The Creation Of Life Needs More Than ... (private)

[Malia]

Location: a public library at Syliras Timestamp: 75th of Winter, 509 AV PurposeAnimation Experience t seemed like recently Malia’s head was filled with too much unprocessed information. She was restless, couldn’t lie down and be still longer than a few moments. Apparently a part of her was constantly searching for something, yearning for something she couldn’t give. Not that she had even tried until that particular day. She knew that she had to give in to the urge of getting information. So her feet took her to the only public library in Syliras which was located at the second tier and quite simply built and decorated, but nonetheless filled with books on a variety of different topics. Although Malia had already been there several times before, this time was different. Stitch’s children had been demanding a lot of her attention and she had looked up a thing or two for them. The story about Priskil and Aquiras, for example … but this time she was coming there for her own purposes. The librarian greeted her with an absent-minded nod. He usually buried himself in books or lists and didn’t help the visitors except if they asked him for. Malia had learned to simply forget his existence when starting to research about a specific topic. Often she didn’t know where to begin, because the information she required was somehow specific. Then she usually collected as many books as she could carry, dumped them at the nearest table and started to browse through them. However, this time she knew what keywords she had to look for: Animation. Nuit. Pycon. Sahova. “Unfortunately the barbaric and inhuman magical discipline which is usually referred to as ‘Animation’ has been part of Mizaharian history for longer than we thought. There is some evidence that Protohumans already used it, although we do not exactly know what purpose or goal they wished to achieve through such skill. The first interesting and extensive usage of ‘Animation’ has been practiced in the pre-Valterrian Empire of Alahea. It is proven that court mages crafted golems that could move and obey simple commands, although the more complex the commands got, the more difficult it was to craft such a golem. ‘Animation’ is a time- and cost-consuming task which is why it was only available to wealthy and powerful individuals or lesser people with generous sponsors or employers. The Alaheans also started to do experiments and document the results. The most important facts and laws of ‘Animation’ they discovered and wrote down are still used nowadays. Still it should be noted that the breathing of life into normally lifeless objects can almost be called a rebellion against life itself. The Mistress of Light will never accept someone who shows interest in this magic discipline …” The first book she opened had been randomly chosen and she hadn’t really expected to find anything there, but … well. The title read “Rules and regulations of life”; apparently it had been written by a priest of Kihala and famous theologian. She quickly replaced it with the “Encyclopedia of modern Mizahar” which was written by a historian and anthropologist in Syliras almost thirty years ago. She felt that she could trust an impartial text much more than the biased descriptions of the gods’ followers.

[Malia]

“Animation is a magic discipline enabling its user to attach artificial life to lifeless objects, resulting in a certain programmed behavior. The object acts as if it had ‘come to life’, although this is not true with most creations. However, the most powerful Animators (most of them pre-Valterrian) are able to create true life for which the Nuit and Pycons are the best examples.” Well, she had expected as much, but it still somehow relieved her to see her own image of Animation assured by black words written on parchment. Books were so much more trustable than rumors and common knowledge. Stroking the page she had just read and smelling its silent wisdom she was almost sure that books would always be her favorite mentors. After a while she rose from the chair, put the two exemplars back to where they had stood before and started to look for more precise descriptions. Although she supposed that the ritual of creating undead was a dangerous and consuming one, she didn’t want to stop. She simply couldn’t stop. Firstly, everyone should at least know the basic facts about how they came to life, how the mechanics of birthing worked. The creation of undead was a whole different process than birth. It wasn’t natural, but an attempt to force life into lifeless objects to use them for one’s own purposes. At least the mages in ancient Alahea had worked with Animation for that reason and apparently the residents of Sahova still did. Malia didn’t know why, but that was a story for another day. Secondly, she had a mission. Kahnikivas was growing stronger every day she didn’t do something to defeat him. Even learning about the Animation would bring her one step closer to victory. And victory she wanted, wanted so much that it almost seemed ridiculous. The timeless Nuit, untouched by what was happening to her surroundings, had a desire burning under her pale skin. Every moment she wasted on wondering where her ‘Master’ was, what Kahnikivas did poisoned her to death. Not that she could die anymore, not that easily at least. But she simply wouldn’t give up. “Are you all right?” Blinking with surprise, she realized that she had been standing in front of the bookshelf for longer than she should have. The librarian was watching her with a worried expression. Why did he concern himself with her?

