Solo The great unraveling

[Cleon]

15th of Summer, 522 AV

“Why are you so uptight about whatever your master wrote on those pages?” Cleon asked the book frankly, sitting across from it in his room. He had the book propped up against the end of the bed so it was ‘facing’ him while he sat propped up against the headboard. It was late afternoon, and this looked frankly like another futile attempt at conversation with the book, of which he had many. It was surprisingly ornery for a book he rescued from that abandoned archive, and he thought the book should be a little more grateful, though no such luck when it came to this one.

“Because he didn’t want your greasy little fingers pawing over his life’s work.” The book sneered, even going so far as to pull its lip up some. Cleon frowned, and made a show of looking at his hands before leveling a look over at it.

“My hands aren’t greasy, and they certainly aren’t paws.” He said, splaying his fingers out as he tried to mock the book with the demonstration but his little attempt at humor was lost on the book who just snorted. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh you wouldn’t understand. Just a little inside joke. It would go so far over your head that it would be a waste of breathe to say.”

Cleon rolled his eyes and sat up, folding his hands before him. “Try me.”

“No rea-”

“TRY ME.”

The book rolled its singular eye. “Okay, well you’re hands aren’t paws… yet.” Cleon squinted at the book, and as the confusion settled over his features he opened his mouth to speak. “See, I told you.”

“What do you mean? Does this have something to do with morphing?” Cleon asked, still little more confused than he knew what to do with. As much as he tried to resist, he couldn’t help but glance down at his hands occasionally which drew a chortle from the book.

“Wow, so there is a brain after all in that thick skull of yours. I am honestly surprised.”

“So it does have something to do with morphing. I can… change my hands right?” Cleon continued on, undaunted by the books continued insults.

“Yes, you could say that.” The book said, still continuing to snicker. Cleon pinched the ridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger as he took in a deep breath.

“So morphing is about change, and you use magic… err djed to do it right?” Cleon asked warily.

“Have you always been this dense. Yes boy. Yes, morphing has to do with djed and change. Of course it does. Honestly, even the most simple minded of students were able to grasp that part far quicker than you have.”

Cleon took the verbal barb in due course, nodding slightly to himself as he met the book’s eye.

“I bet I could do it.” He said after a moment.

“Do what?”

“Morph.”

The book starting wheeze laughing then, and Cleon bunched his hands up indignantly before he managed to forcibly relax himself by taking in a deep breath through his nose, and focusing back in on the moment.

WC -521
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[Cleon]

“I’m serious.”

“Oh I don’t doubt that boy. I just seriously, and I mean seriously doubt that you have any magical talent at all. Yours is all focused on those trinkets of yours but I haven’t seen you use a lick of djed yourself which tells me volumes about the person I am associating with. Honestly, I don’t think you could even get your foot in the door even if I spelled everything out for you.”

Cleon let all his breath out in one deep, long sigh. “Why don’t you try me then. I bet I could learn how to morph faster than your master did.”

The book made a sound like a short barking laugh at that. “No. No you wouldn’t.”

“I bet I could. What? Are you afraid I might and humiliate you.” Cleon said with a hint of a smile.

“Hardly.”

“Then how about a little wager. You tell me how your master learned how to morph, and how long it took them, and I’ll beat that time. If I succeed, you have to share with me everything he wrote, and if I fail I’ll take you make to the library and make sure you get the peace and quiet you so desire.” Cleon said, feeling a little giddy about the whole idea and also a little afraid as he didn’t quite know how this was going to go.

“Okay. Deal. I honestly don’t think you will be able to learn anyways no matter how much time you are given, but we will set the time at a tenday from now to make it simple, but make sure you hold up with your end of the bargain and bring me back. You’ll not like the consequences if you try to go against our deal in any way.”

Cleon nodded at the cryptic threat. “Alright, so what is it? What do I need to do to learn morphing?”

“Well, its quite simple really. You need to think about it.”

“Think about it?” Cleon asked, suddenly confused again.

