Chapter 42ish
November 8th, 2022
Zechariah came to a few moments later to the gentle shaking of his shoulder. Lelia was kneeling down beside him with worry furrowing her brow. He groaned and rolled over, looking up at her. It took a moment for his eyes to focus as he regained his senses. His body ached as though he had just worked a long and hard day in the fields. His mouth was dry, and this throat scratchy.
"Thank Aleen you're alive." Lelia as letting out a long held breath and relaxing. You had me really worried there."
"Sorry about that. What the hell was that anyway?" Zechariah said as he tried to sit up, before suddenly getting dizzy and being gently pushed back down by Lelia.
"Aether potion, like I said." Lelia answered. "You, do remember our conversation right?"
"Yeah, of course. I meant what was in it. That didn't taste like anything I've ever had before. And, what did it do?"
"Well, it's made up of alcohol, Aether crystals and Satle weed. As for what it did, hopefully, it infused with Aether, similar to how you would when attuning via an Anomaly. It won't be a lasting infusion like how it's usually done but, considering you survived it as I had suspected you might, it should give you enough Aether to accomplish our needs."
"Hold up. I 'survived'? There was a chance this could have killed me?" Zechariah asked propping himself up on an elbow.
Lelia hesitated playing with her hair. "Y-yes... I'm afraid so. But I was pretty sure it wouldn't kill you. It would kill a normal person but as I said before, I suspected you have more to you than just being a farmer. And it seems I was right. So, that's good."
"I suppose it is." Zechariah said doubtfully. "I mean, it's better than you being wrong." He carefully sat up on the floor and shook his head to try to clear the dizziness.
"Take it easy Zechariah. You've literally just had a near death experience. You should rest a bit." Lelia advised.
"Do you know how long the potion will last?" Zechariah asked. Seeing the hesitation in Lelia's eyes he continued, "I thought not. Then, I may not have time to rest. I'm not keen on going through that again and I need to make use of it while I can. So what next?"
"You're a brave man Zechariah."
Zechariah felt slightly dizzy again as he blushed at the compliment. "I...I wouldn't say that. I mostly have survived by being too unimportant to notice."
"Yet you continue onwards and face many dangers and trials determinedly. That is brave to me." Lelia insisted.
Zechariah scratched his head dislodging some stray foliage that had saught to hitch a ride upon him. "Thank you. So, what next?" He asked awkwardly averting his eyes from Lelia.
"Yes, we must move on." Lelia reached up and bracing herself on the bench, went to sit upon it again. Once perched as she had been before, she picked up the scroll and handed it to Zechariah.
Zechariah took the scroll and made to stand up, but thought better of it as his weary legs protested, and so simply sat in the grass legs crossed before him. He unfurled the scroll and took a look at the complex series of runes and glyphs that existed within. They looked vaguely familiar to him. Indeed as he examined the scroll more closely he could recognize patterns that he himself had carved into various wooden objects. "T-this is impossible." Zechariah stammered looking up at Lelia with wide eyes. "This is a magic scroll? A spell?" He asked incredulously.
"It is. You...recognize some of it?"
Zechariah nodded turning his wide eyes back to the scroll. "None of it is as I carved them, I used only bits and pieces. How is this possible?"
"That's what the Runemaster and I want to figure out. That's why I've brought you into my home. Well, there are other reasons too, but that's the primary one."
"What does it say? Or...what does it do? I don't know if scrolls or spells or whatever even say anything." Zechariah laughed in disbelief as he beheld a simple parchment of information that he would have given nearly anything to study.
"This scroll contains a spell of 'Oscillatory Manipulation'. In short, a spell that allows one to control the energy of waves." Lelia explained.
"Waves?" Zechariah asked as he closed the scroll and looked to Lelia for further explanation. "Like in a sea? You want me to conjure a flood or something?"