[Malia]

“Yes, I am.” When he didn’t leave, she added: “I would like to read about the mechanics of Animation. In detail.” Although she wasn’t sure whether he really understood how much ‘detail’ she wanted, she followed him to a shelf at the back of the main room. Giving a friendly smile, he handed three … four books over to her. “The thin one is the diary of a human wizard and scholar, Arlon Redfair. He lived in the pre-Valterrian Empire of Alahea. The rest are magic books and contain descriptions and guides for practical use.” She thanked him politely and he went away to continue with whatever he was doing. First she opened one of the guides that was entitled with “How to use magic – and avoid losing one’s fingers, eyes and mind”. Her eyebrows rose at the title, but then it was perhaps refreshing for mages and scholars to maintain their own insider jokes. “To breathe life into an object requires a life principle, a lifeless object which is able to move and a sentient being skilled in the magic discipline of Animation. Firstly, it is very important that the chosen object has similar weight and joints to those of living beings. A pile of stones won’t grow feet and move just because an Animator attaches a life principle to them and so will be a statue, a book, a rug, you get the idea. As a side note, it often requires help from skilled craftsmen, for example metalsmiths or potters, depending on the material the wizard wishes to shape their body from. The Pycon race has been created on a clay basis while creating a Nuit would most likely require a cremator or even assassin … After finding or creating an appropriate body, the wizard has to attach a life principle to it. Most use their own soul as a source for the knowledge and behavior they wish to impart on the body. The transfer process requires two linked circles drawn on the ground with the source (usually the wizard himself) standing in one circle and the body in the other one. Enhancement of the circles through Glyphing runes can be helpful, but is not required. After placing himself and the body in the circles, the wizard must activate the circle with a drop of his own blood or vital liquid. Then he can transfer behavior and knowledge into the body by using his own imagination. Beginners at the discipline of Animation are recommended to only transfer very simple behavior and reactions to certain stimuli. Memories and speaking abilities are not recommended at this stage. If too much or difficult information is transferred by an inexperienced wizard, this can have fatal consequences. Therefore, it is important to start with small objects and behavior patterns. The most experienced Animators are able to create such complicated beings as golems, but everyone starts from scratch and advances through constant practice.” For some moments Malia stared at the page she had just finished, trying to memorize the information she had gathered. Her mind and brain had been sharpened by endless years of observing, studying the life of others, but she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to remember all the details that text had provided her with. After reading through the rest of the guides, she noticed that the library would close soon and put the books back. The diary of Arlon Redfair she would inspect at the next day.

[Malia]

