[The Drunken Fish] Magic is in the air (solo)

[Eryss Waldu]

10th of Summer, 511AV

[Cross-legged on the floor he was not the picture of serenity nor calm. Hidden beneath the robes that he wore he appeared similar to a twisted thing from where he sat just out of the candlelight that he used to light the small room he had been renting above the Drunken Fish tavern. His hands were folded inside of his lap as he peered ahead from underneath the cowl that covered his head, concealing most of his features from casual observation. Eyes peered ahead towards the door of his room as though he were expecting someone to run through it with knife in hand desiring to kill him even though he knew that was not the case. Eryss Waldu was alone in the small room he had paid to rent for a final night with a candle on the floor in front of him just out of arms reach and an uncomfortable bed of straw somewhere behind him, he had slept on it once and told himself never again as it was hardly comfortable even by the dubious standards of this establishment.]

[No, Eryss much preferred to stay awake in any event. He didn’t understand the concept behind meditation whether ritualised or practiced out of individual desire nor did he care to but he did enjoy sitting and letting his thoughts come to life in the back of his mind like wildfire. Often it was rage that fuelled his actions, especially in the heat of the moment, and with a deep seeded hatred he shaped his magic as such but alone and with nothing to disturb him but his own thoughts he was capable of shaping it in a number of different ways. However before he could take any delight in practicing he needed to ensure that he wouldn’t be disturbed and that no one outside of this room would have a reason to investigate.]

[That meant that his door was the first on his list of priorities. Shielding was one half of his repertoire and he had a working knowledge of it. In his opinion Eryss thought that many people had a limited grasp of how to effectively use Shielding, true it was effective in deflecting attacks both physical and magical and nature but an creative mind could use the school of Shielding for much more than that. Djed was the fuel of Shielding from his way of thinking and djed was in all things whether it manifest as the momentum driving a weapon ahead or the arcane force powering magic or even the audible sound of footsteps on a floor board. Djed was everywhere, in all things, it made life and anything that resembled life and if it was properly manipulated a practitioner could do nothing less than the spectacular with it.]

[Extruding djed from his own body as he sat cross legged on the floor Eryss would mould it into a sort of insubstantial fabric that he cast over the doorway to his room and wove into a specific pattern as though he were threading a needle through cloth. It was a painstaking process and he had far from perfected it but every time he created a shield tasked with a specific purpose it became just a little easier for him to do again. This time the purpose of the shield was to act as a barrier against sound exiting the room but not entering it, Eryss would hear if someone was approaching his room loudly but they would hear nothing of what went on inside, anything that happened now would be inaudible to the outside world. At least through the doorway, there was also a window.]

[When he finished with the door which took him several minutes of weaving his shield and painstakingly threading the insubstantial fabric together with his hands he would turn his attention to the window. Drawing his hands backwards into his lap again Eryss would create his next shield differently though. This way took a bit more concentration on his part as he was unused to the particular application but he tended to look at it as necessary practice if he was going to develop. Inhaling deeply Eryss would hold his breath for a silent count of three before exhaling a large cloud of djed the was released from him as a colorless hazy, barely recognizable except for the distortion it created ahead of him, that he blew towards the window.]

[Exerting some control over the djed he would focus and cause it to begin smoothing itself out across the window as though it to were a barrier and when he thought he had achieved a potent enough consistency throughout he would solidify the djed into a shield to act as barrier against sound exiting the room from the window the same as the last. Intangible it would seem visible momentarily after its initial creation and then fade from sight where it would be seen again unless disturbed the door or window opening, causing as flux in its pattern.]

[Breathing deeply again Eryss would rest after he finished this time. He hadn’t expended himself much yet but he still had a full night ahead of him. Shielding was by and far the less deadly of what he practiced, his hands had suffered numerous burns in the past which continued to remind him that overextending himself was not advisable.]

[Eryss Waldu]

[With no reason to rush Eryss was content to sit while he regained a moderate amount of strength after casting the Shields over the window and doorway of his room so that he could help make the chances that he would be disturbed minimal. Breathing steadily Eryss would begin to look at the flickering light given off by the candle in the center of the room as well and an almost malignant smile crept over the corners of his mouth. Indeed one look at his hands and anyone could tell that Eryss loved to play with fire, he had since he was very small, and while the flame had been kind to him most of the time he had paid its toll with his flesh more than once. His hands weren’t gnarled or withered because of the flames kiss but he bore the mark all the way from the tips of his fingers up to the middle of his arms where the nimbus of fire had embraced him many times before. Sometimes he was burned badly but other times the fire exacted a smaller price on him.]

