Sharing Mysteries [Sama'el]

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 1st, 2011, 7:35 pm

Timestamp: Day 5th of Spring, AV 511

Eldon stared out over the horizon for a long moment. His hand was pressed against his forehead, shielding his eyes from the shining sun. He was staring off in the direction where Sama'el had found him, the direction where his father had fallen. Eldon inhaled slowly, exhaled slowly. Eldon was nervous, ready, but nervous. He could only imagine how Sama'el felt. It had been so long since Eldon had been initiated. He was very young, many people told his father that Eldon would die if he brought him into reimancy at such an age, but the Sunkiss were harder than that. His father knew it, Eldon knew it. Sama'el, his cousin, his blood, he knew that he wasn't Sunkiss in name, but he was still related by blood. They shared ancestors, the ones that blessed them with their strong blood. Even if most of them were slain, leaving Sam alone to carry the burden, he still had their blood.

Eldon crouched to the ground, kneeling next to the large canine that sat there, staring up at him, panting with that large rolling tongue sagging, dripping onto the dry earth below. He scratched the dog viciously behind the ear, a rough but comforting sort of affection. The dog would shift from breathing its horrid breath into Eldon's face, to licking at his chest, the wounds that had healed up, but were now scarred. It was strange how easily one could see what had attacked him. His bare chest had five distinct marks, claws, on either ribcage. He would peer down at his chest, just to stare at what the Zith had done to him. It pissed him off, but that's what he wanted, to be angered, further and further until all his rage was forced down the Zith's throat in one final act of glory.

And it would be glorious.

"Good dog Morse. Watch." Eldon whispered his command to the canine, a command that the four dogs of Eldon all knew. They were trained before he bought them, but they were also told by their previous master that Eldon was now the one they were to listen to. They trusted him, initially because they were commanded to, but over the past several days, it was because he showed them that they were friends, they were even family now. Eldon stood up again, slowly as his chest still ached with a subtle pain. He shouldn't be doing this, not until he was entirely healed, but he was sick of lying around, sick of waiting, sick of being needlessly cautious. He had to man up at some time, and he was convinced it was now time.

Eldon turned around slowly, his gaze dropped from the sky to Sam's eyes. Eldon smiled a moment, then broke away from it. He felt different, different from when his father was alive, different from when his younger cousin carried him, dying, from the plains, different even from a few days ago while he lie in bed recovering. If he didn't have at least a shred of sense still within him, he might have charged off right away to find the Zith all by himself. "How are you feeling today?" Eldon smiled again, asking the question as if it was Sam that had been hurt and rescued rather than the other way around. Eldon was hurting, a little, but still felt much better, better than he had in years in fact.

"I want you to know that my father would not permit me to do this if he were here still. I would tell me I'm not yet ready, maybe even that you aren't. But we know better. We're hardly children anymore." Eldon's eyes moved from Sam to the vicinity of the area. All four of his dogs were circling the area, sniffing the air, watching the horizon. Even Vanah walked around, alert. They weren't in Endrykas, not today. They weren't even immediately near it. It would have been safer, perhaps, to be close to help, but Eldon knew he needed to concentrate, he couldn't afford to have interruptions, not even an unannounced whisper to invade his thoughts. Sama'el would be worse off if something went wrong, but this way he was more likely to not experience something ill.

Of course, it was going to hurt like petching death itself regardless. Eldon already knew he was going to hear screams of pain from his cousin, he had done his best to prepare himself for it. Once they began, they would have to carry through.

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on March 1st, 2011, 9:20 pm

Sama'el had half expected Eldon to change his mind; he had always been so adamant that he was not skilled enough to initiate Sama'el. His father would have initiated him, he supposed, but they had decided that Eldon should do it, another bond forged between them. Even though Sama'el had declined being adopted into the Sunkiss pavilion, he wanted his pavilion, when he had one, to be closely allied with his cousin's.

He had attempted to lighten Eldon's mood, telling him the scars made him look like a warrior, but he wasn't sure the clouds would ever truly lift until Eldon had gotten some peace from vengeance. And so he was behind this plan, because he felt it would give him another tool with which to help and protect Eldon in that quest. That Sama'el would be there was without question.

