Solo [The Majestic] Payment and Practice

[Kynier]

81st of Summer 518

The summer season had been rough to endure. Mage lynching, mysterious ships, the Daggerhand, ghosts, doing the Night Mistress’ work, that Khur-va Ashara, and Kelski… all that and more while working on the whims of a recluse. Just recounting all of it made Kynier feel exhausted and ache. It was harder than any previous summers in Sunberth, or anywhere. He had been battered but not broken despite coming close on several occasions. Fall was less than ten days away, meaning Doler should have the remainder of his seasonal payment ready to collect. Though money didn’t feel like enough. It allowed him to not be a burden to the others at the Midnight Gem and to afford more resources for his own personal objectives. But from Doler, Kynier had always wanted something more.

Today he was going to ask for it. Demand it if necessary. Farris was quite helpful in advancing his reimancy and voiding. But that was only a small section of his knowledge base. Everything else he was fumbling through just to make mistakes in order to learn from them. Kynier wanted more insights. To at least have Doler tell him things the disciplines where capable of that he didn’t already know, so that he could have a path to blaze through on his own. Truth be told Kynier didn’t even know what Doler could do apart from Shielding. That level of ignorance was something in dire need of correction.

Walking through Stumble Alley in the early morning was thankfully uneventful. It was one of the more chaotically structured districts and easy to get lost in. Kynier’s familiarity was growing well enough to easily get around obstructions like a collection of people that had an air of hostility around them. So he entered The Majestic and nearly gagged at the fine quality aroma of putrid feces in a closed space on a warm day. Crossing the vacant shop to the bookshelves he banged his fist against the back piece. Knock knock… knock… knock knock knock. Then stepped away to the center of the room.

After several chimes the shelves cracked open as Doler made use of the secret passage. The wizard carried a sack with him. One that he set down on the shelves for Kynier to retrieve afterwards. “You’re payment.” The wizard turned his horizon set eyes in Kynier’s direction. The man always appeared to be focused on something beyond his present surroundings. To be fair, he lived like a hermit and his surroundings never changed. “I have no task for you today,” he said plainly and began to turn to leave.

“Hold on,” Kynier called loudly. The wizard paused and gave Kynier a look of surprise. Eyes ripped from the horizon now focused on the novice mage. “That’s not enough anymore,” Kynier said with an informative tone rather than an aggressive one. Doler looked at him skeptically.

“You wish to renegotiate the terms of payment?” Doler’s tone was of mild disinterest. Kynier didn’t know it but the man had no real need for money. Though Kynier wondered how Doler acquired the wealth to pay for his information gathering and supplies.

“In a way. You’ve criticized some of my actions with magic as ‘unwise’, yet offer no insights on how to avoid further incidents. That’s what I’ve wanted from the first task I’ve completed for you.” Doler narrowed his eyes critically. The man made Kynier nervous with that gaze but he didn’t recoil or flinch. “Dedicated training is not what I’m asking for. But I want to be taught something.” Doler fidgeted with his fingers in the air as his thoughts turned inward. A sense of excitement rose within Kynier. The man was considering it.

“The best lessons are the ones you discover on your own.” That crushed his hope to paste. It may have been too much to ask for. Maybe even too soon. “However,” Kynier arched and eyebrow, “expanding your knowledge would make you more valuable. If I were to do this you would start receiving more difficult tasks to perform.” Doler let silence hang in the air for a moment. Some of the tasks had been absurd and a few were dangerous. Yet if he were a better, stronger mage Kynier was sure he could handle more.

“I accept that.”



Black Mouse Challenge: 715 Words

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[Kynier]

Doler retreated to his living area to the desk. When he returned he had a quill and paper in hand. “What disciplines do you know? And elaborate on the extent of your knowledge with them.” It was actually happening. Not later, after proving the right to earn the knowledge. Doler was inquiring about it now to start assessing him as a mage. Kynier could reason that it was so the man knew best how to use Kynier’s talents.

“Auristics nearing competency. Glyphing I’m competent in and have been considering to experiment with combining runes for more advanced sigils. Reimancy, I only have the fire element. But my understanding of it by itself is getting extensive. Soon thinking of expanding to air. Shielding, still working on making consistent sizes, shapes, and thickness. Voiding, has fallen behind and still takes a chime to form a portal the size of my palm.” The wizard never stopped writing while Kynier spoke. Nor did he provide any sort of criticism, be it constructive or not. When Kynier was done Doler examined his notes for a long while.

