The Library (Magic Guild) ~ 20th ~ Morningtide

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The Library (Magic Guild) ~ 20th ~ Morningtide

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Gilanor had left Ssinith still asleep when he had slipped out of their dorm room this morning. The last two days of classes of illusions basic alchemy, and elementalism had left him with plenty of things to think about and thinking about them just added to the questions he already had. So it was time to bid a retreat to get his mind in order before adding further to its work.

Thus with no classes on his schedule this morning he headed off in the direction of the library. Some of the shelves they had reorganised over the last few days might bear fruit with references text to explain some of the concepts he was working through mentally. Then again just the physical labour of sorting through and shifting various texts was relaxing and let his mind mostly free to consider the questions he was pondering.

Moving into the second area he set to removing the disorganised chaos that still populated a number of shelves in this area. The first area was mostly finished now with all the effort that he and Ssinith had put into cleaning it up. Indeed he hoped they would shortly be able to move onto the third area. Looking into there the other day he thought he had spotted yet another giant stack of books blocking a doorway to another area.

He hoped he was wrong but he was sure that a Guild as old and as knowledgeable as the Magic guild would have certainly collected more works than was present in these three areas. As he gather up the texts he kept an eye out for any that seemed to cover the basics of the subjects whose classes he had taken so far at least.
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As Gilanor entered the library he found several small piles of books and scrolls on the formerly cleared off tables of the room. No one was in the library to claim them. Perhaps someone hoped they would be put away.

The second room was as badly organized as the first. Gilanor swiftly found a desk with the organizational layout of the second room. A mark of work or so left the floors mostly uncovered. Reorganizaing the shelves would take more time. He was also gratified to find not only a way to a third room from the second but to a fourth as well. A small pile of texts on the basics of magical energies and illusions began to accumulate for his personal reading.

"Such diligence is rare in a student." A familiar voice said from the doorway. The wizened adhiel image that Professor Chaotxi favored stood in the doorway leaning on the snake headed cane. "So many tread the pathways of the minds when a walk down the hall would serve them far better. Good tide to you Gilanor."
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
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Gilanor had placed the book books that had been left on one of the reading tables away before he had started on the second room.

Perhaps the guild might be in need of a proper librarian to take care of this place once it is restored to order.

The voice of Professor Chaotxi caught him a bit by surprised as he was sorting through the contents of a shelf picking out the items that didn't belong in the location. Looking up he gave the professor a polite smile before bowing his head to him his hands full of gathered books and scrolls.

"Thank you Professor. Though I must admit some self-interest in my diligence. Since while I've been working to restore the library to its proper condition I've been able to find some texts of considerable interest to my studies. "Gilanor stated, sure that if he wanted to the Professor could easily learn that information for himself.

"If you have a moment Professor, might I ask a question or two?" Gilanor asked, as the items he had been pondering last night came to mind.
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"Had I not time to talk I never would have addressed you." Professor Chaotxi replied moving over to seek out something on a far shelf. "Ask your questions and I will answer if I can."
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
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"I had hoped so Professor but I learnt painfully to never to assume anything. In class you had mentioned making energies appear to be shrouded, and from the use of it being to hide the fact that something was an illusion. Should I take it then that this shrouding can be enacted on living and perhaps non-living objects? If so what is normal purpose for which one would undertake to shroud a person or items energies?" Gilanor asked, stopping himself from adding further questions to the list he had about shrouding.

As he waited for the Professor's response he stacked the collected items on a cleared desk and moved to pick some other misplaced items from the stacked shelves nearby.
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"Anything can be shrouded given time, skill and inclination." The professor replied as he examined a rolled up scroll. "The usual reason is to mask whatever defensive spells or wards you have erected." The professor leaned his staff against the shelves and began to carefully untie the black ribbon around the scroll.

"It is infinitely more difficult to bypass a spell if you do not know what it is." The professor paused a moment to work on the stubborn knot. "You are left with the brute force methods of calling upon nullity or entropy and those forces are never easy to summon and control." The knot finally came free and the professor nodded with satisfaction. He placed the scroll back on the shelf and pocketed the ribbon.

"You look like you have more to ask, yes?" He inquired with a beckoning gesture.
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
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"I had a couple of questions in regards to this library. But if I enquiry first what subject is the ability of shrouding covered in, is it part of Shielding studies or something else entirely?" Gilanor asked, his interest in magical topics out weighing his curiousity about the exact extent of the library and its cluttered divisions.
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"When it is taught at all in the magic classes, it is either done as an advanced lesson in shielding or in illusions." The professor leaned back against the shelves and appraised Gilanor.

"This subject truly fasicnates you doesn't it?" The professor more stated than asked. "So if I mentioned that such advanced lessons could also come from the private training between master and apprentice, this would interest you yes?"
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

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"Indeed it would Professor Chaotxi. " Gilanor managed to reply, surprised at the implications of what the professor seemed to be offering.

