[Brightshadows|Dak|Private] Earth, Wind & Fire

[Aesha]

Earth, Wind & Fire - Dak Tremaine's Initiate Elementalism Training

Timestamp: Morning, 25th Brightening of Melora, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum.

It was generally agreed by the student populous (and perhaps, more quietly, but the faculty populous), that Teriah Silco was a formidable teacher. Lucky for most students, who student sorcery, they had no encounters with the elementalism master. For the small percentage of students at Brightshadows who studied elementalism, however, Teriah was someone that they all had to deal with, more often than not. The old, blind woman took a keen interest in the studies of those under her wing, sometimes much to her students' chagrin.

And, new to the ranks of said students, was one Dak Tremaine. After enrolling at the academy two brightenings ago, Dak had been shown to a small and sparsely furnished dormitory, had rigorously been subjected to the rules of said dormitory and the academy in general, had been instructed on his classes and when they were to be held, and then had been left to his own devices to explore the academy at leisure. That was, until this morning. It had been severely beaten (metaphorically speaking) into him that being late for Teriah Silco was not an option.

The directions that the new student had been given led not to the big airy classrooms where adepts generally taught and lectured those of lower levels, but to small, comfy sitting rooms where one on one consultations with the masters of the academy took place, rooms that all potential initiates visited on their first and subsequent lessons. Teriah was especially busy, since she was the only master of elementalism in the academy, a sphere that had, for some reason, become rather popular over the past couple of eras.

Thus, Dak found himself standing outside a rather solid, rather ancient looking oak door in a small corridor on the first floor of a medium-size building made from splendid white marble. The corridor also sported a white-with-mahogany theme, giving an overall feeling of well, poshness. Presumably the only thing left to do was knock on the door, and pray.

[Dak Tremaine]

Dak was up rather early in the morning of this day, he was used to waking up early, his previous life had left him with little time to sleep, and the first job in his new life had needed him to be up early to start the cleaning. He washed himself, and tried to make his hair look more presentable than he usually left it. He picked up his uniform, which had been neatly and surprisingly professionally folded for a man, and shook it out, letting the robes out. He still wasn't used to clothes that weren't rags, or that he could call his own. He slipped into it, letting it settle into place, moving his arms about to get it sat on his shoulders properly, unaccustomed to clothing that wasn't in two pieces.

Today was his first proper lesson and his induction to the arcanic arts. A big step for him, in other words. Today his mind would be liberated, his soul exposed to different levels of existence, and whatever other mystical mumbo-jumbo could possibly be associated with becoming arcanically sensitive. He'd heard how it worked, for the most part, something about mental barriers, his knowledge was as limited as many of the average citizenry.

He took a mark to steady his nerves, he'd already mapped out where he needed to go and how long it'd take him, but still set off half a mark before he needed to, taking the walk leisurely, admiring the beautiful building and it's walkways in a way only a person who lived surrounded by wood and sea water could. He stood outside the sturdy door that was his final destination, swallowing firmly from nervousness.

He'd heard brief tales about his tutor, and had been rather specifically instructed not to be late, he still had a fair few minutes to spare. He silently composed himself, then rapped on the door, waiting paitiently for a reply.

[Aesha]

"Come in." Was the only answer that Dak got to his knock on the door. The voice sounded neither formidable nor scary, but of course, appearences could be deceptive. Instead, the voice of Teriah Silco sounded crisp, and like she expected her orders to be obeyed, but there was no hint of malice in it. Which left Dak with the only option of opening the door.

When he did so, he found himself in a cozy looking room, complete was soft, cozy armchairs and carpet on the floor. A bookshelf resided in one corner, but it had a sparse amount of occupants, which suggested the owner of the room had little interest in reading. The walls were bare, and the ceiling held no chandelier; instead candles had been arranged on the two sidetables in the room. They were not needed currently though, for the early morning sun was spilling brilliantly through the wide window Teriah's study contained.

