[Desert Oasis Cafe] ~Reflections~

[Shadow]

Era I of the Celestine mandate, Era XV Post Fractum
Winter Season in the Beginning of Kalendryas.

An open window allowed for the cool night air to dance about the room. playing against curtains. Lying in the middle of the bed, tired from the events this brightening, a small red fox was curled up only partially aware of the surrounding world as its mind slowly began to drift way in sleep. Occasionally his body would move amids the happenings of dreams, those of which only the fox truly knew of. Scents of different spices and perfumes being stirred about from the city below, each being swept into the room by the wind like some usher presenting wayward guests to their destinations. At once it was stimulating, every so often the sent of the room would change, rousing the fox a bit as its fur rustled and its nose sniffed the air. But also it was soothing, calm and perhaps sensual.

To the side of the bed, near a simple end table sat a simple leather bag. It sat, its ties slightly unstrung as if its contents had previously been inspected. On the Table itself, formerly white garments sat in a small basin, soaking as the water slowly sullied itself pulling out the blood, dirt and sand that had been left as a testament to the sort of activities the katta had been involved in that brightening. Next to the bowl was a small vial of clear water with a bit of string tied about it like a necklace, and a simple dagger with a black leather sheath. At the base of the bowl, two ribbons of cloth sat, one red carefully placed smoothed out, folded over once. Next to it, more towards the corner was a dark navy one, coiled slightly as if it was dropped and allowed to settle atop itself.

Pillows that, previously in the day had sat piled in the corner of the room, had been drawn out to the center, lain comfortably atop the plush purple rug that lined the ground. Atop the Pillows was the focus of the room. Silhouetted in moonlight against the night, Legs folded under its body, his hands set folded on his knees, the left hand covered in bandages. As he sat his dark fur was being caressed by the breeze as it tried furiously to gain attention, tail slowly snaking back and forth across the pillows as if stalking the beaded curtain that lay just a few feet before it. Even though his eyes were closed, there remained an air of attentiveness about him, Occasionally an ear perking up from the rustling of the beads or sounds from outside.

Rhythmically breathing, his breaths were slow. Each time taking a moment to enjoy the new aroma's brought to him. As all things, with time even the most well tempered sword can rust, cities crumble, and everything is returned to the land. Without maintenance all things wain, and this was a truth of the world that this particular katta was privy to. Though, there was no bitterness behind the knowledge, after all in exchange he was allowed to live once more. Like all things in the world, only that which was worth effort is worth keeping. Though once a master to the arcane ways, his skills were now a shadow of what they used to be, an bit of irony that was not lost to him. But, in order to regain those skills he knew he would have to begin at the basics. Meditation was the key to re-aligning himself with the flow of the world, becoming once more acquainted with the flow of sorcery's essence, Force. The Motion of the world itself. The Rise and Fall of his chest with each breath, the breeze against his fur, the sound of the beads, the rustling caused by Fili... Each an example of the most basic element of this power.

Clearing his mind was easy enough, or so he believed. But it had been some time since he has sought the respite from the hassles of the world though discipline. Meditation was different then relaxation, though the two were similar. His morning bath was relaxation. There he was able to let his mind wander, drift from thought to thought with out any guidance or care. Should he seek to even draw the landscape of his mind blank, it was permitted. Though Now, was subtlety different. Now there was a goal. In of it self, Meditation differed from relaxation in that this was a journey of sorts. There was a goal, a purpose. And that was where the line that divide the two was. In this moment, its measurement unimportant, awareness of the world was the goal, seeking to go beyond what was and to discover was is.

It had been many Era's since his mind interacted with the forces known as Arcana, Mixtures of Ara and vis, vivid colors, fragrant scents. As he sat he could almost remember what it was like. In the air he could almost smell the magics that moved around the city, almost taste them... Inside he could feel the gap that was created, the emptiness that reached out hungry to be filled once more.

