Completed Book Work (Castor)

[Tsaba]

"I've never thought about it much before, but now that you mention it, I suppose you could say I see them in colour," Tsaba explained. "It's rather difficult to see much; or more accurately, there's too much going on that I don't understand to really pick out anything useful, like trying to see fish under a chaotic ocean in the sun. Auras move, at least living ones do, and the information isn't so much in the image but in the pattern. For me, anyway. They can extend out several feet, but..." she paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to put her thoughts into words. "You know how if you're in a noisy crowd, you can't hear all the conversations around you at once, but you can pick out specific voices? And some voices are easier to hear in the noise than others? Well, I have a lot of trouble 'picking out' most things. I can sense what I strongly suspect is the motion of fluid in bodies. I can tell when somebody is alive and when they are not, even if I can't find a pulse. And I can get a couple of details like body temperature and soforth. But pretty much everything else is... permanently background noise, and I don't really 'see' it in any distinct way. The outer regions of an aura look... a sort of faded peach, I guess? Like a placeholder color.

"What I can distinctly perceive looks as if it sits a few inches above the body, by which I mean outside the body between me and the patient. It is solid in colour, I need to use normal sight to see through it, but because it's always moving, I can glimpse the body underneath anyway. It's like watching the sunlight on waves, I suppose. In you, it looks deep blue, which is normal for a healthy person; there are green or red tinges if it moves too... too quickly or jarringly, which can be a sign of illness if it happens excessively, although it can also just be a sign of pain or agitation. I suspect it's indicative of a physiological response in the blood or something; a small amount of that is normal. Areas over which it doesn't seem to wash, or areas where it doesn't move, are also often causes for concern. In some sick people, it is too faded, or too dull or bright. Sometimes there is variation in the brightness or vividness, with most of the blue being concentrated in the centre of the body; that's common in hypothermia patients or patients with severe heart problems. In everybody, it strengthens and weakens slightly with a pulse. Yours appeared fairly typical; a little more vivid than normal, possibly since you were not sedated. Although I wouldn't rely on my Auristics for any sort of diagnosis, if you're worried about your health."

[Castor Riley]

This time, it was Castor's turn to take notes, dipping his quill in ink and supplementing them with this new information on Auristics. It was the first time he was getting a direct account from a practitioner and he was very intrigued by her experience. He knew each aurist's perception was unique, but he couldn't help noting down her explanation of the various states she identified auras as being in. Perhaps, if he gathered enough testimonials, he might make out a pattern? He recognized this as a pipe dream, as he knew that centuries of research had incontestably proven that quality of uniqueness that Auristics was known for. He chuckled at her warning not to rely on Auristics as a diagnostic tool. "It had nothing to do with my health," he offered, "it's just that... My aura is what contains all the information from my soul, even if you can't interpret it. So, by telling me what it looks like to you, I suppose you're also, on some level, describing how you perceive my deepest self. So I was just curious to hear what that's like." He laughed then "Though I can't say that I really understood what you were talking about. I suppose there is too much that can't be described. Like color to a blind person, I suppose."

[Tsaba]

Tsaba shrugged. "Possibly. My mentor was always very vague about what exactly was meant to be going on, so it's hard to know what's important." She didn't really know much about 'souls', but Tsaba knew how to tell a living person from a nonliving one based on certain missing aspects, so she had no reason not to believe Castor's reasoning. "Are there any books on personal accounts from different Aurists and their perceptions of auras?" she asked. "It would be interesting to see the variation in how the same thing is perceived by different people, and whether the nature of their perception is affected by anything concrete."

It would be interesting to talk to other medical professionals who used Auristics in their work. She knew that Craun wasn't the only one. Perhaps she should ask around the Zeltivan healers.

"I have wondered if one's own normal senses affect one's auristic perception. Whether people who have a strong sense of smell are more or less likely to perceive scents, for instance; or whether if somebody like myself, who rarely breathes, did perceive auras as scents, that ability would be negatively affected."