At the 76th Malia returned with a notebook and pen to copy the information about the Animation process into. She immediately picked out the books she had read at the previous day and summarized the most important parts of what she had found out. However, she also made sure that the information about the life principle, the body regulations and the process itself was written down with as much detail as possible. When going through the information again, she noticed that there were a few things she didn’t quite understand. After all, the books had thrown her into the unknown depths of Animation without even knowing about the most basic principles of magic. Malia had received the same education as every human (twice even, more or less), but apart from that she really knew nothing about the world. She considered herself rather well-versed in religious matters, although she certainly was no theologian. But magic? In her long life she had met people who didn’t even believe in such a thing as magic. Oh, obviously she had to dig deeper to really understand the degree of knowledge she strived to achieve. Furrowing her brow, she rose from the chair and examined the shelves to find some basic about magic. Syliras was a community focused on self-defense, practical skills and safety – mostly the latter didn’t fit with magic very well, from what Malia had heard. Yet the most basic information could be found in the books. “The most important material and tool of magic is Djed. Djed is a word of the Ancient Tongue and means ‘backbone’, and indeed Djed is the backbone of our known world. Every object, every living being consists of Djed first and foremost. If we eat and drink, we use the Djed of food or water. Some simply call it energy, although it is far more than that. Even the earth is infused with Djed, although the air usually is not. While we do not know the amount of Djed our world consists of, we know that the amount will always stay the same. It is impossible to add or take Djed from the resources.” Malia paused, quite puzzled. Nuit did no longer eat or drink or sleep to resupply themselves with fresh Djed, so where did they get their energy from? She didn’t know anything about her race, save for what her ‘Master’ had told her a long time ago. He, however, had focused on the more practical and essential parts. After all, it hadn’t been interesting for the fresh, vulnerable Nuit Malia how the mechanics of her undead existence worked in detail. She had had enough trouble with making peace with the nightmare she had suddenly woken up to – without any memories or knowledge about who she was. She had adopted a new identity since then, and now she was interested in understanding the background of the Nuit’s creation. That was why she was there, after all. Blinking, she returned to the text. "Mages use Djed to cause effects that are supernatural, meaning cannot be performed without directly using Djed. A mage can choose between using his own Djed and the Djed of his surroundings – each of those choices is connected to different rewards, but also dangers. It should be noted that magic itself is highly dangerous and risky. A single mistake, no matter how insignificant, can have fatal consequences. Depending on what the mage tries to achieve, he might fall victim to overgiving, become insane or hurt his body. It is a proven fact that mages can also be absorbed by the sheer force of Djed they strived to unleash and control. The Djed storms of the Valterrian is the most famous example for such an unfortunate incident, although this consisted of more powerful Djed than any mortal being can hope to control. Yet the Valterrian serves as successful example to convince eager students of the seriousness of learning and practicing any form of magic.” Malia paused for a moment to think about what she had just read. Magic was dangerous – the author had conveyed that more than successfully. So the natural consequence was that she had to ask herself the question: Was it worth learning such a dangerous skill? But it didn’t take her long to find the answer. Kahnikivas was the answer – he had done terrible things to her and her family, and he would suffer for that. To make him suffer she needed more power. She needed the largest possible amount of power she could gather. Malia knew that her future lay in magic, specifically Animation. It almost was a natural conclusion. As a Nuit she would immerse herself in Animation.

[Malia]

Without spending any further thought on that matter, she went back to the books. The next dwelled on how magic was generally divided and classified by scholars and wizards which certainly was a good thing to know. If Malia didn’t know how to call what she was practicing, she wouldn’t be able to call herself really competent in her field. “Depending on what source of Djed the mage uses there are two major categories every discipline (meaning every form of magic that can be learned and differs from the others regarding methods, effects etc.) can be filed into. The first category is called Personal Magic. A person who draws Djed from his own resources is performing Personal Magic. The best example of this kind of magic is Reimancy (producing elemental forces such as firebolts or icicles). The second category is called World Magic. The mage gathers Djed from surrounding objects or beings or infuses his own Djed into foreign objects and uses it as fuel for what he wants to achieve through magic. For example, the discipline of Leeching exclusively focuses on drawing Djed from one’s environment to augment one’s own physical power whereas an Animator uses his own Djed, yet directs it out of his body towards another object. The third category actually consists of the Gnosis abilities. Some often forget it because this kind of magic relies on the mercy of the gods. Nobody can learn gnosis out of books or from teachers; instead one has to be blessed with it by a deity. Once a deity granted a person with a gnosis mark, this person is able to perform this specific gnosis ability without any former practice. While this is convenient without any doubt, even gnosis never comes without risks and expectations from the deity that granted the person with it. Compared to Gnosis, Personal and World Magic are acquired through diligent study and practice. They grant a greater level of control and self-determination. Of course, nobody can call one of those categories ‘better’ than the other – every aspiring mage has to find out which category suits him most. Surprisingly, it is quite popular to dabble in multiple disciplines. The desire to perform multiple disciplines and not focus on a single one is often called 'Sweet Whisper' by mages who are affected by it.” So Animation belonged to the second category … World magic. Malia didn’t know how that would be of significance when it came to practicing it, but knowledge shouldn’t be wasted. Even if she didn’t know what to do with it, she stored it away for later use. Also, she was overwhelmed by the amount of different disciplines. Obviously magic was a far larger topic than she had expected. But although she was interested in the other disciplines as well – especially leeching sounded interesting –, she wanted to focus on Animation and the Nuit for the time being. It was everything she needed to know, and even the single discipline of Animation sounded incredibly complicated. She would need some time to truly understand it.