The only thing left to observe was Dak's teacher herself. She wore a simple white robe - teachers were of course, not subject to the uniform, but many sported robes in order to maintain that wizardly look - that reached to feet that wore white cotton slippers. She was indeterminably old - her face was lined and wrinkled but there was still something like an essence of youth there, perhaps something in the way she held herself. Her hair was white however, which suggested that she had seen mainly years on the mortal realm of Telath. The most prominent thing that stood out however, was the colour of her eyes. They were white. Teriah was blind.

Clearly though, since she was the school's foremost Elementalism teacher this did not stop her ability to train new students. In fact, she looked up as Dak entered the room, obviously knowing he was there from the sound his movements made.

"Take a seat. Then tell me why you are here."

[Dak Tremaine]

Dak found his hand almost automatically turning the handle at the sound of the very well put order. It was the sort of voice that made his previous slave status bite at the bit and respond before his brain had had a chance to think. He continued to turn the handle, the brief pause brought on by his sudden shift in thought barely noticeable as he pushed the door open and stepped inside the room.

A barren bookcase in one part of the room, a few armchairs and little of anything else gave the impression that the occupant had little care for decorative ornaments. The lack of reading material seemed a tad odd though, a person of such calibre would surely eat through books with abandon. It didn't take long to realise why there was little visual interest in the room when you saw it's permanent occupant. He had heard she was blind, but hadn't really thought that such a detail could shape the way a room appeared about her.

Even despite her visual predicament, he found himself bowing anyway from force of habit, even if she might not be aware of the gesture. He offered a brief thankyou, then went over to sit in one of the free chairs, tugging at his new robes to get them comfortable beneath him from the sitting position.

He pondered for a brief moment on the question. It was awfully open ended, the answers he could give were various, ranging from existential, to deep and relative, to the blatantly obvious. Probably the blatantly obvious was the best way to go, so he cleared his throat and started, "Well, right now, I am here to learn from your wisdom." He paused again, then expanded on that, just in case that is what she wanted, "As for why I wish to learn elementalism, it is for purely personal reasons, I desire to control the wind and the air, and find out how it can be turned to our own uses." He looked towards Teriah, hoping he had said the right things. The last thing he needed was to look like a fool before his tutor.

[Aesha]

It wasn't clear how she did it, but Teriah obviously sensed Dak's bow and nodded her head the slightest fraction to indicate that she appreciated the formality. It was probably rare - most of the students of Brightshadows were from the nobility of Enamoria, who wouldn't even think of bowing to someone as lowly as a teacher. Once Dak had taken a seat and began to talk, amusement showed on Teriah's face at her student's first comment.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, boy, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless."

Folding her hands primly in her lap, Teriah listened to the latter half of Dak's explanation of exactly why he was sitting in her room, in her chair. The old woman nodded her head.

"I'll be blunt. That's not the answer I usually hear." She paused and treated the would-be elementalist to a small smile. "So many students here are learning frankly, because they want power, or to be special, or simply because their parents think its an asset to have a mage in the family. Very few students want to learn because they have a fascination with the subject matter. Even fewer seem to know what element they have an affinity with before training." She cocked her head fractionally on one side, and added, "Of course, when you start your training, that might all change."

So far Teriah wasn't really living up to her reputation of being somewhat of a battleaxe. Perhaps it was because Dak truly wanted to learn Elementalism for Elementalism's sake? In either regard, the older teacher shifted in her seat and began to explain some of the technicalities of initiate arcana.

"Of course, nothing can be done with you until you have been unbound. I am sure you have probably heard of this process before now, but I will explain anyway. Being unbound allows your senses to percieve the Astral Plane, from which the components of creating arcana on this plane, the Material Plane, can be drawn." She waved a hand vaguely in the air. "That I will go into later. First, you need to be unbound. Usually the unbinding process renders the student unconciousness, forcing them into a dream-like state whilst the mind sorts itself out. This lasts anywhen from about two hours to two days."

The master Elementalist paused for a moment to let Dak contemplate the information. Once she considered that he had digested it all she gave a nod. "Lets get on with it, shall we?"