[Castor Riley]

His eyes widened when he heard her question. "I was literally just thinking the same exact thing!" he exclaimed. "I haven't come across a book like that in my research so far, but it very well may exist. The challenge would be finding it," he gestured widely, "in this. I do know that every introductory volume I've read claims the Auristic perception to be uniquely configured for every aurist." He nodded vigorously in response to her research idea "Yes! If the object is the same, then the information they receive must be the same, so any differences must indicate the differences between the natures of the aurists. We could, potentially, figure out how an aurist's perception relates to their personality! It would be an extremely interesting research project. I wonder if it would be feasible," he wondered, abstractly, aloud. He then turned his attention to her second question. "I couldn't really know for certain to be honest. But, from what I've understood about Auristics, it's not so much an extension of the senses, but rather a completely different one. A person that lacks one of the basic five from birth would probably be unlikely to have it expressed in those terms because, as we discussed, Auristic perception is always in the form that is easiest and most instinctual for the Aurist to interpret. A blind person wouldn't perceive sights auristically, for the sense is foreign to their mind. This however may only be true for people who are born lacking a sense. The effects that might be observed in someone like yourself, who has lost one later in life would be interesting to investigate. Though, I think this would be easiest and most intriguing to observe in someone who lost the sense they were most intimately familiar with. Perhaps an aurist artist, who lost his sight?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered all the ideas the Nuit had given him. This study session was turning out to be an extremely useful activity, and Castor hoped Tsaba was getting as much out of it as he was.

[Tsaba]

"I understand what you're saying about Auristics being its own sense," she said thoughtfully, "but I do know that I need to look at somebody to see their aura. If it is merely my mind interpreting another sense as sight, shouldn't I be able to see it even with my eyes closed?" Although, she was pretty sure there had been that one lab tech... "There was a man on Sahova who we used to say had 'eyes in the back of his head'; he could track auras he wasn't looking at," she added slowly. "And it never occurred to me to ask, but based on his language, I think he interpreted them visually. So it may simply be a matter of experience; an unconscious linking that switches off auristics when the sense it is interpreted as is no longer being used. If that is the case, then perhaps part of gaining mastery is simply trying to unlink those senses and treat them as the two separate senses that they are." She bit her lip; that sounded very difficult. But it also sounded like a brilliant research project. The only thing stopping her from experimenting with her own mental interpretations of auras by selectively eliminating her senses was a shortage of bodies, and that, like every circumstance related to human culture, was temporary. Perhaps, when she gained more mastery, it would be an interesting project.

"There must be Aurists about who have lost or damaged their senses since becoming Aurists," she said thoughfully, "if only from age. It would be interesting to see if the way they interpret auras changes. I mean, if one becomes deaf, freeing up hearing as 'sensory real estate' if you will, would one start interpreting auras as sound instead of crowding on top of a sense already being used?" She noted that down to investigate. "If that was the case I'd be expected to smell or taste auras I suppose, but it's possible that constantly adjusting to new bodies would affect that sort of adaptation, if it happens."

[Castor Riley]

Castor couldn't help but smile widely as he heard Tsaba talk; it had not been often he'd been able to find people as intellectually stimulating to talk to. From this short meeting with Tsaba, he was already gaining an understanding of some of the practical realities of using Auristics. There were some things that you simply couldn't read in books. He caught himself wondering more and more what it would be like to use Auristic perception to take in the world around him, a fact that troubled him. He had read what sort of results magic use could have on both the body and psyche, and he had long since resolved to never begin its practice. 'But Auristics is so safe, if you're careful. And you will be careful. Just imagine what you could learn,' a voice in his mind wheedled. He quickly brought his attention back to Tsaba. An idea had begun forming in his mind, so when she had finished talking he suddenly burst forth, exclaiming "Let's do it!" Belatedly realizing the potential double entendre and blushing a bit, he explained "We're both magic students this season. I think I might take a class on glyphing as well, but let's set up some sort of research project together. I think we've already seen that we really mesh intellectually. We have different perspectives, which allows us to develop ideas together that we may never have come up with on our own. What do you think?" Castor unconsciously held his breath as he awaited Tsaba's response.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba knew how she was going to answer immediately, but through long-ingrained habit, she paused to weigh up her options. A human contact who worked at the library would, of course, be excellent, and Castor had already shown himself to be a lot more knowledgeable about Auristics than she was. His interest in the subject meant that her practice of it could be of use to him, too. And the most important thing... she hadn't come here to learn skills so much as to learn about them, to learn how they were used and taught in human culture, and Castor seemed to not only know more about that than anybody else she'd met but be a perfect subject for study.

