[Ialari's Dominion] Reborn in My Dominion Part 2

by **Ialari Pythone** on January 15th, 2014, 12:07 pm

Ialari turned her eyes from the tree to the shade of Berliotz. She couldn't find the strength to form words. She felt a chill crackle across her skin and she instantly felt vulnerable and more alone than ever before. Berliotz's shade flickered a bit and Ialari felt her connection to him flicker as well. The invisible walls of her Dominion shimmered rapidly as Ialari's connection to the shade and her Dominion shared in the odd sensations that filled her mind and body.

She would have fallen to the ground if her muscles would have been able to move. Instead she simply stood in place, unable to do anything but breath; even that was difficult.

While her body was unable to react, her mind was the exact opposite. Ialari wanted to believe that Berliotz's words were just a part of her imagination; her mind trying to piece things together in order to understand something that couldn't be understood. He must be lying; a trick played by the spiritual remains of a mad wizard bent on revenge. How could such a thing even be possible? Sure, it happened to Berliotz but his soul was shattered through great magic and immense overgiving and even then he was a ghost splint into ten pieces. I'm no master wizard, I haven't overgiven and even if I had somehow done so, it would've had to have been magic far beyond anything she could fathom. Even if it were true, how can I live with but one small piece of a soul? Why do each of those...pieces...look like me? Where they alive somehow? If so how? How could I have lived dozens of times in the same incarnation only to have died each and every time save one? The questions continued to swarm through her head. The whole concept at first seemed outrageously silly before turning to disturbingly questionable and finally fearfully possible. The worst part about it all though was that as the shade of Berliotz, in his current incarnation being a part of Ialari, provided the revelation to Ialari, she felt the truth in his words almost immediately. Even as the questions filled her mind, they all led to the simple fact that Ialari knew just as her projection of Berliotz did, that it was all indeed true.

After allowing Ialari to wrestle with his words, Berliotz, finally said, It's alright to move and speak now. This isn't the end of existence...well, not exactly."

Ialari felt her strength return and her body start reacting again. She stumbled a few steps before reaching out to the invisible wall of her Dominion for support. She stared at the Tree of Death looming just out of reach. Taking another moment or two to find her voice, she spoke hoarsely, "How?"

"How? Which are you referring to? How can you be alive with only a small piece of your soul? How did your soul get shattered to begin with? How is it that all of them look like you? How did they live? How did they die? Or maybe the most important one, How do you fix yourself?" Berliotz knew everything Ialari was thinking, everything she was asking herself without her having to say it. He knew her ever-calculating, ever-planning mind was already beginning to dissect this new information.

Ialari slowly turned to face Berliotz. Her voice dripped with poison though her tone quiet, "Enough. I believe you but I've humored your games for long enough. Tell me how I am still alive and how these..." Ialari pointed behind her to the bodies hanging from the tree. ...how these all look like me?"

Berliotz's features softened and he said calmly, "I'm not playing games, Ialari. Remember, I exist only because of your force of will. I don't have all your answers because you don't have them. I only know what the "real" Berliotz saw when he gazed upon your soul. It wasn't a coincidence that he chose you to reforge his soul. When he first saw you from the shadows of the Aperture, he saw something of a kindred...spirit. He saw how you were damaged, how you lived with but a sliver of a soul. He saw how your will was strong enough to keep you alive which in turn made him think you were strong enough to fix him. He was right...sort of. It wasn't until your bond with your Dominion had grown strong enough to support my formation that I was able to share with you the thoughts you already had swimming around that chaotic pit you call a mind. The first time you gazed upon that tree, you knew, unconsciously, that the tree was the answer to your greatest question. In order to find that answer, it's obvious to both of us what must be done, isn't it?"

Ialari, for an instant, wasn't sure who she hated more, the real, dead, Amir Berliotz or the one standing in front of her. The irony not escaping her that the one in front of her was also part of her. Answering Berliotz while answering herself, "I need to reforge my own soul."

by **Ialari Pythone** on January 15th, 2014, 12:41 pm

Ialari turned back to the tree. It was still on the outside of her Dominion. "Now, how do I even begin such a thing? Forget for a moment that the blasted tree is on the other side of these damned walls. If it weren't, how would I reforge my own soul. I'm no wizard and what I know of Spiritism couldn't fill a half-empty mug of ale."

Berliotz shook his head in disagreement. "You underestimate yourself, Ialari. You already reforged a soul once. Remember? You opened yourself to them and allowed them entry. Look at the bodies on that tree...their dead. If they represent pieces of your soul, then they, like Berliotz, are not bound by the confines of physical reality. Plus, while it's true that you're no Master Spiritist, you are a rather accomplished Domineer. In fact, you are the most powerful Domineer to exist since the magic was wiped from mortal history untold ages ago. What is a wall but a place to hold a door. What is space but a piece a parchment ready to be twisted and folded into whatever you desire. You already know how to reach that tree."

