A Better Understanding [closed, contains Nightmare Plot oddness]
Aeneas the blue-striped alien was looking decidedly confident as he marched towards the bright pink bus parked in the City. Well, for somebody who should be suffering from the afflictions of recent dreams, of social reclusion, of mild depression…
But that was just the thing, wasn’t it? Aeneas didn’t suffer from any of those things-rather, he ( Read more... )
In short, Matt looked like he had just rolled out of bed. Which was probably true due to the size of the coffee cup that he sported, the steaming black liquid smelling like hazelnut. Across the front of it was written "I Put Don Juan's Kids Through Grad School".
"Scuse the mess," yawned Matt as he got up from his chair and slugged a cup down. It was also apparent that Matt was wearing slippers. "I was taking a cat nap every few hours, just long enough to get enough rest without REM kicking in."
"So, Beginners magic then. First things first: TO THE LUMIATORIUM!"
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Matt was suffering. The clothing he wore was so similar to an increasingly common set of garments that Aeneas had seen in the ship population: sleepwear. There was that beverage, too, which smelled as bitter as it tasted and was laced with some sort of potent stimulant. ‘Coffee’, they called it. Tea seemed to be an equivalent in some ways.
The creature gave a quick and violent shake of the head, dilated auricles flopping this way and that, to clear the sadness from his thoughts. Everyone was suffering, yes, but…but Aeneas could continue to play the Nightmare King’s game. He’d keep having those visions, and he’d learn more about himself; and then, once he got close enough, then he could strike back. It would be the best of both worlds, and everyone would thank him and love him and forgive him for taking his time, because it was all part of the plan, ( ... )
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Swiping the star-patterned keycard, he stated, "Watch your step," as the ceiling opened up and air lift him and Aeneas to the lowest point in the bus - the Engine Room.
Stepping out into the lit darkness, they found themselves surrounded by multiple glowing orbs with arcane looking devices and things all around them. And there, in the center was a glowing ball of energy, and inside it twisted five ribbons. "There it is, Aeneas ol' buddy, the Lumia. This is the source of the magic on this bus, and powers the ever-moving nature of it."
Stepping forward and taking a sip to lower the content of drink within his cup, Matt yawned and scratched his head. "First things first; your magical core requires a jumpstart. You're OPEN to the magic but you're not ACTIVE yet. ( ... )
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He abruptly snapped out of his trance, instantly paying attention to Matt’s explanations. Though, he noted with some disdain, they weren’t actual explanations, just…summaries. They begged so many questions, and there were so many uncertainties…How could anyone submit to such blind faith? It just seemed illogical.
So yes, Aeneas would extend his hand, gazing wearily at the ribbons as they floated excitedly in Matt’s hairless palm. Not without clearing up a few things first.
“How…how can so much energy be contained in such tiny fragments?”
And yes, he wouldn’t recoil when a dark blue strand wiggled its way from the mess and plunged itself into his veins. Aeneas trusted Matt that much.
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”…Something about that was vaguely anticlimactic,” quipped the alien’s mind, and he gave himself a firm pat on the head to shut it up. No need for witticisms now-Matt was clearly exhausted and desperately needed rest. It wasn’t worth the human’s health to waste his time.
Now, for more questions. Firstly, ‘pure’ and ‘salt’ water…?
“…What about mineral water?” Aeneas asked matter-of-factly, not entirely sure why Matt would leave out something like that. Weren’t humans familiar with mineral water? I mean, it was even more odd that they would reference salt water over something as common as mineral water, yeah?
Also…
The alien gave his human companion a blank, mildly humorous but still very dry stare. “Matt, ah…I have gillsThe row of six feathers on the sides of Aeneas’s face jaggedly parted, revealing delicate, purple-ish capillaries, pulsing gently despite their size. He could only ( ... )
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Now, for the actual magic-using.
It seemed…easy enough. Aeneas nodded absently, irises fixed on the pool of water as he began to concentrate.
At first he tried keeping his eyes open, thinking that having the visual reference would help him better locate the necessary sensations, but he quickly realized that the outside stimulus was extremely distracting. Eventually the creature gently shut his thick brows.
Then they squinted.
The further he looked within himself, the faster his temporary memories filled up his mind. The scene that Aeneas created in the Sensoriums-the mockup of what he suspected was a beach on his home world-was a prime candidate, and it did the job of making him feel those lapping waves, but again, that was external and further distracting. Aeneas had to clear it out, too.
With everything finally cleared out, it didn’t take much longer before he located the internal sensation of ( ... )
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Now everything Matt had told him he could understand, to a degree. It all felt like a lesson one of the village elders in Aephos would give to the young Awesonians during public teachings (or, as the humans might call it, ‘school’). Aeneas had attended plenty of these in his spare time on Walrum, yet he’d never really taken what they said seriously; to him, they were all elaborate stories to outline essential morals and laws, and far from the truth.
And there was that faith thing coming up again…
Despite his indecision, Aeneas nodded the affirmative.
“Yes, but-“ A different question was in order here. “-You mentioned unspoken incantations. Are…are there many important spoken ones ( ... )
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Picking up a drumstick, he held it loosely in his hand. "The five fundimental forces of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Energy have very basic commands to them. For example, you have... FLOAT."
And automatically, the drumstick floated a few inches above his palm.
"SPIN. UP. DOWN. PUSH." On cue, the drumstick reacted in the appropriate manner and Matt snagged it out of the air. "Simple Power Words can be whatever you desire, as long as there's magic behind the command. Mages from other lands use keywords at times, to unlock their magic like a key being turned in a lock. And the more time you spend in an incantation, the better you're well off to focus the power. Lemme demonstrate that ( ... )
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“So words are essentially for focusing power, yes?” he blinked, “And language is not an issue?”
He naturally assumed that the fancy introduction Matt gave the ‘water spirits’ before his ice needle demonstration was purely cosmetic, and not needed for harnessing his own abilities. I mean, why ask some outside spirit’s permission before using power that was drawn from inside the body?…
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"It's how I can get away with silly stuff like proclaiming Super Duper Pink Wall of Power and actually throw up a pink wall of magic. Words become meaningless after a while and intent works out. Like this spell. It's usually called Lightning Blast."
Matt thrust out his hand and lightning crackled across the room, the sharp tang of ozone from the quick ionization of the air around them as it leaped ten feet before sputtering out. "See? Intent. Point and shoot and MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA if you must."
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“Power Words and Intent. Understood.” And then Aeneas got a good whiff of ozone along with the distinctive smell of Matt’s beverage, which brought up another puzzling inquiry.
“…I notice that you are able to harness most of the elements,” the alien observed, absently dragging his back foot through the nearby pool, “Are most magic-users able to do so at a certain point in their training?”
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”Alchemy…”Yes, Alchemy. It was something that the good Doctor Palor Drake was obsessed with at a young age, and something he often ranted about when he cared for Aeneas during the first few months of his recovery. To be able to control the very atoms that composed all matter in the universe and meld them at will…it was a daunting task, clearly impossible with any technology Drake could fathom, but he still dreamt of it. Oh, if he ever woke up-if he had even been saved in the first place-imagine his happiness should Aeneas meld thin air into gold! And the alien would introduce Drake to Matt and Will, and he would study their abilities with Stacy’s advanced lab equipment, and then he ( ... )
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