3/11 Mana Flowing Like Water

Ser Artaghh would nod steadily to Chaaca Khan, his eyes briefly glancing at Josephine and Vedren before returning once more to the sea. It lacked the vengeance that had once consumed the peasant, for the death of the Swuisarme King had brought him great and final revenge against fishkind. Dredging through his silvery sabaton, he'd sift out the foul, ethereal bone of the dark king himself, clutching it with a wide smile in spite of his sickly constitution. It would be the hilt of Amelie's blade some day, and in that, the paladin would have his final victory.

But they needed a handshake. The peasant would grip his chin firmly as he glanced stoically forth into the sifting waters, contemplating what kind of level of secrecy and depth such a gesture would require for an order as diverse as the current bunch. A red headed cosmic debaucherer, a master of rifts and necromancy, a living storm of a Nagual, and a peasant with a sword, It would be great.
(Artaghh)
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 Vedran Ivanovich says, "Then a large rift tore the sky open and Nethradin destroyed it."
 Vedran Ivanovich says, "Anna - you're a big girl."
 Vedran Ivanovich says, "You'll be fine."
 Vedran Ivanovich whispers something.
 Chaaca Khan says, "Yea, I'm sure you'll be fine."
 Chaaca Khan whispers: So... What do the necklace do?
 Vedran Ivanovich says, "Generally a wasteland - recently under the ownership of Malentine Invidia who fucked off fer' a bit."
 Jennifer Ivanovich says, "And left his rift unattended but deactivated."
 Jennifer Ivanovich asks, "...What could possibly go wrong, eh?"
 Artaghh says, "Alright Chaaca, more energy trainin' while ye' work on your sound magic. To the western waterfall."
 Chaaca Khan says, "Alright."
 Chaaca Khan says, "See ya guys later."
 Artaghh says, "Before I begin my meditations, we mus' discuss ye' future in the Legion."
 Chaaca nods.
(Chaaca Khan)
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Artaghh says, "Ye' shall be my squire until ye' are knighted, which will come in due time as ye' grow stronger an' do your job well."
 Chaaca nods again.
(Chaaca Khan)
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Artaghh says, "A paladin's squire is a fine recommendation indeed."
Chaaca Khan says, "Understood."
Artaghh says, "Bu' when ye' are knighted, I cannae mentor ye' any longer."
 Artaghh says, "Ye' are a spellweaver, an' I'd be robbin' ye' of yer future growth an' prospects."
Artaghh says, "Ye' shall apply'ta serve under Sors wit' my recommnedation when ye' are knighted."
 Artaghh says, "An' learn'ta be a true doctor."
 Chaaca Khan says, "Alright."
 Artaghh says, "He'll teach ye' great things."
 Chaaca Khan says, "I will do my best."
 Artaghh says, "An' ye'll learn wha' ye' need to become the greatest Sirenian bard therever was."
 Artaghh says, "Ye' might even pick up some Riftmancy."
 Chaaca Khan says, "No idea what that is."
 Artaghh says, "It's like."
Artaghh asks, "You know how sometimes ye' dash at something so fast, it's almost like people didn't see ye'?"
 Chaaca Khan says, "I think so."
Artaghh says, "Imagine tha', bu' like, ye' can take the fabrics of nature an' tell'm fuck you."
 Artaghh says, "An' ye' rip open a rift in space time."
 Artaghh says, "An' go wherever the fuck ye' want wit' practice."
 Artaghh says, "An' certain boundaries."
 Chaaca Khan says, "That... Sounds fucking dope."
Artaghh says, "It's like mappin' an' unknown see."
Artaghh says, "In truth, riftmancy is the final ocean."
Artaghh says, "An' ye' are a fish."
Artaghh says, "Ye' could be Ser Chaaca of House Khan, master bard an' riftancer."
 Artaghh says, "Master bard, doctor, an' riftmancer."
Artaghh says, "Oh shit."
 Chaaca Khan says, "That's.. Actually a fucking dope idea."
Artaghh says, "Ye'd be an' even better fit fer Sors if ye' were a doctor already."
 Artaghh says, "Go study under Sugarboy."
Chaaca Khan says, "Alright... I'll see if I can find him."
 Artaghh says, "After this though."
 Chaaca Khan says, "Of course. "
 Artaghh says, "Need'ta meditate, got'a process all this an' tha'. Always good'ta have a second there'ta fish an' watch fer' trouble."
 Chaaca Khan says, "I'll work on a new song or something."
Artaghh says, "Ye' can fish too."
 Chaaca Khan says, "Will do... Lemme go start a fire for us."
 Chaaca slaps the tree.
(Chaaca Khan)
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 Ser Artaghh would nod to his faithful bard and squire Chaaca Khan before pacing forth under the nearby waterfall, bracing himself for a moment before submerging himself in the brisk water of the downward current. He would slowly remove his cloak and cuirass before crossing his legs, steadily levitating forth with the novice use of gravity magic. He'd have to thank Leoda some day for showing him the uses of such an art in swordsmanship.

