Closed [Gug Andjak]Inspection and Invection[Fallon]

[Clyde Sullins]

It seemed that of the two of them, the woman tired of their discourse first. ”And here you are going back upon your own words of logic and redefining them without defining them to begin with. Enough of this. We do little more than go around in a circle. At least now you are aware of the feeling of assumptions being made without the regarding questions in relation, along with dictation as to what rules to follow without previously presenting them and believing them to be common knowledge.” Clyde grinned for a moment, after hearing her words. “How can one define something that is undefined? That is not even considering those things which are by their nature utterly undefinable, and defy logic and the feeble grasping of the mind to comprehend. But surely one cannot redefine something he has yet to define.” “And while not being common knowledge, I would call them... Common etiquette. Regardless, if our discourse is no longer of interest I do not mind passing on from it.” Of course, there was a bit of Clyde's mind that did mind. He did like arguing of logics, of matching wits, as it was something he enjoyed. Since becoming a Chaon this had not changed, but perhaps his tack in approaching arguments had. But then he had also realized things on that day that few ever learned. He had taken a small step towards understanding one of those undefinable things, something that in its innate nature was changing and inconceivable to a human mind. He still did not grasp it truly, but he believed he could see a bit, a edge, a small spark of the flame that was the concept. Perhaps he could even see some of its train of logic. ”Yes, auristics. What are you even trying to achieve?” Clyde smiled once more, shaking his head. Surely she did not expect things to be quite so simple? Her next words confused him as he took back the cube. ”Djed movement… around? Zigzag, lead round it on itself. Or split it and map it. Lead it, lure it. Weave it like a mesh… Narrow channels, grooves in a field, water runs down…” Looking over the cube, Clyde could see the two sets of paired lines, of pathways, which were going around the cube one way, and then the other... But he realized that as it was a cube, he had not covered on of the dimensions. Bringing his hands back to it, back to the res coating its surface, he turned the cube on its side. He needed to add a third pairing of lines, so that all of the pathways would be interconnected. If he added one final pathway to loop around, then each side would have the doubled X's lines on its face, as two different instances of pathways coursed over it, instead of only the two that currently did which was the "top" and "bottom". Breezing his fingers along, he engraved in the final pathway, starting on a face that currently only had one pathway flowing across it on way. Clyde started on a side, and etched in the glyphs towards the other side, crossing over the prior pathway. He would slowly turn the cube in his hand, and slowly curve the pathway around the four sides of this axis of the cube. As the pathway was completed on each side, there would then be left a pairing of X's as they united and crossed over. All in all the pathways would leave a mesh across the surface of the cube, a series of pathways and tunnels and roads that was interconnected and worked together. Now it did not matter which direction the djed came from, it would be able to flow around and across the cube to the other side. He felt silly now, for forgetting the third axis, and for forgetting the third set of pathways. The cube still in his hand, the res coating it would slowly seep upward and towards his palm, where it would disappear as he reabsorbed it. He no longer had need of the res, his carving was done. And he believed his stealth Glyphing was completed and functional... Handing the cube back to the woman, he would explain what he was trying, though he would wait to explain it till after she made the attempt at using magic on the cube, which he would feel via the sound of the djed upon the air manifesting on his aura. This way she would not know before she made the attempt what might happen. “Alright, go ahead, toss your magic at the cube again, and report what happens.” Clyde reasoned that if she attempted to use magic on it, and it failed, then she would admit it or not. But if she told him she failed without knowing it might happen, then she would be more likely to be telling him the truth. But if he told her what he expected before she attempted the magic... Well then he might as well just toss a spell at the cube himself for all the good it would do. Either way once she made her attempt of using magic on the cube, and then made her report, Clyde would fall into the following explanation. “Glyphing, is what I have used upon the cube. Glyphing of a high order I doubt you have seen, or will see, in another. It occurred to me before, when I was doing another project, that one can protect something from magic, using Glyphing anyways, in one of two ways.” “One way is to use barriers, which acts like a brick wall, and stops the magic from passing through or into it. However, I noticed afterward that this is rather noticeable. If you for instance tried to look into a room, and saw only blackness, you would not know what is in it. In fact, said blackness could raise your curiosity as to what has been hidden, if for instance all of the other rooms are well lit. After doing this, I thought perhaps there was a better way, a better method of magical protection.” Gesturing at the cube, Clyde would smile for a moment, before continuing onward. “This is the second option. Instead of using a barrier, which outright blocks the djed's passage, a pathway guides it. In this fashion the object itself is not affected by the magics, instead the magics are guided around and past the object without influencing it, without the magic interacting with the object so Glyphed. Unlike the first option which presents a noticeable void, a dead zone of magic where you cannot penetrate, this simply guides the magic around it and makes it untouchable by djeds. By comparison it is much more quiet, much less noticeable. I call it...” Finishing up, Clyde said with no small pomp and ceremony, and with a small pause for effect... “Stealth Glyphing.”

