[Institute of Higher Learning]First Day of Class (Flashback)

by **Marcus Ahysen** on February 20th, 2012, 8:41 pm

First Day of Class

Timestamp: Fall 13, 505 AV
Location: Institute of Higher Learning

As he walked beneath the maw of the great beast that was the entrance to the Institute of Higher Learning Marcus was glad he was an accepted member. According to legend, only those who had permission to be within the school could pass through the mouth unharmed. Marcus could only imagine the sort of pain one would go through should the beast's jaws ever close upon them.

The young actor made his way down the main hall, eying the runes and glyphs on the floor with curiosity. He was new to magic, and knew nothing about glyphs and rituals, so it was all very exciting. Even more exciting was the prospect of meeting his new instructor, a man of many faces just like Marcus, except that this man had the ability to actually change his body without the aid of makeup or wigs. Marcus could only imagine the possibilities if he had such an ability, and soon he would.

It was the fifth door on the right, according to the sheet of paper he had been given detailing his class schedule. The Basics of Morphing, the class was called, and it was only one of many he would be attending at the renowned institute. Marcus already had a knack for impersonation, a trait useful to the Black Sun, but before he petitioned he wanted to be more than just useful. He wanted to be an undeniable asset. When he reached the door he nervously placed his hand upon the handle, then with a deep breath he pushed it open. He was met by a shockingly familiar face, a man who could have been his exact twin, though some of the facial features were a bit off, and it wasn't quite an exact match. It could only have been Luvet, the morphing instructor he had heard so much about.

"Please, come in," Luvet/Marcus requested, "As you can see, I've already familiarized myself with you, though watching you from afar makes it difficult to pull off a perfect impersonation."

Luvet smiled a friendly smile and motioned toward the center of the empty room. There was nothing in there, not even a chair, so Marcus just walked to the middle and stood there waiting. Luvet shut the door then turned back to Marcus, still keeping the transformation in place. "Although it was was a bit of adventure, you see. While I was watching you flirt with the young Lark girl the most interesting thing happened."

Luvet moved to the center of the room, stopping a few paces away from Marcus, and had a seat right on the floor, crossing his legs. "I was hiding nearby and a bird flew down and landed next to me, charming little sparrow it was. The bird must have thought I was a real bird, because it started chirping at me. So, I chirped back. And the bird seemed to understand me, even though I had no idea what I was saying. So I chirped again, and the bird chirped, and we just sat there chirping away while you foolishly believed you could charm a woman so far out of your league it was laughable. By the time she shot you down I think I had a pretty good conversation with the bird. We might even go out for drinks later, who knows?"

The instuctor shrugged and closed his eyes, leaving Marcus staring at him dumbfounded. Luvet's been spying on me? I wonder what else he saw? Marcus shook his head, realizing that he shouldn't have been surprised. He'd heard stories about the strange and sometimes silly antics of his new instructor, this was just one of them.

"Okay now," Luvet continued, suddenly with a serious tone, "Close your eyes and clear your mind. I want you to breath, in and out, slowly. The first thing to remember about Morphing is that your body is not a prison, it is a work of art that you can shape and reshape to your liking. Meditate on that, meditate on the knowledge that your mind, not your body, controls who and what you are. Meditate until I tell you to stop."

And Marcus did meditate, or he tried to anyway. It wasn't something he had ever really done before, so he wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. How does one truly clear their mind? Doesn't thinking about clearing your mind in fact use your mind and put the thought of clearing it into it? So how do you tell your mind to stop thinking when you aren't supposed to be thinking at all. It really doesn't make any sense. It- STOP IT, Marcus thought to himself. He was doing exacltly what he was thinking he shouldn't be doing.

Calming himself, Marcus tried again..

by **Marcus Ahysen** on February 20th, 2012, 9:14 pm

Okay.. let's try this again.

Marcus took a deep breath, breathing in and filling his lungs with air. He could feel the air fighting to be let back out as he held it in for just an instant before slowly breathing back out. After a few times of breathing like this he was startled by a hand touching his back. Marcus jumped and when he turned around he saw a man, a different man than before, standing behind him.

"It's just me," Luvet muttered as he pushed his hand against Marcus' spine and forced him to sit up straight. "Breath in through your mouth, out through your nose, and sit up straight. Basic meditation. Try not to think of anything, just let your mind wander and do not direct it. Eventually you will learn to shut out all thought completely. You can't begin your training until you have learned to at least calm your mind."

