Building by Growing (Aydyn)

[Lichen]

2nd cycle of Junctior

The morning was crisp and somewhat cold, the leaves turning redder with every brightening. There was frost upon the ground still as Aydyn reached the grove, enough that she left dark footprints amidst the sparkling grass.

The flowers were long gone, and the leaves beginning to fall, yet still the Druidic grove was beautiful. The pond was not yet frozen, though the fish within it were more cautious in the use of their energy reserves. It was peaceful, rays of sunlight piercing the canopy like blades, spilling light everywhere.

In the far corner, Lehan stood, delicate fingers clasped tightly around a thick staff, his face directed opposite Aydyn’s approach. She could hear him mumbling to himself, watch his fingers press an intricate pattern against the thick wood of his staff, and see his whole body jump as a call rang out: ”Glowing Green Tits! Glowing Green Tits!”

”Julos!” Lehan said, turning his head about in an effort to find the bird, his cheeks blushing darkly, and spotting her instead. ”Oh, good brightening Aydyn – I am so sorry about that bird, someone’s been teaching him very foul things. How was your rest?”

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn was bundled warmly that brightening, draped in cloak and gloves, her hair worn long and loose to give some semblance of protection from the chill for her ears. The chill of Autumn, leading into Winter, though a part of the natural cycle, was not something Aydyn was particularly fond of, preferring Spring and Summer as she did, but she had endured them enough by now to have simply grown accustomed.

Her hands hugged the cloak tightly around her as she walked, feet tromping over the frost-touched ground, she felt a bit of dismay as she watched her breath puff out in front of her. Winter was coming hard and fast...and it would linger long. Such always seemed the way of things.

Hearing the sound of the bird, Aydyn grinned in amusement, glancing around for bird much in the same way that Lehan did. She did not spot it and thus focused on the elf that had greeted her in a far more pleasant manner than any bird could have. "Serale, Master Lehan," she greeted him brightly, barely managing to repress a chilled shudder. She straightened, trying to ignore the hint of cold that had wrapped around the brightening. "Nevermind the bird. It is what it is. The words are...harmless." Amused, she looked around her one last time to catch a sight of the strange bird.

"I rested well enough. A bit nippy out, but... Expected, I guess." She flashed a smile at the man and released the edges of the cloak so that she wasn't holding it quite so closely against her, clasping her hands in front of herself instead. "Rested enough for whatever I'm need for, at any rate."

[Lichen]

"Harmless," Lehan said, glaring darkly into the trees, "but annoying and insulting nonetheless." He shook his head, the look fading away into th normal tranquil facial expression. "Well then we'd best get a move on - Tavers' place isn't exactly on the outside edge of town but it certainly isn't a hop, skip or a jump away." The man brushed a lock of hair behind his ear, reached down and picked up a small square case. It was leather, the surface dimpled and brown, the shape rectangular with a long shoulder strap. "My building kit," he said by way of explanation, and began to walk westward with long strides.

"Tell me - have you much experience with the spells growth, warp wood and spikes? Have you ever learned or made any other spells dealing with the modification or alteration of the natural world?"

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn glanced at the small box that he had brought, wonder what exactly he would have brought along with him that was so small and yet part of a building kit. Well. She supposed that she would probably be finding out in short order, whenever they reached their destination.

She followed after him, keeping stride as best she could with her small legs, adjusting the fit of her gloves over her hands a bit. "Growth and Warped Wood I am familiar with. I use Growth often enough with my herbs and flowers and I worked at the Wooden Knot in Natura. They special in objects made from Warped Wood. Spikes... I was never taught that. If you tell me the basic gist of it, I'm sure I can work it out." Ah, the joys of being an Adept in the craft where the construction of spells started to become more open ended.

She considered the rest of his question with a thoughtful little tilt of her head. "I haven't experimented over much in manipulating the trees or the vines or such. The spells Entwine and Obscurement, they would be considered spells of that nature, wouldn't they?"

[Nightmare]

Lehan grinned over at Aydyn with a pleasant smile as he kept up his brisk pace. He loved shaping nature and creating livable structures of Acumin's inhabitants. He also loved it when people took an interest in his craft. Lehan never denied teaching anyone how to build homes. It was such a great thing to do for anyone that Lehan took a great liking to his apprentices. He figured Aydyn would be no different. She was already such an inquisitive druid. He had a sense that she would catch on quickly.

"You seem to be very well versed with Druidism. But yes, let me give you a little background on Spike. It's really a very simple spell. What I do is shape the flora around the building so that they create long and durable "spikes". The thing is, we use the term spikes very lightly. We don't really want to create spikes that are far apart and can potentially hurt someone. Instead we want to get them packed extremely close together so that they make a wall structure. Understand so far?" As Lehan talked, they continued to walk. The weather was a bit chilly but it left such a beauty in the air that could not be denied. Lehan preferred this weather over the hot humid one any brightening.

"Trees and vines can take some more time and effort to manipulate than the other flora. It's as if their age gives them some sort of sentience or at least an innate ability to resist. But of course, as druids, we know that we never force nature. So by coaxing them, I'm sure you'll do fine. And yes, those two spells are also needed. It really just depends on what type of style you want the structure to be. For example, I can use obscurement on a larger scale to create a thick canopy of leaves which can serve as a pleasant roof. Or I could warp wood into the shape of a roof which I would enjoy to see. Do you catch on?"

