[Stone Gardens]A Trade of Heart and Soul (Aoren)

by **Shane Wallsly** on July 25th, 2014, 1:20 pm

Yes. There it was. Aoren had killed and why? Shane knew why. It was the same story he had heard a million times. “You had no choice, right? It was them or you and you made a choice. It's not so hard to make that choice against someone like me. A young man who you don't really know turns out to be this evil puppeteer if you hadn't disposed of me yourself you would have turned me into the guards which would have ended in the same way.” Shane looked down at the ground speaking solemnly and with a hint of self pity. He looked back up at Aoren. “Alright, no more of this. Let's just get back to the task at hand.”

First came the expected reply. He described his physical features. The thing all people saw when they looked in the mirror. Aoren cottoned on before Shane could even explain that what he was really interested was everything other people couldn't see. The private part of the mirror that exists only in your mind. Your own thoughts and feelings about yourself because no matter what your life was like or who you were everybody had a view of themselves.

Shane hadn't quite expected him to go as far as he did. By the time he was finished relaying his thoughts, his fears, his feelings, Shane himself was starting to feel little teary-eyed. Shane felt so much closer to the man. They were so similar. Shane could not even count the nights he had spent trying to remember his mother's embrace or envision a lover's subtle kiss.

By the time Aoren was finished Shane was glad he closed his eyes. Shane needed a few minutes to wipe something out of one of his eyes. He wondered, briefly, if Aoren had seen anything like that when he had been in his mind earlier. Shane didn't even know the intricate details of his life, just the summary, and he felt like he'd known him a while. It was indeed odd how familiar two strangers could be.

Shane almost forgot what it was they were meant to do next. He'd been so wrapped up in Aoren's little bubble that he had forgotten all about it. He tried to clear his head and let his emotions go without letting Aoren see how much he had effected him.

“G-good.” Shane said a little shakily. “You're more than just a Drykas with sand hair. You're made up of fears, desires, dreams, hope and more but you don't let that show. You don't walk around revealing your inner most fears to just about anyone most of the time. You construct armour around yourself to protect you. Nobody is truly happy to open up fully to another person. We are just to scared of rejection. However our feelings sometimes play tricks on us. They allow themselves to be shown. They create cracks in that armour. Cracks that Hypnotists and even simply charismatic people can exploit.”

“But you knew that. Everybody really knows that. Everybody has secrets. Everybody has desires. It's true and you're a fool if you don't thinks so.” Shane picked up the pace a bit trying to emphasise what he was saying “So let it go. Yep, just let all that stuff go Aoren. The details aren't worth it right now. You already know how to make yourself crack. You already know what your fears and dreams are. The real key is to look into that mirror and figure it out for yourself.”

“Hypnotism is all about instinct. You have to want it. You have to feel it.” Shane told Aoren standing on wobbly legs as he did so. “Look into that mirror. Stare into your own eyes. It might takes hours and it might take days. Don't stop for anybody or anything. Clear your mind of everything and concentrate only on your reflection. Eventually time will become meaningless and the only thing you will be able to see is your own eyes looking back at you. Then something will pul you out. Maybe someone knocks at your door or Isikai nudges you. If you feel like you've just came out of a long sleep than that's it. You've done it.”

Shane suddenly felt as if his time here was done. He'd learned Reimancy and taught Aoren as much as he could to get him started. “The initiation, unlike Reimancy, is purely a meditative experience. It is just for one. I think I shall bid you goodbye now, Aoren.” Shane stroked the head of Isikai “And you too, little Isikai.”

He moved over to where Aoren sat and outstretched a hand. “It was nice to meet you, Aoren. I shall not forget this.” He told the man in a prompt but serious manner. “You can keep the mirror. It is just a little token of my thanks. You went above and beyond and I am sorry I cannot tell you more about Hypnotism. I am merely a Novice myself.”

