Solo Nearing The End (Training)

[Xarl]

Day 81, Winter, 512.

To say that he was jealous of how his mistress lived would have been something of an understatement. As Xarl walked through the doorway and into his mistress' spacious appartment, he couldn't help but notice the gross difference between this place and his own humble abode. While Xarl's appartment was one room and possessed only the bare minimum of material comforts, this place was not only well furnished but also possessed four whole rooms.

The tall dark haired man strode across the living room, noting the pleasent smell roses, a far cry from the musty smell of the coridors of Stormhold Citidel. Xarl sat down on one of the two furnished chair in front of the hearth, leaning back and sighing softly. One day these comforts would all be nothing to him, one day he would live like a king, no, an emperor.

"Often I wonder if you come here to learn the inner secrets of magic, or simply to laze about on my furnature." Came a familiar sharp voice from behind him.

Xarl grinned slightly, his mistress was as happy to see him as she ever was. She really needed to lighten up in his opinion, he wouldn't dare mention that to her however.

He stood and turned, spotting his mistress standing in the doorway to her kitchen.

Formality was not exactly something Helena was concerned about, competence and respect, yes, formaity and cerimony not so much. She was dressed in her nightclothes, a small and thin silk dress that she treasured greatly and well made sandals. He could bet that as soon as she got home she'd changed out of her formal Attorney robes and into that. Xarl shook his head slightly, honestly he suspect that she was the only wizard that conducted her lessons in her nightclothes. Her long brown hair was unbound and hanging loose about her attractive face, which was creased in an annoyed scowl.

Despite her state of attire his mistress exuded an air authority that demanded both obediance and respect.

[Xarl]

Xarl smiled his signature charming smile and inclined his head slightly in respect.

"Greetings mistress, you look radiant this fine evening," he said in response to her grumpy greeting.

Helena merely snorted dismissivly at his compliment and strode across the room, her sandals clacking loudly against the floor. She motioned for her apprentice to be seated at his chair as she reclined into her own. Xarl inclined his head in thanks and sat back down, keeping his eyes on Helena.

She breathed out a long sigh, looking into the warm flames of the hearth with a strangely somber look overtaking her scowl.

"It is hard to believe that it has been eleven years since I took you in, it feels like only yesterday that you barely came up to my waist." Helena said, her tone possessed a trace of longing.

This was extremely odd for her, and it was a little unsettling for Xarl, rarely did Helena show her emotions so blatently.

"Now your a tall rail of a man, ambitious, cunning, ruthless... So like me when I was your age." She continued, shaking her head slightly, before looking directly into Xarl's eyes.

Now Xarl was uncomfortable, he squirmed slightly in his seat, feeling rather like an insect under a magnifying glass. His mistress' gaze was always powerful and made one feel extremely naked, like she could stare into your very spirit and see everything that you were. Perhaps one day he would possess one such stare.

"These final lessons you will learn in the coming day will be the most important lessons you will ever learn from me, child." She said evenly, letting her words sink in for a moment.

"Keep that in your thoughts as we begin tonight." Helena said, leaning forward and placing her chin in her hands.

[Xarl]

Xarl relaxed slightly as his mistress' expression became more stern, this was the Helena he knew, harsh but fair, sharp tongued and intelligent.

"Tonight you will come to understand just how deep art of Hypnosis goes, just how powerful and primal it can be." She said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"The ability I will teach you tonight is one you will compound upon as you go forth on your own, it will also leave you drained if you are foolish in your practice." Helena said, rising from her chair and beckoning Xarl to follow her to her bedroom.

Xarl complied, that was usually where most of their sessions took place, sometimes it would be lectures, other times she would have him perfect an expression in front of a mirror. Tonight however he knew how he would be learning and part of him dreaded it. As he entered her room the smell of roses only intensified, nearly overwhelming his sense of smell.

Helena had already kicked off her sandals and now sat cross legged on her large bed, the chair across from her open and ready for him. Xarl steeled himself as he sat down, this was necessary, he told himself. That didn't make what was going to come any easier.

Hypnotism was a very old art of magic, it didn't involve complex gestures or arcane words, it was more primal than that. As such teaching it was very difficult, it is impossible unless the student understands what makes people tick. Making someone understand what facial patterns or gestures elicited a certain response was a very lengthy process. Even with all of this Hypnotism had to be felt in order to learn it, you had to know what you were trying to do to a person in order to actually do it. Helena had beaten this point into him, sometimes literally, until its recital had become as natural as breathing.

Xarl kept his eyes on Helena at all times, knowing that no matter how he steeled himself he would not be prepared for this.

When she looked straight into his eyes again he knew this to be true.

