[Pavi Lake Trainging Thread] Collabaration (Closed)

[Jaquise Emittere]

20th day of Spring 510 AV The day was clouded, giving the appearance that rain was expected. Few were in the area to worry though, and those few there were determined to stay for the foreseeable future. One lone figure who carried such determination looked out onto the lake with a mix of excitement and worry. He wore a black jacket with gray bordering, a black broad rimmed hat, a loose fitting white tunic, and underneath the tunic a glint of metal could be seen. His hands rested at his side, one laying comfortably on the handle of a wicked looking curved sword. Beside him lay a pack that appeared to contain several different items. It seemed he was waiting for something. It wasn't clear what until a few minutes later an odd object floated over to him from across the lake. It was in the shape of an orb that seemed to be made of ice. Off its surface everything around it was reflected. The thing's movement was fast, but gave the impression of being unhurried. How it moved was a mystery, it had no wings and it appeared to simply hang in the air. Every once in a while it would move closer to the water, only to pull away when a fish jumped at it. Such a curious sight, and the only one to see wasn't at all surprised. The lone pale figure standing at the edge of the lake was smiling at the arrival of this odd creature. Apparently this was what he had been waiting for. "Zagarek, you had me worried taking so long. Did you spot anyone else nearby?" The pale man looked expectantly at the orb, as the floating ball would speak back. After a moment the size of the ball decreased, then increased. It happened slowly, and it did not surprise the pale man. What followed after that was about as surprising as the appearance of the orb itself. A cold, calculating voice spoke out, and it came from the frozen orb. Once again it failed to surprise the pale man on the lake bed. "I did not find any others of your kind in the immediate vicinity. However in the water there are a great deal of what you call fish. My presence seems to agitate them." The orb of ice pulsed once more and began slowly floating around the human. "And you need not be worried about my saftey Jaquise. The ability to move through air at will seems to be unique to my kind. I can simply float out of reach of any land based threat, and go under the water to avoid any air based threat." "Please, call me Jaq. I gave up that other name long ago. And telling me not to worry is like telling a parent not to be worried about their child." Jaq sighed as the familiar floated in a circle around him. Despite Zagarek's familiarity with human's, due mostly to his discussions with his sibling and the wizard his sibling bonded with, the being was still having a little trouble. It liked the world it was in. Compared to its own world this one must have seemed like paradise. However Jaq was slow to do things, and what little he did do were low paying jobs. The Familiar felt it would be years before they ever deepened there connection at this rate, and thus years before they set out in search for his sibling. "That sounds illogical. Jaq is merely a shortened version of Jaquise. What difference does it make what I call you as long as you understand it is you whom I am referring to when speaking. As for the latter part of your statement, I am unfamiliar with this parent childhood relationship you alluded to. However being perceived as young-ling does not seem very endearing." Jaq sighed again and shook his head. The orb stopped floating to observe the sigh. When it ended it continued its rotation around the man. "I did not mean it in that sense. I meant that it is natural for me to worry, after all your injury means my injury, your pain mine." Jaq looked out to the lake one last time before picking up his bag and bringing it to a nearby tree. He set it down against it then walked back to the edge of the water. "Are you ready Zagarek?" "I am, though there is little I can do at the moment to assist you." The orb pulsed once at the end of the saying, as quick as a heartbeat. "You can watch as I practice, learn what I am capable of so when you move to dispense advice it can be better informed. Ask questions, the more we think about what I'm doing the more ideas we can put together. Since this is my first true practice session that will encompass my new element. During the time we are here it is important that all angles are looked upon, studied, and explored. I'm not exactly the kind of guy that can even find all the angles." 'Where as I can observe all the angles at once. Very well, begin your practice. I will speak up when I see a way you can improve your technique." The voice was still as cold and uncaring as ever, but Jaq thought he could hear more to it. The more seemed to say that Zagarek expected to be speaking up rather soon. Jaq ignored that thought though. It wouldn't help if Jaq thought every comment the familiar made was an insult directed at him. "First I have to prepare myself." Jaq sat down, crossed his leg, and laid his sword, which was hanging around his waist, across his legs. He gently gripped the handle and closed his eyes. Should Zagarek inform him of a threat, Jaq was only about two seconds away from having his sword out and ready. "What is this preparation that you are doing?" Jaq could feel the air grow cold as the familiar drifted a bit closer to the wizard. It seemed Zagarek sought to gain information by studying Jaq's actions. "It is called meditation. By calming my mind and relaxing my thoughts, it will allow for greater focus in my reimancy workings." Jaq took a deep breath and slowly let it out, allowing his mind to relax even as he spoke. "The