Closed Sheet Magic

[Kamilla]

37th of Spring, 515AV
Common Workshop 4B

A soft sigh escaped the young woman's lips as she finished up the last few stitches on her next golem's shell, well it was nothing more than a large piece of cloth but once animated it would be so much more, hopefully enough for her to pass her judgement and become an apprentice on the island. While her short stay on Sahova had been riddled with unusual and uncomfortable moments, it had also held true to its promise of enlightenment and she was certain that she'd only acquire more knowledge if she stayed and so she'd decided to endure the hardships of life on The Undead Isle in order to keep learning.

The materials she'd requested from the Synchrograph Office several days ago had only arrived the previous night, though she suspected it would have been far sooner had she been a nuit or at least an apprentice, but it was understandable that they'd attend to their own before visitors so she'd paid it no mind. There were two days remaining before The Judgement and since any other requested materials would probably take longer than that to arrive she was going to have to make the most of her current supply, which wasn't much at all.

She'd received exactly what she'd requested, so exactly that she wondered if they would have included a container had she ordered a "litre of water", since they seemed to follow instructions to the letter, clearly trying to reduce waste to a minimum if not to eliminate it completely. A four meter squared sheet of cloth, a one foot squared piece of thin leather and two one foot squared pieces of thick cloth. Though she'd have preferred a pale blue cloth that matched Keene's res, since he would be the golem's source, she'd settled for black since it was probably the most abundant colour, judging by the majority of robes worn within the citadel.

The actual preparing of the golem's shell had been relatively simple, taking at most, three bells to complete with breaks included. Using her own sewing kit and string, Kamilla had cut the two thicker sheets of cloth into identical large circles by placing one on top of the other and then cutting, before sewing each onto opposite sides of the large thinner black cloth. The purpose of the thicker cloth was to ensure that the hole she'd cut for the leather membrane would not rip or tear when she sewed it into place, using the thicker sheets to enclose the area which was roughly at the center of the four meter squared cloth before cutting a hole out of it. Once that was complete, she'd cut the leather into a circle that was slightly smaller than the hole it would fit and then sewed it firmly into place, making sure to pull it as tightly as she could so that the membrane would be more sensitive to the vibrations of sound and wouldn't require her to speak in a very low voice in order to command it, unlike her animated red scarf.

Now finished with the rather unremarkable looking product, which appeared to be nothing more than a large sheet of black cloth with a brown leather circle in the center that was bordered by a slightly darker and thicker circle of black cloth. It was unimpressive at the moment but she hoped that it wouldn't remain that way, if she was to pass her judgement the judges would need to at least see potential in her creation, though if she was asked to explain her future goals she would be ready, already having a rough general direction that she wished to take her animation experiments.

She'd asked Keene to meet her in the Gug Andjak, Common Workshop 4B, so that she could fulfil her favour of allowing him to witness her animation process, the only condition being that he allow her to use him as a source. The sorceress flipped through the pages of her grimoire absent-mindedly as she waited for his arrival, trying to fine tune the golem concept which she'd formed in her mind, though its function would depend on whatever mundane talents the warden initiate possessed, which Kamilla hoped would be of the useful variety.

[Keene Ward]

Keene arrived at the Gug Andjak without much trouble. The walk from the cavern had become little more than a set number of bells, and while the heat often would elicit a sheen of sweat, it was less of effort and more simply his body's response to the weather. As always, the main floor was busy with the strange, quiet manner in which everyone conducted themselves. The lab he'd been summoned too was hardly a walk across the main hall, and as he rapped his knuckles against the wood to signal his arrival before he carefully opened the door, Keene made sure to make enough noise to state his presence. Shutting the door behind him, he was met with a relatively unimpressive sight.

