[Sunken Conundrum] Fisher of Men [Martin]

[Hadrian]

Hadrian would not normally have patronized a place like this; the man seemed too dirty to be serving food, but he and -- he thought -- Martin were famished after their work. Normally, Hadrian had more stamina than that, but Shielding was new to him and Alvadas still seemed to put a drain on his mental energy, just trying to cope with the shifting, fluctuating reality of the place. "No, I agree," he said. "You're preaching to the choir. Magic is a tool for good or for bad, not necessarily good or evil in itself. It's just that with magecrafting, you have a greater potential for power and utility, and so a greater potential for good and for evil. I just think it's important to bear that in mind. Even Aleesa Tallshade, the greatest magecrafter known to history, struggled with that question, spending her twilight years trying to destroy her creations, which had become too powerful for her to eliminate. An anvil that cuts a soul off from the cycle of rebirth? A sword that commands the minds of men? In the wrong hands..." His stomach growled loud enough that one might have thought a wild animal was inside Hadrian, gnawing on his spine. He shook his head. "Whether magic proves a panacea or the bane of existence is yet to be seen. I'm working toward the betterment of all of us, or so I hope. Anyway, there are several treatises about various vibrations. It's a lot of mathematics that I can write out for you if you like... Magecrafting is very technical. Almost like engineering or gadgeteering with magical energy. Precision is important, but you do begin to develop an intuition for things... Like recently my calculations had told me that a bronze hammer was the correct choice for a specific point in the process, but when I was in the middle of it, I was sure that electrum would resonate better... I paused, recalculated, and my intuition proved correct. Somehow, despite triple-checking my work, I had let a mistake slide... The bronze might have worked, but not so well as the electrum. He paused, hoping the food would come soon. "So... did that answer your question? I'm awfully hungry. Many wizards have laid out tables regarding the proper instruments for the proper harmonic variations and all... but one can develop an intuitive grasp even if the mathematics are beyond them, I think."

[Martin Jogle]

After what seemed like an eternity, the man brought their meal. It was little more than a hunk of meat with bread and cheese, but it tasted quite good all the same. It was a welcome change to the traveler's stock soup that he had made up all of his meals for the past 14 days. He was very hungry, and he was sure Hadrian was just as hungry. So for a time, they just ate, without looking up or talking to each other much. Being the fast eater that he was, Martin was finished well ahead of the taller man, and now waited for him to finish.

While he was eating, Martin had been thinking very hard.Martin knew that there was no way he would pick up any of the true art of Magecraft through conversation. He would only become a truly competent user if...he were to get a real master. Just like Siralian, his old master, he needed to learn magecraft from a real and experienced magecrafter. And he thought that he knew exactly whom.

"Umm...I think...would you..." he stuttered, not knowing how to put his message into words. He said the next sentance quite fast,"Would you consider becoming my teacher?" Martin tried to slow down and speak in a calm and collected voice. No matter how scared-and exicited-he was, he had to make sure that Hadrian understood what he was saying.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to learn all that I want to learn about Magecraft, after just one talk. I need a real teacher to learn from. And I think you are just the right one. My shielding and glyphing could be useful to you in your work, and any world magic user can benefit from an assistant. Please let me be your apprentice."

Martin said, bowing his head slightly. He closed his eyes, hoping with all his heart that the older man would agree.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian just blinked at Martin, his napkin poised over his mouth where he had been mopping up the wreckage of a meal. Normally he ate with more poise, but he had been so famished and Martin certainly hadn't been worried about politesse. When he remembered his hands, he quickly dabbed the last of his meal from his lips and looked away, thinking fast. It hadn't occurred to him that anyone would want to be his apprentice with him so young, but he was University-trained. Perhaps that did count for something in the world, after all. It was difficult to gauge Martin's age. Certainly he seemed younger, and his height made him seem even younger. Hadrian frowned. "But you don't even know me," he protested. "I mean, sure, you would learn faster with a mentor and shielding and glyphing would be helpful in the process but... why me?"

