Closed Magics of the Sight and Worlds [Anna]

[Zandelia]

Winter 76th, 513 AV - The Common Labs


The Gug Andjak, or common labs she had been told it meant, were a continuing fascination for Zandelia. Whilst it was true that she spent most of her time either within the Vestibule or outside the Citadel she always had a special place in her heart for the labs. For a kind that was always shifting in curiosity it provided an endless source of interest – the experiments being varied and changing on a day to day basis. She never really interacted with the people undertaking them but, for the most part, she always cast her gaze across what they were doing. She would be the first to admit that she had little idea of what they were actually doing but the strangeness of it appealed to her senses.

Almost a mirror to my own skills. Always changing, ready and willing to be assessed. Free information for all but only understood by those clever and knowledgeable enough to puzzle it out she mused to herself as she wandered from table to table, peeking around door frames and into smaller side labs upon occasion.

She had disregarded her mercenary style garb this day in favour of a more appealing persona. Having held the intimacy with Annalisa she had begun to feel the need to explore a more feminine side, a reaction that she was not expecting but one which she was not above pursuing. At any rate, people always seemed more eager to share with her if they thought she were an actual apprentice and looking like one was the first step. As such she had dressed herself in one of her dresses, a dark green affair with full sleeves and where the hem all but brushed the dusty stone flooring. The bodice was patterned with a twining black leaf motif and accentuated the curves she possessed admirably. Soft slippers finished the illusion, all of it made with flax by the skilled hands of Nykan weavers.

“Though I am not completely foolish” she muttered to herself as she remembered the small spring blade tucked away underneath the sleeve of her left forearm. Sahova was dangerous after all and she was not about to be caught short and with nothing to defend herself with.

It was upon one of her random circuits that she noticed a familiar figure, a woman taller than she and one could almost describe her as scrawny. She smiled at that interpretation, a small shiver rippling through her as she remembered the reason why that description was just not entirely accurate. She did not approach immediately, instead enjoying the moment by herself as memory mixed with imagination. She watched, noting how absorbed Annalisa was in her work. There was a concentration to her that finally broke through the arrogant smirks she was want to show to the world. She belonged in Sahova, Zandelia thought, even if she considered herself somewhat of a slave.

She is quite beautiful in her own way. The mask put up to the world, well it’s not entirely a fake but still…I saw more of the woman than the mage when we met. Even if she hadn’t meant to reveal it. Her eyes… she mused as she shifted closer, skirts whisking as she moved.

She slipped in behind Anna, circling the work area and standing patiently, hands clasped in from of her waist. She was not noticed, the work was obviously too engrossing. That suited her, she didn’t really want to think about how the other woman might react to seeing her dressed as she was. She had donned it as a disguise after all and had not expected to see someone who knew her as well as Annalisa did.

“So,” she spoke after a while of silence, “nice to see you again Wizard Marin. Anything I can help with today?” she asked by way of introduction.

It was a small thing to ask but she remembered just how she had helped before, the memories of the paralyzing venom flickering through her mind in quick succession and she shuddered.

[Annalisa Marin]

Research, it was an endless task on Sahova that was considered by many to be monotonous, however to Annalisa Marin is was the only reason she remained on the island. She was in her element by anyone’s count, a research wizard by her very nature if an extremely dangerous one all things considered. The sorceress possessed much power; however she was always constantly seeking to improve upon that power that could be improved upon. A Wizard of Sahova could never afford to rest upon their laurels and always needed to seek to improve, to twist and bend magic in new and creative ways. Anna was always one to seek improvement upon her existing skills; predominantly Voiding was gaining prominence among the personal magics.

The tall woman sat at her workstation hunched over a good bit of parchment, her brush in hand as she prepared for today’s test. As her powers in the Void continued to improve she found that she was in extreme need of knowledge regarding the actual interactivity between a Portal’s point of origin on This Side and The Other Side. She already knew that opening a Portal regularly on her own resulted in a Portal opening in any location in the Void, however the tall woman wanted to know if it was possible to open a Portal to the same space within the Void.

The design was already planted firmly within her mind; a common scroll sigil would make up all she needed for the item on her list. It was a simple task and one she knew by heart at this point in her career as a Glypher, a simple use of Glyphing but one that the tall woman loved using. Anna dipped her brush in ink daintily and then started on her Focus Glyph at the center of the document, her strokes confident in her movements and her hand moving instinctually. Her Focus Glyph took the form of a highly stylized inverted triangle, following the theme of geometric shapes that her Glyphs followed in general.