[Darkmavrck]

Time burned by slowly for the katta, frustratingly so. The powers of the multi-verse were not something to be toyed with and those that were once attuned to a sphere and then lost their way rarely found the path again. To naturally lose a familiarity that had once been so close felt like the abandonment of the very essence that composed the soul, the emptiness of losing a close friend turning into an endless bleak void with no bottom to the depths.

Here in this void the katta known as shadow struggled for his mind, no his life as his soul sought the clarity that it yearned for. All around him the sounds of this world, the material plane, invaded his thought process, pulling and tugging at his focus, leading it astray from his chosen path. Try as he might his mind simply would not ascend to the heightened level of peace that was needed to channel his energies into another plane. In his minds eye there was only darkness, the voices of the astral plane called but his focus was too weak, too unrefined from the days he had summoned the power with familiarity. Now like a long lost love there were only memories and sorrow that resided.

And something else, it blended into the landscape of his mind at first, and had been easily missed. Something dark, with overwhelming strength, something so familiar to himself that it seemed to be made up of the very substance he called for. It was the same yet completely different in some unknown way. It moved silently through the darkness, lurking, seeking, much like himself. As the katta focused on the being it became more familiar, it felt so close to him, no it was him, his own astral form, his Vis tangled in the webs between planes, searching, calling to him. Shadow had found himself, he could remember what his essence was, and how it felt. Now if he could align his physical and mental form with that spiritual essence, perhaps he could reach out to the plane of force.

[Shadow]

Though in the darkness of the void it was difficult to tell when it ended and he began, his mind was steadfast. He knew what was at stake, and that mistakes could not be made. Luckily he was in no hurry. Standing in the darkness, the worlds beyond tugging at the fabric of his mind, he patiently waited...

Observing, watching, understanding... Noticing another presence with in the darkness with him, stalking, watching, like him. Stalking the darkness, it mirrored him, no. It was him. But not entirely. Reaching out for it as he moved closer, he was not entirely sure what to expect. But he was sure by the way it smelled, the feel of its movements, that it was him, a part of him.

Two halves standing in the darkness, One lost. The other reaching out...

Coming face to face, their arms moving in unison, like reflections in a mirror, slowly their hands met, the darkness rippling at the merger. Sounds, colors, distinct scents and a well spring of knowledge seemed to be uncovered in an instant. Images of spells being cast, powerful incantations, all springing forth in a moments time... being covered by the darkness just as quickly as they sprang forth. For one brief moment, there was clarity.

[Darkmavrck]

Shadow’s body resisted the change at first, trying to push his Vis away from him, repelling the power it held. He could feel his muscles tense, his mind refusing the presence of another. However, as the katta slowly pushed into the warmth of his inner being he felt how truly cold he had become. Shivers and chills ran through every limb in his body, making the millions of tiny hairs that covered the katta stand up on end in an instant. His breath vacated him, leaving him cold and alone, with the feelings of approaching death closing its grasp about his neck. The void that surrounded him now filled him, beckoning him into that final slumber.

Then, as his body was about to unwillingly slip away a fire ignited deep within him, guiding him. It seemed to flow through every vein in his body, igniting his flesh and mind with an intense burn of knowledge, flashes of memories filling his mind, his earlier days of crafting spells, a residual link to a past the man knew nothing of. He could remember his Vis, how it felt, how to channel in the powers of the outer world an mix them to create mana. A small part of his archaic knowledge falling back into the puzzle of his mind confirmed this was something he knew. He had the control of his Vis but it was now up to shadow to figure out how to use it.

[Shadow]

Power. Knowledge. Understanding.

Vis and Ara swirling together, connected. It was the beginning step for any spell caster who sought to form a spell. The jagara's fur stood on end, his body tremors, as he felt himself become whole, a bit of the the truth of who he was unlocked. As the darkness receded from his mind, slowly his body calmed, small shivers occasionally coming over him as the night passed on.

Time seemed to stand still for him, and not seeking to rush, he took in the feeling of the energy as it ebbed and flowed around him. What he sought was close to him, the connection had been made, and now it was important to maintain, as well not be distracted by the knowledge that danced in his mind. Many spells waited, ready to leap to the foreground of his mind, eager. But, he did not come to cast spells, not yet. Not here. There was still an element of caution, a spell could go awry, and eagerness was the quickest road to such hazards.

