In an enclosed room [solo]

[Scezha]

65th of Winter, 510 AV

Scezha throws his body on his bed with a huge sigh. Today was quite a long day. It was his first time on ravok, and he still tries to make his way in the city. Scezha never been to a city with so much water before. The closest city thing to a water city he ever came accros before was a village at the edge of a beach. That, and a harbour city way east. And neither of those places have river canal as the mainway and gondola as the primary means of travel.

Those river canals also reflect sunlight pretty good, if there was any little sunlight that rain upon the city. And thanks to that, all the mainstreets and canals arond Ravok looks very similar to Scezha. He just glad he didn't get lost. And feel even better when the day ends and he still dry. At least his experience here was better than his master.

Still, that doesn't stop Scezha from getting what he wants. Just halve a day walking around town, and already he got his hand on some pretty good stuffs. Most of them are magical. It came as a surprise to him that a city like Ravok would have a magical shop in it. A concealed magical shop. As if the owner's trying not to let any ordinary people walks into his shop. And he was right. What was sold in that shop was way too dangerous for ordinary people to hold.

Scezha make a quick rise from his bed, sitting right on its edge. A slight glow of moonlight passes through his open window. It suddenly struck him that he hasn't been training for quite some time, and hasn't made any soulmist either. That can't be good. He has his eyes and mind on his master's for the last week and that make him ignores his own needs. If he doesn't get to his training routines anytime soon, he could be forced to learn from basic again. And that's something he doesn't want.

Scezha jumps to the window and close it shut. He pulls the curtain so that no light from outside could get in. Now, that close room is only lit by a small candle at the side of the closed door. No eyes or ears can watch over him tonight. A perfect scene to start his training.

"Now," Scezha mumbles as he opens his pack. "I better get some soulmist ready."

Scezha pulls out a redberry, a small fish the size of his thumb, and crust of bread. He took a little pinch of the bread and throws it between his teeth. Not a second later, the fish accompanies the bread in his mouth. The fish was nothing fancy, it's just the result of one of his unlucky day at the river. He chew it along with the brest for a good minute until it's soft and tender, then he puts two of the redberry inside.

He realizes he just uses a rather unsual ingredients for his soulmist, but it was the most cost efficient one that he could use. The berry he pick from the wilds, the fish from the river. Only the bread was the one he had to buy from a merchant. And learning from his master, it's best to learn how to make a soulmist from a variety of foods. Preventing you from getting too dependable on one or two "staples".

Five minutes, ten minutes. After all three ingredients mixed perfectly inside his mouth, becoming a good, soft, pulp of unthinkable flavour, he slits his index finger with a knife, and suck on the blood. The blood gave a rather unique taste to the mix. Quickly he swallow it all in one big gulp. And at the end of that gulp, his body starts to respond. The second the pulp enter his digestion system, the outer part of his body starts to glow in a faint light. As if his aura become stronger for a second, emitting a strange silver light.

Slowly, this light emanates from the whole part of his body. From the top of his turban, to the end of his feet. Scezha took a deep breathe, letting the light to flow in whichever way they please. It thickens. The light at his palms become bigger and a little brighter that it looks like a glove. Feeling that he already completed his soulmist, Scezha reach for his pack and grab two flasks.

He opens both of them and closes one of of the flask with his right hand. His main hand which he also use for voiding. It only needs a simple consentration for the soulmist to pour out from his right hand and into the flask. Slowly but surely, it fills the flask like light rain collecting on a bucket.

After halve a flask, he stops for and move his hand onto the other flask. Without long, he fills the flask with the remaining of his soulmist. Now a little faster than before. And his flask finally fills up with the remaining of his mist. Only about a quarter of it.

Scezha took another deep breath. It seems like he haven't lost his touch.

[Scezha]

"This soulmist should be able to hold for a couple of days. Maybe a week if I'm good enough." Scezha mumbles for a bit, before putting the soulmist back into his pack. He rubs both of his hands and prepares for the second part of his training. His second type of magic. He opens up his right palm upward and begin his usual training method with a little chant.

"Blasted away like sands in the desert. Like the bubbles on top of a wave. Like the sky when they reach the sea. What was you will be gone and what was left, let me be the master."

It did not take effect right away. Like always, voiding is always difficult and time consuming to practice, but he knows it will pay off greatly in the future if he keeps on practicing it. He never had the chance to use it in the past, but he can't say about the future. That's why he need to make himself used to open the gate to the other side. Just in case he need to send something there.

