Closed Promises (Clyde)

[Sayana]

Summer 10, 516 AV - Afternoon

Sayana drummed her fingers upon the wooden table as she laid out the required materials for the Grand Oath. A quill from the feather of a kelvic eagle, several jars of ink, and some rather specialized pieces of parchment. Even in the dimness of her apartment she couldn’t see any glow to the indigo ink, but she was certain that as soon as it touched flesh, and hopefully the hide of the parchment would count as flesh, it would glow a faint violet. And the scarlet ink… well it was certainly a brilliant shade of red. There were a couple of lesser materials that she added to her bag, but at last she had it all packed together.

It was afternoon when she left her apartment. She headed through the city towards Winthrop Alley. She was dressed almost as she used to, with a red top and a long red skirt with a slit down one side. She carried a set of several daggers at her hip, held on using her belt. However, she wore a black robe over top that hid most of her garments as well as her mid and low arms. Black boots treaded upon the cobblestones of the city and her bright eyes picked through the crowded streets as she walked.

Her gait was strong and purposeful, but there was a flurry of emotions inside. There was the desire to prove her worth, but also the nervousness of getting captured in some magical trap. The mage had described the Grand Oath in a rather straightforward way, but what if there was some sort of catch that he didn’t let on? She was prepared to some degree to catch that sort of subtly, but she wasn’t sure if it would be enough. She wanted to ultimately use any relationship formed to her advantage, so long as the mage didn’t snatch her freedom with the promise of a magic like auristics.

As she neared Winthrop Alley, she momentarily wondered if Clyde was even at his shop. A simple knock on the door should suffice, except… that would be rather bland. There was another way that might get the mage’s attention. There was a small group of young ladies gossiping not too far from the building Sayana had previous identified as Clyde’s. As she neared them, it was clear that three of them were chattering away about this and that, while the forth remained rather silent.

Sayana’s fingers fidgeted as she itched to do more magic, and after a quick glance towards Clyde’s shop, she approached the group of young ladies. For a moment she focused within herself to reach at the djed, then she fueled it with a sense of confidence leaning on pride. Like a warm glow, she pushed out with her magic as she interrupted the conversation. “That’s a beautiful dress you have there, did you get it from An Elegant Weave?” Sayana asked, directing all her attention and magic towards the quiet girl of the group. For a moment, the Eypharian could practically see the girl swell with pride at the unexpected complement.

“Why… why yes, I…” “You look rather charming in it,” Sayana followed up sweetly with a final dose of the magic. She was half tempted to add tints of jealousy to the other girls of the group, but to their credit they were already providing such emotions. “I’ll have to visit the shop after my errands for the day.”

Sayana left with hardly a goodbye, but she was certain that the girls would be chattering away with a different tune. She instead turned her attention to the fairly new building that was Clyde’s shop let nearly half a chime pass to give him the opportunity to notice her presence. However, if her bit of magic was not enough to draw out the aurist, she would proceed with a boring few knocks upon the door of the building.

Note to Grader :

Sayana obtained the items (and spent the required 100 gm for the Grand Oath) in this thread: Acquisitions

[Clyde Sullins]

10 Summer 516

Clyde was lost in thought. While that might not be so bad for some, for a mage it could take on an almost literal meaning. Lost within ones own head, ones own mind, ones magic, ones ideas.

For Clyde it usually meant he got distracted from minor details, like shaving or going to the bathroom, or in the case of today cleaning up after his work.

The wards across the ground were almost a living thing, like a creeping vine that had edged further and further over the seasons. When he had first made it, the first bit of warding, it had been four or five feet in diameter around the pedestal taking up center point of the room.

Now it was almost licking at the edges of the walls, as if they were contemplating climbing up those too and perhaps someday over the ceiling. They weren't quite to the edges of the floor yet, but quite close.

While they might look disorderly in bits, they all worked together, all made a complete entity and overall warding set up only possible for a master to comprehend let alone make.

But they weren't the real sense of disorder in his lab. No, it was his writing desk where he currently sat.

His writing desk was a simple thing, a desk with some draws and a chair before it. On top of it though rested a hodgepodge of writing paraphernalia. Paper, parchment, ink, quills, all in varying states of repair and use.

One quill was broken nearly in half, left sitting out. Another had the nib missing, and was useless for writing. One was resting in a now empty inkpot, next to a tiny torn off bit of parchment with the word "ripples" scribbled on it. What it was meant to convey no one except perhaps Clyde knew, and perhaps not even he unless in the right moment framed by another fact.

Along with the tiniest scrap with but a single word, there were entire pages of parchment and paper, some overlapping and some buried beneath others. Lists, to do lists, ingredient lists, the lists of the contents of his wardrobe, lists of his favorite types of fruit and vegetables(one done alphabetically, one listed from most to least favorite).

Hidden within that were nuggets of actual useful work and thought processes, copies of prior oaths Clyde had made, partial and word for word. Ideas for wording, for meaning, for defining. Ideas and thoughts, melding together until it wasn't clear which came first, which was which, and what meant what.

