[Sunken Conundrum] Fisher of Men [Martin]

[Hadrian]

32nd Winter, 510 A.V. When Hadrian managed to find the library again, he was prepared for an experiment. If the building was made up of illusion, then this should prove it. Or else he would asphyxiate; one way or another. Stepping aside, he leaned against the building and focused on himself. Practically in a trance state, he surreptitiously slipped his hands up under his shirt to feel along his ribcage. Massaging the muscle and gristle binding them up under his skin, he imagined in his head the gills that had appeared when first he entered the building. Gradually, over the course of minutes, a set of proto-gills began to form between his ribs. He had studied real gills in detail while apprenticed to Master Tieh on Sahova, and he had paid careful attention to what had happened to him in the library, and so now he was slowly bringing about that change with only his meager skill at morphing. His skill might not have been vast, but he was careful in the extreme. One might even have said anal retentive, but Hadrian would have stalked off in a huff. When only a thin membrane protected his gills from the harsh air, he walked up to the door again, only banishing that last barrier between his new respiratory organs and the oxygen rich water. He passed through the door. He could breathe. He could breathe! He laughed, kicking off the door frame to keep moving so his piscine breathing worked more effectively. Well, perhaps it didn't prove anything, but it was an accomplishment of sorts. Whatever magic moved the building to morph the people who walked in felt no need to improve upon his work. One thing accomplished, he swam awkwardly toward the section on magical reference, which he now knew as well as any place in Alvadas. At least the library itself seemed a relatively stable reality. When he bumped into the appropriate bookshelf floating up high, he crawled along it like a spider until a book caught his eye, a book about Shielding. He lit up and pulled the book out to have a look.

[Martin Jogle]

Martin Jogle stumbled across the streets. He was amazed and annoyed at the same time. He had no idea where anything was and the constant illusions of the city were just about driving him crazy. The fact that everything was so weird and mishappen was also a source of amazement. It truly was a city of magic. He looked up and smiled with relief.

It was finally a normal building, a kind that he had been very familiar with during his time with Siralian. It was a library... probably. Of course it could be an illusion just like everything else in this goddamn city, but it was worth a try. Martin walked up to the building, cautiously opened the door, and was rewarded with...water. The entire building seemed to be flooded with water. The water didn't flow out of the building, but merely hung there, almost certainly with magic. Martin gaped at the wall of water, shocked and annoyed at the ludicrous sight. The sign above the door said "Don't forget to breathe" but he didn't understand what that could mean. He wasn't a Charoda after all. He knew of very few ways to breach this barrier towards the library. Become a Charoda. Become a fish-type Konti. Learn transformation magic. None of these, however, he was able to do.

Martin drew back to the side of the building and sat down thinking. After a while, he finally came up with a solution. He put his right index and middle finger to his temple and started to concentrate. He was going to invoke a magical shield to keep the water away from his head, giving him some breathable air. Even though he knew that he couldn't literally make the shield keep the water out, he thought he knew a workaround. He bit his left thumb, spitting out a piece of the fingernail onto his palm. He concentrated and started to breathe deeply. Green djed formed out of his breath. The deeper he breathed in, the more djed formed. The djed formed a cloud around his body. The cloud became tighter and tighter until it became a shimmering green bubble . The bubble covered his head and went out around his back as well. A higher volume, of course, meant more air for his trip. After the shimmering green base was complete he had to create rules for what could or could not come into his bubble. The bit of fingernail disappeared, and the shield became a darker shade of green, with jagged streaks of red. Martin finished creating the shield. The bubble turned blue and stopped shimmering incessantly. If it had worked, the shield would let nothing but a human, like himself, in or out of the bubble. Neither water nor anything else. Also, like all competent level or above shields, it had the ability to absorb any djed that hit it, perpetuating the shield. Martin took a deep breath and entered the library. And a sigh of relief. The bubble had protected him from the water.