Scezha keeps on concentrating, imagining in his head that he's tearing away the air above his palm like tearing leaves. He repeat the chant he just said in his head, slowly imagining that the air in front of him is ripped away, sent somewhere far from this room. Leaving a wake of nothingness in its place. He repeats the same chant, the same picture, over and over again. Air was ripped like it was leaves. What was left, let me be the master.

Finally, his effort pays off. A black hole, the size of three mizas placed side by side, emerge three inches above his palm. It was dark and hollow, like the gates he previously open, but something looks different today. The swirl, little traces of gray that spins from the core to the rim of the void spinning clockwise, was a little fainter than before. Did he opens the gate at a completely different place in the Other Side than he usually does? Or is this the result of a lack of training?

Scezha keeps that tought away as he concentrates to keep the gate stays open. Matter will naturally try to cover any tears or holes in the fabric of space. This will eventually close the gate he opens if Scezha didn't maintain it properly. That's what his master said and, though Scezha didn't really understand it, he know his gate will close soon if he keeps his mind away from it. So Scezha once again repeats the same image he use to open the gate. Air was ripped away like it was leaves. What was left, let me be the master.

He didn't know how long it was. A minute? Five minute? Or a whole hour? What he knew was just that he lost the energy and stamina required to keep the gate opens. He has no other choice. He has to close the void. In a sustainable way. He can't let it to fall on too quick and send something to the Other Side accidentally. Scezha plays back the image in his head in reverse. The ripped air was put back again like nothing has happened to it. What was once there, let me be the master.

[Scezha]

Scezha feels so tired all of a sudden. His head feels like it's just been rolled down a hill for a day or two. The room swirls around like the vortex in a void he just opens. Nothing was in the same place, nothing stays still like they should. Suddenly, a nauseatic feeling hits Scezha so bad he could feel the inside of his stomach now races up through his throat. Scezha covers his mouth quickly, holding whatever tries to break out, and runs quickly to the bathroom. There, he throws up every little pieces of dinner, bread, and his soulmist ingredients. All littering the bathroom floor.

After feeling like he has throw everything up, Scezha wipes his mouth clean. "Bloody hell." He mumbles. "This is what lack of training costs you."

Scezha cleans up the bathroom floor, then grabs his bag of waterskin. He need to rehydrate himself after what just happens. Without a second thought, he empties his waterskin. The cold water inside cleans up his throat, and circulate through his body within a minute, make him feel so much fresher than before.

"Now," Scezha said as he throws the waterskin onto his backpack on the floor. "time to make a little ghostbead." He took out all the bracelets he had bought in the city before. In a nice little shop called "Odds and Ends". Funny name for a shop, and although they didn't have some of what Scezha was looking for that shop still sold some useful stuff. It's a good shop to come visit every once in a while.

Scezha counts the bracelets. There are ten of them, no more no less. Scezha rearranges them in order of size, the smallest one on the left and gradually larger on its right. He had chosen the bracelets carefully, and he was glad that he did. But the bracelet was only a part of the bead. He still has to make the strings.

Scezha let out a small sigh and took his turban off. Revealing his brown and wavy hair. It was not a good hair, or at least doesn't gave any hints that Scezha has taken care of it, but it was good enough. It was always hidden under his turban anyway, so it's alright if it was messy for a bit. Scezha grabs one end of his hair and pulls it out.

Painful. That he would not deny. He repeats the process until he have a handful of them. Short, but strong enough to be woven into a string. He stops before he got a partial bald on his head. Though, even if he have, no one would realize. He wore his turban almost everytime he gone out. If only he had been collecting his hair like his master told him to, then he could make a bigger one already.

Scezha begin to wove the hair together, slowly but surely, making sure it was a nice and strong weave and not something a ten years old would make. He wove carefully from one end until it tightens and made a shape of a thread. He continues along the line, carefully not to make mistakes as he got closer to the end. Scezha has wove his own hair for so long, his back starts to hurt. And he's starting to feel that it's not a good idea to do something that needs concentration when he's so tired. But he can't stop midway, not when he already gotten this far.

Finally, it's done. He has made a good strain of thread from his hair, though he have to admit it is pretty small. If he was to make a ghostbead from this, the safezone would be so small it can only contain one person. And even then it would feel pretty tight. But complaining wouldn't do him any good, so Scezha pick the three biggest bracelets he bought, then he puts the hair-thread into them and made a loop. A simple one, but because he didn't make a longer thread, the knot at the end is so small. Scezha can only hope a gust of wind didn't blow it off when he uses it.

"I guess," He mumbles again. "I have to start collecting hair daily from now on."