Atop that was a single piece of parchment with clear but hastily scribbled wording, which was the current focus of the wizard in question.

Tapping Cha twice on the ground, almost hitting Rye his hound sitting protectively at his side, Clyde puzzled for a few moments before scrawling one more half legible line, before pausing and repeating the process.

Perhaps it was his years spent practicing meditation allowing him to tune out distractions, or perhaps it was simply his uncaring for other details in his need to complete his search for wording and meaning. Regardless Clyde was oblivious to the world about him.

It wasn't until he noticed his knocking of Cha on the ground was off that he noticed something. The sound of wood on wood striking was overpowered by a low growl. Clyde paused in his work, noticing at the same time that he had to use the bathroom and that he was rather thirsty. As he was pondering which he should deal with first, he heard a knock at the door.

He couldn't be certain which knock this was, the first knock of someone announcing their presence, or the repeated knock of someone not being answered, but it was a knock at his door.

Letting out a sigh and pushing aside his work from its central position, Clyde headed for the door with Cha in hand, Rye following close by.

After taking out a key and unlocking it, Clyde opened the door and squinted for a moment, trying to recall who was at his door, and if he knew them.

“Mmm.... You were... The woods... Say or whatever. Mmm... Come in.”

Clyde waved for the woman to enter, opening the door and letting her in, and then recalling Rye and that he'd been inside for... A long time.

Waving at the dog, Clyde ordered him outside.

“Go on, go, find a tree, go.”

Rye would dart out of the door past the woman, quickly vanishing out of sight of the doorway off in search of a pee spot.

Clyde waited until the woman was inside before shutting and locking the door back, and turning to her.

Then he would recall his own urging bladder.

“Er.... Right... Today. Uh, hold on, sorry I've been working for awhile. Just make yourself at home, and don't touch anything that looks like it shouldn't be touched or moved. Particularly if it doesn't look like it should be there.”

With that Clyde would rush off to the back of the lab, heading into his bedroom and through it into his bathroom, relieving himself. After a few chimes Clyde would return, now with a waterskin in hand, taking a heavy pull at it.

“Right, so refresh my memory what were you here for again?”

OOC Note: Below is a copy of the oath draft Clyde was working on, with some notes he has written to himself on it.

Oath Draft :

I, the undersigned, hereby swear upon the divine halls of Ukalas and all those who dwell within that I shall do as follows:

- To not bring harm(defined later) to Clyde Sullins, either directly, indirectly, or through inaction, whether through means magical or mundane, unless said harm is to stop Clyde Sullin's assured and immediate death.

> In the case of Clyde Sullin's overgiving and total loss of control/inability to stop using magic when he should, the signee would be allowed to harm Clyde Sullins to hinder or stop him from using magic, so long as said action would not lead to the assured and immediate death of Clyde Sullins. Permanent harm or maiming would only be allowed as a last resort and if no other viable and less harmful method is possible.(notes- edited to include non-physical means of stopping overgiving, and stepping/staging harm so as to attempt less harmful if possible.)

- To not use magic on Clyde Sullins without his direct and express permission, or in the case that not using said magic would lead to Clyde Sullins assured and immediate death. In the case of having his permission or attempting to stop his demise, the signee would not use said magic in an attempt to permanently control or manipulate Clyde Sullins, or to alter his reasoning or mentality beyond- the immediate intent to stop his assured and immediate death/the specified reason for which current permission was granted.(notes- edited out conflicting bit which seemed somewhat recursive and self defeating, and added in bit to make ending more clear about it being self limiting- limiting to only specific permission so not open ended as before.)

-Duty- The signee will aid Clyde Sullins in his endeavors(to be defined later) in any way possible, within their ability, so long as said assistance will not directly lead to the assured death and/or permanent maiming of the signee or Clyde Sullins.

Definitions:

Endeavors- A goal, mission, plan, experiment, or action, that's end desired result is a gain for the maker or leader of said endeavor. Said gain can be related to research or career. (career to include the below mentioned socially and politically)

Harm- Any permanent damage, diminishment, or undermining to a person, in terms of the person (list to be expanded upon individually)physically, mentally, socially, politically, intellectually, and/or monetarily.

> physically- Their body and person- bodily harm and/or maiming/death.
> mentally- Their psyche or mentality, or mental well-being.
> socially- Their social standing or growth.
> politically- Their political standing or progression.
> intellectually- Their secrets or non-publicly held knowledge - disclosing said knowledge to third parties beyond Clyde and the signor without express permission to divulge either in general or to specific parties.(notes- added in bit so that if chooses can give permission to give info either wholesale or selectively)
> monetarily- Their possessions or property- to include damage, destruction, or theft.

