Weave Before You Court My Daughter[Sama'el]

[Baku]

Daed took a quick look around for a moment, making sure to sense whether or not there were no nearby dangers before they began. When Sama’el posed his question, he fell silent for a moment. “No, the Anchor must remain stationary, and is often hidden. The motion that a human body would cause would damage an Origin on a magical level, damage the Djed so to speak.” Daed replied as he looked back down to the scythe for a moment. “Even if such were possible, it is not something I would recommend, even for a skilled Webber. As I mentioned before in my initial explanation, Webs are prone to wear and tear. There is not telling what effect such could have on you as the Webber if the origin was actually you, or piece of you. Your body could experience the same wear and tear or it could lead to Overgiving effects immediately in a way.” “Creative idea, but in the end, it is best not to try overly creative things with any magic. It normally never ends well.” Daed said before he gave a light squeeze to Sama’el’s shoulder. “We shall begin, brace yourself.” Before Sama’el could echo another word, he felt an odd sensation from Daed’s touch, like the chill running up one’s spine when someone walked over their grave. Looking down to Daed’s hand, Sama’el noticed it was still gripping along his shoulder, but at the same time, it felt like his hand was almost literally passing through his flesh, like some cold liquid pumping through his veins in that area. Flashes passed over Sama’el’s vision then, bright flashes of white at first, and soon after Daed pressed the Scythe to Sama’el’s fingers, those flashes turned to momentary images. The first immediate image was of Sama’el touching the weapon first, and then Daed as well. Then Sama’el saw nothing but blackness, and the sensation that his very essence was being pulled from his body. When light began to flash over his vision once again, Sama’el was greeted with the sight of Daed standing over him, pitch blackness surrounding both their bodies. Sama’el looked further, and soon he discovered and almost glowing white liquid was reaching up to his chest, moving around and splashing against him like the water of a warm pond. He suddenly felt Daed gripping his shoulders, and in an almost reverberating voice heard Daed say, “Now, I baptize you.” Suddenly Sama’el was forced under that glow, that feeling of water brushing all over his face. It all felt so very real. So much in fact that Sama’el eventually got the sensation of drowning, of that sea of Djed sliding down his mouth and filling his lungs. It invaded every sense of his being so quickly, that there was no possible way for him to prepare for it. Struggle as he might to bring himself back up above, Daed’s strength and grip kept him under. Further visions and now sounds bombarded Sama’el’s essence. Visions of various people touching the Scythe. Daed, Sama’el, Daed’s wives and Dymphna herself. All of them were short quick images and sounds, like a strobe of pictures and light, all of them reaching almost a full year back, and Sama’el soon felt a pull to look back farther, to see more. It was then that they had all stopped and there was nothing but blackness once again. Sama’el once again opened his eyes, finding himself standing in the Sea of Grass. Normal sights, sounds and smells filled his senses once again. This time, however, there was something new. “Lay your first sight into the lands, and see what has been revealed to you.” Daed’s deep voice then instructed Sama’el. When Sama’el then looked around, the Webs, those sources of information that had been naked to his normal vision for so long, now lit up across the lands as lines of light surrounded him. They ran along the ground at their feet, curved over and around small rocks, ran between the tall grasses but didn’t part the blades. Sama’el could see them for as far as his sight could reach before blurring to obscurity. They weren’t all so grouped together that it seemed like there was a Web line every few paces, but there were still many, and it was only a small bit of land within the Cyprus region itself.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

There were rumors and stories about Webbing, but even though it was commonplace in Drykas society, there remained a certain mystique about it. Ankals and talented mages worked the Web, and children had only romanticized stories to work with. Nothing could really prepare one for the experience, and if Sama'el had been in his body still, he would have flailed in surprise. There was a tug at his belly, from his navel, and he supposed that was where he was still tied to the fleshly house of his spirit, but he couldn't look, couldn't focus; there was simply too much to see that he hadn't experienced before. And then he was Sama'el again, or did he merely have the idea of his body onto which he might cling? Swimming in a sea of djed, he was, and then drowning. Images and thoughts flooded into him, time running backward, overwhelming him with input. And then he was Sama'el again. He paused, feeling tingles in his extremities as if he had fallen asleep on them and they were only now coming back to life. He blinked at Daed's command, reaching out for what he knew was there now -- not just believed, but knew. It wasn't quite the same viewed with his eyes as it was when he had shed his mortal body to look at it, but all the same, tears gathered in his eyes at the beauty of it. His hand stretched out to touch.

