Completed Rupture

Rhidian

Rhidian

The Bestest Buddy
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Character Biography
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Rhid was probably only a little late, but he had been carrying the cups of tea from the dining hall to where Alistair Krixus had written to him to meet. A chill had been lingering over the Academy for days now, and the Initiate thought it would warm themselves or their hands at least. Turning the corner, he edged open the door and spotted his new mentor. "Mornin'!" He called out, shuffling past the door and walking fast, but steadily enough not to spill the tea, which he had every drop still within the cups.

"Got you a tea. Horrible out there lately." He would wait until Alistair was ready to recieve the cup before offering it, not wanting to bump hands with the guy and burn him. "So these are the examination rooms? The one that you mentioned last time?"
 
Alistair sat at a table that was covered in notes and tools that he had brought with him. It was clear that he had prepared for his next meeting with Rhidian.

He heard the door open and assumed it was Rhidian. His eyes flashed as his vision activated to confirm his suspicions, he smiled slightly and motioned towards one of the few open spots on the table.

"Yes, one of the new ones by the looks of it. And thank you for the tea."

The most apparent...attraction in the room was a large metal rack hanging in the center of the room with four metal poles shooting down into the ground in the four cardinal directions.

Rhidian
 
He was able to get a look around the space, his face not giving away his thoughts readily. "New and improved, or simply the same?" Rhid wasn't too familiar with these rooms. He was afraid to ask his friends if they knew or not, and even the Proctors weren't too keen to let him know. Old wounds ran deeply here it seemed.

"Artsy." He nodded to the metal pieces in the centre of the room, putting down the tea on a spot on the table's surface that had not been touched by papers. Rhid leaned lightly against the table, peering down at what Alistair had been working on before he came in. "Well, that is a lot of paper... my eyes already burning my brain." Just like his attention span in classes.

Alistair Krixus
 
"Trust me, you'll know when your eyes actually burn your brain."

Alistair said this without any disdain or ruefulness, but a simple fact. He barely even remembered the moment his eyes were burned out, not even recalling what all the information he was working with. He did remember one thing, the pain.

Quickly changing the subject, "Improved, not sure, a lot of the rooms had different facilities to handle unique cases. I picked this one because of the rack."

Rifling through some of his notes, he found what he was looking for.

"First, how has it been with your magic? Have you been practicing? Has it been more...useful?"

After all, the last time he saw him, the worry had been blowing everyone up.

Rhidian
 
"Ah, right..." Rhidian grimaced, not realising that his mentor's own sight was not like his own.

"Magic's been alright. Been carefully feeding small bits of it into things and seeing what reaction it would get. Won't use a shovel and digging with it again... shit went every where and made the job harder gathering dirt from all over the place..." He took a slow sip of his tea. "Proc has me going through emotional triggers, since I had a moment where I got pissed off and... almost resorted to using my magic." He wasn't the kind to readily jump to violence, but the catastrophic power of his magic had been too alluring to ignore.

"I think I have gotten more acquainted with it, I would say."

Alistair Krixus
 
"Good to hear. The Proctor was right to do that. Being able to control one's emotions is the bare minimum here, that includes for using magic or just a sword."

He thought back to an old friend who had not been very good at such a task, Kalix had only just got out of prison after the death of their friend.

"Have they tasked you with missions outside of Vel Anir, yet?"

Alistair would not be shocked if they hadn't. They would probably want to see Rhidian could use his abilities more consistently before any of that happened. Of course, if the boy was not incompetent with a sword then, even without magic, he would still be useful for field missions.

Rhidian
 
  • Thoughtful
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Rhid shrugged. "I got slated for a mission to Vel Cirak in a few weeks. Prison transport... easy stuff. And anything else has been to Vel Anir and back to the Academy. Oh, been to the Falwood to pick up things for the Proctor and the infirmary but... that seemed more a chore than legitimate mission." Honestly, he was glad for the time away from classes. It was never really his thing.

