Flashback Daughter of A Mage

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 10:58 pm

32nd of Spring 508AV
Note :
Lani has had many names in her life, at this point she was known as Leavou, so that is the name I will be using. For more detail on that timeline, consult her plotnotes.


Leavou watched her mother’s aqua eyes watch her own. There was a small war battling behind the Konti’s eyes, and normally Leavou would love to cheer her mother up, the somber frown that pulled on the corners of R’yse’s eyes upset her. But she knew that at the moment, the frown was for her. It wasn’t that she had done anything wrong it was that she had wanted something. It was something that her mother had promised her for this day, but was obviously hesitant to give her.

So the fresh twelve year old was swinging her feet off the chair beneath her, but otherwise waiting silently for an answer or sign that they were going to begin. She was confident that she was going to get what she wanted, and unconcerned about why I worried her mother that she wanted it so bad. But the child was also patient, and so she waited, watching the finches flit from tree branch to tree branch outside their small cottage. Without warning R’yse stood, her stool skidding back against the stone floor, and she pulled a key from her pocket. In the same instant Leavou hopped up, an excited grin on the child’s face as she quickly stepped behind her mother, ready to tail her to the locked room.

“You know we will not be doing Alchemy today.” R’yse spoke, and Leavou’s heart deflated, and she looked up at the cold Konti.

“What-?”

“You have to know how the ring works, without the knowledge base, you won’t know how to do it on your own. If you want me to teach you anything of worth, you must know glyphing first.”

“Glyphing?” Leavou asked.

“Yes, come with me little one.” R’yse guided her into the laboratory, and Leavou bubbled up.

“Glyphing is not inherently magic, but it is a basis for learning nearly any other world magic, and for enhancing your personal magics.” R’yse spoke in a self-admiring voice that she tended to take on when she was displaying her skill, and the twelve year old was all ears. Within the laboratory, the twelve year old immediately turned for the Alchemy ring that stood in the center of the room. It was not too large, perhaps about one of her arms in diameter, with small charger plates, and intricate wrappings of D-wire around the cool metal. She logically knew it was not magical unless it was active, but the child still leaned close, unwilling to touch actually touch it. Reverence glowed in her black eyes, and she listened to her mother, but focused on the ring.

“Look Leavou, do you see the drawings on these?” R’yse leaned forward as well, tapping the triangular keystones. Leavou nodded, looking closer at them now. The metal on which they were carved was a pyramid shape that interrupted the smooth metal ring. But on the face of one side of these pyramids, there was a circular rune drawn. Within the layers of circles were different geometric shapes, and it was pleasing to the eye, but even she recognized that there was a meaning to these that she didn’t understand. Still, her curiosity was hard to maintain and she looked closer at them, trying to understand what the symbols meant.
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Lani Stranger
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 10:58 pm

“You won’t be able to read them unless I tell you what they mean, we will get to that, don’t worry dear.” R’yse knew her daughter well enough to know when the silent child was curious about something. “There is an art to glyphing that can be used for many things, but today I want to teach you the glyphs specifically used for Alchemy. There are certain symbols within the glyphs that mean things, and the glyphs themselves have certain purposes. Each mage tends to vary their glyphs differently, but for the most part they do the same thing.” R’yse explained pulling out a scroll and showing it to Lani. The child scrunched her brow. If this ancient magic created a certain effect, differences in how they are written would make a change, would it not?

“How can they be written differently and do the same thing?” Leavou asked, while R’yse continued to retrieve blank parchment and an ink well. She smiled with the smugness of having knowledge that others don’t, even over a twelve year old.

“Because, dear, the glyphs are created with certain components which is how they work. That is not the part that changes, and that is the most important part. The part that changes are the symbols, which change by region, language, and time. If I were to write a word in common and then in Kontinese, the word still means the same, different people are simply able to read it.” The analogy made sense, and Leavou nodded to her mother, opening her palm expectantly for a quill.

