Facing fears.

[Vinsue]

49th Ash, 4622

Fear is a funny thing. It can vary from a slight unease to a full panic or freeze. With Vinsue a slight unease was expected when in the same room as a known mage. The unease doubled if they were strong enough to initiate someone. But the actual casting of magic causes her to freeze up or fully panic. The filling was kinda like if a super large spider was giving an arachnophobic person a hug. In this case Vinsue had been extremely brave out of necessity as freezing and panic would have killed her. In the dining room Vinsue would sit down but remain speechless in thought.

Today she had seen a lot of stuff she had never seen before. Sure she knew an Animus mage but he would never change forms in front of her as he also knew this fear. She had seen balls of ink like substance cause blindness and rage. A rage that killed two people, sure they were the bad guys but still. She had never seen a sword appear out of seemingly nowhere. She had never seen or heard of using water magicly or portals. There was a long list of firsts from the fight. The ability to mess with emotions was the most scary to her. As this was the most similar to what she first knew. What had killed her best friend. Her eyes began to tear up at the thought of Sam's death. This was the second time magic hurt a friend of hers. She wiped her eyes and looked up at Andre.

She had to take a deep breath before she was able to talk. “When I was young my friend and I had a chance to become a mage. He took the opportunity immediately, I on the other hand was not willing to be the first to leap. It was the last thing he ever did. His initiation failed, taking his life, that's when I realized how dangerous magic could be on a person" She said. She eyed the clay he had made powder out of. At first she thought nothing of it until he said to swallow the power. But she soon realized it was a part of an initiation process.

To conquer a fear, become the monster. She was here to conquer the fear. And now she wanted to help find Hugo. And the chance of being a help agent magic, was slim as of now. Actually both were really good reasons to accept the offer. But neither calmed her nerves. She took the power, took a deep breath then swallowed it.

[Salen]

TIME STAMP

Andre didn't seem phased by the story that Vinsue had told, perhaps because his own experiences were blinded by the stoic and militaristic politics of Daravin's culture. It was a huge competition for power, pride and prosperity; the aggressive play of the Candor meant that most players would have to give it all and risk losing their wealth, fortune and even their own lives. It was a ruthless culture, but there came some advice "At the end of the day, people die because they are weak, because they don't have the strength to hold a sacred gift of magic, as harsh as it sounds it is the facet of nature. The survival of the fittest are the ones who hold the chalice of riches, whilst the weakest simply fall into an early grave. That is the reality and there is no sugarcoating it; you don't fear magic, but the consequences of taking it."

He paused as he remained in eye level with Vinsue, taking a look at him "The question is, are you strong or are you weak? Are you going to let your fears get the best of you or are you going to take a chance?" His eyes would eventually stare at Vinsue for a moment "In reality, you have nothing to lose and perhaps alot to gain... If you die, it is simply the fact that you are simply too weak for this world and that is the reality, Vinsue." He looked at the female gnome who appeared to swallow the powder in front of him "And I see you're already taking your chances, thats a sign of courage and resilience, already..." He nodded to her in approval as he took the powder in his mouth and swallowed it; he eventually proceeds to cast Parch upon Vinsue as he draws the powder into her lungs and prays it goes through her bloodstream.

The sand being blown into Vinsue's lungs will eventually form, she must expend some of it from her body as some of it becomes an evaporating threat for Vinsue; the salt particles will enter her bloodstream at a higher rate and dry her cells faster.

► Show Spoiler

Hey Vinsue

This is the beginning of your Initiation Thread into Divide, as discussed this is to test your knowledge on the initiation process. You've seen the beginning process and now you must continue the thread showing the next step. When you've completed this thread which will be atleast 10 posts each (Maybe lower) Once you've completed this thread, you will be initiated into Divide.

[Vinsue]

Many cultures believe many different things but could he be right about magic being based on how strong a person was? A friend once told her that a good initiator could tell if the student would pass or fail but was he right? That same friend told her she would survive, was he right? Did she have the required strength? Did her best friend die simply because he was not strong enough? Those were all things she had no time to think about. No, instead she focused on not panicking. Though she should have asked for further instructions before simply swallowing sand. But hay hindsight is always 20/20.

She coughed once as one would do when they attempt to swallow a power but almost none came out. Instead it went to where it was supposed to and started circulating with her blood. This was simple and nonpainful. But the powder that came into her lungs because of the mage casting patch was a different story.

Asphyxiation takes only 2 minutes to kill someone. Dehydration on the other hand has no set time but could cause many unpleasant things, including but not limited to death.