Her Focus was finished quickly enough, her stokes easy and seamless in their expertise and her hand simply moving to dip her brush in ink as it came time for the next series of Glyphs. The next step was the Barrier Glyph, which took the form of a pattern of stylized geometric shapes arrayed around the Focus in a ring. This one Anna was careful to make her brush strokes short and teasing on the document, applying too much pressure on the brush could result in bleeding the ink all over the parchment. She most certainly did not want a ruined series of Glyphs in her scroll.

Once her Barrier was completed the dark haired woman dipped her brush in the nearby inkwell, her hand moving to the upper right hand corner of the document. Here she drew a jumble of stylized shapes together, the trigger of her scroll and what completed the whole affair to make it functional. The tall sorceress then pondered her wording for the Trigger, shrugging as she opted for something not overly specific but enough to curb the chance for accidental activation.

When I, Annalisa Marin the creator of this scroll, speak the under designated phrase in full the Trigger will lower the Barrier and release the magic within the Focus.

-The earth released to the world

This task accomplished, Anna stood from her seat and held out a hand as she set the brush aside. Idly the tall woman tugged at the tapestry of her being, feeling that Djed that was who she was centered in her being. She willed that energy to push outwards from her body, designating the palm of her outstretched hand as the point of origin. Purple translucent liquid rose from her palms at frightening speed, the mark of a true master. The substance sheathed her hand and the woman willed it to detach itself from her body and move outwards.

A hovering ball of purple res was left handing up over the scroll sigil, which Anna willed into a certain shape that she knew well. It gained defined features, shimmering knuckles and inwardly curled fingers so that it appeared as a fist in shape. From here the tall woman willed the outer layer to harden and condense, stone forming over top of the remaining liquid and making it look rather like an earthen fist had been created. The sorceress flicked a finger idly, willing it to speed towards the Focus as the rest of the inner layer transmuted.

The parchment rippled slightly as the magic was absorbed and the tall woman felt the slightest of tingles of please at the action. The actual amount of Djed it had cost was laughable, nothing really in regards to how much it could have cost for larger spells. Anna was pleased with the finished product and was about to set the scroll aside when another presence made itself known and bid Anna to turn her head to regard them. The sight brought a grin to her face and provided her with rather pleasurable memories all things considered.

Dasoma Zanelli, a woman she had met in the Forest of Thorns about six days ago and had later enjoyed a bit of carnal pleasure in her arms. She was dressed much more pleasantly than her armored clothing in Anna’s opinion, a dark green dress that complimented her one good eye nicely adorned her body. Its bodice possessed a twining leaf pattern that the sorceress admired, noting that the whole set up made her look far more womanly. As well as desirable to the tall woman, but Anna suppressed that for the time being.

Anna herself was dressed a far cry differently than she had been when they had met within the forest, her finest clothes actually which were gifts from Amaryllis. Fine black silk robes trimmed with purple wreathed her body, the sleeves voluminous and the robe itself bound with a purple sash that crossed her shoulder. Her feet were covered in black dress slippers and her hair was done up into a high ponytail, her bangs allowed to frame her face ever so slightly. On her ears were two small golden earrings, one in the shape of a crescent moon, the other of a sun. A silver ring with the symbol wrapped its way around her right ring finger, rubies glinting in the light. All in all, she looked the very image of the imposing sorceress.

“Well, a pleasure to see you again Dasoma. Feel free to drop the Wizard title for the moment, please, call me Anna my dear. I think we are a bit past the need for overt formality. Might I say, you look simply ravishing?” The sorceress said, wrapping and arm around the other woman’s waist and pecking her on the lips with that trademark arrogant smirk in place.

With that little display of affection her mind returned to her work again and she released the other woman, grey eyes falling upon the scroll once more. Help? Well, a good Wizard always needed something of an assistant after all and this project would be a bit easier if she wasn’t the one hold the scroll. That would require splitting her attention over much, and doing so could very well have dangerous results.

“Perhaps you can help me, Dasoma. I’m putting together a little project here and it would be just lovely if I had someone to assist me. First you’ll need to tell me something though, how experienced are you in the ways of magic?” Anna inquired, leaning again the workstation and cocking her head curiously at Zand.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia hadn’t been able to get a full view of Annalisa from her previous position, instead merely getting glimpses of the Wizards delicate shoulders and a few flashed of the concentration upon her face as she dipped up and down over her work. She had watched how the brush was delicately used, almost precisely dipped and drawn across whatever she had been working upon. There was another side of her now experienced – Annalisa the worker, intent and purposeful in nature she noted. As the other woman turned though she beheld her in all of her glory. She was truly a wizard now – black dress hugging her form and rippling with movement, purple catching the light and lightening the garment, earrings glinting in the light of the chamber and hair styled into a controlled but attractive arrangement. Gone was the dirt and grime, the weight of her past. She stood tall and resolute, it endeared her to Zandelia even more.

