[Blood Hills] Thoughts Unbound (Mirage)

[Ronas Dermir]

OOCMirage has granted permission for this grandfathered thread

Season of Summer, Day 43, 513 AV Ronas had never felt uncomfortable in his own skin before. But when Eli Brent had ripped his Astral Body from his physical one, Ronas for the first time ... ever, had felt like a stranger in his own skin. It was a most unpleasant feeling, but it also opened his eyes to what the new magic his superior had granted him could do. Brent had called it Projection. Up until this point, Ronas had been overwhelmingly uncomfortable attempting Projection on his own. He did not know if, once he'd detached something, he would be able to put it back. And as a soldier he needed his body to be in peak condition if he was to be of any use to Sahova. Nonetheless, no magic improves without practice, and Ronas was aware that despite his complete ineptitude with the art, he needed to do some form of practice. It was a calculated risk, what Ronas was doing. If he did this wrong he would likely end up in a great deal of pain or worse. He sat down on the blood-red sand, cross-legged and eyes closed. Ronas had never used meditation in this way before, but he couldn't see any other way to do it. It worked for Voiding, it should work for Projection as well. Ronas began with breathing in through his nose, and out through his mouth, trying to relax every muscle in his body and let it go as limp as possible while still remaining seated. Once he was in as deep a meditative stance as he could get, he tried to "feel" his astral body. He'd never done that before; in fact before arriving on Sahova he didn't even know his astral body even existed. It felt ... separate, somehow, and yet still a part of him. Using his Djed, Ronas slowly "felt" his way across his astral body. He wasn't going to detach just yet. No, that would be under Master Brent's strict supervision. Ronas knew better than to try to detach without someone around to correct his mistakes should he get it wrong. But he needed to know the form and feel of this astral body. He could feel the astral body's definition, how it clung to his actual body at the joints and muscles, how easy it would be to use his Djed to "push" it away from his body. He briefly wondered if physical conditioning had anything whatsoever to do with the strength available to a projected limb. He couldn't know until he actually used Projection, but it was certainly something to keep in mind. Slowly retreating from the exploration of his astral form, Ronas could feel Mizahar quietly slide back into his consciousness. It was only a few chimes, but he knew that out here in the Testing Grounds, not being aware was incredibly dangerous. Nonetheless, practicing any form of magic outside of the relatively safe confines of meditation seemed both foolhardy and risky, and not any less dangerous if not more so. Ronas shook his head and stood, his slate gray eyes scanned the horizon.

[Mirage]

Ronas would feel another body plot down beside him, none other than Eli Brent. The Warden settled himself into a more relaxed position than his Initiate, resting his forearm on his knee as he leaned back on his other elbow. He turned his scared face toward Ronas, examining him for a moment before speaking, "You know, there are times were being cautious is imperative, and it could save your life. However, at times you can be OVERLY cautious."

His eyes looked over the distance expanse, the rise and fall of blood read hills, crimson treas to match the ruby dirt, "I'm not here to coddle you, and you should not expect it. Be cautious, but do not be timid. You cannot be my Initiate if you are too afraid to practice even the basics of this magic. You are useless to me if you cannot even trust in yourself." He nodded at Ronas, "Do it now, release your astral form. Embrace the magic. If you die then you die, and if you don't then you will be stronger. Your going to die eventually anyway, so no use in wasting thoughts on what might or might hot happen."

OOCReally short post, but I am setting up for the next ^.^

[Ronas Dermir]