[Fallon]

Fallon released a sigh, her eyes sticking to remaining fixed upon the note book. For the moment she kept her head down, eyes rereading lines her expression having simply fallen into one of complacency. She could not be bothered to talk with a man who was set in his ways and believed himself superior; it was pathetic. No, it was better off letting him believe he was above her - it destroyed issue in one fell swoop. Thumbing the corner of the page she gave a glance upwards, her brow raising slightly before her gaze returned downwards once more.

So now she was going to be used for the demands of a man to use her lacking skills in auristics - wonderful. There was an internal groan as she pinched her brow and took to rocking upon her heels once more. Patience, she needed it. Although it was a subject she did not quite understand, she remained where she was and worked on scratching out the words upon the page. Bemused, she watched the wizard continue his show off of power and his carving into the stone surface using reimancy. And it was perhaps at such a notion then that she was glad he only knew of her lesser and weaker magic - it created a wonderful illusion.

As the cube was passed to her she gingerly took it, the book being lowered to the floor and the free hand now rubbing at her eye socket - willing it almost to shake away the blurred state they had taken up. She gave only a blink up to him, feeling the heavy weight within her hand and his demand to once more 'toss her magic at it'. Her lips twitched in annoyance at that point, he was making presumptions once more that she would simply obey - though admittedly she had been obedient thus far, it did not mean she was going to continue to do so. She turned the stone cube a few times with her gloved hands - looking for some finer understanding as to what exactly he had changed. Tips traced the grooves, a taking in the new lines that were etched upon its surface.

It would be safe to say she had mostly switched off when he begun the self complimenting of his abilities, it was egotistical in her mindset and bragging - a trait that she was starting to see was apparent. Sucking in the air she plucked upon her djed once more, the creeping cold sliding its way forward. Her eyes slid shut for a moment, the icy feeling sweeping its way across to the pupil. There was another inhale, the level focus followed by another cracking open of the lids. Those throbbing shades of colour, the gritting of teeth as she tried to focus herself upon it.

Oil was the first thing that sprung to mind, difficult to grasp upon and slippery. The gaze struggled to focus, jaw tensing, a rough exhale as she tried to force it upon the object, but kept on failing to. She released a mumble her head beginning to throb slightly as she tried to focus upon it, "Flows, slips, does not fix. Glides over leaves no print, but... it's there." She placed both palms over her eyes at that point, her head shaking from side to side as she attempted to comprehend what was going on. She willed the djed once more to withdraw, a gasp as the weave that smothered her gaze pulled away.

Understanding was vital here, and it was as things once more were pulled into settling that she spurred into action. Teeth bit the glove tips, exposing the pale flesh into the air. The lykata gave a throb, curious and seeking as she wriggled the fingers and contemplated it. Her head still throbbed however even as she brought it up for inspection.

"May I be honest?" She looked up at him with a frown, the bare hands wrapping around the cube and feeling the faint grooves within the surface, "I don't actually understand the point of this... stealth squiggles." She gave a frown at that point, and then chose to reassess her words, "I mean, I understand why it is done and what you want to achieve, but..." She scratched at her head, "Well, if you can see it in the physical, and you know it's there and then you notice that suddenly it's luring energy around it - doesn't it defeat the object of what it is you're trying to do?" She sucked in the air, letting the heavy weight rest as she focused herself. She wanted an answer and thus would find one, "I mean... maybe it would make more sense if the object in question was a heavily magic influenced piece - mask the energy that it lets off and reduce down to a more natural level. But... if something like that was the case, then it would still have contributions upon its surface which are detectable though other means."

That feeling brushed against her mind, a shudder as she begun the tuning out of the world. Another inhale, she pushed away the sound and looked to focusing herself on it. It came as a feeling, she knew that much, something pressing against her mind. Young it was, throbbing but definitely there. With that she placed the cube down upon the floor and gave a stretch, "Still, each to their own on their experimentation."

