Solo The Music of Movement

[Savis Maren]

31st through the 32nd of Autumn, 518

Days of musing had, at last, culminated into the object that Savis Maren aspired for. The Nuit placed a spectacular order from the great Gadgeteer Edward Lucis. The two's relationship, no longer employer-employee, was instead one of business and the exchange of ideas. Savis Maren felt liberated, but knew that such freedom couldn't last forever. However, that didn't mean one couldn't enjoy it while it lasted. The Nuit traversed the familiar path that led to Lucis and Lucis, eagerness bouncing the Nuit from step to step. She even accelerated, the clearing that her strange, undead visage gave providing her an open path to do so. The Nuit watched buildings pass her by as she took long, confident strides. Savis Maren did not breathe, and so, her body did not tire nor did acids build within her muscles and cause pain. She did not run for very long, however. The Nuit advanced, seeing the three buildings that made up the Gadgeteering haven and promptly entering.

Edward Lucis, it seemed, was waiting for her. Unlike many of the commissions the Gadgeteer made for her, this one was not held in the man's hands to be passed on to the Nuit. Rather, Edward Lucis stood next to the commission, his eyebrows raised in a short 'ah' as she looked over the Nuit.

"What are you doing with this one, Savis?" he asked, quite astonished to create a much different breed of automaton for her. The Nuit hummed in thought, curious as to how much she wished to share with the Gadgeteer before she answered,

"I've grown tired of carrying my own things, you see. Sometimes I'll engross myself so fully in craft or task that I ignore the things that came along with me," she answered, a laugh in her voice. Savis Maren looked to her commission and at last, the full functionality of it began to seep into her thoughts. Ideas whirled as she looked it over,

Savis Maren stared at the wheeled metal base, which stood three feet tall. Hollow, but reinforced with attention to detail, the wheels beneath were, as she requested, spherical. The object could roll multi-laterally with just a small struggle on terrain. For pushing it around, this might not be in her best interests, but Savis Maren felt no compulsion to do such a thing. Within the tool, Edward Lucis installed a series of strings, all taut and stretched along an indentation on the locker door. Savis nodded in satisfaction as she inspected the construct, before placing both hands gingerly on the uppermost part of the base. At the very top sat a circular mirror, which sitting a turning base that remained welded to the rest of the structure. Edward Lucis was an exceedingly clever Gadgeteer and seemed to enjoy the challenges that Savis Maren imposed upon him.

Or perhaps they're hardly challenges. That automaton I saw from him last season... she mused, cutting herself off when Lucis addressed her again.

"An assistant, hm? Any reason for the mirror, then?" he asked.

"The mirror will act as the unit's eye. If I ever have cause to look at my reflection, it serves that purpose as well," she answered, smirking at the Gadgeteer. With an easy laugh, they both exchanged a handshake before Edward Lucis handed her a scroll along with the rest. Savis Maren arched her eyebrows in surprise,

"It's the schematic, Savis. This time, you need not ask for it," he told her. The Nuit was surprised and elated both, quite eager to peruse the schematic at her leisure. For the moment, however, Savis was eager tio begin the task at hand. With a small wave, the Nuit left Lucis and Lucis, ready to begin her works. A medium-sized pouch with 40 kina was left with the Gadgeteer while Savis Maren wheeled out her comission with some difficulty. Eager to begin her task, the Nuit moved with haste to return to her home.

Transaction :

-40 kina for a hollow, standing unit equipped with a one foot wide mirror. Included is the schematic for the structure as a whole.

[Savis Maren]

Savis Maren, doubting her capacity to effectively carry a fully-sized automaton back to her apartment, arranged with Edward Lucis for his new assistant to aide her in that endeavor. The Nuit watched as a young man, just past the cusp of childhood, easily rolled the wheeled unit and kept pace with Savis' sluggish pace. Ordinarily, Savis would've left her apartment door unlocked and allowed the assistant to carry the automaton without her presence, but the Nuit was far too eager to indulge herself in craft to simply leave the matter for later. She'd even put off creating the Animation circles in her haste to reach Lucis and Lucis right when the place opened.

Of course, Savis Maren took the opportunity of being entirely unburdened with the task of wheeling the automaton to watch how the wheels shifted. The spherical design of the wheels seemed to roll fludily and easily, with gravel sifting in the space between the four wheels. Left untouched during the trip, it looked to Savis that the automaton possessed other appendages near its base that served an as-of-yet unknown purpose. It was for this reason, she supposed, that Lucis provided her with the schematic gratuitously.

