Bayezid: The Study Of Exorcism, Occultism, & Meditation [SOLO]

--and so it began, the study into the magus arts to better understand the balance between Holy magics, and the Occult. It felt as though it were the key to approaching such a matter -- and it would be revealed through the philosophies covered within the Gloomlight Library -- more specifically? The Principia Magicae, a First Edition product, courtesy of Lirael Equisol.

The razuka was mostly ignorant to the person, but the name would stick to some degree. After all, dabbling with the workings of those previously invested in academia would only foster newer and better connections, wouldn't it?

Eyes scanned from line to line, starting with the matter of 'Ether' -- The Anima Mundi. It was the "Most elementary substrate of reality...", or so the Gazi teen would read with squinting eyes. The vocabulary was seemingly escaping him, but he'd persist. After all, context clues and some understanding of literature got him -this- far, after all.

"So..." He mumbled aloud, fingers sliding from line to line of text, better guiding his eyes. "This 'ether' is another word for 'Energy' or 'Mana'... Weird that all the magi I come across simply call it 'Energy Magic', when it's -all- magic."

That was, until a diagram could be beheld. A drawing of the Anima Mundi as it were... Avalon being separate from it and earning a subtly craned head. "Huh... What's that." Though, much more blatant? The presence of 'The Abyss' encompassing all around both Avalon and the Anima Mundi. "I think I saw something going further on something 'Abyss'-like... Makes sense, given how big it looks in comparison to everything else."

A fixation on Avalon only narrowed his gaze, finding a question mark within its circle. Clearly, there was a lack of understanding in this book concerning it -- meaning better understanding such would devolve into the realm of pure theory, if this wasn't already treading relatively unknown territory. Retiring from the thought experiment, his attention turned to what lied within...

Celestial Spheres

"Im-...plicate?..." He sounded the word out with uncertainty, before...
"-And Explicate..." Surely, he could fashion that such terms were likely opposites in some degree, but how? Within yet another circle, lied named he somewhat recognized.

"Yggdrasil. I remember hearing some people in some of the cities mention it in passing, but never in detail. I didn't really realize that..." He trailed off, realizing what surrounded it.
While most of the names didn't ring a bell, 'Helheim' did stick out to him. "Wait... Is 'Helheim' related to 'Hel' at all?"
The mental cogs were turning before...

"Yeah, it definitely is. It -is- related to Hel, I'm sure! Maybe a different name?" It'd make sense, that the name could've been shortened to make life easier in discussion. Though, it left one to wonder why he's never heard of the other places.
"Vanaheim, Joruheim, Alfheim, Uraheim, Ifraheim, Terrahiem -and- Helhiem… I've only ever heard of -one- of those, and that had demons. So, are there any records on other th--" He stopped himself, shoulders bouncing through a poorly restrained chortle.

"No... Getting distracted in the details. 'Ether'..." He continued, powering through the text...
(Bayezid Gazi)

Digressions...
Explanations expounding more on lore and finer details he couldn't quite find care for until--
"Ah, there it is!" His finger tapped at the specified text.

"Ether is-- as perhaps the de factor substance of consciousness--conditioned by significant purpose. It is churned and animated by the processes that imbue it with character."

There was an expression of annoyance marring across his visage.

"Couldn't they have just said that 'Ether' is... Uuuh…" What was the proper word...
"Willpower?" It made sense to him. What else came from consciousness that could be comparable amongst all magi that wielded it? Something that could be conditioned 'by significant purpose'? Something that had character imbued upon, within, and through it?

"Feels a bit pompous to word it all confusing like that." He'd comment, carrying on for a greater clarification on the matter.
"Symbolic Order..." It didn't exactly explain it in a fashion that outwardly made it friendly to those outside the realm of academia like himself but, the context alone would provide enough.

"So our spirits are an inheritance across lifetimes... So, I was... 'reincarnated' from another, and another...and so on -- Strange, never hear things about this anywhere else. Possible that maybe the books could lie?" He asked to no one in particular.

"I'm getting off topic... Symbols...
Fire for passion, purity and rebirth... Water to tranquil-- wait... So, the actual emotions someone feels can turn into magic. At least, those closely associated to the emotion, if casted..." He trailed off, trying to piece together the links shrouded by the text.

Alas, he'd find it...

"The spirit is housed in... The heart?" So,it was the heart then...
He had to learn how to cast specifically from the core of his own being -- and in doing so? He could cast in a symbolic fashion. Yet, it seemed such was typically reserved for converted the Ether into that of some of the more elementally charged magics. Could it not be possible that the heart could simply cast the more mundane variants, or lackthereof of magic?

