Solo [Pitrius Citadel]Glyphing

[Daekos Volundur]

1st of Summer, 428 AV


He wanted to surprise his mother, who would be teaching him the basics of glyphing. This idea was perhaps slightly irrational, and he had no idea where he had gotten it from. But still, it remained there, irremovable.

I could try using Reimancy - no, she's seen it so often from Father that she won't really be impressed. Learn Glyphing? No, she's going to teach me anyway. So then...

Daekos glanced through the titles of the books in his small family library, flitting from Fictitious Tales of a Fake Mage[i] to [i]Seven Steps from Dira's Embrace to-

Excellent! Auristics!

He gingerly took down the tome titled Five aspects of the Auras from the bookshelf, which was slightly higher than him. Carefully grasping it with his left hand (for it was fragile with age), he placed it on a nearby table and began eagerly flicking through it, concentrating on the chapters containing the basics that seemed to make up half of it.

No one way to begin seeing auras... Focus is of essence to reading auras... Djed is consumed as one focuses on an object, attempting to decipher its secrets via reading its aura...


He made himself comfortable on one of the exquisively-carved wooden chairs, closing his eyes as he concentrated on slowing his rate of breathing.

A simple meditative technique should help me. At least that's what the book says. In... Out... In... Out...

He channeled Djed to the area around his eyes, but not emitting it as Res. It was a slightly curious feeling, making the Djed much denser in preparation for having it be consumed as he viewed the auras of objects around him.

A bell passed even as he attempted to view auras in varying ways. He opened his eyes five chimes afterwards.

Still nothing.

It's still not working.

(TBA)

Daekos was waiting outside the grounds of the Silver Tower, waiting for his mother to begin his very first lesson in glyphing, for it was, as he was repeatedly told every time he expressed even the slightest distaste or disdain for glyphing, an essential skill every mage should know.

After waiting for roughly two bells (in which the Isur occupied himself by observing the curious plants growing in the grounds, but did not move into the grounds proper), the Volundur matriach walked into sight, dispelling the ennui Daekos was beginning to feel, for having not been an Isur for very long, he had not grasped the full value of patience yet.

"Daekos, we shall be looking at something interesting about Glyphing. You won't be able to enter the Silver Tower unless you are accepted as an Initiate, though. Shall we take a walk?"

She had to suppress a smile as she viewed the exasperated expression forming rapidly on her son's face.

"Are we not... discussing glyphing today? Have you already forgotten what we were going to do?"

"Yes, we are. Come along, young Pitrius. A short walk to see the glyphs, and then we shall begin on glyphing proper."

Muttering several insults and complaints under his breath (for which Daekos' ever-observant mother swatted him on the head), Daekos followed her towards the Silver Tower. It was only a few steps before they stopped. Glenil directed her son's attention to the floating shards that marked the boundaries of the land the Silver Tower was on.

"Look at these shards, and tell me what you think of them."

Wary of moving too close to the shards, Daekos moved as close as he dared, and started observing a small silver shard that had symbols inscribed into every inch of it.

"Symbols everywhere... All glowing, some shifting. I see sigils and glyphs."

Daekos closed his eyes and drew on his Djed, slowly manipulating it to move towards his eyes. Once he felt he had concentrated enough Djed there, he opened them and was greeted immediately with an aura that covered the entirety of the shard.

"Amazing..." Daekos spoke out loud, watching with fascination the twitches in the aura as people went in and out of the grounds of the Silver Tower.

"It is truly a marvel of magic. I cannot see much now, but the aura emanates majesty and power. Just watching the aura and the symbols move is making me feel giddy. Just a bit more, just a bit more..."

The aura is iridescent. I can't tell much else about it... Wait. Yes, it is definitely reacting to the entrances and exits of the others. Every time someone crosses the boundaries, it flickers ever so slightly. Dare I go on a little further? Yes, it should be safe. The longer I sense its aura, the more I get the feeling something else is coming. Just a little more...

Blinking rapidly, Daekos ceased to view the shard with Auristics. His eyes had suddenly became dry, even though they were only viewing the shard for roughly a chime. Assuming that this was due to his relative inexperience with Auristics, he abandoned any further attempts to analyse the shard and turned to his mother.

"You've already learnt Auristics? Why, Daekos, that's quite impressive! Your father would be proud of you, learning something like that at your age."

She continued smiling for a few moments, giving a tight hug to her son, before she withdrew from him, continuing her lesson.

"Indeed, you now see but one use for Glyphing. It is said that all the sigils on every shard around the Silver Tower prevent all but the Sentinels and those that has permission to enter from entering the grounds. Do not try to analyse it more: many far more experienced than you have done so and cannot comprehend even a single glyph."


_________________________________________________________________

Once both back in their home, Glenil began her lecture in an area her husband had set aside for teaching their children.

"You have seen what Glyphing can accomplish. The gates of the Silver Tower - more than just decorative doors, for they protect, and serve other purposes. The shards that surround the grounds are but another example of Glyphing of the highest order. You yourself have seen the aesthetic brilliance of the sigils, but it is more than that. Such beauty can only be found when the sigils are perfectly drawn, when they are perfectly efficient and when masters create them. More so when multiple magics are combined, are weaved together perfectly in a gossamer tapestry."

