The Gem was pleased by Vasin’s appreciative response, and thought it rare that a human accepted her touches for what they were. She reached out to his mind, hoping to find it open to her, and infused warmth and welcome to him in an emotionally gentle but brief touch that told him she’d heard his compliment and appreciated it. It would feel like a wave of alien intelligence gently brushing his mind like moth wings on his skin. She didn’t maintain the contact. She wasn’t strong enough or smart enough to yet. It was her first try at talking to someone other than her creator. But soon… soon she’d grow enough and be full enough to do such things.
The Midnight Gem looked forward to such things.
Back in the study, the Kelvic thought she’d be a bundle of nerves, stammering and stuttering, trying to pass all this important knowledge onto Vasin…. but when all was said and done it was just Vasin and the lesson felt more like two friends chatting before a fire than anything else. His attentive watchful gaze made her feel comfortable rather than nervous and his lack of arrogance and the presence of his serious humility put her so much at ease.
Why couldn’t all humans be like him? She’d enjoy their company so much more if they were just … more genuine. That was the word. Vasin felt genuine. Kelski watched him as he watched her and a legitimate smile played across her lips. She loved talking about magic, but for some reason somewhere in the past… someone had made her super uncomfortable about it. Someone had made her feel inferior and unsafe. Someone had leashed her tightly and tried to control what should have been a beautiful natural thing for those inclined. And as she watched Vasin’s eyes, she knew he’d be inclined. She just knew. Things would come for him, sometimes hard, sometimes easily, but they would come. He would be a mage.
Vasin’s question about quieting his mind made Kelski nod. “Yes… mages need incredible focus. You need to be able to clear your mind. I have this friend named Dess… he lives here too… you will meet him. He is good with fighting with his body without weapons. He says that people dwell in their heads too much, ignoring the rest of their body because their brains are too full of images, memories, sensory overload that hit them. But if you can quiet your mind, you can push your awareness out into your body and then things like djed or even controlled energy for a punch are able to flow better. It’s something he calls chi but I think its djed all the same. You are mindful of your head, but you should be mindful of each finger, each toe, and all the flesh in between. You become stronger in so many ways if you dwell within the whole of your body and not just lurk in your head.” Kelski said, swallowing and thinking again before speaking. “It’s why mages meditate. Meditation is the act of clearing ones mind and settling ones thoughts. It makes everything we do easier, better…. it would even help you with your swordwork or learning to ride Tack.” Kelski said. “Everyone meditates differently. Some people do guided meditations where they walk pathways in their mind and connect to things they normally couldn’t connect too through quiet time up here…” She tapped her forehead. “And some mages just sit and think of nothing at all and when their heads are clear, incredible ideas come to them.” She added, knowing for certain this was true. It happened for her. “When I quiet my mind after a busy day, often times after a period, a solution will present itself to a problem I didn’t know I was having… like a technique I was failing in my workshop or how to do a complex piece I can see in my mind but can’t figure out how to translate into real world jewelry.” She added, offering him a smile.
“I’m supposed to be a Master Jewelcrafter, but its not always easy work. I still find challenges daily.” She said, laughing a little at herself. Was it because she wasn’t human? Were Kelvics somehow conditioned not to be great at everything and struggle like she often did? Kelski didn’t know. But she was overcoming obstacles. That’s what Kelvics did.
They talked more, wandering through more arcanology lore and discussing magic basics. “You can overgive from using too much, Vasin. It’s in fact a very common problem. People don’t know their limits and can hurt themselves by pushing too far to fast with magic. I was going to talk about it in a bit, but there’s no need to wait since you are asking. Magic can be addictive. It gives you a feeling of power and perfection that you won’t forget and will always crave. It makes you feel good to use it. I think sometimes our djed needs stirred and released – actually used – and its an intense feeling. I don’t know what to liken it to… maybe an overfull bladder and how much pleasure it can be when one finally gets to release urine. Or perhaps like it feels for a man when he spills his seed. Magic can be like that. You do a little and you will want to do more. You need iron control. Successful mages are able to pick and choose when they use their magic and while they enjoy the feelings it brings; they aren’t driven to recreate that feeling over and over again. Weak mages are. They are the dangerous ones that crave power and domination… that want people afraid of them and in many ways are slaves to the djed rather than letting the djed be just another tool we have.” Kelski said softly, then circled back.
“Overgiving is a real thing. Its very easy to do too much, produce too many effects, sustain your magic too long. It’s a cost, in a way too…. the more you can do the bigger the price you will pay. Start out small, build up your magic, stretch your limits slowly. When you first started to learn to swing an axe or a sword, you couldn’t do it for long periods of time. You work up and build your strength. Magic is like that. When you overgive, you might get a headache, feel that feeling… what’s it called… uh…” Kelski paused then, thoughtful, tilting her head one way the next.
