Closed Magic can be wonderful (Aoren)

[S'Essy]

AV 514, Spring 22nd [Wright Memorial Library]

This whole thing still was fresh in her, her feelings were still the same ever since yesterday. She was curious and excited still. She had to go and look for more clue. She only knew one thing about Vanthas. Their eye's colors were changing. For why or how, she didn't know, but she needed more information than that. A good place for that seemed the University. It had a library where everyone could go not only students. She was heading towards again to the place and was humming the melody.

She walked passed the Forum where she was yesterday and actualy entered the building. Many students were walking by, going to their class. S'Essy didnt know where to go. She had to ask one of the people there. She stepped to a woman who was reading something important. "Sorry, can you tell me where I can find the library?" She didn't look up, she was pointing at the direction. "There, you will find it." S'Essy didn't bother her anymore and headed where the woman was pointing for her.

She was right, she easily found it. She stepped in the library and she was awed by the many books which lied in the shelves. She didn't know where to head first, she didn't know which book to choose. Really which book could tell about the Vanthas? She was walking in the library and tried to keep quiet. Everyone seemed to know where to go and what to choose. The Konti had troubles with it.

She was going through the shelves and was looking at the book's title. They were all about magic. Wrong section. She went to another one and checked those. Again the wrong one, those were all about travelling. Aimlessly searching for books like was a waste of time, she had to admit it. She had to ask for help again. She stopped a man who was passing by. "I'm sorry, can you tell me where could I read about Vanthas?" The man was thinking for a bit then pointed at the shelves at the other side of Library. "If I remember right somewhere there you should books like that. I don't know for sure." He answered. "Thank you!"

She headed towards there quickly and was looking at the titles again. Those were close. They were all about cultures. Then a sudden but warm feeling went through her. She was distracted by it and she looked around. Another healer was here. There were many healers around the University, at least she thought that way.

[Aoren]

“If anything can be concluded it’s that Spirits, whether malevolent or benign, remain here in the physical world because of any number of intangible reasons. It is only through the efforts of the ancient practice of Spiritism that mortals can truly comprehend the vast sum of mysteries surrounding the lingering dead.”

Aoren turned the page in the volume that he was reading. It was a basic, albeit comprehensive look into the World Magic of Spiritism. He had recently had a very uncomfortable run in with a ghost barreling down a path of revenge and wrath. The experience itself had not been a pleasant one. It had left Aoren weak, feeling vulnerable and showed him just how utterly unprepared he had been to face such a thing. There had been a silver lining in the experience however. It was something he was grateful for. He sat comfortably on the edge of a windowsill scanning through the volume in his hands.

If he had not been a student in the College of Djed the tome would have been strictly off-limits to him. Even then the librarians had been skeptical about releasing it to him. He had been given strict instructions that the book was not to leave the building. He was to return it to one of the librarians directly upon completing whatever task it was he was pursuing. It was a simple enough thing to follow. He had no intention of removing the volume from the walls of the prestigious library.

As turned the page in the volume once more an inviting and warm feeling fluttered across his consciousness. It was very peaceful. It was the same feeling he’d had a day prior when he’d met the Konti woman…

“S’Essy?” Aoren looked up. His cobalt blue gaze came to rest upon the form of the very woman his thoughts had turned to. A smile touched his face. The day earlier he had assisted the woman in uncovering the identity of her father. Through the gift of Divination he had been able to search the recesses of her Chavi picking up pieces of information to draw some semblance of a picture. There had not been much that he could find but what he had been able to he had hoped would help. They were able to uncover the fact that her father was a Vantha.

“Here searching for information on Vantha?” He observed the way her eyes scanned the shelves. She was no doubt searching for a text that could tell her something about the people with the shifting eyes. Aoren found it interesting that he had run into her the very next day after assisting her.

“It would seem my work is not yet finished.”