"I'm going to learn Glyphing as well," she said as an aside, mostly so that silence didn't stretch awkwardly while she thought. Then she added, "A research project on Auristics should work well for the both of us. It's the sort of thing I'm meant to be studying, after all, and our skills and insights do seem to be complementary. Although I do have one question. For somebody so interested in Ausirstics, why aren't you an Aurist? I was always assured that pretty much anybody could learn the art, with the right resources, and I find it unlikely that there is nobody at the university willing to teach you even if your book knowledge wasn't enough. Can you simply not practice magic for some reason?

[Castor Riley]

Castor saw that Tsaba had made that comment almost absently while she thought, so he remained silent as she arrived at a decision. He let go of his held breath, surprised to find it as such. He smiled widely when he heard her positive response, even though her question put him a bit on edge. His resolve was getting shaky and he didn't want to give in to his curiosity. "That would be great! We should brainstorm an appropriate subject. As for why I'm not an Aurist... as I said earlier, I'm a bit afraid that magic cracks open the door for terrible things to happen. Even Auristics, a magic that is described by all accounts as the "safe" discipline, has many possible side-effects; loss of senses, paranoia, delirium - any one of these could occur if one were to use it without caution. Still, I have to concede having a curiosity about the subject. I just... I don't know. I want to avoid magic, if I can, but I guess things happen in life that you can't foresee and right now I'm on the fence about Auristics at least." His thoughts strayed to his father's stroke at that point, but he stopped that train of thought before it could really begin. He clapped his hands together, once, shaking off his worries. "Right then! What do you think? Shall we get to working out some direction for our research?" Noticing the sky slowly progressing towards evening, he added "Or do you want to leave that for another day?" He realized, with some surprise, that they must have been talking for about a bell at least, maybe more. He stretched a bit, his mind buzzing with all the new information, but eager to sink its metaphorical teeth into this research project idea. He looked at Tsaba expectantly.

[Tsaba]

"You make an interesting point about Auristics," Tsaba said, "because logically, a Nuit has a lot more to lose in sheer years than a human by falling prey to the worst results of overgiving. And yet, a much higher proportion of Nuit seem happy to risk it." But then, a much higher proportion of Nuit also seemed to commit suicide, so maybe it wasn't just a numbers game. And of course, there were a lot more things that humans could spend their time and strength on. Humans had physical power that Nuit did not, and the options associated with that; Nuit had endless time, so mental skills were more of an advantage to them. Magic was about as practical a mental skill as you could get. (Her own experience didn't count; she'd been taught Auristics as a human, before she was old enough to say 'no' or understand the consequences. Now, they were simply a fact of life.)

But then, all the Nuit she knew lived in a giant magical research facility. So her sample might be a little biased.

Tsaba could have sat in the library all night, but the whole point of coming to Zeltiva was to study human educational culture, and humans needed food and rest. So she ignored the urge to push on and acquiesced to Castor's humanity. "We should probably pick this up another time," she agreed. "I for one have a lot to think about, and much reading to do. Perhaps we should reconvene in a few days or so?"

[Castor Riley]

Castor heard listened as Tsaba politely refused to continue their discussion. Perhaps she had tired? Thinking about it, he realized that he himself had begun to feel a bit drowsy. His backside was a bit sore from sitting in the same place for so long and the low rumblings of hunger were beginning in his stomach. He stretched his hands upwards and outwards, feeling the pleasure of all the muscles in his back stretching with them. "Yes, that seems wise, I suppose. There is a lot to think about." He yawned. "Anyway, it's only the very beginning of the season; we'll have plenty of time to work out the details." He began to gather his backpack, leaving his book of notes on Auristics on the table for Tsaba to take with her. A thought occured to him then: "Oh, Tsaba, where are you staying? I'm at the University's Student Living Quarters." He wondered if she'd opted in for the University's accommodation. He couldn't see why she wouldn't have.