Suddenly, Martin noticed something strange. The shield had started to exponentially grow in strength as soon as he stepped into the building. This place was obviously a place of incredibly powerful magic and some of it was getting absorbed into the shield. Martin knew he had to act fast. If the shield absorbed too much energy, it would collapse and he might be killed. He quickly changed the absorbing nature of the shield into a deflecting nature. Martin's eyes widened in shock as he realized that he had accidentally overwritten the entire shield, including the biological defense clause. Martin was about to start swimming back through the door as fast as he could, when he realized that the water hadn't started to close around him. Martin's eyes were now wide for an entirely different reason. This entire building, including the water, must have been made completly by magic. It was an amazing feat of magic and Martin spent five minutes just admiring it.

Or he would have. Martin didn't know how long he had in the library, so he knew he wouldn't be able to waste any time at all. He swam as well as he could (not too well) towards the magic section. He saw that there was another person in the isle as well, reading a book on shielding. He swam up to one of the higher shelves and picked up a book on Reimancy. Martin smiled with contentment as he started to read.

[Hadrian]

In a library where he felt safe, Hadrian was likely as not to ignore any and all passersby unless they messed with his books, but Alvadas still had him on edge, and even the relative peace of the Sunken Conundrum was not enough to keep him from getting twitchy when someone came near. He saw the surreptitious glance to what he was reading and had to fight the urge to hold the text up close to his chest so the other couldn't see, but then he saw the bubble of air around his head and watched him pull a book on reimancy from the shelf nearby. Was he an aeromancer? Then he noticed how small the other was, how innocuous he seemed. Hadrian's Auristic vision snapped up immediately and it seemed to his competent psychic eye that the man was making use of shields more than air magic, though he might have filled the bubble with reimancy. His aura was so gentle that Hadrian felt his own tension ease; surely this one wouldn't attempt to roll him or kill him or anything of that sort. He cleared his throat. "That's clever what you're doing with the shield, but you needn't waste the energy." He lifted his shirt up to reveal the gills he had created, even though the building had given him almost identical gills the first time he had come in. "If you let the shield drop, the building will morph you temporary gills. It's rather interesting, actually." He offered a brief smile, then let the shirt drop, hiding his pale skin.

[Martin Jogle]

Martin looked up, startled. He hadn't heard the man approach, as he had been concentrating on the book that he was reading. He looked up to see that it was the same person whom he had seen reading when he had first entered the library. Martin frowned, wondering whether he should trust this stranger. The city had already tricked him more than once before, but he was eager to find out more. If the building really could morph him temporary gills, it would an amazing experience. Anyways, if it didn't, he was close enough to the exit to be able to swim out in time. Most likely.
Reaching a decesion, Martin placed his fingers to his head and concentrated, releasing the magic. The shield collapsed and water coaleced around him. He suddenly felt the pressure of the water, and then...for a second there was no air. He couldn't breathe. It hadn't worked! He was going to die.

Then he remembered, that he forgot to breathe. Reflecting on the wisdom of the sign near the entrance, Martin let his breath go with a sigh. It had worked, the building had actually morphed him a set of gills. Martin stroked the new gills that had appeared on his body, his eyes lit up in amazement at the incredible magic.

"Thank-you, good sir. You saved me much trouble. What is your name? Are you interested in magic as well?"

He said, very hurriedly, all in one breath. Martin knew that he was being a little pushy and overinquisitive, but he couldn't contain it, now that he had found himself in such an amazing magical place.

ooc" I'm sorry about taking so long to post. "

[Hadrian]

Still peering at the man through the lens of his Auristics, he watched how he collapsed the shield and let the air bubble "up" toward... well, the bubbles of air were certainly traveling elsewhere. He watched the look of panic on the man's face, and hoped that the morphing magic wasn't keyed into the entrance, that, once a mage had come up with his or her own method for breathing, the building wouldn't save them if that method failed. But eventually he began to breathe, and so did Hadrian. He even smiled, which was rare for him. "You're welcome. For a moment there I was afraid... but never mind that. I'm Hadrian and," he showed the other young man the book he was reading, "I was just trying to absorb as much information on the shielding discipline as possible and then go see if I can't manage to teach it to myself later..." Of course, now he was also wondering what would happen if he morphed himself gills in his neck, whether the building would morph him another set along his ribs or leave well enough alone if he was breathing without help. "And you are?"

