Completed Terra Forming Part 3

[Kynier]

55th of Fall, 518 A.V.

There were a lot of sensations to be had when Kynier reflected on the work he’d accomplished over the last season. There was a lot more work to be done before the project was completely finished, yet what he had done managed to astound him. To see it, and walk through it made him reflect on his own capabilities. How far he had managed to come in his ability in such a short time. Granted, it was a lot of hard work. He took a deep breath of the cool subterranean air. What bell he was in was impossible to tell. There was no means of exposure to the outside world from down here.

Kynier looked around the room, misshapen as it was. This was likely to be an instance where his perfectionist nature was going to give him more trouble than he expected, he could already tell. Just from standing in the archway from the hidden passage, Kynier could see his geomancy had developed the room in an uneven manor. The mage retrieved the measure stick and got on his hands and knees to start determining how bad it was. A few days ago, he had gotten fairly tired and his willpower was severely drained. As a result there was a noticeable curve to the far wall. Kynier wanted to make the room deeper as a well as higher, so it wouldn’t matter too much he supposed.

Still, he wanted to make the room as square as possible and not end up with a rhombus or trapezoid. So he set the measuring stick down, made a small tick on the stone floor, and repeated the process. He was ten five feet deep on one side, but only eight and change on the other. So he got to his feet and outstretched an arm. Kynier took multiple breaths and exhaled them again as he reached for his djed. Over the last several days his application of reimancy had taken significant leaps.

Gaseous res emanated from his outstretched hand and wafted over to the far wall. Remove. An all too familiar grinding of stone on stone filled the room as the stone surface of the wall began to recede. When it appeared to be flat with the rest of it Kynier pulled the res away with his mind. Then it stretched itself across the entire wall. Remove. The length of the wall seemed to move away from him as a solid piece. Kynier took a step forward, keeping his pace in synchronization with the wall. As the second step connected with the ground he ceased the flow of djed to the res and its purpose. Silence fell as the remaining traces of res broke down into nonexistence.

Kynier took a deep breath and measured the distance from the last mark he had left on the ground. The wall was now ten and a half feet all the way across from the archway on the other side. Not as far as he would like but it was coming along rather nicely.

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

After several breaths, his mind had grown calm again. The cool beads of perspiration on his back serving as the only distraction to his mental efforts. Kynier stood surrounded by darkness and the children of his goddess. The complete quiet of the underground room echoed through his mind causing him to enter a state of deep relaxation. Had he been laying on his back he probably would’ve fallen asleep. With another deep breath the mage evoked his djed from his soul. The gentle vibrancy of the magic made his skin feel like it was rippling as it gathered itself to his hands.

Below the skin of the palms and fingers his body transmuted the djed into res and reconfigured it into a physical substance of gaseous nature. Once it had done that, the res slipped free of his body and rose towards the ceiling. The translucent substance was difficult to see in the dark, even for the Nightstalker’s vision. Kynier set an image of what he intended in his mind and poured his intent through his will. Sculpt. The ceiling had been resting only about seven feet from the ground. Gaseous res pressed itself against the stone surface and broke the material down.

Progressively, the ceiling rose higher. It was in waves that were synchronized with his breathing. Slow on inhales and drastic on exhales. Once the ceiling was about a foot beyond his ability to physically reach it, Kynier changed the task of his will. Only sections of the ceiling continued to be broken down as the ceiling was sculpted with wide vaulted arches. After several chimes it was making a noticeable difference and the room appeared to have much more depth. Kynier exhaled heavily. It was time for a short break so he could eat and recover.

The mage stepped out of the room and into the hidden passage. All the surfaces were still crude and unfinished, but being able to walk through it was gratifying. Kynier was excited about when he would reveal what he had done. It was the first thing that he felt like he had really contributed. Casting shields and cleaning dishes were one thing, yet those could easily go unnoticed. Some days it felt unnerving to be so reliant on others. Ebon’s healing touch or Duncan’s protection of the Midnight Gem, provided a service that everyone needed. And Kelski provided the home. Often, Kynier questioned exactly what it was that he provided.

They didn’t know of Ashara. Kynier had taken care to not say the woman’s name. The way the sea eagle’s eyes hardened at the mention of the spymaster, he knew Kelski would try to hunt the woman down. But then, when he did mention her name, Kelski almost seemed disinterested. He wanted to be able to say that he protected them from danger, but the truth was that he was the one that exposed them to it. Was he the silent guardian then? Stationed to protect them from the indirect dangers of the city? With Duncan taking the position of the guard some responsibility had been lifted off of Kelski’s and Kynier’s shoulders.

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

Sometimes, he felt as though he was spending too much time underground. Being a Nightstalker made it fairly easy, having the ability to see through the shadows and all but the deepest darkness. Kynier did not know if it was mainly because of how dry it was down here as opposed to outside. The entire season had been filled with dismal weather. Thinking about it more, it seemed less like he was growing a liking to it and more that he was simply getting used to it. Their adventure into the mines for Mosa’s request had taught him just how much he liked being able to see the sky. Hopefully he wouldn’t have another reason for going below ground anytime soon.