"Clearly my progress now is not enough to prepare me for the real missions." This he could accept, but Rhidian also could not help the frustration.

Alistair Krixus
 
"Give it time. First, we get you comfortable with using your magic. Remember, for some of the initiates here were raised on this training for years. It took them a long time before they were given real missions. Besides, the real step comes when we integrate your magic into your fighting. That is what makes a Dreadlord."

By now, Alistair had taken one of the cups in his hand and took a small sip, smiling lightly at the taste. Before turning his attention to a big metal slab in near the end of the room.

"As a little warm-up, I want you to hit the slab. Don't transfer energy into the slab, but practice time your magic in correlation to your hits. Should provide a nice pop. Remember, just a warm-up. That slab should be able to take several of your hits."

Rhidian
 
Rhidian took another long drink of his tea before setting it down on the table, somewhere away from the papers. "Right." He pushed himself to his feet and wandered down to the slab he mentioned. Rhid knocked on it first, testing the normal sound of collision. The next impact was a controlled punch, not enough to really hurt his hand.

Then he took up a basic stance, left foot in front to help control his swings. Rhidian threw a couple of practice punches that didn't land straight away, not until the next throw. His magic gathered at his chest, like it always had, and a ripple went went down his arm, traveling to his fist as it came in contact with the slab. Sound echoed and bounced, a metallic pop! ringing in his ears. He grinned and kept the momentum for another few hits before dropping his arms and stepping out of his stance.

"Shit. I need to cover my ears next time." He laughed, shaking his head as if that would fix the pressure in them.

Alistair Krixus
 
"Better to get used to it, if it is a common product of your magic." Alistair offered dismissively, although he was watching with rapt attention.

"However, if it persists as a problem then maybe your magic is better suited for archery." He glanced towards a basket of rocks that he had brought in with him.

A part of Alistair had hoped Rhidian's magic would be more compatible with a sword, primarily because Alistair could help train with a sword. As for archery, Alistair was only considered average on the best of days.

He turned back to Rhidian and continued to watch. There was a reason he had him doing this. Alistair wanted him to get more comfortable with suddenly shooting out his magic, not just storing it in objects. The stability of his magic was looking good, now they needed to develop its reaction speed. After all, the battle was often won in the spur of the moment.

Rhidian
 
  • Smug
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Rhidian shot Alistair a look that said archery was not a preferable solution. It wouldn't be a common thing to hit something and have the sound bounce off the walls and irritate his ears, and so he settled for rubbing near the ear canal.

"Archery would only slow me down. Never had the patience to figure that out." Rhid patted his sword at his side, grinning. "The longsword has never failed me."

He wandered back over to the table, downing the last of his warm tea and lingered to speak with Alistair. "So you thinking if my magic can extend to my sword like those punches?"

Alistair Krixus
 
Alistair actually sighed in relief when he was assured that Rhidian seemed to despise the bow just as much as he did. That would make all of this much easier.

He got up from his seat to get a closer look at the metal slab. The amount of indentation in the metal was pretty impressive for just fists, which meant the magic had to be packing a pretty mean punch.

"Yes, adding that to your sword will make it twice as effective. Now we just need to get you used to doing that thought. While you have been practicing, how long have you been able to store energy in a sword?"

Rhidian
 
Rhidian's eyes shot up to the ceiling in thought, guessing an estimate. "I would say a minute or two?" He winced, unsure truly of a definitive answer. "I tested it cutting up some firewood. Small bursts on that, wouldn't want a splinter anywhere on this handsome face." He laughed. "But it was still enough to slice cleanly through the wood."

His dark grey eyes looked over the slab and appreciated the added force to his punches. The magic had taken the brunt of the hits, sparing his bones in his hand.

"Should I continue with the punches?"

Alistair Krixus
 
"No, I just want to get a look at some things."

One or two minutes? That wasn't bad...but they would need to get an accurate number. He turned to look at the hanging rack that sat suspended in the air. He had been pushing off this experiment, but it would provide some necessary answers.

