Mana Circuit Expert 8

[22:26] Dario prods Ascalon.

"Heya, Master Zanders! I'm here to talk!"
(Dario)
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[22:28] Ascalon Zanders says, "Then talk lad."
[22:29] Ascalon Zanders says, "Ichida's good company, unless you insist we go somewhere private."
[22:30] Dario asks, "Oh, y'know... It's about- That thing, ya offered?"
[22:32] Ascalon Zanders says, "Yes..."
[22:34] Ichida Rikiya says, "I'm going to explore a bit."
[22:35] Ascalon Zanders says, "I'll be honest? I've no clue what could happen. By all rights the slow working of your nodes should allow you to awaken but... You could die if I mess up."
[22:35] Dario says, "Er..."
[22:35] Dario asks, "You sure there ain't any way to mitigate the risk...?"
[22:38] Ascalon Zanders says, "No."
[22:38] Dario, rather apprehensively, rubs his hands together. He sighs tensely at Ascalon's blunt response.

"Sheesh..."
(Dario)
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[22:40] "You risk your life everyday you awaken to draw breath upon this hel crafted by Kraus for us. What I want to do could awaken you to the power to change it. As you are you'll never amount to anything, it's a cold fact."

As he spoke he'd thump his cane upon the ground. Leveling his gaze upon Dario. It was a simple truth that the non-magi could never hope to change the world or improve it. They lacked the power to do so.

"I'd like to try and change that fact. I was weakened in this city when they stripped me of my connection to Azrael. Do you know what that is? Probably not, though it doesn't matter. In the end know that I'm intending to bring change to this world and there is no way to do that. Except through things that bring risk."
(Ascalon Zanders)
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[22:56] Ascalon Zanders says, "Hey, Joan. Take a seat."
[22:56] Joan Caelum exclaims, "Huh? Uhm... okay!"
[23:00] Dario winced vaguely at the declaration. That he was being pressured was beside the point, the Oscuri giving voice to his private doubts. He only folds his arms, looking down as Ascalon speaks.

He breathes out. Even in Dario's heart, he could not bring himself to question overmuch the nobility, or lack thereof, of the black-lined's goals. Rather, the non-magi wrestles in silence with the genuine risk of death- He had lived a comfortable life, until Agartha. It had not been what he expected, fell short of his grand expectations- Most harshly in the promise it offered.

None, for a non-magi.

Dario rubs at his knuckles. When he considers his weakness and the possibility of living with it, a pang of deep, dark warmth blossoms from the knot of scar tissue at his core. He shuts his eyes, hands gently creasing over the knot paining him.

"...Okay. Okay, I'll do it..."

He hardly even notices Joan's entry, looking down at his hands. Mundane, callused, littered with scars from small, mortal mishaps- Fishing hooks, cuts, scrapes. Dario was littered with many such marks- They spoke to his mortality, and in a small way, he resented them.

Steadily, his gaze rises to Ascalon, looking about the clinic.

"So... What do I hafta do?"
(Dario)
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[23:01] The girl came in, seeming curious of the clinic. Then she was told to sit down? Well, maybe it was another lesson. She sat on the stool, smiling nervously and watching as the non-magi and the magi spoke.
(Joan Caelum)
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[23:08] "Have the will to not die."

As he spoke the man would stand straight, his staff slightly lifting off the ground. He wasn't what you'd call tall but a life-time of war had left him with a grim confidence. After he'd spoken a gaze was shifted to Joan.

"C'mere lass, this is the part of medicine that is often ignored. The part that advances it past what it is. Improves the people so they get hurt less."

As he spoke he'd turn back to Dario. A hand rising to point towards one of the nearby beds.

"Lay down and we may begin."

(Ascalon Zanders)
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[23:08] Joan Caelum asks, "Huh- UHm... Ookay, will he be alright, Ascalon?"
[23:10] Ascalon Zanders says, "That's what we're going to figure out."
[23:12] Dario bit the inside of his cheek at that. Doffing his hat and pack, he sets them at the bed-side with his shoes, crawling onto the bed. He lays flat, silently stealing back his resolve for whatever was to come, eyes fixed on the wooden ceiling.
(Dario)
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[23:13] Dario asks, "Uh- You're not... Cuttin' me open, or usin' me as a demonstration'a some kind, are ya?"
[23:15] Ascalon Zanders says, "I am, Joan seems to have a keen interest in medicine and I've a keen interest in advancing the bounds of mana-circuitry manipulation. The way I see it if she knows how a mana flows trhough the body it'll help her. As for you? Well, what I'm about to do shouldn't hur tyou to much."
[23:16] Joan Caelum asks, "...Er?"
[23:17] Ascalon Zanders says, "I'm going to damage his mana circuitry and teach you how to fix it."
[23:17] Dario exclaims, "Er- Wait, what?!"
[23:17] Ascalon Zanders says, "In simpler terms."
[23:18] Ascalon a strong hand lay upon Dario's chest at that one.
(Ascalon Zanders)
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[23:18] Ascalon Zanders says, "Be calm."
[23:18] Joan Caelum says, "Er-Wait, wait that's- Wait that'll hurt him..."
[23:19] Dario had been on the verge of sitting up- Only to get pushed right back down.

