Closed [Temple Of the Unknown] More Questions And Answers

[Kelski]

Kelski was glad for Farris’ advice. One things the shadows lacked was a human perspective that made a lot of difference when taking instruction or information from them. Sometimes it didn’t translate well and people got hurt. She was still smarting from her own mistake when she caught the tone in Farris’ voice about needing a moment.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him abruptly, not sure why he looked pained. He rubbed his nose and eyes and seemed to gather himself as if he were unwell but unwilling to break off what they were doing. The man looked like he cared more about the pursuit of knowledge than he in fact cared about the safety of his own wellbeing. She’d noted the glimmer in his eyes, the magic he’d used possibly looking around, looking at the massive old shield or even maybe spying her shadowy companions in a way Kelski couldn’t see them. Did he realize he was hurting himself?

Kelski studied him impassively, worried suddenly that magic somehow brought a detachment like Farris showed. She knew magic was dangerous and more often than not mages killed themselves before anyone in Sunberth had to hunt them down and kill them. Her experience of moments ago proved that much to her because she knew she could have accidently hurt herself badly had things not gone as they had. Nosebleeds aside, Farris looked in terrible shape. He had a pallor and sallowness to his skintone that couldn’t be covered up by mere excuses.

“You look unwell… your coloring is sallow and you seem ill.” Kelski said, studying him thoughtfully. Did this happen to Kynier as well? Her thoughts raced on as she waited for him to answer. No one had ever explained the concept of overgiving to her so Kelski had no idea what she was looking at.

But Farris talked about djed manipulation and Kelski took it to heart. The problem was, there was no actual guidance. Farris was the type that seemed to comment after doings, not give clear concise instructions before one went and expelled the djed in their body then retracted it causing damage. She had no ideas of how much she could hold or how much there was inside of her.. and this was the first she’d heard of finesse.

“Beware the humans, little eagle. They are never good teachers.. not like we are. They would rather let someone learn on their own and they will get jealous if you display more aptitude and power than they have.” Savatar warned, though several shadows agreed. A few sited examples that had Kelski’s head rotating everywhere to try and follow the commentary. The problem was, shadows knew about magic because they watched mages, but they weren’t mages themselves. So anything they said was from observation not first hand action. Farris had far more valuable information from his experiences, or so that’s how Kelski saw it.

She glanced down at her latest brick. Farris said he could see the shields. And Kelski had watched Kynier cast a shield at least once, if not more, and he’d always watched what he was doing rather than actually went by ‘feel’. The book Kelski had in her home on Auristics was clear what she could do. But she’d never done it simply because of the fact she’d never known what djed was. The book had just assumed that a reader would know. It had described pooling djed in one’s eyes and focusing that energy on one’s sight. Kelski hadn’t understood what that meant until she’d accidentally unleashed the flood of power that was within her. Now that she was aware of it, the concept made complete sense because she could feel it and seemingly control it, if at least awkwardly.

She could feel the pool of power within her… it flowed through her like the blood in her veins did. And she was starting to equate that pool with the feats of wonder she’d seen both Farris and Kynier do… so magic. So djed was the fuel of all magic. Why had neither one of them came out and said that plainly? Farris was here to investigate this with her but these mages were driving her crazy. Their secretive nature was completely over the top in regards to dangerous. It was more dangerous withholding information than it was passing it forward.

So Kelski again experimented, but this time she wanted to see as Farris saw and she tugged a little, just a little, at the pool of power within her and visualized it moving upwards and gently… ever so gently … pooling into her eyes. The Sea Eagle felt stupid and silly about it, like she was playing pretend with Ember with the doll the little girl liked to cuddle. It wasn’t something she was good at. Her visuliaztions were excellent however when it came to jewelcrafting. She could simply decide what she was going to do and see it in her mind. So she ‘saw’ gentle amounts…. How much was gentle?... of djed moving towards her eyes, coating them, powering them and she closed them briefly to let the event happen.

