dev 4 - the study of body

Of all places, the church was probably one of the most fitting places to go on about this. Not only several priests admitted that they were taking in the sick, which means that there are actual people to inspect and perhaps try to cure, but Nerin was personally allowed to come by. Surely there's not going to be any trouble for this..

Upon ascending to the room that could be easily justified as the resting place for the sick, he looked around; in particular, Agrien already warned him that there are sick miners from Silverwall Mine that have been catching strange infection in their lungs, one that caused them to deteriorate fairly quick, so much so that some of them are already on their deathbed.

How unfortunate for them.

"Didn't think of any other place which might be better." He glanced off to Marison, before adding more.

"What exactly did you have on your mind to begin studies? Truth be told, I've been working with this technique of Biomancy - but it revolves around affecting mana circuits, and then allow it to shift onto body."

"I call it... imprinting."

It should make sense, right? So long as you affect the mana circuits, the body is affected as result; it's basically a chain reaction of sort.

"But maybe you had something else on your mind? We could try and combine our efforts."
(Nerin)


She's back again, within the dim. Her eyes remain low, as if she were ashamed of stepping back into the place that had embarrassed her when she once depended so heavily upon it. She almost felt terrible...For leaving Father Osric alone all by himself to deal with others. For allowing herself to be ran away by Brother al-Aziz after all that she had done...After all that she had promised. But regardless of such notions, the desire to 'study' wasn't necessarily the thing that was on her mind when it came to Nerin. It was something a little more personal than that, but a lot less important than what he would've imagined.

 In the end, the young girl found herself beginning to tilt her head, if only briefly. "The church is one of the most quiet places...And it has a lot less foot traffick. I imagined that you would've picked this, but still, you should be careful. If the rumors are right..." she murmurs, looking in his direction. "Something may be wrong here." She no longer mentions much things. Instead, she finds herself beginning to speak once more..

"...Imprinting? I suppose that it could work. But I imagine that if you're going to influence the body directly, it'd be slightly easier to do so with runes." She adds, nodding once, twice. "Runes are the gateway to doing the impossible...And as long as your intent is right, then they'll always work the way that you want....Well...Most of the time." She says with a slight smile, waving carefully.

"I was thinking that we should start with somethin rather small, yes?" She says while beginning to draw a single rune upon the table. "Raidho- the journey. If you can move control the movement of mana...then you'll have an easier time doing what you want to do with the body. That way...You can go into Laguz- the flow, and then Dagaz- The breakthrough.." She's getting a little too far ahead. But..

Hopefully, he gets the gist.
(Marísol)

"The runes?"

If he's honest, he was never that much specialized in the runes; not that he was entirely ignorant, mind you - thanks to Zula, his sister, he actually knew a little tidbit around runework. It's just.. he never really liked them otherwise, and so long as he could avoid making them, he would.

"Well, eh.."

"The reason I'm even focusing on imprinting is because of my Bone magic. By default, any magic of any kind touches upon circuitry of different kind- in that way, I use the circuitry stationed around the actual bones as 'basis' for me to spread out and actually affect the rest of the body."

"Imagine.. a virus, that steadily spreads out across the body as if it were a web- except, that virus is actually not harmful. On the contrary, it has entirely different purpose."

And just like that, he's meant to secure the web. Nonetheless, he listens in to her, eventually pointing out a single sleeping patient. They should be careful not to disturb the silence around here.. for he has heard about the rumors too, really. The last thing he needs is even more disturbance here.

"Let's start with someone, hm?"

"I was going to try and study more about this circuitry, and perhaps, you could actually work with your tunes. Unless, of course, you had a better plan."
(Nerin)

"Oh, I see.." She isn't certain if she can imagine the body responding well to what he had mentioned. However, she gets the gist. If his mana were going to be the thing that would force the changes...Then she supposes. But she imagines that it's going to be a great deal of a lot more dangerous for him to do such a thing...Rather than learn the basics of the runes that she had pointed out. She imagines though, with enough practice...He'd be able to do a lot more things than she could. Especially, considering the fact that he could manipulate bone and force it to grow. Now...The only issue would've been the flesh, and stimulating the cells that'd make up the entirety of the limb that he's creating..

"Hmm. Alrighty then...I actually think that there's a way that we can do this together." She says while beginning to smile slightly.

"Alright...I believe that this patient is one that's been working within the mines recently, yes? We'll start on the hand with the most missing fingers." She adds, nodding once, twice.

"If you focus on bringing back the bone, we can probably try to see if we can get the skin and cells working properly without waking him. If there's no discomfort, then I believe that the job will be easy. So...You'll manipulate the bone, I'll do the runes in succession and...That should create an easy flow. If we're right, we can go on to more difficult things. Like...Whole hands and feet, and then arms and legs.."
(Marísol)

It's something that he might as well be improvising with.

