Solo A Dreary Day's Practice

The weather is wet and dreary, what else to do but practice Spiritism?

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

A Dreary Day's Practice

Postby Levi Remilian on December 17th, 2015, 9:46 pm

15th of Winter, 515 AV



12th Bell

The melted remains of snow spluttered from dreary cloudy skies onto the streets below while inside a certain apartment room, Levi slept on his bed. Or at least tried to sleep. He found the rest periods to be one of the strangest features of Lhavitian culture because to the visitor it seemed very unnatural. This strange feature though was the very behaviour that allowed for the city's dual life betwixt the influences of Syna and Leth. There was always something going on day or night in the city of the stars albeit the rest periods were the exceptions to that rule. If Levi was to get accustomed to Lhavit he thought that it would be appropriate to adopt aspects of their culture; the unique sleep schedule was one such important aspect. He sighed as he stared at the ceiling as he had for the past hour. It would take some time to get accustomed to this strange cycle of sleep he thought, but he planned to stay in Lhavit for a time, and that should be ample time for him to adapt to the Lhavitian sleep schedule.

The travels of the last two years seemed like a blur to Levi and it was something that stood out to him. Riverfall he recalled working for a Konti spiritist while both Naya and himself immersed themselves in the sights of the majestic city upon the waterfall. Even so they continued in their travels after a couple seasons, much longer than the two had anticipated. The next city though, that was where it felt like his memory was hazy. Alvadas the city of illusions, where the line between reality and fallacy was blurred. What did he do in that city? Were they even in that city in the first place? He could barely grasp a fragment of a memory that he had not worked in a spiritist's business there, but that was all he remembered. It was a flurry of the fantastical, strange and vivid images of things that were impossibilities in this world of Mizahar. Or were they? Either way the only concrete memory he had was that of boarding the Mischeif set for Lhavit. It was strange... had they been trapped in an illusion for a year until they escaped? He could not know for sure. Did he even want to know?

Now Lhavit, the city was beautiful and Levi felt a strange emotion, one he had not felt in Riverfall or Alvadas: he wanted to stay. He felt that he could remain and establish himself not only by becoming known by name but also starting his own business here, like the Konti spiritist in Riverfall had. The thought was unexpected. Was it the city's beauty that drew him in? Or was it something else, that feeling that Levi had felt in the back of his mind, the feeling that behind all of the shimmering skyglass there hid something dark? Preposterous, he couldn't simply stay here and adopt it as a new home. There was Naya and their promise to travel through the world with all its sights and dangers. She would not understand if he told her he wanted to stay in Lhavit. Not only that, his father was still somewhere in this world, Levi still believed that he could find him despite two years of fruitless effort in that regard.

Levi looked over at where the apparition was. Naya hovered near the window as she looked at the Surya Plaza, visibly bored as her own sigh echoed through the room. He himself was in a similar mood, considering the events of just a few days ago though, the boredom was a much needed rest for the spiritist. Levi recalled the encounter with the violent spirit, even though in the end he managed to assuage the ghost it had still been an unpleasant and humbling experience for the man. He was powerless before the apparition's power, words being the only tool he could possibly use. Thankfully it worked in that case, but there must be some method or tool to pacify ghosts, a technique that won't harm them. He will stand by his beliefs that was certain. If he was to support them though, he needed to get stronger.

Another reason for the spiritist's boredom was the annoying fact that he, for the first time in his two years of travelling, was unemployed. There was no opportunity for a spiritist to be hired in this city as it seemed the so called Dusk Tower and Rostam were the main authorities on matters of the ethereal in Lhavit. Even if Rostam was looking for help, Levi doubted he would accept that offer. Rostam had left a bad impression on Levi and it will remain that way. Also considering that he was the only other powerful spiritist in this city advertising his services, he must have been one of the spiritists Serah encountered. That only made his image worse in Levi's mind.