It didn't stop there, for another subject was briefly touched on -- Metaphysical practices. Surely, this was not something he was particularly interested in the moment, but it touched on the 'Mind'. "So, there are multiple ways to cast magic, then. From the heart, and then? The mind... That last bit doesn't quite surprise me though."

It would seem his efforts to delve into the matter of Ether comprehension were coming to a close on this chapter. Some of the finer details he hadn't come to care about would be explored at a later date. What -did- come up however? Was that of "The Immanent Domain... Abyssus. Must pertain the 'Abyss', if anything does me right. Thinking on the matter though, I'd probably have to guess that if I--..." His finger glided amongst the text.

"Yep, it is... The Occult."
At last, he could come to understand -exactly- what the Occult was, from the lense of Gloomlight Academia.
(Bayezid Gazi)


Carrying on left one to explore what 'Abyssus' pertained of...
Thus far, it didn't seem to foreign to Life as a whole -- even including matters of survival:
Fight. Flight. Feed.

It wasn't too far from the aspects of symbology. Instead, it moreso appealed to the inner desires of Man. A strong sense of Self was required -- and in some aspect? Bayezid intrinsically comprehended such a matter.
Perhaps, that was what he felt in those moments of spite against his brother, against the world when he was put into a stature of helplessness -- that envy was founded in the self.

Though, there was a pint of fear in realizing such...
If the realm could be so-- "Profoundly Dark, Paranoid, and... Violent..." He mouthed the text aloud.

What would this make of Basili? The very same razuka that nearly killed him before? Twice now...
She apologized didn't she?
But she did it for her own selfish desires... Right?

Then, there was whatever it was that possessed her so long ago.
How did that apparition fit into all of this? A demon, perhaps? Could demons possess people? Or, was this a darker aspect of the Occult that he had yet to understand.

His brows scrunched over some bit as he read a troubling bit of text:
"The emotions that arise from it are negative insofar as we experience and associate them as such... But these are not unto themselves the symbolic essence."

What did that mean?
It was clear that the magic could cause damage to the environment and people around the users, but it wasn't certain as to how exactly the emotions of one, hardly different from symbolic magics -- managed to evolve into the Occult. Was it more simple than he made it out to be? A simple acceptance to divulge into one's own urges and desires?

The mind sought to recall an earlier time...
A time back in Serenity, with Basili. What was she like back then, when she wagered such an awful magic?

It burned, yet not hot somehow. It sizzled with contact with the waters that surrounded him that day, yet -- during the moment it was cast upon him it tickled away at his flesh as it sought to peel back, layer after layer in rapid, minute detail. Was this, in her pursuit of power? Was this her succumbing to her love for another, callous of whatever else would be destroyed in their intent to preserve it?

The conjurations he recalled from back then called for one to take action on their feelings -- rather than acknowledge it, as if alive even! In thinking on it, it truly was... A Magic of the Self.
In corrupting it wielder, it encouraged them to fight...
In preservation of one's desires, it demanded they took flight...
In assurance of its insatiable growth, it sought to feed in every opportunity it could...

Perhaps, that was how it brought destruction unto all that its wielders would interact with. Though, despite the memories, he could also recall Hemlock's speaking on such matters en passing.
There was hope...
Even Roman insinuated that control was possible.

And as Bayezid pushed further in his readings? So too, did the text imply of such.

"Self-Discipline. That, and Self-possession can stretch..."
The teen's face turned for something more pale.

"No way... You're telling me that you can go -insane- with this sorta magic?" It was a terrifying thought, but...
If such was possible than the others were right to be concerned with Basili tampering with that sorta magic. In fact, even -him- tampering with that sort of magic would prove a major hazard.

There lied a particular bit of text that caught the boy's eye however...
"Our Mind, Body, and Spirit exist in a tenuous equilibrium... always in flux with the elements beyond themselves and within." It was the latter part that left him wondering.

While it was obvious that magics abroad could tamper with both mind and body, and daringly even the spirit -- could magics cast from -within- the body call upon multiple aspects? It was a funny thought, but not one that carried much more theorizing than anything else considered today.

A finger prodded at the lip, before sifting through the next few pages, chapters even...

"Death Magic?" For as crazy as that sounded, it only took one the first few words to realize that it was wildly beyond their depths. Then, came "Null Magic..." It too, was beyond him. He did, however, skim over the few few paragraphs and diagrams though.