Inner strength, personal power and beauty. My I have chosen well in my allies. Well…possible allies she told herself, smiling at the other woman’s words.

She did not expect the very public show of affection though, another aspect of their relationship that she had not thought through properly – Annalisa was a physical creature, sensual and tactile. That presented a problem in the form of enemies, they would harm Zandelia if they thought it would harm Annalisa. She merely hoped at that moment that now she was in the deep end that they also feared Anna enough to not act too quickly. Or at least that she would be able to see them coming, get a warning out of the woman. She accepted the kiss however and returned it with a small peck of her own lips as Annalisa pulled away. The release of her waist was regretful, but necessary. She approached the desk and looked upon the work Anna had been so engrossed in.

Glyphing, that’s what it is. Though what it is doing I have no idea. I have learnt that much in my time here, small though it is she thought to herself as she tried and failed to discern the scroll’s purpose.

“The pleasure is all mine…Anna,” she allowed her tongue to roll the name around, get used to it, “especially if I look ravishing to you. Such thoughts are never far from my mind after that night” she smiled at Anna as she pondered the answer she would give to the question.

She was never one to rely upon telling the whole truth but she was also wise enough to know that magic was not to be trifled with. She could not just tell Anna that she held magical abilities under false pretences as she would merely end up being put in a situation that would in all probability lead to her death. She sighed and against her better nature she opted for the truth of things, it seemed more appropriate and after their intimate sharing she owed Anna at least that much.

“Not very much I’m afraid Anna, a poor Wizard I would be,” she stated simply and with a shrug, “I know a bit of Auristics and that is all. My interests lay elsewhere. I would stay and become an apprentice but in my time here I have seen that I am not talented enough. Not yet. Perhaps, in time”

“Why do you ask?” she returned with her own question, eye glistening with curiosity, “what dangerous things are you playing with now my dear? I will help you all that I can of course, though I’m not sure I would be of much use”

Shee looked at Anna sheepishly then, she was not accustomed to admitting her own weaknesses and lack of knowledge. It went against the grain and writhed her spine like a snake. She was usually the one getting others to reveal knowledge and somehow the world seemed to have inverted for that moment.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna was pleased that she had made something of an impression upon the other woman, her thoughts turning to the more pleasurable ones that occurred that night. Sahova had, among many things, granted her a sense of perspective she had previously lacked in her life. Living in a place that favored the undead was no easy task and it made her appreciate the creature comforts she had taken for granted. Just a bed was a luxury not afforded to her at this point, physical comfort was non-existent for the most part, even food was scarce unless one was regarded highly enough. It all came down to how much someone was worth to Sahova, as well as how ruthless they could be.

Auristics… there it was again, a magic she was running into more and more as of late and one Anna was finding an increasing interest in. The sorceress appreciated the apparent honesty, though there was always the possibility that the other woman was withholding information from her. Even still it gave the tall woman some idea of how much she could use Zand for her little test, a limited role but a crucial one nonetheless. The woman picked up the scroll from her workstation and handed it to Zand, giving her a critical and very serious look as she did.

“Right, well first things first, a little bit of magical education. This is a scroll, a product of Glyphing that is designed to hold magic for future usage. I’m going to want you to hold onto it for this test so I do not need to split my attention between casting and holding it while speaking the Trigger phrase. Whatever you do, keep it pointed away from your body lest you wish to acquire a few broken bones from the spell I placed inside.” The sorceress instructed, pausing for dramatic effect before taking up some inscribing paint upon the table and moving towards an open space on the floor.

The tall woman then dipped her brush in the substance, kneeling on the floor and immediately setting to work without speaking a work at first. Her hand was a blur of motion in the act of drawing the large stylized inverted triangle on the floor, her Focus Glyph. Every stroke was measured and flawless in its inflection, purposeful as it danced to the Sorceress’ whims. It took barely ten ticks before the large Glyph was completed, its design beautifully exquisite to gaze upon.

This accomplished the woman dipped her brush in the pot of inscribing paint again, her hand moving to work at the Barrier that would ring around the Focus. Each brushstroke was sure and confident, though she was careful not to press down on the brush over much as she worked. Her actions were purely instinctual, her hand seeming to move on its own and in ways that lesser Glyphers would have trouble just keeping up with. Anna remembered watching Clyde Sullins work and noted with a smirk that she had very much reached his level of skill.

“Given that you are rather fresh to the ways of the Arcana, I can thus safely assume you are ignorant of some theories of magic and the idea of multiple dimensions. Given that our work today will involve one of those dimensions allow me to share with you the idea itself.” The tall woman said as she finished the Barrier and placed a jumbled of shapes off to the upper right hand side on the outside of the ring of Glyphs.

