Practice of Telvanni Magic: Restoration, Lesson One

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    He was born in the ash among the Velothi, anon Chimer, before the war with the northern men. Ayem came first to the village of the netchimen, and her shadow was that of Boethiah, who was the Prince of Plots, and things unknown and known would fold themselves around her until they were like stars or the messages of stars. Ayem took a netchiman's wife and said:

     

    'I am the Face-Snaked Queen of the Three in One. In you is an image and a seven-syllable spell, AYEM AE SEHTI AE VEHK, which you will repeat to it until mystery comes.'

     

    Then Ayem threw the netchiman's wife into the ocean water where dreughs took her into castles of glass and coral. They gifted the netchiman's wife with gills and milk fingers, changing her sex so that she might give birth to the image as an egg. There she stayed for seven or eight months.

     

    Then Seht came to the netchiman's wife and said:

     

    'I am the Clockwork King of the Three in One. In you is an egg of my brother-sister, who possesses invisible knowledge of words and swords, which you shall nurture until the Hortator comes.'

     

    And Seht then extended his hands and multitudes of homunculi came forth, each like a glimmering rope through the water, and they raised the netchiman's wife back to the surface world and set her down on the shoals of Azura's coast. There she lay for seven or eight more months, caring for the egg-knowledge by whispering to it the Codes of Mephala and the prophecies of Veloth and even the forbidden teachings of Trinimac.

     

    Seven Daedra came to her one night and each one gave to the egg new motions that could be achieved by certain movements of the bones. These are called the Barons of Move Like This. Then an eighth Daedroth came, and he was a Demiprince, called Fa-Nuit-Hen, or the Multiplier of Motions Known. And Fa-Nuit-Hen said:

     

    'Whom do you wait for?'

     

    To which the netchiman's wife said the Hortator.

     

    'Go to the land of the Indoril in three months' time, for that is when war comes. I return now to haunt the warriors who fell and still wonder why. But first I show you this.'

     

    Then the Barons and the Demiprince joined together into a pillar of fighting styles terrible to behold and they danced before the egg and its learning image.

     

    'Look, little Vehk, and find the face behind the splendor of my bladed carriage, for in it is delivered the unmixed conflict path, perfect in every way. What is its number?'

     

    It is said the number is the number of birds that can nest in an ancient tibrol tree, less three grams of honest work, but Vivec in his later years found a better one and so gave this secret to his people.

     

    'For I have crushed a world with my left hand,' he will say, 'but in my right hand is how it could have won against me. Love is under my will only.'

     

    The ending of the words is ALMSIVI.

     

     

    Grulmar was sitting in a chair in Neloth's study, his head hung over a book, one of many and he rubbed his eyes with a growl. Why the tusk isn't there at least one damn manual here?! he cursed in his mind. It was as if every at least partially useful book was removed from the small library on purpose. The old codger probably doesn't want his apprentices to know too much. Bugger…

     

    Grulmar was silently raging inside like that for days, when he found out that Neloth actually wasn't interested in teaching him anything at all. On the other hand, he was quite happy about having another test subject - two, if we count Maaahtiii - for his experiments. Grulmar was more or less angry at himself, not at Neloth, because he should have known it would end up like this. What did ya expect from a damn Telvanni? After what he went through with the Spriggans, Neloth didn't even acknowledge him as an apprentice. All he said was: “What was taking you so long?”

     

    Yeah. So I got my hand burned for nothing, pretty much. He didn't exactly have a healthy relationship with fire since that day, so he was trying to look into something that would protect him from the hungry flames. Back in the College, he was trying to look into the Resist spells from Restoration School but no one knew a thing about those. Well, one person probably knew, but ya burned that bridge, matey. Spells that increased the resistance to elements were much older spells, mostly used in Morrowind, so he hoped that the Telvanni would share the knowledge with him. Sadly, he didn't.

