[Flashback] Body Language (Reaver)

[Rayage]

Winter, 302 AV Rayage paced around the secret laboratory, the small room confining both his alchemy circle and his desk wasn’t the best layout, but the most efficient, and therefore practical. He frowned, a little discouraged by the hole that was now in his desk. It was nothing special, the desk, don’t get that fact wrong, it was just… It was an annoyance. Something that he would have to replace, and therefor cost money, which he hates to spend, and could sometimes come off rather Scrooge-like with his miza handling. That and the parchment that he had lost… Well, it wasn’t the loss of the parchment that got to him but what was on it, his precious notes and many theories and formulas. Although they all were safely stored in his head it was nice to have a hard copy for when he couldn’t quite think straight. It was like a quick reference, but he guessed he would have to spend some time rewriting what he had lost; not having looked over what notes he has left he hasn’t even began to start the process. It was tedious and quite boring to him. Maybe that is why he hasn’t yet filled books with his knowledge. He just can’t sit down long enough to write it all down. Time it all took time and time was very precious to the nuit. Time dictated how his body looked and when he needed to obtain a new one. Time ran the show and brought events into action, and action was what he strived for. Not writing a book, though it is indeed action it wasn’t the type he was looking for. Time was the master of just about everything and wither it flowed fast or slow depended on the persons perception of time. Time is one of the enigmas that seemed different to everyone, but only slightly different so they still could still agree time is indeed time. He smiled at the black sheet of paper made not hours ago, picking it up off the floor he looked it over. Not bad work if he didn’t say so himself. Wondering if or when the other will be back he looked towards the door that leads out and into the city. It has been a while and he wondered if the man didn’t run into any trouble. The body was patiently, as if it could do anything else, waiting in the ‘storage’ room for the man to return. It is said the dead can tell no tales, but Rayage disagrees, and with the help of the other he will hopefully find out some answers the dead is possibly hiding. He looked at the paper again before setting it down carefully on the table. He liked the color black…

[Reaver]

((My computer fights me with everything it has! RAWRZ!))

Reaver, now with his bag ready, was scrabbling to and from the streets. His hand-drawn map not as accurate as it needed to be. "Can't be right, not at all. Here?" Pressing against another wall, he found no indication of a secret passage. He updated his NEW map with the relevant information. Pulling his old map out again, he finally realized his old map didn't go all the way to his front door, so his starting point was off every time. Cursing under his breath, he made his way around a few more streets to where he suspected the door would be, and updated his new map with the layout once again. "And here goes nothing..." Pressing up against this wall once again, he finally found the door. With a heavy sigh, he made his way in, closing the door behind him.

Entering the lab once again, Reaver pulled his book on anatomy from his bag, and made his way to the back room, only to realize he almost forgot the other Nuit. Turning, he made his bow once again, and gestured to the door. "My apologies, the town is larger then I remember."

[Rayage]

Turning his attention to the door he smiled only a little as the other came in. He laughed a little when the nuit did a bow, but he secretly liked how formal he was. Nodding, ”It seems to grow bigger every day.” he didn’t hold it against him, but he could have got here a little faster. Just a bit, now the body was hours old and as time marched on, the seconds passing by, they were possibly losing answers, losing the thing they want to observe by the act of decay. ”I hope you brought everything you need.” he said both grimly and impatiently as he went to the door, giving the rune panted on it a slight smile he opened it, ”Shall we?” he asked waiting for the ‘expert’ to enter. The room was dark, but so was the rest of the hidden lab. The darkness seeming oddly and eerily fitting to the practices that go on here, to the alchemy that is performed, and to everything about the nuit. Once the other would enter the room he would close the door behind the two as if even in his own lab they weren’t safe. It was hidden well enough, but the closed door just added some extra security. The room would sport a small table, on which the body was carefully placed in ‘standard anatomical position’ no less. The body mangled by the magic that he tried to cast. He smiled on it like it was the most perfect thing in the world. ”So, where would you like to start?” he asked as he looked it over.

[Reaver]

”Shall we?” Reaver nodded and made his way inside. It felt darker then it was when he was last here, maybe his eyes hadn't adjusted as properly. ”So, where would you like to start?”

"Where I left off. I had made my note to the exterior, and the adjustments were somewhat moot according to my notes here." The eyes were shifted to the side, strange but not likely to be dangerous, and the neck was longer. Hair seamed to be missing in a couple tufts. On the lower body, the shrinking where the patches of scale are indicates it was attempting to reduce the size of her skin where the patches of scales were growing, but if the process had converted that completely the scales may not have been a major issue. Her nose, much smaller, it would have been very hard to breathe through her nose. Her lungs may need to be stronger to move her heavier chest, but I doubt she died from that given the time from the screams to my arrival. Reaver will hand the other Nuit his anatomy book, hoping it would bring him to the same answer. "From what I can gather on the outside, the process wasn't complete. My point of reference being the black sheet, and what I do know of magic in rings, I'd say perhaps the target moved too much. I'll continue with the inside, and perhaps I'll find a proper cause of death."

