[Guido, Self-Training] Glyphing About

[Guido Faragas]

Timestamp: 15th Day of Summer, 510AV
Location: Silven’s home
Thread Type: self-training – glyphs reimancy

The room was bare save a small, hard chair and table. It was illuminated by an oil lamp that cast a shadowy light across the surface of the desk, revealing a pile of parchments, an ink well and several writing implements. The apprentice reimancer sat at the desk diligently scribing his glyphs.

It had taken Guido some time to persuade the old crone who acted as housekeeper to allow him to use his room in Silven’s house, His master had gone: off on some unannounced journey. A sudden departure, leaving no message or short note for his apprentice. Even the old woman simply shrugged her shoulders. It was how the irascible old man behaved – vanishing without warning. Yet, he sensed that even Aran, for that was her name, was a little troubled at the length of this absence. She perhaps feared that something had happened to her master but she still kept working, cleaning the house, expelling the dust that gathered over unused tools and utensils.

Laying down his quill, the tall reimancer stretched his arms and flexed his fingers one by one. He knew the importance of practicing the glyphs, however boring in might be. Yet he also knew that he needed to further practice the use of the various types of glyphs. He had practiced inscribing the symbols on his hands with his master but never alone. Today, he must experiment further – try a new application of the glyphs with which he was familiar. Dangerous without his master but necessary – essential- if his skills were to be improved, for he could not afford to employ another to train him.

But first... more writing. He picked up his quill, dipped in carefully in the ink ensuring that the correct quantity of the liquid attached itself to the implement. Grabbing a new sheet of parchment, he began writing.

[Guido Faragas]

Asch, Tak, Lagu, Birith, Suhil and Khon. The six glyphs that Silven had forced him to write time and time again. He had complained loudly, yet now he was writing them voluntarily without his mentor’s presence. The old man had taught him discipline and patience in abundance. Now, he knew why. Without such disciple the apprentice would surely have faltered in his studies. He felt the old man’s presence in the room, watching and berating him, then encouraging his pupil with his habitual sarcasm. A small tear dropped from the corner of one eye. Silven, you old bastard, where are you?

He returned to writing his glyphs. Asch – the quick upward stroke, followed by two lines sloping down from the apex and middle of the first line. Tak – the arrowhead glyph – he made another quick upward stroke with his quill and topped the line with a cap. Lagu –similar to Tak but with only half of the arrowhead to cap the line. He moved on to Birith, which has master had noted was a barrier glyph and then Suhil, the focus glyph. This glyph came without force, as if the quill wrote the glyph itself. It was the one glyph he had used to cast spells. Perhaps that is it! To complete my knowledge, I need to use these glyphs. I can feel that I no longer need to practice Suhil – it is embedded within me now I have used it. The thought struck with clarity. He must use the other glyphs. Yet how?

If Birith was a barrier glyph and Suhil a focus glyph, then he simply needed a trigger glyph to complete a simple sigil. Khon, he knew instinctively was a form of trigger glyph. I’m beginning to think like a reimancer. But how did it work? There were various forms of trigger glyphs – he must find the meaning of Khan. My master’s library? I know a little of the ancient tongue and perhaps I can find a book in common.

He put down the quill and walked to the door with a determined look on his face.

[Guido Faragas]

Silven’s small library was located in a room adjacent to his main laboratory. The room contained several books, a few dusty scrolls and numerous pieces of parchment. There were two books sitting on the arms of a comfortable chair that the old wizard used for reading. The first was a small, dark leather book that was sealed with a locked tab. There was no sign of a key and the apprentice was not about to deface the book. The second book was more promising – opening it revealed that it was a note book containing various scribblings of the old man. Flipping through it, the reimancer found a page with a few jottings that the mage had clearly made for the instruction of his apprentice. The six glyphs were inscribed down one side of the page – down the other side there was nothing written beside Asch, Tak and Lagu but alongside the other three glyphs, Silven had inscribed their meaning – focus for Suhil, barrier for Birith and vocal trigger for Khan. Vocal trigger – it is a glyph that can be activated by a word or phrase!

He replaced the book, reluctant to invade his master’s privacy further. Entering the main laboratory he picked up a small piece of charcoal. He cast his eyes around the room and they came to rest on a small piece of wood on which his master sometimes rested his mug of ale. With a grin, he picked up the wood and entered the almost bare practice room; the burning marks from his first attempt at a fire spell still adorned one wall. He sat at a small chair which stood before a battered old table in one corner of the room, placing the wood on the table. It was a disc of hard wood carved from what appeared to be the large branch of an old tree.

In the centre of the glyph he carefully inscribed the Suhil glyph: the upward movement and hook formed by the sweep to the left and right came in one easy movement. He immediately felt the power contained in the glyph – it was a focus for magic, within which he could store his magic – yet he needed the barrier or the magic would only be contained by his will for a short time. Around the focus, he drew a series of small Birith glyphs to form a circular barrier. Each one he constructed with care and precision – taking time over every stroke with the charcoal, ensuring that the circle was complete. He struggled a little with this, for he had normally written the glyphs on a straight line – the pupil doing the teacher’s bidding. Still, his practice paid off once more and he created the barrier.