Tilting his head towards the window, his nose rose, sniffing at the air, mouth hanging open just enough to taste the breeze as it moved in. There was magic in the city still, he could feel it. Pushing out his sense a little more, he reached out for the strands of Ara in the room, his Vis slowly extending from him, small strands moving out like cobwebs in the wind. Though unlike such they seemed more purposed, and more cautious, reaching out like the hand of a child to a flame.

[Darkmavrck]

Yes, shadow could feel the essences all around him, each borrowing power from a different plane of existence, a link to a higher level of power. He let his Vis spread searching for the Ara he needed, roaming his surroundings like a hungry predator checking each nook and cranny, washing over the area like a tide of subtle force sweeping away the cobwebs of his past and allowing him to see everything for what it truly was.

The life energies of the plants around him pushed away at his forceful touch, the icy energies that filled the cold desert winds fractured as he neared them. It seemed that each thing was associated with its own power and he had yet to find his. Then as his mind scoured the room he felt a soft caress in the back of his skull. Then again, fluid, gentle and rhythmic, as if it were keeping time with it slow steady swing. And it was, as shadow opened his senses more and concentrated on the source of the movement he could hear the soft click and latch of a clock. The arm gently swinging too and fro, the force of the movement guiding him rather then working against him.

It was like another lock on the door of his mind had been set free. His Vis swirled with the Ara an Shadow could feel the warmth inside of him, a new power, a caressing energy that flowed through him like a river smoothing the actions of his soul. It has taken a while but Shadow had finally, once again aligned himself with the plane of force, giving him a link to the Mana needed for sorcery.

[Shadow]

Slowly, he pulled his vis back into himself, careful not to pull any mana into himself. While his body hungered for that essence, he had come along way tonight, and it would be unfortunate to make a mistake now. Such things could be left for the morning, In a more appropriate place of study.

Placing his paws on the ground in front of him, careful of the amount of weight he placed on his left paw, he moved his body slowly forward letting his weight shift from rest on his legs stretching his arms forward slowly along the ground until eventually his stomach touched the floor. Rolling on to his back, he opened his eyes, in the direction of the window to look out at the starry sky. A cold breeze blowing in from the window, gently caressing his fur. The crisp air helping to bring his mind back to focus on now.

There was so much to understand again. The first step had been taken. He could still reach out to the energies. Next, he would have to test himself as to how much he could stand and how quickly he could get there. That was the key in the beginning. After that, he could begin to think about actually casting spells. The stars in the sky danced for a while as he thought, each one of them distantly related. It was all around him. There to be used.

Letting his mind drift off as he thought about his training and the nature of the world around him, the physical strain of reconnecting to such energies started to take its effect, as his eyes slowly grew heavy until the night sky through the window was over taken by the darkness of sleep.

[Shadow]

Darkenings passed and Brightenings came, as was the nature of things, the dance of time. Each morning, it became habit, slowly the jagara would wake, stepping softly out of his bed, and walk to the window of his room opening the curtains that held the world back and greet each day as the twin suns rose over the horizon, warming the air as the shadows of the buildings peeled away at the sun's radiance.

Stretching, he moved to the center of the room, resting on a few of the throw pillows that migrated from corner to corner while not in use. Each morning there was meditation, and as the world awoke, he would watch it grow into motion, attuning himself slowly to the world around him. Moving out from the wind against his fur, the motion of his body as he breathed, chest slowly rising and falling, the beating of his heart. Passing over Fili's body, moving over the wind through the window, down the steps of the Oasis...Each day stretching his senses out further and further, working on ease and speed of transition, distance of sense, and sensitivity of feeling.

There was one thing to be able to enter the state, and another to use it. But neither would be right for him. To make his meditation as thoughtless as breathing was the goal. Just as one holds their breath and decides to breath again, such would such a link become, two hearts beating as one, now, each was beating in their own rhythm, though soon, the two would beat as one.

