Once they had come to an agreement Farris procured the amount of mizzas they spoke of. Graciously, Kynier accepted the coins and added them to his own collection in his pocket. The reimancer’s vernacular was quite peculiar to hear from his lips. It sounded so crude and commonplace compared to what the man was. In conjunction with what had been the source of Kynier’s merriment, he understood that it was just another part of the ruse. Kynier was fortunate that his employment only required interactions with people that he could plan for. Farris was required to be out in the open and engage in conversation with whoever it was that came through the door. Farris was speaking from a script that he had to learn for the sake of his own well-being.
The Mighty Quill scratched away at the parchment, leaving a trail of ink behind that gradually circled back on itself. When Farris uttered the next line of the script Kynier paused but didn’t look up. He couldn’t judge if Farris was asking seriously about whether Kynier had information for sale. Slowly he looked up to look in the other mage’s gray eyes. The man was serious. Kynier sat up a bit straighter as he considered the man’s words. This was an opportunity to learn one of the more clandestine functions of the city. To plant a seed in Farris that could prove useful to him in the future. “At this time I don’t have an interest in purchasing goods. Partially because I don’t know what is available.”
As for the second half of Farris’ offer, Kynier remained silent and returned to finish his Randjaq. Information was valuable and the city was saturated in it. The challenge was finding the secrets in the melting pot. Often Kynier did just as this store owner, Zeke, would do. Pay out scraps for information that he deemed valuable. The difference was that Kynier was a Nightstalker. He was not an information broker who was always ready to sell knowledge to others. Secrets were to be kept. And when the need arose they were to be used, not sold. Kynier had been recently enlightened about that. It made him question the professional relationship he had with his employer. Doler paid him to go out, gather information, and come back to report. He wondered if Akajia took offense to his means of living. The gnosis between his shoulder blades had remained, and shadows like Povair continued to speak to him. So the goddess at the very least was content about it.
To his surprise, the reimancer began to draw a different focus. Kynier watched as the beginnings of Irst were laid to paper. What did the man intend to do? That was the beauty of glyphing. It was able to be very specific yet so vague at the same time. Bourin would sometimes form a sigil and infuse it with magic, then leave it for Kynier to inspect but forbade the use of auristics. As a boy he would spend bells contemplating the possible uses of the sigil, and Bourin would expect an answer on his return. Kynier did not intend to do that to Farris. At least, not yet. The gray eyed mage had a strong understanding of Nader-canoch that surpassed his own. While Farris created a fresh sigil from scratch, Kynier was able to finish his Barrier.
The chain of chains connected with itself with a final stroke of his quill. The circle was an impressive sight in his opinion as it rested around the most complex rune he had ever attempted. It may have been a bit foolish to attempt this outside the confines of his home, but it was too late to stop now. For a chime Kynier examined the strokes he had made on the parchment, looking for any imperfections. When he was satisfied he set it back down and proceeded to draw a custom rune in the upper corner of the scroll. It bore no strong resemblance to any word in the ancient tongue. It was a phrase designation for activation when the time was right.
When the Trigger was complete a moment later Kynier set down his quill. His eyes scanned the new drawing that Farris had made. Irst rested inside of Daeq. Kynier tapped a finger on his upper lip for a moment as he thought it over. When he was done, he shared his thoughts. “Your Barrier,” he said tapping Daeq, “may be too gentle and allow the spell to slip free. I do not know this to be a certainty as I have never tried it, nor have heard of it being used in this way. I’m not going to discourage it until we see how well it fairs.” Then he tapped the third piece of his own sigil and tilted the parchment for Farris to see.
“The third and final piece of a sigil is the Trigger. The Trigger establishes the condition that will activate the stored power. Most commonly it is a word or phrase that you will associate to the activation. Obviously you don’t want it to be anything someone is likely to say in casual conversation, lest your pants light on fire. The formation of the Trigger is completely customizable.” Kynier laid the parchment back down on the table and set both his hands on either side of Sultayaq. Kynier took a deep breath and closed his eyes until they were small slits.
“The next phase,” he said very softly, “is to imbue it.” Kynier took several relaxing breaths as he reached a state of tranquility. At that point he conjured the emanations of his soul core with his will. Djed answered his summons and slowly climbed its way to his hands. Violently he could’ve summoned it, but found it less straining to let it out like a yawn. Slow and naturally rather than try and force it. Mentally he wove a spell for voiding and set his power to it. Visibly his hands pressed down on the parchment as Kynier directed the power to be absorbed into the ink. Djed did not take the form of res but transferred itself from one host to the next. Sultayaq began to shift as the lines folded over themselves. Like a hypnotist’s illusion the flat drawing took a three dimensional quality on the parchment as lines remained unbroken and shifted under the influence of his soul. A bead of sweat ran from his temple and down his jaw line as djed filled his body with warmth on a warm day. Kynier had designed his barrier specifically for the dangers of this discipline and was testing the limits. After a chime and a half from when he started, the Randaq Barrier pulsed red. At the sight of it Kynier immediately stopped and stood up from his seat, leaving a hand still in contact with the scroll.
The barrier’s pulsation was short lived and settled back to appear as normal writing. Sultayaq continued to move which gave Kynier alarm. His hand pinched the corner of the parchment in preparation to fling it away from the table should it happen to him yet again. Kynier felt drenched with sweat though he didn’t realize it was blood running down his jaw and not sweat. Holding his breath he swallowed a coppery taste in his mouth. Twenty ticks later the focus began to slow and settled itself on the parchment. When it came to a complete stop Kynier exhaled heavily in relief.
At the end of his exhale he choked and coughed. A liquid mass clung to the back of his throat and refused to be dislodged. Kynier turned away and walked to the center of the room and coughed on the back of his hand. Hacking harder to clear his throat. At last, what had plagued him shot forth from his mouth to cover the back of his hand. A large glob of blood. Kynier swallowed hard and breathed harder. His other hand brushed the trail of blood coming down his jaw to smear on his fingers. Micro fissures. Kynier had overgiven and still the barrier held. Bloodstained teeth formed a smile as he chuckled in self-accomplishment. At the end of the chuckle he gave another hard cough to clear more blood from his throat.
Kynier turned and looked at Farris as he wiped the blood from his lips. “My scroll is complete.” He stepped over and retook his seat. “To imbue the scroll with power you must form the spell but not yet bring it to complete fruition. Hold it at that cusp and will it to the Focus. Should your Barrier pulse brighter than mine had it will indicate failure to contain the spell, unless you cease fueling djed immediately.” Kynier rolled up his scroll and held it at his side. Should Farris’ scroll misfire or self-activate, he didn’t want it to cause his to go off and kill them both.
