Rialyn's Initiate Elementalism

[Rialyn]

Brightening 47 of Junctior
Summer, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XI PF
Late Morning

Rialyn found herself back at the academy one brightening later, as she had been instructed to, though this time she was not quite sure where her final destination was. She had entered through that main, firey building once more, this time making her way up the stairs, keeping a sharp eye on the room numbers and how they progressed.

"203 had been the room number," she mumbled out loud, just passing yet another room that was not the desired number. Master Nicholas was the instruction the clerk had mentioned, wasn't he? Rialyn was not quite sure what to expect from this Arcana training. The girl had never done nor seen anything like this, at least not that she knew of. She had no idea if there was a proper dress needed for this kind of training, nor what exactly the training would involve. When dressing this morning she simply went for comfortable and mobile. Cotton black trousers and a simple lavender shirt were her choice for the day.

She was not even sure why she had really taken it up. That 400 golden crowns probably could have been put towards something a bit more useful, or needed in her new life. She had very little already. Still, it really was a bit too late to be thinking about all of this now, when she suddenly found herself standing in front of the wooden door she sought.

Raising a hand she knocked firmly, feeling strangely nervous and excited all at once. Well, if this did end up being a waste of money, she hoped it would at least be an interesting waste and one that she would not completely regret.

[Dragon]

"Come in." Came a manly voice of her master from inside of the room. He was sitting there by a table. It was one of the usual classrooms in the University. Just a few chairs, one desk and quite a few cupboards. On the ground there were quite a few pillows, probably for students to fall onto when the Unbinding technique knocked them out. Each classroom was a little bit different. In some windows were small and in some large. In this particular one there was a small window, probably for the spells such as Glowing Sphere to have a better visual effect. And there were three Glowing Spheres hovering near the ceiling, illuminating the room.

The master was an old human, 67 patterns. Nicholas was a human with white, short hair that were rarely ever combed. He had blue eyes that shined with wisdom and experience. A large scar runs along his whole left arm, which he got when summoning a Fire Elemental. Fire and Earth were his main Essences. Like all mages of the University he wore a white robe with red stripes going through the whole length of it that go rather well on his plump, but tall built. "Well come in, come in poppet." He said to the girl and waved his hands to the pillows. he had a habbit, a habbit to call everyone poppet, hero and many other names.

As soon as Rialyn sat down comfortably he spoke up again. "Well tell me something about yourself. Why you wish to study arcana and why you chose elementalism in particular." His voice definitely announced that he was an old man, but it was also kind, supportive and light at the same time as well. He was probably the most respected master in the Universitas. While all others had some great and some bad rumours flowing around them. Well, Rialyn had a perfect chance to decide about this master herself after just a few more classes.

[Rialyn]

She walked in to the room, not managing to do much to mask her nervousness. It was not difficult to spot the man who had invited her in, presumably this man was her teacher. She was somehow relieved to see that the red robed mage apparently had many years behind him. Images of being taught by nothing but another apprentice had filled her mind all the last night. Those images always resulted in her being set on fire or blown up in some ghastly, though mistaken, manner.

"Serale, you're...Master Nicholas, right?" She smiled, a bit embarrassed by the somewhat silly question. He was the only person in the room that she had been told to come to at this appointed time. Why would he not be Master Nicholas?

Shaking her head slightly, she turned her eyes to really take in the room now. The first thing she noticed was the small number of chairs and the cushions that lay around the room. Rialyn had somehow hoped that she would not be taking this class alone, and the classroom setup suggested that it could easily accomadate a small number of students. Though I suppose there aren't all that many who study Arcana, she mused, bringing her eyes back to her instructor.

"Ah...why I've chosen elementalism...?" Was it a trick question? Would he throw her out if she did not answer with the exact wording he was looking for? He doesn't seem like the type... "Ah, well...I really don't have much else here or anywhere else for that matter. I think...at first I just wanted a way to occupy my time, but..." She paused here, not quite sure what to say. Rialyn was not adept at interpreting the more complicated emotions that pulsed within her being. She brought one pale hand up to her chest, resting it gently against where her heart was. "I want to be able to do something, and...I guess it just feels right to me."

