Child's Play

[Hadrian]

52nd Summer, 512 A.V. The clockwork men had seen some rough travel over the years. He'd bought them from Julius in Alvadas over a year previous, and they had been well wrapped and packed among his things, but adventure tended to knock things around. Having appropriated a set of tools from one of the laboratories, and was attempting to nose about in one of the doll's guts to see how it worked without completely taking it apart. He flattened out one delicate bit of metal with two pairs of needle-nosed pliers, making the guts of the one match the guts of the other. His gadgeteering skills were not advanced, but he had common sense, and he could observe a thing and make educated guesses about its functionality. But finally he set those two aside, since he would not be able to animate anything humanoid with any degree of skill for a while yet, he imagined. Best to focus on simple pleasures for the simple minds of those young orphans as he had in Syliras. On the desk of his office was a pile of junk he had pilfered from here and there, and if he was working with the door wide open, well, he was awfully focused on his work, even if it wasn't unduly important work so far as his new colleagues would imagine. He took a smooth stick he had found -- where had he found it? Oh well -- and began to bore a hole through the top with the tip of his carving knife, getting so far from one side before attempting the same on the other, then switching back and forth between the two divots until they met in the middle. Next he carefully split the top of the stick until he reached the hole, leaving the thinnest of splits there. Next he snapped a thinner stick through it, and applied a bit of glue between the split with a paintbrush. Two spare gears were attached to either side of that smaller stick, then glued into place. One was small, just big enough to keep the stick from slipping out of the larger one, but the greater gear was then decorated by primary feathers he had been collecting whenever Ethan molted or lost one. Next came the secondaries, shorter, and glued over the primaries. Then tertiaries, and finally the center of the gear, already covered over in the various quills, was decorated with an assortment of downy feathers. He had covered his desk with a rather large cutting of paper and set down his feathery pinwheel off to one side. With a grease pencil, he drew a circle around the toy, then embellished it with glyphs made with practiced ease. For a moment, he considered the fern growing happily in his open windowsill, then shook his head. He needed a bug or something, a creature of the air, because of the nature of the pinwheel. It took no time at all to locate a tiny bug that had taken residence upon his fern, though, and he cast his hand toward it, tendrils of yellow res reaching out to buffet the little creature and pull it toward him. All the while, his aura stretched forth to overwhelm the tiny pulse of its being, and it stopped struggling, stopped whatever infinitesimal fears a bug might fear, and set it down on the other side of the desk, bemused by his hypnotic suggestion such that it held still and would hold still for at least an hour. He drew a smaller circle around the little bug, also embellished with a different set of runes as the purpose of this circle was different. The two circles were connected by a line, a chain, an umbilical line of glyphed script, and then he settled in to work. He pricked his thumb with the tip of his carving knife, which was going to need sharpening soon. Shoving the pad of his thumb into a particular glyph, his carefully laid plans began to glow with hid djed siphoned off by the sacrifice of his own vitae, and now connected to him.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson sulked silently to himself as he wandered through the university's halls. "Another day, another refusal," Kaeson muttered miserably, briefly considering giving up his job search. Kaeson had endured interview after interview, rejection after rejection and to be frank, he was sick of it. The interviews weren't so bad, it was the constant string of rejection that was beginning to tear at Kaeson's self esteem. "It's not like I need the money anyway," Kaeson added, sighing. His 500 mizas from selling his house should last Kaeson for another season or two, considering the dorm supplied him with both food and housing.

Defeated, Kaeson leaned against the wall closest to him. Pushing his hands through his hair, Kaeson slowly slid down the wall. Realizing the hopelessness of his job situation, Kaeson groaned.

Then Kaeson noticed the door opposite him was open, and Kaeson noticed the tall man inside building something. Intrigued, Kaeson quietly walked over to the door to get a better view. It was an interesting design, to say the least. The tall man, who Kaeson assumed to be a professor, has split a stick in half -- at least to the stick's middle and was now beginning to glue several feathers together in a somewhat circular fashion. Kaeson's eyes widened, briefly bursting with hues of a golden yellow, as he realized the man was making a pinwheel. Kaeson paused at the thought, "Why would a professor make a pinwheel?, considering the various options, although none seemed very realistic.