     

    I mean, maybe I could practice the Destruction spell until I got it right, but it still wouldn't help me protect from fire, right? This way I kill two Reachmen in one swing, so to say.

     

    A loud gurgling sound interrupted his thoughts and he turned around to see Maaahtiii standing in the corner, his brows furrowed in concentration before releasing another loud fart.

     

    “Seriously?” Grulmar murmured and the Riekling turned to him.

     

    “Maaahtiii,” the Riekling cheered, puffing his chest.

     

    “Yeah, that was really mighty,” Grulmar shook his head. “Just try to remain silent, alright? Don't do anythin'.”

     

    “Nyythiiin?”

     

    “Yes. Don't make any sounds, don't move, and don't even breath. That would really help.”

     

    “Brreeefff,” the Riekling stuck out his tongue and released a spray of spittle around. Grulmar just rubbed his eyes, quite tired. If I had any idea that this would be like raising a little baby, I would have slapped myself  silly to not to take the Riekling along for the ride...

     

    Luckily, Neloth wasn't around, studying some bandits working at the strange stone outside and Talvas was in Raven Rock with Varona, so Grulmar had the laboratory all to himself. And Maaahtiii. The Riekling got over his fear of mushrooms rather quickly and Grulmar realised his mistake of taking him into the tower very fast. The little blue creature was the clumsiest thing Grulmar ever met. Whatever he touched, soon ended up broken, so Grulmar was trying to teach him not to touch anything. He even left him at the bottom of the tower once, but Maaahtiii just climbed up, to be with his master.

     

    Alright, enough distractions, the Orc thought while his fingers played with his goatee. Just try to recall that thin' with Sotha Sil, alright? He remembered only something about not ignoring the fire but feeling it instead without being harmed. Yeah, very helpful. He sighed and casted a spell, reaching into his mind and bringing forth the image, words floating behind his eyes.

     

    “The charm is intensified by the energy you bring to it, by your own skills, just as all spells are,” he said. “Your imagination and your willpower are the keys. There is no need for a spell to give you a resistance to air, or a resistance to flowers, and after you cast the charm, you must forget there is even a need for a spell to give you resistance to fire. Do not confuse what I am saying: resistance is not about ignoring the fire's reality. You will feel the substance of flame, the texture of it, its hunger, and even the heat of it, but you will know that it will not hurt or injure you.”

     

    Yeah, what a load of crap, he thought and snorted. The all mighty and all knowing Sotha Sil, makin' a tuskin' riddle out of spell manual…

     

    He remembered how he dismissed this method back in College, going to Collete Marcette for help instead, and how extremely helpful she was. Not at all… Maybe it was time for trying to change the process, not giving up right at the beginning. What Shiny said? Dismissin' somethin' as bullshit before even tryin' it gets ya nowhere? Somethin' like that, no doubt. Definitely sounds like him.

     

    Grulmar extended his arms, his shoulders creaking and he gave a yawn. Then he rubbed his eyes and shook his head, to get over that sudden tiredness and scratched his goatee. Alright. Let's do this shit. There's no one around to show ya how ya should cast anythin' like that, so it's all up to ya, matey.

     

    Restoration. Not exactly his speciality, but he knew something. School of the body, of protection and healing. But how do ya block fire with Restoration? Considerin' it's a school of a body maybe ya have to change somethin' in yer body? Somethin' that resists fire? But why does Sotha Sil speak about ignorin' the fire? In theory, it should be possible to change one's physical properties. In theory, yes, but Grulmar doubted he would be capable of anything like that, especially when it came to the Restoration School which he barely understood. He only scratched the surface with regenerating tissue and Wards and even that was mostly beyond his capabilities. So how the tusk I'm supposed to resist fire when I can barely do those things?

