[Stone Gardens]A Trade of Heart and Soul (Aoren)

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane couldn't imagine doing anything just after he'd woken up. He'd felt better than right after the ceremony but not well enough to be performing magic. Well he could have performed a little Auristics but he had found Auristics to be lightly taxing at best. It was interesting though to think that it was a part of him now. This res and it's ability to become water, earth, fire or air. He didn't feel different. He felt the after effects of the initiation though now much lessened by the passage of time and hearty meal but he didn't feel the power of fire through his veins nor the serene tranquillity of water. He felt the same. Just like he had felt after he had learned the other magic in his life.

“Did you're master not know about Glyphing?” Shane asked curiously as he gave his arm over to Aoren willing to accept Aoren's help. There was no indication that the glyphs hadn't worked before and he was quite happy to try anything that might make the process easier. After all he was a little worried that he wouldn't get it at all this first time. Anything he could do to make that not happen would be swell.

Shane was worrying a lot about this whole res thing. He was wondering which would be harder; conjuring the stuff or actually transmuting it. It also occurred to him that he had no idea how to do that. Did he just think really hard about it. He felt something when he used aursitics. Like he was bringing forth his inner power into his eyes. That was what he called djed. It was this he called to expend his sphere of influence when he performed Hypnotism too but never, ever had he seen a real live piece of djed. Never, not ever! So how could he possibly know how to do it. Could he even summon djed to his hand? Like he did with his eyes during Auristics? Had he done it before? Was that what he did with Hypnotism when he made a non-vocal suggestion? Shane wasn't sure. He wasn't sure at all. Some days he wasn't even sure if Hypnotism was even real.

Aoren brought him out of his reverie when he explained that in order to transmute res one had to 'instil in it the power to become an element. What did that mean, he wondered. He had to believe in the possibility of change. He had to breathe this possibility of change into it. Make it want to change?

Hmm... Shane had many deep ponderings to ponder but things were moving fast. Things had been moving fast since he had met Aoren. If any hint of wisdom was to be found in this day it was that real life events didn't leave time for proper thought and planning. These things were just sprung upon you and you had to grasp them and hold on for dear life in order to squeeze any fruitful returns so Shane had to be more ready. Shane had to know more about everything. The more he knew the more control he would have in situations like this in future.

Aoren must have noticed before the furrowing of his brow, the faraway yet intense look in his eyes... Whenever Shane had a moment this seemed to come over him. Deep though. He had to know, he had to process. Things were occurring all around him and he wanted to process it all but he couldn't realistically so instead he took every spare moment, every lull in conversation, as extra time for pondering. If pondering were a job, Shane would earn enough to build his own citadel.

“Oh, I never considered it like that.” Shane responded when Aoren spoke of the elements. “I've been thinking of these elements as individual things separate from me but I understand what you mean. They can mean something to me and understanding what it is they mean... This is the key? The key to transmuting res, to controlling the power of Reimancy?”

[Aoren]

“My mentor knew of Glyphing. He simply didn’t practice it himself. He knew enough to point me in the right direction but it was a discipline that I picked up on my own” With a little more confidence Aoren began filling in the shape of the Focus rune. He looked between one palm and the other comparing the pattern before giving a satisfied nod that they were as closely matched as was possible. At Shane’s questions Aoren was silent for a few minutes. It seemed almost as if he were not going to answer. The truth was he was merely forming the answer. Rising from his chair he set the painting utensil in their proper place. As he did he spoke over his shoulder.

“That would depend entirely on what your definition of power is, Shane.” Aoren went to the washing basin he kept dipping his hands inside the water he cleansed them of excess paint and debris. With a heavy exhale he spoke the thoughts that were running through his head.

“What makes me powerful? Is it because I have the power of so many different elements at my fingertips or is it the manner in which I use those elements?” Aoren came to sit back down in the chair beside Shane. He eyed the young man in front of him carefully. Folding his arms over his chest he leaned back in his chair crossing one leg over the other in a very relaxed pose.

“Take for instance my watering of the plant in the Stone Gardens. Was that an act of strength and power or was it mundane and beneath my abilities as a reimancer?” Aoren could think of a number of wizards that would have considered such an act beneath them. Magic was not a tool to use for such menial tasks but that was not how Aoren looked at it.

“Ultimately you are going to have to decide for yourself.” With that Aoren closed his eyes thinking through how he was going to guide Shane through the proper steps. When he had formed his idea he opened his eyes running a hand through his hair.

