First Favors

by **Mienskil Ostovik** on April 17th, 2013, 5:00 pm

There was little tact behind Miro’s flattery, and to any outside observer it would be painfully obvious he was sucking up to Mienskil. It was true that the Reimancer’s offer of exchanging knowledge needed no added sweetening, for his adulation was so exaggerated that he was pretty much forcing sugar water down Mienskil’s ears. However, it was taken as mostly genuine by the conditioned and susceptible Magesmith, and what he noticed as overdone he chalked up to simply trying to get on his good side to learn Magecrafting. Not that he minded at all, it actually made Mienskil feel valued in some way. Though there was work to be done at the time, now after the meal was an opportunity to discuss further.

“I see,” was his response to Miro’s explanation. For a moment he only ate, not slowly but quickly, while processing the information. Made into a special state of undead by the god Uldr, the entire time he’d known the lad he was between the living and the dead. Mienskil knew painfully little about the god – or any deity on the divine pantheon really – and his undead agents, but he was fairly certain there was something more to it than simply becoming like the Nuit. Miro himself said he wasn’t like them, and the fact that there was still at least some color suggested that he was leaning more towards life than the Nuit.

But what did that mean then? This was the question on Mienskil’s mind as he swallowed, vacuuming food not much slower than Miro. What did that mean for their arrangement, Miro’s position in the island, and Mienskil’s own? The two were close compatriots, Miro having saved Mien’s life and the two having shared some knowledge on various bits and pieces. Did Miro being undead give him an elevated position to pulsers? And if that was the case were they boosting each other’s reputation just by association? Was this something Miro was doing for Mienskil, or vice versa?

The longer Mienskil thought about it, tossing the politics of it back and forth and wondering what Miro’s motives could be, the faster he ate and the deeper set his frown became, culminating in a point where he just shrugged to himself. Did it matter? That question silenced all the others. Miro was here working with Mienskil as per their agreement, and Mienskil was happy to have him. Mienskil hadn’t come for politics, he’d come for science, and that was what he should be dedicating his thoughts towards. Perhaps it was the realization that Miro wasn’t quite human that had offset him so, but ultimately it mattered little immediately. They had a job to do, and for now they could just revel in that.

“I’m inclined to accept your offer,” the Magesmith announced suddenly, referring to the proposal Miro had made before they resumed work that morning. “Having you as prospective student will allow us to work more closely together, trust each other more so that we may rely on each other with greater confidence. Faith is, after all, the start of any connection. Learning Reimancy myself may prove useful, though since it is quite clear you have mastered it yourself I would rather have you here in the case I create something of greater power.” Then the human smiled, wiping his mouth of crumbs. “Perhaps you should visit more often then, so that we may both learn from each other. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more of you.”

Finished, Mienskil stood up and nodded. “Back to work then,” he commented, walking over to the pedestal and picking up his tools once more. “How about this then: I propose that we finish this project first, which I will use as my opportunity to tutor you initially on some less obvious points to do with Magecraft. Then you may initiate me in Reimancy, and then we can go through with some basic casting instruction. I won’t beg too much of your time, since Magecraft is a long process and by the end of this project I’m sure you’ll have something else to do, but it would be a good opportunity for us both to learn from one another.”

With his mind spoken, Mienskil’s gaze swiveled back down to the lantern. He snapped his eyes open and directed the flow of his djed to course through his eyes, almost feeling it like a current beneath his brow as around him the familiar swirls of color and words dictated to him the weight and solidity of the lantern. The little ball of red text hovering just above the item in almost the center of the aura, which Mienskil assumed was the fire Reimancy’s manifestation, was not pulsing since they were not currently working on it. Right now it was about the size of both of Mienskil’s fists held together, with the lines of text about as wide as a finger. Eventually it would have to fill the rest of the aura, which meant they still had a lot of work to do.

