[Stone Gardens]A Trade of Heart and Soul (Aoren)

[Shane Wallsly]

For a moment all seemed lost.Aoren looked and sounded like he would keep his secrets to himself and Shane felt prodding him too much would simply not end well. Then something seemed to come over Aoren and he relented. Shane didn't know if this was a part of the man's own psyche or if his subtly suggestions had worked at the man bringing him to that place that he needed to be in order to accept Shane's offer.

However it came with a catch. The magic of Rreimancy was indeed dangerous but more dangerous still the man wished to use divine powers on him. He was familiaer with Avalis but not her mark. She was the goddess some believed gave the world Auristics. If that were true then Shane owed her a great deal. This power that he had, a divine power a God had granted upon him, he said would allow him to see into Shane's past. He wanted to look at Shane's life and make a summary judgement of him.

“Deal.” Shane replied with grim determination sticking out his hand in front of him. He had committed no crimes in his life. He was going to bare his life and soul to the man. The man could know everything about his life. Shane did not know the power of his gift. It could be quick snapshots or instantaneous knowledge of his entire history. He could see the day Shane's mother passed away from illness in her bed. The days he spent waiting for father to return. The day he found the book that changed his life. His first day at Undeniable Interests. Meeting Avira for the first time. The day he hypnotised a toddler... Oh, Gods, what had he done!?!

oocSorry about the short post here.

Credit to Skerry

[Aoren]

As Shane’s hand slid into Aoren’s, he gave a final nod before opening himself up to the world beyond the here and now. Aoren focused his eyes on Shane’s. He stared into them with a steady intensity until with a blink of his eyes the veil of the mortal world fell away. The world slowed. The sunlight that bathed the gardens dimmed. The winds came to a stop until finally Aoren was no longer sitting in his own body but standing beside it. All around him the world had taken on an otherworldly appearance where every motion was like passing through the depths of water. The lines of reality were blurred and all was highlighted in an ethereal hue.

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In this world where time meant nothing and all things were possessed of an inescapable beauty, Aoren felt overwhelmingly peaceful. For several moments he simply stood there basking in the glory of what he saw. When he turned his attention to the bodies of both himself and Shane what he saw fascinated him. Seeing himself from another perspective was always slightly surreal. He took in his own form, his expression was peaceful, his eyes were closed and his breathing steady. Shane seemed a little nervous but otherwise curious. Bodies reflected in the divine realms were not what Aoren had come to study however. Stretching froth from each of their forms was a spiraling cord of light that lingered around them.

The Chavi.

With careful steps Aoren brought a hand up to Shane’s lightly running his fingers over it. The Chavi were always a thing of beauty. Crystalline rivers of endless light and immaculate shape, they held within them the answers Aoren sought. As his fingers brushed over Shane’s Chavi a multitude of images sprang forth like spirits brought to life. They were no spirits though, it was Shane’s past that played out before him. Little by little Aoren observed what he could. He saw a little boy being embraced by his father. He saw the face of his mother and the love both parents had for their child. The Chavi spiraled onward until he saw Shane himself only as just a boy, the ghost of who he once was, take shape in front of him. Time seemed to pass by rapidly as Aoren saw Shane’s father depart only never to return, he saw his mother slowly fade away, he saw hardship and triumph. Aoren saw a number of things including what told him the gifts that Shane possessed.

When Aoren was satisfied that he had seen enough he stepped away from Shane’s Chavi. Clasping his hands behind his back he studied the young man as he was reflected in the spiritual realm. With a sigh and a nod the Drykas then slipped back into his body.

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In the mortal realm it had likely been no more than a few minutes. As Aoren returned to his body his face would have lost a faraway expression. Indeed, the whole time he had been divining the annals of Shane’s past it would have appeared as if he simply was not there. Releasing Shane’s hand the Drykas man nodded taking a deep breath rolling the muscles of his shoulders and stretching his arms. He shook his head as a shiver went up his spine then exhaled slowly.

“Very well, Shane. I will teach you. Not here though.” He gestured to the gardens waving a hand dismissively.

“Have you ever heard of the Inner Sanctum? It is the laboratory that once belonged to the Magecrafter before Master Nightshade. Meet me there this evening. Around the eighteenth bell should do. I have a few things that I need to prepare for your initiation. I suggest you get some rest and brace yourself for the change you’re about to undertake.” Rising to his feet Aoren gave Shane a nod he moved to leave before stopping to glance over the young man once more.

