An Unexpected Teacher (Lessomm)

[Theur]

12 Winter, 513 A.V As Ravok came into view, Theur was reminded on how beautiful the city is. Towers tall and high; colours new to him; an air of class; from what he saw to what he felt, everything felt new and he drank it all in. “We’ll be reaching the docks soon” said the boatman which drew some eyes and prompted some muttering and grumbles, only one looked down; Theur. Hidden within the boy’s shirt was a letter with a cord tied around. It reminded him that he was on a job and not to sightsee. He crossed both arms over his shirt and over the letter and waited for the boat to dock and as he did he recalled his client and the odd task given to him. Theur’s client was a merchant new by the looks of things, who got impatient on waiting for clearance of his goods into the city. The letter was probably a complaint of some kind, try as he might he couldn’t remember who or where to deliver it too. Theur wasn't too troubled he'd probably remember it when the time comes afterall he was getting paid and that’s all there is to it. The boat slowly came to a stop by the edge of the docks, barely a few moments when the boat rocked violently. Like possessed beasts the passengers rushed towards the dock side; a sight that stunned both Theur and the boatmen. Merchants were the first to leave two three or four at a time pushing and shoving each other as they hurriedly went along, one even jumped and one nearly pulled a dock labourer to the cold water below. The next to go were travellers and while they were less hurried and more graceful than the merchants, the amount of items they carried were of ridiculous amounts; coupled with the fact that the previous batch pushed the boat a good foot or two back from the dock made for some stiff competition against the merchants. Theur’s expression was blank, not a word uttered; the sight he just witnessed was too much to take in. It was only until the boatman called for Theur that the boy began to move again. In all honesty Theur couldn’t remember what the boatman talked about; all Theur did was reply with nods or by shaking his head. The boatman clearly wasn’t going to get anything out of Theur so he just shrugged and waited for the boy to get off, clearly he would have a tale to tell when he reached the Silver Silver. The boat was rocked side to side, not as bad as when the merchants left or when the travellers left but still enough to fumble Theur up. Theur focused on the dock side, a foot or two of water in between; a big step maybe but otherwise easy. One foot stepped on the edge, he took the rock of the boat into consideration then he took his step; the last thing he remembered was the distinct word careful. Theur landed with a soft thud, the feeling of wood a forgotten one, like rock but not as hard and like hard earth but harder. The feeling came and passed, the sooner he gets this job done the better sooner he gets his mizas and mizas interested Theur much, much more. “Oi I told ya to be careful and now look, your papers on the water” boomed the boatman. He pointed at it before leaving, the waves pushing the paper further and further out. What papers… Theur’s eyes focused on a piece of white paper, folded with a cord tied round; very similar to his letter. Quickly Theur’s hand crashed againts his torso feeling for the letter; nothing. His gaze shifted from the paper in the water and to his hand, without hesitation Theur jumped in. Cold bites as hard as any pest but unlike pests, this one keeps biting. Theur was wet from head to toe while the letter looked to be presentable at best. Theur warranted a few stares and in response Theur glared back but he couldn’t stop the stares. Whenever Theur’s gaze met theirs, they quickly turned but he could still feel them. “ENOUGH” Theur yelled, he turned and gave everyone a look similar to a cornered beast; it didn’t work in fact he just drew more attention to himself. As more people began to look Theur made a dash as fast as his legs could take him. Over bridges and under arches until an alleyway found him. Finally away from prying eyes he began to relax and also notice at how cold he was. There were still water droplets on his body and his teeth began to chatter but all he cared about was the letter. His hand opened to show a crumpled piece of paper ink splodged, only the cord remained largely intact. As Theur moved his hand to unwrap the cord, to inspect the full damage of the letter, the cold was already working on his body. By will unknown... he managed to unwrap the letter; pure ghibberish, Theur couldn’t read but he could tell most of the words were blurred or unreadable by now. The letter fell to the ground; he couldn’t ignore the cold any longer. Immediately he put his hands together breathed out a stream hot air then proceeded in a desperate attempt to warm himself up. Theur hadn't noticed but an orange ooze began to engulf his hands, slowly at first but then it began to flow faster, thicker; Parts of it gradually hardened to form an orange shell of sorts. He hadn't realized but this thing, whatever he was doing was going to warm him up. OOCWhoo well here it is kinda long but you know background is everything; anyway to clear something up the orange ooze is Theur's djed it's on its way to becomming a shield but its not there yet.