[Xarl]

The woman was tall and imposing, her hazel eyes frightening. Young Xarl had never put much stock in the gods before but this woman had to be some goddess of justice. She knew, just the look in her eyes told him that she could see every misdeed he'd ever commited. The fear in him was real, not fake like so many other emotions. He wanted to shrink away from this woman, to find some place and hide from her judging gaze...

"Xarl!" the sound of his name snapped him out of the memory quickly ans abruptly.

He looked around, he was not on the streets of Syliras any longer, he was in mistress Helena's room. He looked up at her stern expressions, fear produced sweat forming on his neck.

"So vivid... I thought I was back there again..." Xarl breathed raggedly.

His mistress however seemed no worse off from her Djed drain. Such was her power over the ways of magic.

"What you just experianced is called a Flash, it is the closest thing we hypnotists have to a true offensive ability." Mistress Helena explained, calmly.

"It is akin to a momentary hallucination, when used correctly it can distract any who are giving you difficulties, or it can be used to finalize a good manipulation." She continued as Xarl recovered from the unsettling memory.

"I have found that it is most effective when you know the target well and when they have relayed a potent memory to you, but the memory does not need to exist to elicit a response." She finished, looking Xarl in the eyes as he finally regained his composure.

Helena fixed him with her intense stare, the same one from all those years ago.

"How did you feel? I want to hear every detail." She said, it wasn't a request.

Xarl took a deep breath, "I saw you as you were when we first met, I felt as I did then, small and insignificant. You looked like some wrathful goddess right out of the legends." He answered with slight quiver in his normally controlled voice.

Helena nodded, "Such is the power of knowledge, if you know someone intimately you possess the power to destroy them if you so wish, to leave them a hollow broken shell with but a look or a few words."

Xarl glared at his mistress, "Like you could do to me." He spat angrily.

To his surprise his mistress did not strike him for his impudence, instead she gave him a sad smile.

"If I so chose, then yes." Helena said softly.

[Xarl]

Helena's smile vanished just as quickly as it had appeared and suddenly her stern expression was back. She drew herself up imperiously and held Xarl's gaze.

"Now you are going to practice this on me. You know how to elicit small emotions in people, this is going to be similar, your just consructing an image rather than feeling." She instructed.

"Be warned, this will drain your Djed far more than creating a piercing thought, if your not careful you might overgive." She warned as Xarl prepared himself.

Xarl ransacked his memory for something his mistress might find unsettling, he wanted payback for that little episode earlier. Perhaps he was being petty but he hated feeling weak more than anything in this world, any feelings of Helena being like a mother to him were pushed aside. Finally he found one he thought would be perfect, the strange display she'd put on for him earlier, when she had sounded longing and looked rather somber. He constructed what he considered to be the perfect version of it, one that would make mistress Helena squirm for once.

He locked eyes with her and prepared himself for the drain on his Djed as he readied the Flash... at least he thought he had been prepared.

[Xarl]

It was a horrible feeling really, having your Djed drained. If Xarl were forced to describe it to a non wizard what it felt like he would say that it felt like having every ounce of energy sucked straight out of you. It was never pleasent, though the only time he could recall it being this bad was the first time he'd ever used magic.

Much like being kicked in the stomach all of the breath was torn from his lungs and he nearly fell from the chair. He managed to catch his balance at the last moment, but gods, did it hurt. The pain was almost unreal.

Cold sweat was forming all over his body, and for a brief moment he thought his dinner was going to end up on the floor.

"Xarl, look at me." Helena commanded, he obeyed wearily raising his head, gasping for breath.

She looked concerned rather than dissapointed like he had expected, and her hard eyes were filled with worry. Idly he wondered if it was genuine concern or if she was just worried about explaining his corpse being in her house to the Syliran Knights.

Helena climbed off of her bed and wrapped Xarl's arm around her neck, supporting him as she forced him to stand. Nausea washed over him again as his mistress moved him to the living room and on to her rather nice couch. She gently set him down on the furnature.

"You need to rest, child, as I said Flashes drain a great deal of Djed." She said firmly.

Xarl struggled to speak, finally managing to gasp out, "Did I succeed?"

"Yes, you did, rest now child, we will practice more later." She responded, her tone not unkind.

Helena left Xarl on the couch and moved off in the direction of the kitchen. Xarl meanwhile smirked darkly, he had succeeded. That was his last thought before unconciousness took him.

-END-

[Accolade]

Xarl

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+ 2 XP
Hypnosis	+ 1 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Looking to move upon and beyond his stations
•	Enjoying the wealth of his mistress
•	The art of Hypnosis
•	Attempting the flash technique
•	The feel of Djed being drained

Notes :

Good start! And that mistress...kinky huh?

The Sylir has spoken

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.