4th of Summer, 515 AV
He wrote thoughts, scribbles, on another piece of paper. His inner monologues belonged nowhere but these sheets, as he realized that not a single person here really cared for simple conversation. The pages were filled up by his thoughts that mostly revolved around the fact that he was rapidly changing. He started calling regular people - you know, living and breathing ones, 'Pulsers' and 'mortals'. That thought disgusted him, but he kept doing it anyway. He was surrounded by cold and deathly faces. It was not the norm to be alive. He himself was not a part of the norm, unlike in the previous cities that he resided in. Yet, this didn't make him special, only hated if anything.
Today was the day ordained previously by Vox - to press forward into his training and improve himself in the most essential ways. There were many days the man spent simply speaking, observing, bantering, seducing. Those days improved his perception of his surrounding peers, and they were easy. The problem was that just knowing people didn't give you an advantage over them in most cases. There always had to be something to your name before your knowledge of others could play successfully. Vox was certainly powerful compared to a peasant, but not so much compared to a master at anything. In a city of people that constantly strove for betterment of their magical capabilities, he was severely lacking. So, days like this began where he needed to push himself fully to the limits in order to meet the same degree of threat as the people he surrounded himself with. He worried not only for Telemaran now, but the sort of people he'd have to deal with if he ever sought freedom in this wretched city.
The man rose from his bed, content with the sort of plans he'd come up with. He pulled on his clothing and slicked back his hair with his fingers, doing some quick stretches before exiting his room and heading towards the door. The place he would find himself in would be the Testing Grounds. He knew he didn't really need to bring that much with him, either, as long as he ate enough food with protein and drank water before he went. So, he ate his first meal of the day and sheathed his longsword to his scabbard before leaving Telemaran's abide and wandering from the Gug Andjak to the Testing Grounds. He had actually only ever gone to the mentioned area one time while he was here, and it was simply because his master wanted to show him the layout of the city and the island. Since then, he'd made most of his progress at home or in simple corridors, usually practicing on other people or keeping entirely to himself. Going into an open and dangerous area was certainly going to be an experience for him.
Today was pretty hot. That was to be expected in the summer. He didn't really mind, though. Vox always liked the heat. He liked to get tan and almost appear as if he were more athletic and less lazily nerdy. One thing he always questioned, actually, was why Sahova was not more thematic with its population. He always thought rotting flesh hated intense heat. It would probably be better on the Nuit complexion if they retired to Avanthal or something of the like. This island was fit for pulsers. At least, that was his perspective.
On the way towards the Testing Grounds, he saw a few wizards he'd recognized. Telemaran's friends, Wardens, other people that meant something to the city but nothing to him. They were all preoccupied. One thing he never doubted about the people of Sahova was their work ethic. They really hated relaxation, even the mortals that lived here. Still, these thoughts were quickly pressed aside and Vox focused on his agenda. He needed to think about how much Djed he'd been using lately. He used quite a bit on the first, and although he relaxed his magic usage the next day and barely used any on the third and fourth, he had intentions to use reimancy and hypnotism today. After a long period of not training his magic, he knew that his djed usage might be slightly more sloppy than when he was in peak condition. So, he told himself essentially to let the advanced breathing and pacing of bodybuilding apply to his magical usage. Relax the mind, relax the body, and don't over-exert.
When he made it to the testing grounds, leaving through the Andjak, he encountered many disciples practicing magic and performing tests in the Prairie. He decided to begin his bodybuilding right now, stretching his legs, beginning with a jog, then running towards the Forest of Thorns where he would begin tree climbing, lifting heavy rocks and most likely killing some of the natural denizens of the forest with Reimancy.
When he made it to the edge of the Forest of Thorns, he immediately grew much more cautious. Considering he was a hunter while living in Syliras, he knew exactly just how dangerously cunning the territorial hunters of the forest could be. They were born murderers, just like man, and so they were trained and raised to live as murderers. They had diversions, traps, schemes, and the weapons necessary to kill human beings. Vox himself was more of a killer than most, and he had no especial apathy for animals and monsters. He was resolved to hunt whatever fauna he may find in the forest.
First entering, he ceased his running and focused on going up one of the trees - one of the few without so many thorns, near the entrance of the forest. He used a boulder to headstart onto one of the large branches, then essentially he used his leg strength to crawl up onto each individual branch. From a vantage point on a higher branch, he scanned the area around him to see if there were any dangerous predators hiding in bushes, by leaves, in trees, or simply by the ground. On the ground, he did in fact see some animals, that were territorial enough to attack one going through their area. These were Gibbat Dogs, and although he knew little about them, he knew that they unfortunately needed to die.
So, from up above, he allowed Res to flow out from his body and into a thin layer of gas. This gas shaped itself like a cloud above him, then hovered over until it was atop the small concentration of dogs. The cloud formed spikes of a blueish energy, aimed down at the Gibbats, then shot downwards as several bolts of lightning meant to slay the dogs laying together on the ground. Immediately a few of them died, but two of the larger ones seemed maimed or injured rather than dead. They immediately went on alert, though Vox wasn't positive whether or not they'd notice him from his elevated position. He extended Res slightly outward, then triggered a flash in one of the Gibbats before flinging a small and concentrated firebolt at one of its wounds. The animal momentarily ceased movement due to the hypnotic flash, then the firebolt did the rest and the beast lie dead. Just one left.