[Lessomm]

At first, the basket on his arm had felt a little silly and quite feminine but now Lessomm found he was glad for the basket to be there. He had been sent on a shopping errand by his master and the list of people he had to contact had been short. But they all seemed intent on giving him their entire stock every time he mentioned his master's name. Lessomm had no idea what he was receiving from these people but the wrapped up packages had filled the basket quickly and now he was struggling to stack the last batch on top of them. He slid two of the wrapped up items in his coat and shirt, holding onto them with two of his hidden hands. He thanked the shopkeeper once again as he made his way out, opening the door caused the little bell to jingle. With the basket on his arm Lessomm walked through the crowded market street and turned a left to head through the alleyway, taking a shortcut back. Now that he had everything, he could head straight home, taking the shortest route. His eyes constantly spied around, making sure nobody was following or tried to mug him. That would upset Miro more than if Lessomm got wounded. He sighed to himself as he let his mind wander for a while. He turned another left and would have walked right past the shivering and cold boy had it not been for the tingle of magic that ran up the back of his neck. Lessomm froze in place and turned to face the source of the feeling. He looked down at the boy, barely fifteen years of age, at most. Seeing a boy his age was nothing shocking but seeing a boy his age using magic and casting spells was something that did shock the Eypharian. He wondered how and where the boy had learned to use magic like that. But he knew magic was frowned upon by almost all non-magicians, it wasn't safe for him to be casting like that, especially if other people saw the orange glowy substance that was spreading out over the boy. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you." He smiled at the boy. Towering over the boy, Lessomm stood proud and strong, the basket on his arm. The black swallow tail coat covered his entire chest and slipped into the black pants almost seemlessly. The only bits of his outfit that weren't black where around his neck, where the collar of his shirt was, on his hands where the gloves were and a single stretch of white around his waist where his belt kept most of his outfit together. "People aren't very trusting of magicians..." As he said it, images flashed past his eyes of people hitting someone who was trying to defend someone else with all six arms but they vanished as soon as they popped up. His head started to hurt. Lessomm brought his free hand up and touched softly with the tips of his fingers on the scar on the side of his head as he tried to remember what he had just seen. He shook his head and dropped his hand. He looked down at the boy to see what he would do, if anything. He wondered why he had spoken out, instead of just ignoring it, like a good Ravokian would. But the tingle of magic had been too much and it had drawn Lessomm in before he had realised it. Was this little boy a wizard like Lessomm's master Miro? Somewhere deep inside of his, his djed started to bubble and move up, rising through his bones and flesh and through the veins that carried his blood. Magic was dangerous, especially from people who had no good in mind. Lessomm wondered if he needed to protect himself from the boy. As his mind raced, trying to determine the best course of action, his subconscious was already drawing on his fear of a magical attack and bubbled out the djed needed to form a shield, covering the Eypharian in a thin, pale blue liquid that pushed through the pores of his skin. As soon as it touched the air, the djed started to solidify, forming miniscule, unseen hexagons that overlapped with each other where they touched, beginning to form what would be the foundation of a personal shield.