Final Clause:

- The Signee will be released from the aforementioned Duty upon an agreement in writing and verbally agreed between both Clyde Sullins and the Signee, without duress and of each ones own free will, that said duty has ended.

signed___________

[Sayana]

Even though she would have been rather impressed if Clyde had detected her use of hypnotism outside his shop, it still informed her of his limitations when she had to physically knock on the door to gain his attention. When he did come, he seemed almost dishevelled. Perhaps not so much physically, but mentally. Like his mind was somewhere else and he was distracted.

Sayana gave a nod when he recalled her name, though quirked an eyebrow at his seemingly forgetful nature especially when it came to a name and a face. The Eypharian stepped inside after a quick glance at his dog. A brief smile flitted across her lips at the word ‘tree’. It was something that might be hard for even a dog to find in the cramped city that was Syliras.

She took off her black robe and was about to introduce herself properly, or re-introduce herself, when the mage promptly rushed off to the back after a few warnings not to touch anything. Despite seeming to be a powerful individual, he certainly seemed… odd.

Regardless, Sayana used the time to look around the room. The first thing she noticed was all the funny symbols scrawled around the floor surrounding the pedestal. It was almost a like a painting with all its intricacies, and more than a little distracting. Off to one side was a desk, accompanied by quite the mound of papers and a chair tucked in. She placed her robe on the back of the chair and set her bag on the table to empty its contents. Even as she placed several jars of ink on the topmost piece of parchment, she stopped and squinted curiously at the writing. It was scribbly, and by the third word she exhaled heavily and stopped reading. She hoped she wasn’t going to find out that the mage was some stuffy old librarian full of scribbles and notes that meant no more than gibberish. And more importantly she hoped that he wouldn’t expect her to read such scribbles.

After placing all the materials for the oath on the parchment, she set the empty bag upon the floor and looked about the room again curiously. In contrast to the messy desk, the pedestal was tidier and more like a work of art with all the paintings surrounding it. It seemed almost treasured, and perhaps only used for special occasions. Although for what exactly, she hadn’t the faintest idea. Although given the nature that he was a well-practiced mage, it wouldn’t surprise her if the curious pedestal had some magical purpose.

Magic… The sweet whispers seemed to call to her as she drummed her fingers upon the wood of the desk. For a moment Sayana breathed in deeply and closed her eyes as she fought off the urge to use it. Later. It could wait. She would be able to soon enough.

As she opened her eyes, she heard footsteps announcing the man’s presence and soon enough he appeared with a waterskin in hand. His forgetfulness made her reassess his wealth compared to the ‘forgotten’ 50 gm, but other than that she didn’t seem perturbed.

“I’m here for an exchange of magic lessons. Specifically, auristics for hypnotism.” Sayana answered crisply. “However, there were certain promises to be made, an oath of the magical kind, before the exchange of knowledge could take place. I have brought the required materials and I suspect you have had enough time to create an oath to your liking. If not, then today might not be a good time, but if so, then I’d like to hear the oath… spoken and read out loud.”

She paused a tick, then provided a simple explanation for her request. “People tend to be better at lying or deceiving when they are detached from the message they deliver, but when they speak they reveal much more about what they are saying. If you’ll excuse my precautions.”

There was definitely something to the way someone said something, compared to the actual content itself, however the main reason for Sayana’s request was to avoid stumbling through reading the oath on her own.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde took another sip at his waterskin as Sayana explained why she was here, and her purpose.

Magic, of course. He recalled meeting her, at least vaguely, though his mind was still dwelling on other things and wasn't completely focused on recalling vague facts about her.

Clyde nodded, a few drops of water spilling out of the corner of his mouth as he did so, as he was still thirstily sucking at the waterskin.

Remembering himself, Clyde set aside the waterskin, wiped his face dry with the back of his hand, and focused a bit more on the woman before him.

As she spoke he absentmindedly played with Cha in his hands, feeling at the familiar wood or tapping the staff on the ground.

“Right, right. I'll teach you about Auristics, in exchange for knowledge of hypnotism. Though before any lessons can happen I'll need to first know what all of the magic you know, where I'd be starting from. Among... Other considerations.”

“I'll need to look over the materials, but yes I do have a tentative draft of an oath prepared. I've been working on it for... Awhile... Not quite sure how long actually. What day is it? Well whatever, its been awhile.”

As he spoke Clyde headed over to his writing desk, inspecting the items and checking the pieces one by one, nodding or pausing and muttering occasionally as he picked up a piece.

Clyde was going through yet another bit of the materials when her words finally hit him, along with her request. She wanted him to... Read it aloud? He paused in his rooting about and turned to her quickly, swinging Cha in an arc as he did which knocked a piece of old parchment off the desk.

“Petch woman, do you know how long this thing is? Read it aloud! What, can't you read or something! Gah! If you can't read you'd better learn, no student of mine doesn't know the skill. Gah, first that half Zith girl not knowing her numbers from her letters, and now this. Of course she was young... Or am I thinking of that kelvic... One of them couldn't read. Or was it a ghost... One of them... Whatever, one of them couldn't read.”

By the end his tirade had shifted into a rant, and then an undirected rambling spoken more to himself than Sayana.

