[Inner Sanctum] The Initiation

by **Plume** on May 16th, 2015, 8:43 pm

Ser Connor watched his squire with a mix of hope and concern in his gaze. The amount of pain she was enduring was no easy thing to witness will sitting idly by, but he had to maintain his own hold over his res. He could not afford to allow it to transmute in the middle of the ritual, or any number of other things that could go awry in a process as unpredictable as this. Agonized as she may be, Katelyn's current struggles paled in comparison to very real, very plausible path toward both of their potential deaths.

Fortunately, the red headed squire seemed to calm upon hearing his words. She retched once, nearing ever closer to the point of breaking, but drew herself back in time to regain a measure of clarity and control.

"The pain is temporary," the Mage Knight continued in his verbal guidance, "remember that. It will pass. It is but a fleeting moment in the years and years ahead of acquainting yourself with this new magic. Ignore it or accept it, whichever helps you overcome its distraction. But whatever you do, do not fight. It must become a part of you. Remember why you are here and why you wish to succeed."

Ser Connor maintained an aura of calm as he spoke to his suffering pupil. He had a gentle but firm hold on his res, ready to retract it once Katelyn finally allowed the res to be accepted into her body rather than an alien substance to be fought against.

"You can do this, Katelyn. Hold onto that calm, think not of the pain. Focus on something simple, like your breathing, or the sound of my voice." He kept steady, slow breaths, ever the pillar of composure and peace. "Allow the res to inhabit you as part of your being. When you do, the pain will stop."

by **Katelyn Marks** on June 17th, 2015, 5:53 pm

She didn't want to think about the foreign entity crawling under her skin, and searing through her veins. She tried to ignore it everything but her patron's voice, holding onto it like a life preserver in stormy waters. Her chest fluttered rapidly, sweat soaked her clothes, and she clawed at the blankets underneath her with a fervent desperation for something physical to hold and touch. His choppy voice came in broken fragments, but it kept her sane. What she could absorb through the overwhelming sensations brought lucid flashes of what could be. She'd already studied and learned so much throughout the spring under his tutelage, and he was trusting her with this enormous next step--a powerful and dangerous new magic.

The pain of this process was like he said--a temporary flash for a lifetime of rare knowledge and new experiences. It was no different than falling off a horse. It could hurt, but you become better in the long run. As she began to understand and accept the pain as something would ultimately pass, she felt a cool relief begin to soothe the burn, starting in her toes and spreading upward with a lazy, liquid pace. Katelyn whimpered with the release, no matter how slow it might have been. Her labored pants slowed to a more exhausted pace, and the tightness coiling her muscles eased as the fire in them was replaced with cool relief.

She groaned, sighed, and managed to prop herself up on a pile of soft pillows. The squire's face was pale, wet with sweat, and tired, but no longer strained in agony. Her body was left feeling drained by her patron's Res--almost violated. It had brought Kate to the very brink, and she'd only barely crawled her back. The pain was gone, so it was to be assumed that her connection of the significance of the situation had helped some kind of integration between herself and the foreign invasion of Res.

"I'm alright," she finally groaned, voice creaking from the rawness of her throat. "I'm alright." The second time was more to assure herself than her patron, as if it needed to be repeated to be true.

by **Plume** on July 3rd, 2015, 6:50 am

He kept vigil over his squire, looking for any signs indicating that she had finally ceased fighting and begun embracing. The mage knight had seen enough people try--and fail--to undergo initiation to know success was not guaranteed. Still, he had faith. There was no other choice left, now that they had come so far.

The first signs came sooner than later. A slight relaxing of the muscles that had once been contracted in pain, the lines etched across her face easing into some semblance of calm and collectedness. As Katelyn displayed more and more proof of her acceptance of the djed in her body, Ser Connor began retracting it bit by bit. He did gently, gradually, until the squire was able to prop herself up and speak with lucid conviction.

"That you are," the patron answered, smiling. "Congratulations, squire. The hard part is over. Now, for the even harder things to come."

He brought forth a towel and a small bowl of cool water for Katelyn to mop up some of the perspiration on her face. "But first, a well deserved moment of respite. Wash up what you can to feel human again. It will help."

Ser Connor gave her the time to freshen both mind and body. Their task was not yet over, and Katelyn would need to regain some clarity in her senses to tackle what came next. "A new world has been opened to you know, squire. A world both beautiful and dangerous, as it not only holds great opportunities to do good, but terrible harm as well. All of this potential, soon to be in the palm of your hand."

Once Katelyn was done, the Mage Knight would reach forward and carefully retrieve the bowl and towel to stow them elsewhere. "This power can bring much misfortune in the wrong hands. It has a seduction of its own, which is why we must learn to control it. To never let it influence us more than we influence it."

Ser Connor moved on to settle back into his pillow and regard his squire, a hint of pride shining through his otherwise sober features. "Now, for the final question to be answered. Because of the ritual Res flows from you in abundance. Let your mind settle, your body relax. Close your eyes and let the Res pour forth from the wounds in your hands. Allow it to form however it wishes, so that we may see what shape it chooses to take for you."

by **Katelyn Marks** on July 7th, 2015, 6:37 pm

Katelyn returned her patron's smile with some effort. It was more of a tired twitch than anything. Why wasn't she surprised that they weren't done yet? A short huff escaped her--something of an exasperated sigh and a laugh. Still, she nodded and accepted the bowl of water from the Knight. "Thank you," the squire mumbled, dabbing at her brow with the damp, cold cloth. It felt amazing, and her body shivered with relief. She rubbed the rag across her cheeks, neck, and under her shirt around her shoulders. The cold water soothed the heat under her skin, and the sigh she released relaxed her entire body, deflating her.

