Sejv walked very slowly down the middle, placing each step as he went over the icy floor that was smooth yet seemed to be stable. He glanced back at Jad and shrugged as he continued to walk, his eyes were fixed on the chalice. Sejv was very god fearing at times but he was more money and fame craving and in his world that chalice was worth quieter a bit. "Oh I think its mostly left alone now, they said something about it being sacred ground" He was in his own little money orientated trace that consumed his mind. He was already planning on where to sell it, how much for, if it needed any spin work. He had everything planned out but he couldnÂ’t help marvel at its beauty. Even the altar made of the clearest ice he had ever seen was beautiful. He was in his own personal artefact paradise that corrupted al logical thought in his mind. He was going to have a look at those tunnels later as well, his treasure hunting mind was running around madly thinking of new things he could find. He grinned as he approached the altar.
<p align=justify>Jad could tell that the older 'dragon shared none of his childish fears and that his mind was focused on something else, though what that was he could not fathom. The way Sejv looked at the silver chalice that glinted tantalisingly from its spot on the crystal altar made him increasingly nervous. Somehow, it all seemed too easy. Like a trap. Surely no one in their right mind would leave such a precious artefact unguarded? Subconsciously quickening his pace, Jadul had soon caught up with Sejv and was walking in great strides by his side. "Do you think some protection charms might have been casted on some of the artefacts in the Temple?" he asked rather quickly, not really knowing what he was saying nor why he was saying it.
Sejd stopped in mid stride, his one leg halting before it had even touched the ground, he hated traps and especially magic ones. He felt almost embarrassed that a child had pointed this out to him, his tail flame shrunk down as if trying to cower in shame like his mind was. He looked down at Jad slightly puzzled at how his greed and fame lust had made him so dumb. "IÂ’m sorry I wasnÂ’t thinking back then, your right their are usually some protection, even little tribes usually have a very skilled shaman at least." He said with a slight twinge of embarrassment, yet he was very aware how out of character he was acting. He looked around through his magical vision, he quite clearly saw the mass auras odd colours now, such a fool he had been. Yet his gaze was not drawn to the chalice which only had a mild aura but to the altar. It may have been clear yet its aura was a whirlwind of colour that constantly shifted and moved, it had more power than he could fathom. It was like the chalice was their to distract and the real prize was below it. He frowned deeply now, he began to realise their was more to this place than met the eye. "Oh this could be interesting..." he sarcastically muttered as he explained the situation to Jad.
<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>I'm so sorry! I'll try to be more active!</td></tr></table> Jad nodded intently, trying his best to understand what was being explained to him. Magic had never been his forte, and though he would rather die than admit it he still had trouble understanding the very basics. Jad wasn't dumb, and his teachers back at the Academy were certain that he could have done much better in his Magic classes had he only tried a little harder. But he was stubborn and proud, and these two traits combined meant that if he didn't 'get' the principles of something straight away it wasn't worth his time. So Sejv's talk of 'auras' and powerful magical artefacts left him dumbfounded. If anything, Jadul was a little scared. He didn't like magic. He liked facts. He could rely on facts. But magic, magic was unpredictable. "What do you think is projecting this... Aura... Thing? And how do you plan on getting rid of the protection charms?"
<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>nah dont worry, we all have other stuff, nice to see you back</td></tr></table> Sejv smiled at the young dragon, he could see the mind of the dragon could barely comprehend magic and the idea was beyond him. He smiled with a feeling of nostalgia, his own mind filling with the thoughts of his own school times. A time when his mind was first exposed to the world of magic and his training had began. He sighed and tried to explain best he could. "The aura is magic, its like a signature of all thinga magic and every one is different. This one is very, very powerful, that means the object either has massive religious importance or its incurably magical. Either one is good for us yet the protective wards are dangerous, they are layers of magic that do us harm in very specify ways. We have to peel the bad layers away." He said in a calm and simple tone, he was trying to explain it in a way he could understand. He looked at the alter with a stern gaze, examining the different shades of auras and looking for anything sinister. Their was a third reason to the mass of auras. They could just be layers upon layers of protective magic that was dangerous beyond measure. “Hmmmness"
"Incurably magical..." Jad whispered softly. The words sent a shiver down his spine, and yet Sejv's explanation comforted him enough for his innate curiosity to overpower his fear. All this talk of artefacts and magic and curses... It was frightening, yes, but somewhat exhilarating as well. "Sir, may I help you?" he chirped excitedly before realising how childish he must seem to the adult before him. "I don't know much about magic, but surely you could instruct me? As long as I only have to perform basic tasks I'm sure the peeling process will go much more swiftly, and overall it'll be advantageous to you... Am I right?"
