Closed [Gug Andjak]Inspection and Invection[Fallon]

[Clyde Sullins]

4 Spring 514 It was not unheard of for Clyde to be wandering about the common labs. Often enough it was to peak in on various nuits, to see their work, to see if he could glean anything from it. So far he had been mostly unsuccessful. Most of what was worked on in the common labs was basic stuff, not the higher level magics worked upon in the private labs of the higher level wizards of Sahova. But then, it was also a decent place to meet new wizards, and that in and of itself could prove to be useful. Today however, Clyde was wanting to test out yet another of his ideas in Glyphing/Reimancy. He considered the topic a small melding of the two, however he still placed the emphasis on the former rather than the latter. The latter was more of a tool to allow him to do certain things with the former, things that would take much longer by hand. Once more he wanted to test out a theory, and the common labs seemed as good a place as any to do so. As usual his res production was effortless. He simply willed the res to rise from his open hand, and it did. After a few ticks of this he cut off the willed action, and then willed the res to swirl about and to form a rough geometric shape of a cube. It took several more ticks with many small finger motions to get the shape just right. A small twitch here shaved off a hair from this side. A wiggle there made it more level and compacted some of the res. A flicking motion pushed a bit of excess away, leaving him more or less what he wanted. A cube, a cube of res. With the excess floating about around it, ready to initiate attraction to keep the transmuted res from falling, Clyde willed the core cube of the res to transmute, to transmute into stone. Stone hard and unmoving, grey and resolute, solid. There was a moment where the res sat, less than a blink of an eye, and then it was earth, stone, solid. A cube of stone about the size of his fist. He wished for the cube to be suspended in midair, and so the remaining res did his bidding, attracting it upward and holding it in place. With a cough he let out a small bit of additional res, which floated to the cube and coated its outer layer of stone. It was here he paused, pondering out the Glyphs he would engrave into its surface before he did the action. “So... What would look good cut into you?”

[Fallon]

If there was anything that was proving an interest to Fallon, it was the common labs. She had managed to brave the cool world of Sahova once more, finding herself capable of slipping between those who worked upon their pet projects and largely staying away. But still quite able to play as an observer. To watch from the distance safely with her book tucked underneath her arm. None disturbed her, nor did she in return interrupt. Besides, she could learn a lot through simple observation she realised.

With the book flipped open, it was a gentle pace that lead her round. Notes were scribbled down the page of her journal, the quill wavering as she paced. With the ink vial clenched tightly between her fingers, the mercenary gave a pace between the potentials who looked to join the elite of Sahova. Occasionally she turned the page back, eyes flickering to the poor scribbling on the events passed. She gave a chew upon her lip, the lids narrowing down as she recalled them, her head cocking to one side with thought.

Last time she had graced the island she was not allowed to ponder, this occasion was different - she was allowed to flitter, appearing as the uneducated, barbaric visitor who knew nothing of the ways of magic. A state of believable ignorance that she wished to keep people in. It was for the best, she was not prepared to reveal all her inner workings to the world just yet. Such secrets were better off left shut. Shoulders brushed past another potential apprentice, another hard worker looking to gain some insight, whilst she herself was consumed by her notes.

She knew of Glyphing and Malediction, as well as a handful of more personal magic. Construction over immediate, which was the better of the two sides? She gave a chew of her lip as she stepped, eyes locked upon the page she wrote upon. Scratching, scrawling. On one side there was the use of djed, a more instantaneous reaction that relied upon the physical body to feed it - she felt the strain of projection on several occasions and how it sapped at her strength. Or how Auristics seemed to leave her dazzled. Lips twitched and a mumble fell - until something caught her eye.

Fallon backtracked, several steps in fact. A puff as she blew the fringe out of her eyes. Lips parted in amazement, her head cocking to one side as she watched. It floated there, suspended in the air above the open hand. There was a sheepish step over, her form twisting round into a pivot, the nib furiously scribbling across the page. It was floating. Her eyes blinked, her head turning to the other side, her features perplexed as to why it was doing such a thing. What caused it, projection? No, a limb would have to fall limp somewhere, the astral would be shed from the flesh - and as far as she knew there appeared to be no sign of such thing.

