Flashback The Basics of Magical Practice: Reimancy

[Bakar]

Summer, 469

No more he thought to himself. No more beatings, no more names. No. More. Bakar searched the city for any and all persons of magical being. He just needed one person to accept him. Just for a while, to learn something basic. Something he could use, not to hurt, but to scare off abusers. He found many people with magic, most not very proficient. But he didn't need a master. He just wanted base skills. Something, anything. They all refused to teach him their secrets. Stubborn, scared.

After a few days of searching someone finally agreed to take the scared, young Nuit as an apprentice. A Reimancer. Bakar thanked the man over and over. He was brushed off. "I'm not doing this for free." He said to Bakar. The Nuit started to worry. He didn't have much money to pay. Seemingly sensing this, the old man shook his head. "I don't want your coin. I want you. I know what you are, Nuit. And I am envious. Undeath, all of time to learn everything. I want that. You will give me that."

Bakar didn't understand, he questioned the man on his meaning. "I read that a Nuit can change another into a Nuit. I just need to consume your ichor." His mind raced back to the year before, where he had lost some of his ichor. He grew weak and tired, and ended up sleeping for an entire day, a feeling he had been without for a while. He brought this to the attention of the man. "Yes, yes. I know that you grow weak without it. That is why over the course of your stay here I will extract minuscule amounts each day, so you are not overburdened with the loss. That is the payment I request for my knowledge. I doubt you'll find another deal anywhere."

Bakar agreed to these terms, knowing that the man was most likely correct. "Good," he stated. "For now it is late. I will retire. I know that you don't requite sleep. Can you read and write?" Bakar indicated that yes, he could. "Excellent. Then you will start with these." He pushed a couple of books towards Bakar, then some sheets of paper, ink and a quill. "These are my journals on my advancement of the magical disciplines, as well as some notes from my own teachings. These books will teach you the theoretical principals of Reimancy and Glyphing through the notes I've made, as well as some of the experiences you may have from my personal thoughts. Learn them before I teach you anything. If you can't do this, then you have no further business here and I will not require your services." These writings were precious and personal to the man, but he would give anything to become Nuit. Bakar hurriedly nodded and immediately started on the books.

He had indicated that he could read and write, but half of the book was not in a language that Bakar knew. He did his best to study them, but without guidance it was slow work. He took notes using the supplies given to him and reminders of questions to ask when his new teacher awakened. First and foremost, what were these symbols and words? Bakar shook his head to himself. You need to do this. You need this. He pushed through the first journal, then opened the second, the book on Glyphs. He learned that the symbols he had seen in the first book were glyphs, a written form of the ancient tongue, and the words were phonetic of the symbols. Maybe I should have started with this book instead..

After the night, he had read and re-read the books after learning of the ancient tongue and understanding the symbols. He had copied notes and questions onto every inch of the sheets provided to him, having to remember others, running out if room. His teacher finally arrived, and raised an eyebrow. "What's this? You have actually read them? And understood?"

"Well.. no. Not fully, I had some questions." The day continued like so, Bakar asked, and the teacher answered. He smiled, never expecting the Nuit to actually read the books. Not that they were advanced, just that most don't have the drive to read through such boring and theoretical texts throughout the night, most falling asleep, or forgetting the bulk of what they read due to studying while too tired. A Nuit doesn't sleep, under normal circumstances. And their memories are impeccable. He smiled to himself. This would be an interesting pupil. One that will give him so much in return.

[Bakar]

And so the days went one, Bakar reading near all day for over a week. Journal after journal of magical theory, glyphing and Reimancy, all through his teacher's own notes and experiences, except one, which seemed to be professionally written, a true tome on the basics of magic, overgiving and Djed. Never tiring, never stopping for anything, Bakar studied trying to prove to his teacher that he was ready to be initiated. He would study as long as it took, which wasn't much longer. One night, while he was reading about triggers, he teacher suddenly came to him, grabbed his hand and cut a long gash across his palm.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Bakar yelled. His teacher was silent. He grabbed his other hand, and repeated the process. "Pl-please, stop!" He was getting scared and didn't know what to do. "Be quiet. Hold out your hands." He spoke coldly, but Bakar listened. His teacher took his hands and held them tightly. Bakar remembered now.

This is generally how initiation to Reimancy went. Soon, his master would pour his Res into the wounds and any other opening. It would spread through his body, going through his useless veins. He tried to brace for the pain, but there was no way he could prepare for the pain he felt. Fire, spreading through his body, through the veins that ran no blood. He tried to remain still, not interrupt his initiation. He was not going to ruin this. Despite this resolve, he couldn't help but flinch slightly at the burning, now spreading to his chest. "Stay still." His teacher barked. Bakar gritted his teeth and endured.