Here the Sorceress pondered her Trigger for a moment, remembering that it was often best to get extremely specific in actually crafting her Triggers. Accidental activation was the leading cause of Glyphing related deaths after all; it wouldn’t do for it to go off prematurely. After a good bit of pondering Anna leaned in her head and wrote the conditions for activation in common beneath her trigger.

When the following phrase is spoken and only when the specified conditions are met, the Trigger will activate, lowering the Barrier and releasing the magic within the Focus.

-The phrase “Bridging two dimensions” is spoken by Annalisa Marin, the creator of this scroll on the 76th of Winter, 513 AV. The phrase only being valid when spoken of Annalisa Marin’s free will and not forced from her by coercive means, be they by means magical or mundane.

Anna drew back away from the Trigger, searching the wording and finding herself pleased with the phrasing of the activation condition. She had ensured that not only could it only be activated by her but also it could only be activated when she was speaking the designated phrase of her own volition. It was unnecessary for this particular scroll sigil perhaps, but Anna felt it was better safe than sorry. The work could not have come from the hands of a lesser Glypher, that much was for sure.

“Right, so basically there exist three known dimensions. Our dimension we live within right now, the Ukalas where the gods dwell with, and the Void which is a dimension of emptiness.” The tall woman said standing and plucking two sheets of parchment from the workstation nearby and gesturing for Zand to come closer.

“Normally, these dimensions exist entirely separate from each other. Or rather, are so far apart that they are considered to be separate as the understanding goes.” The dark haired woman said, holding the two sheets of parchment farther apart.

“However, there are means in which two of these dimensions, specifically ours and the Void, can be bridged so to speak. This is accomplished by the personal magic of Voiding, which essentially takes our two dimensions and brings them… closer so to speak.” Anna said, as she pressed the parchment together, pausing and then shaking her head slightly at that explanation.

“No, that’s not quite right. OK, say you are walking on a path to get to another place. Essentially you are travelling from your starting point, point A, and using the path, point B, to reach your destination, which is point C. I want you to think of Voiding as being the means of getting from point A to point C while eliminating the need for point B. You are creating a means of instantly travelling to a place that is normally far away.” Anna said, nodding at the explanation and leaning against her workstation.

“Do you have any questions in regards to that explanation before I continue on with what I am planning to do today?” The sorceress inquired, folding her arms under her breasts and looking rather like the teacher she had once been.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia took the scroll from her lover and began to peer at it with rampant curiosity until Anna told her to keep it pointed away from her at all costs. She paused, looked at the other woman briefly and then turned it away to leave its contents unread as she held it between her fingers gingerly as if she were carrying a terrible weapon of unfamiliar nature – which upon reflection she realised she could very well be holding. She wanted to remind Anna how the last time no warning was given had turned out for her but stilled her tongue, it had been her own foolishness to look before listening after all. Instead she watched as Anna worked, bent over and drawing something upon the ground.

At least I get a good view for a while she smiled to herself as the tracings soon became some form of glyph that again she didn’t fully understand but at least was able to recognize.

The way in which the inverted triangle was painted, the brush moving smoothly and purposefully whilst at speed told Zandelia that Anna had done this many times before – she was clearly a master at her craft and as such to be respected, if not feared. Zandelia feared few people and least of all those she had seen beneath the covers. Still, her curiosity was piqued and she took in the method, wondering if she could replicate it at some future time to see how it worked or at least manage to be good enough at painting such things to give the appearance of ability. Such acts were often useful to her trade after all. She noted the two stages of development and resolved to ask their importance.

After all the more I know the better prepared I am she told herself with surety.

Her mind wrestled with the idea of the multiple dimensions that Annalisa referenced, the concept was unfamiliar to her and something of a challenge. She turned it around in her mind, trying to puzzle it out and layering it into her own experience. She thought upon it and felt it was akin to the living world and the dream world – something she had experienced of late with the mischievous Ethaefal and her memories. Two worlds…linked and yet apart. The full explanation given though made it sound different and she tried to assimilate the knowledge as best she could and left her questions unasked for now. She was wrong at any rate as the Ukalas and the Void were mentioned.

Wait…was that what Vick did? With those little hole things? she asked herself.

“Questions…well many questions but not many of importance right now. Just one really, if this Void can get for one place to another why is it that you mages always travel normally?” she asked simply as she approached the table and took the sheets of paper and layered them.

“So we have these three…dimensions…like this?” she asked as three scraps were place atop each other, “and then you do this?” she sought clarity as she folded them gently so they rippled and shifted until her two hands were touching each other.

