TIMESTAMP: 25 Calid March, 122
NOTES: -
NOTES: -
► Show Spoiler
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Upon his return, the elven mage had with him a small, nondescript grey feather. Being no ornithologist herself, Carmina could offer no insight into what kind of bird it belonged to.
"You sure this isn't from something like…a pigeon? Or a dove? Granted…any bird's shape isn't useless." She shrugged, these were not more than guesses.
As he sat back down, he simply gestured that he had no idea. "Doesn't matter to me, because you're right– any bird is useful. Wings of any kind are a great boon, I think. Provided it's not a chicken feather or something…"
It didn't look like a chicken feather, but really, how was he supposed to know? Hector knew very little about birds in general. Oh well.
Before she could actually start, she needed to know one last thing. "Well, where do you want your rune, then?"
A question he'd not really thought about, although the choice wasn't exactly a difficult one.
"Left palm? That way, it can climb up my arm as I add more Totems to it in time."
"Reasonable choice. Whenever you're ready, give me your hand and don't let go of the feather." She spoke with a smile, as if happy to do this.
And she was! She'd never initiated anyone before and the concept of doing so filled the woman with immense excitement. Even though Animus was often a grotesque transformation, she'd gone through it herself, so it didn't phase her much at all.
Eagerly, Hector extended his left arm towards her with his palm facing upwards. The rune she drew on his hand was the first thing that came to mind, one that symbolized amalgamation. As soon as she finished, the aether used to inscribe it pulsed and raced through the elf's body, searching for a Totem to latch onto. It was not long before it reached his right hand and once it did, the feather sparked and almost appeared to burn away, incandescent aether absorbing into Hector's body. With that, the initiation could begin in earnest.
There were a few precious moments of silence before he felt anything, but when he did, it was excruciating. A shock of nerve pain rolled through his spine as bones in all four of his limbs began to break. He gasped, not having prepared for so much at once. However, this wasn't actually something he'd never experienced before. In many ways, it harkened back to his initiation into Vitalis. Only this time, his body was transforming, not being destroyed.
The sound was probably the worst part of the beginning for an observer since many found the cracking of bones to be a nauseating thing to hear. It made Carmina cringe, but beyond that, she didn't seem horribly deterred from watching. Her expression was a sort of sympathetic curiosity– she didn't like to see others suffer, but she really did want to know the type of bird that feather belonged to.
As his bones broke apart, they began to shrink along with the flesh that surrounded them. His entire body was getting smaller; by now, it wasn't just his limbs that had broken. His entire skeleton was adapting to a new shape, and his flesh was simply following suit.
It was notably disturbing to watch a man's legs first break, and then shrink, and then warp into the spindly things on which birds stood. And his torso? First it shrunk, but then the shape expanded in a most grotesque fashion. Many don't realize how strange and gangly birds look without feathers, and the way their limbs bend is also quite odd to see. His arms bent back, then forward, then back again as fingers fused together and hands faded off his being entirely. During this process, his neck elongated and head reformed, features moving to accommodate the beak that replaced his nose and mouth.
All the while, Hector found it difficult to think. No, not because of the agonizing pain, but because he was losing what little sense of self he had left. The warping of his flesh certainly did not help, of course, given that it had set every single one of his senses aflame– but this? This was a tad more existential.
He found his mind wanting to do away with language and his memories and everything he held dear, to throw his consciousness out the window and simply…become a bird. To live as one, follow the simpler instincts of one, and do away with the complexities of life in mortal society. Oh, it was tempting alright. Do away with all the stressors of his current existence? He very much wanted to…but no. He couldn't. After all, if he gave up everything he was, what would become of his dreams for power? It's not as if he could continue practicing magic as a little bird…could he? No, such a thing would be ridiculous.
And so, Hector fought for his sanity through the bending of his body. Embracing the pain, he eventually found a state of clarity, clinging onto himself while he channeled the aether within to allow for a more fluid transformation. Being a master of Vitalis, being no stranger to the art of Vicissitude and the practice of shaping flesh in general, the vampyre did have an advantage in this regard. That, and he held a veritable abyss of aether within. Of course, he was oblivious to the latter fact, but he instinctually tapped into that part of his soul to allow himself a much cleaner experience.
While the sight of such a transformation was the opposite of beautiful, the little featherless thing that Hector had become was cute in its own way. Emerging from the pile of clothing that remained where he had been sitting, he looked newborn, pink, confused, and cold. Luckily for him, he didn't remain like this for much longer. Thankfully, he did start to grow feathers, shielding the strangeness of his new body away. Now fully feathered, it was obvious what he had become.