Throat croaked, her head turning to one side. She thought for a moment of reimancy, and how elements behaved. Stone would drop, it would not float, it was heavy. It should drop - unless of course there was something stopping it from doing so. Eyes blinked, and her mouth twitched, "How... do you do that? I mean. Make it float? It's stone right?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde had been focused on his Glyphing, on planning out the runes he would engrave into the surface of the stone with a series of reimantic grindings and cuttings, and so had not been paying as much attention to his surroundings as normal. So when someone spoke suddenly near him, he was caught off guard without having realized someone was there. "How... do you do that? I mean. Make it float? It's stone right?" For a moment as Clyde turned to face the woman, for she was a living human woman, his cube of stone began to take on a slight rotation clockwise. Turning back to the cube he glared at it, willing it to be stilled and to only be pulled up by the attraction, before turning once more to the woman to inspect her. She was a plain looking woman, on the short side, not heavy nor especially slim, nothing special to look at really. She was a bit on the young side also, perhaps close to Clyde's own age. But of course Clyde knew that meant nothing in regards to her skill, particularly if she had started magic early like Clyde had at the tender age of five. Even if she had not started so young, she could still be decently skilled if she was a quick study... “Float? Ah, the stone, its not floating, I'm pulling it up. Its simple attraction, manipulation of the res. I suppose with the color of the stone my res can blend in a bit, since its such a bright silver, but it is there, a thin layer across the boundary of the stone. The res is moving upward, or trying to, and at the same time I attract the stone to the res. The stone wants to go down and pulls against the attraction. Once you get a state of equilibrium it continues to 'float' as such, so long as no new elements are added to the situation.” As Clyde had mentioned, should the woman look closer at the surface of the stone she would see a thin layer of glistening silvery res coating it, along with a small puff of gaseous res just above the stone, a thin inch thin layer of gas just above it. He would need to add another trickle of res to the cube in a moment, but besides that it was in a state of neutrality. “Besides, its easier to work with it if I can see it, and I prefer not to have to bend over and look at a small cube of stone on the ground. Thats not good for your back.” Clyde paused for a moment, breaking out of his "teacher" mode, which he to often slipped into. Remembering were he was, and what he was doing here, Clyde took on a more serious expression and began to glare back at the woman. “But you know, its rude to interrupt, and more rude to ask questions without even informing the person you are questioning of your own name. I could for instance tell you my name is Clyde Sullins, and then ask you what you are doing here, what is your skill or magic that makes you of value to the nuits. But see I told you my name BEFORE I asked the question. Now why don't you try telling me your name, and then answering my question, since I answered yours so eloquently.” Turning back to his cube of stone, Clyde would let out a sigh, upon which was carried a small stream of gaseous silver res which would float over to the stone without any visible gestures, and certainly no incantation, nor any other means of focus. “So, name then question, in that order. Though I suppose that's only the first time, since you only tell someone your name a single time, and after that a conversation devolves into a maelstrom of words and questions tossed back and forth chaotically...” After this small sidetrack of his thoughts spoken out loud, Clyde would turn back to the woman, waiting upon her answer.

[Fallon]

There was a flinch, the quill nib hovering above the page as she kept her eyes upon the cube. For a moment her head simply cocked to one side, her brow forming a line as she gave a hesitant step closer to inspect. Eyes squinted down into a narrow, her lip being chewed as she took it in - pondering only for a moment on the nature of it. Reimancy, Res, a thin sliver wrapping itself round. The quill quickly scratched the paper surface, a step to the side as she peered closer - though staying as best as she could out of range.

If there was anything Fallon knew about mages, it was never to get too close when they were practicing. So, with several large steps between them she continued the watching. And whilst she did the information spoken was replicated onto the page. Even the nib began its careful scratch out upon the surface, black pulling out the shape and leaving wispy lines to represent the thin layer of res and several arrows to represent its attempted ascending. All the while the head continued its enthusiastic nodding, revelling almost in the lesson before her.

