Solo The Song Of The Wind V

[Kelski]

Timestamp: 72nd of Fall 518 A.V.

Gilthas continued the lesson, this time switching the topic to the hazards of magic, and more specifically, the hazards of Reimancy. “I’ve told you once Res is transmuted, it cannot be unmade back into Res. I’ve also told you that while it is not completely the real element it is transmuted to resemble, it does as the element does. Fire burns, water can drown, and the mage who does this is not immune to any of it. But what you don’t understand is that Res is limited by the amount of Djed you have in your body, Kelski. If you generate too much Res, you risk tapping out your Djed, and that can lead to what we called Inordination, that is to give an inordinate amount of Djed. Modern mages are less educated. They’ve dumbed the word down to what they call Overgiving. I suspect it’s because their mentors in their Djedlines just simply tell them not to use too much, rather than teach them where those limits are.” He shook his head in disgust.

“When your body runs low, it can be as if you run low on blood or air or energy. And you can seriously run the risk of death. You can also have lesser things happen, such as insanity or instability, or even complete frailness that you never get over.” He said thoughtfully.

She nodded, listening intently.

“This is very true of Reimancy. It’s harder to achieve Inordination or Overgiving with things such as Shielding. We get excited, the situation gets dangerous or you feel inspired, and suddenly you’ve generated too much Res. You can never give too much of yourself. There’s a boundary within you Kelski, that you will find if you look for it. It will tell you when you are crossing the line. Think of it as a line around a bottle of wine you can pour out at any time. When that level in that bottle gets to the line – stop using Djed. If you don’t go past it, the worst symptom you’ll have to deal with is tiredness, maybe exhaustion. But if you go further, push yourself, even in a life and death situation, you’ll feel worse.” He cautioned, and then stood up to walk around. He paced back and forth as Kelski sat there quietly and listened.

Gilthas walked away then, moving into another room, rummaged around – Kelski could hear some banging of things – and then returned caring a large cast-iron cauldron. He grinned as he sat it down beside her.

“What is this for?” She asked, suddenly very very cautious.

“Most mages don’t realize if their res goes untasked, it doesn’t just fade away. It can linger a great deal of time. And the reason most mages overgive repeatedly is no one shows them their limit. I want you to take a deep breath, Kelski. I want you to think of an incredibly sacred happy place to you, then I want you to go there in your mind. You mind must be blank of all things besides this place. No thoughts of air at all. Then I want you to start generating Res. You will fill this cauldron with Res, and keep filling it until I tell you to stop. It won’t be easy, and you must keep your mind blank because if you do not, you will task the Res and waste it. We’ll need it for other lessons. But this lesson is by far more important than all the other ones that come afterwards because we must find and learn your limits so you yourself know them.” He said softly, urging her.

[Kelski]

Kelski bowed her head, turning so she was facing the cauldron and bowed over it, clearing her mind and thinking of someplace sacred, peaceful, that she would be utterly calm. A mountain top facing the sea with winds and fog and clear cold crisp mountain air filled her senses. She wanted to be there, she pictured being here, sitting cross legged on some boulder or another, perhaps even in one of Gilthas’ sacred rock circles.

She vaguely felt a hand descend on her shoulder and grip her torso lightly. Gilthas. His touch did not trouble her at all. “Very good. I can see what you see. Now reach out with your hands and generate Res… keep doing so… keeping the sacred space in your mind and not thinking of your element. Breathe in… breathe out… deep breaths.” He said with a half-smile, knowing Kelski’s element was a hard one not to think of when one was meditating.

Slowly, awkwardly, Res began to exude itself from her palm. The stream was just a trickle of glittering vaporous ethereal mist manifested, gleaming with purple and blue shimmers. The stream of mist was delicate, pearlescent, and slowly sank into the cauldron. It gathered in on itself, coiling lower like mystical snake made entirely of vapor. When it pooled at the bottom of the enormous cauldron, it lost its coil and form, seemingly searching back and forth for a way out at its level.

The generation of so much Res taxed Kelski.

She felt the onset of fatigue as the pool beneath her grew. The process was so entirely slow… painfully so…. that it was hard for Kelski to hold the meditation. As the Res rose halfway up the cauldron and finally filled it, she made to stop. But Gilthas simply switched them out without comment, replacing the first huge cauldron with another even larger that Kelski felt she could curl up in if she was creative with how she folded her limbs.

And still she filled it, whimpering with the effort, though Gilthas urged her on. The second vessel was almost full, making her think he was going to switch it out when suddenly she began to shake. Her hands trembled violently suddenly, and she felt something she couldn’t describe. Stubbornly she pushed through it until a wave of relieved pleasure hit her.

At that moment, Gilthas clamped down on her shoulder hard, gave her a shake and ordered… “Stop.”

She did so, still shaking at the intense momentary pleasure/relief sense that had ended with her ceasing the production of Res. It was a sensation hard to describe. It was almost as if her bowels were blocked up, tightly packed with waste, and she hadn’t been allowed to go or could not go because she’d been badly constipated. Then suddenly, they’d kicked loose and all that material had rushed out, leaving the relief almost pleasurable as in such an act of defecation.