more erratic my thoughts are the more energy I spend trying to keep control of my res. By focusing my mind, I won't have any stray thoughts that will cause me to loosen my control. The more something like that happens, the more energy I use to do things." "Is your mind so unfocused that this makes much of a difference." Jaq knew better then to read any kind of contempt int he familiars voice. Despite the fact that is was plausible, nay probable that Zagarek's opinion of Jaq wasn't as good as it could be, the familiar kept things fairly civil. This was probably more a matter of curiosity. Curiosity was definitely something Zagarek had. His first few hours as Jaq's familiar had been filled with intelligent and in forth questions about Jaq's past, all meant to learn more then the question implied. He was also quite interested int he workings of the world, and questioned Jaq often on something he observed during their trips into the city. Sometimes it involved things like fashion, or questions about certain buildings that Jaq couldn't answer. The familiar had shown no anger at not getting an answer, as if the non-answer was in itself an answer to another question he had. It was non-stop. The questions would be spaced minutes and sometimes hours apart as the being contemplated what he was seeing. Jaq remembered one specific time, where the pale wizard had ordered a drink at a bar. Zagarek had asked what it was and Jaq spent a few minutes explaining alcohol and all its wonderful effects. The familiar had scoffed at the idea of purposefully doing that to one's thinking and had demanded Jaq leave without a drop. That night Jaq suffered one of his nightmares, a bit on the vivid side as far as they go, in which he was chased down and mauled by some nondescript shadow. All the while he felt a cold presence, and alien feeling hovering over his shoulder. When he awoke, Zagarek assented to letting Jaq drink that night. "Its not that I slip up once in a rather large way and waste a great deal of energy recovering. What happens is every stray thought I have takes away a small amount of my will as I am doing a working. Its a small amount of energy by itself but it happens a lot, and the wasted energy adds up." Jaq took another deep breath and looked out onto the lake. He studied every aspect, every rock, and every ripple until he could picture it with his eyes closed. When had finished that He closed his eyes and summoned the image, then focused on the sounds behind it. "Meditation also helps mitigate the affects of spending energy, and could mean the difference in a practice session such as this between overgiving and simply being exhausted." Jaq closed his eyes and spent the next to hours simply focusing on the sound of the forest around him, all the while thinking only of the image of the lake he know held in his mind. Not even sleep was as peaceful and enjoyable for Jaq, who often went to sleep drunk or suffered horrible nightmares, as meditation was. It was a time where the only thoughts Jaq had were the ones he chose to have, and due to the nature of the practice that was no thoughts at all. The burdens, the responsibility, the guilt, the sadness, the anger. All of it was lifted from Jaq's shoulder, leaving nothing but the peaceful emptiness of a mind at rest. When he eventually opened his eyes he had that renewed feeling of a dreamless nights rest without the weariness or drowsiness that accompanied it. The pale wizard stood up, ready and raring to get to practicing. After a minute of focusing Jaq began singing under his breath. A cloud of bluish white floated out from his hands and began forming into a ball about the size of a perhaps a bit smaller then a grapefruit so as to not spend to much energy, over the lake only a meter away. The water, slowly at first but with growing speed, began moving up from beneath the orb of color. Another orb watched intently as the water swirled around the ball and replaced some of the cloud. To keep control over it Jaq kept a great deal of the res on the inside though. He tried a few things to see how malleable his new element was. He made the ball shrink, he made it expand, he turned into a line and had it float in a circle. Then he froze it, he unfroze it, and finally with the aid of his air element he turned it into a fog. Now he controlled a circle of fog, surrounding a gaseous ball of res. At this the orb floating behind Jaq spoke up. "It is good that the high salt content does not appear to interfere with your Reimancy." The thing shrank and expanded once before speaking again. "Perhaps you find it easier to control the liquid and solid forms of water with liquid and solid res respectively." Jaq looked inquiringly to the being for a moment before turning back to the ball of fog. Might has well give it a try. Jaq pulled the moisture from the fog until all that was left was water once more. Then with a thought Jaq turned the gaseous res in the center into liquid res, and he immediately felt a difference in his control. It seemed more fluid, more natural. Jaq smiled and willed the ice to freeze while at the same time turning the res into a solid. He felt a solid connection in this form as well, as if it fit like a piece to a puzzle. Unfreezing the ice Jaq divided the water into three separate orbs, moving all of them within a few feet of him. They were perhaps each a third of the size Jaq's original working had been and they had to be that close to simply observe them. The first he froze, turning the res and water into a solid. The second he turned into a ball of fog, changing the res to a gaseous form. The final he left in its original state, with liquid res. As he completed each of these tasks it became marginally harder to