[Flashback] I Used to Teach (Solo)

[Rayage]

Summer 11, 404 AV

OOCFirst thread to start the discovery of the ring under the University. Permission granted for basic thread idea by DS Paragon

Multi-colored robes entered the workshop, the laboratory which he was given permission to use. He was in a position which he never thought he would be in, but it was all part of his plan. It was all to his advantage. He would use the facility to his upmost benefit and leave when it suited him most. There were many catches to using this facility, one of them being that all his research was forfeit to the university. Everything had to be noted and everything had to be reported to the powers that be, yet, for some reason, he felt that not everything was being shared with him. He had been here over a year now, been teaching here and he still wasn’t allowed in that record hall. Having gone there previously he had noted the protective seals, the glyphs and runes, which guarded the doors and prevented people from breaking in. This place surely had its secrets, and he wanted to figure it out. Such a place which survived the Val would have something of value, and that is what he was looking for. It was the sole reason he came here and agreed to teach.

More cloth than usual covered Rayage these years. He had taken a liking to a head-scarf and veil which concealed most of his face, excluding his eyes. His features were hidden behind layers and layers of cloth, and the undead smell covered by an airy flowery smell, which overpowered anyone who got too close to him. His hands were gloved in leather, and his feet covered in tattered shoes unseen and hidden by the ridiculous amount of robes which this mage wore. It was nessessary. He was sure they would not have accepted him knowing full well that he is a nuit, so he masqueraded as a human plain and simple. It was all a game, and so far he was winning.

Following and filing in the room behind him were six other apprentices. He was supposed to teach these people about Alchemy and so, he would. He would do just about anything to further his own goals. As typical of a nuit he only served when it meant something for him. This situation was no different. The room which they had entered was bright, a little too bright for Rays taste, but this was the lab he was given to use for the lesson today. The décor was made of golds and oranges and yellows, the tables were spaced apart and all in all it was a most excellent lab. On the tables were vials of a substance which Ray had ordered specifically for this lesson. The university had trouble getting the goods and so they charged Ray for the supplies, but he in turn charged his students, and those who didn’t pay up didn’t get to attend this very special lesson. Ray had been planning this one for a while.

As they entered the room he clasped his hands together, ”Please, everyone find a seat, find a seat.” he said trying to direct the class as he made his way to the nearest chalk board at the furthest end of the lab. Picking up the chalk he noted that the board had been wiped clean just for his classes session, everything well prepared. It was nice, ”Now class,” he turned to the six of them, the part of the class who could afford the payment for materials, ”can anyone tell me the basic laws of Djed?” he asked looking over the six.

[Rayage]

The question was left to hang in the air. No one spoke up. Ray eyed all of them, his superiority and perceived power oozing out of him. It was evident that he was confident in his abilities, and it seemed it was this confidence that intimidated his students. ”No one knows the basic principles of Djed?” he asked, a student began to answer but Ray kept going on, ”pathetic.” he made his observation of the class. A student began to speak up again, but again was cut off. They did not answer fast enough to the nuits question and so he would treat them like total novices.

”Law number one.” he said writing it on the board as he said it, ”Djed cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.” the sound of chalk scrawling could be heard as he almost furiously wrote it out, ”Law number two: Some forms of Djed are purer than others.” he spoke as he wrote. His eyes looking at the small class, ”and law number three” he began but was cut off by a student who got brave.

”Law number three, some transformations are irreversible.”

Ray looked at the student who spoke up and the guy seemed to shrink in his chair, his eyes having a faint panic to them as he doubted what he had done. The teacher only laughed, ”Very good.” he said, ”At least someone is competent around here.” the chalk scribbled on the board stated the three laws, ”Now,” he turned his attention to the student once more, ”Can you tell me how these apply to Alchemy?’ he drilled the one who dared interrupt him.

There would be a moment of silence and a slight stammer as the kid went to collect his words and thoughts, Ray went on impatient. This stuff was elementary to him, and he expected nothing less but excellence from his class, ”If you cannot answer my questions right away, without hesitation, do not interrupt me again.” Ray warned.

