Solo [Dra-Kalinor Laboratory] The Spider's Parlor

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Summer 2nd, 513AV OOCThanks to Accolade for permission to use Devandil. Hopefully, I have done the NPC justice. Located in the most far-removed corner of the fourth tier of Stormhold Citadel, the laboratory of the Magecrafter of Syliras is thought by most to be a dark and sinister place. It's name comes from a terse comment by one of the Knights who was assigned to helping Devandil Nightshade move his belongings into the basement rooms - that the Symenestra was turning the rooms into a bastard offshoot of Kalinor. That was all it took to label the workshop Dra-Kalinor. There are no windows to let in the burning light of the sun, and the chandelier is lit by some strange magic that gives everything a weirdly blue cast. Of course, the white and blue silk dangling from the ceiling doesn't help make it more comfortable for humans. One back wall is lined in book shelves, with a large desk placed prominently in the center. To one side, a black marble table sits apart from everything, holding only an enormous blue glass bowl with the sign of Viratas engraved upon it in a glowing glyph. Behind that lies a door to another room, heavily bolted, with its own wards of protection on it. The rest of the vast suites are filled with tables of magecrafting equipment and experiments in various stages. Anyone wishing to contact him need simply travel through the Great Bazaar and head towards the back hallway and then prepare themselves for a rather creepy encounter. Ethan walked through the Great Bazaar as sights and sounds assault him. “Fresh Meat Pies! 2 silver for a pie!” “Zeltiva Romance Novels! Svefra Captain Takes A Shy Lady Away for Her Loveless Marriage!” “Glass Trinkets Hand Blown For Wind Reach!” Merchants and local citizens were gathered in the great place, yelling about their wares and looking for that one item that would make their trip worth it. Crowds of people pressed and bumped Ethan as he made his way to the workshop of Dra-Kalinor. As Ethan moved off into the dark hallway, the roar of the Bazaar seemed to fade, shop owners didn’t have stalls in the hallway advertising their goods. Some of the doors showed to be locked and notice by the Housing Authority was present for those that wanted a shop. Others were opened and it seemed to have a general feel of dirt and grime attached to the shop, even though looking in Ethan couldn’t see any. Ethan finally reached his destination, Dar-Kalinor. The door was closed, and Ethan hesitated one moment to take a breath before entering. Emotions of fear and anxiety drifted through his mind, the rumors of what happened behind these closed doors had spread throughout Syliras. Teenagers and children dared each other to enter the shop and hold a conversation with the Symenestrian, and Ethan was about to do all that and more willingly. Instead he focused on the goal, Magic, if possible he would learn the trade and carve his own piece of land out from the wilderness. Ethan pressed down on the latch and opened the door. Ethan walked into a dark room. The hallway seemed to do little to prepare him for the lack of light. Rapidly blinking his eyes and allowing them to adjust he began to see details of the large room. The large desk in the middle of the room was empty and as he turned his head he saw black marble table almost like an altar waiting for an offering. The slightest noise came from above, and as Ethan turned his gaze upward, he saw thick strands of silk creating a lattice network. The silk threads moved back and forth shifting as something began moving in them. Ethan slight barely caught the movement of a form, and his back began to shiver at the thought of a giant spider coming to kill him. For a moment fear gripped Ethan as he wanted to run away from this place. However, Ethan balled his hand up in a fist and gritted his teeth, pushing the fear in his mind away. With a massive push of willpower Ethan took a step towards the desk. He could hear the form above change direction and began to follow him. As he neared the desk, a long silken thread began to lower as a Devandil Nightshade seemed to float downward on it. “Well hello, boy, welcome to my parlor!”

