Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[loxmyth]

streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 11:30 AM

Around him, the world began to open up to his sight like a rose unfurling its petals. In his mind, the susurrus had become a dull low roar. Ghostly, gauzy shapes began to materialize into existence, blended in with the environment around him. The shrubbery on the pathway held little green men with leafy green hair in them, giggling inanely as they peered out at him. The upper half of angelic little red-headed women stuck emerged from the red tulips to chatter with their blonde sisters in the yellow ones. Dwarfin faces gazed at him from the rocks and pavement, and boys and girls made of nothing floated through the air above him playfully.

"Oh. My. God," Jason breathed, almost swooning as the world revealing itself around him seemed to spring from nowhere. He touched the hand on his shoulder, drawing comfort from it. "Can you... can you see all this?" he asked the man, his voice full of awe.

Before him on the road stood a living statue, a woman who seemed to be carved from marble in the classical renaissance style. But her face was both unlike any he'd ever seen before, and the only one he'd ever known. That was the face he'd seen before all his best works. It courted him often, filling his waking hours and dreams for days at a time and then retreating to give him respite. No, he had never seen this particular face before, but he recognized it immediately, nonetheless.

Could this be... my muse?

The woman smiled.

 

[Keia]

Back at Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

The change in location was almost becoming old hat though it still was surprising. Leo tried to maintain his pace and head toward the chinese-looking building.

Leo listened briefly at the door before opening it.

 

[kuroshidaku]

Well that certainly shows something, but what i'm not sure. And there maust be better uses for this than sorting cutlery. i should be able to move things, but maybe that's getting ahead of myself. Spose I might as well give it a try.

Ty opens the cutlery draw, picks up a spoon, closes his eyes, and spins around. There. I can't possibly be observing the path of the spoon. He then drops it, knowing that it will fall into the spoon compartment.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor says, "Well, I'd certainly be grateful for any help you can give me. I'm feeling a bit out of my depth."

 

[Fanog]

streets of Boston (?)
Boston, Massachussets (?)
October 2002, around 11:30 AM

Jason looks behind him to adress the old man. To his surprise and initial shock, he seems to be gone. Jason can still feel the sensation of the man's hand firmly on his shoulder, even though ther is no one there. It takes a moment for Jason to him that the street he was just in, seems to have vanished or has become quite 'unreal'. The general layout is still the same, but everything seems to have been replaced by living, talking beings in all sizes and varieties. And then he sees her...

She opens her delicate, perfect mouth and speaks in melody. She utters words in tunes that Jason has always thought he heard, but could never place. They were the fragments that lingered as he woke up, or the tones that he thought he heard when all was silent. The tune of inspiration sung by his muse, for him.

"Welcome Jason... I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you finally. I had feared that you would never hear my pleadings, even though you dreamed of me. At last, you have come to unite with me and let me express my feelings. All will be different from now on. Trust me..."

The woman smiled a perfect smile and spread out her arms, motioning for Jason to come closer. As soon as he tried though, he found that he was rooted to his place, held there by the pressure on his shoulder.

OoC: Jason
_______________________

The mountains (?)
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

Leo runs up the stairs in his fast pace and quickly reaches the square building, about fourty feet across. It is built in typical eastern style, wood painted in several reds and greens. There is no door, the stairs lead right up to the entrance. Leo can see into the building and notes that it is mostly empty. Its only features are straw mats covering all of the floor, and several wall hangings.

Straight across from the entrance stands a man, looking straight at Leo. He has fair skin, drawn tight over an exceptionally thin frame. His arms show small but lean muscles, and not a sliver of fat. The man wears only black flowing pants, his bare chest clearly showing his ribs. The palms of his hands are pressed together, held in front of his chest.

The man speaks as soon as Leo sees him. He speaks in English, his voice tinged with eagerness, anticipation... "You've made it. Good... You seem quite strong, a real challenge."

The man's hands drop from their position as he rolls his shoulders. He knacks his knuckles, exposing the white bone beneath his thin pale skin even more then before. "We fight." He makes it seem like a simply statement of fact. "You wouldn't be here if you weren't like the others. Like me... You know you're here to beat me. So, show me what you've learned." The man stands silent, though alert, waiting for Leo to act...

OoC: Leo
_______________________

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, around 4 PM

Ty completes his spin and drops the spoon, hoping for the best. His heart leaps as he hears the sounds of iron hitting iron, instead of the kitchen floor. Opening his eyes, he finds that the spoon has indeed landed neatly in the compartment with the other spoons. He repeats the test again, and finds again that he is succesfull in exactly half of the experiments.

His trained scientific mind tries to find a reason why both experiments give the same result, a succes rate of 50 percent. Even though the experiment are different, there are really only two outcomes of each; hit or miss. There are of course more states of outcome, the spoon could land anywhere on the kitchen floor. It would seem almost like I've managed to condense all of these into one outcome only; the spoon landing on the floor. If that's reallt the case, then it would act like elementary particles! But then, how do I know if the states are bosons or fermions, and can I ever do better then fifty percent?

Puzzled, Ty sits down for a moment. His stomach alerts him that he's skipped lunch, and the clock tells him that it's nearly four.

OoC: Ty
_______________________

outskirts of London
London, England
October 2002, around 10 PM

The man seems pleased with Taylor's answer. His face relaxes a bit. "Very well, please follow me then." The man walks over to a wooden bench and table within sight, taking the opportunity to stretch his legs.

