Closed [Sullin's Residence]Ink and Blood[Amelia Cross]

[Clyde Sullins]

1 Summer 513 Clyde arose from his bed on the first day of summer, and let out a yawn. It was still early in the morning, but he had some things to do in preparation. Assuming of course his potential apprentice had not chickened out. Somehow he did not believe she would, not after their last conversation. She was far to sure of what she wanted, and that through him she could get it. After losing Gallo, he did need a new apprentice, and having someone to teach and to help out would not hurt. Especially since he planned to do some Magecrafting later in the season. And since he wanted to make magic staffs, it would require another magic user. He had planned to use Gallo, but with him dead it was no longer an option. He headed out, dressing in his normal clothes, and taking along Rye with him, along with his ever present staff in hand. Now he needed supplies, for a few things. --- It had taken a bit of going through some various shops, to find what he needed. Finally he got what he wanted at Black Tar's. Supplies to make a Grand Oath were not exactly common, but in a city this size it was bound to have it somewhere. But still, it had costed him 100 gm. He also purchases another 2 pots of inscribing paint, for a total of 6 gm, to replace what he had used prior. These should last him quite some time. All in all, it had cost him 106 gm, and it was still not yet midday. On his way back, he stopped by the healing hand, and got a wrap of bandages to use after the Reimancy initiation. Heading home, he went into his lab to make sure he had clear space for his work, and also wrote out on a piece of paper the final draft of the Grand Oath. With that done, he got a small bite to eat, and then went into the common area at the front of his home, and laid out on one of the benches to wait for a knock, with Rye resting on the floor beside him.

[Amelia Cross]

For the past few days, Amelia couldn’t really get herself in order. She was nervous about signing the Oath. The Oath, it was such a big thing, she trusted upon Clyde to not take advantage of the power it possessed. ”Oh please…Amelia shush…it’s going to be alright” she calmed herself as she walked further and further away from her home, holding the scrap of paper in her hand, the one that should take her to Clyde’s house.

This was one of those rare days when Amelia didn’t wish to walk, afraid she could get lost or be late. Even though the girl was fairly familiar with the city, she still managed to get lost once in a while. So she decided to use the service of a ravosal. Currently living in a busy part of town, it wasn’t that hard to find 3 ravosalamen, all waiting for a customer, talking about god knows what. She didn’t bother trying to snoop out what they were saying, she just came up to them, only to hear one of them instantly offer a ride ”Does the lady need a ride?” the voice smooth and pleasant, the other two seemed to be more interested in their chat. So Amelia didn’t need to think the offer through much. The man held his hand out for Amelia to step in the ravosal. ”where to?” the man asked with a smile as he used the row to push away from the walkway. ”this location please” polite, as she handed the man the scrap of paper. He just nodded.

Throughout the whole trip, bout of them exchanged a few general lines about the city and the weather. Ordinary chat, yet it made Amelia calm down greatly, as she felt that everything was going as it was meant to be. She sincerely believed,now, that she was meant to sign that Oath. As finally, she had reached her destination, Amelia stood up and with the help of the man stepped onto the walkway. ”Here” she said with a smile, as she handed 5sm to the man. Was it too much, or not enough? Amelia never really used the services of a ravosalaman, she preferred to walk around the city. So she was quite clueless about the actual costs of a ride. Above all else, the service of helping her calm down, was quite priceless, so if she overpaid it would have been nothing big, but if she managed to be a cheapskate... Either way, he accepted and wishing her a good day, drifted away.

Amelia turned around, to face the building. It clearly stood out amongst the rest, with its lack of windows. Not to mention, it was indeed one of the more freshly built houses in this area. She toke a few steps forward and knocked on the door. Patiently awaiting for a response.