[Clyde Sullins]

The book the woman continued to refer to and inspect was beginning to annoy Clyde. For a moment he considered burning it away in a blaze of flame, and even glared at the notebook for a moment pondering doing just that, but at the last moment he decided against it. "Flows, slips, does not fix. Glides over leaves no print, but... it's there." Clyde listened to the woman's assessment of the cube, as she attempted to inspect it once more with her aura reading. Considering how she spoke of it, he believed his work had been done correctly, and he had succeeded. Then he broke into his explanation, telling her of a few tenets of Glyphing, and explaining the two options he'd had, and how what he'd done had worked. Then he paused for a moment, giving her time to respond to his explanation. When she did, it was a bit less than kind. But then she spoke without understanding, Clyde assured himself, so she could not truly see what he could. "May I be honest?" "I don't actually understand the point of this... stealth squiggles." "I mean, I understand why it is done and what you want to achieve, but... Well, if you can see it in the physical, and you know it's there and then you notice that suddenly it's luring energy around it - doesn't it defeat the object of what it is you're trying to do?" "I mean... maybe it would make more sense if the object in question was a heavily magic influenced piece - mask the energy that it lets off and reduce down to a more natural level. But... if something like that was the case, then it would still have contributions upon its surface which are detectable though other means." "Still, each to their own on their experimentation." As the woman finished, Clyde glared back at her for a moment, thinking over what she had said. Then his face split into a smile, and a short "Ha!" of laughter broke out, before Clyde began his explanation further. “I agree with you, or at least I would if that was indeed how things stood, that this would be all but useless. But then as with many prototypes, it is more about proving a concept, that something can be done, than it is about being useful in and of itself.” “Tell me this, if you were given the task of walking to the docks, and finding a specific pebble, could you do it? If I said there was a single pebble painted red, why then you would be on the lookout for it. Even more so if I said that there were many red pebbles, but one of them was special in some way, and it was the one I wanted you to bring me... Why then you would likely pick up each red pebble and examine it with the full might of your attention.” “However what if I said nothing of this pebble? What if you were simply told to walk to the dock's, and to return? What then if you were to see a single red pebble, or several spread out along the road, occasionally seeing one? Would you stop and inspect each of these pebbles, as you did in the first case? Or would your mind pass on in a moment, and go on to the next thing, and simply walk to the docks?” “I drew your attention to the cube, told you it was special, and thus you used your full attention to inspect it, used your Auristics and examined it to find its peculiarity. And when you directed your djed's directly at it, tried to prize open its secrets with Aura reading, you found you could not. Instead when you directed the djed's directly at it, you found it slippery and ungraspable, you found you could not touch it magically.” Finishing with his story and his explanation, Clyde let out a breath and took in a new one, pausing in his explanation to let his words sink in. “The way it works is as thus, any djed directed at it goes around it, cannot touch it, cannot grasp at or affect it. However this only occurs when the djeds are directly directed at it. So unless you are directly inspecting or trying to affect it, you likely won't notice this effect of luring the djed around it. Who for instance inspects every object they come into contact with? You might inspect several objects in the room, but unless you check the one bit that was so warded, you would not notice its ability.” “By itself it is of little use, but in conjunction with other skills, or used in more refined ways... Then it is of much more use. What if for instance I made the cube bigger, or even made a different shape, and wanted to hide something inside of it? Something as you said powerfully magical, which would draw attention? I could then say... Hide the block inside of a stone wall, or bury it in the ground, or even lay it out in plain sight. No one would then notice the strong aura of the object, and unless they looked right at the spot they'd not even notice they could not notice it.” “Or I could simply hide another layer of effect inside, say I made the warding drop upon a specific effect from inside, which would also activate the glyphed object inside to release its effect. One could in that case make a magical trap that could not easily be detected. Even if they saw the box or casing or whatever, there is the chance they would not decide to directly inspect it.” Clyde paused for a moment, looking at the woman, wondering about her. Was she simply what she said she was? Deciding to inspect her with his own Auristics, Clyde delved within his djed, forced the djed into his eyes, and willed his Aura vision to bloom. After a few moments, his aura sight expanded, and began to envelop the woman. He began to see her aura take shape and bloom into a indistinct gray form around her as the edge of his Auristical inspection grazed against her skin, and began to give the first shade of color to her Aura.

[Fallon]

For while Fallon was confused, her brow creased into a line the corners twitching as she tried to focus. It was an odd reaction to see the man laugh, let alone his agreement to her thoughts - if it could even be called such. She still was undecided if she was simply being mocked or not. Chewing upon her lip she gave a frown, an exhale as she tried to work out where exactly his moment of joy had come from before finally he begun talking. Not that much of it made sense - she quickly came to the conclusion that he simply liked the sound of his own voice because of it. Resting upon her haunches, she remained on her new found position on the floor her head cocking to one side. She was not really give much opportunity to truly consider any of it she felt - even with his pause and the moment to consider it.

