Lore of Leyuna RPG (FRPG)

[The Kingpin]

The Knight nodded, a subtle, thoughtful crease in his brow illustrating his distraction with what he'd been told. "Presumably the damage isn't such a risk for more recent memories, say, what one had for dinner yesterday, as opposed to who they killed three years ago, yes? As one would have to dig deeper for the latter?" he inquired.

[Hopeflower]

"Circumstances depending," Viho replied. "A mind is chaotic. A scent or phrase might bring to mind a vivid memory from many years ago, as clearly as if it happened recently. And a man with some knowledge of psychomancers might try his hardest to bury new information deeply." He glanced away, rolling his neck to crack a few stiff vertebrae. "Arsenic, for example, hides everything under memories of his mother. It would be more harmful to him were I to try and get information on a recent assassination than if I were trying to find out how she looked."


Firel's expression twisted with something like horror the second he realized what she did, and with barely more than a, "Sure, see you later," he all but fled. He had the presence of mind to dry his face before the cold air hit him, and he firmly filed this under things that he was Not Talking About, Ever.

If his brother could see him, he'd be laughing his *** off. When the hell did Firel's life get so strange?

[C S]

"Poor weirdo," Dahnae stated before pulling her legs up and shifting over to the middle of the bed. She laid her head on her pillow, and retrieved her towel. After wriggling about to get comfortable again, she put the towel over her eyes and sighed.

[The Kingpin]

"That does explain a lot," responded the Knight thoughtfully. He knew Arsenic buried his true feelings deeply; it was something he, Rowan and Vix struggled with regularly, trying to lift his spirits and steer him away from the path down which he often strayed. He did not, however, know just what was causing him to go down that path in the first place. But knowing that it was the loss of his mother that he kept reminding himself of was worrisome. It was a wound he kept tearing back open, allowing it to fester.

[Hopeflower]

Viho regarded Andruil quietly for a long moment. "He was still a child when he watched her die. That isn't something one gets over easily." He shook his head. "It's the good memories that he uses as a shield. If you want more information, talk to him."

[The Kingpin]

"Easier said than done," echoed the Knight at the last suggestion. Indeed, Arsenic, comfortable as he might have been with Andruil, still kept quite a few things close to the chest, and trying to learn more about him was a slow and painstaking process.

[Hopeflower]

That got Andruil a narrow-eyed look. "Ask the right questions and you will get answers." Arsenic had, after all, spoken with Viho about this very subject.

[The Kingpin]

The Knight shrugged at that. "Perhaps." Perhaps Viho was right. Perhaps Andruil simply hadn't asked the right questions, given the right cues. But then, with Arsenic's mood being what it was, sometimes the opportunity had to be ignored simply because he didn't want to risk unearthing the bad memories with the good ones.

[Hopeflower]

Viho left Andruil to consider that and turned his attention to the door when Firel entered a short while later. "Rough morning, Firel? You look a little frazzled."

"I'd like to see how you look after being out in the cold for as long as I was," the dark-skinned elf retorted, cracking his knuckles loudly.

The psychomancy instructor offered the slightest smile and asked, "Dahnae is feeling better, I take it?"

"That, or she's just being stubborn about the healing process. I mean, I hate being kept in bed too, but I don't think she should be walking yet." Firel set his bag on the bench behind his desk and huffed a sigh. He was in the middle of flexing some warmth back into his fingers when he caught sight of Andruil. "And you're the latest unfortunate soul Viho's roped into the class?" he asked.

[The Kingpin]

"You could say that," responded Andruil, amused by this latest arrival and his frazzled state."Well, assuming today goes well and I find myself here for an extended enough period of time to get a proper education on the matter, at least," he added as he leaned back in the chair, his jacket wrapped tightly around him, keeping out the chill radiating from the unusually vast window of the classroom.

[Hopeflower]

"So you have no idea what you're in for," Firel concluded.

Viho cleared his throat pointedly. "You didn't know what you were in for, either," he reminded his student.

Firel shrugged, and the motion turned into a stretch when his upper back twinged. Something in his shoulder popped. "Fair point."

[The Kingpin]

A small, knowing smile curled across his features at that, the Knight seemingly biting back the urge to say something in particular when he saw Viho respond on his behalf. A moment later, and he had settled on a less snarky response, stating, "No one is ever aware of what they're in for under a new instructor. I wasn't prepared for my Silver Knight and Black Hand training, either. If nothing else, I'm sure it should prove an amusing sight for the rest of our classmates, yes?"

[Hopeflower]

"I'm not that sort of teacher," Viho informed Andruil, getting to his feet when the other students started to trickle in after Firel. "You'll show me what Arsenic has taught you, and I'll build from there. Any bad habits you've formed in regards to practicing will be broken by the end of the day, and you will develop better ones." He spoke and stood with such confidence that it was hard not to share in it - hard not to believe that this was a man who knew exactly what he was doing and how to get the best out of his students. "You can start with showing me how you meditate."

