Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2012 0:48:25 GMT
Ven blinked and he realized he was lowering back down again. It felt like he'd been unconscious for a while but it must have only have been a few moments. Damien smiled a wry smile suggesting simple satisfaction.
When Ven was once again grounded, he suddenly felt a lump in his chest, he felt the lump grow bigger. It was something inside him, it felt physical but it also seemed to be a newfound sense of purpose. He felt happy. Ven was soon unable to breath, and he coughed violently. It was a long cough, it was painful and whatever was inside him had difficulty coming out. But it didn't matter, it was relieving. Ven finally finished, and the moment passed. He felt light headed as he calmed down, his head in the clouds as he enjoyed feeling unburdened.
In front of him sat a gem. It was oval shaped and stood perfectly upright on it's very tip. Ven flicked it and it fell to the ground, then bounced back like it was spring loaded. It was grey, like the fog Ven had just been within, and Ven could see swirling shades of that grey swirling around inside it like a gas, although what felt like glass looked barely capable of containing such fog.
"Come before me Ven, and kneel. Take the Gem in your hands and present it to me as if you were handing over your life to Akis himself." Ordered Damien. His voice was calm, like he had recited such words countless times before.
Ven took the Gem within his hands, and felt the tense anticipation in the air. He held out his hand and placed the gem on his palm, and it stood upright, a perfect balance. Ven took paced and saw markings on the floor next to Damien. He stopped on those markings and knelt, holding out his hand and the gem. Damien reached out his hand to grab it, and Ven felt for an instant the moment at which he would be unable to turn back. His old life was over now, and he would be unable to return to the farms and milk the cows with Lilly again, at least not for the foreseeable years. Ven breathed heavily in sync with Damien taking the gem in his hands. The beautiful thing he had been given and had just discovered for a few brief seconds, now in the hands of something greater. Damien drew his sword, and rested it on Ven's shoulder.
"Ven, in light of your nameless identity I hereby provide you with the title Sir Layfield, as I have been informed that the Layfield family of which Lilly is a part of has taken care of you for so many years." Damien stated. He rose the sword up and placed it on the other shoulder.
"Finally, I hereby bestow upon you this Animus, may it's light shine brightly in your noble pursuits, in the name of Akis." Said Damien. He placed the sword down and placed the gem inside a steel clamp nearby. It looked like a cage, and Ven recognized it as one of the bracelets Largo had been using. The gem locked firmly in place, and Damien placed the bracelet around Ven's hand. Ven was calm for but a moment, then he felt the bracelet lock in place, clamp down on his hand and send sharp pains down Ven's arm. The cage opened, and Ven could see his gem, shining brightly.
"You shall never be able to remove the Animus from your body, Sir Layfield. Now, return to your quarters. Your uniform will be delivered and you will receive a debriefing, then come the morning lights, you shall join your comrades in training." Said Damien.
Ven got up and bowed half-heartedly. He smiled weakly and left. Just as Ven reached the door, Damien spoke again.
"Your life belongs to Akis now. Do not betray the trust he has now placed in you."
Ven's day after that had passed uneventfully. Ash and Lilly greeted him when he returned to the room and they had a small party where they talked about their previous adventures. Lilly also filled in some information of what they had learnt in class for the past few days.
"Akism is less a religion as it is a lifestyle, they said, although I'm not fully convinced. There are several rules a citizen must follow, which applies to everyone in our country, Aetheria, regardless of weather or not they follow Akis. Those are do not kill, under any circumstances, though we may harm in self defense, love who your married to, and do not procreate until after your married, and finally follow only Akis and his teachings." She explained.
"Sounds simple enough... more basic than I was expecting, but what happens if someone disobeys?" Asked Ven.
"Apparently, they'll tell us that tomorrow. It's a widely known fact for everyone who lives in the country, however it is treated as more a superstition than a truth. Never heard of it, myself." Said Lilly.
Ven frowned and took another sip of water as Ash poured more, looking impossibly happy.
"Anything else?" Ven asked.