"Rhidian, I need you to get in that rack, then...we are going to really get started."

When he turned back to look at Rhidian, his blind gaze held a hint of the mad scientist that had led him to go blind in the first place. That insatiable curiosity wanted some answers, and he knew how to get them.

Rhidian
 
He turned to look at the rack, the poles that drove down from it. He wandered over and slipped between the bars, turning to look at Alistair for the next set of instructions. He ran a hand through his hair, combing the curls that had only grown longer since he got here to the Academy. "What does this do?"

Eyes flick to each cardinal direction that held a pole, inspecting each one as if they differed greatly from one another. Were they similar to the slab? Able to withstand some of his magic in small bursts? Or perhaps even his sword charged with the frequencies needed to deliver clean slices.

Alistair Krixus
 
Alistair moved over to a wench and began to crank, pulling the rack, the rods, and Rhidian upward. Once further suspended in the air, the rods now hung just mere centimeters above the ground. Then Alistair hurriedly ran over and took a bag of sand and poured it beneath the contraption.

"Each of those rods is a different metal material. Iron, Steel, Bronze, and Tyrian Iron." The last one was a bit of an outlier, but his connections in Tyr had more than proved the high quality of the material.

"I want you to pump the rack full of magical energy. That should cause all the rods to vibrate. Then we get to see if they are all the same, or if your magic interacts differently we different materials. That might tell us if you need to be working with a new sword and armor."

Alistair hesitated saying the next bit as he made his way behind a safety barrier along with his notes.

"This might hurt Rhidian. It's going to be a lot of vibrations all mixing with that rack at the epicenter, so...start when you are ready."

Rhidian
 
  • Scared
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Iron, steel, bronze, and Tyrian Iron... the idea of it all was fascinating and different. Never would he think of the different variables of materials and his magic, but he was glad to have this opportunity to learn with Alistair, who in Rhidian's eyes, was a seasoned magic caster.

He watched the slight raising of the platform he was stood on, understanding what was to come now.

Rhidian valued true honesty, the cold hard truths in the world. He shot Alistair an appreciative grimace. At least he was warned, he was prepared to anticipate pain again. He spread his feet and bent a little at the knees, readying himself as he looked upwards and thought of Kress momentarily.

With a deep breath in, he drew on his magic, and as he exhaled slowly, the magic radiated from himself in pulsing waves. He started gentle, soft, and controlled. Bit by bit, he increased his power, until he could hear the vibrations grow stronger and louder. A minute in he began to feel the pain in his head, ears ringing a high pitched frequency that he was unused to.

Two minutes in, Rhidian was wincing and gritting his teeth. He sucked in air through his teeth, eyes closed as if he could imagine he wasn't in pain, but still he kept on. His magic was constant, steady. There was no sign of him burning out anytime soon, but that was because he practiced the grounding techniques Proctor Urahil taught him. She had said it aided patients that suffered chronic pains that Healers can only dull for a temporary fix, but it was a good way to keep him present. A benefit to help him keep his cool, to not give in to the pain and simply let it happen without taking over.

Alistair Krixus
 
Oh, some people in life were just born with talent, that unique bit of magic or what felt like an endless well of energy. Those like Edric, Kalix, and Ralene came to mind. Alistair wasn't one of them. His magical reserves were laughable compared to some. He probably would not have even made it past his first year if rune magic had not been chosen for him...Such thoughts had always brought with it a hint of jealousy when he was younger. Now, as he was more secure in himself, he just learned to appreciate talent when he saw it. Rhidian was one of those.

The magical output was so much that Alistair could nearly see normal, even without his magic, just from the pure amounts of magical energy in the room. He had to remind himself to focus on the rods and not Rhidian. He was waiting for just that right tone and...there it was. All the rods were not vibrating. He let them ring on for a few more moments before waving his hand.

"Turn it off! We're good."

Alistair wanted to rush over and get a look at the sands but had to wait for Rhidian to stop. While he didn't think it could kill him, he really did not want to be thrown against a wall or something.