[Clyde Sullins]

As Clyde heard a knock at the door, he went over to it and opened it, ushering Amelia inside. "So, you came. Glad to see you did not change your mind. Follow me into my lab." With that he turned and headed for his Magecrafting lab, which would also suit their purposes today. He quietly unlocked the lock on the door, which he always kept locked to keep out unwanted guests, and then proceeded inside. The lab was simple, but full of the different paraphernalia useful in magic and specifically Magecrafting. Clyde shut the door behind Amelia, and locked it, and then headed across the stone floor to his desk were he did his writing, going around the single stone pedestal in the middle of the room, were items were placed for enchantment. He handed a single sheet of paper to Amelia, which had the finished version of the oath on it. "Alright, here is my final writeup, I spent some time finishing it up. Bear in mind I still need to make the actual Oath, as I was not certain you would agree to it, or even show up. So it will take me a few bells to make the actual one, once you agree to it." Clyde had a second copy of the Oath tucked away in his bookshelf, so that he could look over the exact wording. After all, you could not look at a oath after it was signed, it vanished. Or so he had read. It was technically his first time making one. The paper Amelia held would say this: -Amelia Cross will not harm or do something against Clyde Sullins, through her actions or inaction, magical or mundane, directly or indirectly, unless to stop a greater harm to Clyde Sullins, or if given an order to do so by Clyde Sullins of his own free will. -Amelia Cross will only use her magics to the degree to which Clyde Sullins has currently told her she could, until such a time as she has mastered the specific magic, or Clyde Sullins has told her she could freely use said specific magic by her own volition. >However if not using her magic would lead to her certain demise, she is allowed to use magic of her own volition until the threat on her life has passed and or been dealt with, and is no longer a current threat on her life. -Amelia Cross will follow all of Clyde Sullins orders, those in regards to her studies, and those in regards to her apprenticeship under Clyde Sullins, so long as those orders do not require her to act against the betterment of her family, Ravok, Rhysol, or require her to kill without it being justified and necessary.

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia slightly smiled as she entered the building. There was no unneeded chatter between the two. She didn’t expect it otherwise, so the little time she had in between entering the living are and the laboratory, she spent looking around, quietly. One would expect that a man who has the gold, to build a new building in Ravok, would also have his home well furnished. But no, this house was…modest? It didn’t have richly carved furniture and fine fabric, the lack of windows made it even feel a bit chilly and emptier than it was. Then again, Clyde didn’t come off as someone who craved the luxury of a wealthy man, he came off more as a…lonely people person.

Pretty much, the only thing that caught Amelia’s attention in the area was a single painting, The one with a scenery of…forests. But she hadn’t seen such beautiful trees around lake Ravok. Making her wonder where the painting had originated from. But the question didn’t bother her much, as it was replaced with a simple wondering…why would one hold a lock in a house of his own? Was there something that important? Was he hiding something there?

No, the room they entered, or more precisely, the lab. Was just a common room, though it reminded her more of cellar? But that was what she saw upon first glance, as soon as Amelia paid a bit more attention to everything; from the book shelve to the stone pedestal and the desk. She came to realize, this was no ordinary room. The realization sent chills over her skin, as she had no clue what to expect. She had heard horrible things about magic, and the people who use it. The fact Clyde had locked the door behind her didn’t easy her mind. Somehow she had managed to jump back and forth from emotions.