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan shivered but stayed the course standing next to the desk, pressing his thigh to the edge to make sure this was real. “Come now, you have to talk to me in order to win your bet! Let me guess, a young lady wagered a kiss? Hmmmm, no? Did someone call you a coward, since you couldn’t join the Knights?” Devandil seemed to smile the whole time at Ethan, making his grand entrance some kind of show. To Ethan, he wanted to scream at the man for making this hard. “I have come here to learn magic.” Ethan spoke with his jaw tighten. Devandil was a tall man and from the look of his black outfit was fit. The large claws on his bare feet made Ethan even more cautious. Devandil smiled again, “Ah a man who believes all his problems can be solved with a wave of his hand.” Devandil moved his hand slightly and produced a tarot card out of thin air. Ethan had seen the trick performed in the hallways of the Great Bazaar many times, and wasn’t impressed with the mockery. His face flushed with anger. “I have come here to learn real magic, not some sleight of hand to impress the ignorant. I talk about respect of a trade, knowledge hard won and put to use. Not foolery to waste people’s time! Respect is what I have come here for! The power of thought is as real as the power of muscle, this castle is proof of that!” Devandil’s eyebow arched at that, few men would have been angry at the tricks he pulled instead of running, fewer still would have chosen to hurl words instead of fists, but it still wasn’t enough for him. He waited as the man continued. “The knights you physical power to protect us, but the power of the mind is what made this place real. One thought with work, stopped the chaos, and that is the respect I want.” Ethan realized he had spoken in haste, with little forethought of what he said. It was true, but he wondered if he didn’t overstep his bounds. Had he said anything that could get him hard time, Ethan eyes opened and for a moment he really felt like he should run. Devandil provided a flick of his wrist to cleverly place the card back up his sleeve. The man in front of him, wasn’t the usual passerby or child taunted into coming in. Some, when seeing the office empty would merely wait at the door, and Devandil spider routine would have them scurrying back out of it. Others, wanted to prove to their friends how brave they were by talking to the Magesmith and therefore needed some insults to help them along, and then there were a few that craved power. Those very few that wanted power, Devandil had to be careful, some he had reported to Knights as being insane or murderous, others suffered from the delusions of grandeur that magic could make real, but a few used that craving to further the arts. “So the power of the mind?” Devandil said, “That’s a bit vague, I assume you mean something like this.” Devandil concentrated on a single book on his desk, he detached his left astral arm and moved it over to the book, picking it up and letting it come back to his right. “Or perhaps you would prefer throwing fireballs?” Devandil sounded sincere, but in reality he wanted to see if the boy wanted to just punish people like a bully. “I… I hadn’t realize that a mage could do that. I mean I knew that mages could throw around fireballs, or lighting, or whatever, but the book just floated to your hand.” Ethan was surprised at the display of Magic, and for a moment hadn’t realized that Devandil had asked a question without really saying anything. “Ummm… No, actually I don’t want to learn either one. Wait what I mean to say…” Ethan felt confused, and allowed his mind to settle by taking a breather, “It is my understanding that Wild Djed changed the world. Ever since the Valterrian, we lost some much knowledge and understanding, and we still can’t really claim the land back from that incident. Maybe throwing lighting around will beat back the monsters, but what will stop the creation of more?”

