Gabriel Chen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
turnsteptwirl) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
zenderael_rl2013-08-31 11:03 pm
turnsteptwirl) wrote in zenderael_rl2013-08-31 11:03 pm
Entry tags:
[Gabe] - Discovery
Who: Gabe
When: Monday, 9/12
Where: The Asha's study
Before/After: N/A
Warnings: Some squick regarding organ useage. Also an undead rat.
This was getting to be absolutely ridiculous, Gabe decided as he slammed the book he was looking at shut and shoved it across his desk. It didn't get very far, only moving an inch or so before colliding into the stack of books just behind it, but he didn't care. He just had to stop looking at all of it. He had been searching through his predecessor's notes for months now at this point, and he was no closer to an answer as to what drove him mad than he had been when he started. All he wanted was an answer, a clue, something that made some small amount of sense, but there was nothing in all the books and notes the Asha before him had left behind.
"Just something!" Gabe said aloud, glancing up at the ceiling towards where he assumed Zenderael's deities resided. "Is that too much to ask? I mean, I've been a good Asha!" He hestiated for a moment, considering his words before adding, "Well, I mean, I think I have and I've been learning! Doesn't count for anything to you guys?"
Apparently it didn't, as no one materialized to tell him otherwise. With a groan, Gabe slumped forward onto his desk, resting his arms on top of the book he had tried to move aside so he could rest his forehead on them. Apparently, he was doomed to never find what he was looking for in this damn place. Maybe he should just give up. After all, maybe the Asha had been too incoherent to even keep notes on any of it. Or maybe...
Maybe Fio knew.
Frowning, Gabe raised his head, twisting a little in his chair to look in the direction where the golem sat still covered by the sheet he had thrown over her. Or, rather, he would have if his eyes hadn't zeroed in on something moving on his desktop not even a few inches away from him. He paused, eyes widening as he watched a pile of papers moving and shifting to finally reveal the head of a strange, almost skeletal-looking rat, nose twitching as it glanced around the room from beneath it's cover of paper. To Gabe's credit, he didn't shriek, although part of him desperately wanted to. It wasn't that he hadn't seen a rat before, of course. Gin was Mal's baby after all, and as much as he was a little skittish around rats (prejudice like that was what happened when you grew up in a city, after all), he liked Gin. Since coming to Zenderael, he had faced far more terrifying things than a rat.
Admittedly, none of those terrifying things he had faced looked like a rat that looked like it's skin was falling off...
Still, Gabe was unwilling to hurt the thing. After all, for all he knew, it was some mage experiment that had gotten lose. Whoever had lost it would probably appreciate it being trapped instead of dead, right? Though he couldn't recall if necromancy was the sort of thing a respectable mage was capable of doing.
Frowning, Gabe raised his hand, calling forth a small gust of wind to blow the rat off of the desktop. This, unfortunately, wasn't the best plan; it hit the rat, all right, but the wind also took with it the piles of papers and books nearby, scattering them and a rather angry rat (judging by the strange and strangled squeaking noises coming from it's general direction, anyway) all across the floor. Gabe shot to his feet, scanning the carnage for the rat, turning his head just in time to catch a broken tail dart behind a bookcase. How it fit back there, Gabe wasn't entirely sure as the bookcase itself was flush against the wall, but he also took it to mean the rat wouldn't be coming back for revenge any time soon.
That, he decided, would be the worst way to go. Death by undead rat.
He shuddered at the thought as he crouched on the floor to pick up the books and papers that had fallen, notes he had sorted through ages ago. Most of them were useless, the rest almost senseless and illegible scribbles. Others still had the image of the Vashista on fire in corners. He really needed to get rid of most of them. The illegible pages were impossible to decipher, after all, and they were only taking up room in his workspace. Shrugging, he set the pile of papers back on top of the desk and crouched to pick up one of the books that had fallen open face-down on the floor. He remembered this one. One of the first books he had sorted through. Mostly illegible and nonsensical notes and still room for more, though gorgeous. He had even considered using it for his own notes. Beatrice would have appreciated it, he was sure, especially since the Asha before him had barely used...
No. Wait.
