Flashback [Ialari's Dominion] Taming the Untamed Part 2

[Ialari Pythone]

Early-Middle Spring 511 AV

Ialari stood on the outer edge of her Dominion and gazed up at the horrific visage of the Tree of Death. Standing between two other, smaller trees, the huge, ancient oak loomed overhead. Hanging from its limbs were at least 50 bodies, all of them resembling in varying degrees, Ialari. Their necks were crushed by the thick ropes that held them and their bodies were wrought with decay. Those on the lower branches looked identical to the still living Ialari. One particular body had a crushed skull and wore the same black philterer robes that Ialari wore. As she followed the branches up the tree, she saw older versions of herself. They all appeared to have died from a number of different brutal methods.

It was a sight that she was greeted with each and every time she entered her Dominion. It was there the first time she stepped into the infinite grasslands of the Ukalas and was greeted by Dira, Goddess of Death. What the true meaning of the tree was escaped Ialari. At first she thought it to be a threat, If you challenge the will of the gods and abuse your Dominion, this is what will happen to you. Another thought was that perhaps it was a lure. Grow in skill and power, expand your limits and you will finally discover the meaning of the tree.

She had considered countless possibilities when it came to that tree yet none seemed to satisfy her curiosity. It didn't matter what shape the landscape took either. With each one the tree was always there be it on top of a mountain, in a cave, on the grasslands or even underwater.

The shifting landscapes had since slowed and almost ceased. Every so often she would find herself standing once more on the grasslands or in an undersea cave. More recently however the Ukalas surrounded her Dominion with a vast underground cave. Not long ago, Ialari tapped into her growing connection with the Dominion to alter the qualities of the air including the creation of a breeze. She was even able to form an even closer bond with the Dominion, such that she was able to feel and see things within the Dominion from a completely alien perspective. It was minor and fleeting in its intensity and duration yet Ialari had experienced something akin to true omniscience as it related to her own little pocket of the Ukalas.

Now, as she stood at the outer boundaries of her Dominion, staring at the multitudes of other Ialaris, she pondered what was next while turning to look away from the disturbing sight. If I can affect the air; change its smell, feel and taste, what else could I do? Could I affect sound? I mean, I know there isn't anything alive in here, at least as I understand it. But if I can influence the air then maybe...

Ialari closed her eyes and took one deep breath after another. With each breath she could taste the flowery scent of the lichen from home, she could feel the slight warmth that took the edge of the cavern chill. The combination of scent and feeling from the air helped to focus her mind and clear out possible distractions. The process of shaping was something she was learning to be rather slow at first though she hoped it may one day speed up. For now, she allowed the air within her Dominion to help her gain a greater attunement. With each breath, she felt her consciousness slowly expand and her awareness increase. When she opened her eyes, she could see herself from every direction as if she were looking at herself from outside her body. It was a very jolting experience that caused her to lose a bit of balance and almost fall to the ground.

Her Dominion was sharing itself with her just as she shared herself with it. Unfortunately, the mortal mind was only capable of processing so much and what her Dominion was sharing was immense. Pressing herself against the invisible barrier that marked the limits of her Dominion, Ialari pulled herself upright while keeping her eyes closed. This was a completely new and different experience for her since every other time she entered the Dominion, it was strange, a little enhanced, but never crushing in its grandeur. Now however, she wasn't sure if she would be able to manage the sheer magnitude of what was around her.

Ialari tried to find a focus, something that would ground her and give her strength. She had encountered similar experiences in the past. There was the time she stood in for the Supervisor Golem, Drainira in Sahova. Drainira had set a trap whereby an onslaught of information was shot into Ialari's mind, threatening to consume it. Ialari had survived. Then there was Amir Berliotz who effectively gang-raped her mind and even her soul with his ghostly possession of her. Finally there was the initial introduction to the divine realm by the Goddess of Death; an experience that opened Ialari's mind to the infinite possibilities that made up the Ukalas itself. Thinking about it, Ialari wondered if perhaps those experiences were meant to prepare her for a moment like the one she was currently experiencing.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Ialari turned her thoughts to her Divine Father, Izurdin. She called upon the memory of seeing Izurdin in Nyka before descending into the Aperture and facing Berliotz for the first time. She called upon the memory of Izurdin's hand on her shoulder as she released her pent up hatred onto Berliotz and opened the first door to Dominion. She remembered back to being a child and talking day after day to the statue of Izurdin in hopes of finding purpose and meaning in life.

She opened her eyes.

[Ialari Pythone]

When she opened her eyes, Ialari tried to maintain focus on the image of the most solid aspect of her life, her faith. instead of being bombarded with seeing herself from all directions at once, her sight was a blur. The countless images of her were still there but they were all one massive blur. While this was still enough to make her feel very uneasy, the lack of detail made it a little easier to bare. Ialari was still disoriented and remained still out of fear of another bout of lost balance, light-headedness and possible loss of consciousness.

Ialari closed her eyes again. "Ok, Ialari, you can figure this out. So you can see yourself from every angle. Now what if you pick out just one direction and concentrate on it?" The asked herself aloud as she tried to understand what was happening.

Ialari released her mental grip on her focus on faith. It was strong enough that she need not hold on to it actively; just bringing it to the forefront for a brief moment was enough to remind her of the strength it brought her. With her eyes still closed, Ialari took a few deep, slow, carefully timed breaths. With each breath, she brought to mind the imagery that greeted her when her eyes were open, piece by piece. The blurred, broken puzzle that formed was a myriad of color and amorphous shape. Ialari braced herself in the spot she stood and reached her arms out in front of her. Moving her hands and arms, she imagined that she was moving the pieces of the blurred puzzle that rested in her mind's eye. Piece by piece, Ialari moved the mental image around; using her hands to manipulate it. Her hands out-stretched, she touched various pieces of the image. With each virtual touch, a piece faded into the background of her her mind. Ialari continued the process of eliminating piece after piece until only one remained in the forefront of her mind.