     

    He sighed and his forehead hit the table in resignation. He then hit the table with his fist in anger which spooked Maaahtiii, a strange high-pitched sound escaping his mouth before he hid under Grulmar's chair. “Sorry, matey. Just...gettin' frustrated before I even started. If this is how research of magic usually goes then I definitely chose the wrong profession,” the Orc sighed. Just think, ya dumb piece of green-shitted Orc! Think!

     

    Fire. What is fire? Fire is...heat. His hand slapped his forehead. “Ya don't have to resist fire, fire is the physical appearance. It's the heat ya have to ignore.” He looked at Maaahtiii hiding under his chair and chuckled. “This might be it, shrimp. We just need some fire.” He looked around and noticed an alchemy table with all the things we need. “Come on, let's test this theory.”

     

    While he was preparing the small fire that was usually used for heating the calcinator, he pondered about the theory. If the magicka manifests itself as heat, increased temperature, there should be a way to block those parts of magicka from harmin' ya. Fire...fire. Fire is a chemical reaction! Produces light and heat...block the heat, then ya will ignore its effects. He stopped for a while and pushed aside Maaahtiii who was watching what he was doing with curiosity. Fire has to consume somethin' to produce heat. If ya remove the heat, will it still consume what it touches? If ya remove the heat...ya just remove the symptom. Bollocks. His theory apparently had few holes in it… But wait. For a fire to be created, there first has to be the heat. Combustion. There is a point where everythin' burns when the temperature is right. So heat. Heat. Start with that and we'll see where we get with that, alright?

     

    Finally the candle used for heating up the calcinator was burńing and he took a deep breath. He extended his hand towards it, feeling the heat and then slowly put it down again. Then he reached into the streams of magicka, immediately assaulted by the flowing river of fire right in front of him, emanating through the candle on the table.

     

    “Brreeeff,” he heard Maaahtiii say from a great distance and he pushed that out of his mind. His sole focus was on the river of fire and normally when he tapped into it, to use a fire spell, he would use his anger to channel it, but this time he was just looking at it, trying to figure out how to block it.

     

    His mind slowly started channeling magicka, drawing it towards the stream of flowing flames, creating a wall between himself and the stream. He touched the wall and it held, stopping the heat and then he extended his hand towards the candle. There was a heat, but greatly reduced and he silently cheered. He touched the flame and hissed in pain when the fire slightly burned his finger. “Shit!” he cursed.

     

    “Sheeet!” the Riekling repeated after him while Grulmar sucked on his finger to reduce the pain.

     

    “Ya don't have to repeat everythin' I say,” the Orc murmured to which Riekling replied with:

     

    “Rrrrythiiin.”

     

    “Yeah,” the Orc shook his head. “But we're gettin' close, matey. The heat works, but what should we do with the fire? It's so tuskin' difficult when all I think about is how I'll get burned-” Grulmar then suddenly stopped. “Emotion. Fear. I'm afraid of gettin' burned. And that holds me back. When ya fear somethin' ya can't ignore it.”

     

    Maaahtiii stood next to him, releasing a loud fart and Grulmar waved with his hand in front of his face when the smell assailed his nostrils. “Namira's rotten bum!” he exclaimed in disgust. “What have ya been eatin’? Smells like it was already dead!” The Riekling just stupidly chuckled at that and farted again. Grulmar pushed him away from the table and slapped the back of Riekling’s head. “Want to blow us up, or what? Go to the other side of the room and stay there!”

     

    “Muuu far?” Maaahtiii peeped while he shuffled to the wall sadly.

     

    “Yeah, not kill, if you stop doing that!” Grulmar shook his head and focused on the flame again. He frowned when he suddenly remembered something. Four Suitors of Benitah. Magicka reservoir that can suck up pain and damage. What if I don’t have to ignore the fire but redirect its effects somewhere else?

     

    He reached into the streams again, towards the flowing flames, focusing on the heat it was emanating. As he was drawing closer to it he felt it intensify and he stopped for a second, thinking through his next step. Need to redirect it. Somewhere. Into the cold? No, if ya got them mixed up, they would create somethin’ else. There has to be some kind of pocket or somethin’. No, pocket is not the answer. Magicka...all Magicka. All streams.

