32nd of Frost, 120 AS
Lyra almost sighed as she stepped back, almost rubbing her neck before she remembered the blood and other bodily fluids on her arms. Not for the last time, Lyra washed in the bowl, the glyph at the body doing its job to steadily clear the water over time. She took her time drying her arms then, looking at the body on her table and considering her next steps. Naila's soul had been successfully contained, and the malady removed. The body was also currently stable, linked as it was to the soul gem. That link, however, would not last. She needed to create a more permanent connection, and she also needed to develop the Soul Space schema inside of the body itself. There were several larger steps that still needed to be done.
Begin at the beginning, as the saying went. The schema would be worked into the body as a whole, after all, thus she simply needed to work meticulously. Luckily from her experience with Artur Lyra had learned that the body itself could be used to supplement for portions of the glyph, so long as you gave it the ability to. That was in part why she had saturated the body with her infused ichor already, in preparation for this. In any case, the first step was to set the foundation.
The primary design would be located in the abdomen, as it had the most space to work with. It was also the area that had the least essential organs, so Lyra could work without being overly concerned about causing irreparable damage... for the most part. So without further thought, Lyra began to steadily shift the organs within the body, carefully moving them until she could reach back to the spine at the back of the cavity. She had thought for a very long time how the circle should be created, and what it should be created from. If it was made using only blood ink then she would have to periodically go back inside to maintain the schema. She needed something permanent... And the best way to do that was to build the circle out of the organic material itself. She would take the Soul Circle, and make it into an Addendum that would be a permanent feature of the body from that point onward.
Picking up the hook-shaped instrument, the carving hook, Lyra eyed the pictographs across its surface. This would be the primary instrument in this process, and Lyra had ensured hers was properly prepared for the task. When her gold eyes focused on the abdomen once more her focused hardened. Though she was as confident as one could be, what she was attempting now was beyond anything she had ever tried in the past. Perhaps it was beyond what anyone else up until this moment had even conceived. She could not help but wonder, or hope, that it would be a success and she wasn't making the mistake of a lifetime. Failure was not an option... She knew that better than anyone.
As with everything else, it began with a circle. Because she was working within a confined space, and the tools she was using was not made for the intricate detail she normally gave to her work, Lyra was forced to distill her schema down to the core of its design with as little frill as possible. She used the carving hook to create three concentric rings, the smallest at the center having a diamond shape at its center. Within the second ring, Lyra made 4 smaller circles, each with a similar diamond pattern inside of them. In the third ring, she gave a spirling pattern, the designs flowing into the second ring, and from the second ring, the spirals reversed course and flowed toward each of the 5 circles. The pathways then traveled down to the centermost circle, connecting everything together.
From the 3rd ring, Lyra carved a line leading upward, having it terminate in another circle which she left empty for the time being. The detailed work was difficult, but Lyra took her time. She did not need it to be artistic, despite her tendency. She needed form and function over everything else. Next came the 4th circle. This one would be slightly different, as it was the circle that would be used to create the Soul Space. Instead of a full and complete circle, Lyra carved a series of short lines that encircled the entire design. Then she set the carving hook aside and picked up a bone needle and sinew thread. She could not create the designs she normally would, so instead, she needed an alternative. it was slow, extremely slow, but Lyra used the thread to sew a crisscrossing mesh pattern between the 4th and 3rd circle. The design was simple but implied a boundary, a surrounding. As she worked Lyra periodically let a trickle of her aether slip into the thread through her smoke, weaving Mesmer to strengthen the connection more and more as the went. This 4th circle did not, however, encircle the circle that lead up toward the chest cavity. So instead Lyra added more threads to connect that circle and its pathway to that fourth circle, merging it rather than encapsulating it. This would be where she, Lyra, connected with the Soul Space. The design gave Lyra control not just over the circle, but the Soul Space and the aether inside of it.
When the threads were all in place Lyra set the needle aside, taking up the carving hook once more. It was true that what she had created should, in theory, give her the control she desired. However, she was not one to leave even the possibility of something going wrong and she lose control. Around the entire circle, Lyra created the simple image of a snake, coiled with no eyes. In its mouth was the circle that would allow Lyra to interact with the circle. Blowing out Lyra infused the entire design with her aether, twisting her mesmer compulsion into each and every fiber of the design as she did. It was a final stamp, a claim on the space as if to say 'this is my domain, and all within fall within my control."
