Closed [Judgement] A Look Beyond the Veil

[Languish]

[indent]20th of Winter, 516 AV
[justify]
The day had only just begun, and already the Nuit council had seen a handful of apprentices come and go without fanfare. Of course, each was a well-disciplined mage, and could do marvelous things with their Djed, but it simply was not enough for Sahovan standards. They were looking for someone not to learn what had already been discovered, but someone who could forge new pathways into research. They needed someone creative, someone balanced in their talents, and most of all, someone brave.

Sahova would settle for nothing less.

“Fool.” Emarus scoffed. The to-be apprentice was attempting to hypnotise a slave into believing he was dead- a grand and interesting feat if he could accomplish it. Of course, the slave tilted its head in curiousity, rubbing at its forehead as it listened.

“Aren’t you so cold here? It’s almost as if your blood has stopped pumping.” The mage offered.

The slave looked concerned for a moment, rubbing his hairy arms as if to ward off a chill, but then shook his head decisively, in the way one might shake off a dream.

“No. No, that’s not possible.” The slave mumbled in broken Common.

“It is possible if you are undead. Aren’t you?” The mage prompted. The slave still looked unperturbed, save for a furrowing of his brow.

Finally, Emarus’ voice broke through the pitiful show. “Unless you are aiming to be an apprentice of Iceris, I suggest you move on. Persuasion is not what we do here...especially not if you aren’t any good at it.” Iceris gave Emarus a sideways glance, but brushed off the back-handed insult with a shrug. It was true; she much prefered the arts of politics and persuasion, performed well. And this mage had neither.

The boy mage in question trembled, glancing over at the test subject as if in search of support. “I...I can…” But he could speak no further.

“Are we ready to vote? All in favor of promoting the mage to Apprentice?”

A silence crowded the room, nearly suffocating the boy.

“All opposed?”

A chorus rang from the council, as Emarus, Iceris, Arios, Mistress Wanda, and Cid all nodded in solemn agreement. He was not Sahovan material. One of the council ordered the boy taken away, and the next one to be retrieved. Mistress Wanda leaned back in her chair, her bones and voice creaking as she commented.

“How nice it would be if they could come to us already learned.”

As she heard the next enter, she hummed with disinterest, not bothering to look up. "Name and field of specialization, please. Then you may begin."

[Alija]

Alija

The woman waited outside on an uncomfortable wooden chair, meditating in the silence of waiting. Her gloved hands sat on her lap and the bracelet clung to her wrist, shining in the light, and with the velvet dress and fur-lined cape, she was dressed to impress, the best way she could. She had tried to do something with her hair, but decided against making it look like a bird's nest.

The whole image was not her, but what she wanted to be. She doubted the Nuit would care for her appearance, but it gave her confidence in her abilities. She wasn't just a normal commoner - she had worked hard at what she had known and this was one of the rewards: money to spend as she liked. And if she could work that hard and grow that skilled with one art, she would be able to do the same with magic. Even if the University had once told her no, the wizards in Sahova would not. She refused to let them.

The door to the room of the Judgement opened and the boy, the one who had hoped to become an apprentice, moved out, clearly rejected. Taking a deep breath, Alija let her thoughts settle once more, preparing herself to demonstrate her skill. She would be different. Rising, she entered the room, taking it all in quickly.

The one who spoke, an ugly, undead, hag, paid no attention to her entrance, but Alija tried to not let that bother her. She turned to face the council, counting them. Five to impress with her magic. She wasn't even that good with it. But she was good enough and had the determination and dedication to improve. That was something many lacked.

"My name is Alija, Alija Piper." Her voice trembled in the large room, and she felt far too quiet to be heard properly. Trying to summon more confidence, she let it rise quickly, "And my field of specialisation..." That was auristics, right? Of course it was, she had no clue why she was hesitated. What else would she say? "It is auristics."

Then she had to begin. Begin what? Did they expect her to just start reading auras here and there until they got bored? This was a magic for specifics. She wasn't going to start shooting fire the best way possible, or present something she had made. She wanted to be tested, and that was what she had been expecting. "What should I do?" she asked softly, hoping it wouldn't be perceived as a sign as she couldn't do anything, "Is there a test I can be given? Or shall I just read the aura of whatever or whoever interests me?"

[Languish]

[indent]
[justify]
The girl's voice was so small that, counterintuitively, it drew the attention of the judges. After becoming so used to grand shows of power, and obnoxious flares and glitz, the softness was startling. Mistress Wanda's eyes snapped up and she leaned forward in her seat to peer down at Ms. Alija Piper.