The was a small pause whilst Teriah did something that Dak could not percieve with his bound vision. Then, the room began to spin, and he began to feel light-headed, but somehow... more knowledgeable, like he could determine how the world had been created if he put his mind to it. It felt as if the entire universe was open to him. Then, there was nothing but blackness, and the contents of his own mind.

[Dak Tremaine]

Dak smiled back when he saw that his instructor was at least pleasantly amused by his answer, he hadn't made a complete fool of himself. First impressions seemed to be going well, he could not himself deny that he wanted the power and prestige of elementalism, but it was not just for power's sake. He had plans for his skills, he wanted to see what could be done with them, and apparently this fact had seemed to surprise Teriah, and somewhat confuse Dak. He had always thought that was the entire point of studying the arcane arts, to put them to good use or to experiment and see what other uses were out there, waiting to be discovered.

He nodded at the mention of unbinding, he didn't understand the exact arcanics behind it, but knew it's what had to be done to make a person able to use arcana. The hint of information given to him perked his interest significantly, he'd missed out on much taught learning, having to build up his knowledge personally from books. He couldn't wait to learn from somebody else for once, the only education somebody had ever given him was how to count up to two in time with a drum beat.

The mention of a dream worried him, he hadn't been expecting something like that, sort of a poof and voilá, he could do magic. Being out for up to two brightenings was certainly not something to look forward to either, but such was the price for access to the fabric of reality and all that. He shouldered himself in the chair and nodded again, stating his readiness when suddenly the world started swirling around him as Teriah did something towards his general direction. He was ready for that, but not for the sudden flood of information that world didn't usually give him, it was like his senses went haywire, he could almost swear her could taste the light that seemed to glow off everything before he blacked out.


He awoke to a strange swaying sensation that was all too familiar to him. He sat up with a start to find himself surround by damp wood, the small of stale salt water and a faint groaning sound from long abused timbers. He got to his feet hastily, his sense of balance instantly correcting itself to the rock of the boat, dread slowly creeping over him. Why was he back here, back in this abysmal place? He glanced about hastily, the oar banks were empty, not a single soul, so he dashed for the stairs up onto the main deck.

Finally exposed to the sea air, that feeling of dread once again built. There was no wind, not even a tickle to blow his hair, these were some of the worst days in his memory, when the oars would be worked for all they were worth to get speed. He dashed over to the port side, staring out in the vain hopes he'd spot land, when he head yet another sound that filled him with dread. The distinct sound of heavy hobnail boots slamming into the decking, getting closer. He spun around, ready to confront the approaching figure, but he never got the chance. The wind returned, a powerful gust that slammed into him, pushing him back. He stumbled, then fell, pitched over the side and sent plummeting into the icy water beneath him.


And that's when he truely woke up, sitting upright with a frantic gasp.

[Azurite]

OOC: Permission to mod alla Aesha.

"Ah, you're finally awake, good." Teriah had taken a seat upon a large charge the same color as the room. Her crossed legs had a large book balanced upon them which she promptly slammed shut. "So tell me Mr. Tremaine what is it exactly that you see now with your eyes?" Standing up the chair instantly collapsed in on itself and disappeared into the floor from whence it came.

[Dak Tremaine]

Dak blinked a few times, trying to shake the still woozy feeling of having been asleep. A couple of things filtered into his head as he got his bearings again, one of them being the fact that Teriah appeared to be reading a book despite her blindness. His brow wrinkled a little at the perplexing item as her attention became focussed on him once more. He looked to her and blinked, trying to figure out an answer to such an obscure question, when he realised that things were indeed different. He had thought it was just his sudden waking that had left him like that, but it had persisted.

Now he had to think even more on the subject, uncertain with how to proceed with such a change of perception surrounding him. "I... am not sure," he started, "It is like what I usually see, but there are halos floating about some things, different colours. And you are, well, bright. I am not sure how else to describe it. It is rather beautiful actually, like seeing the world through stained glass."