keep control of all of what he was doing. Merely a month ago this would have been beyond his skill completely. Jaq managed to hold the working though, and when he felt secure in his control, he put the three orbs together once more, turning it all back into a liquid. Still having plenty of res left to manipulate, Jaq let the water he had been using disperse. It would use more energy, but Jaq had to try and form water from his res. He needed to find out if he can form the water into a solid or gas immediately. The res that was left over from the last working would be enough to do this. Jaq split a small portion of the cloud of liquid res in front of him and turned it all into water. He moved around for as long as he could before it dropped out of his control, becoming ordinary water and mixing in with the lake's water. He moved another chunk of res way from the whole and turned it into ice. It took a moment longer bu Jaq was able to it with little effort. Time for target practice.

[Jaquise Emittere]

The trees in the area Jaq had chosen were sparse, giving a clear view to the line of the forest 20 ft away. It meant nothing was going to be sneaking up on the group while Jaq was practicing, but it also meant Jaq had some long distance target practice. Air reimancy had never really been strong on its own. If he got lucky he could knock someone down, but that was its offensive limit. If he had time to set up the working Jaq could probably deflect arrows, but the time it took to prepare such a working meant he'd be dead before it was ready. Water offered several new options, and its risk of harming Jaq was limited. The inherent risks of Reimancy were always there, but of the 4 elements air and water had few risks and were quite abundant. As to the options it offered him now, ice could be quite dangerous if utilized properly. For instance one could throw around the icicles like arrows, using the element of air to push them with greater force. Jaq was about to practice that right now. Summoning another cloud of res from his hands, Jaq began singing and waited until it was clear of his body and about halfway toward the limit of his reach before calling the water to it. Pulling from the lake in a stream going upward, the water pooled into several arrow like shapes, each perhaps a little small then Jaq's arm. He'd do it one at a time, while holding onto the others with the res he left in the center and all around it in a cloud. A practice in concentration as much as target practice. Jaq then summon air to a small it of res behind one of the res filled icicles and with an effort of will sent in flying forward while pushing it with the air. As soon as it got out of Jaq's range of control the icicle started spinning in a circle, the way a thrown knife might, falling to the ground short of his target and shattering. He tried again, this time putting even more force behind his mental and air powered push. It went a little farther before it once more started spinning and crashed to the ground, falling to pieces much like the last one had. "I would suggest you push through the air at all points around the ice. It should steady the shot once you are no longer controlling it." Jaq nodded, surrounded the next icicle with res, and threw it. Using the res he cut an path through the air. As it left Jaq's zone of control the pale wizard waited for it to careen of course. It didn't though, and kept going past the tree that was his target and into the forest behind it. He had missed, but now he could at least reach the tree. With that last bit of ice gone Jaq lowered his hands and relaxed his mind. Zagarek watched him for a few moments before deciding Jaq was no longer an interesting and thus did not warrant the beings attention. Jaq was tired and couldn't care less. He sat down once more, crossing his legs and laying his sword across his lap. This caught Zagarek's attention once more, and the familiar drifted over to where Jaq was hovering once more. 'Are you meditating once more?' The question hung in the air for a few moments as Jaq adjusted his sitting position a little to make himself a little more comfortable. "Yes. By Meditating after the working I can lessen the chances any long term damage, such as problems with my res, as well as allow for a faster recovery. I must once more focus my mind, body and soul. After performing reimancy all are in a chaotic state." Jaq once more studied the lake before him and began memorizing each and every detail that he could see. The setting of the sun, even behind the clouds set a stark contrast in lighting. Jaq thought it a beautiful seen and enjoyed the time he spent observing it. When he was sure he had an image firmly fixed in his mind with as much detail as possible, Jaq closed his eyes and let the sounds around take the place of his thoughts. The chattering of some birds int he trees behind him, the shifting of the water as a fish swam by, even the leaves rustling in a cool spring breeze. In his minds eye Jaq saw wisps of fog curl and weave across the lakes surface. All was well, as was peaceful. Even the cold presence at his side, most likely Zagarek watching the immediate area, was only a comfort. Jaq spent perhaps three hours simply allowing his mind to relax, allowing his thoughts to order themselves, and allowing his body to rest. When he finally stood up the sun had set and Jaq went about setting up a quick camp sight. Dinner was a simple loaf of bread, some dried meat, and some cheese. Jaq brought his own water with him to drink, and wouldn't dip into the lake water unless it became absolutely necessary. The camp fire he had made was small, but it kept him warm in the damp cool night. Jaq retired soon after eating for the night.