[It was no wonder to many that Eryss practiced reimancy. Nowhere else was fire so readily accessible than the magical discipline that allowed one of its practitioners to create the element itself. When he had first learned reimancy Eryss had wanted to make fire to be his tool of destruction and it was but being overly confident he had lost control of the flames more than once as fire taught him that its only master was itself.]

[Now with a better respect for the flame as he sat Eryss would begin to extrude his djed once more but this time it was done as res, the physical manifestation of a wizards djed, in a brilliant emerald smoke that he exhaled slowly. Allowing the smoke to billow from between his lips Eryss would continue to breath easily while watching the flame of the candle just out of reach from him and when the smoke from his mouth had begun to thicken he took another breath. Igniting the res as he breathed out Eryss would create a long stream of fire that shot in a straight line out of his mouth, extending two arms lengths away before it began to dissipate, and arcing his head down he’d cause the fire to wash over the candle, melting it to the nub and leaving the flame on its wick burnt down but still alive with the small flame it was able to maintain.]

[He smiled afterwards. Quietly revelling in the magnificence of the simple act he had performed before attempting another action. This time it was the basic task of extending his hand, palm open and out, and filtering a ball of res from his flesh until it was shaped as a sphere and hovering several inches above his hand. Inciting the res then Eryss would watch as the outer layer of res burst into fire though he held off from igniting the entire sphere so that he could maintain control of it; the flames were an emerald green the same as those he had expelled from his mouth. Usually Eryss would hurl this ball of flame at an enemy, igniting the inner layers of res at the last moment for maximum effect, however in the confines of this room he only burned them off one by one. Watching as with every layer of res the ball of flame decreased in size until it was snuffed out of existence when it finally consumed the last small bit of res that had been fuelling it leaving only a wisp of smoke remaining.]

[It seemed a waste to the Wizard to conjure the flames without using them but he strived to gain a better working knowledge of the discipline that allowed them to manifest so that he could eventually create and control vast quantities of fire. Acting as a master puppeteer for their destructive kiss which he’d send out to engulf his opponents one at a time, slowly and thoroughly so that he could relish in their screams as the reality of what was occurring to them set in. It would dedication and patience to achieve the level of mastery that he desired though but he was well on his way to the next stage of progression, one which precious few ever reached.]

[Waving one of his hands through the air Eryss cast small bits of his djed, as res, from his fingertips and began igniting them almost simultaneously afterwards. Bit by bit they flashed like firelight captured in the sky before fading from view. It was almost beautiful but it was a parlour trick at best, a distraction, one of the first things he had learned to do alongside casting the flame as a sphere of itself. His eyes widened every time res flashed, engulfing itself afterwards with the minor display, and Eryss was pleased.]

[Eryss Waldu]

[Pleasure for the Wizard seemed to last only an infinitesimal amount of time though. After he had cast the fire he moved on, pushing these small matters of success from his mind, and standing from where he had remained crouched on the floor. Eryss features had transformed from a pleasant though depraved smile into a frown that etched itself across his facial features and as he rose he watched the remainder of the candles light die when its wick burnt out. It served to remind him that no matter how immense or minute the light of something it eventually burns out; the same could be said about an individual who taxes the djed of their body to much.]

[Besides fire Eryss also had an affinity for the element of earth which he had decided to conjure next; it was somewhat different than flame when it came to the creation of the element but he had some skill in transforming it as desired. Occasionally Eryss would admit that he suffered from a lack of imagination when it came to earth though. What would he do? He could mould his res into a spear of earth that he could cast out into the torso of an enemy using his mind to control its path but that to easy. No, he desired something a little more complex.]

[Conjuring a relatively small amount of res that he harnessed in the palm of his hand Eryss would extend his arm, holding it as though it were a vice while shaping the res as though it were something solid for him to take hold of even though it remained malleable to his touch, and manipulating only a small amount of it he would create sand while leaving the rest intact so that he could manipulate it.]

[After he had fashioned the sand from the outer layer of res he would contort the remainder of the res, twisting it in a circular fashion, until it began to spiral similar to a whirlwind. He created a miniature sand storm. Extending his inner corn of res downwards so that it touched the floor of the room he’d continue to exert mental control over the central region to maintain the small duster that grew and shrunk at his command. When Eryss would reach out for it would fit itself inside his grasp while the upper and lower portions continued spinning independently and when he released his hold on it the center would adjust its mass again. If he’d desired it Eryss could have created a biting wave of sand all throughout the room but that would have been wasteful. As it stands the continued use of so much djed over such a short period of time was taxing enough; Eryss knew his eyes were slowly becoming bloodshot and he felt the urge to cast more rising inside of him, it was a feeling he had experienced before but knew he couldn’t allow to overtake him.]