Her face glowing with enthusiasm for a field of study she was passionate for, Glenil continued, albeit in a lower and darker tone.

"Yet Glyphing is nothing without the other magics. Glyphing enhances existing magics and creates complex purposes for other magics to fulfill. By itself, glyphing is naught but pretty symbols carved, inscribed or written. I could spend months slaving over a masterpiece, a system of sigils that would be of immense use to any Isur, but without any magic, it would be useless.

Glyphing by itself might not do anything, but it can push the boundaries of other disciplines. You will be attempting to do so with your Reimancy much later on, but I would suggest not trying anything complicated - you will regret it.

Your glyphs will have to be perfect. There is a glyph for every function - whether to act as a Trigger, as a Focus - and their designs are different for every practitioner. I will be describing five basic glyphs and their functions, and you will have to practice them over and over again until you know them by heart and can draw them precisely and accurately."

Glenil picked up a piece of chalk from a small container, and proceeded to write five words in Isur on the polished wall of black stone, which her husband often used for drawing diagrams in the course of his experiments.


Focus

Trigger

Barrier

Path

Switch


"A Focus is a glyph that stores magic. Djed, a wave of water made using Reimancy, and anything else like that. A Trigger is a glyph, or glyphs, specifying the criteria or criterion for the sigil to be activated. A barrier consists of several glyphs, whose function is to prevent the magic stored within the focus. Remember, always ensure that the barrier is drawn correctly before storing anything inside the Focus, unless you wish to undergo an unpleasant experience. A path is a channel for magic to pass through - usually, it connects two or more barriers. Only benign or non-harmful magic can be transferred this way - a fireball, for example, would only be able to pass through a path if a master Glypher was creating it. Last, a switch is a glyph meant to split magic or merge different magical effects with each other. Consider a fireball again. If I wished to do so, I could split it into two smaller fireballs. Again, I could split the fireball into its heat and light components. One to burn, the other to dazzle someone's eyes with.

I want you to create your own glyphs for the Trigger, Focus and Barrier. Remember, they are your glyphs. They will have to hold meaning for you, and that will make the sigil work. Do not expose any of the glyphs to magic, and draw them seperately. You have as much time as you want to do so. Carry on, I have to attend to your sister again."

With a sigh, she departed the room, heading towards the source of the screaming (which, incidentally, contained several insults in Isur).

[Daekos Volundur]

The Focus first. What would I imagine a Focus to be?

Daekos stared blankly at the blank piece of paper in front of him, quill carefully held with his left hand, having been just dipped into a bottle of ink.

Mother said that the Focus was a storage glyph for magic. So what symbol do I think represents storage? A cupboard? A cup? A bottle? All too common, perhaps, and anyone could think of them.

Idly drawing sketches of each item he thought of on the paper, Daekos crossed them out one by one almost immediately after he drew them.

Let's focus on the name itself then. Focus indicates a concentration of magical power - I think I'm onto something. So we have... Ah. The circumpunct. Best to keep things simple for now - any sigils I draw later on will be simpler to create if I use simple symbols.

Sticking out his tongue slightly, the budding mage carefully drew a small circle near the upper left corner of the paper, adding a small dot of ink after completing it.



It looks fine now. Onto the trigger. I would suppose a trigger to be similar to something like specifying the need for water to be added to lava - the presence of water is the condition to form steam. The lava's just there, just like the Focus. Well, not exactly like it. But if I fulfill the conditions for my intended action - the magical effect, or, in this case, the production of steam - will be produced. So it would have to be in a language then. Perhaps our language will do. But I might just modify it here and there - my idea of what something is might be different from other Isur, so I would change it to reflect. From what Father says, our language evolves over time. So my version of Isur would change too - but isn't magic all about intent?

Daekos sketched a few Isur runes, each with their own unique meaning, and then drew his own version beside them, adding a curve there, removing a dot or two.

That's the Trigger done. This will have to do. Now for the Barrier. Well, that should be relatively simple. I'll just draw the runes for Imprison and Prevention around the focus. Repeat them a few times, and all's well.

He marked off a section with a few lines drawn with his quill, and drew his chosen barrier within it.

A few minutes later, Glenil walked into the classroom and picked up the sheet of paper, perusing it with a critical eye. Not showing any expression as to whether she was pleased or displeased with his work.

"Good enough. I see you haven't made the mistake of choosing an extremely elaborate symbol for any glyphs - it would take forever for you to finish even one sigil. Now then. A simple application of the Focus glyph. Draw one on your palm with it, and channel Res through your palm once the ink has dried."

Daekos did so, and was shocked to witness the Res flowing out faster than he had done so before.

By Izurdin! Glyphing is indeed useful.

He marvelled at how the flow of Res felt slightly smoother and more responsive to his will. Granted, it was not that much of an increase, but relatively speaking, considering his current proficiency in Reimancy, it was rather significant.

Ceasing the flow, allowing the Res to dissipate, Daekos sat still, his mind running through several scenarios in which this would be useful.

Glenil smiled at the look of wonder on her son's face, and placed an arm around him.

"Time for dinner, Daekos."

[Harrier]

Auric's spoken to you already!

x

(c) Phoenix