“If you’re comfortable enough to consider experimentations then you’re advanced enough to not need guidance. You can do a lot with shields but first you need to obtain some consistency with their creation. Voiding, that comes with time. Time you need to apply more towards.” Doler crumbled up the paper in his hands. “There is nothing I should do for you in these disciplines. Your development need not be accelerated at the expense of both our time. But,” the word hung frozen in the air as Doler returned to his living area. Kynier approached the shielded passage and watched the man go to the shelves he had in there. All of them were filled to the brim with books.

Kynier felt envious of the knowledge this man had at his disposal. Books were a rarity, more so in Sunberth, making this room probably the wealthiest source of knowledge in the region. The wizard skimmed the spines and withdrew several books. As he did, Kynier took the sack from the shelf beside him. It was packed with gold mizzas for his final summer payment. He stepped away just before Doler finished procuring books from the shelves. Stepping back out into the abandoned shop he set them down as though they would remain on display. By themselves and evenly spaced. “Select one,” he said while retreating to his comfortable chair.

Approaching he looked at the condition of the books. Each of them were old and worn. The titles were engraved on the cover and filled with dust. Kynier took several chimes to examine each book in turn. The Tricks of the Eye was for hypnotism. Exceeding the Warrior for the flux. Bodily Limitations for projection. The Gifts of Life for animation. Powers of Nature and Science for alchemy. Souls from the Stars for summoning. And Power from Others for leeching. For half a bell Kynier paced back and forth to glimpse at the knowledge inside. The world magics were interesting to review but didn’t really call out to him. Hypnotism, the flux, and projection were the most intriguing. The ability to create illusions and hypnotics would be very helpful in his work. To move faster and hit harder are also good for the city environment. But projection…

Kynier lifted Bodily Limitations off the shelf. The ability to use your astral form. That had an aspect of mystery that really beckoned to him. Kynier stepped into the opening of the secret passage and held up his choice. “Bodily Limitations.” There was a curious glint in Doler’s eye followed shortly by some disgruntled muttering. He told Kynier to step back. The novice mage returned to the center of the room. Doler took up each of the unpicked books and returned them to their proper places. When next he came out he brought a simple chair with armrests. With a deliberate thunk he set it on the floor just outside his living area.

“Sit down in the center of the room and we’ll begin.”


Black Mouse Challenge: 681 Words
Total Count: 1,396

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[Kynier]

Once again Doler slunk back into the room. When he did Kynier took the chair and set it down in the middle of the vacant shop. Nervousness filled his being as he took his seat in the chair. Was he finally going to get a complete, uninterrupted lecture from the wizard packed with useful knowledge? At times Doler could be long winded but would reach a point where he cut himself off. Rather than sit there anxiously Kynier started reading the opening pages to the book the wizard gave him. By the time Doler came back out he had read through the beginning concepts of projection.

The wizard paid Kynier no mind and roamed over to the entrance. After a few ticks of silently standing there Kynier saw the weave of a shield spread across the door. The color was vibrant and shifted in a mass like several different colored inks being mixed together but never uniting. The air rippled with djed from the sudden sprouting of the shield over the door. Doler then turned around to face Kynier. “Now no one can interrupt the initiation.” Kynier’s mouth went dry. He didn’t realize that it required an initiation. Reimancy had been quite disturbing to experience and he was thankful he didn’t have the scars that most initiates had from the ordeal.

“What is done during the initiation?” he asked trying to disguise his nervousness.

“The astral form is naturally anchored to the body. If it wasn’t then your spirit would drift out and the body would die.” The young wizard took a few steps forward, arms hanging loosely at his sides. “To be a Projectionist, your astral body’s connections must first be loosened.” As Kynier opened his mouth to ask another question he felt something grip his left hand and pull. Yet his hand did not move and all the nerves rang out in pain. The instinct to flinch and withdraw his hand went out only to be ignored. It rested limp on the armrest as he felt something like fingers pinching and pulling at the hand.