“You already have the fundamentals in place when it comes to manipulating djed. You practice Hypnotism which I imagine involves bringing djed to the forefront of what it is you are using to hypnotize a person.” Leaning forward Aoren rolled up the sleeves of his shirt exposing his forearms. He set his hands on his knees with the palms facing upwards flexing his fingers for a few seconds.

“Res, at its purest form, is just raw djed taken from your own body that you’ve imbued with the possibility to become something different. You can take it from any part of your own body just like you would with other personal magic. The trick is in getting it to manifest outside of your body.” Bringing his left hand to the ante cubital space of his elbow on his right arm he placed two fingers lightly on the surface of his skin. Slowly he began sliding his fingers down the length of his forearm to his palm where he would lift his hand only to repeat the gesture.

“You can make this easier on yourself by using a gesture or some form of incantation. As long as it focuses your mind on the possibility of manifesting your djed in the palm of your hand. Your hands will be the place that manifesting Res is easiest until you grow more accustomed to the magic.” As he repeated this gesture Aoren reached for his own djed. He focused on the concept of making it manifest with the flow of his motions. As the fingers of his left hand slid down the length of his forearm he envisioned his djed like a stream of power that slowly collected in his palm.

Aoren continued this for but a chime or so before he placed the tips of his fingers on his left hand at the center of his right palm. As if he were grasping something he slowly pulled his fingers away. Strands of an azure tinted fluid began to trail behind the path left by his gesture. As the formed Aoren focused his mind on them grasping hold of the piece of himself he’d brought into being through force of will. Swirling his left hand in the air in a light gesture he gathered the djed into a ball that floated listlessly above his palm.

“Right now this is just djed. It exists as a direct extension of myself. I have yet to instill in it the idea that it can become an element. To do that I have to prime the djed. Which basically means instilling it with the concept of what I think represents properties of the element in question. As you grow with more proficiency you won’t have to do this. The djed will simply manifest as Res primed to become the element or elements you already have in mind with just a flick of your thoughts. For now though…” Aoren grasped a hold of his understanding of the element of Fire. He instilled in the djed the idea that it could become fire and from there he patiently divided the newly primed Res into two layers. The surface of the ball he ignited with a flick of his thoughts producing soft blue flames around the sphere in his palm. “…just focus on the basics.”

Aoren transmuted the remaining Res into water producing a hiss as steam rose up from his hand. He folded his arms over his chest leaning back in his chair to observe Shane.

“Give it a try. Don’t worry about doing it quickly. Focus on doing it correctly. The path to understanding the elements is a slow one and if you rush down it too fast it will destroy you.” With those words of caution Aoren nodded for Shane to proceed.

[Shane Wallsly]

When Aoren began to talk about his power and in how he believed that an act of kindness as little as watering a flower was true power Shane remembered that it was this selfless sacrifice that had first drawn him to Aoren. He hadn't been able to believe his eyes when he saw what he thought was a man pouring his own soul into a plant to nourish it. Such an insignificant act in the grand scheme of things but he had felt this had been important to the man. Yes, Aoren was something different and certainly held views worth thinking about. He had been obsessed with the meaning of power ever since reading Brun's book. What power meant, how to achieve it, how to keep it and more... He was always thinking about power in one way orb another. To him life was just a multitude of simultaneous power struggles and all that occurred was the consequences of the victor. He wanted to be the Victor. He wanted to effect the world in a big way but... Sometimes... Well... Domination didn't seem like power that much to him any more. There were so many other routes to power. So many other sources. It almost made him wonder of the power of joint venture. Of working with the world and others to bring united power to effect greater things. To make Mizahar a better place almost...

He was thinking too big and forsaking too many of his ideals, his rules... He was too easily swayed by Aoren's ideology and charisma. He had to remind himself that Aoren was powerful in reimancy and in kindness. It could so be he sought to dominate Shane's heart with his kind deeds and warm words. Shane would not be so easily tricked.

“Either or?” He asked observantly. “A gesture or an incantation? Can you use both or is that inefficient?” Shane seemed a lot more bright now. He had steeled his resolve as it were. The emotional fragility of the traumatic imitation was waning and he was returning to his old self. “Is it merely a mental exercise or do certain gestures and incantations do certain guaranteed things for everyone?”