What was Levi trying to conclude on with all this internal rambling anyways? That was right, he had to get stronger. He had to train himself more if he was to offer better help to the restless spirits of this city. The current ability the spiritist had was not enough. On a dreary day like this, what better was there for the unemployed spiritist to do but practice? He sat up and slid off the bed, stretching his back and shoulders. This action seemed to have caught Naya's attention as she had blinked right up to Levi. "Hey! Are we going out somewhere? Even though it's so wet?" The girl slowly gathered form, green eyes twinkling with excitment. Levi chuckled and shook his head, "No, we're training today. We'll go explore tomorrow." The spirit's shoulders drooped as she pouted. "Aww... can't we do that some other time?"

"We have not trained for a while Naya, all we have been doing since coming to Lhavit is looking through the city for ghosts."

"And meeting new people! I really like Ingrid, she's nice." Naya added with enthusiasm. "That Djas guy though... I don't really like him. He made me feel sick..." The spirit frowned as she remembered the Dira marked. Levi nodded and patted her head. It was unfortunate that was the impression she got from Djas; he wanted to get to know the Dira-marked better after their first encounter. There was much for both to learn from each other.

"I'll make some soulmist first, alright?" He spoke to Naya as he walked to the table in their room. All that he need was on the table: a bag of flour, eggs, a large block of cheese, and the dagger for the blood. A bowl was set near the ingredients conveniently into which went the three mundane ingredients. Pour, crack, and a chunk dropped in. He mashed them together in the bowl as best as he could; he was hardly a cook but this simple dough he could manage even if the end result was a rough and chunky goo. In went the dough, slice went the dagger on his left pinky, and copper crimson spilled into his mouth. It was all a familiar procedure for Levi, one that he had gotten used to after the first several times of almost throwing up the unnatural mix when he first began learning spiritism. Now it was a laughable exercise of will to chew the mix for a few chimes. He swallowed, his throat squelching as the goo went down. Focus was all he had to do now, with his regimented controlled inhales and exhales aiding the process. Naya floated by Levi, though she was only a puff of swirling soulmist as she conserved her strength.

It was hard for Levi to describe the sensation of the forming soulmist inside of him. To simply describe it as cold may have sufficed for some people, but not for him. The sensation had a certain quality that differentiated this feeling from the chill of Morwen's winter. Not that it was a feeling of outright decay but subtler, it was stagnation, the feeling one gets when walking into an old abandoned house while a frigid wind blew through its broken windows. Levi would normally simply exhale the soulmist out of his mouth, that seemed to be the natural response, but today he felt he could do things differently. He closed his eyes and held cupped his hands together, the palms facing up and set his concentration on that part of his body. A numbness spread from his gullet and up but instead it trickled down his arms. At first it was a small glob of off white goo but it slowly grew in size as the substance seeped out of his palms, filling them up until they were almost full.

Levi opened his eyes and was satisfied with the result. The soulmist was carefully dropped into the wooden bowl on the table and set aside for now.The preparations were complete. Onwards to the true start of the spiritist's training session.
Last edited by Levi Remilian on December 23rd, 2015, 7:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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A Dreary Day's Practice

Postby Levi Remilian on December 19th, 2015, 12:25 am

Once more Levi sat on his bead, legs crossed and hands resting on his knees. Naya gently descended and sat in front of the spiritist as she waited for the spiritist's instruction. Levi was the first to speak. "Naya, can you bring the bowl? See if you can grab it with your soulmist while staying here." The ghost nodded, a single tendril of white mist forming out of her shoulder. Face scrunched up with concentration, the little spirit tried reaching out for the bowl with all her might; it did not even make it halfway to the table as the tendril stretched out to its utmost limit of about a metre. Several ticks passed by as the spirit tried all the harder to grab the bowl to no avail. Finally the tendril drooped and retreated back into the ghost, Naya looking down as she simmered with frustration. The simmering burst with Naya's annoyed cry, "I can't do it!! It's too far!!" In a flurry the ghost blinked over to the table, grabbed the bowl and glided back to Levi. She threw the bowl down on the bed, arms crossed as she complained. "Why can't I do all the neat things other the ghosts can do? It's not fair!"

Levi tried reassuring Naya, "The powerful ghosts are often the angriest and saddest people. Their emotions fuel their power. You're not like that Naya, you're my sweet little sister." He smiled and hugged the little ghost, "You didn't remain for the sake of revenge or such, you stayed for me..." He trailed off, a lingering sense of grief heard, a sadness that had been resolved yet not put to the past. The very fact that Naya was here with him in this very moment disallowed the passing of that sorrow. For him she went through restless nights, for him she took on a life where should could no longer fully enjoy the joy that life offered, for him she remained but a shade of herself.

