You claim one of the beds at the very back of the barracks, thoroughly isolating yourself from everyone else - you happen to think that the benefits conferred by a greater decree of privacy outweigh the benefits of making friends. You find that your cabinet is filled with more Shaper prospective clothing, the same kind of robes you're wearing right now, as well as a set of what you surmise to be sparring gear. Only one shelf is empty, and you put the books you were allowed to bring with you in there.
After claiming your bed and arranging things to your comfort, and once again finding yourself bereft of anything else to do, you approach
Marcus again. He still seems a bit dazed.
"Marcus?""Oh, uh, yes, Morden?""Did you see that necklace Akar was wearing?""Um, no, sorry.""Well, he was wearing a necklace with a black bead on it, that's what he used to open the door. Have you ever heard of anything like that being used in Shaper schools?""Um, well, sorta. Shapers don't, well, want Outsiders to be able to poke around, in any of their labs or anything, right? So they make amulets and stuff that are only given to Shapers that let those sliding doors and the other guard Creations in a given facility identify them as a Shaper. Maybe that's what Akar had? If it is, they might give us our own, soon, so we can get around.""Ah, that explains it, thanks."After speaking to Marcus, to assess the group to see who might be good lackey material - someone duller than the rest who you can likely recruit for dumb muscle when needed. You realize Oswild is exactly who you're looking for - he's not stupid, as a complete dullard would never get into a Shaper school, but you're confident you can convince him to help you out if you ever need it, and he's definitely the most athletic person in your twenty-strong group.
With that done, you see little else to do but go to sleep - best to get a good's night rest in preparation of the introduction the teachers must have planned for your group tomorrow. You pull out the privacy curtain and lie down, and soon the other children do the same, when the light-stones in the ceilings begin to dim. You wake up in the middle of the night when you hear shuffling, but it's only a Servile janitor. In the morning, you wake up again when the light-stones brighten once more, and the door opens to let in three people - two Shapers you haven't seen before, and
Guardian Akar.
The Shaper heading the trio wears puke green robes, emblazoned with the Shaper symbol, with his hood pulled up, so that you can't see any of his facial features. The other Shaper is a young woman with short brown hair, glasses and brilliant green eyes in dark blue robes, also emblazoned with the Shaper symbol. She is carrying a clipboard and a writing utensil. Their leader waits for all of you to assemble before he speaks.
"I am Shaper Rawal, this is my assistant, Shaper Genna, and you've all already met Guardian Akar. Akar, as you already know, is our head of security, and I am the master of this facility. I set the schedule here, direct experiments, and I will guide your education. I assume Akar has already scared the devil out of you, so I shall not bother warning you of the dangers of disobedience again. I shall give you all a tour around this facility today, and explain some basic things you need to know as future Shapers-to-be. Follow me."Rawal leads you around the facility, showing you the mess hall, showing you the sparring ground, in which
Akar shall soon be teaching you the ways of combat, a dusty library, which you might soon find useful for research purposes, the Shaping chambers, which you will soon make use of to practice your Shaping, the alchemical labs, in which you shall soon begin to learn alchemy, and finally the magic chambers, in which you shall learn magic. You are careful to keep track of where you are during the facility, and you don't fail to notice that some buildings are left out of the tour - undoubtedly buildings in which the dangerous experiments Ithlum College is known for take place.
Once you are all gathered in the magic chambers,
Rawal gives another speech of sorts.
"Now, as you all have undoubtedly noticed at this point, we are all Shapers, yet Akar is referred to as a Guardian. This is because we Shapers are divided into three castes - the Agents, our diplomats and spies, the Guardians, our warriors and defenders, and the Shapers, our researchers and mages. Genna and I are both Shapers, Akar is a Guardian, and I'm afraid we lack any Agents on staff at the moment, but I assure you we are capable of training any aspiring Agents. In any case, to progress in your training at this facility, each of you will need to choose your caste - not right this minute, mind you. You shall be given two weeks to get a feel for each caste and decide on which caste you wish to be. So think on it."Before leaving you to your first magic lesson,
Rawal hands out necklaces with white beads on them, and explain that the necklaces shall give you access to your dormitory and the other training facilities you need to access. Then he,
Genna and Akar leave you all to your first magic lesson with
Sage Bridget, a black-haired woman with brown eyes who wears the garb of a sage - a silver cloak and hood over black clothing. First she explains the difference between normal magical Energy and Essence - Energy is present in everything to some degree, and to manipulate it, and thus make use of conventional magic, one must merely know how to focus and use themselves as a focus for whatever they're trying to do. It is quite difficult, of course, and using Energy is draining, but using Essence is on a different level - Essence is not just simply ambient energy, but an actual, physical, quasi-living substance, far more powerful than Energy, and learning how to hold it within oneself without having it destroy you from the inside out is a difficult and lengthy process - thus, why you have been focusing on that for the past two years. Now that you know how to hold Essence unconsciously, your capacity to do so shall increase naturally as you learn to Shape it.
After giving that lengthy explanation,
Bridget shows you how to focus Energy through yourself, and teaches you all how to manipulate fire by doing so. It is a minor cantrip, but one that teaches you all a bit about using Energy, and one that will help you learn greater fire-related spells later on.
After teaching you this cantrip and a few other minor Energy manipulations,
Sage Bridget takes you all down to the library and sets you loose, to study whatever you wish for a few hours. A Servant mind lies on a pedestal near the front of the library, ordering around the Serviles assigned to maintain the library. You can ask him where books on whatever topic you're looking for may be found.
What do you do?You:
Health -10/10
Essence - 3/3
Energy - 6/6
XP - 2/10
Inventory - Prospective Robes, An Overview of Military Strategy, Basic Herbs and Their Uses
Status - Curious
Spells:
Absorb Essence - 1 Energy - Replenish your Essence reserves from a nearby source of Essence
Hold Essence - 0 Energy - Your special training allows you to hold a certain amount of Essence reflexively without it destroying you from the inside out
Boost Essence - 6 Energy - If you focus and have a source of Essence nearby, you can increase you can multiply your Essence reserves by 1.5, but if you lose focus or fall unconscious, the surfeit of Essence will destroy you.
Manipulate Flame - 2 Energy - Manipulate nearby flames to a small degree, or create your own tiny source of flame.
Energy Meditation - 0 Energy - If you meditate and focus on cycling Energy through yourself while doing so, you can gradually increase your Energy reserves. Not as fast as they'll grow naturally through the use of magic, but with this there is no chance of a spell backfiring, and it's something to do when you find yourself without anything else to do.
Notable Figures:
Marcus - The only person you could possibly call a friend, if that, Marcus possesses a great amount of herbal and alchemical knowledge, due to his parentage. You have also discovered that his mother seemed to prepare him to become a Shaper, and thus he has some basic knowledge of Shaper schools that might prove useful.
Akar - A fearsome Guardian and your new caretaker, as well as the head of security for Ithlum College.
Sage Bridget - A business-like, non-nonsense mage, and your new teacher in magic.
Shaper Rawal - The Shaper in charge of Ithlum College.
Shaper Genna - Shaper Rawal's timid assistant.
Mind Tavros - The Servant Mind who directs the Serviles in charge of maintaining the library.
Author
Topic: You are a Shaper! (Read 10763 times)