14th of Searing, 121 AS
Location: Ale'Epherium, in her Lab
A stream of black smoke flowed over Lyra's lips as she breathed out, swirling over her palm for a moment before spirling into the round-bottom container she held in her hand. When the last of the smoke had been captured Lyra corked the vial and set it down on the stand with 3 others just like it. Four round bottom flasks, green-tinted Lyrethillium, sat over a carved pictograph inlaid with a sigil of catalyzation.
What are you doing?
"Preparations." Lyra said as she picked up a thin metal wand. It was larger on one end, and a series of pictographs covered its surface. She gently tapped the glass of each vial, the smoke inside growing agitated and beginning to move faster within, "The question has been posted. What is a Soul? We know of it in basic terms, as we discussed previously."
Letting the reaction continue Lyra turned her attention to the rest of the equipment on her workbench. She had prepared the setup beforehand. There were in essence three parts to the alchemical schema. The first station was another sigil of catalyzation, on which was sat a metal stand the size to fit the round bottom flasks. Thin glass tubing reached down from a spiraling arch of glassware that leads to the 2nd station. The spinning glass connected to another attachment which contained a crystal coil made of forged Frostrylyth. This coil was then connected to a slightly smaller flask with a flat bottom by a glass funnel with a nozzle that could be closed. At this second station a Sigil of Reconstitution. The pictographs around were linked to points on the glassware, and all gave off a slight magical chill. The final station was simply a metal stand that set on a metallic plate carved with the Sigil of Stabilization.
"If we consider a soul to be what makes up who we are, the container for our memories, thoughts, and emotions, then magics that manipulate these things are, in essence, magics that manipulate the soul. In addition, if our soul is also the well in which our aetheric reservoirs exist, no..." Lyra paused and corrected herself, "Our souls ARE that reservoir, then if we are able to cause shifts in the aether of our beings then we can essential claim to have made a change in the soul itself."
I... guess? Interest in the mercenary was quickly waning under the deluge of enthusiasm that began to roll off of Lyra in waves. The old elf felt she was close to something, not practically, but conceptually, that she had never considered before.
From the flask holder, Lyra picked up one of the containers. The smoke inside spun in quick, erratic patterns that Lyra could almost feel despite the connection having been severed from that small part of her power. With deft fingers she placed the flask in the first station, using a thin needle to pierce the soft cork that sealed the flask until the very tip dipped into the inside of the container. Slowly a trickle of black began to move upward through the spirling glassware, collecting around the cold, dragonshard coil where its swirling pattern slowed considerably. Lyra stared at the coil over the 2nd station for a long while until, at last, a single black droplet fell and slid down the funnel into the waiting container below.
Lyra smiled, "Consider this. My body, by which I mean my true form, exists in a near purely aetheric state. I can shift myself throughout the entirety of my 'form', and can move and control it all as if any part were my hands, or feet." She wiggled her fingers as if to emphasize, "Why do you think that is?"
Dunno. I just thought your ego was so large that it moved all that smoke for you. Naila quipped.
"That smoke, my aetheric, ethereal body, is a pure expression of my aether in an absolute and raw state." The scholar continued without noting the snide remark. Her eyes shown brightly with excitement as she watched more small droplets of black form and drip down into the flat bottom flask, "Remember what we said just a moment ago. If we consider the soul to be that reservoir of aether that we call upon for magic and everything else we do, and the body is but the house for it... In my case, my body IS my aether. My soul is laid bare to the world, and I am able to move and manipulate that pure essence because it is in a sense my soul itself."
Several pieces of a larger puzzle were putting themselves together in Lyra's mind as she watched the flask steadily fill. Unconsciously Lyra tapped her finger rapidly on the wood of the workbench, her face drawing tight as she spoke more somberly, "The act of shattering my soul did more than simply scatter my memories and power. Before, when I was whole, I could form a full, physical body, and the way I manipulated my ethereal body was... different somehow. The implication there..."
Lapsing into silence Lyra stared at the dripping liquid for several long minutes, eyes slightly unfocused. When the last of the smoke had been distilled and condensed Lyra slowly unscrewed the connections to the flask, placing a seal made of alchemist clay infused with her own aether to close the container before letting it rest on the metal stand in the third station. There was a faint glimmer of light as the purely condensed aether within responded and began to swirl once more, adjusting to its now state.
