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Nov. 6th, 2013 11:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegunicent"You can't just bring that thing in here! There are delicate experiments in progress!"
Zeke looked up from his lab station and gave the speaker, a very bleary look. He'd been in the Purple laboratory for hours already simply because there was never anything happening in it. Purple students congregated in the library, that was why they were Purple. The laboratory was frequently used for storage, or to try and repair some of the older texts.
Decimate looked up from his cozy spot in the corner to yawn, conveniently baring all his razor sharp teeth and causing the young man in the pristine robes to shift nervously.
"He's not bothering anyone. Go away. I'm working." Zeke grunted after a few throat clearings. He was fairly sure he'd worked out the basics of the preservation charm they used, but it was highly flawed for his purposes. It preserved the natural elements of the books, namely the paper, vellum and leather, but it ignored many glues and inks which had to be reapplied or bound by a separate spell entirely. Zeke wanted one simple spell that would stop the decomposition of all parts of the book.
Perhaps he was looking in the wrong place.
"Familiars are not allowed in the laboratories! It's against the rules!"
Preservation was simply a means of halting decomposition. A static field around each book might halt the passage of time in that small field of space... but that would be immensely complicated to key to each book, and making a static field move as the object moved would entail fixing space and time to a point of matter....
"The rules only apply to students." Zeke pointed out distractedly. He could ask some of the Green if they'd thought about fixed space/time points and what the effects had been. It was prohibitive for something as small as a single book but perhaps around an entire library you could mass preserve the texts....
"And who do you think you are if not a student? You're only a Wizard on technicality!"
Decimate slowly stood up and shook himself awake, fur and feathers shooshing and sending up dust from the unswept floor.
They really could use a Clara or two down here.
Couldn't the halting of decomposition also be a Black application? Surely those who raised and used corpses for menial labors had to have some kind of preservation to keep the things from rotting and falling apart as they worked, otherwise what was the overall point? Granted the motion of animation would slow down the effects of larger carrion and insects but you still had mold, bacteria and the environment to consider...
"I'm Zeke. Thank you for your help, I think I have some leads now." He grinned at the young man, idly wondering why he seemed flushed and sweaty. Standing caused a few things in his spine to crackle and pop. "Come on Deci, lets go ask Kavinak and what's his name? Shuld? Skoold? That Green fellow some questions."
Decimate smiled, rumbling lowly in pleasure.
"Do I really have to do this?" Zeke rolled his eyes at the robes Neph held out for him.
"It's tradition, do try to have at least some respect for it, no matter how senseless. Have you bathed?"
"Of course!"
Neph gave him a rather disbelieving look. "Sometime in the last week?"
"Be picky why don't you?" Zeke muttered. He ignored Decimate's snort of amusement and Neph's faintly pained expression.
"Go bathe. Scrub. Wash your hair. Do not come back until you both look and smell human again."
Zeke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. "I thought you were in a hurry for me to get here dress and get on with the whole thing."
"I was. I think the Circles will understand the delay however, when the opening ceremony involves burning those rags you insist on wearing."
"These are my best traveling clothes!"
The look on Neph's face spoke volumes, none of them approving and some quite horrified.
Zeke's skin was the color of well oiled rosewood when he came out of the bathwater. His hair, once properly cleansed and dried, curled in blue-black ringlets around his head. Looking in the crystal clear quicksilver mirror of Neph's parlor, he tried to remember his brother's features. Vence had been lighter, his skin ruddier, like dark baked clay. His face had been rounder, softer, where Zeke's was high cheekbones and sunken eyes. Zeke recalled he'd had softer, courser curls, often braided close to his scull and decorated with cheap wooden beads and bits of colored thread. Mostly Zeke remembered his eyes, the only thing that marked them as true brothers. They shared the same gleaming golden eyes, but where they were strange and startling in Zeke's dark drawn face they were kind, open and warm in Vence's.
Vence who always smiled, voice that ringing tenor that beckoned one to conversation just to hear him speak more. Vence who was the only person overlooked and ignored more than Zeke in their house, and deserved it so much less.