Reaver will start by examining the throat, followed by the chest. Pulling a knife from his bag, he made a careful cut along the neck, and pulled away the skin and muscle, examining the interior of the throat for initial signs of death. Her airways were not hindered, that's a good sign, wait, this far down? Her tongue was far too long. Possibly longer then a lizard proper. Well, she would have died swiftly after transformation like that. "Given the time, she would have choked on her tongue, perhaps remove the tongue from the lizard beforehand." After his pause, he continued the incision down her chest, and pulled away everything above the bone, using a few more cuts to make that process easier. Bone structure seams, deficient. Thin, maybe she wasn't properly cared for, as that has made a difference in my notes, but it seams smaller then any I've studied before. This rib, almost too small, and not even supposed to be in there, she has an extra. Perhaps it also tries to adjust the size of the target?

Having taken the time to think, Reaver grabbed a hammer from the bag, putting his knife back a moment. "If I were stronger, this would be faster." Reaver took aim, and used the hammer on each bone along the outside edge of the ribcage on either side. Each bone took 3 to 5 swings, with some variations on bone size. Almost too easy, maybe I should have kept quiet. With his preparations done, he put the hammer away, and took the shattered ribcage out, several bones no longer attached to the ribcage itself. Reaver will ponder the situation within while moving the various contents around. What a mess, even without my notes I can tell this is wrong. Like a body in a graveyard a month dead. Her heart, it simply burst, looks like from massive strain. The lungs are far more decomposed then all but the intestines, and the other organs were in similar shapes. I can't even find her kidneys. "Simply put, her heart couldn't handle whatever strain the process put on her, and her interior decomposed rapidly. Is that a usual effect of alchemy?" Reaver will move the book in the other Nuit's hands to his diagrams of the proper organs, as a comparison.

[Rayage]

Ray nodded at the others answer. He will begin where he left off. Approving of that very much he wondered when the last time was he saw such character last. It would have been a while that is for sure. Normally he didn’t like a less active role in the investigation, and he would try to stay as busy as possibly, but here, here he knew nothing. All he knew what he was altering the human body with Alchemy, no, he was no doctor but an Alchemist. Doctors knew anatomy; Alchemists only know that anatomy of an Alchemy circle. Sure, that isn’t always the case, but it was true here, and so it needed to be stated. He was sure some Alchemists had skills as doctors and surgeons, but this wasn’t his forte and so he would keep his nose out of it and watch. Just because he didn’t know something didn’t mean he couldn’t learn by observing for a bit. The other nuit seemed to know what he was doing. Well, or so he presumed. Ray nodded again when he heard words, “Of course the process wasn’t complete. Sometimes, most of the time,” he corrected himself, “It takes many more transmutations to get the desired effect. Though there is the possibility of the subject moving too much the Djed, even at its high speeds, having trouble bonding with her own” Though he didn’t know the actual correctness of the last spoken statement, for he hasn’t tested it, it was a good guess nonetheless, and he respected good guesses. It is what fueled his work in Alchemy. He continued to watch him as the nuit observed the girl himself. Cutting her open wasn’t as gruesome as he thought it would be, but still… It was entertaining to say the least. Again another silent nod from the Alchemist was earned, ”I could try that.” he made mental note to cut out the tongue of the lizard. That was going to be fun. He smiled just thinking about it. Watching the man think as he cut into his now dead subject made Ray think what he was thinking. He wondered if there was anything too wrong with the girl. Did she have some illness that made her unsuitable, or rather undesirable transmutation? Smiling as the hammer was pulled out and the ribs were taken out. ”You must be stronger than you think.” He laughed a little amused by how the ribs came out. Listening to the question asked of him he thought of a proper response, “Rapid decay?” He shook his head, “No, that isn’t normal, but it could be a side effect of the transmutation.” But then it hit him after a moment of silence, “There are half lifes though that fuels the life of a transmutation, and dictates the rate at which the transmutation itself decays” He observed changing his answer, “So once dead I guess it will decay just as fast as the half-life of the transmutation?” This was all simple guesswork, but based on observation it could be assumed that everything said so far was correct. “Heart bursting, well that could be more than normal. You know, nasty things tend to happen to creatures who are subject to Alchemy.” He said this with an all too coy and casual smile, “Djed, especially the high streams of it Alchemy works with, puts strain the body how it is. Just imagine a massive amount of energy trying to enter your body at once changing your own identity, and that is what Alchemy is.” He was hoping to get some useful information out of this, and so far he hasn’t been let down. There were some tips and questions. It would be interesting to see where this leads.

[Reaver]

Reaver will ponder all the information given at this time. "So, from the information I have gathered, I make more assumptions. Have you tried making a smaller reaction to allow a less drastic change on the body? Another possibility would be to increase the capacity of the main component." Component, not a word I enjoy using on the living. Reaver starts nodding to himself. "Do you have information on the same test with non-living components? Data from a control or two would be nice." I suppose increasing the power of the reaction may also yield better results, as that would induce a more complete change, thus allowing the main target to be more likely to properly shift into the new form, but the process itself may not be forgiving enough to allow that.

