[Wright Memorial Library] To open a can of worms (solo)

From herbalism to summoning

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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]

[Wright Memorial Library] To open a can of worms (solo)

Postby Kaeson Dakano on May 18th, 2012, 5:27 pm

76th Night of Spring, 512 AV

Kaeson had been reading the same page of Herbalism and you: A Beginner's Guide for the last several minutes. Staring intently at a page marked ELIXIRS, Kaeson tried in vain to get something, anything about 'petching useless hogpiss' (as Kaeson had been lovingly calling elixirs) to memory. "Might as well try again," Kaeson mumbled, trying to convince himself another read through might result in some progress.

"An elixir is a maceration (ref. pages 190 - 193) of herbs, flower buds, or roots in alcohol. Traditionally, vodka is used although other substitutes such as brandy are becoming more popular in the modern era. It may seem obvious, but this author feels it important to note that elixirs are brewed specially for oral administration. Any attempts to apply an elixir topically would be a wasted effort...It is interesting to note that all elixirs will take a clear appearance, if only a little tinted, if brewed correctly. There are many theories behind this phenomenon, the most widely accepted being.. "

Kaeson yawned, muttering something about 'petching hogpiss' under his breath.

Using his hand as a makeshift bookmark, Kaeson closed his copy of Herbalism and you: A Beginner's Guide. Sighing, Kaeson then tried to recite everything he had just read about elixirs. "An elixir is usually clear...and is a...matracation?" Kaeson made a face as he said, 'matracation' knowing it was wrong even before the word escape his lips. Kaeson continued, saying, "An elixir is highly alcoholic, brandy being commonly used as an ingredient. Obviously, an elixir is meant to be taken orally because...because...because if not, the patient will die," Kaeson said, defeated. He wondered for a brief moment if 'because the patient will die' could be considered for a correct answer since, technically, it was true. Patients who don't take their medicine usually did die, after all.

Taking his hand out of the book, Kaeson sighed. Here he was, in perhaps the most complete library in all of Sylira, perhaps even all of Mizahar and he was wasting his time studying elixirs. "Hogpiss" Kaeson said, pushing the copy of Herbalism and you: A Beginner's Guide away from him. ignoring his own fatigue, Kaeson looked at the shelves around him in hopes of finding a more interesting subject.
Last edited by Kaeson Dakano on May 19th, 2012, 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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To open a can of worms (solo)

Postby Kaeson Dakano on May 19th, 2012, 10:15 pm

Holding a candle to each book he passed, Kaeson silently read the many titles of the many books as he lead himself further down the ancient library's halls. Passing volumes dedicated to the wistful dispositions of the Akvatari or to the famous Mage warriors of Suva, Kaeson could hardly contain himself as he walked by the seemingly endless aisles of books. The sheer possibility of it all, the thought that any one of these books could provide insight and knowledge about any subject Kaeson choose, revitalized him. Anything he wished to know, Kaeson felt certain he could find it here.

And nothing was off limits.

"Nothing is off limits," Kaeson murmurmed to himself, eyes widening at the realization. The same rules that had restricted him in Syliras, no longer applied to him here. Not in Zeltiva. Especially not in the university's famous Wright Memorial Library. Kaeson was free to study anything he desired, and reveled in the knowledge that nothing was restricted. Almost skipping with delight, Kaeson headed further into the library, hands stretched to where his fingers brushed lightly against the many volumes of books.

Kaeson knew what he wanted, and he was willing to bet he could find a book or two on the subject here. All Kaeson had to do was find it, and the knowledge was his forever.
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[Wright Memorial Library] To open a can of worms (solo)

Postby Kaeson Dakano on May 20th, 2012, 2:54 pm

Kaeson held his breath as he held a lit candle to a book, making sure he had read the title correctly. Slowly, he read the title aloud,"Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide, by Loris Kertaid." Kaeson blinked several times before repeating the title again, hardly believing he had found a book on summoning, let alone a book that may contain the coordinates for another world.

Kaeson hugged the book tightly, afraid to let go. While at this particular library finding a book on summoning hadn't been so difficult as it had been time consuming, Kaeson's other attempts to find books on this particular branch of world magic or even his attempts to find a suitable teacher had all come up dry. In Syliras, he hadn't even bothered to try. Summoning is Syliras was, number one, highly illegal and, number two, the Knights usually killed even suspected summoners, which had been more then enough motivation for Kaeson to look towards other magics instead. Hiring a supposed master in Alvadas had left him broke, and an idea to how Ionu became so fond of the wretched town. Kaeson's efforts hadn't faired better in Abura either.

But none of that matter now. Kaeson finally had the means to practice summoning. All he had to do was start reading.

Still holding tight to Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide, Kaeson looked around for an unoccupied desk. He hadn't needed to look far, by Kaeson's reckoning it was well past midnight and the library was relatively empty, aside from the odd snoring student. Sitting down, Kaeson put the lit candle in its holder and began to read.
As the reader may know, summoning is perhaps the most secretive, as well as one of the more dangerous, discipline of world magic. Therefore it is extremely important for the reader to become familiar with some of the more common unfortunate happenstances that occur to starting summoners...