Shane copied Aoren's actions as he performed them watching him intently. He put two fingers on his arm around the same place as Aoren had started. He brought it trailing down to his palm and brought it away softly before repeating the gesture. When Aoren finished with a flourish and a little show Shane took a deep breath. “Shall I try now?” It wasn't really a question as he had already begun. He repeated the action whilst trying to clear his head of distractions. He tried to concentrate on only the motion and his breathing. Down, away, back up, down, away, back up... He built a steady rhythm. Without thinking his fingers began tracing the glyphs on his arm ending at his palm an pulling away before repeating the gesture. Finally he stopped at his palm. He brought his hand out kind in a hook-slitthry motion as if trying to wiggle something out of there and turned his palm for a moment he swore he saw something but like a trick of the light it was gone. He felt no different than before. He looked up at Aoren wondering if he'd seen too. He probably hadn't. It had been the faintest of some-things and he hadn't felt anything. He hadn't felt anything at all. He felt some feeling almost every time he'd used magic before. He was sure. He'd convinced himself it was nothing but wishful thinking and the reality was he was probably right.

So he tried again. He put his hand where he had placed it a half dozen times before and trailed it down to his palm. He did it again. He slowed down the motion a bit so he could get it all working right. He even imagined the djed coursing, nay flowing, through his veins. He imagined his little fingers collecting it and bringing it forth to his palm. He concentrated on the motion and the little thought exercise. He did it another half dozen times more pausing on his hand and bringing it out purposefully and in a very similar action as Aoren had done before. This time he didn't even think he'd seen something. It clearly had not worked. He frowned a bit. He remembered what Aoren said about it not always happening the first time but he was willing to keep trying all night until it did.

So he tried for the third time. He put his hand where he had placed it a dozen times before and trailed it down to his palm following the curvature of the glyphs. This time he closed his eyes. This time he focussed on the slightly ticklish sensation of his fingers against flesh. He imagined the djed gathering up and moving along with his fingers and collecting at the 'basin' of his hand. He kept that clear image on the djed in his hand and every time he came down to it he was simply sweeping more djed into the basin until finally he decided his hand was full of enough and he he brought his other hand to the centre of his palm and just grasped at it and pulled. He pulled it all the way out till it was hanging from his other hand like an invisible string. Then, still with his eyes closed he curled the string around his other palm into something like a ball of stringy djed on the opposite palm and the he willed it to form. He willed it to become something. He brought his head to his hand and he whispered “Form, djed, form, Res, become your destiny. Become your destiny.” He blew into his hand lightly and opened his eyes.

“NOTHING!” Shane cried in dismay. He still felt as if he had some invisible ball of djed string in his hand so he sort of shook it in disgust and scowled with bad temper. “I was all mystical and crap. I even spoke to the damn thing. I felt it. I felt it. For Sylir's sake I can't believe this!” Shane was fuming to himself.

Shane sighed deeply. “Any more tips? Anything else I can be doing to get this going?”

[Aoren]

“You can do both if you so choose. They are nothing more than tools to help you focus. There’s nothing inherently magical about the gesture or the incantation. There are no universal ones though I imagine simply because of practicality you’ll see wizards the world over do similar gestures. As for incantations…” He shrugged his shoulders. Aoren was not a mage prone to speaking his intentions aloud. He relied more on the focus of his motions when he needed assistance concentrating his powers. “I don’t use them very much but they can be anything that is relevant to you.”

It wasn’t called Personal Magic for nothing. There was so much of it that was up for interpretation because it affected everyone differently. The manner in which his mentor had wielded the power of Reimancy was very different than how Aoren used it. Even then he’d seen another Reimancer who had used the magic in an completely different manner than either he or his master. Magic, though distinct in purpose, was very much unique to the one who practiced it. Each discipline made interesting because of the personal signature of the wizard who wielded it.

So there Aoren sat observing his student quietly. With his arms crossed over his chest, leaning back in his chair in a very leisurely pose he seemed very much at ease. Never mind the fact that the young man in front of him possessed the power to manipulate his emotions on a whim. Never mind the fact that Aoren had just granted him the power to command the natural elements of the world. That kind of power made for a fire just waiting to burn rampantly without control. Aoren did not see this coming to pass for Shane though. He saw in the young man a thirst for knowledge and a desire for power that much was obvious in the way he spoke about magic. In spite of that though he also saw in Shane the potential to become something greater than himself. He saw in him the potential to be a good man but with all good men, dark temptations were there.