Or at least until the serious expression fell upon her along with the tone. Fallon paused, mulling the questions over in her head. It was a tricky few to work out. To begin with there was the choice of naming and what would be suitable, personal or business. The second was her reason of being here, she came along because of her brother, a personal set task, treated as business, to keep him safe - not that it seemed to work, he had all but disappeared. And then there was the island locals themselves.

"Depends on the name you wish for," she spoke clearly, book lowering and snapping shut. Back straightening from its previously hunched and studious state, "As I sense this will be a more professional meeting then you may call me by my working name. Should this turn more personal then I shall give you that one. You may call me Bitzer. As for why I am here, it was for an errand of business. Work that will quickly be coming to a close," she paused to that moment, "Thus... on that principle there is nothing that makes me of value of the nuits here. There is no skill or magic that makes me of use, simply because I am not bound by such association or ties. "

Her gaze flickered up to the cube, a lean upon her heels as she stood to attention watching as she tried to understand the mechanisms of what was presented to her. The orbs focused upon it, a chew of the lip before she eased the expression off, "There are always questions, and answers are always looked for... Mister Sullins. If one did not ask questions then they would never learn or grow. It is, alas the way the world works." An incline of the head, polite, crisp in tones, "Are my answers suitable to such a wise mage as yourself? Or would you prefer I readdress them with more specific points put into place?"

She opened the book once more, the feather of her quill brushing beneath her chin as she pondered and then inclined her head to the rock, "So, you apply an upward force to the reimancy that is equal to that of the weight of the rock to keep it floating in place? Like cork on water? No... different."

[Clyde Sullins]

Once more Clyde frowned at the woman, but this time for a different reason. The woman appeared to be writing down everything he was saying, and only partially taking part in he conversation. She was happy just listening to what he had to say, and soaking up any knowledge he spurted out without any intention of returning the favor. In fact from her responses he was fairly certain the woman had said nothing of use... It was at this point that Clyde decided to explain nothing else, and give her no further information to write down, that is unless she decided to return the favor of knowledge in turn. He did not come out and say it, but his frown at her, combined with some of the things he would say later would likely make it clear. Or perhaps it would not be clear to her, and she would simply be left wondering why he had so suddenly changed his tactics in speech from that of a teacher, to that of an interrogator. "Depends on the name you wish for. As I sense this will be a more professional meeting then you may call me by my working name. Should this turn more personal then I shall give you that one. You may call me Bitzer. As for why I am here, it was for an errand of business. Work that will quickly be coming to a close. Thus... on that principle there is nothing that makes me of value of the nuits here. There is no skill or magic that makes me of use, simply because I am not bound by such association or ties." Clyde paused for a moment, frowned, and gazed back at the woman. Her answer did not please him, was evasive, and all but admitted that it was a lie, or one of many possible answers of which Clyde considered it to not be the true one. “A name is a label, one we place upon ourselves. Perhaps we have more proper titles, perhaps not. But those are simply labels placed upon us by others and by our deeds. We are who we believe we are. For that reason and others I find your answer false. I asked for YOUR name, not A name, and was nice enough to give you mine. Clearly this... Bitzer... Is not the name you label yourself as. And I find it tiring to listen to people lie about their name. If all you find a name to be is a label, then I suppose I will just call you woman, since I suppose that would satisfy the need to differentiate yourself from me in this conversation, which is all that is neccessary in a business conversation.” Clyde paused for a moment before pressing on to the next point, the point of her magic, addressing this point a bit more logically instead of philosophically. “Also, logically you have told me nothing of your skills. Yes you say you are not bound to the nuits, that you have no ties forcing you to them. But then I did not ask you what skills or magics bind you to them, I asked you of what skills or magics make you of value to them. Whether or not you have ties to them, whether or not these skills are used for their purposes, you still represent a value to them due to these skills. The state of your binding to them does not affect the value of your skills, or the skills in and of itself.” "There are always questions, and answers are always looked for... Mister Sullins. If one did not ask questions then they would never learn or grow. It is, alas the way the world works. Are my answers suitable to such a wise mage as yourself? Or would you prefer I readdress them with more specific points put into place?" "So, you apply an upward force to the reimancy that is equal to that of the weight of the rock to keep it floating in place? Like cork on water? No... different." “I also find this conversation uneven, as I have both shown you a magic, my Reimancy, and explained how it is I have done what I have done in detail. The rules of reciprocity govern conversations, and are the only reason civil conversations can be carried on here amongst the nuits who are the most selfish of all with information. Knowledge is not free, instead everything is bartered and traded bit by bit knowledge for knowledge. In this conversation however only I have traded the currency of the island, and you stand there with a large debt on your side of the conversation. It would be foolish therefore for me to continue onward discussing with you when you do not even bother to talk in a civil manner or to respect reciprocity.” “So no, I do not find your answers suitable, nor do I find them even trade. You say that questions are how the world works, but that is not how this world works, that is not how Sahova works. Knowledge is coin, and you have not given me a single coin in trade for the ones I have tossed to you freely in our opening greetings. The only answer you have given was a name, which might not even be your name, the rest I find a pile of warm shyke, utterly useless and unappealing. I find it insulting that you would offer that in exchange for the coin of the realm I have so faithfully offered.” “You have openly admitted to being useless, to not knowing your own name, and to expecting me to freely give of my own knowledge while you in turn give nothing. So tell me, why should I tolerate your presence, why should I allow you to stay, when you offer nothing in turn?” Clyde paused, looked back at his stone that was floating in midair, and began to move his hands over it. However he paused once more before getting anywhere, and finished his speech with one final bit. “Besides, I don't speak magic to the uninitiated, to non-mages, and you yourself have said you were useless to the nuits. So I find no reason to carry on this conversation with you, nor to answer any questions about magic to someone who cannot understand it. Only a mage can understand magic. Even world mages do not truly understand such topics.”

