Chasing the Sun
Ash 2nd, 123rd Year, A.o.S.
He'd contemplated the concepts. He'd applied them from theories to practice. He'd also had considerable time to research, experiment, and even learn what could and couldn't help with the situation. Above it all though Lykos had been ever more diligently involved in the effort of purification, mainly because the concepts he'd been building upon had been sound... so far. Poisons and other particular maladies were one thing, but completely altering the aetheric composition of one's aura? That severely went beyond the initial ideals that Lykos had worked with. Cleansing the Void off of Athalia wouldn't be easy, and while he had the groundwork for the wards thought out...
Well, that was just it. They remained laid out and untested for the most part, and while more experiments would've aided his endeavor, frankly there just weren't enough Void-tainted subjects or individuals to go around. So when he heard the knock on the door to his private chambers, the lupine demigod lifted his head up from the book his eyes were locked in on. As monumental as it had been to pour over this as research material, the father of the Vastiana sisters only covered the concepts of what Negation could and could not do. Whether it was possible to push it beyond what he'd already done?
That remained for Lykos to discover evidently. Regardless he was elated the moment he'd realized the footsteps down the corridor stopped at his door, enough to the point where he did not hesitate to rise out of his chair, and leave the book at his desk to quickly see if it had been what he'd requested earlier that morning. In explaining his request to the sentinel that stood vigil outside his quarters, he'd hoped it would have been enough to earn Phocion's approval. It was still a long shot after all, but something about this experiment remained far safer than any other endeavor he might strain.
Upon opening the door to his chambers Lykos loomed at the crack, as he held the door ajar to eagerly greet the sentinel that had returned to his quarters. "The Vigil himself has condoned this experiment, and has instructed me to provide you with samples of dragonshards of the highest caliber in our current stock." The watchman greeted as he brought out two separate dragonshards in each hand, the first one his primary request while the second a rather pleasant bonus. The demigod had been given an Aetherite shard as well as an Abjinurium shard, both the size of his palms when he accepted each from the veiled man before him. "There was only one premise that came with it though."
"I already understand. You're more than welcome to accompany me if all you need is to watch. I'd be more than happy to share any revelations while I work." Lykos quickly agreed with the door opened wider, allowing the sentinel to enter his chambers while he stood aside. The hooded figure nodded and silently marched in, keeping to his post as he first stood near the table centered in the room. Upon taking both shards into his left hand the lupine demigod shut the door, and gestured for the man to find a chair for comfort if he so desired. It wasn't accepted just yet, but Lykos knew with the amount of time that would be spent here, the watchman would undoubtedly find cause to do so eventually. It mattered not. Lykos enjoyed the company of the sentinels anyway, be they there to simply watch and report on him or give insight when they had any to spare.
It had been how his cold room had come together throughout Searing, although, the integral magics still required finer tuning to his divinity. That was for another day though, as Athalia and her purification weighed heavily on his mind lately. Returning to his desk space where his research remained, Lykos concluded to start with the aetherite shard firsthand; and set aside the Abjinurium stone for the time being. In theory, it didn't seem too far out of possibility to convert the aetherite shard into a corrupted variant with magic. It gave him reason to experiment with the Rune of Nyx in his possession also, if only to use it safely as a means to an end for this experiment.
"I intend to attempt a change of this aetherite's shard nature," he started with a brief glance at his observer, "if I can corrupt the aether within to take on aspects of the Void, then I can perform much smaller and safer experiments to cleanse it as well." While the pitched idea did cause the sentinel to tilt his head, he admittedly straightened out with a quiet approach to the desk. Lykos took that as a vivid interest well enough, and focused on cupping the aetherite shard into both palms of his hands. From what he understood the power of Nyx gave him control over shadows, and while he hadn't fully delved into that art, the darkness born of the shadows themselves had to be intricately tied to the Void in turn.