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Devandil stood still, for the first time in a while someone had surprised him. The smile that came across his face was genuine and he walked over to the large bookcase. Scanning the books, he found one on the basics of shielding, it had been placed on the bottom shelf, since Devandil rarely had use of it. Opening the cover, he made sure that it was the book he remembered. “So what’s your name?” Devandil asked casually before beginning to walk over to Ethan. “Ethan Ironhorse, I am a farrier, but I have started to work at Philtering in order to prepare medicines for the horses.” Ethan shuffled a little as Devandil finally came within arms distance of him. “Well Ethan, I am Devandil and am very busy, so busy that I am not taking apprentices. However,” Devandil tapped the book in his hand, “This is a book on the basics of Shielding, the magic protects the user or object against natural Djed or mortal. It will not shield you from the Gods and Goddesses, and I expect the return of this book in a ten days. While you are learning, I am available for questions, but if you take up too much of my time be prepared to pay.” Devandil handed the book to Ethan. “Now before you leave, let me see if you are sensitive enough to perform even the most rudimentary shields. Sit down on the stone and cross your legs.” Both Ethan and Devandil sat cross legged down on the stone floor. “Close your eyes and listen to my voice.” Devandil spoke a clear and yet gentle tone. “Take a slow deep breathe and fill yourself with it. Feel the air in your lungs expand into your belly and head, hold it for a moment… release. Next time allow the air to expel all the thoughts and feelings from wherever its touches. Breathe. Let the feeling expand into your shoulders and hips. Hold. Let the air absorb what it will. Release. Slow and gentle, not in a great huff.” Ethan continued to breathe, Devandil voice helped him relax. Softly the earlier fear and anger began to melt away with each breathe. As Devandil spoke Ethan felt like he was drift softly. The floor and his clothes were still there, but his thoughts only recognize them and discard their presence. To Devandil, he moved his hands as if he had a small ink quill. Djed began to form into a small disk the size of a miza. The shield wasn’t complex, in fact it was a little more than a Djed energy with a shape. Without Devandil will it would degrade to nothing in a blink of an eye. Slowly, he extended the disk touching waiting till it touched Ethan’s aura. Ethan breathe caught for a moment as something at the edge of his perception felt like a small hard coin. “Do not worry, it is a shield. Breathe deep. Take one of your hands and hold it out so you can receive the shield.“ Ethan moved his hand and felt the presence of the shield vanish, he tried to focus on the feeling but the more he tried, he began to question if he even felt it. “Calm yourself Ethan, deep breathe, let go of your thoughts. The shield is in your hand, let your senses go and simply feel.” Ethan slowly brought back his awareness of the shield, allowing Devandil voice to help guide him back. “Now do not think merely answer, do you sense the shield?” Devandil asked. “Yes,” Ethan answered without thought. It felt flat and so light but also cool in a way. “When you release your breathe feel a tiny piece of yourself release that same breathe through your hands.” Ethan began to release his breathe and in a flash the thin desk felt heavy and hard. “Oops,” Devandil said, “I did say slowly. Let’s try this again.” The weight of the coin disappeared like a bubble popping and then gently a lighter coin took its. This time Ethan felt like his hands were wrapped in mist and as he breathed out the small shift of the mist went into the coin, making it slightly more dense, but not has heavy as it was before. Ethan opened his eye slightly and saw a tiny very faint blue disk hovering above his hand. “Go on, see if you can sense how it was made.” Ethan began to move the blue mist about feeling little tiny points that bunched up the thin spaced Djed. The tiny point seemed to reinforce the edge of the shield, allowing pressure from the outside to channel itself to them and fill up the inside and push back. As Ethan focused on the tiny points it was like a knot in a string, and slowly Ethan began to untangle it. As the know felt like it was folded together and held with glue, almost like a intersection of a spider web. The mist recognize that the Djed had the knot together and slowly the knot was replaced by a ring. To Ethan it felt like a ring in a bridle holding the leather straps together to allow flexibility and movement. Quickly the mist took over the coin shield and the faint glow turned from blue to a faint pink and white. As Ethan looked up from the disk, his concentration was interrupted by Devandil standing up. “Well that’s that. Remember ten days bring back the book, or I will call the Knights. Have a pleasant day.” Brushing off his pants Devandil went back to the rope and began to climb it upward. Ethan looked at his hand, but the disk was gone. Picking up the book, Ethan headed to the door. Realizing he hadn’t said anything, he spoke as an afterthought to the ceiling. “Thanks, I… will see you in ten days.”