Her lips opened, a pause, followed by a closure again. It was definitely words and a trickery of them, made to lead her a long and look like a fool regardless of her answer. Nestling her chin into her hand she regarded him, a brief narrowing of the eyes as she tried to choose her next lot of words carefully, "I do not know, is there a time limit in which to do it? How big are these docks? How many people pass through it each day? What am I doing on this course to the docks? What is the reasoning? Am I simply idling away the bells or is there a matter of urgency?" She blinked, paused and then looked down to the cube nestled within her hands, "Too many factors, too many conditions and possibilities. Numbers, outcomes. There is no black or white."

Skin prickling she felt the lykata buzz slightly, her eyes narrowing down as she inhaled deeply. She was not really sure what she felt from it, curiosity if anything - but even then that was one that was warped by the feelings of energy. She wriggled her gloves on once more and worked upon straightening out her collar and the smoothing of it into shape. Toes wriggled, followed by the holding of a frown as the man continued his theory of the magical. Not that she really understood half of it. Whatever happened to the practical applications over the physical? Of course she knew it was vital t have some ground understanding of the magic, but since when had it turned into a theoretical subject filled with idle research?

Chewing upon her lip she once more sat herself down to listen and attempted to comprehend what it was he was exactly on about. A lot of rhetorical questions, left merely to be suggestions instead and bringing her to one solid conclusion. Everything was down to simple probability, instances of chance and likely hood. Little more than numbers and figures. Even she could understand that much now. And then, somewhere in the mind something hit her. She released a mumble, "Dead room bunker."

Eyes lifted, her brow drawing into a line as she worked her way through it slow and steady, "Resists the hold, Djed can flow around it leaving things internally to be unaffected and manipulated by wild Djed. Cancels out the damaging effects? Possibly. No...? No. Not only neutralises the signs of djed within... Ark against the flow. Have to be big though..." She scratched her brow, and put away the thought. Bringing herself into standing she brushed herself down and lifted the cube to return it to the man. Her musings would no doubt only bring further ridicule and so she took it to herself to escape.