Indeed he took it as a sign from Avalis that he was still obligated to assist the woman in her endeavor. Closing the book in his hands he tucked it under his arm hopping down from the windowsill. He strode up to the Konti woman giving her a polite bow.

“Fate must have decided we should meet again. Much sooner than I would have expected.” He gave her a happy smile. He was glad to see her. She was a refreshingly pleasant person to be around.

[S'Essy]

The sudden warm feeling was familiar to her. It wasn't any healer in the building. It was Aoren around here. Afterall he said he was learning in the University. No wonder he visited the library. S'Essy's attention changed from the shelves she was looking at. The man, who she met just yesterday was standing in front of her with a smile and a bow.

S'Essy bowed her head also and gave a smile back to him. "Nice to see you again!" She was glad to meet with him again. So Soon but she didn't mind. She look back at the shelf, checking the title for a moment. With that quick look she still didn't find anything. Her gaze wandered back to Aoren. "Yeah, not much luck yet. This li-..lib-..library...Sorry my Common... is huge!"

She had much time to get know of Vantha anyway. The Konti's attention went to the book he was holding. "What were you reading?" Must be something about magic, she assumed. She remembered he was learning about djed and magic, things which she wasn't familiar with, only with shielding. Maybe she should spend also some time to get know a little about that topic too.

Fate was a funny thing. Gods were even funnier and mortals just didn't have enough humor to laugh at their jokes. "Maybe the twin goddesses want me to help you this time. Or just simply want us to enjoy each other's company. I don't know but who am I to refuse such opportunity?" She gave a bright smile to him. Either would be more than fine for her.

[Aoren]

“Maybe I can help you find the book that you’re searching for?” It wasn’t the best idea since Aoren was nowhere near familiar with the layout of the library. There were of course several librarians that would be able to assist them if the need arose. For the moment however it would be nice just to socialize.

“Yes, this is probably the biggest library that I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine finding anything bigger anywhere else in the world.” He gave S’Essy a half-smile then a puzzled look crossed his face. He rubbed his chin making a thoughtful hum. “Not that I have much to go by. The Archives back in Syliras were restricted to members of the Order. I hear that it is decently sized as well though. I wouldn’t know. I never saw the inside of it.”

Aoren lifted the book under his arm at her mention of it. The College of Djed was rather strict about its rules when it came to sharing the knowledge contained within their volumes. He was expressly forbidden to share the book with S’Essy because she was not a student. He saw no harm in informing her of the subject of the tome though. He held it up briefly as if he were examining the text like it were a live creature.

“It is a book discussing the sorcery of Spiritism. It is the magic of dealing with spirits and the dead as well as some forms of undead as far as I understand it. From what I gather the role of a Spiritist is to protect the living from the more troubled phantoms and creatures by helping them move on to the next life.” It was a highly philosophical discipline of world magic from everything that Aoren had been able to gather. He had not gotten very far in his research concerning the magic but what he had read intrigued him especially with events in his life as of late. He tucked the book back under his arm.

“I remember you saying that you practiced Shielding? I know a little bit about that magic myself. Would you be interested in speaking about it while we search for your book?” Aoren normally didn’t discuss the deeper secrets of everything he practiced with just anyone. Shielding though was a magic that was nearly impossible to turn to destructive uses as far as he knew. He didn’t see the harm in jumping at the chance to both share knowledge and put it into practice. As he awaited S’Essy’s response he bowed his head at her remark about the goddesses.

“Sometimes I think the gods just throw us into situations to see how we will react.” He gave her a smile reaching up to rub at the back of his head with a soft chuckle.

[S'Essy]

She shook her head at his offer. "Thank you, but you don't have to. I can search about them later. Just... yesterday made me so eager and happy, I couldn't stop myself." She hardly slept that night. Kept humming that melody while she was lying on the bed. But it was only the beginning. And there was still time hopefully, if her father was alive... just where? For now, she didn't bother her mind with that.

