Awakening (Rayage)

[Miro]

32nd day of Winter, 512 AV

Miro had inflicted a great deal of pain the day before on Rayage, one of his closest friends. The Alchemist was brilliant in world magic, but desperately lacked the fire needed to properly fight with personal magic. A Reimancer needed to cast with his heart in every spell, pushing his Djed to its greatest potential as he casts. Through the realization of Leeching, Miro's most recent power, he found a way to create intense emotions. Experiencing extreme pain, fear and betrayal. By causing him the most terrifying brutal initiation into the magic, he would be filled with these emotions. It was now the boy's job to channel these emotions into awakening the Reimancer's instinct in Rayage and pushing him to harness his gift.

Of course the Nuit was still trapped in ice, simmering in his torturous prison. The night had passed by quickly. Miro had taken the pleasure of looking about the Alchemist's lab with the freedom taken. So many interesting things. Most of it he could not understand the purpose of, but it did not take away any of its value in his mind. The man really did have everything he needed. And even things he did not have immediate could be ordered in an instant. After observing everything in the room however, it quickly became boring. The boy needed rest for the following day and wasted no time curling up on the floor to sleep.

On this day he woke feeling spry, having the most pleasant and restful nights sleep since coming to Sahova. The presence of the ice made the room nice and chilly, while the glacier had began to form puddles. Miro focused on the entirety of the ice, tapping his Gnosis and focusing hard to form cracks all throughout the block. Though collectively it was more ice than he could handle, simply focusing on shattering the mass made it possible. Rayage inside would hear the ice snapping and breaking apart, all of it crumbling around him. Chunks of ice would give way to allow him freedom of movement once again.

Miro was entirely ready for anger and resistance, already flowing his Res to defend himself. He held a happy repose though, smirking quite confidently. All of the negative emotions inflicted by his Leeching initiation were passed onto his new apprentice. There were no negative feelings, only the will to transmute this Alchemist into a Reimancer. "My, you did quite well with all of this. That was the initiation into Reimancy, or well, your initiation. Until now you have lacked the fire in your heart needed for the discipline, but no longer. How do you feel? Hurt, betrayed, fearful? You will feel these things, yes, but for how long? Not very, and do you know why?" The Mixed Blood shrugged, moving his Res to float above him. He sneered down at the Nuit with a gnarled smirk.

"You will lose those feelings when you are ready to embrace your power. Hold onto those feelings, use them to cast. And as you gain power, my power, they will warp within you. You will begin to feel more powerful emotions. Anger at your foes, hatred, wanting to kill them, tear them apart, watch them burn. You will use these powerful emotions to flow Res form your body and transmute it into elements with a strong commanding will. This will be your weapon, your tool to overwhelm those who make you feel the fire I have put into you." Miro cast his arm forward, sending his Res to wrap about Rayages body and crawl about it.

"Let us start by ensuring your fire is burning hot enough, then push on to your new instinct. Your first test will be to call upon these emotions to awaken the instinct within you. You must learn to produce Res. Search deep, channel your feelings, produce my magic!" The Reimancer began to laugh, ready to further the pain in an instant to further assist his student.

[Rayage]

The ice, the cold, cold ice brought Ray back to a more vulnerable time in his long life. Flashes of the Valterrian, of the destruction which was wrought on the land from the battle of the gods, brought back memories of powerlessness, of fear, of having no control… In this very moment he had lost the one thing which had kept him cool, collected, and well Rayage throughout his lifetime, and that was a sense of control, of utter control. Stripped from this was more emotional trauma, and he couldn’t decide which hurt worse: his emotional state or his body.

Both his body and mind burned with this vulnerability. It made him feel worthless, it made him feel like he had no place in the world, it made him feel like perhaps he had lived just a little too long, but most of all it made him feel betrayed, hurt by someone he thought of as a child. A mere child could bring him to his knees, his child, the boy was so powerful… Though these thoughts quickly morphed in his ice shaped prison to ones of anger, how dare he, and to ones of hate and revenge. He would get him back and he would not let the boys power trap him here. Though struggle as he might, for Miro left no wiggle room, he couldn’t move. So he would have to resort to other ways of breaking the spell, with leeching of course, but even that did not work. For some reason he found that no matter how hard he tried he could not grasp the djed in the ice. So he resigned himself to wait, as ice does melt mage-made or not.

