Completed [Judgement] To Bare One's Soulcore

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Prelude:Sheet Magic
40th, Spring of 515AV

It was time. Finally, the day of her judgement had arrived and Kamilla couldn't have been more relieved. While she was not entirely confident of what the outcome would be, she had long since grown tired of the gnawing anxiety of having the event looming over her head since her arrival on the island several weeks ago. It was odd, the calm that she was experiencing as she awaited her turn in the center of the large and 'crowded' lecture hall, where there had been both nerves and an eagerness to get it over with, there was now only silence, neither comforting nor foreboding, but simply the absence of emotion.

Since her arrival on The Undead Isle on the fifth of the season, Kamilla had learnt more about magic than she had in most of her life and there was no doubt in her mind that remaining on Sahova any longer would continue to yield progress. With this knowledge, the young sorceress found herself wholly unready to leave, the island may have been the least welcoming place she'd ever experienced but even so, even with the dangerous wilderness and lack of basic social interaction, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks. For years, reaching back to her adolescence, all she'd wanted was enlightenment, an understanding of the amazing occurrence that was magic and so far Sahova was the only place that offered it.

The sound of an unbearably unamused voice calling out a name drew her out of her thoughts and back into reality, it had called out a name yes, but thankfully it was not hers. Allowing a short breath to escape her lips, Kamilla watched as one of the hopeful apprentices moved towards the centre of the large stone hall, standing in front of, and far below, the table of ominously looming judges as he began his display. Taking the time to reacquaint herself with her position in the world, Kamilla took a few glances around the nuit filled room, plenty of the wizards and apprentices had shown up for the first judgement of the year, all watching the participants though with several different types of expressions, boredom and cruel amusement being the most popular by far.

Kamilla herself stood just beyond the central clearing where the hopefuls were to offer their piece of work, in her arms, folded into a neat square of black cloth was her own, a golem she'd chosen to name 'Sil'. In its current state, her creation looked like nothing more than a folded tablecloth but she was hoping that the surprise would be to her advantage. She'd chosen to take on a slightly more formal appearance for the day, choosing to forego jewellery and coloured clothing and instead wearing her black dress and matching knee high leather boots, her long mane of deep brown hair falling freely from her head.

Turning her attention from herself to the man in the centre of the clearing, Kamilla watched curiously as the man removed his shirt to reveal an unimpressive physique, her face contorting into a confused frown as she wondered why he would do such a thing. It took only a moment longer for the answer to reveal itself as the man's bare skin began to ripple and bubble as if something were boiling beneath the surface, Kamilla's own frown turning to a look of amazement as his bubbling skin turned to scales before her eyes, she had never seen or heard of such a magic and was unable to take her eyes off of the event unfolding before her. The topless man's skin was now entirely replaced by a deep black fur and upon closer inspection she could see that his hands had now grown claws, only adding to his wild appearance.

Then, as if the man's bestial form hadn't been impressive enough he let out a loud roar, tilting his head backwards as he did, bright flames spewing from his fanged and furry mouth as he continued the ferocious display for a moment longer, a moment too long, before the flames suddenly ceased and he dropped to his knees, sputtering as his fur coat and claws slowly receded, leaving the ashamed topless form of the man in their place.

Kamilla was amazed, to the point where she could barely contain it, her mouth held tightly shut in order to avoid it gaping open as she watched the show. Never had she heard of this fantastic magic that allowed people to turn to beasts, sure it was faintly similar to that of the kelvics, but when Faolan had transformed it had been in an instant flash of light, not a slow metamorphosis. The flame portion of his display, on the other hand, did not have her impressed, it was simply fire reimancy and no great feat for a reasonably skilled reimancer, though she did commend his attempt at combining the two disciplines, though she would have admired him far more if he had not pushed his limits and wound up overgiving.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Kamilla did not hear the outcome of the man's display as, once again, she drifted into her own thoughts and away from her surroundings. Reimancy, shielding, glyphing and now this unusual magic that turned man into beast, all of them amazing displays and here she was to present a piece of cloth, a glorified tablecloth. Doubt. Like a lightning bolt through the calm of the storm which she currently found herself in, a streak of doubt broke the silence, cutting deep into the depths of her mind and bringing forth an explosion of uncertainty.

She could feel it, the beating of her heart growing faster as anxiety gathered just beneath the surface. A deep breath was taken as she reminded herself that she had done her best and there was no point in worrying, it would change nothing and was therefore illogical. The reassuring thought helped to calm her mind some, but her emotions were not so easily herded, like a school of unruly fish they scattered, swimming about in every direction and sending her chasing after them one by one.

Slowly she began to catch the fish, her emotions, roping them together and under control with her will alone as she forcibly adopted a calmer state, using her practised meditation to rid her mind of any unhealthy thoughts and choosing instead to have none at all rather than negative ones. It took her several chimes of inner focus and quiet deep breaths but eventually, she managed to settle somewhere between nervous and uneasy which was satisfactory for the time being. To think that she was getting so riled up over whether or not she were allowed to stay on an unwelcoming island, something any sane person would question, but she had her reasons and she knew them well.