Or, he appreciates my continued business and is providing a service to keep me happy?

In truth, it was difficult for Savis to discern which it was, but nonetheless, she was glad for the schematic. She'd be sure to take a careful look at it when she arrived at the Solar Wind Apartments. Savis found that her companion followed her without speaking, but the tremor about his shoulders, the steepness of his breath... it informed the Nuit just why. The young assistant was clearly terrified, or apprehensive, but it didn't really matter. The trip was mercifully short, and Savis Maren dismissed him within moments, opening the door and wheeling in the automaton without utilizing the apprentice gadgeteer further.

Savis instead looked about the confines of her room, eager to begin her work. This room, like her last, bore no signs of mortal comforts. There was no bed, and one simple desk in the opposite corner of the room that had her various kits and tools neatly placed on the surface. There were drawers, one of which held the beautiful black ensemble she'd purchased for the Moon Festival, along with a stand that supported Sil, a miniature automaton that she'd owned since the previous season. On and off was her liking of that detestable construct, like fire and ice. However, she reasoned that having his assistance in this endeavor was preferable to galavanating about her room over and over in search of tools.

"Sil!" she called out, and the mannequinn rose from his stand, its wooden head carrying its quartz eyes from side to side until it caught sight of its mistress. The construct waited for instruction, which Savis was certainly not shy to dispense.

"Bring me my paints, dear. They're to your right, in the black, cylindrical kit on the opposite side of the lantern."

The automaton took a moment to register Savis' command, its shining gaze pilfering about the room before it turned its body and found the kit in question. Quickly, Sil bent low to retrieve it, scooping up the kit in its unjointed arms. Then, the automaton mused on how to handle the task without destroying itself. Weakly it pushed back the head of the chair, allowing it several inches of space before falling onto the seat, then from there to the floor. Sil delivered the kit to Savis, who was, in truth, mildly impressed by the automaton's resourcefulness.

"You took too long," she hissed, adamant on not showing signs of approval to the tool. Sil, not equipped with complex enough emotions to express disappointment, instead moved back towards the shell. Its body was ill-suited to climbing very high, and only made it to the seat, where Savis Maren deemed it appropriate to simply shut off the automaton before it destroyed itself.

"Roza, she spoke, the tool falling limp onto the seat of her desk chair before Savis opened up her paint kit. She employed her waterskin, pouring enough liquid into the cap of her black paint receptacle. Savis swirled her prized paintbrush into the water, wetting it before dipping it into the paint and preparing herself for the upcoming task. The Nuit breached into the depths of her soul. Djed flowed freely within her arm, and she sought to disrupt that flow. Carefully, taking all the time that she needed, Savis performed a detachment, weaving her djed into the space between the astral and physical bodies and loosing her astral hand at the wrist from its rotting physical shell. The paint brush began to fall as her grip relaxed and her arm fell limp, but the Nuit's astral reactions were sharper than her physical.

The Nuit extended her astral limb, stretching it to catch the paint brush before it fell onto the floor. A smirk set upon her lips as she brandished the brush with her astral arm, visualizing the circles she was to draw before she set on the endeavor itself.

WC: 857

[Savis Maren]

Savis willed the astral limb to stretch forth, paintbrush raised with the blackened tip in the air. When she willed the astral hand to the ground, she flipped the position. The Nuit's spectral limb swished the brush along the surface of her room. Black paint splattered onto the floor topped over and manipulated by the brush until an even layer was spread into a circle. Savis Maren painted the circle to be five feet in diameter before she began with the intricate, but straight line that'd begin the second circle. Savis' connection with her astral limb felt stronger as she wove the shape into being. The limb moved faster, easily carrying the brush along the surface until both circles were drawn and connected.

The Nuit found her unexpressive features twisted in a smile, the steady routine of the preparations for Animation clearing her mind. She began to pore through the knowledge of the discipline she knew best, musing as she allowed the paint to dry. Savis Maren drew back her astral hand, making the effort to re-attach the limb as she thought to herself. She took her time forging the connections between astral entities, her wrist and hand re-formed into one cohesive unit as she raised her free hand. The paintbrush fell into her re-connected left hand, holding it between her fingers as lightly brushed her blackened lips with her fingertips.