Seeing the young professor detail a circle around the toy, Kaeson briefly consider the possiblity of an animation. Kaeson chuckled slightly at the thought -- a professor of animation wouldn't wast their time on such a basic animation, especially something as simple as a pinwheel. Kaeson bounced some more thoughts around as he saw the man draw various runes and glyphs around the circle, Kaeson's curiosty only grew as he noted the foreign signs. "Magecrafting," Kaeson thought, he didn't know much about that particular branch of world magic, but it was the only one he could think of that would use a circle of some kind like animation. He certainly wasn't summoning anything.

Seeing the professor pick something out of a fern, Kaeson moved to one of the closer desks. The young man had yet to notice him, or acknowledge Kaeson in any way, but Kaeson was far to invested in trying to figure out what exactly the man was doing with the pinwheel -- especially if it ended up having to do with magic.

Kaeson frowned as he saw the man draw a basic animation circle, albeit with added glyphs, around the bug. So he WAS trying to animate the pinwheel, and he was using the bug as the soulcore -- which Kaeson found a little strange. Of course, it all depended on what he planned on the pinwheel doing, but if it was just supposed to spin, the fern would've been a better choice.

"Excuse me, Professor, I don't mean to disturb but what are you doing? Exactly?"

[Hadrian]

"What?" he snapped, startled, and turning, bloody thumb held up. He was caught red-handed, or red-thumbed at least. "Oh. I left the door open." The kid -- well, it was difficult to tell how old students were sometimes; he wasn't much older than them -- he started out politely, but the rest of his words became a bit peremptory. Hadrian straightened his already hypercorrect posture, frowned a bit. When in doubt, lash out. "An experiment," he said acidly. "May I help you?"

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson look over towards the open door, as if he hadn't already known it to be open. Looking back at the young professor, Kaeson realized the man was vantha. The man's hair was jet black, but slight shades of blue could be seen throughout the professor's hair. His eyes were a bright chlorine blue, and Kaeson briefly wondered wether this was the man's natural color or that specific color signified a specific emotion -- annoyance, perhaps?

At least that was what Kaeson read in the man's tone.

"With a pinwheel?" Kaeson asked incredulously, forgetting he was speaking with a professor -- of animation no less, or so Kaeson assumed when he saw the animation circles. He was visibly confused at what he was seeing, eyes flashing hues of soft pink and a bold violet, not entirely sure why the professor would bother with such a simple project. "I...I think I'm missing the point of your experiment, sir. You are animating a pinwheel?" Kaeson asked, clearly interested in the man's 'experiment'.

Kaeson quickly looked over the young man and his project again, hoping for some kind of clue. Passing over the young professor's hand he notices a tattoo -- a gold symbol of an intricate design. Eyes flashing gold with curiosity, Kaeson asked bluntly, "What symbol is that?" gesturing at the man's mark

[Hadrian]

"With a pinwheel," he agreed. The student was staring at him overlong, and it made Hadrian want to fidget, but he mastered the urge. He was a professor now; if there were bullies in his life, they would be faculty, too. "I am animating a pinwheel," he clarified, "for practice and because the orphans need toys, and a little magic in their lives. Something to believe in, some hope that their lot in life will improve." His gaze was frank now, as if daring the lad to make fun of him for having a heart. He glanced down at his hand, then up again. All these questions; was this young student searching for a teacher? That would explain the interview. "It's a Lormar symbol," he said, which was true insofar as it went.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson stared at the man, both unstaisfied and annoyed by the young professor's responses. Charity wasn't uncommon from the University -- many a professor would donate time or skill to the Zeltivan community. Kaeson's herbalism professor would often spend her time in the infirmary, helping the patients with whatever way she could manage, unpaid of course. It was the 'practice' part Kaeson doubted. No animator he had ever met who have been satisfied with a simple pinwheel -- especially a professor of animation. Kaeson would have expected the young professor to donate a working golem, perhaps as a guardian to the supposed orphans or more likely as a teacher.