He wrote thoughts, scribbles, on another piece of paper. His inner monologues belonged nowhere but these sheets, as he realized that not a single person here really cared for simple conversation. The pages were filled up by his thoughts that mostly revolved around the fact that he was rapidly changing. He started calling regular people - you know, living and breathing ones, 'Pulsers' and 'mortals'. That thought disgusted him, but he kept doing it anyway. He was surrounded by cold and deathly faces. It was not the norm to be alive. He himself was not a part of the norm, unlike in the previous cities that he resided in. Yet, this didn't make him special, only hated if anything.
Today was the day ordained previously by Vox - to press forward into his training and improve himself in the most essential ways. There were many days the man spent simply speaking, observing, bantering, seducing. Those days improved his perception of his surrounding peers, and they were easy. The problem was that just knowing people didn't give you an advantage over them in most cases. There always had to be something to your name before your knowledge of others could play successfully. Vox was certainly powerful compared to a peasant, but not so much compared to a master at anything. In a city of people that constantly strove for betterment of their magical capabilities, he was severely lacking. So, days like this began where he needed to push himself fully to the limits in order to meet the same degree of threat as the people he surrounded himself with. He worried not only for Telemaran now, but the sort of people he'd have to deal with if he ever sought freedom in this wretched city.
The man rose from his bed, content with the sort of plans he'd come up with. He pulled on his clothing and slicked back his hair with his fingers, doing some quick stretches before exiting his room and heading towards the door. The place he would find himself in would be the Testing Grounds. He knew he didn't really need to bring that much with him, either, as long as he ate enough food with protein and drank water before he went. So, he ate his first meal of the day and sheathed his longsword to his scabbard before leaving Telemaran's abide and wandering from the Gug Andjak to the Testing Grounds. He had actually only ever gone to the mentioned area one time while he was here, and it was simply because his master wanted to show him the layout of the city and the island. Since then, he'd made most of his progress at home or in simple corridors, usually practicing on other people or keeping entirely to himself. Going into an open and dangerous area was certainly going to be an experience for him.
Today was pretty hot. That was to be expected in the summer. He didn't really mind, though. Vox always liked the heat. He liked to get tan and almost appear as if he were more athletic and less lazily nerdy. One thing he always questioned, actually, was why Sahova was not more thematic with its population. He always thought rotting flesh hated intense heat. It would probably be better on the Nuit complexion if they retired to Avanthal or something of the like. This island was fit for pulsers. At least, that was his perspective.
On the way towards the Testing Grounds, he saw a few wizards he'd recognized. Telemaran's friends, Wardens, other people that meant something to the city but nothing to him. They were all preoccupied. One thing he never doubted about the people of Sahova was their work ethic. They really hated relaxation, even the mortals that lived here. Still, these thoughts were quickly pressed aside and Vox focused on his agenda. He needed to think about how much Djed he'd been using lately. He used quite a bit on the first, and although he relaxed his magic usage the next day and barely used any on the third and fourth, he had intentions to use reimancy and hypnotism today. After a long period of not training his magic, he knew that his djed usage might be slightly more sloppy than when he was in peak condition. So, he told himself essentially to let the advanced breathing and pacing of bodybuilding apply to his magical usage. Relax the mind, relax the body, and don't over-exert.
When he made it to the testing grounds, leaving through the Andjak, he encountered many disciples practicing magic and performing tests in the Prairie. He decided to begin his bodybuilding right now, stretching his legs, beginning with a jog, then running towards the Forest of Thorns where he would begin tree climbing, lifting heavy rocks and most likely killing some of the natural denizens of the forest with Reimancy.
When he made it to the edge of the Forest of Thorns, he immediately grew much more cautious. Considering he was a hunter while living in Syliras, he knew exactly just how dangerously cunning the territorial hunters of the forest could be. They were born murderers, just like man, and so they were trained and raised to live as murderers. They had diversions, traps, schemes, and the weapons necessary to kill human beings. Vox himself was more of a killer than most, and he had no especial apathy for animals and monsters. He was resolved to hunt whatever fauna he may find in the forest.
First entering, he ceased his running and focused on going up one of the trees - one of the few without so many thorns, near the entrance of the forest. He used a boulder to headstart onto one of the large branches, then essentially he used his leg strength to crawl up onto each individual branch. From a vantage point on a higher branch, he scanned the area around him to see if there were any dangerous predators hiding in bushes, by leaves, in trees, or simply by the ground. On the ground, he did in fact see some animals, that were territorial enough to attack one going through their area. These were Gibbat Dogs, and although he knew little about them, he knew that they unfortunately needed to die.
So, from up above, he allowed Res to flow out from his body and into a thin layer of gas. This gas shaped itself like a cloud above him, then hovered over until it was atop the small concentration of dogs. The cloud formed spikes of a blueish energy, aimed down at the Gibbats, then shot downwards as several bolts of lightning meant to slay the dogs laying together on the ground. Immediately a few of them died, but two of the larger ones seemed maimed or injured rather than dead. They immediately went on alert, though Vox wasn't positive whether or not they'd notice him from his elevated position. He extended Res slightly outward, then triggered a flash in one of the Gibbats before flinging a small and concentrated firebolt at one of its wounds. The animal momentarily ceased movement due to the hypnotic flash, then the firebolt did the rest and the beast lie dead. Just one left.
