Salt of the Earth (Sama'el)

[Ronan]

Sama'el sat thoughtfully for a moment, before taking Ronan deeper into the cave. Sometimes, the darkness was welcome, from the snowblind beyond the cavern entrance.

The Watcher pulled him close, their knees touching, and procured his dagger. A cut. A shaping of the soul. He stared into Sama'el's eyes, hoping the man knew what he was doing. But he had inducted Kavala, and she had survived. Chances were, he'd live.

Ronan nodded softly. "Do what you must Sama'el."

He pushed the sleeves of Ronan's shirt up, and began to trace his hands and arms, as if to find the best spot to cut. His eyes became mesmerised with something else, a touch of the mystical about them.

Suddenly, he felt pressure upon his forearm, Sam's thumb pinning down the spot of flesh - the vein through which he could visit Ronan in soul.

Ronan inhaled deeply, and then nodded. A firmer nod this time. A nod that spoke of definition, of assurance, and determination.

"I'm ready."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el nodded and wasted no time. His dagger was sharp; they had all whetted their blades in the sometimes interminable waits in caves along their journey. It was just a nick really, a little blossom of carmine winking in the light of the smoldering res and his witchlight. He set the blade aside, and that mist of res surrounding him began to flow over Ronan, sliding over his skin with the hint of burning, though there was no damage, the Fire substance pouring into his wound, and finding every other orifice: ears, nose, mouth, pores, and whatever lay under his pants as well. The energy did not care for propriety, but had to enter him, to inundate his being with Sama'el's spirit on fire. His insides were likely on fire, and Sam kept hold of Ronan's arms to keep him upright, because people had fainted before during this trial, and certainly when it was over, he might curl up on the ground to ride out the changes in his own body and soul. When Ronan was full, Sama'el could sense a corona of that smoldering energy around him. He had only begun sensing auras while initiating Kavala, so this was strange yet. But he felt a shift finally as Ronan's aura reacted to what was inside of him, and only then did Sama'el began to retract his res. He had to get all of it or run the risk of setting his friend on Fire. The energies he retracted bled into the circle of res around them, unraveling it one rune at a time: Air, Earth, Water... All that collected energy gathered in his Fire rune and there was a sudden blaze of fire as the energy was eaten up, leaving the both of them blind for a moment as their eyes readjusted to the witchlight only. "Ronan?"

[Ronan]

The cut was quick and relatively painless, a speck of blood bubbling from the nick. It was the next bit that shook him. The res Sama'el had describes poured forth from his body, moving as a fine mist, and touching Ronan. He felt a tingle at first, and then the res began to seep into the wound. And then it moved again, pouring into his nostrils, his mouth, his eyes.

He spluttered, panicking, and suddenly overwhelmed by the whole thing. But he managed to control his breathing, practising a method Sama'el had taught him for Webbing. The mist moved lower, entering his body from all possible positions. It was fire, but it did not pain him greatly. It shook him instead. His mind was sharp, his soul touched, prodded, explored.

The feeling was intense, and like nothing he had ever been through before. He felt like the moment would never end, beginning to rock and feel faint with the exertion. It seemed to drag life from his flesh and bones, twisting it to something more transient. Sama'el held him steadfast.

All of a sudden, it seemed to rewind. His skin tingled, and the mist began to move back towards Sama'el. Ronan rocked forward again, head divided by the pressure. And then suddenly flames exploded in the air, and he fell backwards, blinded temporarily.

Groggy, confused, he blinked into the returning darkness. Sama'el spoke his name, and yet he didn't know what to say.

"It... it is done?" he finally asked.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"It is done," Sama'el agreed. Still holding his reeling friend up, he blinked at him as his eyes readjusted to the dimness, trying to gauge his reaction. Sam's own had been a bit more drawn out, shaking and pain as his body reoriented itself with a new knowledge. "The initiation, I mean. We should wait and see how your body takes it. You might cramp up or vomit or... well, it can be bad. When the worst is over, and it might already be over, I'll teach you how to make the res and then how to transmute it into your element. And we'll find out what it is." He smiled, hoping that Ronan was just well suited to this sort of thing and that there would be no further pain. He himself wasn't afraid of pain, but didn't see the need to revel in it, either. "How do you feel? Want some water?"

[Ronan]

He wasn't sure how he felt, actually. A creeping headache began to take him, and his mouth felt oh so dry.

"I need water," he whispered huskily, grabbing the waterskin and gorging himself on the liquid. It was stupid, drinking it so irresponsibly. But his mouth was so dry, his tongue like sandpaper, and his mouth like the southern deserts.