[Dissipating the res he had manifest and was using to control the outer layer of sand Eryss would watch as the remainder, individual kernels of sand fell to the floor, while he stood back; watching them as they fell and were all but invisible in the low light.]

[While he knew his night was far from over Eryss would not cast again right away. He stepped backwards and turned away. Moving back to the straw bed that occupied a portion of the room he reached around behind it for length of jerky he had set aside, dried food best eaten on the road, and raising it to his mouth he tore off a few pieces of the vermillion. When he ate it was easy for Eryss to notice how hungry he had become when otherwise he might not have noticed at all; it was easy to forget to eat or drink when you were in the midst of casting, taxing your body to the extremes, but it would catch up later on. No reason to risk that when he didn’t need to he surmised.]

[He’d take his time eating and then resume a sitting position on the floor again. Closing his eyes once he was cross-legged once more Eryss would attempt to center his mind but it was difficult. Behind his eyelids where people saw only the dark he saw images that he wished he could forget. Whether they were the faces of men and women he had killed or those that he had perceived as having wronged him it was difficult to say at the time but Eryss unconsciously knew all of their faces even if he couldn’t pick them out and name them. His eyes would snap open again before long, an intense hatred apparent in them, and emitting djed from his palm as he outstretched it he would hurl thin strips of what had become a colorless substance from himself.]

[On the way from his palm the res would change, shaping itself, until every piece transformed into what looked like small pieces of stalactite that embedded itself in the wall across from him. Nothing overly large, the stalactites had been barely nine inches in length, pointed on the end, and made to resemble crude spikes that could nail themselves into whatever they struck be that wood or the flesh and bone of a man.]

[Afterwards it seemed as though Eryss had begun to regain his composure but in the back of his eyes a flash of anger could still be seen, slowly being replaced by a more focused form of concentration instead of wild emotion.]

[Eryss Waldu]

[While he remaining sitting in the middle of the room Eryss let the anger contained in the back of his eyes begin to seep out of them, containing it in the background once again, they were bloodshot now despite his efforts but he knew that before he could quit he still had one more thing that he should attempt. It was the manipulation of his res to attract rather than create, Eryss had done this on occasion though maybe because he considered it just a tad more taxing than regular usage of his djed to create res in its vulgar form he did it sparingly, that res could attract the elements as well as create them was an immense boon though and a talent for aspirant to master all on their own.]

[He wouldn’t move from where he was sitting. Letting his eyes close one more time Eryss struggled to find a momentary tranquility, a place where his mind could expand and he could access just a bit more of his inner reserves, while resting the palms of his hands over his knees. Steadying his breathing he’d open his eyes slowly after what seemed like several minutes. Attaining this state was difficult and he could lose his concentration easily but Eryss had to try and maintain his focus, he had to cleanse his mind of the raw emotion that he let guide him more often than not, if he couldn’t do that then one day he would truly risk destroying himself.]

[Lifting his right hand out of his lap, the left turning white knuckled as it bit into his knee, Eryss would begin to create a liquid res that slowly seeped from the center of his palm. Pooling inches away until it began to resemble a swirling translucent sphere. While it remained in this state he could control it easily but he had to be careful with what he did with.]

[Allowing the sphere to hover Eryss would cast it away from himself, causing it to move until it was several arms lengths away but still inside his zone of control, and with hand outstretched he’d begin focusing on the sphere, its properties and purpose, to affect a change in it. Requiring that he will this transformation into effect Eryss would focus on his res until it began to take on a slightly bronze tinge, signifying the element of earth, and began to attract the element of his choosing. Earth in this case would be much safer than fire and easier to maintain control of in his opinion, attracting the elements could have wild and unstable results if not done with care or for extended periods of time.]

[Enacting the change on his res brought about almost instantaneous results as the sand he had conjured into the small dust devil was pulled towards the sphere of res offering almost no resistance. Next it would have been the stalactites that had buried themselves into the wall of the room, able to be seen wedging themselves backwards until they pulled free of the wall and were drawn back towards the res due to its attraction as well. What else was there in the room that composed the elements of earth though? The flooring and its nails. Eryss kept himself composed though the moment he heard the floor starting to creak his eyes would have wandered downwards and he started to pay closer attention to the floor boards. Just a little longer he told himself.]