After a moment Clyde finally managed to catch his line of thought, coming back into the conversation.

“Whatever, reading is important. So how good is your reading? No lying now, its important, and affects things. I have to know your limits, and what you know, before I can take you on as a student. Who knows when I might need to leave you a note or have you read a message, or record something, or some other thing. For that matter, what tongues do you speak, what cities have you been to, and do you have any powerful people or entities as your enemy, or ally?”

Once their conversation was done, whether Sayana answered or not, Clyde would finally grudgingly, and with no small amount of grumbling as he got out the draft of the oath and prepared to read it, began to dictate the words of the oath to her.

If she was hoping for some colorful insight into his work by hearing him dictate it, she would be sorely disappointed. Doing one of his focus and meditation exercises before beginning, Clyde took a few measured breaths and focused on the image of a single drawn focus glyph he commonly used, picturing it in his head for a moment and letting it melt into the background as he began his reading.

Of course, the dryness of his reading was perhaps simply due to the dryness of the text, which would likely fit well in a book on law history. While it was exciting to Clyde in its crafting and preparation, the actual recital of the entire work was tedious.

“I, the undersigned, hereby swear upon the divine halls of Ukalas and all those who dwell within that I shall do as follows...”

“To not use magic on Clyde Sullins without his direct and express permission, or in the case that not using said magic would lead to Clyde Sullins assured and immediate death. In the case of...”

“Harm- Any permanent damage, diminishment, or undermining to a person, in terms of...”

“The Signee will be released from the aforementioned Duty upon an agreement in writing and verbally agreed between both Clyde Sullins and the Signee, without duress and of each ones own free will, that said duty has ended.”

Once he was done reading it Clyde would set the oath aside, and take up his waterskin again to wet his now parched throat.

[Sayana]

“I only know hypnotism,” Sayana replied and perhaps stressed the word ‘only’ a little too much. “I know of other magics, but I only know of them. I do not know them.”

For a moment he seemed lost in thought with his mutterings when suddenly his blue staff came swinging through the air. She reached out reflexively to grab it, but not before some old piece of parchment was knocked to the ground. For a tick she held the smooth blue wood and felt the pressure he applied to it, before she released it and set him yammering on about reading. At this point it took great discipline not to slowly steer his line of thought to something new and more meaningful. Had it been anyone else, she suspected she could have gotten away with a smooth transition, but she still remembered piercingly how quickly he had noticed her first use of hypnotism.

“My reading is fine. Good enough. I’m working on it.” Sayana replied hotly to his comments. Her high arms were folded stubbornly over her chest and she tried to relax her tightened fists in her mid and low hands. If nothing else, her last comment was true. She had uncharacteristically purchased a book for the sole purpose of bettering her skills in reading and writing. Although she had only looked at it in short bursts, usually for specific purposes.

“And I speak Common and the mother tongue of my people. And if need be I would certainly pick up a new tongue far quicker than any language on paper.” Sayana retorted. “Wouldn’t you rather know that I traveled from the majestic city of Ahnatep across the great plains of Cyphrus to get here, than to have heard I read it all in some book? I can look after myself, be it out in the wilds or in a city of illusions where you never know when the streets might suddenly open up into a cavernous pit. That’s more than what can be said about most people who live with a book in their face.”

“As for my allies and enemies? Isn’t it a bit early to be sharing such now? Let’s just say I haven’t angered any gods or goddesses, and leave it at that.” There was a slight question in her mind as to whether she had actually managed to anger Ionu, but it could easily be said that Ionu was neither god nor goddess, but simply a deity.

When Clyde did eventually deign to read the oath, it was… boring. Even if he had no fluctuations on his face or tone, there were several times when confusion crossed her face followed by understanding followed by skepticism followed by uncertainty… If he was paying the slightest bit of attention, it would be clear that she was having trouble keeping up, but she didn’t tell him to stop or slow down or repeat any of the clauses. Instead she silently struggled to comprehend the extent of the oath and the implications it presented.

At the end she was silent for several ticks as she worked out some of the details in her mind. “There is no statement protecting me from harm. The way you have it worded would render me no more than a slave since I would be unable to strike back if you were to harm me.” Sayana stated. “My only alternative would be to flee from your presence.”

“Additionally, you have completely avoided describing what my ‘duty’ to you would be. Political and social endeavors related to your career are as vague as they get. At any point your ‘career’ might change and therefore my duties would change. It is also nothing close to what we had originally agreed upon; an exchange of knowledge.”

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde shrugged when Sayana said she only knew how to use Auristics. He hadn't been sure before if she expected him to initiate her into Auristics, or if she already knew it and only needed turoring and assistance.

“I suppose that means you'll need to be initiated then, alright. As I said, things I need to know.”

