Arts of the Arcane II

[Kynier]

Timestamp: 10th of Summer 518

It was a strange sensation, one that he hadn’t felt before. A second consecutive day of not needing to do anything, except for whatever he wanted. Unlike the years past Kynier wasn’t stressed financially. Thusly he was required to roam the streets looking for work. Though he could tell that something big was going on. Territories were changing as well as the appearance of that strange ship at the docks of Baroque Bay. Kynier half expected to be performing tasks well into the night for Doler. Instead the crazed wizard hadn’t answered him when he stopped by the Majestic. Whenever old “bashful” came out of his solitary phase, Kynier was sure he wouldn’t be allotted much free time.

So he was making the most of it to increase his skills. Mainly the ones that couldn’t be so openly practiced. Kynier was sitting at his table with a pen in one hand, and ink on the other. He was applying a glyph directly onto his flesh. Bourin once commented that this was a common practice among novice mages. Depending on what they glyphed their magic had a tendency to work better. On his palm he was marking a variation of Vasat. The intention was for his reimancy to be more efficient, or at least more potent. In theory the glyph would focus the res making it delay the effects of overgiving. Frankly, there were many hopes to what it could do. One of his more prominent hopes was that the djed channels wouldn’t cause a malfunction and burn his hand.

After he was done making the rune he set down his hand to dry. Kynier had to concentrate on keeping his hand open. Otherwise the ink would smear before drying and be useless. As it dried he considered what he could experiment on next. That was an attractive and intimidating feature of glyphing. It had seemingly infinite possibilities for every form of magic. He had some thoughts regarding voiding as well as auristics. His endurance with djed left something to be desired, making reimancy something he had to plan carefully due to limited uses before exhaustion or overgiving took him.

Ten chimes passed before Kynier dared to move his hand. The dried ink caused his hand to itch and it was difficult to resist the urge to do so. He stood up and moved over to the wash basin. A full bucket of water was already sitting nearby. Holding out his hand Kynier stilled his mind to draw upon his Djed. Still unfamiliar with where it lay inside him, Kynier spent nearly a chime just conjuring his res. When it came it was gaseous. Kynier could see that it looked more condensed in the air above his palm. Black ink gained a red tint as the gas swirled. Ignite. Ignite. Ignite.

The glyph flashed a yellow light and the gas turned to flame. It was smaller than usual but felt hotter. Also it projected more light across the room. Shadows danced across the floor as the flame burned brightly. It was a short lived fire that went out with a gentle puff. The glyph was gone from his palm leaving a dark faint residue. Tracing a finger over it the residue smeared across his skin. It was viscous. More liquid than res but thicker than ink. Kynier lifted the bucket of water with his clean hand and carefully poured water onto the other. After a chime his hand felt clean and he shook it dry.

“At least I can get reimancy to work with glyphing on a very basic level.” Kynier paused and flexed his hands and fingers. There was no tension or spasms. His mind felt clear and no headache was forming. Kynier smiled inwardly. With glyphing he was able to perform at least one reimancy spell without repercussions. That was something worth noting.



Word Count: 644

[Kynier]

Once his hand was dry he returned to the table to work. Separating a sheet of parchment from the rest Kynier grasped his pen and stared at the blank sheet. What should he do? Though he had just accomplished something with reimancy he wanted to work on something else. That way he would be appropriately pacing himself. With that in mind, his options were shielding, voiding, or auristics. Yesterday he experimented with shielding. He tapped his chin lightly as he tried to make a decision.

“Work on the Voiding. Its practical applications are quite limited at your level. See how you can alter it.”

That made sense. Auristics he could secretly do while on the street, so long as his staring went unnoticed. Kynier took a chime to recall what word in the ancient tongue would work best for him. Many of the words were open for interpretation, and most had no direct correlation to voiding. Eventually he settled on one and began to trace it out on the parchment. Roza, was comprised of jagged edges to portray violence. Kynier considered if the destructive nature would relate enough to the spell. As he drew it he became less convinced that it would. Even if it didn’t he still finished drawing it out. Kynier made his ribbon-like barrier around the edges of the rune. Leaving the corners barren of a trigger word, it was an unfinished scroll. Kynier could use it for something later, when the motivation struck.