Ialari indeed knew what she needed to do. Ever since establishing The Retreat, claiming her Dominion and building a connection with it, she knew that eventually she would need to take the next step and expand. It was an expansion not only of space but of her own skill and of her connection with her Dominion. She had read much as of late on the whole concept of expanding a Dominion beyond the initial limits. The process was not as technically complexed as the initial dominating of a particular space although it was more personally challenging. According to the Scrolls, one could effectively "upgrade" their Dominion through more efficient folding. The concept of folding wasn't as literal as it was figurative. Of course there was still the need for some of the lines and patterns drawn just as in the initial claiming of a Dominion. Since she already had established a Dominion, the needed lines and patterns were minor by comparison.

The key element to expanding her Dominion was Vouching. She had read already of vouching and how it essentially exchanged her initial oath taken during the claiming of the Dominion with a much greater one. The new oath was one taken specifically in the name of a god. One could channel their connection with their god through their own marks and in turn grant a sort of divine blessing on the area. Such an oath was not to be taken lightly however. For Ialari though, making an oath to Izurdin was never something she took lightly.

by **Ialari Pythone** on April 27th, 2015, 4:00 am

Expanding the limits of her Dominion meant that Ialari would need to tap into her existing bond with the Ukalas and increase the level of intimacy she shared with it. There were few things as intimate as one's connection with the divine. For Ialari, she was marked by two specific deities; Izurdin and Dira. This raised the question of which one's gnosis she would call upon in the vouching process. At first she considered Dira as it was Dira who finalized the actual formation of Ialari's first Dominion. However, Dira also had doubted Ialari could defeat Berliotz in the first place. Izurdin had personally presented Ialari with Dominion despite the misgivings of the other gods. It didn't take much to come to a decision on which mark would be chosen.

Berliotz's shade gave a single nod as he felt Ialari come to a decision. "An appropriate choice, interesting to see how the mark will affect this place." The old man's image slowly faded after speaking Ialari's own thoughts. Ialari shook her head slowly as the shade vanished before muttering, "Not my first choice for an imaginary friend..." With a half chuckled turning to a deep sigh, Ialari sat down upon the uneven stone floor and tried to make herself comfortable. She recalled what the Scrolls said of the need for Divine Vouching. When the gods decided to reintroduce Dominion to mortals, they placed limits on it. In the past, mortals created entire kingdoms within the Ukalas that rivaled those of the gods themselves. In order to prevent this from happening the second time around, a Domineer needed the approval of the gods in order to claim larger Dominions. Such approval could be given by the god directly or granted through an oath which channeled the god's gnosis. As one's connection with the divine grew through the increase in number of gnosis marks, one could replace lesser oaths with greater ones thus increasing the Dominion's size exponentially.

The one thing that stood out in Ialari's studying of the Scrolls was the part that detailed how, upon vouching, the Dominion may take on features and properties related to the deity who was channeled. This left Ialari somewhat nervous at the prospect of Death influencing her Dominion. At the same time however, it seemed somewhat appropriate.

Now sitting in the center of her Dominion, her legs crossed, one hand resting on her knee, her metallic hand resting on the ground next to her, Ialari tried to calm herself and hold back all the chaotic thoughts and emotions that threatened to sour what she was about ready to do. Although mentally stressed at the revelation that she was living with but a fragment of a soul, it was not much different than the other mentally crippling events she had encountered in the past. Sitting in the mental prison that once held Drainira, the Supervisor Golem of Sahova, the reforging of the real Amir Berliotz's soul, both had forced Ialari to learn ways of strengthening her mind against immense stress. The key was her faith.

Closing her eyes, Ialari pressed the fingers of her metallic hand into the stone beneath her. The rock parted as her fingers pushed through it like clay until her entire hand was buried in the stone. She then focused her thoughts first on Izurdin. She brought to mind the image of the Divine Father as she saw him in Nyka when he first revealed to her the need to enter the Aperture. He was the epitome of perfection even among the Isur. Ialari, with her focus on that image, remembered the feeling of strength, comfort and love that she felt when Izurdin placed his hand upon her shoulder and graced her with his second mark. She embraced those feelings an used them to wash away the confusion, fear and insecurity that came from learning of her broken soul. Feeling the stone surrounding her hand combined with the power of her faith, Ialari imagined a stone wall around her inner most thoughts; an impenetrable barrier that distractions could not breech.