The month of Kalendryas passed slowly, and in time Immanis came. Still each morning's routine was the same. In the evenings, he traveled about the city, watching people move about their day, each unaware of the small nuances of nature passing between them. On Occasion the Desert Oasis would get deliveries and he would help them move boxes and heavy containers filled with foodstuffs and spices. While merely an exercise in physical nature, there was still a link.

Everything was linked, though what people do not see with their eyes often goes unnoticed. It was simple in the idea, and that's what made it's truth ring even more clearly.

One month in the city, the walls began to seem like a cage. The 5th brightening of Immanis had come, nothing seemed different about this day. Both sun's rose slowly over the horizon, but something seemed different about the wind. Reaching out in meditation something was off, it was a nagging scense that sat out of reach, taunting the katta as he watched the city awaken. Always just out of reach, moving just in time to evade his sense, eventually, it moved out beyond the walls of the city, the limit to which he had been pushing himself previously. Placing his hands down to stretch again, as he often did when finished with his daily meditation, the floor seemed different and the feeling was one that his body immediately recognized. Scattered lightly about the floor, sand blown in through the window, like dust that had traveled on the wind. Moving up to stand near the window, he looked out, past the wall in the distance, silently nodding to himself.

It was time. He had been waiting to better grasp his abilities before truly starting his practice. Now he was ready to go out, and truly test the limits of his abilities. Letting the sand in his hand fall into the passing breeze he watched it float past the few buildings adjacent to the Oasis before falling out of view. Turning he gave Fili a pat on the head as he passed the bead.
It was almost ritualistic, slowly tying on the white loincloth, the strings that held it on moving his fur as they passed over his hips. The red ribbon carefully tied to his arm, passing over the arm several times before being allowed to hang back down, loose strands dangling from the knot. Each motion carefully executed. There was a reverence in the air, a moment of acknowledgment.

"I'll be back"

Fili looked up from the bed, his eyes worried. It had been a while since they had been apart, though it seemed just as natural. It was clear to the fox that the jagara was coming along finely, his injuries healed. Giving the jagara's hand a lick, he placed his head down on the bed, eyes fixed on the jagara as he moved out of the room with a look that of understanding, though it was clear that he wanted to come along... The jagara's hand giving a final wave as he passed though the beaded curtain on his door.

Calmly through the city he passed. His interests lied beyond the protective walls, and while this place had become where he was living, his true home was just as much beyond the walls as it was with in. Where ever there was sand, there was the spirit of the desert.

Passing through the gate, listening as the two bells of the towers slowly hummed as the wind blew sand against them, the sound was soft, and it was likely that the guards had long blocked out their music. Into the distance he gazed, sand fading into the horizon, the sun's hanging in the air as he slowly walked out. Stopping for a brief moment to take everything in, he lifted his snout to the air, deeply breathing in, noting sent of the world around him. Lowering his head in reverence, he began to walk again, out into the horizon, away from the city...

Walking for what seemed like hours, searching for a suitable place.I know its not much of a post, but I want to let you describe the place in the desert, Then I'll continue to the actual arcana part xD He could sense that there was some where out here for him, a place that was just right for what he was seeking. Somewhere safe, yet not too safe. Some where the desert would allow itself to be reshaped by this child's will.

[Darkmavrck]

The desert was ever changing, the western winds blowing across the dunes and altering them with each day. What one might find one day would be hidden beneath the sands the next. Such was the way here, and such was why even the most experienced trackers and cartographers went mad trying to map out the desert wastelands. Only a handful of monuments stood out in the desert, incapable of being hidden by the wastelands. The ancient pyramids, the few large oasis, the great plateaus and of coarse the five cherished cities of the desert.

To head north meant one would likely find their death in the strangle sands, to the south were the black sands, stained the color of death from countless battles and wars. The east and west held the vast expanses of the high rolling dunes, like a sea frozen in time one wave after another each growing higher the further from the city someone traveled until eventually meeting the natural barriers of the lands.