”Djed cannot be created nor destroyed only transformed. This one, if any, should be obvious.” he voice was raised, ”Alchemy is all based around transformation and the elevation of substances to a more perfect state. In an alchemical transmutation the Djed, the identity of the object, is either going to be added to the Djed of the target, or properties, undesirable properties, taken out of the equation. The Founts Djed is transformed by the filter, and the filter in turn is transformed by the Fount. It is the combination of these two basic transformations which excites a change, a fundamental transformation, in the Djed of the object which is designated the target. It is the transformation of Djed that makes Alchemy possible.”

He took a minute to pause, writing key words and concepts down on the board so the class could more easily follow his lecture, ”Some forms of Djed are purer than others.” he began the second part of the lector, ”It is this law which makes us able to control the Djed flow within the alchemy circle. It is personal Djed, found in the blood, when we go to activate the circle that allows us dominion and control over the alchemical process.” he explained.

”Some transformations are irreversible.” he listed the third law of djed, ”which results in the bi-products of alchemy. The stuff which is left in the fount and filter slots is not what it started out to be, and it will never be the same. It is garbage and will always remain so because we stripped it of Djed. That change in state is irreversible.”

He set the chalk down, ”So as you can see all three basic laws of Djed can be found within Alchemy and if you research other magic Im sure you will find them prevalent there too.”

[Rayage]

”Now, you all are probably wondering why I am referring to the basics again. You are supposed to be an advanced class and really know your stuff, right?” he asked the question which wasn’t supposed to be answered, ”Wrong.” he said, ”You may be ‘advanced’ in the universities eyes, but you have not earned my respect yet. Until you are a competent wizard I will treat you like a beginner.” he told them all, ”You may all do well on the ‘exams’ of the other teachers, but I have only the highest expectations for this class and so far you guys are failing.” he made them know the blunt reality at which the nuit lived in.

”I highly suggest you step up your performance before I cancel this lesson altogether.” he said turning back to the chalk board and he went to write more stuff down on it. ”The basics of alchemy is simple.” he said drawing a circle on the board, and then he divided it in half with a line, ”there is the side which gives, the positive side, the Fount” he put an addition sign in one half of the circle, ”And then there is the side which takes away, the negative side, the Filter.” he put a subtraction sign in the remaining half of the circle, ”When it comes down to it Alchemy is a basic mathematical equation.” he told them, ”and when writing a formula you need to remember the basic premise of alchemy, plus one, minus one, equals zero. Anything that both adds itself and takes itself away in an equation will result in nothing.” he wrote the equation out as he spoke it aloud.

He paused a moment, looking at the chalk and then to the class to be sure he had their full attention, ”But, of course,” he made it seem like what he was going to say next only an idiot wouldn’t know, ”Alchemy is a bit more complex than that.” He began to write a series of equations:

+1-1=0
+2-2=0
+3-3=0

”No, in alchemy there is more than one. Though do not be a fool and mistake these models as untrue. They are basic; they are what is needed to be kept in mind to be brilliant alchemists. That is what you are your foundation and the thought process needed to begin experimentation. That, and these equations are not complete.”

He turned to the class half expecting someone to pipe up. ”Anyone? he asked, ”What is missing? What is always present in a basic alchemical equation that isn’t in my model?” he asked.

Silence. Then a murmur, he could see in their eyes that they were trying to figure it out. Then one of them spoke up, the same one who interrupted Ray the first time ”The Subject.” he stated simply, ”The focus of the alchemical equation. The target material, what is being changed.”

Ray nodded and crossed out what he had written replacing them with a number which represented the target material.

+1-1=0 (4)+1-1=(5)
+2-2=0 (4)+2-2=(5)
+3-3=0 (4)+2-2=(5)

”Very good. Now I ask you, has the Target” he pointed to the (4) on the chalk board, ”been changed by any of the alchemical reactions presented?” he asked pointing to the (5) written as the end result. He smiled, he would allow the student to answer this one.

