[Sullins Residence] Quenching the Thirst [Clyde Sullins]

by **Xii** on April 13th, 2015, 6:17 am

“Now isn't that rude, how'd you like it if I called you an it? Cha is no more a simple thing than you.”

The words were strange, but the actions stranger. Xii frowned slightly as Sullins did something that she thought she remembered seeing him do before... he petted the stick, Cha, as if it might feel his touch. Add to that his words, and the odd, whimsical tone he'd taken... and Xii wondered if maybe he hadn't overgiven after all. She stared at him a little harder, looking for a sign of fever, but she didn't notice any sweat or flush upon his skin. So what was up with all that, then? Maybe he was just crazy. Had he said that magic could make you crazy? Or maybe it was something else.

It seemed the latter was the case as he continued on, speaking normally now. Not that Xii identified with most of what he was saying. The need to cast more she understood, she felt that every time she used hypnotism. But her need had always been in her head, clear in her mind like a self-made command, not like a suction or a 'pull' as he'd called it.

As Sullins continued, saying things about the soul and the body, the Zithling drummed her fingers against her knee. "So the soul," she said after a moment, "you think to be completely separate from the body? No wait," she muttered, shaking her head slightly, her frown appearing in truth, creasing her forehead. "What does the soul have to do with any of it? My mumma said that the soul is what goes on after the body dies. But what does that have to do with magic?" The girl realized she'd been thinking aloud and clamped her mouth shut, considering further. Finally, only after quite a few ticks, she said, "You said before that magic ~overgiving~ can twist the soul. And also that magic is fueled by djed. Does that mean like, the soul has something to do with djed and magic?"

She didn't know if that made any sense. What had he said about it before? Not that much about the soul before now, just about djed. He'd said djed was what made people up, like an energy? But what had that been about world magic...? She flipped open the journal and riffled to the right page, reading back to herself, unconsciously mouthing the words: Personal magic takes djed from inside, spending your djed. World magic takes djed from outside, from the world and other things.

That second part, 'from the world and other things.' If djed was like the energy that made up people, then did that last thing mean it also made up other stuff, too? Then how might djed also be the soul? She tapped her fingers now against the page, then shrugged helplessly and asked, chagrined by the knowledge that she likely sounded like an idiot, "If djed is inside and outside, like in people and also in other things, does that mean there are two types of djed? One for people and one for other stuff? Is the soul what makes people different from other things, like plants or animals? And if the soul is separate from the body like in morphing, then... does that mean the the djed of the body is different from the djed of the soul? Which would casting magic use up? The body kind, or the soul kind? Or both?" Almost belatedly after all that, she tacked on, "Also, what is res? Is that like the djed of the soul? Or still something else."

It was all getting a little confusing. So much so that she'd become preoccupied by her thoughts, barely sparing enough attention to listen as he finally explained ~if one could call the vague statements he gave an explanation~ about Cha. Relating this latest revelation to the questions she'd just asked, Xii pursed her lips and then asked, "So does Cha have djed like a person, or like a stick? And since she helps with magic, does that mean I could get my own 'Cha' for myself?" She liked the idea of that. Besides helping with magic, a stick like Cha would also be good for hitting people. It might be fun to learn a weapon other than her bow.

by **Clyde Sullins** on April 14th, 2015, 8:58 pm

It seemed no matter what he said, any answer resulted in two more questions from the girl. She was nothing if not curious, with perhaps a bit of entitlement mixed in, always expecting her questions answered while not giving much in return.

But then Clyde had just learned a new magic, so perhaps it wasn't so odd for her to expect her more general magic questions answered.

Clyde let out a sigh again as he answered, doing his best to explain the admittedly obscure and hard to word concepts. Some things just didn't translate well into words, and that was even more true when dealing with magical concepts.

His knowledge of the soul was somewhat limited, as one could only know so much about it, but with his time spent in animation and learning its concepts, along with his time spent with spiritism, perhaps gave him a clearer view than the average mage.

Clyde spent a few moments pondering his answer, pulling out bits of information from various encounters and situations, and molding it together into an answer, one that he'd likely not considered till he'd worded and said it. A somewhat odd habit of his. But then discussion did often lead to discovery, and questions led to thinking and trying to understand. It was one of the additional reasons Clyde suffered the girls endless questions.

“The soul and the body are two separate things, that I know for a fact. I've made a soul, albeit a weak artificial one. I placed it and attached it to a body, a form. But I could have as easily attached that to another object, and it still would've been the same soul thing. And ghosts, why they are but souls stripped of their bodies.”

“I don't know the exact way magic and the soul interweaves, but I don't believe it is totally unrelated. Magic after all leaves its marks on the souls exuding's.”