There was a nod of the head to the man, "With due respects Mister Sullins, such thought up applications are beyond my present understanding. As you probably have worked out, I am nowhere near the level of yourself and thus are hampering your experimentation. I shall... leave you to your ruminations unless you require further poor assistance?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde had hoped that in his stories he would be able to explain such a abstract topic better than by simply... Well explaining it. If nothing else, he hoped that his story would give her a understanding of the basic theory with which he was working. It was an admittedly complex concept, and it had taken Clyde years for this theory and concept to become what it was now. Clyde knew that it would not be a simple matter to explain it to the woman, particularly with her lack of a basic knowledge base in regards to Glyphing. Even with that it would have been difficult to explain it. "I do not know, is there a time limit in which to do it? How big are these docks? How many people pass through it each day? What am I doing on this course to the docks? What is the reasoning? Am I simply idling away the bells or is there a matter of urgency?" "Too many factors, too many conditions and possibilities. Numbers, outcomes. There is no black or white." Clyde shook his head, her questions simply showing that she was focused on the wrong details. “I meant it as I said it, no more and no less. You focus to much on the specifics. You forget that while examining a specific situation is more comprehensive, it only works in that one very specific situation. If you concentrate on the overall concept, of the overall situation, then you will learn much more, and it will be applicable much more. You are so busy trying to understand the one tree, you don't notice you are standing in a forest.” Clyde let out a sigh, as he began to examine the woman. Her questions and words seemed to be increasingly proving she had little knack for magic, or at least for the magics he spoke of. She was far to focused to see the broader picture, to see that his words being broad would also affect an equally broad subject area. Instead she wanted to quibble and focus on unimportant details that were only interesting or relevant in a secondary nature. However as she spoke, a bit more to herself, he finally got the inkling that she was grasping the concept. "Dead room bunker." "Resists the hold, Djed can flow around it leaving things internally to be unaffected and manipulated by wild Djed. Cancels out the damaging effects? Possibly. No...? No. Not only neutralises the signs of djed within... Ark against the flow. Have to be big though..." Her words were quite concise, and were in fact one of the many instances of a use for his concept, more or less a scaled up version of his earlier mentioned idea of the artifact hider. Make it big enough to fit a person in, and one could make a magical safe room where one was safe from magical attacks or detection. Considering that such a room would likely be quite large and solid, it would likely also assist in many regards when dealing with more physical assaults. Instead of answering he simply nodded, as at this point he was more focused on the womans Aura, trying to delve through it. His left hand was beginning to make some small gestures and motions, mainly his fingers, as he mentally pulled apart and twisted the strands of colored djed that he saw her aura as. In this instance he was not just reading her aura, but looking at the periphery of it, a trick he had learned long ago that could help him detect personal magic usages. It differed slightly from one personal magic to another, but it was possible to detect the djed residue's left over as the magical effect passed through or out of a person. He could then gauge its relative thickness, its positioning, and how strong the residue was, to get a vague sense of the djed's that had passed through them. Reimancy for instance often left a residue on ones hands and mouth, as that was where the res usually exited. Auristics often left a residue on the users eyes, and sometimes the other sensing organs on the head. He'd tested it on himself, along with several other users, including a apprentice who was only newly initiated into Reimancy. Considering all of these he had a decent grasp of what to look for, along with several references to compare to. As the woman spoke and offered Clyde back his cube, he listened faintly, but was more focused on her aura and what he was trying to see than upon her words. Besides, her words seemed to say she was trying to flee, and he'd yet to finish his inspection. "With due respects Mister Sullins, such thought up applications are beyond my present understanding. As you probably have worked out, I am nowhere near the level of yourself and thus are hampering your experimentation. I shall... leave you to your ruminations unless you require further poor assistance?" Still holding up his left hand, the fingers on his hand began to increase their motions, and the speed at which they were made. If it had not been obvious before, it would likely become quite obvious then that he was doing some kind of magic, and was making gestures to focus his use of magic. It looked somewhat like their was something in midair made of clay that he was trying to mold and manipulate into proper shape with his fingers. Her aura bloomed in his mind's eye, overlaying her true flesh and blood. He focused first on the edges of the aura on her head, and saw some vague weak traces. Likely they were residue from her use of Auristics. However they were weak and dilute, further proving that she was weak in that magic. But he was not done in his search. “Wait... Wait... Almost... Got it...” He expanded outward, scraping his aura vision against the outer periphery of her aura, at the tracts where he might see the djed remnants he was looking for. Clyde knew they rubbed off as magic and djed effects left the body, and they took him to dissipate. If there was large quantities it likely meant high volume usages of djed, or perhaps a smaller volume usage over a much longer time. However that might cause a layered effect as the older slowly diminished and faded over time. Suddenly Clyde flinched visibly, as his vision scanned over the aura emanating from her arms. When he had first glanced at it he had seen a flash, signifying a increase in intensity from the surrounding areas. As he narrowed his focus he saw it more so, a thick layer of the djed's rubbed off as it exited her arms. There was some layering he could see, but from what he could detect it was more of a consistent upwelling of djed. Which meant it was not likely a slow buildup over time. She did something with her arms which had saturated her aura's outmost layer with djed remnants. Pulling back his aura sight, Clyde cut off the flow of djed. He began to speak as his aura vision slowly faded out, returning him to gazing at her mundane flesh and blood form. “Ah, I knew you weren't telling me the whole story. You do some kind of... Arm magic? Whatever it is, its far more potent than the Auristics you've shown me. Arm magic... Something to do with your arms... I don't know, that's where it seemed brightest. But clearly you are being miss sneaky, and not wanting to show me where your true skills lie.” Noticing the cube he'd yet to take back, Clyde grinned, and waved her off. “Come now, lets see it, show me this... Whatever goes through your arms. You won't be sneaking off that easy. Besides that last bit about the magical bunker or whatever you called it was spot on. It was more or less a scaled up usage of what I mentioned before, used in a slightly different way, but still spot on. Still unique from what I said. So perhaps you aren't so hopeless as you seem to think, in regards to you understanding and assisting with this concept.”

[Fallon]

For a moment there was an element of nervousness building up and bubbling within. It was the way the eyes narrowed, how the gaze seemed to focus upon her in a concentrated fashion. More so as the hands begun their more noticeable movements. Fingers grasped tightly around the book spine, the ink and quill finding themselves securely in her pocket. Was it correct to feel uneasy? She could see the way the hands were moving, subtle gestures to something.

There was a swallow, a flicker of the gaze as she repeated the once said words looking to guide her in the right direction. But, they did little to comfort her now. Instead the throat tightened, hairs rising instinctively as she stared back. There was a glance behind her, eyes checking for a clear route out should she need to make a hasty exit. Skin prickled, a deep inhale as he she returned her attention to the wizard. Mages and Sahova, a complicated system that would cause many an opportunity in which to be trapped. If there was anything she definitely knew about the island, it was never to trust someone here. More so with the full nature of what one was.

But it was that look, almost as if it was staring deeply and searching for something - and that made Fallon uncomfortable. He did not take the cube, and as the hands begun to move the tell tale signs of something abnormal occurring reached her. Her mind screamed magic, and as the pieces begun to fall together did such a notion begin to grow more obvious. Auristics came the second thought, and the mumblings of his words to wait caught her on the spot. Frozen in place there was a glance, a flicker down to the cube that was still grasped within her hand. When had it started shaking?