"I miss you." He murmured to the memories in the glass, looking away before his heart tried breaking out of his chest altogether.
Landier had stood before them once in Green robes edged in all the Colors of the Circles, and pronounced himself capable of miracles. Although Zeke was technically a Wizard of the Red thanks to his binding of Decimate, he had never undergone the Trials to be formally acknowledged. Red was the only Circle that could or would take a Wizard without proper Trials.
The robes Zeke wore now were Red only along the shoulders and upper chest. Each Color had a stripe of equal length, following the Spectrum from Dark to Light, stitched together with Pink thread and edged in the Color of Harmony. While following the dictations of tradition, these were robes unlike any other set. Neph was rather proud of them, the simple and controversial statement they made would set every one of the Circles in a tizzy before Zeke even opened his mouth.
Whether Zeke actually passed the Trials or not, that he'd made the attempt in robes declaring each Color equal would go down as one of the boldest and most bizarre events since the founding of the Akademy.
Zeke of course was completely oblivious, which just made the whole situation sweeter.
"Can you please explain to me why I have to do this barefoot? The stones are *cold* and hard and at the very least a pair of slippers would be appreciated." Zeke complained, struggling into the yards of dyed linen.
Neph arched a brow. "What are you doing in those leggings? You can't wear those with the robes, not at all."
Zeke made a sound like an angry goose. "Why not?"
"You're a Wizard Zeke, Wizards wear robes, and those things leave terrible lines in the linen, take them off."
"You want me to freeze into a eunuch just because a bunch of old cronies in the Halls can't get it up anymore?!"
Neph blinked. "Haven't you *ever* worn underwear? Ever? Oh dear."
Zeke tried very hard not to think about the fact he was wearing Neph's under things. Or that his toes were aching, his heels were bruised, and the chill in the central chamber hall had his nipples tight enough to poke through the thin robes he was very sure were some form of perverted punishment. What was wrong with thick wool? Or leather? There was absolutely no reason he should be standing here without at least shoes and a woolen shift, no matter what Neph said.
Decimate wasn't any happier than he was, about the whole affair, since he hadn't been allowed near the young Wizard since his bath. Neph had fussed over his hair and done something with a bit of oil and a leather cord that made the ringlets drape elegantly back from his face over his shoulders, and then powdered his face with ground pigments and little brushes to some effect Zeke was unaware of since he hadn't been given a spare moment to check the mirror since. He hoped he didn't look like a fool, but between the robes and the cosmetics he feared he resembled some cross-dressing lantern street dancer.
A color blind and poor one.
With bad judgement of friends.
And no shoes.
"I'm going to let Decimate do something horrible to your rooms Neph. I'm letting you know now, so that when it happens, you're aware of who, and why, and that you brought it about upon yourself." Zeke muttered, trying not to fidget.
"Oh hush, you look wonderful and once the magic gets going no one's going to care what you look like, as long as you don't blow them up. *Try* not to blow up anyone." Neph grumbled back. He was dressed sensibly in Yellow velvet robes edged in Red, waterfall of ebony captured in gold and ruby combs. He also had slippers, thin silk and leather soled ones, but better than nothing at all.
The Central Chamber Hall was nothing more than a great big open tower domed in glass, with ranks of seating along the walls in tiered rows. Those closest to the ground were the newest students, while those in the Circles sat nearer the ceiling. Undoubtedly the higher seats were safer, but they also required the watchers to use Sight spells or enchanted lenses to see what the initiates were doing. Often said initiates tried to make their effects more impressive in order to counteract this discrepancy which put the students in yet more danger, so intelligent students wore easily washable clothes, and kept ward spells at the ready.
Zeke, arms over his chest and shivering had no desire to entertain anyone, much less a bunch of perverted old men who thought these Trials were somehow indicative of skill or study. Magic was not some spectacle to be shown off for all and sundry, it was a simple tool to achieve certain ends and those ends could often be quicker and more easily accomplished with a little hard work and initiative.