Reaver will contemplate the given information. "Are non-physical components usable in Alchemy? Such as spirits, gasses, or some sort of refined Djed?"

[Rayage]

Rayage smiled and looked at the subject even more. "I haven't tried that method yet." laughing a little, "It is so obvious. Why didn't I think of that?" he asked himself putting a hand to his chin, the smile never leaving his face. Perhaps a fresh set of eyes, a fresh mind was all that he needed. Yes, there was going to be a change around here and a revolution in alchemy itself. He will finally master how to create and augment life. That was his goal after all. Brooding over the question he was asked. Having never really tried gasses or ghosts, or even a sort of refined djed, but he knew some magical items could respond to transmutation. Assuming he needed even more, "Anything and everything can change, can be shifted, morphed, touched by the great science that we call alchemy. Why would there be any exceptions to that rule if alchemy is all about redefining the djed of very materials. Im sure if it has the power to manifest such change it can also work on gasses an ethereal creatures such as ghosts. Everything is made of djed. Alchemy can change djed, augment it, shift it and completely morph it into something that it is not, given the right amount of time and resources." That was his answer, and he was sticking to that. Alchemy was his everything and he was sure, positive, that it being a science had to be perfect, had to have rules, and had to have no exceptions because of the exactness of the art. That of course being his own thoughts on the subject, and having no material to back it up he just hoped that he was right about some things. Though he made note to find out the answers on a later date.

[Reaver]

"Hmm. So, should you be successful with non-living components, perhaps it would be more reasonable to shift a soul into the body rather then trying to combine several souls. Minus that, my art at it's peak would allow for such a thing to be possible. I'm far from the peak of my art, however." Reaver's mind was now quite certain, another possibility for his own research now existed. Reaver pondered that if he could get this other Nuit to do all his research for him on this outlet, perhaps he could study multiple areas of his own research at once. Perhaps if life can be forced into a body without the animation ritual, there would be a way to reinforce and repair my own body without the need of death. If not, maybe the death of 'lesser' beings that people tend not to cry about as much. He even contemplated the ability to have a dead body that did not decay, but then realized the half-life factor would eventually counter that. "Please do invite me back for the next test. Should you succeed, I feel my research would be next to complete."

[Rayage]

Rayage listened to the nuit and smiled thinking he was getting at what he was trying to say, "Yes, Im very successful with inanimate objects, non-living components. Everything has djed, and therefore the art of alchemy can change it." He felt like he was repeating himself, but such things were necessary. "So, instead of trying to combine living creatures together to make new life, perhaps use materials in this world to augment traits already found in them?' the concept was interesting at most. Think of it, a lizard with iron scales, or a dog with purple hair, or even a lizard-dog with purple scales that happen to have irons quality of hardness. Alchemy was a giant game to him, and one that he liked to play around with. It amused him to no end. "Tell me, you speak of your art. What exactly is it?" he was interested. He had already shown him his art, his work, and the product of such experiments sitting on the table before them, "Something along the lines of messing with souls?" he asked as the wheels began to turn, "And if so, could it be possible that you can put a soul in this body here?" he gestured to his failed experiment, the victim of advancement. "Also, what exactly are you researching to begin with?" these questions needed to be answered if he had any hope of forging a partnership with this other nuit. Perhaps their meeting can be mutually advantageous. They could help each other on projects. This was a great chance indeed. Nothing was more exciting than a potential business deal closing. "Oh," he smiled starting,"My name is Rayage. Ray if you must, and dont worry, Ill invite you. You will be a most honored guest." he grinned realizing they haven't quite introduced themselves. He would then fall into silence as if waiting to see how this all will turn out and how the other will react. He needed to know though, the others goals...

[Reaver]

"That, would also work. I meant copy the same experiment attempted using a dead girl and dead lizards. Perhaps both, dependent on what you wished to accomplish."

"Oh, my art is nothing terribly special. I make things move by building them fake souls. Those who are truly gifted at it can use real souls instead, but I have yet to be that gifted. The ritual used to make the Nuit is a product of my art. It is known as Alchemy. Much easier to prepare, but the process is much longer. Painfully so to make something intelligent."

"My research? It would be likely to be boring to you. I look to find what it is that makes things alive, and copy it to the dead. It would be nice to be able to extend the lives of our bodies years at a time, or more, without the need of the living. It may even allow the Nuit to lose one or two of the traits that make us 'evil' in the eyes of others. A byproduct of your research may be a very strong alternative, stronger bodies that won't decompose as quickly... given a long half-life. "

"I wonder if it's some sort of connection to a force like fate. Starts with an R, same number of letters and syllables. My name is Reaver, if you'd care to remember this time."

Reaver's mind was whirling with thoughts, not all of them coherent.