Closed Dawning the Apprentice Robes (Celeste)

[Mirage]

9th of Fall, 513 AV
Riyanna's Lab

The passing of Summer brought with it little or no change at all to the stoic island of Sahova. What few trees there were showed little signs of changing colors, and the atmosphere of the island did not change in the slightest. This was a world separate from time, apart from the every growing and changing world around it. Sahova, the rock that existed outside the influence of Tanroa, stubbornly clung to its old ways. Today, though, brought with it a change from the normal. Instead of heading straight to the Testing Grounds, Riyanna had stopped Celeste with a smile, motioning for her instead to take a seat wherever she pleased in the lab. Settling down in the middle of the floor before her apprentice the Wizard and Warden smiled, "I am very happy to say that your progress as an Initiate is going very well. I am very pleased with your growth, and if things continue as you are I think you will become one of the best Initiates I have ever had."

She shifted in her spot on the floor, finding a more comfortable position before raising a finger and continuing, "But Celeste dear, you are not just my Initiate. You are my apprentice as well, so unlike Brom and Tierra you will have to take on some extra responsibilities. Up until now we have focused on getting you prepared to face the dangers of the testing grounds, and now that I feel confident in your ability to do so it is time to turn our attention to another danger... The Citadel and its deadies."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them. Today she wore the robes of her office, simple dark brown with some traces of colors at the seams. On her right hand she wore the silver ring of her office, wrought into the shape of a snarling beast with the snout of a dog, the eyes of a hawk and scales instead of fur. Two ruby gems acted as the creatures eyes, and two curving horns wrapped around Riyanna's finger creating a second band. This was the symbol of a morpher, a beast that had no real identity, that was caught mid transformation. The Warden had adopted longer hair one more, which she seemed to always do when she was in the Citadel, which was tied back in a loose braid reaching to the middle of her back. It was a relatively normal dark blond color, thought streaks of light blue highlighted it in places. Her eyes had settled into a deep purple color, iris' normal while the ever present silver tears streaked down each cheek. For once her teeth were not filed sharp, but were perfectly straight and a bit off white in color. Finally she spoke, "The Citadel holds its own dangers which are far different than what the Testing Grounds have to offer. Hear you may not fear for your life quite as often, but you must be mindful of the words you speak and the actions you take. Deadies are really big on twisting words and turning your thoughts to suit their own purposes, so we must prepare you to deal with such things... Perhaps I will send you to someone in the future who can aid you in this."

She shrugged and stood, shedding her robes and looking back over her shoulder at Celeste. With a smile she asked simply, "Would you like to see what I do as a Wizard of Sahova? It's not quite as flashy as my duties as a Warden, but I think you will still enjoy it." She laughed with good humor.

[Celeste Arumen]

Celeste followed her example and sat cross-legged on the floor, fingers trailing absently through her untamed jungle of her hair. She’d actually taken a leaf from Riyanna’s book as of late, practicing her morphing by tampering with the color of her hair. It seemed the Island didn’t change much, which was sad. Celeste missed the way Alvadas would shift at the differing seasons. She missed the Watchtower’s flare. Thus in honor of her home, she consciously decided that every day, she’d shift her hair red and keep it that way for as long as she could manage. It was almost like training with weights strapped on. However, she was fairly certain she’d already overgiven. This morning, she awoke to it being the same shade she’d fallen asleep with. No matter how many times she tried to pull it back, it just wouldn’t go. Her hair had forgotten what color it was supposed to be and worst of all, she did too. So instead, she decided to act like it was just natural. Like she meant for it to be red all the time. But of course, Riyanna would know better. She always did. She listened with an eager smile, but kept quiet. They were learning politics today and her heart soared. This was the greatest mystery – she didn’t quite know how to act when thinking of Riyanna as a Wizard. The identities of Initiate and of Apprentice, of Warden and of Wizard were so closely linked that she wasn’t quite sure where the boundaries laid between the two. It was with excitement that she considered that she’d learn them and furthermore, that she’d learn them today. ”I understand,” she said. This she already knew. She did a lot of eavesdropping in dark places, like the Library or the Vestibule. Each and every Nuit on the Island acted like they owned the place. They were conniving, entitled, imperious and rude. Celeste endeavored to avoid eye contact with the whole lot of them, lest she be sent scrambling off to do something unimportant that might just cost her life. ”I would love to!” she exclaimed. ”Politics can be flashy, if you have a mind for them.” Had she revealed too much?

[Mirage]

Riyanna laughed, "Yes that can be true cutie, but unfortunately I do not have the head for it. Hard time holding my tongue you see." The Warden stuck out her tongue for emphasis, though with a slight shift of her djed she let it stretch to nearly a foot and fork at the end like a serpent for extra dramatic effect. With a wink she withdrew her tongue and walked to the desk, taking a brush and a large basin of ink of some kind. Dipping the brush she began to draw on her left arm, starting half way up her forearm.

