Playing in the Dirt (Carnasch, Aydyn)

[Lichen]

 

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Brightening 9 of Imperos

Era II of the Celestine Mandate
Era XIV Post Fractum

[Carnasch]

Carnasch arrived early on the morning that the elf Lehan had instructed, to the Acumin Druid Grove, because he wanted to have the whole day a head to work on his 'unbinding' and Lehan had put it. He didn't know what that meant of course, but it was supposed to take a while, and from the terms Lehan had used, painful.

It would be worth, he thought to himself as he walked up the main street (and generally only street that was worthy of that name) towards the very uncanny building that was his destination. He was his ussual grim faced self as his long strides carried him quickly forward. His mind battled with his emotions to keep control of them, he felt nervous, something that did not often happen unless he was around lots of people.

While he was in a town, there very few people out of thier homes. This was die mostly to the fact that it was so early in the morning and there was almost no light coming from the suns. If he had been able to sleep last night, he wouldn't have been here so early, because he could sleep as long as he wanted, and he ussually wanted to sleep until it was full light out, or about nine in the morning.

[Aydyn Blair]

Lehan lifted an arm and shift aside the vines that shrouded the doorway from which he emerged, his young features smoothing into a faint, welcome smile as he spotted the young man coming along the paths towards the building. Lehan was looking relaxed, at ease with his surroundings, that brightening, his dark green robes draped casually about his thin, elvish frame as he strode forward to greet his new student. His hands clasped devoutly in front of him, he sketched a very faint, barely noticeable bow towards the youth. It was a polite gesture, not differential and he rose from it with a slight rise to his brows, accenting the widow's peak above his angular features.

"Vedui, Carnasch," the elf greeted him, his voice smooth and earthy, almost honey-like in its texture. "I will assume that you have not changed your mind about our course of action. Your appearance here is testament enough for that." He stepped aside and gestured back towards the dwelling he had just exited. "Come, while I favor the outdoors for learning, the Unbinding process is more suited to the rest and quiet of a shelter. There you can stretch yourself out and get comfortable without worrying about the bump of roots in your rump and back."

He led Carnasch into the dwelling, a small place and almost cramped. It was naturally made, although its growth had been encouraged by the Druids. Vines, tree limbs, and solid earth made up its walls and any furniture within was similarly designed. "Please, have a seat." He gestured towards one of the vine and wood chairs that were cushioned with linen cushions. "I have prepared a tea for you. Some folk have difficulty achieving any sort of relaxed or meditative state without it. While you are not working towards a spell just yet, it might be best for you to drink some. It will help relax you for the Unbinding."

He poured some tea into a cup and handed it over to Carnasch. The stuff had a faintly bitter taste, but he was offered no sugar or milk with which to dilute it. "Tell me, what do you know about Unbinding?"

[Carnasch]

Carnasch followed quickly, but with his ussual indifference to polite greetings, and when he entered Lehan's home, he felt as though he should be stupping, that he was to tall. His massive form only made the cramped atmosphere worse, and he was worried that the seat he had been offered would break if he sat in it.

He still hadn't sat when Lehan handed him the tea, and he sniffed it curiously before he tasted it. It was hot, and burned his tongue, but he managed not to spill, drop the cup, or accidently crush it in his hand. These had all been previous expiriences, he always burnt his tongue when he drank tea, but his reaction to the burns were improving.

He gingerly sat in the seat and was surprised that it didn't snap beneath him, but he relaxed further into it when it didn't and found it quite comfortable, if a bit small. He drank more of his tea and tried to relax, while answering Lehan's question, "I only know that it must take place, not what it is. I knew a man who had been unbound, and could manipulate the elements, but he was not powerful enough to unbind me himself. I'm not sure he would have if he had been able."

The tea must have been working, because he ussually found it very hard to talk about his old friend with anyone, but he didn't seem to have this problem with Lehan.

[Aydyn Blair]

Lehan sat down, forgoing the use of the tea himself, and folded his hands onto his stomach as he regarded the younger man in front of him. A small flit of a smile appeared on the elf's face as he listened. "That speaks much to your friend's caution, for the Unbinding process can be uncomfortable, particularly if the one performing that Unbinding is unused to executing it." He seemed comfortable in these tree-formed seats, but then he had spent eras in them. Why wouldn't he be?