Marcus nodded as Luvet returned to his place in front of him and began meditating. The would be morpher closed his eyes and tried again. Okay.. just let my mind wander.. and breath. In came his breath, and out again, in and out, in and out. This is weird.. how do I not think about something. I mean.. I have to think, right? I have to think to not think. Oh, and I'm slouching again. Marcus adjusted his seating, sitting up straight again, and continued to breath. So... clearly the guy can morph, I guess he knows what he's doing. But how is this going to help with anything?

by **Marcus Ahysen** on February 20th, 2012, 9:54 pm

"Try to listen to me as I speak, but don't focus on the words, just let what I'm saying sink in. And keep breathing."

Marcus nodded, something he probably wasn't supposed to do, and continued to focus on his breathing. He noticed how, even though his eyes were closed, he could still see tiny pinpricks of light all over the place, like little dots all over the back of his eyelids. They always seemed to be moving, as well, ever so slighly, in a never endless dance with the other dots. It was really strange that he had never noticed that before, depsite the fact that he'd been closing his eyes every day throughout his entire life.

"Morphing is one of the oldest forms of magic there is," Luvet continued, "Some say even that it is the oldest, but only the gods would know that. It has been around for a long time, and it allows us to become almost anything with enough practice. I can become you, a dog, a cat. I can grow claws or wings, though I don't recommend flying very high until you've practiced a lot. I can become a snake, and even take on some of its poison."

Marcus continued to breath, occasionally remembering to straighten his back and sit properly. He found it hard to listen to the words and not focus on them. How does one even do that? He breathed in deep, and let out another long slow breath. Marcus had to admit that it was a bit relaxing, just sitting ther listening to Luvet speak.

"Other magics often require intense study to perfect, while morphing is more like learning to walk. It's the most natural of magics, though some claim that is flux, but I disagree."

Marcus took in the words, he tried to let them soak into his unconscious mind, but such things were beyond him. He could focus on not thinking, or he could focus on listening. Doing both was going to take a while.. and again, he was thinking too much about it. Just focus on breathing.. maybe if I just focus on that one thing, I can learn to block the rest out. ..except that he's talking. But maybe I'll hear it without realizing I'm hearing it. Marcus centered his thoughts on his breath. He counted the seconds that it took him to breath in and fill his lungs, and tried to release his breath in the same amount of time. In and out, in and out, that's all he thought about. And Luvet continued on.

by **Marcus Ahysen** on February 20th, 2012, 10:23 pm

"To morph, you must learn to let go of your body. Let go of your solid form. That is why we are meditating. You've got to learn to separate your mind from your body. Then you will be able to change your body as you see fit. It took me thirty days of meditating like this every day before I was ready to begin at all, so be patient, and you will make it."

Thirty days!? Marcus couldn't believe his ears, it nearly made him loose his entire train of though. He was going to have to sit here doing nothing for thirty days straight? How was he supposed to survive something like that?

"I know it sounds tough," Luvet added, seeming to know exactly what Marcus was thinking, "But soon you'll come to find meditation as a wonderful escape from the world. It's very important that, even after you leave this school you continue your meditation if you want to keep your sanity. I'll start teaching you some other important things involving it as we go along, but for now you've just got to learn to do it."

Loose my sanity? Well, maybe I should try harder then.

Marcus settled back into his place on the floor, straightening his back and breathing in deeply. One, two, three, four.. hold, two, three.. out, two, three, four. And back in, two, three.. He continued to breath, and tried again to focus only on his breath. Luvet started on about some more morphing history, but Marcus barely heard him. He hoped that his unconscious mind was absorbing the information, because he sure wasn't. Who knew something as seemingly simple as meditating could be so complex?

by **Marcus Ahysen** on February 20th, 2012, 10:42 pm

How much longer are we going to do this?

Marcus was starting to become stiff. He was certain they had been at it for at least a bell or two, just sitting in silence breathing in and out, in and out. Every now and then Luvet would speak, telling him more of the history of morphing, but the instructor never showed any indication that they were to stop soon.

"By now you're probably getting tired of this," Luvet said, again seeming to know what Marcus was thinking. "I used to get tired of it as well. It starts to drive you mad, doing nothing.. but if you can't beat this madness, what hope do you have to beat the madness that comes with losing your very identity? I can be anyone, anything. One day it will be so easy for me that I might even forget my original form. How do you hold onto your sanity then? You must have a strong mind, or you will lose yourself in this magic. Keep breathing."

