The Crow's bill is blue as lead (Rayage)

[Panna Cotta]

Karte sleepily tilted his head to the left, and supported it with an aging hand. "Ah, my apologies. I always forget that we are of different worlds, different times, and different magic." And certainly different skills, but Karte was too modest for sarcasm, instead, "This laboratory is quite, expensive. I am surprised that Qiao had allowed you to replace its owner. You will find many stuff lying around, books on advanced alchemy you may want to take a look into when you have the time." He might as well have called Ray a novice. The Nuit had to learn to keep up with Sahovan magic lingo. But, his question was not left unanswered, "A demonstration of skill is usually a display of basic skills, exemplifying your promise and ability. The more suspicious wizard would not immediately perform in front of another, regardless of kin or relationship. Regardless of authority." Karte shook his head, all too familiar with this game, "I see, you do not wish to reveal your trade secrets. That is fine with me, you do not have to be so timid about it, concealing your animosity through politeness." Karte may have misunderstood, or maybe Ray was truthfully playing a game against him. Ah, the Master had read between his lines! It was truly a trick, and he had successfully guessed it at the right moment. Or not. "The key here," Karte awaking from a lazy mood, perking his head up, "is quantity. Given that you have four items, what are the possibilities of transforming item W, item X, item Y, and item Z? Specifically, Given W = A + B and X = C + D, Y = E + F + G, and Z = H + I... there are already 24 ways of going about a particular formula." He looked back at Ray, assessing something in the other Nuit, and spoke, "I didn't expect us having to go through this." A sigh, as if Ray had been a disappointment. Karte started to backtrack, "Ancient alchemy, and I mean ancient alchemy during the time that I was alive." And that was saying a lot of things, because Karte had been Nuit before Sahova had Nuits, but Ray didn't know that yet. "People believed in four fundamental elements." (Though who these "people" were, whether they were Alahean, or Suvan, or something else entirely was left to be said.) He looked at Rayage with a questioning eye, asking, do you know what those four elements are? "Many things come out of the basic four, adding them together, subtracting them from one another. That is basic alchemy, the fundamentals of which you must not forget even when you look forward to complex equations and compounded elements." "If you have four items: earth, air, water, fire." Karte revealed, suggesting that the four items he had alluded at were the four basic elements of this ancient alchemy he spoke of, "It cannot be said that you only have four elements. The possibility of having more than one kind of earth, is there. Hence given W, X, Y, Z, there can be four of W, three of Y, ten of X, and fifteen of Z. Quantity." He emphasized, "is a key instrument when forming a formula." Karte bid Ray to follow him to a nearby desk, where a cacophony of instruments used for alchemical research were neatly organized beside a small shelf of handwritten research. Karte borrowed a pencil and pulled out a piece of paper. He drew what appeared to be a perfect circle, though at a closer inspection it appears to be a thin serpent eating its own tail. He flipped the paper and gave it to Ray, "Do you know what this is? If not, you should definitely look into it, when you have the time."

[Rayage]

The nuit would look around the laboratory as his master mentioned how expensive it was, ”I guess my work, my research is just that important to Qiao.” he dared to say. He had made some promises as well, but his honest guess is that he didn’t want the lab to go to waste and, as Qiao had told him, the only alchemist that he trusted was dead. So instead of giving the lab to the next skilled alchemist, who he assumed was standing in front of him, the head of Sahova would make a gamble on the new alchemist giving him this lab as a form of spite for the others that studied his art here, and to try to win the newcomers loyalty. It was all politics and he guessed the quality of labs, or of the lab you were assigned, was directly related to your status here in the facility. Spying the numerous books on advanced alchemy that were mentioned he would make a mental note to read them later. There was much to be read in this place, and he knew much that he didn’t know or understand about Alchemy. That though will hopefully change soon enough, but if he were to continue his studies the reading of such books might be put on hold until he can actually get a living homunculus. A gamble or maybe he will read them when he needs a break from his work, as a form of escape. That would be nice, and the knowledge that they hold could help him with a breakthrough that he hadn’t even considered or known about. Ray would let out a laugh as he was accused of hiding his ways though politeness. Partially true, but mostly not; he didn’t have much to hide, and even if he did his nature alone wouldn’t let him hide something he is truly proud about. That is just the way he is. The nuit would nod a slow careful, almost thoughtful nod as he listened to Kartes words. They made sense; even the equation part. His eyes would light up with a renewed interest as the nuit mentioned Ancient Alchemy, well alchemy from when he was alive, just how old was he? There were four elements and out of those elements everything was created, earth, air, water, and fire. What an interesting concept. Never having heard that before he made eye contact with the other trying to absorb every bit of knowledge that was spilling out of him, ”Do you believe as the ancients do about the elements?” He asked in his opinion a rather stupid question, but he wanted to know. He wanted to know more about the four elements and how the combine, how they create, how they be. Following Karte over to the desk he watched over his masters shoulder as he drew the circle. Receiving the paper he looked at it with a quizzical look shaking his head in a silent answer. Though he has seen the mark before, he has, but he didn’t quite know what it meant. Being a circle, and the topic being alchemy he could only assume that this serpent is vital to understanding the process of ancient alchemy or at least is somehow connected to everything. Smiling at the paper his eyes seemed to bore into symbol as if looking at it would reveal the answer to him. It seemed there still was a lot for him to learn, and the excitement of coming here was just a bit too much. Learning about alchemy was not only a goal of his, but he wanted to pioneer in it as well. Though first he would have to learn a lot more about the subject.