Chimes passed as did Bells as he waited, frozen in place. His mind wandering, but in this ice getting sharper as well, visions of the Valterrian passed through him and it was as if he had forgotten, but who could forget an event like that? Though there seemed to be more details coming to mind the more he allowed himself to think on it, to wander within the existence of the memory. A strange calm came over the nuit, the undead had survived the Valterrian, he could and would survive this as well. He would grow stronger from its experience. A certain resolve came to him as he realized that he wouldn’t die here. No, that wasn’t in the plans. How could he, the most powerful alchemist in all of modern mizahar, die like this? The very thought was absurd, laughable. Though it was moments like these which reminded him just how weak and superficial his power really is. Sure he commands respect and reverence, and in that regard he is a very influential man, but when it comes to more physical things he falls short.

He accepted and embraced the pain and emotions he was feeling. His mind slowly found peace in destruction, the destruction of his shattered dream, and his own private awakening to reality once more. The ice it shook him. The ice it shocked him. The power it awakened him. The fullness he was feeling was dying slowly, his very being absorbing the power which was forced into him. He was in a cocoon of ice and soon the cocoon would break away and he would be reborn once more, changed by fate. The nuit realized he could not shy away or change what has happened, the past was unchangeable, the future however had endless possibility, and within him churns the cogs of change. He would bring change to the world in its ultimate awakening one day, realizing that, in the destruction and dust of the Alahean empire, the world is much like he is. Trapped. Trapped in its own cocoon, waiting for the fire, the light of humanity, to warm it and to rediscover what once was lost.

Then the ice cracked. The noise was so sudden to him that he almost looked frightened. In but moments however he felt to ice dislodge itself from him and he was once again free. He was free, and the cacoon was no more. He was reborn as a Reimancer, as he listened to what Miro had to say. That… that was the initiation to Reimancy, though as he talked a silent and uncharacteristic rage built within the nuit. It was a primal emotion, one that he hadn’t felt to this extreme in such a long time. ”You.” there was poison in the nuits voice, the venom which soaked his words would reveal his rather foul mood, ”You did this to me? What have you done?” the nuit raised his voice, sounding more than pissed. It was very rare for Ray to lose himself to such emotion, but he was trebling and it was more than just from being cold. The emotions have taken a rather physical manifestation.

”Let me show you… Let me show you…” the anger muddled his thoughts, making him unable to verbalize what he was thinking, ”What you have caused me to remember, boy.” he told him, and if looks could kill… Well Miro would have been dead the moment ice trapped the nuit. ”This… That was not alright, yet you release me acting like nothing happened. Not a care in the world.”

”You will feel my suffering.” he announced, the images of the valterrian flashing in his mind, giving rise to a powerful feeling of helplessness and pain. Pain unimaginable, the pain of losing everything, the pain of loss, and with that pain came countless years of suffering and striving not only for the nuit himself but for humanity. He used those pictures to mediate his feeling, to condense them, to empower them. It was the process he went for when casting just about any hypnotic spell. He needed to internalize the feeling, and then project it with djed. That is what he did.

The nuit locked eyes with Miro. How dare he laugh at him, at what the mage put him through! Rayage summoned his djed and cast it forward, djed manifesting the feelings he was focusing on. Though it did not turn out how he wanted it. Instead of manifesting the feelings Miro would instead see flashes of images in his mind, much like they were his own memories, but they were different. These Djed fueled manifestations in the mind of the Reimancer were in fact the memories of Rayage, the images he was focusing on to produce the feelings of helplessness and loss which he wanted to produce in the boy.

Miro would see brief images flash inside his head, like an array of paintings being shown to him one after another but so fast that he only had a moment to take in each one. This effect was due to the fact that Rayage was using whole memories to recall the feelings and his magic would only allow brief stills. Ray did not notice his magic was warped by his mind, and continued to fuel the spell. He only wanted Miro to experience what he did, and he got his wish perhaps a little too literally. Though some images would appear more frequently than others, and so those are the ones which would stick with the boy.

The first one was a great fissure in the land itself, darkened skies provided a backdrop and ash fell like snow. From that great and dark fissure fire and lava erupted in a great display of power. The land itself was crumbling and everything was shifting. Cracks and fire, and destruction filled the place. Though it was later revealed that this place wasn’t just some barren land, but there were people as well. People set aflame, people falling into the great maw of the earth, people pushing, people shoving, and in the middle of that chaos, in the middle of a crumbling civilization is where Miro would find himself in his mind.