She smirked at the girl's questions, reading into them just a hint of sarcasm- a sign of confidence within her shyness. Perhaps this one would be interesting after all.

"Iceris?" Wanda prompted. "You have the prepared materals?"

Iceris nodded and stood from her seat, snapping her fingers. In respone, there came forth a Golem with a wide tray in his 'hands'. The Golem wheeled down to where Alija stood, silently presenting her with the tray of four colorful bottles. Iceris followed, taking her time with the great stadium steps.

"These are four different substances" She began, "Harvested from the Dalafurugu. Two of them are poisonous- mildly so, don't worry. You won't be killed if you are wrong, only inconvenienced. Two of them are harmless, albeit a tad distasteful."

She chuckled to herself, a conscious show of power and authority for a Nuit with no emotional reflexes. "If you could identify the poisons, my dear Alija, using Auristics, then I imagine you could consume the others without worry." Iceris smirked; it was a difficult test for an Apprentice, and she knew it. Arios raised a brow, distorting his childlike visage into an accidental mockery of concern. He glanced over at the others, but each one was enraptured by the unfolding event.

The audience might've gasped, had they been alive. Instead, an eerie silence trickled through them, bringing with it a feeling of apprehension. After a moment, Iceris caved in to the suspense. "I will give you a hint, to make it easier on you, Apprentice ." The word was laced with unnecessary pity, causing a few snickers from somewhere in the room.

"The poisons are made of fungi. The safe elixirs are made of berries." Then, she steped back, retreating to the Judge's table. "It shall be rather obvious if you succeed or not, so I do not suppose we need to elaborate on the conditions of your passing."

"When you are ready."

[Alija]

Fun with auristics

A golem rumbled forward at her question of what she was meant to do. The things bothered her, still, so unnatural and out of place in her world. It carried four bottles - her test, that was obvious. What the contents of the bottles were wasn't quite so obvious, but she didn't investigate immediately. That was the test, and she could wait a while for the woman who moved slowly to join them.

She listened to the explanation, taking it in. Two were poisons and two were safe. And it was up to her to determine which was which. She had to admit, this was a lot better than what the University did. It actually tested her, this was what she had always expected. It showed how skilled she was, how confident she was in her magic. Not a conversation where somehow someone determined whether you could learn magic or not based on... personality, she had to guess.

Clearly, the wizards felt that it was difficult, underestimating her skill. One, with childlike features, showed concern, looking over the others, but saying nothing. After a moment, the wizard who had come down towards her, spoke again, giving her a hint, as if she really needed one.

She hated the way she was referred to as Apprentice, and the response created by the other wizards. She was so much better than they thought she was. And now she would show them. "When you are ready."

Alija smiled to herself, "Always."

Then she closed her eyes and focused deeply. The magic raced inside her and she fought for control, pulling the strands of djed together and towards her eyes. Slowly, she focused the magic to the auras of the bottles, letting them synchronise with each other. Then she felt all connect and she opened her eyes, the world lost in a mist of swirls and colours.

As she focused deeper on them, she felt facts slowly fall into place as the auras made sense. Rather than looking at each one separately, she compared them closely, knowing as singular things, she wouldn't be able to specify them, especially if it was as hard as they let on.

The taste came to her first. One was very stale, another sweet. She assumed the sweet one was a berry, although she couldn't be entirely certain. They could have always added something to confuse her. However, as she focused on separating the thin layers out into even thinner clusters, she could tell that it wasn't quite that. Two, not the sweet one, tasted almost salty, behind the strength of the true thing. There was another aura mixed with them and she sifted through it, recognising it once it had separated enough from the other auras. Salt water.

But did both the berries have it, or both the poisons? Or maybe both. Bringing a hand to her forehead, she thought it over, before focusing even further, bringing attention to specific changes in the auras before her. One had a particularly smooth aura, everything glistening in the light like it was wet. It seemed almost slimy, definitely not like a berry. But all the bottle contained substances that she could have mistaken this for that. And looking closer, it appeared more and more like a poison. The entire aura didn't stay upright, but span, tilting from side to side. A normal berry wouldn't have that sort of aura, would it? That one had seawater added to it. Deciding to focus on the other one with this property, she shifted through the auras to focus purely on the fungus or berry, whichever it was.