When she felt ready, she carefully opened her eyes, looking only at the brick in her hand. There was a shimmering sheen over it now, not perfect, but whispy and thin and delicate. She rather liked it until her eyes roamed up and she caught sight of the gleaming monstrosity that stretched across the doorway. It was like a tangible thing she couldn’t believe she couldn’t see without doing this. It writhed and flexed within the archway of the passage, waiting for something to come along to catch in its midst. Kelski swallowed, studying its flawlessness a moment, before she turned her head stared at Farris.

He had an aura.

Kelski blinked in surprise. An aura? Auristics. It made more sense now. The mage practically glowed with it. And it didn’t look good at the moment. It was a washed out color of sickness especially around his face. There were healthy tendrils further away that brimmed with color. However, she could tell just by looking at him that he was sick. She glanced at her own hands, noting then that she too had an aura where her digits wrapped around the brick. It was like a shimmer of dark rainbow with black tendrils floating out of it. Did that mean she was evil? Bad…? No… Akajia touched. She recognized it as soon as she saw it and saw the tendrils of shadows partially woven around her.

It was such a brilliant discovery. She wanted to see everything with djed in her eyes, and most especially her gemstones both the rough and already faceted ones she’d left laying on her workbench. Kelski looked back and Farris and watched him sink down on his knees… but she saw too the shield that he was trying to make around himself.

“He’s doing it wrong…” The shadow whispered as Kelski tossed her brick aside and rose, the captured concencentrated djed in her eyes falling away. Savatar said, gesturing at the mage. Kelski spoke up as Farris continued.

“They say you can’t just WILL what you want the shield to do, Farris…. you can’t. You have to add to the shield what you want it to block. Its part of its tasking. And its harder, for more powerful mages than you are. They don’t know what you need to add… not really… for certain things. But they say you are hurting yourself, trying these things over and over again.” Kelski said, approaching him and squatting down next to him.

“What’s wrong?” She said, genuinely concerned. Farris looked horrible and while she still had a bit of a trickle of a nose bleed, there was nothing here that hurt her like he seemed to be hurting himself. “Maybe we’ve done enough for today.” She mused, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Count: 1320

[Farris]

To Farris, Shielding seemed to work on entirely different principles when compared to the personal magicks he understood. They relied solely on the self, turning inward and conquering one's trepidation in order to advance and capture the power to be obtained. More and more the mage realized his path with djed was one paved in his own blood, painted by the brush of his ambitions.

He'd told Kelski of this before, that a mage was more likely to die by their own hand than anyone else's. Farris did not lash out with magic with the intent to harm or destroy others. He did not advance his practice for the sake of conquest and death. But, rather, he sought it to fill the void that absence left in his beating heart. The magicks Farris understood were owed to Aster and the crater left in his soul by loss was one that might never be filled.

Farris listened to Kelski despite the fact that he was thrown on the floor like a rag. He struggled to raise his head and couldn't meet Kelski's eyes when she asked him what ailed him. For the mage, what was transpiring was nothing new. He'd had it far worse with Reimancy when he'd begun to learn it. Days spent in the confines of his room after dangerous lessons with a powerful tool. This, comparatively, was nothing to him. When Kelski mentioned it being enough for the day, he found rage asunder in the depths of his soul. The rage was not directed at her, but at himself for requiring the pity of a woman who didn't even know what was happening to him.

The mage pushed off from the ground and lost his balance in doing so. He rose to his feet with a great struggle as his hands raised to brush along his temples. Indeed, his skin took a pasty coloration to it. He was sweating, his skin was damp to the touch and his eyes painted red with the irritation that ran amok within them. He despised the notion of being the cause to leave this place. When Kelski grabbed at his shoulder and offered that they leave he shook his head. Slowly, the mage rose to his feet. Hands moved to brush the sweat-drenched hair from his eyes as he looked to his surroundings. Farris brushed off her words, his legs nearly bending with the need to support his own weight but he did not relent.

"No..." he began before falling to his knees again. Rather than attempt to fight the fatigue, he sat down on the floor. A bitter laugh escaped the Reimancer's lips. The laughter turned manic in nature for a moment, his back to the ground as he erupted in it. The euphoria from his casting had long faded away and he was left with the withdrawals of it. His laughter was self-deprecating in nature as he came to terms with just how foolish he truly was. He lectured Kelski on the dangers of overexerting one's djed and yet he completely exhausted himself in the efforts to understand a new discipline. Eagerness set so completely over his senses and the Shields that existed on his forearms were proof that the knowledge to proceed was within him.