The girl was not quite sure if any of that rambling could even be pieced together to form a coherent thought. Dropping her hand to her side, she looked up, waiting for her instructor's approval.

[Dragon]

"I see... so that's why you want to learn arcana, am I right? But then you still haven't answered why you chose elementalism. There was still druidism and mysticism for sure. Quite interesting spheres that. Just don't hurry with the answer. We have still a good few candlemarks before our time shall run out. Think about it. It can't be that you just closed your eyes and poked a finger at the list, hitting this sphere, can it?" Apparently the master really was not giving up that easy and was willing to sit here and wait, drinking tea, till a good enough answer would be provided.

Arcana was after all such a vast thing and there were so many possibilities that opened up for those who studied it well. Elementalism now was quite a strange sphere, but there were a lot of people who chose it. And so the master wanted to know those reasons, or at least one, but a good one. Then and only then he'd actually start the lessons and perhaps unbound Rialyn. It would be the best feeling ever for her if it would be successful. And feels right was not good enough of an answer for the master to dive into meditation and use his tricks to unbind Rialyn's mind into the Astral world.

[Rialyn]

Rialyn frowned, suddenly feeling very awkward, standing there with nothing to say. "Ah, well..." She fumbled for words, not quite sure what kind of answer he was looking for. He had said that she hadn't answered his question, but when she looked back on her words she saw the answer quite plainly. Still, it probably was not what he was looking for. Groaning in frustration she dropped herself down on the nearest cushion, settling her head in her hands, staring at the pale skin of her palm.

"I don't really know what you're looking for here...Most people, I guess, decide to do things based off of what they've done or witnessed in the past. Perhaps someone else would like to learn this particular sphere so they can protect their family from bandits, or prove themselves worthy for some person, or because it's been a sphere practiced by their bloodline, or perhaps just be prepared to travel out in the world, but..." She paused here, knowing very well what she was getting at, but not quite sure if she wanted to say it. Rialyn was perfectly happy living in blissful unawareness; unfortunately the world seemed to have different ideas for her.

"I really don't have a past to take any experiences off of, so...When I say it just feels right, perhaps that is something from my past, but I don't know what." Sighing, she looked up, dropping her hand to her lap. "I probably aren't making any sense, am I. I don't even know if I'd understand what I'm trying to say," she said, shrugging lightly. "Well, if you want a more precise answer, I suppose I want to learn Elementalism because the idea of...controlling those elements does fascinate me, but...I can't give any better answer then that."

[Dragon]

"Good enough." The master smiled. Now the answer really did seem full and true and he was completely happy with it. Now. Now that he accepted her, he had to begin teaching her. And so the first thing for any person who wanted to study arcana was being Unbound. A wonderful thing indeed. "In order to manipulate, to even see the magic world of arcana a person has to be Unbound. You probably heard that mages meditate to cast spells. However no matter how much a simply person meditates he would never reach Clara, see magic or be able to cast spells. That is because his mind is locked for the arcana world. Everyone's mind is. Well... perhaps except for dragons, ancient allerians and... well I don't know those. Fortunately for us mortals, be it humans, elves or orcs, we can break that barrier and manipulate arcana just like the ancient ones."

"Being Unbound is a wonderful feeling. However I must warn you that not everyone can be Unbound. Usually people who are still children, 4 or 8 patterns old can be Unbound, but older people are much harder to be taught in this. Most can't even be unbound and it won't matter how good the master is. Some others... get side effects. There even have been deaths. So this process really isn't for just anyone. However as each and every of my student said, it is worth it, worth the whole world. But I must ask you, just like I asked them, are you sure you are ready? If so. Then I shall try to Unbind you."

The master sat there. Calm and relaxed waiting for Rialyn's response. He knew her answer though. Those who were destined for arcana chose it at whatever cost and never let go of it from there. Those who weren't simply didn't try and start with it. That was why there was a single mage in one thousand or so people. From that only one fourth were adepts. While masters were a complete rarity. A single master in a whole city was the usual case. Such was the world of Telath. So far no one complained too loudly to the gods about it either. So far.