“I guess not simple for you as you aren’t overly fond of thinking, but yes, you must think about morphing. In the past, aspiring morphers meditated for several tendays on the subject until their minds where completely separate from their body. Most of course failed, as it isn’t simply about maintaining a fast and focusing in on the subject. No, it takes a unique sort of mind to understand how to manipulate their djed in such a way. A rare sort that comes once in a generation. You, my dear Cleon are not that sort.”

Cleon huffed. “Alright, we’ll just see what sort of man I am then. I bet you I’ll have it done before the tenday is up, just you watch.”

“I look forwards to laughing in your face as you carry me back to the library.”

Cleon rolled his eyes and in one swift movement lunged across the bed and stowed the book inside of his satchel charm before the book could say anything else that was snide. Then he sat back on his bed, letting the words marinate over him for a while as he looked across at the wall. He has to fast, and meditate until his mind felt separate from his body. It sounded a lot like what Zayne mentioned with yoga. Subtly different yes, but along that same trail of thought. Flexing his fingers, he sat up straight and closed his eyes.

Immediately he felt a itch he needed to scratch on the tip of his nose, then his mind starting wandering to think about what Faye was up to just then before he realized what he was doing and tried to maintain a clear mind once more. Easier said than done. A sundry of needs, wants and duties drifted into focus, some more difficult to push aside than others, and not separating from him cleanly when he tried to push them aside to focus on what he was necessarily trying to do. Then he couldn’t help but imagine the book trying to laugh at him now, wrestling with his cluttered thoughts that bumped into one another over and over in an endless cycle. Cleon took in a deep breath and opened his eyes.

This wasn’t going to work. He was too ramped up after his conversation with the book. Better that he put some distance between this moment and try again in the morning. Perhaps he could try for one of Zayne’s early morning yoga classes to give it a proper go. Yes, that might just work he thought as he left the room to go check on Faye.

WC - 776

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[Cleon]

16th of Summer, 522 AV

As he skipped breakfast that morning, Cleon didn’t have much a reason to not to show up early to Zayne’s yoga class, the layout familiar to him from his previous visit. However things were different this time. He was at the start of what was looking to be a very long fast for him, and although he had only missed two meals so far, he was feeling much less energetic than usual as he walked up to the Tranquility center, taking his sandals off and leaving them on the sand as he walked barefoot onto the wooden platform.

Just like before he found an empty towel to sit upon while he waited for more Sykans to filter in which gave him time to pull his thoughts away from his gnawing hunger and onto the purpose of today’s visit. Focusing on separating his mind from his body, spiritually anyways. It was a tall task, and one he almost assuredly knew wouldn’t happen overnight, however he was more than willing to work at it and not just to spite the book although that was certainly part of it as well. Because Cleon could see that this place was special. Not just in a magical way, but because the people that inhabited it wanted to work together in order to create a community they could be proud of. He had become a part of that community, and now he wanted to know how to protect it from the next powerful enemy that crossed their way. Magic seemed like a good start, and Cleon couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d picked that book for a reason, and that reason was to learn its contents in order to make himself stronger to face whatever came next. He would conquer this books challenge without complaint partly because he needed to, and more so because he wanted to.

It was a difficult thing to admit, but Cleon was more than a little curious about what that book had to say once its secrets were opened up to him. This was the same curiosity that had often gotten him in trouble in Sunberth, but here it was more than welcomed, and he’d learned slowly overtime to indulge it. He’d finally manage to get how to start out of the book, and he wasn’t going to waste that information. Not now. Closing his eyes, Cleon started trying to clear his mind for the yoga session that would be starting any chime now.

This time he focused on his breathing, keeping it steady, in and out where upon he noticed that it seemed to be coming primarily through one nostril. He focused on that part of his nose as he tried to blot everything else out, continuing to breath steadily as he heard bare feet patter against wood floor all around him. Cleon shifted in place to get a little more comfortable. His stomach growled but still he tried to focus on his breathing. Cleon heard someone walk in front of him. He opened his eyes to see Zayne taking his position at the head of the class.

WC - 518

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[Cleon]

“Alright, today lets start with a nice and easy standing pose to open up our bodies and get everything flowing. I want you to stand like this, and then slowly bring your right leg forward while extending your left behind. You want to keep that left leg straight, while the right leg you’ll hold at a ninety degree angle. Hold this pose for about thirty seconds and then switch legs.” Zayne said, going through the motions slowly before the class before actually doing it once more.