[Jaquise Emittere]

21st day of Spring 510 AV Jaq awoke early the next morning, when the sun had yet to peak over the trees and the warmth of the day had yet to reach this secluded spot near Pavi lake. The fog had cleared up over the night, and now Jaq could see for the lake clearly for the first time. It was a wonderful site to wake up to that was for sure. After a few deep breaths Jaq started up his campfire, though he only made it a perhaps a third of the size he had last night. The meat he had packed for food took only a few moments of sitting on a rock near the fire to cook. Combined with another loaf of bread and a slice of cheese, breakfast was an enjoyable meal for the man. Around this time Zagarek floated out of the tent, barley the size of a small bird. The icy surface of his body reflected Jaq's image and for the first time in a while Jaq actually looked healthy. His skin was still deathly pale but he had given up long ago on that changing. Healthy meant that he had no bags under his eyes, that he had no new bruises or scars decorating his body, and his eyes almost seemed to sparkle with the energy of life that Stitch, Jaq's friend, valued so much. Jaq smiled at the the reflection and at the familiar itself. Zagarek did not react and simply waited for Jaq to finish his meal. When he was done Jaq stood up and moved back to his tent. After a few minutes of digging around he pulled out two things of rope, each perhaps 25 ft long, and Memoria, Jaq's golem sword. He looked around on the ground for a moment before he found a stick, which he also picked up. The pale man took a few steps away from the camp he made and began drawing circles in the dirt. He drew two of them, and then he connected the two with a line between them. Jaq placed one of the ropes inside one of the circles, and sat down in the other with the second piece of rope. Zagarek had seen Jaq animate before, and each time he seemed to find the experience quite interesting. He was careful not to cross the lines of the circle should his nature disrupt the flow of power and information, but often he would circle the circles and look at the contents with in. The question of why Jaq was animating today was left unvoiced, but Jaq decided to answer it anyway. "If I wait another day I can ensure that my reserve Djed is back to full. Can never be to careful." Jaq drew Memoria perhaps an inch from the scabbard and made a small cut on his left thumb. He then carefully placed the sword just outside the circle yet still within reach should a need for it arise. Then Jaq placed his bloody thumb to the circle and felt a connection spring up int he back of his mind, right next to the connection Jaq always felt with Zagarek. he could feel through that connection the energy of the rope. It was a simple energy, easy to read and quite malleable, though it was a bit of a curiosity as the energy seemed to wind in and around itself, following the weave of the hemp. The first to parts would make it perfect for practice. Jaq was going to use himself as a source. Unlike some other animators he noticed no unusual attachment to the golem's he made this way. The exception to this was Memoria, but that didn't really count since Jaq had felt an attachment to the the weapon before he animated it. To make the soulcore Jaq began focusing on what made him Jaq. His heartbeat, his breathing, his emotions. Each time he inhaled and the feeling of well being that accompanied it, and each time he exhaled and the feeling of emptiness that accompanied it, only to once more feel well being. Jaq listened to the beating of his heart against his chest, felt it pumping blood throughout his body. He recalled all of his best times and all of his worst times, and the emotions he had felt during them. All the good and all the bad and all that just was about Jaq was sent through the connection and merged with the latent, simple energy of the rope. It wound itself through the weave and began to settle. Jaq opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Several minutes had passed and his legs felt a little cramped. The pale man stood up and walked out of his circle, leaving the second piece of rope he had in there. Zagarek stood hovering over the rope for a few moments before following. The two remained silent for a few minutes while Jaq stretched his legs. When he was done with that Jaq moved over near the camp fire and sat down. Zagarek paused for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to get that close to a fire. He made his decision and moved over to hover over Jaq's shoulder. "To what purpose are you animating the twisted hemp line?" Jaq remained silent as hge reached over to his near by bag and pulled out a canteen of water. He took a long drink before topping it off an putting it back in his bag. "Practice mostly. That's what this trip is for after all." "Would you be remiss if I have a suggestion on how you animate that object?" Jaq turned and looked at the being