"No no." Lelia said laughing lightly. "That would be far too potent a spell for a novice. Far too potent a spell for myself I should think. Magic can be very flashy and very powerful, but the most powerful uses of magic are much more subtle in nature. For example, lets say we did conjure a flood to trap and drown our target. It would certainly work and certainly be very odd and obvious. Anyone who came later to investigate would immediately know magic had been used, and that would narrow the list of suspects down to only a handful here in Uthar."
"So why give me a spell to manipulate water?" Zechariah asked confused.
Lelia crossed her bad leg over her good one and leaned forward, resting her arms upon her legs. "It's not a spell to manipulate water. It's a spell to manipulate waves. Yet another reason why many people do not study to become Elicitors much less Impelsors. I'll go into depth on it more another time but in short, understanding how things works makes magic a lot more safe to perform. Trying to harvest a field with your bare hands is a lot more difficult than using a scythe."
"I suppose that makes sense. Is it safe then, for me to use magic without knowing hardy anything about it? And it still doesn't answer how water comes into things."
Lelia let out a deep sigh as she pondered her words. "Safe? Not really. You just drank a potion that rightly should have killed you. But I believe you have enough experience, especially indirectly, to understand magic more than you think. As for the waves, don't worry about the how or why of it. In short, we'll be using it to stop the waves in the air. Think of how you can feel a wagon through the ground before you see it or hear it. Sound creates waves in the air. That's how we hear things. We'll be using this spell to steal the air of it's energy, thus completely removing sound from the area."
The look of confounded disbelief, awe and fear in Zechariah's eyes caused Lelia to have to stifle a laugh with a hand. He sat upon the ground before her, looking up completely stunned as he tried to wrestle with the concepts she'd just thrown at him. "You can do that!" He exclaimed.
"Shhh!" Lelia chided. "Quiet! It's late at night and we cant afford to be drawing attention to this. This is unsanctioned use of magic after all. I could get locked away for the rest of my life!"
"Sorry, sorry." Zechariah said quietly and leaning forward conspiratorially as he asked again, "You can do that?"
Lelia looked into his eyes, smiling for a moment. He had such enthusiasm and wonder for things magical. Of course, most people were awed by the power Impelsors wielded, but theirs was always a look of jealousy or hunger. Jealous that they didn't have the power for themselves, or hunger in that they wanted to use her for their own ends. Here however, on this dark eve in the backyard of a friend, Zechariah sat completely enthralled by the love of magic itself. Yes, he undoubtedly wanted to learn more about it to save himself. But beyond that, there was this honest eagerness in his eyes to learn and keep learning. Lelia admired his eagerness and his honest love of magic.
"Yes Zechariah. You can do that. And a lot more. I'll teach you all about it one day. Hopefully. But for now, open that scroll again and I'll show you how to 'read' it."
Zechariah climbed up onto the bench next to her once again and opened the scroll. He listened intently as she pointed to the various symbols and runes, giving him a brief explanation of each, and how they worked together. He could tell there was infinitely more that he wasn't being taught just yet, so much more of magic that he could spend an eternity studying and be ever hungry for more. She told him about how the scroll wasn't a true rune, because it held not commandments, commandments used to bring the rune to life. The glyphs being the base forms were easy enough to study and understand, but she said it was the commandments that made Runesmithing such a challenging profession. She took up the wand and explained how she had laid a weave upon it, to store the energy of the air that would be stolen, and told him that she would not be teaching him how to weave Aether tonight, but only how to activate the closed weave of the Maledict. 'Ruinosus e Minuere Caeli'. The words he had to speak to command the air to give ups it's energy. She instructed him to keep his mind focused on what he wanted to accomplish as he spoke the words, for the words are vague, and it is his mind and his will that would guide the spell.
They stood then, with Lelia holding onto his arm for balance, as they began their practice in earnest. Lelia told him how focus on the warmth within his body, and to feel his senses. The weight of his body upon his feet, the coolness of the air, the smells of the garden. She instructed him on how to turn his mind's eye to the center of his back where she placed a hand. She instructed him to imagine and feel a heat and a pressure on his back, pushing into him and through him. Then to extend his the wand to point to the ground at his feet, and when he was ready, to utter the words.
