Closed A Second Meeting[L'orlei]

[Clyde Sullins]

4 Spring 513 If nothing else, today would not be as wet as the previous day they had met. Clyde was heading off to meet L'orlei at her home, here on Konti isle... Or island? Which was it? Isle or island? Or were they the same? He was a bit uncertain, as he headed to the konti's house, and so he argued back and force in his head for awhile, the bottom of his staff tapping lightly on the still wet ground. It had yet to dry all the way, after the torrential rain of a few days prior. Once he arrived at her front door, he knocked a few times, and waited for a response. "L'orlei, it is Clyde, I have returned as I promised."

[L'orlei]

L'orlei had spent the past few days since her initiation mostly resting, eating, and resting some more. She had rarely ventured out, and she still found herself feeling a bit weaker than she would have liked.. but after what she had gone through, she did not want to push herself too far. When Clyde arrived, L'orlei answered the door, now fully clothed unlike the last time he saw her. The thought of that brought a bit of blush to her cheeks, but she invited him in all the same. "Come in. Would you like something to drink? I can make some tea if you like, and I have some fruit if you are hungry." L'orlei mostly ate fruits and vegetables. She was not a vegetarian, but besides fish and shellfish, there was not a lot of meat on the island, and it was easier, and much less smellier to keep fruits and vegetables than it was fish and shellfish. Usually she would only eat fish when she went out. The konti wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do. Was Clyde just going to jump straight into the lesson, or did he want to talk first? A part of her hoped he would just jump straight into things, she was so bad at talking, but another part wondered if he wouldn't mind a conversation. L'orlei had few friends, though it was through no one else's fault but her own. She was shy, and avoided social interaction except during business. Most Konti had no problem talking with her, but L'orlei was just awkward in such situations. With Clyde she at least had something they could talk about.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde entered as the door opened, and L'orlei ushered him inside. He did not notice the blush to her cheeks, glancing about the room to reacquaint himself with the surroundings. He nodded to the fruit and tea, and looked about for something to set things on. He then went back outside while he waited for L'orlei to make the tea, and picked up a handful of the ground just outside the door, be it dirt, or sand, or whatever, and walked back in with the handful, and set it on the place he had chosen that looked like a place of setting objects. He then went and found one of the bowls L'orlei used in herbalism, and set it on the table. Taking out his waterskin, he filled it about halfway full of water. Finally, he dug into his pack, and took out a candle, and lit it by rubbing his index finger over the wick, and pulling it away. As he did, a tiny flame would pop into life from the minute amount of oil like liquid res that had transferred by the rub of skin. He then waved about the air with his hand, gesturing at it, as if it was a fourth item he had brought in for L'orlei to use. "So, while we wait for the tea to be ready, what do you know of Reimancy? Of how it works? I know you saw me exuding res, but what all do you know of it? Heard anything of its uses, perhaps even by other Konti around Mura? What its limits are?" Clyde would look about the room, and add one final note. "Oh, and do you have any particular place for us to sit to enjoy said tea and fruit? And what will we be having?"

[L'orlei]