“You will teach me Hypnotism, in return.” Aoren had seen the book that Shane had found explaining his new outlook on life. He had seen Shane hypnotize a small girl. He even suspected that Shane had used the magic on him. Aoren didn’t mind. From all that he had seen the dark haired young man didn’t use his powers maliciously.

With that, Aoren clasped his hands behind his back taking his leave of the Stone Gardens. He would walk in silence as he contemplated on how best to go about the initiation. Aoren had offered an initiation only twice before in his life though he had never completed one. He knew the basic steps involved. It was not something one could forget. He resolved to augment his focus with Glyphs as an extra precaution. He wanted the best for Shane and with those thoughts firmly in his head he returned to his apartment. When he came inside his pup Isikai was dozing on the bed. The sight made Aoren smile. He took up a spot in front of the hearth folding his legs beneath him. With slow, calming breaths Aoren worked on easing the noise in his mind as he reflected on what he had learned.

This was going to be an interesting day.

NoteThere's not a whole lot on exactly what transpires when a Divinist actually goes into the Chavena. So I went with what I could glean from all of the lore concerning it.

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane's thoughts were halted when Aoren searched out his eyes. The man looked deeply into them as if he were attempting to see his very soul. For all Shane knew he was. Shane stared right back at him trying to muster his courage and let the anxiety of what Aoren might find fade away. After a moment Aoren's gaze seemed to go distant and then just vacant. The man looked... dead. Shane rose an eyebrow of worry but Aoren's grasp was still firm in Shane's hand so he guessed the man was just lost in some sort of magic trance.

Shane had just been about to try and see what he could see of this magic with his Auristics when Aoren seemed to come back to himself. It was noticeable immediately in those subtle, independent movements of life. Then the man released his hand stretched out his arms rolling his shoulders. Shane put his hand down in his lap with the other hand.

Shane's eyebrows rose to the extreme when Aoren finally agreed. It was not particularly the agreement tht shocked him, though that was in it's own right surprising, but the escalation of the offer. All of a sudden Aoren was speaking of magical laboratories and initiations... Was this even happening? What he had thought would be a sharing of knowledge had turned into this full thing. Shane assumed when the man said Initiation he meant an actual beginning of the magic like when one reached that stage of meditating on Auristics where one developed the ability to use the sight. Was this what the man had planned for him? Would he, by the end of the day, be able to produce water from hs very soul?

“Umm, yes.” Shane answered finally realising he had never answered the question. “I have heard of the place... Eighteenth bell... Right, I'll be there.”

Then the man laid down his demands and it was Shane's turn to shiver. He knew... He'd looked into his past and saw him for what he really was and he was still willing to help him. Shane's respect for the man increased immeasurably right then. Before Shane could reply Aoren clasped his hands behind his back and took his leave. Shane sat there watching him leave for a while before standing and taking his own leave.

***

Shane pushed open the door to his humble abode and was immediately assaulted by his furry companion, Norman. The large, black dog wagged it's tail with furious energy and nosed Shane's belly. “Hello, Norman” Shane grinned patting the dog vigorously. “Wait till I tell you about the day I had...”

OOCI wasn't really sure how to end this one so ummm yeah... Maybe you could just go ahead and fast forward till the eighteenth bell or something?

Credit to Skerry

[Aoren]

16th Bell

The Inner Sanctum was a place that Aoren hadn’t visited in some time. When he found himself in the former laboratory of the old Magecrafter of Syliras he simply took a minute to reflect on what he was seeing. The dusty tables, the bits and pieces of equipment that Master Nightshade kept there for convenience, the assortment of papers either left behind or considered irrelevant to novice wizards who sometimes came to practice their craft within the lab. He hadn’t come very far from the stumbling novice that he was a few years ago. There was still a great deal that Aoren did not know in regards to magic. He aimed to change that in the coming seasons.

Stepping further into the lab he set down his pack retrieving a few jars of paint, his brushes and a few sheets of parchment from within. If he was going to initiate Shane into reimancy he wanted to have as safe an environment as he could. Taking up a seat on one of the stools at a worktable he opened a jar of paint then picked up a medium sized brush. Holding up his left hand he stared at the palm for a moment. The scar that had been given to him as a result of his own initiation was no longer there. The Goddess of Healing had mended his flesh of all such wounds when she had marked him as her own. He briefly ran the tips of his fingers over the center of his palm reminiscing on the days when he was first growing familiar with the magic.