”Did you really think I’d chicken out?” Amelia asked as she read the paper he had handed to her. ”Makes sense, he wouldn’t want to train someone who could harm him or disobey…limiting magic…hmm…I should probably tell him about the institute…but won’t he get mad?”after thinking the oath through, Amelia nodded and began speaking ”Everything is fine, I agree to sign it…but…I have something to tell you, about the second part where it says that ” Amelia Cross will only use her magics to the degree to which Clyde Sullins has currently told her” you see…due to my father’s initiative, I am studying hypnotism at the institute…” she said and waited, to see how he would react to such an announcement ”Will I still be able to practice it at the institute? Will you allow it? Or do I need to drop out..?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde did not notice Amelia's discomfort at seeing his lab. To him, it made perfect sense, and was exactly what he needed. He was not one to focus on "unneeded frivolities", or things that held no purpose beyond looking at them. The pedestal of course was for Magecrafting, you placed an item on it and ensconced it within Glyphing during an enchantment. He kept the door locked as he did not want anyone coming inside and messing with his things, or interrupting his magics. Magic of course could go very very wrong, dangerously so, if it was interfered with. Safer to keep unwanted people out. "I was not certain. You cannot blame me for being cautious. It has happened before. But when dealing in magic, I find caution is a better practice, than faith. It is one of the reasons I am still alive to speak to you." He was however a bit surprised to learn Amelia had been accepted into the Institute, and was studying Hypnotism. It was a magic of which Clyde had some less than fond memories, and now his student was learning it. "I would have preferred you spoken to me first, it is simply common courtesy, but their is nothing I can do about it now. I will not lie and say I am not displeased, but I will not stop you from studying. However my wording still stands, and will not change or alter it. Or the way in which I will limit your magic. You will have to trust my judgement in that regard, that I do know what I am doing. My later orders will not limit you to the point that you cannot study." Since Amelia had agreed to his wording, Clyde set out about finishing the Grand Oath. The papers of the scroll were finely crafted, and costly, and so was the ink with which he inscribed the scroll. And so Clyde set out upon making the oath, which would take him several bells of diligent work. He sat down in the chair at his desk, and began to write it out. First he made a fine filigree around the outside of the scroll. It was time consuming, full of curls and sweeps and insets. He had to be very careful as the lines were close together, often swooping and curving into the hollow points of another line, almost touching but not quite... He made line after line of this, in a almost chaotic pattern, which looked oddly symmetrical once he was done. It took him a full bell just for this pattern all around the outside of the scroll, and took up about a third of the space of the scroll. Next was actually writing out the words of the oath. He had to take even more time, as each word and line had to be precise, exactly the same as the wording on the practice scroll he had handed to Amelia. All around each line of words was more stylized filigree, taking up even more space. And once he finished with the words, the entire set of lines was ensconced in another layer of fine filigree of inken curves and loops. By the time he put down his quill his hand was sore, and the Grand Oath looked more like a work of art, than a work of Glyphing. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Clyde looked over at Amelia. He was unsure what she had done over the bells he worked, but he let out a sigh, and a small grin crossed his face. "I am done... Just sign on the line with your full name, once you have read it through and agree." Clyde got up to let Amelia sign it, handing her the same quill and fine ink he had used. I, the undersigned, hereby swear upon the divine halls of Ukalas and all those who dwell within that I shall do as follows: -I will not harm or do something against Clyde Sullins, through my actions or inaction, magical or mundane, directly or indirectly, unless to stop a greater harm to Clyde Sullins, or if given an order to do so by Clyde Sullins of his own free will. -I will only use my magics to the degree to which Clyde Sullins has currently told me I could, until such a time as I have mastered the specific magic, or Clyde Sullins has told me I can freely use said specific magic by my own volition. >Except in the case where the second line would conflict with the first line, in which case the first line overrules the second line. >However if not using my magic would lead to my certain demise, I am allowed to use magic of my own volition until the threat on my life has passed and or been dealt with, and is no longer a current threat on my life. -I will follow all of Clyde Sullins orders, those in regards to my studies, and those in regards to my apprenticeship under Clyde Sullins, so long as those orders do not require me to act against the betterment of my family, Ravok, Rhysol, or require me to kill without it being justified and necessary so long as doing so would not conflict with the first line. signed___________ After handing it to Amelia, Clyde made a copy on a normal piece of paper, with his final revisions taken into account. It had not been anything major, just some small tweaks to make sure nothing conflicted. Until he had been making the final version, several issues had not occured to him. This final final draft would resolve any possible issues. Or at least, any Clyde could think of at the moment.

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia had nothing to say in his thoughts about faith and caution. She had a good guess about faith being blind, and cautiousness being golden for someone who is considered dangerous. Yet, she restrained from saying anything. She also kept silent, like a child that was just misbehaving, listening to the words of their parent, as he spoke of her studies at the Institute. She knew, that it would cause some displease. So she wasn’t shocked, she was actually surprised he didn’t question her motives, as it didn’t make much sense, to study at the institute and at the same time, look for a mentor.

As Clyde proceeded to prepare the Oath, Amelia was left to herself in a locked room, that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. At first she aimlessly stood there, not sure what to do, as she didn’t want to unlock the door herself, or ask him to do it. But soon enough, she decided to just get familiar with her surroundings. First walking up to the book shelves, she wanted to read something, but soon enough she realized that nothing from the backs of the books seemed to ring a bell. Not to mention, it would be rude to just take a book, right? If he locked this place up, he probably didn’t want others snooping around at all.