[Rayage]

Again his question was meant with silence as the student thought it over. ”The Subject was not changed by the alchemical reaction because the fount and the filter were the same, possessing the same qualities, therefore canceling each other out.” He answered.

”Are you sure about that?” he asked trying to instill doubt into his student by looking at the board, comparing the (4) and the (5) mentally. He again waited as long as necessary for an answer.

”I am sure. You, yourself, just explained it. It’s a basic concept that anything minus itself is nothing.” he replied.

”Very good.” he said, ”The subject was not changed because ‘nothing’ happened. Basic principles should not be ignored even when another variable is added into the equation. Everything is simple and can be broken down into simple little rules like that. Though not everything is basic, and alchemy is much more complex.” he stated. He had said that before, but he needed to remind himself and his students where he was taking this.

”A proper alchemy experiment there is more than one, or two, or three. The numbers represent the variable amount of properties within a certain object. Never one or two or three, but hundreds and even thousands of little complexities within an object. A proper formula should not accomplish nothing. An Alchemist will never cross something with itself, because that would be a waste of time, energy, but most importantly resources.” He crossed out the other three alchemical formulas he had written on the board.

+1-1=0 - (4)+1-1=(5)
+2-2=0 - (4)+2-2=(5)
+3-3=0 - (4)+2-2=(5)

”A proper formula would look like this:”

(4)+8-5=(5)

He wrote it out carefully still using numbers, smaller numbers to help the students understand the point he was trying to get across, ”Why?” he asked, ”Why would a formula want a higher number of properties added than taken away? That answer is obvious, for change. The point of alchemy is transformation. It’s a balancing act between negative and positive, what is added and what is taken away, to give the desired results.” he told him circling the equation, ”Why would I take away five from that eight? Because five of those eight properties are not desired in the final product.” he further explained, ”And the best part is you, as the alchemist, can control which properties get taken out of the pictures by choosing your filters wisely.”

”In the end of the equation" he pointed to the (5), "the Subject” he pointed to the (4), ”Gains three useful properties from the Fount” he pointed to the +8, ”And the reaction is all protected and guided by the filter, ensuring nothing you don’t want in the final product is present.” he pointed to the -5.

[Rayage]

The nuit took a moment to gather his thoughts, ”It’s important to look at alchemy as a mathematical equation.” he tried to drill the point in, ”You must consider what you want and do not want in the final product. You add and you take away. As an alchemist you have the power to craft an item only limited to your imagination.” he said.

”Going back to the equation (4)+8-5=(5) One should be sure that the fount has all the desirable qualities that you want present in the subject, and the filter has all the properties which you want removed from the fount. The use of just a fount is ill advised.” he went on, ”for there is always a quality that one overlooks. Making alchemy usually not a one-step thing, but a process towards getting the desired results. Its multiple formulas that usually meld together and it is that mixing of unique qualities that really makes your product more desirable. A baboon can do a one-step equation, but it takes brains to come up with something truly unique.”

”Now, I don’t have to go over the basics of the alchemical procedure, do I?” he looked over the six people who were present with him. ”Considering the group of individuals who are present my gut tells me I should, but I’ve already wasted too much time explaining basic concepts to you.” he sounded a little disappointed that he went off on a tangent which really wasn’t necessary. Taking a rag he wiped away the notes which he had written on the chalk board, ”We should move onto more important things.” he said, ”such as the experiment that you paid for.” he nodded, ”Yes I’m sure you are all eager to get on with that.” He would wait to fully describe the complexity of full alchemical equations later.

”Now I trust every single one of you did your homework?” His hand moved the rag up and down further erasing his marks from the board until the entire conversation was eradicated. He hoped they took notes, he knew they would need to keep what he said in mind if they ever wanted to succeed. ”If you did, you would know what exactly we are trying to accomplish in this lab.”

Having erased the board clean he turned to the class again, ”We are going to experiment with the properties of Symenestra venom”

[Rayage]

He announced the substance which they were going to work with today was indeed Symenestra venom, and now, hopefully, the class would realize why he had to charge so much miza to get the supplies needed to do this project. Usually his class was much larger, but in this case only six were able to afford the price of the lab and so only six got to participate. At least the University was kind enough to provide it, granted they charged Ray an arm and a leg for it, in turn he charged his students. It was only fair after all. In the end he didn’t care how the university got the venom only that it was there, all present and accounted for in about six nice neat vials in one corner of the room.