It pertained to Occultism still in some aspect, though referred back to Death magic in brief detail to explain it to be total transcendence from the Occult described, only to point to Null being its opposite.

"The Spirit Versus The Mind..." He surmised aloud, grossly defining it to simplest terms, uncurious as to the finer details beyond the very surface.
"While neat, not exactly going to help me with what I have in mind..."
(Bayezid Gazi)

The Principia Magicae proved... A difficult read, but not unmanageable! Where there was a Will -- and a goal -- there was a way! What pertained to the Transcendental Domain, otherwise known as "Empyreus?" was surely much more difficult to pull apart than its occultic counterpart.

Though, in understanding that the previous referred to the Magic Of The Self, then this had to be "An altruistic magic... Holy Magic... At least, I think so..." The text wasn't exactly giving as many beginner friendly cues as one could hope for. The abstract concepts that stuck out to him made it somewhat more believable that he may've been right in his presumption.

"Wisdom, Justice - Yup!" Though, his eyes narrowed... "War? How's that fit in this... I get 'Hope' and 'Purity'... But War doesn't exactly feel like it fits in the same sentence as 'Morality'." He scratched at his head, skipping ahead in hopes that some other bits would better clear it up for him...

In many fashions, it did not...
So, where the text had failed to communicate the idea to him now? His thoughts would have to draw their own conclusions...

"Perhaps, its something of a belief of power coming from others?" He thought aloud, "No... That can't be right. That is probably another magic, and not exactly what comes to mind when I think of a magic that is supposed to be the opposite of 'Occultism'." He thought aloud.

"Maybe... If the 'Abyss' is supposed to be something that exists in everything, in the form of 'dark urges' and what not, on the three 'F's... Then, maybe the 'Empyreus' is supposed to exist... Outside of everything?" Those words didn't exactly line up with the diagram he read earlier.

"Not necessarily people but like... Ratgod or something... The monster--" He cut himself off, "Lys'Ria... said something about 'Kraus', so... I guess... Kraus, for example?"
A scratch at spare facial hairs barely sprouting from the skin, and a hum to ponder further on the matter.

There seemed to be a fatal flaw for this side of the spectrum too, however. It was odd, that the only one openly spoken of in negative aspect would be Occultism. While selflessness was oft considered a good thing, it seemed as though it could grow into something unhealthy with one's own narcissism when pushed to an extreme.

'Exorcists'... The Empyreus equivalent to an 'Occultist'.
It was a dichotomy as opposed to two very different arts of magic, just as that one man in the city square mentioned before.
The book was closed at last. The painful read, put to rest...

It was time to bury himself into something a bit more straight forward and less philosophical in nature. He hardly recalled the detail in walking the book back to its respective section, and sliding it in the slot he removed it from -- nor the walk back for the 'Textbooks' section.

Though, as his fingers glided across the spines of the books, eyes tracing each title, they'd eventually land upon one that caught his eye. Unfortunate, that he couldn't find anything more basic than this.

"Holy Magic Textbook... Gloomlight Edition." An index finger threaded over the spine and tipped it over, plucking it from its shelf to open it, sifting his gander across the Foreword as he walked back to his desk.

"Over a hundred years ago... Shit is ancient." He commented, "I guess the stuff never really changes."

A flip of the pages, and the first chapter proceeded to explain "What is Holy Magic..." The Gazi's eyes trailed over the text, finding his presumptions mostly confirmed by the book. Nothing it shown has contradicted anything from the previous -- in fact, it was far less pompous in vocabulary for his taste! Though, perhaps that would mean this was not written by a scholar.

"Written by someone like me, maybe?" He commented quizzically, "It's nothing like that last one." Though, if it meant anything -- he didn't gain more in less pages than this one thus far.

Eventually, it came to something of surprise for someone like Bayezid...
"The easiest way to go about it is to pick a focus... Okay." The mind wandered, but his eyes scanned onward. "So, it -can- be learned without a teacher!" He piped up somewhat with a glint of excitement. Though, the theorizing part of his mind churned in tow.

"Though, if this magic is about selflessness, as well as plays of the same coin of Occultism, then it must be safe to say that that could -also- be learned without a teacher.

Maybe that's how Basili did it... Maybe that's why that man said it kinda just -comes- to you, rather than you trying to study it. It doesn't hurt to learn though."