L'orlei was not much of a cook, another reason why she usually just ate fruits and vegetables. She could whip up a poultice from plants just fine, but using those same plants to make something that actually tastes good.. well, that was an entirely different skill, and something that she really needed to work on. Making medicine was one thing, and people would still buy it when they need it, but making medicine that is also delicious would put her ahead of the rest of the market. As it was, however, L'orlei did not really have anything delicious to make the tea out of, so she decided to go ahead and try the cattails she had acquired a few days ago. "Well, I've never actually tried this before, so I don't know how it will taste, but do you remember how I said you can also use the cattails to make a healthy tea? I think I will make some of that." L'orlei gathered up some of the cattail leaves, rubbing them together a bit in her hands before dropping them into a pot and adding water. She wasn't sure if rubbing them together would help the flavor or not, but she did know that it helped to bring out the oils in some plants, and so in theory it might help with the tea as well. This time lighting up the fire turned out to be easier than the last, and L'orlei was able to get a spark going and soon had the water over the flame, ready to boil. While they waited on that, L'orlei went over to her chest and pulled out a bit of fruit. It was mostly just common stuff found on the island, pineapple and other tropical fruits of that sort. She sliced a few of them up with her knife before splitting the portions in two and serving one half to Clyde, setting the other down on the opposite side of the table. "We can just eat in here if you like. I only have one chair, but I can pull up the chest and sit on that." L'orlei pulled up the chest and sat down, considering the question Clyde had asked her. What did she know of reimancy? Very little, in truth. "Not much.. I know what you have shown me. I know that it is a personal magic, like shielding.. and that it comes from my own djed. I know it has to do with the elements.. creating and controlling them. But.. I do not know much else. I have heard of konti on the island who can create water and fire and other things, but I have never actually seen them do it. " It wasn't long before the tea was done and L'orlei was able to dip out each of them a cup. After carefully blowing on hers for a while to cool it down, the konti took a sip of the liquid. It had a slightly sweet, somewhat starchy flavor that might remind somebody of corn. Overall it was not terrible, but neither was it the best tea L'orlei had ever had. It was good for her though, so she wasn't going to complain. While she waited for Clyde to respond, she eyed the three things he had laid out for her. There was a fourth, in theory, but she did not realize that.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde simply nodded, as L'orlei said she would make tea using the cattails. He was unsure of how it would taste, but she was offering, so he would wait to make judgement about it till he had at least tasted it. He tried a bite of the fruit, which was not bad, it was actually almost good. Fresh to, though that was to be expected since it came from here. He ate another bite as he waited on the tea. He sat in the offered chair, and listened as she answered his question, of what she knew of Reimancy. Not much, more or less as he expected, more rumor than anything else. As he sat in his chair and waited for his tea to cool, he responded to the konti's response. "Yes, I suppose that is not wrong. But then, just because something is not wrong does not make it right. Do you understand?" "Reimancy is more than that, and less than rumors, but also wider and grander and more deadly and dangerous. To oneself as much as to whatever you aim at. Reimancy will allow you to control the four elements, fire, water, earth, and air, and once you are more skilled even some of the combinations thereof. Or it can do a much easier task of directly turning into the element. Though I warn against this, you should only transmute your res directly into an element when their is a great need, and none of the mundane variety available." "Reimancy allow you to use you djed to exude your internal res, and make it external. This res is a manifestation of you, your will, your essence, and your djed. However, it is not stable in this form, and from the moment it leaves your flesh it will be slowly dying and decaying. Every time you expend it in transmutation into an element, or attraction to control and move an element, it is dying. This part of you that you have cast out, is dying." Clyde sat for a moment, looking off into the distance, thinking back to the few times when he had... But no, it had been in his head... But... At the time, he had almost thought... That his res might have been alive, that he had heard its plaintive wail as it died and decayed, another smaller him duplicated and cast out to do his will, but dying and never to return... That for a moment it had acted on its own without him ordering it to, but in tune with him... But that was just silly, res was not alive of its own... Right? Shaking his head, Clyde broke from his revery, having been silent for almost a chime. He took a sip of the tea, making a small face as it ran across his tongue and in his mouth. Not bad, but still unexpected. He washed it down with a second sip. "Now, the stronger the Reimancer, the more of the four elements they can control. You are newly initiated, so will only be able to control one. I am a master, and can control all four. And all three of the possible combinations. Lightning, Ice, and Lava. Now, which combined elements do you think makes which combination element? Or as they are known, para-element." Clyde would take another sip of the tea, and then make a sweeping gesture at the elements he had brought in, the dirt, the candle with the flame, and the bowl of water. "This is also why I brought these in, so you can discover what your first element is, once I show you how to properly exude res. As I said, I teach attraction first, though it is harder, because you will be better for it, and learn to use it first instead of transmutation. Transmutation is easier, but you must be careful as it will expend djed and res far more quickly, and once you turn it to an element, it is that element, even if it is magical in birthing. So you will then need to control it via attraction, just like if it was the original mundane element. Do you see now why I teach attraction first and foremost? And also, only such magically transmuted elements can be stored in Glyphing. Mundane elements cannot."