Sweat coated her forehead and forearms and she watched Gilthas, almost wanting to feel that brief pleasure/pain once more. Kelski dragged in a breath, took in another, then watched him as he examined the amount of Res she had before her. He gave her shoulder another squeeze and nodded.

“Remember this level. This is what you have. This is all you have. Conserve it. Remember it. Your Res pool might grow as you grow in your magical ability and you will hopefully discover new depths to your well, but until then… this is your beginning level. Feel the strain? The drain? This is what you will feel like as you get close to overgiving. Give more, and you are draining your life force.” Gilthas warned, and stood up.

He gave the hand still on her shoulder a delicate squeeze. “You did well. That is a lot for a new learner. But Res is only Res. It needs a mind behind it. And by mind I mean a strong mind. I’ll speak more of the symptoms of Inordination. But if you’ve learned your lesson well, you now know your limit.” He said firmly, and helped her up.

He walked her to a more comfortable chair by the fire and sat her back down. There were evidently more things to learn. He settled into another wingback that was almost identical. He had to move two brats to do so. They squealed in protest then clambered back on his lap as he settled.

[Kelski]

Kelski sat and relaxed a moment, watching the fire crackle from the wing-backed chair. She wondered absently how he got the wood for the fire and too how the smoke ventilated out the chimney with them being so far below ground. She was tired, but in a pleasant contented way. This scene… this situation… felt comfortable, inviting… almost like a real home. And Kelski wondered if this was what it was like having a family. The family she created herself had her being the responsible one. But with Gilthas settled next to her in an identical chair, he was taking on a leadership role and it felt so good… so incredibly good to just relax and be the learner.

Gilthas himself looked equally comfortable with the brats sprawled across his lap, doglike in their devotion. He watched her just as openly curious as she watched him. He seemed reflective, as if looking back over his life and didn’t speak for the longest time. She knew what he saw and she could guess what he wondered at. Kelvic. Inhuman. Did she measure up to his past students? She could almost feel the tangible weight of his judgement, though he said nothing.

The Kelvic didn’t mind the silence. She was exhausted by the initiation and the generation of Res. And her mind was a whirl with what it meant to be an air mage. She’d never seen another mage use Air. Fire and Earth she’d seen. Water she could certainly imagine. But Air…. It somehow thrilled her and she trilled lightly in her throat… a sound of pleasure. “I’m tired but I have so many questions. I’m grateful that you are teaching me, Gilthas, but I’m wondering why exactly you are. I hope it is not because you think you owe me a debt. There is none. I was glad to free you and Semele more than rewarded me.” She said, flexing her hand where the gemstone glittered in the back of her palm.

Gilthas shook his head. “No, it is not that.” He said softly.

“I am just… astonished at your kind. I think I would like to meet other Kelvics. I know you live with a few. I think we would get along well… perhaps as well as I get along with my own brats. And I wonder how any sane person could walk away from a creature such as yourself.” He said with a sad smile. Kelski didn’t know what the ancient Eth meant even though her memory dug up an image of Gilthas lighting a folded note on fire with a candle then tossing it into a burning hearth. She frowned a little in confusion and opened her mouth to question him.

He held up a hand.

“I’ll let you ask all the questions you’d like in a moment, Kelski. But first I want to go over a few more things with you about Reimancy. First and foremost, your progression in it. I want to see you practice it, daily if necessary, and hone your skills at it. There are four main levels of Reimancy and unlike other magics, there are distinct barriers between the levels.” He said, shifting a brat in his lap and getting more comfortable. Kelski took it as a sign they’d be there a while, learning well into the night. Gilthas liked to talk. He loved to teach. And it was evident to her he loved teaching magic most of all.

[Kelski]

Kelski herself shifted, tucked her feet up under her rump, and curled in the chair much like the brats had. She was tired, but not too tired to listen and learn. Gilthas’ voice was soothing and had a quality that made her want to listen carefully and to understand him. And so, when he started to speak, she didn’t interrupt. But instead, sat up a bit straighter, and listened intently.

“A hundred different mages will teach you a hundred different ways, Kelski. Each has their own methodology and their own way of passing on the knowledges of arcanology. Not every method works for every student. And in teaching, we learn as much as the student for there is an art to it as well. I’ll do my best to pass this knowledge on to you. All I ask that when the time is right, you pass it on to others. We belong to the same djedline now… we are connected. In Reimancy, and indeed any inductable arcane art, we have the ability to pass on knowledge in a specific way. There should never be a stumbling around in the dark, seeking without guidance. Like the djedline flows from myself to you, so too does the way one teaches and the way one learns. I cannot look at you as a human. You are not human. And anyone who treats you like one does you a disservice. You are a spirit that cannot be tied by jesses; a bird that sores above the city and above those of us who are earthbound. I need to teach you as one would teach a bird of prey and that will be a learning process for me as well. I will do my best… but if you find something I say confusing or the way I try and teach you something difficult… stop me. We will regroup and start again if it gets too far from your nature or indeed my own.” He added, smiling gently.