Setting it aside he took a new parchment. Without much thought he went with his second initial choice for a voiding glyph. Ruwe. While meaning “under” or “below” it could be interpreted as buried. A concept that voiding was usually used for. Burying a secret so no one could recover it. Seemed as good of an idea as any. Ruwe was one of the few glyphs that Kynier found really interesting, in the sense that he had a third dimensional aspect to its layout. Its counterpart, Ala, had a similar design to portray depth.

Once the barrier was in place Kynier pondered upon the trigger phrase. No simple yet eloquent ideas came to mind, causing his mind to really exercise his imagination. Cauthog. Kynier could admit it was strange, but that would only help to avoid unintentional activation. Though he was forced to design a new rune for the strange annunciation. It took perhaps half a bell overall to complete the sigil form start to finish.

As the ink settled Kynier got up and started moving things around the room. All small items he relocated upstairs and he cleared a large space in the main room. Should something go wrong he didn’t want to lose anything to the void, like himself. When he was satisfied with the large empty space Kynier set the scroll in the middle of it. Kynier raised his hands before him and began his meditation. Once he found the djed within he began the incantation. Words and power flowed between his lips as his concentration lay on the focus of the scroll. The barrier hummed and emitted dark light as Ruwe seemed to churn on the parchment. The sensation of uttering the power sent shivers down his spine and he continued the incantation. He couldn’t say for sure, but it felt as though the whole room began to rattle in terror of his ability. Kynier’s voice grew louder and louder until he nearly screamed out each word.

Never before had the use of djed felt this good! There was no pain or paranoia. For once he didn’t fear the city discovering the truth to what he was. They should be the ones living in fear of him!

Kynier felt blood flow down his chin from his lips which made his pause in his incantation. Once the words stopped flowing from his tongue the dark light of the barrier ceased and the parchment cracked. It didn’t rip, it cracked with a loud snap. Ruwe was churning and swirling quickly on the parchment as it widened beyond the limits of its medium. A portal larger than any Kynier had seen Bourin make formed in on the floor. The hollow yawn of a vacuum rang through his home, shaking it in place. Kynier’s body trembled in horror as he watched it unfold. Then it happened. A pull to the void activated, sucking the very air into it. The wind of a hurricane blew at his back, unbalancing him towards the void.



Word Count: 749 Total Count: 1,393

[Kynier]

He involuntarily lurched forward as the pull affected his center of gravity. Kynier took a set and pivoted away but felt his feet sliding on the floor. Panic over came him and he just dove to the ground to make himself as flat as possible. One the ground he tried to crawl away and latch himself to the cupboard resting at the edge of the room. That was when he realized there was blood running down his fingers. No visible cuts lay on the surface of his skin yet still they bled. As the void dragged him towards it red streaks resembling his hands coated the floor.

His heart was pounding loudly in his head. Frantically Kynier clawed at the ground to find some sort of purchase to no avail. He didn’t dare to look at how close he was coming to the gaping maw of oblivion but he felt it drawing near. Its omnivorous appetite cried for sustenance. Summer’s warmth had left the air bringing a chill to his body. His home rattled loudly, seemingly ready to collapse on itself at any moment. There was a loud crash as his bookshelf fell forward.

When the seams of his leggings flapped faster against his legs, he knew he was nearing an embarrassing demise. Kynier unsheathed his short sword with a reverse hammer grip and stabbed the floor. As the tip submerged itself he felt his feet lose contact with the ground. He didn’t believe his heart could beat any faster, he was quite mistaken. Survival rested on his ability to hold onto the short sword. With both hands he took a death grip on the hilt at that was angled away from him. With a desperate heave Kynier pulled himself up and bent his legs. He heard the sound of something scrapping across the floor. Daring a peek, the chair at the table was skittering across towards the void. It can have it. So long as it doesn’t have me!

The chair disappeared into the maw. It would close on its own but he couldn’t say how long that would take. Fingers aching as he gripped his blade and tried to pull himself further away. A fresh determination sprouted within. This is not how it’s going to end! I refuse to be killed by my own spell! Pushing himself past his short sword he reached out with his other hand to claw at the floor. White knuckled fingers dug for purchase. With a hard yank on the hilt he pulled the sword out and used the motion to quickly set a new anchor point ahead of him.