Rayage kept up his efforts fueling the spell still, as he saw no reaction from the mage. More and more he used the power of his mind and the force of his djed to make the other ‘feel’ what he felt, or so that is what he thought he was doing. Once and for all he would shut Miro up. The strain of his effort was showing on his face now, as he extended his hands in some display of concentration, then gripping for what seemed to be Miros throat, yet he stood many feet away.

Miro would hear the screams and the sound of destruction as the next proximate picture flooded into his head. A building was collapsing, and under the weight of the building the earth itself was opening up. People could not escape and many were thrown into the bowels of the earth. Lightning came from the sky, painting white streaks across an ashy backdrop… Lastly the pictures faded into more images flashing but going so fast that he couldn’t make them out. Finally impressed upon him would be a sense of dread and unknowable loss, and the question: is this the end?.

Ray doubled over, taking a step backwards and tripping on the ice. The nuit fell and landed in the water, still scowling at the boy. Did he even feel what he wanted him to? Rayage noticed that the spell took a lot more out of him than he had expected. Though he did sustain it for quite some time. He felt mentally exhausted, but he said and did nothing more. This was all he could do, all which was within his power.

[Miro]

Miro was somehow a bit shocked by Rayage's reaction. It was exactly as he intended, though he did not think it possible for the old man to feel anything. He seemed to have snapped, babbling about what he had remembered. And of everything expressed, the anger was most apparent. "You will feel my suffering", the Nuit said. It caused the Chained One to chuckle. He had already felt the initiation into Leeching, and what an awakening it was for the wizard. He only meant to return the favor, and before long Rayage would understand.

"Miro look out! He is going to kill you, shoot him! Hurry! Oh no! Here he comes M-" "ENDER! Miro shouted aloud, shushing his Familiar's pathetic attempt at causing him to murder the Alchemist. "We both know you do not have any means of harming...me." But suddenly the Reimancer was stricken with some effect. His mind's eye flashed with images he did not recognize, as if, was it some forgotten memory? Each of the flashing pictures would last only a second, yet each had a profound effect on him. For a time he was left staring blankly, as if caught in some wild enchanted fantasy.

They all stuck in his mind though, and it painted a larger picture. His off guard mind was hopelessly trapped within it. A fissure in the ground, darkened skies filled with lightning, and ash rained down in abundance. It was as if the god of Reimancy had thrown a fit and flung devastation across the land. The scenery only got worse as it changed. The ground cracked and shot flames forth, and buildings and natural landscapes crumbled and melted. Destruction and fire everywhere. So much that it was unbelievable and horrifying. The terror really set in as he saw people running about on fire, falling into the earth and all civilization and triumph of man falling apart.

Inside of him, he was churning with these nasty feelings. All he had make Rayage feel, he was sure somehow he had stricken him with these same feelings. Pain, fear, this mass of hatred he felt drowning him from the inside. And then the emotions seemed to drain from him and settle. But it was as if they had taken something with them as they left. Miro felt hollow, empty, as if he had lost something important he would never recall. Was this the end for him? Had he been shown the future, his future, and the pain he would cause? If he was to realize what he had lost, then lose it once more, could it drive him to do such a thing?

The Chained One clenched his face and fought to understand what he had been shown. If it was his fate, it was undeniable. If it was his power, it was incredible. If the end was coming then he would have to make his remaining time meaningful. He needed a legacy to leave behind. To pass his skills and knowledge to a worthy apprentices, and his ideals as well. He was not sure if Rayage or some god had caused the vision, and did not care much to ask. It only deepened his need to teach and further his newly apprenticed Reimancer.

"Alright Rayage, shut up and listen now. I am done entertaining you, so, let's just get things done. I'll make a deal with you. If you can create Res here and now, I won't force it out of you. You have the instinct, the ability to cast Reimancy. You now only need to find it. Your Djed, flow it from your hand into the substance. I warn you though, learning this is not an easy task. Most novices use gestures and incantations and other things to focus hard enough. You may use these as well, sure, but it is not that simple. I need you to fight against the clouded thoughts, the complex emotions, the doubts you have. This is something much more natural, primal, like Leeching. If you are going to find it today, you will need more than meditation."