There was a large sheet of cloth on one the main table that sat in the middle of the room. It had been altered to fit other cloth, though why Keene couldn't tell. Kamilla sat flicking through the pages of a tome, though she stopped to look up at him as he entered. "Shall we begin?' He wasn't sure exactly what animation looked liked, but he imagined it was a little bit different than the casual manner in which Kamilla reclined herself. He took a step over to the table to inspect what he assumed to be the thing she would be animating. Keene had been under the impression that an animator could only affect stone or metal or wood. If cloth were an option as well, he wondered what other materials might be fit for the magic. It intrigued him, certainly, that one might craft a soul with which to bring a state between life and unlife to an inanimate object.

He had never thought much on the manner of life. Life was, then it wasn't. With animation, it was and wasn't at the same time. Of course, there were the constructs such as Drainira who became a life all of their own, perhaps even more alive than the lives most led. Still, it seemed the majority of the golems were relatively set in their ways. The Followers did what they were told, and no amount of curious hampering of their efforts could truly stop them, not unless he wanted to tear the things apart. Thus, as he waited for Kamilla's reply, Keene found that the prospect of getting to watch the process through which a sizable portion of Sahova's population was created to be something well worth the walk.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla had noticed that it was the norm for her to standout from the rest of Sahova's inhabitants, not because of her status as a pulser but due to her attire. Her array of colourful and somewhat revealing clothes, considering most Sahovans only revealed their face and hands if at all, were far too 'lively' for most of the mages on the island to be concerned with, but she had always dressed for herself and didn't intend to stop now. Today she wore her flowing black skirt and knee-high boots along with a purple scarf that she'd wrapped from her back forwards and upwards, separately over each breast and then tied behind her neck, the menial task had felt slightly more tiresome since her other scarf Scarlet was able to tie itself.

The knock on the door had gone completely unnoticed, as did the warden initiate's entrance into the common workshop, she was too absorbed in an old sketch of her friend Faolan in his wolf form, the two may not have fit the regular definition of 'friends' but they had enjoyed being able to share their company with each other, even though it hardly ever included words. Finally breaking her focus on the bad drawing, her warm brown eyes rose to meet Keene's colder ones only moments before he spoke, a friendly smile greeting him as usual.

"Yes, but first..." Speaking as she closed her precious grimoire, hands reached for her head as they pulled her mane of dark brown hair upwards and began tying it. When she was done the majority of her hair would be off of her shoulders though it was by no means a neat affair, plenty of hair falling in messy congregations around her face and neck. Reaching for one of her charcoal sticks and stepping over to a large empty space on the ground, she knelt down and began to draw the animation circles as she spoke, making both the source and destination large enough for a person to spread their arms and legs comfortably. She could have prepared the circles before he arrived, but he had asked to see the Animation process and the drawing of the circles was part of it.

"Tell me Keene, do you have any useful physical talents?...I'm not sure how much you know about animation, but in order for a golem to be able to do things it must learn them from a source." she paused both her words and drawing for a moment to look up at the handsome young man, "You wouldn't happen to be able to dance would you?" she doubted it, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of her lips at the mere thought of the awkward mage swaying about before she returned to her drawing of the circles, quickly finishing the basics before beginning to draw her recently improved focus glyph in the destination, increasing the size of her markings in order for it to fill the entirety of the circle.

[Keene Ward]

Kamilla seemed chipper, a state of being that was a bit out of sorts in the Sahovan landscape, though Keene supposed, in a way, everything about the woman was out of place in regards to the island of the dead. She was very much alive, and Keene wondered just how long it would last. When he had arrived, he had adjusted rather quickly. The succinct manner in which things were done in the citadel had been almost refreshing from the mess of humanity that Zeltiva had harbored. He had never seen the point in vivacity finding it to be a waste of energies that could be directed elsewhere. Even in his most active moments and in the throes of passion, Keene adhered to the near militant manner in which he conducted himself on a regular basis. Kamilla was different. She dressed in vibrant colors, moved with a bounce to her step, and rarely did she keep herself from smiling. Whether she would thrive or not was yet to be seen, but Keene imagined she wouldn't be quite so lively come the changing of seasons.