Sejv smiled broadly at Jad, he could see the thrill and adventure of his work was now overriding the fear and danger. He too remembered when he first felt the adrenaline rush of obtaining his first treasure, the giddy excitement of achieving something and holding something that hadnÂ’t be touched by Pendragon kind for thousands of years. He wasnÂ’t surprised when he asked to help, he would have said exactly the same thing at his age yet actually doing something useful was a different matter. "Well yes of course you can help, it would be better if you could do magic but we make do." He said as his hands reached into the infinite space of his robe pockets and pulled out a small leather pouch that was worn and paled with age, he held his hand out with the pouch in it, offering it to the boy. "Can you sprinkle some of this around the area of the altar, not getting to close just throwing the stuff at it, it should show the magical auras to even you, and it makes them less dangerous too." He said with satisfaction of giving the boy a task of something actually useful. The powder was a sort of magical reactant that not only resonated with colour when in contact with the auras but also acted as a healing agent, it stopped anything from killing you outright and saved you from some nasty magicÂ’s. He put the pouch into JadÂ’s hand as he began to chant some strange words in a distant yet deep voice, a stark contrast from his more innocent childishly voice. "Em sha raddemd shaej fut u fyjp ump sha fyjp........." his voice echoing in the cavern while the flows of magic answered his call.
Jad took the pouch carefully, silently appraising its worn appearance. In a glance he could tell that the leather was ancient. It was too smoothe to have been tanned with the usual chemicals that were used these days. He wondered where Sejv had found it, but dared not ask. The powder felt soft in his paw as he measured out what he thought to be a reasonable quantity. About six grams. He then walked up to the altar and stopped at about seven pawfalls from the altar. That should be right. Not too close. Suppressing an excited shiver, the youth cautiously sprinkled a bit of the reactant onto the altar. A muffled yelp of surprise escaped his lips as a sudden burst of colourful flame suddenly surged from where the powder had fallen. At first he thought he had done something wrong. Perhaps his actions had tirggered a trap, perhaps he had been to close, perhaps... But then the flame of colour subsided, disappearing almost as quickly as it had come. His paws still felt a little tingly warm where the flames had touched him. The sensation was rather odd but not altogether unpleasant. He was more confident the next time he sprinkled the powder, and this time he measure out more generous quantities. The fire spread around the altar. He added more powder to the parts where the flames were weaker, and marvelled as they sizzled and crackled colourfully. "It's like pouring oil onto fire", he mused. When he was done, the altar was like surrounded by a giant kaleidoscope. The outer rim consisted of a giant purple and pink ring of fire. And within this were other rings, green and gold, blue and silver, orange and black and in the very center white... The innermost layer was the tallest and brightest of all. "How do we go about now?" asked Jadul in frightened tones.
Ah his chanting continued it began to crescendo, the sound waves mingling with the magic power of the words. They echoed off the walls and rebounded all to one point, each word falling on the flames of the alter. He drew back his hands and then surged them forward again, his fingers arched as they drew on arcane powers of Fromonia to him. A wave of blue energy washed forwards like a flood, it splashed into the altar going staring past Jad and mixing with the now visible auras. Their was an explosion of light the filled the hall in and instant before disappearing almost as fast. Sejv blinked as his eyes tried to re focus in the ever adjusting light that he had caused. His fur was still tingling from the magical residue the subsided around in the air while his vision returned. He looked at the altar again with its auras and examined it. It was now just a white flame at the very center with a ring of dark purple around it, the purple mass danced around the edges looking very sinister. "Well that worked" he said with a smile on his face “Now we are down to the most stubborn layers and the most dangerous, the white one is the one we want." He said as he planned his next move, he wanted that alter and didn’t have any intentions of leaving without it yet he wasn’t entirely sure of how to go about it. Instead he looked at Jad to see how he was holding up and if he wasn’t too freaked out. He had been through a lot.