As Chaaca went about his business fishing and composing new great anthems to add to his ever growing songbook, the paladin would steadily begin to deafen his senses and allow the steady flow of water to act as a current for the pulsating shroud of mana that emanated around the swordsman. Doing physical activity, breaking boulders, shattering bones, all that was easy with the aid of mana enhanced musculature, but sitting still without talking? The peasant wasn't real good at that without sleeping.
(Artaghh)
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Chaaca sets his staff down on the ground next to him, as he pulls out his fishing rod. He wasn't normally lucky with the things he caught while on his fishing trips, but hey maybe today would be different? Probably not, but it's always nice to hope. With a good amount of force he'd jam the rod into the ground next to him, that way he could focus a bit on writing a new song, all while fishing.

As Artaghh was preparing himself for some deep meditation, Chaaca would pull out his small notebook, which he used to store all the songs he's created... Yup, all two of them. He chuckled a bit as he flipped over to the third page of the book, right now it was quite empty, but eventually it would be filled to the brim with wonderful songs.
(Chaaca Khan)
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Slowly, steadily, the paladin would blank out all sensory stimulation but the flowing waters over the swordsman's heavily scarred body, as stout, loyal Chaaca Khan delved into their notebook beside the tree next to the waterfalls. Artaghh flowed mana through his circuits as he visualized the roaring current of energy in the black, sensory deprived void of his inner mindscape. The exercise was simple after so much more...dangerous methods of training, and yet those at least had a clear goal set in stone.

The paladin could do ten thousand push ups, even if it used to hurt quite a bit to manage such. But you couldn't do mind push ups without a concussion, and that didn't aid in ones development of energy magic to any degree the peasant swordsman was aware of. Artaghh would find a sense of relief in having a place for the immense gathering of mana his overdrive could actively flow through, the liquid serving as a sort of conduit for the mindless flowing of his unrefined mana into haphazard pathways amongst the ever shifting climate of the waterfall.
(Artaghh)
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 Chaaca scratched at the back of his head, perhaps instead of writing down a whole new song, he'd work on making the actual music to accompany the lyrics? Yea, that seemed like a pretty good idea, and a solid use of his time. Probably best to start with the "Khans of Gehenna." Which was a working tittle mind you, but it seemed like a pretty decent one.

The music for that had to be something low, slow, and haunting to match the equally low and haunting lyrics that went along with it. He'd probably need a bass, a violin, some trumpets and a bit of piano... Dear Yama, was this gonna be a pain to figure out. Chaaca took a deep breathe as he stared out at the ocean. Perhaps one of the fish he'd catch could provide some input? He'd shake his head a bit as he chuckled, yea the likelihood of that happening was slim.
(Chaaca Khan)
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 As the mana shifted in shifting currents around the paladin, Artaghh would think of the recent events that had happened so fast, he'd barely been able to comprehend their weight. He had been promoted after eleven years of service, and was now one of the top brass of Dawn. He was personally responsible for the establishment of a proper, well organized town guard force with adequate sentry details and regular shifts in posting to ensure no crafty outlaws start any trouble in the bald swordsman's beloved city.