[Panna Cotta]

Silence filled the room as an answer to Rayage's question. Karte answered after a good moment of contemplation, "I think you fail to see that I am an ancient." His eyes lit with wisdom, and the mentor Nuit held the stare against Rayage's own, trying to bore into the apprentice's mind. Perhaps it was the generation gap, Master Karte had been alive for far too long, and for the first time since they met, Ray felt like he was out of Karte's league - that there was a bottomless pit of knowledge that separated the two of them. In his resolve however, was the desire to bridge that gap. He had better resources than Karte, alliances and footholds for him to abuse just by playing his cards in favor of Qiao. "I have the slightest suspicion that you are trying to play dumb in order to fool me into thinking that you are an apprentice and that I am your Master." Karte said, lips thinning into a taut line. "You should quit being so cautious, lest I start to think that you are, in fact, really dumb." "Are you scared of sharing your own knowledge? Do you fear that I will steal from you?" A slow curve in his lips as if saying, 'I probably know all that you do and more.' "This is the sign of the serpent eating its own tail. I suspect you already know what it means, but I have an inkling you will, once again, pretend not to know." "Ray, was it? Do not for a second think that you will have to defer to another person's pride and ability. We do not need meek sheep, or did Qiao see in you someone he could easily manipulate?" The words were enough to confirm his lingering suspicions. There was some kind of animosity between Qiao and Karte. What's left of Ray now would be to thread that borderline. Being Qiao's novice had a lot of perks to it, but he would not be able to offer the expertise Karte had. No wonder the Nuit could not easily dispose of Karte. "This is the symbol of creation and destruction, in some culture it is known as the yak'rad, usually interpreted by the uninformed as the circle of death." A hint of amused smile in Karte's lips. "Try to discover the meaning of the yak'rad in alchemy, and I will reward you with a pet." "Now," Karte paced away from the table and searched around the laboratory, "I assume you will want to work alone. Unless you need me further I shall be leaving." Now was Rayage's chance!

[Rayage]

Silence only answered Karte as he spoke. Ray listening to every word, hinging on every sentence only responding when he felt it was right. The deadlock between the ‘master’ and the ‘apprentence’ only lasted as long as the nuit held his gaze. The feeling of insecurity enveloped him as he knew that Karte knew so much more than him. This made him feel sick, but he fought not to show it. Only a polite smile would spread across his face as he broke the deadlock gaze that Karte had initiated. There was so much going on in his masters head, and the stare only proved just how big the gap was between them. He would silently brood on what the master was saying and on the exact meaning of the words. He was playing dumb; there was an advantage to that. An advantage that he wanted to exploit, but it seemed the master was not keen on such subjects or attempts to play him like a fool. A slight grin would spread across his face as he met Kartes own saying that he indeed knew more than he let on, but he was still fond of the masters knowledge. “Easy to manipulate?” he laughed at the accusation, ”As one digging for knowledge sees in another potential I see that you are highly suspicious. Yet you accuse me of masking my knowledge with ignorance when you are putting on the same show.” He nodded and left it at that. Karte was in essence doing the same thing Ray was only he was showing it, preforming it much differently than the nuit. The symbol of creation and destruction, he looked at again as the master talked about it and before he could say anything he found that the other was walking around the lab. Working alone? Never. Not when there was someone so much more skilled in the creation of life right in front of him, someone so skilled in the creation of homunculus. ” Ouroboros.” he spoke the one word as a sentence, ”The serpent who eats its own tail.” he elaborated, ”It’s a symbol of creation and destruction, of life and death…” he paused as he set the drawing down on the table by him pulling a quill from its place in the desk and some ink before placing a line through the very middle of the serpents body and coloring one half black with the ink. “It represents so much more than that. It stands for the idea of the beginning and the end as being a continuous unending principle. It speaks for all of us and is a sign that states ‘All is One’. Though, in Alchemy, it resonates with the principal of creation out of destruction. Through Alchemy we Alchemists create new substances out of the destruction of other substances.” he spoke eyes locked on the symbol, ”Though there still must exist a balance. Much like life and death coexist, for one cannot be without the other, the black and white of the serpent represents the duality of everything and the coexistence of both positive and negative forces, but not only that, but the existence of both positive and negative to create and maintain the whole. In the alchemy circle there also exists the positive and negative, and through exploiting that, the positive and negative of the circle and of the items placed as chargers, we Alchemists create what nature could not.” a triumph-ridden smile spread across his face as he looked up from the symbol towards his master, ”Though, all in all, it’s a symbol of the adding and becoming of the opposite. It is a symbol of immortality, and eternal growth and renewal from the ending of something else, but ultimately it is the symbol of and for everything.” he concluded having repeated himself some number of times in his little rant on the snake that eats his own tail, but it was to make a point even sharper, so to say. ”Though I do believe that you already knew all of that and more, but that is what I believe the serpents connection is to Alchemy.” He waited thinking over what all he just said before crossing his arms, “And working alone. I don’t think I ever said that I would like to work alone. We are supposed to be partners, right? Comrades working together…” He sounded unsure and the masters reaction to him, assuming that he wanted to work alone, could be the result of him withholding information that he, and any alchemist worth their salt and have done just a little bit of research possessing some skill, would know. Either that or Rays standards were too high, but Karte was right. He needn’t lower himself to the level of others and he was going to show the nuit just how good of an apprentice he could be. Not only that, but just how good of a comrade he be as well. He couldn’t afford to lose this wealth of knowledge.