This time, as Mienskil focused on his imaginative burning and brought his hammer down on the lantern, he watched Miro out of the corner of his eye, turning every now and again to focus on what the Reimancer was doing. He said he would take this opportunity to begin tutelage, and he was going to make good on that. First however, he had to know how Miro was doing it at the moment.

by **Miro** on April 22nd, 2013, 2:50 am

Mienskil looked a bit unsettled by hearing the news that Miro was undead. Sahova was an island full of Nuit. Why this was so out of place was a bit of a mystery, but it hardly mattered. What did matter was that the Magesmith wanted to learn, and he seemed willing to cooperate. "I agree, and I thank you Mienskil. As I would like you around to assist me in my application of Magecrafting, I expect you have similar feelings about Reimancy. But, you stick with me for a bit, and there is no doubt you'll become quite competent in no time. It would be great to spend more time in a lab like this. Really, I see why you love it. The atmosphere, so rich with Djed." The wizard opened his pores to absorb from the atmosphere thick with Djed and took a deep breath through his nose. He heaved it out through his mouth with a sigh and smiled. "It is quite the enchanting place. I had always imagined that working in a room all day would feel more constrictive, yet, not this place. Instead you just feel secure, able to share an intimate bond with your work."

Before they could go back to work, yet again his Familiar felt the need to converse. "Miro, hey, I am wondering something important. How are we going to make me more powerful? An enchanted item maybe, or a magic item that will allow me to wield your Reimancy. Or better yet, teach me it all. I have seen you do it, the Reimancy especially. Why teach him when it would benefit you so much more to teach me. If you do, I promise I won't kill anyone. Well, anyone important. Important to you. Or rather, important to your survival. I promise, really I do." But with all of the aggressive chatter, the master was a bit overwhelmed. Lately Ender had become quite possessive and enthusiastic about making progress. It was a complete turn around from how they were before. For all he discouraged magic and for how much he would beg for solitude, this new attitude was a bit overwhelming. Fits of jealousy were something the wizard hadn't prepared for.

"Easy, Ender, easy. I understand, you want some time, but I am busy. You have gotten me used to giving you space, so understand it is a bit difficult for me to suddenly give you all of my time. I will take time to focus on you, do not worry. No doubt you need your power too. And I am very glad you wish to be useful and play a larger role in our lives. Let me deal with Mienskil and settle our business for now. Not only will I work with you, but I will make an effort to understand our relationship better. There must be more to being paired with a Familiar than talking and sharing damage." The Irylid responded, but his tone hinted of disappointment. "Yeah, of course. Alright, I'll, I'll let you be then." The Familiar was doubting of his master's words. Not only did he doubt the sincerity of his words, but the possibility of him learning anything. The Nuit of the island did not just share knowledge, and so far there was little Ender could do to grasp casting magic for himself.

With Familiar concerns sorted out, it was back to work again. Once more Miro took his hammer in hand and meditated. Again he went through the process of creating fire, by creating Res, creating Reimancy. The key was to instill the concept of transmutation, and how to control a transmutation properly. The Reimancer opened his eyes and went to work striking the lantern. In his mind he envisioned building of Djed, both to build it in the item and to symbolize the first step of casting. He focused hard on this for some time while hammering, then switched his focus to the next thing. Transforming the Djed to Res, producing it as a gaseous fuel. Again, for long he focused on this process before once again switching focus. The final step, transmutation to fire, the spark of will that would ignite the fuel into the desired flare of light. And then he imagined the process in tandem, all at once. Over and over he forced the images through his mind, releasing Res, igniting it, maintaining the spell.

The wizard's eyes gazed in through the aura viewing lens unblinking. The ripples of Djed were even and consistent, and it seemed there was some progress. It was slight, but indeed there was progress. The aura not only grew in size, but changed in quality. It gave a more powerful impression, though of what nature he could not be sure. All for sure he knew was that the item was charged with more Djed than other inanimate objects. The longer the undead stared, the more he attuned himself with it. He made an attempt to decipher the meaning of the aura leaking from it, though found little understanding. More and more he struck it with his hammer, imparting his gift, gathering Djed. The longer he stood with the item, the harder he focused on its aura, and the closer he came to understanding the subtle change brought on by each strike.

by **Shai** on June 28th, 2014, 7:12 pm

However hopeless the situation appears to be

There yet always exists the possibility of putting up a stubborn resistance

Miro :

Check :

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