[Western Hills] The Invisible Art (Bob)

[Eryss Waldu]

75th of Fall, 511AV. The Western Hills [All the fighting in Sunberth had finished. The Daggerhand and Sun’s Birth weren’t openly killing each other in the streets anymore and the mists that had encompassed the city at the beginning of the season had long since retracted. Though it seemed as though the last few days of the season would be without incident Eryss was not so sure which is why he had insisted that Bob Barton meet him outside of the city and in the Western Hills away from the prying eyes of anyone who may have been watching. Maybe Eryss was just being paranoid, which was a common trait for those who practiced the wizardly arts, but he was sure that eyes were on him now and that he enemies massing in Sunberth waiting to strike.] [Actually the Mage was so paranoid that he had arrived at the designated area hours ahead of time so that he could ensure everything was as it should be. Strange but necessary in his mind. Waiting beneath a large tree that he had designated the meeting place Eryss would extend his hands towards a small fire that he created, warming them in the hot glow of the embers, using his reimancy. It only needed a small amount of res to be brought to a satisfying glow as the sun began to set. Now that it was almost winter the change in the weather was noticeable and Eryss could be seen bundled up a little more tightly than usual, without a fire he might have even held his cloak closer to him, he didn’t enjoy colder weather though he was tolerant of it to a degree.] [Underneath the tree crouched down by the small fire Eryss could stare out at the road leading back towards Sunberth and watch for movement as the sun continued to drift lower beyond the horizon. If Bob didn’t come alone the Mage would have been able to see him a long time before he got there and either attempt to flee or prepare to fight, likely reigning down some form of destruction from afar, before he arrived. Whatever the reason was Eryss had come to appreciate the man for his talents though, Bob was useful in his own ways and he would be an asset capable of assisting the Mage in the future, so he had decided impart a bit of knowledge on him for future use when the both of them were in the heat of things as it were.] [Likely the events that spurred this occurred when Eryss, Bob and Cade worked together attacking merchants outside of the city earlier in the season. It had been profitable and entertaining for the Mage and allowed him to appreciate Bob in a new light, maybe because Cade and Antar seemed to take a liking to his as well. Bob might even become valuable as a figurehead in the future operating some locale that the Crimson Edge took as their own but that was still in the future and yet to be decided, things could change.] [Withdrawing his hands from where they had hovered over the fire Eryss would place them together, rubbing his palms against one another, and turn his head so that he could look towards the road leading from Sunberth again before muttering to himself...”Where are you small man?”...patience was not his most outstanding virtue though he would exercise it when he had no other choice. In a rare moment while he waited Eryss would lift his hands and take the edge of his hood before drawing it backwards to reveal his facial features. He wasn’t old as some might have thought but rather quite youthful in appearance and even somewhat attractive if not for how his face around the eyes seemed reddened and saturated with some sort mark from his magic use. Briefly he’d have let the open air touch his face, exhaling free of his disguise while he crouched down near the fire, before lifting the hood of his cloak back over his head to conceal it once again.] [Outstretching his right hand then Eryss would produce a small amount of liquid res which he pooled inside of his palm, it slowly took on the shape of a sphere as he willed it to, and then mentally commanding it to hover inches from his hand and remain in place he would admire his creation in silence. It’s true Eryss liked to practice destructive magic but sometimes he enjoyed admiring it in the most raw form it had as well. Res was pure and without real substance save what it was willed to take on and its effects more substantial than those brought on by other forms of magic in his opinion but then Reimancy was quite evident when it was used the majority of the time.]

[Bob Barton]

Why was Bob going to the Western Hills like Eryss asked him to? The last time he decided to visit the Crimson Edge camp they ended up going on yet another fool mission with Bob being dragged behind them and the little man found out that not only he was small, he was also rather squishy despite the armor he had on him. That only made Bob feel that things would be a lot more dangerous for the simple reason that Eryss was insane. Insane enough to go to the designated area earlier unlike the sane Bob who took his time to think. As soon as he woke up in the morning he was staring at the mirror questioning "Bob, Bob, Bob...why are you getting mixed up with people like this" but in Sunberth just what other sorts of people are left. He took the time trying to persuade him to give it a go giving reasons like "what was the worst that could happen" other than a lightning bolt sent to his direction like the day they met and "Eryss won't be able to do much to me without getting questioned by his peers" but only after the deed is done just as that smoldering body of the Daggerhand which came to mind. All really, really weak reasons especially when there were so many memories proving them wrong and the one about "I can take him down quickly if he tried anything" did not help because he knew that would only work in close range. After a long time of working on it Bob finally psyched himself enough to make his way to the hills when he kept trying to remember how he presented his event with utmost confidence to the crowd of unruly Berth citizens during the rat races.