Aoren could tell that Shane was already getting frustrated. It was only to be expected. Reimancy wasn’t something that manifested rapidly. It took time and focus unless of course one was a prodigy. There were few who possessed such inherent gifts however. When the dark haired man exclaimed in anger Aoren could only smirk in slight amusement. When Shane had calmed down asking for a few more tips he had one at the ready.

“Did you harness the powers of Hypnotism over night? Did the power that comes with it come easy when you first waded into those waters? I imagine it didn’t. It took time. It took practice. The same can be said of Reimancy. You are not going to become a master overnight. This exercise is in getting you to manifest your Res. In fact you shouldn’t even try transmuting it to an element until you’ve got creating Res firmly in hand.” Aoren took a slightly deeper breath. He reached for his djed bringing it up from his lungs in smooth motion with his breathing. The djed then became Res that he breathed out of his mouth as a small cloud of blue gas. The wispy, almost mist-like cloud drifted between them without shape or purpose other than to exist for the present time. Aoren kept a firm hold of it with his mind before eyeing Shane.

“Res can take many forms. It can be a liquid. It can be a gas. You can make it become a gel like substance. You can even make it become a solid if you so choose. You can make it thin or thick. It all depends on what you’re comfortable with.” Raising a hand he passed it over the cloud of Res gas prompting it to collect in his palm. To demonstrate some of his points he changed the consistency of his Res. From a gas it seemed to slowly drop into his palm becoming a watery substance. It then thickened to become like jelly. When he was finished Aoren closed his hand willing the untransmuted Res to flow back into his body. He then folded his arms over his chest, crossed one leg over the other leaning back in his chair once more. With a nod of his head he prompted Shane.

“Try again.”

[Shane Wallsly]

It takes a lot of time to grasp Hypnotism initially. The initiation itself takes a lot of time but once you're over that hump it is much easier. I had thought the initiation would be that hump. I had envisaged something a little more instantaneous than this. Not as smooth, and fluid as you do it of course but I had thought when the initiation was all said and done I'd be able to at least make on drop of res.' In his head this was what Shane responded to Aoren's first couple of questions but this response never made it to his lips. There was no use in arguing with Aoren over this. Frankly he had done his part. The extra tutelage was something Aoren could have easily backed out of. The fact he was giving this advice pretty much for free lent him a no talk back guarantee.

The demonstration did help a bit. Res could be anything he liked so he could bring it out anyway he liked. Shane realised now that the Res was his own so why should his gesture be but a copy? His magic was like his signature. It could be similar to another’s but it was different. It was unique to him.

Shane took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and as he did so he realised something else. Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath... Was this a gesture? Had Shane been using a gesture with his Auristics the entire time without knowing that it was one. It was a sudden epiphany and Shane felt quite at ease all at once. He wasn't looking for some ancient technique. He had been looking for what was already found. He knew how to do this. He'd been doing it for years.

Shane stood. “Okay.” He said to himself. “Eyes closed.” His eyelids connected concealing his vision in darkness. “Deep breath.” Long in, hold one two, long out. “Bring it in.” As he took another deep inhale his palms moved up from his side mimicking the motion of his chest. “Bring it out.” His hands mimicked the moving down of his chest as he exhaled. This was back to basics. This was the breathing techniques he had used when first learning to meditate. The idea was to push in positive feelings and push out negative ones. This time he imagined he was breathing in res and then breathing it out. He did this for several minutes before taking an incredibly large inhale and then drawing upon that well he always drew upon for Auristics and hypnotism and expelling his breath. The result was a sudden blast of air (his breath) and several drops of water (his spit).

Shane opened his eyes and was suddenly beset by the technicolor wonderland of auras and he almost tore his hair out. He blinked away that power and sat down on the bed again in a huff. “Oh I'm just trying to be clever, aren't I?” He said with a crack in his voice. “I'm always trying to be clever and unique. Wanting to be powerful, wanting to be a prodigy, just wanting to be known for doing something halfway decent.” Shane put his head in his hands and tried not to weep. After a long moment of silence he sighed into his hands and something beyond miraculous occurred. His breath seemed to crystallise and spin around into a very tiny little ball of ice blue just floating between his two hands. Shane jumped up with an ecstatic “Aha!” and held his hand out to show Aoren the tiny little ball of res he had created. “I can do it. I did it. I created the res. I did it. I did it!”