However, in truth, that's how the most basic magic works. If you look back at something like empowering magic, it's easy to see how affecting one's circuits and letting the mana flood through it can affect the body - such surge alone, for instance, could increase the user's strength, agility.. or perhaps something else.

If all of these enhancements are possible..
What stops them from affecting body directly?

It almost feels too obvious, too stupid to pass on. If anything, it feels so terribly open to understanding that at times, Nerin feels as if he 'invented the wheel' so to say - but apparently, each time he mentions that to anybody else, they find it puzzling and seem confused.

How quaint.

"I believe that might work, yes."

"And.. could be daemon attack." He pauses while inspecting the patient. "I reckon there are a lot of people that get lost and wind up fighting something that they're not meant to fight - and this is the result."

After all, most non-magi don't really stand a chance against creatures deep within those mines. And yet..

When she speaks of this, he merely nods; already he lays his hand over the patient's, the manipulation of the bone being made fairly careful, as if to stretch out the 'basis' for the bone to take place and begin shaping up. It's slow, and where bone alone would usually be affected..

Nerin seeks to spread the surge to mana circuitry.

Essentially, steadily looking to restore it to the original; it's not really effective in how it works, and it's not restored quick- it takes time too, but what else would you expect from someone who's practicing?

"You can slowly begin doing your own thing, I think."
(Nerin)

He's not wrong. It's the principle of magic- the basics, the fundamentals. And unfortunately, she didn't grow up possessing knowledge of such a thing. And so, she only knows what it is that the church has taught her...And what she knows about willing her magic to do blessings through intent and the faith that she has within her heart. And if one notices...One could see how the once intense light had become as pale and gentle as the moon's breath. As if she had been shaken to the core more than once. As if the warmth that once gathered within her palm had become a sweet sigh upon any other starless night. These enchantments were one thing. But the enhancement of the body through direct influence was another..

And...Perhaps, it is better off if her own magic isn't as abrasive as it normally would have been. Instead, she allows Nerin to take the wheel. To push their work forward as she places both hands carefully around his own and begins crafting each rune with gentle, holy magic..

"I suppose that you're right...I've never really been in the mines there, but I hear that there are those massive worms that attack people very so often." She says, shuddering in thought as the two would begin their separate happenings..

Here, she'd ease herself into the first rune...Allowing his mana to easily pass into the patient's own through a mixed combination of raidho and laguz….But instead of following through with Dagaz, she'd focus on the one thing that'd help him connect more..

Mannaz.

"Understood...Just-..Give me a moment please. I'm still a little tired from earlier." Low reserves. Low faith. It takes her awhile to catch up with him, but if one were watching closely...They'd be able to see how brilliant the making is already. How veins and sinew would appear over bones...Slowly, beginning to be followed through with flesh..

"How...Are we going to stop it? Do you want me to put in the command or- is this something you want to practice on first?"
(Marísol)

Sometimes, people tend to look at the stars - not realizing that the earth can offer a lot to them already.

It's something he actually perceived from the people that seem to be all too dreamy and with their heads floating somewhere in the clouds. That's not to say Nerin is too simple, or that he's a fool.. but he certainly would qualify to be someone who's fairly down to earth, able to assess the situation through lens of common sense and evident smarts.

Why reach out to unknown stars, when the solution is right here?

That's how he felt about the fact of affecting the body directly. If he could already 'invade' mana circuitry with the Bone magic, and then get these bone as basis, nothing should be able to stop him from spreading out further, and then affecting the body through imprinting - in a sense, constructing something entirely new through suffusion of mana.

Why nobody ever thought of this?

"Oh, yes. I've been there once, and well.. these worms are all over. Me and my brothers also attacked something really huge, and.." He pauses, followed by a chuckle. "Needless to say, it was the first time I legitimately got knocked out with immediate blackout."

"A single hit to my head and everything went dark. That's how powerful that beast was. I woke up quick, my brothers distracted it, and we all ran."

Still, while he holds this conversation, the majority of his attention remains upon their craft. With his eyes narrowing steadily, he can't help but eventually contribute more and more, the construction of bone and renewed mana circuitry forged once more- perhaps, the mana surge benefitting the brilliance that she provides.

"..Stop?"

"Hm. I don't think there's necessity to practice stopping, as at any time, I can just cut off the flow, but.."

"Shouldn't we finish it up and construct the body part accordingly?"
(Nerin)

That's because people are so busy looking for something that they don't have. Without realizing that the wealth of the world is already around them. In essence, she fears that she might've been one of those people. Those that want more when everything has been supplied to her a thousand times over. But there's one thing in being 'depressed' and looking. And another thing in trying to find yourself amongst all of the 'mess' that you've created. And in the end, she finds that there is no better journey than the one of self-discovery and full revelation of what she can be. And what she will become amongst these ashes.

