Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[loxmyth]

The Vault
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 10 AM

Jason took the offered hand and used it to pull himself to his feet, his shoulders slumped and eyebrows drooped in defeat. He dusted the crusty substance on his behind off, then took a deep breath as if starved for air. "Where are we going?" he asked meekly, as he followed the man's lead out of the bar.

The hot golden shafts of the morning sun lanced into his eyes as they left the comfortable darkness of the Vault, painfully blinding him for a moment as he tried to get his bearings. Now purple spots swam over his vision. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, he tried to follow the shape of the man who would be his instructor.

 

[Fanog]

Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday Noon, October 2002

"Ah, how nice to meet you. Masuda." The man takes a deep bow as he introduces himself. Beyond that, he doesn't answer the question that Leo posed. Gus stands there a bit awkward, not sure how to respond to the bow. He end up with a slightly gruff "Uh, hello. Leo told me about you." He keeps a close eye to the odd man, but lets Leo do the talking.

Mr. Masuda turns to Leo. "Mr. Sykes, I hope you are ready for today's exercise? We shall be going out to walk, or run... I hope that you will be able to open up earlier than you did yesterday, it would be good if you did not have to exhaust yourself totally. Or do you have any questions from yesterday, perhaps?"

OoC: Leo
_______________________

industrial area off of the M6
London, England
October 2002, around 9 PM

The asian-looking man riding the black motorcycle looks quite old and is dressed in a plain suit with a dark raincoat. Even though he looks totally out of place on the heavy vehicle, he seems to do reasonable well in driving it.

Checking back behind him, Taylor notices that his assailant has given up on the fence and is now running to the entrance at high speed, hoping to round the fence in time to catch Taylor. The two men who had emerged from the small building are already out on the road, both of them running towards Taylor.

The man on the motorcycle stops about two feet short of Taylor's position, and motions his head for Taylor to hop on the vehicle as well, speaking in a heavily accented voice. "Get on... I will deal with those two."

OoC: Taylor
_______________________

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

The man sets down the cup on the table and sits back into his chair. "Yes, it is quite a daunting task, but I can tell you that it is possible. Many have succeeded before you, and their experience can help you attain this. There are quite some exercises and practices that will help you clear you mind and detatch from reality."

The man's eyes glaze over a bit, just as if he is thinking about something from long ago. "Once you attain this, the possibilies are many. Chinese monks have used it to push through the boundaries of their bodies, not hindered by their shells. You would be able to give these possibilites your own twist. Many theories become valid once your mind is no longer there to witness the result. Because, if you cannot see what occured, how could you claim that the impossible happened?"

He smiles, awaiting Ty's reaction to that.

OoC: Ty
_______________________

Bad Albert's Tap and Grill
Seattle, Washington
saturday evening ,October 2002

The man simply nods while chewing the food in his mouth. He swallows and takes a sip from his soda.

"Yes, I am... I must say that I am very pleased to see you again. Have you thought about my offer from last night? At least, I assume that that is what you are here for?"

OoC: Charles
_______________________


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

The man puts a hand on Jason's shoulder, guiding him out into the streets that were still quite empty. As they they walked in the morning sun, Jason seems to regain some of his strength, calmed by the soothing presence of the old man.

"We will just take a walk through the town. Try to see what happens around us, where you live. I am sure that this must be hard to understand for you. Let me try by giving an example... Maybe artists and students speak of a muse, inspriration that seems to come out of nowhere. Even though most think it is just their talent showing, some artists come to revere this source of inspiration as something real, speaking as if they are guided by the whims of some real creature."

"Some of these people go through rituals, thet go through all kinds of things to appease their muse trying to get on her good side, allowing the artist to create. Many of the great artists of old have held this belief, you must know many from your own circle who do, you might even do yourself... Now, if all of these great minds look to something external to help them, how odd would it be to suppose that there is indeed something that guides their hands as they create?"

OoC: Jason

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Curious in spite of himself, Taylor gets onto the motorcycle and then turns to see how the men will be "dealt with".

 

[Mickerus]

Charles smiles wryly and snorts before responding.