"This Shrouding seems to imply that another's perception of energies both controlled and uncontrolled can be altered. By such you're putting a covering in place and I can't help but wonder if there is someway to see past such Shrouding. If so whether that mechanism would allow someone to see past the Shrouding our senses naturally put in place over fundemental energy to divide it up into the different types of energy." Gilanor said hoping he wasn't putting the professor off side in his pursuit of this subject. Yet there had to be some mechanism by which the Archmagi had learnt to see the basic nature of all energy.

There just has to be a way...
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Post by Tristam »

There is no reaction from the Professor for a moment. Then a wide grin breaks across his face. That full toothed grin looks horribly out of place on that wizened body and the Professor must agree. The smile stays exactly as it is but the body is now young and fit. The robes hang proudy off the sturdy frame rather than baggily off the hunched body. The serpent staff has somehow gained an aura of power around it than wasn't there when it was a simple walking cane.

"How does one so young understand the value of perception so well?" Chaotxi wondered. "You must be my apprentice. I shall not take no for an answer." He exclaimed and punctuated his words with the bang of his staff on the ground. "I have had other apprentices in the past who took years of careful coaxing to ask the questions you are asking now. If your will and your ability can keep pace with your philosophy..." Chaotxi eyes went wide imagining the possibilities. "Yes, I think you have the potential to be something quite exceptional, Gilanor."
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

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Gilanor blinked for a moment surprised at both the offer, and what Professor Chaotxi had said. No one in his family had ever had indicated such belief in him, rather the opposite since he had not matched the standards or beliefs they had expected of him.

"I would be greatly honoured Professor Chaotxi, and I hope I can live up to the potential you see in me." Gilanor replied, giving the Professor a polite bow of respect and acceptance.

"Though I'm not sure how other can fail to recognise the importance of perception. Only if you can perceive the truth of something, can you truely understand it. Without true understanding of something how can you ever be said to have mastered anything." Gilanor stated, hoping he could live up to his own expectations as well as those of the Professor.
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"Even in delusion there is power." Chaotxi replied with a sigh. "Evey spell you and your peers cast is proof of that. For some, mastering their personal view of the universe is power enough for a lifetime."

"Sometimes I envy them. They are at least spared the endless hunger for truth amid the lies." Chaotxi chuckled. "There is something to be said about ignorance and bliss. That is not for us though is it? We will not be content until we can see through all the lies to the truth beyond."
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

Post by Guest »

"Most people will cling to lies that make them feel comfortable and secure in the world. Whether those answers are provided by their own perceptions and experiences of how the world works or given wholesale to them by another. I want... need to know the whole of the truth not just a pretty comfortable mask other would put over it. No matter how uncomfortable things becoming in finding it I need that truth." Gilanor stated, the remembrance of family arguments coming to mind as he had persisted in his questions beyond what others had seen all reason.

He did not care if his mother had seen at as ingratitude towards the salvation she claimed the moon lady had provided, or his father view that they simply seemed from his lack of discipline. He had always needed to know more and know the truth. It seemed even here that some mages had settled for the comfortable answers over the truth of reality. Allowing themselves to believe that their senses would not perceive the truths of the energies beyond what they could see. Whatever their achievements they had been tained in that they had settled for, in some degree or another, what would always be a comfortable lie.
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Post by Tristam »

"Be prepared to steel your mind and heart against the things you will find then." Professor Chaotxi warned. "Be prepared also to spend a long time among the illusions still. Some truths cannot simply be told but must be experiencedfor yourself. We each see the Aether through different metaphors, Gilanor. You have different illusions than I Gilanor. We may not see the same lies."

Chaotxi smiled at him. "But this I do believe. That the closer we both come to seeing the true reality of the Aether, the more our descriptions should converge. We can use each other as a sounding board and a touchstone. We can seek the truth together."
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

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"I don't mind a long search Professor. I'm not going to lose hope of finding the truth if I can't discover it in a few seasons, or even yahern. Indeed my wait to just join the guild has spanned yahern alone. Each piece of knowledge I gain, and each tide of practise just brings me that much closer to my goal. I'd be honoured to assist you in your search, and would be glad of your aid in my endeavours." Gilanor stated, feeling pleased that he had so impressed the professor in his questioning nature and quest for the truth.