The longer he was on the road the more his earlier efforts began to wore out and started getting distracted to wonder "brrrrr, it was not too late to back out now..." or should he back out at all? Everytime with Eryss though it was dangerous has been rather profitable and Bob straightened himself out deciding that "I am going to go..." That was rather weak and Bob shouted that "I am going to go!" with much conviction or "maybe I should only go after I get someone to come along" like Mok, Antar or even Cade which fortunately he did not or that paranoid mage beneath the tree might do something crazier than usual. Getting the confidence he needed back again after much convincing himself like a madman, Bob was getting closer and in the day which was getting darker he could see glow of the fire a good distance away. Either Eryss is up to something or there was someone crazy enough to be out in this weather this late, maybe even both.

Bob did not want to take any chances. Not with Eryss and not with someone of the Berth. He took a stop and hid in the darkness to look around if there was anyone left around. Being satisfied that there was no one else between him and the fire, he decided to go around the back and advance from there. It was his own invisible art if only he was any good at it. Going from tree to bush and whatever else came next which could hide him, Bob took a chance to peek out to see if the fire was still burning at the tree. Frankly if Eryss was going to see him he would have already saw Bob coming down the main road so either right now the man would be amused or intrigued if he was a normal person. Nevertheless without any substantial changes to the situation, Bob would continue on as he did thinking that he had succeeded until he was standing against the tree right across from where he started. Whether or not Eryss was looking at him right now, he would walk towards the tree to get close to the fire.

Because "this is a rather cold day isn't it?" he asked as if there was nothing going on. It was only Eryss, scary enough for Bob to decide not to bring his dog which he took with him everywhere. "So why did you call me here today? You want to kill more people? I charge the usual rate" which is normally half of whatever they found "unless we can find something really interesting for me." Blood money is still good money to be spent and accepted by anyone and living in Sunberth taught Bob that if he was not going to take it, someone else would eventually so he would take from the one he noticed who had an appearance as strange as he did and "what the petch is that?" asking about the res that was floating in the air. While Bob knew what it was he decided to keep quiet about it since he only got back memory of it recently and the ghost told him to learn or something along those lines.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Not unlike what Bob had already surmised Eryss had seen him approach from the main road while he had remained settled near the fire and admired the res he created. That Bob had decided to come around the back of the tree was somewhat of an amusement seeing as how Eryss thought he may have been trying to sneak up on him. Observing Bob until he couldn’t see him any longer Eryss was rather indifferent towards the entire idea that Bob was coming closer to him until he heard his voice and the Mage looked back over his shoulder where he’d have seen him and focused on the smaller man. No dog today which meant Bob was either confident that this was go well or foolish in the opinion of Eryss.] [Allowing a silence to exist between the both of them for a time Eryss would have eventually said quite aptly...”The weather is unfortunate. It would be better to meet in Sunberth but there are too many eyes.”...which was a statement that seemed to belly some of the paranoia that Eryss concealed, he didn’t particularly like to be watched and he believed his enemies abounded in high numbers. Then came the question as to why Eryss had summoned Bob here, to him, causing Eryss to chuckle faintly when Bob asked if he wanted to kill more people. Always was the first thought that came to Eryss mind though he kept that to himself as he rose to his feet and turned to face Bob with the liquid res still pooling inside his hand.] [Another spark of amusement when Bob asked what the res that Eryss had been admiring was. Intuitively Eryss didn’t quite believe that Bob had no idea what the substance was though on the other hand he also did not know the depth of what Bobs true understanding of it was either. “The Soul. According to some res is djed given physical form and therefore a product of our soul manifest but if that is true it means our soul can be replenished.”...which made sense if anyone wanted to think about it. Were Res actually the manifestation of the soul, which is what some considered djed to be a part of, then that would mean that the soul is ever replenishing what you took of it. An odd conundrum really as it seemed to make the soul less valuable in a sense.] [With the res still in the palm of his hand Eryss would absorb it back into himself effortlessly by closing his hand around it which seemed to allow him the ability to drink his own manifestation of res back into himself leaving no trace it had been there. Eyes had turned back to Bob then and Eryss appeared to be focusing on him before saying quite clearly...”Do you fear for your life? Do you feel your own mortality?”...the point of these questions seemed to be lost in translation of course, maybe Bob would assume that Eryss meant to kill him though he had a prime opportunity to wound him severely with the res he had already created before absorbing it again. Attack may have been expected but it was not imminent and instead Eryss, straightening himself so that he could stand at his full height, would concentrate quietly before beginning to generate what appeared to be a thin translucent barrier which had started to emit from his body.] [Djed itself was woven into this translucent barrier. Weaving it over his body Eryss would remain silent for a time as the barrier fluxed and spread out over his torso so that it could slowly begin to cover him from head to toe. The process was quicker than it would have been if Eryss had tried to cover a larger area though it still took an amount of time that the Mage sometimes considered inconvenient. Making a Shield required less djed then it took to manipulate reality or create the elements via reimancy but that didn’t mean it was any less effective. In fact for what it was Shielding was the greatest defence a Mage could have in his arsenal considering that at its highest levels it meant weapons, magic and even men could be deflect as though they were a nuisance and nothing more. As the Shield completed, tasking itself at the mental command of Eryss against djed so that it could sustain itself and against piercing weapons for defence, Bob would see the translucent barrier finally shimmer briefly before fading from sight completely.] [Tilting his head when he was done Eryss would observe Bob as though he were looking for something on his person, a weapon maybe, before finally nodding his head and telling him...”I want you to take a knife and stab me in the stomach.”...he was extremely serious and by the way he spoke to Bob the man might get the idea that if he didn’t do as told something bad would happen to him. Mad as it sounded Eryss was not very worried about the outcome. Likely stabbing Eryss would result in the activation of the Shield which would violently deflect the stabbing, or piercing, weapon aside possibly even wrenching it from the hand of the one using it depending on the force of their own blow.]

