The world dissolved right in front of Kurt's eyes, physical matter melting away to reveal metaphysical truth. The grass he fell onto evaporated in green flames of pure lifeforce and natural energy, and the walls of the cavern exploded in rainbow-like patterns of color that flowed and danced over obsidian walls, much darker and sharper than they had been in the physical realm. At the edge of his vision he saw the shack, which had been morfed into a strange glass structure, like a mixture of a catholic church and a lighthouse that seemed to stretch towards the seal . Only that same seal, the boy realized, looked unchanged.
And yet, as extreme as the changes to the terrain were, the ones that had befallen his companions were worse.
At his right stood a tangle of vines of the deepest green he had ever seen, shaped in the rough outline of a female body. The life-flares that had once been the grass flowed towards its figure, pooling around it, and deep on its chest and in two spots on its ‘face’ burned a warm golden light like the sun of july.
To his left loomed another figure, this one looking a fair bit more threatening. Also humanoid, this one's form was formed out of blades of all shapes and sizes, which clung together in the outline of a antlered man. His teeth were sharp protusions jutting out its jaw and its hands were enormous claws. In its chest stood out a pattern of rust eating at the blades, shaped like a rough hexagram. Dark blue lightning hovered over its form, ocasionally piercing and searing it in a violent fashion.
And finally, to his front, lied the last figure. This one's body was formed out of pure flame and smoke, which coiled around each other in helix patterns, shaped not like a human, but the form of a bison, its eyes spots of blood red flame surrounded by a ‘fur’ of thick black smoke.
Od, he rembered, Must…cycle it… to my brain!
With a scream, the boy took hold of his lifeforce, sending as much as he safely could inside his skull. He felt a void, a path of nothingness that went from his eyes to the center of his brain, and that rejected all attemps to cycle Od through it. Undeterred, he pressed harder, pooling the outline of this void with as much lifeforce as possible, and soon enough he felt this path shrinking and sharpening around the edges until it looked,or rather felt, like a pencil-thin tunnel whose edges contracted and expanded erratically. And then, with a final effort of will, the boy closed it.
"Hey,there" He heard Galton say over his own ringing ears. "Look who’s back!"
With a grunt, Kurt sat up, pinching over the bridge of his nose in an attemp to placate the migraine that was forming.
"How long have I been out of it?" He asked.
"About one minute. Time sure stretchs when you open it fully right?"
"Yeah, it sure does." Answered the boy. He opened his eyes.
Aetheric Attunement (Inept Rank/ Level 1-5)
The user of this skill has opened his soul and perception to the ebb and flow of aether, learning to perceive it and, potentially, manipulate it.
At current skill rank aether may be roughly perceived and manipulated unreliably.
Aether control depends on skill rank and MND stat.
Aether perception depends on skill rank and SPT stat.
"Okay, what now?" He said, looking at Galton.
"Now?" The man asked,smiling." Now it’s time for class."
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"All that exists," Explained Galton, sitting cross-legged across from Kurt.They were alone, Conrad and Mila having gone into the shack to set up the group's stuff and rest a little. "All things that exist in this world: matter, energy, space, time, souls… All of it, is fundamentally Ohr, which is the rawest essence of reality. The reason souls and matter exist in different planes of reality, or iron and water have different physical properties, are both caused by the Ohr that makes them ‘vibrating’ in different frequencies and, from a purely metaphysical perspective, are truly all the same."
Galton looked at Kurt, as if to check if he was following. After a moment, he continued his lecture.
"Now there are two main types of Ohr, based on its ‘vibrational’ state: Physical Ohr, which makes all things physical, even the dimensions of time and space. And Transcendent Ohr, which makes up the souls of all living creatures, be it that these creatures have a physical body or not, and is the one part of your being that’s truly eternal and indestructible, for while it can be hurt or even mutilated beyond the point where it can sustain a lifeforce, it can’t be truly destroyed."
"But there is something that isn't Ohr, right?" Interjected Kurt, already knowing where this lecture was going. "Magic is neither made out of Ohr, nor constrained to one of the two planes of existance, correct?"
Galton remained silent for a moment before answering. "Exactly. In fact, magic, in all its forms, belongs to neither category. Or, from other point of view, it belongs to both categories at the same time. You see, magic is sort of defined by it being not being bound by the rules of one layer of reality or the other, which is the reason it can do stuff that should be impossible. Is because of this that sorcery, which manipulates the flow of aether, can be used to affect both the physical and the soul."
