53rd Searing, 123
Torin had taken all the precautions that Aurin had demanded of him and added a few of his own. Early in the previous season, he had begun working on aether seeds with the help of Sivan, as well as a number of their other friends, depending on what type of seed they wanted.
Semblance had seemed the best rune to begin with, as both of the creators possessed the rune and it was the least likely to be dangerous if anything went wrong. After a little trial and error, they had learned how to impart different levels of the magic into a seed and, in late Glade they had a tiny orchard growing with one tree for each level of Semblance they possessed. Timon had been eager to try out the fruit, even if Torin had insisted that Kala be there in case he needed healing. Aurin and Sivan had also been there, through what Torin believed to be a combination of protectiveness and professional curiosity. The Novice level fruit had affected the apprentice about as expected, though Timon had described a significantly lessened feeling of connection with the magic than all those present felt to their runes. This made sense as it was not something etched into the soul, but many notes had been taken. So many, in fact, that they had been forced to wait the week and do the experiment again for Timon to have time in the hour that the fruit lasted to actually try out any of the things he had wanted to.
While they continued to experiment, both with Timon moving up to Apprentice and then Journeyman levels of the fruit over time, Torin and Sivan had seen the success as reason to continue. Summoning was the next obvious choice, but the orchard now also included Negation, Masquerade and, importantly, Elementalism.
Once he had spoken to Aurin about obtaining a second rune Torin had spoken to Kala about it and also asked if she, or Kaus, might lend their ability to the creation of Elementalism Aether Seeds. While he wanted to have most of the known runes in the orchard eventually, this one in particular he moved to the front of the line so that, in addition to taking lessons in the theory with Kala, he could experience what using aether in the new way the rune would allow him actually felt like. There was a possibility he wouldn't like it, and also one that, if his soul were to react badly to the introduction of a new rune, it might show when he ate the aether fruit.
So, there had been days in the valley in which one or both of the twins had come to show Torin how to use the basics of Elementalism while one or more of The Whispers worked with Timon on his Semblance. Torin was a little worried that one of the little coven might just scribe the rune onto his first apprentice themselves if he didn't at least show willingness to move toward doing it himself. Thinking about doing so brought a visceral understanding of what Aurin had gone through with him starkly into focus, but Timon was not Torin and the odds of Semblance causing anything like what he'd gone through were tiny.
Working with the fruit himself he could see what Timon had meant about how feeling connected to the magic, but still, it allowed him to get a feel for what it would be like. Fire came to him immediately, swirling around him in a tiny mote that brought to mind a faithful hound that hadn't seen its master in far too long. The other three basic elements came a little slower, but they still all felt right to him. Air, Water and Earth were all things he made use of in his work on a daily basis, so while Fire felt like a friend he'd been missing, the others felt like comfortable acquaintances that he would get to know better over time.
Aurin came sometimes to watch him and when Sivan was in the valley to check on the Spirits he'd left to aid the villagers or work on the harvest golems, they took a little time to see how the spirits reacted to the more raw use of their elements. It was fun, for both of them, and the spirits. Torin couldn't remember the last time he had simply played with magic for its own sake and it felt good inside him, like stretching muscles that were always only used for work.
Now it was the middle of what should have been the hot season, Torin's favorite time of the year. The valley was producing crops due to the intervention of several mages, and he had arranged a lull in his work in which he might spend several weeks, if they were needed, recovering. Returning to the city, while it had a special place in his heart, was becoming harder and harder as his much larger workshops were completed but he knew it would be safest to be at Cintamani Pavilion where he could be looked after and trained as much as his hosts had time for.
Torin had taken all the precautions that Aurin had demanded of him and added a few of his own. Early in the previous season, he had begun working on aether seeds with the help of Sivan, as well as a number of their other friends, depending on what type of seed they wanted.
Semblance had seemed the best rune to begin with, as both of the creators possessed the rune and it was the least likely to be dangerous if anything went wrong. After a little trial and error, they had learned how to impart different levels of the magic into a seed and, in late Glade they had a tiny orchard growing with one tree for each level of Semblance they possessed. Timon had been eager to try out the fruit, even if Torin had insisted that Kala be there in case he needed healing. Aurin and Sivan had also been there, through what Torin believed to be a combination of protectiveness and professional curiosity. The Novice level fruit had affected the apprentice about as expected, though Timon had described a significantly lessened feeling of connection with the magic than all those present felt to their runes. This made sense as it was not something etched into the soul, but many notes had been taken. So many, in fact, that they had been forced to wait the week and do the experiment again for Timon to have time in the hour that the fruit lasted to actually try out any of the things he had wanted to.
While they continued to experiment, both with Timon moving up to Apprentice and then Journeyman levels of the fruit over time, Torin and Sivan had seen the success as reason to continue. Summoning was the next obvious choice, but the orchard now also included Negation, Masquerade and, importantly, Elementalism.
Once he had spoken to Aurin about obtaining a second rune Torin had spoken to Kala about it and also asked if she, or Kaus, might lend their ability to the creation of Elementalism Aether Seeds. While he wanted to have most of the known runes in the orchard eventually, this one in particular he moved to the front of the line so that, in addition to taking lessons in the theory with Kala, he could experience what using aether in the new way the rune would allow him actually felt like. There was a possibility he wouldn't like it, and also one that, if his soul were to react badly to the introduction of a new rune, it might show when he ate the aether fruit.
So, there had been days in the valley in which one or both of the twins had come to show Torin how to use the basics of Elementalism while one or more of The Whispers worked with Timon on his Semblance. Torin was a little worried that one of the little coven might just scribe the rune onto his first apprentice themselves if he didn't at least show willingness to move toward doing it himself. Thinking about doing so brought a visceral understanding of what Aurin had gone through with him starkly into focus, but Timon was not Torin and the odds of Semblance causing anything like what he'd gone through were tiny.
Working with the fruit himself he could see what Timon had meant about how feeling connected to the magic, but still, it allowed him to get a feel for what it would be like. Fire came to him immediately, swirling around him in a tiny mote that brought to mind a faithful hound that hadn't seen its master in far too long. The other three basic elements came a little slower, but they still all felt right to him. Air, Water and Earth were all things he made use of in his work on a daily basis, so while Fire felt like a friend he'd been missing, the others felt like comfortable acquaintances that he would get to know better over time.
Aurin came sometimes to watch him and when Sivan was in the valley to check on the Spirits he'd left to aid the villagers or work on the harvest golems, they took a little time to see how the spirits reacted to the more raw use of their elements. It was fun, for both of them, and the spirits. Torin couldn't remember the last time he had simply played with magic for its own sake and it felt good inside him, like stretching muscles that were always only used for work.
Now it was the middle of what should have been the hot season, Torin's favorite time of the year. The valley was producing crops due to the intervention of several mages, and he had arranged a lull in his work in which he might spend several weeks, if they were needed, recovering. Returning to the city, while it had a special place in his heart, was becoming harder and harder as his much larger workshops were completed but he knew it would be safest to be at Cintamani Pavilion where he could be looked after and trained as much as his hosts had time for.