Gently she placed it down upon the floor, releasing the weight from her fingers and allowing her to use it in other ways. What were her options? Standing up and simply showing was one thing, but she did not exactly want to bow down to whims simply on request. Of course, she could simply make for the exit quicker than a flash and see how fast she could disappear into the citadel. Then again, who did he work for? Was he already an apprentice or something more to the Island? She could not remember if she had seen a ring or not to mark him out, and whilst her mind worked to solve the answers did she notice the flinch.

Eyes blinked, a firm step back as he begun to talk about his findings - which alarmed her of two things. Firstly that she had been probed by auristics and his use of it, the second was that he managed to catch on about her projection. The latter was the one that made her more uncomfortable. Nostrils gave a flare, a part of her riling up and burning at the prospect of someone knowing her true talent. On the other side it was frightening, after all how many projectionists had come and gone on Sahova? Not many by all accounts. There was another step back, her eyes quickly darting either side and blinking faster this time, "I don't... I don't..."

Fingers flexed, toes wriggled as she contemplated what the next move was to make. Swallowing she forced out words. She did not like this position one bit, "I don't want to talk about it or show it. I want to go." Tentative she found a large part of her shirk away, all the courage that was previously installed in her simply slipping between her fingers. She needed to place a wall up, and remind herself not to panic. She knew she should not have said anything to begin with, "Petch. I just... No. I don't..." She pinched her brow, her shoulders almost curling inwards at that point and barely registering his words. If it was not Sahova, then maybe things would have been different. But right now she did not have a lot of time to truly think it though, "Not here." Another step back, a forced stiffening of herself and her ego, "I want to leave Mister Sullins. Right now. I do not feel comfortable..." she gave a look over her shoulder at that point, "Discussing such things here."

[Clyde Sullins]

Perhaps if Clyde had been less focused on his magic, and paying more attention to the person whose Aura he was inspecting, he would have noticed the changing of her mood. It did not take him to long, but the gestures were obvious, and magic by its nature was not a quiet or unobtrusive thing. Along with his sudden silence and distractedness, it was more than enough to clue the woman in. So when she did react in a somewhat confused or scared way, it was a surprise to Clyde. He had not expected anything beyond the continuation of a civil discussion. "I don't... I don't..." "I don't want to talk about it or show it. I want to go." "Petch. I just... No. I don't..." Clearly at some point Clyde had frightened the woman. Perhaps it was the fact that he was a proven powerful mage. Perhaps it was his discovery of a vague fact about a magic she used. Or perhaps it was the woman herself, perhaps she was overly cautious or easily startled or set off. Clyde was not sure which reason had caused this outcome, but it had occurred. "Not here." "I want to leave Mister Sullins. Right now. I do not feel comfortable..." "Discussing such things here." Suddenly Clyde believed he understood. She did not want to speak in public, not where other mages might overhear. Perhaps then she would feel more at ease away from others, and away from the citadel? “I do apologize, I did not mean to frighten you. Have I done anything to make you think that I wanted to harm you, or wished you ill? I thought we were simply conversing, and I wanted to carry on that conversation. Reading your Aura seemed the simplest means to that end. I suppose I did not consider the fact you might find an Aura reading as an intrusion.” “If you don't feel comfortable talking here in the labs, amongst others, perhaps we could go out and talk in private, outside of the citadel? Would that make you feel more comfortable?” “I am simply interested in your magic from a scholarly perspective. I did not even know there were any magics that involved the arms. Though now that I think on it, I vaguely recall someone telling me of another magic awhile back, an apprentice. The flux or something like that, which involved the arms... Or making them stronger or something... Is that your magic? Or something else? But as I said, if you would like, we could talk outside. Perhaps if you would like I could also show you a bit more of Glyphing? Some of the more basic things that you might be able to do yourself. It might even aid you in your arm magic thingy. I have been told I am a good Glyphing instructor.” Clyde was unsure how the conversation had switched, from their earlier conversation to him now offering to explain the basics of Glyphing to her. But he was interested in this magic she had not revealed, and of learning more of it.

[Fallon]

Eyes blinked, possibilities rocketing within her mind as she repeated her stammering words within her head. She must have sounded like a fool, more so for the somewhat seemingly spontaneous outburst of worry and panic. Fallon did not like people knowing what she was capable of, in fact she did not like them knowing who or what she was at all - more so when it came to Sahova. It was a trap waiting to be sprung she always felt, or in this case was quickly closing in around her. Calm, she needed to find a level of calm and a potential way of getting out and away.