"As a Warden my duties are to see to the upkeep of the Prairie, and to keep the dangerous creatures within it contained as you well know. As a Wizard, however, I am given a very different set of duties." She painted a circle around the entire middle of her forearm, and then began to trace lines up to her wrist. The lines were little more than squiggles, "My 'official' duties are to research new models with an emphasis on combat applications. So I make up new models that can be used in combat... or rather for War. Then I take these models and test them in the Prairie, I believe you saw one of my latest ones." She glanced at Celeste, smiling as she was referring to the model she used to defeat the last failbeast. She was now drawing a longer circle at her wrist connecting the four squiggly lines that traced from the circle at her forearm. She placed a dot at the center of her palm, and on the backside of her hand, tracing lines to the ends of each fingers and then linking the lines from her arm up to the points on her palm and back of her hand, "If the models work, then I then teach them to..." She paused, and shook her head. her smile was not quite as big as it was before, "Well that doesn't really matter. What matters is that now you can help me work on a new model. So what do you think," She put down the brush and showed her hand to Celeste, "What should I use as the base for this model if I want to create something that is quick to morph, yet really good at stabbing through thick skin?"

[Mirage]

Riyanna laughed, "Yes that can be true cutie, but unfortunately I do not have the head for it. Hard time holding my tongue you see." The Warden stuck out her tongue for emphasis, though with a slight shift of her djed she let it stretch to nearly a foot and fork at the end like a serpent for extra dramatic effect. With a wink she withdrew her tongue and walked to the desk, taking a brush and a large basin of ink of some kind. Dipping the brush she began to draw on her left arm, starting half way up her forearm.

"As a Warden my duties are to see to the upkeep of the Prairie, and to keep the dangerous creatures within it contained as you well know. As a Wizard, however, I am given a very different set of duties." She painted a circle around the entire middle of her forearm, and then began to trace lines up to her wrist. The lines were little more than squiggles, "My 'official' duties are to research new models with an emphasis on combat applications. So I make up new models that can be used in combat... or rather for War. Then I take these models and test them in the Prairie, I believe you saw one of my latest ones." She glanced at Celeste, smiling as she was referring to the model she used to defeat the last failbeast. She was now drawing a longer circle at her wrist connecting the four squiggly lines that traced from the circle at her forearm. She placed a dot at the center of her palm, and on the backside of her hand, tracing lines to the ends of each fingers and then linking the lines from her arm up to the points on her palm and back of her hand, "If the models work, then I then teach them to..." She paused, and shook her head. her smile was not quite as big as it was before, "Well that doesn't really matter. What matters is that now you can help me work on a new model. So what do you think," She put down the brush and showed her hand to Celeste, "What should I use as the base for this model if I want to create something that is quick to morph, yet really good at stabbing through thick skin?"

[Celeste Arumen]

At the sight of Riyanna’s long, forked tongue, Celeste couldn’t help but laugh. They got along perversely well, for Master and Apprentice. She wasn’t used to those in authority actually caring for her. But perhaps it was just as well. Living with Grams early on taught her a sense of discipline she might not have had otherwise. What surprised her more than say, the silly joke however, was the fact the woman started drawing on herself. ”Riyanna, what are you doing?” She blinked. Was there a purpose behind the seemingly meaningless scribbles? Ah. So that was how they applied ‘research’ to a discipline like morphing. Celeste had been curious, but she figured it’d be explained in time. Everything they did was to further the greatness of the island. ”Right,” she breathed, eyes intent on the squiggles. There seemed to be a pattern to them, though to what end she still couldn’t say. It had to be something that helped with her morphing, not that it made any sense. Riyanna didn’t need any help with her morphing. At least, that was what Celeste thought. ”Yes it does,” she replied suddenly, unable to stop herself. At least she had the good sense to look contrite. ”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insubordinate. It just seems like you don’t want to mention that Isur woman’s name - the one on the panel, missing the arm - and you won’t tell me just what you did or said to make her punish you.” Her brilliant, amber eyes were piercing. She’d put it all together remarkably quick. ”I just want to know what not to do. I want to make you proud of me.” There was a gleam of desperation in her eyes. ”Something that is quick to morph, but good at stabbing through thick skin…” That was a tricky question. There were very few things that come that quickly. ”What if you a set of tusks or sharp bones on your forearms, but instead of being bone they were made of something sharper… Like obsidian?” Obsidian was really the sharpest thing she could imagine. Grams had always said she longed for an obsidian knife for dicing reagents. ”Can you do that, I mean? Can you morph things onto yourself that don’t occur naturally on a human body?” Maybe that was too close to alchemy. Perhaps their djed just would stretch that way.