[L'orlei]

It was a lot of information to take in, but L'orlei listened attentively and absorbed as much of it as she could. Four elements, para elements, transmutation, attraction. So much to learn, and she only had one lesson with the master mage, so she had to take advantage of it while she could. Her mind was full of questions, but they were of things not related to the lesson. She knew she should hold off, and learn the basics first, before trying to ask about advanced stuff. The konti was caught off guard when a question was posed toward her, however. "Oh.. um. Well, uh.. lightning.. comes down from the sky. So.. probably air, right? And... it comes from the rain clouds, so.. water? ..but no.. that's probably not right. Lightning burns things.. which means, maybe fire? Either fire and air, or fire and water.. though I would think fire and water would make steam, right?" L'orlei considered her logic. It was hard to imagine fire and air combining to create a lightning bolt, but it was the only scenario that made any sense to her. Lightning certainly was not made of water, she knew that much for sure, and it did come from up in the air. That had to be right. As for ice, she was less certain. "Ice.. well, obviously water. And not fire. But what else would go into it? Either air or earth. Both of them can be cold, so I'm not sure which one.. but.. I guess if I thought about it, earth and water would probably make mud, not ice. So.. it would have to be air." Coming around to that decision was easy enough, but the last word would be even trickier. "Lava... lava.. lava?" L'orlei pondered the word, rolling it around on her tongue and in her head. There were no volcanoes on Mura, and L'orlei's mastery of the common tongue was far from flawless. She could not, for the life of her, divine the meaning of the word. Finally she frowned and let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I'm sorry.. I don't know that word. Can you explain it to me?" To the stuff about attraction, L'orlei simply nodded. In truth, both the words attraction and transmutation were a bit difficult for her to understand, but Clyde explained the concepts well enough that she did not have to ask about those. And she understood the idea of teaching her the harder part first. That made perfect sense, actually. But L'orlei was more concerned with the fact that she did not know the word lava at all. OOCSometimes I have to remind myself that L'orlei is not fluent in common.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde smiled for a moment, as he listened to L'orlei try and reason his question out. This was the aspect of magic Clyde truly and without reserve enjoyed. The more theoretical and scholarly side of magic, using logic and reason. However few people wanted to discuss on that aspect. They all wanted fire and djed and death. "Lava is... Molten earth, more or less. If you get anything hot enough, it will become a liquid, even stone. So to make lava, one combines fire and earth. Of course, it is much easier to simply do this via transmutation, and to make it as such, than to physically heat up stone to make lava. And for lightning, I believe transmutation is the only way to make it, with fire and air. I am not even sure how one would go about using mundane natural lightning... Not easily. Lightning is the most dangerous of all elements I have used, in terms of power and control. Though actually I have yet to use lava..." "And ice combines air and water. This one is actually the easiest to make and handle. Even using mundane water or other liquids as a base. Once you can make ice, you can use the transmutation to cool other things, like water in a stream, or the dew on a leaf to frost. Which would be easier than creating it totally via transmutation. The others though will require more less total transmutation." Clyde had been making hand motions at several pieces of talking, and so he suddenly stopped to gaze down at his open hands. "Ah yes, before I forget, do you know of incantations and gestures? For one newly initiated to Reimancy, it will be a vital tool. Without it, then at your current level you could do little... Perhaps you have encountered it before, or perhaps not, but I use gestures with almost all castings." "So, what do you know of them, or what experience of them do you have? Or do you need me to go over it also, before we attempt exuding res?"

[L'orlei]

Once again the Konti sat and listened quietly, trying her best to understand everything that Clyde was saying. Molten was an unfamiliar word, but he described it well enough. Incantations was also unfamiliar, but she understood the word gestures. As for everything else he said, it all made sense for the most part. She was certain it would make even more sense once she began actually practicing the magic, because then she could see what he was saying first hand, but the young student did her best to comprehend what she was being taught, despite the language barrier between them. As to the question he posed, she considered her answer for a moment. Of course she had heard the myths about mages uttering strange words and waving their hands about in odd fashions, but she had little first hand experience with mages other than her mother and grandmother, and they did not use offensive magics such as Reimancy. But.. there were some motions involved. "I think I know what you mean. In shielding, I know that it is possible for me to create a shield using only my mind.. but I find it much easier to use my hands to.. to..,", the word she was looking for was manipulate, but she could not come up with it in the common tongue. "To.. make the shield the way I want it to be. As for.. what did you say? Incantations? I think that means using words, right? I have never done anything like that, but I have heard of it. Maybe you should show me first, though, so that I do them right."