Was it so bad, to be satisfied at that? The mage knew that it was not, but he wasn't the sort to merely roll over and accept his powerlessness at face value. With difficulty, the wizard crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Deep breaths pulled air into his lungs before he expelled it in a similar fashion. He sought to focus his mind as he mused upon what Kelski told him. The Kelvic was an invaluable asset, astute and wise beyond her years. But, she needed guidance, tutelage that the mage wasn't sure he could properly give her, but guidance nonetheless. The shadows spoke from a third person perspective unless he was very much in the wrong. They did not manipulate magic themselves and did not understand what it was and how it felt.

With his legs very much incapable of taking him out of the Temple of the Unknown regardless, he decided to let his brain do what it did best: compile information. He sorted through the many lessons the shadows taught Kelski. They mentioned the tasking of djed against djed, which seemed simple enough to understand. They mentioned the tasking of djed against physical objects and that one needed a representation of the object to be tasked against in order to be successful. He offered Kelski a weak smile as he added, "This is nothing to what I've known in overgiving. Fatigue, blurred eyesight, an inability to move. Perhaps to you they might seem a steep punishment but it's the nature of defying the natural order. Magic is such defiance, whether your shadows tell you that or not. The pursuit of it comes at the price of your soul and its logic knows no bounds. You said there were no rules before, but there are rules to it. There are laws that simply cannot be broken. Not because it is impossible to do so, but because such laws weigh against the wielder's life. You saw what overgiving does, but you might not know what it is. Sit with me, if you'd like, but I won't be leaving until I understand this fully."

The mage reached into his rucksack again and produced his waterskin. It was nearly empty with his gluttonous partaking from earlier, but within it there still remained a measure of liquid. He placed it to his lips as he looked to the Shields that persisted at his forearms. An idea occured to the mage. Once satisfied that only drops lingered in the waterskin, he poured them into his hand. He'd let the droplets pour onto his shield as he sought to bend Shielding to his will once again. He did not seek to embolden his shields to encompass more of his body. Rather, he sought to correct his mistake of before and see if he could properly task it. He focused on the water that lingered on top of his skin, infused it into the shield and demanded of it. Prevent this from entry, he spoke into his thoughts. He'd watch as the droplets on his skin were raised and infused into the material. The coarse shields on his skin seemed to breathe before he looked to Kelski expectantly.

"I... sort of ran out of water. Can you help me test this?" he'd ask the Kelvic. He was far too exhausted to speak with any sort of eloquence. Soon, he'd heed her suggestion for them to leave. But first, he needed to ensure that he properly understood what was needed to continue. After all, without Kelski, there was no 'Savatar' to ask for help from later.

WC: 1148

[Kelski]

In truth, Kelski had never witnessed anything like Farris and his actions. She stood beside him and watched him seemingly hurt himself over and over just for the sake of knowledge. She equated it to drunks she’d known, Darvin being one of them, that partook of alcohol that had made him a snarling dog. He didn’t seem to be able to stop taking it either, over and over again, until even huge amounts had little effect on him. Farris acted just like that. And even though Darvin had given her drug after drug after drug to test on her body, Kelski hadn’t ever once had a craving for more after he’d gotten done with her. In fact, she tended to look down on people that Darvin had given such things to in exchange for coin. They were most likely toxic and detrimental to their health. And it certainly took a physical toll on their bodies.


Farris was no better. The Nightstalker took a step back and sank onto a broken stone pillar to rest, watching the mage in quiet horror. No expression showed on her face but it was as if ever addict in the Sun’s Birth she’d ever known paraded through her awareness and she equated them with and linked Farris to them. It was self-destruction in the extreme and though he wouldn’t see it, she watched and witnessed the situation with utter horror. Blank faced, Kelski turned to Savatar and asked carefully in Makath. “He does not look well. I do not trust humans and this is one of the reasons why. They are so prone to such things. I thought he would give good advice and insight, where as the mage I dwell with tends to keep his knowledge close to him. But I’ve never seen that mage act as this one is…. and its frightening me.” The Kelvic admitted to the shadow.