Concentrating on that one piece, Ialari slowly opened her eyes. The mental image became a physical image. As Ialari focused in on the one piece of the image, it became more detailed. She saw herself standing at the edge of her Dominion. It was as if she were looking through a window on the outside to see herself looking back almost like looking into a mirror from a distance. She lowered her arms while at the same time watching herself do it from a third person perspective. It was still a little disorienting at first, but it was much more tolerable. With her mind's-eye and her actual eyes in-tune, she carefully switched focus from the detailed piece to one of the faded blurred pieces. As her focus shifted, the detailed one became faded and blurred while the new one slowly grew in detail yet from a different angle of perspective.

One by one, Ialari moved from piece to piece, breaking down an otherwise unmanageable task into smaller, easier to manipulate ones. She considered trying to look at two pieces of at once but abandoned the idea as she considered her initial breakthrough as being but a baby step. More than one at a time could still be too much to handle; at least until she was better versed at viewing just one.

So it was that Ialari looked at herself from the outside from varying angles and perspectives. She imagined that, with a far bigger Dominion in the future, she could see anything and everything that took place within simply by concentrating and sharing senses with the realm around her.

[Ialari Pythone]

One piece at a time, Ialari shifted her focus to view herself from every possible angle. When she had finished looking from one perspective, she allowed her focus to move to another. As it did, the former perspective faded giving way to the new one. She did this until she lost count. Time, hunger, fatigue, they were all forgotten as Ialari reached out with her senses and merged them with her Dominion.

When she had viewed herself from every possible known angle and perspective, Ialari decided it was time to take it to the next level. I probably shouldn't do this standing up. She thought to herself as she slowly sat on the ground. She stone floor beneath her was cool and moist yet somewhat comfortable. She first concentrated on loosening her body. She focused on her breathing, counting each slow breath. She then turned her attention to the tips of her fingers and allowed her awareness to extend into her hands and up her arms. Now into her chest, Ialari focused her attention into her pelvis, thighs, calves and into her feet and toes. Relaxation slowly began to take hold. With her mind empty of everything but the feeling of her body as she sat on the ground, Ialari took the next step and opened her mind's-eye to her Dominion once more. As before, everything was a blur.

Starting again with a single perspective, Ialari chose the one that was looking at her own face from the front. With that view in mind, she tried to maintain focus on it while also trying to see herself from behind at the same time. The process was similar to trying to remember a dream. When recalling a dream, most remember it from a third-person perspective. They find it difficult if not impossible to remember the dream in the first-person. Trying to do so usually causes the dream to grow hazy, cracked and broken. The dream is no longer remembered in its purity as it is usually corrupted by outside thoughts and emotions.

When Ialari tried to open her mind to two conflicting perspectives at once, her head erupted in a wave of near crippling pain. Doubling over and falling on her side, Ialari held her head in her hands and screamed. It was as if tearing a muscle with the muscle being the brain. The wave of pain however was just that, a single wave. When it passed, Ialari felt it slip away. Slowly and with the greatest of caution, she opened her eyes though still remained laying on the ground.

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari blinked slowly. As her sight cleared, she saw herself as if she were laying in front of her own body looking back. In her mind's-eye, she saw herself as if she were laying behind her own body. Both images existed simultaneously for her. Though not normally possible for simply mortals, it was said that one's Dominion has way of changing them. For Ialari, her bond with her Dominion had broke down the barriers of her mind and now allowed her to see in multiple perspectives at once.

Sitting up from where she lay, Ialari watched herself do this from two third-person perspectives at once. She dared not stand up else she knew she would immediately fall. She experimented with turning her head, shrugging her shoulders and raising her arms while watching it all from the outside. The feeling was quite alien at first but as she continued, it started to feel almost natural. It was almost like laying on your own arm for too long until it "fell asleep" and then, after a bit of stretching, normal feeling and comfort returned.

"Ok...this is...different." Ialari said to herself with a mouth that felt like she had just chewed a mouthful of sand. "I wonder what happens if I take this further...what's the worst that could happen? My brains explode from nose?" The imagery of such shot through Ialari's mind in an instant before she decided to push herself even more.

It was something of a struggle to maintain the first two perspectives while trying to access more. Closing her eyes made it a little easier though as Ialari opened her mind's-eye up to a second and third perspective. It was like putting a puzzle together to form a whole picture as she brought into focus one perspective after another. Although it was still extremely difficult to fully focus on more than one or two at a time, the others ceased to be blurred and were much clearer. The end result was a mental perspective that completely encompassed the entirety of the Dominion. Ialari was able, slowly at first but with increasing speed, view herself from a handful of perspectives at once while being able to shift focus and perspective in a few seconds. Although not something she could yet do standing up or with her eyes open, perhaps with some extra time and practice she could perhaps stand and maybe even walk with her eyes open while seeing everything occuring within her Dominion. The Dominion was small now so it wasn't too difficult yet if it were to grow, the effort she knew would be much greater.

[Ialari Pythone]

Thread Grade

Arcanology 5
Dominion 5
Meditation 4

Lore: Merging one's sense of sight with a Dominion in order to see multiple perspectives at once.
Lore: Using meditation and faith to ground the mind before sharing it with a Dominion.
Lore: Stretching one's mind until it breaks in a way that allows it to commune deeper with a Dominion.
Lore: Knowing what it's like to experience the tiniest fragment of the concept of omniscience within one's Dominion.