Soul of the Sailor (Nai'shee)

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on July 17th, 2012, 2:29 am

36th Day of Summer, 512 AV

All day yesterday had been spent on the combination of filling the pond in Tock's backyard, and then having some fun swimming in it. But the pond had a purpose. She needed it to Animate Nai's boat.

The boat itself was still sitting outside the water. Tock didn't have the skill needed to Animate the entire boat. So, she was going to Animate the waterwheels she'd built, and attach them to the boat like wagonwheels. The wheels could then pull the boat along, whether on land (since they were made like wagon wheels) or in the water (with the paddles attached to them).

Until they were attached to the boat, the wheels were hooked onto a square frame, which had been measured and designed that it would easily fit over the top of the boat. The wheels would be on either side, two in the front and two in the back like a wagon. Since the frame hooked over the top of the boat, the structure wouldn't interfere with the curved bottom that let the boat move smoothly through the water. The rudder was also part of the frame, and would hang off the back of the boat when it was all complete. The magic would allow the wheels to spin and the rudder to turn. And around the frame were glass eyes and pieces of leather that would allow the Automaton to see and hear, as well as leather reins that would allow for manual steering.

Before class in the morning, Tock worked on setting things up for the Animation process. This one would be special. It would be unlike anything she'd ever done before.

First, she headed down to the store to buy a tent. She was still wearing the new skirt from yesterday, since it was still pretty damn hot out. The shopkeeper eyed her, no doubt remembering how she'd come in in nothing but her panties and an undershirt yesterday. "What can I get you this time?" he asked, smiling at her and checking out her legs.

Tock scoffed and ignored him, digging through the shelves until she found what she wanted. THIS was why she never wore skirts. When she was bending over to reach down on one of the shelves, she caught the man trying to look up her skirt. She shouted at him, "Oy, keep yer eyes ta yerself, aye!?" Caught in the act, he turned and pretended to be very interested in his store ledgers.

Tock couldn't stand it when men acted like that. Yesterday, she'd walked in here in her panties and not cared, but this was different. She had no modesty whatsoever, but there was a HUGE difference between showing off her stuff because she didn't care, and having some pervert man trying to look up her skirt. This was one of the reasons she NEVER wore skirts. It just made men think it was an open invitation, since there was no fabric except her panties blocking access to the spot between her legs.

As she was carrying her new purchase up to the counter and laying out her mizas, the man asked, "So... you're in here all the time, buying tools and parts and stuff... maybe sometime you could show me what you're building...?"

He actually had the GALL to hit on her? Tock glared at him and snapped, "Oy, maybe what if'n ye'd asked 'at what when I were wearin' pants, I mighta done said aye. But I ain't needin' no skirt-chasers what tryin' ta git 'tween my legs, bloke!" She left him there sputtering, and headed home with her new purchase.

She'd bought a large tent, and now it needed a few modifications, so when she got home she cut through the bottom and partially up the sides so she could stretch the tent out. She tied two ends to the corners of her roof, and the other ends to wooden poles she cut from her wood supplies. After a bit of work the tent was covering the pond, with no floor, and with the ends staked down to the ground all around the pond. It would allow her to work in the shade, and keep any wind or bad weather from interfering in the process to come.

Next she spent the rest of the early morning laying wooden boards around the pond. She laid them in alternating patterns like bricklaying, for greater stability on the dirt ground. The top layer she made sure to take extra time aligning the edges of the boards, each edge sawed at a slight angle to allow the entire structure to curve. Each five-foot-long board had a precisely measured 30 degree angle on each end, so that when they were aligned the end result was a twelve-sided figure that stretched around the entire pond. The resulting dodecagon was curved perfectly for her to draw an Animation circle on it.

Another set of wooden boards were stretched off to the side in a short line, ending in a small wooden platform, big enough for a person to sit on. For simplicity she just laid this part out in a square to save time, since she could etch the circle into it just fine.

Cutty had cut the boards, with a bit of difficulty, but a malfunctioning Animated saw was still better than doing everything herself. Since all the angles needed for the dodecagon sides were precisely the same, she'd simply stacked the boards together, aligned Cutty to just the right angle, and set him to work. She'd learned better than to have him cut anything indoors lately, considering half the times he did, he ended up slicing into the floor since he didn't stop on time. Outside, however, she could align him over a soft patch of dirt, so that if he didn't hear a command, there would be no major damage. She left the nailing to her babies, marking spots with a bit of chalk and leaving a pile of nails for Handy to set in place. Then Naily rolled around, hammering down each nail that the wooden hand held steady for him. This left Tock free to lay down and align the boards while her babies did the hammering.