Before he realized it, the pull was lessening and the portal shrank. It wasn’t until it completely closed and the air stilled that he even noticed the magic was fading. Arms burning and body shaking, Kynier rolled onto his back. How long he lay there with labored breath he didn’t know. All that mattered was that he survived. After a chime he held his hands out before him. Thin coats of blood were smeared across his trembling fingers. Licking his lips he tasted the metallic taste of blood.

“Next time, l should try to not overgive on a voiding scroll.” He muttered between breaths.

Kynier put his mind to work while his body recovered. Ruwe seemed like the proper rune for voiding, if perhaps a bit too effective. But the curiosity was the barrier. It should’ve broke before the spell had gone out of control. He speculated that he would need to design a new one. His ribbon pattern had held well for reimancy and shielding, but voiding needed more fortification. Mentally he thought of a few patterns he could try. With a bloody finger he traced one in the air. He should stick with something circular, fewer weak points in design for djed to slip through.



Word Count: 644 Total Count: 2,037

[Kynier]

Kynier didn’t get up until his pulse had settled. By then his hands turned numb and the blood was nearly dry. Despite enjoying the peace of appreciating life on the ground, he stood. Wobbly legs begrudgingly supported his weight as he assessed his home. The empty bookshelf had fallen over and slid several feet towards the site of the incident. The table had shifted and the chair was gone. There was still a spare upstairs that he could bring down. Crimson smears on the floor highlighted his position as the situation had unfolded. Two punctures rested an arm span apart.

But he was alive.

A break was in order, he felt. Though it didn’t really feel like one. Kynier lifted the bookshelf back to its upright position before shuffling it back against the wall. Going upstairs to retrieve the second chair revealed that all the loose parchment and small items had moved. The closed vials of ink were still intact thankfully. But the bucket of water had tipped over, spilling its contents down the stairs. Kynier picked up each of them in turn to weigh them in his hand. He took the lightest one in his pocket and cleaned up the scattered parchments. After that he lifted the chair and returned down stairs. For the half bell he cleaned up the spilt water and refilled the bucket. When that was done he got out some food and sat down to eat.

As he ate he considered the commotion that the portal would’ve caused. The Slums were reasonably peaceful. Most likely people would just give him curious looks until it had passed from their minds. Should he ever accrue the funds a secluded training area would be beneficial. Something to consider in small steps.

It wasn’t a proper meal, a handful of chestnuts and two apples, but he felt better afterwards. Depending on how he felt he might have supper at No Man’s Land. It had been a while since he checked in. For right now he washed the blood off his hands and face. The water stung in many places. Micro fissures from voiding. Internally he didn’t feel unusual. Not often did he feel lucky, but in this case he did.

Kynier sat back down and dipped his pen in the ink. Instead of making a focus he started with a barrier. It was a series of miniature variants of Randjaq for confinement. Carefully he drew them out in a way that made one unbroken chain in a circular shape. It was a mixed blessing in a way. Kynier discovered a weakness in his sigil design, one that would have caused numerous problems in the future in small degrees. With this incident though he was going to take it much more seriously than if a few scrolls simply disintegrated harmlessly.

The meticulous design required significantly more time to formulate. Half a bell or so. As the ink dried he examined it. Already he was thinking of how to expedite the process so a single scroll wouldn’t take so long. If his designed worked he could alter the size of the runes so it took fewer of them to form the chain barrier. But he was pleased with its outcome. Then he stared at the empty space in the middle of the parchment. What should I try now?



Word Count: 557 Total Count: 2,594

[Kynier]

There was one thing that he wanted to try, something worth testing the new barrier design on. In the center Kynier drew Vaknui. There was a form of reimancy that he hadn’t attempted before regarding his first element. The ability to draw upon other sources of fire. Bourin had demonstrated it with each element and had explained it thoroughly. That was years ago, and Kynier’s memory clung to a lecture regarding practices he was incapable of at the time. Maybe still incapable of now.

Kynier found himself missing the old eypharian. The knowledge he possessed would’ve been helpful, but also the calm temperament that he had. Not once could he think of a time that the old wizard had been angry. Disappointed, certainly, but never ill-tempered. Bourin never spoke of his past. Kynier always wondered why.

