Solo Island of Undead

[Sayana]

Winter 4, 516 AV – The Citadel

The path to the Citadel was smooth, almost flawless. It felt oddly pristine but maybe it was for the sake of her wheeled companion. The metal creature was silent now and she wasn’t sure if it would speak even if she tried to engage it in small talk or ask it questions. Yes, it was definitely an ‘it’ but she still wasn’t sure what ‘it’ was capable of.

Nevertheless, the Eypharian kept her eyes out through the dank rain that pervaded the island. She hoped it wouldn’t end up being a routine sort of weather. She took careful steps in her warm black boots and kept her hood up for protection against the rain. Rain. It was water, was it not? Perhaps she could find a way to use reimancy to keep her protected from the rain? But the thought died suddenly as the massive doors to the citadel came into view.

The entrance was enormous. It reminded her of the grandeur of the Temple of the Black Sun. Yet it felt old, ancient. Like these were pillars that stood the test of time itself.

Then she spotted the first living person she had seen since arriving on the island. Tall, dressed neatly, wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was exiting the grand doorway with a beaming smile.

“Welcome. Visitors to Sahova? Let me take your cloak. Wouldn’t want to let you decay from all the dampness.”

Sayana did a double-take at the word ‘decay’, but the charming nuit had already distracted her enough to start removing her cloak. As her arms came into view, his eyes widened briefly in surprise, but a dazzling smile soon replaced it.

“An Eypharian from the south. How marvelous. Come in.” He commented and beckoned her inside. Sayana hadn’t really known what to expect from the people of this city but she was truly relieved to be speaking to someone who wasn’t metal. She was still rather cautious but the man seemed kind enough.

Compared to the docks, there were more people inside but it hardly amounted to a dozen or so. The charming man with the blue eyes began to follow up with some questions. “First time in the Citadel? It must be quite the sight. What is your name? How familiar with magic are you?”

“My name is Sayana,” she answered albeit hesitantly. “I am but a novice in the arts. But I do have a…”

“Excellent.”

Sayana had been trying to peer back to find where Clyde had gotten to, hoping that the mage was more familiar with this place, but the man had already interrupted and was leading her through the great halls of the Citadel. She was going to say that she already had a mentor in magic but it was clear that the man had other ideas in mind.

“Then of course you would be looking for a master to learn from. Let me take you to my lab. The name’s Gilldarey. Gilldarey Penwood.”

Credit: Shimoje

[Sayana]

Swiftly Gilldarey ushered her down a flight of stairs and into a small but comfortable looking library. Or at least comfortable to a typical person. To Sayana, the walls of books set her ill at ease and it was only the small comfort of an arm chair that managed to calm her heart beat, marginally.

“Ahh Pulsers. Not everyone sees the use of them in this city. Most think of them as a burden and that is why there are so few. Yet I can see hidden stores of talent and use.” Gilldarey spoke as he perused volumes of books along the shelves.

“Pulsers?” Sayana questioned skeptically. She still didn’t feel entirely safe here but she had her daggers conveniently at her hip. Her cloak however…

“Pulsers. Those with a heartbeat. Those that ‘pulse’ or so they say.” Gilldarey replied, hardly looking up from what he was doing. He had a collection of papers and quills with him now, which he laid out upon the desk in the middle of the room.

“That means you are… I see.” Sayana spoke as the answer dawned upon her. The nuit certainly didn’t look undead. He was very well preserved, clean, and sporting a refined outfit. But now that she had surmised his race, she could pick out the minute discrepancies.

“Good. Surprised but not surprising. Now I’d like you to stand up so I can take some measurements. Specifically on your arms. So please hold them out straight.”

Sayana frowned as she obliged. Her long red and black dress only had thin straps on her upper shoulders giving her substantial movement in her arms. The nuit jotted down various notes in the book he had open and seemed to be cross-checking the measurements with another list. Occasionally he asked her to bend her arms in certain ways, roll her shoulders back, and do other basic movements or exercises.

“You said you would be teaching magic?” She asked, trying to be subtle but also reminding him of his earlier preposition. “Yes yes. But I need to check your health and establish a base control before I begin any experimentation.”

“Your scars on your chest. Are they the result of something magical or mundane?” The question startled her. Not that he noticed them, but that the only options he gave were magical or ‘mundane’. It may not have been quite magical but it was far from mundane. “They were from a fight. A physical fight.” She answered, bending the truth a bit.