Thankfully he also had the Abjinurium shard in case an error might've occurred, not that his own prowess with Negation couldn't resolve the issue firsthand. It helped to have that extra dose of contingency on hand though, without it, the wolf felt that his observer might've visibly tensed up from the first attempt. Well... Here goes. Lykos encouraged as he laced aether throughout his forearms, and mentally tapped into the power he sought to harness for this experiment. It would only be for just a moment, at least, long enough to see if it could indeed be done in a manner that would alter the aetherite's composition entirely. If successful then he'd create a simple replica of Obtenebrum, which was much more difficult to obtain than the two he'd already requested.
Even if it were just an imitation, the corrupted properties within the aetherite were what he truly wanted. As that would be the root source of his experiment, and the foundational building block he needed to finalize the steps for a complete and total purification. I beckon you, Powers of the Dark, if only for this object to harmonize with your presence. He beckoned as he filtered his aether through the Rune of Nyx, and channeled it to where the shadows within the room felt his presence. Immediately his chamber darkened as the rune grew alight with shimmers of onyx across the surface. A growing chill deepened in his spine as Lykos felt the Void draw breath all around him, its insatiable hunger unnervingly intimidating as he composed himself with resilience.
It took a moment before he felt the shadows lace their way through his aether, siphoning into the very aetherite shard he possessed to a degree that the stone itself changed colors. The vibrancy of aetheric hues lessened to a deeper level of violet as a result, and with the transaction of his aether spent, Lykos quickly cut himself off from the Void with his hairs standing at an end. Whispers haunted the very edges of his hearing, as though the shadows murmured amongst themselves before fading away. With the return of light in his room though, a sense of ease washed over him, enough to where he visibly relaxed before his observant guest.
"So what happened there exactly?" The sentinel broke his silence with a drop of his shoulders, clearly, he shared the same feelings Lykos had when he invoked the powers of the Void. The inquiry brought an interesting minute of self-introspection, as the lupine demigod hadn't fully grasped what exactly he'd done with the Rune itself.
"Instilling the shard with the presence of the Void required that I invoked it, conjuring its presence to a point where the dark energies joined with the properties of the shard itself." What he didn't account for was the fact that the Void itself was corruption. A taint that felt close to a violation of his own soul at that. He did not understand it entirely, only that a hungry vengeance fueled this source of power; and that alone was enough to discourage Lykos. "Drawing that presence into the material realm must've been what caused the room to darken." If only for that moment at the very least. The demigod wasn't intent on generating another opening for Voidsent to slip through, not after what had occurred a few months ago in the Cold Room.
"It looks as though you accomplished it though, the glow within the dragonshard has changed considerably." The sentinel pointed out with a simple gesture to the crystal in his hands, the wolf himself emitted a soft chuckle in success as he carefully placed the dragonshard on the desk before him.
"Indeed. Upon first glance, it looks as though the aetherite bears an aspect of the Void's corruption now. But even so, further observation is going to have to be taken to ensure it's a success." Lykos admitted with a daunted gaze upon the structure, hopeful that he'd see the results he hoped to find through such scrutiny.
"Only one way to find out. Do you require a Sembler?" The wolf politely gave the watchman a soft smile, before he similarly shook his head with his response.
"No need, though I appreciate the offer. My own eyes will have to do, thankfully, with the aid of Semblance also." Lykos would be required to scrutinize such details on his own with Athalia, therefore, he needed to remain as thorough with this experiment as he would with her. "This is actually going to be the quieter part of the experiment, it's not too late to take that chair you know." There came a silent scuff as though the sentinel were stifling a chuckle, before he noticeably turned to look and move for the table nearby. He remained quiet even with picking up the chair and bringing it close, almost making no sound when he took his spot on the wooden piece near the desk.
How everyone under Phocion's command learned to be so quiet never ceased to amaze him, hell, even their breaths were unusually silent with minimal odor. It was likely this one was doing the same as he were, and sourcing his aether to his eyes to scour the aetherite's corruptive transition. In the span of a steady breath through his own nostrils, Lykos' eyes turned to a silvery glimmer when he blinked to sort through the array of auras present in the room. Honing his focus on the shard he peered deep into the aetheric composition, further enhancing his gaze with Kinetics to trace every pulsation of aether rippling through the shard.
Thus he began to observe the process of corrosion, and the intricacy between aethers and the forces that bound it to the Void.
