Into the Mystic (self-mod)

[Reilly]

Timestamp: 13th Imperos, Era XI P.F.

Reilly arrived promptly on time for her first class in mysticism. She hadn’t wanted to get out of bed that morning at all, but she’d figured that she ought to at least try and make a good impression. That and she had a nagging suspicion that excuses weren’t likely to work well on a master mystic.

The door to the classroom was partially ajar, and the young half-elven girl pushed it open cautiously. It didn’t look particularly exciting – it was a classroom just like any other classroom, with a few desks, chairs, a low bookshelf in the back. Reilly stepped in and heard a voice coming from her right. ”Reilly, I presume?”

She spun around and saw a cold-looking woman in a red and white robe that made her look just as though she had been attacked by a giant candy cane. The expression on the woman’s face, however, prevented Reilly from laughing. Instead, she simply responded, ”Yes, ma’am.” Somehow, the young woman had a sinking feeling that her instructor wasn’t going to take any guff.

”My name is Mistress Domenique,” the woman said coolly. ”And I am to be your instructor for this course.”

Reilly felt like she ought to say something but couldn’t think of anything, as Mistress Domenique obviously already knew her name and what she wanted. She had rather been hoping for a male instructor, since from personal experience, she knew that males were generally…easier on her than on others. No such luck, however.

After a brief, uncomfortable pause, Mistress Domenique asked, ”Before we begin, I have two questions for you, Reilly. Why do you wish to learn arcana? And specifically, whence does your interest in the sphere of mysticism spring?”

”I…” Reilly said, trying to formulate the words in her head. ”In this world, a girl sometimes needs to be able to take care of herself. For me, weapons training is...probably not going to help.” It pained her to say it, but she said it anyway; as she did so, she turned her head so that Mistress Domenique could see her left eye. The iris was gray; while it scarcely rendered the girl any less attractive, it was obvious that she was blind in that eye.

”And as for mysticism, ma’am – I…I wish to learn the power of the mind.” It was a short, and likely an unsatisfactory answer, but even if this woman could steal all of her thoughts were she in the mood to do so, Reilly wasn’t going to expose her own neuroses without a fight.

Somewhat to her surprise, however, Mistress Domenique elected not to press her. Instead, she simply said, ”Very well then, Reilly. The initial step in your progression in the sphere of mysticism is to unbind you – to release the ‘chains’ that prevent you from feeling the arcanic energy that pulses all around you. This process is psychotropic, and generally involves a hallucinatory experience, the precise nature of which cannot be predicted in advance. Are you ready to proceed?”

Reilly was a little surprised – she had expected more lecturing before anything interesting happened, frankly – but all she said was ”Yes ma’am, I suppose so."

[Reilly]

"Very well then," Mistress Dominique said, and stretched out her hand to the girl.

It was dark.

That was the first thing that Reilly noticed. She wasn't sure how the lights had been removed, or even how long they had been gone, but it was certainly dark. She moved her hand in front of her right eye, but saw nothing.

Psychotropic experience. Hallucinations. All in my head. Reilly told herself. None of this is happening.

Suddenly, she heard a voice, a voice that echoed through wherever she was and seemed to shake her to her very center. "What do you want, ugly girl?" it asked in a flat, sarcastic way.

"Ugly girl?" Reilly asked indignantly, forgetting herself. "I am not..." Her voice died away. In front of her was a mirror. The face in the mirror was certainly hers, but the hair was graying and falling out, the cheeks sagging, the eyes bloodshot and wide. She looked terrible, a grotesque parody of the beautiful young woman she knew herself to be.

"What have you done?" she called out to the voice, but all she heard was laughter. The laughter rang and rang and rose and rose, and as it did so the mirror began to shake and crack. The cracks spread across it, and then the mirror exploded, bits of glass covering her, cutting her. She put her hands up to her face, and when she pulled them away again, they were covered in blood.

She screamed, and the instant she did so, the lights went out again. They were gone, and in a moment, she knew they would never reappear, that she was trapped inside the darkness as surely as if it had been made of steel.

All in my head it's all in my head it isn't real it's all in my head...

And then there was another voice -- this time, the one that belonged to Mistress Domenique.

"Such a pity really, but it happens sometimes. They aren't fit to be unbound, but they try anyway, and once they go down the tunnel, they can never come back."

At that moment, Reilly panicked completely. "Let me out!" she screamed. "Help me! Please, please help me!"