[Jilitse]

Permission to take over thread as Guest Storyteller approved via HD. Permission also granted by Mirage via PM. After what appeared to be an eternity of pause, Karte twitched an eyebrow. It said a lot, for Nuits had no need for minute expressions. Rayage had hit a nerve for calling Karte a comrade. The effect was so gradual it was easily missed, though the fact that the professor stuttered slightly made enough of an impression. "..." Karte replied in silence. And he kept his peace for a long while, regarding Rayage with flat curiosity. The eyebrow twitched again. "Tell me about the first homunculus that you had dreamed of." It was said imperatively; Karte was going to stay. As the Nuit paid attention to the dream Rayage dreamed, he let out a sigh. "Let's get closer to your dream through much needed practice. Have you chosen four items within this room yet? We have been all theory and no application. Well, comrade, the first thing I need to teach you is praxis." "Won't do us good if we chatter about our philosophies on Alchemy all day. We've bounced off enough ideas, but we also need to get down to business. Do you agree?" The fact that Karte had switched to the plural 'we' meant that Rayage had gotten himself an ally. A dangerous ally, at the very least. Words should not be treated lightly, and there's no saying how heavily the word 'comrade' made an impact to someone as old as Karte. "Or, tell me, would a demonstration be such a bore for you. We both know you could properly perform basic Alchemy anyway. Instead, don't you want to continue research on a much more interesting topic. Such as yak'rad?" Karte paused for a dramatic effect. He was offering the shortcut to the lesson, at the same time taking advantage of Rayage's favorable position with Lector Qiao, "However, this room cannot even begin to be compare to my laboratory's wealth. Too bad Qiao had sequestered my keys." Hint hint. Maybe Rayage could procure the keys?

[Rayage]

oocSorry for taking so long. I got caught up in coming up with a good demo that I overwhelmed myself in all the little details… Regardless I came to the conclusion that it would be more efficient for me to skip the demo. So that is what I did to get a post to you.

“The first homunculus is the homunculus I want to create.” Rayage informed Karte, ”For the first I dreamed of was my child. It has no defined form as I am a long ways away from creating one. I feel that when it is time the homunculus will take shape. Of course,” he paused, ”I have to keep in mind that it will not only be a child to me, my legacy, but also a living weapon for Sahova.” he grinned as if many thoughts were running through his head. ”Right now isn’t the time to daydream about it.” he said, nodding, ”You are correct. All theory and no practice makes nothing.”

The nuit had heard the ‘we’ and smiled. This master was going to aid him in the discovery of his true potential, and his dream. What better deal could he get? There was no place he’d rather be at that moment than where he was currently. This already as a dream come true, but would it instead turn into a nightmare? Time would only tell, and there was no point in worrying about the future when it hasn’t happened yet. It can always change, always, for change effects everything at every tick, every chime, every bell, every moment of life and beyond.

”Yes,” he agreed, ”We both know that I can perform Alchemy. Though, what is a yak’rad?” he forced himself to ask the question, but immediately felt insecure asking the question. His entire being tingled with anticipation, of an answer. If he were silent then he would have found out soon enough when they created one. He shifted a little, worried that the question left Karte with a bad impression of him. Of all people in Sahova, he did not want his dream maker to think ill of him. Besides, the older wizard was supposed to help him with his work… Er, agreed to, anyways.

The nuit shifted his thoughts, his failure was too painful to think about. Instead he daydreamed about what Karte’s lab must look like. If this lab was nothing compared to Karte’s… Then, he truly must be a great alchemist. It is too bad that Qiao sequestered his keys. Too bad indeed. Maybe he could get his keys back… yes and then the master would be in his debt. He could use that to his advantage, or perhaps acquire the lab for himself. Though such thoughts were quickly pushed away, merely made note of and stored for a later time.

He looked at the alchemist, ”So, what do we do first? he asked, again feeling slightly insecure in the fact that he didn’t know.