When she was satisfied she nodded slowly. In the circle inside the snake's mouth, Lyra drew a much smaller coiled serpent with no eyes, made with single lines. She now needed to create the point with which she connected to not just the circle, but to the rest of the body. Thus Lyra turned back to the chest cavity, carrying the carving hook with her. Inside the chest, the heart was beating slowly, impossibly slowly some would say. This would be the most difficult portion of this process. She needed to tie herself to the entire body, using the heart itself. The chest was very confined as far as space was concerned, but by using some clamps, and lots of patients, Lyra made a small area at the very back of the chest cavity, behind the heart, and between the lungs. She made a small, almost minuscule circle with the same no eyed serpent design. In its mouth was the small diamond pattern found in the circles below.
From the tray, Lyra picked up her prepared soul totem, already carved and prepared. Using sinew thread she carefully wrapped the gem, pressing it down onto the prepared circle using a bit of marrow gum to make it stick. The glyphs shimmered slightly as she did this, indicating a connection, and down in the abdomen, Lyra could see the connected glyph there glowed slightly as well. More thread was used to tie the soul totem down into the back of the chest cavity, using several layers to ensure that the gem could not shift or move in any way. She then used a simple salve to promote tissue regrowth, which combined with eh effects of the carving hook would ensure that the threads would become a part of the body and the totem would be integrated into the body along with the circle itself.
In previous experiments, Lyra learned that parts of the body that already existed could be tied into the magic that she placed within it. In this case, Lyra planned to incorporate both the heart and its connected blood vessels, as well as the spine. They would be linked to her soul totem, and thus all influence to this vessel would need to pass through her influence. Once more the sinew thread was used, linking the soul totem to each of the major arteries of the heart. She did something similar by looping the thread back to touch the spine and the major nerves there. It was not as thorough as with the heart and its vessels, but it would add to the control Lyra had over the vessel.
Finally, Lyra looked at the heart itself. The design she had done in blood ink was still there, and Lyra simply used the carving hook to carefully make shallow cuts to trace that design. They quickly healed afterwards. Lyra then added another snake-like design around that sigil, ensuring once more her influence encapsulated the connection between the soul gem and the body. Now the Soul gem would continue to keep the body technically 'alive', but it would do so through the circle and through Lyra's aether.
Lyra almost sighed as she stepped back, almost rubbing her neck before she remembered the blood and other bodily fluids on her arms. Not for the last time, Lyra washed in the bowl, the glyph at the body doing its job to steadily clear the water over time. She took her time drying her arms then, looking at the body on her table and considering her next steps. Naila's soul had been successfully contained, and the malady removed. The body was also currently stable, linked as it was to the soul gem. That link, however, would not last. She needed to create a more permanent connection, and she also needed to develop the Soul Space schema inside of the body itself. There were several larger steps that still needed to be done.
Begin at the beginning, as the saying went. The schema would be worked into the body as a whole, after all, thus she simply needed to work meticulously. Luckily from her experience with Artur Lyra had learned that the body itself could be used to supplement for portions of the glyph, so long as you gave it the ability to. That was in part why she had saturated the body with her infused ichor already, in preparation for this. In any case, the first step was to set the foundation.
The primary design would be located in the abdomen, as it had the most space to work with. It was also the area that had the least essential organs, so Lyra could work without being overly concerned about causing irreparable damage... for the most part. So without further thought, Lyra began to steadily shift the organs within the body, carefully moving them until she could reach back to the spine at the back of the cavity. She had thought for a very long time how the circle should be created, and what it should be created from. If it was made using only blood ink then she would have to periodically go back inside to maintain the schema. She needed something permanent... And the best way to do that was to build the circle out of the organic material itself. She would take the Soul Circle, and make it into an Addendum that would be a permanent feature of the body from that point onward.
Picking up the hook-shaped instrument, the carving hook, Lyra eyed the pictographs across its surface. This would be the primary instrument in this process, and Lyra had ensured hers was properly prepared for the task. When her gold eyes focused on the abdomen once more her focused hardened. Though she was as confident as one could be, what she was attempting now was beyond anything she had ever tried in the past. Perhaps it was beyond what anyone else up until this moment had even conceived. She could not help but wonder, or hope, that it would be a success and she wasn't making the mistake of a lifetime. Failure was not an option... She knew that better than anyone.