The younger Drykas was shirtless too, enjoying the springtime sun upon his skin after so many days of winter cold. It wasn't exactly summer, but it felt like that by comparison.

"A little nervous," he admitted, "but I have faith in you. Uncle took risks too, initiating you when you were young. I survived things when I was too young for them... You can do it, and I will bear the pain that comes. You were brave when I held you down and Denen cleaned your wounds. How can I be but strong with such an example?"

He grinned. No matter what happened, no matter how often Sama'el stepped up to prove himself a leader, albeit a young and untried one, he would always look up to Eldon in many ways, and proving his bravery was one such way, important to him like few other things were.

"Just punch me and tell me to stop crying like a little girl with a skinned knee if I get too loud."

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 2nd, 2011, 12:13 am

Eldon nodded slowly. They both were. Nervous, anxious, worried, but certain that this had to be done. If Sama'el was to not only become head of his pavilion, back make it a strong and worthy one, like it was before, he would need more than just Eldon's respect, despite having more respect than he knew knew what to do with. Reimancy would make him more Sapphire and less of whatever he was considered. Perhaps an adopted Drykas? His was a rare case, and though there were none that were upset by his return, there were many that wouldn't call him great just because he lived to return. Being Stormwatch, that made him great. Becoming a powerful Ankal, that would make him greater. Eldon smiled. He was pleased to know his cousin was as nervous as he. If he proved to be otherwise, Eldon would wonder if he truly knew what he was to experience.

Eldon closed the gap in between he and his cousin. His stride were short and slow, his hand was open, outstretched, and palm facing the ground. Djed was flowing from the palm to the ground. There was two purposes for Eldon to do this. The first, and primary reason, was to prove to Sama'el that he was now ready to do that which up until now he wasn't. The energy moved to the ground in two distinguished circular pools of roughly the same size, which seemed almost to vanish as the fell beneath the surface. Eldon inhaled slowly, held his breath, and jerked his hand upward, past his head, in one swift motion, exhaling sharply through his teeth as he did so. The visual with his hand was not necessary, but it assisted him. From the pools erected small circular stone platforms. They were not high, they were no very wide, but they were sturdy, strong, stone. Seats, the second reason he performed this small act. He nodded slowly as he sat on one.

"Does your family know where you are right now? I'm not going to lie to brother. This is serious, this is dangerous, you have to be strong or you will die. You've survived worse, but you can't pass this off as something easy. You need to embrace it, but fight it. How are Dymphna and Denen?" Eldon asked the casual word, though not in a casual manner. He had certain requirements that he had never explained to Sama'el. If he was not on good terms with those he might leave behind, he would refuse. Maybe it would mean nothing to Sam, since if something very bad was to happen he would be the one to pass away. To those that remained, they would be torn alive by guilt, having their loved one parted from them without a chance of reconciliation. If Sama'el wasn't Drykas or a loner, he would have no problems with this.

"Scream all you want. If you die, I'll find you when you reincarnate and hit you so hard you'll be reborn dizzy next time. Did you bring a knife?"

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on March 2nd, 2011, 12:41 am

Sama'el couldn't help but grin at the impressive new facet of his cousin's power. He vowed that he would work harder than hard to master his first and second elements before Eldon reached his third in the hopes that they could goad each other into ever greater achievement. He sat down across from his cousin, leaning back on his hands until it became clear that it was time for business to commence. Considering Eldon's words, he smiled gravely and nodded.

"I am strong, brother. You will see. I guard the Sea of Grass and maintain the Drykas Web. I am a Drykas, a Watchman, a Web Mage. I will face this challenge with courage and will, and you will not be sorry for helping me.

"Dymphna and Denen are aware of the danger, and stand by me in all things. If I come home injured, they will fix me and shame me into doing better next time. But they are two more reasons for me to embrace and fight this new mystery." And if you managed as a boy, I can manage now, he wanted to say, but didn't.

Instead of answering, he just grinned and pulled out his hunting knife, which he had sharpened for the occasion, offering it hilt first to Eldon. There was no truer show of trust than that, handing a man who meant to cut one a knife, leaving oneself open to it.