So, either the man wasn't a professor of animation as Kaeson supposed or the man was lying. Kaeson could, or would, ever imagine the possibilty of him being wrong in any way -- especially regarding animation. So, the man was lying.

And Kaeson was going to catch him in his lies, and get to the bottom of his experiment.

"Of course, you are, sir. Charity." Kaeson paused, trying to remember to keep himself composed. He needed the man to think he believed his blatant lie, to catch him off guards. Kaeson knew mages to be a secretive bunch, and to some extent had expected it from the professors here at the university -- still, it infuriated him that the young professor would so blatantly hide something, some secret knowledge right in front of him. As if Kaeson would be so stupid, so foolish as to not notice it.

Eyes blazing a deep violet fury, Kaeson continued, fighting to keep his own voice calm and level. "Charity. I could help, sir -- if you wanted that is," Kaeson said, pulling Volos from his neck. Perhaps showing the professor his own ability with animation would tempt him enough to share his secret experiment with Kaeson. "I have my own experience with animation," He said, gesturing to the animated scarf.

"Watch," Kaeson said, perhaps a little too eagerly, "Volos, position one."

Slowly, the red and gold scarf wrapped himself around Kaeson's extended arm. The scarf then pulled itself up to his shoulder, then clumsily wrapped around the young boy's neck -- a little too tight for Kaeson's preference. "Loose," Kaeson said, and the scarf obeyed, slowing stretching himself out.

Again, Kaeson noticed the Lormar symbol, quite unhappy to remember the professor had curtly responded to that question as well. "A Lormar symbol?" Kaeson paused, he knew he had seen the image somewhere. "Of...of course," Kaeson stuttered, quite obvious he had no idea what the symbol meant on it's on. "Uh...if you would be so kind as to elaborate, professor, -- I mean, I, of course KNOW what a Lormar symbol represents. I, uh, just would like a little more detail regarding the, uh, origins of your particular version." Kaeson said, hoping he hadn't come off as a complete idiot.

OOCHope that was an ok response, still developing Kaeson a little.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian wasn't sure he liked this student's tone, but he reined in his temper. He didn't usually have a temper, but then his work was being interrupted. He should have closed the door, perhaps even Shielded it, and that was his own fault, but when he was a student, he had been much more respectful. "Yes, charity." He was not pleased at having to repeat himself, nor the obvious suspicion in the lad's voice. He realized then that the lad reminded him of Kye, his old friend from Syliras. Strange, he wondered why he hadn't encountered him in Avanthal, but it was a wide continent, dangerous and full of opportunities. One just never knew what was around the corner. "Zarik Mashaen has a scarf like that," he mused as the student performed his little sleight of hand with the animated scarf, but he had to wonder why it was worn during the hot, humid months of summer. "Hm. A Lormar symbol, it symbolizes Thomas Lormar, former champion of Eyris." He reached out to touch the scarf, his Lykata activating and seeking contributions to its chavi that might help him along with his own animation work. It was difficult to learn quickly without a teacher, but Jilitse was far away and it was only an area in which he dabbled at the moment. "Hm." That said, he turned to the animation circles he had primed with his blood and began to pull up an ethereal copy of the bug's simple soul to transfer to the pinwheel. Though the student might well be right about the plant being an easier template, he had already laid his glyphs and activated it with blood, and he didn't want to waste all that work. Besides, the logic behind his choice was that the bug had wings, and the pinwheel was a circle of wing-like structures. He wanted the pseudo-soul to feel comfortable in its new shell.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson's eyes briefly widened at the mention of Eyris and her long dead champion, Thomas Lomar. Spending as much time in the library as Kaeson did, the young animator was very familiar with the wisdom goddess. Eyes wandering back to the young professor's hand, the Lormar Symbol, Kaeson realized the man was marked. He had heard stories growing up in Syliras of men and women marked by the various deities of Mizahar in various matter -- usually the god's or goddess' favored made noticeable by some form of tattoo.