Melancholy dulled his voice, "You don't regret becoming a ghost do you? Even though the life you lead is so much less than what it was in true life... all for me..." The ghost girl looked at her big brother while still in his embrace, confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean? I never regret it because I have you! You're why I don't end up like all the other ghosts we meet, we both know that..." Even in Naya's chirpy voice a similar sadness could be heard, almost a weariness. "It was hard big brother, not being able to eat, sleep, all of that... but if I'm with you that doesn't matter! Even if I can only see the sights, that's good enough for me. Once I see all the places ma and pa told me about than I could just see them again in my next life, and it'll be just as fun!" She grinned up at Levi and nuzzled her cold head against his chest. "But... sometimes I wonder how mum and papa are doing..." The energy in her voice dropped abruptly to a quiet whisper, "I miss them... sometimes I just want to see them again..."

The spiritist's nodded, though the sign of surprise was on his face; thankfully Naya could not see his face at that time. He had never truly considered how Naya felt about the cycle of reincarnation and the extent of her promise. Certainly one who refused to continue on would deny the very cycle right? Apparently not as his sister's comment proved to show. It was strange yet at the same time... reassuring. Reassuring was an unusual term to use for that notion. He had to focus on training and leave the ruminating for later, and perhaps he could do something for his sister. He cleared his throat and looked down at Naya. "I have something I want to show you... a trick." The little sprite immediately detached from Levi and held her hands together in anticipation, flipping from gloom to excitement on a dime, "Oh is it another magic trick like you do with making soulmist??"

"Yes it is a magic trick, one I haven't tried even though mother taught me." A trick, that was exactly what he was going to do. The Lie was in essence exactly as the name said: a bluff, impersonation, a false mask used to trick ghosts. To the young spiritist it felt wrong to use the Lie;it was dishonourable and manipulative. Honour was not a subject that Levi consciously thought that he adhered to with utmost rigidity, maybe others would argue otherwise, but in that regard the spiritist maybe did stick to his own code. If he was to persuade a ghost to calm down or pass on, he would do it with his own face and voice, not that of another. Nonetheless, logically he knew that it should be practiced and ready for use if he was ever pushed into a situation where a white lie was the only thing that could possibly ease a spirit's agony. The man sincerely wished he would never have to do that. This time though, was for Naya and maybe helping her feel better.

Naya watched Levi with anticipation, waiting to see his new 'trick'. A small smidgen of soulmist was all he needed for the voice and down Levi's throat went a glob of goo, leaving his mouth and insides feeling a little clammy. He could feel the pinprick of cold settle down in his gut somewhere, but the point was the residue it left in his throat, minute traces of the soulmist could be sensed by their familiar slimy sensation. The next part was a little messier; the spiritist scooped up a handful of the pale substance and held his breath. He began smearing his face with the ethereal material, spreading it all over his face and dabbing it onto every corner of his face. Not a single bit of exposed skin could be left, he had to do this meticulously. It would look ridiculous that was for certain; he was positive Naya would be giggling at him the whole time. No matter what she may do though, he was going to concentrate and tune out everything else for the most crucial step of the Lie.
Last edited by Levi Remilian on February 9th, 2016, 4:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Levi Remilian
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A Dreary Day's Practice

Postby Levi Remilian on December 19th, 2015, 12:28 am

Levi had already closed his eyes when he began applying the soulmist to his face, but he kept them shut as he cycled his breathing, inhaling through his nose slowly until his lungs felt contentedly filled with air. The air was released in a steady exhale through his mouth, again and again. Al the while single name echoed in his mind with what could only be called the mental focus of a man obsessed. It was a name that he was very familiar with, but to Naya, it was a name of someone that was one of the most dearest things in the world that she loved.

"Amelia Moren...

"Amelia Moren...

"Amelia Moren...

"Amelia Moren...