This one had a strong yellow aura, instantly suggesting to her that it was poisonous. After all, bright yellow and red things usually were. But maybe it was just a yellow berry. That was safe to eat. Did that exist? Alija felt a sudden wish that she had learnt all about plants instead of blacksmithing, because that would have been so much easier. Why hadn't they simply asked her to distinguish between certain metals - that she could do!

Focusing harder, she let herself breath for a while to cope with the start of a headache. It always came first, and it seemed to come more and more quickly. Or maybe she was just focusing and delving into auras much more than before. Then once she had settled, she focused on the aura again, diving deeper. Something about it wasn't right. It prickled her skin tasted off.

Deciding it had to be poison, she left the two sweet tasting auras be. They seemed common, nothing special about them, no strange swirls or textures or colours. Actually, one was bright red, a clear warning colour, but that tasted the sweetest. It couldn't be a fungus.

Besides, she had just realised a better way to test it without having to know anything about the auras of the contents of the bottles themselves. She moved to the yellow aura, picking the bottle up gently. At the same time, she focused away from the bottles and towards the wizards, mainly focusing on the mage near her. The undead auras were much bigger, much stronger than bottles. She no longer had to inspect them under a microscope but had to pick through all the irrelevant details to find what she wanted. With focus, she delved through the lack of heartbeat, the exterior information she received. There had to be feelings in there, focus in there that she could sense. Then she could feel it. The emotions were weak at first, simply emotions, but as she continued, they brought forward images, actual feelings. She focused on them hard, letting them burn her as she continued, waiting for the true feelings to arrive. Finally, she settled on what she believed to be the nuits' response to her taking this bottle. Concern from the child-face, and maybe a few others. Maybe amusement here and there, waiting to see her fail. From what she thought she could tell, this was poison. The emotions seemed to match.

Placing the bottle back down, she took a step back, this time trying to focus even more on the nearest nuit's aura. Focus was something she had heard she could do, but had never really attempted it before, not properly. Now, she really wanted too.

Pressing her magic as hard as she could, she focused on breathing, on staring through the woman and at her aura. Her eyes seemed to go to space but she knew what was there and what she wanted. Intent. What would intent appear to be?

There. She spotted a glint of it. A shiny part of the aura, just ever so slightly different from the rest. It swivelled around, like an eye. It focused on her, for a long time, then moved with the aura to rest on the bottles. Two of them in particular. The ones she believed to be poisonous.

Alija closed her eyes, forcing her magic back inside her. Repeating a chant inside her head to defocus herself, she rubbed her forehead with her thumb, hoping the headache would disappear too. She was tired, very tired, and was certain she had to have a break before she could try anything else.

But that didn't matter. If she had got it wrong, that was.

This time she picked up the sweeter bottles, the ones the mage hadn't focused on. The ones Alija believed to be berries. Hoping she had got it right, knowing she couldn't bear it if she was turned down by another place to learn and practice magic, she opened both quickly and poured them down her throat. Her tongue didn't move and it was hard to force them down.

But she had done. Now all she could do was wait and see if her fatigue was worth it.

oocplease let me know if there is a problem with the way I used auristics here. I am more than happy to change it.

[Languish]

[indent]
[justify]
The wizards all watched her intently, though each with a different thought on their minds. Mistress Wanda grew bored, tiring of the staring game the Apprentice to-be had decided to engage in. Arios drew concern on his soft face; he was always weak-willed in killing, and so too in poisoning. The others watched in simple anticipation, save for the mischievous glimmer in Emarus' eyes. To an outsider, it would have looked as though they were endlessly apathetic. That was the way they liked it, but none actively tried to guard themselves for a mere Apprentice, and that was their downfall.

She picked up bottles and put them down, glancing up at the Judges intermittently in what appeared to be apprehension. But then, in a swift movement she uncapped two of them and tipped them back, hardly even swallowing as they ran down her throat.

There was a tick of held breaths as they awaited the consequences. There were no boils, itching, uncontrollable muscle spasms, or vomiting (all considered mild poisons on the island). Instead, Iceris giggled merrily. "Very good."

She turned in her chair to face the other Judges. "Well? Have you seen your fill?"

The entire table mumbled their agreement, and Iceris sighed. "Alright. I will begin the vote with an aye."

Next in line, Cid scratched something on a paper and mumbled to himself. He tapped a number on the paper and nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, yes..." Emarus rolled his eyes in disdain. "We'll take that as your vote. And an aye for me as well. If only for putting up with Iceris' games."

"Perfect. That's three to pass, unless either of you have extreme objections?"