OOCI am sorry about the sudden departure but I feel like this is whee Shane would naturally leave. If you want him to stay around you can ask him too and he probably will but if you're okay with going then you just wrap this up in your post. Feel free, if you wish, to do your whole Hypnotic Initiation Meditation stuff after Shane leaves.

by **Aoren** on July 26th, 2014, 4:35 pm

“Shane…” Aoren called out as the young man moved for the door. He searched for the right words to properly express his thanks. There were a great many things he wanted to say, Aoren simply couldn’t find the means to say it all. Shane knew more about Aoren than perhaps any other living person at that moment in time. He looked from the mirror to the dark haired young man then he was struck by a thought. He brought his hands up gesturing for Shane to wait.

“Just, wait right there.” Rising from his chair Aoren went to his trunk opening it. He withdrew two sheets of parchment then went to the table where rest his paint. Quickly he set to work grabbing a brush, dipping it in the paint and setting to work. With a skill and familiarity that pleased him, Aoren began drawing a simple Focus rune on one side of the parchment. He kept it as streamlined as he could without making it overly complicated. Next to the Focus he drew a circles of runes that would normally form a Barrier if used to surround the Focus. He did not do this but put the Barrier beside the Focus in a sort of template to use as reference. Finally next to the Barrier he painted a Trigger. Setting that sheet of parchment aside he moved to the next. This time he drew the runes making them appear as they could if they were being formed to perform a task. He started with the Focus then surrounded it by the Barrier with the Trigger resting in the upper left hand corner.

Aoren held each sheet of parchment up making certain that the paint was dry. When he was satisfied he rolled both up into a single scroll then presented them both to Shane.

“On these sheets of parchment you’ll find the basic runes needed to start your journey as a Glypher. The Focus, the Barrier, and the Trigger. I won’t get into detail about all of it but….” Aoren reached forth taking one of Shane’s hands. He placed the scrolls in the young man’s palm then closed his fingers around them. “…you’ll find that even though you can’t read them, you’ll be able to understand them. Study them and you’ll be amazed at the things they can help you with.”

With that Aoren would let Shane be on his way. He would say no more except give Shane a nod as he went out the door. When he was gone Aoren sat down on the edge of his bed. He kicked off his boots folding his legs together on the mattress. Picking up the mirror he stared into its recesses. He looked into his own eyes. He searched for that something that Shane had referred to. He steadied his breathing. At first he started to push away the memory of confessing all that he saw in front of Shane, then he thought better of it. Why push it away? It was part of who he was now. The only way he was going to be able to move past the experience was to confront it. With a sigh he recalled how awkward, how uncomfortable he felt. He recalled how emotional he’d become. He still felt that way. Instead of shying away from such things he waded through it.

It wasn’t easy.

Dealing with such strong feelings was not something Aoren wanted to do. They hurt. They brought back memories he had wanted to forget. Despite his discomfort though while in the privacy of his own home with only his pup to witness it, Aoren could deal with it. He focused on his own gaze in the mirror. He had no idea how long he was staring into its depths. Eventually his stopped focusing on trying to sift through his memories and just stared. Little by little the edges of his vision began to whiten. The shape of his cheekbones blurred, the prominent features of his face became filtered into the background and all he could see were the cobalt blue irises staring back at him. He didn’t specifically see their details. He saw the shape of them and knew that they were his own eyes reflected in the surface of the mirror. It was only when he heard a yip that Aoren blinked coming out of his trance.

The fire in the fireplace was out. Not even embers remained in the hearth. The candle on his nightstand had only a quarter of the wax left to burn through. How long had it been? A few bells? A few chimes?

And there it was.

The feeling that Shane had described. He felt like he’d just awoken from a long night’s sleep. Who knew? Perhaps night had come and gone. Perhaps he had fallen asleep and simply didn’t realize it.

“Hypnotism.”

There was so much more to this magic than met the eye. In a roundabout way though, Aoren believed that was the point.