Miro grew a stern look on his face and began to leak a slight amount of Res from the entirety of his body. A thin blue smoke poured upward from his body. This gaseous stream was directed towards Rayage and began to wrap and spiral around his body. This moved separate from the liquid mass that remained around the Reimancer. He was hardly looking forward to it, but expected that the Nuit would need a push. Casting on him in a more harmful way might be just the spark needed to harness his instinct.

An ultimatum was the best method to push a situation that could only end one way. "Learn it quickly on your own, or be taught in a similar fashion to your initiation. I hear fear is a good motivator. If you were worried before, then, well, this should get even that dead heart of yours racing. I ain't even touched ya yet, dear professor. You fail me now, and, hate to say it, but I will have to hurt you a bit." The Chained One flashed a malicious grin that revealed his wicked fangs. He really did love the Nuit Alchemist. This was the least he could do to show it.

[Rayage]

The nuit laughed, picking himself up from the puddle of water and ice he sat in, ”Ive seen far worse than your power, boy.” he said, ”Believe it or not there are those who have more destructive power than even yourself, and power comes in many, many forms. You just possess a small fragment, as do I. Though it’s interesting you haven’t reacted in some outward way to the spell I cast. I saw you being absorbed by its influence, yet you give me no satisfactory reaction. A disappointment, or perhaps I didn’t press the right buttons…” he mused to himself. ”Remember that arrogance of yours will likely get you killed. There is always someone stronger out there.” he lectured him.

”Indulge me, master of the art of Reimancy, how did you go about producing Res of your own, and what exactly does Res do?” he has his own observations. Res was most likely that cloud of energy that the boy used to turn to ice. ”Though, child, I will amuse you first.” he said gracefully, taking off his soaked robe. Walking slowly over to his desk, he draped it over the back of his chair to dry before turning back to Miro. The nuit had the clothes which Miro had bought him in Zeltiva on under his robes. He was unminding of the res swirling about him.

”I have been thinking a lot lately…” the nuit began with an uncharacteristically warm smile towards the boy despite the situation he found himself in, ”I was wrong all these years.” he told him, ”I was a fool wizard.” he nodded confirming the own thoughts going through his head, ”A fool, Miro.” He fell silent trying to concentrate on feelings which he had just released upon the boy. He had come to a realization in the moments when a child was talking about using fear and pain as a motivator. ”Love and passion are the greatest motivators of all. I’ve finally figured it out why I have lived this long. Magic alone cannot make one immortal. This fact has been proven time and time again. It’s this fact which is why there are so few nuit, as most grow bored with their lives and end it themselves. Love has been guiding my actions. Passion has drenched my Alchemy. It’s what makes me great. It’s also what made you a good reimancer as well. You’d do well not to forget that.”

He ended with a simple nod as he extended the hands out in front of him, palms facing each other, fingers bent as if he was holding an invisible ball between them. Ray concentrated on trying to produce the substance called Res. He hadn’t ever produced it before, but he had felt its likeness within, flowing throughout him. His djed was considerably weak, and he was half wondering if he could even produce res with the current amounts of energy he had left in his reserves. Though he would try, he owed that to Miro if he owed anything.

Inwardly he calmed and focused, but he didn’t know exactly what or how to focus on to create the substance and so he did trial and error. First he would take some moments to clear his mind, and close his eyes. His thoughts raced from one subject to another, just typical that one doesn’t notice exactly how scatterbrained they really are until they focus on stopping the current of thought. Even the centuries old nuit had trouble, granted he hadn’t much practice. Chimes passed and still thoughts surfaced, the nuit grew frustrated with himself. Miro was waiting and the boy didn’t have the patience that the undead possessed. Any moment now he was waiting for the masters res to transmute into something horrible. He knew that Evalin could manipulate fire, he knew that Miro could do ice and water. Though the boys power far surpassed that of Evalin.

The wizard could feel his djed within him, yet he hadn’t a clue how to transmute it to res. Chimes passed and again he produced nothing. Looking to the boy, he frowned, ”Well…” he said expectantly.