[Bob Barton]

Bob actually thought that not bringing a dog was a good idea. There was no dog from the kennels that he should be walking today and if he brought Jinsen, that dog will be in an extremely big risk and that was a bigger chore than Bob wanted. He already had his hands full holding on to his swords which was used to defend himself which actually made Bob know that he was not foolish in coming alone to meet just one man. He was already competent already in their use and he should be able to beat any of the real fools of the Berth which tried to get at him but as for the outstanding ones, he would have to rely on escaping. Waiting impatiently Bob would ask "well? Why did you ask me here then?" because the silence was just wasting his time. This was another reason why Bob thought that things would go smoothly, since Eryss was the one who invited him here. In fact, Bob just shrugged at what Eryss said about not being able to meet in Sunberth since "you already have a perfectly good camp with so many..." friends? Eryss did not seem the type. Maybe the better word was "followers" unless according to the paranoia "you don't trust them?"

That was the different between them because Bob felt that he could since he got out of a lot of dangerous situations because of them and when Eryss chuckled, Bob could not get the feeling of dread that he might have actually suggested the wrong thing to the man but at least he was easily distracted to talk about the res instead. "Soul, life, energy..." they all sounded like the same unknown aspect that you can never really confirm. It was laughable that Eryss the killer would actually admit that he had a soul but Bob supposed that everyone should have one...somewhere...deep inside... "You actually like taking your soul out like that for no reason?" Bob asked curiously because as Eryss thought it made it seem less valuable. "I actually prefer to keep my soul for that special lady which would become my soulmate actually but I am not going to complain about what you want to do" like taking on with another man who was around like Bob or in the worst case, alone when he is by himself.

Talking about life and mortality made Bob slide his foot backwards a little thinking that he might have gone a little too far with that statement but from his experience with the animals, to back down was a sign of weakness. It was not something that should be done especially when "we are in Sunberth." he admitted standing straight back again but holding on to his cane more. "Are you really asking that question with someone who is stupid enough to actually stay here?" Bob asked to put the idea into Eryss mind because "no, what I am more afraid about is my life not accomplishing anything" because growing up in a place like Zeltiva had placed certain expectations to live up to and that in turn becomes ambition. Speaking of growing up, Bob raised his brow when Eryss talked about his mortality and looked to his short body before looking back answering that "I am already used to it" with his physical inadequacies. But that did not mean that he was any less afraid of it.

Did Eryss actually stand at his full height taking Bob's cue to remind the man of his mortality the way that was hinted? But Bob was reminded more about what Eryss did next with the shimmering barrier. It was a very familiar memory and it has something to do with shields. Not the one that knights used but just as effective nonetheless as he heard but what he knew, it could not even hold up against a snowball. Eryss suddenly came up with another surprising statement for Bob to take a stab but "you won't have a snowball's chance especially with this!", the sword which was slowly being drawn from the cane at an angle which Bob purposely did to make the screeching sound of rubbing metal. "Are you sure you really want this?" Bob asked slashing down at the air to try and dissuade Eryss from pursuing this rather stupid idea because "I would kill you." It was not even a question of whether Bob wanted to do it or not, the target was right open for him but Eryss seemed unshaken by the threat.