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan closed the door behind him as he entered the hallyway from the shop. The dark leather bound book held in his hands, as Ethan briefly stroked his hand over the cover. Daring a look Ethan opened the book to a random page and what awaited Ethan was a surprise. Written in common, was a brief description on a theory, while some of the words were replaced with glyph suggesting that the context was talking about a magical concept. Then a diagram of conceptual glyphs, numbers and arrows, as well as equations showed on the page. Ethan couldn’t even began to guess at the what it all meant and knew that it was going to be a long day. Securing the book, he made his way through the Bazaar, looking for a book shop. The first real task was to understand that book, and even though Ethan knew that he would be lucky to get through a dozen so pages, he needed to see if he couldn’t find something to help him. It was then Ethan realized how little money he had left. He only recently purchased a book about Philtering and even then it hadn’t paid off yet. Within those ten days he couldn’t get the book copied nor could he simply purchase a blank book and copy the material. Looked like Ethan was going to have to learn the best he could over the next ten days, while still doing his job. Ethan transverse the hallways back to his room. He at least had the rest of the day and was going to take full advantage of the time. Ethan entered his simple room. Over the years he had added a few pieces of furniture, an arm chair close to the hearth, a table to set his philtering equipment, even a small bookshelf to set his one Philtering book. It was start to something more, something grand. Ethan went over to the table pulling the armchair close. Setting a candle on the table Ethan lit the wick from the low cooking fire that was in the hearth. Opening the book to the first page, Ethan began to read. The book described that the Art of Shielding was an art form, the djed extrude from one’s being gave purpose to the shield. At first the shield would be reactionary, a pure expression of will encompassing an object or person. That expression of will was an extension of a person’s own aura or soul. Ethan struggled over the section as he had to interfere the concepts of being and will since the words were a series of glyphs. Thankfully, the section gave enough context to understand the general concept they were trying to explain. It seemed that Shielding created a form of a secondary aura, instead of the aura being a wellspring that continued to generate, move and evolve with energy. The shield used joints in which strands of djed gave boundaries and shape. Yet the book to note that some other mages had developed methods like painting or allowing a mist to spread itself over an object solidifying into a barrier. Whatever the method the mage employed, the finished shield contained specific properties that were measurable: Shape, Thickness, Hardness, and Purpose. Turning the page the set of Glyphs for Shape where spelled out, showing that the first chapter talked about shaping.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan read that the first shape to easily master was the cube, eight corners or joint points could be created to encompass an object. Quite simple a box was the first exercise, the student should first picture his or her energy condensing into one single point, this was considered an anchor point, where Djed could travel flow and ebb. The anchor point was a stabilization point for influx of energy, as well as, a tether that could channel energy to other anchors. Ethan stopped for a moment pinching the bridge of nose. What by the Gods and Goddesses was a tether? At times the book suggested future techniques while assuming that reader knew a base knowledge. Additionally, it was general was describing concepts and theories, stating that a creation of a shield was highly personnel and that some lesson could be skipped based on techniques. How to tell which techniques to skip? Ethan stopped and lit another candle as he considered his problem. The feeling of the shield at Devandil’s shop had tiny bright points in which if he thought of them as an anchor, the originally felt had been sticky and knotted like a cobweb. However, as Ethan had taken it over the anchor had become a metal ring found in a bridle. Attached to the ring had been lines that felt like some sort of boundary. The lines had moved Djed from the anchor point and spread itself outward allowing the Djed mist to fill the enclosure and travel to points under stress. Realizing that Ethan’s own experience had confirmed some of the concepts, he went over to the hearth to ladle some of the stew that had been cooking for the better part of the day. Filling up a bowl he went back to the book to try and continue reading. The book described that the student should try and create one anchor point. Naturally they should allow that anchor point to be as big or small is there mind natural needs to see it, but that they should attempt to shrink it to a tiny pin prick. The student then should visualize a second anchor emerging from the first connect by a line of Djed. As the student did this they also shouldn’t think about it, merely let the visualization flow from the mind into one’s own energy. Ethan laughed at the instructions. Though they were well written, anyone who hadn’t experience the creation of a Shield would be so confused by the author they were likely to fail. In fact Ethan wasn’t completely sure that he could do it. Scraping his bowel clean, Ethan set it aside and