“And perhaps your reading is fine, but fine might not be good enough. This oath for instance, I can read it to you, I can tell you what it says, but at the end of the day how will you know what I've really written unless you can read and understand it. And do you plan to memorize the entire thing? That is why I asked about reading. Not to be annoying, but because it is of core importance to what we now do. I can't point and make a indication of a meaning, or show you my edits as I go, if we aren't reading on the same level. Which means an additional thing I must bring to mind in explaining it. Otherwise I'll end up blowing past you or without you getting the full meaning. I want to get this right, even if it means taking all day to do it. I don't care if you want to spend the next two bells just reading it, if that is what it takes.”

“If I am to teach you, first I must know what you know and don't know, where you are weak and were you are strong. How you learn best, and worst. And so on. An endless number of things that you might think unimportant, but that I know is vital for a good lesson. I've spent a lot of time teaching others, and I've come to understand such things quite well.”

“So if you don't get something, just tell me, beating around the bush and playing off your issues won't help either of us.”

Clyde just rolled his eyes at the woman as she commented on her talents as opposed to someone of book learning.

“What have I said about taking my words for one meaning I did not convey? Don't attach your own understanding and assumptions to my words. When did I say that being well traveled was worth less than book learning? I didn't. You assume as such because you assume things about me. I've been over most of Sylira myself, though never from the region. I've spent more than just time with my nose in a book. I've survived the wilds when others didn't, I've seen people die, and I've seen people live. I understand both are of importance, but each only in its given moment. Being a master builder is of no use when milking a cow, and milking a cow is of no use when you need to make a shed to put the cow in. But a good farmer knows both. Each important, but important at each's own time.”

While Sayana argued and said she understood, as she tried to play off her inadequacies when they occurred, Clyde still noted them. Overcompensating was as clear an indicator of a problem as showing the problem. As was arguing and railing away without outright saying you didn't have the problem, or trying to obfuscate it.

“Now, rule number one of grand oaths. They mean what they say, they don't always at first glance say what you think they mean. You must see how the things interact, see how the specific wording has meaning, and take a full message from it. You can't pick things apart and seize an individual point to examine without losing the overall message. Which is why I put it on paper, so we can see the entire thing.”

As he said "here" Clyde would point, showing her the bit of the oath he indicated.

“For instance, here, the bit about the harm... Where does it say you can't ever harm me? Does it say that? Or does it at first glance only seem to say that. What is the exact wording? It says you cannot harm me, and notes it will be defined later. Later then, in the excerpt defining harm, it says 'any permanent damage, diminishment, or undermining' to one of the specific protected aspects.”

“Now, as your first lesson, and yet another test, answer me this. Does that mean you can never, ever, at all, under any circumstance, harm me? Or does it mean something else. Something both less and more. What exactly do those two bits 'here' and 'here' mean. The first bit saying no harm, and the second bit explaining what harm is.”

“As for the duty bit, I would point out that this is as I said before a draft. A general oathing. It is for the two of us to agree what is agreeable and will work, and what you will sign. It is meant to be tinkered with and edited, fixed, and added to. This draft is but a first attempt, with the bit of knowledge I have about you helping to shape it. Only once we examine it and agree to it, once we agree what aspects won't work and what will, will we have a final oath.”

“For instance... If the bit about the duty won't work, how might we change, limit, enhance, or add to it so as to make it acceptable and within our desired limits? How might it be worded?”

By the time Clyde was done he hoped it would be clear that all of his questions had a meaning and purpose, even if they hadn't appeared as anything more than being nosy at their utterance. He also hoped it would be clear that he was even then teaching Sayana, helping her to help him make the oath, not simply ordering her about or giving her an answer. And of course also testing her.

[Sayana]

His tirade about her reading abilities was grating on her nerves and she was finding it increasingly difficult to remain patient with his onslaught of questions and tests. Half way through his explanations or ‘lesson’, the Eypharian sat down at his desk with a huff. Her many arms partially rested upon the many papers and partially pushed them aside as her highs grabbed the parchment he kept pointing to in reference.

“Harm. It says causing permanent damage, or diminishment, or undermining.” Sayana spoke, merely repeating his words rather than choosing to look at the sentence in question. “And that would be in relation to your well-being physically, mentally, socially, and so on. So a particularly nasty flick--” She stopped to make an attempt to flick his arm in a gesture of annoyance. “--would be classified as physical ‘diminishment’ if it were to draw blood. I believe you only stated diminishment and not permanent diminishment.”

“As for when I can cause you harm? As I understand it, I can cause you plenty of harm if it will stop your assured death or severe overgiving. Maybe that is something I should look forward to.”

She stood up suddenly with the scraping of the chair legs against the wooden floor. For a moment she turned her back on him as she headed towards the pedestal in the center of the room, but then thought better of it as she heeded his warnings ‘not to touch anything’. After a couple of ticks she finally gathered enough patience to turn around to face him.

“Clyde, if this is how you plan to instruct me, then you’re doing a very poor job. I’m willing to learn, hell I’m even willing to better my reading and writing if you can prove that it is truly useful, but not if you’re going to go about it this way. You are condescending and think you are a master in all that you do. And you are, in fact, brilliant at what you do. You are a highly intelligent individual and you find a natural desire to teach those around you. You’ve had many students in the past and you enjoy spreading knowledge almost as much as you enjoy gaining knowledge.”