As the Nuit touched her lips, she poured djed into the nerves that connected her eyes to her brain. Slowly, the djed waxed, pulling itself through to the silver orbs themselves as Savis Maren looked over the mirrored stand that she'd brought into her home. She stepped forward, lowering her hands and placing them on either side of the metallic body. She wheeled the as of yet inert automaton into the further away of the two circles. Savis allowed her awareness to breach into the material, through the metal and lay witness to the machinery beneath the stand. Four wheels were spaced an inch away from one another, Two screws skewered either side of the wheels, all connected to a cross-shaped mechanism at the base of the metal, locker/stand. The mechanism was elegantly simple, but it never would've occurred to Savis to employ such simple, effective uses of the wheel. It was beautiful, elegant, but... not the only mechanisms made available to the automaton.

Savis saw that in the center of the space, a short pole protruded from the metal base of the automaton. The Sight showed Savis the mechanism, the metal surface topped with a linen stopper at the end. There was a small spring mechanism that seemed to work on a wind-up principle, Savis quite astounded at the thoroughness the Gadgeteer invoked in his work.

It's... a brake? The spring seems set in place and it'll be simple enough to program the command for the brake to wind up after every use... Absolute genius, the Nuit mused, a grin caught upon her features. The absolute miracle that was Gadgeteering, more and more, captivated Savis' intrigue. She'd figured the craft beyond her, but utilizing Auristics, allowing her to look at the inner mechanisms... Her mind began to grasp the principles at hand. Edward Lucis made her commissions with Animation in mind, his mastery of the craft rather humbling to the Nuit.

Did Sahova have such an inventive Gadgeteer at their disposal? I've seen automata of grand and small scale alike... but these inventive solutions to make even these small commissions effective for their purpose...

Savis Maren reveled in her purchase. Every time she purchased from the elderly Gadgeteer, she was more and more enthralled with his work. The Nuit chuckled softly and allowed the Sight to fall away from her. Djed receded from her silver eyes and slowly, the Nuit allowed her gaze to return to normalcy. The pieces were in place, leaving Savis Maren to decide which composition of Glyphs she'd impose upon the Twin Circles before commencing with the task at hand.

As I mentioned to Edward Lucis, I intend to make a servant, a tool meant to carry my kits and my satchel. It seems that Edward Lucis provided a means of protecting this tool from the slopes of Lhavit. Spherical wheels should increase friction? When going down hills it will be simpler for the automaton to control its speed. The brake is in the center... Are there other mechanisms in place? she mused, eager to continue her exploration of the gadget Lucis provided for her.

This time, however, she'd turn to the schematic, since there would likely be explanations and notes on the paper that her own mind wouldn't catch.

WC: 781

[Savis Maren]

When Savis Maren addressed the schematic, there were numbers and equations written about the edges. The dimensions were written in, erased once over with pencil before inked properly in pen. The Nuit noted the large, hollow portion. The entire structure was less than five feet tall, with a three foot hollow compartment that the schematic labeled to have an area of four and a half square feet. It allotted her plenty of space to store other things, but she'd keep her travels light. Savis Maren wanted her tool to run efficiently, after all. The Nuit's gaze moved next to the mirror. Several screws locked the silver glass mirror into place, on the turning base she'd seen earlier. The number 360 with a strange symbol, looking like an 'o' but positioned at the upper right side of the 0...

It wasn't until the undead saw the caption, which referred to an index at the footnote of the schematic, that she learned what the symbol meant. Degrees! The Nuit had never been privy to such schematics before her time in Lhavit. She was always told what to do, how to do it, based on indications from the notes of Animators in the citadel of Sahova. She'd honed her craft in its walls, but never did she seek to expand her mind. After all, the Nuit was, in her past, too compassionate to understand the horrors that took place on the island. She took an opportunity and left before she could undergo a Judgement, eager to be rid of the place.

The more comfortable I grow... the more eager I am to push myself further. Voice, intelligence... I've proven myself capable of encoding automatons with these qualities. Now, I need to put those together, but add more complex movements to the process. Movements I can't compare to anything I'm capable of, she mused. The Nuit had faith in her capability, her resourcefulness. What she required was the tools necessary to push her limits. And here she was. A grin caught upon Savis Maren's lips as she rubbed her hands together. She referenced the schematic one final time before she moved on.

Savis Maren couldn't spend too much time fawning over something she'd paid for. For someone with a remarkably higher amount of time than the average mage in Lhavit, she preferred to make use of it effectively.

Onward to the Glyph arrangements. I think we'll make use of a Path. I want the flow of djed to emphasize itself in the points of locomotion. If I'm correct in my understanding, it should smooth out the process. Perhaps even make it faster, she mused, her feet firmly planted as she breached into the wellspring of her djed. Savis Maren was growing used to taking her time and utilizing Projection for the brush movements. She didn't feel the need to stress her body, but instead, she wanted to rely more and more on the Astral body. Projection proved itself immeasurably useful, but rather than do so without caution, she'd paint the foci on her wrist.

