Closed Fire and Brimstone

[Ricky Maze]

Fire and Brimstone Winter 58th, 512 AV; 15 Pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter was all the sound that would echo through the University, followed by the swift pace of hurried breaths while Ricky moved one leg in front of another. Though this matter was not urgent to him it still held great importance that he found Ignotus, and after Ricky asked a few people around the grounds he was finally pointed here. As he marched his way down to the dorn where he was bound to find Ignotus he could only hope the wizard was still around, for now may be the only chance he will have to gain the ability he desired. What was it Ricky sought? He wanted something that every living person feared, what all every greedy soul would eventually desire should they acquire a taste of it. Yes. Ricky desired power. Only it wasn't power to bend the wills of his foes and weaken the hearts of his enemies. Ricky wanted the power to use when he needed it, to protect everything that mattered to him; besides the home he lived in. Finally he arrived at the door he was told to stop at, and with quick short breaths Ricky knocked without thinking ahead. Bad idea. He should've waited unttil he at least had his breath slower, so that he could hopefully think better should Ignotus answer him. There was no turning back the ticks now though, and Ricky had to make the best of what he got. So he did the next best plan of action, he took deep breaths to quicken the process. Each time he did so he made sure to do so slowly, otherwise he would just look like a huffing and puffing idiot bedore the wizard. "Ok ol' Rick ye can handle this," He murmured to himself, "just insist he help ya get stronger and he'll do it. No turnin away unles he does." It was odd talking to ones self sure, but for Ricky it sharpened his focus a lot more.

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus Everto was having a tiring day before Ricky knocked on his door. He had been outside in biting winds, assisting three other Reimancers in diverting a storm's fury from a dilapidated part of town, then he had spent four bells reading, reading, reading in an attempt to find the Blighter, and then planning the next day. The disparate threads were slowly coming together; Ricky, the Denvalis, Nadea and Wrenmae, Hannah and Loveless... He just needed to nudge a few more pieces into place, and the spring would be wound. And then there was Sagallius...

He had read Zeltiva's public records perhaps a few too many times for his liking, but he was once again holding a list of deeds in his hand again. Andyn Issadia had to have left Zeltiva at some point, and he would have almost certainly sold his house. From the recipient, he would be able to find out what the man looked like. And then he would have a significant head start in finding him... He could also find out his economic class when he left- Also a factor in narrowing the search. A rich man would not likely live in East Street in Zeltiva, after all.

Unfortunately, his hunting was brought to an abrupt halt when a knock jarred him out of his studies. Another leech on his time was not received very well, to say the least. The book slammed shut and was tossed unceremoniously onto Ignotus' bed, and the door swung open a few seconds later. Ignotus was clad in simple garb; a loose long-sleeved shirt and baggy slacks that were a size too wide for his shrunk shank.

In all, he looked more an apathetic writer than a mighty wizard. Fortunately, he could still muster a smile when it came to his favorite (not so) little Wave Guard. "Ricky! How nice to see you!" the Nuit chirped, stepping aside to allow entry through the doorway, "Please, come in, make yourself at home. Pardon the mess... Is there anything I can get you? It is time when you eat, right? It's been thirty years since I have, and... Well, it can make one's memory fuzzy."
Evidently, hospitality was not something the guard would have to beg for.

