TIMESTAMP: Solace 12, Glade, 122
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As the last remnants of Frost began to wane into the first signs of Glade, Æros had adjusted and taken quickly to his fourth rune, Reaving, but he’d yet to achieve mastery. When it came to the previous three, he’d mastered each before taking on another, Mesmer before Masquerade, Masquerade before Semblance and Semblance before Reaving. However, the temptation to break this pattern and take on a fifth prior to doing the same with Reaving was a strong one. The time he had been spending with both his cousin, Palæmon, and his friend, Hilana, of late had endeared him to the idea of acquiring Elementalism for himself, and, for better or worse, Æros wasn’t the most patient of men.
Palæmon, storied in his experience as he was, had a lot to say about the rune. Over the months since the starry senator had taken his new position and re-integrated himself into his house, the other had said so, so much. He loved to talk and Æros was happy to listen, charismatic and chimerical as the older elf was. The two were kindred spirits regarding their love of magic, though Palæmon was a far more specialized sort, dedicating the vast majority of his energy into Elementalism as opposed to splitting his attention among many runes. He was also a Summoner, but his pursuit of that secondary rune and his mastery thereof was also fueled by a desire to enhance his understanding and skill of his primary, ELementalism. In his later, more recent years, he also took on Kinetics– but this one was used primarily for convenience; he’d yet to master that one, even.
On the other hand there was Æros, who, though he was enchanted by the idea of pursuing grandmastery, wanted to divert his energies into many different directions; he wanted to explore his talents, see what he was capable of on a more holistic level. Eventually, he would hone his skills in a particular rune, but for the moment, he didn’t quite know which of the ones he possessed that would be, or if it were a rune he’d get in the future. The horned hybrid was a curious sort; he wanted to explore the full breadth of magic’s majesty before specializing any which way.
And so with these two perspectives, so similar and yet so different, the two grew close, and in Glade’s early days, Æros asked the other to confer unto him his mark of Elementalism. The other man was delighted by the request, because despite the risk, the two of them believed that, due to Æros’ apparent resilience and Palæmon’s consummate mastery, all would end as well as it could, trials and tribulations of the initiation and threshold sickness both accounted for. They’d also intentionally procured what remedies they could from Hilana, because while most of what she provided was only soothing to symptoms and not assuaging the root cause, that was certainly better than nothing.
Though House Saelyan had sided with the draconic crown and their primary residence was therefore shifted to the manse in the lower city, they were not forced to vacate what property that they owned in Luxium. Because that property held a garden that Palæmon considered very dear to his heart– he’d spent a significant portion of his life cultivating and overseeing it– it was always there that he would consider to be his primary home, regardless of his political allegiance. However, in this case, he would make his way to Æros down below. The starry senator was both the current head of house and the one undertaking the initiation, so it made sense for the other to come to him.
Using another family member’s portal to get there, Palæmon arrived in the foyer of the Umbrium manse before making his way to his cousin’s bedchambers; Æros typically preferred to suffer in the isolation of his personal space, though there were always a few servii on standby for situations like this. The only one he’d really care to see during the throes of threshold sickness, however, would be Khyan, but he planned on inviting the boy in after the process had been started. On that end, Khyan wasn’t the world’s biggest fan of Æros undergoing these initiations with such frequency of late, but the concerns of others, even those with whom he is especially close, failed to outscale the weight of the half-elf’s ambition.
Entering the room, Palæmon, delicate, but quick and precise, laid down the bag he’d brought and organized the various implements he intended to use to confer the rune. He was simply instructed to bring with him whatever he felt was necessary, and since it was he who would give the rune, it would follow, then, that it ought to be him who would know best in that regard; as such, Æros did not ready anything except himself, and to that end, he lacked his usual carefully put together, if a bit scarce, attire and ornamentation. The room was dim, lit well enough for Palæmon to see, but the near darkness would be most comfortable for the half-Fæ when at the onset of his impending threshold sickness. It did not require some extraordinary complex setup or anything, but the waifish moonborn did pause to crush ætheryte into white ink. All of the half-Fæ’s runes were this color, though if one looked closely, one would note that the exact ‘ink’ used per rune wasn’t quite the same throughout all four. Without Semblance, however, Palaemon wouldn’t be able to discern in precisely what way.