The aura of a thing or person was after all but a leaking of the soul, unable to be contained totally by the body... It was through that fact that the magic of Auristics worked, and allowed one to learn much.

“Though ghosts can't normally do magic, unless they are possessing someone... So perhaps the djed in casting does come more from the living body than from the soul, but I don't think they are totally unrelated.”

“Djed however is djed, regardless of what it is a part of, or tasked to. There aren't types of djed. Besides, djed is just a name for a concept, a vague understanding. Not something you can pin down and examine, or hold in your hand and weigh. You can't see djed, you can only see its effects. You can understand it, understand what it does and allows, how your body takes it in and uses it, but it can't be understood in isolation or in and of itself.”

“Djed is like the wind in that way, in that you can't see it, but can see its effects. Like a wind blowing through a tree. Only with djed the effects are usually more than brushing aside a few leaves.”

“I'm not sure if everything has a soul, at least not in the way that a person does. But everything has djed, and people, living thinking people, have more than unthinking or dead things.”

Clyde let out a sigh, followed by a yawn. He was growing tired after his casting and the long talking. He hadn't slept much last night but when he'd occasionally dozed by accident, and his thinking was perhaps becoming affected, not as fluid as normal.

When the topic of Cha came up, Clyde half stifled another yawn, and then chuckled before continuing.

“Neither. Cha is stronger in djed than a stick would normally be, due to the magic in her through the enchanting process, but not as much as a person... I think... I'm not totally sure. She does have a potent enchantment laid upon her though, so its a bit iffy.”

“And no, you can't have a Cha, Cha is one of a kind, of a type. There won't be any others like her, though there are others of her type. Like how there are many dogs of a certain breed, but only one Rye.”

“Cha is a Magic Staff, a particular work of Magic within a domain of djed I am skilled in. They don't help with magic, they don't make you more powerful or such, so stop saying that. It is... A tool of sorts, I suppose you could say. A Magic Staff, a properly made one, is a conduit for a wizards djed, for their personal magic. It is an extension of themselves, of their body and self. At least once you've learned to use that particular staff. I've been using Cha for about a year now, and I've yet to fully master her. But then as I said she's potently enchanted, not an average ordinary staff.”

Clyde let out another yawn, followed by a laugh, as he looked at the girl.

“But sure, you could get a staff to use, if you'd like. I could make a half way decent one for you if you could pay its cost. In fact, I've got an extra one I've already made that I could sell you. It comes in just over 5,000 gm.”

Clyde was referring to the staff he'd made back on Sahova, with Ann his cousin. It was a MC 2 staff, with only a single step to increase its durability. Its materials for enchanting alone would cost 1,700 gm, though there was also labor, acquiring the staff in question, and the added ingredient of nuit ichor in it. It would indeed sell for at least 5,100 gm, though to the right buyer perhaps more with its odd added ingredient.

by **Xii** on April 14th, 2015, 11:58 pm

There was a lot of new information to take in, and as Sullins rattled off this and that ~he could make a soul? and what was this about magic staffs?~ she once again scribbled down some barebones notes in her journal, her furrowed brow stinging enough to make her wince.

Interspersed between his answers were a handful of yawns ~which Xii had to resist from echoing~ and because of these she remembered that he would be quite tired. After all, she didn't know how long Sullins had stayed up last night, maybe the whole night through, and all of it spent in intense focus. Plus then he'd gone through more this morning, the actual process of morphing, and she couldn't tell how long that had taken as there were no windows to show the sunlight, or to let in the sound of the tolls. It had seemed like a while... but then again, five chimes spent doing nothing but watching someone could seem like a long, long time.

Perhaps it would be best, then, if the Ebonstryfe got some rest, though he hadn't told her to get out or anything like that. Not that she even could get out, even if she wanted to... considering that locked door. Thinking about it made her palms feel sort of itchy. She'd asked last night, but Sullins had never explained why the door might need to be locked.

Now she shrugged away her unease ~though not entirely, it clung like a cobweb~ and said offhand, sniffing, "5,000 gm, pff. I think I'll just make my own staff then. Though I don't even know what the point in having one is if they don't make you stronger." There must be some point, as Sullins had said he used Cha as a tool and as an 'extension' of himself, funneling his magic through her. But he hadn't said to what end, just that it had something to do with personal magic? How could a stick be used as a tool in such magics? He'd said Cha was enchanted, so it probably had something to do with that. Enchanted to do what specifically, though, she had no idea. Maybe she helped him focus? Or... or use less djed, or something like that?

For once entirely forthcoming, Xii skipped over the other questions she had about Cha in favor of asking, "So what now, then? Are you going to go to sleep or something? And when can I leave? Have you taught me all the stuff I needed to know?" She left off that she hadn't yet finished her side of the deal since she hadn't taught him hypnotism, but maybe he'd be too tired to remember. One could hope.

