[Flashback] Magic in the woods (Kaeson)

[Mordechai Zoltar]

Summer of 505

Mordechai was in the woods, sitting in a tree during the afternoon. He, as was his profession, was making toys. Time after time he would cut off a part of the tree and pull out his eating knife to whittle them into small humanoids. Sometimes making simple ball-joints at the arms and legs which he popped into place so they could be moved. What he really wished he had was a life source to model off of so he could make them move on their own. Oh well, he thought.

Three figures had been made. A small Zith, an Akalak warrior, and a medium sized horse, only slightly larger than his hand. He swung his foot back and fourth whilst he sat on the limb. All his belongings at the base of the tree.

Purely out of boredom he began letting out small wisps of green res and igniting them in the air, creating little 'S' shaped fire spurts. He began to use these to darken the wood of his new toys. Mordechai would hold up his toys, one by one, and using small, controlled spurts of res, char the surface of the wood. The zith and horse were made black, while the Akalak warrior was left his the original color of the wood.

All this was going smoothly when he heard a rustling not 20 feet from the base of his tree. Quickly he began climbing down to retrieve his belongings before they were stolen by some passerby. Mordechai reached the ground and began to survey the direction where the noise came from, releasing a small ball of res from his right hand and holding it in the air.

"Who's there?"

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson closed his eyes, hoping desperately the older boy hadn't seen him.

Kaeson had been supposed to be looking for certain herbs and roots prevalent in the forests close to Syliras this time of year -- but to a thirteen year old boy, scavenging for plants wasn't the ideal way to spend a sunny afternoon such as this one. Kaeson HAD been looking, he had even found some basil, but then he had found something much more intersting. Kaeson had seen the older boy bring fire from his own body, Kaeson had seen the boy do magic.

He had tried to hide behind a small bush -- Kaeson had yet to have his growth spurt, and remained small enough to hide quite well behind the bush. He had managed to keep quiet enough to watch the older boy burn the outsides of what he thought to be dolls; A Zith and a horse. The boy had another doll as well, but for some reason or another the young Mage had decided to not burn the doll.

Kaeson had been resting in a squatter position the entire time, and trying to arrange himself in a more comfortable position he fell over into the bush, allowing the older boy to became aware of his presence.

Slowly, Kaeson came out of his hiding place, looking as brave as he could -- his now bright yellow eyes the only clue to his fear. He had heard rumors of bandits and slavers roaming the forests and could only hope the older boy was neither.

"Who are you?!" Kaeson asked, his tone hiding much of the fear he felt. "And how did you do...whatever it is you did? Are you a...a Mage?" Kaeson asked, eyes brimming with curiosty and fear.

[Mordechai Zoltar]

Immediately upon seeing the curious boy, Mordechai let his res disperse.

"... Are you a... a Mage?" the boy questioned as bravely as he could muster himself to be. He seemed almost terrified, but oh so curious. Mordechai thought to himself about the curious cat and what happened to him.

I hesitated, and then silently began to walk around the child.

"Mage? Of sorts you could say. More than anything else I'm but a simple toymaker." Mordechai said. He thought to himself that this boy could help him with some animation.

"Tell me young master, do you know what animation magic is?" I asked hopefully. Mordechai thought that If all went well he could use the boy to help animate the dolls he had just made.

Mordechai was already thinking on what he'd make them be able to do. The Akalak would swing his arms as if in combat. The Zith would flap her wings, and the horse would simply walk. Yes, then he'd have plenty to sell in the market. Animated toys could fetch a fine price.

After asking his question he put the 3 dolls in his pocket and pulled out a small wooden bird.

"Fly" he said, and the bird started to flap it's wings vigorously. "Stop" he continued and the bird ceased it's action. "This is but one of the simple things animation can bring us. Toys." Mordechai said, smiling at the child.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson frowned at the boy's answer, slowly taking steps backwards as the older boy walked closer. He wasn't far from the safety of the Stormhold Castle but he was far enough to feel nervous by the approaching 'toymaker'. Kaeson had heard enough stories and rumors of slavers kidnapping children to keep him apprehensive of the approaching stranger.