He failed. He uttered the words and nothing happened. Lelia encouraged him on, to feel the warmth in his belly and at his back and to urge it to rise and flow through him. He took a deep breath, stilling his mind and then spoke the words. He sighed in disappointment, as nothing happened, and turned to ask Lelia if he had any other tips for him. But then he saw her face and as he spoke, he heard no words. His eyes went wide and he grinned from ear to ear, reflecting Lelia's own smile. Her hand upon his back was was warm, her touch upon his arm was soft. He could feel her hair caressing his forearm and could smell her floral and slightly electrifying smell. She was beautiful and they stood there together, in total silence and the stillness of the night, celebrating with each other silently in the dance of their eyes.
After a moment, they both blushed softly and Zechariah averted his gaze as Lelia reached forward and took the wand from his hands. She pointed to the ground again and seeming sucked air inward while speaking, and suddenly there was sound again. The faint noise of crackling fire from inside the house, the gentle nightly breeze, the occasional critter and cricket chirping in the bushes. He knew he had little time left, before he had to go kill a man in cold blood. But in this moment, in this briefest time with Lelia, he was happy and wished not for that moment to ever end.
November 9th, 2022
Author's note: This second portion is a more detailed interaction of the above, Lelia showing Zechariah hot to use magic. Explanation may be too long. Consider using original form
November 9th, 2022
Author's note: This second portion is a more detailed interaction of the above, Lelia showing Zechariah hot to use magic. Explanation may be too long. Consider using original form
Zechariah quickly climbed up onto the bench next to her once again, his previous exhaustion and weakness still present, but largely ignored, conquered by his eagerness to learn. Lelia suppressed a smile at his eagerness but failed to completely hid it. "Sorry." Zechariah said abashedly, "This is just a dream come true you know? Who doesn't want to learn about magic! I never thought I'd actually get to be one. I thought I'd get here and someone would look at my hand and then amputate it for research or something, and send me on my way. This is far more exciting.
"Amputate your hand!" Lelia laughed in disbelief, "Why would anyone do that?"
"I don't know." Zechariah answered suddenly feeling foolish. "I'm a nobody from a nowhere. I figured people wouldn't like that I have...whatever this is." He said waving his scarred hand.
Lelia laughed again. "Unsacntioned magic is illegal, but Elicitors crop up all over the place. Most of them never even realize that they're using magic, and so long as they don't get any grand ideas or figure it out, it remains unchecked. It's not illegal to accidentally stumble upon magic. And you're doing the right thing. Many people in your situation would probably try to figure it out themselves, but you're trying to find answers as safely as possible. I'm sure the Court Wizard will approve of your efforts and discretions." Lelia explained, but before they could be any further distracted she continued, "Now, focus. Our time is short and we need to try and see if you can accomplish this. I have the Runesmith working on a back up if you can't, so don't worry. This whole mission doesn't rest on you."
"I have to say that's a relief. I'll be honest, I'm not really sure how I feel about assassinating some old man."
"Me neither if I'm honest. Truthfully, if I could avoid it I would. However, Gerb said that if he does Sott's bidding, he'll likely be trapped again. If he doesn't do Sott's bidding, then Sott will expose him, and consequently myself."
"So we don't have a choice." Zechariah said solemnly.
Lelia looked away, before saying quietly, "You do. I may not, but you needn't soil your hands with this if you don't wish to."
"HA!" Zechariah barked a laugh, "You're telling me this now? After feeding me a potion that may or may not have killed me?"
Lelia looked up at him guiltily, but saw only amusement in his eyes. "We would have had to eventually try to attune you to the Aether anyway. I figured it doesn't really matter when, and if you died then you wouldn't need to make the choice anyway."
Zechariah shook his head incredulously. "You may be fore more adept at this politics thing than you think. I'll have to watch out for what you don't tell me in the future!"