Once that was done, the older of the two moved to sit in a chair that Æros had set beside the bed for him, ready as ever he’d be to draw it. Though before he did, it was customary in Solunarium, at least among those who took their faith at all seriously, to recite an ancient prayer. And while the words thereof were in an archaic form of Vallenor, both men present understood them clearly.
“Under the watchful eye of Aværys, Searing Be His Scrutiny…
Under the subtle stare of Varvara, Glaring Be Her Gaze…
We, Thy mortal supplicants invoke Thine indulgence, as we beg Thee for a meagre shred of Thine æternal pow’r.
“If e’er we o’erstep, take our Craft or our Corpi, for we are Thine. But if Ye fain consent, we pray Thee ease this transition between lesser and greater. For this supplicant, Endymion Len’Sælyan Æros, advanceth for Thee and with the goal of expanding Thy glorious dominion o’er the mortal world.
“As Majestic Aværys doth relish in hunger, know that this initiation doth answer the unslakable thirst of its subject.
“As Supreme Varvara doth sustain the chains of order that bind us all, know that this initiation doth bind its subject the more to Thee in gratitude for Thine indulgence.
“If Ye do object, halt now mine hand or, if it be Thy will, let my hand continue its course and strike me down after my task be executed for presuming upon Thine Empyreal Will.”
And after the words of the prayer had been spoken, there was a bit of a pause, yet ever so brief, before Palæmon moved to paint the desired design onto Æros’ solar plexus, and once complete, imbued the ink with his own æther and intent. There was an immediate shift to the horned hybrid’s æther that was only detectable to him or those with a Sembler’s sight, but he knew the gravity of his choice would soon set it. So with an exhale of a breath, he shifted his position and laid back, steeling himself, while Palæmon stood to put away and gather his things.
With his possessions recollected, the moonborn turned to face his cousin with an inquisitive, yet cautious and subdued expression donning his normally quite bright features. “Feel anything yet…? I’ve some time; I can stay a minute…that is, unless you’d like me to fetch a servus.” He didn’t really want to leave; the other man’s fate was something he wanted to witness for himself, especially because he did feel personally responsible for, even though it was entirely the half-Fæ's choice to have done this. Nonetheless, he’d respect Æros' wishes should the man want his space.
Æros furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came; he felt surely strange. From what he had been told, the symptoms of threshold sickness from an Elementalism initiation were often influenced by the elements themselves, it being an old superstition that if one in particular were dominant, such a thing would serve as an omen regarding the mage's future arche. But what element would this be?
Palæmon, storied in his experience as he was, had a lot to say about the rune. Over the months since the starry senator had taken his new position and re-integrated himself into his house, the other had said so, so much. He loved to talk and Æros was happy to listen, charismatic and chimerical as the older elf was. The two were kindred spirits regarding their love of magic, though Palæmon was a far more specialized sort, dedicating the vast majority of his energy into Elementalism as opposed to splitting his attention among many runes. He was also a Summoner, but his pursuit of that secondary rune and his mastery thereof was also fueled by a desire to enhance his understanding and skill of his primary, ELementalism. In his later, more recent years, he also took on Kinetics– but this one was used primarily for convenience; he’d yet to master that one, even.
On the other hand there was Æros, who, though he was enchanted by the idea of pursuing grandmastery, wanted to divert his energies into many different directions; he wanted to explore his talents, see what he was capable of on a more holistic level. Eventually, he would hone his skills in a particular rune, but for the moment, he didn’t quite know which of the ones he possessed that would be, or if it were a rune he’d get in the future. The horned hybrid was a curious sort; he wanted to explore the full breadth of magic’s majesty before specializing any which way.
And so with these two perspectives, so similar and yet so different, the two grew close, and in Glade’s early days, Æros asked the other to confer unto him his mark of Elementalism. The other man was delighted by the request, because despite the risk, the two of them believed that, due to Æros’ apparent resilience and Palæmon’s consummate mastery, all would end as well as it could, trials and tribulations of the initiation and threshold sickness both accounted for. They’d also intentionally procured what remedies they could from Hilana, because while most of what she provided was only soothing to symptoms and not assuaging the root cause, that was certainly better than nothing.