expectantly, with an eyebrow arched and a half grin on his face. He sat like that for a few moments before he realized Zagarek was actually waiting for an answer to his question. "No, go ahead. Don't worry about giving me ideas and what not, we're partners remember." Mostly Jaq thought of this as true, but there was a not so small part of him that worried about when the familiar grew stronger. Jaq didn't want Zagarek growing resentful. "Perhaps if you were to include a function in the rope that causes it to wrap impeded someones leg movements? There are a number of ways such a thing might be useful." The orb that was Zagarek dipped down a little bit before rising once more. Jaq liked the idea. It was clever and as Zagarek said had multiple uses. With a smile Jaq began planning how he would do this. Hours passed with Jaq thinking on the subject, then thinking about ideas for Golem's in general, to simply relaxing. When the sun had reached its peek Jaq got up and walked over to the circle, sitting in the one he had earlier. The pale inspected the connection in his mind, searching for any inconsistencies in the soul core that might have sprung up as it settled down. After a few moments of study Jaq decided that it was workable, and perhaps one of his better workings. The next thing Jaq would give it was directives. It really only needed two, loyalty and kill phrases. The first directive would ensure that it activated only by Jaq's word and the second would ensure that Jaq could turn it off should it try and choke him. He spent a few moments concentrating on the connection to re-immerse himself in the flow of energy. When he was ready Jaq began speaking. "Now, stop him, wrap it up, bring him down." As Jaq said these words he focused on the sound of his voice, thinking of nothing else but the way his voice sounded, how it drew some words out and compacted others. He then went on to say, "Undo, release him, let go." He sent this all through the connection and into the soul core. The soul core absorbed the information with little trouble. With that done Jaq moved onto the next Directive. He imagined a person going to sleep and said the word, "Sleep." Simple enough. It would work as a temporary shut down command. For the complete shutdown Jaq said the words, "Shariot Knot." That would kill the soul core and turn the golem into a normal piece of rope. For the third step, Jaq needed to teach the rope the information it would need. The object didn't need to know anything beyond those words and the voice that spoke them, so Jaq simply reinforced it by repeating each word and thinking of the action he wanted the rope to do when they were spoken. He thought of all the numerous ways a rope could wrap around someone, and thought of them again each time he moved onto another phrase. When he reached the end of the string of phrases that would trigger the rope and have it entangle someone, Jaq moved onto the words that would have the rope let go. He brought back all of the images of the rope wrapping around someone and instead thought of them just simply going slack. When he was done Jaq let go of the energy and pulled his mind away from the connection for a moment. Animation was rather time consuming and Jaq wanted to know what time it was. When he opened his eyes he was pleasantly surprised that only perhaps an hour had passed. It seemed Jaq was getting better. Jaq shifted his position a little, letting the blood in his legs flow, and dove right back into the connection. Only two more steps. The next one was perhaps the simplest and the most difficult for Jaq. It involved forming an Astral body for the golem. It would be simple because it was a rope. However forming the Astral body was delicate work, and for someone such as Jaq who had the will to bull through the things, it was a tedious task. Jaq set to it though. An hour passed, then another. As Jaq stretched the Astral body over the rope starting from one end and working his way to the other, his brow furrowed in concentration. When Jaq let out a sigh of relief, two and a half hours after he had started that step he was finally finished, he was sweating. From the feel of the energy in Jaq's connection it had been worth it though. The golem felt like an animal in a dreamless sleep, full of life but completely still and unthinking. Jaq broke the circle and stepped over to the rope. He picked it up and said gently, as one might to a sleeping animal, "Awaken." Less because of the word used and more because of the intentions behind it, the golem came alive. Thought it stood stock still, Jaq had learned to feel the ebb and flow of energy change upon the waking of a golem, even a simple one like this. Jaq turned to the nearest tree and through the rope. As it flew through the air Jaq shouted, "Now!" When the rope hit the tree it immediately sprung to life, wrapping its length around the trunk and one of the lower branches. "Let Go." The rope went slack and dropped to the