"Okay, I think I get it." Murmured the boy. "If I may ask, what are the limits of sorcery? Like, what it can and cannot do?"
"Excellent question!" Exclaimed Galton while pointing at the boy, almost jamming his index into his student's eye. Kurt whincing back fast enough was the only thing that kept it as an ‘almost’. "Shit! Sorry, boy, my bad. Um, the limitations of sorcery, yeah. Well, you see, masses of Ohr each have their own dynamism: The laws of physics with Physical Ohr, and will with Transcendent Ohr. What sorcery does is, esentially, run a current of aether right through the Ohr making something to have it act in ways that defy this dynamism, like how me making a manholer cover float or throwing giant spears of fire without fuel or any preexisting thermal energy both defy physics, but I still make them happen through sorcery. But, and here are the limits, sorcery can only manipulate pre-existing Ohr into doing something. It can’t create brand new Ohr. So creatio ex nihilo, making something from nothing, is impossible. Also, while you can make a mass of Ohr act against its own dynamism, this won’t make it so that mass’ dynamism changes. It will resist, and the more unlike itself you try and make it act the stronger this resistance will be. Sorcery can’t ignore the rules of reality, only bend and twist them, so us sorcerers must know what these rules are if we are to use our power with any efficiency, particularly for physical sorcery."
"I see..." said Kurt pensively. "I think I got it. How should we start my training then?"
"Well, normally I would be lecturing you about the different types of sorcery and on how marvelously versatile it is as a discipline." Explained Galton."But given that the seal is deteriorating and time is of the essence, I'm gonna hook you up with the basics of spellcasting and evocation and call it a day."
"Evocation?" Asked Kurt.
"Elemental sorcery." Clarified Galton."Mixing your aether with an element to make it more physical and allow you to manipulate that element. You see, pure aether has a weak impact on the physical. One may be able to use it to levitate something or push someone, but if you really want it to pack a punch, you have to mix it with a physical element. Take my Fire Javelin, the spear I used on the oak, for an example: I take aether,mix it with the fire element contained in the heat and matter surrounding me, shape it as a big-ass spear, add expansive properties, and boom! I get a kickass, oak-slying beast of a spell."
Kurt nodded. "I assume we are not starting there are we?" Galton nodded. "Okay so, what is the first thing you have to teach me?"
Without saying anything the sorcerer raised his left hand, fist half-clenched with only his index fully stretched. After a moment, and with a sizzling sound, a black-and-red mass of energy began pooling around his hand before condensing into a thin,long cilinder. The implement was black, yet transparent, as if it were made of smoked glass, and with bright red lights floating in it.
"This." He said. "You see, controlling physical sorcery is kind of hard without a foci, like my staff, to act as a circuit to the outer world, something to allow the energy to be emitted. It makes projecting it away from us nigh-impossible. Now, us sorceres can’t really carry our staffs or wands or whatever all the time, so an alternative had to be worked out in case, you know, in case we get jumped, and this is it: The Slat Tighearnais spell, created by gaelic sorcerer Wulfric Byrne in the 1900’s. Is a spell that acts as its own lynchpin and as a lynchpin for any other spell you cast after it. Now, it isn't perfect. Just manifesting it constantly drains energy, and it adds a little extra cost to any spells you cast as it holds it together. Plus, while it can be used with equal efficiency for any kind of spell, it doesn't make certain types of sorcery like a specialized foci would. And you must conjure it in your hands exclusively, which isn't that much of a limitation, but you should keep it in mind."
"But for someone like me, who’s gonna be fighting up close as much as casting spells, the advantage of a foci I can’t lose superseeds any of those drawbacks you just listed." Replied Kurt, looking at his mentor in the eye. "Right?"
Galton just flashed him a toothy smile, obviously pleased.
"Just grab this and try pouring some aether in it"
Galton handed him the spirit wand. Kurt grabbed it by the free end. The thing began deforming around Kurt's hand, as if trying to avoid his touch at all costs. After a few moments of fruitlessly trying to grab it, Kurt half-clenched his fist around it, and began visualizing his will piercing into it, looking to the world like he was trying to Force Choke the thing.
Without warning, Galton let go of it, and Kurt felt a bizarre feeling of draining as the wand morphed and changed colors, taking on an ever darker coloration, the red lights within it substituted by amber flares-The same color Kurt’s eyes- that run free through its surface. And, just like that, Kurt Celik had cast the first spell of his life.