Vinsue closed her eyes to focus on the filling. She of course had no control over the sand in her lungs but that which ran through her blood was a different story. Mostly she focused on her throat as her body tried to fight back. She also focused on maintaining a steady breath but it was less important. It wasn't immediate but she figured out how to take the sand out of her body at the throat. It wasn't easy and it took a lot of concentration. Her lip began to turn blue from the lack of air as well as the corner of her eyes. Despite this and the high thirst she stayed focused on getting the sand out of her blood before it killed her.

[Salen]

TIME STAMP

The sand would enter Vinsue's body at a violent pace, it begins to mould the formation of a mark on her back; it appeared to form a geometric triangle, but it wasn't perfectly formed. There was too much sand in her body, obscuring the mark from her body as the triangle became a swirling vortex in her skin. Andre could see the triangular structure forming on her back as he shook his head "You need to expel a little more... I will tell you when to stop expelling the sand from your body..."

He realised that he had gone too rough with the use of Parch as this was his first initiate that he had ever faced and yet he wasn't the most gentle of men when it came to training or initiating someone. Perhaps this would become a life lesson that sometimes a little gentle push was all that was needed for someone to endure balance within Daravinic society "You're doing great... Keep pushing!" He could see that the mark was forming "I'll tell you when to stop, just hold on and stay alive... Please... Failure is not an option..."

If Vinsue would fail the initiation, it would play on Andre's conscience, knowing that there are two consequences; the lightest that appears to be the worse, meaning that she will never be able to be initiated into Divide ever again or risk death, or the painful method of asphyxiation and evaporation as the sodium particles within her blood stream will cause her electrolytes to fail, eventually drying out her body and forcing her cells to collapse. A deeply painful death that noone would ever want to face.

► Show Spoiler

Hey Vinsue

Please continue the thread, just remember the mark will form to an adequate formation of sand, she must proceed to filter the sand slowly from her blood stream. Too quickly and the mark will never form, too slowly and her body will enter Evaporation. A baptism mage or the help of Sinew Foam may be required to save her life if she succumbs to such a dark and dreadful fate.

This is also a great time to enhance your knowledge on overstepping penalties within Divide as it may affect Vinsue in the future.

[Vinsue]

With the encouragement that was given she focused on getting rid of more sand. She could feel the effects of it as it was taking moisture from her body. It was causing her to become dizzy. As her mouth dried out. She placed a hand on the table for balance. 

Her breath kept getting slower and deeper as her blood flow and heart rate sped up. The lack of air continued to turn her blue as it also made her headache worse. It was becoming easy to see why only the strong got magic. She kept focused on the sand but for how long could she keep this up?  She carefully speed up and slowed down the speed and amount of the sand that got filtered through her as instructed. 

The worse she felt the more determined she became to live. The more determined she became to pass. As was said failure was not an option. She had a lot of questions, a lot of curiosities to solve to know, to just die now.  She had to pass for her friend. So he could know that she would never let fear control her. To show that she still believed the few things he stood for. She had to pass for herself. She had to prove that she was strong enough. She had to prove to herself that she could do it. And now she felt it most critical if she was ever going to help save her new friend from the kidnapping. 

She had to let go of all her nerves as she focused her wandering, foggy mind more on the sand and its removal from her blood. She could feel her consciousness whining. She could still feel the mark forming. She could still kinda hear her initiator, but she kept her focus. 

[Salen]

TIME STAMP

Andre could see the mark forming on Vinsue's body as he could see the exact moment of where to stop. The geometric shape of a triangle could be revealed as he looked at Vinsue "Now, stop expelling the sand..." He said as he watched Vinsue's consciousness wane further as he stopped channelling, letting the mark form against her. The mark appeared to be a geometric encrusted triangle with a line through it symbolising the elemental hold of earth she has through the magic Divide.

It was only a matter of time before she was determined to be a true Dividim. Has the gnome truly survived such a taxing and detrimental initiation? Andre looked at her as he gave him the lasting need of water, but he could feel her entering some form of near evaporation "Synthar!" He shouted as he ran up the stairs immediately at the service of Vinsue "Conjure some water, she's dehydrating for the safety, she's came so far, she almost made it, and I am not having a guilty conscience..."

The medic nodded in concern for her health as Synthar channeled a small amount of water and began manipulating it on top of her, so it hydrates the remainder of her skin, her cells and the insides. The initiation was supported this way to prevent the initiate from the possibility of death.