The implication being? Naila asked, finally tired of waiting for the other woman to finish her thought.
Blinking Lyra glance down at her hand that rested lightly on the edge of the bench now. She raised it, turning her palm so she could see the lines and creases from where her hands folded to make a fist.
"The implication," She continued, "Is that my shattering did not simply tear pieces of my soul and send them out into the world. It removed full pieces of me, including the part which formed my physical self."
And that means what exactly?
"It means that, somewhere, my physical body is out there." Lyra said with a sigh, pressing a hand to her head, "But not merely a corpse. No, my true physicality, that which allowed me to interact with the world, the part of my soul which bridged the gap between the aetheric and the material... It is somewhere out there, and in order to regain a true body I will have to recover it."
There was a pause before Naila replied, It doesn't sound like that changes anything for you though... right?
"Perhaps." Lyra conceded, turning her focus back on the flask that was steadily growing darker in color, "I intended to collect all of my pieces eventually, but it does bring up some troubling concerns."
Such as?
The soft glow of magic faded, and as it did Lyra reached forward and lifted the container of black, ink-like liquid before her eyes. She turned it over in her hands, examining what was, in essence, a part of her essence condensed into liquid form.
"No matter how many shards I collect, if I do not find that one I will not be able to regain my physical form." Lyra said with a frown. Her thoughts went back to her conversation with the Monolith. Was that really a limitation to her? It certainly would have been most convenient to gain her physical body back while also regaining whatever memories were stored with it, but was it possible that she did not need that shard to change herself? She could always sacrifice the memories, and whatever power or knowledge that might come with them. Lyra was not sure if she could truly make such a decision.
Is that all? As I said, I thought it was your intent to collect them all anyway.
"True." Lyra nodded as she picked up the next flask to continue the process of making condensed essence, "Yet I cannot help but wonder... By the very nature of what that shard is capable of, is it possible that it has remained untouched all this time? Or, perhaps, is that power being used for something as we speak. If so, it will be quite troublesome to reclaim."
Location: Ale'Epherium, in her Lab
A stream of black smoke flowed over Lyra's lips as she breathed out, swirling over her palm for a moment before spirling into the round-bottom container she held in her hand. When the last of the smoke had been captured Lyra corked the vial and set it down on the stand with 3 others just like it. Four round bottom flasks, green-tinted Lyrethillium, sat over a carved pictograph inlaid with a sigil of catalyzation.
What are you doing?
"Preparations." Lyra said as she picked up a thin metal wand. It was larger on one end, and a series of pictographs covered its surface. She gently tapped the glass of each vial, the smoke inside growing agitated and beginning to move faster within, "The question has been posted. What is a Soul? We know of it in basic terms, as we discussed previously."
Letting the reaction continue Lyra turned her attention to the rest of the equipment on her workbench. She had prepared the setup beforehand. There were in essence three parts to the alchemical schema. The first station was another sigil of catalyzation, on which was sat a metal stand the size to fit the round bottom flasks. Thin glass tubing reached down from a spiraling arch of glassware that leads to the 2nd station. The spinning glass connected to another attachment which contained a crystal coil made of forged Frostrylyth. This coil was then connected to a slightly smaller flask with a flat bottom by a glass funnel with a nozzle that could be closed. At this second station a Sigil of Reconstitution. The pictographs around were linked to points on the glassware, and all gave off a slight magical chill. The final station was simply a metal stand that set on a metallic plate carved with the Sigil of Stabilization.
"If we consider a soul to be what makes up who we are, the container for our memories, thoughts, and emotions, then magics that manipulate these things are, in essence, magics that manipulate the soul. In addition, if our soul is also the well in which our aetheric reservoirs exist, no..." Lyra paused and corrected herself, "Our souls ARE that reservoir, then if we are able to cause shifts in the aether of our beings then we can essential claim to have made a change in the soul itself."
I... guess? Interest in the mercenary was quickly waning under the deluge of enthusiasm that began to roll off of Lyra in waves. The old elf felt she was close to something, not practically, but conceptually, that she had never considered before.