[Theur]

Apparantly being cold wasn’t enough suffering for the boy. Now he had someone lecturing him whom Theur promptly ignored, instead his eyes focused on the letter; more pressing matters were at hand. The letter was promptly ruined even Theur saw that; despair clearly written across his face. Thoughts on what to do raged across his mind but with each thought turning to shyke faster than the last, the despair in him just grew and grew. Grasping now, a wicked thought found its place and took root; what if Theur lied. The boy smiled, he could say that they were processing his client’s request and still get paid; a term he learned through repeated deliveries. All Theur had to do now was find who “they” were, an authorative body would be best, what stood in his way was the same person lecturing him. That person stood head and shoulders above the boy and had the strength to back it up, even though that person held a basket. There was something in the way that the man carried himself that Theur challenged. For the first time he turned to face the man: feet spread apart, arms to the side, chest out and above all cold. The boy wanted to put his hands back to his pits, he wanted to curl into a ball, he wanted warmth, craved it but he forewent all of it; to do a simple shrug. Without losing face, Theur moved towards the man. Either the man moved or Theur moved; a move that Theur wasn’t planning on doing. "Excuse me" Theur said, with much politeness however an onlooker would have noticed a poison in the boy’s words, before he attempted to move the man. When Theur’s hand met the man; a clash of colour of blue and orange violated his eyes. It only lasted for a moment but the boy recalled with extraordinary detail; blue hexagon-shapes shimmering against his orange ooze. Theur was wide-eyed his thoughts gone, his mind lost. “Ho…How…What…did you do that” Theur said the cold, surprise and fear evident in his voice. Something deep in the boy’s gut told him that the blue-hexagon had an eerie familiar feeling about it; it felt like his own orange ooze. Theur’s mind wandered back to the man’s words;“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…People aren’t very trusting of magicians”. Was this what the man meant; that the man was indeed a magician? Theur backed up, a fear in his eyes not seen since the boy’s encounter with Noaru. Slowly he made his way back, away from the man and into a shadow willing to envelop him. Only under the guise of a shadow and up against a wall (for fear that the shadow wasn’t dark enough) that Theur spoke out. "Wh…..Who…Who are…You?" the boy said softly.

[Lessomm]

Lessomm watched as the youth got up on his feet and make an attempt at looking menacing, or something close to that. His legs were spread out as if he owned his little corner of the back alley, his hands and arms next to his body ready to attack for or defend his little corner and his chest puffing up, which wasn't as impressive as the youth might have thought considering he was only 15 years old, at most. Lessomm couldn't help but smile at the sight. How completely different from himself this child was. As the youth stepped closer, Lessomm didn't think of giving space to him until he reached out with his hand. As the orange glow surrounding the boy touched the blue frame hugging Lessomm's skin the air seeme to explode with the colors, sparks flying off from the point of contact and Lessomm's shield demanding more Djed to sustain itself in order to continue doing its task. Lessomm stepped back quickly, pulling back his hand from the youth. While there was no fear in his eyes, his surprise was as evident on his face as it was evident in the boy's words. At first, Lessomm didn't reply and just stared down at the boy. "I'm... not sure, actually." The distance between them became bigger as the youth backed off, his previous bravado gone. No more puffed up chest or spread out legs. Instead, the boy seemed to shrink away before Lessomm's eyes in the dark corner he had come from. "I am... just a servant. My name is Lessomm. How about you? What's your name?" The Eypharian spoke softly, almost as if Theur was a scared little animal, which indeed he was. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone if you don't tell anyone." He smiled at the boy as he crouched down and put the basket on the cold stones of the alley. For a moment he let his mind wander inward towards his Djed and started sucking it back in, almost like breathing in, except with his skin, rather than his lungs. The overlapping hexagons started to crack and dissipate as the shield had no longer the power required to maintain itself. Within moments it was gone, the djed taken back to where the Eypharian had drawn it from before. "That was a surprise, wasn't it?" Lessomm kept his own voice calm and collected, the surprise that had shown on his face earlier long gone. "It's alright, no need to be afraid." Mentally, Lessomm sighed. He had no experience with children, let alone children wizards and he found it frustrating that he lacked such experience. The frustration never made it to his face, which remained open and friendly towards the boy.

