Flashback Break with the past Part 3

[Karsynwa]

4th of Spring, 490 AV

These councilmen had a fondness for repetition. As Karsynwa continued to read the record of their speeches, he noted that many of the most popular councilmen liked to repeat one word over and over. An how they felt about the given topic could be inferred in the modifiers they used in conjunction with the subject. Whether they were drawing attention away from the subject to build up to a counter example at the end of the speech, or they were emphasizing the subject by using strong words that elicited visceral reactions. It was all so confusing as they seldom let their opinion be felt in any of the obvious ways. Instead they relied on this figure of speech to get their point across to apparently great affect as these councilmen were allowed to speak often, and did. Karsynwa sighed, then moved onto the next excerpt after briefly skimming it. For once at least there was no mention of a grain allotment or decision made on what was and what was not an improper use of a water feature.

[As I was saying, we must look at the broader reach of our prohibitions, what they do or do not affect, and how our citizens feel about the subject before we express ideas on the subject that might run into conflict to previously established precedents. Take Malediction for example. What is it, once every decade that we hear a petition to reconsider our stance on the subject an yet our position remains the same because of precedent, and because the council must be a far seeing apparatus that can help predict the potential effects of such a change in our city.

They might argue that in the right hands that Riverfall can derive some benefit from its use, but they fail to come up with any worthwhile solutions that would mitigate the high potential for destructive consequences if it is misused or address the fact that even in the most well meaning hands things can and often do go wrong with that tainted magic. An they also fail to explain how this could possibly be beneficial to our community. One that I shall remind you is a magic that incentives deplorable activities like digging up the graves of our friends and family. Which is why we do, and will continue to prohibit the usage of this magic in the vicinity of our city. Now without further adu, I present Councilman Tallis Hodas who I believe has a petition for us.”

- Councilman Sartaz Kolwe]

Karsynwa puzzled over this page for a moment, rereading it again to try and interpret the context of this word and fit it in with what the councilman hoped to achieve with this statement. It was difficult to tell because he had no idea what malediction was and only a very vague impression of magic. He looked up to see if Zandar was nearby and then chewed on the edge of his thumbnail. He tried reading on but couldn’t pay the page much attention with him working on complete information.

WC - 511

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

Though there was one interesting thing he could work with. The councilman that followed this speech happened to be trying to bring forth one of the very same petitions that had been previously mentioned which helped Karsynwa understand the aim of the previous speech. It was a curious development to see someone follow a speech that had be previously disparaging of his topic. He had to admire the way the speaker did it too, because he never attacked it personally though it was clear how the speaker felt about it by the way he presented the information. Instead it felt like he was leading them gently to the conclusion he wanted by presenting the information piecemeal to them in the way he did. Footsteps.

Karsynwa looked up to see Zandar replacing a book on the shelf while giving him a curious look. He wondered if Zandar had been watching him and for how long. Still, he wasn’t going to look this fortune in the mouth for too long. Inclining his head slightly he raised his hand.

“Zandar?” Karsynwa asked. Zandar walked over at the sound of his voice and glanced down at the page Karsynwa was on.

“I was wondering if there were any books on magic here in the library. There is this word here that I do not understand. It is apparently a type of magic, and I would like some context before I continue on.” Karsynwa asked.

“What is the word?” Zandar asked.

“Malediction” Karsynwa said. An odd expression rippled over Zandar’s face upon hearing the name and he mimed spitting over his left shoulder before responding.

“Dreadful stuff that. We don’t have anything on that subject, and wouldn’t lend it out to the public if we did. It is a dark magic that preys on the djed of the dead, and has often unpredictable results even for those skilled at the craft.” Zandar said, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Oh. Do you have anything on general magic then? I’m not quite familiar with the concept so I’d like to see what they are comparing this to.” Karsynwa asked. Zandar studied his face for a moment, then sighed.

“Well we do, but these are very rare books you understand and we can’t just lend them out to anybody. Besides, much of what we have is less about the fundamentals and more about the specific implementations of their craft written in such a way that only the practitioner of the magic in question will understand so it would do you little good to read the book.” Zandar said, and hesitated for a moment perhaps seeing the change in Karsynwa’s features that flashed despondent for a moment. “However, I suppose I could tell you a bit of what I know on the subject in exchange for a promise from you. If you agree to clean the library for me, I will tell you what I know about magic. Does that sound like a good deal to you?” Zandar asked with a slight smile, patting him lightly on the shoulder.

“Yes sir, I will give this library the best cleaning.” Karsynwa said.