[Fallon]

Fallon's expression did not change. As his words hammered upon her, sharp and piercing in their interrogation - which quickly turned into little more than wall of demands - did she simply let it wash on past. For to her, it was little more than a noise of one wanting everything upon a whim.

"Asked you did, it does not mean I have to play by your own designated rules and speak it," The book snapped shut, the chin lifting and her brow raising, "I do not have to share my name, just as you did not have to share yours. And thus, by that term I gave you one you may refer to me by and one that I would prefer to be known as. Which, in turn makes it a suitable candidate for a 'name', which in turn does not make it a lie, more so as I told you the exact nature of it. Of course, there was also nothing stopping you from asking specifics." There was the subtle of shrugs, a rock upon her toes and the tilt of the head, "Call me woman, do it."

There was only the lift of the chin in challenge, eyes burning brightly, "To me, ties are important. It means you have assigned skills to such a purpose, cause or organisation and thus must answer to those who are associates of such a thing. Thus, are you a potential contractor or associate?" She had to think things through, to clear the thoughts and speak what needed to be spoken. Direct and yet not so, bring the mind up into a level of thought and go from there. Tease it out, seek and probe within. From there a level standing could be gained and a position in which to work off could be stabilised.

"Correct, logically I have not," she gave a pace round, weight shifting as she sealed the ink vial and slid it into her pocket, "But also, logically I have. You ask me a question, and that question is one that is answered upon a system of belief. I have not spoken to a nuit about the sharing of skills or having a value, thus, upon that term I have no value. Besides, value is only conceptual to the individual - one may value one skill more than another. To which then breaks down to the question of what is of value to you that I may or may not have?" A gesture of a hand to him, a prompt almost for further questioning should be bring it.