“How far I’ve come, Leo. I wonder what you would think of me now.” He could imagine the old codger hailing him as an idiot for initiating someone but then fretting over whether he did it right later. The thought made Aoren smile. As it passed he sighed grabbing a nearby empty ceramic bowl. Touching the embers of his Djed he conjured his Res as a liquid producing just enough to fill the basin of the bowl. With a flick of his thoughts he transmuted it to water that he would use to rinse off his brush. Dipping the tip of his brush into his paint he spread the fingers of his hand and touched the tip of the brush to his palm. Slowly Aoren worked on tracing the outline of a basic Focus glyph.

This Focus was simple and geared only toward helping Aoren concentrate on generating his Res. With it he would be able to more easily tap into his own Djed and manipulate the flow of Res from his body and into Shane’s.
He toiled away at tracing the outline of it before filling the Focus in with the minute details unique to the pattern he had in mind. When he had finished drawing the Focus on the palm of his left hand he rinsed the brush off in the water he had conjured.

Dipping the brush into the paint once more he worked on detailing a structured Path extending from the Focus on his palm. Carefully he outlined the pattern of runes that wound around his exposed forearm. The purpose of this Path was simply to guide the path of his Djed to allow little room for error as to what direction it would go. When he was finished detailing the Path he flexed the fingers of his left hand testing the paint in his palm for dryness.

Rinsing his brush off once more he rotated his wrist to loosen the stiffness he felt. When he was confident that the Focus and Path had dried he set to work detailing the same patterns on his right hand. The length of time it took him to make the Focus on his right palm was a bit longer than that of his left. Aoren was predominantly right handed. While he was growing in competency about how to use his left hand proficiently when it came to the drawing of Glyphs he still wasn’t perfect at it. So he took his time.

He made certain that with every line he made it was exactly the one that he wanted. When it came time to detail the Path he took an even slower, more careful approach even going so far as to rotate his forearm regularly or wiping off mistakes that he made in the process. When he had finally completed his work he had constructed a Focus and Path Glyph on both arms. He was in the middle of rinsing off his brush when he heard someone outside the door. He quietly assumed that it was Shane.

“Well, Aoren let’s see where this will go.”

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane hadn't gotten any rest. He'd been thinking and preparing and working all day. The excitement, the nerves, of what was going to happen later that day had prevented him from even a moment's rest. He had no idea of the powers of this magic but by the end of the day he would be greater again. As he had been greater when he had awakened his Auristics. As he had been greater when he had learnt hypnotism. With each branch of magic within him he grew as a man and a wizard. Knowledge is power, as the book said, and ignorance is weakness. He grew more poweful and less weak every day. He had went out a bought a handheld mirror. He had broken his, or sold it, he could not remember. He had read the chapter on Hypnotism in the book over and over again. He had already memorised every detail but it was almost comforting to him. He'd looked into the mirror too. Stared deep into his own soul. The key to hypnotism, he remembered it well, to look into yourself, to speak to yourself, until there was no reason or rhyme to do it. It was to lose all significance as special. The Hypnotist knew that he was just like everybody else and so the Hypnotist knew that everybody else could be just as easily manipulated as they could. Everybody had motivations and goals and these dictated their actions. A good hypnotist warped these motivations and goals to 'allow' the hypnotisded to do actions they might not normally have been 'allowed' to do. Nobody was special, everybody was the same. An unrested Shane found himself at the Inner Sanctum just a few ticks after the eighteenth bell. He was lat and he hoped his instructor, this Aoren, would not begrudge him it. He would have normally taken a deep, cleansing breath before charging through the doors to the lab but Shane did not have such a luxury as the time that would take so instead he opened the doors and swept into the room trying to seem as casual as possible despite the redness of his face and his less than gentle breathing from having run the last two or three ticks to get here. “Ahem, uhm, hello again.” Shane said to the man at the sink. He was the same height and build as he remembered the man from earlier so he assumed it was him. “It's me, Shane. Aoren, isn't it?” OOCWhich is easier to read: this boxcode or the last one?

[Aoren]

Aoren looked up as a rather out of breath character stumbled into the lab. He arched an eyebrow slightly a small smirk touching his lips as he watched Shane compose himself. Dipping his head he nodded toward the young man by way of greeting. Setting down his brush he adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves so keep them above his elbows. His hands and forearms were completely covered in the stylistic runes of Glyphing. As Aoren had never gone through with an actual initiation before he wanted to give them both the best chance of everything going smoothly. Rising from the stool he gave Shane a friendly smile.

