Completed Magic in the Basement.

[Miles]

55th of winter, 512 AV

Miles was trapped sitting up in his bed, gazing upon the steel of a rather sharp dagger. The dagger swayed back and forth closing what seemed an unimaginable distance. The moment he saw it move, he knew it would destroy him- cut him to ribbons, piece by terrifyingly painful piece.

Move it.

Just one inch. One deflection would save his life. He knew this. The thought came unbidden- he knew it as sure as his own name.

Move it, Miles. Just a fraction.

The dagger drew closer, humming with a soft sound that to his mind was satisfaction. He knew he was going to die. There was no breath in his throat, and though he wanted to scream, nothing dare come from him. He saw Abraham's face- knew the certainty of death as he knew the old man's smile. Would Abraham be waiting for him?

MOVE it Miles. Remember what the old man taught you. The mind and the body create the soul, the soul interacts with the world, the soul is the world- let the energy well from your core, know it is you and you are it..

The knife made contact with his skull, slowly, slowly, cutting into him. He frantically thrashed about, trapped with searing pain without a voice to scream or a name to conjure if he had the will. He had no soul- no Djed to throw, no technique to stop the pain. He was going to die. The last thing he heard was the crack of his skull splitting like a melon.
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Miles woke with a start, the house echoing with the scream that roused him. He sprang from the bed, and checked himself for, well, a head. Thereafter, he dressed and hastily washed his face, driven with purpose more deeply than ever before.

He had to move the knife.

He ran to the cellar, throwing open the large door and descending so quickly into the stone enclosure he didn't have time to notice the biting cold of the morning. Miles was hardly a composed student, or a competent and intelligent thief, he looked unkempt and half crazy. He hurriedly dashed to the center of the room and removed his cooking knife from his pocket. It was not the same as the dream, but the small gleaming blade inspired a shock of fear just the same. He dropped it to the floor and stared at it for a long time, expecting it to raise on its own and begin that soft humming.

After he was satisfied that it was not plotting against him, Miles sat next to it and began relaxing. He closed his eyes and began with his toes. He tensed and relaxed them in rythm- then moved up to his feet and his legs. By the time he was clenching and releasing his thigh muscles, he felt his feet completely relax, fully at his command. He continued this ritual up to his neck, and by that time his entire body was ready to be commanded. From this point he focused on his right arm- drawing energy from it until the relaxation became a dull throb, until the throb became a numbness, until there was nothing- the arm was useless, the energy transposed.

Move it

The energy that was allocated to his arm began to well from his core and outward toward the object. It traveled slowly- a thousand eternities, a single bead of sweat forming on a cold brow. Miles had never gone this far before, he had never tried to touch anything- Abraham wouldn't let him.

Abraham is gone. Your limits are gone. Move the knife.

The energy was his to command- it traveled painfully slowly toward the target, taking all his focus, all his soul pushed forward with just a strand of physical energy- energy that powered his universe. He felt it begin to extend from him, imagined it as light coursing and growing with his increasing focus.

Move the knife Miles. It could be your life- or your death.

[Miles]

He likened the energy to himself as much as possible, tried to feel it bending as his arm would, extending from him to the ground. Stretching it outward from him was no easy task, and more than once he feared he was pushing himself too far. With every passing second however he felt himself grow closer and closer to the ground, to his goal. He hadn't the focus to split the energy, he knew that. He focused only on his arm, and not his hand as he felt it slide against the knife, resting upon it.

Now the hard part.

You can do this, Miles.Welling up his focus, he thrust it forward at the knife, hoping to move it even the barest fraction: to escape the fate his dream professed. He saw the dream before his eyes, taunting him- driving him on. Fear compelled him to complete this task, fear he had to overcome. Fear that had him stuck in this rut, afraid to grow, afraid to learn, afraid to mature or be on his own. Abraham had provided him with safe limits, and had no expectations- with him gone, Miles was left to himself and forced to grow into a man. With each inch that energy grew from him, he grew in confidence. He would change himself- if he could bare his soul to the world, he could move beyond his fears and become something more than a face in a crowd.

He neared his limit stretching this far- and with one last burst of energy, he flicked the knife forward, and watched it spin along the cellar floor. His eyes widened and he fell to the floor, breathing heavily and ultimately relieved. The fear was gone- he had felt himself move, his soul had touched something in the physical world. Something within him opened- a hunger... perhaps a new dream.

Again

And thus, Miles came to enjoy playing with knives.

[Miles]

Day faded into afternoon as Miles exhausted himself. The more he tried to touch and move the knife, the more his focus slipped- it was as if he were trying to grab a fish in water- the more he tried to squeeze, the easier it was to slip from his grasp. "Something is missing.." He took a moment to glace about the cellar, noting the boxes and piles of books that nearly spilled into the center of the room. Abraham was pretty learned on this subject, the only reason he knew anything about this was agreeing to "training his mind" through some exercises Abraham had given him to do. Surely the old man had something tucked away for him to find.

A feeling of foreboding passed through him as he searched- Abraham was not long in the ground- but the hunger pressed him on. The deed to the home was preserved there, as well as an old journal. Miles tirelessly organized the area, creating more space for him, and learning infinitely more about his old friend.

Finally a leather bound book was discovered called Bonding the Spirit: Djed and the Physical world. Before Miles got a chance to open the book, he remembered the old man's words Words have power, boy. Names do as well. Have a care what you say, to whom, and when. The more you learn of Djed the more dangerous you'll be. Once you learn what Djed is, it'll be too late to turn back. He hadn't really been listening back then: thought the old man was just talking nonsense. That was before the dream. That was before the knife.

He wanted to know everything about Djed. He wanted to be dangerous. Just as he began to think on it, he could feel it- Djed writhing and aching inside of him, needing order. Miles couldn't remember a time since running with the deer that he'd felt so alive and aware. He focused his efforts on schooling his Djed to order by molding it- ensuring that each piece of him was in working order, properly saturated with Djed energy. It was a terrible and cumbersome task one that left his stomach growling and his muscles sore enough to refuse food. He couldn't tell how long he'd been down in that cellar, but when he emerged with the Abraham's journal and his leather bound book it was nearly dusk. He realized he was dizzy from hunger and hadn't been to the bathroom all day long. It was as if waking from a dream- reality hit him the moment he hit the cellar door. This dream wouldn't be forgotten upon waking- it had changed him, inspired him.

He set out to wash once again and start on making dinner, he had to keep his strength up if he planned to continue practice.

[Paragon]

Miles

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Projection	2

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Using Fear as a Motivator
•	Book: Bonding the Spirit: Djed and the Physical World
•	Abraham's Journal
•	Expelling Djed from the Spirit
•	Raw Determination

Legend Becomes Reality

Short and sweet solo, I'd love to see more detail later If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.