[Aoren]

“Well done.” Aoren inclined his head a genuine smile of appreciation on his face. He observed Shane’s Res with a curious eye. It fascinated Aoren how there were many different colors of Res. They were a true reflection of a wizard’s personality he believed though he had no idea what the colors might have represented. His mentor’s Res had been a warm amber. His own was a dark royal blue. He’d met another wizard’s who’s Res had been a vibrant shade of red.

“The hard part is over. The rest will come with time. Finding your element is largely what will come naturally to you at this point. With practice you merely prime your Res to be open to the possibility of change then go with what comes easiest to you. To assist you, I strongly recommend taking up the practice of Glyphing. It will aid a great deal in helping you focus your power.” There really was nothing more Aoren felt he could teach Shane as far as Reimancy went. Perhaps if it came to weaving together two different elements but that was something for more advanced practitioners. It would have been knowledge that was entirely useless to Shane at this point.

“Congratulations, Shane. You are now a reimancer.” Aoren rose from his seat going over to kneel down next to his dog. The pup was dozing next to the hearth with a quite contented appearance. The scraps were completely gone. Small huffs occasionally escaped its muzzle. Aoren gently pat the pup eliciting a nuzzle from the dog. With the utmost care he lifted the pup into his arms cradling it lovingly.

“I suppose now it is time to learn Hypnotism, eh? If you are not feeling up to it, I understand.” He gave Shane a smile before returning to petting his dog. Returning to his chair he sat down still holding Isikai in his arms. The Drykas man contented himself with running his fingers through the pup’s fur. Isikai seemed to have no apparent objections to this. The dog pawed at Aoren’s thigh before pressing himself closer into the man’s lap getting comfortable. With a yawn he lay his head down the picture of ease. The sight of the dog only made Aoren smile.

“So, what can you tell me about Hypnotism?” Aoren had met a few Hypnotists in his time. It was a magic that intrigued him but it was also one that frightened him at the same time. The power to play with people’s emotions was a deadly one if applied correctly. No doubt there was more to it than just that but as he didn’t practice it, the magic was a bit foreign to him. Of the Hypnotists that he’d met one of them was very logical and removed from the very idea of emotions on the surface. The other was a wound in Aoren’s heart that he did not linger on. The third was standing in front of him. At the present time Shane seemed pleasant enough. From what Aoren had Seen he wasn’t especially nefarious with his gifts either.

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane seemed disappointed for a moment. “You mean... I won't get to transmute my res now?” Shane said in such a small voice Aoren might check to see if he were about to cry. In reality he was just shocked he'd worked so hard to get this little blue thing to appear and Aoren was saying the rest would come in time. He didn't have time, damn it! He wanted to know what it was NOW! “Why not?” Shane said a bit more defiantly this time. “It should be easy. Watch.”

He stood straight again and took his customary deep breath. He raised his arms in front of him the tiny little ball of blue res in front of him. His legs felt a little trembly when he stood up tall. Had it really taken so much out of him to summon such a small little thing. He imagine with greater training larger amounts would take less from him but it concerned him that there might one day be a point when he reached a hard and fast limit. When simply he could use this much without hurting himself. He'd never had to confront his mortal shackles before and he didn't fancy the day he had to.

He decided instead to sit as Aoren went to pet his dog. He sat in a meditative position his arms out flat beneath him. he raised his hands and hence the little sliver and closed his eyes focusing on the ball; feeling it. It was quite extraordinary. It was not touching him but he could feel it as if it were; as if he had curled his hand a smidgeon upward and touched it. He hadn't but it felt like he had. This ball was like a piece of himself.

He had to give it the possibility to be something new. 'Hey, you can be something new... If you like.' He said to the little ball mentally. He peeked open an eye at it and it was still just floating there. He hadn't really been expecting that to work. He decided to send it images of different elements he had seen. He gave it thoughts of fire; warm, glowing embers by the fireside, hot, dancing flame on torches, a house he had once seen burn to the ground. He gave it thoughts of the soil and the rock; the earth that could be anything from loose, fertile soil to hard, cold rock. He gave it thoughts of the water that could feed the plants on the earth as Aoren had and thoughts of the sea, of looking into the waters at the docks, of watching ships cut through the water. Finally he gave it thoughts of those same ships propelled by air filling up their sails, that same air whistling in the trees, blowing through the street, striking Shane on all sides on a cold, windy morning of Spring or Fall. He thought of himself steadfast as a rock, driven as the flame, free form as the water, free as the unbound wind. He felt a strange sensation deep within him. It felt like joy or ecstasy and he cried out a soft moan. A weirdly cold, sudden puff of air tingled his hand and he opened his eye. The ball was gone.

