A Body of Clay (Solo)

[Marcus Ahysen]

A Body of Clay Timestamp: Fall 61, 505 AV Location: Institute of Higher Learning "I once met a man with the ugliest face I had ever seen. I just knew I had to have it! No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't master it. I was never quite as ugly as he was. So I invited him out for drinks, I got to know him better, and then I tried again. Still I fell short. No matter how much time I spent with him, I just couldn't be as hideous as he was. It was only years later that I realized it wasn't just his face. He smelled, he had a terrible personality, and he was inside an out just an ugly person. Always remember, there are just some things you cannot morph. It takes more than looks to truly become someone else." Marcus barely heard the story. He was working on the latest task his instructor had given him. Three days ago he had discovered his djed, hidden away in the depths of his body, accessible through his subconscious mind. Since then they had been working on djed manipulation, though still he had not done any actual morphing. Luvet taught him to move the djed around, to let it spread through his body, from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes. It required him to become intimately familiar with every detail of his being. Today his task was to fill his hand with djed. Didn't matter which, just fill a hand, so Marcus chose his right hand because that was his dominant one and he found it easier to send the djed there than his left. Even so, it was a painfully slow task. First he had to breath, to center his mind. Marcus kept his eyes closed. His breath came in and he saw himself filled up with a green mist, and it went out turning a cool blue. This was his trick, to imagine his breath as color. For several chimes he did this as Luvet rambled on. Eventually his mind began to slip away, while at the same time somehow being aware of everything that was happening. It really was quite confusing, meditation. You let go of your mind, but at the same time you are fully aware of everything that is happening around you. ..doesn't make any sense, but that's what meditating was, and that's what Marcus was doing. Marcus kept going, he wasn't ready to open his eyes yet. The next phase was directing his mind to his core, falling deep inside himself and seeking out the source of his power, his djed. Every time he found it he was astounded by it. All that power inside him, just waiting to be released. And to think, so few people in the world knew how to tap that power. Marcus was only just learning, but he had seen the ease at which Luvet changed his shape, he knew what the power could eventually do. Down he went and eventually he found it, as he always did. That ball of energy, which wasn't really a ball, but he had no better word for it. His djed.

[Marcus Ahysen]

Guiding his djed was like coaxing a frightened animal out of its den. He knew what to say, he knew what food it liked, but it was hesitant. It didn't want to leave its safe place, its warm place. His djed was like a small animal, frightened and cold, but like any animal, it could eventually be coaxed out. The trick was not to scare it off before he was done with it. Slowly he could feel it moving through his body. It wanted to spread out, that or return home, but he directed it instead to a specific place. It traveled down the length of his arm and into his hand, where it coalesced beneath his flesh waiting for instruction. This was as far as Marcus could go, he didn't know what else to do with it. So he held it there, opened his eyes, and spoke. "Okay, I'm ready." "The djed is in your hand?" "Yes." "Okay, good. Now, I want you to think of your hand as a piece of clay." Luvet held up his hand while Marcus watched. "You can stretch it, pull it, shape it, and like clay it will hold that shape. Stretch it too far and it will break." Luvet demonstrated by grabbing his fingers with his other hand and pulling. Marcus watched with fascination as the morphers fingers began to stretch and elongate. "Eventually you will learn to manipulate your body with thought alone, but for now, try using your hands to help. Go ahead." Marcus stared down at his fingers, feeling a bit unsure. After a moment he took a deep breath then grabbed them with his other hand, pulling against them. Nothing happened. Marcus frowned and tugged a bit harder, but still nothing happened. "It's not just about pulling," Luvet commented when he saw the trouble his pupil was having. You have to will your hand to stretch. Direct the djed there to spread out in the direction you want to pull your fingers. You tell your djed what to do with your mind first, and then steer it with your hand.

[Marcus Ahysen]

Marcus let out a sigh and tried to re-concentrate, taking Luvet's words to heart. By now the instructor had stopped stretching his fingers and was twiddling them around in front of his face. It was.. rather disturbing to watch, but Marcus tried not to pay attention to his odd instructor. Instead he steadied his breathing, did his best to center his thoughts on what he was doing, and tried to tell his djed to move, to spread out has he had been told. Marcus could feel the djed spread out to the tips of his fingers and he pulled again, this time very slowly. What he felt was by far the strangest feeling he had ever felt in his entire life. It was sort of like what it feels like when you pull on your fingers to pop them, only there was no pop. He could feel his skin stretching, but there was no pain. He managed to stretch his fingers half an inch, before he lost his nerve and could pull them no more. Even so, he could tell he'd made a difference. His fingers reminded him of a Symenestra, the long lanky spider-like people who occasionally visited the town. "Good! Good," Luvet exclaimed as he watched Marcus stretch. "Congratulations! You have just morphed for the very first time! Stretching is just one of the many things you can do with morphing. Soon you'll be growing claws, changing your face, changing the color of your hair, and all manner of things. For now, let’s just figure out how to go back to normal."

[Marcus Ahysen]

Marcus was excited. He'd done it! He morphed! Granted, it was just a small morph, and hardly anything to be impressed by, but he was proud nonetheless. He knew that to truly master something one had to take baby steps, and if Luvet was content to have him stretch his fingers a bit, then that was enough for him. Marcus was certain it wouldn't be long before he started making truly impressive changes. But first he had to learn how to go back. "Okay, how do I change back? Do I just push them in?" Luvet laughed and shook his head. "Only if you want to shorten your fingers and make them all pudgy. No, it's quite a bit simpler than that. To change back, simply stop fueling the transformation with djed. Stop concentrating and let your djed return to its natural state, and your body will too. The only time this is not so is when you have made too drastic a transformation for your level of skill. Then your body will have trouble returning to its original form." "So.. I just stop?" "Yes, just stop thinking about it." Marcus looked down at his hand. How could he not think about it? His hand was changed! But.. part of meditating was learning how to snap out of it. All Marcus had to do was stop concentrating... stop.. thinking.. about.. djed. But his mind didn't want to stop! He was using his djed, and it felt so good! Why should he stop? No.. I have to stop. This is what Luvet warned me about. That magic is addictive, and that I have to control it. Marcus took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and started thinking about something else. It was hard, but once he started, he found it was easier and easier. He recalled his first visit to the House of Immortal Pleasures. She was a blonde, tall, and with perfect, perky breasts that Marcus simply couldn't take his eyes off of. She didn't mind, though. Unlike normal women, she didn't care if men oogled her. It was her job. Marcus had spent a lot of time on those breasts, but he soon found out she had other parts, parts that were just as enticing if not more. He remembered when he first- "Ahem," Luvet coughed, interrupting his thoughts. "I see your hand is back to normal, but something else is transforming." Marcus snapped his eyes opened and suddenly noticed the stiffness in his pants. A third and final transformation came over him as his face turned completely red and he turned away, trying to calm himself down. Luvet just laughed and laughed. Finally, when Marcus had finally regained his composure, he glanced down at his hand and noted that it had indeed returned to normal. "Well, I guess that's enough lessons for one day. I'll leave you to your thoughts. And do be careful with those transformations. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Some things don't need help getting bigger." ~End

[Lazybones]

Thread Complete! Notes: Hahaha! This thread made me laugh out loud. Poor Marcus, lol. Marcus Award : Skills: Meditation +3, Morphing +2 Lores: The Importance of Impersonation, First Morphing Experience, Getting Too Excited