"Toy makers don't use magic -- Mages do," Kaeson told the older boy in a matter-of-fact way, hues of pink mixing in with the sickly yellows of his irises. Mages weren't the easiest to talk to, even less so when the conversation turned to their magic, but Kaeson had already seen this one DO magic -- maybe he could trick him into showing him the fire magic again? "I bet if he does it again I could learn it, it can't be THAT hard," Kaeson thought to himself.

"Can you do what you did again? With the fire?" Kaeson asked hopefully. Kaeson knew about magic, he had even done some himself before, but he hadn't seen others perform any of the arcane arts.

Kaeson's eyes widened as the older Mage mentioned animation. Kaeson had been particularly fond of the particular branch of world magic, and had been practicing it for some time -- almost three years now. While Kaeson had been refused as an apprentice, he had managed to get a book on the basics of the magic and by now Kaeson had memorized most the subject matter. If the older Mage knew anything about animation, Kaeson wondered if he could convince him to teach him.

"Why?" Kaeson asked, voice dropping as the man pulled out the animated bird. Kaeson mouth opened slighty in awe as the toy bird fluttered its wing -- albeit staying in the man's palm, nevertheless it was much more impressive then anything Kaeson had animated thus far.

"What's your name?" Kaeson asked the stranger, determined to get something out of the curious man if he was to let him know about his experiences with animation.

[Mordechai Zoltar]

"Well, this toy maker does indeed happen to use magic. Although I guess you could call me a mage." Mordechai said to the boy, almost giddy at how interested in magic he was. He reminded me a bit of himself when he was that age.

"What, the fire? That was just some simple reimancy? Surely you must have heard of it?" Mordechai scoffed. He produced a small ball of res in the palm of his hand. It's murky green shimmered in the sunlight that made it through the trees. And then quick as a flash he ignited it and held the flaming ball in his hand. "Reimancy is a practice of creating and controlling the four elements. There's the sturdy power of earth, the destructive force of fire, the cooling strength of water, and the underestimated power of wind. I myself have only just mastered fire, though I'm looking to continue my education in water. Maybe someday soon I'll get it."

By now the res had all burned through and the fire ball ceased to exist. Now came the bigger question, would Mordechai be able to enlist this boys help with some animation? It would seem more than likely as the boy seemed to light up when he mentioned it.

"Because I need someone to model a soul after and you seem just about right. I promise it doesn't hurt." He said to the boy as nicely as he could. "And as for my name? You may call me whatever you wish, but if you can't think of anything I'll pick a name for you". Mordechai might yet be able to trust this boy, but his name could bring back the past in the worst of ways, even if uttered to a boy as innocent as this.

[Kaeson Dakano]

"Reimancy?" the young boy repeated to himself, watching carefully as a gaseous green substance seeped itself out of the older boy's hand, slowing winding itself into a floating orb above the Magen's hand. A burst of flame and a short gasp escaped from Kaeson's mouth. Kaeson nodded slowly as the Mage continued about reimancy, keeping both eyes on the fist sized fireball floating above the man's hand.

Quickly enough, the fire ball burnt itself out, and the Mordechai began to speak once again.

"Why do I have to be the basis for the soulcore?" Kaeson asked, his knowledge of the arcane craft obvious with his detailed use of common Animator jargon. He had read his own book detailing the basic principles of animation several times over, almost to the point of memorizing the literature by heart. "What are you planning on animating, anyway?" Kaeson asked.

"I want to call you by your name," the small boy continued, adding," I'm Astur Drekkle," without any hesitation. It was a name he used often, he didn't like it when people recognized his last name -- they tended to treat him different.

[Mordechai Zoltar]

"Why do I have to be the basis for the soulcore?" The boy said.

Immediately Mordechai was taken aback. This boy knew of animation! Lovely, then we should both benefit from this experience, he thought to himself. "Well, because to be honest I've always found it much easier to animate when using someone else as the model. It's simply a preference of mine" he said. Casually Mordechai reached into my pocket and brought out the 3 dolls again.