ground, still once more. Jaq smiled and walked over to pick it up. He tested all the words he had sued for both the trigger and the release. Each time it worked without issue. Jaq had Zagarek try and activate the rope, but the familiar's voice failed to move the Golem into action. Zagarek was bothered that none of Jaq's golem's could be Activated by him, but Jaq told him that Zagarek couldn't even pick up the golem's nonetheless use them. Why would Jaq have it work for him. The familiar had no answer for that ignored Jaq when the wizard tried to find out if he was really bothered by it. Eventually the familiar rose up then down, Jaq had learned it was the equivalent of a sigh or shrug, and told the wizard he was not bothered, he had just been curious. The rest of the day went by without incident, with Jaq having a peaceful dinner before retiring for the night.

[Jaquise Emittere]

22nd day of Spring 510 AV The next day found Jaq awake early in the morning meditating. He had his hat on, his sword strapped to a belt on his waist, and was once more sitting near the lake. He could feel his reserve of Djed was once more at its peak. Jaq was ready for some more target practice. The only thing to do before he started was to meditate. Jaq looked to the lake and once more studied the picture before him. It had changed. The clouds were gone and the fog had lifted. Across the water's the rising sun painted a myriad of colors that seemed to blend and mix. Such a beautiful sight. Jaq breathed in deep and closed his eyes, holding the image of the lake in his mind. He let no other thoughts disrupt the image, he let no ripples of concern move across the surface of his mind. Jaq focused on the sound of his breathing and the sound of the world around him, letting his mind relax and focus. Jaq sat there for perhaps two hours, readying his mind for the task ahead. When Jaq opened his eyes, the sun had risen a bit higher into the sky, perhaps midway to its peak in the sky. Jaq rose from his position and turned to look at the nearby tree. He had enough reserve energy for perhaps Six icicles, each about length of a crossbow bolt, and only twice as thick. If he took away the energy it cost to propel that with air then he could do perhaps five. Jaq would thus do four. One can never be to careful. Even getting close to his limit was a risk the wizard wasn't willing to take. To make the most of it, Zagarek would be watching each working closely, as he had done last time, and will tell Jaq how to improve upon it or fix any mistakes. Jaq summoned a small cloud of gaseous res and began drawing water from the lake behind him to it as he formed it into the shape he wanted. He left enough res in the center and surrounding it so that he could control its movements and push it. Jaq looked to Zagarek to see if the being was ready. It bobbed up and down quickly in an imitation of a human nodding. Jaq turned to look at the tree across from him and threw the ice with his mind. As it reached perhaps halfway out of his range of control Jaq willed the res around it and pushed with that as well. Jaq let it fly from there. The icicle cut through the air, moving as fast or perhaps faster then an arrow loosed from a bow. It flew past the tree that was Jaq's target and disappeared into the brush behind it. The familiar bobbed up in down for a moment before saying, "Perhaps you should start pushing it with air while you are still controlling the ice." Jaq nodded and redid the experiment, only this time he started pushing the ice with air about a quarter of the way out of his range of control, letting go of the working at half. The icicle hit its target this time, though it glanced off the side. It left a gash in the tree though, which showed how much power was behind the ice. That was good. If Jaq worked on it he might even be able to punch through armor. Jaq only had to throw one more working before he struck home. The last he missed with. It seemed it would take more practice. Jaq was okay with that, he had time. Calling it quits at four, Jaq turned around and sat before the lake and once more meditated. He felt tired and only wanted to go take a nap, but if he had to meditate to lessen the potential damage using reimancy might cause. He spent three hours meditating this time, but to Jaq it only felt like a few minutes. If the sky had still been clouded Jaq wouldn't have even known so much time had passed. Zagarek was unreliable for such information, the familiar seemed so disconnected with reality at times, as if there was something else to occupy his mind. Jaq stood up and stretched his legs and arms. Both felt stiff, and combined with Jaq's weariness it made the pale wizard just want to curl up and take a nap. This time he complied with the desire and lay down on the grass near the camp fire ring, making sure lay his sword right next to him so he could have it ready at a moment's notice. Zagarek stood vigil, ever watching and observing his surroundings.