"If you do not like the conversation, then why do you continue it?" she paused for only a moment, "Or why, more over where such rules not made clear in the first place. Presumption is the greatest enemy here, and one where you already judged the value without discussing it with your trading partner. It is a bad habit I advise you try to avoid. Along with the declaration of debts that I did not even know existed until you so kindly pointed out to this ignorant buffoon." There was only a smile, lips curling into a wolfish grin before dying down once more. The illusion of ignorance, she loved it. More so when the other continued his demands, orders and supposed cold hard facts about the island.

"And what was to stop you from not sharing knowledge in the first place? You did not have to partake in information sharing when I questioned you. If anything you yourself could have done like the many other nuits who reside here. You could have simply ignored me, or sent me on my way," she raised her hands at that point, forming a set of scales in shape and symbolism, "But, instead you gave an answer and then a knowledge. One of which you did not state before hand was necessary for a like to like trade. Have you never heard of charity?" she shook her head, "As you should know then of the world, not everything is cut out into pure black and white. And no one ever plays fair within this world."

Hands clapped together, "I shall not tell you why you should tolerate, for that is not my place to dictate. That is up to you to decide. Not I. And what exactly is there to say I am not a mage? Or that I stand among the uninitiated?" Her lip broke into a curl at that point, eyes coming down into a narrow. Or at least until it was simply laughter that erupted forth. Teeth flashed, a line of white as she simply drew herself back to observing, "Of course," She pivoted round at that point, her back turning to him she began to take a step away, "If you ask me to leave then I shall. I know to stay out of the way of a mage when they request it so."

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde listened to the woman's response halfway, the other half of his concentration instead focused on the cube of stone floating before him infused with his being. From beginnings of their meeting were Clyde fell into the speech of a teacher, to when he later slipped into that of a interrogator, he now slipped into a distracted and only mildly interested tone. Perhaps this was another ploy, perhaps it was not, but Clyde no longer even bothered to look at the woman as she spoke, and so missed much of her theatrics and motions and turnings and such. When he did continue speaking it was in a distracted fashion with little inflection, rather like one was reading a list off a piece of parchment. He continued to make small motions over the cube with his hands, some repeated, as he drew out in his mind the Glyphs and cuts into the stone. Better to practice it out a few times before making the final cuts. “Is it presumptuous to assume tenets of the world which are universally seen as true to be a basis of logic upon which arguments can be built? Perhaps some of those tenets we do not see eye to eye on, perhaps some we do. I suspect we both believe the world will not end today, that the sun will rise on the morrow, and that thorns are unpleasant and not nice to touch. One of these tenets we do not perhaps see eye to eye on, but which I see as fundamentally true, is that conversation is a creature of give and take, one which should be balanced.” As Clyde continued his motions over the cube, a fine spray of rock and dust would begin to come off of it as he made hit motions. If the woman was looking at the cube, she would see a pair of small lines appearing on the cube, or technically being cut and engraved into its surface directly via Reimancy. Clyde continued to make the motion along with a slight twist of his wrist, and the cube would turn so that a new face was showing. The lines which had a slight sweeping in and out curve to them snaked around the side of the cube, on to the next, and eventually would curve all the way around back to meet the beginnings of the engraving. In this way it would circle all around the four sides of the cube. With another twist of his wrist the cube turned on its side, and Clyde began again the slowly curving pair of lines going all the way around the cube. In this fashion he repeated himself, making a series of passes which slowly cut the engravings deeper until they were at a satisfactory depth. In the end Clyde would be left with a pair of lines doubled going in two different directions, and which would meet as a pair of doubled X's on the top and bottom of the cube as they crossed over the same faces. “Likewise, I find conversation to run smoother if one takes the initiative to be the first to give of knowledge. However such a thing only works as a conversation starter if the other person continues in kind and makes an equal attempt to converse back. Otherwise I would simply be giving a lecture, and while I have been a teacher I have never been one for free.” As Clyde finished saying this he also concluded his motions on the cube, making one final pass over each of the series of lines. A slowly curving line going in and out was a common barrier Glyph he used. Pairing them side by side without touching was a way he sometimes made a pathway. In this fashion he had made a series of pathways across the cube. Perhaps that was good enough for what he had in mind, recalling back to the anti-magic magic blocker/dead zone he had made so long ago in the wilds on a chest... But that had been a series of barriers, which he had realized was perhaps not the best or only fashion of doing such a task. He had realized then perhaps a series of pathways would work better to guide the magic about, instead of blocking it outright. Turning now back to the woman before him, Clyde made a sideways motion of his hand, and the cube of stone began to float in front of her. Clyde let out one more cough of res, and the stream of gaseous res floated over to the cube and settled upon it, before Clyde spoke. When he did the cube would have come to rest directly in front of her, though several paces away. “Regardless, if you are a mage, then magic this cube. Use some form of magic or other on this cube. If you are not a mage, then I suppose I have nothing else to say to you. But surely you would not begrudge me a small bit of assistance in my endeavor if you are a mage, and can do some form or other of personal magic. Just a small showing of djed work directed at this cube would suffice.”