"This is what I plan to animate" Mordechai said. "Like I said, I am a toymaker. I carve small dolls and animals out of wood, and then I use animation to make them move. It's all very simple really. What sort of animation experience do you have?" He asked the child. "You're certainly above the level of fleeting curiosity if you know of soulcores and the like."

Mordechai then contemplated what he'd call himself today? I suppose if I only use my first name this can't very well come back to haunt me, he thought. So it was settled, Mordechai would tell the child his name.

"My name is Mordechai, I've been living in the woods out here ever since I came ashore. So my friend, will you help me animate these toys? I'll let you do one if you'd like?" he tempted the child.

[Kaeson Dakano]

"I've done small things. Toys, pillows...I even did a lock, once!" Kaeson added, looking quite proud of his meager list of accomplishments. Never having apprenticed for a proper animator before, Kaeson was limited to what he could find around his small apartment in Stormhold Castle. "I taught myself, from a book. A real wizard gave it to me, he did!" Kaeson exclaimed, finding it easier and easier to speak with the strange boy.

Kaeson fell silent as Mordechai brought out the three toys, quickly looking them over. Kaeson passed over the Zith and the horse, but smiled as his eyes fell on the Akalak warrior. Of course, Kaeson had never actually seen an Akalack -- he found the small toy warrior fascinating because it reminded him of the Syliran Knights.

Kaeson listened carefully to Mordechai's proposition, his smile growing bigger in anticipation. "Like an apprenticeship?" Kaeson asked, clearly excited at the propect. "Yeah, yeah, I want to help. I want to animate that one!" Kaeson said, greedily gesturing at the Akalak warrior.

[Mordechai Zoltar]

"A lock you say? Not bad. Now what did you use for a soulcore?" Mordechai asked the young boy. He theatrically pulled his hood back over his head. "Get ready to do some magic, boy. We've work to do and you've a toy to animate!" He said, enticing the child.

"Come with me." Mordechai said as he and the boy walked towards where he was camping. Sitting at the campsite was a large stick. Grabbing the stick Mordechai proceeded to dig into the earth in a large circle. Upon it's completion he created a similar circle next to it. He raked the ground with the stick once more to connect the two with a line.

"Now, who wants to go first? Shall I? Do please stand in one of the circles." Mordechai asked politely. "Now, what I need you to do is imagine you're a horse and you're walking." He said this while placing the small horse doll in the farther circle.

Mordechai slung his bag to his front and dug into it for his eating knife. Finding it he placed his bag on the ground. He took the tip of his knife and in one quick motion nicked a solid line into his left ring finger. He waited for the boy now.

[Kaeson Dakano]

"Me, I was the soulcore," Kaeson replied, his tone implying both how obvious the answer should have been to the Mordechai and how stupid the young boy considered the question. He stared incredulously as the older boy pulled his hood over in an almost too theatrical manner, almost as if he were a cheap entertainer performing in a street market. Kaeson paused momentarily, briefly considering reminding Mordechai that he was no boy. He was thirteen now, and quickly becoming a man -- at least that's what his grandmother had told him.

Still, Kaeson quickly went after the older animator, clearly eager to began the animation process. Arriving at the campsite, Kaeson was surprised to see Mordechai begin to trace the animation circles in the dirt. Nothing in The Fundamentals of Basic Animation had said anything against carving the circles in the dirt, but Kaeson was curious to see how they would work. "Have you ever done the animations in the dirt before?" Kaeson asked curiosity, wondering if the dirt circles had proven themselves before or if this was the first time the man had used them. He supposed the circle's wouldn't be easily disturbed if they were carved into the ground.

Opening his mouth to answer, Kaeson was dissapointed to find out the mage's question had been rhetorical. He had so desperately wanted to be first, Kaeson wanted to show Mordechai exactly what he was capable of.

Nodding, Kaeson walked himself over to the larger of the two circles, the source circle, and sat down. He wondered how 'pretending to be the horse' would establish the directives and the persona, but he wasn't one to question. Mordechai was obviously much more established as an animator or so Kaeson hoped. "Alright," Kaeson muttered, "I'm the horse,".