[The Bronze Wood] Foundations of Shielding Pt. 2

by **Aoren** on October 20th, 2013, 6:20 pm

5th of Autumn, 513 AV
9th Bell

Shielding was not coming easy for Aoren.

Despite his success several days prior at the conclusion of his outing into the Bronze Woods he was still having a great deal of difficulty wrapping his head around the principles of Shielding. It was an orderly magic. He was used to the more free spirited magic of Reimancy. Whereas the elements mandated a loose form of discipline in which one reacted rather than planned accordingly, Shielding required a firm idea in mind. It was maddeningly frustrating. He had been doing a lot more reading on the discipline. He had to. It was the only way he could glean some semblance of understanding in regards to the magic. At the moment though he was sitting in his preferred clearing.

The environment helped to calm him down. He could clear his head in the peaceful serenity of this clearing. While Syliras was a safe place to live it didn’t offer much in the way of privacy or solitude. He was a naturally solitary individual who only associated with the people he felt the need to. That was slowly changing over time but he still felt the strong urge to venture out into the wilderness so that he could find some peace and quiet. Currently he was staring at the book he’d purchased at the beginning of the season trying to pull out of its pages the key to making his journey of becoming a Shielder somewhat easier.

“In terms of danger, because this form of magic is so passive rather than active or aggressive, it is very difficult to overgive when using this discipline. The shielder simply runs out of the ability to finish the weave of a shield as they run out of djed to use to power up their shields. And unless djed strikes and is absorbed in their shield, which then becomes ‘free djed’ to weave into additional space, they simply can’t continue shielding or spread their shields out over greater areas.”

Well that’s reassuring.

Aoren felt a little bit safer knowing that. While he didn’t scoff at the idea of overgiving in any form no matter how mild it was nice to know that the discipline he was practicing would drive him insane any time soon. Sighing he marked his place in his book then picked up a rock he’d found on his way to the clearing. Rolling it between his fingers for a few moments he studied the shape of it. He felt its edges, the indents in its surface, the curvature of its overall shape. Taking a deep breath he brought the rock closer to his face then slowly exhaled over the rock. Strands of Djed began to flow out of his mouth as his breath washed over the surface of the rock. Aoren caught those strands with his free hand then began to weave them around the rock.

Block Djed.

He focused on the intent of his rudimentary Shield. There was very little he could do with Shields. He knew that much. At his level of proficiency he would be lucky if he could block a few natural senses such as sight or sound. So he stuck to what he was certain he could block with his Shields, Djed. Namely, the Djed of his Reimancy. Aoren furrowed his brow. Already weaving the Shield around the rock was proving difficult. Strands of the Djed he’d conjured to put in place over the small stone were breaking. There were parts that were not meshing together very well. He could see holes forming over the rock where he pressed, tugged, pulled and edged along the shape of the stone with his fingers. He took another deep breath and breathed over the rock once more catching the Djed that exuded from his mouth using it to add to the Shield he was forming. It was slow work.

by **Aoren** on October 20th, 2013, 6:24 pm

Block Djed.

Frowning at a wide hole that was continuing to grow he pulled some of the Djed of his Shield closer to the edge of the uncovered area. It resisted his tug. Aoren glared at the stubborn edge of the Shield that was not cooperating with his urgings. He narrowed his eyes and focused more intently on the purpose of his Shield.

Block Djed.

The Shield flared briefly and Aoren’s expression relaxed into one of hopeful progress. Then…the Shield collapsed.

“Oh for petch’s sake!” Aoren dropped the rock on the ground throwing his hands up in frustration. He groaned in exasperation rubbing his face. He felt a little tired after trying to weave such a pathetic Shield but he was far from done. He was absolutely determined to construct a proper Shield that could at least sustain itself for more than a few seconds. Opening his book back up he furiously flipped through the pages until he reached the section he’d read last. Scanning the writing he stopped when he reached the next section of instruction.

“Shields, when they are cast, are ‘tasked’ with a purpose. Every shield ever cast is tasked with the purpose of blocking or absorbing djed. Shielders learn this art form first and foremost. Then, later, shielders will learn how to weave shields that can block senses such as sight, smell, or sound. When a shield blocks a sense, there is no ‘invisibility’ to that sense. So a shield that blocks sight will not make an object appear to ‘disappear’ or be ‘invisible’. Instead will simply tend to be black and lack complete detail. Shielded windows and doors that block visibility appear black for example. Sound blocking shields creates a field of noticeable silence that will feel unnatural in its immediate vicinity. The same holds true of other sense blocking shields. They create an utterly artificial scenario that feels unnatural to those in close proximity.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t help me actually construct the Shield.” Aoren mumbled to himself. He flipped the page continuing to read more on the subject of Shielding.