After an agonized 15 chimes, he could feel the burning start to subside. It withdrew from his chest, then his legs and finally his arms. He collapsed forwards, palms down, head hung. "It's done. Rest for a while, then I will teach you to produce your own. I do not require any ichor for the next few days." His teacher said, almost sympathetically. Bakar relaxed at this. He was unsure if he could take then initiation and the loss of more ichor all at once. His teacher seemed to know this as well.

Bakar was still unable to produce Res effectively. He was worried that something had gone wrong during the initiation, that he wouldn't even be able to produce Res. Under the guidance of his teacher and through personal practice, however, he could slowly feel the buildup of Djed beneath his palm, and the eventual release into the outside world. Bakar felt proud of this, even though the released was next to nothing, and he wasn't sure, but he's almost certain that he saw his teacher smiling. The next few days were spent on learning Glyphs, until Bakar could produce enough Res to properly practice his newfound magic.

[Bakar]

"Now I'm sure you've read this, but I'm going to review it anyways. The main part of a Glyph is the Focus. This is what will amplify your magical abilities, or what is used to store magic in a scroll. Around a focus is a Barrier. A Barrier is a ring of Glyphs that contain and trap the magic, keeping it from activating as soon as it's stored. You want it to activate when it's going to be useful. That's what a Trigger is for. A Trigger is a set of instructions imprinted by the Barrier to let it know when to fall. As you get better at Glyphing your Triggers can get more complex. For now we'll keep it simple. Now, start with a Focus. Copy this." Bakar's teacher slid a paper towards him, imprinted with a simple Sigil.

Bakar shakily copied the focus. When he was done, he slid his teachers and his Focus back to his teacher. He shook his head in disappointment. "You Sigils need to be perfect otherwise your Glyphs are prone to malfunction. Do it again. Better this time." Bakar tried again, slower, but with not much improvement. His penmanship was never very good. "No, no, no! perfect I said, not kind of similar. Do it again!"

Again and again Bakar tried to copy it exactly as shown, but his hand, too shaky, his coordination, too low. His teacher just sat, refusing to continue until Bakar could get this right. As the day turned later, and Bakar had still not been able to replicate the Focus his teacher grew impatient. "You're not leaving this spot until you get it right. I don't care if it takes all night. Do it. I'll see you in the morning."

And so Bakar sat, and as instructed did not move from the table. Copying the Focus, over and over and over. Hours of writing starting to cramp his hand. This did not help with trying to get it just right. When his teacher returned the next morning, Bakar had many sheets, Focus after Focus. He inspected them all, Bakar still copying the whole time.

"Well," his teacher said, "It seems sometime last night you got better. See, here. This is what you were doing wrong before. You needed to do this, here." He was pointing to various points on the Focus, actually teaching Bakar this time, rather than expecting him to just do it. This made it easier on him. If he knew what he was doing wrong, he could attempt to fix it, rather than making the same mistake over and over again. Bakar noticed that his hand was more steady after all this. His writing softer, thinner and neater. His teacher nodded in approval.

"With the basics down, drawing the rest won't be so hard. That Barrier is next. As I said, it's a ring of Glyphs around to Focus to contain any magic stored. Here is a basic Barrier. Copy it around this Focus." Once again, a another sheet was slid towards him, along with a Focus he had drawn last night. True to what he was told, drawing the Barrier was a lot easier than the Focus. He knew the movements and his hands seemed more responsive, if cramped. He wouldn't complain though. Never.

"Good, good. Now, a Trigger can be almost anything. Once you get skilled enough. Keep it simple for now. 'When this is read/touched/placed etc.'" Bakar nodded, keeping this in mind. He wrote; When this is set alight, release the Barrier. His teacher nodded. "Simple enough. Good job. You may take a break if you wish." Bakar didn't want to, but his hand was screaming at him to stick his pride and let it rest. He bowed to his teacher and thanked him. "Stop with the thanks. I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart, as you know." He knew, but even so he also felt that the old man was starting to feel some form of compassion for him. He felt that his teacher was glad to have him around. Bakar smiled to himself and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain in his hand to subside.