The Zithling couldn't help feeling she'd gotten gipped so far. Sure he'd taught her about djed and stuff... but she'd taught him an entirely new magic and in return had only been tantalized with fleeting details about so many more things that she didn't know, but that she found she wanted to. Like that stuff with fire. And the stuff with 'making souls'. And making a magic staff. And enchanting things. And what had that other thing been about getting eaten by some kind of magic? Maybe there was a way to turn that around and let someone else get eaten. That might be good to know. And fun, besides.

It seemed there was so much stuff she had no clue about, and that caused frustration beyond all measure because she wanted to be the strongest and smartest and most dangerous. Worse yet besides the frustration was that her lack of knowledge made her feel insignificant. And worse worse yet was that Sullins knew these things and she didn't, and she also knew that he wouldn't share and that she probably couldn't force him to tell, not even with hypnotism.

Basically it was all unfair, naturally she should be allowed to be better than any dumb human, and she snapped her journal shut and crossed her arms slightly, the picture of a grumpy kid though she didn't go so far as to scowl.

by **Clyde Sullins** on April 17th, 2015, 12:25 am

Even in his tired state the girls response was funny, resulting in a grin and a short laugh. She'd just make one... Indeed...

The thought was funny to Clyde, knowing what he knew. As if it was as simple as throwing money at something, money she didn't likely have. Magecrafting was an art, not a brute force skill like many personal magics.

“Right... You do that. Just make sure I'm in a different part of town when you try, and you end up blowing yourself and the building your standing in to bits. The magic that makes Magic Staff's, is one of the most dangerous of all to practice. I've spent a good bit of time becoming considerably skilled in it, and even I don't consider such a enchantment as an offhand thing. And I have a handful of other support skills to make sure things go well. You don't even know the magic itself.”

Glyphing and Auristics were the main support skills Clyde used in his Magecrafting work. When he brought together his skill in all three, the threat of failure was severely limited if not negated. Glyphing kept out unwanted external djed, helped stop feedback, and helped guide the djed. Auristics let him keep an eye on things, know where djed needed to be added, and warned him of any growing imbalance.

But there was no such thing as an absolute, and even he could fail with an overly ambitious project.

“You'd be better off paying me to do it. Perhaps I'd even give you a discount in exchange for other considerations. But I doubt you currently even have the funds to cover the costs of such a endeavor. That'd probably be at least 2,000 gm.”

“As for a purpose. I could say the same of a sword. Why does anyone use one of those? A sword doesn't make you stronger. But a well used tool in a skilled hand can do much that a empty palm cannot. The same applies to Magic Staffs. And other things can come in time, once you better understand the staff in question. I've unlocked a few of those with Cha...”

It was only with her last comment that Clyde recalled that Xii was locked inside, as he'd locked the lab out of habit upon entering with her. It didn't bother him to be locked in, and he preferred it over having random people wander in.

If that happened while he was working on something for instance and someone disturbed something... The end result could be catastrophic.

“If you wanted to leave why didn't you say something?”

Clyde got up and gestured for Xii to follow, opening the door and heading back out into the lab, stifling another yawn as he crossed the room. Once he got to the locked door he'd pull out the key and quickly unlock it, swinging the door into the common area back open.

“As for teaching... I've taught you what I've taught you. But I doubt we've covered everything you need to know as a magic user. I've spent years learning such things, do you think it can all be learned in a day or two? Besides, some of the things you must learn by their nature take time and experience, and can only be learned through direct usage. I can't for instance teach you control by lecturing about it. Your ability to control must be tested in a controlled setting.”

Clyde paused for a moment here, working on various ideas and things, and ways he might go about it... He was fairly certain he'd use a few other magics for that, particularly Glyphing.

“Perhaps once we've both learned more of morphing, we can press on to other things, like hypnotism. But for now, one thing at a time. If you try to do too much at once, you'll only ruin yourself. And I wouldn't want to see you ruined.”

For a moment Clyde considered lending her his extra staff to use and bond to, the one he'd mentioned before, but thought better of it. Perhaps though if she proved herself, and more permanently aligned herself on Clyde's side he might consider it. But for now it was far to valuable of a asset to lend out to someone he didn't know if he could trust.

At the moment Clyde was having trouble keeping his mind from wandering back to his bed, something it was doing increasingly often as he grew ever more tired.

by **Xii** on April 17th, 2015, 2:13 am

Hmm. Blowing up buildings sounded sorta cool, but she wouldn't want to do that if she was inside. And she wasn't even certain if he was telling the truth or not... how could working on a staff ~which was pretty much just a stick with some magic thrown in, right?~ blow up a whole building?

