Teach an Old Horse New Tricks (Sama'el)

[Auldwin]

Cohesion, at least as Auldwin called it, was a rather difficult topic to discuss with someone who had a solid, unchanging form. He had that form once, and even now he found it so dreadfully difficult to remember just what it was like to be made from flesh and blood. He could only reminisce on how uncomplicated it was compared to the Materialization he had to practice now. "As a Ghost, not being made of anything solid has it's advantages and disadvantages. The most difficult is...how do I say it...mentally recreating what you looked like while you were alive? I never stopped to think about it myself while I was alive, but if you had to...could you picture yourself from head to toe? Everything about you, not just your height or weight, or even hair or eye color. But the length of your eye lashes, the scars on your knees from being a child, the amount of body hair on your chest or arms. It's actually quite taxing to look as you once did."

That wasn't all. The life of a Ghost was filled with discomfort. Discomfort created from constantly burning the very essence that you consisted of in order to appear even the slightest bit Human. Why appear Human in the first place? It was that sliver of humanity that was just so hard to give up, "Then it's a matter of remembering all that stuff, constantly. Keeping it there in your mind, every bit of it. You can't let it go, or you lose it. Interacting while keeping all that information in the front...takes some getting used to, I can't lie. To a living person it's also like flexing a muscle. You can only flex it for so long before it gets tired, and then eventually you need to take a break."

"Show you how to make it, hm?" he mused for a moment, before finally responding, "If you have an interest in it, certainly I could. It's not difficult...well I should say the principal is not difficult, but I've never done it, technically. I just know how it works, and there's some certain magical ability required, recognize. It does involve some more typical food ingredients, as well as...ones own blood. Back on Black Rock, there is actually a place dedicated to making the stuff, but the skill itself lies within the sphere of Spiritism, as they call it. It's the magic dedicated in interacting with Ghosts and the like."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el thought about this. He could see his limbs, but had only rarely seen himself in a mirror. Water rippled, deceived, but he wasn't vain enough about his appearance to worry overmuch. His body was strong from riding and hunting and fighting, and that was admirable to women. He had been told that his face was easy on the eyes, but such talk generally made him flush and shrug and seek the easiest route of escape, which might be why he hadn't yet managed to marry. "I'd make a shitty ghost," he decided aloud, shrugging. If he were to die as a Drykas ought, there would be no need to stick around in incorporeal form, and anyway, he should be blessed to be reborn among his people anyway. Such was the hope of a young Drykas warrior. "What food do I need?" he asked, slapping at his hip, but he was barely dressed, so the pouch that usually contained some oddment of snack material was missing. He had only put pants on to come tend the horses and found a ghost, but there was food to be had in his meager camp all the same and he would share it with a ghost as easily as man or beast. Such were the laws of hospitality upon which he had been raised. And he wasn't afraid to shed his own blood. Gods knew he had done so on more than one occasion, and VIratas would likely bless such a bloodletting, done in the spirit of hospitality, feeding a wandering spirit in its quest for peace. He was already attuned to the Web and able to call Fire, so he assumed he had whatever aspect of spirit that was required for the Mysteries, but if he delved into these truckings with the dead, he would be on the path of the true shaman, which would be both exciting and frightening. Well, Auldwin of Syliras didn't seem too frightening. Perhaps if he decided to appear with weeping wounds and mangled features or something of the sort.

[Auldwin]

Auldwin had to find some humor in that quote, even if his new existence was without such frivolities. "I don't think anyone really looks forward to trying to become a 'good' Ghost, or representing Ghosthood well. It's something of a surprise when you die and...you're still here. I suppose some part of it is rather disappointing. About the death, about what comes after the death. But anyway..." he tried to think no more of it. It was a peculiar existence to be while attempting to not think about all that you were. How depressing an existence it was, to be ignored by the Gods, the cycle, and to be rejected by the world he had worked in for so long.

"There are three immediate ingredients, all of which are simple to find. You need egg, flour, and cheese. The softer the cheese the better. You mix these however you wish until they produce a doughy paste. Then, the final ingredient, blood. The blood can be from nearly anything, but the blood of a Spiritist works the best. How much blood? That seems to range quite frequently, I would say enough to clearly taint the doughy mixture." Auldwin explained, although he was coming from a strange perspective. He had never made Soulmist of course, as his entire interaction with the supernatural was done from the other side of the Miza, so to speak.

His materialized form moved slowly, as if though he was taking the time to stretch his legs. Auldwin had found it difficult in death to remain in any one spot for too long, could this have been the transient nature of a Ghost's existence? "Then, you must chew the substance. Some eat it completely and end up vomiting it up later due to the taste and texture, regardless it must mingle with your bodily fluids. I imagine there's some focus that needs to be maintained, I was never much good with magic in life. After some time you will begin to 'sweat' a strange gel. I've been told it's cold to the touch, should you collect it, this is Soulmist. It doesn't keep forever, and the better the Spiritist it is made from, the more that is made, and the more potent it is. That's it though, when I found out about it I was almost disappointed. I had been expecting some mystic circles or chanting, seemed my understanding the magic was somewhat flawed."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

After thinking on it for a moment, he nodded to the apparition, then started backpedaling toward the tents. "Just give me a moment," he said, and turned, disappearing for a while to the faintest of rustlings. He wasn't trying to wake anyone up. When he did emerge, he returned to that space away from the tents where the horses seemed less spooked by Auldwin's presence now that Sama'el had let them know it was all right. In his hands, he was juggling a bit of goat cheese, some dense travel cakes, and some berries. "No eggs," he explained. Jyn might go purchase some when dawn came, but those things didn't keep well, so they didn't keep any on hand most of the time. "But I don't think my Nana used eggs when she talked to ghosts, so perhaps it's not an exact recipe. Here goes." Not waiting for protest or further explanation, he took a bite of the cake. It wasn't made of what flour, but he felt it would do. It took the most chewing, so it was slow going getting it soft and uniformly pasty. But he added berries too, which loosened things up. He had to remind himself constantly not to swallow. Food could be scarce sometimes, and one learned not to waste it. He hoped this would not be a waste. Finally he added the goat cheese, and between that and the berries, the bland dough had begun to taste rather good. Raising his eyebrows and shrugging at Auldwin, he took his knife across the side of his wrist where a vein snaked around like part of a bracelet. He put it to his mouth and took in his own vitae while exuding res into his mouth at the same time. It was not the right form of energy, perhaps, but it was sometimes the thought that counted. If he learned this shamancy, he might learn a more elegant way of doing it, but for now he was just trying to give this ghost proper hospitality. After wiping clean his blade, he pulled out a bit of clean bandaging and wrapped it around his wrist. His skills were rudimentary, but the cut was clean and not too deep. A bit of pressure and absorbency was all it needed. Then he wasn't sure what to do, so he kept chewing and pouring res into his mouth. He thought perhaps the energy was changing the doughy stuff, but he couldn't be sure. Nothing was happening. "Mmm," he mumbled around the condensing stuff, and he accidentally opened his mouth a bit before going back to his steady chewing, but in that moment, Auldwin, at least, could see a faint glow coming from inside his mouth for that brief span of time.

[Lariat]

Auldwin

Experience:

Materialism: 1 xp

Lores:

Ragnor, Unknown ghost of questionable motives
Sama'el, ghost friend

Sama'el

Experience:

Spiritism: 1 xp

Lores:

The Dangers of Possession and the method required to learn so to ward against it
Creating Soulmist
Soulmist Recipe: Goat cheese, travel cakes, and berries


Comments

An interesting thread guys, shame it had to end so soon. If you have any questions about how I graded, feel free to PM me.