“Does that mean you only travel through the Void? Or all three things?” she asked her last question as she took up the scroll again and pointed it deftly away from them both.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna pondered the questions her lover asked, drumming her fingers idly against her chin and pacing a circle around the sequence of Glyphs she had drawn upon the floor. It was not an easy task to explain magic theory to one unschooled in the art, Zand having personal magic was useful but she needed try and steer her understanding in a different direction. Auristics allowed her to view the Djed of the world, but Glyphing was Anna’s preference as it allowed one to truly understand how to influence or shape that Djed. It was how Anna could afford her current mindset, both a powerful personal wizard but also grounded in theory and the nature of magic.

“The Portals a Voider opens only can travel from This Side to The Other Side, or extract things already on The Other Side. Portals cannot, to my understanding, be opened from The Other Side to This Side. The Void is also extremely hazardous; I once ran a test on a subject by having their hand placed inside of the Void. Within minutes it had frozen flesh, muscle, and bone. That would be why most Voiders don’t try to use it for travel.” The tall woman explained, casually speaking of her tests on living subjects easily as if it were the most normal thing.

“Voiding only allows travel through the Void; the Ukalas is the realm of the gods so I can’t imagine they would desire mortals stomping all over it.” The tall woman clarified coming to a stop just outside her Glyphing array.

This next step would be very much crucial, requiring Zand to stand at hand as the sorceress opened a Portal to The Other Side and prepare to use the scroll. Of course this was merely one test of many Anna was planning on with regards to the Void, her Portals still needed work and the tall woman knew that if she applied herself she could ascend to greater heights in the field. It was all for her master, Rhysol, all of her power was his to command no matter what as she was utterly devoted to him. His power and blessing adorned her body and she knew the warmth of his truth and acceptance.

“Right, so Dasoma your job will be rather simple in this. I am going to open a Portal to the Void, and then you are going to hold the scroll open and pointed towards it. I’ll speak the Trigger phrase, which will cast the stone into the Void. The task of opening a Portal will be stored within the Glyphing array on the floor, and once I trigger that it will open and allow me to see if Portals to the Void can be opened in the same location within the Void itself.” Anna explained, giving her companion a significant look before holding out a hand before her over the Glyphing array.

Voiding was a rather difficult personal magic for Anna, she had certainly improved in her overall use in it but she still had a ways to go before it was as natural as her reimancy. She was not ashamed to admit that she still used incantations when summoning Portals in order to keep her focus; they were useful things that every wizard should use to tip the odds. Anna knew typically used ancient tongue for her incantations regarding the Void, choosing a phrase that she felt best fit the Void itself as a concept in order to better achieve resonance with it.

Anna focused on that pool of energy with her, the tapestry that made up the weave of her Djed and the nature of her being. She slowed her breathing and focused upon every intake and exhale, attempting to steady not just her body but her mind as well. As she did this incantations fell from her lips in a tongue as old as humanity itself, dating back to the proto-humans of old. Just as they had mastered the arcane, so to would she.

“Sutla Gug. Gug Sutla.”

“Sutla Gug. Gug Sutla.”

“Sutla Gug. Gug Sutla.”

As the words dripped from her mouth she focused the energy within herself towards her outstretched hand, focusing upon the concept of infinite emptiness and willing it out from her body. Her focus was upon a single spot near her hand and over the Glyphs, where she willed her Djed to force all matter from it. This emptying process was the first step to establishing a link to the Void, the dimension of emptiness that was actually not so very empty.

At first nothing happened, but Anna kept her concentration as she knew that Voiding was not a speed or instant process. Ten ticks later a small black dot, a pin prick in the fabric of existence really, formed in the designated spot as a bridge was formed. The sorceress felt rather than saw it form, a rush of her energy flying from her and into the newborn portal, feeding its continued existence. The tiny swirling vortex devoured her Djed hungrily, thought it was much more manageable than it had once been.

The tall woman stabilized the tiny Portal before slowly increasing the influx of her Djed into keeping the thing open, grey eyes fixed upon it. The thing with Void Anna had discovered was that the amount of Djed drained was dependent on a few factors. Namely, the size of the Portal and whether or not it possessed Push or Pull. Anna was highly conservative with Push or Pull in her Portals, knowing full well the dangers both posed to a Voider.

The Portal expanded slowly but surely and the entire time Anna’s face was a mask of the purest concentration, her focus entirely upon the bridge between This Side and The Other Side. The inky black vortex grew and grew as it suckled at her Djed like a greedy babe suckling at its mother’s teat. Finally it stopped growing around when it was the size of the average human, rather impressive and large enough to absorb most people.

“Dasoma… point it at the Portal.” The tall woman commanded through grit teeth.