The sword was raised to eye level as Bob tried to take aim but "I can't do it...you know I absolutely loathe killing. Can I use this instead?" Bob asked taking out the whip he always has hidden in his coat. It will not really kill a person but it will hurt if he could hit which Bob knew will be hard. He only learned how to use the whip recently to control animals from a safe distance and everytime he used it to attack a person it did not go quite well for him. The tucking his sword away Bob tried to show Eryss the other nice use of the whip to control the animals as he waved the whip to the air to allow it to unfold itself so that once it was straightened, he could flick his wrist forward causing the whip to snap loudly from the sudden movement against the air. Was Eryss scared yet? Hopefully not too scared to try something stupid since Bob knew the man's capabilities quite well. It would not take much for Eryss to scare Bob into action and when he did Bob would say "alright, you win!"

If dying was the prize that Eryss wanted then Bob would give him what he could so he held up the sword at eye level again. Keeping it there, Bob rushed straight with a quick start getting slower and slower as he advanced because despite everything he still did not want Eryss dead or his friends blaming him for it. So instead of extending his arm in a thrust when he was close, Bob bent his body to move his sword down at Eryss stomach like he wanted but on impact instead of going straight through, the sword bounced back pushing Bob's body as well and the way he was positioned he fell on his bottom a little bit surprised because "I don't remember it doing something like that happening" unless there was something more to snowballs than swords.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Only listening half heartedly to what Bob was saying to him Eryss was largely indifferent to what the man had to say until he touched again on the matter of the soul. Shrugging his shoulders then Eryss would only have raised his right hand, wagging its index finger at Bob, as he went before remarking...”Not hardly Bob.”...yes he knew his name, probably learned it listening to Antar and Cade or on the last adventure they had outside of Sunberth with the Barbarian, and he let that fact sink in briefly before continuing...”If our souls truly can repair themselves as long as we don’t take too much of them then the concept of waste is inconsequential.”...basically it didn’t matter how much was used as long as to much wasn’t used at any one time. The Mage would let that absorb into Bob’s mind for a moment and remain silent largely until Bob preformed as he desired.] [It was when Bob attacked that Eryss finally became somewhat satisfied with the results of this encounter. All around Eryss the Shield had flared to life when Bob’s sword impacted and was deflect aside causing the smaller man to fall backwards and with a brief laugh Eryss would have been heard telling him...”Apparently the snowball is stronger than the sword.”...it was all he cared to say for a moment while Bob recovered. As Bob was collecting himself though Eryss would form a small amount of thin gaseous res in his palm, not unlike the liquid res he had been admiring moments ago, before turning to look at Bob and telling him...”Now it is my turn.”...which could only mean that he was going to attack Bob. By now the Shield had settled and become invisible to the naked eye once again.] [Letting the gaseous res spread around his hand as though it were a coiling snake Eryss would eventually command it to fly towards Bob at a startling amount of speed. The res travelled surprisingly fast under the command of someone who was precise in its usage. As it flew towards Bob it would begin to transmute, under Eryss personal mental command, until it became a thin bolt of crackling lightning that struck the ground between Bob’s feet. Likely it wouldn’t be enough to do any damage but the latent static electricity could cause the man’s hair to stand on end or fill him with an unnatural tingling sensation which could prove to be effective in its own right. Once he had let the bolt fly Eryss withdrew his hand and watched quietly waiting to see the reaction that Bob would have given; maybe fear or anger, depending on the kind of person he was, or neither.] [Without missing a beat though Eryss would eventually reply by telling him quite blatantly...”Your sword cannot hit me. Perhaps it is you who doesn’t have a snowballs chance.”...echoing Bob’s earlier statement when Eryss had instructed him to deliver a blow to his stomach using the sword cane which was deflected by the Shield. Chuckling lightly beneath the hood that he wore Eryss, with hands now entwining with one another in front of himself, would offer a small rise and fall of his shoulders before telling Bob quite plainly...”Shielding was born out of necessity for many mages in order to survive. If you are a skilled practitioner you no longer need to worry about the nuisances of life so much. Men cannot even touch you if you do not want them to.”...it all seemed very beneficial but there were down sides and other reasons why men practiced the art of Shielding obviously, which Eryss chose to leave out, but what was Bob’s part in all of this? He’d soon find out.] [Wondering whether or not Bob was catching on Eryss would have eventually decided to enlighten him on what was going to occur here this evening by remarking...”You will learn Shielding.”...just like that and while the Mage was sure Bob had questions he would only offer him this one chance to ask them by continuing with...”Do you understand?”...obviously questions that he considered a waste of time would not be looked on favourably though. Otherwise there was little to discuss considering that Eryss would likely not divulge his reasoning behind instructing Bob in the creation of Shields seeing as how that might have been redundant, Bob really didn’t need to know anything other than that he would learn, in his opinion.] [This lesson would likely be a short one but there would be others as Bob gradually learned more of the art and expanded his knowledge concerning it which would be much more thorough, and dangerous, if he was not an apt pupil.]

