[Sacred Arch Hotsprings] Ripples On Water

by **Aoren** on October 26th, 2013, 9:01 pm

8th of Autumn, 513 AV
20th Bell

Aoren slid into the warm waters of the hot springs with a content sigh. The day had been a long one. He had spent the majority of it working under the watchful eye of Sahfri Blackleaf, the proprietor of Stormhold Salves. For the past year he had been her apprentice. She was finally beginning to teach him the finer points of the craft of Philtering as an apothecary. He was excited at the prospect to say the least but it was no easy road. Philtering required a great deal of focus. It was time consuming but the final products of the craft were highly rewarding. He was especially touched when he saw the results of the work they both did. Seeing people on the mend after using tonics or poultices that he had had a hand in creating always made him feel as if his job was worthwhile. He felt like he was truly impacting the livelihood of those within Syliras.

Such work though came with its stress.

There were concoctions that went awry. Just that day he had been forced to put out a fire that had caught within the kiln at the shop. Fortunately there had been plenty of water within the workroom to put it out promptly. During that fire though he was come to realize just how dangerous and volatile the compounds they worked with could be. Mistress Blackleaf was as careful as they came with her work but even she wasn’t perfect. Aoren never touched the more dangerous materials but he was allowed to observe her when she worked with them. It was also during that fire that Aoren realized he could have been of use.

Since he was a boy the young Drykas had studied the art of Reimancy. In the twelve years since first being initiated into the discipline he had only mastered two elements without much ambition toward gaining knowledge in any of the others. The elements he currently commanded, Fire and Air, could have been useful now that he looked back. He could have conjured his Res and called the flames of the kiln fire to it then dispersed them in a safe fashion or he could have created a vacuum with air to extinguish the flames. None of those things had come to mind at the time though. The first thought had been to put water on the fire. Water was an element outside of his domain of mastery. He had only ever exerted a very small amount of control over it without much success. Now that he was thinking about it he saw how useful it would have been in that situation.

With that thought in mind he was reminded of his first lesson in the Discipline of Reimancy. The thoughts brought a smile to the Drykas man’s face. He closed his eyes recalling those first stumbling lessons he’d received from his Master. Though it had been years since he had heard his Master’s voice, Aoren still recalled it quite clearly. It was always sharp. The words were very articulate. His voice hadn’t been low but the commanding authority it possessed was irrefutable. That voice had made even his surrogate sister pop to attention. Cupping some water in his hands Aoren splashed his face rubbing at the dirt and grime there as the memories came back to him.

by **Aoren** on October 26th, 2013, 9:03 pm

“You’re not working with a clumsy sword, boy!” Aoren flinched. The little boy blinked up at his Master with wide eyes and shaky knees. The elder man stared at him from above the rims of his glasses. He sighed heavily. “Reimancy is an Art. It requires creativity. It requires subtlely. But most importantly it requires control!” The dark haired man stressed the final word.

“You can’t expect to assert your dominance over the wild elements of the world being timid, boy. You must face the elements with boldness. You must will it to obey your commands but you must remember that the elements are exactly what they are…the primal forces of the world. Control them but be fluid in your control.” The elder man pointed at Aoren’s shaking knees. “You’re not going to do that by acting the role of a frightened pup!” Running his hands through his hair Aoren’s teacher gave an exasperated sigh. The young boy looked down at his feet, the picture of misery.

“Look me in the eyes, boy!” Aoren immediately snapped his attention back to his teacher.

“Yes, Master.” He mumbled softly. A frown touched the old man’s ever dour face.

“Don’t mumble! Speak up. Enunciate. Articulate. Diction! Remember your lessons, boy.” Aoren nodded reverently. He swallowed the lump in his throat. After a moment of silence the old man resumed his lessons.

“Res is the manifestation of your Djed. It is an extension of you.” He wove his hands together conjuring his Res. Not that Aoren could see it. After a moment of concentration the old man flexed his hand with a grunt summoning a ball of fire no bigger than Aoren’s fist. The young boy went wide eyed, if that was at all possible.

“It moves as you move.” The older wizard extended his hand and the ball of fire he’d summoned moved away from him. It floated slowly until it hovered just a few inches away from the palm of his hand. “Magic is an art. The Art. You must shape it.” The fire swirled suddenly forming into the likeness of a horse. With a flick of his wrist the wizard sent the burning stallion galloping in a circle in mid-air.