WC - 524

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

He was eating those words now as he breathed in a cloud of dust. Karsynwa hadn’t realized that there were two levels to this library until he started cleaning it and the second level was so much dustier. A lot of the books down here had a coat across the top as well. He figured this must be because they weren’t checked out much which could be why he hadn’t noticed the unobtrusive staircase down here before. No body was visiting so he’d guessed it just lead to the personal quarters of the librarians.

Along with giving the shelves a good dusting, he also swept the floor, and washed the walls with a damp rag. Then he went around the room to refill the lanterns. That was when he noticed the mouths around the ventilation ducts near the ceiling were greasy with smoke so Karsynwa went around to seek out a ladder. Once he had found one, he brought it to each of the holes in turn, giving them a proper scrubbing with a bit of soap and a coarse rag. To finish up, he wiped them down with a dry rag. As he worked the bells stretched on, eating up his afternoon free period till he finally was done just before the evening grew too late.

“I’ve done as you asked.” Karsynwa said as he found Zandar back near the front desk.

“Lets take a look shall we.” Zandar said with a smooth smile. Together they walked along the library with Zandar checking each corner and nook. He sighed occasionally as he fussed over something though he continued to take him on a tour of the rooms he’d cleaned. Finally when they finished looking around the basement, Zandar stopped and turned to him.

“I suppose this was your first try and you did the best you could. If we do this again, I’ll hold you to a higher standard but for now take a seat, and I will educate you on what little I know of the history of magic.” Zandar said, walking over to take a seat at one of the corner alcoves. Karsynwa followed along, folding his hands in front of him on the metal table.

“To understand what is magic, first you must understand what is Djed. Djed is the raw energy that goes into the makeup of things. It is essentially the fabric of reality making up everything we see and even our bodies and souls. It follows three simple laws:

1. Djed cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
2. Some forms of Djed are purer than others.
3. Some transformations are irreversible.” Zandar said, taking out a sheaf of parchment.

“Take this parchment for example. The parchment’s djed is what gives it a parchment’s properties. If it had a stone’s djed, then it would be a stone, and so on and so forth. Now if I were to split this piece of parchment diagonally, it would no longer be a piece of rectangular piece of parchment’s djed, but two triangular pieces of parchments djed. No djed is lost or created with this interaction, simply transformed.” Zandar said as he ripped the pieces of parchment along their diagonal axis and held them up for Karsynwa to see. Karsynwa belatedly realizing he need to try writing this down took out a piece of parchment he had been using earlier and unfurled it across the table then brought out a thin stick of charcoal. It was a little easier to write with this than with the quill though his letters were large and blocky as his scribbled them onto the page. Zandar was patient while he waited for Karsynwa to catch up, and laid the two halves of parchment on the table so Karsynwa could freely study them.

WC - 632

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

When he was ready, Karsynwa looked up but he kept his charcoal poised over his page of parchment at the ready. Zandar smiled at the attention.

“Now as I was saying, some forms of djed are purer than other. For instance your djed is much stronger than that of the piece of parchment’s because you can think and feel. You have the ability to transform your own djed at will and that of others without any external forces acting upon you. The more capable a being is at interacting with djed, the stronger their own source of djed is.

Finally, if you think of the djed of the oil in this lamp you can see why some transformations are irreversible. As the oil fuels the fire it is transformed into a gas that quickly dissipates into the air. This transformation is irreversible as it no longer capable of retaining its previous state, nor is it possible to transform it back to this state. Likewise, with these pieces of parchment if they were to burn they would too experience an irreversible transformation.” Zandar said, pausing for a moment to lean against the back of the alcove as he thought for a moment. Karsynwa was thankful for the brief reprieve as Zandar had given him a lot to think about already. He wasn’t sure how djed played into magic yet, but it was obvious something so integral to reality was relevant to know before moving on to new information. It was interesting to think of the whole world made up of this substance that determined the characteristics of all things. That was a part of his soul just as much as it was a part of Zandars. The thought left him feeling overwhelmed as he thought about his connection to the vast network of everything that was. As he scrawled the last of his notes down, Zandar seemed to come to a conclusion.

“So if djed is the fundamental energy of reality, magic is the ability to tap into that energy to accomplish a variety of fantastical things. Those who have the ability to manipulate djed tap into at least one of the three primary sources. They either utilize the djed of their own body, the djed of the world, or the djed of the divine. Using you own djed is rather self explanatory. One has reserves of djed they can expend like you do when exercising only to a more powerful affect. Naturally this carries more risks than when you overdo it with a work out as it can have mortal consequences if you go past using your reserves and start tapping into the fabric of your soul.