The early hours of the morning were spent in the construction, then Tock headed to school to attend her morning classes. After class she returned home to put the finishing touches on. She sketched the Animation circles in chalk, measuring carefully to make sure everything was precise considering the huge size of the circle. The destination circle encompassed the entire pond, drawn out on the 'frame' she'd built around it. The source circle was etched onto the smaller platform off to the side. Then, before going to fetch Nai, she spent some time etching Glyphs in place.

She couldn't use all of the Glyphs she normally used. Two of them, meant for 'balance', normally went in the exact center of the circles. Since one of the circles had water for a floor, etching a Glyph there was impossible. But she was still able to draw the two guiding runes along the connecting line, to guide and accelerate the Djed flow. Shaped almost like arrows, the runes directed the flow of energy into the destination circle, ensuring it would stay on path. Since the destination was so huge this time, she added a third guiding arrow. The extra 'push' on the line from a third rune would help ensure the Djed flowed into the large circle with greater ease.

Then she sketched a series of barrier runes that would hold the Djed inside both circles. Around the Source circle, she etched three, aligned in an equilateral triangle with the tip aligned exactly in line with the connecting line and the guiding runes drawn on it. As for the Destination circle, due to its size she determined it needed a barrier rule on every board. With such a large circle, she didn't want to risk any lost energy. It all had to flow into her creation.

She worked her way around the circle, stopping at each board and measuring for the exact center. Precision and balance were important. If she didn't align the runes properly, the flow of Djed would be off-center, and the energy would be harder to control. So she found the center of each board and sketched the barrier Glyph there, twelve in total around the circle. In her mind she traced invisible lines from each of the twelve runes, and they all met in the exact center of the pond. Since that was where the creation sat, floating in the water, it made this the ideal configuration.

With everything laid out geometrically and symmetrically for optimal energy flow, she nodded in approval, and went to fetch Nai.

Ledger :

by **Nai'shee** on July 19th, 2012, 9:45 pm

When Tock started yelling for her, hitting the door, the little mass of blankets on Nai'shee's bed moved, mumbling: "Gimme a break". She would be much more eager to hurry and stand up if she knew what was this about. "Coming!", she said, trying to shut her friend up before she woke up half of dormitory. She didn't want angry sleepy students chasing her whole day. She got rid of the blankets, struggling to get to the door. Wrenmae seemed angry about interruption of his sleep too, but he didn't care to comment much, just putting his pillow over his head.

"Hey, Tock", Nai'shee said, smiling gently. She wasn't really angry about her waking her up, she was angry that she had to wake up at all. "I'll be here in a minute, please don't yell, people are sleeping." She closed the door, not letting her explain everything at threshold until she got dressed and ready, nor letting her wake Wren up.

"Hey", she greeted red-haired Animator again, upon finally exiting her room. She was carrying little knife of hers in scabbard on her waist and nothing else. She assumed she didn't need weapons with Tock and knife was in case some carving needed to be done. She always brought it, anyways. "What's up?", she asked, following Tock wherever she was going anyways. She knew there was no way out, whatever was on woman's mind.

When she found out her boat was ready for the last she got really excited. She forgot about sleep and other concerns, starting to ask bunch of questions regarding it. She knew nothing of Animation at all, but she was trusting Tock to do that part properly.

When they came to Tock's house she noticed another change. Well, not that it was really invisible. When she thought about it, she haven't seen this place look the same twice in her life. This time huge tent was covering side of Tock's house and freshly created pool which they filled with water yesterday.

"Are we going in there?", she asked, as if it was not obvious.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on July 19th, 2012, 10:06 pm

Completely unaware that Nai shared a room with one of Tock's worst enemies, Tock didn't notice who the person in the other bed was, nor did she care. So she just grabbed Nai's hand and pulled her from the dorm room, hurrying back home. She was eager to get started, and brimming with energy.

"Y'all is sleepin' the 'ole day away!" she protested. She didn't understand how anyone could sleep so much. There was so much work to be done! Unaware that Wren (who she didn't even know was there) might actually be awake and listening, she said, "C'mon, Conch! Gots us a magic boat fer ta git made, aye? Lesgo!"

Once they reached her home, she waved dismissively at the water and said, "Nah, nah, nah! Ain't time what fer swimmin' today! Might mess things up, what if'n ya started splashin' 'round too much..." She guided Nai over to the smaller circle and directed her to sit. "Sit 'ere, aye? Make yerself comfy... yer done gonna beens 'ere a few hours, aye?"