"Don't say that!" Lelia frowning. "I don't like to lie and deceive. People keep saying that I would be good at politics but...it's not that I'm good or bad it it." She said as she hugged her good leg to herself, "It's that I hate it. I really hate it. I hate the deceit, the manipulation. At the end of the day I know it's necessary but, I always figured if I could avoid it, that I should."
Zecharaih watched her quietly for a moment considering her words. It wasn't cowardice that made her avoid the courts. It was a weakness of position or lack of husband. Merely that she despised it. She glanced at his silence, wondering what he was thinking of her. "I trust you. Even if you were in the courts. I'd trust you. I think this kingdom could use honest and kind people like you."
This time it was her turn to blush, which she did before quickly putting her leg back down and sitting up straighter to compose herself. "As all well and good as that is, we have deviated yet again from the task at hand. Now open up that scroll before something else distracts us."
Zechariah wanted to press 'what else' could distract them but thought better of it, instead just smiling and turning to open the scroll. "So how does this work? I say some magic words and swoosh, the scroll gives me the magic?"
"I wish it was that easy. No, this scroll doesn't contain any magic. These glyphs are merely instructional. I could try to tell you how to do it, but the runes help to focus our thoughts so that we can more accurately cast our magic. The more accurate we are, the less dangers exist, and the lower the amount of fallout we suffer."
"So...just to be clear...doing this will slowly kill me?" Zechariah asked.
"Yes. I'm afraid so. A few castings of this spell alone won't do hardly any harm to you. At most you'll end up with a very mild inconvenience. Like a crystal growing in a spot that is uncomfortable or something like that. Not to trivialize the severity of doing magic, but...I doubt you'll notice any immediate effect. Unless you do something horribly wrong that is."
"Good to know. Just don't 'fuck up'." Zechariah said dryly. "So, how do these rune help focus our minds then?"
Lelia leaned in closer, to look over his shoulder and Zechariah could smell her lightly floral scent. She smelled wonderful, and a strand of her hair fell and tickled his arm briefly before she idly tucked it away behind her hair. She was so close Zechariah could feel her warmth. "Right here." She said, pointing to the central glyph and unconsciously re-centering Zechariah's focus. "The center here is the foundation of the spell. This oval glyph here is the glyph for Wind. We're not sure if there's another language that was once associated with these glyphs. If there is it must be a dead language. We've found that the word 'Caeli' seems to conjure the correct form of Aether. This line through it depicts that the spell will be 'thrust' forward from it's point of origin. That will be the tip of this wand. This circle at the end with the lines coming off it depicts that it will be a spherical shape when it reaches it's destination. It will expand outwards. This dark spot down here, represents it's origin, the Aetherial plane."
She was pointing all over and Zechariah had a hard time following all of which did what, but he focused as hard as he could, trying to commit her instructions to memory. "You see this tear drop shaped glyph out on the edge of the circle here? That's the glyph Aqua, the glyph for water. Now, if the water glyph was in the center on top of the air glyph, it'd be a spell for fog, mist, rain or any liquid that has been turned into vapor. However, with it out here on the outside, we call it Liquidum, which denotes that we are wanting only the properties of waves. It is placed at three points on the circle, to denote that we want all of the waves manipulated. You'll also see the glyphs of Ruinosus and Minuere. These are what we call Meta Glyphs, which give the spell instructions on how we want the wave properties of air to be controlled. Ruinosus is a term like, to reduce, take apart or detract, and Minuere is a similar term for weaken, lessen or make less of."