Firel, recognizing that he should probably get started on that, too, settled as comfortably as he could - back straight but not stiff, as Viho had coached more than a dozen times - and set to concentrating on his breathing.

[The Kingpin]

Andruil's expression straightened, shifting from the joking, snarky, talkative Knight to what he had been drilled into becoming in his younger years: a surprisingly obedient pupil. With little more than an affirmative nod, he shifted in his seat, clasped his hands together as he took the first deep breath, and closed his eyes. With his vision no longer distracting him, he began to reign in control of his other senses, all to the slow, even cycle of his breathing. In. Hold. Out. As he had been taught. It was not unlike the meditation he did before his Klaeddhur practice every morning; something he had skipped today for the sake of the lesson. In a sense, it was just perpetuating his routine, and adapting it to something else. It made it that much easier to let go, to fall into a rhythm.

[Hopeflower]

"Chin up," Viho instructed after a moment of study. "Relax your spine, loosen your shoulders." He took a few measured steps around the room, similarly correcting posture in a few of the other newer students with just a touch on their shoulders. "Psychomancy is little different from shapeshifting," he continued, tone even - almost soothing, given the quality of his voice. "It's mind over matter. But the goal of psychomancy isn't restraint or a test of willpower - it is control. One could, with total control over their abilities, convince anyone to do or give up anything." He paused, glancing around the room. "Of course, that would take many, many years to perfect. More time than most have."

[The Kingpin]

The Knight did as he was instructed, his head straightening accordingly, his shoulders and back following suit. Gradually, his breathing and Viho's voice were all he could hear, even managing, despite some effort, to cease his focus on his sense of smell, the various scents of those in the room fading into an indiscernible blur as he closed himself off from anything that would distract him. From there, control was simple.

[Hopeflower]

In this state, it was much easier to pick out the minds and magic of the other students. By far the most noticable thing in the room was Viho's presence; bright and effortlessly calm and patient, even in the presence of the one who had crippled him. With most distractions blocked out, it was easy to tell the psychomancer's pacing around the room was deliberate. His steps were another careful and quiet metronome for newer students to latch onto if nothing else worked for them.

"Now reach," came the instruction. "Sense without touching anyone else's mind."

Up to this point, Firel had finally gotten down. What had once drained him to the point of physical exhaustion now came easily, as naturally as the pacing of his breathing. And with progress came the easing of some of his frustration with himself. He could do this - he just needed to remember that it would take time. Time that he might not have.

His concentration wavered as memories threatened to overtake him. His mother staring at her own dirty hands, having forgotten that she'd been gardening just a short while beforehand. His mother struggling to recall his father's name. His mother giving Firel that blank look -

Viho's fingers touched Firel's shoulder and he realized he was growing tense. The younger elf sucked in a deep breath and tried to relax again. Given time, he might be able to help her. But first he needed to learn, to understand. He needed to know how to fix her failing mind.

[The Kingpin]

Andruil's range left much to be desired in the grander scheme of things. He reached out, as Viho had instructed, but actively had to resist the pull of the other minds around him, each acting like a magnet that his own tried to latch onto as a stabilising point. He resisted it, even in spite of the growing aura of...stress? Anger? Fear? He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew it was not Viho's. Another student. The one that had spoken to him earlier, if its position was anything to go by. The building negativity dispersed shortly after Viho reached him, however, and things seemed to go back to normal.

Andruil noted, a bit disappointedly, that his range seemed to not quite reach the far wall of the classroom. He could sense everyone in the room, and indeed, even the aura of Shiryaz, who he realised was perched on the windowsill, looking in at the Knight and his classmates. But that was his limit. He supposed that was to be expected. He'd only been doing this for a few months after all, and it showed in the strain he felt to keep this up.

[Hopeflower]

"Hold it there." Viho's voice came from the front of his classroom now, where he was keeping a watchful eye on Firel. "Like your muscles, magic must be trained. Strengthened. In time, you can hone it into a shield or a weapon, often both. But first comes practice." He took a few more steps, letting the pause lengthen until he said, "Release. Then repeat. Get used to how it feels to extend your mind and how it feels to sense the world around you."

[The Kingpin]

Andruil did as instructed, letting his reach shrink back to nothing. It was as though he had just stopped holding his breath, complete with the momentary ache as he recovered. But he didn't linger after that. Taking what Viho had said to heart, he pushed again, reaching out once more. It may only have been an analogy, but it was an apt one. And like any muscle group, he would take his psychomancy as far as he possibly could.