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky was actually used to Ignotus being dressed in some fancy outfit he usually had, seeing him in a simple pair of house clothes threw Ricky in for a loop. Yet when he was invited into Ignotus' abode the guard didn't hesitate, his mind was set on the very thing he needed more than ever. Though the idea of obtaining a greater responsibility scared him, it also allowed Ricky the chance to become stronger on a whole different level. When Igno offered his courteous hospitality Ricky gave a loose grin, and a scratch on the back of his head from a bad habit when he gets nervous about something. "I'm fine thank ya, I'm actually here to ask a big favor from ya. Seein as how you said there are ways for me to become stronger." He rested his hands on his waistline, the words that came next felt heavier than he imagined. "I... want to learn how to use magic." His frame was a tad bit stiff, not just because he felt nervous but because of something else. Ricky wasn't fully aware of the history he had with Iggy that one time, thus his feelings for him now were met with great uncertainty. He hadn't any idea on how he truly felt about the man, apart from the fact that he worked for Ignotus anyway. For some reason Ricky would get chills from being around Igno, thus when it came to confrontation like this he found himself lost. That aside Ricky did his best to observe Ignotus, to hopefully find a sign that he would be given the chance to be given this power. Though Ricky may have the potential to use the power he lacked the proper initiative, thus if anyone in Zeltiva could help him learn it would be Ignotus.

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus frowned at that. While he was capable of giving Ricky what he wanted, and could see a few ways to profit from it, there were certain risks that, while he had reconciled with, were not always clear to outsiders. While a powerful Ricky endlessly in his debt, and potentially dependent on him to learn to control the might gifted to him was appealing... An insane, disfigured, or dead one was not.

"I do hope you know what you're asking of me." the Nuit said gravely, "The power I and others wield is not one for the faint or the foolhardy."
A sickly white hand turned itself up and outward towards Ricky. From its pores a glowing azure gel began to bubble forth, puddling in the palm. Just as honey unsupported pulls itself languidly to earth, so did this gel raise itself into the air.

A spark now made itself visible at the base of the globule floating above Ignotus' hand. Said spark quickly found fertile soil in the wizard's Res, and a small cloak of flame, such as is seen at the bottom of a pan heated by the same, billowed out and spilled itself around the sphere. Thus, did Ricky observe a ball of fire.

"Magic can do many things. It can control the elements, as you see here. It can give life to the inanimate, transform one's body, even break the barriers of other realities... But at a price. For our souls, nay, our very identities are the fuel of this fire." As if responding to his words, the fire bolt shivered and burned brighter a moment. "And if we should begin to run short..." the bolt flared, then died.

The last few wisps whipping imploringly out to the heavens before they, like the nucleus that once birthed them, crumbled and turned to smoke. "This power will destroy you." Ignotus intoned, "It has destroyed many greater than any in this city and age before. It is a risk we all take when we choose to take the needle and thread of life's tapestry. But so you may unravel it, so too do you decide its pattern. Is the danger worth the control, Ricky?"

Fallen silent, with his hands at his side, Ignotus awaited an answer. Both were to the Hypnotist's benefit- now the former fisherman was to decide which was to his own.

[Ricky Maze]

For Ricky to stand before Ignotus it took a greater amount of courage than any other time he had to prepare for, not because the man knew how to get under his skin somehow but for the very reason he explained. To have and use magic in the world was something bold and dangerous, and knowing he would risk losing himself to it intimidated him even more. No matter how cautious one is power is power, and it will always consume whoever uses it. This was a decision Ricky wasn't so sure of if he really thought about, nothing was ever certain when it came to life altering events like this. Yet he had already made it when he knocked on the door of this man, and while Iggy was likely going to teach him so little Ricky would still take it while he can. What he would learn, he would do so not with great caution but with the utmost care. "Aye, I've made up my mind Igno. If I want to keep what's important to me safe, I need to have this ability at hand. It's the only way for me to become stronger." He reassured the man with a grin, though he thought about his life dying out like the fire in his little speech, Ricky would do his best to keep his inner flame from doing the same. "I trust ya know how to teach me how to use it, and I'll admit its hard to put that kind of trust forth... But I'm doin it for the sake of Zeltiva." He nodded to Ignotus with a determined expression, his path now set out before him. Now that he was sure his choice was made correctly, it was now left up to Ignotus to do the rest.

[Ignotus Everto]

For a moment, there was silence. Then Ignotus clapped his hands together, gave Ricky a queer little smile, and said "Excellent! Find me something sharp." The Reimancer was pleased by what he heard- Ricky really was perfect. This was a man so completely, earnestly, thoroughly, nauseatingly wholesome that even the most paranoid conspiracy theorist wouldn't be able to hold any suspicion in their hearts. More importantly, neither could Ricky. As the boy was determined to get his hands dirty, it was only logical and prudent to reap the benefits of it.