“But this little agreement, this exchange of magical knowledge, is not what you’re truly seeking. If it were, you’d have made much more reference to it. As a highly accomplished and self-sufficient individual, you find it hard to trust others. You rarely meet anyone of your intelligence and when you do, they may not share your same goals. And when you take on new students, you’re hoping that they might become smart enough, after your tutelage, to be engaging company. Except here you are, living alone and I can’t quite tell if your dog is here to make up for your loneliness or because you can’t stand the company of another person for very long.”

She paused for half a tick and sudden realization hit her. Not wishing to be interrupted she broke the moment’s silence. “But… if you plan to pursue higher levels of magic, of knowledge, you need someone to watch your back for when you are unable to. Or if you suddenly become unable to. Someone who is preferably intelligent like yourself, but also not a threat.”

“Now I’m sure you’re going to pick apart all my words and say that I’m putting words in your mouth that are not true, but you’re the one who wrote this oath and it tells a great deal about where your priorities lie.”

“As for myself, I see you as a talented and capable man who I’d rather put my trust in, than to be constantly watching my back for. I am willing to learn, but not to be consistently insulted throughout the process. Depending on your career endeavours, I am willing to aid in them, perhaps eagerly even, but I asked to learn a magic not to become a scholar. And in return I will gladly return my own knowledge and assist you in other ways too.”

This time she paused for longer and returned to the desk. She picked up the parchment with the oath once more, and narrowed her eyes at the scribbly writing upon it. “And if you genuinely want me to read your grand oath, then re-write it so that it is half as long and there are no words that are over six letters.” With a pause and a glance at his expression, she amended herself. “Ten letters.”

“As for the bit about the duty, each duty shall be agreed upon by both parties in writing, if you so wish, and without duress. New duties may be added through such a procedure and existing duties may be regarded as complete with the signatures of both parties. This will allow for the flexibility that you so desire, as well as my consent and agreement, as I desire. And these supplemental agreements better not require all this.” She waved a low hand at the pile of materials she had gathered for the grand oath.

"The one-sided harm issue could be solved simply by allowing me to conduct self-defense from you specifically. Unless your definition of 'harm' is really so ill-defined that it would allow for any non-permanent damage."

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde shoo-ed at the woman with his free hand as she attempted to flick at him to make a point.

As she made reference to the bit about permanence, Clyde shook his head, adding a small note.

“No, permanence is attached to all three of the words to follow, permanent damage, permanent diminishment, permanent undermining. Its a list, so it means the first bit as applies to all to follow in said list, but I don't have to say permanent each time. After all, if you diminish me, but only in a temporary way, I've not truly or permanently been diminished. The same goes for damage and undermining.”

“Bruises heal, little the worse for wear. Impermanent in the end, so long as it doesn't fester or get infected or something. Broken bones heal eventually, but not quite the same, perhaps permanent then but less so than some things. If you lopped off one of my fingers, it'll never grow back, quite clearly that one is permanent. Or if you stabbed me, it'd not heal quite the same, it'd probably leave a scar, maybe something internal would be hurt, that'd be permanent most likely in both regards.”

“And if you read the bit about harm during stopping overgiving, it only allows said lesser harms to stop me from using magic, not to harm me in any way for any reason just because I'm overgiving. 'The signee would be allowed to harm Clyde Sullins to hinder or stop him from using magic.' It limits said actions to ones in the line of stopping me from doing magic. So yes, in that instance if you need to you can harm me, but only as a means of stopping me from continuing using magic beyond my limit and furthering the harm in a more magical fashion. Overgiving isn't something to joke about, and if you ever see me doing it... Just run... You won't think it quite so funny on that day...”

Clyde frowned, growing serious for a moment as he spoke of such things as overgiving. He wasn't sure if the woman knew of it well, but he knew well enough how serious a thing it was.

After that Sayana entered into a tirade of her own, for which Clyde listened. Afterwards though he didn't react harshly or with energy as before. His mentioning and pondering of overgiving had apparently sapped some of the argumentativeness out of him, and he continued in a more sedate and focused manner.

“Some of what you've said is right, some of it isn't. I think though you misunderstand the intent of this oath. This oath has nothing to do with our pre-arranged dealing itself in trading knowledge. Its but a foundation, upon which further dealing can be built. You hinted at that a bit, but I think you miss the core of my reasoning.”

“Its about trust, plain and simple. Nothing else. Thats it, none of that other stuff. I've learned over time, particularly from dealing with other mages, that trust isn't an easy thing. This makes it possible for me.”

“For you, perhaps a one time exchange would be fine. I however prefer to think in the long term, to the next deal, and the next. I also do this for you. By having you within my trust, you stop appearing to me as a threat, and I am more willing to openly deal with you, to give you further knowledge. There are some things one cannot convey or give without trust. This allows us to skip the lengthy trust building, and get right to the part where we can work together without trying to undercut and kill each other.”