“What happened to the Res?” He asked Aoren. He rubbed his hands together to warm them a little. “It became Air, didn't it?” Shane asked solemnly already feeling he knew the answer. “And what was that feeling? I thought Reimancy would feel bad. Like energy being sucked out of you but that gave me an odd thrill.”

OOCSkipping the answer to all that let's get started with the Hypnotism

Recovered now from his first attempt at Reimancy Shane took a seat on the bed again. His legs felt a bit wobbly and stiff so he decided that sitting on the bed was preferable to the cross-legged stance he had used on the floor. “Hypnotism, huh?” He asked not entirely surprised that Aoren had remembered Shane's side of the deal “Okay, you've definitely earned it.”

Shane took a long pause as he tried to figure out what to say. As he took the pause he noticed for the first time the mirror on the end table. It was the small hand held mirror Shane had brought for Aoren. He picked it up off the end table and looked into it. He should have seen no-one. He should have seen just another person but he found it hard to think of himself like that right now. He hadn't done the mirror trick in a long time. He hadn't stared into his own eyes and neither loved or hated himself in years. Perhaps this was why he was advancing so quickly in Auristics a skill in which one looks for the differences. The less than mundane. The uniqueness within everyone. No two people had the same aura no matter how similar. That was an unavoidable thing but Hypnotic theory taught that all people were inherently the same at their very core. Perhaps hypnotic theory was wrong or perhaps it just served a purpose. Shane put the mirror down.

“Hypnotism is very different from Reimancy. There are no gestures or incantations and none of it does anything you can really see.” Shane told Aoren finding it easier to start with that common interest they had been sharing all night. “First off, and I break the ultimate rule of Hypnotists by telling you this but Hypnotism is not all-powerful. No person on this earth will ever do something they don't want to do. The key to hypnotism is in making someone want to do what they usually don't want to. The difficulty usually stands in how much or by what principle the person does not want to do the thing you want them to do.”

“For example, negotiating a better price from a merchant can be pretty easy if they know they are selling for a ridiculous price and they feel even slightly guilty about trying to rip you off but negotiating a better price from a shrewd merchant who believes wholeheartedly in his price and has an all-consuming love for wealth is going to be extremely hard.“ Shane lifted that example right out of Brun's book but as he spoke it he made a kind of connection “I suppose you could say Hypnotism is the Personal Magic where the 'person' in personal is more so your target than yourself because you have to adapt your technique to them. It's almost like if in Reimancy you bent to the element's will rather than it bending to yours.” Shane was quite pleased with this analogy and beamed to himself for a few moments before even thinking of continuing.

“I don't know if this makes any sense to you. Maybe I'm talking about the art of persuasion more so than the actual magical form. The two can be hard to separate for a practising hypnotist.” He frowned trying to work out how best to explain this. “Okay, everybody has a sphere of influence around them. Usually these spheres reject other spheres of influence but when in conflict or when two people are in any kind of battle of wills the spheres clash and either they can stalemate where no one wins out over the other or one sphere will dominate the other. When someone is dominated like this they are much more likely to obey the dominant one. What Hypnotism does is it magically strengthens your sphere of influence allowing you to more easily dominate other peoples spheres but I'm using the wrong words. You don't dominate so much as surround them with your charisma. You don't just blast them with magic waves and then they obey your every command. Surrounding most folk with your charisma is very easy and isn't really the issue most of the time. Only the very strong willed, other hypnotists and maybe even other magic users of various kinds will fight back against your charisma extending over them but even when someone is more susceptible to your charms you have to know how to charm them.”

Shane had been talking a lot and thought he better answer some of Aoren's questions but firs he would make one comment. “A real life example occurred earlier this day. You, Aoren,” He said looking the man square on “My charisma was all around you. I was making suggestive moments and vocals. I was trying my very best but you didn't just give in to my demands. You took every precaution and frankly I doubt very much that my hypnotism had any effect in the general outcome. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you didn't do enough but what you never want to do is too much. If I had did too much we wouldn't be sitting here. You might have killed me.”

OOCSorry If none of this makes any sense. Keep in mind he has no teaching skills, he's only a Novice and he learned all of this in a book.

