The soothing scent of tea wafted upwards as Argat poured from an ornate teapot into matching cups. With a nod of thanks I retrieved my own steaming cup, savouring the warmth seeping into my hand as rain pounded the roof above.

"You mentioned receiving a commission?" Argat prompted.

I snapped my attention back to the conversation at hand, the combination of early morning drowsiness and the comforting scent proving a smidge too relaxing.

"Yes, an unusual kind of armour. The person in question shared which resources fuelled their skills, and I wanted to confirm the materials I was using wouldn't conflict..." I trailed off, realising I might be about to commit a faux pas.

"But you don't know how to ask more about the resources in question without inadvertently revealing details about the commissioner's skills once they receive their new armour and people inevitably put two and two together."

"Exactly."

Argat smiled, "Well then, I'm glad to say I can help. Sages' confidentiality includes what is mentioned about others' classes and skills." Seeing my surprise he explained, "Consider that most of those first learning about their classes and skills do so with their families as well as speaking to a sage. It's quite common to follow a similar path to one's parents or older siblings, and often family members discuss classes and skills more freely with one another. As a result, many young people first speaking with a sage share details of their family's paths, using them as a guidepost for how their own might progress. It's easier to simply accept this and include it in the confidentiality, than to attempt to ensure no young person slips up while discussing a momentous change in their lives."

"Huh, that makes a lot of sense. The resources I need to know more about are shroud and precision."

"Ahh." He sipped his tea as if to fortify himself for what was to come. "Remember when I told you that each fundamental resource: stamina, qi, mana, experience and spirit is thought to be associated with a singular aspect: physical, vital, magical, historical and emotional respectively? That's the broadly accepted explanation for those resources. There's a substantial amount of supporting evidence, but it's a theory none the less. Everything gets much less certain from here on out." He rested his cup in front of him, the wafting steam adding - a likely unintentional - air of mystery. "It is generally thought that the other resources are based on a combination of aspects. Whether that combination is always even, or what aspects produce which resources is heavily debated, but the most popular theories posit precision as a dual resource, and shroud as a triune resource."

I leaned a little closer.

"Specifically, precision is generally regarded to draw on both the physical and historical aspects. For example, a craftsperson might have a skill utilising precision that allows them to complete a repetitive task with the same finesse as when they first gave it their full focus. Alternatively, it can often fuel skills to accelerate learning the motions required for physical tasks, particularly those involving manual dexterity. Once again useful for craftspeople, but also performers who are either learning new tricks and sleight-of-hand, or have moved on to juggling things like knives and can't afford a slip. For adventurers it is often associated with more roguish sorts, trap disarming and acrobatics often needing to be learned quickly and done with consistent quality. But while that might be precision's stereotypical use in an adventuring party, single skills fuelled by it are actually quite common. For example, many weapon handling skills utilise it, though it tends to favour lighter weapons. The same principle loosely applies to materials, flowing better through lighter, more supple material. Though it should still be able to bear an impression rather than being totally amorphous. As an extreme example it doesn't take to liquids very well, but even then, potions to restore precision are possible. While some materials will be more optimal than others, it is much less stringent than something like mana's aversion to iron. More important is to ensure that the construction does not impede the motions required for the skills; gloves might work better as fingerless or thin, joints should have a good range of motion, that sort of thing."

"I getcha. Any chance with the weapons that it prefers lighter ones because they're generally more nimble than strictly due to being lighter?"

"It's certainly possible." Argat mused stroking his chin, "I'd have to do a little reading and possibly send a few letters to find out, but it would be worth testing if it hasn't been investigated already, or if a good opportunity arises. But let's return to its implications in armour for now. Someone who utilises precision is more likely to avoid or parry blows than block or endure them. It's often regarded as the resource that adds consistency. When adventuring, a little sloppiness, fatigue or distraction is the sort of variance that leads to injury. Precision can massively mitigate this. You can still get unlucky, and you still have to be physically capable of the action, but a precision skill won't fail just because its owner is having an off day."

"You almost make it sound like an adventurer who heavily uses precision might be better off without armour weighing them down at all."

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"Some do believe so, but any resource can run out. It's also conventional wisdom in adventurer circles that sooner or later you'll encounter a threat that you simply can't avoid, deflect or prevent. Whether it's wide-ranging, or catches you unaware, everybody gets hit sometimes, so you have to be able to take it." He paused to sip his tea, seemingly finished. But just as I was about to respond, he added one final thing with a faraway look in his eye, "Though grandmasters focused on precision may well be the exception."

