80th of Fall, 512 AV (The eighteenth bell)
Crypt was sitting on the leaf-covered ground of a small forest clearing, with eyes closed and body motionless. Nearby, Maras, his Strider, quietly grazed, chewing the grass slowly and unhurridly.
The key to Meditation is peace and quiet. For a person to begin learning Meditation, a peaceful place oftentimes provides great benefits and helps one to focus his mind. - Meditation: An Introduction
Only the slight rustle of leaves could be heard then; that which the ever-present breezes had caused provided a suitable environment for one of Crypt's meditation sessions. No birds chirping; no caravans rumbling along the road. Just nature in her near-silence.
Breath in. Breath out. Calm and slow my breaths are. In. Out. In. Out. Focus on myself.
The tension in Crypt's body, a result of his tiring job at the Windmount Stables, slowly faded away as he continued to sit in a meditative posture, inhaling and exhaling with a certain rhythm. His muscles relaxed, his heartbeat slowed down slightly. And yet every now and then, he twitched and lost some of his concentration. He was still a novice, and as such would take some time to fall into the state of mind ideal for meditation.
And yet minutes passed, and Crypt eventually mastered his mind and body such that he was perfectly still, and focusing solely on the Djed flowing within his body.
Feel it flow. From head to toe, from arm to arm, from leg to leg. Do not interfere, just watch. Time is flowing, but it is enough. Go with the flow, and understand thyself even more.
Crypt's face was clear of all expressions. He was now concentrating only on the reserves of Djed held within him. After a minute or two of simply observing the Djed moving out from his astral body into his physical body through his nerves, he started to manipulate his Djed gently, carefully.
Move more to the left arm. Gather small amounts from the legs, and slowly push them, guide the Djed towards the arm. There is no hurry; I have all the time in the world.
Crypt focused on the Djed that he was gathering from his lower limbs, taking extreme care not to take too much, for fear of disrupting the functions of the muscles in his legs. The Djed flowed up the pathways of his legs almost languidly, then he gently nudged them towards his arm, where they coalesced into what would appear to be a small sphere, then trickled little by little at an extremely slow pace into the ligaments connecting his arm bones together, the tendons linking the muscles and bones together and finally the muscles of his left arm. Unfortunately, due to his relative inexperience, he could not totally hinder the Djed from flowing too fast, but was finally able to balance the Djed. He felt the arm growing a little lighter, and felt it to be stronger than usual. He opened his eyes, breaking out of the partial trance and moved his arm experimentally.
Crypt grinned slightly. It was moving faster than it would normally be, and he was able to unsheath and sheath his longsword rather easily. The weight appear to be reduced when he was enhancing his arm with the Flux. He was used to it, having trained many a time with the Flux, and as such it would not prove detrimental to his combat skills.
He closed his eyes again, laying his left arm on his left leg and used his right hand to move slowly up his arm, starting from from the wrist. Using his hand as a conduit, he felt the Djed within shiftly ever so slightly, pulsing almost imperceptibly every now and then. Normally he would not be able to feel such a tiny change with his novice level in Auristics, but this was his own body, and his own Djed.
Crypt started to expend a constant amount of Djed, focusing on the excess Djed he had gathered in his arm and hand. Once he could clearly sense the spread-out Djed, he slowly released the Djed from his control, allowing them to dissipate into the flow of Djed around his body in a controlled manner, careful not to release too much at once. Over-giving was no laughing matter, and he did not wish to lose the use of his arm or legs.
Eventually, the delicate procedure was finished. Crypt opened his eyes, and let out a breath he had been keeping in for over half a minute. Both of his arms ached slightly, the left more than the right, but at least he didn't have a headache or migraine.
Yes... I've improved. In the Flux, that is. I think I've gained slightly better control over my Djed, though I may still lose some measure of control every now and then. I am now able to enhance my left arm a little faster - maybe one or two seconds faster? Hopefully. DId I make any mistakes? Seems like I didn't - Oh my goodness. I am such a fool.
Crypt slapped his forehead, groaning.
The wrist! The damned wrist! I left nothing for it! I could have taken more from my legs without harming them and used the Djed for my wrist, but I forgot! If I did that mistake in combat, I'd break it in the middle of combat! My concentration would be nearly non-existent: I've always hated pain. It would distract me, and it would cause my death if I could not react to any attacks. Well, at least I'm learning that now, not in battle. Focus on the positive side, Crypt. At least I didn't screw up my Auristics. I'm learning to sense Djed better now, or rather the presence of it, so that's one good thing. |
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