It drew closer and seemed to wrap around her, offering comfort as even more of its kind stretched towards her. Kelski called the djed to her eyes again, only a hair thin trickle and carefully looked over the shadows. Nothing happened and she realized she was trying to hard to fast, and relaxed. Slowly, ever so slowly, she coaxed more and more djed into her gaze until she tried again almost a full ten chimes later. The auristics worked because Farris’ aura flared into being and she could see what he was doing with his hands. But the shadows remained shadows and that caused her to smile. Some things should remain a mystery, regardless of how much power one had.

Farris’ aura flashed red like rage though as he struggled to his feet. Kelski did not offer to help him. Instead she just retreated to her pillar and perched like one of the shadows surrounding her observing him carefully. She noted his pallor and watched how his aura acted with his physical affliction, memorizing the signs of a mage using too much magic. The mage’s eyes matched his aura as the whites went red and the skin around them puffy. She didn’t like his laughter and reached up to run her hands up and down the long braid her hair was captured in.

“Will he harm you Nightstalker?” Savatar asked. Kelski shook her head.

“I don’t think so. Well, maybe, though I am not certain. I’ve never seen a human like this that wasn’t drunk or high on drugs. Its frightening to think some of them have access to even more vices than those two things.” She added, glancing at the shadow.

“Indeed. Times long gone from here there were even more things humans took part in. The humans that dwell above are ignorant of what dwells around and beneath them. Before the sundering of the world, humans would get a gleam in their eye for gold, Nightstalker, and then they’d tear into Semele’s body to retrieve it. They’d pan it from rivers and streams and kill each other for it. Most of them just wanted to acquire it… hold it… though it did not feed them or keep them safe or even provide shelter. It never made sense to us, what would cause a human to covet. Do you know sometimes they even want each other’s mates and children?” Kelski nodded, she’d seen that first hand.

“I haven’t liked them much in the past… with good reason. But I’ve met a few recently that mean the world to me. The other Nighstalker that was here with me, the one Akajia gifted with her mark? He is one such person. And a human girl child of a Syliran Knight.. Bron.” She added, not sure who else she could add to that last. “And lastly, the fighter at Tall Johnnys by the name of Kreig. I call them friends. But this mage… he scares me. I need to have a long talk with Kynier about him. Maybe that human will have insight to this humans’ actions.” Kelski said, shaking her head as Farris studied his arms and seemed satisfied with the shields Kelski had seen glowing there.

There were times and places that Kelski could see why Sunberth hated mages. She thought perhaps that Sunberth should hate the alcohol and drug abuse more. She thought perhaps the hate would be best served pointed at slavery in a city that valued its freedom. But here, at least, she could see why people like Farris were considered dangerous.

Kelski perked up. Was Farris going to sleep? “You are almost like one of us as you are.” Savatar said softly in her ear. She turned to look at his nothingness like he was actually a human or something then gave herself a little smile when all she saw was darkness. “You sit so still and watch, taking in what you see without trying to alter it or comment upon it. That is a good quality in a Nightstalker. Never rush forward to help when holding back might gain you more of an advantage. Taking your magic far slower than this one will do you a good turn as well. Listen to the other mage, the Nightstalker at your side, for he is solid where this one here is pliable and tossed about on the breeze.” The shadow commented, making Kelski turn and smile at him.

“Thank you.” She whispered to the shadow in Makath before looking over at Farris. He seemed to not want to leave at all. He’d at least gotten up, then sat down, then told her this was nothing compared to what he had known before. The knowledge didn’t impress her. If anything, it made her think worse of him for what he said next.

Nothing was worth the cost of her soul. She’d been soulless before, owned, and chained. She’d been beaten repeatedly, drugged and even in the end raped. Her life was more precious than all of this nonsense the mage was spouting. Kelski was more than confident she could handle magic as a tool with the right information. But she was going to stop getting it from Farris, because she could see first had evidence of where his path lead.