“That’s my name.” He chuckled quirking his head slightly at the appearance of a mirror. Aoren assumed that it would later be part of learning Hypnotism. It was a little odd but he figured there were stranger things to be seen when it came to magic. Of the few disciplines that he knew of things could most certainly be a lot weirder.

“Have a seat.” Aoren gestured to one of the empty stools near one of the worktables. When Shane got himself comfortable whether that be sitting in the seat that Aoren pointed out or choosing to stand it made no difference. The point was getting the young man to relax. It would do neither of them any good if there wasn’t some level of trust considering what Aoren was about to do.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush. So, I’m going to take the time to tell you exactly what you’re getting yourself into.” Taking up a spot a few feet away from Shane he clasped his hands behind his back. For a moment he searched for the right words. It was difficult putting into words something that had been intrinsic to his daily life for so long. There were times when Aoren couldn’t recall properly when he didn’t wield reimancy as he’d practiced the magic for most of his life.

“Reimancy.” As he spoke the word he brought up his hands pulling on his Djed manifesting his Res. It flowed out of the palms of his hands to form a stream of ethereal fluid. With a flick of his thoughts he divided that stream into five sections. Devoting a portion of his thoughts to maintaining control over the Res of each section he wove a hand over them prompting each one to form into a sphere roughly the size of a plumb.

“Reimancy is the magic of the elements. With it a wizard can take of themselves and through an exertion of his will push his Djed into becoming one of the four base elements of the world.” The Res spheres floated whimsically around Aoren’s body in a circular pattern. He plucked one of the spheres out of its orbit nudging it gently with the palm of his hand. It floated above his open palm held in place only by a further exertion of Aoren’s will. The other four spheres continued their journey around Aoren’s body at lazy pace.

“Water.” Aoren was testing himself with this display. It was not often that he portrayed just how extensive his abilities with the magic were but if he was going to initiate Shane he wanted him to know that he was in capable hands. While the sphere of Res floated above the palm of his right hand Aoren wove his left over it. He presently had three thought patterns drifting through his head. The first was to keep the spheres of Res in orbit around his body afloat. The second was to keep the sphere presently in front of him steadily within the palm of his hand. The third was to divide the sphere in front of him into two layers. It obeyed with a little concentration on Aoren’s part. He then flicked his thoughts over the Res in front of him transmuting it to water. The inner layer kept a hold of the water preventing it from simply falling away from the Drykas reimancer. With that done Aoren released the sphere of water to drift along with the other spheres in orbit.

“Air.” Plucking another sphere from around his body as it drifted in front of him he repeated the steps as he’d taken with the water. Dividing the Res into two distinct layers he transmuted the outer layer into Air. The small winds that picked up around the sphere of Res gathered some dust off the floor making the swirling air to gain some visibility. Once that was finished he released it back to its lazy orbit. Plucking a third sphere from the bunch he brought it in front of him to transmute it into the final base element he could wield.

“Fire.” As with the other spheres he divided the layers of Res before igniting the outer one. It burst into azure blue flames before he released it to join the other spheres in their orbit. Aoren made certain not to let the spheres drift too close and thus either set his clothes on fire or get wet. Raising a hand he commanded the three spheres that had been transmuted to drift to that open palm. They made their way to Aoren’s hand with a leisurely ease though he had to concentrate to make them obey his will. The Drykas man now had a few trains of thought dictating the patterns of the magic he was displaying.

The first was to keep the spheres in orbit. The second was to keep the transmuted spheres divided into two distinct layers. While the first two were more subconscious exertions of his will he had to make a conscious effort to keep the inner layers of the spheres magnetic to the elements swirling around them.

This wasn’t an overly strenuous task for a reimancer of Aoren’s skill but it was further than he had pushed himself in a long time. It was unfamiliar to him so he felt as if his mental commands were slow and lethargic. The Res did not obey him as quickly as it would have if he were doing something far simpler.
Raising his left hand the two spheres that he had not transmuted drifted to it where they continued their dance of orbiting around each other. The same could be said of the elements in Aoren’s other hand.

