RP:A Stunning Lesson is Learned

This is a Mage's Guild RP.

Behind the Barrier

Svilfon is standing within the shimmering protection offered by this room, juggling two small bags with one hand, seemingly without concentrating on what he's doing. Not so long ago he had sent a letter to Ezekiel, asking him to come here. Whether or not the fluttering mail made it – sometimes within the Guild it doesn't – the wizard waits with what seems an eternal patience. Around him young mages cast spells; the thunder following a bolt of lightning, the flash which accompanies a fireball being given brief, bright life... all of it is seen and heard by those practicing their archaic skills. But Svilfon seems immune to it, ignorant of it even; like the eye of a storm he remains a calm point behind the magical barrier.

Ezekiel got the message, it about damn near gave him a heart attack, too! He was use to letters being delivered by courier, or barkeep.. hell even bird, but never on its own fluttering self. He was hesitant about returning to the tower after Satoshi's newly purposed training method. She clearly stated she'd try to kill him, be it herself or using someone else. Even though Svilfon's letter was giving him a stomach ache, he found the courage to to seek him out once again in the tower. It was there in the training room he found him and quietly approached. He stood on the opposite side of the barrier for now. "Hello.."

Svilfon doesn't move much. His gaze which was distant focuses on the clockwork mage and the smallest smile appears on his face, visible through his magnificent beard. For the longest moment this is all he does, before the wizard speaks in a voice rich with casual authority in tones which demand they are adhered to, spoken by a Master of the Guild. "Don't stand out there like a startled rabbit. Come here." The wizard motions with his hand which now holds the two small bags, while his other makes a sweeping motion towards the other young magelings. "Right, you lot. Get out." That's all he needs say. The young mages stop their own practice and with a brief bow to Svilfon they leave so Ezekiel and the wizard can be alone. "It's time for some training, I think. But worry not... this will more than likely not kill you."

Ezekiel stepped through the barrier without waiting too long. He didn't want Svilfon pointing those two wands at his face again, so the quicker her moved the better. Once inside, Ezekiel crossed his arms and stood a few feet off to the side, watching while everyone exited the area; again, he was going to have all eyes on him. "I.. appreciate it." As for the training, he did not ask what it was he'd hopefully learn. He figured the less he asked, the less likely Svilfon would try to take his head off. In short, Ezekiel was afraid of Svilfon, but then again.. who or what wasn't he afraid of?

Svilfon ignores Ezekiel's words as he turns and bends down in one motion, before standing again holding a glass of water. Casually, as he walks closer to the young mage, the wizard opens one of the small bags and pours its contents into the water. There is a fizz and a faint bubbling, before it settles down once more. Where once the liquid was clear, though, now it is a dull blue colour. “Drink this.” The wizard hopes the mage doesn't ask too many questions, for he doesn't really know too many answers. Given to him by Tiphareth, at Svilfon's request, the powder acts much like amphetamines would. Heart-rate, if you have one, is increased as the body surges with energy. The mind seems to run faster, making reflexes quick. But it also makes people act without thinking things through. This is what Svilfon wants Ezekiel to drink. So the wizard can test out whether or not the young mage can control his emotions and thoughts while casting magic. Something which is all too important to mages when they are out and about, away from this tower in the real world.

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow and narrowed his sights on the glass, wondering if the wizard was serious or not. His eyes darted back and forth between the glass and Svilfon's eyes. Of course he was serious, he might have known him for such a short time, but he gathered a lot about the man from the first meeting along. He accepts the glass and brings it to his lips, pausing momentarily while he sniffed at it. If this was really just apart of Satoshi's training in her attempt to kill him.. he sure wasn't putting up much of a fight. With a sigh he drinks it as fast as he could, not bothering to taste or think about it till it was done. The mage clears his through and waits for further instruction.

Svilfon smiles cruelly at Ezekiel as he drinks the glass, like a predator would when the animal it chases finally gives in to the hunt. "You will notice soon your heart-rate increasing. Your thoughts will begin to race. Your body will become filled with energy. This is a feeling which will not stop until your body has used a lifetime of energy in one go... with none left, you will die." With a slight nod, the wizard opens his hand and shows Ezekiel the other bag. "This is the antidote." Carefully, Svilfon weaves a thin string around the bag, before tying it around his neck. "On my honour, no magic has been cast upon this bag, nor upon the string. All you need do is claim it and it's yours." The wizard bows to Ezekiel then, before crossing his arms and waiting. The words he spoke were in fact a complete lie. The drug given will not kill Ezekiel, even if he doesn't get the bag around Svil's neck, though if he does the powder will stop the herb's effects. No, Svil just wanted to see how Ezekiel would react in a situation that is life or death with factors outside the normal playing a part. When in the world, no two struggles are the same. It was wise to learn how to deal with the worse, even when you hope for the best.