[Miro]

Miro frowned at the Nuit's revelations. It was just what he needed, to understand the emotion required for personal magic. He had passion, but would have to manifest it through instinct rather than the scientific process of world magic. The passion was mutual between them, but personal magic is a creation of the soul primarily and a creation of the mind secondarily. For world magic the opposite is true. The Alchemist ultimately failed to produce Res, as he still lacked purpose.

"Then you understand why it must be this way. You need to not only focus on the love, but the hate, the anger, the need to destroy. Direct your mind to only think on how to deal with a problem. If you are casting Res from your body, it is taking from you and turning it into a tool to solve an issue you cant fix. A costly discipline. With it you are able to will a power to create or destroy by medium of elements. Water and wind can only do so much, but when combined, ice is created. It can produce structure, a weapon or shield. But it is only possible if you are able to draw on your instincts and will the substance to be taken from you. Throw it out, know that it has a purpose to serve."

The Reimancer walked to the Nuit and placed his hand on his back. "We will try again. I will do my best to guide you through the process, but if you fail we will have to push you harder. I am giving you one chance to embrace all of the emotions that I have worked to stir inside of you. Take the hatred, pain, anger, that passion, and channel it into dealing with a problem. Your problem is that you are weak, but creating Res is the first step towards fixing that. If you can not manage it, the only other way to awaken the survival instinct in you. In order to save your life you will call on the power of Reimancy, or be overtaken by misery and have your body destroyed."

Miro began to focus on the connection to Rayage to channel Hypnotism. He pushed a feeling of realization. Deep down he would feel that somewhere within him the answer he looked for was available to him. While the Chained One continued to apply and further this emotion, he also focused his Djed in his voice. A suggestion would be added to his words to give them a deeper meaning and encourage the Nuit. "You can create Res" It would be some relief if he did not have to torture him. He hoped the encouragement would be enough. He suspected pain was necessary to help him, even if it hurt him.

"You are doing well, and you only need to find it within you. Res will come from your body as a substance, be emitted in the form of a liquid or gas usually. It is personal to you, a part of you. A unique color, appearance, and it takes whatever form fits your style. If you ask me, the first emission can even hint at your element. My blue Res was first emitted as a liquid, looking like water. Water was my first element."

The Reimancer closed his eyes and focused on his Hypnotism spell while Rayage would attempt to create Res again. It was likely he would not succeed even now, but every step closer to understanding was important. He was well on the path, and Miro would have to put aside his admiration for this wizard. Torturing him with Reimancy would be the only way left to awaken him. "Will your Res into existence with a purpose, and do not fail me."

[Rayage]

”I don’t think you quite understand.” he told Miro after the boy explained that he needs to embrace hate, anger, and the need to destroy, ”Love will be enough.” he told him. ”My love for life has gotten me this far, and for over five hundred years I’ve only had my Hypnotism and Alchemy to support me. I am sure that with his power I will no longer be weak. Though to move forward I’ll need to embrace that part of myself, and then rewrite it. I will change for the better and my so will my love.” he told him, ”It too will be present my every spell as it has in my Alchemy.”

”However, the other emotions –hate and anger- they have their place a well. They too will be included. With my love of life comes my anger towards the insolent and hate for those who look down on me. The want to destroy with such a power is present. The need to destroy my obstacles however is not.” he told him, ”If I just went at every situation as to destroy all those who oppose me, I would be no better than the Sylrian Knights. Though if there is no other option, then such acts can be tolerated. In fact, killing and destroying sometimes is the easiest and best way to deal with your problems.” Rayage said remembering briefly his time at the university and how he had dealt with the Head director overseeing the magic of alchemy over two hundred years ago.

”Then it’s decided. I shall, with your help, master this new ability and destroy those who shall seek to take what I love.”

Rayage fell silent after that listening to the rest of what Miro said. He really felt that he could create the substance called Res. There was inspiring magic in the childs words, a charm which the nuit wasn’t unfamiliar with. Res was unique, and he was sure that his would be a direct reflection of his soul. Passion burned in his eyes and he once again concentrated inward. He tugged at his djed, his mind trying to bring into being something which it hasn’t before. He found the concept challenging to grasp. It was new to him, and he was fumbling around with it, and even had his doubts. No… In magic there is room for doubt. Doubt in magic is like poison spreading throughout a beings system, killing and corrupting the original intent and warping it into something else. Doubt in magic was self-defeating, and it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. He had to believe in himself and in his ability to create the res. He had to believe that he could, and feel it deep within him. He had the passion, he has the drive, he just needed the spark, the spark of creation…

