well, the first thing I try to do is to think about nothing and begin to channel my mana. I try to let it build slowly so I can keep it in control. Even as she spoke the woman she could feel the man begin to build within her. When the moment is right I believe my energy is at its peak. I say the words, Apto meus vultus ut meus votum, to begin the spell. I continue to focus on nothing as the mana flows through me. The young woman indeed felt the magic flow through her. It its then I focus on an object like a cat. I just concentrate on the image until it begins to exist. Ishtar continued to concentrate until a cat did appear at her feet and just like she imagined began to move around slowly. It when I finish casting the spell that I feel the drain of the spell for some reason. I also have to concentrate on the spell or it will fade away.

"Well part of the problem is you are using the incantation to change your outfit to summon a cat," the witch said calmly, "It would be like cutting lumber with a hammer rather than a saw. I am rather shocked you managed to perform the illusion correctly despite the wrong incantation. Guess imagination helps but that could be part of the issue with your lack of stamina. I am sure having to constantly channel and concentrate on the image is rather tiring as well. Unfortunately, I am unsure how to control long durations spells. Majority of my spells are simply one action and then it ends. I am sure you had some incantations before the one I provided, try to remember what you used on illusions before and try that instead when performing other images."

Oh I see. Ishtar thought back to her original attempts of using spells. Several of her illusion spells she had practiced long enough that she knew them like the back of her hand. Many of my older spells have no verbal incatations, but have simple hand gestures. I thought I was burning mana by not using verbal incantations and was trying to use this method to try to save up my mana. I never dreamed that I would actually be wasting mana this way. Ishtar sighed a bit at this revelation, she still have alot to learn about magic. She was still just a beginner despite all the work should be in.

"Saying the wrong incantation is dangerous as that could lead to spell miscasts," she continued, "Perhaps once you have read from my tomes, you may learn a more appropriate incantation. But please do not apply one set of words to all spells you cast." The witch sighed as well at the rather dangerous mistake. She was not sure what the woman was thinking trying to use one incantation for multiple spells. It made no sense to her. But the woman was unharmed and things could have gone far worse. Magic could be rather dangerous at times.

"Continue casting your spells. Once you are worn down, we shall continue with correcting your mistakes in translating," she said calmly. The illusionary cat was impressive. It was unfortunate that she would not feel anything if she were to try and pet it. It's too bad there were no animals on campus. A witch without a cat or two seemed off. Or perhaps she just preferred the company.

Oh, sorry. Ishtar felt bad that she was attempting to use the incantation. The last thing she really waned to do miscast a spell. Fortunately there was no harm and no foul in this case. Yes, I think your right, I am sure I will find a better incantation for that particular spell. She would have to make a note of that as soon as possible so she didn't forget.

Her mentor told her to continue to casting spells until she wears herself again. The blue haired student let her spell drop and her illusionary cat faded out of experience. She took a moment to catch her breath as she thought about the next spell to cast. She then thought about the next illusion she wanted to cast, after she began to build her mana to cast another spell.