His brow was dripping with sweat and he mopped it with a sleeve of his white, linen shirt. He was now moving into more unfamiliar territory. He had to fill the focus glyph and finalise the sigil with the trigger. But which came first, the trigger or the storing? Well the barrier should contain the magic if it was formed correctly, so surely it wasn’t necessary to write the trigger glyph first. On the other hand, did the sigil need to have all three elements complete before it would work effectively? He shrugged: he didn’t know. On no more than instinct, he decided to first fill the focus glyph.

Fire was the obvious choice. It was his first element and the one he could control most readily. He just needed to go through the routine...medidate...find the djed..expel the res as gas...ignite the ball...throw it into the focus glyph. That’s all...

[Guido Faragas]

He tentatively searched for the djed that lay buried within his inner self. It was, after all, only a few days since he had suffered the symptoms of overgiving when attempting to control the water element. True, the effects had only been relatively minor but the ache he had felt to do more – to give more of himself to the magic - had bothered the apprentice for a good while. Now, the desire had faded and the caution imbued by his master had re-asserted itself. Yet, he had come to a stark realisation. No pain. No gain. Overgiving did not just result from a wild desire to command great power; no, it also resulted from pushing yourself just a little too far, as he had done. However, the extension of one’s abilities required testing the boundaries: a failure to do this would result in the apprentice merely remaining an apprentice. Overgiving could be the penalty for overambition but it was also the price for advancement. A price that must be paid. Still, his experience had also given him hope – for the effects of his overgiving had diminished with time. The price is patience – to let one’s abilities rest and recover. That is why my master cautioned patience. It is essential to mediate the effects of overgiving. Impatience is deadly for a wizard.

Sweat dripped from his brow....

The mass of multi-coloured ribbons that he envisaged as his djed awaited him: silent, yet moving strands of latent energy, latent power and the source of the res that was the manifestation of magic in the external world. He grabbed a small ball of the strands, twisting them in his hand and pushing them towards his extended palm. The res emerged as a tiny, misty cloud, red-tinged to the eyes of the reimancer. Fire. He caressed the miniature cloud with his thoughts, treating it as the skin of a lover; rubbing it gently, encouraging it to form a small sphere that hung over his palm. Slowly, the reimancer lightly tore at the outer fabric of the ball, willing the surface to take light, creating a small sun hovering above his hand. Turning the palm quickly, he let the fiery sphere hover above the wood that contained his focus and barrier glyph. He pushed the ball slowly towards the focus, igniting the inside of the sphere: it sparked to life – a small sun blazing. He felt the heat on his palm as the fireball entered the focus glyph, consumed by the power of the symbol. In a moment it had vanished.

He regarded the wood for an instant: all appeared well. He grabbed the charcoal and drew the trigger – imbuing it with the vocal trigger – Fire. As he set down the charcoal he realised his error; whilst he had drawn the barrier, the sweat from his brow had smudged one of the glyphs – a minor thing but enough to create a weakness – perhaps it would be fine...

It was fortunate that he had not been directly leaning over the wood when the fireball emerged; and, it was fortunate he had restrained himself to create a miniature fireball. The fiery sphere emerged from the wood at the same pace it had been thrown into it, made its ways to the ceiling and exploded, creating a rather pleasant effect and a third burn mark to decorate the room. Aside from a fluttering of the heart and a severe wounding to his pride, the only after effects suffered by the reimancer was a splattering of debris and dust from the ceiling that fell on his hair.

[Guido Faragas]

The housekeeper was not amused when she put her head round the door. She let out a loud “harrumph”, turned on her heels and returned less than a chime later with a broom and pan which she handed to the reimancer. Under her watchful eye, Guido was forced to sweep up the debris. Still, it was a mild penance for his imperfect glyphing and perhaps one he deserved. At least he grew acquainted with the art of brushing the floor. Pushing too hard merely grounded the brush on the floor; too lightly and it failed to stir the debris. A process of adjustment was required to implement the correct pressure. Rather like magic – a process of trial and error. Let’s just hope I survive the process.

With his proverbial tail between his legs, the young apprentice returned to his own home.

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Guido Exp +4 Glyphing, +1 Observation, +1 Reading, +1 Reimancy Lore Lore of Glyph Types (Basic) Extra + Mild Addiction to Reimancy - The Constant use and focus on Reimancy has developed into a hunger in Guido. Where the effects aren't unbearable, perhaps not even noticeable, he will find himself thinking about Reimancy considerably more often then usual. As well as 'testing his limits' more often, Guido may find Overgiving more likely with larger projects or toying with unknown details. Additional Comments I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this thread. As always, you may PM me any problems, questions, comments, or concerns you may have and I'd be happy to discuss it with you. Nice thread and keep up the good work.