His eyes followed the lines that she drew onto the ground, internalizing the shapes of the circles, their spacing, and size in which she chose to inscribe them. At her question, he let his eyes drift to settle on Kamilla's, his blank stare offering her little in the way of a nonverbal response as he listened. He remembered Thomas Cosa's explanation of a source, but he had imagined the teaching process to be one of the typical nature in which the learner was taught by the teacher. It seemed, however, that there was a slightly different process. He raised a brow at the question of whether he could dance or not. "I have danced before but under the guide of another. I don't think I'm proficient enough to be of use in that regard."

As she drew the focus, Keene took a few steps closer, making sure to stay out of her light as he examined her work. The glyph was unsteady, but it was sound, and he let his thoughts move from the work in front of him to consider what it was he could offer for the process in which Kamilla had agreed to allow him. "I'm ambidextrous." It was the first thing that came to mind as he considered what it was he could do that wasn't part of his magical repertoire of abilities. After a chime more, Keene shook his head. "I was never physically inclined. I'm not sure what else I can do." His training had been focused in sheilding, glyphing, reimancy, and a vast array of strengthening exercises; none of them had given him any particular "abilities" beyond stamina or balance.

[Kamilla]

Returning to her drawing of the focus glyph as Keene spoke, Kamilla had to admit that she was surprised that the odd mage had even done that much, dancing was after all, the furthest thing from what he appeared to be. It was a form of art, of expression, of life and while the warden initiate was clearly living, he did not share in the lively nature of dancing, at least not from what she'd seen of him so far. As she drew, her mind continued to flood with possible solutions to their minor dilemma, it would have to be an action or series that was easily identifiable and while not particularly useful, would hint to the greater possibilities of her talents if she was to have any hope of passing.

Finally finishing the large focus glyph just as Keene finished his explanation, a series of inter-connected spirals and rings that upon inspection seemed to be satisfactory, Kamilla rose to her full height, dusting her hands off as she turned her gaze to the handsome mage once more. Her brown eyes narrowed slightly as she tilted her head to the side, a few of her loose locks sliding across her face for a moment as an idea began to form in her mind, or rather the loose concept of one. "What about something martial?" she began, using one of her petite hands to casually pull the hair from her face and hold it in mid air, "Surely you must have learnt how to throw a decent punch growing up? Or at the very least, a convincing one?" She released the strand as she finished her question, allowing it to fall back to her face before turning on the spot in a flick of strands and skirt as she floated towards the table to retrieve the large black cloth that was about to be gifted with life.

A punch. It didn't seem like too much of an expectation for the warden initiate to have the knowledge to throw a simple one, he had after all said that he was a guard of Sahova and beyond that, having grown up in the lawless city of Sunberth, Kamilla couldn't fathom that anyone could survive into adulthood without ever learning to defend themselves in the most basic way. Placing the dark cloth neatly in the center of the glyphed destination circle and making sure that it didn't overlap the circle at any point before turning her attention back to the odd young man, she used a hand to casually gesture for him to enter the empty source circle.

The idea of teaching the golem to be able to throw what looked like a punch seemed like the best possible choice given her limited resources, but it would of course depend on whether or not Keene had the knowledge to do so, she didn't expect anything remarkable, so long as it was convincing. However, if he was completely unable to do such a thing, they would just have to find another easily recognisable action, something she was sure wouldn't prove too impossible a task. Perhaps, a simple bow?

[Keene Ward]

Her style of glyphing was an accurate reflection of how she lived her life. The forms were flowing though not without purpose, like a thread woven into a greater tapestry. While the glyph was not perfect, Keene could see the intention behind it, and his own mind sifted through the mess of endless scribbles he'd inked into his book back in the caverns. His would have been a collection of squares, the sharp angles forming simple paths for the magic to follow rather than to be lost in the swirl of Kamilla's almost floral design. It was not inefficient per say, but he found that the very nature of the drawing was almost antithetical to how he approached the magic in his own way. He found it curious how two different techniques and styles could lead to, essentially, the same outcome.

