[Inner Sanctum] Gifting Life or Something Like It (Hadrian)

[Jilitse]

Gifting Life or Something Like It
Towards the End of Summer 510 AV
Life is not always a gift from the gods.

The stars in the sky are nothing but dots, for they are far away and beyond that of normal human reach. Space, time, and depth combined is truly incomprehensible for humans whose lives are but a temporary appearance. A dot in the sky that winks out on its first blink. For a nuit whose lives are much, much, longer, whose existence defy the function to stop living - a blip in the space time continuum created by the most revered Leth - they no longer see the stars. All they see is the darkest, blackest, night. A place where, one day, once they tire of immortality; upon the end of their purpose; after they decide to simply wither away without so much as a BANG! to go along with... they can succumb to. Death, or something like it.

But that would of course be too lethargic for a Nuit like Jilitse, who had suddenly found a bright ray of sunshine to light her downtrodden path. Freedom was exhilarating for humans who wished to be free of bonds made of many forms - family, social class, gender, occupation, and the list grows. Freedom for a Nuit who have lived the last five centuries within the comfort (or whatever word comes close) of a big heavily guarded fortress, ceaselessly working on golems and golems and golems was indescribable. It was a tangle of good and bad things meshed together to be incomprehensible even to the most sensible Nuit, after all, being torn away from Sahova was like losing an identity. It was like getting displaced from home and evacuating to the end of the universe.

Lucky Jil, for she had a greater purpose to fill in the void in her soul left in Sahova. That impossible quest handed by the Archwizard Mashaen , and of course, the freedom to study and learn things to her heart's desires. The Nuit was now getting accustomed to life among pulsers, and was adjusting fairly well in the City.

Left on her own, however, Jilitse have gone out of her way to investigate around the city, and have decided to check out the Inner Sanctum, which, according to what she have heard, had been abandoned since Summer. Feeling a little adventurous, she decided to take a look. Seeing a magic laboratory would be a welcome change to the hustle and bustle of Syliran life.

It was still very early, the dawn about to break. Jilitse wore a cloak over herself, pulling the hood down low. She could endure the stares, all the stares of the people she would pass by. In fact, most of them would be ignored or unnoticed. Most people shied away from Nuits, as if they brought the plague, or death itself. People feared her out of context, in an impulse. Jil would very much like to observe the various expressions people made when she locked her eyes to their's. Humans were good study objects, only, they talk to much and are, more often than not, either fumbling idiots or fumbling idiots full of themselves.

She walked gingerly but carefully, her cloak sashaying against the soft morning breeze. With Akvin gone from the magecraft laboratory, who and, or, what would Jilitse find?

[Hadrian]

Hadrian had caught wind of Akvin's disappearance, and so he was making a point of checking out the Inner Sanctum. Perhaps he might somehow claim it as his own if the gods were kind, though staying in Syliras would mean seeing more of his family and he rather enjoyed being distant and aloof. In any case, it was worth looking. Who knew? Perhaps something valuable remained behind and a quick-eyed wizard might snatch it up. He went very early with hopes of avoiding knights, looters, and the like. He knocked softly on the door before entering. "Hello?"

OOCSorry it's short. Just wanted to get the ball rolling!

[Jilitse]

Jilitse gave a glance at the door. It was open, anyway. Whoever was outside will probably let himself go in. She checked the whole place. Not bad for a laboratory. She could already imagine the beauty it once was.

Upon seeing the familiar face, Jilitse gave a nonchalant nod. It was Hadrian, a human she had met through Alistair deGrey. They were not close, but the relationship was bordering close to what could be considered friendship. The notion of having a friend was still lost on the Nuit, but she had, at the very least, learned that having a human acquaintance or friend means being in close proximity with the person.

She asked, boring unblinking eyes into the young man, "What brings you here, Hadrian?" She had known, of course, that the human had a personal affinity to magic and learning magic. He claimed to be a Magecrafter when they first met. She then followed with, "I heard Akvin left. The Knight I talked to was not really sure why. I have obtained permission to use the place as I see fit. There are no tools or equipment around here, you see, but I believe I could bring my own and practice my craft." She wheeled around and walked away from Hadrian.

"I suppose this is a public place and you are just as free to stake claim to the laboratory." Jil gave the barren place a sweeping look.

[Hadrian]

"Oh, hello," he said guardedly when he recognized Jilitse. Something about the aloof manner of most Nuit made him react that way, though he tried to keep it under control. He looked around with barely concealed disappointment. Everything was gone, but soon his chlorine blue eyes lit with something else entirely: possibility. An old book-seller had once lectured him on the value of innovation, and the empty space was full of potential for that. "I'm here on much the same errand as you, I suppose," he said. "Though I did not gain permission to use the place, I thought it wouldn't hurt to take a look at what Akvin left behind. I hear he didn't take apprentices anyway, so I'm not sure that he would have taught me anything even had he remained. "Eventually I will have to return to Sahova, I think. There is much to be learned there, and I didn't spend nearly enough time there." He watched her from time to time when he wasn't casing the joint. Finally, "I might remain in Syliras for a little while. Would you like help setting up here?"