“Its a bit about control, but not total control. Control only in the sense of enforcing said trust, not in making you do things. I don't need a mindless golem following me about, doing as I say. I saw enough of those on Sahova to know how poorly it can go, even if I did want as such.”

When Sayana got to the bit about her rewrite of the duty, he headed over to his writing desk and took out his tools and quickly noted down what she had said.

After she finished, he wrote a line under it, and rewrote her words in a new format that worked more cleanly within the framework of the oath, meant to replace the pertinent lines from before.

-Duty- The signee will aid Clyde Sullins in his endeavors(to be defined later) in any way possible, within their ability, so long as said assistance will not directly lead to the assured death and/or permanent maiming of the signee or Clyde Sullins.

Endeavors- A goal, mission, plan, experiment, or action,(or other agreed upon endeavor type)which has been agreed upon by both the signee and Clyde Sullins. A given agreement for a particular endeavor will take the form of a written document specifying the endeavor, signed by both the signee and Clyde Sullins, and sealed by burning the signed document so that no alterations can be made after the fact. The signing by each party must be done of their own free will and without duress for it to be considered an agreed upon endeavor.

Any specific terms or limitations(including specific ending methods or clauses to conclude a specific agreement) to said agreement will pertain to that specific agreement, as written within it in particular.

Clyde paused for a moment, examining the piece of paper with the series of notes, nodding one before setting it down.

“That should replace the duty line, the line defining endeavor, and the final clause to release from duty. Mmm... But yes, the follow up agreements would be simpler, and on a smaller scale. They wouldn't require a grand oathing, since it will be enforced instead by your agreement to this prior oathing. But by its nature the full oathing must be a bit complex, and take the fullness of things into account. No, by adding this in it should allow any documentation to work, even common ink and parchment.”

At her mentioning once more of harm, a small smile once more did break across Clyde's face, a small lessening of the serious demeanor that had been hanging over him since overgiving was discussed.

“Why would that be ill defined? That is indeed exactly how it is defined, and purposely so. Why, is that a problem?”

The smile across Clyde's face finally broke, turning into a full grin. One admittedly at an internal joke, and he proximity of Syliras to his consideration of said internal joke and its original origin. Something the knights wouldn't likely like should they learn of it. A term he had coined long ago "Chaon logic." A logic that at its face made no sense, but when one thought a bit differently about it made a odd kind of sense.

“You need to stop thinking of the logic of the wording so literally, and look outside of its meaning. Often that is where the deeper meaning lies. If it specifically says no permanent damage can be done, then by process of elimination non-permanent damage is possible and not hindered by the oath.”

“Now, that doesn't mean I have to just stand there and take it, if you decide to start smacking me. But it does mean that the oath doesn't inherently stop you from trying. If it was a serious threat, and a permanent harm, then it would be stopped, which is what my concern is. So why should I try to stop you from doing any harm at all, even impermanent ones? Where would the line be drawn? Trust me, its much simpler with it defined this way, rather than saying no harm at all. That in and of itself would have some impossibilities and conflicting directives I'd not like to try and predict.”

Clyde paused for a moment, looking at Sayana with a bit of the a glimmer of a smile in his eyes.

“So, any other problems, or have we resolved all of the issues?”

[Sayana]

His comments in regards to permanence and overgiving were noted but at that time she was still irritated. However, after she had let out her emotions rather vocally and he had responded calmly and to his credit, quite reasonably, she paid more attention to what he was saying.

Even though she had initially thought the oath would pertain more to the agreement they had made in the woods, after his first reading of it, it clearly suggested otherwise. So when he explained the intent to gain trust in a quick efficient manner, she nodded in understanding. The document did not entirely promote her trust in him, but then again, a document would never be her method of choice to evaluate someone’s trustworthiness.

She was surprised at how readily he went to the desk to draft up the document she had requested. Or rather, demanded. He was rather quick with the quill and for a few moments she couldn’t help but watch with mild fascination as the ink seemed to flow effortlessly across the page.

When he was finished, she glanced at the parchment and felt a certain level of relief. It looked about half the length, and even the words seemed shorter. She was too busy lessening her earlier tension, that she didn’t fully comprehend that this was not a second draft of the oath, but merely a revision to certain sections. The Eypharian still nodded in agreement, when the mage stated that follow up agreements wouldn’t require the full extent of the grand oath with its materials.

“Alright. That is a suitable definition of harm. It is not the binding hold that a master has over a slave. It is simply an enforcement of the respect commonly shared between acquaintances.” Sayana replied after his thorough explanation and reasoning for his chosen definition of harm.

Despite her rather passionate rejection of the written word, Sayana had been rather curious about what he had written down. She believed it was the simpler version of the oath and throughout his explanations she was mentally preparing herself to make true on her promise.

“Let me read it,” she requested simply and reached out for the piece of parchment.