Once again holding his hands out, he turned his palms inwards so that they faced each other. He needed to will it, and he did will it, he wanted it. He wanted success. He wanted not to feel this weakness anymore. He wanted to be on this path, the path of a reimancer. He wanted to feel the change inside him and observe what power this new magic would bring. He wanted a lot of things, though of the things which he desired Res did not come. In its place worry and frustration in equal quantities began to feel his mind. Could he concentrate with the threat of pain? Was fear a motivator at all or does its use perhaps restrict instead of invoke? Yes, he was wrong… wrong all these years, a fool indeed. A fool wizard he was for there would be no comfort in the shade of the shadow of death.

Yet another failure, but still he felt a step closer. It intrigued him how much like alchemy this process of trial and error was.

[Miro]

When it seemed Rayage had given up, Miro cancelled his spell. He knew the wizard would fail, yet the Reimancer still was hesitant to attack the man. Pressing the elements on him further would work to muddle his mind for a time, but he might reach a deeper realization. Though if he could reach it without, things would definitely go quickly. The Chained One had not given him every advantage so that he might work to find somethings on his own. Glyphing a focus on his palms was the best way to make the process of creating Res easier.

"I suppose now you will be torturing him. Good, he deserves it. I would start with lightning, fry him into submission, then bathe him in lava. Stab him with rock, set him afire, teach him a lesson." Ender began to cackle within their mind, his Fyrdenese voice booming internally. The Familiar would not be settled until Rayage was crippled and left for dead. The Reimancer had a simple answer for him. "No Ender."

Miro called his Res back from Rayage and took a breath to sigh. He would remove the pressure for now and give the Alchemist one last shot. If he could not produce the substance now, there was nothing left but torture. Meditating on the discipline was the traditional method, but would take a long time. However it would settle his stirred emotions to rest. The Nuit had only just started to feel, and could not afford to be pushed back into his mind. An exceptional Reimancer needed to fill every cast with strong emotional will.

"Okay Rayage, I do not want to hurt you. Glyph your hands with focuses to ease the casting and try again. it will make it easier, but that is the only assistance you will get. There is no pressure, but just know, still no pressure, but...I will be running out of ideas here soon. You will get it this time though, I am sure."

[Rayage]

New instruction came. He was going to be allowed another tool besides his mind, a tool which he has found more than useful many times before: Glyphing. What a novel suggestion. Though the wizard kept his comments to himself he agreed that it would help him cast personal magic. Giving the Reimancer a quick and subtle nod the Alchemist crossed the room once more. Reaching his desk he opened a drawer and dug through it until he found a small glass vial. Uncorking it, he dipped delicate a quill within past the lip of vial and into the container itself. Bringing it out the quill tip dripped with ink. Tapping it gently, allowing extra ink to store itself back into the vial, the wizard observed the quill.

When he was satisfied with the condition and amount of ink he held out his left palm and drew a vertical line down the middle of it. On each side of the line, about a couple centimeters away from the center border, he drew a small circle located in the upper section of the hand just below the pointer and pinky finger. From the bottom of each circle he drew a diagonal line connecting each circle to the median divide right about at the middle of his palm. Now he had a pitchfork-like design on his hand. From there he drew two more diagonal lines forming what looked like an x, but the bottom line segments were not totally equal. The left line was longer, and that was on purpose for with a quick swipe of his quill the line extended into a horizontal line going all the edge to the hand. Waving his hand, but being sure to keep it straight, he allowed it time to dry.

Donning the quill with his left hand this time Rayage held out his right hand much like he did to the left. Near the center of the rights palm he circled it with a generous amount of ink. Taking the extra ink he smeared the edges of the circle with the quills tip all the way around forming a sun like ray pattern. Between each ray which extended from the circle the nuit drew more lines extending outwards, yet these segments neither touched the sun nor went all the way to the end of the pam. They were just there. From the very tip of those segments he connected them with a line all the way around forming a many sided polygon. When that was complete he drew a cross right through the center of it all, the ends of the cross extending well to the end of the hand this time. With that complete he let that one dry too.