Carmina giggled, the feather he found was that of a city pigeon. She was also astounded at the fact that this initiation wasn't nearly as awkward as her own into Animus, or even that of family she had seen. It was a common rune among her kin, and most who had acquired it had a very slow and awkward process. For most, it took several hours longer than the two Hector used. Granted, for her and many of the others, it had been their first rune. Was that it? Did having more experience with channeling aether give one an advantage here? Or…perhaps there was something else?
Hector, now fully in the shape of a pigeon, awkwardly hobbled around a bit on his new legs. This was…weird. He bobbed his head, moving it all around in the odd, almost mechanical ways birds often did. A bird's neck is both much longer and more flexible than a man's, so it was actually rather entertaining to stretch it out all the way, then compress it back to his body and repeat this. Several times over, even. He looked really rather silly messing around like this, much to Carmina's entertainment.
"Oh, aren't you cute! I remember when I went through this myself. Trying to function in a completely new body is so very strange…take your time, but do remember that you must guide yourself back to your original shape lest you, ah…get stuck that way." Given the disturbing amount of ease with which he transformed into a pigeon, she had very little doubt in her voice. Going back was the easier part, she thought.
To this, Hector squawked, then made a few of the more typical cooing sounds a pigeon more commonly makes. He didn't quite understand how to control these new vocal chords, but ah well. Such a thing could be figured out in due time. Before he left this form, however, he did want to see if he could fly.
How does a bird fly? Is it enough to simply flap your wings? Flail them around a bit? Or is it much more complicated? He knew a bird's tail played a role, but what was it? Steering? Aerodynamics? Oh, dear…the mechanics of flight were quite lost upon him. Like any bird, he would have to figure it out simply by doing.
Carmina watched him intently as he spread his freshly made wings, and he attempted to jump up a bit, flapping them, but not much happened. Maybe he should jump from the couch to the coffee table? Try and glide? Yes, that would be…better. Trying this, he ended up succeeding, albeit with as much grace as one would expect a grown man suddenly forced into a bird's body would have. In other words, very little. Wings and feathers flailed and when he landed, he skid across the wood, almost losing his balance. His audience of one simply laughed. Could he blame her? Watching a bird not know how to use its own body must look utterly ridiculous.
"Aw, don't tire yourself out too much, now! You have plenty of time to practice in your new shape later. Try–"
"You sure this isn't from something like…a pigeon? Or a dove? Granted…any bird's shape isn't useless." She shrugged, these were not more than guesses.
As he sat back down, he simply gestured that he had no idea. "Doesn't matter to me, because you're right– any bird is useful. Wings of any kind are a great boon, I think. Provided it's not a chicken feather or something…"
It didn't look like a chicken feather, but really, how was he supposed to know? Hector knew very little about birds in general. Oh well.
Before she could actually start, she needed to know one last thing. "Well, where do you want your rune, then?"
A question he'd not really thought about, although the choice wasn't exactly a difficult one.
"Left palm? That way, it can climb up my arm as I add more Totems to it in time."
"Reasonable choice. Whenever you're ready, give me your hand and don't let go of the feather." She spoke with a smile, as if happy to do this.
And she was! She'd never initiated anyone before and the concept of doing so filled the woman with immense excitement. Even though Animus was often a grotesque transformation, she'd gone through it herself, so it didn't phase her much at all.
Eagerly, Hector extended his left arm towards her with his palm facing upwards. The rune she drew on his hand was the first thing that came to mind, one that symbolized amalgamation. As soon as she finished, the aether used to inscribe it pulsed and raced through the elf's body, searching for a Totem to latch onto. It was not long before it reached his right hand and once it did, the feather sparked and almost appeared to burn away, incandescent aether absorbing into Hector's body. With that, the initiation could begin in earnest.
There were a few precious moments of silence before he felt anything, but when he did, it was excruciating. A shock of nerve pain rolled through his spine as bones in all four of his limbs began to break. He gasped, not having prepared for so much at once. However, this wasn't actually something he'd never experienced before. In many ways, it harkened back to his initiation into Vitalis. Only this time, his body was transforming, not being destroyed.
The sound was probably the worst part of the beginning for an observer since many found the cracking of bones to be a nauseating thing to hear. It made Carmina cringe, but beyond that, she didn't seem horribly deterred from watching. Her expression was a sort of sympathetic curiosity– she didn't like to see others suffer, but she really did want to know the type of bird that feather belonged to.