As with everything else, it began with a circle. Because she was working within a confined space, and the tools she was using was not made for the intricate detail she normally gave to her work, Lyra was forced to distill her schema down to the core of its design with as little frill as possible. She used the carving hook to create three concentric rings, the smallest at the center having a diamond shape at its center. Within the second ring, Lyra made 4 smaller circles, each with a similar diamond pattern inside of them. In the third ring, she gave a spirling pattern, the designs flowing into the second ring, and from the second ring, the spirals reversed course and flowed toward each of the 5 circles. The pathways then traveled down to the centermost circle, connecting everything together.
From the 3rd ring, Lyra carved a line leading upward, having it terminate in another circle which she left empty for the time being. The detailed work was difficult, but Lyra took her time. She did not need it to be artistic, despite her tendency. She needed form and function over everything else. Next came the 4th circle. This one would be slightly different, as it was the circle that would be used to create the Soul Space. Instead of a full and complete circle, Lyra carved a series of short lines that encircled the entire design. Then she set the carving hook aside and picked up a bone needle and sinew thread. She could not create the designs she normally would, so instead, she needed an alternative. it was slow, extremely slow, but Lyra used the thread to sew a crisscrossing mesh pattern between the 4th and 3rd circle. The design was simple but implied a boundary, a surrounding. As she worked Lyra periodically let a trickle of her aether slip into the thread through her smoke, weaving Mesmer to strengthen the connection more and more as the went. This 4th circle did not, however, encircle the circle that lead up toward the chest cavity. So instead Lyra added more threads to connect that circle and its pathway to that fourth circle, merging it rather than encapsulating it. This would be where she, Lyra, connected with the Soul Space. The design gave Lyra control not just over the circle, but the Soul Space and the aether inside of it.
When the threads were all in place Lyra set the needle aside, taking up the carving hook once more. It was true that what she had created should, in theory, give her the control she desired. However, she was not one to leave even the possibility of something going wrong and she lose control. Around the entire circle, Lyra created the simple image of a snake, coiled with no eyes. In its mouth was the circle that would allow Lyra to interact with the circle. Blowing out Lyra infused the entire design with her aether, twisting her mesmer compulsion into each and every fiber of the design as she did. It was a final stamp, a claim on the space as if to say 'this is my domain, and all within fall within my control."
When she was satisfied she nodded slowly. In the circle inside the snake's mouth, Lyra drew a much smaller coiled serpent with no eyes, made with single lines. She now needed to create the point with which she connected to not just the circle, but to the rest of the body. Thus Lyra turned back to the chest cavity, carrying the carving hook with her. Inside the chest, the heart was beating slowly, impossibly slowly some would say. This would be the most difficult portion of this process. She needed to tie herself to the entire body, using the heart itself. The chest was very confined as far as space was concerned, but by using some clamps, and lots of patients, Lyra made a small area at the very back of the chest cavity, behind the heart, and between the lungs. She made a small, almost minuscule circle with the same no eyed serpent design. In its mouth was the small diamond pattern found in the circles below.
From the tray, Lyra picked up her prepared soul totem, already carved and prepared. Using sinew thread she carefully wrapped the gem, pressing it down onto the prepared circle using a bit of marrow gum to make it stick. The glyphs shimmered slightly as she did this, indicating a connection, and down in the abdomen, Lyra could see the connected glyph there glowed slightly as well. More thread was used to tie the soul totem down into the back of the chest cavity, using several layers to ensure that the gem could not shift or move in any way. She then used a simple salve to promote tissue regrowth, which combined with eh effects of the carving hook would ensure that the threads would become a part of the body and the totem would be integrated into the body along with the circle itself.
In previous experiments, Lyra learned that parts of the body that already existed could be tied into the magic that she placed within it. In this case, Lyra planned to incorporate both the heart and its connected blood vessels, as well as the spine. They would be linked to her soul totem, and thus all influence to this vessel would need to pass through her influence. Once more the sinew thread was used, linking the soul totem to each of the major arteries of the heart. She did something similar by looping the thread back to touch the spine and the major nerves there. It was not as thorough as with the heart and its vessels, but it would add to the control Lyra had over the vessel.
Finally, Lyra looked at the heart itself. The design she had done in blood ink was still there, and Lyra simply used the carving hook to carefully make shallow cuts to trace that design. They quickly healed afterwards. Lyra then added another snake-like design around that sigil, ensuring once more her influence encapsulated the connection between the soul gem and the body. Now the Soul gem would continue to keep the body technically 'alive', but it would do so through the circle and through Lyra's aether.