[Baku]

Daed, noted the tears forming in Sama’el’s eyes with a nod, his heavy hands falling to his waist as he looked over the same view that Sama’el was just seeing for the first time. It was still majestic to someone like Daed, who had already been practicing Webbing for many years. “It does seem overwhelmingly beautiful, doesn’t it?” Daed said, taking a deep breath through his nose before releasing it through his mouth in a exhale of relief. “Most Webbers have the same initial reaction.” Daed then looked down to Sama’el, seeing his hands outstretched and reaching for one of the web’s already. Daed’s own hand snatched out in reaction, clutching Sama’el’s own by the wrist, halting his reach. “Not yet.” Daed said, preventing Sama’el from diving back in for the moment. “You’re still in your initial state of euphoria from being baptized. Should you dive right back into the streams already, you would end up being lost to it’s currents, too enraptured by what you further see to realize that you have to come back to reality.” Daed lowered Sama’el’s hand to his side, soon taking a seat along the ground. “Calm yourself, being awed by what you see gives you appreciation for it, but being overwhelmed by it leads only to obsession and doom.” Daed said bluntly as he pulled Sama’el down to sit along the ground. “As with most everything in life, think first with your head, and then with your heart. This comes especially true with any type of magic, Sama’el. While webbing can be relatively safe overall, it can end you just as easily as Flux or Reimancy can if you let your emotions rule how you use it. Center yourself, focus your mind, and only let your heart rule you in your emotions for wives and children.” “When you have brought your sense back to their full, unhindered by your initial awe, you may make your first exploration.” Daed then said, resting his hands along he knees as he looked at Sama’el. “I will be accompanying you in case you need to be pulled free, but you shall try to enter and observe what the Web has to offer on your own. Just a peek though. No lingering. Familiarize yourself with the sensations you encounter. It will essentially be like learning how to swim, or ride. Small steps at first.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el made no protest when Daed took his hand and held it down so he wouldn't reach out for the Web before him, though he felt an unutterable regret that he could not fly down those paths of energy, be tossed around in whorls of energy as swimmers were in the surf at sea's edge. Certainly Daed was the voice of reason just then, and his teacher, and he had always been taught that when one had a teacher and they were speaking within their bailiwick, they were as a god in authority. He nodded slowly, almost dreamily, his mind unaccustomed to the influx of that much sensory information at one time. Turning his gaze back upon Daed, he could see the cords of energy going through his teacher, and also himself. They were all interconnected, and that was a lesson in itself. "H-how do I do that?" he asked carefully. "How do I... center myself and make the awe go away?" Magic might have been his birthright as a Sapphire clansman, but this was his first experience with actually utilizing those arcane skills. He didn't know the first thing about meditating, though he did find himself in a sort of contemplative trance while galloping manic on the back of his horses. Not wanting to seem completely inept, though, he began to slow his breathing down intentionally, forcing his body, at least, to relax. And hopefully his mind would follow and Daed would let him dip his toes into the energy again.