“Give it purpose. Feed it meaning. A wizard’s skill in magic is to give new purpose to the powers he wields. Magic without function is chaos and to embrace chaos is to flirt with madness.” With another flick of his wrist the horse reared back only to dissipate into glittering embers that died out before they hit the floor.

“Now you try.”

by **Aoren** on October 26th, 2013, 9:05 pm

Aoren smiled.

Bringing up his hands he wove them in a circle willing his Res to collect in the palms. With a slight intake of breath he caught hold of his inner spark that reminded him of the fierceness of fire then commanded his Res to ignite. Two spheres of azure flame hovered calmly just above his palms. He stared at them. Not but a few years ago he wouldn’t have ever dreamed he’d have been capable of such a thing. Focusing his thoughts he smirked making one of the spheres shift. It distorted, the tongues of blue fire waving gently in the breeze around the spring. After a moment or two of shifting the fireball was now in the shape of a burning stallion.

It reared back imitating the movements that Aoren knew horses performed before he gently released it sending it galloping just above the pool of water. With the other ball of flame he raised his hand just to chest level then spread his fingers. The fireball wavered for a moment before opening up to form a burning ring. Gesturing to the horse it came to a skidding halt just above the water then sprinted toward the ring. Aoren smiled as the flaming stallion passed through it. He dropped his hand allowing both the ring and the horse to fall into the water dissipating with an audible hiss.

“You’d have been proud of that, old man.” He shook his head chuckling to himself. He was a long way from the boy was awed by even the simplest displays of magic. There was still a great deal that he didn’t know. It was partially why he was at the hot springs. Firstly because the soothing waters would help to ease his mind. Secondly because he needed to clean himself off after the debacle in the shop that day and thirdly because water was the very element he was seeking to gain mastery of next. The hot springs provided the perfect opportunity to practice. Aoren was already in the center of his hot spring. The water was barely at waist level. He looked around admiring the way the night sky. The summer warmth wasn’t quite gone from the air but it soon would be too chilly to venture out and get mostly naked into the springs without risking sickness.

Bringing his hands up to his chest with his palms facing skyward he inhaled. With that intake of breath he took in the noise of his surroundings. He closed his eyes listening to the water lapping up against the edges of the pool of water. He felt the breeze waft through the space of the hot spring and against the bare skin of his torso. The ocassional laughter from one of the nearby pools drifted into his ears. He was certainly not the only person who came to them in the earlier parts of the evening. The hot springs were a favorite haunt of couples around the city for their relatively safe proximity to Syliras proper. The fact that the waters were cloudy, warm and inviting also helped to “ease” things into a more receptive environment for some.

Aoren turned his hands at the wrists with his palms facing down toward the water. He exhaled steadily doing his best to tune out the distractions. The background noise became even more so, just noise that he was dimly aware of. Taking another breath he continued this routine until the knotted muscles in his shoulders relaxed. He willed the tension in his lower back to ease. He rolled his shoulders intent on making the muscles in arms stop twitching from lack of movement. Once he was sufficiently relaxed he brought his hands out to rest lightly on the surface of the water.

Aoren once again recalled the lessons he’d received as a boy.

by **Aoren** on October 26th, 2013, 9:06 pm

“I cannot teach you ancient incantations, boy. I do not know them. The wizards of old and all of their knowledge was lost to us long ago.” The elder mage knelt before Aoren staring into the young boy’s wide blue eyes. Aoren swallowed hard. His Master placed a hand on his shoulder squeezing it lightly. “This kind of magic, Reimancy, comes from inside of you. Take all that is in here…” With his other hand the old man gestured to the room in which they were practicing. “…and give it meaning in there.” He tapped Aoren’s forehead.

Such was not an easy concept to grasp. In time though, Aoren had managed to understand it. He was seeking to further his understanding of it right then. With his next breath Aoren searched within himself. He looked for that which most closely resembled the idea of water to him. The answer, believe it or not, was actually quite simple. His blood.

Aoren had plenty of experience studying blood. Wounded knights, travelers, citizens of all sorts all visited the apothecary shop for one reason or another. Some came with cuts or bruises just seeking ointments to stave off infection. Some came with broken noses looking for a topical anesthetic to take away the pain. All of them came seeking a remedy. Sahfri Blackleaf was no physician but she and by extension Aoren, worked with them closely.