Then Gilthas continued with his previous train of thought. “Today you were inducted. You were infused with Res and your djed in turned learned how to form itself into Res. You produced Res, learned about your well and how deep it runs not just by speculation but by practical use. And now we need to talk about the magic itself. You have gained the ability to manipulate air. That means you can create it, destroy it, and send it to do your bidding. You can change its nature – thickening and thinning it, and even tap into its destructive power based on how deep your well is and how recharged it has been. Kelski, your job like I said before is to play with Res daily… test your boundaries, invent new uses, and learn iron clad control over air. You are a novice Air Reimancer. Make it mean something.” He said gently, looking her over. Kelski thought she read pride in his gaze, but was certain that must be a mistake. People weren’t proud of her… people were distrustful and judgmental of her.

“Is there a set list of things I can do with Air? When I was learning Jewelcrafting, the novice levels meant I needed to learn and excel at a short list of things. And once I had done that, I was free to move up and work on another set of skills.” She explained, not wanting him to think her question was daft.

[Kelski]

Gilthas nodded his understanding of her question, not however, a nod of agreement. “No, Kelski. That is the beauty of Reimancy. You have to be creative, inventive, and find ways to manipulate the air you craft and the air all around you in unexpected ways. There is no list. There is no start at point A and when you’ve worked your way through Points B, C, and D… then you will be ready for the next phase. This is a true power of the blood and mind. The sky is the limit in terms of what you can do with it. I want you to start keeping a journal of your ideas on how to manipulate Air, and I’ll check with you once a tenday or more if we get together more often and see what you’ve discovered and how far you’ve come. Because once you get enough practice in, one day you will find another element will sneak its way into your daily doings. One moment you will only know Air intimately, then the next your tongue will taste of fire or water or earth and you will feel the element offering itself to you. That’s when you accept its offer, welcome it in… practice and explore it as you’ve practiced and explored Air… and once you have gotten to the point it is an old familiar friend… you will work with Air and your second element – whatever its going to be – in combinations where you craft more than one element at a time, blending them seamlessly into para elements.” He added, smiling at her or perhaps not actually at her but at the memories of his first steps in Reimancy himself.

“Once you’ve mastered Para-elmenting the duo of elements you have, one day another will flood your awareness… at this stage you’ve become an Expert and will have moved on past just being a Competent Reimancer. When you can wield all three elements as old friends… and weave them together to form new powers…. you will earn your Mastery. When all four elements are known together, worked together, wove together, and your well is deep and healthy… you will be as good of a mage as you can be. All of our Djedline has become Masters. You will be no different. I’ll work with you until you get there, Kelski. Though something tells me you won’t need my help.” He added, offering her a smile.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t track your progress and test you. I will. As a mage of old, I know how much it means to have the capacity to use Reimancy as a combat magic. I’ll teach you how. And it sounds like both of us will have to learn how to slip it into combat unobtrusively so that we can work openly in the city but also relatively safely. From what you’ve told me, the city isn’t safe for mages, but that’s something we can change over time and hard work. I know your days are numbered, but mine are endless. I think now that I can roam again, the first order of business is to establish a mage guild in Sunberth… one that takes in mages and expands their awareness. And indeed, teaches them to survive in times like this and places like this…” He added.

Kelski nodded. “Indeed, it is very necessary. I have a home full of mages that have no leader and that just bumble through the world. I’ll help you with whatever you need… even the new place I am building next to The Midnight Gem might serve well for the guild. I just need to learn first… once I get better and understand what it is to be a mage more fully… then helping others will be easier… at least for me. Until I am in the same position you are, I will assist you however I can.” She said softly, understanding her pathway clearer now… and how to progress through the magic so she could make some real strives forward in it.

“Thank you, Gilthas… for taking me on. For believing in me… for caring.” She said softly. He nodded, and then they continued talking until the fire burned low and Gilthas retired to his chamber, leaving her one of the comfortable couches to take her rest on. More knowledge… the decay of Res… the invention and practice of spells…. Would all have to wait until morning.

[Kelski]

G R A D E S

Kelski

Reimancy: +5, Arcanology +4, Endurance +2, Logic +3, Interrogation +2

Reimancy: Her Element Is Air, Reimancy: Her Color And Texture Of Her Res, K’etir: The Family Is Old And Lousy With Mages, Reimancy: Thinking Like A Jewelcrafter To Deal With Magic, Reimancy: Kelski’s Res Is A Translucent Thick Gel That Sparkles With Deep Violent and Blue Particles, Reimancy: Can Hurt Yourself With Your Element, Reimancy: Para Elements – What They Are/Do, Reimancy: Where/How To Release Res From One’s Body, Reimancy: More Elements Acquired As Skillset Builds, Reimancy: What Kind Of Control To Expect Based On How Many Elements One Has, Reimancy: The Many Forms Of Res, Reimancy: How To Transform Res, Reimancy: Control Close Up – Inaccurate And Lack Of Control At A Distance Unless Practiced, Reimancy: Air Reimancers Get Good At Breaking Falls, Floating On Air, Creating Invisible Stairways Or Ladders, Reimancy: Air Can Be Manipulated Multiple Almost Unlimited Ways

Acquisition: None