"Unbinding is something can be performed by an Adept, if need be, but very rarely do Adepts actually use this technique. You see, Unbinding requires that the Mage reach forward and break the barrier that holds back the person from reaching the Astral Plane. A Master--or Archmage, as it were--is far more capable of handling this. Far more capable of making sure that something does not go wrong. People have been known to die, if it is handled poorly, which is why this is usually done by Masters rather than Adepts, though they certainly could Unbind someone, if they wished."

That explained, Lehan sat forward on his chair, at the edge. "You have nothing to worry about while you are in my keeping, Carnasch. I have done this many times before and have yet to lose a student. At the very worst, you will wake up realizing you have dreamt and you have slumbered, but death? I mention it only to impress upon you the troubles of Unbinding should someone not fully in their own attempt what I am about to do." He smiled a thin, vaguely comforting smile and gestured dismissively. "But I think you are ready now for the Unbinding. I want you to relax in the chair. Be aware that you will doubtlessly experience some sort of dream. They are not uncommon and are often of some significance to the dreamer. A past event, perhaps, some symbol of the future, maybe. It is up to you how you perceive it. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

ooc: If he has no questions, feel free to assume that Lehan Unbinds Carnash--you can have your dream, which can be anything you want! Small, large, simple, intricate--up to you

[Carnasch]

Carnasch leaned back in the chair and set his tea on the table. He wiggled low enough in the chair that he could lean his head on the top of the back rest, hands folded across his stomach, and long legs stretched out. As he closed his eyes to relax, a thought came to him. "Was your unbinding hard on you?" His head came off the back of the chair as he looked at Lehan closely to hear what he said.
What ever the answer, after Lehan answered him, he leaned his head all the way back again, closed his eyes, and said, "I'm ready."

Carnasch dreamt troubled dreams, fighting or running from beasts of the forests, or men. His physical body twitched every so often as the unbinding continued, but he slept on. His subconsuous fought with itself over and over for eternity in an instant, but in the next he dreamt of peace and contentment, the only image from reality was that of Phylira, his new found lover. Some of the things he dreamt of her were typical of any male. Others were more romantic, or more mature; the possibilities of the future.

Each dream was different, and all seemed to go on for a lifetime, but were over in instants, time was scewed and without meaning. When Carnasch woke, he could not remember any of it, except in confused glyphs, frozen scenes that vanished as soon as they appeared.

[Aydyn Blair]

"My Unbinding was...an interesting experience," the Master Druid responded with a faint smile. It was hardly an answer at all and something of an evasion for the truth behind the vague response. "Unbindings can be a very personal experience and you'll excuse me if I don't wish to talk about it, I hope? But...I will tell you that it was exerting and terrifying and yet wonderful all the same."

As the Unbinding process began, Carnasch found himself assaulted by a series of Dreams. Most of these remained vivid to those who received them as the layers that restricted him from accessing the Astal Plane were striped away to nothing. When the young man did awake, he felt a bit tired and dazed, but otherwise completely whole.

Lehan was sitting there calmly with his back slightly turned, reading an old tome as he sipped at a cup of tea, the scent of peppermint light in the air. He turned slightly as if sensing his pupil had awoken. "Welcome back," he greeted him with a slight twist of amusement on his mouth. "How are you feeling? If you're up to it, we can continue. If not, perhaps it might be best to wait until tomorrow to pursue the fine use of the arcane."

[Carnasch]

Carnasch made a small snort of a laugh at Lehan's suggestion of waiting till tomorrow. He felt fine, just tired, and the dazed feeling was already wearing off. He said enthusiastically, "I am fine to continue today if that is alright, I'v been in far worse conditions." He straightened himself in his chair, and took a deep breath, "It is different, isn't it?"

The peppermint smelled good, if a little sharp. But it was the natural parts of the house, the ones that were still alive at least (which was most of it only the silverware and a few such objects wern't), that felt different, more there. It was like there had been someone always in the background, completely silent, but had now moved up so that they were in front of him, screaming for his attention, though just as silent as before.

He looked around the small house again, this time with a slightly bewildered look in his eyes, though the rest of his face remained calm. Even Lehan felt different, though not as drastically as the plants. He couldn't see anything different about the branches that made up the hut, or the table, or the chair Lehan sat on, but it was different. Eventually a small smile appeared on his face; he liked the new feeling.