Furthering my reliance on Projection is a reasonable goal. However, we'll temper eagerness with caution, she mused. The Nuit painted the focus, giving it the rune Korad.

To tie together... The mind with the astral body. She painted a second, next, forming a string of text about her wrist, painting it on with the fingers of her other hand.

Roza. To interrupt, or sever. Once the Glyphs were painted in a string, Savis Maren began to pull at the fabric of her soul. Djed flowed from her, seeping into the bridge that connected the astral body with her wrist. The runes filled with djed before she invoked it to separate her astral limb from the physical. She pulled it up, her wrist falling limp as her spectral hand connected to her mind. She willed it forth, collecting her paint btush before she commenced.

Savis Maren painted within the destination two long lines that divided the circle in three portions. Then, she did it again. the Nuit did not close the lines entirely, instead leaving space for the djed to flow from without. She intended to guide the flow from the line of the circle to the middle. The first step done, Savis Maren sought not to experiment, but to test her theories.

Glyphing can be immeasurably helpful to the process of Animation. If djed is guided carefully, set parameters in which to imbue into the structure... then I can take a greater control of the process! she assured herself, eager to prove herself right.

WC: 773

[Savis Maren]

The Nuit checked her efforts. She ensured that the runes she crafted were filled in properly, complete and unbroken with the exception of the square without edges she'd formed. Barriers combined together to form a Path, rigid lines with small openings that sought to block djed from a wild, circular orbit within the Destination. However, Savis wasn't quite done, either. The to-be automaton, her commission from Edward Lucis was yet referenced within the Glyphs. Savis utilized her spectral limb, willing it to close the barriers and create a nearly completely closed square. A single gap was present to feed djed in one direction through to the Destination.

Closing off the Destination is something I've never done before, but the theory stands that guiding ambient djed into the automaton through one established opening will make it more difficult for djed to escape. Therefore, if I'm correct, then the Path should serve to manage the flow, pouring it in and preventing it from escape.

The controls that Savis Maren imposed upon her Destination were for that Circle alone. Once she was satisfied with the modified square, she set her sights away from that circle altogether. The Nuit shifted her attention next to the Source. Savis pulled her brush into the air, guiding it with her spectral hand. She brought the brush back to herself, dipping her the hairs of the brush into her paint. She dabbed it carefully, knowing that her efforts were trying on the brush.

Savis did her utmost to be judicious with her resources, using what was necessary, but not for the need for hoarding resources in it of itself. Bloating her paint, making lines with varying consistency and size was the purview of a fool. Perhaps mediocre at best in her practices, Savis Maren prided herself in the fact that she was no fool. She actively sought to supercede her mediocrity, testing her limits and breaching into unexplored terrain without the nudging of teachers or colleagues. Savis' fierce thirst for independence was a source of pride for her, and she saw taking care in her pursuits as the absolute epitome of being a judicious and therefore effective mage.

Enough musings. I've dawdled for far too long. I'll allow my personal djed a respite, the Nuit thought to herself. The brush sat outside of the Source as she approached that Circle. Savis Maren lowered herself with a measure of reluctance, sitting crosslegged on the floor as she utilized the second Glyph that remained on her wrist. Savis' djed pulled back towards the Glyph and she stitched together her astral body. She took her time, even though her desire for haste manifested twice already. Regardless of how excited she was, she had to place her personal security above all else. Once she felt strength return to her hand, she clenched her fist, shifting towards the paintbrush and gingerly holding it between her fingers. Savis painted a large rune directly in the center of the Source.

She placed a second circle first, implementing the use of a compound phrase.

Yaq-pond. The Circle of Thought, she thought to herself as she painted the glyph on the surface. Next, Savis Maren utilized the circle she'd drawn. She formed the stylized markings of a Barrier, seeking both the Focus and the Barrier to form a sigil in the center of the Source. Savis combined basic premises within the discipline of Glyphing, fully intent on utilizing them as an extension, or rather, a specialization of her true passion - Animation.

Savis Maren, before she forgot, began to write into her journal. Today, for her, was a momentous occasion, where she sought to truly expand upon and showcase to only herself the learning she underwent while within the city of Lhavit. The Diamond of Kalea was good for her in the Autumn, the problems of Summer not forgotten but certainly out of mind as she mused on just how far she'd come. And, of course, just how much farther she had to go.