"Now," Lelia continued, "This is where I say it's a tool to help us focus. Because these glyphs could mean any number of things. An Impelsor could read these runes and think to use them to say, make the air stiff or frigid, thus suffocating someone. Now, if I wanted to do that, I would use different Meta words, which would help me focus it. But if that is what an Impelsor wanted, he could make that work from these glyphs. I'd say it wouldn't be as successful or powerful as with different command words, but it is more than possible. Consequently, if your attention should drift while casting this spell, the Aether may not understand what form it is suppose to take, so depending on where your mind wanders and how accurate your incantation is, you could end up with a result quite different from what you intend. So we write runes that will help us individually understand our magic. This is why spell books are rarely sold and traded. Not only are they very valuable, but they are also specific to the person who wrote them, and can't necessarily be interpreted correctly by other eyes."
"This...this is...a lot to take in." Zechariah said blinking. "I think I understand what you're saying but, I'm not sure I'm comprehending it."
Lelia frowned and looked at him, still leaning in very close. "I should hope you're comprehending it because we're about to give it a try."
Zechariah sighed looking back at the scroll feeling a bit defeated. "I suppose I've got nothing else to do but try."
"It'll be okay Zechariah. There is a lot more I could teach you from this single scroll alone, but I've given you the fundamentals. So, come, help me up." She said offering him her hand.
Zechariah stood up and clasped her hand in his, and then his other hand upon her elbow. Giving a firm and gentle tug, he lifted Lelia up onto her feet. He went to remove his hand from hers, but she held on to him. She gave a tiny hop to draw closer to him, and leaned against him for support. By Aleen she was soft, as she held onto his arm, her side pressing into his. She took up the wand and held it out before her. "So, the words you need to speak are 'Ruinosus et Minuere de el Liquidum de Caeli'.
November 10th, 2022
November 10th, 2022
Upon completing her wand, there was a sudden brief surge of energy, like one might feel in a lightning storm, and he could smell the electricity until suddenly, there was nothing. No sound, no smell. Not the cool air of night, not the salt of the sea, not Lelia's perfume or Zechariah's stench. Nothing. Zechariah looked around, as if searching for something would provide him with some visual understanding of effects. He then noticed, he felt no breeze, and felt that his breath was clouded, like it was hugging his nose. It was difficult to breath. Not impossible, but he had to focus on sucking the air into his lungs. Curious, Zechariah reached out with his hand, and felt nothing. A little further, and suddenly his fingertips felt cool air blowing across them. Zechariah looked at Lelia who was watching him explore the magic with a smile on her face. He couldn't help but grin back at her foolishly. He went to ask how they would remove the magic, but as he spoke, he felt, but not heard any sound. He could feel his throat making the right shapes, he could feel the vibrations in his neck and head and chest, and could almost hear himself, but it sounded like it was coming from deep within him, not at all like it should. Lelia nodded at him and suddenly, there was the breeze again, the sound of the crickets and his hammering heart.
"That's incredible. How did you end the spell without being able to speak?"
"It'll be easier for you to understand when you have cast the spell yourself. This is what we would call an 'Open Weave'. It's not like actual weaving, but it's the best way we have found to describe it. In short, I've set the Aether to flow into the desired effects, but the magic is in a fluid state. It's not a good idea to hold open weaves for a long time for they tend to degrade rapidly, and are open to other Impelsor's influence. If you come across an open weave, you can enter new commands, remove old commands, and even change the fundamentals of the spell. It's a rather difficult thing to do, but it is one of the primary methods of counter spelling, that is battling against other magic. Closed weaves are also vulnerable to counter spelling, but takes far longer for the Impelsor to pull apart for the weave doesn't want to change."
"I'm sorry, it 'doesn't want to change'?" Zechariah inquired.
"Um, yes. Fundamentally. Think of it like...perhaps...a weed. You might cut the weed, or smash the weed, or even pull the weed up, but if you don't get all of it, it'll grow right back. It's kind of like that. It can resist other people's attempts to change it. It will constantly rewrite itself to be as complete as it was made to be, and also constantly changes it's 'structure' so that it is harder for Impelsors to decipher."
"That's amazing." he said stunned, "I had no idea Magic could do things of it's own accord."