Tock sat next to her, outside the circles. She pricked her finger with her knife, bringing out a drop of blood. "Now," she said, realizing Nai had no idea how this process worked, "gots fer ta make the boat knows 'ow ta sail an' stuff, aye? Ya knows some sailin' an' stuff, aye? Awright, so, what fer ta makes the boat knows it, I's done gots ta like, copy 'er from yer mind 'n'stuff." She nodded eagerly. "Ain't 'urt o' nothin'... but ya can't done make somethin' been alive, what wit'out startin' off what wit' somethin' alive, aye? Like growin' trees what from seeds..."

She dropped the blood onto the circles, and closed her eyes, starting to focus. "Don't squirm too much," she said. "Oy, an' aye, whatcha wants 'er ta does, 'sides movin'? I can makes 'er obeys ya commands, easy peasy. But what else?"

With the blood added, she felt her Djed start to flow. She concentrated on her senses beyond sight, searching out the place where souls dwelt. After doing it so many times, it was easy for her, and her vision spread to the astral realm. Her eyes opened, glowing blue with Djed, and she looked to Nai. She thought of everything she knew of the girl, her passions, her desire for adventure. She sought that out, searching for Nai's soul so the process could begin.

by **Nai'shee** on July 19th, 2012, 10:56 pm

Luckily, Nai'shee quickly closed the door, but she couldn't be sure if Wren heard about her boat or not. She doubted he was the type to steal people's animated boats and run away with them, but she couldn't know. However, he seemed pretty asleep to her, so she quickly crossed that concern, concentrating on her little treasure.

Nai'shee got more and more confused. At the point Tock led her she could see her boat in the water. She recognized two circles, one she was standing in and the pond, it was shaped as a circle. That probably had something to do with the process.

"WHAT?!", the girl protested, panicking when she was told she will have to sit there for few hours. She had enough of that while working. "You mean to say the whole thing is going to last that much? But what should I do?"

Tock kind of explained the process, but she had to repeat the question. "Yeah, but what should I do?" She wasn't intending to sit still for hours, looking at Tock doing whatever she was about to do. Alright, she was intending to do that for the sake of Animation of her boat, but she really didn't intend to do that without whining about it a bit.

"Hm, I guess I want it to obey simple commands concerning movement... If you could use some weird words instead of Go, Stop and similar, it would be good, so I wouldn't accidentally command it all the time... I doubt it can know directions well, but could you at least make it able to understand Turn to two o'clock and those stuff, I'm gonna care where two o'clock is? Maybe recognizing shapes, so I could tell it to move towards something in water... I mean, it'll probably be only water and some object, so just that it could register the object in eyesight, ya know. Also keeping direction or staying in place, despite the wind and stuff. Maybe not moving if it's overweighted unless I command so?" The girl was kind of upset that she didn't have more time to think about this. She was pretty sure she covered everything, but what if she remembers something else. "I guess that would be it", she said unwillingly, mentally preparing not to move too much for a while.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on July 20th, 2012, 12:15 am

Tock nodded at the girl's words. It was a pretty straightforward set of requests. She told Nai, "Whatcha can does is, think real 'ard 'bout sailin', aye? Think 'bout the first time ya were on the water... 'bout why ya wanna sail. Why ya likes boats so much? Think 'bout all that, real 'ard. 'Member all the good stuff what ya's done onna water. Oy, mebbe even tells me a story 'bout 'er, aye? 'At'll 'elps a lot. Tells me a story 'bout the best time ya done ever 'ad onna boat..."

Getting Nai to share the story would help get the memories flowing. That would be a good way to get the information flowing out of Nai, and into the wheels. Concentrating on the specific tasks, the specific feelings, thoughts, and memories, all of that helped when Tock was Animating something.

So while she waited for Nai to start sharing a story, she held her hands up and reached through the Astral realm. She waited until Nai's thoughts and feelings started moving to the surface with her story, and that helped Tock find her soul. She focused, concentrating on moving the Djed forth, guiding it through the circles and into the Automaton. Nai's body would begin to glow, a wavery blue like the sea, and slowly as she spoke more of the sea, the energy would flow forth, like a dangling water drop, until it splashed down into the boat, crossing the line between the circles, guided by the Glyphs along its journey and into the construction.

From a piece of Nai's soul, grown while she was focused on her thoughts of sailing, the Automaton's soulcore would form.

by **Nai'shee** on August 30th, 2012, 10:31 pm

OOCJust to note, the described trip should have been a flashback with player who's now inactive and I'm planning to do a solo or something with it sometime.

Nai'shee stared at Tock for a moment after her request. She never thought about it much. Someone would expect that being more important experience to her.