Going over to the vials he picked on up, admiring it, stopper firmly in place he held it up in the light, ”How beautiful” he said before looking over the class, putting it down again and picking up a book which was present in the lab. It was the same book he gave the class copies of to read out of. Flipping through the pages he stopped at a page, ”As I was saying, if you have done your homework you would know the basics of Symenestra venom.” he told them, ”it’s mainly used by the Symenestra as an agent to help them consume their prey.” he informed the class as if he just assumed none of them bothered to read the assignment he gave them, ”it is that quality, that property in which the venom has, to melt the innards of a person to a soupy like consistency that we are interested in. “ he flipped a page and paraded a finger down it as if searching for some information, "It is even said that full strength symenestra venom will even eat through metal." he informed the less informed.

Turning to the class he gave them all a death glare, ”Now can anyone tell me how we are going to use this venom?” he asked. ”No?” he said, as he began pacing around the room, ”Well class,” he began the lecture without even giving the students present time to answer, ”we are going to mix this substance with clay to create an agent that is moldable and will stick to surfaces. Why?” he asked, almost sounding very pleased with himself, ”because we can.” he told them, ”but more importantly I want to see if you can do it.” he challenged each of them, ”Can you successfully mold the venom with clay to produce a final product which has the corrosive abilities of the venom, but the malleability and adhering properties of clay?” of course he could have done this with any old lab test, so why the venom? He wanted the class to work with the venom because of the ‘cultural experience’, but more importantly he wanted them to know what the Symenestra are capable of and to show them first-hand the destructive powers these creatures possess.

Though he had his other reasons as well, his more devious reasons… Ulterior motives were always good to have. Then another student spoke up ”Why are we working with such a dangerous substance?” he asked the question that made the nuit feel the human race was unsaveable or perhaps not worth redeeming from the shadows of the apocalyptic event which ravaged the lands five hundred years ago.

”Because” Ray began, ”I thought it would be amusing to watch you fools burn yourselves with the venom” he answered the question as if he expected it to be asked. He was getting ready to go into another rant, ”Because I want to you to have an upper hand.” he began telling them the ‘real’ reason behind his madness, ”Because I want you, my class, to have an experience that no other class will duplicate. Im here to teach you alchemy, Im here to teach you how to change things, Im here to teach you my discipline,” he put a hand to his chest, ”and I believe I would be doing my class a disservice by not exposing you to the more marketable side of Alchemy.” he told them, ”People like dangerous substances, people like things to hurt others,” he went on, ”its their nature. Why not supply that lust? Its very profitable.” he smiled, ”And if you, as an alchemist, can play your cards right then you will go far and never have to worry about miza again.” he said as if he had triumphed over some battle or great debate, ”Im showing you, giving you a glimpse, into what kind of projects you will doing in the real world.” he further explained, ”it is all about making the best materials, but not only that, also making the material BE” he put emphasis on the last word, ”what they want it to be. Right now, Im ordering you, as a customer and your teacher, to make me the substance described in the assignment I outline. How are you going to do that? Figure it out. Do it, and present the final results to me. Ill be over here waiting.”

OOCSym Venom facts were checked with Bina If you want I can PM you the PM moderator who is grading this

[Rayage]

With that he expected the kids to go at it, but they just sat there and looked at him blankly. Frowning he looked at them, ”Do you even know what the assignment is?’ he asked, feeling his own IQ drop just by being in the same room with these inbreeds. More blank stares, ”Must I spell everything out for you?” he sounded quite flustered as he again began to pick up the chalk and write a message on the board, but when the chalk hit the table the students got out of their seats and went over to the table with the vials on it and started to get to work. A nice change of pace.