[Mirage]

Riyanna blinked, rubbing the back of her neck with a bit of embarrasement, and when she smiled it did not quite reach her eyes, "You see? I really am no good at the politics part of my job. It's always been a shortcoming of mine, though that does not mean that I am not without my tricks." She chuckled half heartedly. Her eyes wandered over her hand that held the scribbles, "Nemora Tepest... That is her name. The deadie who wore the isur skin. She's got a lot of political sway, and some time ago I did something she could never forgive." She shrugged, a distant look crossing her eyes. This Riyanna was different from the Warden who ran free in the Prairie. This Riyanna was not quite as certain, not so confident and the burdens of a life of regret weighed heavily upon her shoulders. There were two sides to this woman. the strong Master of the Prairie who commanded her form as easily as another person could breath, who could take on the most fantastic shapes and could handle life and death situations with apparent ease. Then there was the Wizard Riyanna. The woman who was, in her mind, a failure. Who held a life of regrets, who made mistakes she could not undo, though some of these mistakes had nothing to do with her situation on the island at all.

Riyanna's free hand unconciously traced the largest scar on her chest, lingering at the edges of the most bitter of memories as she spoke, "When I came to Sahova I was wild, distraught, crazed and desperate. Someone took advantage of that, and did many things that I can never forget. I repayed him for his sins 10 fold, but as it turns out he had friends in high places. Ever since then I have been locked in place unable to move forward, but soon... soon that wont be the case." Something dark flickered across her expression. A hint, a memory of that woman she had been. Wild, like a beast, bloodlust and hatred overflowing. But in an instant it was gone.

A smile blossomed over Riyanna's lips as her good cheer returned once more, her eyes looking to Celeste as she laughed, "But enough of that, you were curious about the drawings? Well it's nothing fancy really. I use a special kind of ink as a way of keeping track of each and every change I make. You see I have to be really detailed whenever I try and teach these techniques to someone else, and by giving them something visual to rely on they can learn the technique much more quickly. Here let me show you."

She looked to her hand, and her wrist twisted a full 180 degrees. Her fingers wound around themselves, like thin robes as they stretched up and up. As she did this a layer of bone began to form over her flesh, but as she did this the lines still remained. You could clearly see the direction that the twisting had occurred and how the physical djed was manipulated to give the desired shape. The ink seemed to carry over no matter what shape or form the flesh took, clearly a product of magical production. Where her hand had been a long and thin thorn of bone remained, the black lines tracing a path to its original shape.

Riyanna nodded to Celeste, "You see? With these marks I can keep accurate records of exactly what I did to make each and every model. The more detailed my records are the more easily someone else can copy my techniques." Her hand then shifted back to normal, and the drawings still remained in place. The Wizard wiggled her fingers and winked at Celeste, "I can also keep track and make sure I end up with the same number of limbs as I had when I first started. It might seem silly, but the more and more you do this the harder it gets to keep it all straight." She leaned her butt against her desk. holding her left arm with her right, examining the markings as she continued, "Remember Celeste dear that I am ALWAYS proud of you. Do not ever forget that no matter what happens. Oh and remember that while Morphing is a very versitile magic, it can only morph things that are someone connected with a living creature. So we can grow extra limbs, put bony plates on our backs, and even grow extra hair, but we cannot become anything that is not organic in some way." She smiled slowly, tracing a line down one of the silver tears that marked her cheek, "If you try, you will end up with something a lot worse than a bit of facial decorations I assure you."

[Celeste Arumen]

She quietly absorbed each new revelation, even as each came with a price. Riyanna seemed suddenly frail, as if crushed by the weight of her past regret, made small and feeble. And to her sudden wildness, sudden anger, a similar feeling bloomed in reply. Celeste would not ask what her Master planned to do. Perhaps that was why Riyanna took her as an apprentice in the first place. Whatever it was, it would end in bloodshed or worse. No matter what, she stood behind her. Riyanna was justified. But then they moved on to more scholarly things. Which was almost a relief, considering the sudden shift in the Warden’s demeanor. ”I see,” she said, gaining sudden insight into the complexity of Riyanna’s shifts. So in order to take her skill to the next level, she’d need to learn the woman’s technique. Now that was something she’d been waiting for. Perhaps she should’ve known there was a trick to it. ”You make these things look so easy,” she murmured admiringly. ”Oh.” Celeste could only envision the worst. She visibly cringed, ever-so-slightly. ”I’m glad I asked,” she said. But then another, wholly different flood of questions finally made their way to the front of her brain. ”So, how is the ink you use special?” That was the foremost inquiry. There were others there, waiting to follow in the event it was something akin to glypher’s ink. Did it wash off? Should she write out some diagram to accompany the lines or was it an art should could learn just by sight? And then of course, there were the questions she refused to ask. Who was this person that harmed her and what exactly did they do? What did she do in retribution that was considered so heinous? And finally, who was this Nemora Tepest and why exactly was she so important? What office did she hold? But out of respect and further, wisdom, she held her tongue. In due time, these things would be revealed. For better or worse, she thought with a sickening twist. But luckily, she had a decent poke face; Celeste just smiled, albeit weakly. ”I can’t wait to try it,” she said at last.

