Solo Make Your Own Fun

[Pulren Marsh]

Summer 44, AV 515

Life was becoming dull. Mercenary work was quickly losing its initial sparkle. In fact, only the promise of greater skills and more dangerous jobs made it more exciting than the complete drudgery of being a Wave Guard. Sunberth and its fantasy life had really done a number on the young Zeltivan, filling his head with a world that didn't seem to exist on paper. When it came to the world of contracts and funded murder, most of the fun seemed to be reserved for those who had played the game for years. Was Pulren ready for years of grizzled chores? Was this all there was and would be?

He had chosen to walk down the bay's shore, away from town into general seclusion. He knew that there was a part of him that was very connected with the life of a mercenary, It was a skill, nay, a power, that had been blessed upon him in the very same instance that had made his mind sparkle with wonder at the thought of being like Tyler. The interview he had endured with his hero had given him a much different look at things, however. Would he also become a jaded man, sipping wine and commanding others from the comforts of an office? The thought was terrifying. Finding a place that seemed fairly quiet, he slipped his shirt off, exposing his bare chest and its scars to Syna.

The feeling of warmth spread over his chest and his thoughts drifted out over the warm waters of the bay, back to his cottage where Firenze was. Maybe she wasn't there actually at this time of day, but in his fantasies, she was always at home. Always stretched out in his bed, her long limbs also being caressed by Syna's loving caress. He had to shake the evolving story from his mind. Sure, he might very well explore the options there in his mind when he got back home. For now, however, he was there for a different kind of pleasure. The pleasure of power, of searching his own limits. His finger was already fondling the deep scar across his chest, the bubbling sensation of the green gas known as Res oozing from the aperture.

It traveled surprisingly easy, leaving his chest in a small fist sized puff that soon began to congeal as his attention followed it. Placing his palm beneath it, he watched the strange, amorphous globule as it stretched and contracted before him. He knew it would become the element of Earth, though he knew that other Reimancers were able to summon the other elements. It was Aoren that showed him the length and breadth of the power that was within him. It all started with this Res, an expression of the energies within his own body, roiling under his own power of creation. The light green began to darken as it slowly became solid, a drop of sweat forming on Pulren's temple as he pushed his concentration to focus on the summoning of elemental power.

[Pulren Marsh]

He could now begin to feel the presence of weight as the element of Earth began to fill the void, to take the place of the Res that would serve as its canvas. Slowly the sounds of the Bay began to mute and the shine of the day would dim as Pulren's vision became increasingly focused on the swirling mass. Only the sound of his breath and a strange kind of hum pulsed in his ears. It was no doubt the presence of his own energy within the forming piece of Earth.

Almost forgetting to breathe, air escaped his chest in a gasp as the weighty stone fell into his hand. It was smooth and warm there, his thumb caressing it as if it were a precious jewel. It was more than a precious jewel. It had been part of his energy and now by the power of his thoughts and directed by his will, he had formed a stone. He noted that it was more dense than the one he had hurled at the Zith in Sunberth. Probably longer concentration caused that, though he couldn't be sure. Tossing it repeatedly from hand to hand, he held it aloft and without a care, tossed that piece of himself into the Bay, a chuckle leaving his lips as it made a small splash.

His temples throbbed with the effort, but he was so excited by the success. He was much more excited, however, by the inherent possibilities that lived inside of him. The stone had been an ample deterrent to the bestial ebon creature, but what if it got closer? he didn't always have his weapons at the ready. Perhaps he would try to shape the Earth into something he could protect himself with. A shield or a trident seemed out of reach, though something inside him told him that he should try. Maybe something smaller.

He knew he would need much more Res than the initial amount he had churned out if he would ever be able to create larger items. He knew also, though, that more Res meant that there would be more in the way of overgiving and pain should he try too hard or expect too much. Just like the difference between the first time he held a shield and today, it would take endurance, patience and above all, practice.

[Pulren Marsh]

Standing quietly, he breathed in deeply, slowly and lightly caressing the scar on his chest. He focused on the energy inside himself, urging and willing a greater amount to come. This time, he would need to produce it in a gaseous form to make more come out than before. He felt the gel would be too much for him. Pushing his hands out in front of him in order to aid his will in pushing the Res out, he felt a cooling and slowly chilling sensation around the aperture in his flesh as gas escaped it. He could even hear a slight hissing sound as it escaped his body.

Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a large cloud, maybe enough to wrap his arms around, hovering before him. His legs were shaking from the effort, as if he had bled profusely. His vision blurring, he had to blink hard to focus his vision on the green gas, bringing his hands in toward themselves in slow motions to coax the Res into becoming a tighter form, his hands reaching out to it, feeling the strange silky feel of its energy as he worked the Res out into a longer shape. He had never had a child like Rick, but each one of the Res gouts felt even more intimately like offspring. He could feel his own essence inside of them as he worked to bring the shape in more.

It was elongated but flat. He began moving his right hand in a cupped palm toward him and his left in the same form beneath the cloud and pushing away, generating a slow spin to it. Cold sweats broke out over his shoulders and he had the distinct taste of metal in his mouth. His focus was sure and pointed, however. Nausea rose up through him like thick smoke in a chimney as the column rolled and congealed, becoming a pillar of sorts. he wanted it to tighten and harden. It was already about the width of a bundle of sticks, spinning on its own. The spinning and the nausea caused Pulren to lose his focus, retching all over the ground and his own boots, the Res losing its consistency and scattering.

The pitter patter of small pebbles tapped around him and made little splooshing sounds in the water around him. His upper lip was wet and when he wiped it, he came back with blood, it having ran from his nose, though not by much. He fell back on his haunches, trying to understand how Aoren had mastered the feats that he had shown Pulren that day. His endurance had to be something not of mere mortals!

[Keene Ward]

Grades

“For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought.”
-Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

Pulren

Skills

Reimancy +3
Endurance +2
Philosophy +1
Meditation +2
Intelligence +1
Logic +1
Tactics +1

Lores

Reimancy: More Focus More Power
Reimancy: Gestures
Reimancy: Gaseous Res
Reimancy: Effects of Overgiving

Rewards/Consequences
-Minor aches and pains that don't seem to be physical in the least for the next four days! Also, when Pulren is near especially large boulders, he may hear unintelligible whispers.


Notes
YES! Reimancy man, here we come! Good work! Though, I did want to remind you that at competent res decays very very quickly, so definitely keep that in mind. I feel like you did things quickly enough it wouldn't have been too much of a problem, just but something to remember for future threads. I love reading Pulren, even if I can't write with him anymore. :)

If you have any questions or concerns, please send me a PM!