Once he had drunk up some of the water, he felt a little better, but he found his hands shaking somewhat. Just a little quiver, but they were unsteady all the same. This was going to take a moment to get used to, but his reaction could have been worse.

He straightened up and stared into Sama'el's eyes, breathing heavily, before nodding.

"I think I'm alright, just a little unsteady, that's all."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el wasn't worried about water, though he hoped Ronan didn't sick it all up if things went downhill from there. There were streams not completely frozen through, and all that snow that one had merely to gather and melt. No, water was one thing they had in abundance. He watched his friend drink, monitoring him as best he could with his sense for the res and his newly found sense for auras. There seemed to be some disorder within, but it was righting itself, so he hoped that whatever Ronan was feeling, it would not go on forever. "Right. All right. Let's try to make some res, then, while you can see straight and all." He grinned. "If you start losing it, we'll just let you rest and finish it later. "So... do you remember what that energy felt like? The burning, I suppose, because mine is Fire, but the general feeling of it too. I need you to hold that in your mind, try to recreate it within you, and then push it out. Some people breathe it out, or spit it out. Or it can seep through your skin, even. "Take it slow. Let's see what you can do, brother."

[Ronan]

Sama'el was seizing the moment, describing how to accumulate and emanate res from his body. The res was a transformation of djed, or at least, that was how he understood it.

How had it felt? Tingly. Dry. Forceful. Strong. He began to recall the last few moments, keeping his gaze on Sama'el so he could make some kind of gesture if he was struggling, or in trouble.

His body still felt strange. Invaded, as if something had moved and pushed its way beneath his flesh. In fact, it had, he supposed. He breathed heavily again, the technique he had used with Webbing magicks. And then his thoughts returned to that bundle of emotions. Strength seemed the highlight, something solid, something grasping.

His throat suddenly felt strange, and at first he thought he was going to be sick, but then he realised something was stuck there. He coughed violently, slamming a bunched hand against his chest, and a small splattering of sand came flying from his mouth.

His eyes widened, first looking down to the sand and then back up at his teacher. There was no doubt over his element now.

Closing his eyes, he tried again. He allowed the strength to course through him, until it felt tangible, like something in his blood, and he focused on vacating it from his body. This time he tried to direct it, somehow. But it didn't come from his hands as he intended, he felt a strange sensation on his upper arms, before a sandy, gravel like substance began to pour from them.

He shook his head, and tried to regain control, ceasing the flow.

"Semele be blessed. Earth," Ronan smiled.

Small steps. Very small steps.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el laughed. "I suppose you and Kavala were meant for each other after all. Now try to actually get the energy out before you transmute it into your element. Otherwise you'll choke on it or get dirty every time you do anything. See?" Leading by example, Sama'el extruded his smoldering red res as a faint mist about his hand, and it whorled about his fingers as he waggled them with mock mysticism. He respected the power, but he found humor where he could in life. "Then..." Flame on. He had control over the res, but controlling the Fire itself required delicate manipulation of the res, delaying full transmutation, and that was not something Ronan was likely to learn his first day with the stuff. They could go over that tomorrow, perhaps, or the next day. Winter would be interminable. But he sent the res out with a short explosive gust as it lit so it wouldn't burn his hand. Using the res to shield him from the heat was another trick for later. "Do you see?"

[Ronan]

As Sama'el laughed, Ronan couldn't help but look up and smile stupidly at him.

"Yes... I think I understand. It's going to take some practise though, I think."

So when he channelled, he had to try and push the res from his skin, and then transmute it to its elemental form. Easier said than done, he thought with another laugh.

"I suppose it's like Webbing. It will just take time to learn."

He tried to focus again, remembering the strength of the earth, but trying not to transmute it too early. He could feel the flow, but it was difficult. Just as he thought the res was going to seep from his skin, it turned to sand too early, pouring out again. He shook his head in annoyance, then realised a dull ache was forming there.

He was new to this - he couldn't overdo it.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Well, the thing of it is: you can do it. Luckily, turning it into sand isn't going to light anything on fire, so you have it easier than I did." He grinned, and if there was a hint of competitiveness in his dark eyes, it was only in good fun. "So we'll work on that, but remember that you cannot control the Earth itself so easily as your res, but you can manipulate existing Earth with your res. I'll show you more of what that means next time, hey?" He grinned and stood up, pulling Ronan to his feet as he did so, though he kept close and attentive watch lest his friend lose his head and need help standing up straight. "Let's get you some food and more water," he said. "This sort of work takes more out of a body than riding the Web, and we don't want you moaning in your bedroll when the weather breaks and we get moving." He grinned again, slapping Ronan on the back. Sometimes he did that a lot, as if it were important to test himself against Ronan's greater weight and strength.