"Oh indeed! It's some of what makes magic so wonderous to study, is it has this unique 'intelligence' about it. I don't know how to quite describe it. People often describe fire as having a will of it's own. Aether is like that except far more so. Anyway, to answer your question, because it was an open weave, all I had to do was to close the gates so to speak, and stop the Aether from flowing through me thus ending the spell. When you have the spell open, I won't be able to change or stop it from within, because I'll be unable to speak and it won't be my Aether. From outside the spell, I could change it or stop it quite easily."
"Your Aether..." Zechariah said thinking deeply. "So, the Aether flowing through you sustains the magic, but also deposits Aetheric fallout in your body causing the Maledictions to grow." Lelia nodded at him as he spoke slowly, encouraging him on. "So, if you're able to touch someone's weave that has Aether flowing into it, could you increase the Impelsor's flow?"
"That's a very good question." Lelia said solemnly. "Short answer, is yes. You can. However, it is strictly forbidden to do. What you just described is one of the primary forms of counter-spelling for Blood Magic. Blood magic reaches into the hearts of people and uses their own life force against them. In this case, you can reach into another Impelsor's weave and break open the floodgates so to speak, and kill the Impelsor by causing such an overflow of Aether that the Fallout kills the Impelsor."
"Th-That's terrifying." Zechariah said as Lelia wrapped her arm through his for better support.
"It's illegality however, isn't the primary reason Impelsors avoid doing so. It's also extremely dangerous. If the focus is lost, which it usually always is, the Aether loses it's instruction, and can mutate into what we call 'Wild Magic'. Raw, untamed Aether. Additionally, if someone has lets say, opened a gout of flame to try and kill you, and you open the floodgates into that spell, that gout of flame could become a tornado of fire or worse. If it doesn't mutate into Wild Aether, then the spell being used will receive an incredible boost to all aspects of the spell."
Zechariah nodded, "I can see why it isn't often done. That would only work for Impelsors though, right? Lets say an Elicitor or Ritualist has a spell up, I can't counter spell that can I?"
"In theory you can, but it's even more complex. You're right in that you can't cause an overflow in a Ritualist or Elicitor, one of the reasons they are often considered more valuable. With a Ritualist, you can take hold of the spirit's power, same with a Channeler, and force the spirit to overflow or change. But it is extraordinarily more difficult, as spirits are far more adept at weaving their own magics than we are. I've never actually ever heard of it done. With Elicitors you cannot, as they do not seem to use Aether. We don't really know how Elicitors use their power, only that they can and do. Therefore, the primary way to counter-spell an Elicitor, Ritualist or Channeler, is to 'negate' their magic. Say a Channeler summons the elemental spirits of fire to hurl great orbs of fire at you. You can 'counter spell' them by throwing fire back. Much like how two sides of magnets do not like to touch, it seems to be the same case with magic. Unlike usual elements, which would simply increase the element, this seems to negate the effects. Again, we are unfortunately not entirely sure why this is the case, but that's just how it works. The degree of accuracy increases the chance of a complete dispel. If for example someone were to throw an orb the size of a melon at you, and you instead threw a disk the size of your palm, your disk would negate some of the orb of fire, but not very much. Where as if you matched it with equal size, density and intensity, you'd negate it entirely. This is unfortunately the only form of counter spelling that we have for other practices of magic, and it is also quite difficult to do. So much so, that it's not even really taught. Most people would just rather conjure a wall to block the fire or step out of the way."
"This is all so incredibly complicated." Zechariah said, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information and possibilities.
"Yes, it really is. I'm sorry, I said I would try to keep things simple. Here." Lelia pushed the wand into Zechariah's hand. "The incantation is Ruinosus et Minuere de el Liquidum de Caeli" She said slowly.
"Come again?" Zechariah said with a small chuckle. "Just that eh?"
Lelia smiled at him saying, "Yes, just that. You can eventually learn how to cast spells with fewer words, particularly when your situation demands more immediate effects. But accuracy and potency tends to be more difficult to maintain with fewer words. The more you give, the more you get, fundamentally. So particularly with new Impelsors, it's better to spend the time to try and say the spell correctly."