The glyph was Vaknui, no alteration performed. Thinking that if the layout of the scroll was as straight forward as possible it would accommodate a less than basic spell. Kynier assigned the trigger, Orsbab. Testing it on his tongue a few times, it was a bit peculiar to say. Kynier repeated it in his mind as he drew the trigger rune. Setting down his pen he began to meditate. Once he felt a mental, physical, and emotional calm he allowed himself to linger there for a while. The last remnants of fear dissipated, the aches of casting subsided, and the distractions of an active mind were silence. All he thought of was his breathing.

Strangely, he became aware of his djed without seeking it out. Like a lost key you search for all day then find as soon as it’s out of your mind. Willing it to the surface as a liquid Kynier placed his hand over the sigil. As his res dripped onto the scroll he concentrated on combustible attraction. He did not notice the faint orange glow of Vaknui through closed eyes. As soon as his breathing began to fluctuate Kynier ceased his meditation to draw upon his res. How much he had imbued into the scroll he couldn’t say. The djed had been cut off before signs of overgiving was started. So there probably wasn’t much. But that was perfectly fine.

Lifting the scroll gently he set in the wash basin. With the bucket of water at his feet Kynier started to call upon the fire of his reimancy. It took a long time, sensing the djed and conjuring it into a res. As soon as the gas formed between his hands he could already taste copper on his tongue. Kynier wanted to believe that was from a remnant of blood, but thought it would be best to err on the side of caution. As soon as he tasted it he started to mentally chant, Ignite. Ignite.

The little cloud in front of him erupted into fire. Immediately Kynier proclaimed his trigger on the scroll. The rune of Vaknui emanated a faint orange glow. The dull red flame between his hands shifted without his will towards the scroll. But the parchment caught ablaze. Kynier watched as the barrier turned white, preventing the fire from spreading. Kynier arched an eyebrow. That was unexpected. It didn’t last long. The barrier snapped and the rest of the parchment quickly. Lifting the bucket was more effort than he expected. The amount of djed he had harnessed was very physically taxing. He gently poured water on the fire, diluting it until it went out. Draining the water from the basin, Kynier set to bucket down with a sigh. There were still two more blank pieces of parchment to be used, but rest felt more important than experimentation at this point.



Word Count: 614 Total Count: 3,208

[Paaie]

G R A D E

XP

Drawing +3
Reimancy +2
Glyphing +4
Cleaning +2
Voiding +1
Weapon: Short-sword +1
Endurance +1
Meditation +1
Observation +2

LORES

Glyphing: Novices commonly apply glyphs to their skin
Drawing: Symbols of the ancient tongue
Ancient Tongue: Vasat ; battle, fight, conflict, attack
Ancient Tongue: Roza ; death, end, termination, interruption
Ancient Tongue: Ruwe; down, below, under, move downwards, buried
Ancient Tongue: Randjaq; confinement
Ancient Tongue: Vaknui; orange, warm, heat, fire
Ancient Tongue: One word may have various meanings
Glyphing: Poses infinite possibilities
Glyphs dampen over-giving effects
Glyphing: Presents unpredictable and dangerous results
Short-sword: Reverse hammer grip
Voiding: A dangerous magic!
Voids close on their own, eventually
Kynier: Refuses to be killed by his own spells
Overgiving Effect: Metallic taste in the mouth
Planning: A better, more secluded place for magic training
Glyphing: Recognizing a volatile sigil
Bourin: Never spoke of his past
Bourin: Never ill-tempered
Meditation: Focusing on breath

PENALTIES

- 1 chair
- a third of the 6 days' rations
- 6SM for 3 rolls of parchment which were used
- 1GM for ink vial which needs to be added to your possessions
- 5CM for quill or 1SM for paintbrush which needs to be added to your possessions

Overgiving: Kynier will suffer from fatigue for 3 days with rest while refraining from magic use, using magic during this time will prolong the fatigue for a further 2 days.

NOTES

A thoroughly enjoyable & unpredictable thread, just be careful to play to Kynier's skills - that was a lot of magic use in one day for a novice, otherwise, fantastic. Kynier's near miss with the void make me chuckle~

If you feel I missed anything, don't hesitate to get in touch via PM.