“The final element is of course Earth. I do not command that element yet. You’ll discover along your journey as a reimancer that the various tiers allow for control of a varying number of the elements. Initiates are barely able to exert control over just one element while Adepts comfortably command two of the elements. Savants are capable of wielding three of the base elements and Masters can command all four of them.” Aoren could not conjure Earth as he was not yet at that level of mastery nor did he feel that he was on the verge of obtaining it.

“There are also combined forms of the elements. As you grow in strength and understanding you will be able to form those as well.” Aoren exerted his will over one of the untransmuted spheres. He separated this one into three layers which caused the spheres in his right hand to cease their orbit and merely levitate above his palm. With some focus and steady breathing he wove two of the layers together carefully transmuting them into fire and air respectively. As this happened the sphere began to spark and glow before it emitted a pointed buzz. The sphere burst into bright blue flames before quickly growing erratic as the fire became arcs of lightning. Though no bigger or smaller than before the ball of lightning that burned brightly in his hand looked as if it could drop a fully armored knight to his knees. With that transmutation complete Aoren turned to the other.

He directed the remaining untransmuted sphere to drift over to his other hand isolating the lightning. Once it settled into place near the others he repeated the process of dividing it into three layers weaving together the elements of water and air. The sphere frosted over before becoming a floating ball of ice. Those transmutations complete he only had to focus on keeping the spheres in orbit and maintaining the layers of the orbs.

“The elements are dangerous. They are as alive and vibrant as you are. The limits of what you could potentially work with are only your imagination.” With that Aoren let the sphere of water drift into the sphere of fire extinguishing the flame producing just larger ball of Res as the inner layers collided. He let the winds dissipate causing a small breeze then expanded the inner layer of the ice causing it to crack and fall away. He brought the remaining Res together.

With the lightning he was careful. He willed it to float just a few inches away from himself then transmuted the inner layer causing the sphere to flare before fizzing out as it fell away. Aoren closed his hand over the remaining ball of Res absorbing it back into his body. He closed his eyes as his mind cleared and the different avenues of thought faded bringing him back to a singular focus. Opening his eyes with a soft exhale he met Shane’s gaze.

“Reimancy requires discipline and focus if you are to go anywhere with it.”

NoteWall-O-Text! Haha, I had a ton of fun writing that. It's not often I get to show off Aoren's expertise with Reimancy. Hopefully I didn't overplay it. As for the template, I was rather fond of the one you were using before.

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane was glad to see his teacher seemed to be in a much lighter mood than earlier. Things had gotten rather serious in those last few minutes. He could still remember the solumn resolution on Aoren's face when he had bluntly stated that Shane would teach him Hypnotism. As Shane briefly reflected over the encounter as he took a seat and placed the mirror on the counter he realised that Aoren had quite a lot of potential for Hypnotism. Shane could tell the man was naturally charismatic.

Aoren spoke of not 'beating around the bush' and he certainly didn't. Within moments he had summoned great glops of etheral liquid and had it floating in front of him.Shane was impressed already with how the man seemed able to manipulate the liquid telepathically and that was before the man told him that this wasn't even the tremendous part of his power. Aoren said that this liquid, these globules, could be turned into elements. Elements? Like fire and water, he thought and just as the thought occurred Aoren pulled one of his little spheres down and it turned into a floating ball of water. Shane gasped at the instantaneousness of it. How was he making it still float? Could he still control the water even after it had been transformed?

Shane was wondering then if Aoren was a Novice or if one person only got to be able to control one element. He had seen Aoren use the magic to water the plant already so all he knew of Aoren was his ability to create water from this material that leaked out of his soul. Aoren soon proved he could do more by summoning Air at his own command little bits of dust accumulating his little ball of whirlwind allowig the air to be visible. It also allowed Shane to see that there was still that weird liquid stuff in the center of the ball. Perhaps when you only transmuted a bit of a glob of the soul liquid it stayed attached to the rest of the untransmuted globule?

As Aoren plucked the third ball from orbit andignited it in flame Shane was statrting to believe the young man before him truly was a Master of all elements. Shane had sensed a kind of resolute power about the man but not this. He had thought it the asverage every day kind of power that people confident in themselves radiate and not actual, tangible power. Such power...

It soon became clear that Aoren was not quite as powerful as he had hoped to believe but the man was still powerful. A self-proclaimed Savant. Air, fire and water was at his control and Shane was in no doubt that one day this man would control Earth as well. So one element would be his lot after tonight. Shane silently wondered which element it would be? Did every Reimancer, if that was even a word they called themselves, start with the same element or was it different depending on a few factors or just complete randomness? Shane resolved to ask Aoren after he was finished speaking.