     

    He began dispersing the heat and the flames into several streams at once, but in his mind they weren’t streams anymore. A lake. A lake of magicka.

     

    His hand closed on the candle’s fire, his fingers being licked by the flame but only thing he could feel was a distant heat, almost distant as the sun’s warmth.

     

    “It’s working!” he cheered and lost the concentration which made him suck his fingers yet again. But it didn’t affect his feeling of victory.

     

    I’ve figured it out! How about that?

     


     

Comments

10 Comments   |   DeltaFox and 13 others like this.
  • Caladran
    Caladran   ·  January 30, 2018
    Good, good, Grulmar is learning! :)
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  July 7, 2017
    It may look like I'm reading these out of order but ermmm....  I'm catching up from the front....
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  May 26, 2017
    Was fun proofing this chapter and was fun rereading it. Mahtiii never fails. Mu  faaaaa? And good on Grulmar. He's really starting to learn the deeper meanings of the magicks. 
  • The Sunflower Manual
    The Sunflower Manual   ·  May 25, 2017
    Waaaa!

    TOOK.
    YOU (and Lissette-ko's proofreading).
    LONG.
    ENOUGH.

    Now that I'm over it, I can't resist a snarky remark. It's very likely that what Maaahtiii ate was already dead, Grulmar. Most of the things peopl...  more
    • Karver the Lorc
      Karver the Lorc
      The Sunflower Manual
      The Sunflower Manual
      The Sunflower Manual
      Waaaa!

      TOOK.
      YOU (and Lissette-ko's proofreading)....  more
        ·  May 26, 2017
      Hahaha. Now I don't know if I should change it or leave it, because now that you've mentioned it it sounds ridiculously stupid :D
      • The Long-Chapper
        The Long-Chapper
        Karver the Lorc
        Karver the Lorc
        Karver the Lorc
        Hahaha. Now I don't know if I should change it or leave it, because now that you've mentioned it it sounds ridiculously stupid :D
          ·  May 26, 2017
        Leave it, we are all entitled to say the occasional stupid thing. Besides, he's busy. That line only enhances that he's not really thinking about what he's saying, just sort of half-acknowledging Mahtii. 
  • Teineeva
    Teineeva   ·  May 25, 2017
    Karver I really like your approach to magicka as always. Better yet I like that Grulmar doesn't inherently understands Sotha-Sil's bullshit but that he uses his understanding of that theory to figure shit out on his own. Just makes him a more interesting ...  more
  • A-Pocky-Hah!
    A-Pocky-Hah!   ·  May 25, 2017
    Do my eyes deceive me, or has the Lorc grace us with a chapter of Telvanni magic galore? :D

    I don't know if Grulmar's mind could comprehend reading the Thirty-Six (and One) Sermons. BTW, have you read Sotha Sil's sermons yet?
    So if Res...  more
    • Karver the Lorc
      Karver the Lorc
      A-Pocky-Hah!
      A-Pocky-Hah!
      A-Pocky-Hah!
      Do my eyes deceive me, or has the Lorc grace us with a chapter of Telvanni magic galore? :D

      I don't know if Grulmar's mind could comprehend reading the Thirty-Six (and One) Sermons. BTW, have you read Sotha Sil's sermons yet?
      So if Resist Fire means blo...  more
        ·  May 25, 2017
      You know Grulmar. Everything that sounds weird is bullshit for him :D And yes, I've read The Truth in Sequance. Damn Gears and Anti-Gears. 


      As for the Resist spells... Grulmar only scratched the surface here. He figured out how t...  more
  • DeltaFox
    DeltaFox   ·  May 25, 2017
    Haven't really been following your story, but it looks pretty awesome. I'll read through the entire tale someday, if I manage.