She was looking around the place again as Aoren was talking. It was interesting to see how many books they collected over the years. No wonder she had hard time to find the book she wanted... well she didn't know which book exactly which made it even harder. Then she looked back at Aoren when he mentioned The Archives in Syliras, which could be accessed by Knights only. She thought maybe she could ask Markus a favor for her. "Me neither... but I might know someone who could."

Spiritism. Something which she didn't have to deal with much. She was looking at the book he was holding up. Magic which was dealing with spirits and undeads. "Phantoms? Sorry.. can you explain what's that? " A new word to learn again. It was a magic which she was sure she wouldn't really practise unless it was really necessary. She tried to be as far from Death as possible. Not like it wasn't an important stage of life but she was a healer of Rak'keli.

"Yes I did. Wasn't that successful yet. And yes I would like that. I can read later. Lucky! Perhaps this day she could learn more and with his help and knowledge she could have more success than before. The only magic she dared to try and practise. But she didn't want to try now, she wanted to use it and get better with it. She had to.

She laughed. This just reminded S'Essy about her Call. "Oh Dear, if you would know! "

[Aoren]

“Very well.” Whether it was because she wanted privacy in her search or because she didn’t want to burden him Aoren didn’t know. On the one hand he could understand wanting to embark upon such an endeavor by oneself if at all possible. There were likely a hundred different thoughts passing through her head about her father. What was he like? Where did he go? Why did he leave? The most pressing question of all though: did he still care for her? All of those were questions that resonated with Aoren on a fundamental level. He didn’t know his parents. The only parent he ever knew was situated firmly in his heart and in his memory as a man who did the best he could with what he had. S’Essy’s reasons were her own so Aoren would respect them.

“Phantom? It’s a ghost. It is spirit of a person who either can’t or won’t move on because they have unfinished business here in the mortal world. Some of them are kinder than others. Some of them are very sad or so stricken with grief they don’t realize they’re dead. Some of them are bitter and vengeful…” Aoren’s gaze grew distant at that. With his right hand he rubbed at his right thigh the memory of an encounter that was still quite raw flittering across his consciousness. He blinked a few times pulling himself out of that dark place.

“I have run into a ghost or two myself. The meetings lead me to pick up an interest in learning Spiritism. I still don’t know much about it but the books help. As with all magic though the real way to learn will be through practice.” He gave S’Essy a smile before listening to her eagerly accept his offer of learning more about Shielding. It would be a great opportunity for them both. He nodded.

“Alright. Hmmm…” Looking around Aoren spotted a small table that was reserved for studying. He had used such tables to further his own studies a few times since he’d been in Zeltiva. Gesturing to the table he inclined his head implying S’Essy should follow him. Politely he grabbed the nearest chair pulling it out for the Konti woman with a bow of his head.

“If you please?” Once S’Essy got herself situated into the chair Aoren would take a seat opposite of her at the table. He set the book on Spiritism down in front of them.

“So, what can you tell me about Shielding? How much do you know about it?” Aoren was by far not a master of the magic himself. He only had his own experiences to go by. It would be interesting to see the differences in how he and S’Essy wove the djed of a Shield together to perform a specific task.

[S'Essy]

"So a ghost!" No wonder she had never heard this word before. She didn't really meet any ghost and didn't really have any business with them. But from him she knew some new information also. Souls who refuse to move one because they have business in this world. That sounded really scary and depressing. She kinda was working against this. Save lives so they could do what they have to do. "Poor things." All she could say.

Real way to learn is practice that was true. Though if it came to ghosts and spiritism then maybe she would prefer learning from books. She couldn't imagine how chaotic would be to meet one. She was sure they would be really unreliable. Maybe not all she didn't know and perhaps she wouldn't have to deal with one for a while. Who knows?

She turned her head towards the shelf quickly. Hoping that she would find a book which could help at the last chime. Not that lucky. She shrugged and followed Aoren where he was leading her. He found a nice spot for them to do it. Aoren chose his own chair, she assumed and was about to grab the other one. If you please. S'Essy was confused for a moment but gave a bright smile and chuckled.

