Completed Time to Focus

[Tsaba]

64th Summer, 513AV Tsaba's brush danced across the parchment in long, sure strokes. She filled out the long vertical stroke and intersecting X that formed the 'spine' of her Focus, before outlining the other 'bones'. Finally, the fleshed it out with the peripherals. It wasn't a great Focus. Nobody would mistake Tsaba for anything more than an amateur. But Dr Marin had seemed convinced that her focus glyphs were serviceable (although they weren't scroll quality), and she would know better than anybody. And the truth was, Tsaba had never actually used a glyph. Perhaps actually feeling them in use would give her a better feel for their creation. So... how did one use a glyph? Tsaba pulled forward The Magic of Sigils, one of the glyphing texts she'd borrowed from the library, found the appropriate page, and started reading. The Focus is the most important glyph of the art. While it is recommended to work with complete scrolls when possible, a Focus is perfectly capable of being used alone, although it lacks the long-term stability of a properly structured scroll. A Focus, at its simplest, holds and reflects information. Any spell that is poured in can be drawn out. This makes it more suited to certain types of magic than others, as certain types of magic are more naturally inclined to direction than others. A reimancer or a voider may have an easier time than a shielder in attempting to store their magic inside a focus. That might be a problem. Auristics was... somewhat passive, or at least self-focused. Tsaba wasn't entirely certain how to direct her energy outside her body. She had watched Dr Marin do it, forcing her life force from a ragged spiritual wound. But Tsaba didn't have that kind of magic. The method of priming a focus differs between practitioners, and depends on the desired result. The simplest method is to simply direct a spell at the glyph. Magic can also be channeled through the glyph as it is performed, leaving a 'copy' of the spell within. Well, she might be able to work with that. Tsaba placed her palm on the glyph, pushing it against her rune site. She started chanting under her breath, focusing on the cadence of the syllables. "Dalat djas-pond. Radjudt Irst." Shen she pulled djed forward, into her head, and immediately down through her palm, into the glyph. The paper warmed, very slightly, under her hand. Tsaba kept pushing djed through for about half a chime; long enough for a test. Then she shut the Auristic sight off and pulled her hand away.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba took a brief break before attempting to use the glyph. Not because she needed it; she didn't tire physically, and any mental or magical drain would not be healed by merely sitting motionless. But glyphs were usually either used instantaneously or used to store a spell for some time, and with the second use, she didn't know if the magic needed time to.. well, settle. She used the time to give her body a quick check over. It was a new form, and free from rot or serious damage, but she was determined not to make the same mistakes she'd made with the first body she'd worn in Zeltiva. She rubbed salt into her skin, starting with her hands and moving up her arms then down her torso, paying particular attention to the crevices in her flesh, such as between her fingers. About half a Bell later, she sat back down to her magically imbued focus, and placed her palm on it. She world lurched in sudden, dizzying colour and movement. Had Tsaba tried such a trick when she'd first come to Zeltiva, she probably would have found herself curled up on the floor, trying to block out the sensations. But she was more experienced now. Instead, she focused sharply on a single aura -- the nice, neutral aura of a blank piece of parchment -- and let the rest of them fade away as she familiarised herself with the texture of the fibres of the parchment. The aura greyed out in about ten seconds, leaving the drawn glyph blurred, streaked and unusable on the page. So, time in hadn't meant equal time out. That was probably a function of her own weakness from the body transfer ritual; she wasn't yet back at full strength. It might be a bad idea to push herself. But glyphing itself took no magical exertion. So Tsaba took out a fresh parchment, and once again began to work.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba had a better idea what to expect, the second time. Activating a magically imbued focus seemed to be like being forced into a sitting position instead of sitting on one's own accord, and resisting, or not being prepared to direct it, just made the whole process more uncomfortable and less controllable. Once again, she brought forth her Auristic sight and channelled it through the glyph. This time, she didn't bother to wait; whether the lack of waiting made any difference was information in itself. She just needed to gain control. To focus. Tsaba was struck by sudden inspiration and, feeling rather silly, she curved her thumbs and forefingers into circles and held them to her eyes to imitate glasses. Then she touched one elbow to the rune. She wasn't sure that the physical position of her hands had any effect, but in the same manner as a chant, they provided mental direction. The chaos of unreadable auras was limited only to the 'lenses' of the 'glasses', and it was no trouble at all to pick one out. When she wanted to cut the vision, she simply lowered her hands. Tsaba smiled. Who said glyphing was hard?

[Tsaba]

Tsana wasn't foolish enough to overtax herself magically so soon after taking a new body. She wasn't at full strength yet, and it would prolong her recovery if she kept weakening herself by using magic. But she had accomplished what she meant to. And while she had a lot to learn, both in glyphing and in auristics, her ability to merge the two was an important early step. Tsaba carefully packed away her books and papers, separating the books into piles that she was still using, and those to return to the library. The former pile was rather larger than the latter. There was still a lot of work to do.

[Eldritch]

Tsaba :

Skills
Glyphing +2
Drawing +1
Embalming +1
Auristics +2

Lores
Glyphing: Can Channel magic through a Focus
Glyphing: Auristic "Glasses"

Notes :

Interesting read, I'm curious to see how exactly glyphing can be used to better augment Auristics.

If you have any comments/questions/concerns about your grade please PM me and we will work something out.

Keep on writing!