Kynier was staring up at the ceiling and the slight indentation that he had made in it. While he did not plan for the room to get twenty feet tall there was plenty of space for it to do so without compromising the floor of the show room which was, more or less, directly above him. Thinking about it, there really wasn’t a need to go greater than twelve feet in height. He wanted there to be plenty of room for the banner to hang on the far wall and not graze the floor, or the alter he intended to have there. So, a couple more feet in this section, and that would establish the ceiling visually for the rest of the room when it was done being hollowed out.

With a deep breath, he calmed his mind and banished any distracting thoughts. Once his mind was clear, he summoned his Djed to the surface of his body. A chime later, it seeped through his skin and his clothes to form a gaseous res. Like smoke, it rose up to the ceiling and gathered in the indent that he had recently made in the stone surface. By the force of his will, the gaseous res seeped into the stone to bind to the material below the surface. Kynier focused on the concept of solidity before willing it to break down and change into Air.

The ceiling warped and changed as the res ate away at the stone. It was challenging to not allow certain areas to deteriorate faster than others. But he could see the difference it was making as his Reimancy was concentrated into a smaller area, rather than trying to expand a wall of a room. When the last of the res had been consumed, Kynier took a breath and critically analyzed the curve of his vaulted ceiling. With the naked eye, it looked like an even, gradual curve. If he were to give it a closer inspection, he undoubtedly would find flaws in it. But he could worry about those finder details at the end of the project.

But there was one detail that could not wait. With a few more deep breaths, he summoned his power once more. This time, he pushed his astral arms out of his physical form. Once both limbs were hanging uselessly by his side, he turned to look at the measuring rope. Both astral hand went over and seized on end of the rope together. The rope itself was on the heavier end of what he was able to handle, but his astral form’s strength had increased noticeably over the Fall. With a bit of a burst of astral strength, Kynier lifted the rope end up and pressed it against the zenith of his ceiling. Holding it there, he counted the number of knots there were before it touched the ground. It was not a full twelve feet, but it was fairly close.

With a sigh, he dropped the measuring rope to let it flop to the ground. The mage brought his astral limbs back to his arms for resynchronization. As that was occurring, he walked over to where he had left the chalk and the level. He supposed that he should check to see if the floor and current walls of the first room were even or not.

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

A couple bells later, the floor of the square room was completely level. At least according to the tool Kynier had purchased from the people of Rodgers and Rodgers. Walking slowly up and down the length of the staircase, he was trying to feel if it was even. Something didn’t quite feel right in the passage. It wasn’t anything to do with the floor, more that something looked off. He stopped in the middle of what he had tunneled.

Taking the Level, Kynier adjusted it and set it against the wall. A vial that was perpendicular to the shape of the level was the focus. The air bubble shifted to be divided unevenly by one of the lines drawn over the glass surface. So the wall wasn’t straight and actually fanned outward just a little. Kynier went back to the inlet where he had his Mighty Quill and some sheets of parchment he was using for notes and calculation. Opening the nearly empty vial of ink, Kynier dipped the quill tip in and laid the parchment on the back of one of the architecture books. His hand quickly formed two lines that ran parallel to each other, then made multiple tiny lines that branched off on the insides methodically of both of them. Those were the indicators of the steps running down the short length of the tunnel.

Kynier marked an “O” by one section of line on the left side. Standing up with all the note making materials he had in his hand, Kynier went down the passage and used the Level on both sides. He marked either an “O” or an “I” along each segment to indicate which direction the walls tilted. The geomancy wasn’t as even as he thought it was in application. But then again, magic very rarely worked out in a perfect manner. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that his willpower would have imperfections in directing it. Like he already guessed, geomancy required a more elegant touch. It just came in the form of refinement afterwards.

Once all his notes were written down, Kynier set the book and magic quill down at the inlet but kept the parchment in hand. Standing at the very beginning of the passage the mage set a hand against the stone on the left. Closing his eyes, he focused on his breathing; making it as deep and filling as he could before exhaling it just as slow. After a few cycles he evoked his djed and brought it to the surface of his hand in the form of liquid res. The translucent fluid burrowed through the microscopic cracks in the stone to flow on the other side.

Kynier checked the notes on his parchment. This first section leaned inward. Kynier set the Level against the wall. Solidify. It looked like a man’s shirt when they puffed their chest slowly. That was the appearance of the wall when Kynier looked closely at it. The bubble slowly moved until it rested completely in the center of the vial. The intent of his will ceased and directed the remaining res down to the next section of wall. Kynier kept pace with it and stopped to set the Level. This one leaned inward. Kynier willed the res to gather on the surface of the wall. Remove. Gradually the upper section of the wall tilted away as the excess stone was broken down.

Once all of that was done, Kynier knew it wasn’t really going to be finished. New measurements would have to be made to ensure that the width of the passage was consistent. It was a lot more detailed work than he had anticipated when starting the project. That didn’t bother him though. Kynier wanted to be proud of his work and to have it as perfect as possible. Knowing that the better it looked when it was done, the happier she would be to see it.