Ezekiel wasn't sure what sped up his heartbeat, the mysterious blue liquid or the information given. He didn't need more energy, he had plenty of it. An entire battery full of it, unwanted and intrusive as it was. Why Svilfon felt the need to give him more, he did not know. Only, that it was making him sweat and panic. Of course he was always panicking, often times when running from death, but this combination was not cool. "Hey.. I- I can't do this." He took a step forward, a frantic look filled his eyes. "I surrender, I quit, uncle.. whatever it is you use.." Another step, and he looked as if he wanted to lift his hand. "Listen, it's bad enough I have too much energy and no control over it, this- this isn't helping. Fireballs. Teach me those.. I have the book- see?!" Words he often kept to himself, feelings and emotions kept locked away- all were starting to surface and he had no control what so ever. He reached into his satchel and showed the wizard the book he'd borrowed from the library downstairs, wondering if that would persuade him into reconsidering today's lesson. Three steps forward and he was damn near ready to reach for the bag and take it personally, or at least try.

Svilfon doesn't move an inch as he watches Ezekiel creep forward. He doesn't even seem to blink, so calm is he. However, he does reply to the words. "Because you have aided me in the past, I will give you some advice. Usually, I would not, so be thankful. One: I am a wizard. Do not think I am stupid enough to just allow you to grab it. Two: I truly do not really care if you live or die, so appealing to my kind nature will not work. Three: The limitations on what you can achieve with magic is a fine mixture between sense and fear. Sense says do not cast too much magic because it will destroy you, but fear will make you so afraid of being destroyed you never push the boundaries. You, Ezekiel, are going to die. So forget about being afraid of death. The only way to defeat the cold bastard is to ignore the fact he is hunting us all." The wizard grins, before taking half a step back. "Come take it, mage. Time is running out."

Ezekiel wasn't entirely afraid of death, it was the suffering before, he didn't want to be apart of. Death, that was normal; everyone dies at some point. It was how one died, that he feared. Everyone wishes for a quiet and painless death.. But more times than enough, that is never the case. "Why?" It was all he said before putting his palm to his face and wiped the film of sweat from his brow. He didn't know how to take the bag away, he knew no spells. Svilfon being a wizard, most likely could be taken down physically.. even if Ezekiel wanted to get physical. An attack- did he want an attack? Surly that would enrage the wizard, but what else could he do? He pulled his right arm back and gathered up a ball of unstable, raw energy. It was all he really knew how to do. For a second he looked like he wanted to reconsider this action, but there was no sorting his thoughts right now. With a regretful sigh, he slung his right arm at the wizard and unleashed the unstable torrent of arcane energy. It's not something he would have normally done, but he was under the influence of a substance that wasn't letting him think clearly.

Svilfon laughs, the sound devoid of any sort of humour. “Because I can.” That is the only answer the wizard gives Ezekiel. Instead of speaking more, he just stands there, staring, watching the mage's expressions with the faintest hint that maybe he knows what's going on inside the man's head. A quiet 'hmm' is heard, before the onslought of unstable energy is unleashed right at him. Quickly Svilfon speaks a series of words while drawing forth his Xalious-wood wand. He snaps the magical item into the path of the power, but it doesn't stop all of it. A fair portion slams into Svilfon's chest, sending him hurling back across the room. Smoking robes cover him as he slides across the ground, before he pushes his legs beneath him and stands with only a slight stumble. “Good... good... try now, instead of just shooting magic at me, focus. You have a book? Bring forth the magic like you did then, but instead of just unleashing it, force it to your will.” The wizard crouches then, wand held back behind the still smouldering robes which cover his body. “Time is running out. You have the power to take this bag from me, just focus!”

Ezekiel instantly regretted the action the moment it left his fingers, watching the man fly back only added to the panic in his mind. He pressed both hands to his face and firmly rubbed his eyes. He said focus, focus on what? How was he suppose to focus? He looked at the book in his left hand and brought it up, studying it as if it had an answer? "It's just a manual for spells I can't cast! I've read it again and again, it's useless to me." That was the mechanical engineer in him speaking, it saw these tomes and scrolls as blueprints and schematics, not the arcane stores of knowledge they really were. He was frustrated. "It's just words I can't understand, pictures.. useless symbols-" he was growing even more frustrated by the second. He lifted his hand and gathered another ball of arcane energy and looked as if he were ready to obliterate the book in his hand. The pages started to flutter as if an invisible hand were flipping through them. Slowly the azure ball of energy started to change, changing first in color, then in shape. This wasn't any ordinary book you checked out from a library, it was a mages tome.