"That's really sweet of you." She sat down on the chair he offered to her. She was pondering at his question. What did she know about shielding other than nothing? "Mmm... I would rather say what I experienced and I used it... it might give you the idea. I'm really not good with it yet. As I said a few times." Then she closed her eyes and tried to think where to start." So.. um.. What I know... or how I tried to use it till now that it can protect you. Doesn't hurt anyone. I always meditate before it. I try to get into a stage where I can only focus on my breathing. With that in my mind I always imagine that with the air I also blow out the gas... djed? And whatever person or item I want to put it on, I start to form it with my hands, slowly and put it on. Usually, I always just tried to task it to block out djed." She was curious if she could use it for anything else. It would be pretty wonderful.

She looked down to the table. Like she was embarassed by something. "Maybe it sounds silly but my other reason for learning because... it's pretty. I like it. Mine looks like the sea. It's waving and even its color match."

[Aoren]

“I was raised to be mindful of my manners.” He gave S’Essy a wink before listening to what she had to say. Her take on the discipline of Shielding wasn’t too far away from his own. He smiled at the last part of her comments. Shields were most definitely beautiful things to behold. He had spent a modicum of time studying the weave of his own Shields, captivated by not just their appearance but how they carried out their tasks. His own Shields were not capable of much at the present time but he was growing in his confidence with them. He was silent for a moment as he considered what S’Essy had said.

“Shields…” Aoren mulled over his words. He searched the limited stores of knowledge he had on the subject of Shielding. “…Shields are the extension of a desire to protect. They are created with the underlying purpose to block, defend, deflect or keep something out or concealed.”

He sat forward bringing his hands up to rest lightly on the surface of the book. Inwardly he reached for the strength of his Djed. Focusing on it he retrieved the sliver of power he needed to demonstrate what he was referring to. Slowly the djed began to form in the palms of his hands where it was easiest for him to manifest it. As it formed he began spreading the djed over the surface of the book. The Shield wouldn’t be perfect. He was not yet skilled enough to create entirely uniform Shields but it would be spread out enough to afford coverage for what he was trying to do. As he worked on covering the book with his Shield he rotated it slowly. All the while he kept his eyes trained on his work.

“In my experience, if you are careful and attentive to the detail of how you weave your Shields together they will be able to accomplish more. If you actively work toward making them evenly spaced over the surface of the object you’re trying to Shield the weave will more effectively carry out its task.” He noted a rather large cluster of Djed lingering in the upper right hand corner of the front cover of the book. Steadily he prodded the area with his fingers working to spread that out to more thinly veiled areas of the book’s binding.

“My only guess is it might work that way because when a Shield is more evenly spaced you have an equal amount of djed flowing throughout the whole Shield. When that djed can flow uniformly over the entire surface of the object it runs into less obstacles when mustering its strength to carry out its task.” It was only a theory. Only time, practice and careful study would tell whether or not there was any truth to what Aoren believed. When he had finished working on placing a Shield over the entire front cover of the book Aoren focused on tasking it with the simple concept of blocking djed. He concentrated on that idea, keeping his hand touching the surface of the Shield as he willed it into the weave of the barrier.

“I just tasked this Shield with blocking djed. Have you ever seen a Shield react to blocking other djed?” Aoren looked up at S’Essy. His Shield would likely only last a few minutes. There was certainly no way it would remain a permanent construct. He was no skilled enough for such a feat. Not yet anyways.

[S'Essy]

So she was right. It was only for protect. Made sense it was SHIELDING after all not attacking.That was another reason that she started to learn it. She couldn't harm anything with it, in fact protect things... if she would be more powerful. But just more practice.

She was staring at his hand as he placed on the book's cover. The Konti looked up at him. He was focusing. He was about to put a shield on the book. Or she assumed. She didn't see the djed on his hands. She only saw anything when he started to shape it and as he was moving his fingers on it. He was weaving the djed and she could see his shield lying on the book. She was smiling as he carefully put it on.