The nuit watched them all like a hawk. He watched them scribble with their quills on the parchment they brought with them, and he watched them reference their books and exchange notes and ideas with each other. This was how things were supposed to go. Perfect. With that the nuit went over to the table with the students and peered over their shoulders, analyzing what they were doing and what they were writing. Some were still ‘referencing’ the books. Slackers didn’t bother to read, while others were scratching out formulas keeping in mind the properties they wanted and aimed for in the final material. At least he didn’t have to explain that again.

Satisfied he grabbed a vial of venom for himself along with a lump of clay and went to the ‘front’ of the room again by the chalk board he used to lector with. Finding a seat he sat and started to play with the clay in his hands, molding it and rolling it into a ball before he squished it flat only to roll it again. Liking the round and smooth texture of the ball he sat it aside and raised the flask up in the air and into the light, stopper securely on it, he examined it and watched how it changed the light which passed through it. Little did he think the class understood that change is not only a constant in alchemy, but change happens all the time, every passing second in every possibly way, in turn creating new possibilities. With change ‘perfect’ and the concept of the perfection were but dreams, yet Alchemists strived for it anyways. Fools were the ones that chased such superficial perfection, but morons were the ones who claimed to have achieved it. Through change ‘perfect’ can never exist.

No… It cannot exist, it… his thoughts were interrupted by a student coming up to him with a quite worried look on his face, ”You know,” Ray said, ”I didn’t actually want you to burn yourselves” he wasn’t amused, but the student just shook his head and gestured over to one of the many alchemy circles which was set up for this lab. It was active, and charged, though it wasn’t exactly under control. Setting the vial down Ray wondered to himself how long he had been daydreaming and brooding about the concept of change.

[Rayage]

The circle in question was manned and controlled by a student that Ray didn’t think was the brightest, which was all his students, but this one especially got under his skin. It seemed that this particular one had the miza to buy his way into the University and to even, Ray wouldn’t put it past this guy, to buy the marks which he earned from the teachers. This one was truly pathetic, and even though he paid the miza and then some to attend Rays ‘special lector’ the nuit thought it truly unwise to let this one in. Going against his gut reaction he had let the said student of his join the class. Never again will he go against his gut reaction.

This situation could get messy and out of control, it was already out of control, but it was Rays job, as the teacher of this class gods know he doesn’t want any of his students to get hurt under his supervision that would reflect bad on him, to calm things down and take back control. The alchemy ring was accelerating energy at a very fast pace, but the user had no focus or control over the circle. You see, most beginning alchemy students don’t have the required focus to do very big reactions. This is developed over time. They instead have what Ray calls ‘stupid’ where at the first sign of trouble, at the first sign of the noobie losing control of the rings energy, they panic. Panic and doubt leads to the ring really getting out of control and once that happens, and it is not just in the students mind, that things get messy and the reaction goes haywire, most always failing. Ray was not impressed.

Standing up he watched the circle for a bit, the other students were backing away too, some taking cover under the tables, for the circle was shooting sparks of highly accelerated Djed like little bolts of lightning coming from a Tesla coil. Sighing he ventured as close as he dared to the circle before shouting as loud as he could, ”Slow the ring down” it was an order. The nuit crossed his arms and waited for this to happen but all he got from the student manning the circle was a look of confusion and fear. It seemed all Ray did was make the situation even worse. ”Stop the Djed flow you petching moron.” he tried to yell even louder. This came with no avail.

A blot of pure Djed energy came flying at Ray, he didn’t have time to react, but luckily it missed by mere inches, going off to his right side and into a wall. His own life was threatened, now he had to get serious. This need not go on any longer. Now he was mad. Drawing his dagger he boldly walked over to the circle, crouching low, he didn’t need to be hit by any stray Djed bolts. More and more blots emitted from the circle, causing all sorts of havoc. Making it to the circle, he found the key stone and stabbed the tip of his finger with the dagger and placed the wound on the stone.