"Once they go down the tunnel, they can never come back," the voice repeated. "Never come back. Never come back. Never come back. Come back. Come back..."

"Come back, Reilly," Mistress Domenique said. Reilly opened her eyes, and found herself back in the same room she had been in before -- though she was lying on the ground. She was covered, simply covered in sweat, and loose strands of hair were stuck to her pale cheeks.

"Why I...wha...?" Reilly mumbled helplessly. With a great deal of effort, she lifted herself back into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, Reilly," Mistress Domenique said with some concern. "Sometimes that's the way it happens. But do you notice anything different?"

The young girl thought for a moment. Her perceptions seemed to be subtly changed, as though she were now able to sense something outside the pale of her previous experience. Strands of energy floated around her, and she found that she was able, if not to see them, to experience them somehow. She did not yet understand, but she did experience.

"Yes. Yes I see." Reilly couldn't say anything else, but that seemed to be enough.

"That's sufficient for today," Mistress Domenique said. "Go home, rest, return tomorrow."

Reilly nodded, lifted herself the rest of the way up, and returned to her small home.

[Reilly]

Reilly walked into the classroom the next brightening looking more than a little haggard; her face, while still attractive, had not yet regained its color, and she looked as though she had not slept well. This was, in fact, true -- she had rested uneasily, her sleep broken and disturbed by images of a broken mirror and a distorted face.

Mistress Domenique was once again waiting in the room when Reilly returned. "We shall resume from our point of departure yesterday," she said somewhat stuffily. "A person cannot simply manipulate the arcane energies without being trained -- they'd blow themselves to bits, and probably a good many people along with them. What I'm going to do now is to Impart the Initiate-level spellcasting knowledge to you. This won't mean you don't have to train, but it will give you the necessary knowledge. Are you quite ready?"

"Certainly," Reilly said, though in her mind she wasn't half so confident as all that. Nonetheless, Mistress Domenique hadn't said anything about psychotropic whatsits or anything this time, so it couldn't possibly be as bad as the unbinding.

Domenique put her hand on Reilly's shoulder, and performed the Imparting. Reilly, in her young and still largely ignorant state, wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but she did...suddenly know some things about spellcasting. Random bits of information floated into her brain, waiting for the further instruction she would receive to shape them.

[Reilly]

"And that completes that particular phase of the operation," Mistress Domenique said. "Now, we can begin digesting some of the more academically interesting subjects. Not too many at once, though. At this level, you are incapable of casting more than a triumverate of spells in any one brightening. More than three and your vis -- your internal energy -- is depleted, and you will suffer severe side effects, including but not limited to death."

Reilly nodded carefully. Any warning that included the likelihood of her imminent death was one that even she was going to take seriously.

"The two inflections of arcanic energy, then, are ara and vis. Vis is the energy inside you -- and by extension, the personal energy of any living thing. Ara is the remaining energy, the energy that fills the space in between living things. In order to access and manipulate this energy, you will need to reach a meditative state -- the state of clara. You must clear your mind of all extraneous thoughts and focus on the energy around and inside you. This is especially true given that you are studying mysticism, and the very essence of mysticism is thought."

"There are three other techniques that you must know to help you adjust and control the spells that you will be casting," Mistress Domenique continued. "The first of these is called Focus. Here I quote from the Primer to Arcana, 2nd edition." She picked up a book that lay beside her.

"With the essence of a person's intellect now floating freely in a meditative state, one can attempt to interface directly with the arcane energy of spells. This technique is called Focusing. One focuses directly into the nexus of energy, and upon successful interface, can begin to call upon the energy. Focusing becomes useful for when one wishes to cast spells at a faster rate by improving the exchange rate of mental energy for magical energy." She looked directly at Reilly. "Essentially, one uses one's mind to increase the level of energy one is using."

"Now, the second technique is called Channel. Again, to quote from the Primer, 'Also called cantrips, channelling controls the rate at which energy enters and departs a spell. By channelling, a spellcaster can magnify/amplify the effects of her spell or alternatively demagnify/deamplify these same effects. With extreme practice, gifted channellers are able to cast multiple spells in the same continuous stream of energy.' Now, you won't be casting multiple spells for some time, but by concentrating on the energy, you can make the spell more or less powerful."