Gabe frowned, peering at the page the book had been opened to. There was something there, something he couldn't quite make out, but something he could see beyond the words that were written there. It wasn't complete gibberish like he had thought, but... What was it?
His frown deepened and Gabe immediately returned to his desk, shoving papers and books off of the desktop so he could place the book he held in the center. Beatrice wouldn't like the mess, but he could clean it up later. This was important. She would understand. He lit one of the candles still on the table with a brief touch, flipping through the book to make sure. Each page was exactly the same, something just barely glimmering around the notes. Magical ink. It had to be. Beatrice had told him about magical inks before, but he had never actually seen it. They were something special, he thought, meant to be used only if there were secrets to be kept. Why hadn't he seen it before?
Excited now, he held his hands over the book's open pages, closing his eyes, and drawing on his mana reserves in an attempt to call the ink forward and reveal the secrets the pages contained. He had never actually tried this before, just as he had never made a meteor before, but there was a first time for everything. Besides, if he could make a meteor, he could do something as basic as this, right?
"Come on," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. "Come on, please. Let this work. I need this to work."
He waited a minute or two before he stopped channeling, cracking open one eye to see what had happened, if anything. The paper didn't look like it was on fire, at least. Or frozen. That was a plus. In fact, now, he could make out more of the writing. Oh there were still some illegible bits; he suspected nothing was going to change that. But there was even more that he hadn't seen before, entries that now suddenly made all the sense in the world. Beaming, Gabe reached behind him for his chair and tugged it forward, falling back into it as he peered at the page. Mostly enchanting notes, other illegible chunks, nothing really noteworthy, until his eyes fell on the words Brains are difficult. Too messy. Getting all over the lab.
"Wait, what?"
He backed up to the top of the page and read...
Log #56
Organs in enchantment show remarkable similarity to Xumurdad's power. There is nothing holy about a roc, but I've successfully enchanted a dagger with holy properties using its heart. This seems true of all hearts. I've repeated successfully mana regen from lungs multiple times, even from nonmagical monsters. Brains are difficult. Too messy. Getting all over the lab.
Organ enchantments? The Asha before him had been messing with organ enchantments? What? Gabe frowned. Teeth were one thing; plenty of enchantments required teeth or other bits of animals, but organs? Why would he have been researching those?
Further down the page, Gabe found similar notes for the womb (good for nature enchants and effective on spirits, apparently), testicles, and penis (both apparently effective on beasts and gave a boost to accuracy). Useful, of course, but, it didn't answer the crucial question of why the Asha had been looking into any of this in the first place. Or why he thought to use kidneys as substitutes for things (which apparently was a bad idea?). He hesitated a little before folding over the upper corner of the pages in question, marking them for later. He needed to ask Beatrice about them. Maybe she knew.
Log #64
Found former Asha’s notes on the rumored Staff of Kharveryos, "created" by Cygnus Icewarden (I'm positive that was not his real name). Cygnus enchanted the dragon's spine and attached skull with each part of Kharveryos itself. The skin was the last ingredient in Cygnus' listed ritual. Kharveryos reanimated and promptly killed him. Frankly, I'm surprised nothing broke before that point. He must have had talent. Pity he used it to murder dragons and get himself eaten.
Asked the guild about skin enchants. Rarely used. I will have to test them myself.
Gabe frowned. He'd had remember to ask Duncan about that one. He knew more about Zenderael lore than anyone else he knew and he wasn't sure how helpful the library itself would be. The notes of the Ashas that came before him probably were worse than this, mostly illegible and incoherent, save for a few pieces. Just like this.
But then his eyes drifted towards the next legible entry.
Log #67
Used pieces of a scarlet drake throat to enchant a ring. Now it won’t stop whispering. I swear I've heard the voice before.
I gave it away to one of the new mages and told him to report on the effects.
Skin enchantments and drake throat on a ring. A whispering ring. Skin enchantments were rarely used for a reason, he was sure, although he didn't know what that reason could possibly be. Was it because they were dangerous? Or was it because what you messed with drove you closer to your breaking point?
"Oh my God..."
This was it. This had to be it.