 Nevertheless, she would never call him a fool for the way that he perceives things. For rich and wealth is not always based upon the value of others...But instead, it is shown within the eye of the beholder. For another man's trash, will always be another man's treasure. So, he's right. Why reach for the stars? Why reach for something insanely difficult when the most simple solution is right there infront of you?

"P-please! Don't speak of them." Her eyes shut tightly, trying to not imagine what it would be like if they were all around. "...I can't imagine one even getting close enough to me, let alone touching me. I think...I think I'd pass out just from it being there." Gross. Very much so..

In the end, her attention remains split...Between vicariously living through his tale and focusing on the task at hand. "No, no, I...I didn't mean to stop it now. I just thought that we should be a little careful so that it doesn't try to keep growing. But...You're right." She was thinking too much into the medical side of things. For...Mana cannot become a cancer, especially, if it is cut off at the source.

"Here...I think I've got something that'll make things a little less harder." And so, she opens up with Dagaz. The single rune appearing within the room..Burning brightly, despite her lack of faith. It mimics the appearance of a soft sun before vanishing...allowing more mana to flow through quickly, to speed up the process.
(Marísol)

Of all things, he never truly believed in the stars or reaching out to something so distant, something that would not be able to grant him whatever he wanted- he simply saw no reason in doing so, especially when he could achieve that with what he already has. Not only that's not practical, but that'd be also outside of his expertise.. so there's no reason to complicate his own life just like that.

"Hopefully you wouldn't pass out at the sight of them." A pause, and he adds, albeit with a smile. "They like eating limbs of people." And he just.. cuts it off like that, not saying anything else. Maybe he's just scaring her..

But he doesn't focus on that tale. Where she seeks to accelerate the process, he merely nods along and follows through; the forgery of the mana circuits, the bone and flesh rapidly regenerating with the acceleration of the process caused by the priestess. If anything, this becomes much more challenging on its own.. causing the first beads of sweat to form on his countenance and the side of his head.

It's pretty clear that his concentration remains so ever stalwart, however, not letting even the shred of doubt ruin the process for him; if anything, it's fairly clear that he's determined to finish the process smoothly.

By now, they're able to witness a lot.

The bone taking its rightful shape, the mana circuitry steadily enveloping it as if it were naturally present at all times.. as if it never disappeared in the first place. It's clearly an interesting process, but one that requires a lot of dedication and effort.

"..It's almost there."

"Push on. I'll aid you."
(Nerin)

Is she scared of them? The unfortunate thing is that she's as 'prissy' as one would have imagined. And to be quite honest, if she were flighty, she imagines that she would be terribly, terribly aggressive instead. Infact, it comes with the properties of being a magnolian. Short in stature, but one makes up for it in either attitude, speed, or simply...Both. The only thing that she's missing is the rapid fidgeting that put her within the same standards as a chihuhua...And to be quite frank, with how timid she used to be, she was almost there.

 But to digress..

"If that's the case, then you'll have to get better faster than you expect. I might be needing a new set of arms, you know.." But still, there's something about gigantic worms and mites that make her sick to her stomach....That much, he could see with how her mocha skin dares to become flush. Void with little color...Or as little 'color' as her brown skin could show.

"Ah- right...I think I know how to finish this." She says while beginning create the final rune...Eihwaz. Where in the ending, becomes a new beginning. After all, when one thinks of creating flesh...One must also think of the functioning. And how it becomes deeper than just being present. It also means control...

But still, one would be able to see how she trembles and shudders. Beads of sweat appearing upon her large forehead...before the light finally dies down into nothingness, revealing a perfectly new set of 'fingers' upon the patients hand.

"Is this good?-I..I don't want to look."
(Marísol)

At least Nerin wasn't scared out of the two.

It does come with both his nature and experience in life, for he simply cannot afford himself this type of weakness; if he were to do that, for all intents and purposes, he would fall quickly - so much so that the world would not even allow him any time to get up. Which is to say..

It would be quite brutal.

"I'm sure you'd handle them just fine." Maybe, maybe not. Then again, she was the untapped potential, but.. rather than distracting himself with the talk, he focuses down on the job of finishing the process- the brilliance fuelled by her runes soon supplied by his own mana, and the unlocked potential of their work is unveiled.

In a set of new fingers.

Ones that look slightly odd, of course.. but fairly natural otherwise. Upon closer look, it's possible to tell the difference, but with the mana circuitry properly aligned with the rest of the body, the flaws remain, albeit little. Their job was finished.

"It's good. You did good."

At last, he sighs out, somewhat relieved. There would be more to be done in the future, but that's a topic for another time.

"Thanks for your help."
(Nerin)