"I was really young", she finally spoke, "It was over ten years ago. You know, I always dreamed about sailing. Even before that. No matter how much I love Zeltiva, I was an explorer and borders of the city behind which laid only danger were killing me. I saw the sea as ultimate freedom. Nobody possesses the sea. If you're a good sailor you can avoid sharks and other creatures who would damage your boat. Except that, it's just you and eternity of water..."

As she spoke, she her eyes were flashed by blue stains which seemed like being in the air around her. She was interrupted for a second, but soon she realized it was light surrounding her. She remembered the effect of Shielding and she calmed, realizing that was the effect of Tock's magic.

"I met that Svefra kid... His family was visiting Zeltiva, so I showed him around. In return he asked me if I wanted to sail around with them for a bit. One day around Mathew's bay. You see, I was pretty poor kid and I thought I would never be able to sail somewhere, let alone buy my own boat." A smirk appeared on her face, as she watched the item in the pool in front of her. "I was really excited. The feeling was exactly what I expected. That doesn't sound too good, but... I felt as if I was in some other world..." She didn't even realize most of things she was saying before that. She knew that feeling, she just never tried to put it into words. "I don't know... I felt unlimited." The feeling money created in her. A limited kid. "On the sea you aren't any more or less than others. Everyone is equal. Richer won't sail faster, noble won't be safe of the storms. I like that."

She looked at her friend again, wondering what else to say. She got a bit out of line.

"So, I was sailing... They gave me few tips... Actually, I think they explained me pretty much everything. You know how curious I am. I don't remember every detail. I was occupied with sightseeing, feeling the waves gently hitting the boat... It was beautiful. But I don't take the experience itself as something so special, only because it was first. Every sail is special and enjoyable if you want to enjoy it."

She looked at Tock again, and then back at the boat focusing on the exact feeling she had back then. Little, unnoticeable waves wind made in the pool, swinging the boat around helped her feel it. She just stared at the water, thinking about the feeling as Tock told her, but her attention slowly drifted back at the process she was in the middle in. She wondered what her friend was doing exactly. She hoped that part of Animation will be over soon, so no error would happen due to her losing concentration.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on August 30th, 2012, 11:31 pm

Tock channeled the memories and spiritual energy from Nai into the Automaton as she began speaking. At first it was mostly just the emotion, the love for the sea. The wonder of freedom, without limitations. Those emotions were the ones that filled the Soulcore as it formed. At its deepest point, the boat would have the soul of a sailor.

With the first steps complete, she began programming Directives. First and foremost was loyalty and obedience, first to herself, second to Nai'shee. Tock always made sure she had primary control over any Automaton she made, just in case, for any reason, she needed to override the other person's commands. She doubted that would ever be necessary with Nai, considering how sweet and kind she was. But she made sure to program it in, nonetheless.

Also, to make sure Nai had the option if she needed it, Tock programmed a second Directive for Authentication. A nonsense word she programmed in, one which would never be spoken in normal conversation, but which could be used to make the Automaton obey a new user. This way, if Nai ever wished to let someone else pilot the boat, they could do so.

Finally for self-preservation, since Nai asked to make the boat not move when overweighted, she programmed a Directive to stop all movement if the boat encountered any strain or a collision of any sort. By making this the third Directive, Nai would still be able to command the boat to move again after it stopped. But if it stopped, she would know something was wrong, and would be able to change the direction or command the boat in some other way.

With the Directives programmed, she began programming the boat with what it would need to know. She let Nai's words, her story, flow along the connection between the circles, programming those memories into the boat. Nai's story came with memories of the sea, and Tock programmed the words of the story right alongside those memories, ensuring that when Nai used words like 'sharks' and 'sea' and 'water,' the boat would understand those things.

When the story was over, Tock told Nai, "Tell me 'bout sailin' itself. 'Ow ta make the boat move through the water. 'Ow ta 'andle the waves. Not 'it the rocks. 'At sorta thing..."

As the hours would go on, she would continue with programming more basic concepts. The difference between the feel of water and land, so the boat would understand when it was moving from rolling along the beaches to floating in the water. Aided by the many Glyphs she'd worked around the pond, the energy flowed into the Automaton's form, laying down the foundations for basic understandings. Simple things for now, water, land, rocks, and basic shapes. Things a child would learn in their toddler years, how to tell a square versus a circle versus a half moon. It would be awhile later before she could give it anything more complex. It needed a basic understanding of the environment first. It wouldn't do any good trying to teach it the difference between left and right if it didn't yet understand the basic principles of the world around it.