[Bakar]

A few days later, after Bakar had copied the sigils, committing them to memory, he was able to produce enough Res for a basic spell. "You may choose one element, which is it. Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Quickly now." He teacher was being more impatient recently. It was making Bakar uncomfortable. "O-oh, w-well.. Air seems pretty basic.. I don't want to overreach." His teacher scowled, but said nothing ill of his choice. He did look disappointed though. "Yes, yes basic. That's what you need." The next few bells, his teacher began teaching him the basics of Air Reimancy. He did it almost with an urgency, fast with no in depth explanation. It actually took longer this way, being harder for Bakar to absorb the information, but eventually he began to understand.

"Do you think you can do it?" His teacher asked coldly. "Y-yes, I believe so." Bakar said nervously. "Then do it." His teacher barked. Bakar flinched at this and began to will the Djed forth, gathering the Res in his palm. His teacher, surprisingly, waited patiently. Giving him words of caution. "Remember, don't try to do too much. Overgiving is a dangerous thing, consuming many novice wizards."

Even as he said this, he could feel a pulse in the back of his head, a meaning. It was telling him to continue, spreading a feeling of peace through his mind. It was the first real peace he'd felt in a while, making it easy to keep his focus on spreading this peace. Despite his teacher's warnings, he let this get the better of him. He closed his eyes and continued, the Djed flowing more freely from his palms, now twitching. "That is enough Bakar. Bakar. That is enough!" His teacher shouted, but there was no response. The feeling of warmth and peace continued to spread and Bakar smiled.

He smiled until there was a burning sensation on the side of his face. He snapped out of it, facing his teacher who was glaring at him angrily. He had been slapped. "Fool! What was I just telling you?! Did you not read about the dangers? Did you just decide to forget them?! Fool! Don't try again. Next time, I'll leave you to Overgiving and let you kill yourself." He tossed his journals and the one true tome at the young Nuit. "Read the notes on Overgiving again. All of them. Again. And then another time." He stormed off and left Bakar, hand resting on his cheek, staring blankly.

After standing for a while, Bakar realized what had happened. I didn't even last 5 chimes before giving in to Overgiving. I didn't resist at all. I knew what it was. Euphoria, the urge to use more Djed. But I did it anyways. I need to be stronger. I need to resist. I can't make another mistake like that, or he will never continue teaching me. Bakar scolded himself silently, then started to read. He stayed there all night, and when his teacher didn't come to fetch him, the next day too. Reading over and over the effects and experiences of Overgiving.

[Bakar]

The second day his teacher came back to his room. He looked weakened. "Are you alright?" Asked Bakar. "Fine. Have you read the notes again?" He snapped. "Y-yes sir." Bakar said meekly. He was not one for confrontation. "Good, tell me what happened yesterday." Bakar was confused. "Yesterday.. I read the chapters in the tome. I didn't leave, just like you asked." His teacher narrowed his eyes. "Yes, last night. I mean with the casting. What did you do wrong." Bakar shifted uncomfortably. "S-sir. That was two days ago. You didn't come for me yesterday, so I continued reading."

It was his teacher's turn to be confused. "No, you're mistaken. Your concept of time is off. It must." He rambled. "N-no sir. I've been here for over 36 hours reading these." His teacher waved him off. "No matter. Tell me of the casting. Show me that you know." he demanded.

Bakar started slowly, nervous. If he didn't convince his teacher he knew what had happened now, he surely would have him kicked out without finishing his training. "W-well.. As I conjured my Djed, I felt the effects of Overgiving come to me. It started with the euphoria, a sense of peace. As it spread through my mind, I allowed it to take root, and it willed me to convert more of my Djed, strengthening the effect more, making it harder to resist. My body started twitching, knowing that something was wrong. If you had not stopped me, I would have continued until my soul was weakened enough that my body and mind would decay, eventually leaving me essentially destroyed." He finished, hanging his head. His teacher was silent for the duration and for a while afterwards.

Finally he spoke. "And you've learned your lesson? Because if you haven't, I'll not have you here. A wizard failing to resist Overgiving is dangerous. Not only to himself, but to those around him. I will not have you here." Bakar nodded quickly, ensuring that he had learned his lesson. "Good. Then we try again."

After a brief setup, they started again. Bakar nervously tried to will the Djed to his palms but nothing happened. His teacher waited for a while, but upon noticing that Bakar was being unsuccessful he grew impatient again. "What are you waiting for?" He barked. "I-I'm trying." He tried to concentrate. Closing his eyes, but the fear of Overgiving was all he could think of, and it was blocking his concentration. "If you have truly learned your lesson you would not be scared now. Show me. Show me you have learned or leave. It's your choice."

