[The Sunken Conundrum] Pursuit of Knowledge (Open)

[Seidaku]

Seidaku's enthusiasm returned quickly at the oportunity to not only practice Voiding, but also to have a chance to witness a performance of Reimancy up close. "That is perfect," he said, following Vhanet's gesture to the secluded glade and bench within, "If you prefer, you can take a seat. I need a moment to gather my concentration before I begin."

Without waiting to see if Vhanet moved to the bench or not, Seidaku lowered himself to the grass, pleased to see that it was grass this time, and not delicate carvings of glass or miniature serpents. Crossing his legs, he patted at his pockets and realized then that he had left his inks at home before he went to the Sunken Conundrum. With a shrug, he placed his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. He had created portals without Glyphs before, but they definitely sped the process. Still, he had no need for a huge portal, just enough for a demonstration.

He took a deep breath, held it, and then released, allowing himself to flow out with the breath. All of his concern that this would not work, all of his embarassment from earlier, all of his excitement at the prospect of learning left him with the breath. Empty within, empty without.

With his eyes still closed, he visualized the flows of his Djed, flowing through the channels that the Glyphs would have created, flowing out of his body in his breaths to gather invisibly in the air before him, swirling slowly. For long moments, nothing happened, but then wisps of shadow began to swirl in the air a foot in front of his closed eyes.

The motes of darkness began to spiral more swiftly as they closed with eachother, until they were difficult to follow, seeming to slip in and out of view despite being less than a hand's breadth apart. In the space between one breath and the next, the motes bled together and bore a hole through existence to the Other Side.

When he opened his eyes, there was a ragged vertical spiral of perfect blackness a foot across swirling slowly before him. There was a soft whisper as air passed from this side, into the Void. It was enough to create a soft breeze, but not enough to pose a threat to the two of them.

Seidaku looked at Vhanet over his shoulder with a grin that split his face, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

[Yanessavhanet]

Vhanet took a seat on the bench, and quietly watched as Seidaku went to work. At least, she assumed he was doing something other than just sitting there and and breathing. Maybe it took intense mental focus in order to use magic. She would have to remember that when she attempted her deception.

Eventually there appeared small motes of darkness, and Vhanet's eyes widened slightly in surprise. When the motes came together and created a hole in the middle of the air Vhanet couldn't help but gasp softly. Unless Seidaku was also an illusionist, which she doubted with how scattered his thoughts seemed to be, this was something she had not expected.

"Indeed," Vhanet said with a smile to Seidaku as he grinned at her, and she carefully stood up and approached the hole he had created, "I had not imagined the Void to be completely dark like that... Would it be harmful to touch?"

It was starting to seem that this voiding could be a useful skill to learn. If nothing else than for the disposal of less digestible parts of her victims, or other things she had to get rid of quickly. Perhaps it would be best to find someone else to provide her meal.

[Seidaku]

"This portal is not dangerous, no," Seidaku said, standing up and brushing his hands together, "Very cold, but not particularly dangerous as long as the portal remains open."

After their time in the Sunken Conundrum, his hair and clothing was still very damp. Perfect for an object lesson in the Void. He ran a hand through his hair to gather some moisture onto his palm and stuck his hand through the portal, seeming to vanish into the perfect darkness.

"The Void was once perfectly empty. Our ability to pierce the barrier has changed that, of course, as air passes from one side to the other and mages use it as a type of dumping ground. However, it is still almost exclusively cold, empty space. There is not enough air to breath, and it is very, very cold."

He pulled his hand back from the portal, and the water covering his hand had solidified into glistening crystals of ice that quickly began to thaw and melt in the heat of Alvadas. Shaking his hand and clenching his fingers to try and restore some warmth, Seidaku settled for stuffing his hand into the pit of his arm and warming it through body heat.

"There are things that live in the Void. None of them are native to its depths, but mages have banished creatures too dangerous or difficult to kill for them to handle. As a result, anything that you encounter in the Void will generally be something that you did not want to."

He stepped back and gestured to the portal, "If you would like, you can inspect it. Be careful to keep your face back, though. The cold can damage your lungs."

[Yanessavhanet]

Vhanet was silent as she listened to Seidaku's explanation of the Void. The mention of the portal being safe as long as it was open interested her, but the mention of cold was disheartening. For Seidaku, who lived in such a cool place as Alvadas, to say it was very cold meant it would probably be bitterly cold to her.