Kynier took a few collective gasps of air. The painful sensation subsided as his hand felt stretched in unnatural ways. “Apologies,” Doler stated with only a trace of sincerity. “I forget how disturbing this was to experience. This should help.” An off-white substance began to form around Kynier’s hand. Soulmist, from the look of it, but gaseous instead of viscous. It took the shape of two hands that looked relatively similar in shape and size to Dolers. The digits were shifting and flexing constantly in synchronization with the sensations Kynier felt.

He wanted to ask questions but his attention wouldn’t leave the projected hands. To his great discomfort they worked like a masseuse up his arm pulling at his astral spirit. The discomfort followed suit, leaving his whole arm in a state between agony and numbness. Kynier tried to move his left arm and nothing happened. “Don’t try to move,” Doler warned, “Your limb has no sensory input while its astral aspect has been separated. There is danger in disconnecting and reconnecting the body and spirit. So don’t resist my efforts unless you want to completely lose feeling.”

That was something Kynier had already experienced and didn’t ever want to have happen again. So he tried to relax and be still through the awkward sensations. To help Kynier closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. There was a small bridge that could be formed between the conscious and subconscious mind when focused on breathing. On that bridge was a level of inner and outer peace to be discovered. Kynier sought that bridge, trying to set his thoughts and feelings aside. They were obstacles in the road to that place. Ones that couldn’t be walked around but instead needed removal. When Kynier felt close to achieving that stillness of the mind, body, and spirit he released his focus to drift.

Doler had molded his limb and reestablished it in his body to move onto his torso. The sensation of hooks pulling beneath his skin dislodged Kynier from his meditation. With a deep breath that followed a wince he tried to reclaim it. Breathing meditation wasn’t enough, his mind needed a task to focus on.



Black Mouse Challenge: 711 Words
Total Count: 2,107

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

It felt as though his sternum was being ripped out. Trying to regulate his breathing was more difficult as his soul was getting stretched out and then compacted like a potter with wet clay. Kynier tried to force an image in his mind for disctraction. The sky darkened by Akajia’s domain with Leth looming high and bright above. Beneath it flowed a river rippling gently and reflecting the luminescent glow. Though his torso was being spiritually manipulated Kynier managed to keep hold of the image. He tried to imagine the smell of the river in the air and the gentle lapping of water on the shore. Either Doler was moving on or the meditation exercise was working well.

To keep his mind devoid of stagnant thoughts, time passed in his image. Leth would lower himself to rest and allow Syna to rise in the sky. The slow cycle ran through his mind and Kynier found himself inexplicably relaxed. His other arm indicated discomfort which caused his meditation to falter. It was only for a tick before Kynier reaffirmed it.

The pain no longer seemed as severe. It was still there, but lacked the shocking intensity it once had. Eyes still closed he broke the silence by speaking. “How did reimancy and projection come to exist if someone needed advanced knowledge to initiate? It seems like a paradox.” The image of Leth and Syna over the river dissipated with his new thoughts. Before his eyes lay only the blackened veil of his eyelids.

“Scholars have been questioning that since before the Valterrian ,” Doler stated factually. “Theories include geniuses that found a way with complicated spell work as well as gifts of knowledge and ability from the gods.” While his torso and arms felt unusually at ease Kynier felt Doler’s hands working his way down his lower body. As though he were adrift in the water and slowly floating to the surface limb by limb. “Now it is down to us to keep the knowledge alive. Outside of Lhavit and Zeltiva the world is fumbling to retain its knowledge, and failing.”

Kynier thought he heard a sense of regret in Doler’s tone. Why the wizard stayed a recluse was a real mystery. There were a few signs of overgiving in the man’s mannerisms. Yet he appeared vastly more intelligent than Kynier, who was proving capable of staying alive in a city that craved to shed his blood all across the streets. There was something that kept the wizard here and away from the populace. It could’ve been a sense of duty for all he knew. At his words Kynier got the impression the man was dissatisfied with having so much knowledge, and no one to share it with.

That thought nearly made Kynier laugh. If there was any truth behind it then he wouldn’t have had to make the demand for tutelage.



Black Mouse Challenge: 481 Words
Total Count: 2,588

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[Kynier]

It was impossible to say how much time had passed. The wizard sculpted the novice mage’s soul to a form that would break its own limitations. Kynier sat quietly as Doler reattached all his stretched limbs firmly to his body once more. Then he felt the hands rise and tough his neck. “This will be the most disorienting. It is important that you keep as calm as possible.” With an exhale Kynier nodded his understanding. The warning wasn’t enough to prepare him though. Hands grasped his throat. The paradox of his throat tightening while his lungs still received air through his mind for a loop. Eyes opened wide as panic tried to settle.