Shadow had walked east from the city into the setting suns, the western winds at his back, guiding him into the vast expanses of unknown. As the candlemarks burned on and the suns of telath hung overhead, ready to begin their decent into the distant horizon the katta pressed onward, one trudgeing step after another. The sand growing finer as if trying to pull him into the dunes as the jagara walked onward. At last though, as the first sun was beginning to fall a large stone obelisk jutted from the sands, black against the white sea he walked across. The heat waves slowly parted as he drew closer and closer, revealing a second and third. When at last the katta arrived at the location eight of the towering black monuments formed a perfect circle, cutting their way from the sand and into the sky. Strange markings cut into the shining surfaces of the stone stating their importance, though what message they carried was anyones guess.

[Shadow]

As the ever changing sands shifted, moved, guiding the jagara as he walked its hidden path, the wind washing away the small traces of his passing as he followed. Many candle marks passed, fading away, their only measure being the twin sun's descending into the horizon, honoring their ancient pact with the moon, allowing darkness' eventual coming.

Slowly, from the horizon, almost as if the darkness of the night sky were rising up to pierce the light of the sun's in defiance. Following still, half with a curiosity as to what they are. Continuing to let the desert guide him forward, more pillars of darkness rise, closer and closer they come. It was no coincidence, the jagara had been lead here for a reason. Patterned in a Circle fashion, he walked their edges, examining the structures, sniffing at the air as he moved, it was clear that this is where he was to be lead. Danger could be waiting for him, but if it came to such, it was with a reason, a test or lesson to be learned, taught to him by the great mother.

Crossing the threshold of the Obelisk circle, he moved to the center, counting his steps as he moved. Standing with his back to the sun's light, he closed his eyes, breathing in the scents on the wind, feeling it as it whispered over his fur, the temperature slowly fading as the sun's left to their slumber.

Unlike his meditations before, sitting still, silently in his room, entranced by the stillness of his trance, there was a meaning for such methods. The stillness of self, separated from motion, seeking to create distance between himself and the essence he reached for, giving a reason to search for it with in the city, giving him a bond with the motion around him. Now, As he stood, the whispering wind moving across his body, he began to take into himself the nature of what he lived in tune.

The meditation was different, now was the time for expression. It started slow, the dance, tribal in nature forms fit to the movement granted to the katta by the very essence he connected with. It was a part of them, a gift given to their birth. From a motionless position, one leg slowly moved, following the curve of the other leg, breaking off and moving out. Body twisting as it created a circular motion, pivoting on the ball of his foot, the other moving out and down, tracing a circle in the sand. His hands moving out, and up as he turned.

The next steps were not chosen by him, not by will. Opening himself to the desert, he reached out, his steps guided by the sand, the wind, her will. Each motion an expression of that which was a part of him, that which he lived in tune with, rather than beside. The essence that, only through being, could be truely understood. His vis pusing out with each turn, reaching out into the desert, following the lines of motion he created as he turned, twisted, danced with in the circle. The Symbology of life, the art of the dance, carved into the sand with every step, every twist, every part of the wind itself.

[Darkmavrck]

The wind pushed through the obelisks, stirring the sands, the tiny granules lifted by the breeze and slowly cascading around the katta as his paws pushed through the powder in a tribal dance of things long forgotten. His energetic movements kicking up small puffs of dirt and dust as he pushed off, the dance guided only by his own spirit in worship of ancient ways.

Shadows Vis slowly began leaking from his body as he gave up control of his movements. The man’s muscles twitching and pushing of their own will as he freed himself of all thought, simply being while the world flowed around him. Slowly, even slower then it had been before in the room, the katta began to slip into a state of Clara. It was brief at first, in then quickly falling again, continuing the strenuous dace before slowly creeping back into the form of enlightenment.

Finally as his mind latched on to the state of being, his soul completely aligning with the planes of arcana shadow’s Vis began to recognize the Aura of the world around them. The thin lines drawn in the sand, the small tendrils that traced the grains drifting though the air, each of them covered in the essence of force, begging to be drawn in and carefully combined into tangible mana that could be sculpted into a wondrous spell.