"Yeah. Akism was founded roughly five-thousand years ago, by none other than Akis himself, as legend goes. Apparently he was from an era where what we would call 'magic' wasn't something people even conceived of. He studied oddities in the world's environment, and he became the first 'magician', a person to suggest that we may be able to manipulate the world around us. As he perfected his studies, he created Akism and eventually absorbed himself into the world it's self, becoming magic. Akis is probably just a mantle for a madman though... either way, the holy order followed quickly, especially when it became apparent that he could still communicate with humans fundamentally. So the story is probably has more truth in it than you think. Pretty cool, huh?"
Ven nodded slowly, appearing deep in thought.
"Sounds like a pretty impressive guy to me. I should try that sometime." Said Ash.
Ven turned around and looked at him, confusion clouding his eyes.
"What?" He asked.
"Becoming one with magic and all that stuff. Sounds like a pretty cool deal to me, ahh, but then again I wouldn't have a body... probably not as fun as it sounds." Ash mumbled to himself, then, after a short pause, he let out a hearty laugh.
"So anyway." Ash said, changing the subject.
"The last thing they taught us was that the rules set out by Akis for a knight are as follows- that gem is an animus, it represents our soul, given physical form by Akis. It's what granted Largo and Raiark all that crazy power, although I really don't understand where Raiark got an animus before becoming a knight... uh, anyway, it's benefits are different for each person, although we still cant quite activate ours yet. It's tough! Where was I... We're not allowed to remove the bracelet, the Animus, on our wrist. Ever. If we loose it, take it off, break it... we're done for. Shame really, I cant feel my hands because it's so tight! Cant I at least loosen it? Anyway there is that, then there's the regular rules, except one rule is altered. We're allowed to kill, but only in the name of Akis or self defense. We cannot steal, and we must treat the commandant with the same respect we treat Akis. It applies to us more, since knights are the only person who see the commandant regularly. Everything else was Animus and combat training. Yeah I think that was it." Said Ash, his head bobbing up and down.
"Looks like we'll all be leading righteous lives from no on, huh..." Said Ven, looking past his friends and outside into the clouds.
"I know. And it's going to be awesome!" Cried Ash enthusiastically, and Lilly joined in. Ven smiled wryly, and found that the time passed quickly before he felt ready for sleep. Tomorrow was going to be strict regime, learning, and training. Sort of like home really.
When Ven was once again grounded, he suddenly felt a lump in his chest, he felt the lump grow bigger. It was something inside him, it felt physical but it also seemed to be a newfound sense of purpose. He felt happy. Ven was soon unable to breath, and he coughed violently. It was a long cough, it was painful and whatever was inside him had difficulty coming out. But it didn't matter, it was relieving. Ven finally finished, and the moment passed. He felt light headed as he calmed down, his head in the clouds as he enjoyed feeling unburdened.
In front of him sat a gem. It was oval shaped and stood perfectly upright on it's very tip. Ven flicked it and it fell to the ground, then bounced back like it was spring loaded. It was grey, like the fog Ven had just been within, and Ven could see swirling shades of that grey swirling around inside it like a gas, although what felt like glass looked barely capable of containing such fog.
"Come before me Ven, and kneel. Take the Gem in your hands and present it to me as if you were handing over your life to Akis himself." Ordered Damien. His voice was calm, like he had recited such words countless times before.
Ven took the Gem within his hands, and felt the tense anticipation in the air. He held out his hand and placed the gem on his palm, and it stood upright, a perfect balance. Ven took paced and saw markings on the floor next to Damien. He stopped on those markings and knelt, holding out his hand and the gem. Damien reached out his hand to grab it, and Ven felt for an instant the moment at which he would be unable to turn back. His old life was over now, and he would be unable to return to the farms and milk the cows with Lilly again, at least not for the foreseeable years. Ven breathed heavily in sync with Damien taking the gem in his hands. The beautiful thing he had been given and had just discovered for a few brief seconds, now in the hands of something greater. Damien drew his sword, and rested it on Ven's shoulder.
"Ven, in light of your nameless identity I hereby provide you with the title Sir Layfield, as I have been informed that the Layfield family of which Lilly is a part of has taken care of you for so many years." Damien stated. He rose the sword up and placed it on the other shoulder.