The instinct to bat the hands away was so powerful Kynier was only able to overcome it by gripping the armrests tightly in both hands. Next the hands ran up his head, and dislodged it from his body. Vision blurred as sight from the astral overlapped sight from the physical. A retching urge rose quickly form the vertigo. Kynier’s head felt like it had been dunked in water under a frozen lake. His ears rang loudly as fingers pulled at his face. This time he couldn’t refrain, and groaned loudly in pain. The cold burn of his nerves coursed around his ears and over his scalp. Ticks were uncountable through the disorientation and agony. Kynier couldn’t hear Doler’s assurances that he was nearly finished.

After what seemed like a bell the astral hands cupped his head and began to reset it in his skull. The two visions shifted consistently trying to snap back together to create a single viewpoint again. Once it happened Kynier no longer felt the hands on his body and threw himself from the chair. The contents of his stomach escaped immediately onto the ground. The acidic aroma of his own bile wafted into his lungs. With a few deep breaths he rocked back onto his rump and started running a hand all over his body.

Kynier didn’t feel any different physically, but there was a sense of looseness and flexability that wasn’t there before. “You’re now able to begin training as a projectionist,” the wizard proclaimed. Before Kynier could smile something was soaring through the air in his direction. At the last instant his hands rose up and caught the red ball that Doler had tossed to him. “So let’s get to it.” Doler walked around the edges of the room back to the opening in the shelves.

“Djed is required to dislodge your astral form from your body. It can be done quickly at great risk to your nerve endings, or it can be done slowly and safely.” When the wizard stood at the opening of his living area he paused. “Learn how to disconnect your hand. You will hurt yourself many times before you learn the safe way. When you have learned that, pick up the ball.” Doler went to his favorite chair behind the shields and engrossed himself in a book. Kynier sat on the feces and web covered floor with a small red child’s toy in his hand.



Black Mouse Challenge: 519 Words
Total Count: 3,107

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

Silence lingered as Kynier read through the first section of the book. Rather than just jumping straight to the task he worked on understanding the principles first. Connection and disconnection posed their own risks to the user. While no step by step guide was offered on the process there were some vague references. So Kynier adjusted himself back in the chair and sat with both hands in his lap. The ball rested in the cup of his hands. With the nausea and pain finally subsided he drew his thoughts inward to the recesses of his soul. Reaching for the djed that rested deep within he brought it forth to the surface of his body. Power thrummed down his arms as he set his will on his hand.

With eyes focused on the wrist he pushed the djed outward. His hand twitched in response. That didn’t seem like the right way to do it. The disconnection between astral body and regular body… it wasn’t going to be as simple as something like removing articles of clothes. Kynier guided the djed with his will throughout his hand. It was an experience he felt several times when producing res through his palms or fingertips. This time something was different. It felt as though there was a gap that didn’t exist before, one that surrounded his being. Furrowing a brow he tried to fill the length of the gap around his wrist. As he did the energy created a tingling sensation. Solidifying it into a mystic hoop he shifted it. Kynier saw an off-white form protrude from the skin before resettling itself underneath. With the hoop he pushed again but harder. His nerves cried out as the lower half of his astral hand broke out from his body. The pain distracted him and the fingers failed to disconnect.

Before it sank back to its proper place he willed that grip around his astral form to pull away, this time more slowly. Astral fingers gently snapped out of place one by one before everything from the wrist down was disconnected. Kynier squeezed his hand into a fist, but only the astral one responded to the command. He gave out an amused laugh. Flipping his hand he grasped the red ball. The grip felt weak as he tried to lift it. The ball slipped out of incorporeal fingers and would’ve rolled away had his other hand not caught it. Changing tactics he made a cup with the astral hand and placed the ball in it with the other.