sat back in his chair allowing him to become comfortable. He began going through the breathe exercise that Devandil taught him. A sense of wellbeing and relaxation started to spread through his body… The next thing Ethan recognize was that a loud sound snapping him up in his chair. The room was dark except for the low fire still burning in the hearth. Once he realized that the candle had went out, the noise that had awoken him must have been his own snoring. Clearing his head for a moment, he got up and placed a log on the fire. Peeling off a small long splinter, he lit the end of it on the flame. Walking over to the table he once again lit a candle. Sitting back down at the table Ethan went through the relaxation exercise. Softly, he opened his hand, as the deep breathing filled him with wellbeing. A small stirring of thought began to come to his mind. It was the bridle metal ring and as the image came to his mind, the feeling of energy in his right hand began to circle. The image and feeling began to connect through his soul and mind. Djed twirled and as Ethan slowly opened his eyes the anchor was a blue loop the size of coin. Ethan began to will the loop smaller, his fingers began to flex inward a tiny bit, and yet the energy fought back. As he pushed the loop smaller resistance forced his fingers open. Slowly, he realized that he had stopped breathing as he concentrated on the feeling of the anchor. Taking a moment to expel breathe the ring disappeared. Feeling annoyed at himself, he realized that he no longer felt the sense of wellbeing and relaxation. Getting up, Ethan cleared the dishes giving them a quick rinse with water over the stew pot. He grabbed a few more onions and carrots to add to the pot as he rinsed the plate. The water from the rinse would help the stew while the vegetables would give it more favor.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan blew out the candle and sat on his bed, to him he would have to master the anchor before he could make any additional progress with the book, so he wouldn’t waste money on burning the candle out. Sitting on his bed Ethan went through the breathing exercises, relaxing to the point in which again he was able to bring forth the blue loop of energy. For a time Ethan experimented with just feeling and viewing the disk in his mind. It seemed that Ethan energy and will interacted with the disk and he moved a finger close to it giving it a slight bend. As he manipulated the shape of the ring with his fingers, he inhaled briefly, he felt his middle finger stuck in the energy. All of the sudden the ring that was a size of a coin collapse down to the size of a fly, and Ethan laughed out load. The blue ring disappeared, but Ethan knew what had happened. As his will fashioned the anchor to the size of coin, the energy he had invested into it fought the shrinkage, in essence he was fighting his very own strength. Sucking the energy back into himself, he had shrunk the loop to the size of a fly. Smiling Ethan began to take the steps back to the loop, this time he was able to spin the anchor down to a faint point that he could barely see. Following the advice of the book, he moved his left hand like it had pinched the anchor point and began to pull it. His mind saw the iron ring elongate then separate into two rings with a leather thong riveted between the two. A small faint blue line appeared, without thinking Ethan took the chance to pinch the middle of the line and began to pull it. Ethan felt a tiny draw of it energy as the line became a square the size of a sugar cube. Pinching the face of the square, the four anchor points in his mind began to separate and the tether grew into a misshapen box the size of a sugar cube. As Ethan held it in his palm rotating a few inches above it, the faces of the cube seemed like waves as it crashed into one another, sometimes they would cancel each other, at other times the stronger wave would carry over to the next surface. Then one corner of the cube began to expand was the waves of energy seemed to heavily impact that point. Ethan began to see that his cube was starting to grow at different angles and lengths. The energy he had put into the cube wasn’t balanced due to his inexperience. As Ethan tried to compensate on one side, the other would shrink or a corner would grow. He would try to suck energy out of the other side, only to have a face that he wasn’t working on elongate and become dim. Ethan continued to work at the cube trying to keep it square as he felt himself grow tired. Disgusted that the disharmony Ethan allowed the cube to grow as it would, the cube quickly began to lose its shape. four anchor points joined, into a point and then the faces began to conclave in as the small shield looked like a tent that someone had sucked the air out. Ethan focused his mind on his creation and cut the anchor point releasing his energy. Feeling tired and mentally exhausted, he went ahead and took off his clothes, setting them over his arm chair before going to bed.