[Theur]

As the last of Lessomm’s words fell onto the darkness; the darkness made no move to reply. Only a heavy silence loomed between the shade and man. The silence grew long; long enough for patience to run dry, long enough to run cold but the boy within was far from that. Within that shadow, Theur studied Lessomm wondering if the man could be trusted. There was something in Lessomm that made Theur think of Calyn but the boy could not forget that man’s blue. It pestered in him, that familiar feeling when the two colours clashed. The boy was sure now it had to be the same thing as his orange, maybe Lessomm himself knows what it is and yet, Theur hesitated to move. His contempt for men and adults ran deep even if Lessomm was smaller now. Theur labelled the man as dangerous and would stay in his corner if it were not for Calyn; he stepped forward. From that darkness a figure appeared, slowly at first and part per part until the boy was fully visible. No more puffed up chest or spread out legs; this was Theur the cold, scared and stupid. He knew the evils adults can do and the power that they wield and then there was Calyn. The boy spoke his words soft “T-Theur” the boy’s eyes wandered occasionally meeting Lessomm’s eyes but then breaking off a moment later. "I w-won’t tell anyone" said Theur slowly and confused. It was something that Lessomm himself said but now it felt rather inappropriate. Another silence encroached on the two. If it had its way, it wouldn’t be long before one or the other left something Theur was having none of. “Lessomm…” Theur said. Now what, he couldn’t express what he wanted to express in words. His eyes zipped to and fro from the man then onto something else until he noticed one of his hands; it still glistened with an orange ooze. The boy raised his hand, that orange glow faint but prominent. If words didn’t work then perhaps action will. The boy just hoped that Lessomm understood what it meant.

[Lessomm]

Lessomm remained patient as the boy remained silent. He only shifted his position somewhat as the same position started wearing his muscles. The darkness remained black as the boy kept inside of it and the alley was starting to cool down. Lessomm hoped none of his master's shoppings were time sensitive, otherwise he would have to start explaining that as well. While the boy remained in the darkness, his orange glow remained quite visible for the Eypharian. Yet, while the glow was evidently there, the shadows were not pushed away by the light. Slowly but surely, the boy started to step out in the alley, out of the darkness. He seemed fragile now, small and... childish, for a lack of a better word. Lessomm moved his hand up to his own head and rubbed over his chin. "Nice to meet you, Theur." Lessomm smiled at the kid, trying his best to put him more at ease. It was obvious Theur was scared in Lessomm's presence. He wondered if it was only his presence or if it was other people in general. "That's a good start. Do you know what that was?" Lessomm didn't really expect the boy to know it but it was better to make sure. When the boy raised his hand, remaining silent after having called Lessomm's name, Lessomm turned his head to it and watched. The Orange glow around the boy's hand remained steady, with the occasional flicker. Now that he could inspect it more properly, it was obvious to Lessomm that it was a shield. Somehow he knew it to be a shield. He wondered why he hadn't seen it before. In responce to the boy's hand, Lessomm raised his own, mirroring the actions of the young shielder. His own hand was covered in blue, although the boy wouldn't be able to see it, just sense it being there, the thousands of tiny hexagons overlapping each other and forming a single entity of shield around his body. Carefully, Lessomm moved his hand closer to Theur's, moving slowly and carefully. With a single finger, he touched the boy's orange glow, creating a small spark of flickering light that died away as soon as Lessomm pulled his finger back. "That is... new. Do you know what these are?" Lessomm waved his other hand towards his hand and Theur's hand. Even though he had tasks to do, Lessomm found himself getting distracted by a potential shielder to help him out. As he waited for the boy to speak or do react, Lessomm's mind started to run over the event. The boy had created a shield for something, Lessomm wasn't really sure for what. And Lessomm had created a shield for something, once again Lessomm wasn't really sure for what. It could have been the presence of magic, like with his master. A shield to protect the Eypharian from magic. And when the shields had touched, Lessomm's magic protection shield had sensed the magic in Theur's shield, whatever purpose it was for, and had refused it access, repulsed it, while Theur's shield had fought to continue to protect him. Within that physical space the two shields fighting had created the visible representation in the form of the sparks. It was a possibility. If only Lessomm knew a proper shielder who could explain it to him.