[Aoren]

Aoren proceeded to watch Shane effectively transmute his Res into the element of Air. So it was Air then. It was an interesting element to manifest first in the young man. It spoke to Aoren somewhat about his inherent nature. Air was to Aoren the spirit of freedom and creativity. Were he not departing Syliras for Zeltiva in but a few short days Aoren would have liked to see Shane develop as a reimancer.

“Why would you think it is painful? It’s no more painful than any other form of Personal Magic. Whether you’re peering into the folds of someone’s aura or using your own djed to hypnotize someone none of them hurt. That is of course unless you over extend yourself and fall into overgiving.” Aoren had only suffered on the milder end of overgiving when it came to his magic and the use of reimancy. A few nosebleeds, some blurred vision, nausea or severe headaches that lasted for days was all he’d ever pushed himself to. At the mention of the thrill Aoren simply nodded.

“Be careful not to follow that thrill too much or too often. Using magic on a profound level can be addictive. This can eventually lead to falling prey to what are called Sweet Whispers where you are compelled to just cast more and more magic longer and longer.” Aoren spoke matter of fact. He didn’t make it seem like an ominous nor wretchedly twisted fate. It was a risk of magic. It was a risk that Shane needed to be made aware of and he had been moved to warn him whether he knew of it already or not. There were some risks that simply came as part of the nature of Djedweaving. The pleasure that came with casting magic was one of them that while not deadly in small cases could turn lethal if left unchecked.

“Well I should certainly hope that I earned it.” Aoren chuckled carding his fingers through Isikai’s fur while the pup dozed contentedly in his lap. He listened to Shane explanation of Hypnotism. A small smile touched his face at the somewhat rambling nature of the explanation but it made sense. He made no outward reaction when Shane confessed to Hypnotizing Aoren. It was done. It was over. Whether Shane had Hypnotized him or not he still wouldn’t have been able to force Aoren to initiate him into Reimancy if he was getting the picture correctly. He did arch an eyebrow at the ludicrous idea that Aoren might have killed Shane.

“Do I strike you as so violent a man that I would have killed you?” It was an honest question and one that disturbed Aoren deeply. He was not what he would call a pacifist. Aoren had no aversion to fighting though he preferred to resolve issues without resorting to the use of his fists or other skills. He quirked his head tossing Shane “are you serious” look.

“I might have scolded you but death? Hardly.” Shrugging his shoulders he picked up Isikai gently setting him on the bed. The pup awoke with a yawn shaking his fur before padding around the mattress then meandered over to Shane. Isikai nudged Shane’s forearm with his nose sniffing at the dark haired young man. Wiggling his head under Shane’s hand prodding him for attention.

“So, Hypnotism gains strength in knowing your way around a conversation, being a good judge of character, charisma.” That made sense. It was a note of concern for Aoren as he often times was rather uncomfortable in social settings. Nevertheless he wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as he was in years past.

“And how exactly does one introduce themselves to the Discipline of Hypnotism?” There was the heart of the matter. How would Aoren unlock the ability to use it?

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane decided not to mention then the headaches he got after too much Auristics. He had thought they were a consequence of merely using it but he was starting to think said headaches were, in fact, signs of overgiving. It was odd to think he had overgiven before without noticing. Auristics really was a tame magic.

“Sweet Whispers?” He rolled the words in his mouth. He'd have to make sure not to mistake his own determination for these Sweet Whispers in future. He had his work cut out for him.

Aoren confused him. The man seemed sort of sad to be accused that he might murder Shane. Why not? Why wouldn't your murder someone who was trying to manipulate you? Surely the man had killed bandits or thieves? What was really the difference between Shane and a passing bandit? They were both, in the eyes of the victims, dehumanised monsters. No different than striking down some feral beast. Isikai nudged his hand. Shane's hand moved to pet the dog instinctively. He looked down at the beast again unable to shake the similarity between Isikai and Norman. Shane smiled a little to himself. He didn't know if he could kill some feral beast. What if it were just scared or frightened? He was sure Norman would lash out at even him in the right circumstance and he couldn't blame Norman for that. Shane looked up at Aoren and realised he probably couldn't either. Aoren: Master Reimancer and Pacifist. Such odd parallels given the clearly destructive nature of Reimancy. Finally he decided to answer Aoren and this was what he said “No, I suppose not.” He sounded rather pensive about it. “Have you killed before?” Shane asked suddenly. He knew it was a rampant shot in the dark and he had no right to be answered but the question had forced itself from him.