Rhidian
 
Turn it off!

Rhidian was almost seething with magic, but he was better at this now. His control allowed himself to fizzled out, the pain and the thrums of pulsating power left his ears ringing. He was deaf to the world momentarily, turning once he had lowered his hands. Dark grey eyes found Alistair, stood behind a barrier that kept him safe.

He stared, breathing heavily as the wind down seemed to cost him the most physically. He was starved for breath, for the stability of lying down, but Rhidian reissted the exhaustion. He was taught to get back up and try again.

"How was that?" He heaved an exhale.

Alistair Krixus
 
"It was..."

Alistair trailed off as he took a closer look at the san beneath each of the rods, being very careful not to disturb any of it. His forehead wrinkled, indicating some thought, before smiling and nodding.

"Yes, that was perfect. We should be able to see what each vibration was now."

Rather than worry about the sand getting messed up as he walked around them, Alistair cast a spell where lights hung over the sand, twisting to copy the patterns that were found in them.

"There is some water if you need it. Sorry that we had to do the most intensive tests first."

Rhidian
 
Rhidian hopped down and had a sluggish gait as he went to fetch some water. He felt as if he had gone through tiresome combat training, not expelling a magical source he used to fear wielding. Sweat ran down his brow, and he wiped it away with his arm. Rhidian shrugged his coat off, sighing at the coolness reaching his bared arms.

"What was the sand for?" He called out, pouring himself a cup from the pitcher and downing in. He poured another helping. "The patterns, they tell you anything?"

Alistair Krixus
 
With another quick spell, a quill floated into the air and began taking notes of the sand. Quickly scratching the patterns onto the page and then waiting for Alistair to say anything of note.

"The sand is loose, so if it is kept close to the vibrating rodes then the vibration waves leave a map on the sand. Then we measure the distance between waves to determine their size. Bigger waves mean a bigger expenditure of energy. We are looking for the material that holds the energy the best, so the one that gives off the smallest waves."

There were other considerations though. If it looked like the material was already deteriorating or had been warped somehow thanks to the magic then it would obviously make a bad sword.

As Alistair took a closer look at the patterns, he could not help but smile lightly at the information. He had expected it, so it wasn't much of a surprise, but Tyrian Iron truly was an incredible metal.

Rhidian
 
Rhidian wandered his way over, careful not to disturb the sand even if it was noted already. "So... in your expertise, what worked best?" He began to circle around, looking at the sand and the rods. He wasn't sure what to look for, but Alistair knew. He was the one conducting these tests, and Rhid was more than happy to play along if it meant learning and understanding this magic.

Hell, it beat blowing up himself and his surroundings like the Academy had hoped he'd stick to.

"What's this stuff called?" He asked, pausing by the Tyrian Iron, which looked the better result from what Alistair explained.

Alistair Krixus
 
Once he was satisfied that the patterns were confirmed, Alistair more confidently walked over and picked up the rod that Rhidian was currently looking at.

"It's called Tyrian Iron and my family is one of the few trading groups that brings this material into Vel Anir. It comes far to the east in Tyr, and I would consider it one of the best metals in the world. Tyr is known for its skilled blacksmiths and their metals."

The metal proved strong enough to contain Rhidian's magic, while flexible enough not to crack or degrade to such a level that it would be useless as a weapon.

"We can do more tests in the future, but at this moment, your best bet would be a weapon made of this."

That way he would not have to spend as much energy instilling his magic into a weapon every few minutes.

Rhidian
 
Rhidian nodded slowly, appreciating the strength and quality of the metal. "Always wanted a sword of my own. Got the hand me down of my father's first. Shit thing. Balance is all off."

"Can I hold it? Get a feel for it?" He was just curious. Obviously it wasn't hot to touch otherwise Alistair would have burned his hand... unless he was resistant to such. "So how do I go about getting Tyrian Iron for a sword? That would require payment, no?"

Alistair Krixus
 
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