Moving on, she walked around, looking at the different items the room held, not making much sense of why they were as special or what was the whole meaning of the pedestal. She, however, made a note to herself to ask him, as soon as he is free that is.

In no time, at least to what she expected, Clyde had finished the oath. Without a bother in her head, she came closer to the desk where she was handed the ink. She read through it once more, making sure she understood every term of it, and at the end, she came to realize that what mattered most to Clyde, was that Amelia wouldn’t harm him, or at least wouldn’t attempt to do it. Somehow it seemed obscure, as she couldn’t see herself do it, but then again, magic could change her for the worse, so she had no idea. Better safe than sorry, probably.

Taking the ink, she wrote on the line "Amelia Cross" and as soon as she was done writing down the last letter, the oath crumbled to dust. It was pointless to hide her shock, and still with the quill in her hand she looked up at Clyde with a bit of shock and confusion in her face ”Is it supposed to, do that?”

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde could not help but have a smile cross his face as Amelia asked him, "Is it supposed to do that?" in regards to the signed Oath crumbling to dust. He just nodded, trying not to laugh at how surprised she had been by it. "Yes, that is supposed to happen. That means the Oath was accepted, and will now and forevermore be enforced by the Gods themselves. It is done irrevocably." Clyde got up, and motioned for her to follow, heading for the pedestal, picking up the pot of inscribing paint he had gotten today. "Now I guess you are ready to be initiated into Reimancy. First I need to Glyph you, and prepare you for it. So strip down to your underthings, and I will Glyph your arms and stomach and throat. Then I will need to make some additional openings for the res to enter." "I warn you, this will not be pleasant. Being invaded by res... It is painful... It is like having living snakes made of fire coursing down your veins and throat and nostrils, digging their way to your core. Only when I have gotten deep enough to unlock your own ability for res, can I pull mine out. So for safety I will Glyph you to keep the res focused and guided, and hopefully to speed up its transfer. " Leaving Amelia to undress and prepare at the pedestal meant for Magecrafting, Clyde went back to his desk, were he had stowed his pack. Inside he rooted around, and drew out a dagger in its scabbard. He returned to see Amelia's progress, setting the dagger down next to the pedestal still in its sheath, and picking up the pot of inscribing paint.

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia could see he was amused by her reaction, he was hiding it well, but the few small twitches of the corners of Clyde’s lips, it was enough for Amelia know, he was trying to hold back laughter. None the less, she wasn’t offended by it, she was reviled, though she had the faintest blush cover her cheeks, even if just for a moment.

Amelia Followed Clyde, the question from before came to her mind, but she didn’t feel like this was the best moment to ask him. And while she was thinking, he began speaking again and the little moment was lost.

She wasn’t worried to undress; Amelia wasn’t known to be shy. She was quite proud of her body to a level where she had no problems showing it, but when he mentioned making…new openings. That was when another set of spine chilling shivers crossed her. She had a vogue guess about it, but it was…not the most pleasant guess. Could it be that he stabs her? The idea was close to horror, yet she could very well see it happen. Well, it was too late to drop back now, no? She had already signed a paper that the gods themselves look over.

Amelia wasn’t exactly sure what ‘res’ was, but she didn’t ask him anything, once again listening what he had to say to the end. Scaring her, but not half as much as she would expect, the comparing with snakes of fire somehow didn’t touch her half as much as making additional openings did.

Once he had left her to undress, she didn’t really think twice to remove her black boots and carefully lay them aside. Take off her red dress, and actually bother to fold it, before she laid it down. By the time Clyde had come back, she was already done, almost, there was just her lace choker left from what she thought, she had to take off.

”Res…what exactly is it? Is it like…djed? A form of it?” she asked, while she was taking off her black choker, what wasn’t exactly and easy task. But as soon as she got it off and put it on her dress, that was it, the last piece of anything she should remove was taken off her skin. Now she was just waiting for him to, do whatever he was planning to. None the less, saying she wasn’t nervous was cold lies, she was clearly worried, rubbing her own arms in a protective manner.