Ash 2nd, 123rd Year, A.o.S.
He'd contemplated the concepts. He'd applied them from theories to practice. He'd also had considerable time to research, experiment, and even learn what could and couldn't help with the situation. Above it all though Lykos had been ever more diligently involved in the effort of purification, mainly because the concepts he'd been building upon had been sound... so far. Poisons and other particular maladies were one thing, but completely altering the aetheric composition of one's aura? That severely went beyond the initial ideals that Lykos had worked with. Cleansing the Void off of Athalia wouldn't be easy, and while he had the groundwork for the wards thought out...
Well, that was just it. They remained laid out and untested for the most part, and while more experiments would've aided his endeavor, frankly there just weren't enough Void-tainted subjects or individuals to go around. So when he heard the knock on the door to his private chambers, the lupine demigod lifted his head up from the book his eyes were locked in on. As monumental as it had been to pour over this as research material, the father of the Vastiana sisters only covered the concepts of what Negation could and could not do. Whether it was possible to push it beyond what he'd already done?
That remained for Lykos to discover evidently. Regardless he was elated the moment he'd realized the footsteps down the corridor stopped at his door, enough to the point where he did not hesitate to rise out of his chair, and leave the book at his desk to quickly see if it had been what he'd requested earlier that morning. In explaining his request to the sentinel that stood vigil outside his quarters, he'd hoped it would have been enough to earn Phocion's approval. It was still a long shot after all, but something about this experiment remained far safer than any other endeavor he might strain.
Upon opening the door to his chambers Lykos loomed at the crack, as he held the door ajar to eagerly greet the sentinel that had returned to his quarters. "The Vigil himself has condoned this experiment, and has instructed me to provide you with samples of dragonshards of the highest caliber in our current stock." The watchman greeted as he brought out two separate dragonshards in each hand, the first one his primary request while the second a rather pleasant bonus. The demigod had been given an Aetherite shard as well as an Abjinurium shard, both the size of his palms when he accepted each from the veiled man before him. "There was only one premise that came with it though."
"I already understand. You're more than welcome to accompany me if all you need is to watch. I'd be more than happy to share any revelations while I work." Lykos quickly agreed with the door opened wider, allowing the sentinel to enter his chambers while he stood aside. The hooded figure nodded and silently marched in, keeping to his post as he first stood near the table centered in the room. Upon taking both shards into his left hand the lupine demigod shut the door, and gestured for the man to find a chair for comfort if he so desired. It wasn't accepted just yet, but Lykos knew with the amount of time that would be spent here, the watchman would undoubtedly find cause to do so eventually. It mattered not. Lykos enjoyed the company of the sentinels anyway, be they there to simply watch and report on him or give insight when they had any to spare.
It had been how his cold room had come together throughout Searing, although, the integral magics still required finer tuning to his divinity. That was for another day though, as Athalia and her purification weighed heavily on his mind lately. Returning to his desk space where his research remained, Lykos concluded to start with the aetherite shard firsthand; and set aside the Abjinurium stone for the time being. In theory, it didn't seem too far out of possibility to convert the aetherite shard into a corrupted variant with magic. It gave him reason to experiment with the Rune of Nyx in his possession also, if only to use it safely as a means to an end for this experiment.
"I intend to attempt a change of this aetherite's shard nature," he started with a brief glance at his observer, "if I can corrupt the aether within to take on aspects of the Void, then I can perform much smaller and safer experiments to cleanse it as well." While the pitched idea did cause the sentinel to tilt his head, he admittedly straightened out with a quiet approach to the desk. Lykos took that as a vivid interest well enough, and focused on cupping the aetherite shard into both palms of his hands. From what he understood the power of Nyx gave him control over shadows, and while he hadn't fully delved into that art, the darkness born of the shadows themselves had to be intricately tied to the Void in turn.