"Is there any formality involved in becoming your apprentice? Do you have any duties you'd need me to tend to on your behalf?" The first two questions flowed past Gilanor's lips as he thought of them, stemming the flow of others before they started to trip over each other leaving his tongue.
Last edited by Guest on Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Tristam »

"The only formalities are me offering and you saying yes." Chaotxi replied. "I will inform the faculty of the arrangement of course. As for tasks, yes there will be tasks in abundance." Chaotxi grinned at him. "Some will be grunt work I simply do not wish to do, some will be true experimentation I wish repeated by a fresh mind and new viewpoint. In return, I shall teach you as a class of one and we shall persue the paths of truth wherever they shall lead us. "

"When you are not in class I expect you to report to me. You shall be given some time for your own needs never fear, but I expect much from my apprentice. I feel sure you shall not disappoint." Chaotxi smiled at him again. "For now continue with your work here in the library. Make a seperate note of what texts on illlusions and shadowshapping you recover from here. I've been meaning to make a definitive list for some time. Oh and if you find any by me put them aside. They will come in handy later."
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

Post by Guest »

"Very well Professor Chaotxi." Gilanor replied, feeling thrilled at selection by the Professor and their shared interest in the truth of energy. The fact that he wasn't the only one looking for the answer was a relief to say the least as he had possessed no idea where he might start looking for answers beyond the contents of this library.

"There I believe from memory is a section of shelving dedicated to Illusion texts in the first area of the library. I'll make a list of all those before my next class." Gilanor said, remembering having stacked a number of books in that area the other day.
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Professor Chaotxi nodded at that and walked towards the door. Half way there his form shifted back to that of the aged adhiel with his snake headed cane and quietly shuffled back out into the hall.

Gilanor was left once more alone with the books.
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

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With the amount of work that restoring the Library to proper order was going to take with the Professor's departure he headed back into the first section. Taking up parchment and quill, he carefully copied out the titles that he and Ssinith had placed in the illusion section of that area. As part of a seperate list he tracked any that Professor Chaotxi's name recorded as the author.

"I just hope that no one has borrow any of them that I might need as yet." Gilanor murmured, as he waited for the lists to dry.

"How can anyone tell if a book is or isn't in the library when it just might be in the possession of one student or another?" Gilanor muttered to himself, before taking the lists into the second second and recording the names and authors of any illusion based texts stored there.

Checking over the plan for the shelf layout in each area in turn, he looked to see if there was any seperate area for shadowshaping.
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Post by Tristam »

If the library has a place for shadowshaping tomes, Gilanor has yet to find it within these first two rooms. In fact, Gilanor has yet to come across any books, scrolls or notes on that subject since he has been working in this library.

As for books by the Professor, that list is so far one book only. It is entitled Parting the Veil and on the cover has a sword slicing a curtain to reveal a pair of purple eyes staring at the reader.
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

Post by Guest »

That book went immediately into the small stack that Gilanor had collected for his own reading. For a few flickers he considered resuming the work of the morning before other priorities came to the fore. Taking a seat at one of the cleared tables he opened the Professor's text and started to read, hoping he wouldn't find it too far above his present level of knowledge.
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The book read more like a treatise on philosophy than any magical text Gilanor had come across. The introduction posited that illusion was the most natural school of magic as every mage's perception of the Aether was a naturally created illusion born of experience and perception. At the heart of any sorcerer's advancement was the study and stripping away of illusions sometimes compounded by the illusion of being unaware of the true nature of the process.

The remainder of the book read like a personal journal. It detailed a private journey of experimentation in how to view the Aether. This section was prefaced with a disclaimer not to become lost in the details of what he actually saw and recorded. Rather the reader was to take away from this book the methods and the standards by which one can alter their perceptions and gauge the changes upon the Aetheric plane.

Gilanor felt certain that he will need time to absorb the contents and some cross referencing with texts mentioned in the journal entries before he could begin his own personal journey. He did learn something of Professor Chaotxi's view of the Aether though. He percieved all energies as mirror bright ribbons of energy in which he can see his own reflection. Only they are not perfect reflections of his face, but are each tinged with an emotion appropriate to the energy. Fire has him looking furious, water has him looking serene, and so forth. So for Chaotxi, examining the Aether was akin to examining himself.
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
Guest

Post by Guest »

"I wonder if that is due to the fact the Professor view stems from the fact that the illusion is born from his own mind. Thus to know the truth of the energy he'll have to figure out how his mind is deceiving itself." Gilanor pondered quitely to himself as he considered the words he had read in the text.

He thought he saw the glimmer of how a few of the processes the professor was proposing worked, but it would take time and more reading before he was sure enough to try them. Then again since the professor was still working on finding the truth how did he know that such method wouldn't lead him away from the truth of energy and simply just put in place more illusions.

Looking towards the texts still stacked on different surfaces in no order Gilanor wondered again what had really caused the problem here in the library. Had someone really managed to do this with a weave or had this been done to the library on purpose for some reason. The texts in each section seemed to be more advanced than in the one before, could it be that the texts of the Archmages of old were concealed by this mess in the final area of the library.

Time will tell.

Making a note of some of the texts that the Professor's work had referred to he gathered up his things, and the books he had picked out and headed back to the dorm room. He would likely have just enough time to get some food before his Tradetime lesson. He'd report to the Professor after that lesson to see what work he had for him to undertake.
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OOC: All done with this thread now, unless you had something else you wanted to happen before he left.
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Post by Tristam »

Thread skilled!
[size=100]
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known, I've had to make myself.

Shel Silverstein[/size]
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