Seer to Seer (Estrellir, please)

by **Thomas Cosa** on March 21st, 2016, 2:19 pm

His magic perked at her test, his lips curling into a wiry smile. "A challenge then," Thomas offered, his eyes shining with a deeper intensity than before, darker and colder. As she spoke, the wizard felt the rhythmic pulsing of her aura, watched the deep purple obscurity of her aura, connecting patterns as best he could on her, an almost stranger. He was learning that catching a lie was harder with people he didn't know, and even more difficult, obviously, with people who actually knew how to lie.

There was hardly any movement, aside the gentle sway of her aura, darker colors desperate sloshing to cover anything bright and telling. This, for all he knew, was how she acted, how she was -- Estrellir hadn't corrected him when he assumed her for someone a bit more guarded than the average person. He convinced himself he'd seen something flicker in her depths, a hint of brilliant orange hue, different enough to be considered, if it ever happened at all. She was an enigma, but whether she'd made her self that way or simply was Thomas couldn't hope to know; but like anyone else, she had a pattern that could be broken if only he could figure out how.

"That is perhaps an unfair question," Thomas started, his smile broader than before, "I know you aren't from Konti Isle, so I would assume your family isn't either, but," he hesitated with this, despite wanting to trust her, allowing her to know that he hadn't been able to spot her lie was grating on his very nature, "But, I didn't know because I caught your lie. I lived on Mura for a few years, studying this magic among others, and places imprint on others, especially when there is a familiar history. I'll spot a Syliran easily enough, because my family hails from Syliras. Culture, I suppose, has more than effect than most would like to admit on emotional expression," he shrugged, watching Estrellir for any reaction. He was almost entirely sure her family had long since left Konti Isle, but she was Konti. She obviously had some connection to that place. "The way you talk is different too, what's it called? An accent, I think. Speech patterns or something, if I remember," he added, supposing Kontinese wasn't her first language, if she even spoke it at all.

"But I didn't catch your lie. I would wager that's because I don't know the patterns of your aura, yet, since most people I do know wouldn't be able to get away with something like that. Unless you are an extraordinary liar," he wondered this, the tickle of his gnosis irritatingly seductive at the moment. Why bother asking when he could just fall into her chavi right here and now?

"You can try again, if you'd like," He offered before continuing, "Is there anything else you'd like to ask about Auristics or magic in general before we try our hand at initiation?" He asked, his magic still spiking into her aura.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on March 21st, 2016, 9:25 pm

It pleased Estrellir that he rose to the challenge – not only that, but he seemed to enjoy the thrill. She hadn’t expected to find that kind of spirit outside Kenash, let alone so far away from the swamp. As for the test, she had deliberately picked a statement she could pull of convincingly due to its proximity to the truth. The Konraths had thrived in Riverfall even before Kenash had been built, but Estrellir herself had spent more time in Mura than in the Akalak capital. Of course, there was the fact that every Konti hailed from Konti Isle, some more recently, others many generations back. In a way she was cheating as her statement could be interpreted both ways.

Her face didn’t exactly fall as Thomas uncovered her little trick and she didn’t flinch. Still, something in her expression hardened while he explained. Of course, it made sense. Had she taken more time to think it through, Estrellir would’ve probably arrived at the same conclusion herself. The pebble was placed on the table and covered with a heavy hand as she mulled it all over in her head.

Eventually there was a thin smile. “I see. That must be extremely interesting and useful knowledge to have. Since you were honest, I will admit that my statement might not have been entirely true or false too. Like many things, it depends on the viewpoint.” Then she lifted a pale eyebrow. So he had spent time in Mura too. Given his relationship with Avalis, that wasn’t much of a surprise. The fact that she hadn’t seen him on the isle before, however, was. “An accent? Or the absence thereof?” The smile widened somewhat as she switched into halting Kontinese. “Perhaps we have met before, in Mura. I was there ten years.”