“Shielders create shields in a variety of ways. Some extrude djed that they then weave into a sort of magical fabric that covers their own bodies, doorways, or even other objects. Some Shielders cast shields by painting on djed like a master painter would, creating layer after layer until the shield is the size and consistency they desire. Others form shields as one would manipulate a gas like breath, breathing out the djed and forcing it to surround an object like a fog or dense cloud. Regardless of how the shield is formed, the casting time varies wildly depending on level, size, shape, and purpose (often called ‘task’). Some mages are faster than others, taking a great deal of time to do the smallest most meticulous shield while others throw up wildly erratic shields of varying thickness and density."

Now we're getting somewhere!

by **Aoren** on October 20th, 2013, 6:25 pm

"The shield is definitely a product of the time put into it. A hurried shield will have variation in size, thickness, and consistency. It may even have gaps in tasking should the shield be charged to do something other than absorb or deflect djed. Carefully constructed shields cast by talented well trained shielders will have identical size, thickness, and consistency all throughout its structure.”

“Ah ha!” Aoren prodded the page he was reading in excitement. He had finally found something useful. After reading through the material a few times he opted to attempt a different approach. Instead of stitching together a Shield like he had previously been doing he would try to “drawing” it on the rock. He silently prayed to Avalis, his patron goddess, that this avenue proved more successful than before. Reaching into his nearby pack he dug around until he found precisely what he was looking for. His quill pen. Holding it up he chewed on his bottom lip for a moment reflecting on the probably success of his plan.

It’s worth a try.

Closing his book he picked up the rock then placed it on the cover. He glared at the stone for a moment before taking a deep breath to ease the tension in his body. Aoren shifted his legs briefly to prevent them from falling asleep then focused. He held up the palm of his left hand with his quill pen poised over it in his right. Little by little he could see his Djed begin to form in the center of his palm. He placed the tip of the quill pen in it willing the Djed to act something like an ink ready to be spread over the surface of the rock’s metaphorical paper. He then brought the quill pen down to the surface of the rock.

Here goes nothing.

He wrote. In a sense. The Djed flowed easier. He still met resistance. This was far from a perfect method. It was a start though. Over and over he wrote.

Block Djed.

The magical Shield words being scrawled over the surface of the rock began to bleed together. His symbolic ink running to form a blanket of varying hues of blue, the typical color of Aoren’s magic, until little by little the surface of the rock was being covered. Aoren was filled with excitement. His forehead was beginning to bead with sweat. There was a stiffness beginning to form in his shoulders from the tension of conjuring a magic he was so unfamiliar with but he refused to stop. He was close to succeeding. So he continued to write.

by **Aoren** on October 20th, 2013, 6:27 pm

Block Djed.

He turned the rock over continuing to spread the Djed Ink over the surface not covered by his Shield. His wrist was beginning to cramp but he didn’t have much further to go until the edges of the Shield all came together. Finally, when the Shield was completely woven together Aoren set down his quill pen on top of the book. He exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. His heartbeat was elevated. He was breathing more shallowly. His shoulders hurt and there was an uncomfortable tightness in his abdomen but he had done it.

The rock shimmered with his completed work.

“Now let’s see how you do against opposing Djed.” Aoren didn’t expect the Shield to actually be successful against blocking the Djed of his other discipline, Reimancy but he could at least be satisfied that the miniature Shield hadn’t collapsed onto itself. He picked up the rock as he rose to his feet. He groaned as the stiffness in his shoulders caused him to wince. He jolted as he tried to stand up straight. It felt like he had a stomach ache. That ache was accompanied by slight nausea. He knelt picking up his quarterstaff deciding it would be a good idea to use it as a support method. He stood a little straighter with its added support.

Walking a small distance away from where his gear was strew about he dropped the rock into the grass, the Shield still shimmering brightly to his eyes. Aoren gripped his staff tightly spread his feet slightly shoulder width apart then filled his lungs with air. He called upon the essence of breath. The gaseous Res quickly billowing out of his mouth and nostrils before, with a flick of his thoughts he transmuted it into a gust of wind. The gust rushed forth in front of him blanketing the grass then hitting the rock. Aoren watched the Shield flare with determined intensity before shattering completely. As it shattered Aoren winced then felt as if a small weight was lifted from his stomach.

A warning that my Shield was broken, perhaps?

He hadn’t read anything about a Shielder’s awareness of their own Shields. He would have to look into the matter in more detail. For now though he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, you did it Aoren. You successfully constructed a functioning Shield.” Sighing he ran a hand through his hair. It was longer than he normally kept it. He would need a haircut soon but that was something for another day. Rubbing his face he went back to his things putting them into his pack before hefting it over his shoulder. He’d done what he’d set out to do that day. He would come back soon to continue practicing.

“Practice makes perfect. Off we go then.” Adjusting his pack he set out in the direction of Syliras. It had been a productive morning. One he could be proud of.

by **Radiant** on October 21st, 2013, 3:47 am

Aoren :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+1 XP
Reading	+2 XP
Shielding	+3 XP
Reimancy	+1 XP

Completed [The Bronze Wood] Foundations of Shielding Pt. 2