[Fallon]

Fallon watched over her shoulder, despite the cold shoulder that the mage appeared to display and the level of disinterest. Eyes flickered to the cube that he was working on, the twiddling of fingers over the rock. Delicate, testing, the tracing of objects into the air as if designed to designate their positioning. Fingers pinched upon her brow, a sigh escaping from those lips as he laid down his belief system built upon rules that obviously did not exists soundly within the world. There were numerous who would simply take, just as there were many who would simply give. Never was there a perfect balance within the world - which would probably explain why the land was in the state it was.

"It is presumptuous," she looked at him from beneath her brow, "One series of rules does not mean that they can be replicated throughout the world. A cat is not a mouse. A baker is not a knight. If such tenets were replicated completely and utterly, then why is the land in such a state it is in?" she placed the question there, her eyes still occasionally looking up to the cube. More so when the patter of shavings escaped. For a moment she paused, her head cocking to one side with consideration as to what exactly he was going to fix within the surface, ”Some places are largely take. Sunberth for example. But… shall I presume such places are not of interest to you?”

His limited reaction seemed to prove a point however, and it was only as she looked upon the continuous rotation and the growing engravings that things began to make sense. For a moment she simply looked up, taking the carving in. It reminded her of the work Annalisa was capable of, the squiggles – glyphing was it not? – that stored power within that did something. She was still not quite sure as to what it did exactly, but that did not matter too much did it? It was still a piece she recognised – though what it did exactly was beyond her at present. For a while she simply let herself mull into silence.

Observation was key here – at least that was what she felt. To be able to understand what was presented before her and what it meant. She gave a chew upon her lip, a long stroke of the quill nib as she considered the words of this supposed ‘teacher’, something she was doubting on his actual ability to do. Teaching, when she last checked, actually meant and required the answering of questions – something he was stepping around. No, this was more a discussion of the philosophical in her mind. Teasing and snapping up information where possible. A battle of words.

When the cube floated towards her, the mutterings of his request – if it could even be called so – and watched the cube come towards her. If there was anything she did notice it was that it definitely had squiggles scrawled upon the surface. Deep gorges upon the stone, it was put to rest with a gentle thud and left to stand a few paces away. Coming to a crouch Fallon begun her inspection. In honesty she was not comfortable with the idea, revealing was not exactly her forte. And as there was the constant belief that mages could not be trusted – more so in the case of those on Sahova – she was left gnawing in her choices.

Fingers wriggled out of the gloves, a gentle place down of the leather as she took a closer shuffle. Pale digits flexed, a click as she leaned in fully and scrutinised the object before her. It was definitely just a rock – created through reimancy? – stable, solid and not about to leap up and do anything. Lips twitched, her head cocking to one side. There was another issue with his request, as far as she was aware her practiced schools were largely undetectable. Or at least as far as she was aware. Which, lead her to a choice of either playing along to his whims, or simply playing that of a deceiver. Of course, that lead to further choices.