[Theur]

The boy slowly shook his head to all of Lessomm’s questions not because of the difficulty of the questions but because Theur’s focus was elsewhere; on Lessomm. The man mirrored the boy and for a moment a wave of disappointment passed through Theur. Had the boy failed, did his action, his intention not go through but it was only for a moment. Lessomm moved, slowly, carefully; Theur watching his territory getting smaller. The boy’s instinct was to run to jump back into the shadow yet he remained. Calyn the boy thought O please be like Calyn. That man approached and with the same speed as his walk, moved towards Theur’s hand. Theur froze as the man approached, had he always been this tall Theur thought then something happened. From the corner of his eye he saw Lessomm press his finger to the boy’s hand; while sparks of colour flew, Theur felt nothing, nothing on his hand. It was as if Lessomm never touched him at all. Surely he wasn’t going blind; was he mad? Was all of this not real? As quickly as it began the man retracted his finger leaving Theur with one more question that he could not answer… but one. The boy needed to test whether or not this was all real. Theur saw his chance when he caught the movement of Lessomm’s hand in his eyes. Like lightning Theur’s hand crashed onto Lessomm’s, and that same brilliant display from before followed. Orange and blue danced, sparks flew, shadows remained; Theur jumped back. Breathe, Breathe the boy had to tell himself to breathe, what was that. The boy was looking at his hands, the orange glow in his hands; considerably dimmer, what in petch is happening. Desperately the boy recalled the facts: He felt nothing on his hands, lights came from both man and boy, and though it did not make sense and to Theur’s horror; this was most certainly not a dream. Theur put his hands down, a slight shake in them. His head went up to meet Lessomm a tear or two in his eyes ready to fall at a moment’s notice. "..Wh..What is this" said the boy, his voice cracking, his words careful as if he was pleading with the man. Out of all other questions Theur could only manage just the one.

[Lessomm]

Lessomm smiled at the boy, trying to reassure him. Focusing inwards for a moment, Lessomm started to retract the Djed that was fueling his shield. He left the shield around his hand powered up as the rest broke down into small hexagons which broke down into even smaller ones all the way until the blue glow disappeared. He saw the boy was scared at what was happening and Lessomm wondered how he had felt when he had first used magic. If only he could remember. "Well, young man, -this-..." Lessomm nodded to the orange glow surrounding the boy's hands. "...is magic. And it seems to me like you are a wizard. And quite a young one at that." Lessomm smiled at the boy as he pulled back the rest of his djed, watching the blue skin covering his hand crack and crumble down into smaller and smaller hexes. "It's nothing to be afraid of. It doesn't harm you, in fact, this magic is solely for protecting you. I can imagine this means little to you so let me name it for you, something to remember it by. This is shielding, young man, and you are a shielding wizard." Lessomm chuckled for a moment as a memory flashed through his mind. A book he had read at some point in his life with words quite similar to these. Lessomm turned his attention to the basket of items he had brought for his master. Nothing consumable in there. The boy looked like he hadn't eaten properly in a while. "Do you have some place to go or somebody to go to? If not, maybe you'd like to go for something to eat and I can answer some questions for you." Lessomm pushed himself up from the ground, stretching his legs. He grabbed the basket and pulled it up to his arm again. It was up to the boy now. Lessomm turned towards the brighter end of the alley and started to walk, not looking back. Either the boy would decide to go back home or where ever he stayed and Lessomm would be fine or the boy would decide to get some answers and follow the stranger who had just told him he was a wizard and Lessomm would be fine. As he reached the end of the alley, Lessomm turned to look back, his mind wandering for a moment. He wondered if he had had someone like this, kind enough to share knowledge with him, or if his teacher had been a wizard like his master, dangerous and powerful, respected and feared. Lessomm's eyes pierced the darkness in the alley as he looked for the boy.