It never occurred to Kaeson that the young man could simply be a follower of the wisdom goddess, and that he had simply tattooed the mark himself to show his own devotion.

Seeing the professor fall back in concentration of the animation, Kaeson quickly went over to close the door; no need for any unwanted interruptions. Fishing out a notebook, quill, and vial of ink out of his pack, Kaeson made his way over to the desk and carefully began to copy the various glyphs and animation circles. If the so called professor wasn't willing to share any of his knowledge, Kaeson would simply take it.

Dipping his quill in a half used bottle of black ink, Kaeson quickly etched out the basic animation circle. Slowly, he began to copy what glyphs he could. Kaeson wasn't entirely sure what the glyphs did, but he was certain they weren't going to add time to the animation process, that and the young professor being an assumed animation scholar, Kaeson didn't know how much time he had before the man would be brought back to reality.

Kaeson returned back to his seat in the front row of the classroom, staring expectanly at the young professor. Maybe if Kaeson willingly played the student, the young professor would be more willing to allow him privvy to his experiment.

[Hadrian]

His office felt a bit crowded with the student watching, but he ignored that, pleased at least that the door was now closed. And was he copying glyphs? Hadrian was going to have to explain some basic magical concepts to this student, but not now; better once the animation was complete. For now he ignored the lad, and focused instead on the soul of the bug, simpler by far than a human's, but still complex compared to the rest of creation. He imagined a copy of that soul hovering above the hypnotized bug, almost shaping a matrix for the eventual flood of djed that would make it a soulcore. This took time and concentration, for his eye was exacting and his work ethic ever more exigent. But eventually it was ready, and he let the djed pour into it until a soulcore hovered over the bug. It was a blank slate. Hadrian glanced at the note-taker, then took a breath and moved onto the next step. He fed information into the soulcore, but it was all very basic, because this was but a toy, with the most limited of intelligence. He taught it about wind, and he taught it about spinning, and a little else besides. This took fifteen minutes or so, as the concepts were neither difficult nor complex. This toy wouldn't have the wherewithal to do violence, nor be disobedient. It would follow its simple nature, and delight children. He was about halfway done, and he paused again to glance over at the pesky student. "My glyphs themselves won't avail you," he warned. "You might learn a thing or two from their arrangements and alignments, but if you think that the mere copying of glyphs will teach you something, then you don't know enough to gather anything from the precise geometry of the thing. "What is your name, anyway? Whose student are you?"

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson was busying re copying some of the more intricate glyphs when the young professor spoke up.

"Oh. Of - Of course not," Kaeson stuttered, flustered by his own mistake. "Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake," the young animator scolded himself. He had been studying glyphing all season and Kaeson had already learned glyphs varied from wizard to wizard -- it would prove impossible for him to derive any meanings from the unfamiliar glyphs. "I only just started glyphing, as you probably guessed," Kaeson explained, hoping his ignorance of the world magic would excuse his own stupidity. "I was hoping that in copying some of your glyphs, I might find one I already know. If I could identify one or even two of the glyphs you were using, I had hoped to be able to assume your reasoning behind the use of so many glyphs."

Kaeson continued, lifting the copy of the older man's animation, "I'd only say I know the basics of animation, if you'd ask, but I believe the theory is once one learns a glyph -- any glyph -- then he can reconginze any other variation of it," Kaeson paused, looking over the copied animation circle, "Unfortunately, I know none of the glyphs you've used."

"Kaeson Dakano," Kaeson polietly responded to the professor's question.

"I study glyphing under Professor Moara, alchemy under Professor Rayage, and summoning under Professor Fianza," Kaeson said, glancing over the young professor, "And you? I assume you the Professor of Animation?"