As his bones broke apart, they began to shrink along with the flesh that surrounded them. His entire body was getting smaller; by now, it wasn't just his limbs that had broken. His entire skeleton was adapting to a new shape, and his flesh was simply following suit.
It was notably disturbing to watch a man's legs first break, and then shrink, and then warp into the spindly things on which birds stood. And his torso? First it shrunk, but then the shape expanded in a most grotesque fashion. Many don't realize how strange and gangly birds look without feathers, and the way their limbs bend is also quite odd to see. His arms bent back, then forward, then back again as fingers fused together and hands faded off his being entirely. During this process, his neck elongated and head reformed, features moving to accommodate the beak that replaced his nose and mouth.
All the while, Hector found it difficult to think. No, not because of the agonizing pain, but because he was losing what little sense of self he had left. The warping of his flesh certainly did not help, of course, given that it had set every single one of his senses aflame– but this? This was a tad more existential.
He found his mind wanting to do away with language and his memories and everything he held dear, to throw his consciousness out the window and simply…become a bird. To live as one, follow the simpler instincts of one, and do away with the complexities of life in mortal society. Oh, it was tempting alright. Do away with all the stressors of his current existence? He very much wanted to…but no. He couldn't. After all, if he gave up everything he was, what would become of his dreams for power? It's not as if he could continue practicing magic as a little bird…could he? No, such a thing would be ridiculous.
And so, Hector fought for his sanity through the bending of his body. Embracing the pain, he eventually found a state of clarity, clinging onto himself while he channeled the aether within to allow for a more fluid transformation. Being a master of Vitalis, being no stranger to the art of Vicissitude and the practice of shaping flesh in general, the vampyre did have an advantage in this regard. That, and he held a veritable abyss of aether within. Of course, he was oblivious to the latter fact, but he instinctually tapped into that part of his soul to allow himself a much cleaner experience.
While the sight of such a transformation was the opposite of beautiful, the little featherless thing that Hector had become was cute in its own way. Emerging from the pile of clothing that remained where he had been sitting, he looked newborn, pink, confused, and cold. Luckily for him, he didn't remain like this for much longer. Thankfully, he did start to grow feathers, shielding the strangeness of his new body away. Now fully feathered, it was obvious what he had become.
Carmina giggled, the feather he found was that of a city pigeon. She was also astounded at the fact that this initiation wasn't nearly as awkward as her own into Animus, or even that of family she had seen. It was a common rune among her kin, and most who had acquired it had a very slow and awkward process. For most, it took several hours longer than the two Hector used. Granted, for her and many of the others, it had been their first rune. Was that it? Did having more experience with channeling aether give one an advantage here? Or…perhaps there was something else?
Hector, now fully in the shape of a pigeon, awkwardly hobbled around a bit on his new legs. This was…weird. He bobbed his head, moving it all around in the odd, almost mechanical ways birds often did. A bird's neck is both much longer and more flexible than a man's, so it was actually rather entertaining to stretch it out all the way, then compress it back to his body and repeat this. Several times over, even. He looked really rather silly messing around like this, much to Carmina's entertainment.
"Oh, aren't you cute! I remember when I went through this myself. Trying to function in a completely new body is so very strange…take your time, but do remember that you must guide yourself back to your original shape lest you, ah…get stuck that way." Given the disturbing amount of ease with which he transformed into a pigeon, she had very little doubt in her voice. Going back was the easier part, she thought.
To this, Hector squawked, then made a few of the more typical cooing sounds a pigeon more commonly makes. He didn't quite understand how to control these new vocal chords, but ah well. Such a thing could be figured out in due time. Before he left this form, however, he did want to see if he could fly.
How does a bird fly? Is it enough to simply flap your wings? Flail them around a bit? Or is it much more complicated? He knew a bird's tail played a role, but what was it? Steering? Aerodynamics? Oh, dear…the mechanics of flight were quite lost upon him. Like any bird, he would have to figure it out simply by doing.
Carmina watched him intently as he spread his freshly made wings, and he attempted to jump up a bit, flapping them, but not much happened. Maybe he should jump from the couch to the coffee table? Try and glide? Yes, that would be…better. Trying this, he ended up succeeding, albeit with as much grace as one would expect a grown man suddenly forced into a bird's body would have. In other words, very little. Wings and feathers flailed and when he landed, he skid across the wood, almost losing his balance. His audience of one simply laughed. Could he blame her? Watching a bird not know how to use its own body must look utterly ridiculous.
"Aw, don't tire yourself out too much, now! You have plenty of time to practice in your new shape later. Try–"
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Aidolon Speech
'Thoughts'
"Kathalan Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"