[Shadow]

One step after another, the drumming of the sand, the howling of the wind, the jagara continued to dance to the beat of the Desert. Many had forgotten her song, forgotten the steps. Even he himself did not 'know' them, such was a thing no 'man' could teach. The movements were quick, wide turns, twists of the body, feet striking at the ground, hands moving through the air, reaching up and twisting down. The strain was great on the body, such was part of the gift, the waters of life pulled by the heat of the sun fell to the ground, the sand catching them as they landed. The dance raged on, waiting for nightfall, Vis tracing out into the sand, seeking, gathering the essence for mana, tracing over the black stones, climbing over the surfaces, winding up the bases like vines growing over ancient walls.

As the darkness of night cast its shadow over the desert, the dance began to reach its conclusion. the movements were fierce, the force of strength and will showed with each final impact, each turn and twist bringing the katta back to the center of the circle. A final jump, body twisting in the air, reaching up towards the stars in the heavens, body impacting with the land, landing crouched to the ground, one hand claws out still grasped to the sky above. The beast's chest panting heavely, eyes closed. Moments passed, the cold wind of night russtled through his fur as his breath slowly calmed. The beast's head slowly raised, eyes slowly opening to cast their gaze upon the stars. As his body rose, claw still holding the sky in place, mana moving to his hand.

At the center of the circle, standing beneath the trapped sky, dark eyes paralyzing their prey. There was silence... the air seemed to stand still. Calling the mana that was gathered to himself, letting it flow through his body, Moving up his arm to the sky, letting it gather around his fist. Fingers unfolding until an open palm faced the sky. The last moment of silence passed. Dragging his claws against the sky it self as it grabbed for the stars, Evoking their power with a loud roar into the night, using the mana to call down the very star's in the heaven's. The Clawing motion leading him to return to a crouched position in the sand. His fingers caressing the lines in the sand, pushing the rest of the mana he gathered into the obelisk, calling out the desert to awaken to meet her child.

[Darkmavrck]

The movement was exhausting, the footholds in the sand easily slipping causing the katta to work twice as hard not to fall. The cold wind swirling about his form with each step, chilling the sweat that began to dampen his fur, brought on a bitter cold, washing over Shadow as his movements reach their peak and he summoned the light given off by the stars and moon.

His mind had drew in the manna collecting it, carefully channeling small amounts through his arm, along the bicep, crawling like a spiral staircase around his forearm and then dancing from his fingertips into the air. The miniscule particles of power lazily drifting skyward, colliding with one another and slowly rotating about the center of his focused energy. As the spell began to take shape and the jagara funneled more of his energy into the dim glow of the heavens began to take shape just above the palm of his hand. Then like the rolling sea, as the energies pulled together for him for the first time in eras, they couldn’t be stopped. More and more of the energy was pulled up from his body, through the funnel to meet their new pivotal role in this world. Shaped with the ferocity of the katta as he let out the thunderous roar, the pale blue haze of the moons that circled Telath filled his hand in an instant. As the claws drug earthward, trails of light slipped between his fingers giving illumination to the night as he tried to channel the energy evenly into it.

The task was hard, as if the spell were too simple for him. His Ara colliding with the Vis around him and condensing into uneven streams of mana that pulsed as the orb of light violently sucked at his reserves, hungry for more and more like an angry child. It flashed between its pale blue and a blinding white that with each flash left the katta’s eyes in a thin momentary haze.

Then as his hands met the sand and he infused them with it, pushing the power his body harnessed through the tiny grains of rough glass into the great stone obelisks a cold, chill ran through him all at once as the orb pulsed into a searing flash and then vanished just as quickly, being pulled through the mage and into the destination the rest of his mana had been funneled. It left his body weak for a moment, his eyes still trying to adjust to the dark as he lay curled in the sand, the desert dragging him into its clutches as it accepted his offer of power. All around him the eight pillars’ runes glowed ever so dimly with the pale blue haze from the orb. It seemed he was right, they had been magical in nature, and were reacting to his power, but after giving so much their appetites had only been wetted, leaving shadows mind in a thin haze of smoke alone in the dark, alone with some ancient power that was starving for more.