"Wait- Damage my mana circuit?! Ain't that just gonna make becomin' a mage even harder?!"
(Dario)
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[23:41] What was pain to progress? It was nothing but a measure of how far you'd come. Perhaps that's why every waking moment of Ascalon's life had become pain. It was a reminder of what you did, of who you where. The young Dario? He would know pain and it would be a testament to his improvement.

That hand resting heavily upon his chest shifted upwards, a single digit slipping upwards to poke upon the young Dario's neck as they did so. It wasn't painful or hurt, just a simple action that'd at worst tickle. Yet, the young Dario would realize quickly they'd been paralyzed from the neck down. That touch had carried with it an influx of spiritual mana and physical pressure upon an important mana-node. The key node which allowed communication between the mind and the body.

"At time's you'll have a patient which doesn't know how to be still or stop resisting. When youdo and lack anesthesia or perhaps don't wish to physically strike them to silence them."

As he spoke the man wouldn't look to anyone in particular. His focus never leaving the downed Dario's form. It was more that he was simply explaining his actions in the hopes that those present would understand what was happening. Though, he would smoothly take a moment to turn about. Walking to a washbin to wash his hands. The fingers dipped into that soapy water, rubbing about for a few moments to lather them up. Before rinsing and drying them off with a rush of his wind magic.

"Kraus in his wisdom created tiny yokai in the air that can kill people from the inside as surely as from the out. It is for this reason we wash our hands. Even if what I'm about to do won't truly involve the risk of infection.... At-least not from the tiny yokai."

A steady pace was undertaken as he turned back to Dario. Now came the hard part. He hadn't lied when he said this wouldn't hurt but never the less it would involve damaging the man's mana circuitry. Though, where to start was the real questions. The Oscuri's gaze shifted for a moment towards Dario's chest, then to his throat and finally to his crown.

"I believe you'll be a word-caster or perhaps a cognitive one. Based on your behavior, of course I would encourage you to pursue those types of casting. However, what I'm going to do will have to be focused upon the symbolic form."

Slowly the Oscuri lay his hand upon the Greenhill's chest. His digits explored for a moment. Attempting to level with the key-nodes within his chest. Once it'd happened the Oscuri focused his mind. Tapping into the etherial realm, mana from the realms beyond began to course along his body. Those tar-like lines starting to flicker slightly, lighten in their shade.

Before a pulse escaped along his hand, those vital points suddenly strained with a rush of spiritual mana. That'd strain gh the heart and mana circuitry. "Node-clusters are exceptionally dangerous to work upon. One wrong move and you risk crippling or killing the magi you are working on. In this case killing is more likely, even now his mana-nodes are straining and tearing under a weight that they cannot handle."

Even as he spoke his hand moved fluidly, both following in synergy along opposite sides of the man's body. Each one moving quickly, light lightening they flowed. Curling back to him before shooting forward. The Zanders fists where alight with a bluish almost silver glow as the flow of the spiritual realm allowed him to manipulate mana at a greater degree than most.

"That is why, I am applying tiny, consecutive strikes to the nodes under stress to prepare them for the main influx. It will cause the 'tearing' to be less violent and promote healing after-wards. However, this to requires me to move with grace. Focus, effort. If I where to slip he'd be left with a popped node." There was a thin sheen of sweat upon his brow as he spoke. The effort was starting to wear on the beaten down old warrior. "Leading to death, a painless one though. After-all I did say this process would be painless."

Finally he'd stope, his hand coming up to press upon the small pressure point upon Dario's neck. Giving the man control of his body back and allowing him to move. As quickly as he did so the Oscuri spoke. "Now focus Dario, will yourself to succeed and you'll live. Give up and you'll be left as nothing but a shell."

(Ascalon Zanders)
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[23:49] The girl covered her mouth, wanting to speak out- but this was her elder, her Father's friend. He certainly knew more of what he was doing- and besides, if she bothered him, or stopped him, something even worse could happen. She bit at her lip, watching in silence as the nodes were put under more stress than they could normally handle.

"Please be okay... S-sorry,"She muttered, mostly to Dario, her eyes wide. Still, she absorbed the information entirely, trying to understand what exactly being explained. It was a simple technique, if just spoken about. However, she knew from just watching the man that it was a very- very delicate procedure. She stepped in a bit closer once the man was done, staring down at Dario on the bed.

Her holy aura began to flicker on, trying to offer some form of comfort to the poor man. She bit at her lip.

"What was the point of this, again? Was it to try and prepare him for becoming a magi?" She asked, looking towards Ascalon. "I-I mean, that'd be nice, but I don't... I just hope he'll be okay."
(Joan Caelum)