When she felt confident that she had found her secure mental place, she reached out to her Dominion. She'd spent so much time in it that finding the threads of connection was not difficult. When she made contact, she could see in her mind's eye the lines of djed that mirrored the lines she had physically painted on the walls, ceiling and floor of the Retreat. Normally, she would just look past those lines and see her Dominion for what it was before sharing her senses with it. This time however she focused just on the lines; the angles, shapes and patterns. It was these that would be stretched, folded and rearranged to forge a larger Dominion. All that was needed was the oath and the divine energy channeled through her mark; the mark of Izurdin.

by **Ialari Pythone** on March 11th, 2018, 11:16 pm

Ialari could see in her mind the lines of djed that made up her dominion. Although there existed the great cavern all around, only a tiny piece had been carved out for her dominion. Although invisible, the walls that surrounded her space were made up of the lines and patterns of djed. That space acted as an anchor that kept her dominion within the cavern. Through her increasing connection with the space, the ever-shifting environment of the Ukalas linked to her dominion and held steady. Thus she found herself in the center of the great cavern.

The djed that formed her dominion currently stood at around 500 square feet. It was small and mirrored the size of the structure she linked it to in the mortal realm. As she followed the lines in her mind, Ialari could feel the energy they were made up of as it wrapped around her metallic hand and ran up her arm. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the space around her. She could smell the earthy scents and taste the cool air.

As she continued opening herself to her dominion, Ialari could also sense a small fraction of the infinite energy that existed outside her dominion. It was almost intoxicating; reaching for her as if to grab her and pull her toward it. She knew then why the domineers of the past had become so greedy. What she was feeling, the hint of infinite possibility, infinite power, it is what caused the gods to strip dominion from mortals in the first place.

She struggled a bit to pull herself away from that which existed outside her dominion. There were limits to what was allowed and Ialari dared not test those limits. Instead she focused again on the djed that made up her dominion. With her focus on the dominion, she spoke aloud, "Divine Father, in your name and through the bond we share, I offer this oath in service to my Dominion. I vow to protect this space with my life and empower it with my will. I will strengthen and enhance it, creating a place meant to honor you and your blessed teachings. Through you, my dominion will be reborn and through my dominion, I will be reborn."

The elaborate patterns of Ialari's marks from Izurdin swirled with a chromatic flame that started at her shoulder and shot down her bicep where it met the lines of djed that made up her dominion. The two merged and the chromatic fire shot out in all directions, centered on the spot where her metallic hand was sunk into the stone floor of her dominion.

Opening her eyes, Ialari could still see the lines of djed as they flared with the chromatic flame. She watched as the lines began to move, separate, fold and reshape themselves. It reminded her a little of a piece of heavily folded paper being opened up, one fold at a time. The difference was that with her dominion, it was a seemingly endless number of folds being opened up and expanded. Although she had no concept of how much time had passed, eventually, the expansion slowed and finally stopped. The chromatic flaming lines of djed faded and once more became unseen.

Ialari, her bond having grown even stronger with her dominion, could feel the increase in dominated space. When everything became calmer through the space, Ialari saw definitive signs of how Izurdin's mark had influenced her dominion. Not there before was a small pond with a flattened boulder in the center, blanketed in a pillar of filtered light shining down from on of the ceiling fissures far above. Stalactites that were also not there before reached up from the cavern floor in random places. Small veins of pure silver ore spider-webbed their way across sections of the floor while thin layers of grass grew all around. There were even a couple of small trees that looked like healthy and strong; well on their way to becoming much more. Then of course, there was the Tree of Death, looming above everything else. Now however, it was well within the confines of Ialari's dominion.

Slowly, Ialari took to standing, her hand slipping out of the stone floor. Taking in all of the changes, she realized just how much more the entire place looked and felt like her home back in Sultros. Even the air smelled and felt familiar. As if she hadn't already felt like her dominion was quickly becoming her true home, it now felt, smelled, tasted and sounded even more so. If possible, she even felt closer to Izurdin now, more than ever.

by **Ialari Pythone** on March 16th, 2018, 1:08 am

Thread Grade

Dominion: 5
Meditation: 1

Lore: Dominion: Ialari's subconscious, fused with the memories and experieces of Berliotz, is able to manifest in her Dominion.
Lore: Dominion: The pieces of Ialari's soul, hanging from The Tree of Death, must be internalized and reforged into a greater whole, piece by piece.
Lore: Dominion: A Dominion may be expanded and shaped through the use of one's gnosis.
Lore: Dominion: Using one's gnosis to vouch for a Dominion causes it to be influenced with traits from the god whose gnosis is used.

Items Gained:

An expanded Level 2 Dominion influenced by Izurdin's Gnosis.