Repeat the name, again and again. If the Lie was to work Levi had to put every fibre of his mind's attention on that one name and face. All other sensation and perception he had to drown out with that single name of Amelia Moren. If he was to slip and get distracted for even a moment he was going to fail in making the trick work. The soulmist slowly disappeared, it's icy touch slowly dissolving into Levi's face. It was almost ready.

To Naya, it was a weird sight even for the ghost. First her brother ate a little bit of soulmist and then began coating his face with the stuff like a woman conscious about her skin would with cream. The girl giggled at the spectacle. Her brother looked so funny with all the soulmist on his face. She began full out laughing, but there was no response from Levi. Finally she stopped laughing when she noticed for how long her brother was quiet, but when she looked back, she did not see her brother.

Green eyes went wide like saucers when Naya saw the person sitting in front of her. Only moments ago Levi had been sitting on the bed with his legs crossed and face covered in soulmist, but now there sat a very dear and loved woman in front of the ghost. Green eyes lit with a boisterous and mischievous light twinkled at her, much like the ones that Naya had, and the woman's long brown hair was tied in a single braid that came down her back. The little girl looked like she was about to cry as she glomped the woman, "Mum... Mum!!!" The little girl cried as she clung to the woman, a glimmer of a ghostly tear in the corner of her eye, "But how? You're still in Black Rock and big brother was just there but now you're here and how did-"

"It's okay Naya... shush now, everything is okay." Even though it was Levi who spoke, even though could hear his own voice unchanged, to the little girl she could hear the voice of her mother that she had not heard for two years. She shook her head, "It's really you Mum, it's your voice, your hair, your eyes, it's you Mum! You came to visit me, where's Papa? Papa's here too right?" Levi was silent for a while, unable to bring himself to answer her. All he could do was nod and hug Naya even tighter.

Naya would refuse to believe that this was all a trick even if she heard her mother say those words, Levi knew that and it made his heart heavy with guilt for doing this. It felt so wrong, so wrong to raise someone's hope like this and eventually crush it with stark reality. He was lying! He had to end this, he knew that for certain, but at the same time he didn't want to end this too early for her. Naya's mother was like any other mother important to the young girl. She had been the one to tell Naya the stories of how she met her father on a ship bound for Zeltiva and from that point on the couple was inseparable. She told tales of strange cities, races and dangers the two faced, an exciting but life risking tale. It was from them that the dream came to be within Naya's young soul, a dream no one could have imagined would take such hold of her life. Levi knew how much his sister loved her parents, could he not give her this one moment of peace and joy?

Levi kept Naya in his embrace and Naya rested in her mother's embrace. The spiritist found his thoughts briefly wonder to his own parents. How was his mother doing alone back home? She must still be working with the ghosts; she always was a busy women. His father... sometimes he wished that he could even just find out what city the man was in, but that was not the plan Dira had for him it seemed. The two remained still for several moments, letting them pass by slowly. Even if it was only for a little while, even if was not real, even if these moments had to end, he could let Naya be with her mother just for these precious few moments when they were indeed reality for the little girl.
Last edited by Levi Remilian on February 9th, 2016, 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Levi Remilian
Spiritist of Dira
 
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A Dreary Day's Practice

Postby Levi Remilian on December 21st, 2015, 10:22 pm

All Lies must come to an end, Levi knew that. The exact amount of time that the Lie's effect lasted was an unknown for Levi, even as several chimes filled with Naya's talk passed by. She still did not realize that this was all false for that was the power of the Lie. It compelled the ghost to truly believe that whoever the spiritist pretended to be was actually with them. A cruel and powerful trick.

Naya continued to tell her 'mother' about all the things she had seen while travelling, with Levi only able to smile and nod at her. She was so happy though; even though it was by a trick, the ghost was genuinely happy. However, the spiritist could see her form begin to flicker more and begin fading; the little girl was growing weaker as she tried to remained materialized for her mother. There was only a little more time until her form completely vanished from sight. It pained Levi to do this, he did not want end this moment of joy for his sister, but he knew it had to be done. This illusion had to come to an end.

"Naya, can you show me the memories? I know you must have practiced with your big brother a lot." A simple request, the only one the spiritist could think up at the moment.