Jad trembled a little as a sense of trepidation and relief washed over him. Then there was an explosion of light and he nearly jumped out of his skin. But somehow he had been expecting it. Everything Jadul had witnessed in the last hour had been so surreal that he would find any non-magical event void of colourful combustions and smoke somewhat disappointing. This didn't mean that he liked magic... He still feared it a little, still didn't understand it. But he had now come to terms with the fact that there was no ignoring its existence. "For how long have you been performing magic?" asked the youth reverently.
Sejv looked happily at the young arden, he was coping well with the new situation. Since Jad seemed capable of asking questions Sejv took the opportunity to rest his powers, asking questions seemed far easier than bringing down magical defences. After taking a seat on one of the ice rows he looked back at the boy. "Since i was about your age actually, I didnÂ’t want to follow in my fathers footsteps but he liked the idea of having a mage sons so things worked out ok." He said with a solemn smile. He sometimes wished he had taken a different path, sometimes a white lie was easier than the truth, the truth could be brutal and fierce. Sometimes the truth hurt more than a lie. He breathed in deeply and dispersed his memorise, he had achieved more than some ever would, he knew he should take gratitude in that. He smiled again.
Sejv's reply had more effect on Jad than he could ever know. How could it be that the 'dragon standing before him, that this powerful mage... How could it be that he had only begun his training in magic when he was Jad's age? Jad had always entertained the perhaps foolish idea that he would never be good at magic because unlike most parents, his had never taught him the basics of magic as a child. Instead, he had been instructed in the history and mores of his race. And so when at Janardan, during his first elemental sorcery lesson, he had discovered that all his classmates knew more about the subject than he did, Jad had despaired. He had felt wronged in a way and refused to have to work harder than the others. Because of this misplaced hubris, Jad learned to fear magic and never caught up with the others. But perhaps it wasn't too late. Perhaps if he started learning now he would be able to one day surpass them all. "Would you mind explaining to me how exactly your chanting neutralised the protection charms?"
Sejv looked curiously at the boy who seemed lost in his own deep trails of thought, Sejv couldnÂ’t begin to even fathom what was going on in Jad's mind so instead he just watched and waited. He was nearly blown over by the sheer advanced level of the next question, he was some what impressed as well that the boy was such a deep thinker. Trying to be careful of his wording. " Well Magic is a force as you probably know, it also has laws to help us understand it. One of them is that magic is either positive or negative, and a spell will not council out until another force is applied to it. Those barriers were negative since they were designed to hurt people and I just produced an exactly equal positive force to Neutralise them. It comes with practice." He said rather triumphantly towards the end. Sejv was very pleased with his explanation, he had always though that he could be a teacher yet he never really had the kindness or patients to control a class. He did however think he would be a great private tutor. These experiences with the boy just confirmed his ideas.
Jad nodded enthusiastically as he listened. Somehow Sejv's explanation had succeeded in making magic seem a little less chaotic. Forces and laws... Negatives and Positives... It sounded almost like physics. He could understand that, surely. Jadul didn't fool himself into thinking that learning how to perform magic would be easy but it was definitely possible. And his ego told him that if he tried hard enough then nothing could stop him. "So what do we do next?" he demanded, casting a glance back upon the altar.
Sejv smiled at the expressions on Jad's face, it was amusing to watch him lean a new concept in his mind. he kept looking really strange at nothing, his features contorting around his face. Yet Sejv just smiled as they got ready to take ther altar as theirs. He reached into a his robes and pulled out a wand, it was long and thing with sliver engravings. It was solid gold for the rest of it and it seemed to have a very slight point to it. "<span style='color:yellow'>Well very simply we have to just zap it with this.</span>" He said lofting the wand around."<span style='color:yellow'>Would you like to do the honours, all ya do is point and say Gastra Expladindro with a bit of gusto.</span>" He with a big smile. He was curious whether he would have the courage to actually do it. It was quite a rush when the wand fired off, with the magical back flow rising through your veins like liquid fire. It was one hell of a ride.