[Bob Barton]

Should Bob be worried that his name is known? Of course not! He would actually be very pleased with finding out that his name is so well known in Sunberth right now if there was a reason that he should think of something like that. The more important thing he had in his mind right now was the talk of "repairing" the soul as it was being used since he was a reimancer himself and the concept seemed very appealing. Perhaps Eryss would tell some more? But Bob did not trust the vicious mage to give him a straight answer as he needed it so as always he tried to guide the conversation into the direction that he wanted. "If only we can repair the body the same way you claim that you can repair your soul. Maybe we could? Then I can become like one of those lizard things leaving my arm behind for my enemies while the stump repairs itself." It did not matter that practically Bob cannot repair his stump arm but other ways of regaining djed other than reabsorption and the pitiful amount from eating food would be good to know if Eryss knew any.

Trying to get up not knowing what to expect next Bob would tell Eryss that "obviously the snowball would be better for a shield which is unprepared for it. But since there is no snow do you want me to try my fists? I bet that can get through easily enough" and be prepared himself to try and do it too hopefully catching Eryss off guard at the same time as he squeezed on his fists and limbered up his arms. Bob was actually the one caught off guard when he heard Eryss mentioning his turn because "you did not way anything about that!" at the start or Bob would have made sure that his attack did some damage. Knowing that the mage really loved to use his fire Bob saw that he had no choice but to try and counter it before he gets scorched and burned to death and fire is easily extinguished by water as everyone knew. Bob continued to squeeze his arms this time not to build up to a strong punch but to build up a concentration of res on his fingers and palm which only got more and more as the layers piled up and stuck together. Eryss had his coils and Bob had his lovely...fistful of balls.

But it was obvious of who was the better reimancer here and it was Eryss who had a better degree of control together with more output for his attacks. Bob had his eye on his attacker's arm knowing that Eryss had always used his arms to signal an attack. Even if the res was not visible, Bob was looking for the telltale movements and once Eryss had shown that he was about to attack, Bob threw his own sticky gel res forward as well which he wanted to use as "the snowball!" that was going to beat Eryss. But could not even use water and as much as he willed for the ball to transmute it just did not happen so he changed his mind into "water!" or what could actually pass for water which was the res becoming more wet in its liquid form. A sad, pathetic display as the means to attain that element was lost to him just as the knowledge of making the others available to him was not really taught to him yet. Regardless whether or not the worthless attack actually hit Eryss which was pretty unlikely due to the shock, Bob will be quite spent as more res was taken out of him than he thought he had used.