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

He had moved into the room that rested at the landing of the stairs. Over the next two bells Kynier had repeated the process he had just performed outside of the room. Setting the level against the walls in sections to determine exactly how vertically straight they were. Flipping the hallway sheet over, he drew a square to resemble the room and divided each of the wall into four sections. At the approximate center of those sections he had taken his measurements until all sixteen were written down. From there, he generated more liquid res to seep into the walls and reshaped the room to be completely square.

But once that was done he felt tired. It was probably several bells until supper would be made. Was today his turn to prepare and cook for everyone? It was difficult to remember. Retreating down here to work in secret had made the days feel far too similar to each other. It most likely wasn’t. No it wasn’t. Because yesterday he recalled that it was Kelski’s turn next and that it would likely be some sort of fish. While he had never had much opportunity to eat fish, or the ability to afford it before living at the Midnight Gem, Kynier found that he rather liked it. And that his taste for it was growing. Perhaps not enough to eat it every day, but it was very enjoyable.

So he wouldn’t need to go upstairs soon and attempt to cook again. While the second room had yet to be started, Kynier wasn’t feeling the energy to begin a project like that. What would he do for the next several bells? During his idle thoughts his eyes absently scanned the room. Nightstalker vision allowed him to be able to peer through the darkness. But even to him it was very dark in here. It was meant to be a place for shadows. And shadows needed light. Kynier looked at the archway leading into the room, then at the walls on either side, and then the wall opposite the entrance.

Sconces. The room could use some sconces for fires. Kynier exited the room and went to the inlet where his books on architecture lay. Picking up the one on top, which held knowledge on all the basics for architecture, He quickly skimmed through the pages looking for anything related to sconces. Ten chimes later, he had nothing. Snapping the book shut he tapped the outside cover against his thigh. From scratch he would need to design one. So Kynier sat down and procured a blank parchment. For a chime, or perhaps several, he stared at the blank sheet as his mind tried to imagine how to design this.

“Start with basics,” he told himself. “Square, triangle, or circular?” Circular. Kynier drew a half circle from a viewpoint of forty-five degrees adjacent to the sconce. “Torch or candle?” Torches could be removed and the light could betray the location. So candle fire. Which meant that it would need arm brackets. He added two slight curved protrusions that hooked downward. Then added a circular disc to both of them to hold the candles. But he wanted the light to be directed away from the entrance. So he added in a side panel to the disc base in order to block the light. Kynier looked at the design and pursed his lips in thought. If it looked terrible he could just change it. The beauty of geomancy in an underground room.

He stood up and went back to the room with his design in hand, as well as a candle to test it. Stepping through the archway, Kynier faced the wall on the left side of the entrance was he walked in. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, both mentally and physically, Kynier evoked his djed. The power of his soul came to him as he held a hand out towards the wall. The djed changed to res which permeated out of his hand in a gas. The semi-translucent mist shifted from his hand and towards the wall under the direction of his mind. Once there it pressed against the stone. Kynier had no single concept to generate what he had in mind. Solidiy and sculpt were both what he needed but didn’t think he could will them both at once at this stage of his development.

So Kynier went with a different concept. Focusing on the res he envisioned the final shape of the sconce he had designed and focused on it with his intent. Form. Res condensed into stone. The first section was a round attachment to the wall. Kynier poured more res out from his body as his mind slowly Formed the image in his mind with reality. A pair of arms less than a half inch in diameter branched out and curved. Then the candle discs which Kynier added a small rim to in order to keep the melted wax contained and not spilling on the floor. But one section of the rim, particularly the left side closer to the archway, Kynier made larger. After many chimes it had been created more or less to how he had envisioned.

The mage set the candle on the disc and flicked a little remaining res off his finger to spark a fire to light the candle. The disc space was a bit too wide, but as candle light filled the room Kynier turned his gaze to see shadows dancing across the archway. The light shield wasn’t properly placed along the rim. No matter. Kynier turned around to face the room and judge the light. It seemed sufficient. Partially because the room swarmed with shadows. Each of them chittering excitedly about how his progress was coming along. “Hopefully soon,” he answered in their tongue with a smile. “But not yet.”

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Kynier]

Grades!

Skill Rewards

• Architecture +5
• Construction +5
• Drawing +3
• Mathematics +2
• Meditation +2
• Planning +2
• Projection +1
• Reimancy +5

Lores Learned

• Architecture: Desiging a wall sconce
• Construction: Using a measuring stick
• Construction: Making a Vaulted Ceiling
• Construction: Using a Level on the floor
• Construction: Using a Level on a wall
• Construction: How to read a Level
• Meditation: Meditating in complete darkness is very relaxing
• Reimancy: Geomancy functions in synch with breathing
• Reimancy: Using Geomancy to make a Vaulted Ceiling
• Reimancy: Liquid res can seep through materials
• Reimancy: Using Geomancy to level a stone floor
• Reimancy: Using Geomancy to level a stone wall
• Reimancy: Using Geomancy to create a wall sconce