Thankfully he also had the Abjinurium shard in case an error might've occurred, not that his own prowess with Negation couldn't resolve the issue firsthand. It helped to have that extra dose of contingency on hand though, without it, the wolf felt that his observer might've visibly tensed up from the first attempt. Well... Here goes. Lykos encouraged as he laced aether throughout his forearms, and mentally tapped into the power he sought to harness for this experiment. It would only be for just a moment, at least, long enough to see if it could indeed be done in a manner that would alter the aetherite's composition entirely. If successful then he'd create a simple replica of Obtenebrum, which was much more difficult to obtain than the two he'd already requested.
Even if it were just an imitation, the corrupted properties within the aetherite were what he truly wanted. As that would be the root source of his experiment, and the foundational building block he needed to finalize the steps for a complete and total purification. I beckon you, Powers of the Dark, if only for this object to harmonize with your presence. He beckoned as he filtered his aether through the Rune of Nyx, and channeled it to where the shadows within the room felt his presence. Immediately his chamber darkened as the rune grew alight with shimmers of onyx across the surface. A growing chill deepened in his spine as Lykos felt the Void draw breath all around him, its insatiable hunger unnervingly intimidating as he composed himself with resilience.
It took a moment before he felt the shadows lace their way through his aether, siphoning into the very aetherite shard he possessed to a degree that the stone itself changed colors. The vibrancy of aetheric hues lessened to a deeper level of violet as a result, and with the transaction of his aether spent, Lykos quickly cut himself off from the Void with his hairs standing at an end. Whispers haunted the very edges of his hearing, as though the shadows murmured amongst themselves before fading away. With the return of light in his room though, a sense of ease washed over him, enough to where he visibly relaxed before his observant guest.
"So what happened there exactly?" The sentinel broke his silence with a drop of his shoulders, clearly, he shared the same feelings Lykos had when he invoked the powers of the Void. The inquiry brought an interesting minute of self-introspection, as the lupine demigod hadn't fully grasped what exactly he'd done with the Rune itself.
"Instilling the shard with the presence of the Void required that I invoked it, conjuring its presence to a point where the dark energies joined with the properties of the shard itself." What he didn't account for was the fact that the Void itself was corruption. A taint that felt close to a violation of his own soul at that. He did not understand it entirely, only that a hungry vengeance fueled this source of power; and that alone was enough to discourage Lykos. "Drawing that presence into the material realm must've been what caused the room to darken." If only for that moment at the very least. The demigod wasn't intent on generating another opening for Voidsent to slip through, not after what had occurred a few months ago in the Cold Room.
"It looks as though you accomplished it though, the glow within the dragonshard has changed considerably." The sentinel pointed out with a simple gesture to the crystal in his hands, the wolf himself emitted a soft chuckle in success as he carefully placed the dragonshard on the desk before him.
"Indeed. Upon first glance, it looks as though the aetherite bears an aspect of the Void's corruption now. But even so, further observation is going to have to be taken to ensure it's a success." Lykos admitted with a daunted gaze upon the structure, hopeful that he'd see the results he hoped to find through such scrutiny.
"Only one way to find out. Do you require a Sembler?" The wolf politely gave the watchman a soft smile, before he similarly shook his head with his response.
"No need, though I appreciate the offer. My own eyes will have to do, thankfully, with the aid of Semblance also." Lykos would be required to scrutinize such details on his own with Athalia, therefore, he needed to remain as thorough with this experiment as he would with her. "This is actually going to be the quieter part of the experiment, it's not too late to take that chair you know." There came a silent scuff as though the sentinel were stifling a chuckle, before he noticeably turned to look and move for the table nearby. He remained quiet even with picking up the chair and bringing it close, almost making no sound when he took his spot on the wooden piece near the desk.
How everyone under Phocion's command learned to be so quiet never ceased to amaze him, hell, even their breaths were unusually silent with minimal odor. It was likely this one was doing the same as he were, and sourcing his aether to his eyes to scour the aetherite's corruptive transition. In the span of a steady breath through his own nostrils, Lykos' eyes turned to a silvery glimmer when he blinked to sort through the array of auras present in the room. Honing his focus on the shard he peered deep into the aetheric composition, further enhancing his gaze with Kinetics to trace every pulsation of aether rippling through the shard.
Thus he began to observe the process of corrosion, and the intricacy between aethers and the forces that bound it to the Void.