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde nodded his head, and continued on speaking to the konti. "Yes gestures are just that, motions, though not necessarily of the hands. It could be any part of your body, petch it could even be dancing. The motion is not what is important, the intent is. The thing all gestures have in common, is that it helps one to focus ones mind on the task at hand. That being said, anything can be one, so I cannot really show you, as it will not be the same for you." "The same is to be said of incantations, but that they are spoken or sung or yelled or chanted. The intent is the important thing, not what you say or even how it is said. You will simply need to try the two out, and see which fits you better. But I expect you to use one or the other with all your castings, until you are nearly as skilled as I. And even I use them at times except with petty castings..." For a moment, Clyde lost focus, at the words petty. A sudden idea sprouting into his mind. Perhaps there was a way of classifying spell size, to label a mages abilities? Perhaps... He would need to to think further on it, but it seemed like it would be a good idea. Ranging from petty being the smallest, to... What would be the highest classification? But that would be for another time. Returning to the conversation at hand, a small smile on his lips, Clyde returned to teaching. "Anyways... Often I find that if I combine intent with action with such aids, it helps. Like if I wanted a ball of res to rise, perhaps say up, or lift a hand upward. But that is just me, you do not have to do that." Clyde ran back through there prior conversation, thinking about what he had covered, what had been said, what he had asked her. It seemed all that was left was to actually exude some res. "Alright, so time to exude your res. Bear in mind, it is a part of you, you are simply calling it out, bringing a normally inner substance to your outside. It can come out as a gas, a liquid, a semi solid paste like substance. I will be interested to see what yours looks like, as each mages looks different. Simply visualize it inside of yourself, and the substance then slowly leaking out of you, out of the skin of your hands, or on your breath as you exhale. Assisted if you want by one of the two focus aids I mentioned."

[L'orlei]

L'orlei took a deep breath. The moment of truth was upon her. It was time to actually use the magic and exude her res. Reimancy was different than shielding or auristics. With shielding, she was using her djed to create something entirely different, something that was no longer a part of her, and with auristics, the djed remained within her, affecting her ability to perceive things. But with reimancy, the res she created would be connected to her, a part of her that was slowly dying, and she would continue to sense it's presence until the connection was severed, either by transmuting the res into an element, or it died off. L'orlei closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She knew that closing her eyes would eventually not be an option, since obviously she needed to see whatever she was casting her magic at, but she was not an expert at meditation, and certainly not at reimancy. It was easier to focus and to clear her mind if she closed her eyes. Her breathing became slow and deep as she attempted to clear her thoughts of all distraction. She focused on the darkness that was the back of her eyelids, on the strange pattern of light, and absence of light, that was at the same time chaotic and serene. She did her best to push every other thought out of her mind, save for res, but it was no easy task. What if I fail? What if I hurt myself, or Clyde? "Rak'keli," she began in a whisper, "Please keep me safe, sane, and healthy. Keep Clyde safe and healthy." She did as Clyde asked, attempting to picture the res inside her. She did not know what it looked like, but she imagined it to be a cloud of djed, billowing inside her, waiting to be released. It was frightening and beautiful all at once. "Avalis. Please guide me into the future, the unknown." L'orlei could not see the future, she could not see if she would be successful or if she would fail, but she knew that Avalis could, and that comforted her. L'orlei continued to focus one what she imagined was the res. She pictured it spreading out, and pressing against the back side of her skin. "Rak'keli," she repeated again, "Keep me sane, safe and healthy as I push out my very being." The res pressed harder, or so L'orlei envisioned it. She was beginning to feel... something, and she drew in another deep breath, keeping her eyes closed. She was afraid to see the res, afraid to see if she was doing it right or failing miserably. "Avalis, guide me into the future." Slowly but surely the res began to seep from her body.. not just in the palm of her hands or from her mouth or anywhere specific. It was up and down her arms, from her face, from her legs. It was a tiny amount, and spread out. L'orlei had not thought to focus it in just one place, and so the vaporous substance secreted from every pore. It looked like a thin layer of pale seafoam green steam. It was not evenly spread out, but in tiny patches. If she coalesced it together, it would likely be little more than a handful. L'orlei exhaled, and a tiny amount of vapor blew out between her lips. She could already feel the pull on her body, the strain on her djed. She knew she was successful without opening her eyes, but she dared not do so and break her concentration. Not right away. Time seemed to lengthen for her as she drew up the courage to pry the lids of her eyes open, to see the res she had created. Or had Clyde created it inside her, and she was only pushing it out? L'orlei was not sure, and those were certainly not questions for that moment. Finally, after what seemed an eternity to her she opened her eyes, trying to control her reaction to the strange mist-like substance hovering in tiny patches on her skin. Could she move? Could she speak? Would it break her concentration? L'orlei dared to try, though her voice was nervous and barely above a whisper. "...is.. is this right?" Prayers : I also made posts in Divine Connection for this: To Rak'keli To Avalis