Or at least that was her thought until he spoke once more. Her head snapped back round to him, a moment of pure stillness as she contemplated what had been said. There was a tilt to one side, her lips twitching as she mouthed them back and finally made some sense of them. And when she did there was only the feeling of being inept at keeping herself in check, "No, no. I mean, yes, I guess that is a bit intrusive. But, no, you haven't done anything to wish me ill... I think?"

Her face drew into a wince at that point, her lips pulling into a line she regarded him. In reality she should have offered something back in return - she was let into his world of knowledge and experimentation whilst not in return. Her mind slurred, picking out common sense among it all and an answer above all else. A question had been asked, she had to answer. She took in the cold grey stone of the citadel, the closing in walls and lacking warmth of what was before her. Fallon focused her eyes upon him again, her fingers wriggling in the gloves and the brow having knitted into a line, "Outside... outside."

Something steeled inside of her, "Yes, outside. It would be... preferable. Too many eyes here. Too many of... them." The gaze shifted, and there was a pivot round to the exit. Her hands fell into her pocket, her jaw setting tightly into a line. There was a firm step away, her eyes looking straight ahead unwavering. She had made her choice, she now had to deal with it, "Could demonstrate. Yes. Demonstrate."

She still did not sound too sure about the idea, but she would put up with it for now. If it was purely for the reasons of learning, then even she herself had the compulsion to attempt to impart knowledge. With a peek out about the Gug Andjak, she inclined her head to follow. Shoulders rolled, her lips pursing into a line as she made her way along and gingerly stepped about. There was a shake of the head, her voice dipping into that of a low mumble, "Not flux. Definitely not flux. It does not make them stronger either. It works on a much different level." The steps quickened, a firm bobbing about as she thought of one way and one way only - the exit, "Glyphing, squiggles. Never get my head around them. Can they... help that?"

She paused at that point, and turned her head to Clyde with only a firm blink. Her own teaching mode rose up at that point, her own question seeking an answer so she knew where to start the impromptu lesson, "What do you know about the soul and its layers?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clearly the woman was not completely over whatever he issue was, but it seemed if nothing else she was giving ground. "No, no. I mean, yes, I guess that is a bit intrusive. But, no, you haven't done anything to wish me ill... I think?" Perhaps she trusted him, or perhaps she did not, it was too early to tell. But she was slowly heading back on the track of trusting him and being acceptable of the idea of continuing on. Which was the intended outcome of Clyde's words. "Outside... outside. Yes, outside. It would be... preferable. Too many eyes here. Too many of... them." By them Clyde knew she meant the nuit, who were the main inhabitant of Sahova. It did at times become a bit cloying being about them, particularly with himself as a living being existing as a minority. Sahova was likely the only such place where that was the case, at least with so many nuits. Likely other places had other races that were the majority. "Could demonstrate. Yes. Demonstrate." And with that, it seemed the two of them were leaving, heading out of the Gug Andjak and out of the citadel. Clyde understood, he often liked to leave just for the fact that it meant he could get out of its walls and into the open air. It did not matter to nuit who did not need to breath, but it did matter to pulser's as themselves. Clyde made sure to grab up the Glyphed cube he had made, the one with the stealth Glpyhing, and stowed it into his pack. And with that he was ready to go, heading for the door with this female mage of sorts. "Not flux. Definitely not flux. It does not make them stronger either. It works on a much different level." Clearly Clyde's idea of it being the flux was wrong. However Clyde did not know of any other magics that might involve the arms, which meant this was a totally new magic he'd yet to hear of. Her next question was vague, and Clyde was not sure what she was even asking. "Glyphing, squiggles. Never get my head around them. Can they... help that?" “I'm sorry, can Glyphing help what? I can't really tell you if they can, unless I know what you are asking they can. At their base Glyphing affects magic, affects other magic. In fact, it's somewhat unique in the fact that by itself, without any other djed's to work with, it does nothing. By itself Glyphing does nothing. It is only by affecting and interacting with djed that it does something.” “Its like a quill, with no bottle of ink to write with. It has potential, but by itself it can do nothing. Though how they affect other magic depends upon what glyphs you use, or which of the basic Glyph blocks you use in your overall sigil.” With that Clyde had already spilled out the first bit of info about Glyphing, the first chunk. And yet an important chunk. IN turn Clyde had a question to answer. He was not quite sure what it had to do with the magic in question which she performed, but for now it seemed he would need to trust her. "What do you know about the soul and its layers?" Clyde smiled at the female mage, for once having a somewhat firm answer. “I know all living sentient things have souls. I know that a soul has layers, the innermost one being the soulcore, next the persona, and finally the astral body which is what allows the person to move their body.” Grinning back at the female mage, Clyde made a short explanation of his knowledge on the subject. Likely she had not expected him to be knowledgeable on the subject. But as a Aurist, a Spiritist, and a Animator, he knew much of the soul and its specific parts. “Ah, I also dabble in Animation, a magic in which you create artificial souls layer by layer, and infuse them into a golem or construct. The parts of a soul are Animation 101.”