WC: 676

[Savis Maren]

The stylization of the circles of power wasn't a new concept for the Nuit, but she continued to arm her Glyphs with different and more detailed Glyphs. She intended to delve headfirst into the task of Animating an Automaton with greater complexity than any she'd gotten her hands on in the city of Lhavit. Granted, she'd manipulated djed to grander tools before. However, the automatons on Sahova were simple to animate given the access Savis was given during her endeavors. She was assigned Sources and automatons, told which directives to bestow and a direction to work towards. Savis Maren had no such restrictions placed on her efforts. 518 proved to be a year of leaps and bounds for the Nuit. Her travel from Sylira to Kalea was meant to be asylum, an escape from the horrors of the past to new ventures.

The Nuit had no idea just how correct she was in arriving here. She was protected, her unlife, for the first time in decades, held value. She allowed one final distraction to encompass her thoughts as she reflected on the nature of her existence in Lhavit. The Nuit had her own private home in the city, contrary to her life on the lam whiel with her first master and certainly distinct from her constant, moving pace on Sahova. Savis had rights, both as a citizen of Lhavit and as a mage. The Nuit had a right to her work, to own the things that she raised to that semblance of life. She had a right to using her personal magic to her own purposes, to experiment and test her theories.

In Lhavit I am a person, not a resource to take advantage of, she reassured herself before she rose to her feet. The Nuit took but two steps, setting herself into the Source and plopping down in the center of her sigil. Savis Maren did not prefer to use herself as a Source, but already she had a very strong idea of what she wanted to accomplish and the connection of the Twin Circles would allow her to interact directly with the magic, with the ideas she'd formed.

And so, it begins, was the very last thought in her mind before she breached into her mouth. With each body the Nuit inhabited, she kept the same tick. Ichor sat within the core of her body, but she also had a swell of it in her mouth. Deep in her maw, behind her teeth but before her throat, there was a place she could harvest ichor without too much of a hassle. Two fingers swished the place, with droplets of ichor staining her fingertips with silver before she drew back. Savis leaned forward, letting a single drop fall into the Destination before she did the same with the Source.

It was always an unsettling sensation to be connected with her own mind. The Nuit's eyes were wide open, but she breached into the depths of her psyche. Savis Maren's blank silver eyes stared at the automaton-to-be, noting the qualities before she began to muse on the Directives. Savis felt the change in the air as djed funneled into the center of the Source. The Glyphs began to illuminate with djed, bathing her in a sickly white glow as day slowly surrendered to dusk. The sky outside of her apartment grew dark, Syna meeting her lover, Leth, in the heavens before surrendering to his clutch on Mizahar.

Savis Maren paid the world no mind, delving fully into the connection of the Twin Circles. She kept perfectly still, her hands set on her crossed legs at the knee. She gripped into the matted fabric of her gray pants as she began to control the augmented flow of djed. Savis felt the ebb and flow of djed as she began the very first step. She breached into her very own soul, imprinting the very basis of her all-too-familiar Soulcore. Savis took careful note of the basis of unlife within her, ignoring the complex etchings of Animation that she still held very little understanding of. It was strange to think that her soul was distinct from others, woven into the ichor that sat inert within her shell. Rather than dwelling on the idea that she herself was a mystery, she delved into the parts of her soul that she did understand. Within the automaton, she felt nothing. There was no significant djed within the Destination just yet. Instead, the Source surged with it. The focus attracted more and more of it, charged with the basis of life. The Nuit transmitted those ideas, sending them across the line that connected the Twin Circles.

Savis Maren found it odd when she encountered the Path. The rune she created was different, and the gap she made took far more time to reach than she was used to. She found some frustration in her endeavor, impatience beginning to manifest in what was supposed to be the quickest step of Animation.The Nuit drove the knowledge into that gap, taking a full fifteen chimes to establish a ready connection between the Source and Destination. When she discovered that connection, however, she pursued it readily. The Life Principle began to form within the automaton, the first layer of the false soul, the Soulcore, welled into being. Savis Maren was satisfied, and took note of the difficulty she'd experienced, curious to know if she'd made an error in judgment, or if this was merely a drawback to the precautions she took.

WC: 936

[Savis Maren]

Once Savis completed the construction of the Soulcore, she began the next step immediately. The Nuit already saw the glowing lines of the barrier, as well as being surrounded by the focus within the Source. She understood that these glyphs needed to be replaced at some point within the process and noted it in her mind. The Nuit catalogged the thought before moving forward with her process. The second step was by far the most difficult. The Life Principle needed to be suffused with understanding, seeping djed from Circle to Circle heavy with knowledge and directives. Savis Maren allowed her eyes to fall shut as she wove the djed, utilizing her connection with the Twin Circles as heavy concentration set about her. Slowly, the Nuit allowed her thoughts to wane, extraneous detail, previous thoughts, the very world around her began to dissipate.