"I hope you handle trauma well, because this is not going to be pleasant." the wizard said with a grimace as he dug a small brush and ink pot out of a drawer. If he didn't want to kill Ricky, it would only be prudent to take safety precautions.

Killing him... Now that would be unpleasant. Ignotus was fairly confident in his control over Res- he wouldn't have considered the request otherwise. Even so, it had been thirty years since he even had blood in his veins...

"Irrelevant. The initiation will be a success. A body is a body."

"There should be a knife in one of these drawers," the Nuit said absentmindedly. "When you've found it or something else, just sit down somewhere and brace yourself."

"And try not to have a fit or go insane. That would just be inconvenient."

[Ricky Maze]

"Aight then." Ricky nodded as he too began to look around for some sort of sharp object, he hadn't any could as to why such a thing was necessary for this but he didn't waste any time thinking on it. He had come to obtain the means that would help improve his capabilites, and with those he means he would protect everything that mattered to him. As he filed through a few drawers he found mostly paper and office utensils, Ignotus then spoke again something that sent chills up Ricky's spine. Trauma? Just what did Ricky had to face in order to obtain this power? He shouldn't dwell on it, less the thought finally sink in to alter his course. "I think I'll be fine, I lived through a bear attack and a smuggler's den." He assured the magician to build confidence in himself, if he was determined to come this far then he at least needed better faith in himself. Himself and Ignotus really. Ricky finally found a letter opener among the random clatter of things in the drawer, and even though it didn't have a razor sharp edge its point could do a bit of cutting with enough force. He flashed it to Ignotus for the magician to take, if he was the one who needed to use it of course. After that was decided Ricky took a seat in a wooden chair next to the wall, nervous as to what will happen next with this "initiation" he was about to do. 'A learning experience to definitely remember' He mused with a loose grin, determination was combatted with hesitation as the two bounced back and forth, Ricky felt he was ready for whatever came next, but as to being sure about the whole thing was a no. Of course he was unsure about his decision, any person would be when they couldn't grasp the magnitude of the effect their choice. How it could change them, for better or worse, was different for every person; and for Ricky he honestly planned it for the better.Of course he wasn't changing his mind, and even when his heart seem to quicken from being so nervous he took deep breathes. A calm mind was all he would need, the rest would come as it would come. As he reminded himself of this, Ricky nodded once more to Ignotus. "Ready when ya are."

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus smiled as he knelt in front of Ricky. "You sound almost Alahean. I like that."
'In order to control Res," he explained, "one must first be invaded by it. As such, I will be cutting your palms open. My Res will enter you from there, as well as other orifices. It will exit from the same. This requires a great deal of finesse not to kill you, and as such, you must, must remain absolutely still." Ignotus affixed his gaze to the Wave Guard now, hoping to impart the urgency of the matter to him. In a sense, he did. The Hypnotist inadvertently bled some of his nerves to the lad. "Otherwise you will bleed to death, or worse. Understand?" With Ricky's nod, Ignotus made two rough gashes with the letter opener, and laid his hands on top of the guard's own.


He had forgotten how warm blood felt. It had been soon long since his own body held heat... It was almost burning to him. Like fire. Something he absolutely, positively could not create. Not even a little by accident. "Ready?" Ignotus said?
"Relax."
A burst of hypnotic calm passed between them. A short primer to prepare Ricky for what was to come.

And now the plunge.