Shane found himself gasping again at the ball of lightning. Lightning! What a powerful force to control! With lightning at your fingertips you could roast Knight's in their armour and fend off even the hardiest of monster. Shane was astonished at the raw power of this magic compared to the others he had come across. Auristics and Hypnotism seemed poor disciplines by comparison but Shane supposed it was their subtlety that gave them strength over Reimancy. You couldn't go around throwing lightning bolts at people without being discovered as a Reimancer.

In the same slow, methodical way the demonstration had begun it ended with Aoren absorbing that magical stuff back into his body. Shane was silent for several moments after the demonstration taking in that final warning and trying to collect his thoughts on the entire thing. His brow furrowed and his mind worked furiously and finally he opened his mouth to enquire. “May I ask a few questions?” If consent was given he would continue “I wonder what is that stuff that you turn into the elements? Are you actually ripping it from your very soul or is it just pure djed? Can it come out of anywhere else on your body or just your hands?” He was silent for a moment. “Which element will I start with?”

Credit to Skerry

[Aoren]

It was easy to tell that Shane had never seen a display the likes of which Aoren had just put on. The astonishment on his face told Aoren everything he needed to know. He recalled being in a similar situation when his mentor had first displayed his abilities. As a reimancer he had surpassed even Leoshan in the scope of his power but he was perhaps still lacking in his depth of understanding. He listened nodding quietly as Shane asked his questions.

“To answer your first question, the substance that I was manipulating is called Res. It is a word from a language that I am not entirely familiar with but it’s meaning is “the thing”.” He folded his arms over his chest thinking for a moment as he formed the answer to the next question. As he spoke he shook his head brushing away the notion of drawing from one’s soul.

“Everything I know about the nature of Reimancy and Djed says that this magic functions independently of your soul. You are pulling directly from your own Djed reserves. By giving of yourself, the energy that would normally be directed to simply helping you function day to day, you are able to conjure it as Res. Of course that pool of energy is not infinite and if you reach too far and too greedily into it you will break yourself. The consequences for reaching too far with reimancy are not very forgiving.” A memory flickered across Aoren’s thoughts. It was a bitter memory that threatened to tear open old wounds he had long since let scar over. Time had dulled the pain that memory brought on but nonetheless it was still painful.

Instead of answering the next question with words he opted to simply show Shane. He took no deeper breath than he normally would, he had long since lost the need for such displays. His arms remained folded over his chest as he tugged on the Djed within his body. He let it pool within his mouth thinning it, tugging at its substance with his mind before exhaling slowly. As he did, gaseous Res began filtering out of his mouth. It wasn’t a large amount. He produced just enough to make his point. Carefully he shaped the gas into a square. He envisioned the depth and dimensions of the square molding the gas to the shape he saw in his mind. When it was completely molded he sectioned off the square into four parts with each square growing smaller stacking inside of each other. He kept his eyes on the squares for a moment making certain they stayed in front of him. He glanced over to Shane.

“Res can be manifested in a number of different ways. It can be a gas. It can be a liquid. It can be a thick gel-like substance that you can rub over the surface of something else. How you manifest your Res is dependent upon what you want to do with it. You can convert the Res into any of the elements you command from any of the forms the Res takes it’s more a matter of preference and function than anything else.” He shrugged his shoulders before pulling the Res back into his body. The gas rippled before becoming a thin stream that flowed back into Aoren through his nose and mouth. To Shane’s final question he shrugged his shoulders.

“I do not know. From what I understand the element that you most resonate with will be the one that you start with. My mentor’s first element was Fire. I began my journey with Air. You might start with one of the elements that I command or you could start with the element that I do not, Earth. There’s simply no way of knowing until you begin to work with your Res and explore the depths of the magic yourself.” He cleared his throat dropping his arms from his chest to clasp them behind his back.

“You should know that the actual initiation requires that I make cuts on the palms of your hands. Through those cuts and through your mouth and nose as well I will pass my Res into your body as a gas. It…” He paused pursing his lips. The seriousness from the day before returned. A shadow passed over his face. It was obvious he still had his reservations about the initiation but Aoren had resolved that whatever he believed it would Shane’s choice as to whether or not he wanted to go through with it.