Reilly nodded, not wanting to ask any questions. It all seemed pretty reasonable. Mistress Domenique continued, "The final technique you need to know is called Dispel. Quoting again, 'Initiates can undo non-permanent effects of a spell by channelling on the original energy configuration of an aura afflicted by the offending magic, but this skill usually only works on spells cast by mages of the same proficiency level or lower. Over time and with practice, mages can become gifted and attuned to advanced dispel techniques and develop countercurses that are capable of undoing the work of spells that were seemingly permanent, but in actuality had just long-lasting effects.'"

Mistress Domenique cleared her throat, then continued. "Now, when you are in clara, you will find that you are less aware of the physical world, but have a heightened awareness of the arcane realm. You must simply clear your mind. I wish you to attempt this technique, Reilly -- clara. You may begin when you are ready."

[Reilly]

Reilly did the best she could to follow Mistress Domenique's instructions. The uncharitable might have said that there wasn't much in the young woman's head anyway, but regardless, it took her a long time. She tried to focus herself on the arcane energy around her, but it was difficult. She wasn't used to it, and it kind of made her head hurt.

Perhaps half a candlemark passed like this. And then...it was as though the world suddenly snapped into focus. Or out of focus, depending on one's perspective. The physical world seemed far away from Reilly, but the arcane energies were real and close and tangible. She could see the ara around her...it was hard to describe, but it was something like spinning purple ropes.

Then her instructor spoke, and Reilly lost it. What she was saying was, "Now, I'd like you to go home and practice. Come back in five brightenings, having practiced clara carefully, so that you can hear instructions without being distracted out of it. It'll also help you attain it faster."

Reilly, slightly disoriented but otherwise all right, nodded and left slowly.

*****

And of course, when Reilly did return, having practiced with what for her was unnatural dilligence, the first thing Mistress Domenique wanted her to do was enter clara. The young woman took a deep breath and did it. It still took time, but not as much time as before.

From what seemed like a long way away, Mistress Domenique said, "Now that you're in clara, I'd like you to try a simple spell. To do this, you take some of the energy inside you -- your vis, and mix it with some of the ara around you. When this happens, something called arcalysis will occur. How exactly it works isn't important just yet, but it will bring your mind to the Astral Plane. I'll warn you now, it may not exactly be comfortable. You can then focus on one of the essence planes: the mental plane in your case, since you're a mystic now. You will then channel that essence to create a mixture called mana. Then, I want you to focus this energy on your own senses and cast Awareness. This will enable you to sense any illusions around you. I'll leave you to do this," she added, and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Reilly was a little disturbed by her teacher's behavior, but she tried to focus anyway. She manipulated the energy until she thought she had it right; Mistress Domenique was right -- this whole mind in the astral plane thing was not comfortable and was even less explicable. She could do it, but she hardly knew how. At any rate, when she was done, she then turned her attention to the room around her, scanning each part of it in turn.

When she reached Mistress Domenique's chair, she noticed that there was a noticeable concentration of arcanic energy. Behind that concentration was her instructor herself! She hadn't left the room at all -- instead, she had merely created an illusion. This realization shocked Reilly so much that she was knocked out of clara and returned to her normal self.

"Very satisfactory," Mistress Domenique said. "That will be sufficient for today. Please return tomorrow at the same candlemark."

Still somewhat weak, Reilly made her way to the door.

[Reilly]

When Reilly arrived the next day, looking if possible more haggard than she had the day before, the class began exactly as it had before.

Mistress Domenique began, without much sympathy for her student's appearance, "Enter clara. Then prepare yourself to cast Awareness -- but first, listen for my instructions."

It took the young woman a long time to reach Clara, though not as long as she had taken the previous brightening; the process was beginning to become familiar. As she did so, Mistress Domenique stretched out her hand. A bird suddenly appeared on it. Reilly knew that this was the illusion that she was going to have to detect.

She reached clara. As she did so, Mistress Domenique called out, "I want you to cast Awareness. Utilize Focus to cast the spell quickly. Then use Channel to increase the power of the spell" Reilly reached out into the nexus of energy and poured more of her mental energy into it. Then, channeling, Reilly added more power. It was like pushing on a wall that didn't want to budge, but she added still more energy and continued. Suddenly, she broke through. At that point, the young woman finally cast Awareness. Quickly, she detected the illusion. Indeed, the process happened more quickly than she expected -- though it still took a rather long time.

"Although I of course am a much more experienced mage than you, I have cast this spell very weakly. I now want you to try something different and Dispel it," the instructor said.