Savis Maren's movements, the unconscious twitches and shifts of posture traditional to the conscious dwindling. She stilled entirely as she began the process of transmitting the prime directives she intended to impose. The emptied mind began to fill, the connection flaring with the Twin Circles before Savis Maren directed her thoughts towards the Destination.

The idea of loyalty first occurred to the Nuit before she decided to implement a different tactic. Loyalty was driven by emotion, by events and ideas of the past. The Nuit wanted no such loyalty coming from this tool. Savis Maren steered away from the concepts of loyalty and instead strayed away from emotion. They were unpredictable, and this automaton, while the undead intended to make it more complicated, feared that complication. She wanted to deprive this automaton of emotional capacity, in order to cement its obedience and render its mind less complicated.

There are other qualities that will make this automaton complex. Imbuing emotion when unnecessary... For a tool meant to protect, loyalty might be desired. This is an aide, a receptacle capable of movement. Each tool is to be cut from a different cloth. The Voice Box was entirely void of emotions and intelligent design. Sil was capable of too much and adversely affected me in his construction...

The Nuit reflected on what she'd experienced, what she knew of Animation and what she learned through her efforts before, at last. she imposed the first directive.

Follow the verbal commands of Savis Maren.

The Nuit defined the verb in the sentence. She introduced to the Animation the concept of obedience, intent on shoehorning it into the habits of submitting to the Nuit's authority. She grounded such obedience in the idea that Creator equates to Master. Introducing the ideas would come in handy, especially as she imposed the ideas of language that followed. First, Savis Maren infused the knowledge of Common. She poured the alphabet, then words, the formation of sentences. Savis Maren spent the better part of a bell as she bridged the connection between Source and Destination. Familiar with this bit of programming, she imposed it carefully, ensuring certain words like violence weren't imposed into the automaton. She need not define such words, for in her experience, giving the knowledge of Common and defining its words introduced those concepts for the automaton to use.

Language truly is the most powerful tool one can give to the automaton. Defining concepts is fine in it of itself, but this concept opens up a level of complexity to it that can be considered... dangerous.

The Nuit, after invoking every word from her mind and defining them, completed the imprinting of language with syntax and grammar before shelving the idea, Another bell passed in the midst of such efforts. Savis' path was no longer a part of the Destination, the bells in passing dwindling the Glyphs she'd created before erasing them entirely. She'd served her purpose with it. The Soulcore beat soundly within it, she formed the path of djed flow and even without the glyphs in place, the familiar approach towards the Destination carved into her djed weaving.

Savis Maren pulled at the fabric of her own djed, feeling the time elapsed allowed her the luxury of invoking the use of Auristics. She wove her djed, pulling it up to her eyes. Silver orbs flared, vibrant but unseen by anyone as she felt the familiar pause course about her. Savis Maren allowed breath, or in her case, the mimicry of it, to act as her somatic assistance to the utilization of Auristics. She felt the meditative push and pull assisted her. The Sight flickered to life within her, her eyes trained on the Destination and the automaton that stood lifeless in its center. The Glyphs were no longer visible, and while she lamented their loss, she'd leave the Source after this investigation.

Taking pause between implementing directives was a reasonable habit to form, to inspect and re-create (or even alter) the glyphs formed in the process. Savis Maren studied the djed that whirled within the automaton. She could no longer see the Soulcore, for the Persona was rife and thick in the core of the construct. Savis was satisfied with her efforts, seeing that the Life Principle was maturing and ready to absorb more knowledge from her.

Soon, she promised.

WC: 879

[Savis Maren]

Savis Maren allowed herself to leave the Source. There was a need for respite, for the Nuit needed her focus and djed to replenish so as to allow herself as many opportunities of assurance for her success. The Nuit wasn't the sort to push eagerly into things if patience bore greater fruit. No, she cultivated her efforts with Glyphing and Auristics, intent on capitalizing on her investment in this golem to create a resource. Savis left her home for a time, locking the door behind her knowing full well that she tread the streets during the midnight rest. The sky was dark, with the shining face of Leth illuminating the glowing, beautiful city in his magnificent glow. Of the God-lovers, it was Leth that she preferred. The sun and the heat it brought with it was treacherous, and the masses of people who lived in the light of Syna always made night's crowds pale in comparison. The Nuit took her walk, musing on the nature of the task that fell to her next.

