Closed Of Sense & Shield Pt II

[Alric Lysane]

24th Winter 521 AV - Alric's Shack Waking was a slow process and it took a good ten chimes of him unsticking his eyes, blinking away the sleep and rubbing away the tiredness, before the room finally swam into view. There were a few moments where the memories of the previous day flashed through his skull and he sat bolt upright in the cot he called a bed, tugging off his glove and finding that there was, indeed, a glowing symbol there. He went over the memories again a few times, both fascinated and terrified in equal measure, before he sighed and slumped is back into the wall. Raking his fingers back through his hair he licked his lips, eyes going from side to side as if reading an invisible script before, finally, slipping his glove back on and pushing himself up to his feet. Looking around he saw the shack he called home was much the same, the furniture was set right once more, and everything was where it should be. He shook his head at the fancies of the divines and set about laying the wood and shaving the tinder for the fire before striking the flint and steel, blowing gently when the initial sparks took, and adding a heavier log when it was crackling away enough to take it. He took a few chimes to thumb in some tobacco to his pipe and light it, sucking it in gladly and with a sigh as it helped ease his frayed nerves. He grabbed the cup he had used for his magical experimentations and placed it in the middle of the table again. “Visits from Eyris or not, I can’t afford to lose days when I’ve already lost years” he muttered to himself as he sat in his chair and turned it to face the table, for when he decided to summon up the courage to begin. As he sat and enjoyed his pipe, he went over her words to him, all of them clearly remembered as if her very presence had imprinted the whole day into his mind – never to be forgotten. He could remember the softness, and yet the strength behind the features, of her face, so similar to him mother’s. Her aura, had he dared to look upon it, would probably have blinded him. He had had the sense of her warping the very room around him, her power and nature deeply changing both him and his destiny. He wasn’t yet fully sure to what end, or how he felt about it. But he did know that on this morning the fact that he was about to practise magic was something he acknowledged without that barb of self-hatred deep within his chest. “If she thinks I should do these things then why should I hate the fact that I do them? And, if my ancestors were not all bad doesn’t that mean that I could be better? Or, at least, not bad?” he mused to himself around his pipe. He decided to finish his pipe and let it further soothe his nerves before he tried to start any magic. Looking through the slats of his shutters he saw he had about half a day before his shift would start – plenty of time to get some attempts in, fill his belly and nap a little before heading to the bedazzling allure that was Ruby’s. Still, he felt he needed to centre himself somewhat, feeling a little off from the previous day, and so suited that feeling by closing his eyes and seeking out that peaceful ‘well’ at the centre of his being – the lake and mountains, forests and stars, always peaceful places for him, even when he had the strongest of reservations.

[Alric Lysane]

It was a pleasant experience this time, simply hanging there in that serene construct, floating and letting all feelings simply wash away from him. They would return afterwards but, for now, he could forget his distaste for himself and his practises. Despite Eyris’ words he couldn’t immediately erase everything that screamed at him internally about what he was, what he was doing or whether he should even really think of himself as a normal person anymore. He sighed as the images flickered, disrupted by his thoughts briefly, before breathing deeply and returning to the image of serenity once more. That hadn’t happened before, usually the construction that Taz had helped make for him didn’t outright collapse like that without his will. Change slowly over time, be brighter or duller in colour and a few other things were what he had experienced so far, but not an outright collapse. This was going to be a long session of experimentation, he realised, taking longer to deepened and create a rhythm with his breathing this time. After a long time, he finally felt stable enough that he could forge the link with his Djed, letting it trickle into him. As it trickled, he found it to be slower than usual, and seemingly more recalcitrant – as if resisting his attempts and so harking back to his first time when he had to wrestle and force it into place. The Djed wasn’t that bad this time but still he had to frown in concentration and mentally drag it along a bit so that it filled him, and he felt the familiar prickle of his passive senses being engaged with his Auristics. He kept pulling as the sensation grew, finally after much effort getting to a level he felt was about right, and he opened his eyes to sense the familiar throbbing energy realm. He let himself stay that way for a long while, stabilising the link so it would be ready for what came next – Djed extrusion. Curious to see if he got a repeat result, he focused upon the cup before him upon the table, frowning and focusing upon what he had sensed before – an imperfection. He smiled slightly as he found the same thing, a fine webbing of black where there were issues with the clay. He let his focus slip away, back to a passive state, and placed his hands either side of the cup, just as he had done the last time, and focused upon forcing a portion of his Djed into his palms. It was slow going, even by his less than speedy standards, and his frustration at his inadequacy threatened to bring an early end to his experimentations before he took a moment to pause and breathe deeply for a few chimes, grounding himself once more. Eventually, with much effort, he felt the first extrusions begin and he started to move his hands, forming the imaginary dome shape over the cup as he sought to shape his Djed into its shape. It was arduous and slow, his breathing having to be forced into being regular otherwise it would have been all but huffing in annoyance. Is this what she meant by wisdom through experience? the thought flashed across his mind and it disrupted his concentration so forcefully that even as he finally managed to get the full dome of Djed in place, ready to be woven properly, he lost his grip upon his Djed and it all dissipated like fog on the wind. “Shyke” he snapped, his palms slapping into the wood in annoyance.