[Martin Jogle]

"I may barely know you, but I barely knew my previous master either. But he was able to help me, and...I get the same kind of feeling from you." Martin stopped for a second, embarrassed.

"There is no real way for me to learn magecraft without a mentor. Maybe its just the city playing tricks with my mind, but I just have a feeling that it should be you. Besides that feeling, it is true that you're the first magecrafter I've ever seen, and not everybody in the world practices it. Unless I go to Zeltiva university, an almost impossibly long journey, or I am lucky enough to find another good magecrafter, there is no other way to learn."

Martin clasped his hands under the table, still hoping that Hadrian would agree.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian blurted out a question, rude though it might be, in order to gain time to think. This young man seemed nice enough, even like someone with whom Hadrian might get along, but many things in Alvadas seemed fair. "How did you get that scar on your face?" he asked boldly, even as he engaged his Auristic vision, wanting to get a better feel for who Martin was behind the social mask that everyone wore. After all, if he took him on as an apprentice, Martin could steal from him, even kill him when he was asleep or otherwise distracted. Or could his motives have been so simple?

[Martin Jogle]

Martin was surprised by this question. Hadrian was probably just testing him, but Martin just felt really depressed, remembering the traumatic event. A single tear welled out of his left eye and dripped down into his lap.

"I...It wasn't an experience that I really want to talk about. Asking about it is really just asking for my life story. I was born in Sunberth. My parents, unlike most people in Sunberth, were good people. They wanted the best for their child, and we set out for Syliras. We rode for days and days in that carriage. We were almost there when they came. Those bandits. The bandits stole everything from me. They k...killed my dad. They killed my mom. Then they attacked me. Thats where I got this scar." Martin stroked his finger across the thin scar.

"The bandits were playing with me. They had me on a platter. They were finally about to kill me when I was saved by Siralian, my soon-to-be-master. Siralian taught me shielding so that I could defend myself. So that I could protect people that I care about. And then Siralian died, too. I vowed that I wouldn't just be content with what I had. I decided to learn all that I could about all sorts of magic, so that I could be just like Siralian."

Martin put his face in his hands, hoping to hide the hints of wetness that stained his cheeks.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian hadn't intended to strike such a discordant note with his question, but perhaps it wasn't the best thought out plan. Then again, he hadn't expected a relative stranger to request to follow him across the continent to learn from and assist him. His mouth dropped open in distress and discomfort when the kid started crying in front of him, flashes of dark memory swirling around Martin's aura for the Aurist in him to see. "I... ah... that is... sorry..." He reached out to put his hand on the diminutive young man's shoulder, an attempt at being comforting. There had been times in his childhood when little Verus had needed such, but they were the youngest of the Aelius brood and his sisters liked to practice motherhood on the littlest boy, so Hadrian had had little cause to offer comfort. "I apologize for my question. I didn't mean to dredge up unhappy memories... Sorry..."

[Vetala]

Hadrian

Morhping - 2
Swiming - 2
Auristics- 2
Socializing - 5
Meditation - 1
Shielding - 2
Reimancy - 1
Teaching - 1
Rhetoric - 4

Lore:
Proving a hypothesis by magical means
Basics of shielding
Understanding anothers pain



Martin Jogle

Swiming - 2
Shielding - 3
Socializing - 5
Teaching - 3
Glyphing - 1
Rhetoric - 4



Lore:
Teaching about shielding
Basic thorey of Magecrafting
Aleesa Tallshade (minor)
Reliving a painful memory


Ledger:
-1 GM


Notes:

Wait. It can't end. Not yet.
Such a good read and makes you wonder what takes place afterwards. If Martin comes back I shall remove this and you two can keep going.

A lot was done in this short yet good thread. If you feel I missed anything or if you are unhappy with something please let me know by PM.