[Jaquise Emittere]

23rd day of Spring 510 AV By the early afternoon of the next day Jaq was working in another animation circle. Within the first circle Jaq sat, holding his new golem. Within the second circle sat a five foot length of rope from the other piece Jaq was planning on using the last time. Jaq was going to animate the second piece of rope so that it would tie itself in a series of knots. It wouldn't be of any real use to Jaq, but he had a day to kill and practice never hurt. Jaq had already finished the soul core. He implanted the same two directives with similar triggers. For loyalty the rope would recognize seven knots Jaq had named. For the kill phrases Jaq had used the same ones he had chosen for for his first rope golem. To most people in this region it would probably seem like nonsense, but Shariot was one of Jaq's favorite wines. Made for the Akalak's, Shariot could drop even the heaviest of drinkers in 3 or so glasses. The knot part was just to vary from his usual killphrase, which was simply Shariot. Jaq was now reviewing all the knots he had spoken of earlier in his mind. For instance the Catpaw, the Bowline, the half hitch, and one Jaq found had a funny name the monkey's fist. He only vaguely knew what a monkey was, but the thought that the animal had earned the right have a knot named after it made what little he knew all the more amusing. When he was finished Jaq decided to immediately move to the Astral body. It was going to be a tough one for him, because while he formed the astral body around the rope Jaq would also have to being tying each knot to give the astral body the equivalent of muscle memory. Jaq focused on the connection in his mind and opened his eyes. He focused on the rope in his hands and began tying the first knot. He slipped up twice, both on the knot and on the astral body. Eventually though he finished the catspaws and moved on to the Bowline, then the half hitch, and finally the monkey's paw. When Jaq was finally breathed out and broke the circle, releasing his mind from the connection, he wasn't just sweating, he was breathing heavily. He had finished though, and it had only taken four hours. That was good. Jaq moved over to the knot and picked it up, studying it for a few moments. Zagarek watched from beside the circle, curious as to the results. "Awaken." The intention behind Jaq's words caused the rope to pulse with the energy that signaled its waking. Since it was a simple golem with no real mind, the pulse was small and hardly noticeable. Jaq had made enough of these small golems by now to remember what it felt like. Almost a shift in the wind, a new scent in the air. The difference between being in a room by yourself and in a room with someone else. That's what it was like. Jaq listed of the series of knots he had worked into it and smiled with pride as the rope sought to do as it was bid, the knot springing to life and weaving in and out of itself, over and over again until the knot was finished. At one point Jaq tried to switch from the cat's paw to the monkey's fist without first untying the knot that was already tied into the rope. The rope, unable to do anything else, attempted to tie the knot anyway. The result was a mess of hemp rope that Jaq spent another hour undoing. A lesson learned Jaq would say. Tired from the working, mostly the bit with the astral body, Jaq took a nap.

