|
Post by Noa on Aug 23, 2020 13:22:12 GMT -6
When the time came and Aster finally asked him to make an illusion with his eyes open rather than envisioning them with his eyes closed, it wasn’t even that difficult a transition. He had done it before, with making flowers bloom, so he had an idea now of how to make the shift; and by this point he really had become quite practiced with the illusions themselves.
The only real stumbling block was how easy it was for him to marvel over his own creations at first, and lose concentration that way. But once the initial excitement was over and he buckled down to work, it only took him a few tries to get the hang of it.
“Looks like you’ve got it,” Aster said, nodding approvingly.
This sort of thing did have practical, combat applications - mostly in obfuscation and confusing the enemy - but they could talk about that at a later point.
14
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 23, 2020 13:24:48 GMT -6
Aster, who was used to thinking pretty much only about the combat applications of things, wouldn't have thought about entering a magic show in the first place. But in that sense, he felt that spending time with Rhys, who didn't worry about that sort of thing, was probably a good thing.
{What should we do next?} said Rhys, apparently not at all tired despite the work that he had put in already.
Aster laughed. "Well, for now, we take a break. After that... I don't know, maybe some of that telekinesis you got from the injection?"
{Oh, that'll be fun, won't it? I'll be able to move things around whenever I want now, without even touching them!} Rhys's eyes were bright, and Aster wondered if he was going to come home one of these days to find all his furniture had been rearranged. It probably wouldn't come to that... right?
15
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:38:36 GMT -6
Life went on, as did preparations for the magic show. The next thing on their list of things to learn was how best to make use of Rhys’s telekinesis.
It wasn’t something Rhys had ever done, but it was something that Aster knew he could do by virtue of the injection that the Felusine had taken. He could put things to sleep, after all, which was proof enough that the abilities were there; and Aster had never known an injection not to take properly.
But at least in this, Aster had some experience with the teaching of it, even if he had no experience with using the ability himself. His magic didn’t encompass anything of the sort, but he had worked with Summer to refine her ability with it before.
“It’s all about exerting your will over the world around you, if that makes sense,” Aster said.
1
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:38:50 GMT -6
He rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling horrifically pretentious as he spoke the words out loud. But it was true; moving an object with your mind was about believing you could do it, and then willing it to happen. It took particular effort at first because the first part was a bit lacking, so you had to make up for it with the second. “It’ll feel like you have to put a lot of thought into it at first, but once you get used to it, it gets easier,” he explained.
{Should we start with something light? Does that make it easier?} Rhys said.
Rhys seemed bright eyed and eager to begin the work, and was already asking questions. Aster thought back to his experiences with Summer, and nodded. “Lighter is easier. To be honest, there’s a certain limit to your mental strength with this sort of thing, the same as with your body."
2
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:39:58 GMT -6
Aster was conscious as he spoke that Rhys might not like having that pointed out to him. They'd had arguments about Aster coddling him too much, after all. Still, he felt like it was an important warning to give. "Some things will be too heavy for you to budge.”
Fortunately, Rhys didn't seem to take it too badly this time around. {Right. That’s what these are for, isn’t it?} Rhys said, looking at the things that Aster had assembled. They were a series of different balls, most of which were used in training. There were very small, very light ones, which were useful in training creatures to dodge without hitting them with anything that might actually hurt them. On the flip side, there were bigger, heavy duty balls for use as playthings for larger creatures who stood a good chance of crushing or breaking anything lighter than that.
3
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:40:12 GMT -6
“You bet,” Aster said. “Start with the one at the end here.” He had placed them in order of lightest to heaviest, and the one that Aster indicated now was a ping pong ball. It was light enough that even a bit of wind might stir it, so… to be honest, it might be a bit ambiguous at first whether it was Rhys moving it or not. But he said, “See if you can lift it into the air using your telekinesis.”
Rhys knew the drill by now, so Aster didn’t have to walk him through all the steps necessarily. They’d been working on this sort of ‘magic’ skill for a while now, so Rhys simply closed his eyes, and visualized what he wanted to happen.
Aster also knew better than to expect results as soon as Rhys bent his will to it, and waited. But to his surprise, this time it happened pretty quickly.
4
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:40:28 GMT -6
The ping pong ball wobbled one way, and then another, then slowly, unsteadily, lifted itself into the air. “Not bad,” Aster said, genuinely impressed.
{I guess that means I did it, didn’t I?} Rhys opened his eyes, and the ping pong ball fell back into Aster’s hand.
“Sure did. But practice makes perfect, so… Try it again. Telekinesis.” Aster held out the same ping pong ball, and this time of his own volition, Rhys concentrated on it with his eyes open. There was a longer delay this time, but after a moment the ball rose into the air again. Its trajectory was steadier this time, maybe because Rhys was watching it, and had better control of its trajectory with the direct visual feedback.
… Of course, a single ping pong ball lifted was just the beginning.
They tried the same trick with the ping pong ball a few times, before Aster began asking him to do other things with it.
5
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:40:59 GMT -6
“Use your telekinesis and push it off my hand,” Aster said. Lifting and setting down an object was one thing, but it wasn’t the most useful application of the power by a long shot. If Rhys could control the motions of an object more finely, he could use his mind to do almost anything Aster could do with his hands, including using tools. Given that Rhys didn’t have hands, it was even more of a boon to him.