Either way, she hadn’t come to trade memories and what ifs. Like that, her mind completed the circle and bent itself towards magic again. Reviewing everything she’d just learned, Estrellir concluded she had a good enough overview of Auristics to begin practicing it. “No, thank you. No more questions for now. I’m curious about this initiation though. How does it work? What do I have to do?”

by **Thomas Cosa** on March 24th, 2016, 2:44 pm

His spell settled around her like dust, sticking to her every curve and line. It rippled against her aura, mimicking it's sea sway. Thomas had long since figured out that with Auristics at least, the fastest way to learn it was to copy it. His magic played along easily enough, swishing with Estrellir, poaching her colors straight from her purple echo. He wasn't always successful, but his magic was encouraged; each color caught only made it want more.

"Well, we all have accents. You just lack a Muran one," he shrugged, his gaze wider as he dove deeper into her aura. Something had steeled against his answer, and the wizard had wondered what. Was she annoyed he had guessed correctly, or disappointed that he'd hadn't guessed it perfectly? It hadn't been a positive thought, whatever it was, and despite his best efforts to fish the feeling out, it was gone. "I spent almost five years there, so we might've. Although, I did spend most of my time at Avalis' temple and my mentor's home. I was hardly anywhere else," he offered, his only explanation as to why they hadn't met before; she didn't seem familiar to him at any rate.

Thomas nodded, opening his other hand to reveal another pebble. Her whole life would be pebbles by the time this initiation was done, Thomas was sure, "Yes, well, I hope that something might happen today, but let's not hope to simply hope, yes?" he smiled, putting the pebble on a desk besides them. "The initiation is extremely boring, and taxing as well, if you do it right. Mostly you'll be looking at this pebble, imagining all the ways it is, and all the ways it could be different if that makes sense," the animator paused, a finger pressed against his lips as he thought, "Like, you can see it's small and gray in color. Now imagine how it would look at night, and how it would look during the day. Once you know something's aura, you'll never not be able to recognize it again -- but until you can see the aura, you'll have to kind of guess at it," he bit into his lip, not entirely happy with his explanation.

Thomas sighed, "I guess if you don't have any questions then, you might as well have at it! Let's see what you can do," he nodded, encouraging her. That was all he could do at this point.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on March 31st, 2016, 7:44 pm

“Agreed.” Estrellir gave a faint smile, then frowned as Thomas produced another pebble. It didn’t look different from the first, but she was fairly certain she’d discover tiny differences just by looking at both of them long enough. After a tick of hesitation, she took the first pebble and put it next to the second. “But why do I need two of those?”

Listening to his instruction, she had to grin a little. The Konti knew very well that to be good at something often meant mastering its boring aspects before the fun began. Night after night she’d spent organizing notes, compiling reports and doing all the bookkeeping that was necessary to stay on top of her detective bureau in Kenash. While she doubted that meditating on a pebble could rival the drudgery of paperwork, she was also ready to be proven wrong. When Thomas fell silent, Estrellir summarized. “So I should imagine how the pebble would look, smell and feel like in any possible environment. All the ways it’s affected and influenced from the outside in addition to its inherent shape and feel. Is that correct?”

No matter how many words they spent on the topic, Estrellir understood that practice and experience worked better than explanations and theories, at least in that case. So she stood, stretched unobtrusively and nodded at the desk. “May I sit on it while I meditate? It’s how I usually do it. The familiar routine will help, I think.” If permission was granted, she’d slip off her dusty boots, then climb on the desk and sit cross-legged, straight-backed and with hands on her knees. If not, she’d simply adjust her posture, hands on her thighs.

As usual, she started with breathing, listening to the faint in and out of air, the subtle movement in her chest and throat. As each breath grew deeper, longer, Estrellir felt herself slipping into the familiar relaxed state of mind that often aided her Divination. Calm as a stone… a pebble, perhaps. In that state, there were no thoughts, no worries about the outside world. She did her best to push them back and feel the emptiness, a sort of openness within her mind. Since she was still a novice and hadn’t meditated in a long while, that proved to be more difficult than before. Eventually, however, she looked up and focused on the pebble sitting in front of her. Her back and neck were already beginning to feel a little stiff, partly because she had to look down. Nevertheless she continued to observe it, noting shape, color and rough texture, slowly losing herself in it.

by **Thomas Cosa** on April 7th, 2016, 12:42 pm

Thomas smiled at her question, always encouraging, "That's a good question: the first pebble is for your own study and the second one will stay here, with me," he watched her aura as she spoke, careful for any sudden changes of color. Unlike with his other students, Thomas was extraordinarily careful with Estrellir. His magic cradled instead of harassed, coaxed instead of attacked. She was marked like him, blessed by the Seer's grace. It would be blasphemy to treat her otherwise, to treat her any less than he expected to be treated.

