Solo With The Waves

[Erekez]

13th Day of Winter, 512AV -- Djed is Ancient Tongue, meaning backbone, and a suitable name it is. Djed is the building blocks that make up everything in existence, much like stone creates buildings. It is everywhere, in everything and everyone, and yet, whilst it exists as one entity itself, it is never the same in two locations. Stone creates buildings, but each has its own individuality regardless of being used of the same materials. Each can look similar, but never will be. Why do some buildings stand, whilst others may fall, despite having the same age, design, build and experiences? Asking the same question about everything will result in the same answer, and that answer is Djed. Each and every object has its own existence. It is never tied to another’s. A building does not just exist. It is made through the continuous cycle of resources Mizahar provides. Djed is never created, just drawn upon from existing reserves Mizahar has. Now, allow a building to collapse. Is it gone? In form, yes. In essence, no. Whilst not practical, it would be possible to take the pieces and reform the structure with all the rubble provided by the collapse. Djed is never destroyed, merely has a changed appearance. Look at the rock beneath your feet. Now look at the armour of Syrlian Knights. The metal of their armour is nothing more than a purified version of rocks, yet the purer substance holds a greater existence over the lesser. Djed has different levels of purity, and the purest can be found within the souls of beings, giving them sentience and free will over less pure items such as the armour. Finally, consider the armour again. Would you be able to return it to its original rock form? Or would you be able to get it to shine again after it had been eaten away by rust? Under ordinary circumstances, the answer is ‘no’. Some transformations are irreversible, similar to the final law of Djed. Hold these laws in mind and being when considering how you will change the surrounding world through the use of Djed. As you change the world through recklessness, Djed will, in turn, change you. -- The Universal Backbone -- The Cerulean Pier had seen better days. The Great Storm had done more damage than just the Memorial Library, there were just some places that had successfully removed all traces of damage, whereas others took a little more time. The pier was one such place, and it was unfortunate that it wasn't restored fully just yet, but progress had been made since Spring. The breeze still held a chill, but it wasn't as pronounced as it was outside the walls of Zeltiva, away from the protection that the mountains provided. Erekez enjoyed the coastal air, standing against one of the wooden rails that were placed to stop people falling over. The sounds of the waves against the pier had become a pattern to him, as he listened to the water push and pull between the wooden stilts that the pier had been placed on top of. It was soothing. He'd need to come here as the sun rose or set one day, but he needed the light for now as he continued to read the book in his hands. Lisaelis had allowed him to take one of her books out of the Memorial Library, so he could read outside of work, on two conditions. Erekez needed to take care of the book, and promised to bring it back in a better condition than what he had taken it. The elderly woman still had a sense of humour about her. It had been a while since Fianza's warning on his first day, and Erekez continued to try and get the basics of shielding, which was described as an easy discipline, before he moved onto familiary. He wanted to prove, not only to Fianza, but to himself as well that he was capable of doing this. Until now though, he had yet to create any kind of shield. That book that I found on djed improved my understanding a bit, so that should help. Erekez absent-mindedly traced symbols in the air with one hand, as he mumbled what he read to himself. Reading aloud, whether comprehensive or not, helped him to learn what he read. It was more of a method when he couldn't work with things in hand, saying it out loud made it easier to understand things, and question others that didn't sound right, rather than looking at text and not taking any of it in. On his first attempt at shielding, he had pushed himself too far. Erekez needed to learn how to extrude djed first, before it could take the form of a shield. Tasking was something that wasn't near his level at the moment, even if he could form a shield. That was something to learn after getting a djed shield perfect first. For now, he had to take things as simple as they could get, and that was through the use of incantations and gestures. It was a long process, but you'd always have to start somewhere. Perhaps next time he spoke to Fianza, he'd be able to show that he could use magic, before attempting to show he was capable of familiary. All that she had asked was to see him make progress for now, whether in knowledge or skills. The harder stuff came later. Turning around as he reached the other side of the pier, Erekez had only just become aware that he had started pacing. It was uncomfortable to stay in one position for too long. Erekez always preferred to be moving, whether it was between cities, or tapping his feet as he sat still. The book