Cleon followed along as best he could, extending his left leg backward as he sort of knelt with his right. All at once he could feel the muscles in his back leg straightening while the top of his right thigh, stomach and back similarly stretched with the motion.

“These warm ups are focused around helping you clear your mind, and getting your body ready for some of the more difficult poses. Try to focus on nothing else but your breathing and maintaining your pose for as long as possible. I’ll do the counting so just switch when I do.” Zayne said slowly, in a relaxed tone. Cleon nodded slightly and looked down at the floor slightly as he tried to do just that, breathing in and out while he turned his focus inward. How his body felt with the movements he was making was at the forefront of his thoughts presently, and strangely little else for it required a good deal of focus to maintain this position as his core started trembling from holding the position.

He took in another deep breath while thinking that this had to be the longest thirty ticks ever when finally Zayne switched legs giving his core a brief respite as he clumsily altered his position. This one was much less stable for him, and he had to put both hands on the top of his legs a few times even though he knew he was supposed to hold his arms out. Turned out balancing also had a way of emptying ones mind rather quickly much like exercising did, which was almost a breath of fresh air for Cleon who’s mind seemed to be always running.

Cleon took in another deep breath, and another, occasionally becoming aware about how it primarily seemed to be coming through his left nostril which somewhat calmed him from his struggle to stay balanced on the towel. His mind was still a bunched up and tangled mat, full of hidden anxieties that just waited to be uncovered by his searching mind. Cleon tried emptying out those insecurities as Zayne straightened up, gesturing for the rest of the class to do so as well.

“Well I think the second warrior pose went rather well, don’t you all?” Zayne said with a cheery smile as he already started to launch into the next pose. “Now we are going to fall into the triangle, starting with our right foot.” Zayne said, leaning over to touch his right foot without bending his legs in the slightest. Instead he head them splayed out so the space between them resembled a triangle and while one hand touched his foot, the other hand he stretched vertically above himself.

WC - 537

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[Cleon]

Trying to mimic him, Cleon stretched to do the same, and unable to reach his toe at first, he finally managed to do so by finger walking his way down his right leg until finally he could grip the top of his foot while splaying his legs out below him. Naturally he wobbled to keep the pose and almost entirely forgot to raise his arm above his head, which he did a few ticks later with a chagrined look on his face. Zayne for his part was a picture of calm as he continued to hold his stretch without seeming to move a muscle. Cleon sort of envied him for his discipline before he remembered that he was supposed to be concentrating on not thinking about such things. On clearing his mind, and simple existing in the moment. Of course the first magic he would try to learn would rely on such mental games he thought with a concerned roll of his eyes.

Taking in a deep breath he tried to just hold sensation in his mind and nothing else, just his body’s movements with no thoughts attached. He didn’t know exactly what he was seeking from this gesture, but he supposed it would come to him, eventually. For now he just focused on maintaining mental focus on the task at hand as he got to know intimately how his body felt through the process of this stretch. Cleon smiled, kind of starting to get the hang of it when suddenly it was time to switch to the next stretch.

Left leg this time. Cleon once again finger crawled his way down till he could grasp the edge of his foot in order to hold the pose while his other arm stretched high above his head. It went a little more easier this time but was still a difficult position to hold. He couldn’t deny either that it felt good to limber up in this way. He didn’t realize how much tension he’d been holding in his muscles towards then and the relief that washed through him made simplifying his thoughts easier as he continued to try keeping his breathing regular.

The hardest part of this was not allowing his mind to focus on others as was his natural bent. Turning instead that attention inward required his constant focus and presence of mind on not only what his body was doing but what his mind was as well with its casual observations and such. He instead tried centering himself by trying not to think at all, just focus on what his body was doing until it occurred to him that was a sort of thought as well. In fact, he could never be completely free of thought, that was impossible which meant… well he wasn’t entirely sure just what that meant yet. Perhaps he should just try hard focusing on nothing in particular, and then consider the thoughts as they came to him, learning what he may.

Cleon looked up as Zayne changed back into the second warrior pose.

WC - 509

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