“It is not a pleasant sensation. You’ll never forget it.” To that end Aoren stepped over to his pack. Reaching inside he withdrew a plain knife, one that was likely normally used for eating. There was nothing ceremonial or ritualistic about this knife but it was obviously sharp enough to do the job. He held it in one hand awaiting any more questions from Shane or perhaps his final decision.

[Shane Wallsly]

“Res.” Shane repeated back to him thoughtfully. He wondered what had come first; the word 'Res' or the word 'Reimancy' due to the similarity in the first two letters. 'Rei' could easily be a plural form of res and mancy was just used to signify manipulation so res manipulation sounded right to him.

Res was independent from your soul. It was djed then but in a more tangible form the djed he used for Auristics and Hypnotism... He began to wonder if he would ever mix up his magic and start performing one when he meant the other. They all seemed to borrow from this same pool. It didn't seem too much of a stretch to him that he could accidentally summon his djed in the wrong way.

Shane liked the way Aoren explained it. Djed was energy and just like energy if you use too much of it you will exhaust yourself. Shane had already heard of and read about some of the most disastrous consequences of Overgiving. It seemed to Shane that using such a blatant magic would also have more blatant dangers than his previous experiences with Auristics and Hypnotism which had landed him with a mild headache at the very most.

His train of thought was caught in it's tracks as Aoren summoned his 'res' again. This time he summoned it from his mouth and it was more like breath or gas than liquid. He began to shape it and generally show off. Shane smiled. He was sure somewhere deep inside Aoren was enjoying this. Res itself seemed to make a really good parlour trick never mind the fact you could turn it into fire or ice or lightning...

“Random, huh?” Shane said musingly. It was more to himself than Aoren but the man would surely hear it. He furrowed his brow in thought of that. He wondered... What would his element say about him? Would he get Fire? Sometimes his drive and passion were as all-consuming as flames. Would he get Water? A dynamic element, he supposed, ever flowing and changing. Shane had done a lot of changing in his time. Would he get Air? Such a freeing element... The applications of it were so much more numerous than he could think of the other elements. You could use it to evade, dodge, repel etc. etc. Shane had learnt to be versatile in his lies. Shane had learned to be creative in his Hypnotism. He had learned that the best situation was a situation that you could easily get out of. It could be such a subtler element than the others too and Shane felt he was nothing but subtle sometimes. The last element, the one Aoren had not mastered, was Earth. Hard, strong, unyielding. Shane felt like he had nothing in common with this element. It was an element for those who never backed down in their beliefs. Who fought hard each and every day. Resolute was maybe the best word for it.

“Unpleasant?” Shane had never felt unpleasant before; in regards to initiations anyway. It had always been quite meditation for him. This one required cutting and forcing. Shane blanched. If this man was saying it was going to be unpleasant then Shane believed him. He didn't look like a joking man; well not at this instant anyway. As if to prove this he produced a knife from his bag. Shane realised then, for the first time, that the man's arms were covered in something. How had he missed that before? They looked almost familiar. Maybe Shane had saw something like that in Avira's company.

Shane blanched at the sight of the knife. Did he trust this man enough to let him cut him? To let him invade him with magic that he knew the man could turn into lightning at any moment. What if he was some sort of sick freak who just wanted to see what would happen if he ignited his Reimancy within another person. Shane shook his head. Not at Aoren but at his self. He was marked by Avalis. There is just no way that he was evil. Shane had to admit that most marks were very useful in deigning what features a man's personality would possess if you knew enough about the man and, anyhow, Shane hadn't even taught him Hypnotism yet. If he wanted to kill him he would have learned what he wanted first, surely.

Shane stood and put his hands out in front of him. “I'm ready, Aoren.”

Credit to Skerry

[Aoren]

Aoren studied Shane for a moment. He could see it in the young man’s face that he had mentally prepared himself for what he was about to endure. While he might have mentally prepared himself he was not physically ready. Not yet. Aoren set the knife on a nearby counter. He grabbed the ceramic bowl carrying water, his brush and the jar of black paint. Coming over to where Shane was sitting he pulled up a stool taking his seat on the opposite side of the dark haired young man. Without much preamble he set his utensils down then reached out gently grasping Shane’s wrist. Spreading his fingers with the gentle prodding of his thumb he picked up his brush, dipped it in the paint and then set the tip to the skin of Shane’s palm.

“I’m glad to see that you are. There is still one more thing that I need to do.” With a steady hand and obvious patience Aoren set to work on detailing the outline of a Focus Glyph on the center of Shane’s palm.