Kaeson sighed, skipping over the warning the author gave. He was already more then familiar with all of the risks involved, Kaeson had heard more then his fair share of rumors. Losing controlled over the summoned, being mauled, eaten or worse. Kaeson had even heard that the summoner could even be dragged through his own portal,though Kaeson doubted there was any truth in that particular rumor. A Syliras Knight had told him that one after all.

Skipping the next couple of pages, occasional glancing at the odd word or phrase, Kaeson finally came upon what he wanted to most. Kaeson began to read.
Swalden is often considered one of easiest and safest worlds to summon from, even when compared to the other 4 common worlds (Fryden, Kseyden, Shoyden, and Zaiden). This especially true considering that those summoning Swalden are not actually hoping to open a portal on the planet's surface, instead Summoners hope to gain access to the Swalden's rings. The famed crystalline rings of Swalden are completely made up of gemstones commonly referred to as Memosites, which are said to be a result of the combined efforts of Qayala and Semele.

"Qayala and Semele?" Kaeson thought, slightly confused. Kaeson recognized them as goddesses, but was having a difficult time placing them in their areas of power. Furrowing his brow, Kaeson remembered something about Semele being goddesses of..."Gemstones?" he muttered to himself, seeing if the word placed well in his mind with Semele. It seemed too, although Kaeson couldn't help but feel he was missing something important regarding the Goddess. As for Qayala, Kaeson didn't even attempt to guess. He knew she ruled over a type a wisdom, or learning but Kaeson hadn't a clue as to which discipline Qayala called her own. Kaeson quickly read through the next couple of pages, hoping to find more about memosites or the goddesses that had created them, but his efforts were unrewarded.

And then Kaeson found what he had been hoping for this whole time. The key he would be needing to open the door to Swalden.

The astral coordinates for Swalden.
Last edited by Kaeson Dakano on May 21st, 2012, 7:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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[Wright Memorial Library] To open a can of worms (solo)

Postby Kaeson Dakano on May 20th, 2012, 4:33 pm

Or he had what he hoped were the astral coordinates of Swalden.

Kaeson had been flipping through the pages of Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide hoping to find a more detailed description of memosites, or some information on either of the two goddesses, Qayala or Semele, who combined in power to create the unique gemstone. While Kaeson found neither more information of the gemstones nor their creators, Kaeson DID find something better. At least he hoped so.

Looking at detailed pictures of what Kaeson assumed to be summoning circles, Kaeson noticed that each circle was made by the the same set of glyphed numbers. There didn't seem to be any singular number larger then 10, and as luck would have it Kaeson's basic knowledge of the ancient tongue included numbers zero through ten.

Grabbing his spare notebook, Kaeson slowly and meticulously began to translate the numbers into what he hoped where there common counterparts. "8492841047291777," he whisipered to himself, brimming with excitement. It had taken Kaeson the better part of a bell to decipher the ancient tongue, but he was fairly certain he had obtained the correct coordinates.

Flipping back through the pages of Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide Kaeson looked for a way to start the summoning process. Kaeson knew the basic idea, drawing a circle and dropping some of his own blood on the drawing should theoretically open a portal but the finer details were lost to him. Details like what the circle should look like or where Keason would actually place the astral coordinates.

Unfortunately, the author of Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide hadn't felt the neccesity to include those specific details Kaeson needed to actually start the summoning process. Silently cursing Loris Kertaid, the author, Kaeson wondered what kind of idiot would write a book on summoning without the basic starting procedures. "Petching idiot," Kaeson muttered, violet anger momentarily taking over his normally blue eyes.

But then Kaeson remembered the drawings, eyes widening as an idea slowly formed in his head. Maybe the author hadn't given him the information he had needed, but Kaeson had already seen what he needed to do.
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[Wright Memorial Library] To open a can of worms (solo)

Postby Kaeson Dakano on May 21st, 2012, 1:22 am

Over the last half a bell, Kaeson had been slowly and very carefully coping the image of a minimal circle onto the library floor. While Kaeson had decided that the memosite gemstones would pose little danger to him, the book Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide had made it very clear that a summoner should never EVER rush a circle, even a minimal one. Even as confident as he was, Kaeson couldn't help but heed this particular obvious piece of advice. Sure, he was summoning a memosite today, but tomorrow? Who knew? And Kaeson was certain he didn't want to be killed or eaten by an intergalactic being. That would suck.

Finishing the layout of his minimal circle, Kaeson just had to put in the astral coordinates for Swalden and BAM! He would be looking at a memosite in no time. Losing himself in the excitement of it all, Kaeson began to write the numbers, counterclockwise, but instead of using the numeric glyphs as the book had, Kaeson wrote the numbers in common. "8...4...9...2...," Kaeson counted, checking his notes to be sure of that his written coordinates corresponded with the coordinates the book listed.

Kaeson paused, confused. The minimal circle Kaeson had drawn looked different when he compared it to the one he had supposedly copied from the book before him. "What the...," Kaeson muttered to himself, eyes flashing purple in annoyance. Hadn't he check everything? Hadn't he taken the upmost care in drawing the circle, ensuring its effectiveness? Meticulously, Kaeson checked the circle against the book's own image desperately searching for the problem he knew to be there.