Beautiful. His shield was just as beautiful as hers. Mixed colors of royal blue and a little violet. And it looked like the wind was blowing it. It was also interesting to see that it seemed like that Aoren did this effortlessly. She was always careful and precious with her own djed. Always slowly, step by step. She was always afraid that if she would do it too fast it would fly away into the nothing.

While she was watching him doing that, she was also paying attention what he was saying. "Maybe I'm a bit too careful. I see you doing it and... it makes me feel it's easy. But I always do it so slowly. It takes chimes to done it. I'm too afraid that the gas will slip away from my hands." It wasn't a perfect shield but she didn't see that way. Its looks were almost hypnotising her.

She was thinking for a moment about his thoughts. Looked up at the ceiling. She tried to understand what Aoren.. because of her Common it was a bit harder. She thought she kinda got it. At least she hoped, she looked back to him. "As you know my Common is not that good so sorry if I say anything stupid. But if I understood you right, hopefully, you mean that if I would weave shield on a tiny spot like a... splinter? and on a bigger surface like this book's cover, they both would be just as powerful?"

"Not really. Or I don't really remember about that." She was again staring at the beautiful shield he had just weaved.

[Aoren]

Aoren smiled at S’Essy. He prodded his minor Shield adding a bit more of his djed to the weave to prevent it from deteriorating rapidly. He was already beginning to spot holes forming in the structure. It was only to be expected considering his minute grasp upon the magic. Aoren had never personally described his Shields as something to behold. He had not had the opportunity to study many but his own Shields seemed rather subdued in his opinion. There was a dark majesty to them if one cared to think of them that way. To Aoren, the deep colors and almost shadowy nature of his Shields suggested to him that they were a direct reflection about his view on the magic.

“I am certainly no expert. I am probably no more skilled than you are. I have just spent a great deal of time working on how to spread my Shields evenly across the surface of an object. It might make me a little quicker but a more skilled user could easily put me to shame.” Aoren wasn’t being coy. He was being honest. He wasn’t all that powerful or knowledgeable when it came to Shielding. Place him in a situation where Reimancy or Glyphing were perhaps needed and he would likely fair differently.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. The strength of the Shield is dependent upon the strength of the mage who builds it. It doesn’t matter whether it is the size of a house or the size of the pebble what the Shield is able to do is determined by how much work you put into it.” As it stood it didn’t matter if Aoren built a Shield around the whole table or made one around his pinky finger. Both Shields would have imperfections in their weave. Both Shields would only be capable of carrying out the most basic of tasks and could be just as easily broken by a more powerful wizard or determined assailant.

“Well, allow me to show you.” Aoren had tasked his Shield with the first thing he’d learned how to weave into the structure of Shields: to block djed. Calling upon the power of his Reimancy, Aoren produced only enough Res to equal the size of a miza. With a flick of his thoughts he transmuted into a focused breeze that struck the Shield on the cover of the book. The Shield flared. The royal blues with violent accents became bathed in an ethereal light before that light flickered and the Shield cracked. Within moments the fabric of the Shield deteriorated.

“There you have it. Shields that come into contact with more focused and powerful djed than their own are easily circumvented. I don’t know why exactly. I’m going to make a guess so bear with me as I form the idea in my head.” He quirked his head giving S’Essy another smile. Aoren pondered on his wording for a few moments as he considered his reasoning as to why the Shield, which had been constructed by his own djed, was also overpowered by his own djed just in the form of Reimancy.

“I made that Shield. I used my own djed. At the same time my own djed is what powers my Reimancy, the magic I used to break it. My only guess as to why is because I am a more advanced Reimancer than I am a Shielder. Maybe it’s because the djed I produce with my Reimancy is more focused and potent than that of my Shields.” Aoren shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know. It was only a guess.

“What do you think? Want to give it a try?”