But would that actually stop Bob from trying to get back at Eryss? Nope. He was in a rage and the throbbing in his head only allowed him to think through all the static that if he used a lot more he could destroy Eryss. Fortunately for the both of them before Bob could do anything else which is stupid the lightning shock had hit him and cleared up his mind so all that was left was the rage that "the only necessary thing left for me here right now is putting my fist to your face!" like he wanted to initially forgetting all about the failed reimancy plan. Bob stepped up to Eryss and asked "so men cannot touch you unless you want to?" as he held out his pointed finger towards Eryss sending it at the chest asking "what am I doing now then?" pressing on forward for another few quick pokes if Eryss tried to dodge stopping only after the novelty of the situation wore off which will be in a mere matter of moments because "shielding sounds good" then they will see who will have the last laugh in the near future.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Although Eryss was not schooled in discipliners besides Reimancy and Shielding he did have some knowledge of other archaic methods. Bob’s sentiment regarding the reparation of the body as well as the soul had not fallen on deaf ear however the Mage could not give him a straight answer besides rumours he had heard which was the driving factor behind his comment...”If you’re looking to repair your body perhaps you should seek a different kind of magic.”...he hadn’t meant the divine if that’s how Bob chose to take it however the Mage didn’t doubt that a God could heal its worshippers if they were true in their devotion to it. Shrugging his shoulders though Eryss would have withdrawn his hands and steepled his fingers together against one another while observing the other man.] [It wasn’t until Bobs own failed attempt at reimancy that the curiosity of had piqued. He wasn’t aware that Bob actually studied the art. The Res he created was unmistakable though and even though it did nothing to counter the small lightning bolt that Eryss had created it was able to effectively impress the Mage so that he had a newly blossoming respect for his smaller counterpart. Sidestepping the gel that Bob had hurled at him though Eryss would follow its trajectory with his eyes before it splattered on the ground near his foot and then looking at Bob once again. When he looked back at Bob, who was telling him how he wanted to put his fist into Eryss face, the Mage was smiling beneath the hood he wore; listening as Bob then went on and moved closer to touch him though he remained silent.] [Were Bob to attempt striking Eryss with his sword again it would have proven to be impossible. The Cane Sword would have deflected off the Shield against just as it did the last time. However as Bob moved closer, his finger extending to poke itself into the chest of Eryss, he discovered that it was unimpeded and the Mage stood there while Bob amused himself by poking him in the chest a handful of times. “It’s true Bob. You can touch me.”...it seemed as though Eryss was conceding the point to Bob however had Eryss desired to thwart the man it would have been nothing to stack another Shield on top of the one he had already made that would prevent the touch of biologics or to have woven that protection into the initial Shield as well but that seemed a waste. Bob had earned his small victory in the opinion of the Mage who humoured him for a moment before hearing the satisfactory answer that Bob was willing to learn to Shield.] [Backing away three paces Eryss would put some distance between Bob and himself once again before continuing by saying...”You know of reimancy I see. Even if your grasp of it is questionable. Thus you know of harnessing your djed Bob.”...he was speaking now in terms that he felt Bob would understand though Bob was free to interrupt him at any time but if he didn’t Eryss would continue with...”Shielding is relatively simple. It requires only a small amount of djed compared to other magical disciplines and its risks are equally mild.”...the way the Mage made it sound Shielding was less a worry than over magic, and it was, but overgiving was still possible. Now that he had told Bob of the absolute basics Eryss would go on by saying...”Basic Shielding has a minimal application but is still useful. You will be able to block djed. Not just from magic but other sources of djed. With enough skill you can block light from touching you for instance. I’ll show you.”...and then the Mage would do just as he had said.] [Taking the sleeve of his robe in one hand Eryss would pull it higher, revealing the scars that covered his arm where fire had likely turned back on him, and raise his arm so that Bob could see it. Then, harnessing his own djed and magical energy, Eryss would begin to weave a simple Shield across his arm from the elbow to his hand. Weaving it purposefully slowly he’d allow Bob to see the djed emitting from him and then threading itself over the desired location easily as a translucent layer that would gradually begin to fade from sight. Once the Shield had begun to fade away the arm that Eryss had covered would also change in appearance as though it were surrounded by a gray zone, or static of some kind, that was actively drinking in the light or reflecting it aside. It lasted a minute, maybe a little more, before the threads started to break down as Eryss had purposefully woven them with a short lifespan in mind but he felt the demonstration was successful.] [Lowering his arm again, the sleeve of his robe falling back into place to cover it, Eryss would tip his head towards Bob, watching him closely, before remarking...”You will need to concentrate hard initially. Think of it as covering yourself with a protective blanket. Try it yourself.”...then he would wait and observe the progress Bob made. Eryss didn’t really expect Bob to be successful his first attempt but anything, even the feeling of djed stirring inside himself, was a minor success and the beginning of his introduction into become apt at Shielding.]

[Bob Barton]

Yes, it looked like Bob was victorious and Eryss had conceded defeat despite how had the reimancy was that he used to try and defend himself. No actual prize there but he would like to think what he had gotten out of it was the knowledge of how to use shielding which a certain someone else failed to give to him because he was greedy. This time though he learned that he was not going to make any foolish remarks based on his lack of knowledge and presented a very important question that Eryss should answer before they continued. "You said that the risks are mild but not that there is no risk at all. So lets have at it then, what is the cost of using this power?" Bob purposely changed the last part into cost just because he wanted to see if Eryss had any other ulterior motives for offering to teach him shielding. Of course if Eryss had other things to tell him like "that body repair magic. What is it?" that would be acceptable too. While Bob did not like to rely on the divine and shielding is a good way to defend himself, what would happen when the defense fails? He would get damaged and then he would still need to repair himself.

Going back to the topic, or part of what builds up to it "yes I do know reimancy...again, though it is a little bit weird now." Ohhh how much Bob wanted to use the water. He learned reimancy to help in his gambling and to him it represented the fluid methods and techniques that he may employ to win his games but it was all gone, for now replaced with unneeded fiery spirit and earthy solidity which will never do for big plays. Fortunately unlike those concepts, what Eryss was trying to impress on him was actually easier to understand since the person who exposed him to shielding was also the person who helped him improve with his reimancy. Bob stood watching what Eryss was doing though he was still a little tense staying alert for anymore sudden attacks like earlier. For all he knew Eryss was preparing for another attack again as revenge for being poked . His worries were forgotten when Eryss removed his sleeve to reveal the scars on the arm because "those look a lot like.." the new scar that Bob had on his own hand which he took no troubles to conceal since as everyone knew, scars make the man.

Then Bob's attention was captivated further by djed which was building up on the arm like power being fueled until it cooled off into...nothing but boring gray. As always Bob's mind was working to think that "that seems useful" for when it comes to a situation where he looses his clothes like he always feared. Then he could have a kind of gray suit on him given time though it was a little unstylish and "does not seem to last. So the small amount is justified" according to what he can see. If so then Bob will not be wasting too much time on working with this magic unless Eryss can explain things properly since his own sword would be a more reliable means to protect himself. Bob still ended up rolling up his sleeve halfway past his arm to try and do what Eryss told him to which was to "make a blanket?" Sounds easy enough especially since Eryss made a comparison of it with reimancy.