No jobs he'd ever had to do involved so few layers for example.
Zeke looked up from his lab station and gave the speaker, a very bleary look. He'd been in the Purple laboratory for hours already simply because there was never anything happening in it. Purple students congregated in the library, that was why they were Purple. The laboratory was frequently used for storage, or to try and repair some of the older texts.
Decimate looked up from his cozy spot in the corner to yawn, conveniently baring all his razor sharp teeth and causing the young man in the pristine robes to shift nervously.
"He's not bothering anyone. Go away. I'm working." Zeke grunted after a few throat clearings. He was fairly sure he'd worked out the basics of the preservation charm they used, but it was highly flawed for his purposes. It preserved the natural elements of the books, namely the paper, vellum and leather, but it ignored many glues and inks which had to be reapplied or bound by a separate spell entirely. Zeke wanted one simple spell that would stop the decomposition of all parts of the book.
Perhaps he was looking in the wrong place.
"Familiars are not allowed in the laboratories! It's against the rules!"
Preservation was simply a means of halting decomposition. A static field around each book might halt the passage of time in that small field of space... but that would be immensely complicated to key to each book, and making a static field move as the object moved would entail fixing space and time to a point of matter....
"The rules only apply to students." Zeke pointed out distractedly. He could ask some of the Green if they'd thought about fixed space/time points and what the effects had been. It was prohibitive for something as small as a single book but perhaps around an entire library you could mass preserve the texts....
"And who do you think you are if not a student? You're only a Wizard on technicality!"
Decimate slowly stood up and shook himself awake, fur and feathers shooshing and sending up dust from the unswept floor.
They really could use a Clara or two down here.
Couldn't the halting of decomposition also be a Black application? Surely those who raised and used corpses for menial labors had to have some kind of preservation to keep the things from rotting and falling apart as they worked, otherwise what was the overall point? Granted the motion of animation would slow down the effects of larger carrion and insects but you still had mold, bacteria and the environment to consider...
"I'm Zeke. Thank you for your help, I think I have some leads now." He grinned at the young man, idly wondering why he seemed flushed and sweaty. Standing caused a few things in his spine to crackle and pop. "Come on Deci, lets go ask Kavinak and what's his name? Shuld? Skoold? That Green fellow some questions."
Decimate smiled, rumbling lowly in pleasure.
"Do I really have to do this?" Zeke rolled his eyes at the robes Neph held out for him.
"It's tradition, do try to have at least some respect for it, no matter how senseless. Have you bathed?"
"Of course!"
Neph gave him a rather disbelieving look. "Sometime in the last week?"
"Be picky why don't you?" Zeke muttered. He ignored Decimate's snort of amusement and Neph's faintly pained expression.
"Go bathe. Scrub. Wash your hair. Do not come back until you both look and smell human again."
Zeke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. "I thought you were in a hurry for me to get here dress and get on with the whole thing."
"I was. I think the Circles will understand the delay however, when the opening ceremony involves burning those rags you insist on wearing."
"These are my best traveling clothes!"
The look on Neph's face spoke volumes, none of them approving and some quite horrified.
Zeke's skin was the color of well oiled rosewood when he came out of the bathwater. His hair, once properly cleansed and dried, curled in blue-black ringlets around his head. Looking in the crystal clear quicksilver mirror of Neph's parlor, he tried to remember his brother's features. Vence had been lighter, his skin ruddier, like dark baked clay. His face had been rounder, softer, where Zeke's was high cheekbones and sunken eyes. Zeke recalled he'd had softer, courser curls, often braided close to his scull and decorated with cheap wooden beads and bits of colored thread. Mostly Zeke remembered his eyes, the only thing that marked them as true brothers. They shared the same gleaming golden eyes, but where they were strange and startling in Zeke's dark drawn face they were kind, open and warm in Vence's.
Vence who always smiled, voice that ringing tenor that beckoned one to conversation just to hear him speak more. Vence who was the only person overlooked and ignored more than Zeke in their house, and deserved it so much less.