There was a scratch of a pen, then a follow up question. “And do you have any gnosis marks? Marks from the gods.” “None.”

It was at this point that she wondered why he needed all this information. And more importantly, why she was giving it so freely. If she wanted to learn magic, she could learn it from Clyde. But so far this man, this nuit was saying he’d teach her and only for a bit of information. Far less than what Clyde had asked for. Clyde had needed a grand oath before he revealed anything. Gilldarey also seemed well situated in Sahova. Or at least being the first nuit she had met…

“Almost done. Don’t look so concerned.” The nuit reassured as if noticing her unease and skepticism. “One last question. Is this your true form? Have you ever been something else?”

Puzzled, Sayana looked at her hands. “Of course this is my true form. And I haven’t… Wait no. I had an illusion put on me…”

“Illusions do not qualify. You were not physically manipulated. You would have only looked to be different.”

“Then no,” she responded gritting her teeth a little. Whether or not it had been merely an illusion it had certainly felt real, or at least others really acted as though it was real. Had it already been a year ago? The isolation and anger she had felt was like a scab never fully healed. So instead she chose to ignore it.

“Excellent Sayana. Now if you would please sit here, we can begin.”

Credit: Shimoje

[Sayana]

As the Eypharian settled herself in the chair once more, she spread her arms comfortably over the arm rests. Gilldarey pulled up another chair and brought forth a scroll with various artistic symbols printed all across it. It was certainly not the common language written down but there was something rather familiar about them.

“Place your hands here and then wait for my cue.”

“All of them?”

The nuit paused, realizing the ambiguity. “Just the two top ones. For now.”

As she placed her high hands on the scroll, she realized what was so familiar about the symbols. “If you’re trying to make me sign a grand oath, I’m not going to do it unless you tell me what it says. Exactly what it says.” Sayana spoke accusingly with a sharpness to her tongue.

“Oh, so you know about Grand Oaths? No, this is not a Grand Oath. But it is a form of glyphing. Though not even half as powerful as a Grand Oath.” Gilldarey replied smoothly. “But if you don’t want to do it, then you don’t have to become my apprentice.”

He had played his ace and was counting on her curiosity. He played well. Slowly she nodded. “Carry on.”

“Now you might feel a tingling sensation, or even something more akin to prickling.” The nuit spoke. He then followed up with a phrase in a foreign tongue. Sayana watched him cautiously still holding the parchment. After about half a chime, there was the strangest sensation in her arms.

It started with an itch. Something she could easily ignore if needed, but then it began to fester. The hairs on her arms stood up on end and she had to fight the urge to scratch with her other hands. There was a tingling, more like it was internal and suddenly she wanted to see what sort of magic was being worked upon her.

Trying to concentrate as her arms continued to prickle and fester was like trying to stay calm while one’s clothes were on fire. Not the easiest sort of multi-tasking. But by clearing her thoughts and using the pain as a focus point, she was able to conjure a canvas of black void with ripples of fire lighting it like veins. As she reached for her djed she managed to focus on the scroll and delve into it with her eyes.

The aura of the scroll danced before her. It seemed bigger for just a piece of parchment, except it was all concentrated near her hands and it was thin near the edges of the page. The swirling colours seemed to be interacting with her hands somehow and…

Sayana let out a yelp as actual pain was felt and it completely destroyed her concentration. When she quickly looked back at her arms, the auras were gone. However, in its place were half a dozen prickly thorns emerging from her skin. She gasped sharply, as more began to protrude upwards. Her skin had reddened around each magically induced thorn and she was gritting her teeth with discomfort of the thorns stabbing through her flesh.

Soon there were more than a hundred all over her arms. Except it was only happening to her high arms, not the rest of them. Probably just as well. The nuit walked around her taking notes and she resisted the urge to spit on him, especially when she could feel the thorns coming in on the underside of her arms.

“Very good. Now how does it feel?” Gilldarey asked in a drawl.

“Like I’m a petching pincushion! How would you expect it to feel? A mere ‘tingling’ is an understatement.” She retorted sharply.

She had endured much worse, but it was not the sort of afternoon entertainment she would want to try again.

“It hurts? It’s not supposed to. Maybe you’re just extra sensitive or not used to morphing.” The nuit answered as if clearly it was not his fault. Idly he scanned through another scroll with similar glyphs upon it. With a quill he began marking it up and adding new glyphs. After several chimes of silence he looked up. “It’ll be about half a bell before it fades. Then we can try again with another scroll.”