[Jilitse]

Jilitse turned her back against Hadrian at the mention of Sahova. Had she an ounce of emotion left, she would have envied his ability to visit the place once again. But all she could think of was her duty to Mashaen, the quest she needed to pursue, the enemies she will have to face. She could return to Sahova later, if there was still a Sahova by the time she finishes her goals. She had known Hadrian as a person with thirst for knowledge, and found it logical that they would meet in Akvin's old Magecraft laboratory. They were, after all, both students of the arcane.

She let out her opinion, as a warning to Hadrian, "Are you sure you would like to such a place?" She implied in her question if she had a wish to become nuit, "Humans could hardly stand the living conditions Sahova offers, if it can be even considered as a condition worthy of living." And then followed her eternal opinion of visitors, "I believe that those who go to Sahova are people who are either sturdy, or fools." This was not the first time Hadrian heard it from her, "Perhaps you are a little bit of both." Hadrian must have found something too powerful to let go of the Citadel. Reasonable self-preserving logic should dictate to any visitor who survived Sahova that it is not wise to return there a second time. It was far too dangerous to be considered as a place to learn magic.

"I would mind, of course," she snapped with her monotonous voice, "I went here to practice and perform magic, and would certainly find helping you a nuisance. We do not even have any discipline in common." A fact, of course. Jilitse worked closely with golems. "I also have my day planned out already, and I intend to follow my schedule."

She walked over to a corner, where she revealed a small cart with a few items. If Hadrian followed and took a peek, he would see that she had prepared materials - no doubt for practicing Animation. As she busied herself with preparations, she spoke, "But you are free to set-up your business if you please. The place is big enough for both of us."

Later on she turned, a toolkit on hand, "Just don't burn the place down. The Knights reminded me as much. I don't have a replacement body just yet." She grinned her unnerving grin and set about her task on one side of the laboratory.

[Hadrian]

"My trip to Sahova was brief in order that I might see what would be required to sustain myself there should I decide to return." His own voice, if warmer with living humanity, was not terribly bogged down with emotion just now. He was not terribly sturdy, though his experiences with Tieh and her malediction had tempered him. He was likely foolish, but he hoped to be wise one day; the seed of wisdom he had acquired was knowing when to keep his mouth shut. Sometimes. "I didn't ask for your help," he reminded her calmly. "I merely asked if you would like my help in setting up here. I have experience assisting Sahovan sorcerors." He did stay to see what she pulled out of her cart, though. It was assumed he could learn the basics of things just by watching, and she hadn't yet tried to ban him from the premises. In fact, when she gave him grudging permission to stay, he considered how much investment capital he would need to purchase the necessary equipment to set up a lab in half of the place, should the Knights grant him permission. Finally, he shook his head. "A magecrafting laboratory is expensive and most of what I need is still back in Zeltiva. Are you working for the Knights now?"

[Jilitse]

"I do a few odd jobs left and right, I am not sure if those are for the Knights or not." Jil answered his question in reverse order, "I can manage on my own, I have a lot of experience assisting Sahovan wizards, too." Her face was blank, her voice just a little bit stoic. She laid out a couple of notes on a table and started scribbling. She opened her toolkit and prepared various tools. It seemed like the Nuit was still in her preparation stage. "My apologies if I had misunderstood. I still don't think you should return to Sahova."

She laid out a big sheet of paper on the desk and used a jar with a toad inside for a paperweight. Taking out a book, she flipped to page 45. She then drew an obloid shape in the center of the paper. Using a ruler, she nicked two parallel points on one the side of the circle and repeated it on the other. Then, the Nuit started to sketch a mesh of planes that were joined with one another for the legs. She examined the toad closely, which was sitting still. The arms were smaller than the legs, she held out her pencil against the frog and tried to estimate the difference in length of the limbs. She outlined the legs as two outstretched limbs slightly caved outward, the webbed feet nothing but temporary lines. She repeated the same with the arms, drawing them shorter, the webbed hands smaller. She checked the drawing on the book, and compared it with her drawing. Jil nodded as if to approve that the

Jilitse then added a curved triangle for the head, imitating the toad's head shape. She started to draw thicker lines for the frog's outline. With the preliminary sketch finished, she set the papers aside. She then brought out a small box of wooden trinkets, a few broken toys. Most of them were made out of metal, if not a combination of copper and wood. Jilitse started sorting the scraps out, matching them in shapes and sizes. After almost a bell of sorting out the pieces, she had chosen an empty can and some metal scraps, some wheels and a few rods.

Carefully, with grace and finesse, she took a clamp and started to pound pieces together. It looked more like junk art than gadgeteering, and Hadrian would now know why Jilitse need to take the whole day to prepare for her experiment. She was going to build her golem out of scratch.

Without looking away from her job, she clamped, crimped and hammered on small malleable metal pieces, slowly and mechanically. To Hadrian it would look like she have done this before, pressing and compressing one piece of metal with another. She worked very slowly, overlapping one piece over another, ensuring that no untoward piece was left out. He may watch as Jilitse seemed to pound and pound forever. After more than four bells, well into noon, she weighed the small obloid orb on her palm. Satisfied with the weight and size, the Nuit looked up to Hadrian.