With a deep breath, she began to read the scrawling writing. “Duty. The sig-nee will aid…” She read with the speed and skill of a child, and spoke every word aloud as she read it. For the longer words she had to stop and sound them out, but she kept her eyes on the page and did not choose to look up lest she see a smirk on Clyde’s face. It was only as she neared the bottom of the passage did she realize that this was only an isolated excerpt regarding her request to keep the individual duties separate.

“This section is acceptable,” Sayana concluded as she finished the passage. She was about to hand it back to him, when she thought better of it and glanced hesitantly at the much larger and more ominous grand oath.

“I will read the rest of it too. It will take me some time, so don’t feel that you have to watch me or stand by to assist.” She made a gesture to the chair, requesting to sit, then proceeded with the arduous task of reading the full grand oath. With her arms on top of the many papers, she proceeded in a similar manner as before, slow and reading out loud. In some ways it was easier since she had heard the entire oath spoken and generally knew its contents, but there were still words that she stumbled upon and the mental task was not something she was practiced in.

A couple times she re-read certain sections. When she got to ‘Permanent harm or maiming would only be allowed as a last resort…’ she chuckled at the irony. “This part is redundant since your definition of harm only includes damage that is permanent. But you can keep it if you like.” Again she smiled at the use of the word permanent when applied to the situations when she was allowed to do magic on him. But after much thought, she realized that the word permanent was not redundant in this situation since performing magic was a separate action and did not have the same definition of harm.

When she reached the section corresponding to ‘Duty’, it was suddenly rather familiar and she placed the other piece of parchment side by side for comparison. She was quicker at reading this portion and used her fingers to follow along where the two passages were the same and where they differed.

As she went through the various definitions she was rather impressed at how thorough he had been. She lingered on the intellectual definition as she wondered what sort of secrets he might have. For a tick she tried to imagine if there was something she would feel the need to disclose, but truthfully, as long as she was privy to it there was no one else who she felt the need to confide in. She smiled at the word ‘theft’. Anything that was non-permanent would just mean she was ‘borrowing’.

At the bottom she was pleasantly surprised that she had read this portion, or something very similar. Diligently she returned back to the smaller piece of parchment and re-read the associated piece of writing.

The whole procedure took almost twenty chimes. By the time she had finished, two other questioned had surfaced in her mind. “If I were to reveal one of your secrets to a third party, would I then be required to kill them so that it is not permanent damage? Or would I be unable to reveal such since even in death, for example as a ghost, they would retain the knowledge?”

After he gave an answer she would ask her next question. “And secondly, would using auristics to read your aura be considered using magic on you?” When she first considered it, it seemed rather tame and thus the uncertainty but even as she spoke the question it became clear in her mind. “I suppose it would. Does that mean I would only be reading the auras of other things, unless you gave me express permission?”

[Clyde Sullins]

Once Sayana began reading, it quickly became clear she had been lying. Or perhaps more kindly she had been exaggerating the truth. But then, he'd figured that from the beginning.

He didn't interrupt, letting her work it out on her own, as he knew it was one of the best ways for her to learn.

While he waited for her to finish Clyde puttered about the lab. First he checked the bookcase off to the side, inspecting a few books briefly. Then he cleaned up and ordered the papers on his writing desk a bit more neatly. Near the conclusion of her reading Rye returned, a small bark heard from outside, and so Clyde let the hound in before locking the door back after him.

Occasionally he would correct a word she got particularly wrong, usually when she said the wrong word, but for the most part he simply let her get through it. He wouldn't stop what he was doing when he corrected her, simply speaking the correct word or pronunciation out loud without turning to her. With the amount of time he had spent working on the oath he could have likely quoted it word for word, and so he didn't need to see the oath to know the correct word.

Perhaps Sayana would find that when she was honest with Clyde about her weaknesses, he worked to help with them and not harp on and on about them. At least, not while the lesson was being performed, as he knew that could interfere with the learning experience.

He did stop what he was doing however when she asked the more direct questions, such as the bit about keeping secrets.

“I think you just answered your own question. I imagine it would stop you before divulging the information, or committing the act that would likely lead to said information being divulged. For instance, you wouldn't be physically capable of uttering the secret to another. Or if say you had my secret written down in paper form, you'd not be physically capable of leaving it carelessly somewhere where the secret could be found out.”

“As for using Auristics on me... Yes, it would be considered using magic on me, but I don't think it would be considered harming me. Auristics is by its nature not harmful, it doesn't do anything to the target being inspected. Unlike hypnotism, which is all about affecting the target. Remind me after I've initiated you, and I'll give you permission to look at my aura sometime if you wish. ”

Now that it seemed they had ironed out the details, Clyde took out yet another piece of parchment and began to write yet another draft, making the agreed upon changes for the final drafting.

Once he had a clear draft to look at and copy onto the final grand oath, he'd be ready to begin his real work.

“Alright, I think that is it. If we are agreed on the final oath wording, I will begin work on the actual Grand Oath for you to sign.”