Actually that was a mistake on the part of his teacher because Bob started putting on this blanket on himself. He started to rub his hand on his arm over and over like he was applying something. Djed, which was changed into res as it was being released through his skin and it started falling down towards the ground. Bob thought to himself that this was the reason why Eryss had said that he required concentration and he kept his eyes only on the arm in such a way as to make it take up most of what he saw while he vigorously lathered the res on his arm. The intense feelings on his senses through sight and touch compared to the rest which had nothing made his arm the only thing left in his reality as he focused on it and kept thinking of the res stuck blanketing it. The longer he continued the more Bob's head started to hurt again and finally the pain forced him to break off his hold on the res which dropped on the ground to allow his hands to hold on to his head when he exclaimed that "mild my ass. It hurts!" obviously because he was doing it wrong.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Listening to what Bob had to say Eryss was actually quite impressed that Bob would ask him about the cost of learning Shielding. It meant that Bob had been paying attention to the callous demeanour that Eryss exhibited though the Mage had begun to look at the man with a new found respect, Bob was useful to him after all, because he knew that nothing was ever free especially in Sunberth. “No cost Bob. Maybe one day you will do a favour for me if I need it though.”...unlike the other times when Eryss spoke to Bob this remark had been different, not as threatening, Eryss needed allies after all even if he liked to think the he was nigh untouchable and even Bob would not fight he might be able to help him in some other way. After the Eryss would shake his head and offer a quick...”I do not know the name.”...when he was asked what magic could heal a man, the Mage had only heard rumours and didn’t know of any discipline that could actually do what he had said beyond that though he reasoned it was likely associated with deity of some sort.] [Trying to teach Bob became obviously harder than some of his other students. There had been others who had come to Eryss to learn this discipline and their minds were somewhat more open to it but Eryss came to Bob offering to teach him which might have made things a little more difficult. When Bob failed to make any progress and then complained that it hurt Eryss would realize his mistake and snap briefly saying...”No! You are doing it all wrong.”...before calming himself and considering a different approach he could take with Bob. “What you saw lasted only a few moment because I wanted it to.”...he would tell Bob answering his earlier questions before wagging the index finger of his right hand once as though he were admonishing himself for not thinking of this sooner. Indeed the answer was right in front of Eryss, there were those who were tactile learners and might have to get an actual feel for things before they progressed.] [Moving towards him Eryss would reach out to take Bobs arm by the wrist while saying...”We’ll try together.”...which might not make any sense to Bob though he’d quickly be shown what the Mage had meant when he said that. Eryss had told Bob that Shielding was similar to a blanket and probably associated it to much with reimancy, this was a mistake but he could rectify it fairly easily. “Watch me and learn.”...Eryss would begin by saying before ensuring that Bob’s eyes were on the hand of the Mage that he had reached to take hold of his wrist with. Once again then Eryss would begin to channel the sorcerous energies through his body as he compelled his djed to activate throughout himself though unlike the last time he did it in a slightly greater amount as he’d need to cover a larger area and have it last for a longer time then it had.] [Gripping Bob by the wrist Eryss would hold his arm so that he could envelope the both of them in a Shield that would use Bob as the epicentre instead of Eryss. Knowing that Bob had an understanding of magic due to his knowledge of reimancy whether it was a little weird now or not meant that Bob could perceive the subtle differences in djed and how it changed in the surrounding area as all magic users could to some extent. Weaving this Shield slowly Eryss would allow his djed to seep from the pours of his flesh as though it were a translucent liquid that slowly began to cover both Bob and himself while saying...”You see how I command my djed? How I see it to cover myself? You must do this.”...then he would go on to add in a malevolent tone so that Bob did not mistake what he was doing...”Don’t think of this as reimancy or res production. It is not. You are not using your djed to create res you are simply creating using your djed.”...whether that made sense or not the Mage didn’t stop to ask. Influencing the spread of his djed Eryss would manipulate it until it covered his arm and Bobs before ensuring the consistency and thickness was correct which was an easy task at this level considering the basic nature of this Shield.] [Tasking the Shield that he created to once again block out light, or drink it in, Eryss would complete the Shield he had been weaving over Bobs arm when it faded to a grey area like the last. When this happened the Mage released Bob’s arm and drew his own back out of the Shield, which remained centered on Bobs appendage, and looked at him before saying...”You see now how I’ve done it to you. It will last several minutes before breaking down but I could create a Shield that would last hours, even days, and there are there are Shields that have existed for years.”...even those that had been created by true masters of the discipline before the Valterrian or shortly thereafter. “Do not stress your mind to much. Know what you want your djed to do and control it to do so. When I told you that Shielding was like a blanket it is in that you use it to cover yourself or other things but that is all. Use your mind to apply it, see your djed as threads and weave them together to create your Shield.”...the Mage would tell Bob, almost encouraging him, he wasn’t truly worried about the notion of Bob overgiving as Shielding was considered by many to be so minor that those practicing it would usually just be able to create Shields any longer when their djed depleted.]