From the flask holder, Lyra picked up one of the containers. The smoke inside spun in quick, erratic patterns that Lyra could almost feel despite the connection having been severed from that small part of her power. With deft fingers she placed the flask in the first station, using a thin needle to pierce the soft cork that sealed the flask until the very tip dipped into the inside of the container. Slowly a trickle of black began to move upward through the spirling glassware, collecting around the cold, dragonshard coil where its swirling pattern slowed considerably. Lyra stared at the coil over the 2nd station for a long while until, at last, a single black droplet fell and slid down the funnel into the waiting container below.
Lyra smiled, "Consider this. My body, by which I mean my true form, exists in a near purely aetheric state. I can shift myself throughout the entirety of my 'form', and can move and control it all as if any part were my hands, or feet." She wiggled her fingers as if to emphasize, "Why do you think that is?"
Dunno. I just thought your ego was so large that it moved all that smoke for you. Naila quipped.
"That smoke, my aetheric, ethereal body, is a pure expression of my aether in an absolute and raw state." The scholar continued without noting the snide remark. Her eyes shown brightly with excitement as she watched more small droplets of black form and drip down into the flat bottom flask, "Remember what we said just a moment ago. If we consider the soul to be that reservoir of aether that we call upon for magic and everything else we do, and the body is but the house for it... In my case, my body IS my aether. My soul is laid bare to the world, and I am able to move and manipulate that pure essence because it is in a sense my soul itself."
Several pieces of a larger puzzle were putting themselves together in Lyra's mind as she watched the flask steadily fill. Unconsciously Lyra tapped her finger rapidly on the wood of the workbench, her face drawing tight as she spoke more somberly, "The act of shattering my soul did more than simply scatter my memories and power. Before, when I was whole, I could form a full, physical body, and the way I manipulated my ethereal body was... different somehow. The implication there..."
Lapsing into silence Lyra stared at the dripping liquid for several long minutes, eyes slightly unfocused. When the last of the smoke had been distilled and condensed Lyra slowly unscrewed the connections to the flask, placing a seal made of alchemist clay infused with her own aether to close the container before letting it rest on the metal stand in the third station. There was a faint glimmer of light as the purely condensed aether within responded and began to swirl once more, adjusting to its now state.
The implication being? Naila asked, finally tired of waiting for the other woman to finish her thought.
Blinking Lyra glance down at her hand that rested lightly on the edge of the bench now. She raised it, turning her palm so she could see the lines and creases from where her hands folded to make a fist.
"The implication," She continued, "Is that my shattering did not simply tear pieces of my soul and send them out into the world. It removed full pieces of me, including the part which formed my physical self."
And that means what exactly?
"It means that, somewhere, my physical body is out there." Lyra said with a sigh, pressing a hand to her head, "But not merely a corpse. No, my true physicality, that which allowed me to interact with the world, the part of my soul which bridged the gap between the aetheric and the material... It is somewhere out there, and in order to regain a true body I will have to recover it."
There was a pause before Naila replied, It doesn't sound like that changes anything for you though... right?
"Perhaps." Lyra conceded, turning her focus back on the flask that was steadily growing darker in color, "I intended to collect all of my pieces eventually, but it does bring up some troubling concerns."
Such as?
The soft glow of magic faded, and as it did Lyra reached forward and lifted the container of black, ink-like liquid before her eyes. She turned it over in her hands, examining what was, in essence, a part of her essence condensed into liquid form.
"No matter how many shards I collect, if I do not find that one I will not be able to regain my physical form." Lyra said with a frown. Her thoughts went back to her conversation with the Monolith. Was that really a limitation to her? It certainly would have been most convenient to gain her physical body back while also regaining whatever memories were stored with it, but was it possible that she did not need that shard to change herself? She could always sacrifice the memories, and whatever power or knowledge that might come with them. Lyra was not sure if she could truly make such a decision.
Is that all? As I said, I thought it was your intent to collect them all anyway.
"True." Lyra nodded as she picked up the next flask to continue the process of making condensed essence, "Yet I cannot help but wonder... By the very nature of what that shard is capable of, is it possible that it has remained untouched all this time? Or, perhaps, is that power being used for something as we speak. If so, it will be quite troublesome to reclaim."