She would ask another, one more stoic in their work for help. And if no one would help her, she would wait, learn slowly on her own, and make sure her basic foundation of knowledge was solid before anything else happened. Mistakes like today could cost her that hard won freedom and even that life she was working so hard to fill with things she desired. Farris was a dangerous wreck whom she doubted even had enough control right now to walk out of the temple on his own power. He was still speaking but she was having a hard time paying attention. His words felt hypocritical telling her what he was telling her. She didn’t think his actions matched his words, and she felt he took shortcuts rather than learning things straight out.

And frankly he was scaring her with his focus and intensity. Kelski rose, shook her head, and said softly… “No Farris. I’ve seen enough. I don’t want this life for myself… not lying on the floor, or too weak to stand, or too tired to walk out of here. I will leave you the lantern. But this is not what I want… this… for I know in my heart there are better ways. You are hurting yourself and focused so singularly that I doubt anything could read important to you over this magic at this moment. I respect that, but it is not what I want for myself. Thank you for coming with me. I do appreciate it. But you are scaring me and I don’t want to be a part of this self-destruction anymore.” She added, then turned on her heel and left him, the lantern burning some distances away.

She wished she could thank him for the lesson... because honestly she felt it was more important than discovering shielding. Kelski wanted to be the type that loved herself, not the type that wounded herself over and over again for the sake of something else... something like power.

Kelski would have given him water… for sure, but he’d poured all his water into his hands and wasted it, not for drinking, but for his experiments. And so she left, quietly, leaving it up to him to decide when it was enough.

Count: 1574

[Farris]

The Reimancer could scarcely process what Kelski was saying. Words flowed from her lips as his splitting headache continued to assault his senses. He fell to the floor in earnest as she left him and collapsed to the floor, his gaze followed her until she was far out of sight. He felt his grip on his senses wane into nothingness and he allowed his senses to collapse into themselves. Alone in the darkness, the mage found darkness plaguing his thoughts. He'd thought Kelski his friend, but when she looked at him before there was nothing but fear in her eyes. His features were pale with the drain that extended use of djed set upon him, his eyes closed as he fell away entirely to the grip of sleep.

Bells passed in the silent darkness of the Temple. When Farris arose he found the darkness was no longer his friend. Shadows did not encircle them and the lantern provided by Kelski was nearly out. He picked it up from the ground and took it with him as he struggled to rise.

Farris despised the notion that Kelski thrust upon him. She failed to understand his reasoning for doing what he did. He needed to understand and had no such guidance from the shadows like she did. Her words were odd and he sought to augment them with his own findings to some success. The shields long faded from around his arms and he found that they were quite dry despite the water he'd poured on them before. His shirt held none of the frigid quality it might have acquired from drying after being wet as well. While he was relieved that he'd come to understand Shielding to a level that he could use it, he was disappointed in his conduct and thought tirelessly of what Kelski said to him.

She doesn't know anything about what I'm trying to do. She's content to be patient but I have no such luxuries in my path. She's free to believe whatever she wants. It doesn't matter...

Slowly, Farris rose to his feet and he grasped at the wall. With its assistance he managed to trudge forward, feet dragging on the stone surface of the Temple of the Unknown. When he emerged from the place, it was well into evening and he was struck with odd looks from those that might catch his path. He kept his head down and sought to avoid trouble, hoping to make it home with whatever strength his rest afforded him.

When Farris arrived within his home, he turned the lock to his home and fell into his bed in a heap. He let himself collapse into deep, uninterrupted rest.

Days later, when the Reimancer awoke, he was no longer at home.

WC: 464

[Kelski]

Grading

Kelski

XP: Planning +2, Writing +1, Socialization +3, Investigation +5, Shielding +5, Teaching +4, Leeching +1, Researching +5, Logic +4, Auristics +2