[Aydyn Blair]

Lehan nodded slightly at his student's reassurance that he was fine and could, indeed, continue. "Very well, then. We'll start at the most basic of steps and work from there, shall we?" He smiled faintly, relaxing back against his chair with a sip of his tea. "Now, just a suggestion--if you feel at all like you need to rest or take a break, please let me know. While I am incredibly away of your own limitations, sometimes I might forget myself."

He set his tea aside and shifted himself so that he sat near the edge of his chair, poised and ready to begin...well...a lecture. "What I want you to do know is relax. Strip away all the outside influences you feel bearing down at you, let go of your thoughts, your senses, and just submerge yourself. Meditate. In Meditating, a mage can achieve Clara, a heightened sense of awareness that will reveal to you the different energies that are around you. Magic...is in everything. All that you see around you contains energy that we call Ara. We have magic inside of ourselves. That is your own personal Vis. We create spells by combining what is outside of us with what is inside of us. There, of course, more to the process than that, but that is the basic gist of it for the moment."

He smiled reassuringly. "We will get to that once you have experienced Clara for yourself. Don't be disheartened for, as an initiate, it can take a little while to relax. The tea I gave you earlier should help you remain loose and comfortable, help you towards achieving what you need to."

Lehan reclined again with his tea and simply gestured for his student to begin, if he wished to. As an initiate, Clara could take anywhere from five to ten minutes to achieve. Noises and movements could be distracting. This was part of the reason why they were beginning their lessons inside--only Lehan moved and only Lehan could provide the distractions. Unless that blasted bird showed up, of course.

ooc: Feel free to have Carnasch achieve Clara and describe what the Ara and Vis look like--it varies for everyone, so be as creative as you want

[Carnasch]

Carnasch leaned back in his seat again. The Vagaran tried to relax and let everything go, but it was very difficult. His brain wouldn't shut up, it just kept examining everything, jumping from object to object. He struggled with this for ten minutes, and eventually came to the conclusion that it might be beneficial if he closed his eyes. He did, but now the sound were bothering his concentration.

They were quiet or faded sounds, most coming from outside, but with his eyes closed it felt like he could hear the insects walking. After nearly a quarter of a candle mark of this, he opened his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. When he finished he slapped himself and said, "Relax you buffoon."

He looked about and focused on a small beetle walking on the wall. He watched intently as it crawled along up onto the ceiling, and as he zoned in on the bug, he noticed that it was glowing faintly, a light yellow color, but it was the only thing glowing. He looked at Lehan and pointed the beetle out, "Is that bug glowing? Do you see it?"

(OOC: I'm just thinking that he will have a hard time seeing the Ara in everything, but be able to focus on individual things very well.)

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

ooc: however you want to do things, that's fine - though he should be able to see more than that. but it would be more challenging for him if you kept it that way I'm switching to this account since I rarely switch over to Aydyn. I don't want to neglect you!

ic:
Lehan smiled widely at his student's sudden exclamation. Even as Carnasch pointed out the bug, Clara washed away from him, leaving the room the simple place it had always been, devoid of the arcanic energies he had momentarily spied. Lehan nodded slightly, tapping a finger against his cheek. "That is right. Every living thing contains these energies. You and I. The bug. Everything. Gradually it will become more visible to you, that everything in this room contains these precious energies."

He shifted so that he sat up. "But now we will move forward and I will walk you through the casting of your first spell. It is a spell called Globe of Fireflies that allows you to Conjure a number of the glowing bugs to create an orb that allows you to cast a little light around you. So. The spellcasting process..." He smiled reassuringly at Carnasch. "You will do as you have just done--Meditate to achieve Clara. Once you are in Clara, you will need to Focus on the Ara around you. That is to say, you focus on the Ara, such as in the bug, and draw it towards you to merge with your own energy, your Vis. This takes you to the Astral Plane, where you will be able to access the Essence Plane of your sphere. Nature."

It was a lengthy, involved process. Not many understood it the first time around, so Lehan spoke carefully, slowly. "Here you will need to Focus again, but this time on the Essence Plane, Channeling the Essence from the Astral Plane and into the Material, combining it with the Ara and Vis that you have already merged. Once you have done that, you will have created raw Mana and your connection with the Astral Plane will have snapped, allowing you to begin Shaping your spell."

