[Flashback] Two Young Mages (Hadrian)

[Kye]

Kye nodded. He could easily tap into his Gnosis again, it was completely natural to him. He reached up and ran his hand over the hair near his neck, messing it up as he pondered his friends words. "Well... I was uh, I was marked pretty much at birth. All Vantha are." He thought for a moment. "But Morwen lives in Avanthal. Maybe you could visit her?" Kye had no idea if that would work, but he figured that making oneself known to the Goddess must be a start. "So... Auristics... Is that reading people? Or magic or just... anything?" He understood that an Aurist could see the colourful light around something, he just didn't know what exactly that might extend to. He used to think it was just people, but since Hadrian saw him use the Gnosis he wasn't sure. Ky shrugged. "I suppose you're right. Perhaps I'll stay here for a bit longer then. Or maybe go home on my own." He smiled. "Anyway, when do you want to try and see the Gnosis again? I can use it now if you want."

[Hadrian]

"I was in Avanthal once when I was a boy, traveling with my father. He got me a winterbane coat that was far too big for me, knowing I'd grow into it..." His chlorine blue eyes went vague and distant for a moment as he recalled a good memory, then blinked as he returned to the present, embarrassed by the hint of sentiment. "I shall have to return and do the Goddess some favor... "And yes, it's reawakening a sense we all have but learn to ignore as children. Most people See, but it can piggyback on any sense, or be its own... The masters apparently feel an overlay upon all their senses. Like they can smell magic, and hear the particular sound Kye makes among all the living things around him. Or they just sense magic, souls, all that energy with a unique sort of sense. That's the goal, I think. It's mine, anyway, but... it's really freaking difficult!" He smiled, though, relieved when Kye offered again with the gnosis demonstration. "I'd like that, actually, just..." He paused, reined in his breathing, and blinked slowly several times, bringing up the immensity of energy that was all around him, forcing himself to ignore most of it as it was beyond his understanding. "All right, I'm ready."

[Kye]

He nodded slightly, a flicker or surprise lighting in his eyes as Hadrian mentioned Avanthal. He had never known that his friend had been there before, but that was a conversation for another time. He listened carefully as Auristics was described. It sounded... fascinating to the boy. He tried to imagine being able to tell who a person was simply by their sound or even their soul. Though he struggled trying to picture what a soul would look like. From the name of the magic, he figured that it would be some sort of aura, a band of colour perhaps, but apart from that he came up blank. In any case it was something he felt compelled to look in to. He watched curiously as his friend fell silent, concentrating hard on something. At the word, Kye held his hand out and quickly pooled res into his palm. It wasn't the neatest he had ever done, but it was fine enough. He cupped his hands and transmuted it to water before sparing a quick glance at Hadrian. Then, he took a single breath and tapped his Gnosis. He felt the surge of magic direct towards the water her held, a split second of power before it faded and he was left holding ice.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian gasped like a girl losing her maidenhead. He couldn't help it. What he sensed threatened to blind him, and indeed, he was blinking away his Sight, blinking away tears. The flash of power had been intense and complex, but also simple as cold, perfect as winter. A divine magic, surely. "It's... beautiful..." he said, struck with a sudden longing to follow the thread of that magic into the far northern reaches to its source, to behold the aura of the Winter Queen herself and swear his fealty to her with the hope that she might let him hold such magic in his own hands. There was supposedly some Vantha blood in his family, after all. Realizing that his own hands were all but cupping Kye's, he pulled back before touching him, not wanting to seem odder than he was, even in the thrall of an almost religious experience.

[Kye]

He could hear Hadrian’s reaction just as much as he could feel it. He wondered exactly what it was he had seen. He had mentioned a flash, so he assumed that the magic from his Gnosis was stronger that that of plain reimancy. At almost the same time, the pair noticed they were pretty much holding hands. Kye returned his own to his lap pretty sharpish before glancing over at his friend. “What did it look like?” He hoped that Hadiran’s eyes or mind or whatever he saw that magic with hadn’t been hurt by bright flashes. He twined his fingers together and leaned forward slightly. “Do you think you’ll go to Avanthal then?” For a moment he imagined travelling up together, heading back home with a friend. But then again, Hadrian probably had other things he needed to be doing. Like studying. “I might try and make it back for Morwen’s Homecoming next Spring.” He really wanted to be there for the Departure, but in reality it would never happen. To travel through Taldera in Winter was hard, even for a Vantha.

[Hadrian]

He peered at Kye for a moment, wondering at such power in one so young. Truth be told, they were both young, but they were still of an age where a couple of years felt like real seniority. Hadrian wondered if Kye knew what a blessing he had, whether he felt a connection to the Queen of Winter. Surely the mark would fade if he had lost ties with Her. "Sorry," he muttered. "It, ah... looked almost like... a snowflake up close. Made of energy. A flash of something so complex, but simple at the same time. Beautiful. Like a glyph that means winter, a glyph you don't recognize, but understand all the same... It's difficult to describe. What does it feel like?" Later, he responded. "Well, I'll be back to Zeltiva for school, but sometimes my father likes me to travel with him. Perhaps he'll take a ship out of Zeltiva bound for the North. If so, I'll ask after you." He smiled faintly, wondering whether Kye would appreciate that or not. If the Vantha transplant went home, he would likely go native all over again. Hadrian would be the gawky foreigner.

[Kye]

He wondered what Hadrian was thinking. His friend was watching him rather intently and Kye could only guess as to what was going on in his mind. A snowflake made of energy? It made sense. Kye didn’t quite understand what Hadrian was trying to describe; it was probably something that needed to be seen to be understood properly. His mouth twitched in a smile. “Would you believe me if I told you it felt warm?” He paused for a moment and thought. “Sort of… you know when you have a really hot drink and you can feel it inside you? Like that. This warmth goes down my arm, but it’s something more too, like it’s all bundled up with the energy itself.” He couldn’t really find the correct word for it. Hadrian could see the energy, so perhaps he understood a little how it felt. Kye pushed back his sleeve a little and showed his left arm to his friend. On the underside of his wrist was a snowflake – his mark. “It’s hard to describe.” He leaned forwards on his arms again to listen. A nod and a grin were given to Hadrian. “Sure, that would be cool. It’d be nice to see you again if you ever visit.” Now that he had seen his friend again, he would be sad to say goodbye. Hadrian was one the few people Kye had ever really considered a proper friend, someone who wouldn’t slip into the realms of acquaintances no matter how long they spent apart.

[Hadrian]

"Huh," was all he could think to say. Surely there was some explanation for the sensation, or perhaps it was one of those mystical, esoteric things with which Hadrian had more difficulty. When Kye revealed the mark, he reached out to it, almost touching skin as he tried to will his vision to overlay with that Auristic spectrum. It worked with some concentrated blinking that probably made him look simple, but what he saw was too big for his meager understanding. And then it was gone, wrapped up in a sleeve and Hadrian blinked back to reality, trying to pretend everything was all right. His smile was awkward, but they usually were. "I'll definitely look for you if I'm ever in Avanthal. But I know you'll make it back." He nodded toward the hidden gnosis. "If Queen Morwen marked you, I'm sure you'll find your way back one way or another."

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Hadrian Skills Socializing- 5 XP Philosophy- 1 XP Lores A Friendly Reunion What Father Thinks Other Shenanigans: Nothing to see here. Comments : Despite little action, it was a very nice socializing thread. There wasn't too much skill-wise, but hey, if you got suggestions for skills or lores, shoot me a PM!