An ultimatum. If he could not do this now, he never would be able to. This worried him more, and wasn't making it easier to concentrate. What it did do, was increase his will, his drive to concentrate. And it worked. He cleared his mind out of necessity. The Djed gathered, and burst forth. He felt that tug again, that sense of peace. But this time he ignored it. It was a false peace. There was nothing good about it. He slowed the gathering of his Djed to a trickle. It was taking longer, but he wanted the effects to come on as slowly as possible so they were easier to resist. His eyes were closed, so he didn't see his teacher smiling at him for the first time in days.

"That is enough." It was only needed once this time, and Bakar halted the process. A small amount of Res had been forming in his palms, enough for a simple spell. "Now, you know what to do. Don't waste this. Leave some Res in the center. If you change it all, you will lose control of it. You can't control the elements, you control the Res. Remember that." Bakar nodded, determined to make this work, mind unwavering. With the force of his will, the outer layer of the Res changed to air, concentrated around the remainder of the Res in the center.

"I-I did it!" Exclaimed Bakar. "Don't lose focus!" Shouted his teacher, and for good reason. He was. Bakar quickly recomposed himself, and concentrated on the Res. The pull on his mind was still there, but he tried his best to concentrate on the task at hand. "Good, good. Now, practice manipulating that Res. Move it around, keeping the air concentrated." Bakar tried this, with a small amount of success. It was slow and clumsy, but he was able to move it out of his palm and around his body. "Don't move it too far, Res can only be manipulated at a certain distance." Bakar knew this, but said nothing. He had spent weeks reading books on Reimancy theory. "Good work. You can release it now." And Bakar did. He let it dissipate and he sighed to himself, a dull throb in the back of his head.

"You've done well. You know the basics now, you just need to practice. As you do, they will get easier." He teacher smiled at him weakly, and excused himself. "I must rest, and so should you. Nuit or not, magic is taxing. I don't expect you to sleep, but rest. Don't read or study. Relax." He teacher left, and Bakar noticed that he was bracing himself against walls, doors, tables, anything in hand. There was something wrong.

He saw less and less of his teacher and spent more time training alone. As he was told, it was getting slightly easier to produce and manipulate his Res. His teacher entered his room, Bakar having not seen him for three days in a row. He was pale and weak, leaning against the door. "It is time." That's all he said before turning and walking away. Bakar followed, worried for his teacher.

He followed him to where he was storing the Nuit's ichor, having gathered what he believed to be a sufficient amount, he ordered Bakar to feed it to him. This was the time when he would gain undeath and all the time in the world. Bakar did as he was told, slowly feeding the frail old man his own, stored life force. After a while, the old man stopped swallowing, but Bakar kept feeding him more, near forcing the ichor into the man. When it was gone, Bakar waited. The old man didn't stir. He waited for the entire day, remembering how weak he was when he first turned. He's just not used to it yet. He's tired. He'll wake up soon. Bakar kept telling himself this. But even he couldn't maintain hope for long. He knew. The old man had died.

Bakar was devastated. The only person he could even think to call friend, dead. Killed by him. He shook his head angrily. It was his fault. His ichor that had killed him. He slammed his fist on the table, injuring his hand. "It's not fair.." He said to himself. "You were to teach me more. I needed to know more. Please. Please wake up." No matter how much begging, he never moved. Bakar stood, and arranged the old man carefully. He took some ink and started to draw runes on the man. He wanted to be a Nuit. The least he could do was allow his body that "honor". He performed the ritual and left, never to return to that laboratory.

I'll learn more. I'll figure it all out. And it'll be for you. Rest well, my friend.

[Aoren]

Riddled With Reward

Bakar

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Research	+ 3 EXP
Reimancy	+ 3 EXP
Glyphing	+ 1 EXP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Glyphing Theory: Written Form of the Ancient Tongue
•	Glyphing Theory: Magic Scrolls, How To Create Them
•	Glyphing Principle: The Purpose of a Focus
•	Glyphing Principle: The Purpose of a Barrier
•	Glyphing Principle: The Purpose of a Trigger
•	Reimancy: The Principles of Initiation
•	Reimancy: Control Res, Not Elements
•	Overgiving Symptom: Sweet Whispers

Notes :

I apologize for the delay!

I would like to take the time to offer some advice and a reason for why I gave so little experience in the way of Glyphing. You didn’t go into any detail about actually drawing out a Glyph. You skimmed over it saying Bakar just drew one repeatedly. This is one way to go about it but it provides no depth and doesn’t show the character actually going through the process of practicing the art of Glyphing. I recommend you explore in detail the shapes, purposes, and direction Bakar would put into Glyphing in future threads.