Once that was complete he cleaned the quill and bottled the ink, putting both of them away from the drawer of which he produced them from. Miro had confidence that he could produce Res with the aid of glyphs, and he was sure too. He had to be, this was his last and final chance before they would do something extreme. While Ray usually didn’t mind going to the extreme this time did not sound too pleasant, especially for him. So, it was do or die, maybe literally. He couldn’t let that happen. He has lived for far too long to die now. He was amused by that thought as the image of young ones begging for their lives came to mind. The young didn’t want to die, and it seemed that the truly ancient still possessed that will to live as well.

Once more he would try this. He would attempt to create res. So, once more he extended his hands in the same position as the other times. Palms faced each other, twin glyphs smiled at each other, and once more he concentrated on the feelings. He had something he needed to protect. He wasn’t ready yet to leave his legacy just yet. He had far more to do, and those who steal his glory would perish. He used that drive, the want to live, the love of life, the hatred of his lessers , and the want to destroy the things which irritated him. Digging deep he felt it. He felt it clawing at him, building up and coming out. A stinging, or that is what it registered as at first, perhaps it was more of a surprise which is why he thought he felt a stinging sensation?

Slowly exuding from the glyphs, boiling forth from the emotions within him, came the res. It was odd how it flowed how he pictured it, a statement to that it really was a part of his soul. He allowed a confident smile to spread on his face, and with that confidence came even more res. It poured forth slowly in a steady, but small stream. It formed a small sphere between the extended hands. His eyes observed it, as the res flowed like mud, and seemed to have a thicker consistency yet it defied gravity. The res was red, though not a deep red which was like blood, but perhaps an even deeper shade of passion, a statement of the development of his very soul.

The orb stayed there as the wizard didn’t will it to do anything else. He just simply enjoyed his accomplishment for a moment completely silent. He wasn’t one to brag or shout out for something he sees as a meager first step. Though he was sure people would know when he would try to do something huge with this skill.

From there he got a rather ambitious idea. The smile turned to a small grin, though the change in stature would be hard to catch if one hadn’t spent a lot of time with the professor. He had a thought, and he was going to attempt to do something without the instruction of the boy. He was going to find the element in which he could manipulate. He would show Miro just how promising he could be. After all, he did have over five hundred years of working with magic, an edge which he could put to good use with this discipline. Just because he had a time creating the res didn’t mean that he would have similar trouble ‘finding his element’.

So he thought, and he thought some more. In these moments of silent meditation he brought forth the emotions which he had invoked within himself. He brought them forth to better serve him. He brought them forth to whisper to him the truth of soul, and to resonate with his very being this new branch of magic. He thought of his life, he thought of people trying to take his life. Of all those times he felt fear and weakness, and doubt, but no more. No more would he be doubtful of himself or of his ability or right to life. Alchemy taught him that only the strong survive. Reimancy will teach him how to be strong, of that he was sure. So he dug deep and frequently he found himself thinking of the witch Evalin, the creature of which he created from his own ichor. He thought of her obsession with fire, and he thought of the joys that she might experience seeing others burn by her will. He too smiled sadistically at that. He could feel it within him a warmth, a fire which was ignited by his thoughts, a fire which dictated and required action. From his mind he felt it first, a fire brush up against him. He had a will of fire, though it felt different from the other flames…

In the air the small sphere of res ignited itself with a sharp burst and a poof leaving only air where the res had been. He had summed his inner fire.

[Miro]

"I don't believe it, you actually did it." Miro was shocked, completely confused by the lack of torture. The old man was acting like he had some life buried deep in that dusty soul of his. "I don't believe it, you actually did it. You take a perfect time to torture the damn corpse and spin it with a Hypnotism so he thanks you for it, and you waste it. Wasted, just like this Res will be. If I had control of your magic, I can tell you, things would be different."

The Chained One quickly recovered from his shock with a sly grin on his face. Ender was certainly embracing magic and viewing it like a wizard. If he ever was able to control magic, he would certainly have some say in their life. Rayage would not have lived this long. "Ender, you know better than that. I NEVER cast Res and let it go to waste. But, don't worry, someday you will be able to kill those who displease you. There is no way a weak creature is going to stay bound to me. If there is some way for you to learn magic, it is happening. Until then I am in full control, so deal with it."