"Well, you could say that I've thought about your offer. I'm at least curious to know what it is you're actually offering. But I do have one question first. Do you have any idea why I should know your name?"

 

[kuroshidaku]

"Many have succeded before? What's that supposed to mean? Is this some kind of cult thing?" Ty replies with a slight frown. "Just how many are we talking about?"

"You seem to be offering a lot. Being able to exist outside your body, wow. Assuming it's possible, I'm interested. But who are you to offer these miracles? How do you know of it?"

 

[Fanog]

industrial area off of the M6
London, England
October 2002, around 9 PM

As soon as Taylor has hefted himself on the backseat of the motorcycle, the man hits the gas and speeds off right into the duo of guards, who have their sidearms drawn and ready to hit the tires.

Steering with one hand, the old man waves his other hand in some intricate patterns, mumbling strange words to accompany it. Taylor can feel something tugging and shifting, as if a bunch of bricks were being realigned to close up any windows in a house. After a powerful stoke of the man's hand, both men drop their guns and stand motionless, letting the vehicle pass unhindered.

The cycle speeds by at increasing speed, but the driver with the strange weapon doesn't stop his pursuit. He runs out in the street and with every step, his speed increases until he is gaining steadily in the motorcycle.

The asian-looking man takes a short look over his shoulder, but keeps both eyes on the steer. "You! You must stop him. You can see the patterns, close his mind..."

OoC: Taylor
_______________________

Bad Albert's Tap and Grill
Seattle, Washington
saturday evening ,October 2002

"That is very interesting indeed..." The man thinks for a moment before answering. "It must be another manifestation of your talent. From what I know, you are very good in dealing with people. You can feel their mood, peer in the soul and help them with what you see. Is that right? If you can see deep inside people, you can probably also get a feeling for their name."

He takes a moment to sit a bit staighter in his chair. "This is in line with what I am offering... You are capable of even more, much more... You could do many things for the people around you, if you really took the time to ge to know your talents. I can help you achieve this. I am not only talking about music, but about people. Music is just an expression, a means to an end. And in the end, it is all about people..."

OoC: Charles
_______________________

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"I have studied these mysteries for a long time, far away from here. The idea originated in the east, among the monestaries up in the mountains. The monks lived peaceful and quiet lives, delving into these studies for their own stake. I was one of those, a long time ago. A lot has happened since then..."

The old man blinks, seeming to bring him back to the present. "There is no cult. No one will tell you what you must learn, or how to do it. I will simply guide you on the path to not-seeing reality. What you do with that is entirely up to you. What would you like to be able to achieve?"

OoC: Taylor

 

[Keia]

Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday Noon, October 2002

Leo shrugged. He didn't have any questions because he didn't fully understand what happened last night. Leo was determined however, to try and reach the state he was in last eve without exhaustion.

"The sooner we get started, the sooner I make sense of it all," Leo said.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor looks back and focuses on their pursuer. What the driver had said seemed reasonable to him- he was able to see the energy propelling the man, the patterns of his movement and actions, the routes that they had all followed and would be following. He could see the patterns flowing into the man from the surroundings, converting to motion and then being directed toward them.

When the time seemed right, Taylor reached out with his hand toward the man and gave a little shove. He visualized the man slipping and falling over, and mentally rearranged the patterns into the form they would take around his desired outcome...

 

[Mickerus]

"Read people? I don't know about that. Sure, I can usually guess people's names, you know, look at a guy and say 'That's definitely a Jim' or 'She looks like a Kate to me', but that's something a lot of people say. Well, I tend to be right a lot more often, that's for sure. But that's not what did it this time. We... had a conversation earlier today. Or at least, I daydreamed that we did."

Charles slows down and recedes back into thought before speaking again.

"Well, I guess I'm interested in this offer, though I wish you wouldn't be so vague about it."

 

[kuroshidaku]

Ty leans back in his chair to think.

"That's a hard question to ask in so short a time" he says with a grin. "I would like to learn as much as I can I suppose. Are there specialties in this thing or something?"