"Could you pound this to this shape?" She pointed at her small junk orb and then to the drawing. "You need only to flatten one side. I suppose I could use some help. You are human, and might be better at pounding with force. Try to follow the toad's neck, and shape it a little. It's shaped a bit like a bottle gourd, I hope you have seen one."

"So tell me, Hadrian, what circumstances brought you here?" A little doubt as to whether the young mage was following her, or if their meeting was random. "I know you are a magecrafter, any chance that you will be working towards stepping into Akvin's shoes?"

[Hadrian]

He didn't respond to her earlier rebuttals to his offer of help, nor her advice against returning to Sahova. He was aware of the risk, moreso now than ever before after spending time there and nearly dying on more than on occasion. There was a greater understanding of the fragility of his life now, but he was still willing to take risks in order to get what he wanted. What use a life spent in fear? He sat on a nearby table, watching her work. When she didn't send him away, he settled in a bit more comfortably. When he finally asked for his help, he was careful not to smirk or say 'I told you so' in word or deed. Nuit could be nasty when riled up. Hadrian took the orb and the hammer dubiously, turning the orb over in his hand to get a better feel for it before he did any violence to it, constructive or otherwise. Watching her had been instructive, but helping her with hands on elements would be even more edifying. "I'll try," he promised, and began to make tentative taps with the hammer, easing his way into the crafting of a part of this golem to be. This sort of thing might come in handy. "I have seen a bottle gourd." With each little tap, he became surer of what he was doing, and added more force to his blows. He paused when the time came to answer her, though. He didn't want to smash a finger or break the sphere while distracted. "I came to Syliras... well, after I graduated from the University of Zeltiva in the Spring, I went to Sahova to have a look around, but I heard that my mother had fallen ill, so I came to Syliras. I hadn't really intended to stay here, but I suppose if I was offered a free workshop, I would be stupid to refuse. I'm no match for Akvin's skill, though, from what I understand of his reputation. "And you? What brings you to Syliras?"

[Jilitse]

"The Watchtower, I think I have mentioned this to you before?" Jil replied. Hadrian had a lot before him, that if he took Akvin's old magecraft laboratory it would be like giving roots to someone who was meant to have wings. She didn't tell him that of course, the Nuit had no need to voice out her opinions.

Jilitse was examining a few metal plates, small thin copper plates. The frog's body was made of junk metal, pounded together. She was about to invent a golem out of recycled garbage. Metal all the way? She held up a hand with metal scraps. Or should she add wooden parts? She rummaged through the scrap materials. Reaching out for a long piece of spring. She pulled at it, testing the tension. Attaching feet would be really difficult, because of the limitation of materials, and her own lack of skills. Well, what was Hadrian for?

"I am going to animate that piece of junk into a frog. I am planning to have it jump. I figured I should add the legs by using screws, but from what I have observed, I cannot possibly create the necessary joints, and thus I would fail to imitate the movement." She dropped the rest of the scrap on the container and held out three pieces of string to Hadrian. "Would spring work?" But she had already decided, "Since you're helping, could you cut these into two parts once you're done with that?" The coil was as big as Hadrian's thumb and forefinger joined in a circle, and Jilitse must be thinking of attaching a pair. One in front and one at the back.

The Nuit returned to her draft, and drew a sketch of what the product must look like. She drew a side view of the body, estimating the locations of the spring. One in front, one in the back. She turned to Hadrian, "One part should be longer than the other, frogs have strong hind legs." She was, of course, quoting from the book she was reading from. The longer the spring, the higher it could leap. She handed him pliers. "Make sure they're still springy. I want a frog that could jump. Not rock on its place. It won't work if the mechanics does not allow it to."

"Hmm. I suppose you will stay until the ritual?" Having somebody else around while she worked sounded unpleasant, Jil might need to fight against the notion that Hadrian was supervising - or worse, spying on her.

[Hadrian]

"Oh, I suppose you did, at that. But not in detail." He wondered if she had a death wish, wanting to tinker with the Watchtowers. He wanted to also, but he was neither powerful nor knowledgeable enough to do so yet. Perhaps if someone vanquished Sagallius and gave Aquiras back his heart, but in the past five centuries that hadn't happened, so it seemed unlikely. He stopped hammering the spheroid for a moment to take the springs in hand, turning them over in his hands as he peered at her drawing, mentally doing some figures. He was no slouch at math. "All right," he said slowly, measuring the springs out. Finally he cut them into what he figured would work best according to her plans. It was all about proportion and... "Yes, I think they are springy enough. Hydraulics might work better next time. Just a suggestion." He set the springs out for her, peeked at the drawing again, and took the hammer to the sphere again. This was new work for him, so he was concentrating rather hard on doing it right, but that slowed him down. But, he thought, better slow than wrong. "I... would like to watch the ritual," he said, nodding. "If you don't mind, that is."