"The numbers," Kaeson said, almost laughing in his own stupidity. Slowly wiping the chalk drawing clean, and started over again.
...
"Finally," Kaeson breathed, satisfied with his own minimal circle. Kaeson checked the circle one more time, for any breaks or inconsistencies. Sure nothing was off, and that he had written the proper numeric glyphs this time, Kaeson stab his finger with a quill and watched as his blood slowly dripped onto the chalk circle.

Kaeson waited for several seconds, expectanly looking at the chalk circle for some sign that it had worked. In Kaeson's experience with animation, the moment his blood touched the chalk circles, the animation design changed color to mimick that of his own blood. This change signaled to him that he could start the animation process, and he had expected something similar in his practice of summoning.

Frowning at the unchanged circle, Kaeson referred back to the book in hopes it would explain why it was taking so long to work. "I know I did everything right-- wow." Kaeson said, attention caught by a sudden burst of scarlet light. Suddenly, the numeric glyphs began to burst bright scarlet, one right after another following a counterclockwise motion. Then the circle burst bright scarlet, and then the now scarlet minimum circle began to distort itself, mimicking the ocean swells.

And then it stopped, and Kaeson saw millions of shimmering gemstones in the portal he had created, all moving swiftly in a circular motion. He had summoned Swalden.
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[Wright Memorial Library] To open a can of worms (solo)

Postby Kaeson Dakano on May 21st, 2012, 4:04 am

Kaeson stared at the portal he summoned, mouth opened as he looked through a window of his own making to another world. "Swalden," Kaeson whispered to himself, hardly believing what he had just done. Smiling to himself, Kaeson quickly grabbed Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide from the desk beside him while keeping an eye on the portal making sure to see anything, if it choose to go through though small portal.

Waiting silently for a memosite to pass through from Swalden to Mizahar, Kaeson quickly perused Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide looking for anything he could find on memosites. Kaeson hadn't been hoping for much, considering the book hadn't given such basics like how to actually open the portal and thus wasn't surprised to find Summoning Swalden: a Summoners Guide only offered a couple sentences in regards to memosites.
Memosites are highly interesting gemstones, possessing the unique quality to store and pass along memories. It is important to understand that when a summoner receives a memory from a memosite, he must immediately offer one of his own in return, less the memosites refuse him any more knowledge.

"Well, at least that's something." Kaeson muttered to himself, casually throwing the book behind him. Kaeson doubted the book held anything else important, instead deciding to observe the portal, watching for anything weird.

Kaeson didn't have to wait for long.

Over the next several minutes, Kaeson would occasionally see the portal ripple. Never seeing anything push out of the circle, Kaeson stopped paying much attention to his summonings and started to look around for any other promising books. So, it surprised Kaeson when he looked back and saw a shiny, black gemstone floating inches above his portal.

"Memosite," Kaeson said, hardly breathing. His eyes widening, bursting with curiosity. Kaeson staggered for a moment, unsure what to do. Did he introduce himself, exchange pleasantries? Should he bow, and praise the creation of Semele and Qayala? Kaeson stared hungrily at the memosite, imagination alight with the possibilities regarding the knowledge this inch tall gemstone possessed. Ignoring common sense, instead listening only to his desire, his yearning to know Kaeson did something that so basic, so instinctual, Kaeson would later not remember how he first came into contact with his first memosite.

He grabbed it.

Instantly Kaeson senses were overwhelmed. While physically still in the library, the memosite had transported him into a foreign memory. Kaeson looked out of eyes that weren't his, looking into the eyes of an immensely beautiful blonde woman. Various words presented themselves to his consciences, words like lover and teacher helped describe the memory. Kaeson heard the melodious laughter the stranger's ears associated with the handsome woman. Kaeson smelled not the books or dust of the library, but a femine perfume he -- the stranger identified with the blonde woman. Kaeson was -- no, the stranger was hers, in every sense. Kaeson loved her. The stranger loved her.

Kaeson gasped for air as the gemstone released him from the memory, and returned its floating position where Kaeson had grabbed it.

Remembering he had to entrust the stone with a memory of his own, Kaeson lightly touched the stone and gave it his first memory encountering the memosite. Kaeson then closed the portal as the gemstone sunk down back into the ring of Swalden, looking as satisfied as a gemstone could possibly look.
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[Wright Memorial Library] To open a can of worms (solo)

Postby Cascade on May 23rd, 2012, 3:09 pm

Adventurer's Loot
Image

Kaeson's Loot :
Kaeson

Skill XP Reward
Summoning +4
Drawing +2

Lore:
Elixer: Definition
University of Zeltiva: Wright Memorial Library
Swalden: Astral Coordinates
Summoning: Minimal Circle
Memosites
Excellent thread! It was thorough, and I believe that this is a good example of how a solo learning thread should be done. I love how you detailed Kaeson's learning process, and even made him make mistakes along the way. The ending left me wanting for more, and makes me curious as to whose memory he saw. :) If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me!
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