Tapping into the djed of the word is far more obscure. Hardly anything is known about how it is done save that its practitioners use a recipe of sorts to bring about powerful affects using the djed of the world around them.

Divine magic is relatively straightforward but even rarer than magic is because it requires one to become marked by a god or goddess so that they might tap into their divine djed and further their wills.” Zandar paused to let that sink in and allow Karsynwa to catch up with his hasty scribbling. Thankful, Karsynwa did his best to write the words out slowly to make sure they were legible for later as he was actually getting into this subject more than he expected when he’d stumbled across the topic in the book earlier. He was keen to learn just how this magic was used so he could get a better picture of what he had read earlier. From what he had learned so far, it explained a little bit of what Zandar had said about Malediction earlier an he could see why that was a nasty magic if it involved tampering with the djed of long lost relatives. He wondered if it hurt their souls, and part of him felt relief that such a magic was banned from their city so his families dead could rest in peace. A thought occurred to him.

“So Malediction is a world magic then?” Karsynwa asked.

“Yes, very astute. It is a discipline that draws djed from outside sources and because it is very hard to control, it is prohibited from being practiced in this city.” Zandar said.

“Are all magics hard to control?” Karsynwa asked. Zandar smiled in a way that let him know that he had expected such a question.

WC - 748

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

“Not all. It varies from discipline to discipline with some being judged as well worth the risk. Auristics for instances is a fairly safe discipline. It involves using personal djed to view the djed aura of people and things. From these auras can be gleaned a great deal of information, a handy tool in the hands of those tasked to protect us. Another stable discipline is shielding which as the name suggests, allows its user to use their personal djed to create powerful shields that go beyond what can be created by mere metal. There are far more disciplines than just those two, but that gives you the gist of the direction magic can take. Djed allows its practitioners to go beyond what they would be capable of normally.” Zandar said.

Karsynwa took his pause as something more meaningful than just waiting for him to catch up, and looked up from what he was writing across the page. Zandar was waiting for him to say something he realized after a moment. Carefully considering what they had discussed earlier he reached out to touch the edge of his parchment.

“So is that why magic is so strictly regulated, and those books kept secure?” Karsynwa asked after a chime.

Zandar nodded slightly. “Yes, actions must be taken to make sure that it is not misused and that it benefits our community instead of harming it. Also, magic is rare and books written on the subject rarer still. Great lengths must be taken to preserve what we can about what we know as these secrets must be protected.” Zandar said.

“How many different disciplines are there? Is there a book for each one?” Karsynwa asked.

“There are seventeen that I know about, and no, our books do not cover all of the disciplines. They cover very few of them actually. Most of them cover Glyphing and of those, there is only one original text among them. The rest are expansions on the subject by practitioners of the art that read more like a blueprint for a building than an actual book. Now that I think about it, I believe we do have one book on Spiritism but aside from that, the vast majority concerns Glyphing.” Zandar said.

“And what are those?” Karsynwa asked. Zandar sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Glyphing is a world magic that allows one to store the magic of another discipline. It is all very obtuse stuff, but you are welcome to try and read a copy sometime under my supervision. Provided you don’t mind doing another task.” Zandar winked, and then continued. “Or maybe Spiritism would be more your speed as it is far more readable. It is also a world magic that allows its practitioner to interact with ghosts in a way we commonly can’t. It is not something that is commonly seen here in Riverfall so the book is a treasure to be sure. Again though, forewarning, very few of its pages are dedicated to explaining the art to you. Rather, it focuses on recipes and the various tools you can use with the art.” Zandar said. Karsynwa shifted to scratch his chin slightly, and then stretched his arms out high above his head.

“Well, thank you Zandar. That certainly explains what I’d read in those speeches. I’d really only wanted to know about it so I could get a clearer picture of what they were trying to achieve with their speeches, but this.. Its a lot to think about.” Karsynwa said, shrugging slightly as he wore an uncomfortable smile.

“You are a good student Karsynwa. Let me know if you need help again some time. There are always other chores around the library.” Zandar said, patting him on the shoulder and then turning with a chuckle. Karsynwa couldn’t help but have a laugh at that as well as he rolled up the parchment he had been writing upon. Perhaps he would be back. While the sound of more chores made him groan inwardly, he was a little curious to see what made these disciplines so special. From Zandar’s description on what they currently knew about the subject, it sounded like a monumental task trying to piece it all together, but Karsynwa enjoyed a good puzzle. Before he left he gave one last look to the library, and then hurried off to the sparring grounds.

WC - 731