For a moment it floated there. Kynier let out an accomplished laugh. One that was short lived as the ball grew heavy in his hand. As though trying to hold a weight just beyond his physical limit, the astral hand slowly drifted down until the ball fell out. It bounced off the floor and rolled away. Kynier rested his arm back on the armrest of the chair. Taking the djed grip he slowly moved the hand back into the position it was supposed to be. Though his hand felt tired he didn’t let it drop into place. With his mind he gradually lowered it into his tangible hand. Internally he felt several little pops as his astral form realigned itself with where it had been his whole life. It was uncomfortable, but it didn’t really hurt.



Black Mouse Challenge: 588 Words
Total Count: 3,695

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

For the next bell, Kynier worked on detaching and reattaching his astral hands. He didn’t bother with the ball for now. His focus was more on getting down how to break free of his physical form without pain. Eight out of ten occurrences resulted in “failure”. While his astral hands were out it hadn’t been painless. For some reason, reattachment wasn’t an issue. Once his form was out he could easily control the motions. His issue was trying to lift his astral body without an explosive effort. Giving himself a rest he started reading the book again.

Beginning Projectionists were capable of having a reach with their limbs equal to three or even four times their normal length. That was an intriguing thought. Kynier looked at the red ball that rested on the floor further away. With a deep breath he dove inward for this power. The djed that settled like a pool in his soul wasn’t calm. The frequent use of a new discipline was causing it to be turbulent. It took some time to syphon off the power necessary for projection. Bringing the djed to his elbow he formed the guiding ring around his astral form. Slowly he shifted the position of the ring with his mind.

Spiritual pop by spiritual pop the length of his astral arm below the elbow disconnected, painlessly. Kynier flexed the fingers once. The “muscles” felt stiff from exertion. After a tick he reached out towards the red ball on the ground with his hand. His arm stretched out and he felt the ball’s surface against his hand. The sensation was startling, to reach beyond the limits the mind had established. Kynier wrapped his fingers as tight as he could around the ball and retracted his arm. The ball floated through the air and hovered above his physical hand. The glory of it was short lived as his grip failed and the ball fell again.

There was a small chuckle from the other room. Doler had been watching. “Seems you have gotten an understanding of the basic concepts already.” The man stood up from his chair and stepped out of sight. Kynier heard something click open and closed again. When Doler returned to view he had something small and dark in his hands. “Now it is time for a more practical lesson. One that will give you a more realistic sense of this discipline’s application.” He showed what he had in his hands. A small mouse with fur so black Kynier had difficulty seeing it, even with his Nightstalker vision.

“Catch this mouse. Do not use any other discipline to assist you. Once you have him in custody, I will lower the shield and allow you to leave. But not before then.” Doler gently set the mouse on the floor and closed the secret passage. Kynier’s eyes were wide. He hadn’t realized that he’d been locked in the entire time. In an instant there was a streak of movement and the mouse was gone.

“Shyke.”



Black Mouse Challenge: 502 Words
Total Count: 4,197

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

You would think it would be easy, finding something that is trying to hide in a completely abandoned room except for one man and a chair. Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple. The very small black mouse had free reign in a dimly lit large room covered in spider webs. Nightstalker vision allowed him to pierce through shadows into the darker recesses of the room. Even that wasn’t enough. For more than a chime Kynier didn’t move. In the dim illumination he focused on conjuring his djed. Guiding the mystic energies to both arms to fill the new spaces between his body and soul. As he did that he listened for the small scratches of movement that signified a mouse.

Mentally he kept hold of the djed and gently pulled on the forearms to displace his astral form. So that when he finally detected the small creature he could reach out and ensnare it. Reverberations of inaudible ethereal pops radiated up his arms as his spirit gently separated itself from the body. Both arms hung loose and useless at his sides as their astral fillings were bent at the ready to grab into the dark.

Kynier breathed through his mouth on the inhale and exhale. It was as shallow as he could make it so that it wouldn’t obstruct his hearing. The echoing silence of the room was left undisturbed by movement. Doler’s shield must have also been deflecting the sounds from outside the shop. Kynier took a slow step through the silence. Gently setting his foot down before shifting his weight onto the balls of his foot. It was a movement as quiet as the rest of the room. After several chimes he finally heard it. The patter of tiny feet scampering across a wooden floor.

Turning to face the source of the noise, Kynier saw the motion through the shadows. The rodent with pitch fur was moving under a gap of the bottom set of shelves against the wall. Kynier took few more steps whose only noise came from the disturbance of webs. The mouse was watching him with a sideways stare as its nose consistently twitched. Ten feet away, Kynier reached out with both astral hands to grasp it.