"I miss you." He murmured to the memories in the glass, looking away before his heart tried breaking out of his chest altogether.
Landier had stood before them once in Green robes edged in all the Colors of the Circles, and pronounced himself capable of miracles. Although Zeke was technically a Wizard of the Red thanks to his binding of Decimate, he had never undergone the Trials to be formally acknowledged. Red was the only Circle that could or would take a Wizard without proper Trials.
The robes Zeke wore now were Red only along the shoulders and upper chest. Each Color had a stripe of equal length, following the Spectrum from Dark to Light, stitched together with Pink thread and edged in the Color of Harmony. While following the dictations of tradition, these were robes unlike any other set. Neph was rather proud of them, the simple and controversial statement they made would set every one of the Circles in a tizzy before Zeke even opened his mouth.
Whether Zeke actually passed the Trials or not, that he'd made the attempt in robes declaring each Color equal would go down as one of the boldest and most bizarre events since the founding of the Akademy.
Zeke of course was completely oblivious, which just made the whole situation sweeter.
"Can you please explain to me why I have to do this barefoot? The stones are *cold* and hard and at the very least a pair of slippers would be appreciated." Zeke complained, struggling into the yards of dyed linen.
Neph arched a brow. "What are you doing in those leggings? You can't wear those with the robes, not at all."
Zeke made a sound like an angry goose. "Why not?"
"You're a Wizard Zeke, Wizards wear robes, and those things leave terrible lines in the linen, take them off."
"You want me to freeze into a eunuch just because a bunch of old cronies in the Halls can't get it up anymore?!"
Neph blinked. "Haven't you *ever* worn underwear? Ever? Oh dear."
Zeke tried very hard not to think about the fact he was wearing Neph's under things. Or that his toes were aching, his heels were bruised, and the chill in the central chamber hall had his nipples tight enough to poke through the thin robes he was very sure were some form of perverted punishment. What was wrong with thick wool? Or leather? There was absolutely no reason he should be standing here without at least shoes and a woolen shift, no matter what Neph said.
Decimate wasn't any happier than he was, about the whole affair, since he hadn't been allowed near the young Wizard since his bath. Neph had fussed over his hair and done something with a bit of oil and a leather cord that made the ringlets drape elegantly back from his face over his shoulders, and then powdered his face with ground pigments and little brushes to some effect Zeke was unaware of since he hadn't been given a spare moment to check the mirror since. He hoped he didn't look like a fool, but between the robes and the cosmetics he feared he resembled some cross-dressing lantern street dancer.
A color blind and poor one.
With bad judgement of friends.
And no shoes.
"I'm going to let Decimate do something horrible to your rooms Neph. I'm letting you know now, so that when it happens, you're aware of who, and why, and that you brought it about upon yourself." Zeke muttered, trying not to fidget.
"Oh hush, you look wonderful and once the magic gets going no one's going to care what you look like, as long as you don't blow them up. *Try* not to blow up anyone." Neph grumbled back. He was dressed sensibly in Yellow velvet robes edged in Red, waterfall of ebony captured in gold and ruby combs. He also had slippers, thin silk and leather soled ones, but better than nothing at all.
The Central Chamber Hall was nothing more than a great big open tower domed in glass, with ranks of seating along the walls in tiered rows. Those closest to the ground were the newest students, while those in the Circles sat nearer the ceiling. Undoubtedly the higher seats were safer, but they also required the watchers to use Sight spells or enchanted lenses to see what the initiates were doing. Often said initiates tried to make their effects more impressive in order to counteract this discrepancy which put the students in yet more danger, so intelligent students wore easily washable clothes, and kept ward spells at the ready.
Zeke, arms over his chest and shivering had no desire to entertain anyone, much less a bunch of perverted old men who thought these Trials were somehow indicative of skill or study. Magic was not some spectacle to be shown off for all and sundry, it was a simple tool to achieve certain ends and those ends could often be quicker and more easily accomplished with a little hard work and initiative.
No jobs he'd ever had to do involved so few layers for example.