“Please?” She asked, and R’yse placed it in her hand, before pulling up a stool beside the table and pointing to the keystone.
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Lani Stranger
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 10:59 pm

“This is fairly complex, but you can still see the main components. That outer ring is called the barrier, inside is the focus, there is also a path in this glyph but we will focus on that in a minute. Lastly, that stray-looking mark is a trigger. Meridian keystone glyphs are very straight forward, as they are simply to direct alchemical djed when it is activated. They do not store or deflect like some glyphs, and because they are meant to direct the flow of djed, they have a path. Glyphs can also have switches, now, show me how smart you are.” The last phrase was fairly common in their household. Whenever R’yse was teaching Leavou something, she would have the girl do guesswork with whatever information she gained during the introduction before actually teaching her. R’yse said it stretched her mind, and made her an active thinker which helped her absorb the knowledge. Leavou thought it was how her mother was trying to get her to talk more.

“Well, the barrier is probably to control the glyph and make sure all the magic that is supposed to be in there stays in there, right?” R’yse nodded. “The trigger is probably what activates the glyph, and allows it to work, yeah?” R’yse nodded again. “The path is to… direct the flow of djed. Like in the ring where one keystone flows the magic towards the founts, and one towards the filters.” R’yse pursed her lip at the clear prior knowledge, her mother suspected Leavou had been learning in other places, but nodded at the correct information anyway. Leavou knew that R’yse had tried to keep the knowledge of magic from her until this moment, but when Leavou wanted to learn something, she did, this was no exception. She continued on anyway. “A focus is… the point of a glyph, like what it is is supposed to do.” Leavou guessed confidently. It seemed a simple enough concept to guess.

“Not quite. A focus is where all the magic is stored within the glyph. The barrier will keep any effects from bleeding out of the glyph, but the focus is where it is actually stored. In the keystone glyphs, the focus gathers and released energy almost instantly, but some glyphs will hold magical effects like a shield, inside them.” Leavou nodded, this made sense. But she had no idea what a switch was, there was not one for her to look at or any context clue.

“I don’t know what a switch is.” She admitted, and R’yse grinned.

“That’s fair, we aren’t there yet. But you did good, you mostly understood barriers, triggers, and paths. We will work on focuses and switches, but we are going to go over all their definitions, and then work with a simple meridian keystone glyph.” R’yse told her, and Leavou thought today’s lesson sounded quite light, but she did not question it. The twelve year old knew that one did not learn magics quickly and easily. Even for all the knowledge of Alchemy she had absorbed in the past season, this was merely the beginning of her journey.
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 10:59 pm

“Now, I know you’ve been taking notes, so make sure you take notes on this.” R’yse said fixing the child with a knowing look. Immediately her mind when to the folded parchment that rested underneath her summer sandals in her trunk. A sheepish look fell across her face, and she looked down, fingering the hairs on her feather quill. R’yse had known that Leavou was interested, and as the woman who raised her, of course R’yse had found her hiding spot. But, perhaps she hadn’t and was bluffing the child, it was sometimes hard to tell. Regardless, she knew now.

“Now, look here.” R’yse drew a large circle with a practiced hand, only having to dip the quill once to complete it. With small detailed lettering, she drew the word Barrier on it. “A barrier is a series of glyphs, usually arranged in a circle, that surround another part of the sigil. They block and restrict the magical effect inside, typically contained in a Focus. Only exceptional users can block a real spell coming towards the wizard.”

As R’yse talked, Leavou began scribbling, jotting down notes on her own parchment. R’yse waited until she was done writing and then continued on. “Inside the barrier, we can draw a path.”

With two dips of the quill, R’yse created two inner circles to the outer circle, and with uncanny precision drew a hexagon inside the two circles. “This would be the Path. A Path is formed by two Barriers that act as boundaries, forming a 'road' for a magical effect to travel on. It is used to channel magic where desired or connect different sigils. Just like Barriers, they can transport the magic stored in a Focus, but require a master user to channel hostile magic.”

Then R’yse took a ruler and traced three lines to the center, and drew a small circle in the very middle of the mock glyph. “Ignore the lines, but this circle in the center is called the Focus. The Focus is a single, large glyph that stores magic. When magic flows into the Focus, it disappears until released. The Focus can be thought of as a mirror: if a fireball is thrown into it, it will be expelled from it with the same speed when released.”
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 11:00 pm

While R’yse continued to talk, she drew a small square inside the circle, and then a diamond inside that square. “The Focus can also store a magic procedure; for example, a Morphing wizard would step on the Focus and perform a transformation on himself which would be copied by the Focus and repeated on the first person to activate the Focus. Even physical objects can be stored inside a Focus, provided that they contain magic in them and can pass through the Focus. With great practice and skill, even constructs such as golems and summoned creatures can be stored.”