Frowning, Gabe's left hand reached for one of the pouches at his waist, fingers fumbling a bit over the toggles before he managed to open it and pull his cell phone out. He needed to talk to Lera. He had to talk to her right now.
When: Monday, 9/12
Where: The Asha's study
Before/After: N/A
Warnings: Some squick regarding organ useage. Also an undead rat.
This was getting to be absolutely ridiculous, Gabe decided as he slammed the book he was looking at shut and shoved it across his desk. It didn't get very far, only moving an inch or so before colliding into the stack of books just behind it, but he didn't care. He just had to stop looking at all of it. He had been searching through his predecessor's notes for months now at this point, and he was no closer to an answer as to what drove him mad than he had been when he started. All he wanted was an answer, a clue, something that made some small amount of sense, but there was nothing in all the books and notes the Asha before him had left behind.
"Just something!" Gabe said aloud, glancing up at the ceiling towards where he assumed Zenderael's deities resided. "Is that too much to ask? I mean, I've been a good Asha!" He hestiated for a moment, considering his words before adding, "Well, I mean, I think I have and I've been learning! Doesn't count for anything to you guys?"
Apparently it didn't, as no one materialized to tell him otherwise. With a groan, Gabe slumped forward onto his desk, resting his arms on top of the book he had tried to move aside so he could rest his forehead on them. Apparently, he was doomed to never find what he was looking for in this damn place. Maybe he should just give up. After all, maybe the Asha had been too incoherent to even keep notes on any of it. Or maybe...
Maybe Fio knew.
Frowning, Gabe raised his head, twisting a little in his chair to look in the direction where the golem sat still covered by the sheet he had thrown over her. Or, rather, he would have if his eyes hadn't zeroed in on something moving on his desktop not even a few inches away from him. He paused, eyes widening as he watched a pile of papers moving and shifting to finally reveal the head of a strange, almost skeletal-looking rat, nose twitching as it glanced around the room from beneath it's cover of paper. To Gabe's credit, he didn't shriek, although part of him desperately wanted to. It wasn't that he hadn't seen a rat before, of course. Gin was Mal's baby after all, and as much as he was a little skittish around rats (prejudice like that was what happened when you grew up in a city, after all), he liked Gin. Since coming to Zenderael, he had faced far more terrifying things than a rat.
Admittedly, none of those terrifying things he had faced looked like a rat that looked like it's skin was falling off...
Still, Gabe was unwilling to hurt the thing. After all, for all he knew, it was some mage experiment that had gotten lose. Whoever had lost it would probably appreciate it being trapped instead of dead, right? Though he couldn't recall if necromancy was the sort of thing a respectable mage was capable of doing.
Frowning, Gabe raised his hand, calling forth a small gust of wind to blow the rat off of the desktop. This, unfortunately, wasn't the best plan; it hit the rat, all right, but the wind also took with it the piles of papers and books nearby, scattering them and a rather angry rat (judging by the strange and strangled squeaking noises coming from it's general direction, anyway) all across the floor. Gabe shot to his feet, scanning the carnage for the rat, turning his head just in time to catch a broken tail dart behind a bookcase. How it fit back there, Gabe wasn't entirely sure as the bookcase itself was flush against the wall, but he also took it to mean the rat wouldn't be coming back for revenge any time soon.
That, he decided, would be the worst way to go. Death by undead rat.
He shuddered at the thought as he crouched on the floor to pick up the books and papers that had fallen, notes he had sorted through ages ago. Most of them were useless, the rest almost senseless and illegible scribbles. Others still had the image of the Vashista on fire in corners. He really needed to get rid of most of them. The illegible pages were impossible to decipher, after all, and they were only taking up room in his workspace. Shrugging, he set the pile of papers back on top of the desk and crouched to pick up one of the books that had fallen open face-down on the floor. He remembered this one. One of the first books he had sorted through. Mostly illegible and nonsensical notes and still room for more, though gorgeous. He had even considered using it for his own notes. Beatrice would have appreciated it, he was sure, especially since the Asha before him had barely used...
No. Wait.
Gabe frowned, peering at the page the book had been opened to. There was something there, something he couldn't quite make out, but something he could see beyond the words that were written there. It wasn't complete gibberish like he had thought, but... What was it?