► Show Spoiler

Hey Vinsue

The initiation thread is almost coming to a close, please continue the thread and afterwards you'll be awarded with your lores and exp. Please read the magic rules before you attempt any threads with Divide and also after this thread, you will gain +2 mageblight as a standard practice of being initiated. Please log your mageblight with the correct system.

Please record it like so:
2 Mageblight (49th Frost)

Your mageblight meter is out of 10 since you are a Gnome, if you hit 10 during your mageblight, your character will die.

Please be aware, you may only take four points of mageblight off every season, which means any left over after that will be carried into the season afterwards. The next season is Frost so if you go five points over, you'll carry the latest seasonal one which will not expire until Glade. Please read further.

[Vinsue]

Once Vinsue was instructed to stop shifting the sand from her blood, she did. She would open her eyes to try and focus on her initiator. She wanted to ask for water but didn't have the strength left to fight her dry mouth to do so. Instead she gave a tired weak smile before losing consciousness. Her body slumping to the table. The same table she had gripped when she first got dizzy. Was this it? Was this the end of her short life? To die miles away from home. What would Sam think? He died doing the same but he died at home. 

It is said one could see their entire life flash between their eyes when they die. Many also debate on where the soul goes after it leaves the body and so it seemed that she was about to find out what was True and what wasn't. But it wasn't her time yet, her initiator had safeguards it would seam. The water from the Baptist magic was a huge relief. One that caused a deep intake of breath from the unconscious gnome. One could easily see her skin rehydrate.. Her breathing would become steady once again and with time the blue skin would become its normal colors.

It's crazy to think she actually allowed someone to initiate her into magic of any kind. It was crazy that a stranger was willing to do it without being asked.It was even crazier that she let a stranger from the house of some man that was watching her dreams do it. But now it is done. Would she use this new magic or would she be afraid. Vinsue doesn't know about the negative consequences of using magic yet as she was simply too afraid to even talk with a mage. But if she allows herself to practice it would be very handy when trying to make anything with the forge. 

[Salen]

TIME STAMP

The mark had been successfully carved amongst the initiate's skin but was the initiation successful? Andre took the gnomes' unconscious body over to the bedroom as he walked past the scene of bloodsplatter in shock. He sighed as he carried on, placing Vinsue down on the bed and letting out a deep sigh. He knew how cruel it was to go through such a terrifying initiation, particularly when he remembered the day of his initiation into Divide, driven by the forces of Parch themselves. He went over to the library and grabbed a few books on the subject of the magic from the beginners guide to the more advanced abiltiies such as Petrifaction and Crafting in high amounts.

"If you wake up, do read these but if you don't... I'm sorry, I tried my best." He nodded to himself, praying that the initiation went through well, now his mind was purely on the bloodsplatter in the room, left by Salen's hands. He eventually made his way toward's Rene and sighed "I'll talk to him."

"He's also pushing himself, he doesnt know it yet since his body seems resilient to pain. He can't feel it, but I know he's suffering from mageblight, look after him and Jared aswell." Rene spoke out, looking at the horrific mess he had made "I think Salen's anger is going to be the danger of him..."

"Will he calm down?" Andre asked.

"Perhaps, but only time will tell. He's beginning to understand the foothold of his abilities atleast, but he hasn't quite reached full mastery yet. I can see him ascending into something great one day, but theres a difference between being powerful and being masterful; two completely different things..."

► Show Spoiler

Hello Vinsue.

Congratulations on your initiation into Divide, you have gained the following eight lores.
Divide: The Initiation
Divide: Two parties must breath in the same piece of sand, glass or stone.
Divide: Successful Initiations go unconscious
Divide: If an aspiring DIvidim fails an initiation, they cannot perform this again.
Divide: The consequences of Overstepping
Divide: Severe Overstepping Penalty - Evaporation
Divide: The cure for Evaporation is Hydration
Divide: The magic associated with sand, earth and stone manipulation.

You have also gained 8 Magic Exp which may be used on Divide.

Please note that upon being assigned this initiation, you have also gained +2 Mageblight which is standard for being initiated into any magic. You must record this mageblight as accurately as you can on your character sheet. Record like so.

Current Mageblight: 2/10 (No Stage Mageblight)

+2 Mageblight (49th Frost)

Any questions, ask a moderator for help but please ensure you're recording your mageblight as accurate as you can when you place your threads for review and when you record on your sheet. Here is the guide to the Mageblight Graph

Great thread, you have also received the following loot.

A Book on Antithesis and Synthesis
A Grimoire on Beginner Crafting
A Book on Advanced Divide Studies

Use them well.

This is guest modded by Aurelio. The experience points will be used on Oliver