R’yse spoke with a reverence for the magic, which told Leavou that there was lot of importance on this part. This time she didn’t wait for Leavou to finish writing, but the child didn’t think the examples were worth noting, and was able to finish before R’yse did. Dipping her quill once more, she moved to the upper right section of the paper, drawing an upside down triangle. “This is called the trigger. Triggers are glyphs that specify a condition for another part of the sigil to be activated or deactivated. Commonly, a Trigger will deactivate a Barrier which in turn activates the release of a Focus.”

Again, R’yse watched and waited until Leavou was done, before continuing on. She dipped her quill into a red ink well before drawing small little circles around the outer circle of the sample glyph. “And finally, a Switch. A Switch is a single glyph, typically painted in a different color. It is used to split a magical effect into multiple parts, or merge multiple effects. The division is either power-wise, which is for splitting big effects into small effects, or function-wise, which is splitting two effects of the same magic. Typically used with Paths.”
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 11:01 pm

Again, R’yse waiting until the child was done scribbling out a quick version of her words before speaking again. “But don’t worry too much about these at the moment, they are not used in Alchemy glyphs.”[/b]

”When are they used?” Leavou had briefly forgotten that the purpose of today was to learn glyphs used for Alchemy, instead she was now curious on the strange art of glyphing itself.

”If one charges a glyph with other personal magics, it would be useful to split up the affects for precision or to scatter the effects. But, like I said, don’t worry about it.” Leavou nodded, scanning up her notes to make sure she was absorbing everything her mother was telling her. It was fresh in her mind, and as far as the child understood it, it seemed logical, so she found no gaps that needed to be filled in.

”Go ahead, show me how smart you are.” R’yse said, and Leavou looked up. Was she supposed to create a glyph now? It seemed simple enough, but for some reason she expected more instruction. R’yse was already sliding a fresh parchment in front of her. ”You know shielding, you can shield something, and put it into the glyph.”

The nonchalant words of her mother did not help her nerves, and Leavou glanced around the room for something small enough that she could shield, while desperately trying to come up with how she was going to draw the glyph. The door do the main area of the cottage was still open, and she knew there were smaller more safe things to do in there. She recalled how not too long ago she had shielded the light against a spoon, creating a weird otherworldly look to the spoon, as it no longer absorbed the light around it. Not thinking originally, she decided to do the same thing. The child hopped off her stool, walking back into the kitchen and retrieving a clean tin spoon, before making her way back. She set it beside her, and assessed the paper more clearly.
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 11:01 pm

Leavou looked at her notes, and then at the blank sheet, and then back at her notes. Show me how smart you are.The words echoed in her ear and she frowned at the paper, tentatively placing her quill down in the center to create the focus, charging it for shielding magic. Drawing the actual glyph was easy enough, but without all the other parts, it just looked like a symbol in the center of her page. Hesitantly she then picked up the spoon and placed it in the center.

”Hold on, little one.” R’yse’s voice was unusually calm as she took the spoon off of the focus, staring Lavou in the eye. ”Complete the glyph before charging it.” Leavou nodded, duh.

Placing her ink down on the paper again, she began to detail the barrier around it. R’yse words made sense now, without the barrier to trap the magic, it would be immediately released as soon as she attempted to charge it, which would make the point of the glyph mute. Finally, in an effort to keep it simple, Leavou drew a trigger just outside the circle, assigning the Common word go as the trigger.

”Very good. Simple, but good.” R’yse praised and Leavou beamed. She then picked up the spoon, concentrating on it specifically. Her Konti mother leaned back on the table as to not interrupt the child, and watched. Leavou had to call the Djed forth first, which had always taken the little girl a while of concentration to do. She was getting better at it, and was able to focus on her mother’s deep calm breathing, using the rhythm of it to guide her djed to her finger tips. Then, she released it in the only way that she knew how to, in the sticky weblike form of a shield. It was very rough, and as she weaved the magic over the spoon, there were gaps in it that she could see. And yet where the shield covered the spoon, the light seemed to not reflect off of it. As if one was looking at the tin in the dark, except the sun shining through the window did not touch it.