Ricky would feel the wizard's grip tighten for a moment. A short puff of air rushing from his nose. But not just air. A thin gas, azure in color, seeped from it as well. Misted lightly from his pores and formed a cloud between them. It swirled over Ricky for a tick, then twisted down as a tornado descends from its source, and forced itself into his nose and mouth. The mist had a smell, and it smelled... Human. Concentrated to an extreme, granted- the very essence of one's being tends to be such- but human. It was not the smell of the corpse in front of him. Perhaps for the only time in his life, Ricky had a brush with Ignotus the man. Before he shed a mortal coil for an existence eternal. When he was still warm, breathing, and blonde. There was little time to savor the moment, however.

The Res wormed its way through his throat, into his lungs, down his gullet into his belly, drove into his blood through the cuts in his hands, filtered its way into his internal organs. In He could feel it. If he was foolish and looked down, he could see its glow under his skin. An alien presence. Something from the outside. Something different. Something wrong. It was in his flesh, in his bone, in his heart, in his eyes, in his organs, in his mind... There was no privacy, no self, nothing that could be called one's own. It could have been described as a rape, but that word couldn't do what Ricky was experiencing justice. This was something... Deeper. And it lasted for what felt like ages.

Ignotus himself would have been sweating, if Nuit did so when engrossed in a task. Instead, he was still. Deathly still. Not a twitch, not a breath, not a single indication of life. A beating heart was foreign to him, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. Finally, mercifully, the Reimancer felt the task was done. Ricky felt the alien presence receding. Falling back towards his throat. He sensed something welling up. A thick azure fog rose slowly out of his mouth and nose. It hovered above them once more for a tick, then burst into flame. A moment of heat, then nothing but rising smoke. Ignotus sighed in relief, and slumped back. "It is done..."

Ricky's body was his own again. But not quite the same.

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky nodded after Ignotus explained the process he prepared to do, and gritted his teeth as he took the pain that the letter opening inflicted when his hands were gashed. He had to prepare himself for the unexpected now, because there really was no turning back on this. They both now traveled down a path they could not change, but only see through to the ending ahead. The anxiety he felt as Igno told him to relax seemed to melt away as a wave of calm determination washed over him. It felt as though he somehow found the resolve he needed to achieve his goal, but in another sense more foreign then he expected. Just like before with the vision of being Zeltiva's hero. A sort of thin veil of mist seem to resonate from Ignotus, first it looked as though be breathed it out, and then the area around the two somehow became filled with that mist. 'This... this is...' His thoughts were interrupted, as the azure mist swirled into him with a life of its own. First it seemed to enter through his mouth, in a manner that felt like his body were suffocating. His nose too became a plug for the gas to enter through, as he felt some substance or force enter the gashes on his palms. The first thing that came to his mind was panic, simply the first reaction any other human being would have when they felt they were suffocating. The manner of suffering he had to endure as his body felt invaded by this mist, he hadn't expected such a thing to be so deep. It felt dark. Dark and beyond dangerous, something so wrong many in the world could even consider taboo. He focused hard to keep himself calm, the panic longed to take over his mind. He had to close his eyes and stiffen up, force himself from making any violent reactions. His instincts wanted to kick in, to immediately break free of this and get the petch away. Away from it all, never again to face an ordeal such as this; but there would be no where to go. No where to hide nor run, then again he chose not to run to begin with. The sense of foreboding doom filled his nerves, the prickly sensation that filled ones arms, made the hair stand on end; a sense he never felt before in his life nor hoped to never do so again. Yet as he managed to look out one of his eyes to Ignotus he saw the man remained unmoved, completely focused on the task before him. Ricky's determination still existed somewhere in him, and though he struggled to keep himself restrained with deep heaves of air he still kept his focus in check as well. There was something he felt between him and Ignotus, a connection of a sort that he didn't want to sever. Because if he did, then it would very well be the end of himself. Yet there was more to it, something he couldn't explain but he felr was there around him. In the air perhaps, that or the gas that filled his entire being. At long last Ignotus pulled away, a well enough sign that he had finishef the ritual he needed to do. When he did so Ricky's heaves of deep breathes became gasps as his body felt overcame with exhaustion, the stiffened muscles now able to relax as he felt shivers travel along his spine. Though the initiation gave the idea these were not the shivers from chills, but the shivers of fear that caused the body to spasm after much fighting against the urge. Ignotus slumped as he too looked exhausted from the period of intense focus, Ricky for sure felt the sweat upon his brow as the magician withdrew. Yet the grip the azure mist held released as his body felt free once again, however there was something changed about him. Ricky didn't feel sure what, but something within him felt much different compared to earlier. He looked to the palm of his right hand, a vivid sapphire blue substance seen in the blood of his hand. He hadn't made the connection that this blue substance was his own Djed, as his mind was still unaware of what exactly the change had caused. Convinced that he could find out how to tap into his newfound gift Ricky closed his eyes for a brief moment, and managed to regain control of his breathing as he looked inside himself once more. Deep within the vastness of his being he could feel it, the endless waters of his spirit hid something that waited to be called out. To be used for his will. As he opened his eyes to look back down to his palm, he focused on the building up of Res. He could feel something at work within him, something that required more mental effort to pull. There was energy he knew that much, a sensation he hadn't been too familiar with flowed from his center and into his right arm. It was a slow and eased flow that would only go where its channel took it, which was right in the center of his hand. As he willed for this new energy he had just discovered within himself to take form, Res began to bubble and rise into a sphere the size of a marble, blue and liquid in its potent raw form. He tried to imagine it being set ablaze and willed for it to do so, but the marble of Res didn't find the spark it needed to ignite. Instead it only grew a tad bigger, the size of a grape, before it dispersed. A few drops of water fell when this happened, and to his surprise Ricky found that his element was in fact not fire. He found himself fascinated about about bringing out the Res, his mind grasped on the mental discipline it took just to will it. He wanted more though, a deep thirst inside him quelled as he felt part of him want to try and create more. "What should I expect to come with usin' this power? and more importantly, how do I prepare for whatever comes?" He looked to Ignotus inquisitively now, aware that he had obtained a power bigger than himself. He had to know what the risks and drawbacks were of using this power, lest he become a victim to his own demise should he go to far. Already he was aware what changed within him, because he had always respected and nearly feared magic such as this. Now he already wanted to discover his limits like it were just some tool, and before he believed the power to be a grear responsibility. 'It still is.' He reminded himself, not ready to forget the old moral he held onto.