The urge was there of course, whispering sweetly to her and telling her to keep expanding the Portal and continue until it consumed all of Sahova. The tall woman pushed it aside as she focused upon the Trigger phrase of the scroll Zand held, feeling it within her and hoping the other woman was in position with it. Anna stepped to the side a bit, keeping her focus on the Portal still as she held the connection between her and it steady with more and more Djed being poured into it.

“The earth released to the world.” The woman said, hoping Zand’s aim would be good enough.

[Zandelia]

“Damage?” her mind latched onto the word and refused to let go as suspicion entered her voice despite the fact she didn’t think Annalisa would intentionally harm her, not at the moment at least whilst she was being useful, “I do hope this won’t be another hare moment my dear?”

There was the jest but her voice was firm, she was not about to be duped into maiming herself for an experiment, not for a thousand gold pieces would she do that. Her curiosity upon this new world of magical theory was all encompassing but she was not an idiot. She listened though, acknowledged the casual appearance of the darker side of her lover without comment – she herself was not above using others for her own ends. True enough she didn’t actively damage them unless needed, they were more useful to her whole for the most part, but the rules in Sahova were different and she didn’t have to agree with them.

They simply are. Still…a fact to remember. She is dangerous and I should be wary. I won’t be party to me being used for such aspects of her…studies she affirmed to herself. She could incapacitate the wizard if required but she sensed no threat from the woman. If anything there was an affection of a kind.

She nodded at the explanation of the Void and the Ukalas, she could find nothing to refute her comments and knew enough to assume Anna was correct in her assumptions. She had no reason to doubt her, she knew her magic well enough from what she had experienced. She was merely lucky enough that she was willing to teach it without a price such as the one that had been extracted from her by another. Still, there might be time for such exchanges and that could be to her advantage. She took in the information about the Glyph and the purpose of this experiment and nodded.

“Just tell me when and I’ll do my part, I am not known for failing at pointing things at other things. Seems simple enough” she stated simply.

The next few chimes were passed in all but silence, except for the words Annalisa spoke – the Ancient Tongue she recognized it as. She had a passing acquaintance with it and tried to examine the words for what they were. She was far from masterful with the language but knew enough to try to analyse the two words being repeated, a mantra of sorts. She wondered why they were needed, was this one of her weaker magics? Or was it simply what was required for Voiding to work? She readied the scroll, carefully keeping it pointed away from her gingerly as the display unfolded and a small spot into complete blackness began to materialize. It seemed endless, almost as if it sucked the light from the space around it perhaps.

Gug Sutla….gug? Many…large? Large? Sutla…length? Spans? Reaches? The large that reaches? The endless? she wondered to herself privately, not daring to break the Wizard’s concentration for fear of her own life.

She left her knowledge of Nader-Canoch unspoken for now, it would be useful it seemed to not let Anna know. She waited, watched as the portal grew wider, wide enough for her to finally step forwards and aim the scroll’s surface at the centre of the blackness as best she could. She frowned and lined it up, adjusting it to the left and down a little before nodding her readiness. The words were spoken and the scroll flared, the blur of what she thought was stone slamming into the Void neatly and…disappearing.

“Done” she spoke triumphantly and with a small smile of satisfaction.

Her hands were empty, the paper scroll shredding itself and falling towards the floor but not making it far before turning into a faint mist of powder that was swept away as it disintegrated. Her mouth fell open as she watched the display, wondering what else she didn’t know about the world of magic. Clearly she was ignorant and she had thought she could survive in Sahova.

How foolish of me she sighed to herself.

“What now then Annalisa?” she turned to ask the woman, trying to process what she had just seen and heard in the last score of chimes.

[Annalisa Marin]

The thing about Void portals for Anna was the hallucinations that came with them, at least for the ones large enough to absorb a person whole. Already she could see spots dancing in the corner of her vision, like tiny dots of inky blackness that led into the Void as well. Beyond the purple bordered Portal she could have sworn she saw creatures moving around inside, the hallucinations causing her breathing to hitch by just a little bit. Her overgiven mind was playing tricks upon her, trying to dupe her into seeing things that were not really there. It made keeping concentrating on the task at hand that much more difficult really.

She kept her concentration upon the Portal though, feeding the large Portal her Djed in a continuous supply of energy. It flowed out of her being and into the Portal like a stream of water down a waterfall, vanishing from her grasp. More and more she felt as though she were coming unraveled, the tapestry of her Djed coming undone slowly but surely. It was very much a welcome sight in fact when the scroll activated and sent its contents hurtling into the Void, allowing for the sorceress to actually close the Portal itself.