By the time Leavou thought she was done, tension holding the shield in place, but still gaps of light-soaked tin shone through, she placed it on the glyph. “Go.” Almost instantly, the disappeared, nothing else in the room seemed to move or change, but the instantaneous magic was a little unsettling to the mixed blood child.

{b]”Excellent, now you have a glyph that contains a very weak light shielded spoon.”[/b] Leavou could detect a hint of amusement in her voice. It was a useless scroll, that was for sure, but she was supposed to be practicing wasn’t she? Leavou crossed her arms, and R’yse laid a soft hand on her shoulder.
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Lani Stranger on November 20th, 2018, 11:03 pm

”It was good, little one. The only bad glyph is a glyph that doesn’t work.” She said, picking up the scroll and flipping it over as if looking for the spoon. Satisfied with whatever assessment she just made, she leaned back again, and nodded towards the scroll.

”Now bring it back,” She instructed, and the child looked at her. ”Exactly the same way.” She encouraged.

”By saying go?” Leavou asked, but R’yse didn’t answer. Instead she heard the soft ting of metal settling, and turned back to look at the spoon that had appeared once again, same haphazard shield resting on it. Only it was one of her shields, and it was weak, so she could already see it fading. Still, Leavou was surprised, her shields usually only lasted a few ticks, and this one had now lasted a few chimes.

”Does the magic still fade inside of the glyph?” She asked, as the shield wore off the spoon quickly until it disappeared altogether within a few ticks.

”Not while it is inside the glyph, while inside the glyph it is frozen, until it is activated.” R’yse explained, scooping up the scroll, unceremoniously she ripped it in half, and Lavou’s jaw dropped.

”Why did you do that?!” She asked, shocked and a little defensive.


”Glyphs only work as long as they are whole, and we do not want an open one just laying around, especially one so simple. It is for protection, there are plenty of chances to make more.” R’yse explained, standing with the parchment and walking into the common area to drop it in front of the unlit fireplace to be used for tinder next time they needed it. Leavou couldn’t help but feel a small amount of disappointment in the action though, determined she would practice until she was good, which of course, R’yse wouldn’t like.

”Now, I don’t want you practicing without me, little one. Magic is dangerous and you have to respect it. I will help you learn in the beginning, so don’t try it on your own. That being said, I’m tired now, so we will have to learn alchemy later.” The quick and dismissive excuse was a lie. R’yse wasn’t tired, she was bored. That was why it was so hard for Leavou to learn from her, because if she didn’t keep her mother constantly entertained, she was worthless. Leavou was a little peeved, but since she had already made up her mind to practice on her own, she went to grab her notes instead, deciding she wait until R’yse left to start drawing real alchemical glyphs.


Glyphing, 32nd of Spring 508AV
Image

-Barrier: outside circle of glyphs used to block and restrict magic
-Path: Used to channel magic or connect glyphs
-Focus: Center of the graph that holds the magic
-Trigger: Activates or deactivates different parts of a glyph
-Switch: A single glyph written in a different color that seperates or splits magic effects


Word Count: 3,340
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Lani Stranger
Wanderer
 
Posts: 649
Words: 697231
Joined roleplay: March 21st, 2014, 11:48 pm
Location: Wind Reach
Race: Mixed blood
Character sheet
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Medals: 5
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Daughter of A Mage

Postby Madeira Dusk on December 19th, 2018, 6:55 pm

Image
Grades Awarded!

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Lani Stranger

Skills
  • History: 1xp
  • Alchemy: 2xp
  • Glyphing: 5xp
  • Writing: 3xp
  • Planning: 1xp
  • Shielding: 1xp

Lores
  • Glyphing: basic overview
  • Lore of merging Alchemy and Glyphing
  • Glyphing: mages may have their own styles of the same glyph
  • Glyphing: glyphs may change between regions, language and time
  • Alchemy: components of an alchemy circle
  • Glyphing: the Focus
  • Glyphing: the Barrier
  • Glyphing: the Path
  • Glyphing: construction of a glyph
  • Glyphing: a focus can store magic
  • Glyphing: the Switch
  • Glyphing: the Trigger
  • Lore of the uses of Glyphs with personal magics
  • Glyphing: magic is preserved in a glyph

Awards & Retribution


Notes
I love Lani's interactions with Ryse. Their relationship is so interesting. You have a great handle on NPC's and personality in your writing. <3
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