He paused, briefly studying Carnasch, to gauge how well he was following, before slowly proceeding again. "There are several Shaping techniques. The one you will use for this spell, at this time, is Conjuration. Conjuration allows you to summon that is not currently present. I will also teach you how to use the spell as if the bugs were here, but for now..we will focus on this. So, for Globe of Fireflies, you will Shape your Mana...and then you will release it. Cast it. Do you understand? Think you can give it a try?"

[Carnasch]

The Vagaran listened intently to the elf as he explained the complex process. It was enticing, learning how to make mana and create something from it. While he listened, he began meditating again, although not consously, and Lehan's voice slowly faded to almost background noise. Carnasch still heard and understood and learned everything the elf said, but its was like reviewing a memory from a long time ago, rather than being in the room.

The aura came back, this time around the plant that made up the table. When Carnasch realized it he looked at it intently, and gently reached out with his consuous, tentativly feeling it to see if it would go away or touch him back. Lehan was still talking, about the different Planes now, and Carnasch was still absorbing his lecture like a sponge to water, but his focus was on the table.

Slowly he pushed his focus from the table to the table and the wall behind it, and then to the floor, and the incects and the leaves, but it became harder to hold his focus on and when it began to slip he returned his focus to the table alone.

Now the Vagaran expirimented with the aura again, he plucked at it with his mind, slowly stretching it towards himself and then letting it go. It would gently float back to the table and glow there like nothing had happened, until he pulled on it again. Finally Carnasch pulled it to himself, triing to merge it with his body, and then his mind. It filled him with a strange feeling, and things looked different, felt different.

He had entered the Astral Plane. Somehow, accidentily, he was there. Lehans voice was gone, but Carnasch noticed that his mouth wasn't moving, so perhaps he had stopped talking. This was true, as Lehan had finished his lecture and was now watching Carnasch for an answer. Carnasch thought maybe Lehan was starting to look a little worried, so he began focusing on the energies swirling around him in the astral plane.

It was easier now, the meditation, although it was still very focused, and he merged the energy with his Vis and the table's Aura, and his conection snapped, he was back on the material plane, full of heat it felt like. It wasn't heat exactly, it was more like pressure; from the inside, triing to get out. He sighed loudly when he came back, it felt as if his body had been holding its breath. He glanced around at the room and Lehan, then turned inward to the pressure building inside him.

He took it, and focused it into little balls, about the size of a firefly. Then he shaped them, gave them wings, and heads and eyes and limbs. Finally after nearly half a candlemark, they were all done. There were seven of them, inside his mind still. He willed them to exist outside his body, to move the energy from himself to the air outside, but they wouldn't, they couldn't. The Vagaran realized that they had no exit route, no means to escape his mind, no focus point.

So he focuse on the palm of his hand, willing them to appear there, one by one. Slowly, the air above his hand began to glow, and one of the little bugs began to appear. When it was finished, its wings buzzed, and it took flight. Another appeared and followed the first into the air, and another, and another, till all seven were fliing ing the air near thier heads.

They were not material fireflies, they were small balls of light, each slightly brighter than a candle, and they flew about eachother so quickly that they seemed to form a single ball about the size of Lehan's fist.

As the last light creature left his hand Carnasch felt a huge drain, and slumped in his chair, but lost his balance and slipped form it with a small crash. He laid on the floor there and starred at the bugs that he created, so close to fainting he dared not even speak.

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

ooc: very good post

ic:
Lehan was quiet as his student worked, understanding the nature of arcana at the very initial stages of learning. It was a tentative thing, this ability to grasp arcana and wield it from the start for it took a good deal of concentration and focus to unleash the energies within and without, to lash them together and create something usable. So he waited, reading a book and occasionally glancing over at his charge as he went through the different steps.

When, finally, Carnasch did release the spell--and at this point Lehan was beginning to grow worried for it was taking a good deal more time than was average even for an Initiate--the fireflies fluttered together, hovering in the shape of the sphere even as their maker collapsed onto the ground, distressed and dazed from all that he had expended. Lehan was on his feet instantly, caring little for the globe that hovered, and bent over his student.

"Come, let's get you settled into a bed."