As she stepped back to dust of her hands and regard him with a skeptical sheen to her stare, Kamilla ventured another question, this one slightly more broad before it tapered into something Keene knew how to do. The manner in which she asked him, however, was odd. He raised a brow at the assumption that whatever skills in barehanded combat he was practiced in had been gained from his childhood. Having only ever interacted with a particularly loudmouthed and bullheaded child during his years in the city of Zeltiva, Keene had never known what was expected of a child that did not bear the legacy of magic upon his shoulders. It wasn't illogical that the children learn to defend themselves. His magic made him somewhat of a more dangerous force, and fist fights had never been something he'd needed to worry about.

Finding no reason to inquire about the point of passing interest, Keene nodded. He had been asked if he could "throw a punch", and he most certainly could. Grey green eyes placidly followed the woman's movements as she gathered up the dark fabric into her arms. A passing thought wondered why so much of her flesh remained unclothed in the chill of the labs, but it was quickly passed over in favor of taking note of the way in which she arranged what he assumed to be the soon to be golem. She took care to keep every part of it within the lines of the original circle, and Keene took care to remember. When she gestured him over, he stepped into the opposite circle with care to keep his boots from smudging the drawing as he did so.

Once within the confines of the charcoal barrier, Keene turned to stare blankly at Kamilla. He wasn't certain whether he should start punching the air or not, and there were several questions regarding the circle's confines, the most important of which was what would happen if he left it prematurely once the process began. Instead of asking, however, he simply waited. There was a solid confidence about his stance, not one of presumptuous pompadour rather a steadiness, an understanding that there was more to come and he need only be patient until it arrived.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla hadn't noticed but she'd been subconsciously hoping that Keene would be able to throw a decent punch, it wasn't until the young mage nodded to confirm that he could indeed do so that she realised. Although seeing a golem display minor martial talent, something which was of little interest on Sahova, may not have been impressive on its own, Kamilla was hopeful that the 'judges' would see it as a display of the potential usefulness of her work. "Excellent, I think we'll go with a bow and two other actions, perhaps a punch and a series of punches?" she said in Keene's direction, though the lessened emotion in her voice made it clear that she'd just been thinking out loud.

Keene followed her instruction to enter the empty source circle, carefully stepping over its border and watching her from within with those calculating grey-green eyes of his, a small shiver running down her spine as his cold gaze reminded her of the surrounding chill. Kamilla was for the most part resistant to cool temperatures as long as she continued to move about and didn't stay idle for too long, that combined with her focus on her work often lead the young woman to ignore the creeping cold of the Citadel until she was done with whatever she'd been doing. The shiver, however, was short lived as she buzzed back to life and retrieved her dagger from its place on the table, right beside her sewing kit.

Returning to her animation circles containing the soon-to-be golem and Keene, who was still standing silently and watching her, Kamilla mindlessly tilted and toyed with the weapon in her hands as she tried to visualise the steps she would need to take. "Any questions before we begin?...Also, I must ask that you don't step out of the circle unless I tell you to, it is the single most important rule for you as the source." the words came in her usual friendly tone, though there was definitely a noticeable difference, an underlying seriousness that accompanied them when her work was involved.

[Keene Ward]

The request was simplistic. Keene wasn't sure whether he was disappointed or further interested by the relatively primitive motions which Kamilla wanted him to perform. Thomas Cosa had explained that the artificial soul required a teacher, a source, from which it could learn. He hadn't been clear on what exactly it could learn, though Keene had understood the ambiguity to mean there were few limits as to what a golem could learn.

His brow lifted as he regarded the knife in Kamilla's hands. Blood. He wondered if animation was similar, in a sense, to spiritism in the use of one's djed through blood rather than a transmutation or a raw projection. When she asked if he had any further questions, Keene took a few moments before responding. He wanted to know why she desired so rudimentary an action as punching or bowing. Then, he wanted to inquire about the potential link between spiritism and animation, if all the world magics required blood or if it were only those two. There were other questions such as why a blanket or cloth or charcoal instead of ink or an engraving. Instead, however, Keene simply shook his head. The questions were more of a curious sort than a true seeking of greater knowledge.