There's much to accomplish. Wheels and the strange movements I see this automaton capable of will take time to dissect, she mused. She reflected on the movements she desired, how the wheels could spin in unison and turn the automaton seamlessly. She wanted this tool, on an even surface, to have swift, beautiful movements. She imagined them, the spinning nature of the turns she wanted, the shifting of the mirror. The Nuit's imagination sought to test the nature of manipulation, to challenge her presumptions of what she and the tools she created were capable of. Savis Maren allowed the cool Autumn evening to replenish her focus, the beauty of city passageways revitalizing her. The Nuit followed the patterns on skyglass buildings before she returned to her home. A full bell passed in her respite, with shifting attention and movements keeping her busy and glad throughout. When she returned to her home, she locked the door behind her, before throwing herself back into her work. The Nuit did not breach into her djed. The art of Projection, in her opinion, was less desired than what she sought with Auristics. She mitigated her risks by exercising self-control, and shouted out,

"Sil!"

The automaton flickered to life before her. The mannequin took several steps forward before looking to Savis Maren with its unyielding, wide quartz eyes.

"Fetch me my paints," she commanded the tool. Savis set herself in the middle of the Twin Circles, commandeering the place as her middle ground to initiate glyphs for the next part of the process. When Sil accomplished his task, he sets the paint and brush, placing them directly in the middle of the circle.

"And the water," she warned the mannequin, who looked to the Nuit with unchanging eyes. Its posture seemed to express confusion, and it whirled about in search of water. Sil collided into the Nuit's desk before falling to the ground. The mannequin was incapable of rising alone from that position, and Savis certainly wouldn't assist it any further.

Incapacitated after one effort... What a joke, she seethed, knowing the anger that rose from her was a dangerous sign. She disliked the attachment she held for this... thing, and knew she might well be repeating the mistakes of the past by using herself as a Source yet again.

There's no one else to trust with this endeavor, she mused before returning to her task at hand.

She fetched the waterskin, pouring water into a small dish and setting it beside her. The Nuit dipped the dried brush into the water, letting the blackened, rigid paint melt away. However, her efforts were insufficient. Savis was forced to remove the vestiges of paint with her hand before swishing the brush one final time in the black-mottled water. When she was ready, she dipped the brush next into her paint before applying it to the surface. Savis Maren did not take to the same shapes she'd formed in her previous endeavor. The Path served its purpose already. Instead, the Nuit implemented the use of a focus and with it, a single compounded word painted into the very core of the Destination.

Djuun-Daetlas

WC: 705

[Savis Maren]

"Shaping creation," she interpreted. The rune held a different significant, shaped anew by context. The Glyph was augmented with a different path. Instead, Savis drew two lines, equal half circles deprived of a chance to become one. She sought, in the creation of this path, to pull djed into the focus, and control the direction from which it came,

In my previous iteration, I was trying to control too much. Instead of limiting where djed comes from, I'll shape how it arrives. Information-heavy djed was difficult to guide into the thin and narrow. Perhaps with more relaxed guidelines, it will be easier, she mused. The Nuit was adamant on using the path, believing that the restrictions were useful to the overall intent of Animation.

As she formed the Glyphs, Savis Maren invoked the Sight. She pulled at her djed, willing it into her silver eyes. the orbs brightened considerably as she sought to latch onto the familiar aura of the automaton. She accustomed herself to pulling at the budding soul, forging her link with its aura with the intent of anticipating how best to compile the information she placed within it.

So it continues, she thought, her blackened lips outstretched in an eager grin.

The Nuit breached into her mouth. She re-initiated her connection to the Twin Circles, augmenting her connection to the automaton made with Auristics by world magic and the connection by ichor. She focused her reflection on the aura. Instead, she allowed the Sight to set on the glyph-enhanced circle. She wove her connection into being as resumed her place within the Source.

First, there was the matter to consider of implementing speech into the golem. She'd nearly overlooked it, but the knowledge of Common in the automaton was meant for both speaking and listening. Savis shook her head in distaste for her inability to keep track of the numerous applications she sought after. Perhaps, in the future, she'd note everything into her journal before stepping forth into projects.

However, being overly prolific isn't what I desire, either. Allowing others to steal my insights if my journal should ever go missing... is not what I want.