Ronas nodded. He knew this of course. And he was not expecting Master Brent to coddle him. He just believed there was a fine but very important distinction between valor and foolishness. Taking unnecessary risks was both foolhardy in the extreme and also utterly useless. Once he was certain he could extend his reach with his new magic he fully intended to practice it on his own. But when he had been initiated into Voiding, his fellow apprentice had proceeded to accidentally self-Void. Shyke happened. Without supervision, it tended to happen more often. Ronas simply nodded at Eli, before closing his eyes again. His breathing grew quieter, more controlled, as he began to tense each muscle, each limb and tendon, starting from his legs, moving up to his diaphragm and stomach, then his chest, his arms, his fingers, his toes, even his eyes. Every single muscle clenched, sweat pouring down his shaved head as he clenched them tighter and tighter. His muscles burned with the exertion, and it felt like his entire body was on fire. Then, as though at a predetermined signal, each and every muscle relaxed. Like before, every thought fled with the tension, his mind from being a red haze of pain to being a clear white. Nothing remained, not even the sound of the wind sweeping the red sand beneath them into abstract patterns. Ronas felt his astral body now, his Djed flowing through his limbs and muscles, the same ones his meditation had ordered to tense. Starting from his left shoulder, Ronas quietly pushed the astral body from the limb, and it felt much like that day when Eli had ripped it forcibly from him, except not quite as painful. It just felt... strange, like the limb was missing but not missing. One usually always knew where one's limbs were, but his shoulder wasn't where it was supposed to be, attached to his arm, but floating outside it, and his mind struggled to grasp and understand this fact. He detached his elbow next, like peeling the skin from a banana. He stretched and stretched and stretched until he could almost feel the arm pop at the elbow, and it was free, leaving just the hand and the fingers still attached. Ronas felt his way down with his Djed, willing the hand to separate, to no longer be a part of him. The essence of his hand floated out, now held only by his knuckles. He withdrew from those, one by one, like popping knuckles except there was no sound. Pop. Pop. Pop. Until finally, his entire left arm was free. Ronas had no idea how Master Brent had created those tentacles. He suspected he'd need a great deal more practice, before he'd be able to do that. He'd probably need more practice before he'd even be able to do what he just did without the aid of Meditation for clearing his mind. All told, the separation had taken about three or four chimes. He suspected he'd need to do this faster if he was ever to use it in battle. Ronas' gray eyes opened, and he could feel his now astral arm, lifting it to his face with a mixture of curiosity and mild concern. His actual arm fell limply to his side, dead and useless. He attempted to stretch the limb, but it resisted, as his mind was still stuck in the phase that the limb was still indeed an arm and would bend or break if stretched past its limits. He reached forward with this strange new appendage and picked up a small rock. From all outward appearances, the rock was now floating in mid-air. Ronas could not actually see the astral limb, only feel it. Know it was there, the way one knew where one's nose was and could touch it with one's fingertip even while blindfolded. He suspected, then, that the key to changing shape, size, and length of his astral limb was to "know" it as something other than an arm. He tried to do this, trying to imagine the arm in the shape of a blade, or a tentacle, but failed. His mind rejected that new reality, stubbornly insisting his arm was an arm. After about a chime, he gave up. Practice. It just took practice.

[Mirage]

OOCThis has been waiting far far FAR too long, and I sincerely apologize! It got lost in a flood of things, and I found it after digging back 4 or 5 pages. Please forgive me T.T

Brent watched in silence, examining each and every movement made, every act of magic performed. When it was completed he would nod once more, "Good, at least you seem to grasp the basics. Perhaps the most difficult part of projection is the release, and reattachment of your astral body. Once that is completed learning to use and manipulate your astral form is key, and that sort of control can only be gained through practice."

The Warden stood and brushed off his leggings, crossing his arms over his chest, "I am certain you know of combat, and have your own techniques and methods for doing things. For now forget all you have learned, because I am going to teach you the way of the Wardens. Stand now and observe." Brent uncrossed his arms and recrossed them, beign sure that Ronas noticed, "This is the battle stance of a Bloodhill Warden. We do not fight with just our physical body, but with our astral one as well. As you experienced once your astral form leaves your physical whatever limb it controlled becomes limp and useless. In combat it is a liability to have a free hanging bit of flesh flopping from your shoulder, and so we cross our arms to keep our limbs attached and so they do not hinder us." There was a shimmer and two ghost appendages rose easily from both of Brents arms. They still held their shape, attached at the shoulder, and floated on either side of the Warden's body, "Now let us truly begin your training soldier boy. Reattach that limb, assume your proper stance, and then release both arms as I have. For now you may take your time, but practice often so that you can easily free your astral form at any time, even in a sudden heated combat situation."