[Ignotus Everto]

The wizard recovered much more quickly than Ricky did. Partially because the exhaustion was purely mental, and partly because his experience was... Different to say the least. He too felt the connection between them, more intimate than that of loves, than that between a mother and her child. It was not one he felt comfortable making. Ricky was a tool. A face. Adorably, incorruptibly pure and wholesome, but still only a tool. And yet...

The initiation had felt good. Extremely good. To hold another's life in the palm of his hand. To control them, to dominate them utterly, down to the very fabric of their being... It was the power fantasy taken to its logical conclusion. And power was something Ignotus had lusted after for more than half a century. But his moment of absolute control was over, and now he needed to make sure that his new pupil wouldn't kill himself. While Ricky played with his Res, Ignotus kept his gaze locked on him for twitches or bloodshot eyes- two of the more immediate physical signs of overgiving. Should he push himself to far, the poor boy would have to be killed for the safety of those around him.

Fortunately, the child didn't kill himself, and was soon asking questions again. Ignotus shrugged at the first. "I can't tell you. It's different for every wizard- However, there are a certain set of signs that you absolutely, positively must pay attention to." He was leaning forward now, lancing Ricky with his stare.

"If you start to feel tremors, or pain in the eyes, or taste copper in your mouth, or begin feeling a sense of euphoria or the urge to cast more- don't. It means you're overgiving, and if you give in to that urge your body will start involuntarily transmuting itself from the inside out, after you've killed anyone near you. Then your organs fail. It's an extremely painful way to die. That's if your lucky. You could just become insane and permanently disfigured. Of course, then you'd probably be executed out of pity." the wizard mused grimly.
"Does that answer your question?"