Savis spent another moment in considerations before she willed the connection between herself and the Destination anew. She wove the knowledge of Common with the ability to use it. The strings lodged within the casing had a purpose, and she willed the automaton to learn that purpose. She provided it the knowledge to vibrate those strings, to do so at a high enough frequency to achieve speech in a rudimentary pattern. The words, most likely, would come overly high or low, with no median possible with the efforts of the task. The Nuit spent a bell going over the language once again, though instead using her throat as a reference to speaking the Common tongue, providing a parallel for the Automaton to take to.

Savis pulled into the midst of her thoughts, letting the 'breath' of her usage of the Sight to carry her focus. She watched as she breached information within the Source. She pulled the movements from her reflection during the walk. The correlations. She imagined the wheels and how they moved. The nuit visualized the passage, the spinning and stopping. She visualized the brake in the center and imagined it extending to the ground to serve its purpose.

The movements were considered one by one, manuevers for evading obstacles, for braking quickly and slowly alike. She programmed the set of movements she required from the automaton within the Source before dragging them through the line and into the Destination. There, the focus illuminated and pulled the djed like a magnet towards the automaton. The path carried it to its subject, and Savis Maren was glad to have learned from her errors.

The process seemed far quicker and easier... Not incredibly so from her time without utilizing glyphs, but certainly from her improper use of the Path before. She'd designed the barriers poorly and made sure to note the distinction now. A smirk set upon Savis' features as she willed her manipulation of the outlying djed to carry forth her efforts. She released the knowledge, allowing her glyphs to do their task.

WC: 707

[Savis Maren]

Savis wove the knowledge she sought, the movements, programming into the automaton a range of motion that the Nuit herself was not capable of. She spliced the knowledge, replicated it, her eyes falling shut and the Sight expanding forth in a different capacity. Instead, she allowed her awareness to spread throughout the Source. She sought to feel the djed about her, the energy concealed within the air and the earth. She mused on the djed within herself, as well, used in the manipulation of Auristics. The information did not escape her attention, but she focused, letting all else fade away as she imagined the space of the Twin Circles around her.

Then, she thought. Information filled her thoughts and she ripped them away with Animation. She imagined the mirror at the top of the Destination's structure. She formed the connection of sight and the knowledge of it, pushing that information intop the automaton. The movement of the mirror came next, and she spent bells carefully preparing, reinforcing and augmenting it. Syna was visible from the window, but Savis paid no mind to the passage of time. Instead, she trudged on, forging the knowledge she craved for her creation to possess before she implemented her second directive.

Follow Savis Maren. Maintain a distance of no more than six feet from her at all times.

Sub-directive. Initiate no movements at all until the command 'Abase' is spoken.

Movements, subtle and grand, sight and perceptions... This automaton will be the first generation of grand servants at my disposal.

The undead carefully deliberated, defining the directive with the information she suffused the automaton with beforehand. Savis compiled all of the qualities she sought for it to have, guiding djed with the usage of the Sight before allowing the personal magic to whittle away from her eyes. She completed her task with an intent for absolute focus. The world melted away as she sealed tight the Persona with one final directive.

Unless the command 'Radjud' is spoken, do not open your compartment and do not allow anyone to open it manually.

The second directive defined the parameters needed to obey this directive, and thus, she derived the knowledge necessary to continue forth with little due process. The steps complete, the Nuit moved on to the final leg of her project, establishing the Astral body.

Savis Maren pushed her connection to the Destination, willing the djed within the automaton, compacted within the layers of its Life Principle, to expand forth. Knowledge of movement and the djed that created that information flew to the wheels. The Nuit wove an astral body that ignored most of the structure. She kept it confined to the door, to the wheels and to the mechanisms within that controlled the mirror. Everything else was merely a receptacle that needed no such privilege. Once Savis accomplished the task of shaping the astral body to her liking, she stepped out of the Source. The automaton was completed, and she need but speak the command she imprinted into its Life Principle.

"Abase," she commanded. With gentle 'creaks' stemming from its wheels, the automaton whirred to life. Its spherical wheels shifted in place before all four turned in unison, guiding the automaton towards Savis Maren.

The Nuit felt the chuckle roll from her throat, pouring readily from her lips. The chuckle ascended into laughter, a rush of exhilaration fueling her as she raised her hands into the air. The Nuit moved to her paints and quickly dabbed the brush in water to purify it. She set everything in its proper place, both of her kits thrown into her satchel before she spoke out,

"Radjud." The door unlatched and opened, providing the Nuit with ample space to store her satchel. She placed her journal within it as well. Satisfied with her efforts, the Nuit sought to leave her home. Syna was well into the sky as she exited, her path taking her to the Bharani Library.

WC: 666