[Ronas Dermir]

OOC : Soooo~ sorry this is so late! But since Nate is about to hit 50k I'll have time for good old Ronas now . The issue that Ronas saw immediately with Projection was speed. Specifically, it was the exact same problem he had with Voiding; it was more useful after battle than it was during battle. Taking even a few ticks to do something can cost you valuable time, time you don't have in the heat of combat where swords are swinging and people are shouting and everything is going to Hai in a hand-basket. In those circumstances it becomes difficult to concentrate on anything but staying alive, and everything works on instinct. And Magic requires thought. Sometimes heavily disciplined, focused thought, to get it right and not petch it up. Practice, then, was necessary if he was ever to reach any sort of competency with Projection. If Master Brent was showing him a stance specifically for the use of the Magic then it must be effective in combat despite its slow "wind up" time, though Ronas wondered briefly how someone could Project a limb quickly enough to react to changing conditions on the battlefield, but clearly it was possible since presumably Master Brent had been doing it long enough to survive the harsh conditions here. That meant what was required was patience and discipline. He just hoped he'd live long enough for patience and discipline to bear fruit, but that was not under his control. He'd actually had a speech rather similar to this one before, when he first began training in Voiding. To forget what he had learned before because what he was being taught would require him to think in an entirely different way. Every new technique, every new magic, required a new way of thinking, and any soldier inflexible enough to be unable to adapt to rapidly shifting situations often did not last long enough to be a problem anyway. Ronas understood the value of forgetting the old to understand the new, so despite the somewhat silly-looking stance he simply nodded and watched carefully. Apparently, Master Brent was much faster releasing his astral form, confirming Ronas' theory that increased practice would increase the speed with which he could accomplish this all-important task. And it was important, because as it was, it required concentration, even a bit of meditation, to aid him before he could do this, and that was not possible in a combat situation. Was it mere familiarity with one's Astral form that granted such speed? Or was it simply a ease gained from practice, like the increased speed of a master swordsman compared to that of a novice? He knew that theoretically, one could open a portal to the Void quickly, without having to spend endless chimes concentrating, but the inherent danger of doing so was that one often lost control of the portal and ran a significant risk of self-Voiding and overgiving. But Ronas knew that being overly cautious lead to few victories. So on Master Brent's order he slowly reattached his arm, bringing it back down and feeling the arm reattach, starting from the fingertips and it returned to his physical form slowly. It was such an odd feeling, because it was like the essence of his arm was returning to the physical form. It didn't feel like the Arm flopping by his side was part of his body anymore, more like it was a piece of meat that was hanging about as his real arm was off doing things, yet despite this he could still feel things from the physical arm, just muted and indistinct. The sensation of Projection was quite interesting and if Ronas had been a more intellectual person he might have even wanted to investigate some of the more esoteric properties that it produced, but instead he just concentrated on reattaching the limb to make it useful again. Once the arm was fully reattached Ronas flexed his hand experimentally. He could still feel a light tingle, which he suspected was from his apparent inability to truly understand how to reattach and perhaps he did not do it perfectly. He would certainly have to practice if he wanted to get this right and not risk losing an Astral limb by not reattaching it properly. He suspected if that occurred he was likely to lose use of the physical limb as well; a dangerous prospect for any mage. Standing up, he crossed his arms in imitation of what Master Brent was doing, gray eyes glinting in concentration as he felt the Djed flowing through is body. The Astral body was not truly separate from the physical form; at least that was what Ronas felt as he ran his mind across his arms, feeling the Astral body and willing it to detach. If they were truly seperate, he wondered if it was possible for someone to fully detach. And if they did, would they need their physical form at all? What happens to a mage that has fully detached, and their physical form dies? Would they become akin to ghosts? Or would they die? All questions without any answers, and hardly relevant to what he was doing now, so Ronas pushed them to the back of his mind as he focused on detaching his arms at the major joints first; starting with the elbow and pulling outward until the Astral form almost popped out, and then working his way to the wrist, then the fingers until both arms were outside their physical containers. Once again it felt... strange. Almost unnatural. He could still feel his arms crossed against his chest but it was as though the actual arms were not there. The conflicting realities were playing tricks on his brain and more times than once while he tried to get used to the sensation he wanted to move his arm only to realize it was still crossed against his chest and he was moving the astral arm instead. It would certainly take a lot of getting used to, that was for sure. Nonetheless he had done it; though he suspected he could not maintain it for long before exhaustion would set in. It was similar with Voiding; and he was quite sure Projection was no different. "I have detached the arms as ordered, Master Brent," Ronas rumbled. "Though I feel as though the process has taken me far longer than would be practical on the battlefield. I assume that this will be faster as I practice? Is there a faster way to detach for emergency situations?"