For all that Lehan was a very slight individual, he was sturdy and surprisingly strong. He helped Carnasch to his feet and brought him over to a low cot in the back corner of the room. Here he instructed his student to lay don while Lehan went and poured the lad more tea. "You have overextended yourself, drawn on far too much of your own Vis. You must be more careful in the future," Lehan instructed him, even as he handed over the tea and studied his student's face. He did not allow him to slip away into a faint, but ensured that he remained awake.

"You see, there is only so much of your own reserves that you can use. I suspect you did not know when to stop and drew on too much... That will be the only spell I ask of you this brightening, though you did it well--surprisingly well. You must learn better control. Reservation." He moved away from Carnasch to retrieve his book. It had tumbled to the floor, the page lost. "You need to rest. Go ahead and sleep. Tomorrow we will start again."

Lehan let his student be, insisting that he spend the night on the cot, and when morning came he had porridge sweetened with honey set out for them to eat, as well as more tea. "We will learn a few more spells this brightening, I think, so long as you do not overexert yourself as you did yester-brightening." He smiled faintly across the rickety wood table as he sipped his tea. "How are you feeling?"

[Carnasch]

ooc: Thank you... it took a long time.

ic: The massive Vagaran could only shuffle his feet forward as Lehan half carried him to the bed in the back of the hut. His senses were all jumbled together, his sight felt confused with his hearing, and his sence of touch washed in and out of him like waves. Lehans words were jumbled, and he missed things, but he could interperate the basic message. Well the next morning at least.

Speaking of the next morning. Carnasch woke up to the smells of porridge and tea, he shifted to roll over and grunted in pain. He was sore from head to toe, his muscles knotted in his shoulders and the small of his back. His neck felt as if someone had replaced it with a tree branch. As he sat of the edge of the bed, he looked at the wall across from himself and saw his reflection in the mirror.

His face was pale and drawn, with large purple rings under his eyes, and those too looked slightly drained, not as bright as they should. He stood slowly and walked to the table, were he sat and nearly devoured the food. It seemed as though he barely breathed. He hadn't known that he was that hungry; true, normally he ate fast, but this was discusting.

When he was finished, he leaned back from his porrige bowl and looked at Lehan's face. Realizing his rudness he smiled a little sheepishly, and tried to excused himself, "..Sorry, I didn't realize I was that hungry... Thank you, it was excillently prepared." Carnasch smiled at the thought of learning more spells, his first had been... well interesting.

He agreed with Lehan about not over exerting himself again. "Better than I look. hehe.. Yes, of course, I will try to draw more power from my surroundings rather than myself today. I don't think that I could handle lossing that much energy every brightening, let alone more than once." He paused to finish off his tea, "So my freind, what spells shall I learn today?

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

Lehan simply smiled and shrugged at Carnasch's apology, not minding in the slightest that his charge had dove into the food with such enthusiasm. He continued to sip his tea and idly flip the pages of a book, occasionally spooning up some porridge, as he let Carnasch eat; the elf was not in nearly as much of a rush about getting his morning started.

When Carnasch had finished his porridge, Lehan had not quite finished his own, but since he was not the one casting the spells, he did not halt or indicate to Carnasch to wait. Instead, he deigned to instruct the human, setting the spoon down and picking up his tea. "I think we shall start with a calming spell," he informed him with a smile of some amusement. "We call it Forest Calm and with it we help others to feel the calming effects of Nature. It can help people meditate or calm down, some even fall asleep, particularly when they are stressed. The spell usually has different effects on people, somewhat random. Some hear birds or smell the different scents of the forest."

He inclined his cheek slightly, pausing long enough to spoon up some porridge and eat it down before continuing. "Now there's the matter of how to Shape the spell. Yester-brightening I taught you that Conjuring the Mana summons something here which previously was not present. For this spell we are going to Divinate the Mana. Divination affects the mind. It's commonly used by Mystics for their spells. As Druids, we can far better affect animals with Divination than we can people, but there are some few spells that are successful against other people, such as Forest Calm."

He sipped at his tea. "Unless you have any questions, why don't we give it a try? Just remember, be very mindful how much of yourself you spend. If you draw on too much you will exhaust yourself and we do not wish for a repeat performance, I hope." He smiled reassuringly and gestured for Carnasch to start, unless he had no questions.