Credit: Shimoje

[Sayana]

Time ticked by slower than a snail. With a mix of horror and curiosity, Sayana began examining the needle-like quills she now possessed. Her other hands touched them delicately and as she rotated her arms, the thorns moved as one. They were part of her, truly part of her, but they were temporary. Or so the nuit said. The impressive part was that they didn’t go all the way through, they just had popped up in random and sporadic locations. Every time she applied pressure or pushed and pulled at them, it became more and more clear that they were actually a part of her.

After what felt like hours, the thorns slowly began to sink back into her flesh. The actual change was probably more disturbing than the end product but at last she seemed to return to normal.

“There is a certain flexibility to the body. Even if I were to morph you one way, the body naturally wants to return to its original form.” Gilldarey explained as if it were common place knowledge.

“Now I’d like you to put all your hands on this next scroll.”

There was a certain wariness that Sayana now possessed, knowing the likelihood that something uncomfortable was going to happen. Still, she hesitantly obliged. The nuit spoke another phrase in an unknown language and soon enough she felt the strange tingling sensation on her arms. This time it was less painful, but still horribly unnerving. She watched with wide eyes as feathers began to protrude. They too felt prickly and itchy but not the sharp pain she had experienced earlier.

As the morphing came to its conclusion, the feathers seemed to cover all her arms. It was verging upon humiliation having random animal parts applied to her. Gilldarey took more notes as he critically inspected her arms. In a low voice he muttered, “All six arms of test subject produced results of the morph. Full coverage not gained. Feathers are sparse.”

Test subject? Wasn’t she supposed to become his apprentice? Or was this some cruel sort of initiation?

“Mister… Penwood. Do you plan to initiate me into this magic tonight?” Sayana asked trying to keep her voice even and calm. She looked ridiculous with all the feathers covering her arms and she tried to keep some ounce of dignity.

“Tonight? Oh no. There is no rush. When I am ready I will initiate you. I still need to see how you respond to various stimulus. There are a dozen or so control tests I need results on, as well as basic motion, transfer of mass…”

“Excuse me Mister Penwood.” Sayana interrupted. “Would it be possible to wait until morning before continuing your… experiments? I still don’t know where I am to sleep, and where to store my belongings, not to mention my horse.”

“Oh. I suppose.” He replied as though he had never even considered that it might be late. “You may be dismissed for the night. But you’ll return first thing in the morning? I have an awful lot to cover.”

“Yes… I’ll return. Once I get a good night’s sleep.” As she finished speaking, she felt a growl in her stomach. That too. She hadn’t eaten in how long?

Just as she was about to leave his lab, the nuit called out. “Sayana, if you require um, pulser supplies, there is a woman named Riyanna who knows about that. Just tell her that you are under Gilldarey’s charge. My latest project.”

The Eypharian wasn’t sure what to think at this point. But being in a new city, she didn’t want to upset the waters… just yet. Not until she knew the place better. Nevertheless, she made her leave and went to scope out some basic necessities.

Still rather cautious, Sayana chose to avoid meeting this ‘Riyanna’, and instead had to deal with the weird metal beings to find out that her new living quarters were as small as a cupboard. It was well into the night before she got the rest of her belongings in check, with her horse tied up outside the Citadel in a rather inadequate location where the roof hung over just a bit. It would have to do for the first night until she found a better place. More and more she was getting the sense that the city was not built for the needs of the living. Person, animal, or otherwise.

Exhausted, she fell asleep quickly despite the cramped condition of her closet. Even as she slept, all around the stone city continued its activity. The ancient city of magic that never slept.

Credit: Shimoje

[Languish]

Your grades have been summoned
________________

Sayana

■ Auristics +1
■ Endurance +2

Lores

Lore of Grand Oaths: A Type of Glyphing
Lore of Glyphing: Can Be Used to Morph
Lore of Glyphing: Touching the Scroll Matters
Lore of Gildarey Penwood: Inviting Nuit
Lore of Nuit: In No Rush
Lore of Sahova: Not Built for the Living
Lore of Sahova: City of Ancient Magic
Lore of Sahova: Inhabited by Metal Beings
Lore of Morphing: Can Be Painful
Lore of Morphing: Feels Real
Lore of Morphing: Body Wants to Return to Original Form
Lore of Magic: Illusions Aren't a Physical Change
Location: The Quarters

Comments:

Since there weren't many skill points, I jam-packed this with Lores. Enjoy!

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