She released the bowl when her patron moved to retrieve it, eyes on his while he explained the dangers of the next step. Kate wasn't afraid at this point, simply tired. If calling her Res and transmuting it was going to be painless, fine. The squire was simply done with pain. She wanted to curl up in her bunk, pull the blankets over her head, and sleep for two days. The redhead was almost too tired to even be excited at calling forth this mystery element.

Katelyn held her hands out in front of her, palms up, unmoving. Through what training the Knight had already given her, she was beginning to be aware on an unconscious level of the constant flow of her Djed. She could feel something different now--a liveliness crawling through her veins, wanting to claw its way out. It itched inside her, and she focused on it, calling to the oddly familiar sensation. Through heavy-lidded tired eyes she watched a thick purple gel ooze from the narrow cuts across her palms. It pooled in her hands, seeming to move on its own accord.

It was definitely a wake up, and Kate sat up straighter, more alert now. The excitement that struggled to build before seemed to renew her energy, and as she coaxed more Res out, it trembled across her fingers. Suddenly, the gel hardened, responding to some sort of emotion deep inside her. It twisted, compacted, and tumbling through her hands, turning to sand and stone before her eyes. A hysteric laugh bubbled from her lips as the earth crumbled to the floor in crushed fragments. It didn't seem quite sure of itself; not enough to hold together. She assumed it was her own lack of strength and the newness of Reimancy.

Still, the smile that spread across her face was one of pride. "Earth," she said in awe. "I did it." Though her success filled her with immense satisfation--her patron had been right, it was worth the intensity of the initiation--Katelyn's energy was quickly draining again, and it was only moments until the flow of her Res slammed shut like a door and her shoulders slumped, leaving her with a soreness all throughout her body and a sudden headache. "I don't think I can do any more," the squire admitted miserably.

by **Plume** on July 9th, 2015, 10:04 pm

Ser Connor watched with a twinkle of anticipation in his eyes as his student worked up one last surge of energy and effort to transmute her Res. For a moment, nothing happened. And then purple-ish substance began to leak from her palms, pooling and whirling with a fluidity of its own.

Katelyn appeared more awake than before, more focused, but her Res had not yet manifested itself. More and more appeared in her palms, growing and thickening until it finally hardened. The Mage Knight clasped his hands together and sighed happily at the sight of both sand and stone crumbling from Katelyn's finger tips and onto the blanketed floor.

"Well done, squire," he agreed as Katelyn admitted aloud her own achievement. "It was no small feat, and you passed with flying colors. I am proud of you, Katelyn. Not to worry, you'll get straight to resting once we've finished here, it's been enough magic for one day."

He got up with a grunt--his youth was not what it once was--and began packing away all of their equipment again, making quick work so as not to keep his squire further from much deserved rest. "The last thing I will teach you today, Katelyn, is the consequence of Overgiving. Your newfound power is a wondrous thing no doubt, but it has its price if you exceed your limits. The first time you Overgive, you will want to cast more. It's an almost blissful, addictive feeling. We call these temptations Sweet Whispers. Should you ever hear voices coaxing you to cast more, ignore them. They are one of the earliest and most obvious signs."

As the Mage Knight threw together all of their pillows and blankets, tying them up in a neat bundle, he added, "There are other symptoms as well. A metallic taste in your mouth is common. Tremors are, too, and you might feel the terrible need to be alone. But those are not the most worrisome. It is when you begin to bleed, convulse, or lose control over your spells that Overgiving becomes truly dangerous. Because it is not long after that you face much more horrible consequences, including but not limited to death."

Ser Connor smiled. "But as long as we train together, I will not let that happen. So for now you will take your much deserved rest and we will continue on the morrow. Come now, squire. Time to go home."

by **Katelyn Marks** on July 13th, 2015, 5:55 pm

Despite her exhaustion, Katelyn felt the warmth of her patron's words and smiled. "Thank you ser," the squire replied. She watched as her patron rose and packed their blankets and pillows. She wanted to help, but she doubted she could carry anything but herself. Still, she plucked up a down-filled cushion and struggled to her feet, clutching it to her chest. The squire was careful not rub her hands against it--the ritual cuts on her palms were tender and leaking a few miniscule tracts of blood. It was the one that belonged in her bunk back at the dorms, and holding it only made her want to curl up under her blankets that much more.

Still, Kate was careful to listen to the Knight's warnings. They didn't scare her like before. She felt worthy now of the magics her patron was teaching her. The successful transmutation of her Res had been like a sign, and she was clinging to that new confidence with all the strength she had left. "I'll be careful ser," she assured. Katelyn trusted her patron completely--even more so after the events that just transpired. He'd had her life in his hands, and she'd come out the other side a Reimancer. Ser Moore wouldn't always be there, but she would try her best to make him proud and represent the mages well.

She smiled at her patron and followed him from the dreary room. The squire was grateful when they arrived at her common room door, after winding through torchlit corridors and up long staircases, past commoners and squires and pages--all manner of folk unaware of the great change the redhead had just underwent. Katelyn smiled again at Ser Moore as she stood in the threshold of the dormitory, exhausted after the long climb and ready to fall into bed. "Thank you ser," the redhead started, unsure of what really to say. The Initiation had been a very personal moment--she felt closer to her patron now than she had before. Like she knew him on a deeper level, and he her.

"On the morrow then," she ended simply, at a loss for anything more substantial to say, so she mirrored his words from earlier. It felt like enough.

by **Plume** on July 13th, 2015, 9:51 pm

Katelyn

Organization	+1 XP
Observation	+4 XP
Interrogation	+1 XP
Tactics	+1 XP
Endurance	+5 XP
Intelligence	+2 XP
Philosophy	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Reimancy	+1 XP

Shield Points

+1, +3, +1

patron, training, bravery

Lores :

Loot :

Notes :

Quest [Inner Sanctum] The Initiation