Reilly was feeling tired by now, but she channeled in the energy that would destroy the illusion. For a moment, the bird wavered; then it vanished back into the nothingness from whence it came.

"Good," Mistress Domenique said. "That concludes today's lesson."

[Reilly]

Reilly was as exhausted as she had ever been when she arrived in class the next brightening. Mistress Domenique, however, paid no mind at all, and simply moved into the next portion of the lessons.

"The next spell is titled Enfeeblement," she began. "To quote from the Spells of Mysticism, 'A Mystic can instill a psionic inhibitor into the mind of a single opponent, effectively hindering that opponent's strength and dexterity, affecting endurance and making them appear sluggish, clumsy and weak.' Normally, you wouldn't be able to cast this spell on me, but I'll reduce my defenses to make this possible. Shape the mana and insert the spell into my mind."

This sounded rather difficult to Reilly, but she opted to give it a try. Entering clara took a long time, but when she was there, she reached out and manipulated the energy, causing the arcalysis, trying to add the inhibitor to Mistress Domenique's mind. As she did so, she noticed a change come over her instructor. She looked lethargic and tired -- almost as tired as Reilly felt.

"That'thh enoffpff," the woman mumbled. Reilly turned the energy off and snapped out of meditation.

"Very good," Mistress Domenique said, as though nothing had happened. "Now, I'd like you to try Objectify. This is an illusion-creating spell that makes you appear to be 'a simple, inanimate, inorganic object of same or lesser mass. The illusion is a temporary one, whose duration increases with the caster's proficiency. Illusions generate the same sensations of touch, feel, smell, sight and sound that they are intended to emulate' -- again, that's from the Spells of Mysticism. So, the trick is to think of an object, something about your size, and shape the mana to create that appearance around yourself, so to speak."

Reilly summoned up the energy she had remaining and reentered clara. After this was done -- and it took a while -- she elected to try for a simple stone column. There were some in her parents' home, so she knew about what they looked like and such. She shaped the energy around and inside her, causing the arcalysis, creating the mana, then weaving a web of illusory magic. It took a long time. Minutes dragged by. But finally, she felt everything snap into place. The illusion was complete.

"Well done," Mistress Domenique said as Reilly dropped out of clara. "Now for your final spell of the day. This one is called Invisibility. Again, to quote, 'Using the power to bend the rays of perception, a Mystic can cloak herself or her companion in a field that will render the target invisible to the naked eye.' Your energy then should be focused on deflecting the perceptions of others."

Reilly was feeling very, very tired by this time, but she could tell there wasn't any point in arguing with Mistress Domenique. So she entered clara again. The process took even longer this time, given her state of exhaustion. When she reached it, she reached into the energy again, trying to create a field that would deflect detection by sight. This weave was challenging for her, and she almost lost clara twice -- she thought she would never get used to this whole Astral Plane thing. But finally, she felt the spell succeed, and she knew she was out of sight, if not out of mind.

"Good," Mistress Domenique said. Reilly dropped clara quickly. She felt so tired that she could barely stand up.

"That's all you can do for today, Reilly. Go home, and return again in the morning."

[Reilly]

To be honest, Reilly didn't feel anywhere near refreshed the next brightening -- although she wasn't in quite the same condition as she had been the day before -- and the young woman stifled a yawn as she wandered into the classroom.

Again, Mistress Domenique ignored her pupil's condition and simply began where they had left off previously. "Your first spell for today is Psionic Orb.To quote again, 'Focusing her own neural energies, the Mystic can launch a small sphere of psychic shock in the form of a psionic orb. When the orb strikes an opponent at close range, it delivers a stun that deals both damage and immobilizes the creature.' Hence, the energy of your own mind is expelled outward in a controlled, forceful, disruptive blast. I'd like you to try this on me -- trust me, Reilly, you can't actually hurt me."

"I wouldn't think so," Reilly muttered under her breath as she tried to relax and enter clara. The process got easier as she practiced it more, although it still took several minutes to do it. When she reached the medatative state, she tried to focus her mental energy, to get the essence, then to shape the mana into an orb charged with psychic energy. For a long time, nothing happened. Then, without warning, a blue orb shot away from her toward her instructor. It sped towards her, then dissolved six inches from her face.

"Good, Reilly," she said. "With practice, you'll be able to aim better and perform the spell more quickly.