Her dark eyes followed Seidaku's hand as it passed into the darkness. When he withdrew his hand, covered in ice, she couldn't contain her shiver. The thought of putting any part of her body in a place that cold was probably the least appealing thought Vhanet had ever come across.

Still, it could definitely have its uses, and the mention of dangerous creatures living within the Void brought to mind interesting thoughts as well. Perhaps there was a way to draw such creatures out, and possibly gain some kind of reward for their freedom. Certainly a dangerous game, but Vhanet was rather fond of dangerous games.

The offer to inspect the portal was met by a brief pause from Vhanet, and then she leaned a little closer. She couldn't tell much by sight, and so she reached out her hand and brushed her fingers against the edge of the portal, watching as they vanished into the blackness. Ever faster than she reached out she jerked her hand back at the sting of the cold, "Very cold indeed," she said softly as she rubbed her fingers with her other hand to try and restore some heat to them.

Turning a brilliant smile to Seidaku she gushed, "A very amazing exhibition. I cannot thank you enough for enlightening me with your knowledge," she moved a little closer to him, reaching out her hand with the cold fingers to touch his shoulder in a hope to draw in some of his warmth, "I am very fortunate that I happened upon you in the library," she spoke softly as her eyes met his, suggesting what her voice merely hinted at.

[Seidaku]

Seidaku watched Vhanet approach the portal with a broad smile on his face. He remembered his sense of fascination at his first glimpse into the Void and the awe that actually experiencing the cold emptiness had inspired in him. It was at that moment that his other studies had fallen by the wayside. What else could compare with a study of a primordial nothingness?

"A very amazing exhibition. I cannot thank you enough for enlightening me with your knowledge," he could hear the same sense of amazement in her voice as she turned away from the portal to face him again. When she reached out to touch his shoulder, his pulse quickened, "I am very fortunate that I happened upon you in the library."

"Y-Yes," he stammered, looking away from the intensity of her eyes, "It was, umm, a most fortuitous meeting." Trailing off into silence, he cast about for a change of topic as the silence began to draw on.

His gaze fell upon the portal and he retreated into the safety of familiarity, "The, umm, the size of the portal is limited only by the skill and power of the caster. Of course, anything very large or with too much pull can be dangerous, but..."

Seidaku's eyes unfocused as he concentrated on feeding Djed into the portal. He could feel the Void devouring the energy, as though it were both conscious and hungry. With more energy, the portal was able to swirl outward to encompass an area a little bit larger than the average man's chest.

"As long as they are kept under control, they are still safe."

[Yanessavhanet]

A faint smile touched Vhanet's lips as Seidaku looked away. He was finally starting to fall for her, and that meant this game was all but hers. Alvadas was such a fun place to play.

As Seidaku began to speak again of his Voiding Vhanet listened with half an ear, but her attention was drawn once again as the portal grew in size. That gave her a very amusing idea. Forcing the smile off of her face she turned her gaze back to the portal and said with some awe in her voice, "How large of a portal are you able to make and keep under control, without danger?"

She would have to try later, but she was sure she could hide the appearance of the portal with her mark from Ionu, and that could make for a very amusing and effective trap. With how cold the void was she wondered if it might be enough to freeze someone's limb. Not as gratifying as burning or tearing it off, but still useful.

[Seidaku]

Seidaku recognized the note of breathless awe in Vhanet's voice from his first experiences learning under Vauthor. Seeing the endless Void stretching away from him still made him feel small and insignificant even after all this time, but at the same time it was an energizing feeling as well, because at that scale everyone was equal. From the gods and goddesses to the lowest street urchin, in the face of forever everthing and everyone was equally miniscule.

"Without the aid of my Glyphs to channel and contain the Djed, not terribly much larger than this, to be honest," Seidaku answered, taking two steps back and reaching out nervously to pull Vhanet back with him. "Even though it is not dangerous, you do not want to get too close to a portal large enough to fall through," he said, by way of apology.

Closing his eyes again, he breathed deeply and fed more Djed into the swirling darkness before them. He could almost hear the Void's growl of hunger as it consumed his Djed. He knew that nothing could satisfy that hunger; the Void could consume their world a thousand times over and never notice the difference. The perfect blackness of the portal reached out twisting tendrils of itself to consume the air around it as it expanded ever more.