spoke of different ways that a mage could cast a shield. There didn't seem to be a set way, varying from breathing a shield to drawing a sheet of cloth over the air. It was entirely dependent on the individual’s personal preference if they liked to feel as if they were physically manipulating something, or used subtlety to prevent anyone seeing what they were doing. No doubt different methods would have pros and cons of use, so a shielder might change his methods with the situation he is in. A shield’s effectiveness was proportional to the time taken and skill of the caster creating it. Quick shields would only be any good for giving time. Stronger shields would have a better, long-term use. A boat began to draw closer to the docks, sailing into Mathews Bay gently, hopefully with supplies. Zeltiva's food wasn't greatly diverse by any mean. They had no farming land in the mountains and no space in the city either. Erekez lowered his book to watch the sailors leave the ship with their cargo. You were lucky if you were able to find something decent in the market stalls as well. There had been a few times where Erekez had considered taking up part time work as a hunter. Sure, there wasn't much wildlife near Zeltiva, but he guessed that there was further out. Surely shopkeepers would be looking to try and improve their own stock and business over their competitors. It was just how business worked, trying to make as much money as possible with the most customers. Usually that meant lowering your prices to attract more people and making more money over a longer period, rather than rising prices to make more in a shorter space of time at the cost of the number of customers. Business was a tricky thing. There were a few Konti on the ship, from what Erekez thought he could see from his position. Maybe this ship was from Mura. Erekez had heard stories of the White Isle, named so from the blanket of snow it would be wearing around this time of year. It was a shame that Erekez had missed the sight this year, perhaps there might be time for him to travel and see it before the end of Winter. Unlikely. Considering the ship, Erekez thought about his departure from Zeltiva. It didn't seem like it was going to be any time soon at this rate, but it still didn't stop him from thinking about it. He had missed out on travelling to Mura on his journey to Zeltiva. Taking a boat journey up and around to Mura sounded like an appealing thought, provided there would be any ships that didn’t mind having a horse on board. I’ll check up on it later. Turning back to his book, Erekez idly flicked through the pages. There was no point reading later chapters until he had been able to fully understand the first few. He’d been learning about the basics, where everything on any subject began and where everyone would need to work up from. Content in later chapters went into detail that required an understanding of physical flaws of a shield that the caster had already created. It worked along the basis of self-analysis. To understand how to get better, you needed to first see where you were going wrong, and then think about how you could improve upon your own weaknesses. It was a good method, being aware of your own faults so you never believed there wasn’t anything that could be exploited. Closing the book, Erekez placed his right hand over the cover. He closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the waves beneath him and the rush of the breeze over him. Any distant noise seemed to fade from existence as Erekez concentrated on clearing his thoughts, trying to use Lykata. The wind and water helped him regulate his breathing and block out other noises. He searched for a contribution left on the book, finding one quickly. The writer of the book was human, tired of writing and… Erekez opened his eyes and sighed. The book he held was a copy, so he couldn’t see what the original writer of it was trying to get across as he wrote it, only what the copier thought, and he didn’t seem too interested in the book to begin with. Looking back out over the bay, Erekez just followed clouds in the sky as they drifted and looked at how the mountains changed shape as they ventured further out into the see. The sloped downwards gently, almost as if they were testing the water before dropping in completely. I better get back to Moonraker. Chances are she’s already got something planned for me for when I get back. Last time, Moonraker had thought the tent served a much better purpose as her blanket. It had been a while before the Gilding gave it back to him, and only after she had worn him out as he tried to chase her. Erekez opened the book and started rereading the first few pages again as he left Cerulean Pier, planning on returning at a later sunset or sunrise one day.

[Arcane]

Rewards and Treasure! Experience Points +1 Observation Lores Djed: Universal Backbone of Magic and Life Basic Techniques of Shielding Theoretical Shielding: Djed Extrusion Theoretical Shielding: Properties and Purposes Learning Magic: Taking It Slow Comments I like how you're not in any particular hurry to get that Shielding skill. Magic is dangerous, so having Erekez take his time will make Shielding (and any other magic he would learn in the future) safer for him with this mentality and approach towards magic.