[Fallon]

Feet clacked against the floor, the growing look of determination on her face simply to escape the cold stone. It was a giant maw within her mind, dark, clenching and probing in any and every way possible. Skin itched almost as she avoided one of the passing nuit, those eyes boring down and then sliding onto more important things. Never the less, the male mage was following her with a hum of words and the definite grin upon his face. Her brow gave only a flicker of a crease, her eyes looking him up and down as she stepped onwards to the exit.

"So, by inputting something in with the correct markings it is capable of transforming said djed into something?" She pinched the bridge of her nose then, her mind attempting to comprehend how it worked and trying to think of a more mundane way in which to understand it. There was a chew upon the lip, her gaze looking to the doors of the Gug Andjak and the world beyond. If she was correct, the courtyard existed next - a space filled with the lost souls and ghosts. Beyond that was the Vestibule, possibly. She was still largely uncertain with the layout of Sahova, and strongly believed that it was indeed set up to confuse the minds of mortals.

"No, it's more than simply that. Djed needs commands, it needs to be more than just moulded into something. Instructed almost, given a series of sequences in which to follow out," She gave a hover at the door way then, her head peaking out into the grey spring air and the damp scents that came with it. Natural light greeted her in response, and it was only with a hesitant, testing step that she took a single step outside of the citadel and into the air, "Guidance around pathways to give an end result?"

There was a shudder as the cooler air greeted her, her shoulders unrolling as she begun to make a move to find a space in which to demonstrate in. There was a step down onto the path below, followed by a sheepish look up - almost as if looking for a confirmation of direction of where to exactly go next. Regardless however, she gave a nod to his understanding of the soul - not that she had any idea as to what animation exactly was. No doubt it would be another thing to add to the list of things to learn about.

"Good, so on par with the understanding souls have layers turn the attention to that of the astral body," She gave a peer forward, a quick step as she considered a space in which to work in, "As you said, the astral body is the reason why someone can move their body. It treats the flesh like a puppet, synchronised in movement -" She represented this simply by performing a few basic hand gestures, "-Now, with that in mind, what happens if you remove the flesh from the astral body?" She let the question hang there for a moment, and promptly continued, "Well, using the puppet analogy once more the strings would have been cut and the flesh would go limp. And the astral layer still gives forth instruction."

It was at that point that she considered the next step of the rather impromptu lesson. Her gaze flickered about at the tools that were at her disposal for a moment. Book, quill, ink, ground, possibly some stray pebbles - but that was hardly suitable. She needed something she could use. The book would have to do for now, as would the ink. Settling the desired articles down upon the floor she took a single firm step back. She cleared her throat, her brow creasing into a line. It was just a demonstration, it would not have to be anything overly fancy, "Now, those are perfectly mundane in every form and manner. Like... most books and ink really. Anyway, the astral layer is still capable of giving instruction despite not having flesh."

She let her left hand slip securely into the pocket of her trousers. She plucked upon her djed, her eyes narrowing down upon the object as a point of focus whilst her lips continued to twitch with the verbal lesson, "So, with that in mind, what of the possibility of willing expulsion of the astral from that of the body? Well, the same as above would apply. The strings that held the astral to the flesh would unweave and the flesh would go limp. But once again, we approach the question of what is the astral capable of?" She felt the left forearm tremble, the layers shifting and turning beneath her skin. The astral begun to slip, strings uncurling and loosening around the joints. It slipped, pulling gently as she willed it out from the flesh - something that was so simple to do when the situation arose, but now with the pressure of a lesson it was somewhat difficult to perform correctly.

Teeth gave a slight grit, then eased off as the astral layer finally slipped free. Numbness shot along the nerves, pimples in the skin rising up and then easing off. Her right hand gave a gesture to the book she had stepped away from, "Well, as I said. It would still behave, it would still be capable of giving instruction and doing."

Snaking its way forward, the ethereal hand gave a testing paw at the air - feeling the moment of weightlessness and freedom. So long since she had last used it, she was sure of it. Fingers wriggled, and gradually made their way open to the book. Flipping it open with the ethereal hand, she skipped through the pages to find a blank page, before turning its attention to the ink vial. It uncorked it, a pause as it gingerly picked up the quill and dipped it in the top. The items no doubt suddenly looked as if they had gained a mind of their own, moving about and drawing as Fallon simply stared upon it - and continued to do as she turned her gaze to Clyde.

"I present to you projection. The manipulation of the astral body through detachment and djed."