Jad's eyes filled with interest a they silently appraised the wand, and then apprehension as his brain registered the meaning of what he was being asked. He was scared, but he wasn't stupid. A chance like this one might never present itself again. Besides, he trusted Sejv and knew that if something went wrong he could rely on the older 'dragon to set them right. His grin was as broad as his nod was vigorous. "I'll give it a try." The wand felt strange in his paw. It sent slight shivers through his arm. He wondered if that was the effect of the magic emmanating from the artefact or the product of his own fear. "Gastra Expladindro" he whispered once, trying the foreign words on his tongue. Then, feeling a wave of terpidation coming over him, Jadul grasped the wand firmly in his paw and, wielding it in what he hoped was the correct way, he bellowed the incantation forcefully. Directly the words had escaped his mouth, Jad felt the apprehension. Had it worked? Had he enunciated the words correctly? He was so nervous he dared not open his eyes. But when he did a few moment's later, reality hit him like a ton of bricks. Nothing had happened. He turned to face Sevj for advice.
Sejv tried not to feel bad, the expression in the boys face had really crushed his spirits. He could see so clearly that the boy was interested in magic yet he didnÂ’t seem to have any natural talent with it. It was hard o explain to him that you didnÂ’t need natural talent you could just work at it but it was easier said than done. "Ah donÂ’t worry lad, your too hard on your self. Let me guide you through it." He said in a very sympathetic tone, he wanted him to do this bit at least. The boy needed some successes. He walked up with the boy and turned him to face the alter, he gently guided his arm along to help him hold it in the right position. Little things help the successes of a spell. " Now guide the your eye down the length of the wand, a bit like a gun. Then when you have it lined up empty you lungs into the words. Say it like you want the world to explode in angry. Magic often works best if you put feeling behind it, the raw power of emotions is a great conductor for magic." He said assumingly. "But most of all donÂ’t give up, work at it" He said as he moved back top give him some room to work. He so badly wanted him to pull this off, he wanted to prove to himself that he could teach as well. One of his goals in life.
Jad would have liked nothing better than for the icy floor to suddenly open beneath him and swallow him out of existence. He felt vulnerable, as though he had voluntarily exposed his weakness to the world. How could he have been so stupid? But the feeling of humiliation did not last. One second, his shame was burning his dark cheeks crimson, and the next he had regained composure. The self-bashing anger that built within him was now directed to another target. He ressented Sejv for having introduced him to magic. He ressented him for being so good at it. And more than anything, he ressented him for having witnessed his weakness. Jad had never been a good sport, and today would be no exception. He barely listened to the older 'dragon's directions, which, had he been a good-natured 'dragon would surely have helped the youth. "What's the point?" he asked pointedly. "What is the point," he reiterated louder, "when you know that what comes naturally to others must be painstakingly fought for by you. What is the point of trying, when the odds are so against you? It isn't fair, and I will not suffer the laughter of the Gods. I was never cut out for the likes of magic, and to anyone watching my pitiful attempts are nothing more than a joke. What could I hope to achieve anyway?"
Sejv looked at the boy with a very puzzled and quizzical look, he had no idea Jad held so much anger in him. yet he was more surprised that he was the sudden target of it all, he was only trying to help and Jad had only messed it up once. Tilting his head to the side he looked at him with a penetrating stare while he gathered his thoughts, the whole time jed emptying his lungs at Sejv. "Yeah your right, every who fails once should give up because the gods laugh at them, and all the people who are legends got their in one great go." He said with sincerity, yet it was very obviously sarcastic. Sejv took a step forward and clipped him around the ear with his hand. "What the hell is wrong with you, stop complaining about nothing and actually work at it. None of this comes easily to anyone, especially one starting late as you but if you put half as much of that anger into your work you would be their in no time. Stop giving up so easily and running and hiding away, your old enough to make your own life now." he said with a disappointment in his voice that was coupled with mild anger. He was so confused why Jad was complaining about how he got no where in life when he was so eager to run away from any kind of responsibility or work. Sejv just stared at Jad, waiting to see if he would have any sense at all.
If his failed first attempt at magic had crushed him, this was worse. Impossibly worse. Jad knew that his anger had been misplaced and that his comments had been totally out of line. But he had been so caught up in his own feelings and pride that nothing else had mattered... Sejv's clipping his ear had been a wake-up call. Worse than the blow though, was the nearly tangible disappointement he hear in the older 'dragon's reprimand. Jad never wanted to have to hear it again. "I'm sorry", he said softly, almost scared of uttering the words. "I'd like to try again, if that's alright with you."