So he applied that understanding to his Reimancy. Without much difficulty Aoren opened his mind to the principles of Djed. The foundations that defines all things. He contemplated the similarities between blood and water. Blood flowed, like a river, bringing life wherever it went. It was a liquid, like water, and in its absence only death prevailed. With those connections in the forefront of his mind he opened his eyes. Spreading his feet shoulder width apart he worked on altering the flow of Djed so that the Res that emanated from the palms of his hands mimicked the patterns of blood and water. His Res was slow to spread out from his palms and onto the surface of the water. It spread with jerky movement reminiscent of an elastic band being stretched too far. The exertion took its toll on Aoren as he shifted himself into a more level stance so that he could focus more clearly.

After struggling with his Res for a few moments he’d covered the area immediately around himself. Now came the hard part. Taking a steady breath he willed his Res to attract the water in the spring. He knew he was nowhere near the level of competency to simply create the water. He would first need to collect the element from the natural world. He scarcely caused more than a ripple. Aoren frowned.

“Okay, Aoren. You can do this. Remember your lessons.” Giving himself a pep talk, he focused on understanding what it was that made water, water.

by **Aoren** on October 26th, 2013, 9:08 pm

Water flowed. It was liquid. It was also dangerous. Water could kill. It could drown the unwary. It could destroy just as easily as a hurricane when rivers flooded. It also nourished. It helped to make fertile the fields that were dry or barren.

“Okay. Let’s try this again.”

Refocusing he willed his Res to act as a magnet to the water. He furrowed his brow as the water barely stirred above a few more ripples. It was working. Slowly. Difficultly. But working. He rolled his shoulders. He was beginning to sweat. It wasn’t just from the warmth of the springs but from the enormity of his task. This was an element he was largely unfamiliar with. The water was proving stubborn. It was not something that surprised Aoren though. None of the elements gave up their secrets easily.

Aoren shifted his feet again. He brought his hands up in a commanding gesture and poured all of his focus into the effort. The Res rippled across the water and the water proved more responsive. The surface of the spring in Aoren’s immediate area stilled as if caught between two sheets of glass. An eerie calm pervaded the area before ripples began to permeate the surface surrounding the Drykas man. Little by little the water began to flow upwards toward Aoren’s outstretched hands. He immediately felt the strain of trying to command a new element.

His arms felt as if they were suddenly burdened by a great weight. The muscles straining with the effort to keep the water rising from the spring under his control. Aoren willed the water to rise higher. His arms began to shake. The difficulty was evident by the set of his jaw and the elevation of his breathing. Slowly, deliberately he brought his hands together cupping each one. The warm liquid was ushered into his cupped hands by his Res. The hot spring water pooled in his cupped hands. He released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. His chest heaved for a moment or two.

by **Aoren** on October 26th, 2013, 9:09 pm

“Yes!”

The moment of triumph was tainted only when a single drop of crimson stained the water in his hands. Its appearance confused Aoren until two more drops followed. Aoren separated his hands. Instead of the water falling back to the spring it drifted leisurely through the air spreading out in droplets. Reaching up he touched his face beneath his nose. Withdrawing his fingers Aoren looked at the tips. They were stained dark with overly oxidized blood. Aoren blinked not quite comprehending what he was looking at. He blinked again then understanding came flooding in.

He shook his head, his thoughts clearing as if awakening from a trance. He immediately severed his hold on his Res. The water that had begun to rise up from the spring splashed back down into the pool dousing the Drykas man. Aoren stood there for a moment. He was shaking slightly. His head hurt and his nose was bleeding. He wasn’t breathing as heavily as before but he was still breathing harder than normal.

Sliding into the water he submerged himself in the warmth rubbing at his nose and rinsing away the blood. He stayed there underneath for a few moments allowing the spring to soothe his tired body. When he was ready he stood back up running his hands through his hair with a sigh and a cough. His chest hurt. He would probably have a cough for a day or two from exerting himself.

“That’s enough magic for one day.” Aoren was satisfied. It would still take some more practice before he could command water with ease but he would get there.

Like everything in Aoren’s life, it would simply take time.

by **Radiant** on October 27th, 2013, 4:49 am

Aoren :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Reimancy	+2 XP
Meditation	+2 XP

Completed [Sacred Arch Hotsprings] Ripples On Water