The Lykata gave a prickle, her brow frowning as she weighed up her choices. The best trick would be to use the weaker schools. There was an inhale, deep as she focused her djed. Just a trickle, that was all that was needed right? Eyes stared down upon the stone, a purse of lips as she focused. She felt it rise up, the icy cold feeling seep into her senses. Teeth clenched together, the rolling layers smothering into her sight. A blink, she felt the trembling sheen smother her gaze as she focused down to the cube. An exhale, lips twitched silent words, the gaze almost wincing as she tried to take it in.

”Wisps?” she planted her hands down either side of the cube, a deep inhale as she took it in. She dared not move her gaze up to look upon the mage, nerves commanded her not to out of fear damage would occur. There was a blink, the swirls upon her vision watering as she tried to find some stability. Cheeks puffed, a deep inhale as she tried to concentrate, ”Sort of flickers? I mean. The wisps do. Is that… residual… not djed, could be though?” She rubbed her brow, ”I can’t really… see anything though? I mean, see that it’s a rock. But, that’s about it. Gods, can I stop this now? Petching uncomfortable.”

[Clyde Sullins]

As Fallon spoke, a small smirk broke across Clyde's lips. He could not help it, not with the facts of her argument, the way she attempted to fight his logic. "It is presumptuous. One series of rules does not mean that they can be replicated throughout the world. A cat is not a mouse. A baker is not a knight. If such tenets were replicated completely and utterly, then why is the land in such a state it is in?" ”Some places are largely take. Sunberth for example. But… shall I presume such places are not of interest to you?” “Really? There are no rules that are hard and fast, which apply to all, or a grouping of beings or peoples? If you remove the head, both the cat, mouse, baker, and knight, all die. Likewise if they do not have food to fill their bellies, or water to slake their thirst, or air to breath, they would all likewise die. Perhaps there are differences between these different groups, but I would wager that there are also many similarities and commonalities between those seemingly disparate groups.” “We are both living beings, humans, we have needs and wants and physical requirements, unlike the nuit for the most part. Like the nuit we work and toil in exchange for reward, although both the work and the reward varies from person to person. Do you not find these tenets applicable across the board?” “However you have heard what I said without truly understanding. I never said that these tenets I held as truths to be truths to all. I simply said that I applied them to my own meetings. I do not doubt that people try to take more than their share, nor that people look out for their own best interests. But a man who deals sourly will find himself with one fewer person to deal with. In the long term such dealings and negotiations result in your own loss, if you do not come to understand your partners in trade and take their needs into account. And I always try to work with the long term impacts in mind.” “Not to mention, who is the one making assumptions and being presumptuous now? I have nothing for or against Sunberth, honestly I know little of the place. But I at the moment have nothing against it.” “Also, you say that your evidence for my tenets being false is the current state affairs of the land... But wouldn't the inverse be true, wouldn't it be that the current state of affairs of the land is caused by people attempting to not follow my tenets? Perhaps it is you who has confused cause and effect. Perhaps they are not common tenets to go by, but surely someone must be the first, someone must take the first step.” “Besides, you can take something by force once, but often that taking results in you not being able to take the same thing again, least not from the same person. I certainly could use force to learn what I want to, but after that you'd be of no use to anyone, certainly not to me. And I don't think that the rewards I could gain from you in one meeting, however great they might be, outweighs the possible gains through future meetings and encounters. Such... "Methods"... are more relegated to dealing with enemies or dispensable beings, than ones of value as you claim to be.” As Clyde next spoke he spoke with a air of boredom, in a rather offhand tone. It was not voiced in a threatening manner, and in fact did not deviate far from his tones and inflections in the rest of his conversation. “Or do you decide you are not of value, and prefer that I instead simply burn the answers from your flesh... Yes I suppose I could do that, but that becomes tiresome after awhile. I find witty banter more enjoyable. But if you'd prefer I could simply take by force what could be mine, simply because I can...” Afterwards though they were on to the topic Clyde had indicated, that of the cube, and the suggestion Clyde had made to her of using magic on it. It seemed she was going to do as he had said. After a moment she was holding the cube, and looking deeply into it. For a moment there was nothing, and then a high pitched whine could be heard humming in the air, but not in the air. He could feel the sound of the note on the back of his neck, a small prickle, without the actual physical sensation. It was not very strong, but perhaps due to his proximity to the active usage of magic he could sense something... The tone never got to loud, and after a bit as the woman broke her conversation it waned. Her words though seemed to indicate what she had done... ”Wisps?” ”Sort of flickers? I mean. The wisps do. Is that… residual… not djed, could be though?” ”I can’t really… see anything though? I mean, see that it’s a rock. But, that’s about it. Gods, can I stop this now? Petching uncomfortable.” Clyde nodded, letting out a sigh. Since he had sensed something via his own Auristics, due probably to the active magic usage paired with his proximity, along with what she had said, and what she had detected in the cube, logically it meant that the woman had used Auristics. However from her discomfort and the time it took he would assume she was not terribly skilled. Likely she was less skilled than he himself was at it... Of course she could have simply been faking her discomfort and strain... But he felt it was likely she was using Auristics. “Ah, Auristics yes? Darn, I suppose I messed something up then? I'd better recheck the cube... Perhaps its the axis, the djed moves up and around, but only the one way... Perhaps it needs to work on both axis of the cube... Or more so in between those axis... Yes, that could be it, the two axis are to far spaced and allow djed to seep between...” Letting out a sigh, Clyde would move to retake the cube and to give it another look over.

