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Return to Ulgrotha: Mana
🕑 Added 2022-05-08 23:59:34 +0000 UTCRemember how old canon had interesting things to say like how mana apparently travels from the base of the skull? Good times.
Also the Ulgrotha guide said the minotaurs were based on Aboriginal Australian cultures so have some Kamilaroi-inspired things.
***
Guway sat at the tavern, patiently watching the drops from his mug slide down.
His mind tended to wander off to weird places when he was bored. As a child he sometimes mixed ingredients within soup coolamons, much to the amusement of the medicine-woman of his tribe and much to the horror of his parents. Still, he earned nothing but concerned hugs. From what he could gather human children - be here in the Koskun's southernmost tail or in Aysen's supposed glory - are more severely punished. As with everything lately, he took pride in not being born in the bizarre amalgamations and divergences of human cultures, ever threatning the Anaba way of life.
And yet, he was here because of a human.
He felt him before he could see him. Some would say because, as a minotaur, he could sense vibrations through his hooves or listen ten times better than a human or fae. The least polite of all company would attribute it to the "inherent spirituality" of his people, and either envy or put him on a pedestal he was pretty sure to have never commissioned. He, by contrast, would say it was because his "date" started a fight outside of the tavern, seemingly entering in a brawl over being called something Guway couldn't be bothered to acknowledge.
Alas, it only took a few moments for him to arrive. He looked battered and bruised, a trickle of blood still running on his cheek, but whatever wound that caused it was already sealed by his flesh-crafting magics.
"I take it you're Rau?" Guway asked.
The boy nodded. Guway was at this point relatively familiar with how humans aged - similar to minotaurs, if maybe as far as physical maturation was concerned - but even he had some trouble placing him on their age range. 17? 19? Surely along those lines, unless the magic he described in his invitation also stalled aging altogether. Silly humans and their abominatory disregard for the natural law. Not that Guway judged; his own style of magic ensured he lived a longer lifespan than usual for a minotaur.
Still, to call Rau a kid was probably accurate. He already didn't strike Guway as mature, and his features did feel genuinely youthful, not a warlock's tasteless thinning to facial skin or the stalling of the nose's decay. In another context, he might even have found the youth cute, but the hieromancer was vigilant at all times. At least Rau didn't seem like a threat, seemingly a few restrained shivers away from crying.
"I didn't hear what those brutes said to you, but-"
"Don't" Rau incised firmly, "I don't want your pity. I just want what I called you for."
"Alright" Guway sighed, "I can teach you what I know, and I will do it on the terms we've agreed upon on your letter. Though you don't have to pay coin for my services."
A mischiveous look flashed in Rau's eyes, but he didn't dare to say it. Guway was tempted to chuckle, but he remained firm, because he had to deliver harsh truths.
"First of all, I have to decline your request to learn Anaba magics, for they are my people's alone."
"But you said-"
"However, I will teach you the arts I have learned by trial and error, by engaging Eron's and Ihsan's forces and besting them. I rely on them primarily, so surely you can see the benefits they will bring you on whatever quest you are on."
Rau clearly wanted to protest, but Guway didn't have to lift one finger to get him to shut up. He resigned to these terms pretty quickly.
"Fine. It better be damn good. Even if I'm not paying you're still asking a lot."
"And that's fair. I will not insist on your services if you find me an awful teacher. At worst, you'll learn something useful, free of charge."
"I guess" Rau said, breathing deeply in what seemed an attempt to vent out his frustration.
Guway took a sip. It was pretty awful compared to the gum sap beverages of the Anaba, but alcohol was alcohol.
"So, where are you staying through all of this?" Guway asked.
"I'll manage" Rau said, seemingly embarassed.
"I would ask you to stay at my place, but I think we can both agree we are not that trusting yet" Guway said, "I can pay for a room in this establishment. It isn't as luxurious as an Aysen apartment or even anywhere at An-Havva, but I hear they have comfortable beds around here."
"I don't want your pity" Rau said venomously.
"Its not pity if I need you to be in peak condition for your training" Guway interjected, though in truth he did feel sad for the kid, "So quit huffing and puffing until you're strong."
"I am strong!" Rau said, but just as quickly as that came out it fizzled like a flame on damp air.
"Tell you what" Guway said, shoving aside his beer, "We'll begin training immediately as soon as I pay this drink. Then you can show me how strong you are."
"R-right now?"
"Yes... unless you admit you need to rest and tend to your wounds. You know, things even the strongest this world has to offer still need to do, and in which there is no shame."
Rau grunted.
"They better have heavenly beds the way you're describing this place..."
***
Training proper began the next morning, as soon as Guway made sure Rau was properly rested and fed. Rau naturally made a hissy fit worthy of the scrappy teen he was, but Guway only found it endearing. There was no doubt that the kid was dark in some way, but he seemed pretty amicable once you pushed the right buttons.
They hiked late in the morning, the sun high in the Koskun peaks. The air was bright but cold, perfect for the teaching conditions Guway hoped for.
"So" Guway began, "Do you know the fundamentals of magic?"
"Obviously" Rau snorted, "Mana comes from the lands. You bond with the lands, and they release mana all over you."
"Well, that certainly is one way of describing it" Guway said, "You told me you can do flesh magic. Do you control it?"
"I think so" Rau said, a bit uncertain, "I spend most of my time in the swamps and the forests, so using it to heal myself or give any **** a new one comes naturally to me. I don't really give it much thought."