[Baku]

Daed observed Sama’el in silence for a moment after he posed his question. He watched him as he began to slow his breath, try to relax his body. This caused a hint of a smile to sharpen the corner of Daed’s lips, the bristles of his mustache wriggling slightly from the movement. “You’re already at the beginning steps,” Daed said as he rested his hands along his legs, “you must learn to calm your body and your mind. Adrenaline and a quick pace has its places, mainly on the field of battle in the hands of the Diamond Clan. For those who delve in magic, however, excitement and over zealousness is a complete and utter liability.” Daed slowly stood up, reaching out as his fingers and thumb lightly closed Sama’el’s eyes. He then began pacing slowly in a circle around Sama’el, his hands cupping around his back. “Focus first on your breathing. You must remember how to breath normally once again. Slow breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth.” Daed began to explain, his feet slowly causing rustled sounds of the grasses being shifted with each step. “Concentrate on the sound of your own breaths, letting everything else meld away, to essentially not be there at all. Cast away such distractions as they will only hinder the process.” Daed then stopped, crouching down next to Sama’el as his arms rested along thick, folded legs. “Next, focus on your heartbeat. Hear it within your body. As you slow your breathing, your heart will soon follow in pace.” Daed began to explain, the tone of his voice getting softer, almost relaxing. “Soon, you’ll be able to hear your heartbeat and heartbeat alone. From there, let its beat take you someplace else. Someplace you imagine to find relaxing. Let the beat of your heart become like the beat of a soft drum being played over a relaxing setting of a campfire. Or the landing of your horse’s hooves along the grounds as you ride in open plains of grass on a beautiful spring day.” “Eventually, you won’t even hear the sound of my voice.” Daed then said as he moved to sit back down in front of Sama’el once again. “Eventually, that place you go to find your center, will be the only thing for you, and it will help you to find complete calmness. If done well enough, you’ll leave such a place feeling completely at peace, and ready to handle the Web once again.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Shutting his eyes certainly helped, though he found he could sense the web of energy even without seeing it. Still, it was less of a distraction with his eyes closed. He focused on his breathing, and then he focused on his heartbeat as if he could control it. But, in a way, he could; slowing his breathing, making it mindful and self-aware, his heartbeat did slow down. It might not have been subject to a mere thought, but it was a cause-and-effect sort of control. He imagined several places: the forest road where he met his ancestor fallen from the sky; the hayloft of the Talderan farmhouse where he spent a winter; Merris' room in the Golden Dragon; the Sea of Grass with his arms around Dohaina's neck and Zulrav's wrath whirling around them. Finally, he imagined a campground from the Fall Hunt, when he and Dymphna had wandered off a ways to lay on their backs in the grass, ear to ear, their bodies splayed out like stars. They had stared at the stars, wondering what they portended. He had been happy. Then he realized that he could no longer hear Daed's voice, but he was not afraid. He came slowly back to reality wondering if there was a Web that linked star to star. "I think I'm ready now," he said quietly.

[Baku]