And so Marcus continued to breath. It was strange, because while he was mentally tired of the exercise, his body felt refreshed, as if he'd had a full night of sleep in the past bell. It wasn't enough to fight off the boredom, but Marcus was determined to learn, and if that meant thirty days of this then that's what it meant.

The young man breathed in, imagining his breath to be a cloud of glittering dust. When he breathed out it was a cool ray of light.. Okay.. that was weird. He breathed in again, this time picturing his breath as green. The green filled his lungs and his body, and when he breathed it back out it was a cool blue. A little better.. hmm, this is interesting. I never pictured breath as anything special, but now I'm giving it color.

The dancing lights on the back of his eyelids entertained him for a bit as he continued to meditate, imagining them as people traveling the canals of Ravok. Some were going to the temple to pray, other's to work the docks. Some were whores selling their bodies to the town's visitors, knowing that true Ravokians only visited the House of Immortal Pleasures, and left such street whores to the foreigners. There were the Ebonstryfe in their black armor, defending Ravok from all those who would seek it harm. And one dot, he imagined, was the Voice, standing behind a beautiful podium speaking the word of Rhysol to the masses.

In he breathed, and the Voice led the people in prayer, out he breathed and Rhysol blessed the entire city. All the dancing lights on the back of his eyelids cheered for their god and his lover, as did Marcus with them. He breathed in and out, over and over, and didn't worry about when the session would end. He was finally allowing his mind to drift, no longer directing it. He thought of the stories his grandfather used to tell him of the time he painted a picture of Rhysol defeating Sylir in combat, and how that painting now hangs in the wall of one of the Nitrozian offices. He remembered the girl Luvet mentioned earlier, and his mind drifted from girl to girl. Then he thought of the last production he formed, a play of betrayal, where an Ebonstryfe Paladin fell in love, only to discover his love was an accursed Syliran Knight in disguise. Marcus let his mind wander, all the while breathing in and out, counting the seconds between each, and watching the lights dance away.

by **Marcus Ahysen** on February 20th, 2012, 10:49 pm

As his mind wandered and he let go of his thoughts, he suddenly realized he had in fact gone blank. That moment of realization startled him back into clarity and he almost fell back as he jumped in surprise. Luvet opened his eyes and glanced over at the young apprentice with a smile.

"I think we're about ready to wrap it up. Five more chimes, just breathe deep, but don't worry about all the mental stuff. Just breath and calm your heart, and then we'll be done for the day."

Marcus, slightly embarrassed, returned to his seated position and did as he told. He was a bit impatient now as he breathed, taking shorter breaths than before until he remembered he was supposed to be calming himself. But he had done it! His mind went blank.. wasn't that what meditating was all about? One moment he was thinking about random things and then suddenly he realized that, for how long he wasn't even sure, he had been thinking about nothing at all. Not even the light on his eye lids, just.. nothing.

Marcus breathed in and out, in and out, and sat up straight, his legs crossed, and he just kept breathing until finally Luvet called for him to stop. When they stood Marcus felt refreshed and ready to move on, but Luvet shook his head. "No, that's it for today. I'll see you again in the morning."

The morpher wouldn't even answer any questions, he just showed Marcus the door and sent him on his way. As he walked home Marcus thought about the day and realized that it hadn't been a waste. All that stuff Luvet told him while they were meditating, he seemed to be remembering it quite well. The stories of mages who had lost their identities, transforming over and over in search of what they once were, never able to find it. They were mages that Marcus did not want to become. He would master this magic, but he would not lose himself because of it.

by **Lazybones** on February 27th, 2012, 4:24 am

Thread Complete!

Notes: I'm disappointed. You promised me a boring thread, and instead I was laughing and fully taken in by the storytelling! I love Luvet; the way you wrote him made him feel so real to me. He was so gentle and charming.

I'm pleased to see you wrote Meditation as being a challenge, which is faithful to your character's present skill in it: 0. I love seeing gameplay that follows the rules this well. Meditation IS hard if you don't know how to do it!

I couldn't give you a wide variety in terms of skill, but this being a lesson at the Institute, you did earn a lot of lores. Sorry if it's a bit of an overdose!

Marcus

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