Sensing the danger, the black mouse launched itself from its position. Ethereal fingers scrapped against the wood of the shelves. As his limbs retracted to normal length his gaze moved around the wall. The small creature was weaving through bits of rubble and piles of filth searching for a new place to hide. Kynier sent forth his projected limbs one at a time after the rodent. Aiming to cut it off in its path. To no avail. The black mouse kept changing its path in time for his hands to miss. Feces and webs were constantly getting brushed across the floor by his efforts.

When his limbs felt heavy they retracted back to a length equal to their tangible forms. One limb at a time he focused on his djed to carefully guide them back to their proper place in his flesh. Back to their natural state he flexed his fingers and stared at the mouse. Somehow, he was going to have to set a trap for it. Otherwise he was never going to manage to get out of the Majestic.



Black Mouse Challenge: 552 Words
Total Count: 4,749

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

Sitting in the chair Kynier was trying to think of a plan for the mouse trap he was going to need. There were no objects that he could use apart from the chair. That wasn’t going to be of any use though. It would be too easy for the mouse to simply climb over a leg if he were to lay seat on its side. Unless he took the time to clump all the feces together he may be able to form some sort of barricade. That too wouldn’t provide much challenge to his adversary.

In instances like these, he needed a different form of thought. It was just him, his target, and their environment. Kynier needed to think more like a predator than a human. How would a cat or a snake capture the furry little creature? Truth be told he didn’t know anything about hunting to be able to even speculate how a specific animal would hunt. Suddenly he wished he had asked any one of the several kelvics he had met how to stalk a prey that wasn’t human. Animals didn’t have their senses dulled by civilization the way humans did.

Kynier had tried having his hands swoop down and seize the mouse like a bird of prey may have done. That didn’t work. Next option would be to come straight down from above. During the interim he had kept his gaze on the rodent to avoid needing to track it down again. Without taking his eyes away Kynier reached for the djed that lay at the core of his being. That fount of power that was created from the residual life energy of his soul. Harnessing it Kynier brought it forth to detach his forelimbs again. It wasn’t as gentle of a process this time. Wrists and fingers burned in pain as the astral filling ripped away too quickly, causing him to wince.

His astral right hand drifted out only a foot above the ground. The left arm slide across the floor to circle around behind the mouse. The black furred creature turned its head and the small pink nose was a blur of movement. Kynier arched an eyebrow. Was his arm making noise against the ground? Before the left completely circled behind the mouse started moving again. Not in the panic of a chase, but still with some haste. His right astral hand slowly descended while trying to hover over the mouse’s moving position. When only a few inches away the rodent stopped. After the half tick pause it bolted to the shelves against the wall again.

Kynier brought his hand down and missed. “Little shyke.” There was a growing pain in his arms. It was difficult to tell if it was from the physical or astral ones. Kynier brought the spirit limbs back to him. Concentrating, he slowly settled the limbs back into place where they belongs naturally. When both arms had returned Kynier attempted to flex his hands. The finger’s movements were delayed and very stiff. Kynier went back to the chair to retrieve the book Doler had given him. It would be a good idea to read up on the signs of overgiving before he made any more attempts.



Black Mouse Challenge: 537 Words
Total Count: 5,286

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

With a stiff finger he flipped the page over. A lot of the first section elaborated on the uses and observations of novice level projection. Limited weight manipulation and difficulty with either connecting, disconnecting, or both in regards to the astral form. A few pages later he found what he was looking for. The author had about a page worth of notes on overgiving with projection. First, the astral limbs will show limited motion and tension the same way a physical limb does from extensive exertion. Second, the body and soul will begin to desynchronize even after reestablishment has been made. Third, nerves will begin to flare in pain from the physical body.

All three of those he had started to see. Kynier looked up at the mouse. “Damn it.” He whispered. IF possible he shouldn’t use projection again today. Otherwise he risk compounding the effects to greater degree or worse symptoms probably mentioned later in the book. Other disciplines were forbidden from being used to capture the vermin. But the mouse was just too evasive for projection to work. Each time his astral form drew near the creature ran. Even when…

Kynier thought back to each time his astral hands approached the mouse. It always moved away before his intent to seize the creature was put into action. It had even turned to acknowledge his limbs movements as he tried to encircle it. “Do you, have some sort of sense for djed?” Normally he would use auristics to read his foe. The mouse would only provide instinctual impressions anyway. But the creature’s sense for danger was a little too impressive. Had he physically been attempting to ensnare it, he could believe it. Yet he was attempting mystic methods of capture.