Though House Saelyan had sided with the draconic crown and their primary residence was therefore shifted to the manse in the lower city, they were not forced to vacate what property that they owned in Luxium. Because that property held a garden that Palæmon considered very dear to his heart– he’d spent a significant portion of his life cultivating and overseeing it– it was always there that he would consider to be his primary home, regardless of his political allegiance. However, in this case, he would make his way to Æros down below. The starry senator was both the current head of house and the one undertaking the initiation, so it made sense for the other to come to him.
Using another family member’s portal to get there, Palæmon arrived in the foyer of the Umbrium manse before making his way to his cousin’s bedchambers; Æros typically preferred to suffer in the isolation of his personal space, though there were always a few servii on standby for situations like this. The only one he’d really care to see during the throes of threshold sickness, however, would be Khyan, but he planned on inviting the boy in after the process had been started. On that end, Khyan wasn’t the world’s biggest fan of Æros undergoing these initiations with such frequency of late, but the concerns of others, even those with whom he is especially close, failed to outscale the weight of the half-elf’s ambition.
Entering the room, Palæmon, delicate, but quick and precise, laid down the bag he’d brought and organized the various implements he intended to use to confer the rune. He was simply instructed to bring with him whatever he felt was necessary, and since it was he who would give the rune, it would follow, then, that it ought to be him who would know best in that regard; as such, Æros did not ready anything except himself, and to that end, he lacked his usual carefully put together, if a bit scarce, attire and ornamentation. The room was dim, lit well enough for Palæmon to see, but the near darkness would be most comfortable for the half-Fæ when at the onset of his impending threshold sickness. It did not require some extraordinary complex setup or anything, but the waifish moonborn did pause to crush ætheryte into white ink. All of the half-Fæ’s runes were this color, though if one looked closely, one would note that the exact ‘ink’ used per rune wasn’t quite the same throughout all four. Without Semblance, however, Palaemon wouldn’t be able to discern in precisely what way.
Once that was done, the older of the two moved to sit in a chair that Æros had set beside the bed for him, ready as ever he’d be to draw it. Though before he did, it was customary in Solunarium, at least among those who took their faith at all seriously, to recite an ancient prayer. And while the words thereof were in an archaic form of Vallenor, both men present understood them clearly.
“Under the watchful eye of Aværys, Searing Be His Scrutiny…
Under the subtle stare of Varvara, Glaring Be Her Gaze…
We, Thy mortal supplicants invoke Thine indulgence, as we beg Thee for a meagre shred of Thine æternal pow’r.
“If e’er we o’erstep, take our Craft or our Corpi, for we are Thine. But if Ye fain consent, we pray Thee ease this transition between lesser and greater. For this supplicant, Endymion Len’Sælyan Æros, advanceth for Thee and with the goal of expanding Thy glorious dominion o’er the mortal world.
“As Majestic Aværys doth relish in hunger, know that this initiation doth answer the unslakable thirst of its subject.
“As Supreme Varvara doth sustain the chains of order that bind us all, know that this initiation doth bind its subject the more to Thee in gratitude for Thine indulgence.
“If Ye do object, halt now mine hand or, if it be Thy will, let my hand continue its course and strike me down after my task be executed for presuming upon Thine Empyreal Will.”
And after the words of the prayer had been spoken, there was a bit of a pause, yet ever so brief, before Palæmon moved to paint the desired design onto Æros’ solar plexus, and once complete, imbued the ink with his own æther and intent. There was an immediate shift to the horned hybrid’s æther that was only detectable to him or those with a Sembler’s sight, but he knew the gravity of his choice would soon set it. So with an exhale of a breath, he shifted his position and laid back, steeling himself, while Palæmon stood to put away and gather his things.
With his possessions recollected, the moonborn turned to face his cousin with an inquisitive, yet cautious and subdued expression donning his normally quite bright features. “Feel anything yet…? I’ve some time; I can stay a minute…that is, unless you’d like me to fetch a servus.” He didn’t really want to leave; the other man’s fate was something he wanted to witness for himself, especially because he did feel personally responsible for, even though it was entirely the half-Fæ's choice to have done this. Nonetheless, he’d respect Æros' wishes should the man want his space.
Æros furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came; he felt surely strange. From what he had been told, the symptoms of threshold sickness from an Elementalism initiation were often influenced by the elements themselves, it being an old superstition that if one in particular were dominant, such a thing would serve as an omen regarding the mage's future arche. But what element would this be?
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'Thoughts'
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