It would likely take all day just to give it a good understanding of the environment. Even with the help of the Glyphs, which accelerated the flow of energy from Nai's mind into the boat, there were limits on how much she could squeeze in during one day. But she continued teaching it basic things like how to recognize the sun in the sky, the moon and stars at night. Ensuring that it would understand the things it saw around it when it traveled. In order to be a proper sailor, those were the things it would need to know.

by **Nai'shee** on August 31st, 2012, 4:48 pm

"It's a lot more simple with a rowboat, especially the one with wheels", she immediately responded. "Hmmm... where do I begin? It's always easier to follow direction of the wind. Then you can go the fastest, with waves pushing you too. Even with a rowboat, without sails. With wheels it's ideal if the water is calmer, tho. If you're caught in storm you have best chances if you obey or oppose the wind, otherwise waves might upturn the boat. It's also important to keep your direction. I'm still somewhat bad at navigation, so it would be ideal if I could just go straight. I'd like boat to know time on the clock, so it could understand directions based on that. I don't know much about tacks, but I guess it won't be needed for a rowboat unless I somehow decide to add sails to already small space." However, she'd gone trough her little knowledge, fully based on logic instead of experience and learning rules. She bragged about few more things. She wondered if boat would need it, but she told him and Tock the old rhyme she memorized, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight, red sky in the morning, sailors take warning". It was a sign of a storm, judging by Svefra woman she met back then. She talked about avoiding rocks, both small and big ones, she told about her encounter with a shark from which she learned their weakness is attacking their eyes or gills. However, it would be ideal if rowboat was able to stop moving when encountering one before it feels it's presence.

Soon Nai'shee would end her little speech and everything would become waiting. She thought just about her boat. She imagined it gaining knowledge they spoke about. She couldn't understand how was that possible. She imagined knowledge floating from Tock to the Animaton to be buried deep in the wood. She realized she felt something towards the object. Not only because it was rowboat she wanted for so long, but because now it was becoming alive. If this boat was a person, it would probably be someone irreplaceable for Nai. Of course, he is you, she reminded herself. She didn't even realize she already thought of a boat as male. Sailing wasn't quiet feminine job on Mizahar, and despite it being her dream, she subconsciously didn't consider it feminine either.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on August 31st, 2012, 6:58 pm

As Nai spoke of the wind, Tock transferred her knowledge of it into the Automaton. She programmed in the feeling of the wind blowing against you, and the different strengths and intensities it could have. While Nai continued to speak of going with the wind instead of against it, she transferred memories of moving with the wind at your back, as opposed to a headwind pushing against you. She programmed that feeling of strain when the wind was so strong you had to struggle to move against it. The boat would understand this invisible force the same way a person did, the same way Nai herself did. An understanding of movement would come later, since for now she was just programming an understanding of the wind itself. But this would lay a strong foundation, so that later on, she could program things like tacking into the wind and the Automaton would have the preliminary understanding needed to grasp the more complex concept.

When Nai mentioned calm water, Tock built off the foundation of 'water' she had already programmed, expanding on it to program understanding of still, calm water, versus rough, choppy water. She programmed in the memories Nai described of ships being tossed on the waves, or being capsized and overturned during a storm. She programmed an understanding of rain as water that fell from the sky, building off the earlier programming of the sun and moon in the sky above.

Then she programmed in the layout of a clock, as Nai pictured it, with the twelve at the bow and the six at the stern. She programmed the words and basic meaning of the numbers. This Automaton wouldn't be given enough understanding of numbers to perform math, but the basics for the sake of directions would be there.

Then more environmental things, images of rocks big and small. Images of a ship crashing against the rocks, so the boat would understand the danger. This would ensure its self-preservation Directive would function, since it would know what to avoid.

Likewise she transferred Nai's memories of the shark attack, programming it as another danger to be avoided. It would share Nai's memories of that event, as if it had experienced it itself. That was why she had Nai tell these stories. Not only did they make the memories flow easier, but the runes that guided the Djed flow made it more natural, so that the Automaton would absorb the information more directly. It made it so much easier and quicker to program a memory when telling the story brought that memory to the forefront of Nai's mind, and the guiding Glyphs pulled it along the connection from Source to Destination.

When night began to fall, she closed off the connection, knowing there was too much going into this creation to be done in one day. It was a strong start, though. When the glow faded from Nai, Tock, and the boat, she stretched and told her friend, "Awright, we's what gotta git some rest now, aye? Can't keep goin' when yer tired, else ya git bad programmin'..." She had learned that one the hard way, with Cutty.

"Come on back tomorrow afternoon, an' we can git some more done. Still got lots more ta teach 'im, if'n 'e's gonna be real smart-like..."

OOCDo you want to skip to the next day in your post?