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The Rift: II
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 7:49 pm
by Taelian
40th of Frost, Year 119
It had been three days of... near total confusion. His body had not reacted well to initiation; he was confused, often stirred into a panic, and riled by the slightest of visual or audible cues. Lethiril spoke to him often, as did Eloise; for the first day, however, only one person came to his mind: Riven. Taelian called on him frequently, pleading fairly emotionally - particularly for him - to be returned to his arlaed's side. He missed him terribly; they had not seen one another often in the last fortnight, and when they had, the Elf had been somewhat perturbed by the dreaded notion of things seemingly so near to them; like Talon, and his role in the Kathar's life.
But he did not even remember that. Nor Talon himself, only a looming feeling of worry that he could not place. Taelian struggled aimlessly for the first day, though when the second came he felt immeasurably relieved. He recognized Lethiril in the morning, and by the afternoon, Eloise. He understood that the woman had initiated him into a new 'art' as he described it; the Rune of Transposition, which had been woven across the flat of his palm.
He looked to the Rune. It was pretty; nearly ivory in color, just like the shade she had drawn it in. He wondered if that was intentional, or if the magic always expressed that shade.
Still, he did not feel well. He felt... drained, often nauseous, often tormented by migraines. He slept through another day, largely, though by the morning he currently wandered through the Elf felt immeasurably better and more secure.
"Leth," he called out, seeking his friend. "Come."
And, as he deciphered from the incoming heavy steps across the wooden floor, Lethiril quickly followed his call. Before long, the frame of the slate-blue colored Dratori was looming through his doorway.
"Lethiril, I want to learn," he said. "Transposition: I want to learn. It will help connect me to... to him. My Arlaed. Isn't that a wonderful thing?" he asked, offering the other man a soft and unassuming smile.
Lethiril smiled in return, though it was somewhat half-baked. He looked... stressed. "It is," he replied. "Shall I grab Eloise?"
"Yes," Taelian responded. "I'd like to see her. She is... a very interesting woman," he said. "I believe, from her, that I might learn quite a lot."
Re: The Rift: II
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 8:06 pm
by Taelian
Eloise came. Finally mobile, they returned once more to the floor of Lethiril's cabin by the hearth, as the woman did not particularly enjoy the frigidity of the remainder of the Dratori's home, and enjoyed the ambience of the flame. Before her was Taelian, and between both of them was a grimoire that appeared to depict the physical appearance of Runes, related spells or abilities... she even divided them into particular chapters, one for each Rune she was intrigued by. The largest chapter was certainly that of Kinetics, which she admitted to being a true master of, with Transposition following closely behind.
In fact, Eloise admitted, she believed she could dedicate a much larger tome to the craft. Transposition supposedly had many versatile applications, and the scientific base upon which it was predicated made it a fairly academic magic.
"In Daravin, there are whole schools dedicated to teaching Entente and Valran of Transposition and its research, and just as often, its theories," she stated. "Many such theories emerge from the Interplanar Portal that some masters have grown to utilize, allowing for mortals to connect more directly with other planes of being. The debates are endless on the source of this power, and how such a bridge between realities exists within a singular Rune, rather than being divided among many. It is not my subject of expertise, but even then I cannot imagine I would understand."
Taelian's eyes remained trained on the woman. He did not really understand the 'Interplanar Portal' conceptually and struggled to even imagine other planes of being. This was all very far above his head, and what he knew, and what he felt he was even capable of knowing.
He, selfishly, wanted Transposition for a simplistic use; long-distance portal travel, and did not find its various complex theoretical applications to be very compelling. But he continued to listen, and absorb as well as he could, until eventually pertinent information came.
"Transposition is predicated upon two core concepts, foundational to how it is performed by modern magi: one is the theory of the Aether Flux, which posits that all existence is derived from raw aether that forms into the various aspects of reality through density and detail. Existence itself is raw aether, formed; you are aether, as am I, as is all around us, whether transient or permanent. Personally, to a limited degree, I ascribe to this theory. It makes sense of mages and their mastery over reality; reality is merely aether shaped, and we are its shapers. To some degree."
Taelian nodded along. It... made sense, though it did raise many questions, such as whether the 'Gods' were merely excellent shapers of it. Were they only very powerful mages, then? Considering Wraedan had actively punished mages seeking to achieve immortality in the past, Taelian wondered if he feared them becoming God-like, like him. There were so many wonders to pose when it came to the extent of the arcane; how was it that many mages could not properly levitate their sandals while some were capable of unleashing catastrophe, such as the Sundering? Where did that gap come from? Was talent biological?
He had always wondered these things. He supposed Eloise would not know, but she did know many things, and for the things she was unaware of she often had a theory. He supposed the current demonstration would be both revealing and fruitless, all the same.
Re: The Rift: II
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 8:25 pm
by Taelian
"Portals are the second core element to Transposition, obviously," the Umpire stated. "They are holes in space, like those left by an arrowhead or a tube, given pressure. Only they are created by a powerful magical charge, and are given life by the energy that flares through that initial charge. This is a thing that I will elaborate upon in only a moment. First, I wish to discuss the variability of portals; they vary in size, in duration, color and shape, their appearance shifting wildly based on their performer. My portals look much like spirals that mirror their environment, in a way; their color seems to alter almost in a gradient based on surrounding hues, as if they are reflecting nearby light. Yours will surely be different; I am certain we will discover soon," she said, with a warming smile.
"Let us discuss the first activity necessary to create a portal," continued Eloise. The woman turned the first page - covered in the Rune of Transposition, given life through watercolor art - to a proceeding set of pages, the first of which discussed the Aether Flux and Portals as she had just described. The second focused on nodes, and gave them an artistic representation of well; pockets of energy fed into and expanding within the air, though Taelian was not so sure if they were visible, given the relative transparency they were drawn with.
"These are Nodes," she stated, in line with the title drawn upon the center of the page. "They are clusters of aether, or 'the Aetherium', gathered by you and locked into specific pockets within the grid of our reality. This means they can be formed really... anywhere; done so by sight, by memory, by a thing we call spatial perception. They act as an entrance and exit - or entrance and entrance, or exit and exit - to a portal, and it is the energy of their collision that allows for the intended portal to open. I wish, Taelian, for you to create a Node for me," the Umpire requested.
The Siltori nodded. He had improved very well at visually imagining aether as a result of Summoning, and utilizing a sort of arcane insight that had previously been foreign to him. Taelian focused on a specific section of the air before him, and then upon the area almost directly before his eyes. He focused on visualizing the Aether Flux conceptually; aether forging the air itself, every millimeter of space that separated him from any other object, all of everything lined with the arcane. The weave of reality.
He focused on amassing the aether of two specific points into what he visualized as clumps, before surrounding them with a sort of locked tangibility. He knew when he created them that he had done just that, though he did not know how to create a portal, nor arrange their collision.
Eloise, who was well aware of his success, smiled faintly and slightly bowed her head.
"Well done, Ebon Knight. Now... that is only one element of applied Transposition. There are many more."
Re: The Rift: II
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:42 am
by Paragon
Taelian
XP: 5/5
Magic? Yes. Transposition.
Transposition: Initiation Recovery
Transposition: Foundations
Transposition: Theory
Transposition: The Aether Flux
Transposition: Portals
Transposition: Nodes
Comments: Taelian's thought processes on the broader scope of things is interesting to read. Please reach out to me if you have questions or concerns.