The weight of that statement seemed to hang in the air for the moment. Given Argat's proclivity for caveats and measured words, that was a strong statement for what precision was possible of at the highest levels, and I couldn't help but get excited. I doubted Ha-Na was quite there yet however, so I'd have to find suitable compromises for her armour.

"So, keep the weight down and don't restrict movement too much, even if I have to give up a bit of strength. There's probably going to be some sort of leather so I'll keep that more supple rather than rigid where possible. Dodging rather than blocking fits what she told me of her fighting style, but it's good to get confirmation. What about shroud? You mentioned it was a tri-resource? I assume that means three aspects."

"Triune resource is the most popular theory, and yes that would make it based on three aspects but this is where things get murkier once more. I mentioned previously that we generally think of aspects in a ring with the placement of each being based on how they are influenced by and influence the pair beside them, excepting the magical aspect. Mana consumes a physical object and an emotional desire to create a spell so it is instead placed on the circle opposite to those aspects."

He must have seen me looking a little unsure, in my defence I'd been learning a lot and the arrangement of the aspects hadn't seemed immediately relevant. Pulling a sheet of vellum from a scroll case beneath the table, he began unfurling it and weighting the corners, revealing the words: physical, vital, magical, historical and emotional arranged around a circle with lines connecting each of them inside forming some sort of odd star shape.

"Don't worry, we can refresh on the logic behind the arrangement another time. The important point for now is that each aspect has two adjacent supporting aspects and two opposing aspects. So, every resource formed of three aspects is either an aspect and its two supporting aspects, or an aspect and its two opposing aspects. We call them triune resources because while they are three in one, the central aspect tends to have the most influence on the nature of the resulting resource. Of course, some theorise that indicates it isn't a uniform mix, but what really matters right now is that shroud is associated with the emotional aspect and its opposing pair vital and magical."

"The three aspects that don't comprise precision?"

"Correct."

"Is that normal?"

"It's not too uncommon, and there are trade-offs inherent to it. Having too many skills drawing from a singular aspect makes it much easier to strain, but also stimulates the growth of that aspect. The individual in question is likely to have the opposite problem, each of their aspects sharing the load meaning they are much more resilient to strain, but will have slower growth, though the growth should at least be relatively even." He waved a hand, "Diversity of resources can be fascinating but the possible permutations and their implications are almost endless. Suffice to say for now every mixture of resources has its challenges and a large part of the guidance I and my fellow sages offer is related to managing them in a way suited to each individual. We will undoubtedly return to the topic another day, hopefully once we know more about the resources of your own class."

"Yeah, that makes sense. What does shroud do? Something based on emotions?"

Argat sighed placing down his tea cup with a firm clink, "Shroud has some troubling effects, excelling at projecting emotions of the user to reinforce those feelings within those around them."

"Damn, mind control? Surely that's gotta be restricted?"

"Not quite, it's emotional bolstering. And while it's not restricted, it's certainly something those in power keep an eye on. The typical example of its use is for banner carriers. It can't induce patriotism or bravery, but a skill that helps maintain the morale of those who see the banner can give a decisive advantage."

"So, no causing soldiers to swap sides I take it?"

"Definitely not."

"That's a relief."

"Indeed. It can project unwanted emotions such as terror, or to take a non-combat example, some food vendors project auras of hunger carried by the scent or sight of their food. Thankfully shroud tends to be most efficient when it's linked to the user's own feelings."

"So, the food vendor can make people feel hungrier if they are hungry themselves?"

"Yes, particularly if they have a craving for that item. However, in the long term that's not practical for most food sellers, a confidence in the quality of their goods is an inferior, but more sustainable substitute."

"Yeah, I can see that. So, for the terror example, the skill user wouldn't have to feel terrified themselves, but instead would need to have confidence that they are scary?"

"Yes, but if that confidence were shattered, such as by a wyvern landing in front of them, the effectiveness of the skill would drop sharply, if not vanish altogether. Flag bearers' skills sometimes offset some of this to the visibility or condition of the flag and how far forward it is in the battle, so other factors can play a role, but I think that's enough for the basics."

"What materials work best for shroud then?"

"That depends entirely on the application. The best materials are those that stir the desired emotions. A flag might use gold thread to emphasize the glory of the empire, but a helmet for someone with a terror skill might use more primitive materials like the skull of a predator to tap into some sort of primal dread. A rich merchant might wear gleaming gems to project an aura of wealth and power, wanting to be noticed, while a more skullduggerous individual might wear something drab in darker colours to project the feeling that they are no-one special and not worth noticing, or simply one with the night. Best to liaise with the commissioner, you'll need a good understanding of what effect or effects they wish to achieve, and what they associate with those feelings."