Finally, with sweat beginning to bead on his brow from the effort of concentration, he opened his eyes to behold a portal that would be large enough for him to step through if he ducked his head. The breeze toward the portal had increased as well, enough now to give a slight ripple to their clothing and hair.

Seidaku let out a shaky breath as his concentration stabilized and said, pride touching his voice, "Any larger and I would risk losing control."

[Yanessavhanet]

Vhanet let herself be pulled back by Seidaku, for a moment wondering if he was growing a bit eager, but his words revealed it was just for her safety. She considered pushing her advantage by drawing close to Seidaku as the portal grew even larger, but as much as she wanted to see what it was like if Seidaku were to lose control the absolute coldness that could be unleashed held her in check. Maybe some other time when she was much further away.

Instead she settled for staring at the portal with wide eyes as she softly spoke, "You are very talented, I did not even know a portal to the void could be that large," she dropped her eyes down and lowered the pitch of her voice slightly in a show of embarrassment, "I know my exhibition will be hardly anything to compare to."

It was somewhat true at least. With her skills in illusion she might be able to create a small illusion of controlling air, but certainly nothing nearly as impressive as Seidaku's display. He might even be able to see through her deception, but if that happened then she already had a thought on how to twist things back to her advantage.

[Seidaku]

"Oh, well, it's actually not that large," Seidaku muttered, flushing again in embarassment at the praise, "With more practice, I am sure that I could make a larger portal."

He was sure that he could. With his Glyphs and proper preparation, he could probably make a larger portal now. And, if he was able to hold this portal open and maintain a conversation, he was confident he could make it larger still. He was tempted to feed the portal Djed now, to make a larger portal and further impress Vhanet. He knew he could do it. The portal wanted to be larger, he could hear the whisper of the wind passing through the doorway and into the inky blackness beyond. The Void was hungry for matter and energy, and anything he fed it would be absorbed. He could make a larger portal.

Supremely confident in his abilities, he fed the portal another trickle of Djed, and watched as the black maw opened wider to consume more of their world. He was sweating freely now, and felt a pressure behind his eyes that was uncomfortable bordering on pain. The portal had swelled only another few inches, but a small, panicked voice in his mind told him he had gone too far. The pressure behind his eyes had evolved into genuine pain, and was now accompanied by a writhing in his stomach.

Clenching his teeth, he channeled Djed away from the portal, removing the perfect emptiness from the portal and allowing it to slowly seal itself closed. It felt like it was fighting him though, refusing to be denied its existence. He closed his eyes and concentrated on forcing the doorway to the Void closed. It was difficult. Even through the pain and the panic, he wanted to stare deeper into that endless abyss. Finally, and with agonizing slowness, the portal twisted upon itself and dissolved into tendrils of blackness that seemed to burn up in the late afternoon sun.

Staggering back a step and collapsing to sit on the grass, Seidaku gasped, "Yes, definitely need more practice." He wiped a hand under his nose and it came away bloody. "A portal much larger than that would be dangerous in its own right, though," he said, shaking his head to try and clear it, "It might attract attention from something on the other side."

"And I'm sure your showing will be wonderful," he said with what he genuinely hoped was a comforting smile, "I have always been interested in learning more of the magical arts. Anything you can show me will be greatly appreciated."

[Yanessavhanet]

As Seidaku spoke Vhanet slowly lifted her eyes back up, not wanting to appear too pathetic and self-conscious, and her eyes caught the faint growth of the portal. With a little blink of surprise she turned her gaze to Seidaku, and it was plain to see the hints of pain in his eyes and face.

"Seidaku?" Vhanet wove her illusion over her words so she could speak without her snake like accent being heard, "Are you," before she could finish he staggered back and fell, and Vhanet gave a startled gasp and rushed to kneel at his side, "Seidaku! You're bleeding! What happened?" she reached out and gingerly wiped at the streaks of blood he had missed with his initial wipe, her fingers lightly brushing against the edge of his lips.

At Seidaku's encouraging word's and smile Vhanet let her hold on her audio illusion fade and once more gave herself the illusion of a blush on her cheeks, "You are too kind," she said softly as she leaned a little closer to him, her eyes lingering on his, "I have never met a man before both kind and intelligent..."

She doubted he would take the initiative to go for a kiss, but it would certainly be amusing to see his reaction.