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 2nd, 2011, 4:10 am

Eldon took a hold of the knife, lifting it harmlessly from Sama'el's palm. He looked at it, closely, rotating the blade as if he were examining some creature never before seen before. "I have a few demands to make before we begin." Eldon lowered the knife as he peered into Sama'el's eyes. Whatever humor had existed before, it parted from him now. "I want you to be disciplined. Once we are through here and your wounds are bandaged (he intentionally avoided the word 'healed'), your mind is healed, and your body recovered, you work with me, or someone else that has experience in this. Overgiving is very serious, I've nearly killed myself many times by thinking I could do more or be better than I could or was. If you do not promise me right now that I am required to observe you while you are getting a grasp of your new power, then I refuse you initiate you. Second, and I know this is not a problem, but you will not use this gift without care or respect. The initiation is dangerous, but a careless user is deadly to himself and all around him. Third, you listen to my voice at all times, until you are dead. I don't care who, or what's, voice you hear telling you to push harder, to do more. If I say stop, you stop. Lastly, never lie to me." The fourth and final command was possibly the most obscure. He never suspected Sam to lie to him, but he intentionally left it open. It wasn't about 'reimancy' or 'overgiving', but it was just a promise not to lie to Eldon, ever, about anything.

"I know you are strong. Stronger than me even, but you must understand that you will become vulnerable. It is part of accepting this gift. You become weak so you can become stronger. It's how everything works, my scars, your loss. The initiation is no different. I don't doubt your strong sense of survival, but I am selfish, concerned because you are one of the few I have left. I will not lose you so easily to arrogance or ignorance." Eldon had never known himself to be big into speaking, but everything he said felt so much like his father's voice powering through him. His father was strong in body and words, the latter was something that Eldon seemed to lack often. Perhaps no more.

Eldon nodded as he patted Sam on the shoulder. "Good. Make sure you survive for them. They would be lost without you."

Eldon took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Eldon had often prayed, to Makutsi, to Zulrav, to Caiyha, to Rak'keli. Short prayers offered to all of them, but today it was not to the four he followed, but to Rak'keli alone. 'My Goddess. I beg of you. Watch over my cousin as you always have. Keep him safe, keep him healthy, keep him strong, keep him alive. I ask you do not allow his life to fade, his eyes to close forever, nor his body to grow cold. I ask that you would have mercy on those that love him, and keep them safe by protecting him. I ask you of this, because I trust you alone to do this. You have my love, my thanks, my faith.' Eldon lifted his head again, his eyes once more drinking the daylight that surrounded them.

"Hold out your hands." It was time.

oocJust so you know, Vinnie says he is going to have to guide the initiation since it's so important. He may be invading the thread at any time.

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on March 3rd, 2011, 1:13 am

When Eldon got serious, Sama'el quickly followed suit. There was an easy grace and camaraderie between them, but it was built on childish hero-worship that was slowly transmuting into healthy respect. The world had demanded a great deal from both of them, and they had paid in blood and loss. With each condition, he nodded. Once to submit to supervision until he was more or less in control of himself and the new power; twice for care and respect, as he treated Webbing, as he treated all his responsibilities as a Drykas and as a man, young or not; thrice for listening to Eldon, which he would do anyway, especially with this elemental magic, where he imagined Eldon would always hold the edge. He could not promise that he would always back off, because he would drain himself to a dead husk to preserve Eldon's life, but he would always listen.

At the last condition, he hesitated for just a moment, a look of hurt crossing his open features before it occurred to him to hide it. Little boys had hurt feelings. Men bore such things stoically. Though he did wish Eldon knew that he would never, could never, lie to him. He nodded for the fourth time, knowing he was about to seal the compact with his own blood.

"I so swear."

As Eldon continued, he forgot his hurt and smiled. It seemed to be a sad reality that men did not step into their full potential until their fathers were gone, leaving those large shoes to fill and an absence where used to dwell that faith in the man who would pull you out of the water, back from the fire, up from the ground to set you on your feet and assure you that everything was going to be all right in the end.

Eldon was growing up. They both were.