The next chapter seemed to prove the most fruitful of any book he had come across thus far. It was an in-depth explanation to the art of "Meditation." It was the missing link he suffered from all of this.
(Bayezid Gazi)

Up until now, every magi he came across simply 'had magic', but no one actually had to -work- for it. No one had to train themselves up, or practice casting...

He, on the other hand, had to dig deep and push himself to levels that no human body should've been introduced to. It made him stronger, perhaps both in body and spirit -- but it was vastly beyond what any other had to do to accomplish an iota's worth of their magus achievement thus far. The realization of such for Bayezid was sickening -- yet he stayed true to the path he was already on. He couldn't let envy and aggravation towards his own shortcomings force him to writhe in defeat so soon.

"First, take a position that's comfortable... Seems simple enough...
Then, meditate... Okay, so I suppose I want to close my eyes and focus on... Myself, I guess."
There was an explanation of mana within his circuits -- the direction of flow, the speed, any shifts within the body...

He had to understand it all... Every aspect and cycle, before he could even consider moving on to any other aspect of casting.
"Then, establish intent I suppose... What I'm feeling... How I'm feeling it... Why I'm feeling it... And with that, combine such feeling with the very mana within my being. Okay, I think it's coming together."
That buzzing feeling he had been experiencing ever since being recovered by the Blacklight Demon so long ago had never left him. It wasn't until he came across a more enigmatic part:
"Manifest your magic..." He slowed down...

"Offensive and Defensive... Huh.
So, according to this, the fingertips and palms pool magic to become 'The Sword', while 'The Heart', for lack of explicit mention, would create 'The Shield'.
It left one to wonder a few things...
Surely, if one were to pool energy to their palms and fingertips as the text described, whether attuned to Holy or Occultic magic, would it produce the same result only shaped by their respective magic? If such were the case, was it safe to presume that the same exact would be true for raw Ether if one lacked attunement to either?

There was truly only one way to find out. The book was shut -- while he hadn't read nearly as much through the text as the ought to, to properly learn Holy Magic? He didn't feel it necessary any longer. What he desired to do, after all? Was understand it... Holy -and- the Occult, with the added bonus of knowing just how they acted in relation to what lied between them both: The raw ether that coursed through his leylines, amongst everything abroad as well!

Now, he knew...
All he had to do was understand it as intrinsically as the magi abroad did. To the floor, he sat... Legs crossed, and arms resting in his lap. A deep breath, and mind went empty for the time being. He was simply tryingto focus on what lied within. The buzzing that persisted all of this time became his focus before long, and alas... The world that shrouded itself from him? It was revealed.
The shimmering leylines that stretched behind the eyes, coalescing into bunches: Nexuses, soon sprouting off for other concentrations within the body.

The eyes.
The brain.
The throat.
The heart.
The palms.
The feet.
(Bayezid Gazi)

There was peace to be found here...
Feeling the beat of his own heart, the anchor between the flesh and the soul -- pumping blood throughout his body, just as the soul pumped mana throughout his leylines.
Each percussive cardiac pump surged life's essence throughout Bayezid, and as the mind found solace -- it couldn't help but theorize further.
Symbolic Magic was defined by what came of it, but not where it came from...
The heart: An organ capable of an casting technique on its own. Though, if it was not restricted to only the elemental magics read in the previous books, then surely it could be more strongly controlled to a degree?

Then, with the sensation of mana surging behind the eyes, it further insinuated a connection to the brain. A casting art of the 'Mind' as described in the Principia Magicae. Though, if the mind could go through the casting methods, then surely the eyes would have to be its means of executing it? The same way the heart could cast, but the body overall would be its release -- perhaps that was why it was imprecise.

The throat was a tad bit more confusing however...
Did it imply that words had power? A magic that could be accomplished simply be speaking? Surely, magic knew no bounds... Someone likely learned how to 'control minds' with their voice or maybe even weaponize the volume of their words! It was a likely theory, but the authoritative angle seemed curious for the Gazi. If it were possible to command magic, simply by speaking, it was an art he simply -had- to explore.

The hands and feet, while capable they would likely had proven -- could only be theorized to have been finer tools for the heart to work through. After all, the heart could only do so much on its own. It left one to wonder just how far casting techniques went... Surely there was more than just the powers wagered over Mind, Body and Spirit.
In coming in tune with himself, he could feel it...
The radiance, oozing through the skin... A proper reaction to comprehending the power within, and allowing it to irradiate through the very skin.

Control was coming...
It was just along the horizon...
(Bayezid Gazi)