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Summer 3rd-12th, 513 AV Ethan walked in to his room after a long day of work. The one thing that no one really told Ethan about being a farrier was that there would be a lot of walking. He was still wet from the baths, as he put his dirty clothes on top of the chest with his work boots next to the door. Looking at the dark room, Ethan went over to the ever present stew pot and scooped himself a helping before sitting down to read the book once again. Ethan went over the book again reviewing the theory and exercise. In fact he even skipped ahead and started reading the next pages in hopes that the answer was there. Instead the author had written one short sentence. “Once your student has mastered making a cube shield, put them through making other shapes.” Ethan simply began to realize there was no other way than to figure it out. Sitting down, Ethan was able to go through the breathing exercise in a little less time. If nothing else, he had practiced the relaxation and was getting better at it. Of course he knew that if he wanted to be able to use this magic in a hurry and distracted, it would have to become second nature. Ethan decided to take it slow compared to what had happened yesterday. He forged his anchor point and took his right fingers pinching the energy and slowly having the anchor point spilt into two with a tether between them. For a while Ethan kept the shield, watching the tether and anchor points interact. The two pin pricks bounced back and forth as an energy wave went back and forth. Ethan lessen the wave by taking out a some of the energy, he understand that he had weaken the tether by doing so. However, he went back and slowly pushed the anchor point backwards till a lazy wave began to developed, the tether felt stronger and there was only a slight bit of motion. Ethan took time to examine the tether and began to feel as if the tether wasn’t really one strand, merely a concept of a boundary set by his mind. His will was setting limits on his construct, by trying to do so by instinct, he allowed different things to influence it. Ethan began to feel the tether energy harden, a straight line started to come out of the wavy line. After a time Ethan realized that the line was straight and stable, he took his fingers and began to make a square plane. As he moved he noticed that the ripples of on the plane were chaotic and that the further he went away from the original line, the tether became more instable. Slowly he stopped and his focus on the three lines. His will began to strength them, causing the line to stiffen and reduce or expand to the correct size. The energy trapped in the boundaries of the tether ripped gently as it became stabilized. Ethan stopped and waited making sure that the square didn’t become misshapen. Feeling that success was close, Ethan decided to work the square one corner at a time. Ethan's feelings and thoughts were focused on the square, for a brief moment outside distractions were blocked out as he felt his mind and finger pinch the anchor point and gentle pull up. It was extremely slow, as he painstakingly pulled, Ethan felt his will strength the tethers to the other anchor points and the slow straight march to the exact length as one of the side of the square was done. Ethan repeated the process on all three other corners and a perfect cube shield was raised above his left hand. Ethan allowed his focus of the cube become hazing, as if it was still a part of him, but didn’t require his complete attention. At that time he realized that he was soaked with sweat. Ethan let go of the cube and took himself out of the trance. He had done it, he had made a perfect cube, and looking at the candle he realized that it only took him half a bell to do so. Though he was elelated to have made the shape, he realized that Devandil would probably not think that he had master the exercise if it took him that long. So Ethan sat back down and began again… The ten days that Devandil had given him had come and gone. Ethan had practiced nightly and during free moments in the day. He was able to produce the cube and several other shapes fairly quickly, and with only a few adjustments here and there. He had worked hard and felt that he had progressed well for such a short period of time. As Ethan tried the latch to the shop, it wouldn’t depress and it seemed like the shop was locked up. Unsure what to do, Ethan knocked on the door. Ethan was about ready to knock on the door again, when he heard the lock being undone. The door opened for a moment and Devandil looked at him for a moment. “Well what is it?” Ethan held out the book for Devandil’s inspection. Blinking several times, as if to search his memory, he picked up the book and opened it to the first page, nodding. “Well, what have you done with the knowledge.” Smiling Ethan held out his hand and in a few heartbeats had a small cube shield. Devandil nodded, as he made sure Ethan was focused on the cube, the first exercise in the book. Taking his friend hand Devandil quickly slapped Ethan’s forehead. “Ouch!” Ethan brought up his hand, looking at Devandil. However, Devandil was looking at Ethan’s open hand and when Ethan looked back at it the cube was gone. “Looks like you still need some time to practice. Come back to see me when you think you have master such and easy concept.” The door closed with a bang as Ethan was left there standing looking confused and a red mark on his forehead. ~Fin

[Perplexity]

Riddled With Rewards Ethan Ironhorse Experience Skill XP Earned Observation + 2 EXP Socialization + 1 EXP Philosophy + 1 EXP Rhetoric + 1 EXP Shielding +5 EXP Meditation +2 EXP Cooking +1 EXP Lores • Lore Earned • Along Came A Spider: Devandil Nightshade • Arcane Discipline: Shielding • Shielding Technique: Tiny Cube • Finding The Anchor • The Value of a Mind Notes : Very, very well done Mr. Ethan. I was highly impressed with the level of detail you put into crafting your Shields. I appreciate the fact that you took into consideration the amount of time and effort it would take for Ethan to create them. I tip my hat to you good sir! If you have any discrepancy with your grades please PM me at your earliest convenience.