Fethi deserved it more. He'd have been the newest, youngest human paladin in Dawn's history, the finest ice magi in all of Agartha some day. And he was now but a lifeless, cold corpse, gone from the world of man. A sense of malaise and melancholy held over the sightless depths of the meditating swordsman's mindscape, a sense that had Artaghh acted sooner on Zendrick, he'd be there today congratulating Artaghh on his promotion too. It was not an easy sense of darkness to banish even for the brightness of the peasant's psyche.
(Artaghh)
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 Chaaca glanced away from his notebook for a moment to stare at Artaghh, he'd offer a bit of a smile towards his mentor. He seemed to be hard at work with something, what that something was he had no idea, but if Artaghh was putting so much time into something, it had to be important... Right? Shrugging a bit, he'd focus back on his journal.

How to start the song off? That was the question that plagued Chaaca's mind. Should the instruments just come in right away? Or should it be a slow building, start with a line of the song, and then have one instrument slowly join in with the singer, before another instrument joins in, and then another, and so on and so forth. Or, he could have a few instruments join in at the very begging of the song, and then slowly increase the pace of the song as he it continued.

Chaaca slowly shook his head, both of the idea's seemed pretty solid, he could ask for a second opinion on it, but... Chaaca turnedto face Artaghh again, yea.... The knight was still concentrating. This was good thing though, it just means he needs to learn how to make decisions on his own.
(Chaaca Khan)
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 Ser Artaghh's thoughts would shift to the face of his beloved in the depths of his despair, reminding him that neither Fethi nor her would desire the paladin to grieve. He had served noblely, served well, and with certainty done his finest for Dawn in his years of service. He would be missed. Perhaps his first son would be named Fethi some day, if Amelie was merciful. That of course assumed he even survived the courtship, Oscuri were pretty scary.

But as the peasant thought upon the horrifying violence he'd seen the raven haired woman inflict, he could sense only a smile upon his scarred face as he continued to meditate in peace, his demeanor calmed by the thought of her ferocity in spite of its general, terrifying strength. He was very fond of her, there was no denying it, and for all of the scariness, she'd been kind to him since she was young. There was no finer woman in all of Dawn in the paladin's eyes, and he would survive his expeditions into danger to ensure he could marry her some day.
(Artaghh)
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 His mind would shift to the task at hand, he knew that he needed to grow even stronger if he was going to serve as a true bulwark of Dawn, a genuine paladin of light. He must surpass all his previous limits of the mind, achieve the higher levels of energy density and projection that the fabled mystic arts of wandering energy magi had used in the annals of Dawn's library. Warden Sylvester, the undead Oscuri and noble king of Rats, had once joined him on a patrol and demonstrated his mastery.

It was possible, but nothing like his previous training. He needed to ascend his mind somehow, break through its present shell and shatter it, reform it stronger to endure the potency of the arts. He'd heard rumors that visiting the realm of the spirits could aid in such pursuits, but...he'd already seen such a beast in the Swuisarme King, the power of such other-dimensional beings was something quite different from a standard encounter. Yet, he wasn't afraid to risk his life for Dawn, it was his job, and he was going to do it right.
(Artaghh)
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 Chaaca began to tap the bottom of his pen on his notebook, over and over again. He let out a loud sigh as he stared off at the ocean again, something about the Ocean always seemed to make him calm. Which was probably due to him being a Sirenian. Shaking his head a bit he'd pause his rather obnoxious pen tapping, as a smile slowly forms on his face, as he began to calm down, the answer to his question became quite obvious.

Both of his options had their ups and their downs, but for the song he was currently writing. Which made whatever answer he needed to come to even more annoying to figure out. He scratched the back of his head as he slowly came to the conclusion. He would go for the first option. The way the song was written, the slow yet singing, mixed with the slow instruments slowly joining each other, would probably work for creating the ideal music to accompany his lyrics.
(Chaaca Khan)
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 Right, now that he came to that conclusion he needed to figure out what the song would actual sound like. First it'd probably start with some silence, before he'd slowly come in with the first line. "And who are you the proud lord said." After a bit more silence he'd sing the next line, as the bass would begin to join him. Then he'd sing the next line as the violin began to join in.