OOCAgain on to the Hypnotism stuff after that's over.

Shane held up the mirror “The key to unlocking hypnotism is significance. Any true Hypnotist knows that the mind of every intelligent thing including animals even are made up of the same parts. Needs, fears, dreams and the like. The act that one performs to unlock it's power is to lose all significance of self.” He looked into the mirror again for a moment. Shane; hypnotist, aurist, reimancer and person. “To look within yourself and realise that you are nothing more or less than anything else is to understand hypnotism.” He quoted the very first line of the Hypnotism chapter of Brun's book.

He got up and handed the mirror to Aoren. “Look into the mirror.. What do you see?” He asked as he sat back on the bed. “Describe what you see with as much detail as possible.”

[Aoren]

Had Aoren killed before? Had he taken a life before?

“Yes.” Aoren leveled Shane with an honest stare. He rocked back on the rear legs of his chair before planting it on the ground once more. He offered no more than that but he would answers what questions Shane might have had in regards to it. Aoren had killed both men and beasts though not in large numbers. It had been many years though since he’d taken another human life and he’d only done so out of desperation with no alternative. It was a story for another time and though he would not lie he was not welcoming of the topic.

And then they were back to the topic of Hypnotism. Aoren accepted the mirror giving Shane a hesitant look before holding it up to view his reflection. Aoren rarely, if ever, spent time just looking into a mirror to accomplish more than just a clean shave. To stare at his reflection and search for more than just what lay on the surface was a troubling thought made even more so by the fact that he would be vocalizing what he saw. With a slight sigh he looked from Shane then to the mirror. At first he saw nothing more than his own reflection.

“I see myself. I see a Drykas man in his mid-twenties with hair the color of sand and blue eyes. I also see a little stubble on his chin.” Aoren knew that Shane was looking for more than just a description of his physical attributes. He looked into his own eyes facing his own scrutinizing gaze. What did he see? What did he want to see? More importantly…

…what didn’t he want to see?

“I see…” Aoren hesitated. Was he really ready for this? Was he ready to speak aloud everything that passed through his mind? How would Shane react to his own assessment of himself? Gripping the handle of the mirror with a resigned sigh Aoren began to go into detail about what he saw on a deeper level.

“I see a young man with a past he struggles with.” Aoren closed his eyes for a brief moment as memories came back to him. From his earliest recollection to the present day. “He is tired. Outwardly he puts on a brave face. He tells the world that every day isn’t a struggle. He tells those who ask that every day he doesn’t ask questions to which there are so few answers.”

Aoren began to lose himself in the somewhat cathartic release of just…talking.

“He helps others because….because he doesn’t know how to help himself. Every night he begs the gods for reasons why he’s lost all that he has and in the morning he pulls the pieces of himself back together in the hopes that it’s enough to shield himself from the pain.” Aoren gave a laugh that hitched in his throat at the building emotion in his chest.

“He wonders at the silliest things. What does a mother’s hug feel like? What does a lover’s kiss feel like? Why did he survive when everyone he’s cared for hasn’t? Why…” Aoren squeezed the handle of the mirror losing himself in the depths of his own gaze. He sounded out of breath. He sounded weary.

“Why doesn’t he understand that none of this is his to control? Why, if there is so much light in the world, does the scratch of the darkness frighten him so much?” A single tear welled up in Aoren’s eye then rolled down his cheek. He did not reach up to wipe it away nor did he hide it. A shaky smile touched his lips.

“But then he realizes that there is joy in the smallest of things…and that gives him hope.” Aoren lowered the mirror closing his eyes for a moment. He took in a few steady breaths not entirely certain if this exercise was working. He felt as if he were in a lucid dream. His head felt as if it weren’t entirely attached to his body. The room somehow seemed…smaller almost like he was looking at it not from his own perspective but from the perspective of an observer. What that meant, Aoren had no idea. When the dizziness passed he opened his eyes refusing to meet Shane’s gaze for a moment.

Never, in the whole of his life, had he shared any of that with another living person. Ever.

It had almost been far too much but given the depth of familiarity that Aoren had with Shane’s past maybe it was only fair? Magic was never without great cost. Never did it leave its user the same as they were before learning it. Aoren wondered how drastically Hypnotism would change him. When those thoughts passed he finally met the dark haired young man’s gaze. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say.