[Bob Barton]

"No cost..." sounded too good to be true and how Bob interpreted what Eryss had just said was that the shielding lessons were to be used when Bob is going to do that favour for the man. Bob's answer with a shrug was "fair enough" since he already seemed to be doing a lot of things for and with Eryss during the season normally with a threat here and there. At least now with the expectation of a favour Bob might see less of that and more of the...help that was being offered? Even if Eryss could not, or would not tell Bob the name or nature of that magic he believed that he got something better out of it. That Eryss was not going to do anything too bad to him today and hopefully the same would apply to any dealings that they might have in the future. Even now where Bob made that mistake because Eryss did not explain the blanket method properly he only had a brief moment of anger before continuing on.

"So why don't you show me the correct way then?" he asked while Eryss was thinking and then continuing on to ask about his remark that "you only wanted it to last for a few moments? How about if you wanted it to last longer?" The longer the better it is for Bob if he was going to use this to protect himself and he also needed to know how reliable was its use going to be. Eryss seemed to be a more suitable teacher in that aspect instead of some other people who only gave Bob half baked lessons in other things as seen by how Jinsen which he trained from scratch turned out. "Fine, together but be careful because I don't want to get a bruise" or more pain he said when Eryss grabbed hold of his wrist. If only Hannah had helped him with Jinsen this way. Not wanting another thing like his dog to worry about halfway through a fight Bob was readily watching for whatever it is that Eryss had wanted to show him.

Seeing the djed blanket that was wrapping all over him which was a lot like the liquid res Bob used for reimancy, he could not really tell difference because to him "it is the exact same thing that I did earlier." Could it be that the difference was because of the source itself? That could be the reason and if so shielding is not going to be too useful unless Bob wanted to shield his friends instead of himself. The reasoning for the source was not too far off the mark but instead of the person it was the essence itself which as Eryss explained "it is djed and not res?" This was the problem with learning reimancy first before anything else but fortunately Bob also knew hypnotism which also used djed. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to apply that knowledge into trying to make a shield and to do that he decided to try and use hypnotism normally just to get a feel of it before going on to attempt to make a shield of his own.

Unfortunately the only person that he could try it on here was Eryss and the subject which he would use...well it came to him when he asked the mage "you can create a shield that can last for years?" Definitely because Eryss was more experienced, his shields would be a lot more reliable than anything that Bob could make on his own and he could really feel more safe with something like that over him. As always he started by gathered the djed into his mouth this time making sure to focus on trying to remember how it felt like. The surge of power was being collected there, growing and increasing with his mouth growing more sore with each moment it took signalling that the blood was about to start flowing out. Despite it all Bob forced himself to continue thinking about what he wanted to accomplish with this throughout, that Eryss was going to want to make a shield for him until he had gathered enough djed and said "why don't you make one of those long lasting shields for me since we are hanging out a lot now. Something which can prevent friendly fire especially from your reimancy since mine couldn't hold or even light a candle to yours." The djed which was sent accompanying those words into Eryss ears would put a sudden thought which he would hear in his own voice that he should.

Whatever would come from that was not really important since Bob actually wanted to try and experience how he can do it though from Eryss perspective it could also be a student wanting to "at least I would know how else the shields can work?" His mouth was stinging a little right now so he had to hold out his hand to tell Eryss to wait for a while as he wiped the blood which was coming down from his mouth and take a while to rest and figure out his methods. When he was ready to begin Bob stood up and started to try and accumulate the djed again to his mouth since it was easier to do with less of a risk of accidentally making res come out of his hands again before moving the djed out of his mouth and over his skin towards his open hand. The movement of the djed was every changing, sometimes fast and sometimes slow randomly spreading out as Bob only wanted it to move. Once it reached its destination whatever remained he started lathering all over his arm again adding to the trail that is already there. "Not much of a blanket..." he remarked imagining the djed on his body which he felt was more like a sort of lotion.

Finally it was time to change the shield around so that Bob would see if there was any visible changes. "What I want the shield to do..." he mentioned to himself while he was still concentrating on keeping the djed on his arm. From Eryss earlier demonstration, "black, gray, nothing, anything!" he asked quickly as he started shaking his arm about thinking of his new blanket becoming those colours but with no success. "What the petch is wrong now? I can't see anything different."