Keene wanted to see how the animation process worked. He wanted to know how it was one crafted a soul, an astral body, and a persona. The basics of animation, the very basics, he understood. The application of those concepts, however, was something that he needed to see if he were to begin to understand. So, asking questions would only delay the process. Once she was done, Keene supposed he might ask questions, fully aware that for every question asked there would be the expectation of answers to be given either in exchange or at a future point. Nothing on Sahova was free. He was fully aware of that and prepared to pay the prices.

Standing steady in his circle, Keene awaited Kamilla's instructions, sinking into a slightly more ready stance. A punch was easy enough to through, and a bow was hardly something he needed to warm up for. Whatever her commands, Keene was, for the most part, her tool while in within the confines of the circle. Her wish was his command.

[Kamilla]

Keene simply responded to her question, yet another of his non-verbal answers, something that she'd come to expect from him after the few exchanges they'd already shared, however unsatisfying they may have been. She was learning, slowly getting used to and accepting the fact that Sahova was not and would not be anything like Zeltiva, she would have to find other sources of gratification since satisfying social interaction would clearly be a rare occurrence. Although she was curious as to why the young mage was reluctant to voice his questions, something that he surely had at least a few of, Kamilla allowed it to slide, completing the process accurately was more important at the moment.

Seeing him drop into what she assumed was a fighting stance or at least a more readied and flexible one, a slightly confused look appeared on Kamilla's face before her thoughts caught up to her and she was reminded that he did not have her knowledge of the animation process, a small smile playing at her lips, "There's no need for that just yet, we're still a long while from that stage." she began, gripping the dagger in her left hand and aiming its point at her index finger, "In fact, you might want to take a seat and make yourself comfortable for now." with that and a small wince, she pricked her finger with the sharp blade and kelt down besides the animation circles ready to begin.

With the small drop of crimson fluid gathering on her fingertip, Kamilla paused her progress for a moment to look up at Keene once more, "Like I said before, the animation process isn't amazing to watch since most of it takes place inside my mind, though I'm curious to see whether being part of it will allow yours entrance into my workspace." Those were her last words before she turned her finger over and allowed the drop of blood to fall from her finger.

The moment the drop of life fluid made contact with the border, the circle burst to life, roaring with unleashed energy at receiving her sacrifice. Although the effect of Kamilla's blood on the circle could not be sensed by any of the five senses, had anyone been watching from a distance they would simply see her kneeling beside a circle while Keene and a sheet were inside it, the power surrounding it was undeniable. It was a curious thing, while she could not see or hear its power or even feel it on her skin, it still whipped around her, her own djed feeling that of the circle, energy interacting with energy and therefore 'feeling' it on a plane of existence that was not physical.

Closing her eyes and feeling the energetic winds brush against the djed equivalent of her face, Kamilla took a deep breath and released it, clearing her mind so that she could visualise her workspace inside of it. It took her about a chime but she was definitely getting better at focusing on the link and merging her thoughts with the circle. Soon enough, within the link of her mind and the awakened circles, she could 'see' it and all its contents, the ethereal gray husk of her soon-to-be golem along with the glowing runes of her focus glyph in the destination circle and across from them, Keene's own ethereal djed form, featureless yet not shapeless as it flowed with the pale blue energy of the warden.

Kamilla did not waste anytime getting started, she was not sure whether Keene would be able to 'see' what she was 'seeing' but it made sense that since he was included in the process that he would be able to witness it, it may have required him to calm his mind in order to attune, but she was fairly certain(or hopeful) that it wouldn't turn out to be an uneventful experience for him, not if she had any hope of getting something in return. Kamilla had made the decision to avoid talking the initiate through the process step by step, he had asked to watch her in action and she was allowing him to do so, figuring instead that she would save her guidance for a time when he asked for it, if ever.