"I have a small theory. I would like to see if the first aura examined by a novice, their catalyst into this magic so to speak, changes from that experience. I've spent some time looking over this one, so I'll notice any differences in it's aura should any appear. A side project - the reason I want to keep that pebble with me," Thomas was open, knowing should she care, Estrellir was just as capable as him to see his past. There was little point in keeping anything secret. "Yes, exactly. Imagine how it is in this one specifically, but I believe it a good excercise to ready your senses for what Auristics will bring. Obviously, you won't know what to expect until the initiation happens, but I hope this might ready you," he smiled, happy that she seemed to be getting the point.

"Of course. Feel free to do whatever, use whatever you think might help you along. I'll watch and observe, see if there's anything I might do to encourage you," he added, his magic lurking in her shadow, tendrils sticking to her, soft coaxing bits of information out. He shifted, uncomfortable and awkward at this approach; Thomas usually allowed his magic a bit more freedom, but he wanted to be more careful about what he took from Estrellir. How his magic treated her.

The wizard watched with care as she breathed, her aura shrinking and growing with each breath. Her aura intertwined with the pebbles, deciding it was her showing her focus. Would it take long, he wondered, for anything to happen?

"

by **Estrellir Konrath** on April 10th, 2016, 9:21 pm

OOCI hope this isn't too rambly. Don't want to make it too easy though...

At first it seemed strange, even foolish to simply imagine the kind of aura the pebble would possess. Pretending was never the same as being, after all. Then again, it made sense if she thought of it as belief. Estrellir had used that little trick before: If you told yourself something was so over and over again, you started believing it before long. Perhaps it was the same with the pebble. If she believed she could see and know its aura, it would manifest before her eyes. Contrary to most people, the Konti was familiar with divine magic, so she already knew it would answer sooner or later. That had to account for something.

After a few chimes, Estrellir wriggled a little, loosening the stiffness in her neck and lower spine. She kept her posture though, blinking and focusing on the small stone once more. For her, that kind of concentration was harder to achieve, to sit still and become one with what was already there instead of searching for strands of individual chavi within the vast expanse of the chavena. She allowed herself a small break, listening to her own breathing.

Then the pebble. She didn’t exactly stare at it as her eyes tended to lose focus if she tried too hard. Instead she merely looked at it sort of vaguely. First came its shape, round but not perfectly, with little irregularities. Then its color, light gray, speckled. If she looked hard enough, she could see the tiny variations in shade. She also studied its shadow, little more than a tiny smudge on the desk. So that was the pebble in front of her.

Next she tried to imagine how it changed in different environments. In a few bells, darkness would fall. The grey stone would grow darker as well and its speckles would bleed into one another, creating a uniform color in the dim light of moon and stars. Perhaps Thomas had picked it up on the way to the tower. It would’ve lain there day and night, just another pebble among thousands, its underside dirty and wet all the time, its top covered in dew every morning. Cold to the touch. Perhaps he had picked it up from the bed of a mountain stream though. Years and years of running water would’ve shaped its surface into the smooth round shape it was when he’d found it. At the same time, it was slightly different than the second pebble. It had lain in a different spot, after all. The angle of running water would’ve been different. Still it would’ve been freezing cold and fresh, crystal clear.

Like that, Estrellir tried to imagine what the pebble could’ve experienced in the past. All the time she didn’t take her eyes off it and part of her mind was waiting for any kind of change in its appearance. Nothing happened though. Eventually Estrellir dragged her mind out of the imagined life of the pebble to stretch her back and rub her eyes with wary fingertips.