[Mirage]

Taking up the brush and ink Riyanna sat on the floor across from Celeste, crossing her legs and setting the basin and the brush before her apprentice. She waved for Celeste to go ahead and have a look. The brush was just a normal brush, and the ink, for all intensive purposes, was simply ink. With a smile she asked, "Have you figured it out yet? Go on, draw a park on your hand and change the color of that spot and see what happens."

Riyanna would wait patiently for Celeste to try her little experiment, and what she would find is that wherever she marked her skin, if she manipulated the djed the ink would vanish. A coy smile pulled at the Warden's lips and she asked, showing Celeste her own hand as she shifted it to different colors, from bright blues to dark oranges, but no matter the color the marks were still visible. With a wink she explained, "This ink only works for me, because one of the main ingredients is my own blood. I cannot tell you exactly how its made because I had to have it specially crafted for me, at a steep price." She almost seemed to wince as she thought of the amount of Mizas put into this creation, but with a shake of her head she banished those depressing thoughts with a smile, "Because it is made with my blood it uses my own djed in some way that makes it visible on my skin until I use another special mixture to remove it. It attaches directly to my djed, freezing it in place so while I can still bend and stretch it, it will not disappear no matter what I do. Its amazingly useful for my work that is for sure!"

Wiggling her marked fingers once more she pointed at Celeste, "We will have to get you your own as well. As my apprentice you will have to learn my arts as well as I know them, and then you will need to branch out and make your own style. I will help you along the way, and before you know it you will be my equal in ability and rank, a fellow Wizard like me." She smiled and laughed, "Though sadly we will not be fellow Wardens together, since for you to take that title I have to die first and I have no intention of dying just yet." She stuck out her tongue playfully, keeping the mood light and cheery and opening the floor for any questions Celeste might have.

[Celeste Arumen]

With as much grace as she could manage, the girl leaned over to retrieve the brush. She dipped it just a tad before smearing a tiny dot on her skin. It looked and acted like regular ink, though something about the smell was slightly different, not that she could say how. But much to her irritation, she reached inward toward the djed of her hand and as soon as the scales even appeared, the aforementioned dot vanished. Of course, not one to be defeated, she took the brush and tried again, this time shifting her skin to a repellent shade of orange. Again, the dot vanished. Riyanna would certainly see her mounting frustration. Celeste had already been fighting with her hair, earlier that day. Nothing seemed to want to work for her anymore. ”I admit defeat,” she said finally. The explanation that came next however, came as shock. No wonder it smelled the way it did! Celeste wrinkled her nose in slight distaste. But perhaps she could philter her own batch? ”Morpher’s Ink,” she said, a play on the similarly termed Glypher’s Ink. ”I could always make it for you,” she began with a sly smile. ”At a lesser price, that is.” It was almost a crime, to think she’d charge Riyanna. But there was still a great deal of Alvadas in Celeste. It would never really go away. It seemed Riyanna was ready to propel her into the true ranks of Sahova and strangely, she was too. Celeste had been quietly preparing herself, driving herself further each and every day. There was an unspoken relief, too, at what she had said. Riyanna had no intention of dying and she was certainly no fool. Whatever she planned to do, she didn’t intend for it to end with her death. But, perhaps it was just something she said to throw Celeste off the scent. There were just too many variables to truly be sure. ”Let’s get to work,” she said, already done with the interrogation. She was ready to sink her teeth into whatever the woman threw her way.

[Mirage]

Riyanna smiled big and slid over beside Celeste, wrapping her arm around the girls shoulders and squeezing, "Don't tease your master cutie! I would gladly let you make it for me, but I am afraid it's not that simple. It is a product of very advanced philtering and alchemy, and if its not done just right it can make your djed do crazy things." She tapped the silver lines that ran down her cheeks, "These are not exactly from overgiving alone. Its the result of a very early version of this very ink. My djed is permanently this color, and it follows me in every morph. I've not yet been able to reverse the effects, but the look has grown on me so I've not tried that hard." she winked.

Seeing Celeste had not further questions Riyanna raised her scribbled on hand once more, eyeing it with interest, "Well then today you can help me then. I have been charged to create a new full body model that can be used for covert movements, yet allow for sudden strikes based around surprised attacks if the need ever arises. Why don't you tell me how YOU would design such a model?" She turned to look at Celeste expectantly. Up until now they had worked with practical applications of existing models. Creating new models based on specific parameters, as Celeste would soon find, is quite different.