"Right" Guway pondered, "Well, for this exercise you won't need to do much thinking either. In fact, it's better if you just give in to your emotions."
Rau seemed to want to ask about that, but he tripped on a stone. Quick as lightning, Guway grabbed his arm and stabilised him, gently putting him back into position.
"Well, it's off to a great start. I'm pissed."
"Good. Keep that, nurture that. Let the anger pull from the mountains like fire pulls from wood."
They were near the peak, so both had a panoramic view of the valleys and gorges, of the snow-capped stone cathedrals and the jagged cliffs. The air was clear but cold, bright fire in the sun passing through biting cold wind. The Koskun surrendered their mana as easily as a phoenix surrenders its plumes, but they were generous when in the right time and place.
"How does it feel?" Guway asked.
"Clear" Rau answerred, in a strange, passionate calm, "It's so much more clear than the mana of the swamps and forests. And bright. Like there's stars everywhere, but I'm not catching fire!"
"I know, right?" Guway allowed some levity in his tone, "I sometimes draw from the forests, and they never feel this intense and open to my eyes."
"Should I do something with it?" Rau asked, "I want to cast a spell, but it feels... well..."
"Good?" Guway asked, "There's no shame in admiting that, no matter what any preacher may have drilled into your head. Like I said, let it pull, let it flare. Enjoy it, you deserve it."
And so Rau did, channeling and revelling in this new source. Eventually, it built enough to feel comfortable casting brand new spells that came up to his head: torrents of boiling blood, devils and gremlins sprouting from pieces of his flesh, bone shards projected far and wide. Truth to be told this was nothing like Guway's hieromantic magic, more an extension of Rau's own flesh magic, but his teacher didn't bother to correct him. No, improvising and creating was part of Guway's process, his own journey similarly using mountain mana to redefine an existing school: namely, to turn hieromancy's rigidity into something more brutal in combat.
Perhaps that was why Guway was not the least bit disgusted by Rau's antics. When you punch soldiers with fists made of solidified order itself you get to see plenty of blood and guts as well.
They had a friendly spar. Neither clearly was using his full strength, the minotaur mostly just redirecting attacks and Rau seemingly only using his flesh magic to create stuff to throw at his teacher instead of the more obvious applications he implied earlier, though Guway occasionally felt his blood flowing oddly inside his veins. Before long they worked quite a sweat and sat down, wincing as the Koskun rocks didn't go gently on their butts.
"That was awesome" Rau said, smiling earnestly for the first time since Guway met him.
"And it's only the beginning" Guway said, "Race you to the bottom?"
"The bottom?"
Guway pointed down at a plateau, deep in the valleys. He predicted Rau's grunt, but it was no less amusing.
***
They made it to the plateau as the sun began to disappear behind the mountains. Light cast deep oranges on the meadows and dusty plains, a distant relic of the Dead Zone at first sight but flaring with mana of the plains.
"Now, to draw mana from the plains you do have to be a bit more calm" Guway explained, "Focus on the order inherent to all things and it will gladly flow to you."
"How do you do it in the midst of battle?" Rau asked, "and can you use it alongside the mana of the mountains? I feel the mana of the forests and swamps is very different but it still flows to me naturally."
"I suppose its the same for me" Guway shrugged, "I don't really have to think too much to draw from the plains alongside the mountains. Though they are like night and day they do overlap in ways I'm very comfortable with. Like the calm before a brawl or the addictive fire of righteous anger."
"You really like fighting, even though you make schoolars look like brats."
"You mean like you?"
Rau tried to be indignant, but all that accomplished was mutual laughter. They knew each other for a day by that moment, but it already seemed like they ebbed and flowed like the tides.
"Alright, enough stalling" Guway said, "Show me what you got."
Rau concentrated, and indeed Guway could feel him trying to reach into the plains. Though night was settling in, to the minotaur's eyes it might as well have been the brightest day, luminous white threads before his eyes. But Rau halted, opening his eyes in shock. Soon, darkness fell once more.
"I d-don't think I can" Rau stuttered.
"Everything alright?" Guway asked softly.
"I... it feels wrong. Like its judging me."
Now this was an interesting development. Guway had seen beings vulnerable to the mana of the plains and the holy force it represented, but usually he could feel them burning as their evil perished in the light. Never had he heard someone say it made them feel uncomfortable, let alone 'judging' them.
"Judging you?"
"Y-yeah" Rau said, shaking in small hiccups, "Like it's telling me I'm nothing, that I deserved what happened to me."
Suddenly he fell on his knees and started crying. All the bravado, all the self-imposed toughness, it dissipated like a vampire before an angel's blast, but for the first time Guway felt incredibly distraught and disturbed at the metaphors his mind created in his poetic lulls. This was no abomination, no matter his flesh magic.
This was a person, broken once and now again.
Wordlessly, Guway lowered and embraced Rau. He expected some resistance, but the young man did indeed just cry into his chest, taking refuge in his arms, hiding like a ferret in a hole. Guway massaged his back, trying to get him to calm down, trying but failing to mutter comforting words. Thankfully, the silence was enough, and soon Rau's sobbing died down, and he just felt limp within the minotaur's embrace.
"I just don't get it" Rau broke the silence, so softly it might as well had remained a soundless void.
"Uh?"
"It felt so horrible, yet its part of you. And you're not horrible, w-we've only met a day ago but I feel like you're not going to judge me if I tell you."
"Do, do you want to talk about it?"
A silence followed. It spread enough for the sun to fully disappear, and for the white crescent to crown the Koskun peaks.
"...yes."