He sits down and motions Taylor to do the same. "You can see patterns, can you not? You have just shown that you can also manipulate them, even though you probably do not know what you did exactly. The truth is that most people can get an intuitive feel for these patterns, the lines and shapes that guide us. The amount of things around each person is so vast that he cannot perceive each thing individually. Instead, the mind selects that to retain, based on interest and patterns. People do not see leaves, but they see a tree. They do not see bricks, but the see a wall. Sometimes, people will even fill in the blanks and see things that are not there." The old man leans back, stretching his back. He quickly resumes talking.

"This must of course all be familiar and boring to you, but it is important to realise, I think. Once you can adjust the patterns themselves, many things are possible. For one, it is possible to hide yourself within them, simply by shaping patterns so that you will blend in. No, I have feeling what you will ask. You will not be able to turn yourself invisible... yet. For now, I can teach you how to act and how to fold just enough to escape notice. You will simply seem part of the pattern..."

OoC: Taylor

 

[Keia]

The mountains (?)
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

Leo looked the man over. This was different, he thought, someone that I don't recognize - is he an ally or an enemy? I've never had trouble with handling myself in a fight, though I prefer to pick my moments.

Leo cracked his neck as he bent his head from side to side, not taking his eyes off of the man. He extended his fingers and made fists in succession, preparing his hands for the fight, if there would be a fight. Leo wasn't certain that was what should happen.

"So, you've had others challenge you, have you?" Leo asked, "What happened to them? And by the way, who the heck are you? I guess I want to know that last bit so I can tell everyone who's @ss I kicked . . ."

 

[Fanog]

The mountains (?)
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

The skinny man's face turns into a sarcastic scowl. "You don't know? You manage to come here and challenge me without knowing? Heavens, this will be easy..." He seems quite disappointed by the observation.

Raising his hands in fighting position, the man slowly advances on Leo, talking as he walks. "Don't try to deny it, I know what it's like. I was there once." With a little feigned surprise, he adds "I'm still here. As for all the others, those who challenged me... Failed!" He seems to take delight in building up pressure, then springing the yelled word right in Leo's face.

"They all wanted to be the best, just like you. It's what made you explore... So, you're here to test yourself, are you really good enough? You want to know, don't you? Well, go ahead, find out..." There's an obivous dare, but somehow Leo's not exactly sure which one of them is issuing the challenge.

The man has nearly reached Leo and locks eyes with him. He grins and makes a lazy punch. There's no real force behind it, easy to deflect.

OoC: Leo

 

[Keia]

The mountains (?)
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

Leo was content to assume to the punch seemed to have very little force behind didn't actually have a great deal of force, but he also had to be prepared for a feint. As such, Leo attempted to block the attack in such a way as to be a 'hard block' and allow Leo the opportunity to step to the side of the attack and potential follow-up.

"Dude, only two words to say . . . 'Breath Mints.' Jeez man, no tooth brush up here in the mountains?" Leo quipped hoping to move the blood from the man's muscles to his face.

Leo wasn't about to be daring, he was here to learn, and had no problem retreating if the situation called for it.

 

[loxmyth]

streets of Boston (?)
Boston, Massachussets (?)
October 2002, around 11:30 AM

I'm still here, Jason wonders to himself. And it was true; even though the world had shifted and morphed into a new animate world of living beings.

But one held his attention, now. His muse. "I dreamed of you," he told her, weakly, and then reached out an unsteady arm towards her. Somehow he seemed glued to the spot and unable to move, fastened by the memory of the hand on his shoulder. He wiggled and wrenched his upper body in an attempt to free himself, but to no avail.

Frustrated, he looked to the woman. "How can I come to you? I'm stuck here." Again, he extended his arm, holding his hand palm up, offering it to her.

 

[Fanog]

The mountains (?)
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

Leo made a smooth parry of the thin man's mock blow and stepped to the side. There was no follow-up to the punch. The man only took a lazy step, bringing him closer to Leo again.

"Cheap tricks won't work here, not on me..." He smiles a thin smile, showing clearly his feeling of superiority. "Buying time won't help you either. You entered my realm, no way out except through me. Guess you didn't know that, now did you? Sheesh, you really are clueless, are you not? Do you have any idea where you are?"

The stream of taunts and insults doesn't stop as the man keeps advancing on Leo, this time without even taking the effort of throwing a punch. As if there were a rope strung between them, the two men circled through the room.

OoC: Leo
_______________________

streets of Boston (?)
Boston, Massachussets (?)
October 2002, around 11:30 AM

The smile disappears from her face as the woman notices Jason's situation. Her eyes open wide, are then cast down in a display of first shock, then grief. Her melodious voice is slow, composed of pure sorrow.. "Can you not come to me? Have I waited this long for us to be together, only to find that we must remain seperated? Oh, I see it now. You are here, but not complete. Held back, and shielded..." Hope shines in her eyes, as clear as a beacon.

"Jason, you must let go for us to be together. You can join me, if you are strong enough to shed the ties that bind you still. Break loose, and come to me. You can if you want to. Join me and we shall be together, as was meant to be." Her voice is crystal clear, sliding without effort through the space between them. It sounds desperate with longing, wraps around Jason as a tempting light. To be in her arms, finally...

OoC: Jason