“Euphoria.” She said suddenly. “If you feel that, your overgiving. You can get hallucinations or even start bleeding as if wounded. Sometimes you can shake, you won’t breathe correctly, or even become moody and antisocial.” Kelski said seriously, then looked thoughtful.
“And that’s just mild symptoms. Deeper overgiving will open wounds in your flesh, alter your thinking, give you delirium… or even give you that condition where you collapse and shake, loosing your bowels and biting your tongue… I’m not sure what that’s called. You feel pain, and you absolutely can loose control.” Kelski explained, telling him as Gilthas had told her.
“You can also burn through your magic completely and get altered into a monster. Mutations it is called. You can lose consciousness and even die. Mages that overgive go crazy, Vasin. It’s a real threat. Magic is a tool that you must control at all times.” The Kelvic added, shifting in her seat to uncurl her long legs and stretch.
Kelski stood up and started moving. Bird-like she ruffled her shoulders and stretched, not liking being in the chair too long. She started to add wood to the fire and The Gem took offense and snuffed it out completely. The Kelvic threw up her hands and laughed apologetically, backing off from the fireplace until the fire lit itself again and continued burning as if nothing had happened. “I don’t think The Gem wants me fussing with its fires.” She said softly, grinning with more affection than offense.
“I was going to talk about the types of magic before you asked about overgiving. There are quite a few types and I know only a few of them. Bear with me… I will introduce you to Gilthas, and he can fill in the gaps that my magic lacks. But there are four types of magic that I know about. There’s personal magic, world magic, divine magic, and lost disciplines that don’t fit into any category. Personal magic is magic you can craft from your own djed.. .the well inside you. It includes magics like auristics where you can see auras and get information from it. I know that magic. Morphing… like we are learning… and Reimancy. Reimancy is the manipulation of elements. You can craft air, water, fire, and earth…. I know some of it as well. World magic is easier… you are less prone to overgive because you don’t draw on your personal well, but you take from the world. Truthfully I don’t know any of it. Gilthas I think does. Divine magic is the gnosis marks gods and goddesses grant their followers. I have marks from three deities, and one of those deities gave me two marks. Akajia, Xhyves, and Semele. Lost disciplines are things like Architectrix… that brought The Midnight Gem to life. I know that. I don’t know any other Lost Disciplines. I know very little about them actually. My family knows Architectrix. We’ve long carried it in our family.” Kelski said, carefully answering all his questions.
She was about ready to move on to Morphing, but she wanted to make sure she gave him a great basis to start with. And so far she’d shared a lot of information with him that was useful in proceeding with learning a personal magic.
Tapping his Well was a big start. And she settled back into her chair quietly while he centered himself and traveled inside. She waited quietly, with all the patience of a long-sighted predator not hungry enough to care if the meal was going to show up anytime soon. Kelski was certain Vasin was worth careful and gentle cultivation. He had the right mindset and she was confident he’d find his Well easily enough. When he claimed he did, she smiled.
“Yes… it’s hard to explain, but once you tap it, touch it, become aware of it being there… you understand what I was saying. It wants to be used. It wants to assist you. But be careful. It can have a mind of its own too.” The Sea Eagle said, leaning back, happy to see Vasin’s expression.
“Toy with it a while, feel it… experience it…. get familiar with its location and what it feels like to touch. You can’t go wrong getting familiar with it. And once you’ve taken the time, we’ll talk more of morphing. Morphing isn’t the easiest of disciplines, but if you can master it, you will do well learning anything else you want too.” She encouraged, then sat back and gave him time to play with his new found inner power.
“Touching your power…. learning its there… makes you a true Learner, Vasin. You know that right?” She said, pleased he’d taken the first step on the road to who he would become for the rest of his life.
When he was ready, Kelski continued.
“Morphing might be considered one of the oldest magics. From what I’ve learned, there are ancient art that depict mankind with claws or fangs, with parts of their bodies altered to resemble animals to better hunt or fight. There has been art showing men slowly transforming to wolves and back again. Its beautiful stuff. I am hoping to find some to see myself someday; maybe someplace ancient. I’ve always wanted to find ruins.” Kelski added, looking thoughtful.
“With Morphing, you tap your well and use that djed to will your body to transform its current normal state into a state you visualize. The transformation is slow, and while it isn’t painful, it takes focus and concentration. It takes an amazing amount of attention to detail.” Kelski said softly, looking thoughtful.
“Does any of this make sense?” She asked abruptly, hoping he was following her alright.