[Malia]

After clearing the field of general information on magic she moved on to the diary of Arlon Redfair, the pre-Valterrian Alahean wizard. Her fingertips itched a bit when she touched the yellow, dusty pages. That book had been written before the Valterrian – it was far older than her. Malia felt a strange mixture of respect, admiration and compassion for it and its author. At the same time she hoped that she would become as old and wise too one day. Then she dove into the material and tried to filter out the most important information she could get about Zarik Mashaen, the first Nuit, Rupert Pycon and how they had managed to create life out of lifeless objects. “Zarik Mashaen, the son of a merchant family that could be called neither wealthy nor poor, seemed to be an unremarkable boy without any special talents. However, his natural intelligence and original mindset soon convinced us that he rather was a natural talent at everything. Of course, such boys often turn out to be the most problematic, but he didn’t seem to feature any odd or disturbing mannerisms. Of course, I still was a bit suspicious when Vakh suggested taking him with us. The others shared his opinion, so I didn’t dare to voice my doubts. We needed one more week to explain the offered chance to him. Then we departed, and young Zarik eagerly went with us – accompanied by various little golems he had created himself and kept as servants for minor household tasks. Apparently they were his only companions in his youth.” So Zarik Mashaen had been born into the same social class as her? Lesser, even. Malia had grown up in the middle of the weaving empire her father and uncle had built up together … But what did those facts tell her? She wasn’t able to figure it out now, so she simply continued to read and take notes. “For so many years everything had went well. Zarik turned out to be a quick learner, first-class inventor and brilliant mage. Everyone respected and silently admired his great skill and original ideas. He’s one of those people that are often called lonely geniuses. As far as I know he doesn’t have any close friends and the company he keeps most of the time are golems. Eerie things, creaking and speaking with metallic voices … I think he even taught them some limited kind of intelligence, although I’m not sure how far he is able to go. Nobody knows any details. Recently there have been rumors. His career has been exemplary until now. He has ascended to the leader of the Seven Robes, a higher position than I can ever hope to achieve (I’m too old for brilliant new inventions and scary experiments). He’s respected by everyone, although nobody really trusts him. That’s only natural when it comes to mages though. Anyway, the rumors … I haven’t heard the details yet, but apparently there has been an attempted murder of the King … Sagallius Hrinn, the Royal Court Mage, seems to be unable to fulfill his role after being involved in the incident. The decision hasn’t been made official yet, but everyone suspects Mashaen to become the next Court Mage. I am worried. What impact will this incident have on our kingdom? On the war with the Suvan enemies? I don’t know whether replacing the former genius with his most brilliant pupil is a good thing.” Malia paused, quickly jotting down the most important information. The diary entries were written in a neat, clear handwriting. Since the entries didn’t contain much valuable information respectively, it was easy to copy the most important phrases into her notebook. Then she thumbed through it until finding clear facts about the new situation in Alahea. If she had still had a heartbeat, it would have gone faster. What had happened with Mashaen?

[Malia]

But she was disappointed. The next entries didn’t state clear facts about what had happened to Mashaen. Redfair only described the general situation and atmosphere at the court. The kingdom was in trouble. Nobody seemed to know what had really happened and where Sagallius had gone, although some suspected that he had become an Alvina or even worse and was wandering the Ukalas. Of course, they didn’t know how close their suggestions were to reality. Malia could only guess and judge from previous information what had happened to Mashaen, the boy of the average merchant family. Obviously he had been turned to a Nuit by Sagallius – the first Nuit ever – and somehow happened to found the citadel and research centre of Sahova. He had resided at the island from the Valterrian until the present moment … approximately 500 years. Since she wasn’t sure if her information was absolutely correct, she put a big question mark under that last paragraph and then closed her notebook. A satisfied smile crossed her features. She had found out everything she wanted to know and completed her studies. Without doubt there were more books about Mashaen, Animation and Sagallius available in Syliras, but Malia felt that she had gathered the most relevant information – for the time being. Of course, there would always be more information, more interesting facts she wanted to research. It was good to know that she could return then. However, the next station in her plan was Sahova. ~ END ~

[Dusk]

XP Award! Malia XP Award Research: 2 XP Writing: 1 XP Lore Award History of Animation Animation Rituals Basics of Magic History of Zarik Mashaen Additional Note Your character got lots of good information there! Once you start actually practicing Animation, you'll be able to gain some XP in the skill. I look forward to reading that; it's great watching characters develop towards a goal!