[Alric Lysane]

His fingers curled and uncurled in annoyance at himself, at the fact that his mind didn’t seem to want to co-operate, at the fact that his time was always running out and, finally, at the fact that – whoever or whatever’s fault it was – his free choice had been removed so neatly by his ‘destiny’ that he wasn’t even sure he couldn’t just call himself a puppet anymore. His eyes closed as he frowned, knowing that it wasn’t necessarily completely true, but it was how he felt. After several life changing events across the span of a single season it was becoming almost impossible not to feel like a fly in a spider’s web. His fists slammed into the table, upending the cup, and he drew in several deep breaths to ease himself before righting it and leaning bac into his chair once more. “Shut up Alric” he muttered to himself, silencing his mind through sheer stubbornness and trying to get back what he had lost. It took much longer than the first time, retreating inward once more and hanging above his ‘well’ whilst he eased himself into a relaxed state, trying for the breathing techniques he had garnered from both Moritz and personal experimentation, and getting good results that way. Breathing regularly and deeply seemed to help more than it had when he had first started his path into magic and meditation. His Djed began to fill him once more, bringing with it the ever-present sense of power and the siren song of its nature. Eventually he found himself in the same place as he had been before, sat before the cup with both the buzzing feeling of the passive Auristics and the Djed being extruded into the beginnings of a dome once more. He was more careful this time, his senses telling him of the coppery taste and rusty smell of a weak shield. Given what had happened before he wasn’t surprised, but he pressed onward either way, hands moving and shaping the Djed into place. The extrusion came quicker this time, at least, though he wasn’t sure whether that was because he was doing better or because he was stubbornly forcing it out more quickly. Either way he managed to get the dome formed and, peering into it and feeling it out, his Auristics showing him the patches of thinner Djed and the cracks across the surface, he focused and tried to fill in those parts – with minimal success. The cracks were easy enough to patch over, though they left thinner areas in the wake of his working. The thinner areas were more difficult, refusing the thicken and comply, no matter what he did. As he worked, he could feel his frustration building once more, trying to bite it back and force it into the depths of his mind where it couldn’t disrupt his work. He knew he probably shouldn’t be forging onward with the magic with his mood acting as it was, but he also knew he had to build his skills quickly and had little choice. Still, it was for naught. As he finally felt ready and began to ‘lock’ the Shield into the ‘chainmail weave’ he liked to imagine – its smell becoming less rusty as he worked, it began to unravel once more. Wisdom, Alric, is half knowing when you should just stop…and reflect the thought came unbidden once more, this time in Serana’s voice, and so shocked was he that his weave imploded and melted before him as his nose became overwhelmed with what he could only describe as pure scents and he desperately let go of his Djed even as it began to break its connection anyway.

[Alric Lysane]

Once he had recovered some of his senses, momentarily having been overwhelmed, he found himself slumped over the table. Groaning as the throbbing headache rammed its spike behind his eyes, he breathed in sharply and was once more addled slightly. The scent of the call cup before him was strong, very strong and its earthy tones were still in his nostrils even as he rubbed at his nose and breathed out several times forcefully. He groaned once more as he became aware that he definitely wasn’t still using his Auristics. That could mean only one thing and, as he felt the world swim slightly, he groaned again. “Overgiving…stupid Alric…stupid” he said, then regretted it as the words seemed to echo in his skull. At least he didn’t seem to have gone blind, or deaf…or ended up smeared over the walls of his shack. Still, it had been foolish to try to push through with using magic when his mind hadn’t been co-operative. He would remember that for the future, though he knew he should have known that already. He let the world return slowly to normal, or as normal as it was going to get for a while. Sounds began to filter back to their usual levels, though the fact he had a massive headache made them seem louder than they were. He could deal with that, though, and suspected he’d be getting quite used to the sensation in the coming seasons. From his slumped position he groaned once more, realising that there was one sense that was not returning to normal at all, and a second that still felt slightly heightened despite the fact it had receded somewhat already. He could feel his clothing against his skin, far more than usual, and with each shift there was a slight shudder – not enough to be perceptible to others, more like a goose bump sensation. He could deal with that, he remembered the book Taz had read from with him had said that mild Overgiving usually was temporary. Gods he hoped what he had was mild, he hadn’t been doing anything too intricate after all. Still, as he thought about it and realised where he was going to be headed that night – stabbing headache or not – he gave a small whimper of terror. Ruby’s was the last place he needed to be with still overactive smell and touch, assuming that was what it was. It damned well felt like it but he wasn’t sure why that would be. Was Overgiving capable of giving one more stimulation as well as less. He had read that blindness could be a possibility but the book had been non-specific upon the wide array of phenomena that it could manifest as. As thudded his forehead into the table a few times until the ringing became to much and he stopped. “I’m going to choke to death…or…oh goddess no!” he moaned into his empty shack. Yolanda and Jessie, they still enjoyed teasing him to see what he would do. They’d sent him crimson more than once and they had decided that words and suggestive poses weren’t enough. He wasn’t sure which would come first, the choking to death by perfume or the misread signals when they started to get physical. He stopped his thoughts there and groaned again. “Stupid Alric….very stupid”

[Alric Lysane]

Your Grades Alric Lysane Skills Auristics - 2 Meditation - 3 Observation – 1 Shielding - 2 Wilderness survival - 1 Lores Djed: Need Focus To Manipulate Magic: Only Use When Focused Magic: Only Use When Rested Meditation: Breathing Technique Overging: Can Cause Anything Overgiving: Migraines Overgiving: Over-stimulated Smell Overgiving: Over-stimulated Touch Gains For the next five days Alric’s sense of smell and taste will remain heightened. This will cause sneezes/congestion around strong smells (for example) as well as the various touch-related issues such as difficulty sleeping on prickly mattresses, social miss-communications, etc He will also have a persistent headache for a full 48 hour period, making any further magic use unwise and prone to more serious Overgiving