Immortal and chained in so many ways. An eternal partner who would constantly criticize him and a god who owned his body. It was a constant struggle to fight for freedom within the restraints of commitment. "Well Rayage, your hide is saved. I suppose sometimes torture is not entirely necessary. Though we can both agree your initiation was a work of art. That is all for now. You must meditate on all you have experienced, just as I am to prepare for our next lesson. Reimancy training has only just started. Next will be a lesson on controlling fire and using it for destruction."

Miro walked back to the area where Rayage had gotten his Glyphing supplies. There was scroll parchment, which was exactly what he needed. He took the quill and ink and began to draw the outline of a sigil on a scroll. "I am leaving a scroll behind, but beware, it will burn your if mishandled." The design of the sigil was one he had devised before to more safely contain Reimancy. It was a design he called a Flower Sigil. It consisted mainly of a switch to break the spell into weaker parts and be stored in several focuses that fanned out from it. The barriers that formed the paths between the runes made a design that resembled a flower.

In the center of the parchment he drew a circle and began to fill it in with a swirl pattern going one way, slowly closing in towards the center. He then started another one on the opposite end going the other direction to mirror it. Along the peremeter of the parchment he drew a large bold circle. His dexterity enhanced body made Glyphing worlds easier on him. Near the edge, yet still contained within the large circle he made four smaller ones. They were arranged with two to the left of the switch and two to the right, both pairs arranged top to bottom. They were larger circles, but still room was left between the runes.

Now Miro had to fill in the shell, starting with the focuses. He started by drawing a vertical and horizontal line through the center of the first circle. This allowed him to line up both dimensions the shape was composed of and find the center much easier. In the center of the circle, he formed another circle. Then, in each of the four quadrants made by the intersecting lines he made circles. They fit within the boundaries of the circle, but would each violate the other three territories and wrap together. This process was done for the other focuses and he was ready to move onto barriers.

The wizard started in by drawing vertical lines from the switch to each rune to create a track for the Djed. The areas in between each rune not to be used as a track needed to be used to contain the spell. These would be the barriers as well as the paths. With the round shape of the largest containing barrier and all of the tracks, it formed rounded triangles. To Miro, they appeared as leaves in his flower, while the tracks and focuses appeared as petals. He started filling in this area by drawing equally spaced lined first vertically, then horizontally, making a checkered pattern across the area.

The sigil was nearly complete, needing now only a trigger for activation. The undead drew a line from the outer edge of the barrier to a small square box. He then placed his hand within the box and focused on the activation condition. He allowed his hand to move free of command in a pattern to seal in the activation as he spoke it aloud. "When the command 'Flower Sigil activate." is spoken, release the spell." And any spell cast at it would break to be stored into the focuses until released. When released the switch would combine and release the spell exactly as it was absorbed.

Miro placed the scroll on the floor and brought his Reimancy to command. it was a decent amount that he had emitted, expecting to use it for torture. The Alchemist really came through and accepted everything perfectly however. Surely this was a fitting prize to him for his achievement. Instead of pain and misery being directed towards him, he could direct it at others. The Reimancer condensed his Res into a liquid ball and forced it downwards while simultaneously igniting it to a ball of flames.

The spell struck the scroll and was taken into its body. The focuses faded away and the flower was complete. For each of its petals there was a blank track and circle that formed the perfect shape. Each of the leaf barriers sealed it to keep safe. He walked around it, leaving it for the Nuit to deal with. He had done all he needed to for now and walked to leave. "The Alchemist is more a threat to me now than ever Miro. I promise you, I will kill him. He has yet to understand my suffering."

[Delirium]

Experience Rewards

Miro :

Experience

Teaching	4xp
Intimidation	1xp
Hypnotism	2xp
Familiarity	2xp
Glyphing	3xp

Lores:
Ray's memories - pre-Valterian chaos
Ender's loathing of Ray
Teaching Reimancy
Glyphing: Flower Sigil

Rayage :

Experience

Intimidation	1xp
Interrogation	1xp
Hypnotism	2xp
Reimancy	5xp
Glyphing	3xp

Lores:
Reimancy: using emotion to fuel Reimancy
Reimancy: Res production
Reimancy element: fire
hypnotism: creating flashes
Love is the strongest emotion

Notes: Another beautiful thread. And I must mention this, but Rey's rants are incredible!

If you have any queries with the grading, pleas don't hesitate to PM me