His frown deepened and Gabe immediately returned to his desk, shoving papers and books off of the desktop so he could place the book he held in the center. Beatrice wouldn't like the mess, but he could clean it up later. This was important. She would understand. He lit one of the candles still on the table with a brief touch, flipping through the book to make sure. Each page was exactly the same, something just barely glimmering around the notes. Magical ink. It had to be. Beatrice had told him about magical inks before, but he had never actually seen it. They were something special, he thought, meant to be used only if there were secrets to be kept. Why hadn't he seen it before?
Excited now, he held his hands over the book's open pages, closing his eyes, and drawing on his mana reserves in an attempt to call the ink forward and reveal the secrets the pages contained. He had never actually tried this before, just as he had never made a meteor before, but there was a first time for everything. Besides, if he could make a meteor, he could do something as basic as this, right?
"Come on," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. "Come on, please. Let this work. I need this to work."
He waited a minute or two before he stopped channeling, cracking open one eye to see what had happened, if anything. The paper didn't look like it was on fire, at least. Or frozen. That was a plus. In fact, now, he could make out more of the writing. Oh there were still some illegible bits; he suspected nothing was going to change that. But there was even more that he hadn't seen before, entries that now suddenly made all the sense in the world. Beaming, Gabe reached behind him for his chair and tugged it forward, falling back into it as he peered at the page. Mostly enchanting notes, other illegible chunks, nothing really noteworthy, until his eyes fell on the words Brains are difficult. Too messy. Getting all over the lab.
"Wait, what?"
He backed up to the top of the page and read...
Log #56
Organs in enchantment show remarkable similarity to Xumurdad's power. There is nothing holy about a roc, but I've successfully enchanted a dagger with holy properties using its heart. This seems true of all hearts. I've repeated successfully mana regen from lungs multiple times, even from nonmagical monsters. Brains are difficult. Too messy. Getting all over the lab.
Organ enchantments? The Asha before him had been messing with organ enchantments? What? Gabe frowned. Teeth were one thing; plenty of enchantments required teeth or other bits of animals, but organs? Why would he have been researching those?
Further down the page, Gabe found similar notes for the womb (good for nature enchants and effective on spirits, apparently), testicles, and penis (both apparently effective on beasts and gave a boost to accuracy). Useful, of course, but, it didn't answer the crucial question of why the Asha had been looking into any of this in the first place. Or why he thought to use kidneys as substitutes for things (which apparently was a bad idea?). He hesitated a little before folding over the upper corner of the pages in question, marking them for later. He needed to ask Beatrice about them. Maybe she knew.
Log #64
Found former Asha’s notes on the rumored Staff of Kharveryos, "created" by Cygnus Icewarden (I'm positive that was not his real name). Cygnus enchanted the dragon's spine and attached skull with each part of Kharveryos itself. The skin was the last ingredient in Cygnus' listed ritual. Kharveryos reanimated and promptly killed him. Frankly, I'm surprised nothing broke before that point. He must have had talent. Pity he used it to murder dragons and get himself eaten.
Asked the guild about skin enchants. Rarely used. I will have to test them myself.
Gabe frowned. He'd had remember to ask Duncan about that one. He knew more about Zenderael lore than anyone else he knew and he wasn't sure how helpful the library itself would be. The notes of the Ashas that came before him probably were worse than this, mostly illegible and incoherent, save for a few pieces. Just like this.
But then his eyes drifted towards the next legible entry.
Log #67
Used pieces of a scarlet drake throat to enchant a ring. Now it won’t stop whispering. I swear I've heard the voice before.
I gave it away to one of the new mages and told him to report on the effects.
Skin enchantments and drake throat on a ring. A whispering ring. Skin enchantments were rarely used for a reason, he was sure, although he didn't know what that reason could possibly be. Was it because they were dangerous? Or was it because what you messed with drove you closer to your breaking point?
"Oh my God..."
This was it. This had to be it.
Frowning, Gabe's left hand reached for one of the pouches at his waist, fingers fumbling a bit over the toggles before he managed to open it and pull his cell phone out. He needed to talk to Lera. He had to talk to her right now.