[Martin Jogle]

"The name is Martin Jogle. I was trying to do the same thing as you, only with Reimancy. I'm interested in pretty much all kinds of magics, but it doesn't seem like Reimancy is the kind of thing that can be learnt from a book."

He paused, catching his breath. He flushed the water out of his nose and breathed in again. It felt weird that the breath came through his gills and into his lungs, instead of through his nose or mouth. He wondered what kind of magic the other man already knew, and how good he was at it. He knew that he couldn't exactly put it like that though.

"So you're interested in shielding, right? What other magic forms are you able use? I'm competent in shielding myself, and maybe we could help each other out?"

Martin almost wanted to cross his fingers, hoping that this nice stranger knew enough magic to help him.

[Hadrian]

"Martin Jogle," he said, repeating the name to help lock it into his memory, mnemonic style. "Hadrian Aelius," he said, giving him his full name. He put out his free hand to shake, all civilized, and on his palm, slightly turned up, a sharp eye might see a faint scar that bespoke his own initiation in reimancy, if one knew what they were looking for, anyway. "Reimancy needs initiation, but one can certainly learn technique from books after initiation. I'm a magecrafter by trade... or, rather... an enchanter. I'm not a very skilled craftsman, so most of the actual crafting is done by other people, though I have had a few people teach me the basics of blacksmithing. I'm afraid I don't have the physique to be much of a smith, however. I've considered carving or gemcutting..." He shrugged. "We shall see. I do know a bit of hydromancy," he added, waving his hand through the ambient water, "so we're in my element. However..." He considered. "I'm tempted to take you up on your offer, but I am yet a novice with the elements, and my own initiation was not a happy one, even though I asked for it. You should perhaps find someone more adept before settling on me as a teacher..." He wanted to sigh, or even gnash his teeth in frustration. Was this a trick of Ionu's, sending a competent shielder his way when he was looking into shielding? But Zan had taken his coin, initiated him, and left him in a Zeltivan garret to bleed blood and ooze res without control. He wasn't sure he could do that to another person, even though he would try to do his best. Scruples! "I mean, I would try to make the initiation as easy as possible, but... if your primary element turned out to be fire... Well, it's a free choice universe," he said, finally, "and if you choose the initiation while knowing the possible dangers inherent in any magic, I could certainly unlock the door for you. But you would have to teach me to shield first, because if you start shooting fireballs at me, I will be quite vexed with you." He attempted a smile at that.

[Martin Jogle]

Martin frowned, thinking about what the other man had just said. A small bead of sweat formed on his temple as he remembered the descriptions of tortured pain that an initiation in Reimancy caused people who sought after the power. He wanted to have his initiation at some point, but this man was not the right one. He needed to find someone who was more skilled at the art before he started his training.

"Nice to meet you Hadrian. And you're right. Reimancy may not be such a good idea at the moment. The gods will lead me to the right person eventually. However, something else you said intrigues me. You are a magecrafter? Magecrafting is never one's first discipline. It is easily the most complicated and expensive of all magic in Mizahar. May I ask how you learned it? I am a shield-crafter by trade. I make low-level magical trickets with glyphing. However, apart from Reimancy, the thing that I have always wanted to know was the art of magecrafting. Making items that don't break after a single use is alluring indeed. I would certainly repay you as much as I could with lessons in shielding."

Martin was almost squirming with anticipation. Suddenly, he noticed something intriguing. Hadrian hadn't seemed especially guarded when talking to him. In this city, any sane person would and should be very cautious when striking up conversation with a stranger. And Hadrian did seem quite sane.

It was obvious that the man had some kind of advantage over him, either hypnotism, auristics, or some non-magical edge that he couldn't forsee. Martin decided to trust the man, but not overly trust him. He would stay a little bit more onguard.