"Makes sense I guess. If I say it holding the wand, don't I run the risk of blowing myself up?" Zechariah asked hesitantly.
"No no, you have to first open the gates to the Aether for the spell to work. You may feel some tingling, like the magic may want to work, but you'll have given it no fuel, so it'll remain dormant."
"That's comforting at least. Alright so: So, Ruin-sus, ate manure de el Liquid, um, de Sail, e."
Lelia bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Close, but not quite. It's Ruin-oh-sus, eht, Min-ware-eh, deh, L, Liquid-ee-um, deh, Sail-ee." This time sounding out each word carefully. Zechariah repeated her slow enunciation of the words, and flinched in shock as he indeed, felt a tingling course through his spine and his fingers and toes. It was like getting a very strong shock from a wool jumper in the middle of a dry sand storm. "Well done!" Lelia exclaimed happily. "You felt it, didn't you. The desire for energy?"
Zechariah's expression changed for shock and fear, into uncertainty and then glee as he smiled at her. "Yes! That, that was incredible! So that means I said it right?"
"Yes. The more accurately you say it, the more of a shock you'll get. It's one of the ways we measure how a student is coming along in their practice and studies, or when we're working on a new spell, and we don't want to actually use the Aether, we can 'dry test' the spells this way. It's not entirely pleasant but it saves us from having to use the Aether. Of course, this only determines the accuracy and potency of the words, not necessarily the magical effect."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...we really should practice more, but I'll give you one last brief explanation. I just can't help myself." Lelia said conspiratorially. "You remember how I explained how the glyphs don't necessarily mean the same thing to everyone? It is also the same with the words and Aether. We might have good words, but if we don't fully understand their meaning, and we try to conjure something other than what the words are truly saying, we get a weaker or completely different result entirely. We don't really know what the Men of Old used as their language, or how they interpreted the world around them. We only do our best to imitate the words and objectives, but matching form, glyphs, words and intent is all very complicated."
Zechariah nodded enthusiastically. "This is indeed all very complicated, and very confusing. But, I think I'm understanding the basics at least."
"Indeed you are! Quite adeptly I should add. Now, try again." Lelia said, sounding out the words once more. Zechariah set about repeated the words as best her could, and each time his heart jumped as he felt that surge of potency. Again and again, he shocked himself, each time getting more and more intense than the last. Eventually, Lelia instructed him to hold out the wand, and instructed him on what points to hold the wand, and to position his fingers in certain ways. "The grip on the Maledict affects how the magic passes from you into the maledict, affecting how much fallout you can avoid as well as the ease that Aether will have flowing out of you. For this spell, we'll need the fingers just so..."
This time, when Zechariah uttered the words, he dropped the wand yelping. "By Shimara that fucking hurt!"
Lelia tried to look irritated at him for cursing with her chosen goddess's name, but couldn't help smiling as Zechariah blushed from embarrassment at having dropped the wand. He bent down and picked it up, still providing Lelia with the support she needed. "Almost perfect I should say. In order to protect you from any more nasty shocks," she said pouting mockingly, "Lets move on to the final stage. Opening the Aetheric gates. Now, stand straight, left foot behind your right and angled out." She instructed as she placed her hands all over him, helping him to position correctly. His shoulders, his back his chin his arms, his legs. He shivered.
"Let me guess, position of body and form helps as well?" He asked as she closely scrutinized his form.
She hummed her acknowledgement. "Yes, quite so. If you recall the glyphs of the scroll, how they instruct the flow of the Aether, we need to try to match the flow with our bodies. Once the gates are opened, you don't need to maintain it, but like how I described runes as a planar key? In this our case, our bodies are that key."
"This is crazy." Zechariah said shaking his head.
