Solo Joining the Web

[Lian Windrunner]

Time Stamp: 1 Winter, 513 AV I guess that it's time that I buckle down and do it. I really should have done this a long time ago. Lian thought with a sigh. The auctioneer had told Lian that he needed to link Lea to the web when he bought her during the auction last fall. He'd meant to do it. He really had. It was his duty to do so, and Lian took his duty very seriously. But...things had come up. It seemed like there had always been more important things to do, so Lian had pushed the task off, and pushed it off...and pushed it off again. If he were to admit it to himself, the real reason he had procrastinated over the task for so long was that a part of him was very reluctant to do it at all. It's not as though Lea is a Drykas. Nor will she ever become one no matter what the auctioneer said about the captives being part of the family. They aren't family, they're captives. Brought here for one thing, and one thing alone. The children will be able to adapt well enough...some of them have already. But not the women. And yet duty was duty. It didn't really matter that he thought that linking the captives was a waste of time. Or worse, a potential risk since they were outsiders, and outsiders weren't supposed to know about the web. Lian had to link Lea to the web anyway, though. He had agreed to do just that when he'd bought her. Lian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe I ought to let my beard grow out a bit. See what happens. he mused. Then he groaned silently. And here I go distracting myself from the task at hand again. he scolded himself. Lian struggled with his reluctance to link Lea to the web for several long minutes. While it was possible to enter the web with a troubled mind, it was not reccommended. Doing so while distracted was even worse. Either state would be a severe hinderance at best once in the web, and ran the risk of making it impossible to do whatever you had entered the web to do. It was even possible to lose oneself in the web completely if one's focus was divided while in the web. And for Lian, who was still at a level where he found it easiest to enter the web from a state of light meditation, attempting to do so while not focusing completely on the task at hand ran the risk of being unable to enter the web at all. When he had finally managed to set aside his reluctance, Lian closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. It didn't take long for him to enter a trance like state. When he did, he opened his eyes once more. The beautiful glowing lines of the web greeted him like a beloved friend. I can see why some of the most powerful webbers lose themselves here. If I was as powerful as they, I probably wouldn't ever want to leave the web either. he mused. Setting aside that dangerous thought, Lian got to work. He carefully felt for his captive's "presence." Since he had been living with her for an entire season, and had been in intimate contact with her many times, it was easier for him to do this than it could have been. He grasped the sense of her presence with the force of his will, and "pulled" at it. After a moment's resistance, it followed his direction willingly as he pulled it into the web. Once there, Lian tied Lea's essence into the web. Still feeling a strong reluctance to do just that, it took him longer to manage it than it would have if he truly wanted to do it. But after a while, a glowing dot that "felt" like Lea appeared in the web. With his task done, Lian slipped out of the web, and returned to the physical world once more.

[Lian Windrunner]

Since I'm already linking people into the web, I might as well get started linking a few more people into it while I'm at it. Lian decided after a moment. Several people had come to him, requesting that he link a new family member into the web for them. Most of them were babies that had been born within the last few months. But there was a foreign woman as well; a trader who had married into the Drykas, and had earned her wind marks, becoming one of his people in her own right. There were also a few children who had been bought at the auction as well. All in all, Lian had a busy morning in front of him. Lian stood, and stretched. Then he walked around his tent, straightening things for several minutes. When he was done, he ate a handful of berries, savoring each one. As much as he enjoyed spending time in the web, and working with it, it was good to spend time in the physical world afterwards. Simply interacting with the things around him, and reaffirming his place in the world. He hoped that in doing so, he would lessen the risk of losing himself in the web. While there wasn't much risk of him losing himself at his current skill level, he knew that the truly powerful webbers had a high risk of losing themselves. After giving himself a short break, Lian sat down and made himself comfortable once more. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to slip into a light trance. One by one, he reached for each person he was planning to tie into the web. The babies were first since they were the easiest to work with. There was no resistance as he pulled their "presence" into the web, and tied them into it. Then came the children. Though he came against a little resistance as he tied them into the web, there was nowhere near as much as there had been when he tied Lea into the web. Lian wasn't sure why this was the case, but if he had to guess, he'd guess that it was because their personalities, or sense of self...their "presences" were not fully formed yet. That was something that only came with age and maturity, as they came to truly know who they were, and what their place was in the world. Lian forced his thoughts to the back of his mind, and got back to work. Finally, it was time to pull the foreigner...no, the former foreigner into the web. Lian had met the woman in passing a few times, so he was somewhat familiar with her presence. When he reached for it, he was able to find it easily. But when it came to tying her into the web, he ran into more resistance than he had with all of the children combined. Almost as much resistance as he had run into when he tied Lea into the web. For a moment, he had to struggle to tie the woman into the web. Then the struggle was over, and he was successful. Lian felt a sense of accomplishment and pride as he left the web. He felt good as he opened his eyes, stood up, and stretched. Satisfied with a job well done, Lian decided to go out and spend some time with Talise.

[Mythic]

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XP Award!

Name: Lian Windrunner

XP Award:

• Webbing +2
• Meditation +2

Lore:

• Webbing: Takes concentration
• Webbing: A distracted mind is dangerous
• Webbing: Easier to do in a light state of meditation
• Webbing: Lower resistance to being tied to the web for those with sense of self not fully formed

Notes: I gave what I could, though what was here was pretty nice. I especially like the description for Lian's webbing - if you dove into more detail on it, such as what he's feeling or experiencing while in the web, might get you another point or two.

Final Notes: I'm a bit leery about allowing just thinking about growing out a beard to count as "experimenting with facial hair" since you're not actually doing the experimentation. Perhaps another thread in a few weeks, when he actually has the beard? In any case, please don't hesitate to PM me with any questions or comments about your grade.
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