Lore: Farris: Felt desolation when his father died, Shielding: The magic of Shields, Sheilding: Discipline of Magic, Majestic: Source of Magic. Majestic: Has shields like this. Majestic: Doler, Temple of The Unknown: Very Old Powerful Magic, Shielding: How To Cast A Shield, Sheilding: Tasking A Shield, Kynier: Knows Shielding, Shields: Can be tied so they feed themselves, Magic: Has no rules and there are ways around everything. Nightstalking: Shields Cannot Hold Her, Savatar: Shadow in Temple Of The Unknown That Knows Shielding, Sheilding: Old Magic, Incredibly Powerful Magic, Protecting Whole Cities, Fotresses, Valterrian: Means Rendering To Shadows, Valterrian: Most Mages Died During The Valterrian, Valterrian: Truly Talented Shielding Mages Died So Others Could Live, Shielding: Filtering Air, Water, Keeping People Safe, Purifying Food, Shielding: Gentle Magic, Shielding: Most Powerful Tools Mages Given, Shielding: Grows, Evolves, Becomes More Or Less Complex Depending on Timeline, Shielding: How Shields Are Made, Shields: Like Magical Fabric You Can Drape Over Things, Shielding: Each Mage Casts One or Weaves One Differently, Shielding: Can Disguise, Shielding: Direct Manipulation of Djed, not Transformation Of Djed. Reimancy: Once A Direct Manipulation of Djed Too, Shielding: Tasking Is Giving A Shield Purpose, Sheilding: Can Block Sight, Smell, Sound… many things. Shielding: Some tasked by Willing it some Tasked By Blood. Shielding: Black and White Thing – Pass Or Do Not Pass. Shielding: Can Have Many Layers – Each Tasked. Sheilding: New Learners Task Just One Thing, More Experienced Learners Task More Thing, Shielding: Can Task Against Water By Adding Water, Shielding: Feels More like a Craft Than Combat, Overgiving: Don’t Recall Your Djed, Shielding: a artform that has size, shape, thickness and sometimes even length and width. Shielding: Mages must think… spatially, Shielding: Blocks Senses,Farris: Overgives, Farris: Teaches By Critique, Humans: Make Bad Teachers According To Shadows, Farris: Magic Is More Important Than Life

Notes: Bloody Nose, and first hand accidental Leeching Discovery.

Farris:

XP: Observation +5, Interrogation +3, Auristics +2, Socialization +5, Teaching +5, Investigation +5, Shielding +5, Researching +5, Logic +4

Lore: Sunberth: Location Temple Of The Unknown, Kelski: Killed A Man, Kelski: The man she killed wanted to bond with her, steal her business, and take her money, Kelski: Broken inside, Temple of The Unknown: Full Of Shields, Kelski: Two marks from Akajia, Kelski: Talks to Shadows, Kelski: Sense Of Camaraderie With Her, Interrogation: Questioning Shadows Via A Nightstalker, Akjaia: Rules Shadows – They Are All Around, Kelski: Knows Makath, Shadows: Do Not Age, Savatar: Shadow in Temple Of The Unknown That Knows Shielding, Sheilding: Old Magic, Incredibly Powerful Magic, Protecting Whole Cities, Fotresses, Valterrian: Means Rendering To Shadows, Valterrian: Most Mages Died During The Valterrian, Valterrian: Truly Talented Shielding Mages Died So Others Could Live, Shielding: Filtering Air, Water, Keeping People Safe, Purifying Food, Shielding: Gentle Magic, Shielding: Most Powerful Tools Mages Given, Shielding: Grows, Evolves, Becomes More Or Less Complex Depending on Timeline, Shielding: How Shields Are Made, Shields: Like Magical Fabric You Can Drape Over Things, Shielding: Each Mage Casts One or Weaves One Differently, Shielding: Can Disguise, Shielding: Direct Manipulation of Djed, not Transformation Of Djed. Reimancy: Once A Direct Manipulation of Djed Too, Shielding: Tasking Is Giving A Shield Purpose, Sheilding: Can Block Sight, Smell, Sound… many things. Shielding: Some tasked by Willing it some Tasked By Blood. Shielding: Black and White Thing – Pass Or Do Not Pass. Shielding: Can Have Many Layers – Each Tasked. Sheilding: New Learners Task Just One Thing, More Experienced Learners Task More Thing, Shielding: Can Task Against Water By Adding Water, Shielding: a artform that has size, shape, thickness and sometimes even length and width. Shielding: Mages must think… spatially, Shielding: Blocks Senses, Kelski: Left Farris In His State Of Overgiving


Notes: Severe Overgiving 5 days of mind blowing headaches.