"The next spell, Reveal, is something of a tricky one. Quoting again, 'The Mystic has the capacity to read the thoughts of others. By using this spell, the caster will be able to discern the true feelings, emotions or thoughts of the target. The success of this spell is based upon the level of intelligence of the target, the caster's proficiency with the spell, and the proximity to the target.' It takes practice to be able to discern what you're looking for. We'll start easy. Come here, take my hand in yours, and tell me what I'm thinking of."

Reilly complied, taking Mistress Domenique's hand and clearing her mind. When she reached clara, she went through the whole process again, shaped the energy, using it to probe her instructor's mind. At first, there was nothing but confusing emotions, random words that vanished before she could remember them. Suddenly, without warning, a clear image popped into her mind, the image of a bird with red wings. "It's a bird, one with red wings," Reilly said.

"Very good," Mistress Domenique said, giving her pupil a chance to rest for a moment. After this pause, she continued, "Today's final spell is Spell Nullify. Quoting again, 'The Mystic is able to counter a spell that has yet been cast by creating a field of psionic energy that is imbued with the spirit of coherence, for this field will anticipate the type of spell to be cast, and shall counter it. This spell functions only for spells cast at the same level, or lower, of proficiency as the Mystic caster.' You must create a field, a coherent field from the mana, one that will dissolve any spell I attempt to cast. I'll let you cast then try a weak spell to test how effective it was."

"Yes, ma'am." Reilly closed her aching eyes and concentrated on reaching clara. When it finally happened, she took the energy around her, created the arcalysis, and gathered the necessary essence. Then she began shaping the mana as a sort of preemptive shield. When she thought the field was ready, she said, "I'm ready, Mistress."

Mistress Domenique elected to try Objectify, mimicking the column that Reilly had made. For a moment, her image wavered; then, the spell vanished. Reilly could feel the energy dispersing, and the unaltered, undisguised form of her teacher remained before her. The spell had been nullified.

Reilly dropped out of clara, exhausted. "That will do for today," Mistress Domenique said.

[Reilly]

Again, Reilly dragged herself into the classroom the following brightening. This time, however, she took some comfort in Mistress Domenique's first remark. "Two more spells to learn, Reilly, and then you'll be finished with your initiate-level studies. After that, it's just practice until Apprentice."

"Your first spell for today is Suggestion, one of the most useful initiate spells. To quote, 'This spell will enable the Mystic to implant a short, brief suggestion in the mind of the target. The suggestion is usually a one-word feeling, sensation or thought that will likely elicit a natural reaction. For example, the suggestion of hot might cause an enemy to drop a weapon.' Again, I'd like you to try this on me. Your lexical weapon is 'cold.'"

Reilly gave a barely-audible sigh and closed her eyes. Clara came more easily this time, and she (relatively) quickly began manipulating the energy. Form it into a suggestion, put it in her teacher's mind. Cold. Cold. Cold. Nothing happened for a minute. Then, Mistress Domenique reached for her sweater. As soon as she did, she said, "Excellent, Reilly."

The young woman dropped back out of meditation and waited attentively as Mistress Domenique continued. "Your final spell is Terrify. Quoting again, 'Activating the emotion of fear, the Mystic can implant a sensation of terror into the heart of her desired target. If the target responds, it shall panic and attempt to flee, though this sensation of terror only lasts for a brief period of time.' As you can tell, the process isn't much different from that of Suggestion, but it's more specific. Go ahead and try it."

By this time, Reilly, sensing the end, was ready. She dropped into meditation, performed the arcalysis and obtained the mana, then performed almost precisely the same weave as before, but altering it as Mistress Domenique had said. A look of vague unease passed over her instructor's face. Then she said, "Very good, Reilly. If I were not a high-level mage, I would have been quite frightened."

As the exhausted Reilly sank back out of Clara, Mistress Domenique said, "That concludes the initiate mysticism class. I shall hope to see you for apprentice in the near future."

"Thanks," Reilly managed.

[Reilly]

Done? Was she really done? The answer was yes...and no, Reilly reflected as she walked slowly home. She was an initiate, that was true. But it was already clear to her that she was going to have to do more.

What she had done now was interesting, but hardly useful. Everything took too long, and she felt her hold on clara was too tenuous to rely on in case of an emergency. There would need to be more practicing, more study, more lessons. This wouldn't change her plans to leave Demios -- she hated it here far too much to stay -- but she would have to return, at least for Apprentice lessons, possibly again for Journeyman.

She was tired, but determined. This was going to happen.

[Dragon]

OOC: Approved =]