As Eldon prayed, Sama'el did too: to Semele, Zulrav, Makutsi, Laviku, and Ivak, giving preemptive thanks for whichever element was granted him to wield and know on a deeper level; to Eyris for the wisdom to use the mysteries wisely; to Viratas that the blood he spilled would be accepted; to many gods, large and small, for the gifts they had given, both those he recognized and those he did not, and for their continued goodwill.

When Eldon asked, Sama'el looked up and unblinking, unhesitating, offered up his palms, side-by-side to hold a small violence that would open him up to great pain and the seeds of great power.

"I am ready," he said.

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 13th, 2011, 1:29 am

Eldon ran his thumb across the palm of Sama'el's left hand. Once, twice, three times, as if he was drawing some imaginary shape or tracing the wrinkled lines across the skin. Eldon, however, was not merely brushing his finger to touch his cousin. He was searching. He shook his head slowly as he moved his thumb to the other hand, again he dragged it slowly across those rough hands. Three times, and shook his head. The palms would not work for the incision. He wasn't feeling a particularly strong vibe, no significant pull of Djed. Eldon lifted the knife to his mouth, taking the blade in between his teeth. Eldon's hand moved to Sam's arm, turning it around so that the softer, hairless underside was exposed, then for the third time Eldon ran his thumb across Sam's flesh. This series, however, gave a small sparkle to Eldon's gaze. His lips curled upward into a faint smile, despite his teeth clenching tightly on the blade. He tapped Sama'el's arm, roughly the midpoint between elbow and wrist. "That's it."

Eldon held Sam's arm by the wrist as he took the blade from between his teeth and ran it across the cloth of his pants. "Don't move, Sama'el. By the gods, I'm not as skill at sealing wounds as I am making them." Eldon nodded as he placed the tip of the blade where he had prodded the skin on Sam's arm. It would be so easy to kill his cousin, a slip, a sneeze or cough, a severed artery, a shake in his palm, and Sama'el could be lost. Slowly, Eldon began to make the mark, the knife tore the skin with an odd finesse. It was almost beautiful how easily, how perfect the skin moved from itself with just a little help. The blood, however, was not quite an awesome sight. It would be the constant reminder that what he was going to do, was as dangerous as hunting any size of monster in the plains. The cut wasn't tremendous, but it was more than any person would be comfortable with. Not deep, but roughly two inches long. Now... the other arm.

Eldon moved a little faster this time, taking the arm, holding it underside up, and made a slow, careful, and dangerous incision. He didn't think Sam would die from this, the blood, sure it flowed, but it wasn't lethal, it was just a small opening that Eldon needed for the great transfer. Eldon had explained it already, even his dad (rest in peace) probably mentioned the process to Sam once or twice, Sam should have known this was coming.

Eldon placed the knife on the ground as he leaned forward. He took each of Sam's hand in his own, kissed the backs of his palms, then moved his hands to the new cuts he brought upon his cousin. The blood was warm, already smearing across his own hands, as if Sam's own life was clinging to him. As if to reinstate just how important Eldon's role was in all of this. Eldon inhaled, then exhaled, slowly, deep. It was time.

Exhaling again, but this time it was not oxygen. Sam would be able to see it. The faint green gaseous substance pouring out from Eldon's lips, from inside him. It was the Djed changed to Res, the substance, the basic material of Reimancy. "Open your mouth Sama'el. Breathe it with your nose. Do not fight this, no matter how nauseous you become. Accept the pains it'll bring, the Djed will become yours, will become you." Eldon continued to exhale the res as it swam through the air, fighting the breeze with ease, and into Sam's mouth, his nose. Even Eldon's hands were pumping res directly into his newly acquired wounds. He knew it, any minutes now, Sam was going to experience what he had so many years ago. Shaking, agony, dry heaving, an urge to quit, but the urge to stick it out as well. Eldon felt his eyes aching, as if they were beginning to dry quickly. He knew what this meant, he was entering the mild stages of Overgiving already. To pump so much of his own Djed (as res) into his cousin was taxing, he was losing a good deal more than he was typically used to using. Still, he had to focus, fight the side effects. Aching eyes wouldn't even last until tomorrow, Sama'el, on the other hand, had to.

