[Tawnleaf] Druidism 101 (Initiate Druidism, self-mod)

[Illioas Syl'lithar]

TIMESTAMP: 1st of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIII Post Fractum, the First Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne.

Men'talias and Illioas were isolated in a small glade, a place where the power of nature was undeniable. It coursed through the place, almost as though it were the life blood of the forest itself. Illioas could feel it pulsing through him, it was intoxicating. A giddy feeling washed over him, it was a wonderous place that he was in.

"I know you are a lover of nature and worship Carmelya devoutly, and these facts in and of themselves are enough for me. Still I must ask, what do you intend to do with the power that I am to impart upon you?" Men'talias sat with his eyes closed and his legs crossed, barely breathing.

Illioas copied his new masters example and sat with his legs crossed and his elbows resting on his knees. He, however, did not close his eyes or slow his breathing. "What else is a druid to do besides protect nature? I want more than simple to be at peace with nature, I wish to be one with it in a way that is only possible through being a druid."

Men'talias nodded, "That is satisfactory, I suppose. If it came down to it, and you had to choose between nature and Carmelya, what would you choose?" The mage opened his eyes, and looked deeply into Illioas.

Without hesitation Illioas answered, "Nature, without a doubt."

The druid smiled and nodded, "Let us begin."

[Illioas Syl'lithar]

For a long time nothing happened. In fact the pair sat there for several candlemarks in silence, both with their eyes closed, both apparently simply meditating. Illioas had no training or knowledge of things arcanomechanical in nature, but he was fairly certain that this was not how the knowledge was to be imparted. Eventually Men'talias said in a far off voice, "Please excuse the long wait, arcana has been very touch and go in Syl'rosya for some time now and nobody seems to know why. It makes it difficult to get into clara and cast at times. I will now see if you are unbound, which you most likely are since the unbinding stone was broken after the aethergem fractured."

Illioas felt a sudden and painful feeling in his head. He didn't know what it was bu he felt as though he were about to pass out. He felt as though his head was about to be crushed. Abruptly the pain stopped and Men'talias spoke again, "You are unbound, I appologize if you felt any pain. I almost underwent the process of what is called promotion. I nearly dismantled the mental block holding you back from a whole new level of arcanic power that your mind was not prepared for. You will have to practice with the power that I impart upon you before you are ready for the next level."

The master druid opened his eyes and informed Illioas that he could do the same, "For now we will speak simply of a basic rule you should know so that you do not overtax yourself. The consequence of breaking this rule could be a simple headache, or it could be death." He rearranged himself and began speaking, "It is called the rule of three most commonly, or at least it's how I've heard it referred to. At the initiate level - your level - you can cast a maximum of three spells at your level each day, if you go over that there will be dangerous consequences. At the apprentice level you can typically cast nine initiate level spells or three apprentice level spells. At the adept level you can cast a virtually unlimited amount of initiate level spells, nine apprentice spells, or three adept spells. Once you're a master you will be able to cast unlimited amounts of initiate and apprentice level spells, nine adept level, or three master level spells. Archmages, well they are on a whole other level. You can't even begin to imagine their power. You can cast virtually unlimited amounts of spells from initiate to master, and most archmages can only cast three spells at their level but some are so powerful that this rule does not even apply to them in the slightest."

Men'talias stood up and straightened his robes, "That is it for this brightening, meet me here tomorrow at dawn." Suddenly, somehow, the druid disappeared into the mists of the forest. Illioas could do little else now. He had received his warning and as far as he knew he was ready for the official training to start. Or at least ready for it to start on the next brightening.

[Illioas Syl'lithar]

When Illioas arrived at the small glade Men'talias was already there, pacing around in a circle looking intently at some large piece of bark. For some time he was mumbling and walking around faster and faster, ignoring his new pupils presence there. He started to ramble on about things that made absolutely no sense to the would-be druid.

Suddenly Men'talias stopped and looked up at Illioas, "I was going to lecture you on some basic techniques but I've never felt that I was very good at communicating any kind of arcanomechanics to anybody, so just read this tablet and it should give you any pointers you need. From there I'll try to guide you through the meditation process that you'll have to undergo to be able to do anything. You can keep it." He handed over the large piece of bark which turned out to have a great deal of writing on it, which read:

“Meditate” – This technique enables the mage to clear his mind of extraneous thoughts, establishing a proper basis for spellcasting. Greater profiency in this skill will enable mages to more quickly and effectively clear their minds and concentrate while under high stress situations. Often, practitioners seek the aid of a soothing drink or the relaxing perfume of incense to induce a meditative state, but once in the meditative state, physical perception declines, while arcane perception increases. When meditating, spellcasters can detect the presence of arcana in relatively close proximity. The Ancient Allerians termed this technique clara, and it is a prerequisite for casting any spell. The other two primary techniques, focus and channel are optional mechanisms to enhance the spells being cast.

“Focus” – 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.

“Channel” – 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.

“Dispel” – 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.

Men'talias sat and closed his eyes and Illioas followed suit. The master druid began to speak, "Begin to clear your mind of everything around you, the noises, the smells, the sensations, the taste of the air, and even the blackness that engulfs your closed eyes. You must rid yourself of all your senses and become completely unaware of the material world. The farther you are from the material, the closer you are to the arcane, and in our case the closer you are to the arcane the closer you are to nature. Once here you can enter clara."

For half an hour they sat before Men'talias finally spoke again, disturbing Illioas' peace, "If you are finding it difficult to enter clara some find a calming thought is useful, but that too must eventually melt away. I am currently having difficulty maintaining clara, do not be disturbed by this, it is simply the odd nature of arcana in Syl'rosya at the moment."

It seemed as though an eternity had passed, and surely it had, before Illioas finally went into clara, but it was only for the briefest of moments as the world around him flickered and he could see again without seeing. The world around him had been a virtual matrix, but as quickly as it had come it was lost again. It took another ten minutes for the Elf to be able to regain clara again.

Men'talias spoke, "I can sense you in clara. You must see clouds of matter floating around you that is not attached to any shaped form. I want you to quite litterally focus in on it. After that I want you to do what is called channeling, bring a certain amount of it, at your discretion of course, toward yourself and into your being."

Illioas did as instructed, singling out a cloud of ara that was passing him by and began to draw on it, but not all of it. He pulled half of it toward himself, how he did it he could not possibly imagine. When it came into contact with his vis Illioas was propelled into the astral plane where he found himself to be in a vast vortex, a whirling pool that drew his consciouness downward. Instead of water in this place there was colour in many different shades. He was confused and didn't know where to go but he knew he wanted to interact with nature. Suddenly a flash of green dominated the bottom of the vortex and he was rapidly sucked down into it. He couldn't be sure but believed he was tapping into the forces of nature, and being foolish as he was decided to unleash the power he'd gathered.

Luckily for him, and the surrounding area his ability to remain in clara had just cut out again and there was no damage done. Illioas simply panted with his eyes wide open and Men'talias sat opposite him, staring directly into his eyes. "I was sucked into a vortex and there was green, and then I tried to cast and then there was nothing."

Men'talias smiled grimly, "It sounds as though you were in the astral plane and tapped into the nature plane. Luckily for both of us there was interference again or we would both very likely be dead. You must shape the mana into a spell, something which you cannot do yet but will be able to once I impart the knowledge upon you. That will not happen on this brightening. We will continue tomorrow." Men'talias disappeared into the mists again, and Illioas found that, incredibly enough, it was the darkening now. The entire brightening had passed them by.