The little ghost girl nodded eagerly to her 'mother', "Yup! We practice a lot! But you know how to do the same stuff brother does? Of course you do! Okay then, here goes!" The ghost moved her form into her 'mother', the cold essence of her soulmist sweeping through the spiritist's body. Levi began to slow down his breathing, carefully and calmly keeping his respiration in control. He released the tension in the muscles of his body, relaxing and letting himself lie down on the bed limp like a lifeless doll. However, the point was not to let Naya take control of his body like usual. No, this time it was to make her realize the truth of this situation.

Levi's thoughts resonated, reaching out towards the foreign presence in his body. "Naya... can you hear me?"

"Levi? Why are you here? Where's Mum? Where did Mum go?!" Naya's thoughts came in reply, the distress evident in the emotion conveyed with the words. A more sombre thought flashed, "She... wasn't here was she?"

Levi remained silent for a while, the feelings of remorse tangible to his sister. "I'm sorry Naya... That was the Lie. I could make myself look and sound like another person to a ghost. I... I apologize for tricking you... I thought it would make you feel better. I'm so sorry-"

"It's okay brother. I knew it wasn't real." Naya's reassuring thoughts washed over Levi's mind. The spiristist was surprised and remained struck in silence. "You told me you were showing me a trick. Even though I knew that, I still believed it was Mum I saw... It was like it made me believe it... so I just went along. I was so happy to see her again, so happy to tell her about everything we saw. Even if it wasn't real... thanks brother."

"You're welcome... my dear sister... " Even as they shared their thoughts, Levi could sense the ethereal strings of Naya's soulmist weakening and snapping. "Let me try one last thing... the last part of today's training." The affirming thought from Naya was felt by Levi and the exhaustion of his sister was easy to detect. Levi concentrated his will for a single burst of control, gathering his mental strength, and suddenly his body tensed up, muscles tightening around his body. The last remaining ethereal strings attached to the spirit of his body were dissolved and soulmist weakly phased out of Levi. The insubstantial mist that was his sister floated in the air above him. A weak whisper echoed in the room, "So tired..."

Soon there was silence as Naya's form vanished from sight, the activities of the day having depleted her energy. It was unfortunate that her soulmist's strength did not match that of her enthusiasm. Levi sighed wearily and stretched his arms up, trying to loosen the muscles stiffened from Naya's possession. A drop of crimson fell on his face; he had forgotten the cut on his left pinkie finger had been ignored and not treated yet. Wiping the blood off his face with his right hand, he rolled off the bed and went to the table where strips of cloth were ready for use. He sat down on the chair next to the table and began wrapping the fabric around his pinkie. He chuckled as he looked at the other bandages already on his left hand; soon enough that hand will be more fabric bound around it than flesh. It was a small price to pay for his ability to perform spiritism. If he was going to advance in this path, he would have to be willing to do whatever it takes to give spirits peace while still standing by his beliefs and faith in Dira. To do that he would have to use the Lie sometimes, when there is no other choice. He had to strike a balance between what he knew was right and needed to be done. All the while he will always be with his sister, no matter what.

The pinkie now nice and bandaged, Levi glanced at the window. Still cold and wet. Despite that, Levi started smiling to himself. What a dreary day outside, but what a warm day inside.
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Levi Remilian
Spiritist of Dira
 
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Words: 154985
Joined roleplay: July 7th, 2013, 12:23 am
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A Dreary Day's Practice

Postby Brandon Blackwing on February 9th, 2016, 10:43 am

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LEVI REMILIAN

XP Award:
  • Observation +3
  • Spiritism +4
  • Leadership +1
  • Socialization +3
  • Meditation +1
  • Medicine +1


Lore:
  • Spiritism: Excreting soulmist from your palms
  • Naya’s Melancholy
  • Spiritism: The Lie
  • The Lie: Changing your voice
  • The Lie: changing your face
  • Moral Objections to the Lie
  • Spiritism: Graceful possession

Notes:
Just for future reference, keep in mind Lhex is not a commonly known god :)

Please edit or delete your request in the request thread.
Also don’t forget to track your new (and your old) xp and lore in your CS
Comments, questions or concerns regarding your grade? Why not send me a PM?



credit goes to Adelaide Sitai
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