[Rayage]

When his finger touched the stone he felt the connection immediately. It was something he developed over many many transmutations. The energy flow was, obviously, erratic and out of control just like the person operating the alchemy circle. He struggled with the energy, wrestled with it mentally, he needed to get it under control but it was fighting back just as hard, and it was all the result of the ‘stupid’ which novices usually possess. It seemed that Rays presence only frightened the student more, causing the ring to go further out of control. He had no choice now. He had to make a split decision, a tough choice. Was he going to waste time trying to get the reaction under control while stray bolts of pure magic soar through the air potentially harming one of his students or would he abort the process altogether?

”Take your hand off” he yelled at the student, assuming as much control over the energy flow as possible at that time. He had made up his mind. ”Take your petching hand off.” he yelled again still feeling the students influence on the circle. The kid seemed to turn a pale white as Ray yelled at him again, but he eventually took his hand off, releasing his ‘control’ over the circle. Now, as another bolt of Djed shot through the air towards a wall Ray took his hand off the alchemy circle and willed all the energy to follow that bolt. It did, but it also spread out into littler sparks as it made its way trailing after the first big spark, only to hit the wall and be absorbed by the shield set in place. The reaction of the bolt hitting the shielding magic made it glow brightly before dissipating showing a magical wall is there, and then slowly fading into nothing again, ever present but unseen.

With that excitement over Ray turned his full attention to the student who messed up, ”You” he pointed at the one who was still pale white, reminding him of a ghost, ”What kind of rudimentary alchemy are you practicing?” he yelled, ”Fool, moron, imbecile!” he continued to raise his voice, ”Get out.” he told him pointing to the door, ”Get out before you turn into the next experiment!” he threatened his student who didn’t have to be told twice, for once, what to do. Little did anyone know how true Rays threat really was.

As the door closed behind the failure Ray turned to the rest of the class, ”Well,” he said expectedly, ”Get back to work.” he told them, ”That performance was a perfect example of what not to do.” he said, ”Im going to make sure he never steps foot in an alchemy laboratory for as long as he lives.” Ray muttered under his breath returning to his post at the front of the class. Could this day get any worse? He thought slumping down in his chair. Who would have guessed teaching would be this hard?

[Rayage]

Watching the students more closely now as he didn’t want that little episode to repeat itself. The nuit was literally shaking with frustration. He made a huge mental note to plot his revenge on the student. Something could have happened to his class, not that he cared about his class, just it would have reflected badly on him as the teacher. He did not need that. No. He worked hard enough staying clear of the big wigs of this place he didn’t need to be questioned about what happened in the lector that got a student turned to mush or something.

Taking a minute to calm himself he waited for the rest of the class to write down their formulas and start preparing the alchemy circles. There were only five of them left so this wouldn’t take too long. Rolling the ball of clay in his hands again watched, observing as the circles were loaded the alchemical process already underway. He felt a little amused that he didn’t have to explain the basics of using an alchemy circle, and so far they are doing well, but loading the circle is actually the easiest part. The tricky part comes after when controlling the djed flux of the circle. It took concentration, and without proper focus the reaction will fail and go out of control just like the one before.

As the remaining members were about to charge the alchemy circle Ray would get up and draw their attention with a loud, ”Ahem” before moving on with his announcement, ”Class, or what is left of you” he said, ”please keep focused at all times to reduce the risk of your circle going out of control. I swear if I have to fix another problem I will be less than pleased.” in fact, he was already less than pleased, but he was sure his students could already tell that.

Retaking his seat he played with the ball of clay for a little longer finding it oddly stress relieving. Setting it down he started to derive his own formula to make the substance which he desired.

C+SymV-W=CsymV

Yes, he smiled at it not quite realizing that he gave the class such an easy assignment. As the class was finishing up their experiments Ray would begin to write a letter to the head of the department of Alchemy stating that todays research, along with the products of it, has been stolen by an unknown prospect; that (later in the day) when Ray would return to his office he would find no trace of the transmuted clay.

Yes, so far things were going as planned. Finishing the letter he quickly sealed it with wax and stashed it in his cloak for later delivery. Not everything was going as planned, but that is why he has five more students making the exact same substance. He could deal with the loss of one experiments worth. It wouldn’t hinder him too much. No he has planned it for far too long for anything to go wrong.