As Lehan finished up his sentence, another shrilling call emitted from the trees above. This time the bird was a bit more pleasant, saying "Caca on your heads!" It still brought a frown to the refined Lehan but this time he didn't look as aggravated. He simply murmured something under his breath and continued to focus on Aydyn.

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn smiled back at the elf and shrugged her shoulders slightly. Well-versed? She hoped as much. "Druidism has been a part of my life for several eras now--it is as much a part of me as my hair." She wondered if that sounded silly, considered it, then laughed a little with a slight lift of her shoulder. "I don't think I could separate myself from it any more," she admitted softly...and thought that perhaps he might find it amusing that a human might say as much. How long had he been a Druid? It was not something she'd ever asked him. She knew without a doubt that it had been longer than she.

She listened intently as he explained the background on spikes, nodding a little as he explained that they did not want to hurt anyone with them. Once she might have blanched at the thought of doing damage to someone with the arcana that she wielded and yet she had changed. Life had forced her to realize that she needed to change and adapt, learn to protect herself if she had to. "Yes, I'm following," she answered as he asked for clarification as to her understanding.

"It all seems very straightforward," she mused. "But I guess I'll see how straightforward things turn out to be when I try my hand." Because nature could be and often was unpredictable. A Druid could attempt to manipulate the natural state around them, but there were always the consequences, some predictable, some not as much. "I can see leaves causing problems as a roof, though, unless you're able to really get them so close and tight together. And wouldn't the leaves fall in the Autumn months, leaving the trees bare?" She considered the discomfort of a home suddenly laid bare to the hard snows of winter. Not a thrilling idea.

She looked up as the bird called out above them and couldn't help but grin at Lehan's disgruntled response. "It really is a terrible bird." But she laughed instead of uttering something irritable, as he had. "But he seems to like you." Poor Lehan. Stalked by a foul-mouthed bird.

[Nightmare]

Lehan smiled at Aydyn's comment. Her thoughts were pretty much on point though, druidism was part of his life much longer. It was merely due to the fact that he outlived her by many an era, which really didn't change to much when everything was put into perspective. Sure he may have had a lot more practice, but nature was nature and no amount of time could alter that. Aydyn was working with the same substance Lehan was, and the same knowledge as well. Time just taught him new ways to alter that knowledge, ways that benefited the town as well as nature and himself. But no matter the technique, today they had come to accomplish the same goal which was to build a home.

"Ah yes, you are very right about the leaves falling, which is why many people prefer having solid bark over their heads. Then again, some druids will actually either fortify the leaves during the winter or just have leaves during the summer months, which adds extra ventilation, and change to bark when the cold starts to nip. It depends on the person who wants to live there. Today, our home owner wants to have wood but with leaves underneath so we shall see how that plays out." Lehan explained, still walking slowly to whever they needed to go.

The destined location seem to be on the border of town. So far, Lehan and Aydyn walked through some dense undergrowth with a few tall trees towering above them. It was all very green and beautiful, with birds chirping (or cursing) atop the trees. As they found their way onto a dirt path, Lehan thought up another question for his student.

"Where do you think would be the best place to create a home and where would you deny building someone a home?" The question wasn't exactly the easiest in the world, and it had a lot to do with her knowledge on geography and weather and even Acumin itself, but he didn't care if she didn't get it right. This was all part of the learning process.

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn shifted and moved aside low-hanging branches as they navigated their way through the dense foliage. It didn't necessarily make passage easy, but there was no reason to complain; the woodlands had become home to a young woman who had previously grown in open fields.

She considered the question carefully as they emerged out onto the dirt path. Easier going, here. She could not immediately put her finger on what it was that he wanted her to say, or what the best answer might be. So she let her thoughts drift around her answer before offering something she considered to be more or less accurate. At any rate, she did not considerate it wrong. "You wouldn't want to build on a place where the ground will get too wet. Like when the rains cause some overflow and flood the ground It makes the soil too soft and things might sink in a little."

She looked around thoughtfully, as if the scenery might lend her an answer somehow. What else, in Acumin, could provide an issue. "Perhaps you'd want to make sure that the building takes place inside of Carmelya's protection? Just as a precaution, I suppose."

She frowned slightly, wondering what she was missing. "Otherwise, I'm not really sure."

[Dicemonk]

The druid nodded at each of Aydyn's thoughts, then responded in his usual, calm, respectful tone. "Absolutely true. We certainly would not want to leave any citizen out of Carmelya's protective boundary. It is also true that we like to have the homes built away from low lying areas where flooding may occur, but for the most part the homes themselves will keep out all the water and and will also absorb a great deal of it, if grown correctly. We are mostly concerned with ensuring that the roots of the house 'system' will have ample access to aquifers or any significant sources of water. We also want to make sure the system of the home does not intrude on any other growth." Lehan gave a simple smile and pointed off to a small grouping of homes. "That is, unless you are able to connect multiple homes to one strong root system. Our hope is to one day have all the growths connected to a single root system spanning the length and breadth of the entire town. At that point if one area fails it will still be supplied by any other area." The druids eyes looked vacant in a content sort of way for a moment as if he was looking out into a time when this was already a reality. "And it will keep the damnable vysstichi from tunneling underneath us." He gave a weak laugh, then ushered Aydyn toward the exact place where the home was to grow. "I'll just let you get to it for a trial run. Just keep in mind that we can always change the growth patterns or add to them if needed. Let no worries cross your mind." The elf stepped back and swept his arm over the ground where she was to begin.