When the remaining Judges agreed, Iceris clapped her hands. "Alright. Arios, if you will bring the Apprentice her ring, I will take her to my lab and-"

"No." Arios said, quiet but firm. "She has enough skill that we should not waste it on your...what do you do again? Serve?"

The room went deathly silent, only a Pulser's breath to be heard. "Deliver messages?" He continued. "This young mage needs a lab to work in. And if those marks are any indication," Arios' eyes flickered over to Alija's body, his djed reaching out to feel her work-hardened hands and smell the lingering, irremovable soot on her clothes. "Perhaps a forge as well. Am I right?"

Arios stepped down from the Judge's table, carrying in his hands the small copper ring of an Apprentice. Eventually, he was close enough to hold it out to Alija, and from that distance, the smallest smirk was visible on his face.

"Lab 8, my dear. You'll find me there this evening."

OOCWe can either finish here and you can solo the introduction, or we can continue on to settle Alija in the lab where she will be told her duties, etc. Either set up another post or PM me with your reply.

[Alija]

Date

She had done it. Alija could barely comprehend it, knowing the last time she had tried, she had failed miserably. She had actually completed their test, completed the Judgement, and she was going to become an Apprentice. The three "yes"s confirmed it, and the woman let out a sigh of relief, stepping away from the bottles as she did.

The woman who had brought out the test began to speak, asking another to fetch a ring of sorts. The man she addressed replied firmly, Alija's eyes swivelling to him. He was the one who had shown concern when the poisons were brought out, the one with the child-like features. He said she had skill. Skill that shouldn't be wasted.

So she was useful. Alija was happy with that. Being useful meant being safe. And it meant she would do something. She doubted he was referring to her skill at cleaning or menial tasks. He said she needed a lab to work in. He called her a mage, then saw her other skill on her. "My other magic," she said simply, not even thinking about the words she used as she spoke, "Is blacksmithing." She would always find a forge, and find a way to work with the hammer. Every city had to have one.

He moved slowly to give her the ring, and she took it gently, aware of the smile on his face. Happy to have her, because she was useful, she supposed. Hopefully, useful in the good ways.

The ring slipped around her finger as if it was made to fit there, the copper catching the light as she brought her hand back down to hang at her side. It wasn't one to be admired, not like a pretty jewel or gift. It was a mark, but she wore it proudly, determined to see it for what it could be, rather than what it was. True, she was just an apprentice now, but it meant she could become a wizard and climb the ranks.

"I'll be there, sir," she said, finding the title unnatural when used with someone who appeared so young. The pulser had to remind herself that she was with a nuit, who had most likely lived hundreds of years. "Thank you for accepting me," she finally said, addressing everyone in the room, "You will not be proved wrong."

With that, she left the room, closing the door delicately behind her. With the barrier now form, she let her relief shine through, burying her face in her hands with happiness. She had done it. She was going to learn more magic.
---

Not many had been around to point her the right way. Alija had stumbled blindly around, pointed left and right by each person she met. She was glad she had left to search for it early, because otherwise she would be terribly late, which would never be a good first impression.

As she walked along the same stretch of hallway for what must have been the tenth time, sent back this way with the assurance that Lab 8 was down there somewhere, she carefully examined the doors along the walls, checking each one in case she had somehow misread them. As she paced back and forth, she finally stopped, half giving up. Maybe she would wait a bit, see if Arios appeared and just follow him.

Leaning back against a particularly empty looking section of wall, she felt something tingle against her back. It was like someone was sticking sharp needles into her back, but she liked it, enjoying the sensation. An aura, an aura of magic. Stepping back, she let herself focus on it, counting the bricks slowly and noting the shades of each one as she focused, bringing djed around her body.

It didn't take long to confirm it. There something there, she could see through the brick and find the aura of it easily. Not that it was surprising, but it was bursting with magical activity. So the wall was an entrance somehow. It was solid - she had found that out by leaning against it. Maybe there was a hidden door, though?

She pressed each brick in turn, wondering if maybe any of them was a button. As she did, she announced herself, in case there was one of those golems that controlled it. "I am Alija Piper, Arios' new apprentice," she said, and a section of the wall swung open, the lady stepping back in shock. Reminding herself to ask Arios or another approachable wizard about it later, she entered, taking the sights in quickly.