[Jaquise Emittere]

24th day of Spring 510 AV "I still don't get what you want me to try?" Jaq was staring at his familiar, Zagarek, with confusion. The Irylid had been trying to explain to Jaq some idea it had for a working whereas Jaq could not seem to grasp the idea. The being had tried speaking both physically and telepathically to relay his ideas, but neither time had the idea gotten across. The familiar let out an audible sigh, something he had started doing recently which was disconcerting to Jaq since the being didn't actually breath. Jaq was pretty sure it didn't even have a mouth. "Very well wizard, I suppose I will have to show you." The familiars voice chilled Jaq, even in the warm spring air it sent a shiver down his spine. Jaq wondered for a moment how it spoke aloud, but the thought vanished when the pale man saw that Zagarek was indeed showing him what he was trying to describe, by shifting his form to match it. The orb that was Zagarek began to fold in on itself, losing its height for width. The being was still rather small in terms of living things, but Jaq was close enough so that the size affected his observation little. When the changing finally stopped, what was left floating in front of was a ice disk, much like a plate in shape. "Create a piece of ice in this shape, keeping a small amount of solid res in the center, and try and form something similar to an animals teeth around it. If you spin such an object with air reimancy, you are left with an extraordinarily lethal weapon that you can manipulate within your zone of control." With a visual aid Jaq now had no trouble picturing what the familiar wanted him to do, and already he could imagine the damage it could do against an enemy, or depending on how long he could hold it multiple enemies. Jaq turned from the familiar, who was shifting back to his normal shape, to the water and summoned a cloud of res about the size of two of his fists, then willed the res to call the water from the lake. The water slowly moved upward in a eerily silent stream that defied gravity. When it reached the res, Jaq spent a few seconds shaping it the way Zagarek had said to, and when he was done froze the water. Both within and without Jaq had kept some of his res from merging with the water. The res within the disk Jaq turned solid, the res without he began to call air to. As he did so Jaq began walking toward the closest tree, the one which now had a gash and a hole in from last practice. He pulled the disk with him. When the tree was perhaps a third of the way into his zone of control, Jaq willed the air now under his control around the disk to start spinning the disk. At the same time Jaq focused on spinning the res in the disk itself, while holding it all steady. Almost immediately the disk of ice began moving, and it only took a few moments for the teeth Jaq had formed on it to start blurring in his sight. Jaq waited two more seconds then willed the disk toward the tree in a sweeping motion that brought it from left to right. The disk moved in almost a circular pattern, matching the spinning Jaq had set it to. When the edge came in contact with the wood Jaq expected the disk to crash into and shatter, and what he hoped for was for it to cut through the tree all together. Jaq had high hopes apparently. What actually happened was the disks momentum forced it to move like a wheel spinning forward might on a small rock in the road, with its momentum carrying it around the obstacle. Jaq let the working go and frowned. The Irylid, who had floated beside Jaq, watched the disk fly away in the same direction it had been going until there was to much brush between it and the disk to track it. The orb then floated past Jaq to the tree and studied the spot the disk had made contact with the tree. Out of curiosity Jaq to moved over to see, thinking perhaps he had taken away some bark or something. What he actually found was a surprising amount of devastation. The disk hadn't been moving nearly fast enough and was nearly sturdy enough to cut through the entire tree as Jaq had hoped. It didn't pass along the trunk with leaving its mark though. Where the disk had made contact with the tree there was a gash about the depth of the teeth. Jaq actually saw one or two of them in said gash. It hadn't stopped there. Since the disk had literally followed the trunk perhaps halfway around its length, Jaq found a cut had been made in its path. Already though the wizard felt tired. He spent to much time working the shape, and the result was his time with the disk under his actual control was limited to only a few seconds. Perhaps he would improve over time, as he had done with most of his other workings. He hoped so. If he could keep such a working going for a minute, the havoc it could cause against a horde of enemies was hard to imagine. Jaq yawned, a sign that he wouldn't be doing any more workings for the day, and walked back over to the lake. He sat down, crossed his legs, rested his sword on his knees, and closed his eyes, focusing on the image he had painted in his mind of the lake, and the sound of the world around him.

[Harlequill]

Weighing in... XP Awarded Character: Jaquise Emittere Experience: 4xp Animation, 4xp Reimancy, 3xp Familiary, 2xp Meditation Lore: Arcana ______, Arcana ______ (poor), The Sigh of an Irylid, Why Not to Knot a Knotted Rope, Basics of Manipulating Ice with Air Notes: Fill in the blanks with the name of your icicle spell, and the name of your frozen tooth discus spell, with the addition of (poor) because he hasn't yet learned to work it. Remember that you cannot freeze and then unfreeze anything. Once you turn your Res (or water controlled by your Res) into ice, it is ice until it melts of its own accord. This could change if you had the ability to manipulate heat in some way, but you do not. I'd have given you another xp in each skill, but toward the end your detail sort of tapered off. Remember not to rush through how you do things. Feel free to add the golems to your sheet, including a compiled list of kill words and the exact commands available to them. Keep in mind that if you don't time your 'wrap him up' commands perfectly the rope will wrap air, because it has no ability to sense its surroundings other than to touch them.