"Finally, I hereby bestow upon you this Animus, may it's light shine brightly in your noble pursuits, in the name of Akis." Said Damien. He placed the sword down and placed the gem inside a steel clamp nearby. It looked like a cage, and Ven recognized it as one of the bracelets Largo had been using. The gem locked firmly in place, and Damien placed the bracelet around Ven's hand. Ven was calm for but a moment, then he felt the bracelet lock in place, clamp down on his hand and send sharp pains down Ven's arm. The cage opened, and Ven could see his gem, shining brightly.
"You shall never be able to remove the Animus from your body, Sir Layfield. Now, return to your quarters. Your uniform will be delivered and you will receive a debriefing, then come the morning lights, you shall join your comrades in training." Said Damien.
Ven got up and bowed half-heartedly. He smiled weakly and left. Just as Ven reached the door, Damien spoke again.
"Your life belongs to Akis now. Do not betray the trust he has now placed in you."
Ven's day after that had passed uneventfully. Ash and Lilly greeted him when he returned to the room and they had a small party where they talked about their previous adventures. Lilly also filled in some information of what they had learnt in class for the past few days.
"Akism is less a religion as it is a lifestyle, they said, although I'm not fully convinced. There are several rules a citizen must follow, which applies to everyone in our country, Aetheria, regardless of weather or not they follow Akis. Those are do not kill, under any circumstances, though we may harm in self defense, love who your married to, and do not procreate until after your married, and finally follow only Akis and his teachings." She explained.
"Sounds simple enough... more basic than I was expecting, but what happens if someone disobeys?" Asked Ven.
"Apparently, they'll tell us that tomorrow. It's a widely known fact for everyone who lives in the country, however it is treated as more a superstition than a truth. Never heard of it, myself." Said Lilly.
Ven frowned and took another sip of water as Ash poured more, looking impossibly happy.
"Anything else?" Ven asked.
"Yeah. Akism was founded roughly five-thousand years ago, by none other than Akis himself, as legend goes. Apparently he was from an era where what we would call 'magic' wasn't something people even conceived of. He studied oddities in the world's environment, and he became the first 'magician', a person to suggest that we may be able to manipulate the world around us. As he perfected his studies, he created Akism and eventually absorbed himself into the world it's self, becoming magic. Akis is probably just a mantle for a madman though... either way, the holy order followed quickly, especially when it became apparent that he could still communicate with humans fundamentally. So the story is probably has more truth in it than you think. Pretty cool, huh?"
Ven nodded slowly, appearing deep in thought.
"Sounds like a pretty impressive guy to me. I should try that sometime." Said Ash.
Ven turned around and looked at him, confusion clouding his eyes.
"What?" He asked.
"Becoming one with magic and all that stuff. Sounds like a pretty cool deal to me, ahh, but then again I wouldn't have a body... probably not as fun as it sounds." Ash mumbled to himself, then, after a short pause, he let out a hearty laugh.
"So anyway." Ash said, changing the subject.
"The last thing they taught us was that the rules set out by Akis for a knight are as follows- that gem is an animus, it represents our soul, given physical form by Akis. It's what granted Largo and Raiark all that crazy power, although I really don't understand where Raiark got an animus before becoming a knight... uh, anyway, it's benefits are different for each person, although we still cant quite activate ours yet. It's tough! Where was I... We're not allowed to remove the bracelet, the Animus, on our wrist. Ever. If we loose it, take it off, break it... we're done for. Shame really, I cant feel my hands because it's so tight! Cant I at least loosen it? Anyway there is that, then there's the regular rules, except one rule is altered. We're allowed to kill, but only in the name of Akis or self defense. We cannot steal, and we must treat the commandant with the same respect we treat Akis. It applies to us more, since knights are the only person who see the commandant regularly. Everything else was Animus and combat training. Yeah I think that was it." Said Ash, his head bobbing up and down.
"Looks like we'll all be leading righteous lives from no on, huh..." Said Ven, looking past his friends and outside into the clouds.
"I know. And it's going to be awesome!" Cried Ash enthusiastically, and Lilly joined in. Ven smiled wryly, and found that the time passed quickly before he felt ready for sleep. Tomorrow was going to be strict regime, learning, and training. Sort of like home really.