[Clyde Sullins]

As Clyde returned, he could see that Amelia was worried about his vague comments. In hindsight as he thought of what he said, it could be construed badly. "Just to be clear, I will need to invade you via several routes with my res. Usually a Reimancer later exudes their res out of their hands, which is why in initiation you will usually go in there. All it needs is a small opening into the blood, via a shallow cut across each palm, and it can enter. And it will also go in your mouth and nostrils. It may feel like you are drowning, but you must still force yourself to breath even if it hurts and burns." Clyde paused for a moment, looking at Amelia, but not really seeing her. He was remembering back to that stone room lit by torches, while he was restrained to the ground. Being invaded, his body bucking and fighting the foreign substance entering him... But to no avail... The pain was intense, he felt like he was going to die, was drowning on burning flames down his throat, in his chest, lungs, could not breath... He shook his head, putting the thought aside, pressing the bad memory away. He would never forget his initiation, even if he had been little, but perhaps that was not a good thing... "Res is not djed, though it comes from it. Res is a manifestation of a Reimancers will, created from djed, within the wizards body. It is a part of you, and should not be lightly used or extruded, as it is called when you issue it forth from your body. Usually out of your mouth on your breath, or from your skin, especially the palms of your hands." "Res is how a Reimancer does his magic. They extrude the res, and then either transmute the res directly into one of the 4 elements, or uses a secondary effect that requires more concentration, in which you attract one of the natural mundane elements with your res. While the second can be harder to do, it is much less costly than transmutation is. So if you can, you always want to use attraction." Clyde began painting on the Glyphs, dipping into the pot of paint, and inscribing it on her flesh. He began on her belly, just above her bellybutton, drawing a focus. He drew it as a circle, with curving lines arching all along the perimeter of the circle, coming into contact with the circles surface, arching up and away, and then dipping back down to touch. It was based on the image of the black sun, though only vaguely. Then he began to draw zigzag lines out of it, like lightning, but each line of it separate and not connected and with a space between, sprouting out of the focus like antenna on a bugs head. The jagged line swept up her chest to her armpits, then up the inside of her arm till it ended up at her wrist. Next he did another zigzag line coming out of the top of the circle, which headed straight up her chest and between her breasts, to her throat. It went up her throat, to her chin, and stopped just below her lips. He went over to his dagger, and pulled it from its scabbard. "Now just lie down on the pedestal, while I heat up the blade before I make the cuts. I don't want an infection." While he waited, he took out some clean strips of clothe he would use as bandages, which he had procured and prepared for this. He set them on top of his desk, being careful to keep them clean.

[Amelia Cross]

The idea of drowning was a bit scary to a girl who had no idea how to swim. She was afraid of water and never really hid it. None the less, she tried to look confident, or at least act the part. She wasn’t good, but hopped it would fool him. However, it seemed as if her attempt didn’t matter, from the relatively empty look in her mentors face, it appeared like he was looking through her.

She didn’t say a word as Clyde explained the concept of Res and how exactly a Reimancer used it to create elements. The idea of it seemed so unreal, so much like a fairytale, with a sad, sad ending if used wrongly. She listened to his teaching, just like she had listened before to her mother. Eager to learn and eager to understand what seemed to come so naturally to him. Not a lot of people had this effect on her.

As he began drawing on her, she didn’t really have a guess what were the symbols, where they fancy for a purpose? What was the reason behind that? What was their meaning? Could one read them like a sentence? Was the pain special? She wasn’t quite sure, all she knew it was called, Glyping. But she had little idea what it was aside from that, as she didn’t pay much attention to that course as she enrolled the Institute, probably because it was the first time hearing about such a knowledge.

Once Clyde had finished, she had the urge to touch the pain, rub it slightly and see how it reacts. But the fear of doing more harm to herself stopped her from feeling the pattern that was drawn on her stomach. Afraid to smudge the lines, she carefully approached the pedestal and laid down. It felt cold against her skin, but she was much more worried about what was to come to actually pay much thought about the stone.

With a slight bit of worry, that must have been natural, she turned her hand so her palms were facing upwards, ready to receive the cuts by the dagger. And starting this point, all that she wished was for everything to move faster and faster, for time to flow by as soon as it could.