Svilfon opens his eyes a shade wider as he listens to Ezekiel. The word, "Don't!" is stolen by the man's swift actions, and before Svil can do anything he is watching the sphere shift and change. The wizard was cofident he could survive anything the young mage cast at him, but using the archaic tome added another element. It could be anything. Words come then from Svilfon as his hand begins to trace the Xalious wand in a pattern before his body. He's crafting a shield from his magic, but it will take time... he can only hope he finishes before Ezekiel takes control of his magic, or before he loses so much control the whole thing explodes. If that's the case, he'll try to save the human. But only if he must. It's more important he learns this here, where it's safe, than elsewhere, where death can truly be on the line. It was up to Ezekiel to master his own magic, he can only be guided.

Ezekiel for a moment thought he had control over something. What it was, he didn't know. Although it was something of vast creation and power, that much he could feel. The hum of the energy in his right hand grew louder, grew stronger. Without realizing, he was channeling the strength of the arena's magic, all of which had been compacted and stored within the battery, only to be channeled through him the night of the accident. Without control or restraint, he was putting far too much energy into whatever spell of the tome his mind had subconsciously selected. All he could do was wait, pulling away would result in the same explosion that happened when enchanting the sword. "H-How do I stop it? It's.. it's to much." Before Svilfon even had a chance to answer, the pages of the tome folded back and the light in his hand erupted. In a brilliant flash of white light, the entire room behind the barrier was bathed in light. It was an interesting spell in which he cast. An incapacitating energy coupled with what could best be described as a gravitational manipulation. Had the spell hit anything in the room, it would have been basically stunned and left to float aimlessly for several long moment. Ezekiel laid on the ground curled up with his head in his arms, waiting.

Svilfon weaves his spell with frantic speed, being a rather good - as he'll remind Ezekiel later - role model to the man in staying calm despite the situation exploding out of control before your very eyes. As the barrier is completed with a final gesture and a word uttered in a language long since lost to mortal tongues, the wizard lets out a sigh. He was already beginning to mumble the words to the explanation he'll give Satoshi about why her apprentice was killed when the light explodes out, defeating his barrier by simply not requiring to travel through it. In a moment the wizard's eyes have gone wide and an almost contented look comes over his face... a face that is now upside down as gravity's unrelenting grasp on Svilfon is shattered. He floats there, legs high in the air, smouldering robes staying where they should despite being up the wrong way, and also with the pouch dangling down to the point of his hat, hanging there from the string, within the grasp of anyone on the ground. The wizard was unprepared for such a spell, and as such had no defence. It'd be a while before he was coherent again.

Ezekiel had absolutely no idea what he had just done. He was afraid he had died with the bright flash and all, but when he felt the cold stone against his face, he sat up. For a couple seconds he blinked to readjust his eyes to the dimly lit room and looked around for Svilfon. The frantic pace of his heartbeat nearly stopped when he saw him idling there above the ground. Murmurs and whispers of students and teacher alike filled the air, all of which were hovering at the edge of the barrier watching. Carefully he got to his feet and cautiously he approached the wizard. All he wanted to do was keep the man still and in place so he could just take the damned pouch, this was beyond overboard. Still, the panicked voice in his head told him to grab the pouch and he did. What he did next was classic; like a teenage boy having just set something on fire 'accidentally'.. he ran. He put his back to the wizard and took off with the pouch in his right, and grabbed the book as it floated with his left hand on the way out. Svilfon would only be there for a couple minutes, and as the spell wore off he'd slowly float back to the ground, only to wake with a dazed expression. The spell was non lethal, but effective. "I am so dead.." the mage mumbled as he disappeared down the stairs.

Svilfon remains oblivious to the woes of the world for a long time, remaining floating by the residual effects of Ezekiel's spell. When proper consciousness comes creeping back, at the same time as his back hits the ground below, he can't help but flash a crooked grin. He lifts his hand to his neck, feeling for the pouch, and with a satisfied nod he stands. The young mage had done it. Many times Svilfon had done this test, and Ezekiel was the first ever to claim the pouch by true force. Some the wizard had let win, others he had given them the pouch in the same breath as telling them to leave the guild. He dislikes failure. But never before beaten. He enjoyed it. A crooked grin is flashed at the students as he pulls himself to his feet and stands, before his voice echoes through the room. "I told you that my challenge was not impossible. 'Ware I would be of that one if I were you." He gives them all a brief grin, before tipping his hat and wandering a little uneasily to the Master's Library. He could have probably caught up to Ezekiel, but he's not sure yet whether the next lesson they have will be better if Ezekiel thinks Svilfon is angry or proud over his efforts. The wizard would mull over it when his head doesn't feel like a group of pixies is running around, coating everything in that damn pixie dust. So to the library he goes, to relax, rest, and ponder Ezekiel and the magic he used this day.