[It had been easy for the res he was controlling to attract the loose items that shared a bond with the element but the longer he tried to maintain control the more noticeably taxing it become on Eryss, maybe due to the wild nature of attracting the elements to his res or because he had cast quite a bit already, but whatever the case he would need to stop soon. Across the floor of the room the squeak of floorboards as they became looser was more prevalent, he saw nails begin to dislodge themselves from the floor until one came free and levitated through air towards the res and another was soon to follow, eventually one would start to pry itself up slowly.]

[Though he would have preferred to keep going, and a voice in the back of his mind started to tell him that he should test himself further, Eryss had to ignore his own wants and snuff out the res that he had generated before it became to unstable. This wasn’t as easy as he’d thought though, he had started to cancel it out when a he heard a whispering voice cross the shell of his ear telling him to wait just a little longer and it seemed to have stunned him briefly. His eyes widened and he relaxed his mind so that the res could continue to build but only for a moment. It was the rich metallic taste that began to enter his mouth that would snap him out of his trance and closing the hand he had outstretched into a fist as a gesture that he was finished the sphere of res would dissipate and all the objects it had been able to attract would fall to the floor again.]

[Afterwards he could feel how his pulse had quicken and his heart beat fast, Eryss was actually quite exhausted as well, and he knew that without a doubt he had done enough. Nothing overly flashy but a lot of minor to moderate practice that had truly taken a bit of a toll on him. He remained sitting for a few seconds longer and then collapsed backwards where he would lay on the floor, the rise and fall of his chest indicating that he breathed heavily, and all that was on his mind was that he would need to push himself even further soon. All of this would eventually lead to a larger, grander scale of power as a display or true test of skill but he was not quite ready yet.]

[With his eyes closing slowly the last things that Eryss could remember before he passed out was the sicken and bitter taste in his mouth and the whispers in the back of his mind as they faded away to nothing.]

[Archelon]

Thread Award “Well… I just want to say I could sense that all the way to baroque bay, hur hurr.Been magickin' n' stuff. Yep, can't fool me. I gotz da hat to prove it, see." And the Results!!!!: Eryss : SkillName 1-5 How/why Meditation 2 For drowning out anything but your characters thoughts- Reimancy 5 Awarded for varying uses throughout the thread- logical breakdown of a res sphere's use. Shielding 4 Magical note below. Observation 1 Noticing when one's actions may bring the floors and walls down. Organization 2 for the ordering of thoughts and information for your experiments in exploring reimancy Wounds: Mild overgiving 4 days with headaches, 1 days with naseau. Lores: Reimancy: The allure of the Sweet Whispers Grace Reimancy: Earth spike Reimancy: Sand dust Shielding: Sense denying barriers(basic) Shielding: Two layered shields (basic) Magical Note: For the single apparent reason of knowing at any level not close to expert that it is *extremely" difficult for anyone to block physical attacks- I applaud you . For the inset of shielding over a doorway against *sound* that is rarely a sense people shield against. - Great job using a sense many don't go for. Note- I think to really beging to progress, you should buckle down and remember that any two layer shield over a door would be 'two layered' one layer for the djed blocking, the other 'tweaked for an effect.-blocking sight, sound, etc. I think you might wish to do a thread just on the principles of shielding and playing around with layers. Also- after you make a specific shield you don't quite just gain the capacity to make that same time of shield better or in less time somewhere else: there is a degree of maintenence involved. Take a personal shield over your body- over time you weave it and power it. (Like a computer on standby) even during your sleep when it's dormant a small bit of the djed's pathways remain. So when you *reweave it* or 're-power it* the patterns of *that* particular shield comes easier into the prior form you used. that's why some shielders can take old pre-valt shields and slowly power them up to levels which they can study. For the future- You might wish to learn auristics to play around with building shields a little more I also like you have the notion of *time* it takes to build a new shield well developed The only thing I docked you a point on was the energy it takes for even a competent shielder to not make one- but two *new* shields from scratch- it woudl liably wear eryss out for an hour or two before he could go start reimancy. Maybe even a day in stronger applications . Build shields first and then *maintain* them so they don't break up over time is the idea. Glyphing and Auristics would be a boon for you to learn in the future Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : Not really much to add that's not in the notes, save you seem to have a good handle on the tenents of reimancy and shielding use. I'd love to see a thread just learning to build, maintain, power, depower, and strengthen multiple layers of shielding from you later with more aspects of the time involved. Great Job!