Part of her didn’t want to close it however, no, part of her wanted to keep the bridge between This Side and The Other Side open and to expand it as large as she could make it. The hallucinations played at her gaze, her eyes starting to dart around in search of black shapes and spots that weren’t really there. However she retained control, gritting her teeth and focus’ despite the distractions that were leveled upon her. With a bit of effort she willed the Portal’s core to fill with a bit of matter, signaling an instant collapse. The Portal vanished existence, the air where it had existed rippling slightly before settling into normality.

Anna lowered her hand and looked a bit drained from her experience, though her task was not quite done yet as she still needed to reopen the Portal using the Glyphs. Following up on that she would then need to establish a connection to it and use Push to try and extract the stone from the Void. No easy task, and certainly taxing in regards to matters of Djed usage but possible if she was careful and maintained control. Of course the hallucinations played with her mind a little bit, so that was up in the air really.

“Next… next you need to step off to the side as this next bit might get dangerous.” Anna said, standing near the Trigger Glyph and focusing on the intent for what she would say next.

“Bridging two dimensions.” Anna stated loudly and clearly.

The effect was instant, a tiny black dot appearing in the air where Anna’s Portal had once existed, expanding slowly as she had done. The dark haired woman waited until the Portal was at its maximum size before reaching out with her Djed and establishing a connection, gasping a bit as Djed rushed out of her to feed the Portal. The spots and shapes were back once again and the tall woman could feel her skin crawling as fear gripped her regarding adding a Push to the Portal.

She could see them in there, dancing about behind the inky blackness ready to jump out and take her and drag her back into the Void with them. Her breathing started to grow erratic as her mind started to spiral into a long delusion regarding the shapes and outlines dancing within the Portal, her concentration starting to waver. This manifested in the Portal as it fluctuating wildly, the purple outer borders lashing out a bit erratically.

Anna found herself unable to activate the Push upon the Portal, she knew that those shapes were there and were real just waiting to grab her. Just like that monster she and Kouri had released from the Void by accident, it would toss her into the Void to die. Her hands started to shake visibly as the minor hallucinations started to have a very major effect upon the sorceress herself and her ability to carry out the rest of the experiment. Her expression was one of fearful anticipation; she thought she could see a hand preparing to reach out towards her.

"No! Get away!" Anna cried.

The sorceress let out a scream, jumping back away from the Portal and severing her connection to as she tripped over a chair and scrambled back away from the slowly shrinking Portal. Her back found a wall and soon after that her hand found her mouth, covering it as she simply stared at the Portal with her breathing coming out in gasping breaths. The tall woman had lost her composure, but she knew what she had seen and she wouldn’t let it take her. Her grey eyes were wide with fight of the purest sort, rather like someone that had seen horrors many couldn’t begin to fathom.

"Th-there was something on The Other Side. You saw it right Dasoma? It was trying to-to..." Anna said, her words stuttering and shaky and far cry from the confident and arrogant sorceress.

[Zandelia]

She stepped back as ordered, common sense dictated that in this particular realm Annalisa was the commander. Zandelia knew nothing but what she had just been told and what she had seen. Clearly this practise was dangerous in the extreme and she found herself wondering whether that was exactly the reason that the female Wizard had been attracted to it in the first place. As she watched her mind retreated backwards to that first conversation they had shared, the spilling of certain philosophies and tacit desires. Anna craved power and power, in Sahova it seemed, was to court danger at every turn.

Not only that though, she is bored. She says it often enough for it to be considered fact. Does she seek out thrills the same way that I seek out information? Does the coursing of such danger fill her with life enough to survive this tomb? she mused to herself as her gaze swept back to the centre of the stated experiment.

The first portion had been finished with little issues as far as she could ascertain, Anna seemed to be tired and drained but at least satisfied with the results so far. The second portal seemed to snap open almost immediately with no signs of effort and the chanting of words as the first one had taken. Did she gain further control as she used the Void? It didn’t make sense to her in that respect, her own magic always left her drained and with less control than before. Then again Annalisa was an expert and she was but a dabbler when it suited her purposes. As she watched the slender form of the Wizard though a small frown began to furrow her brow, little by little.

She teased at her own Djed, working it slowly but surely upwards and into her head in the tiny rivers that she imagined branched through her like the morass of a thousand tributaries. She concentrated fully upon the woman as the power shifted into her eye and linked into her mind, or at least that’s what she thought it did – connected her senses together and processed them differently. On some other level entirely. She sniffed and an aroma of apple-blossom reached her, Anna’s unique scent as fulfilled by her own perceptions. The colours raged, flickering her aura so quickly that she couldn’t keep up. She gave up for now and focused instead on the dark portal and found…nothing. She almost gasped at that…there was nothing at all! She kept her concentration up, narrowed and focused until she grew tired as she searched for something in vain. She let it go slowly, running it back into her body’s normal patterning.