“What I am drawing is called a Glyph. It is a form of World Magic. It was first taught to me by the very man who performed my initiation into Reimancy.” He dipped the brush into a little more of the paint. Aoren’s motions were smooth. His grip on Shane’s wrist was light. The young man could have easily broken free if he so desired and Aoren wouldn’t have stopped him. As he moved between painting the Glyph and speaking he occasionally glanced up to meet Shane’s eye.

“Shapes, runes, patterns, all of these things have a purpose and if used properly they can alter the course of Djed. Through Glyphing, you can augment and enhance your magic. What I am doing is working to focus the magic I will be channeling into you.” Aoren hadn’t really attempted to draw Glyphs on another person before but he gathered the principle was the same. He was still only affecting the course of his own magic so it was merely a matter of focusing it, directing its purpose. Diligently he finished the Focus Glyph on Shane’s palm before gently rotating his wrist. Aoren rinsed off his brush squeezing out the excess water before wetting it with paint once more. He continued his work of drawing Glyphs upon Shane’s skin by constructing a path along his forearm. Like the runes detailed along Aoren’s forearms they were a Path by which the magic could more easily flow into Shane.

Aoren hoped that by means of this method he could reduce the amount of trauma it caused Shane. He couldn’t be certain it would work. Leoshan hadn’t done this for him as he’d only had the most rudimentary understanding of Glyphing.

“My hope is that by providing the Res I am going to funnel into you, a direct path to follow it will be less of a traumatic experience for you. I can’t be certain though.” Aoren was very methodical. He took his time keeping hold of Shane’s arm gently, even prompting him to allow him to carry the weight if it made the young man more comfortable.

When he had finished with one of Shane’s arms he moved on to the other outlining then filling in both the runes of the Focus and then the Path. When he was finished he released Shane’s arm rising from his stool. Aoren rolled his neck shrugging his shoulders to ease the tension. He then strode to the counter where he’d left the knife picking it up. Taking up a spot in a less crowded part of the lab where chairs, tables and other objects that could cause potential injury were out of the way he motioned for Shane to come over.

“It would be best if you weren’t sitting on a stool or around something that could hurt you.” When Shane was in front of him he would motion for the young man to kneel.

“I’m going to make two swift cuts at the center of your palms. I am then going to pass my Res into your body. Try not to lock up. It will only make it worse.” Reaching forward he took hold of Shane’s wrist. His grip wasn’t hard, Shane could easily wrench his hand away if he chose but Aoren was firm so as to keep the young man’s hand steady. Bringing up the knife he looked Shane in the eye before touching the tip to the center of his palm adding pressure to cut open the flesh. He made a quick small slice in opposing direction creating an “X” at the center of Shane’s palm. Releasing his hand he would perform the same maneuver on his other palm.

Inflicting those injuries didn’t sit well with Aoren. He avoided causing intentional harm but there was no getting around the fact that this was necessary for reimancy initiation as he understood it. It was how it was done to him and though he no longer bore the scars of it he could still remember clearly what transpired. The opalescent Gnosis mark on the right side of his face compelled him to mend, to comfort, to heal. He would give into those prompts just as soon as the initiation was complete. Taking a deep breath he eased the thoughts of his mind. He focused on the task at hand. He felt for the depths of his Djed. He could feel the magic coursing through him and as he felt it he brought up a hand before his face watching as Res began to accumulate in his palm.

Aoren thinned it. He spread it loose causing it to grow wispy and gaseous. Looking Shane in the eyes he nodded.

“Brace yourself.” That was the only warning he gave. There was no sense in prolonging this. With a focused exertion of his will he produced a larger amount of gaseous Res. Flicking his wrist he plunged a portion of that Res into the incisions made on Shane’s hands. The other portion he caught with his free hand then quickly thrust it forward so that it invaded Shane’s nose and mouth.

Aoren had no way of knowing how Shane’s body would react. As his Res flowed into Shane’s body Aoren kept a tight mental grip on it. He focused his attention on slowly making his way into the recesses of Shane’s body. When the last of the Res that he had conjured flowed into the openings he’d directed them at…now he just had to wait. Aoren had to wait and concentrate on making sure that the Res did not transmute while inside the young man as that would prove fatal.

He could feel the Glyphs on his hands and arms aiding in this focused mindset. Aoren wondered how long that would last.