However, allowing him to watch the process without any knowledge of what was happening seemed quite pointless to her, so she would at least inform him of each step before she did it. "Step One: Creating the soulcore." she said, her voice gentle and loud enough for him to hear while remaining silent enough not to distract either of them from their concentration. If Keene had attuned himself with Kamilla and the circle, he would see her featureless lavender form which kneeled beside the glowing circles reach out on of its hands and pluck a tiny grain of pale blue energy from his own form and although she was not touching him in the real world he would certainly feel as if something small but meaningful had been taken from him.

With the grain of light between her perceived fingers, Kamilla would simply move it towards the edge of the circle where it quickly slid along the path of the connecting line and arrived in the destination circle. From there the tiny grain of his soul would be gently guided downwards and into the colourless hollow husk of the golem where she nurtured it for a few moments, its light flickering as the focus glyph roared and finally, the soulcore grew in brightness, a dim yet lively glow emanating from it... the soulcore was complete.

[Keene Ward]

Keene nodded at Kamilla's directing, sinking down to sit with legs tucked neatly beneath his frame, hands folded on his lap, and back straight. His eyes calmly watched the woman slide the blade across her skin, his assumption that blood would be used to perform the rite confirmed. She once more intimated that the process itself wouldn't be very interesting, and Keene found it odd she thought herself so knowing as to be able to predict the worthiness of his decisions for him. He simply returned her words with a blank stare, head tilting just slightly at the mention of her "workspace". He doubted she meant the physical area in which they were both present. The creation of a soul, then, he imagined to be an introspective art. Whether it could be perceived without the aid of the sensory magic of auristics or not remained to be seen, and Keene found he shared in Kamilla's interest.

When the process began, Keene felt it more than saw it. The circle around him seemed to pulse with the heart beat from which the blood that had been offered had been drawn from. His skin shivered, the magical force pressing upon him with invisible flurries, tugging at his own djed though not displacing it. It was an odd sensation, and Keene let his eyes close to cast his vision into darkness to better concentrate on the life around him. His breathing had reflexively increased in rate, and he calmed his lungs, drawing in steady and controlled breaths as he allowed himself to press back against the flow of djed around him, asserting his place without affecting the actual path the animator's magic chose to travel. The experience was far more than anything he had anticipated, and while the visual stimulation was certainly lacking, Keene's mind gathered the feelings, placing them into a neat little pocket of the relevant subject that was animation.

Kamilla spoke, and he nodded. His eyes remained lightly shut, breathing controlled and thoughts centered on the quake and rock of the djed around him. There was a moment of stillness as he felt a presence about him, warm and searching but delicate all the same. It was similar to how one might feel after waking from a dream but unable to remember the details. As the presence drew away and the rush of the djed around him fell back into place, Keene shifted in place, his own djed rearranging itself after the minor intrusion. His introspection didn't last long, however, as he felt the focus glyph trigger with a rush of invisible energy passing over him in a steady wave. It seemed the soulcore's creation had been successful.

In his blind state, Keene, sifted through the information he'd just been given. A part of him had been taken to create the core, thus the magic of animation was not a creation of "life" from nothing, rather an appropriation on a preexisting soul from which a new one was built upon it. It was a curious premise, one that Keene didn't quite understand. He knew of the soul as it was in the philosophical sense: the part of one's self that made one who one was, rather than the physical body which simply housed it. There were other theories, of course, some more logical while others more artistic, but the manner in which animation seemed to approach the soul was that it was as much a tool or an article of clothing as anything else. Had Keene been a deferent man of religion, he might have found it a bit demeaning to his humanity, but the god of storms had no such teachings that he knew of nor desired to learn.

His mind then moved to trace the steps still yet to be addressed: the creation of the persona and the instruction of the would be automaton. Unsure of what how Kamilla might create the personality or even how such a thing might be established, Keene focused on the waves of djed around him, feeling its movements in the darkness. He waited for any change that he might follow to better understand.