"Is it now?" Lelia asked chastising him as she stood up with her hands on her hips. "And is proper form useless when wielding a sword or a scythe? No? I thought not. Form is essential in getting the body to move with the most efficiency. It's the same with Aether. We just deal with mostly invisible tools is all."
Zechariah cocked his head nodding in thought. "I suppose you're right. That does make sense."
"Of course it does. I said it didn't I?" Lelia said before grabbing his chin and turning his head forward. She stepped very close to him, her legs on either side of his left which was out behind him a bit. She laid a hand on his chest, pulling up lightly, and one on the small of his back pushing his spine straighter. She then moved her right hand up his spine to rest between his shoulder blades, and drew the other hand across his chest, down his right arm. She leaned on him for support as she did so, and his skin tingled where she traced across his chest and arms. "Now, take slow deep breaths, and close your eyes. Calm yourself, and try to empty your brain. Forget I'm here. Imagine yourself adrift in a vast, warm sea, floating away on the gentle tides. Imagine sitting by a fire, or catching the first rays of the sun upon your back. This is the Aether. Imagine it pressing in against your back, imagine it trying to push in and through you. Imagine your heart pumping the Aether across your chest, and down into your arms. Open yourself to it, grasp the comfort, of the familiar, the wonder of the awesome and the desire for more."
Zechariah's mind wandered to drifting down the artery on a hot summer's day, by himself. Usually he loathed being alone, but this time, in this memory, he was peaceful. He had felt the cool water warmed by the sun, carrying him gently down stream. He'd imagined being part of the river then, and went back to that gentle but powerful memory. He took a deep breath.
"Now call to your mind the glyphs of the rune, and speak the words." Lelia instructed.
"Ruinosus et Minuere de el Liquidum de Caeli." Zechariah said softly but firmly, as he imagined the flow of the warm river through him, and imagined the glyph being laid upon his body, directing the magic where to go.
Suddenly, Zechariah convulsed violently as he felt a burning in his veins similar to when he had quaffed the Aether Potion. Electrifying fire flooded his body, and surged through him. It poured in from his back and up from his belly, through his heart and down his arm. His fingers felt like they were melting, and the wand flashed with brief arcs of purple electricity. Zechariah tried to cry out, but heard no sound. In fact, he felt no breeze. As quickly as it surged through him, it faded, until there was a dull tingling coursing through his limbs. He took some deep, labored breaths, and looked around, and saw Lelia smiling up at him. Her lips moved, but he heard now sound. The beaming look of pride on her face, washed Zechariah with a different sensation of warmth, one that was far more meaningful to him than any amount of Aether. He stood there, sweating lightly from the exertion of the shock, but his heart was lighter than it had ever been before. In that moment, he wished this night would never end.
Suddenly, he felt the warmth leave him, and the breeze came back and the sounds of his their breath and Lelia's excited laughter. "You did it!" She exclaimed and hugged him.
He hugged her back, shocked but not wiling to miss this opportunity to embrace her. "I, I did it. Lelia! I used magic!"
She pulled away but kept close to him. "Well done Zechariah. I knew you would be able to find it in you, easier than most I should say!"
"But, why did it not last as long as yours?" He asked confused. "Mine faded almost immediately."
"Likely because you didn't keep your focus on it. You were likely caught up in the moment and your focus slipped, thus you closed the gates to the Aether. That's how I closed mine, I just stopped thinking about it for a moment."
He nodded, then grinned. "Thank you." He said genuinely.
"Nothing to it. You're helping me with this more than I'm helping you after all. But, you're welcome." She placed her hands on him again, "Now, we're not done practicing. Once more." She instructed, and he eagerly went back to practicing.
As he took his position once again, his mind drifted back to the Artery, and Hyran. What would his parents say to this he wondered? Would his dad be happy for him? Or would he try to scar him again. He shook his head clearing away those thoughts. It didn't matter. At the end of the day, he was an Impelsor, and nothing was going to change that. He was on the right track, and he wasn't going to stop now, not for his father, not for anyone.
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