In the silence of her mind Kamilla continued to reassure herself, slowly putting out the flames of uncertainty with each passing moment until once again she arrived at an odd state of calm, one that was synthetic yet convincing enough to fool her other emotions into submission. Letting out another well concealed breath, Kamilla's warm brown eyes opened slowly at the hearing of the bored sounding judge's voice once again. Just like before he'd called out a name, one that she didn't immediately recognise from within the depths of her mind but slowly its familiarity donned on her as she made sense of the sounds and the uneasiness returned.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

"Kamilla Gordon?"

This was it.
With nothing else to do but take a deep stabilising breath, Kamilla stepped out into the open space where she would be judged, the tail of her dark dress flowing as she strode into position, arms held together at her waist with the folded cloth draped over them. Coming to a halt in the centre of the clearing she greeted the looming figures with a friendly smile and a polite bow, not daring to focus too much on any of their decrepit faces lest the sight cause her to lose her nerve and allow the barrier of calm to shatter. As she had learned since arriving on the island, there was no need for niceties nor did its inhabitants care for pointless things like flattery and idle chit chat, so instead, choosing to withhold her words unless they were asked for, she began her display.

Removing one of her hands from under the folded cloth, Kamilla used it to grasp at the top of the material before roughly throwing it into the air and onto the ground before her, the dark cloth landing almost completely spread out, piling only slightly here and there and revealing its entirely unremarkable appearance, a simple black cloth with a small circle of dark brown leather at its center. "Sil: Ala." the words were spoken just loud enough for the golem to hear yet softly enough that she hoped most of the hall's inhabitants would not be able to make it out. It was not that she didn't want them knowing the commands for her golem, as it's loyalty directive would see to it that no one other than herself and the warden initiate Keene could control it, but rather she was a bit embarrassed that she hadn't made the awakening command 'Alat', a small oversight but still a shameful one considering she was educated in the ancient tongue.

Turning her warm brown eyes to the golem expectantly, the silence of the hall proving that she wasn't the only one who was focused on the strewn cloth that lay across the ground, Kamilla found herself holding her breath, even though she'd tested the golem out several times that morning.

At first, nothing but subtle ripples could be seen on the unremarkable construct, though as a few ticks passed the ripples of life turned to what appeared as a slow shrinking as the edges of the material crawled inwards. The dark cloth, responding to its master's command, began to awaken, pulling most of its mass into its center as what looked like the shape of a head began to emerge at the leather center, pressing up from beneath the material as it grew in height and shape, twisting slightly with each movement until finally, half a chime later, stood what appeared to be the rough shape of a man from head to waist with only a single stump of twisted cloth that reached to where a normal person's knees would be for legs, though it was completely absent of features.

Releasing a small breath that she hadn't realised she'd been holding, Kamilla moved on to it's second command, "Sil, bow.". The dark person shaped cloth responded to its master once again, moving from its lifeless unmoving neutral 'standing' stance to do a undramatic but neat bow and then returning to its neutral stance. With all going as planned so far, Kamilla continued her display, "Sil, ready." as she spoke the words the golem's arms rose in front of its chest, taking the combat stance which it had learnt from Keene, "Sil, strike." the words were accompanied by a quick straight punch using its left hand, the attack was sluggish compared to the initiate's but still clearly an attack on its own.

Finally, nearing the end of its display, Kamilla called out the next command, "Sil, attack." just like before, the golem responded with its initial left hand punch but this time a few extra punches were added on, all in quick succession. She was well aware that the 'attacks' were wholly unable to cause harm to even an ant, but she'd chosen the movement because it was one of the most easily recognisable human actions and therefore, a great display of her current abilities in the art of animation.

Once complete, there was little else left to do but await a response, whether it was rejection or acceptance, she was about to find out. Having grown up in Sunberth, Kamilla did not like the idea of being judged, of recognising someone else's authority over her and especially being at the mercy of someone else, but it was a necessary evil if she wished to stay on The Undead Isle of Sahova and pursue her goals of magic enlightenment. Letting out one last sight, Kamiila called out, "Sil, ready." and her golem, Sil, returned to its still neutral stance, arms hanging at its sides.

[Ink]

One of the more constant judges, a Nuit in a macabre boy's vessel, gave her a once over before assigning her without fanfare or discussion. "The brothers asked for a new vessel."

The woman in the middle, a human vantha, shrugged in an intentionally apathetic way. "The golem tinkerers have gotten three fresh ones today, might as well."

The first, failed to nod, breath, or react in any physically appropriate way. "Then to Erikus and Erikur with you Pulsar. If you make yourself useful Erikus generally refrains from amputating limbs for experiments."

 

Kamilla

XP

• Politics 1
• Observation 1
• Leadership

LORES

• Dressing for Success
• Submitting to Sahova's Judgement
• Kelvics: Magic of Transformation?

MISCELLANEOUS

• One Bronze Apprentice Ring

With Regards,
Ink