[Fallon]

”And here you are going back upon your own words of logic and redefining them without defining them to begin with,” Fallon raised a brow and shook her head, ”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.”

And with that, she diverted her attention back down to the cube in question. Taking her perch down upon the floor, she placed the book down next to her. The quill was placed upon the open page, her bare fingers massaging her eyes sockets as she inhaled. Slowly, deeply she pulled the djed back, lids creasing as she felt the chill pull and pluck away from her sight. A blink followed by a sting as she shook her head and willed the sensation away. It was hard enough to use as it was, and placing strain would only prove it to be an annoyance. Nostrils gave a flare, the hand pulling away to rub upon her neck.

”Yes, auristics. What are you even trying to achieve?” her lips pursed into a line, her eyes looking down once more to the cube with normal sight – even if it was a bit watery to do so at present. With a frown she looked up upon him, a momentary pause as she tried to work out what exactly he was trying to achieve. Djed theory was not her strong point, she knew that, but even she managed to understand that there was something to do with the flow. Her finger gave a trace upon the air, a self-visual as to the movement of energy around it, upwards and around. But then she paused, watching the man come over.

Fingers plucked up the cube, a reaching up and presented it to him as she felt the heavy weight. But all the while she wore that frown, a deep thought consuming her face. Lips parted, then her mouth closed, a moment of consideration as she added the pieces together, ”Djed movement… around?” Her hands came together, the picking up of her form as she clambered onto her feet. With a cock of the head to one side she gave a series of mumbles whistling free, ”Zigzag, lead round it on itself. Or split it and map it. Lead it, lure it. Weave it like a mesh…” Plucking up the book she gave a pace, returning her attention to the written word before her if not for the unfocused speech still flowing forth, ”Narrow channels, grooves in a field, water runs down…” The quill scratched upon the surface.

It was none of her business; that was quickly growing apparent. Slipping into a state of silence, she simply begun the process of understanding what was before her. She knew she had to be careful, Sahova was not a safe place. And whilst she found it alright to ask things, she knew it was of the best intentions to generally stay out of a majority of situations. Eyes gave only a flicker, away and taking in what was going on around her. Who was listening in, watching and discovering. Her back twitched, her brow furrowing down as she looked upon what was before her. A cube, an experiment and a potential to allow some thinking she could sink her teeth into. A tempting opportunity to say the least. No, she knew what he was like when questions was asked. So, for a change she would simply wait.