A forge was the first thing that caught her eye, of course. Hopefully, she'd get a chance to use it. Work tables spread across the lab and large rings gathered in another, a magic she didn't recognise. Searching the room to find her master, she hoped her curiosity didn't appear too invasive. "What magic do you do here, sir?"

oocI hope you don't mind me choosing to continue with you? It's helping me get a feel for the place more, than if I just do a solo (and I enjoy writing with you)

[Languish]

[indent]
[justify]Arios unfolded from his position at his desk as his new Apprentice opened the door. He rose and greeted her with a simple nod, which she seemed almost too busy to return. Instead, her eyes searched the room curiously and cautiously. This was good. Both caution and curiosity were signs of long life in an apprenticeship on Sahova.

"What kind of magic do you do here, sir?" She asked.

"Whatever kind I feel like, Ms. Piper." Arios chuckled. "This is an open workspace, and you should not feel limited as to what kind of magic you might perform here. As for the laboratory itself, the space is specialized for Alchemy."

Arios gestured to Alija, inviting her to walk beside him. "Let me give you the run-down."

"First," He said, maneuvering carefully between two closely placed worktables, "These tables are where I start my craft. Above each of them is a shelf with a handful of assorted materials. Each contains, at least, a D-Wire and small blank ring." Arios pointed up at a few sealed glass containers, which could be seen to house any number of tools.

Arios flipped himself around to walk backwards as he explained. "I don't know how familiar you are with Alchemy, but that will improve soon enough. You have all the supporting skills you need with blacksmithing and Auristics, so you should be a fast learner. As such, you are free to use the forge whenever you please, so long as you don't steal my supplies. If you need anything, submit your request to the Synchograph's Office and I will see it done. Anything else you need- books, rings to practice on- those I can provide for you."

"As for your job here, I'll need your help in simple things like manual labor and message-carrying, but you'll also be able to help me charge and activate large projects. When you're done here, you'll have put your blood, sweat, tears, and Djed into more rings than you can count!"

Clapping his hands together once, Arios turned back around and moved towards a short, closet-like bump off of the original room. "Now, I know you're a Pulser, and I must warn you that not all the Nuit around here are so friendly, but I have this closet cleared out if you need some space to yourself for...whatever Mortals need to do alone."

Arios' childish face wrinkled in thought as he struggled to remember exactly what mortals needed. "Do you need time in your room at all right now? Or, do you have other questions?"

[Alija]

Date

"Whatever kind I feel like, Ms. Piper," came her answer, and the girl knew that Sahova was going to be a different kind of place to anywhere else. There was an atmosphere of magic that was much stronger than anywhere else she had been. Whatever kind he felt like, that was what he did. And that told her perfectly what magic meant - what magic was - to this city. She couldn't help but let her excitement show.

As the tour commenced, her attention was to the alchemy that was present. Her knowledge of it was shaky at best, but at least she had heard of it. She knew what it could do. So even though she didn't recognise anything on the workbenches and the shelving, it interested her all the same.

Then he went on to explain she could learn. That she had what she needed to learn and that the forge was hers to use. That was more important than any magic - and she smiled gratefully, happy to find her own materials as long as she had somewhere to work from. Her curiosity wanted her to ask a million questions - about the syncograph's office and how blacksmithing and auristics helped alchemy - about alchemy in general, but she held herself back, letting him finish.

Her actual job, or at least, the first part sounded boring. Like something anyone could do, not a person who had proved themselves with their magic. It was the second part that interested her, about charging rings, whatever that was. Because his projects, and djed, were involved. Alchemy was involved. Hopefully, the ratio of delivering notes to magic would be favourable to her interests.

Thankfully, his words showed her that she would get her hands on the magic enough to satisfy her, and he had said she could always work on her own. Even if he didn't share the magic with her enough, she was definitely going to get her hands on it one way or another.

Finally, the matter of her being alive came into play, and a small closet was opened up for her. Just like the coffin-like room she had claimed for herself, it was clear that the Nuit had no clue what "Pulsers" like her needed, judging from the size and lack of furniture. Still, it was better than the coffin, because it was more secure, closer to her work. She could sleep there, in between the jobs that were given to her. She could sleep there now - she was exhausted from all the auristics, from the excitement, from the lack of sleep she got in this place.

"I hope you don't mind," she started softly, cautiously, "But I'm exhausted. I need to sleep. Give me... Give me a bell, then feel free to wake me if you need me. Thank you."

After he gave a full answer, she slipped into the room, and slumped in one corner. She shifted, slightly, to make the floor comfortable. Then she drifted away almost instantly. A bell would be all she needed to regain some of that energy. A bell - then the magic could start.