☠ 3rd of Frost, Year 122, A.o.S ☠
☠ Læbirius couldn't contain himself as he was making his way toward Varinios's shop. He was so excited, it was finally done and he couldn't wait to go and finish the process of his first soul totem. The young necromancer had been curious since that day as to what it would be like to watch the process of the soul totem being primed. It was his first step in practicing true necromancy and he couldn't contain the excitement that was flowing through his body at the moment.
He couldn't help but imagine what came next but given he had read over some of his foster father's old notes he had a pretty good idea. Finally, he made it to the shop and came through the door, a smile beaming upon his face and an eagerness to see what comes next in the process. He waved to the clerk who was on duty this morning, before going into the back where he could hear Varinios talking. When he arrived he saw his mentor was speaking with someone already, a woman.
Was she a client of his perhaps? No, the way the posture of them was signified they were rather familiar with one another. Her gaze fell to him, a smirk crawling onto her lips as she turned to Varinios before sauntering from the room, her black gown flowing as she glided past Læbirius, her stride that of a queen. He was mesmerized by her for only a mere moment before Varinios came to pat the young on his shoulder, snapping him out of it.
"You are just in time Læbirius, I do believe your soul totem is primed and ready for the final stage in its creation, come." he informed, a smile on his face as he gestured for Læ to come and sit. He was carrying something, a unique bowl with intricate markings. He sat the carved bone bowl on a table and found himself situated in one of the chairs around it. "Now comes the more.....difficult part of this process. Tell me, do you know what that is?" his eyes looked with interest as he relaxed into the chair.
Læbirius took a moment to form his words, as he recalled what he had read in his foster father's notes. "I have to ingest the prime dragonshard, and meditate, focusing on imparting my aether and essence into it." he spoke, his eyes looking to the floor as he recalled the information he had studied time and time again. Varinios chuckled but was pleased nonetheless with the answer. "More or less yes, come let us finish this." he moved from his seat to where a circle was drawn on the floor.
Upon closer inspection, Læbirius could see these were pictographs similar to the ones he had etched into the stone. Varinios was kind enough to have the dragonshard shaped in a way that would make swallowing it easy...well easier than it normally would. "In order for it to work successfully, you must be centered in a circle of pictographs that focus on the same concepts and ideas as we used for the aetherite stone itself." he noted, carefully guiding the young necromancer over the pictographs so as not to disturb or erase them.
"This final step is going to take the longest, as it will no doubt require twenty-four hours for your soul to transfer however once you have advanced in proficiency in the craft, you will be able to shorten that time by up to half. You must also be asking yourself "How will I know when a piece of my very soul has transferred into the stone?" he noted, placing a hand on the young mage's shoulder. Trust me, my dear Læbirius, your body will alert you. There is always a physical reaction, and you will suffer a bit. Nausea, fatigue, pain, and even convulsions have been recorded as signs of your soul transitioning into the primed stone."
Læbirius wasn't sure how this would work, but he was visibly shocked at the price of failing, as this was indeed a crucial part of the process. Varinios took note of this and reached into a pocket and retrieved a vial of some sort, a blue vicus liquid within it along with a bell. "It is crucial that once you have this reaction you ring this bell, as you must regurgitate the crystal or risk dire consequences I rather not explain to your father. Worry not though as I have an elixir that can induce vomiting." he assured, chuckling at the discomfort he could see on the younger mage's facial features. "If successful the aetherite will be a soul totem that glows a faint white hue, and will be cold to the touch and permeate a mist-like aura from it."
"If you have no questions, then let us begin shall we?" he gestured for Lae to come and sit in the middle of the circle. Sitting in the center of the pictograph circle, he looked at Varinios, his hands clasping his, placing the stone in them. He gave a warm smile and took a step back to give him some room as Lae swallowed the stone. Varinios faded from view as he closed his eyes, and tried to relax his mind. He had never meditated in his life, but he knew this was crucial, not to mention he didnt want to disappoint Varinios. He began to fade into a trance-like state, allowing needed thoughts to exist within that space of his mind.
He would think on how the concepts like transition, the sensation of something moving from one state of being to another. Aether began to slowly seep from him like a mist and flow into the stone he had sitting in his stomach. With his trance, he let his mind fill with thoughts of oneness, of two objects becoming one as his aether seeped into the item he held. He imagined himself being drawn into the stone and the two becoming one.
In that endless world of calm, filled with all those thoughts, every emotion, every feeling, the storm that they had become in his mind now seemed to ease itself. At that moment he could feel a sudden surge of energy, of aetheric power flow from himself into the totem, enveloping it. It felt more like the aether was being pulled from him into it and he allowed it to happen.
Like a fountain, it flowed from him to the totem as it felt like it was gorging itself on his aether, the two becoming one with each passing minute. It was an odd sensation, like being pulled down by a strong current and having no way to stop yourself. This feeling, it continued for what felt like hours on end, then suddenly and abruptly he felt something in the pit of his stomach, a pain.
His eyes shot open and pants for air filled the space around him as he looked for signs of his mentor, as it seemed a day had passed already. The pain was unbearable, and he frantically looked for the bell, grabbing it and ringing it erratically. Varinios came running into the back and quickly fed the concoction to Lae, and in moments he found himself wrenching and dry heaving. This went on for several moments before the young mage finally coughed up the magical stone.
Rolling across the floor, a white stone with a misty aura came to a halt in Varinios's hands. "Well done my boy, well done indeed." Placing the stone on the table he came to help prop Lae up into his lap as the side effects were still rolling over the boy, his body feeling like it could vomit his entire soul up all at once. When he finally found himself calming down, he went to stand, Varinios aiding him. Both men came to rest at the table and Lae found himself in awe of the stone.
He was rather proud of himself and could see the pride in what he does. "Once you have rested and recovered, we can get you set up with your next set of tools. Tell me, do you prefer throwing knives or arrows?" It was an odd question to ask, but Lae had given it some thought as he held the Soul totem in his hands. "I would think throwing knives would be far more efficient." he replied, mesmerized by the totem in his hands.
Varinios smiled, patting him on the shoulder as they both looked at the stone and its misty white aura.
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"Common Speech"
"Vastian Speech"
"Vallenor Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"