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on March 13th, 2011, 7:23 am

There was a faint thrill of worry when Eldon didn't seem to find what he was looking for in Sama'el's palms, as if some fortuneteller had found dire news, or a powerful line missing entirely. Of course he trusted his cousin implicitly, and he supposed it was better to have a cut on the arm than in the smaller, more delicate hand where it could reduce his manual dexterity if improperly done, but this looked something more akin to suicide even if a true suicide would cut up the arm rather than across it.

Eldon's probing fingers traveled up from his hand, crossing the glyph for dead Hasieran and the broken manacle around his wrist along the new growth toward the glyph for Dohaina and the band of knotwork just below his elbow. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of his windmarks cut by a knife, but he knew they would heal into barely visible, silvery scars after Eldon made them on his marked arm and his naked arm.

After holding still for the ritual lacerations, he bowed his head respectfully while watching what Eldon was doing. Surely someday it would fall to him to pass this on to another young Drykas.

He opened his mouth as bidden and breathed in the green gas that Eldon exuded, thinking of it as pure magic that would change things inside him, unlock things. That first inhalation caused a knee jerk reaction akin to what happens when a person inhales water, but he had been focusing on his breathing so much when meditating for Webbing purposes that he managed to force himself to breathe the alien stuff. But it wasn't alien, really. It was Eldon, and a gift.

Still, it felt strange in his mouth and sinuses, in his throat, in his lungs. It bit into his arms where he bled minimally, digging into his wounds and sending a tingling into his veins. It didn't feel so bad, more strange than painful, but as soon as he came to that conclusion, his stomach began to clench up, his muscles tense and shake, and the rest of him to burn...

His eyes went wide, locked on Eldon's as if the shared gaze were a lifeline to get him through this sudden trial.

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 24th, 2011, 1:44 am

It had begun. Sam seemed resilient at first, almost overly confident as he first took in the substance. Res, it was foreign to Sama'el, yet native in Eldon. This event was meant to change that entirely. In a way, they could even be considered closer brothers as they already were, and that was difficult. Eldon stopped exhaling the gaseous green surreal res as his cousin changed, he was trembling, trying to vomit it seemed. It was natural, this sort of thing always happened to the one initiated. Sam's eyes went wide, and Eldon realized one large problem with his confidence. He had forgotten how terrified the initiate looked when they were being changed. Kashik, and now Sama'el. Eldon felt nauseous, certainly not like Sama'el did, for certain, but ill none-the-less.

Eldon forced himself to stay calm, his eyes were forced to fight against the shock and temptation to expand with worry. He sat there, firm as a rock, staring, no. Eldon was glaring at Sama'el, almost with a angry sort of expression. Sama'el and Eldon had a game they played, whether Sam realized it or not. They always wanted the other to be proud of them. Eldon knew that for himself, it pissed him off to consider Sam being disappointed in him, which drove him harder, fighting harder, trying harder to be perfect. Sam was like him, Sam was his blood, he probably felt the same. "The res is working its way through your veins, through your body. Try not to clench, try not to tense up. The quicker it is allowed to move, the quicker it can settle in you, and I can draw it back." Eldon continued to watch, trying to make Sam feel like he could do better, despite there being little to nothing he could actually do to make that happen. It was just a matter of time, hopefully not long, before this torture could end.

by **Sama'el Sunsinger** on March 25th, 2011, 2:29 am

Sama'el stared at Eldon, transfixed by pain and his cousin's intense gaze. His mouth opened to moan, but he snapped it shut, tight-lipped against any res escaping. He certainly didn't want to have to go through this more than once. But he had to breathe, and so he continued to control his breathing as best he could; in through the nose, out through the mouth. He tried to distance himself from the pain, from his body, almost as he distanced himself literally from his body when walking the Web.

It helped to relax, as Eldon advised him, and he went into a vague half-trance, listening to his cousin's voice and observing the pain as if it belonged to someone else. He still felt it, but it was easier to ride the swell and ebb of it this way. At the same time, a tingling emanated from his lungs and along his veins and eventually, everywhere within his body as Eldon's res permeated him. He imagined the real pain would come when the res was called away from within his own body, unused to giving up its djed.

He managed a serene smile, proud that he was able to master the pain, at least for now. Eldon had to know that his cousin was strong so he could trust him to aid him when the time came for vengeance against the Zith who killed his father and his Strider.