Rhys concentrated, and managed to nudge the ball out of Aster’s hand. “Good,” Aster said. “Now use your telekinesis and throw it.”
That one was more challenging. Rhys could lift the ball, and could make it zip around, but… {I don’t know how to throw,} said Rhys, after the third try ended merely in him making the ball race through the air only to come to an abrupt stop.
6
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:41:33 GMT -6
Aster, who had been watching him do it, thought on the issue for a moment. “Think about the motion of a toss,” he said. “You pick it up.” He demonstrated by picking up a tennis ball. “You wind up. You hold onto it and you move… And then you let go.” He tossed the ball, his movements slow, so it didn’t fly so much as it fell, when he loosed it. And then he picked it up again and threw it for real, so that it sailed across the clearing. “You’ve got to let go, after a certain point. Build up the momentum and then… release.”
{Release…} Rhys stared at the ping pong ball, and Aster watched as it rose into the air once more. It flew rapidly in a certain direction, and he waited to see whether Rhys would be able to manage to throw it properly this time.
7
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:42:21 GMT -6
He didn't. At least, not on that particular try, anyway. After the failure, however, he immediately picked up the ball to try again. He had a few false starts, where he didn’t quite manage to get the timing of it right. But after a few tries, Aster was gratified to see the ping pong ball actually go flying in an arc, landing apparently under its own gravity.
{I did it!} Rhys said, his elation broadcasting clearly into Aster’s mind.
“That you did. Let’s see if you can do it again.”
They practiced a few more times before calling an end to that session. In the next one, they worked on it a little more, before moving on to the heavier objects. But by that point, Rhys had gotten used to the… mechanics, so to speak, of using his telekinesis, so it was just a matter of exerting more mental strength to lift something heavier.
8
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:43:11 GMT -6
Over the course of two or three days, they found his limitations: what cost him a great deal of effort to move, and what he couldn’t budge at all with his limited mental strength. Rhys seemed as if he wanted to challenge that limitation, but Aster shook his head.
“This isn’t something you can push through,” Aster said. “Understand where to draw the line, and focus on what you can do.”
{It isn’t like our bodies?} asked Rhys. {It can’t be trained?}
“... It’s harder,” Aster said. “To be honest I don’t know the methods, if there are any." It wasn't, admittedly, something that he had ever looked into, but he couldn't recall hearing about it in passing either. "But more to the point, this is a power you got from the injection. I don’t know if it’s meant to grow with you the way you’re thinking.”
9
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Aug 29, 2020 16:44:06 GMT -6
Rhys mulled that over, and Aster couldn’t quite read what the Felusine thought of it, but at least he didn’t bother trying to lift heavy objects anymore.
From there, it was merely a matter of fine tuning his control so he could make a show of it. Lifting objects and making them fly at specific speeds, to specific places; trying multiple little light objects at once. It wasn’t necessarily difficult, just time consuming for him to figure out what he wanted, what he thought would work best.
And when Rhys was satisfied, Aster figured this was as good a time as any to stop, and sign them up for the magic show.
Aster wasn't looking forward to the occasion, but Rhys seemed excited, and if he had a good time... Well, he'd done two contests now, so it wasn't like he would die if he had to go to a third.
10
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jul 11, 2022 1:01:29 GMT -6
“Damn it.”
Noa grimaced as the backlash from the failed spell coursed through him. The energy returned to the node, but he felt as though it was simmering waspishly there now, irritated at being mishandled so many times in quick succession.
As expected, it wasn’t enough.
He sighed, leaning back in his chair and raking a hand through his hair. It felt greasy between his fingers. When was the last time he had washed it? Two days ago?
{You should take a break,} Rhys said.
Noa had to resist the urge to snap at him. Lately it felt as though that was all Rhys knew how to say. He closed his eyes and waited for the initial surge of irritation to subside. In fact, there was no need to snap; Rhys would have felt his displeasure as keenly as the lash of a sharp word, which saved him the trouble.
1
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jul 11, 2022 1:01:46 GMT -6
But if the Faeron flinched, he still gave no ground, and sat on his perch staring steadily at Noa.
Noa reached, without any real purpose, for the energy within the light node again, but this time it stung even to connect with it. “Perhaps you’re right,” he said, flexing the wrist of one hand as he held it with the other. The faint pins and needles feeling took a moment to subside. “But you know why I don’t. There’s no time.”
{There’s a little time. You won’t make much more progress going at it like this.} Rhys’s tone was gentle, like an adult coaxing an upset child. Noa resented being spoken to like this. Rhys had been his companion when he was young, but he was no longer the boy he once was. And his parents were gone now. The only one left to carry on the search for a cure was himself.
2
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jul 11, 2022 1:02:16 GMT -6
But neither could he quite deny Rhys’s words. It was true that he wasn’t getting anything done, and he would only expedite the deterioration of his condition if he didn’t take care of his body at all. {At least eat something,} Rhys urged, sensing that he was yielding to the idea.
“Ugh.” With a gesture, Noa magicked something into being in his hand. It was a long, yellowish rectangle, slightly powdery to the touch, and very familiar: a little brick of sustenance created with a spell, and his preferred way of feeding himself. He bit into it, chewed twice, then swallowed. The texture was much better now than it was when he first started making them this way, not too crumbly and not quite as dry, though there was still a certain powderiness to it that lingered.
{That again? You should eat some real food,} Rhys chastised.
3
|
|