She was shaking now, her breathing was becoming shallower as if she had just ran through the entire Citadel. Limbs began to shake and though from her vantage point she couldn’t clearly see the other woman’s face she could read the body language enough to know that she was being strained – beyond her ability to control perhaps. She licked her lips and wondered if she should intervene. Her eye flicked back to the portal and saw nothing different than she had seen before, nothing to show why such a reaction was being pulled from Anna. She was about to step forwards when chaos erupted and the portal snapped shut – thankfully without destroying anything in the process.

What in the…other side? I didn’t even know there was a side! Is she mad? Gods what have I decided to lay down with? her mind kicked her into action and she stepped forwards quickly.

She placed her hands upon Anna’s shoulder’s and gripped them firmly, turning the woman so that she was forced to look at her face. Then she saw the fear, the sheer terror eclipsing the other woman’s eyes in a hideous transformation. This wasn’t the Anna she knew, this was a broken woman if she was any judge. She squeezed the shoulder’s firmly s that her grip wouldn’t be easily broken. She placed her brow to Anna’s in a calming motion, narrowing the vision to only their gazes now, something familiar and easy to latch on to.


“Anna…Anna! Calm yourself!” she snapped at first, trying to get her full attention, “there was nothing there. You are safe. I saw nothing at all. What’s the matter? I thought it was going well?” she strove to find the words but held nothing in the way of knowledge to truly comfort.

“It’s okay” she pulled the woman to her then, wrapping her arms around her, it was all she knew what to do, “it’s only me. Only Dasoma. Come on, this isn’t you at all. Go on, make a comment aobut my ignorance it will make you feel much better” she tried for a light, jesting tone.

It looks like there is far more to her than even I thought… was all she could think as she rubbed the Wizard’s back and tried to bring her to a sense of her own normality.

[Annalisa Marin]

It had been there, the figures in the Void were trying to get her now and that beast she had banished had gathered it fellows to drag her into the darkness. She was a marked woman now and the Void was to be her grave where she would die bereft of air or heat, hunted by whatever creatures lay inside the Void. The dark haired woman hugged herself, muttering under her breath in the Ancient Tongue the typical incantation she worded for Voiding. Her gaze had shifted away from Dasoma and it had appeared as though she had forgotten her lover existed in the world, or that there was anyone nearby.

When Dasoma gripped her shoulders Anna only could stare at her in terror, her gaze numb with it as stormy grey eyes stared into green and milky white orbs. The other woman hadn’t seen it? How could she not have seen those things beyond the Portal, the things that had tried to take her from this realm and into the darker one? The sorceress shivered at the harsh words, though they had managed to break through to some minor degree. She was starting to think about more than the figures beyond the blackness and more on the harshness in Dasoma’s voice.

Her tone softened becoming more comforting and soothing, and Anna could feel tears starting to leak from the corners of her eyes as she wrapped her own arms around the other woman and held tightly onto her. She was scared, afraid for all the world if she let the other woman go she’d be taken into the Void by those things. The lightest of sobs wracked her chest and the mighty sorceress looked to be reduced to a sobbing mess, broken a bit by fear of the unknown and scared as a small child might be of a monster in their closet.

“They were there; they were trying to drag me into the Portal. I saw them…” She whispered miserably, unable to formulate any depreciating remark to the other woman.

Dasoma hadn’t seen them? She hadn’t seen those figures within the Void that had danced and flickered and looked so close to just snatching her from this dimension? Anna sniffled slightly, her mind starting to function enough to draw two possibilities from this. One was that she had indeed seen the figures in the Void and Dasoma had simple missed them. Or two and more likely was that she had hallucinated the whole thing as a product of overgiving regarding the Void.

“You didn’t see them then? You didn’t see them in the darkness? I guess that means you are lying with a cracked woman, Dasoma. I suppose it fits you well enough.” Anna said, her tone half bitter and half joking.

She was going mad then; it wouldn’t be long until she was a barely coherent mad woman like Roknus Maelstrom that raved about the voices in her head. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she buried her face in Dasoma, sorrow and hopelessness rising in her chest at this knowledge. Sahova had taken almost everything from her and now it was starting to take her very mind from her, to twist and warp it into something unrecognizable. She was a complete and utter wreck apparently; not even Rhysol’s blessing could change that. Annalisa Marin felt so petching weak and she hated the feeling with every fiber of her being.

“You should leave here as soon as you are able Dasoma. Do what I can’t, leave Sahova. Flee to the other side of Mizahar and then keep on fleeing, and forget about that mess of a mad woman there.” Anna said, her tone bitter and hollow.