Though as he reached the fourth or fifth line the rest of the instruments would join in. Hm, yea this seemed like a good idea, but his song wasn't all that of a long one, so perhaps he should add an intermission of sorts to it? Like, after he finishes singing, the instruments continued on for a bit more, and then afterwards he'd sing the last two lines again? Chaaca scratched his chin for a moment, as he contemplated the thought. It didn't seem like a bad idea, but was it a good idea? He wasn't sure of that quite yet.
(Chaaca Khan)
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 Ser Artaghh would return his mind to nothingness as he let the energy flow through the light stimulation of the frigid water that fell about his frame underneath the waterfall in the outskirts of Dawn. His psyche had once more been resolidifed by mulling over his life and reaffirming the choices he had made, and he was more prepared than ever to continue on in his pursuits to be a master of the mind and body. This was the pursuit of those who were the greatest champions of the energy magi.

As good Chaaca Khan struggled away at his songwriting and general bardery, the knight would think of nothing at all, meditating soundlessly and letting the silence and absence of thought in this peaceful, placated mindset keeping him thoroughly grounded in the mental sense. He was levitating still after all. He would continue this for a time, seeking to delve greater understanding by focusing on the calming visualizations of the flowing energy in the waterfall.
(Artaghh)
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 Artaghh says, "..."
 Artaghh says, "....."
 Artaghh says, "Alright."
 Artaghh says, "Tha's enoug' fer one day."
The knight would cease meditation, leaping with the aid of gravity magic through the splashing water of the nearby falls before landing lightly beside the tree next to Chaaca, still hovering above the ground. Even besides meditation, learning how to fly had greatly aided the knight in his travels. It was an incredibly useful spell from a very dangerous tree with absolute weights and manipulation of space. He was a big fan, even if he was too dumb to figure out anything more than floating.
(Artaghh)
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 Artaghh says, "Hey Chaaca, eat this. I'm curious."
{Item} You drop Crab Plate.
 Chaaca glanced up from his notebook at Artaghh, aye he was probably right. He'd slowly push himself off of the ground as he placed his staff back into his backpack, before slowly picking his staff back up and placing it on his back. With that he'd simply follow Artahh back to town. Thankfully he managed to make some progress towards finishing his song.
(Chaaca Khan)
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 Chaaca Khan says, "Lemme waste some energy first."
 Artaghh says, "Good man."
 Ser Artaghh would allow the man his time to waste energy before consuming the crab, nodding steadily as he puffed away at his corn cob pipe while watching his young bard and squire Chaaca Khan work. He would do well in his career, there was no doubt. A prodigy in sound magic, even if he didn't realize it.
(Artaghh)
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 Artaghh says, "Ye' can always donate extra fish to the legion's food supply."
 Artaghh says, "Tha's wha' I do."
 Chaaca Khan asks, "Oh?"
 Artaghh says, "Aye."
 Chaaca Khan asks, "How uhh... How do I do that?"
 Artaghh says, "Jus' chop it up int'a rations."
Artaghh says, "Soldier cannae use a whole, ungutted fish fer meals."
 Artaghh says, "We' go' lotsa soldiers'ta feed."
 Chaaca Khan says, "Right."
 Chaaca Khan says, "Will do."
 Artaghh says, "I do my part gatherin' lumber, gettin' stone fer cobble, an' huntin' to fill the larders when I can."
 Artaghh says, "Did it an initiate, still do it now as a paladin I guess."
 Chaaca gave a look over to Artaghh. "So uhh, why do you want me to eat this?" He'd ask as he lifted the plate above his head, before slowly unhinging his jaw, which revealed a series of razor sharp teeth. He'd quickly drop the crab, and the rice that went with it down into his mouth, quickly using his razor sharp teeth to tare through the shell of the crab in order to eat the actual meat of the crab. After a few moments of that, the food was gone.

(Chaaca Khan)
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 Artaghh says, "I figured it might have been poisoned."
Artaghh says, "Was curious."
 Chaaca Khan says, "..."
Artaghh says, "If it's good food, it's safe."
 Chaaca Khan says, "I don't feel poisoned."
 Artaghh says, "An' tha' merchant is safe in Dawn."
Artaghh says, "So tha's good."
Chaaca Khan says, "So that's neat."
 Artaghh says, "Ye' did yer duty well poison taster Chaaca."
Chaaca Khan asks, "Give me a warning next time, yea?"
 Artaghh exclaims, "Back'ta Dawn!"
Artaghh says, "If I'd told ye' it was poisoned, it would have spoiled a good meal fer ye'"
 Chaaca Khan says, "I'll still eat it mind you, but I'd like to know before hand."