“I thought I had an advantage. How disappointing.” Of course, it was meant as a joke, the teasing undertone almost drowned in discomfort. No matter how long it took or how exhausting it got, she would continue.

by **Thomas Cosa** on April 13th, 2016, 11:21 am

Thomas studied her as she mediated. The whole of her aura was magnified with each purposed breath, shrinking with every inhale and expanding into a deep psychic calm with every exhale. It shimmered purple, and it's once vibrant colors, even as difficult to catch as they'd been, slowed like they swam in molasses instead of an ocean. Their colors, slowed to the point of being still, faded into the background; the only thing he saw was the beaded silver of conscious thought, each chaining to another into they formed a heavy crown that tailed across Estrellir's head.

He wondered to himself if this was how meditation manifested, or if he was observing her effort into magical initiation. Thomas could only guess at what she was thinking, but he assumed that her mind was circling through what he'd told her. Imagine the pebble in the dark, see the pebble as it is, imagine it wet, see it dry, imagine it on the ground, see it on the table. The whole lesson was very much abstract, perhaps even too much for the wizard himself.

Thomas knew that seeing the aura was as good as knowing the pebble for whatever it was in this moment. "Is asking her to imagine everything it could be too much? Is it even the right direction?" He thought, not entirely sure where his lesson was going. He'd thought that asking her to know the pebble for not only what is was, currently, but what it could be and what it had been.

But auras couldn't tell what something could be, he realized, his magic splitting the odd tendril as it reached towards the pebble, grasping at the space between Estrellir and the stone.

"No, no. I think you're going fine," he waved off her worries, himself too distracted with thought to really pay attention. He thumbed his lower lip, wondering if there was perhaps a more literal interpretation of what an aura was. "You probably would already be an Aurist already if you managed to get it on your first, or even second try. Initiation is never easy for anyone," Thomas offered her a smile, remembering his own initiation, the memory causing his nose to wrinkle as if he'd just smelled something unpleasant. "I spent weeks thinking on a stupid button before anything happened. I can only hope you aren't forced to wait so long; this magic is worth it, but not by much."

His eyes lit up, a sudden thought exploding in his head. Hopefully, a good one.

"Perhaps...you could try exploring the pebble? With your physical sense?" Thomas asked, his voice hesitant. He wondered if it sounded as good to her as it did to him. "Maybe, try touching it. But all of it, y'know?" He gestured excitedly around the pebble, not wanting to touch it, to disturb it. While he was almost certain it wouldn't do anything, he didn't want to chance her initiation on his eagerness. "See it, smell. Probably taste it, too," he added, nodding with encouragement.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on April 19th, 2016, 9:33 pm

She didn’t need encouragement to follow that path, nevertheless his words were appreciated. While stretching her legs and arching her back (hearing something crack?), Estrellir shot a doubtful glance at the pebble. “I wonder which is worse, button or pebble. You’re right though, it’s worth it. You of all people can imagine how useful it will be to someone like me.”

With a tense smile, more of a grimace, the Konti slid off the desk to take a few steps through the classroom. It seemed empty with only her and her instructor, most of the desks lonely and sad. Thomas began voicing an idea of his, one he was getting increasingly excited about, and she spun around. “You want me to lick a roadside pebble? Truly?” Disgusting, to say the least. Not sure what to make of it, Estrellir merely stared at him with wide violet eyes for a tick or three. She wouldn’t even taste it if he’d washed it before. Not even if he’d used soap.

The rest sounded reasonable enough. Sighing a little, she climbed back on top of the desk and returned to her previous cross-legged position. Instead of placing both hands on her knees, however, Estrellir picked up the pebble and held it in her lap. Once again, she focused on her breathing to calm down and enter that special meditative place in her mind, then she began moving the stone around between her fingers, rolling, balancing, shaking, even throwing and catching it again. She felt its weight, the texture. She held it to her ear, listening for the tiny sound of skin against stone. She smelled it once, twice. Like fine dust, it had no notable smell.

She did all that and more, yet nothing. Thomas offered some advice and she tried again, without success. Eventually they parted for the day. Estrellir promised (mostly to herself) that she’d practice and slipped the pebble into her pants pocket to always have it with her. They agreed to meet again in two days.

by **Izuyanai** on August 6th, 2016, 3:44 am

Secret :