Daed had already been standing near the nearest Web when Sama’el had reopened his eyes. His thick arms folded over each other as he stared down at Sama’el’s seated form. A single brow, however, raised at Sama’el’s words. “You "think" you are ready?” Daed then said, showing a bit of the teacher in a strict tone. “Do not be hesitant, do not be fearful Sama’el. Not of the web. Such inadequacies hinder your ability to see what the web has to show you. At the same time, however, simply be aware of your limitations. Don’t be overconfident, for it will make you oblivious to the fact that the Web is taking you wholly.” Daed lowered his head slightly, pondering his words. “In essence, traversing and reading the Web should become something comfortable, something familiar.” Daed then said, motioning down to the Web itself. “It is part of our people, our history. Traversing it should be like an activity that you were born for. It should become like riding your horse. You know you can ride a horse, and you know it is not a simple matter for you to fall off that horse. At the same time, however, you know what you are capable of in riding your horse, and for your own safety and that of your steed, you won’t become foolish in your rides. You know your horse is not something to be feared or toyed with. Traversing and reading the web should be the same way.” Daed then fell silent for a moment, letting his words sink into Sama’el’s head. “Now, when you are “ready,” approach the Web.” Daed then instructed, pointing down to the web now. “From there, take the djed within you, and extend it into the web. You must dive into the web as I pulled you into the one earlier with your baptism. Let your physical awareness leave, and let only the information of the web be what you experience. Read what it has recorded for the past day, and then leave back to the physical plain once again. I will be there in case you are lingering too long.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el thought to defend himself, but it had been a semantic slip and so he just took the lesson and tried to tell himself that he would speak more precisely in the future. To his mind, thinking he was ready was as good as being ready, because he was a novice here, after all. He nodded tersely to all that Daed said, respectfully taking his lumps and soaking up the instruction in their holy arcanum. With the lines of energy visible to him now, he looked at that web nearest him, minor in power and complexity, but likely linked to greater things if he followed the lines, and reached out for it, trying to push his idea of self out through his hands and into the wire of power before him. Whether it was the way that Daed would have told him to do it or not, the visualization seemed to work, and he did feel like he had swung out over a lake on a rope swing and dropped into snow runoff. The shock ran through him, but didn't hurt. Soon he was attempting to filter all the impressions coming at him into a coherent picture, because he was sure Daed would demand to know what he saw. The mental picture of swimming seemed to take over his experience, and whatever sort of body-form he had while outside of his body, it was swimming in information, and when he thought he had a decent picture of the last day, he tried to swim toward the surface, which was really just an idea, but the thought became his reality as he struggled to extricate himself from the Web.

[Baku]

Daed stood behind Sama’el silently as he dived into the Web once again. His hand soon reached up, resting along Sama’el’s shoulder as he went through the process. He took a moment, letting Sama’el see the web for himself before finally diving in himself. For long moments Sama’el saw the images of the passing day. Of wild animals crossing the web, of insects crawling up out of the ground. A Glassbeak taking down a prey. A group of diamond clan members doing a patrol. Eventually the information came to the present as he saw Daed approaching the web, of meditating for close to a half bell before he began weaving a web of his own. Sama’el himself soon approached after, observing as Daed mended the web and their entire discussion began. By the time Sama’el began swimming back to the surface once more, Daed himself had already left the web, feeling confident that Sama’el would return. The only thing Sama’el found as he came towards the surface, was Daed’s hand being offered to help him the rest of the way. Whether he would take the hand or not, Sama’el was soon brought back to reality, opening his eyes to find the grasslands surrounding him again. Syna had moved a short distance since he had been in the web, noting that almost a bell had passed by during his first official journey. “Information that the web provides becomes difficult to process at first, so it takes longer.” Daed said, explaining before Sama’el could even pose the question. “As you grow with experience in such, you will need less time to come across the answer you seek from the web itself.” Daed then stood in front of Sama’el, his arms folding over each other as he looked into the young Drykas’ eyes. “Now tell me, what did you see?” Daed finally asked.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

As Sama'el 'swam' to the surface, he thought he saw Daed's hand reaching out to help him, and for just a moment he hesitated, wondering if this is what it would have been like had his own grandfather or father survived to teach him the Drykas mysteries. But his father was gone, likely back into the Web to haunt it or be reborn in some future generation. He would have to fight the urge to travel down the Web in search of his family, stuck like flies in spun cocoons or dancing like spiders themselves. He took Daed's 'hand' and felt himself slide back into his body like a hand in a well-fitting glove, finding that he had Daed's actual hand too. His body shook a bit in reaction, perhaps his nerves wanted to be sure that his soul was properly seated again. Hopefully, as Daed said, it would become less traumatic an experience. "I saw so much," he said, finding his mouth dry. He took his waterskin an drank from it, offering it to Daed as well should he require hydration. "I... I saw everything that happened for a while before we arrived here. I saw us eventually, though I couldn't quite hear what we were saying. I guess my grasp wasn't strong enough for that part. "But animals and other natural stuff. A few members of the Watch rode by. You were meditating before I arrived." Dark, almond-shaped eyes darted to Daed as if asking for confirmation of what might be described as a Vision.