Xii had to hand it to Sullins, though. He knew how to speak to get someone's interest. Even the offhand things he mentioned about magic ~like the 'support skills' he oh-so-briefly brought up~ were intriguing to her. She hadn't known that there were ways to support magic. Well. Besides like, meditation. But there were other things? She wondered what they were.

Before she could ask, though, Sullins had breezed on, saying that she'd be better off paying him to make the staff for her... which of course made her more than ever want to make one herself. If the risk of danger ~blowing up buildings!~ hadn't been enough, showing Sullins that she was strong, that she could be just as strong as he was or even more, added greatly to the appeal. She didn't know how she would learn such magics. She needed to know more about the different types before she figured out how to do the ones she wanted. Or all of them.

The Zithling acknowledged the point about the sword with a tilt of her head... then tried not to look too eager as she got up from her place on the floor and bounced along behind the Ebonstryfe, waiting impatiently as he unlocked the door. As soon as he was clear and she was able, she strode out of the lab into the front room, the look of tension easing from her shoulders slightly now that she had access to the window and front door once more.

Now she stopped again, backpack slung over her shoulders and red jacket tucked under one arm as he said his parting piece. He doubted he'd taught her everything... but some things he couldn't teach? The girl didn't know if he was lying or not, and she wished she might have some way of telling. Really, she didn't even know if anything he'd said was true, about personal magics and world magics and djed and everything else. Some of the things he'd mentioned had seemed a little weird, magics she'd never even heard about, hadn't even dreamed of.

Yes, she definitely needed to know more... though she had no idea how she might go about doing that. Maybe a book, but reading books was still really hard and she didn't know where she'd even get one. She'd have to learn more about the city first. Oh, and figure out how to not get got by those slavers. Thinking about that last bit, she crossed to the window, which was still open from last night, and stood on her toes to peer briefly out, like the ones after her might just be peering in from the other side.

Finally she spoke, turning back towards him, though she had already put herself close to the door, hand resting on the knob. "Speaking of morphing... you think I could come back here sometime and take a look at your dog? Um, Rye?" She didn't think so, but she might as well ask. If not, maybe she could find some other animal. "My teacher said that it was good to have what was called a 'model' if you wanted to try to form not-human things. Like if you wanted to be a dog, it would be good to look at a dog and figure out how he... worked. Like his bones and fur and stuff." She didn't mention that her teacher had also had a strange ~but also curious~ obsession with dissections. Or vivisections. She'd experienced some of that firsthand.

Another thing that was curious was that Sullins had said that he wouldn't want to see her ruined. Probably it was just because he still needed her. After all, she hadn't yet taught him hypnotism.

by **Clyde Sullins** on April 17th, 2015, 4:04 am

The more Clyde learned of the girl, the more he had the suspicion that certain magics simply wouldn't fit her. Magecrafting was likely one of them... And probably Glyphing. Both took a level of control and focus that he'd not seen in the girl.

Likewise she did not seem to yet have truly come to respect magic. She was too willing to risk, to hurried, and had yet to even master her first magics. World Magics were unlike the personal ones she knew how to use, particularly the ones Clyde was most skilled at.

Perhaps she might like a few of the others, but certainly would not have a knack for those.

In some ways her headstrong nature was good. But in others... It meant she only half believed what he said, which would likely end up getting her killed. He'd soon have to etch into her the understanding that half following what he said or ordered wouldn't be enough.

She had promise, but not for all the magics he held.

“I suppose you can come visit Rye, and try to copy him. But don't forget what I said, bits before the whole. And it seems to me turning into a dog would be a rather drastic change. Don't take it on before you are capable.”

“I also want you to focus on the magic you have, focus on morphing, until you are proficient in it, which you clearly are not yet. You let your mind buzz about, becoming concerned with other magics, but you've yet to understand or grasp the ones you have. And don't forget the one spell a day rule we agreed upon.”

“Anyways, come back in two or three days, and we can perhaps continue. I've an idea in regards to that, the bones and stuff, I'd like to try out. If you'll aid me, I perhaps can aid you. Bring me several fresh pieces of parchment when you return, and I'll perhaps show you another of my crafts... Might even make a scroll or two.”

Morphing and Auristics seemed an obvious combination of magics, clearly aiding the other. Combined with his Glyphing, Clyde could allow the girl to test out things also. Along with possibly figuring out how storing morphing would work, something he'd yet to figure out. He also needed to learn how morphing worked with Cha.

Once Xii left Clyde would be headed straight to bed, to sleep for quite awhile.

by **Elias Caldera** on May 23rd, 2015, 11:17 pm

Behold, Your Just Rewards!

Xii

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Clyde Sullins

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