[Theur]

Heavy words poured from Lessomm’s mouth. Words like magic, wizard, shielding and how Theur was all of these confused him. These words are not words one would say lightly and without care. These words stood side by side with ostracization, persecution and death but the boy took delight in the thought. Adults had their power and Theur had his; the gap between the two grew just a little closer. It was Lessomm’s words that brought the boy back from his thoughts. A soft chuckle escaped from the boy’s mouth inaudible to anyone but Theur before rushing over, almost in leaps and bounds, stopping just an inch or two behind Lessomm’s back. There was no question and no hesitation on Theur’s part; Theur wanted to go with Lessomm but just incase the message didn’t get through a soft "yes" rolled off from the boy’s tongue. If the boy ever wanted to stand on par with adults then he would need to learn all he can from Lessomm. Together they walked along the streets of Ravok. It was still a way before the nearest food market and a quite a bit more before the nearest meal. In the meantime the boy practiced on his shielding. He would’ve drawn on his shield like a muscle by tensing and relaxing and working from there but his shield was all but gone. Nothing new really, if his shield was truly arcane in nature then all he the boy had to do was call upon it. The few times he called it prior to meeting Lessomm; he did not want it. The only time he actually wanted one; he couldn't call it. At first it seemed like simply willing for it to appear would suffice. Then he tried flexing his muscles seeing if that did the trick. Next he tried chanting the word shield and after that failed he tried chanting while making hand gestures. It was bound to draw attention towards to Theur; perhaps even Lessomm noticed despite being in front. Whether Lessomm did or did not notice, Theur had to ask; a power he could not control was as good as no power to begin with and so he asked. "How do ya shield?" while pulling on the hem of Lessomm.

[Lessomm]

Lessomm turned around the boy's question and had to think for a moment about the answer. There was of course the technical theory about it all with Djed and manipulation and tasking. But how did he really do it? Did he even do it? It just happened when it was needed. "To be quite honest, young man, I'm not really sure." Lessomm shrugged as he turned back again and continued to move towards the food stalls. "According to the theory first you draw on your djed and coat yourself with it, which is the orange glow you have, mine is blue, I think it just depends on preference, really, and then you give it a task, a purpose. That is when the djed turns into a shield. For example, when I shielded, I shielded to protect myself from magic, yours in particular, and when I touched your hand my shield tried to protect me from your shield, hence the sparks." Lessomm shook his head. The boy would have no understanding of anything he had just said. He had seem puzzled only by the words magic, wizard and shielding alone. The theoretical explenation would be too much for the boy. "You look inside yourself for your djed, pull some of it outwards and keep it near your skin or near what you want to shield and once it is in place you simply tell it what to do. In my case the shield always seems to understand what I want it to do, even when I don't quite fully know. Anyway, eat first, technical discussions later, ok?" Lessomm turned a corner of the street and walked down the next street heading for the market with the food stalls. He didn't know how or if he could teach the boy what he needed or wanted to know but he would give him as much information as possible. As far as he knew, Ravok had no public library or magic school to speak off so he was a little limited in his teaching material. He couldn't remember any proper schooling of his own to pass onto the child and couldn't really put into words how it worked now, with the shields just popping up whenever they felt he needed it. So far the shields had been right every time. Once again, Lessomm felt his mind wander backwards through time to the black gap that he figured was his past and youth. Had there been someone there who explained it all to him, showed him how to do it step by step, guided him through the process of making his first shield? Perhaps there had been but there hadn't been a flicker of memory from those years ever since he had started working for his new master, Miro. Miro was an incredible wizard but everything he knew was offensive, learned or designed to kill and destroy. Not a single of his abilities could protect or save a life, save his own. "Any more questions? I know it's not easy for one so young but I'll try to help you as I can." Lessomm looked down at the youth walking beside him.