Eyes trailing off to the secret passage. “Son of a khur-va.” If his suspicions were correct, Doler placed a mouse with a sense for magical danger in the room. Making it nigh impossible to catch with projection. Kynier gave a laugh that was a mixture of frustration and amusement. It was genius in its own right, and he could only be mad at that because he was the fool in the exercise. He shook head and rested his chin on the palm. So how was he to capture it then? If the rodent could sense his projected limbs it would run. But could he force it to…

At the risk of overgiving and experiencing a terrible symptom, Kynier evoked his djed again. Arcane energies rose from his core being and down his left arm. The crevices between physical and astral filled with power as it forced the ethereal limb from its place. Nerves burned in protest. Kyner would rather experience the temporary pain than take the time for a longer lasting symptom to have a chance to settle in. He walked around until he was in front of the mouse. His normal hand rested on the floor, palm up and fingers outstretched against each other.

The astral arm reached over before the mouse before bending back around to come from behind. Kynier started collapsing his reach to bring the hand nearer. The mouse ran away from the astral hand and towards him. As it came closer Kynier shifted the location of his physical hand to where he expected the mouse to run. When the small clawed feet of the creature climbed onto his fingers and palm he stood up and closed his grip around the creature.

“Got you.” Before he even considered returning his astral limb to rejoin his body, the shelves opened and Doler walked out into the room. In his hands was a glass jar with the top open. The wizard had a neutral expression on his face as he took a few steps out and set the jar down on the floor.

“I trust you didn’t harm Velvet,” he said as he took a few steps back. Velvet? Kynier looked at the rodent in his hand. He could feel… Velvet’s trembling body against his fingers. Kynier approached the jar as both forms of his left arm hung loosely at this side.

“I don’t believe so,” Kynier said as he lowered the black mouse into the jar. “Velvet? What made you decide to name it that?” Kynier stepped away from the jar and Doler stepped forward. This set of motions he had grown accustomed to making teased his curiosity.

“Her fur reminds me of the night sky. One not tainted by the smog of the Slag Heap, mind you.” Doler took up the jar and examined the black mouse. “And her eyes remind me of the stars. Full of brightness coming from beyond great depths.” Kynier arched an eyebrow at the wizard. Doler was an odd man, today only helped to reinforce that.

“You did something to her, didn’t you?” Kynier left a pause, one Doler didn’t fill. The wizard looked at him expectantly. “Velvet can sense djed. Well enough to run from active sources?” His employer smirked and gave a nod.

“I had expected it to take you another bell to come to that conclusion. Can you tell me the purpose of this exercise?” Kynier looked at him with a narrow gaze. One thing he had actually learned from Doler indirectly over the last two season came to mind. There was almost always an underlining meaning to people’s actions. The true purpose of what they did rather than what the public eye would see. Velvet wasn’t meant to exercise the use of his new discipline.

“Magic isn’t the answer. But that doesn’t stop it from being a tool. It was a test to see how I could assess an issue and adapt to the circumstances.”

“Correct. Sometimes magic is only a hindrance to what really needs to be done. So prepare yourself Kynier, the next season will pose new challenges that you may not be ready for.” As Doler turned around Kynier was left dumbstruck. That was the first time he’d ever addressed him by name. It felt so alien to his ears.

“Doler,” he called before the wizard could retreat to his solitude. The wizard paused in his step but didn’t turn to face him. “What happened?” At that the man looked over his shoulder, his long wavy hair blocking most of the view of his angular face. “What caused you to overgive and live this life?”

Doler pivoted around and gave Kynier a firm look with his dark eyes. “I will leave you a choice Kynier. One you need not answer now. At the end of the next season, I can either answer that question, or… I can teach you something else in the ways of magic.” As the wizard turned away Kynier noted a small smile on the man’s face. Doler was probably curious what his answer would be. As Kynier stood there alone in the abandoned shop he had to admit… he didn’t really know what he’d answer.



Black Mouse Challenge: 1,156 Words
Total Count: 6,442

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!