[Hadrian]

"Well, Martin Jogle," he said, "you are probably wise for holding off on initiation. That said, if you are still looking when I have mastered a second element, I should be more equipped to help you properly. As for magecrafting, well, you are most likely correct there too. It just fascinated me and so that became my focus while studying at the University of Zeltiva. They had the laboratories and equipment necessary to experiment, and the capital as well. It is, as you said, expensive. But if you are versed in glyphing, then many of the basic techniques of magecrafting should come easily to you. I don't have a laboratory here, or know of one, but I could teach you theoretical magecrafting. Whether you deem that worthy of showing me a trick or two with shields and glyphs is up to you. And, in any case, I'll only be in town another ten days. I have learned quite a bit in a short amount of time here in Alvadas, but I do believe I need some distance from her illusions in order to process all that information." He tried not to look too excited. Certainly it would be easier to learn to shield from an actual person than a mere book, though he would certainly always augment what he learned from people with what was available in books. Martin was indeed rather wise to avoid the strong possibility of a bad initiation into reimancy, and another quick look at his aura assured Hadrian that he was most likely innocuous, if such things were to be believed in the City of Illusion. The slightly younger man was so small that he seemed even younger, and Hadrian was glad that he knew such a defensive discipline. There was a tug within the enchanter to protect him, and he wondered if that was some strange paternal instinct kicking in or more of the Alvadan craziness. "And shielding... that will help you take safety precautions... They don't tell you that magecrafting can be dangerous, but it can be."

[Martin Jogle]

"I'll keep that in mind." said Martin, grinning with anticipation. He was going to start learning Magecrafting. It was one of the hardest magics but also the most rewarding. Martin knew a little about the process from his readings, but he was eager to learn more. But before he could, there was something he had to do.

"We can start with shielding if you want, it won't take you long to get, I'm sure. Its not all that hard, really. I'm pretty sure you already know how to manipulate your djed. After you know that, all that is left is to manipulate it into the shape of the shield that you want. While you create the shield, you have to think of the effect that you want to defend against. At the novice level, all you'll be able to defend against is djed. Later you'll be able to defend against biological life, and later even weapons or block the senses. All you have to do to actually create a shield is weave your djed in the form of the shield. Concentrate on what you want it to do and what it will look like. The way that I do it is by expelling the djed out of my body through my breathe, then hardening it into a shield. I have seen others use other methods as well. I'll give you a demonstration if you like."

Martin focused on the image of a shimmering shield. He put his fingers to his temple as he willed the djed to form up from his breathe. He manipulated the djed, weaving it into the desired shape. He allowed the glyph in the scrollcase that was slung over his back focus his power. He opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them.

A small green shield had formed out of nothingness while, simultaneously, a lock of Martin's hair disappeared. It expanded out, creating a dry-vacuum zone in the middle of the flooded library. Martin finished concentrating and completed the shield, which sputtered and became a deep blue. Martin shoved his hands into the vacuum. His hands easily penatrated the shield, but his shirt did not. The sleeve was shoved up his arm as if Martin had shoved his hand into a hole instead of a shield.

"This is a more intermediate use of shield magic. I created a shield that defends against everything except humans. Anything that is human or made from the remains of a human, such as a product of malediction, can come through the shield. Nothing else can. It can also deflect magic. Normally an intermediate shieldmage is able to create a shield to absorb magic, strengthening the shield, but that is not possible in this case. Our surroundings were created by magic of the absolute highest level, and any shield that looks at the outside magic as offensive magic that must be absorbed would be instantly crushed."

Martin discontinued the magic again, noticing that the lock of hair had replaced itself in his pocket, right next to the nail clipping from before. Martin let out a sigh, clearing his head. You probably won't be able to do that kind of thing on the first try though. Here's what you should try. Martin took a deep breath, remembering to take it from his gills not his nose, and exhaled. A small amount of djed came from his nose, forming a small vacuum ball the size of an apple.

"This apple shield won't really do much, but it will teach you the basics of shielding. Why don't you give it a try"