• Solo • Kedyr II

[Devin]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Ashan 105, Arc 720

“You should probably come back in a few trials so that I can check if everything’s healing fine”, Devin remarked cheerfully, put his gloves and his face mask away and smiled at Kedyr. Kedyr didn’t return the smile. The young Avriel who had broken into his house earlier that trial and who had opted for a tooth extraction rather than an extended stay in Slag’s Deep still looked confused and kind of freaked out.

“Do I have to?” Kedyr asked and eyed Devin and his roommate Aidan who was alternating between guarding the door and playing the part of Devin’s assistant (because every dentist should have one) warily.

“Well no, you don’t”, Devin said. “It would be better though. Usually, things heal just fine after such a minor surgery. Sometimes, there are complications though. There is a complication called dry-socket that is especially nasty and painful. It happens most frequently when you extract wisdom teeth though which I didn’t do”, he explained, grinning because he was so incredibly proud of his extensive knowledge.

Why would have thought that he’d become an actual doctor one trial?

He definitely hadn’t!

“I’ll think about it”, Kedyr who looked a little pale told him and finally stood up from the dentist’s chair where he had been lying during the surgery. “Can I go now?” he asked hopefully.

“Sure!” Devin replied. “Just remember your promise. It would be a bad idea if you told people about this anyway. You can’t really talk about my extracting a tooth to practice without mentioning what you were doing in my house, you know?” he reminded him before he abruptly grabbed the bottle of brandy that stood on a nearby table.

“Want some more?” he asked. “We should end this meeting on a positive note. I’m really grateful that you gave me the opportunity to practice!” he told him and beamed at him. He was. He hadn’t extracted the tooth in order to practice his dentistry, of course, which was what Kedyr probably thought – he needed a tooth to practice his magic.

If you wanted to make a totem, you needed blood, hair and bone (or a tooth).

“No, I’m good. And I … I won’t talk to anybody about what happened, I promise”, Kedyr stammered. He seemed to want to leave the little dental clinic that had initially been Devin’s second bedroom on his own, but Devin and his roommate quickly joined him and escorted him to the door, just in case he decided to try and grab something on his way out.

At least, Devin might have tried something like that if he had been in Kedyr’s place!

[Devin]

A few moments after Kedyr had left the house and Aidan was getting ready for university (he was a student), there was a knock on the door. When the Mortalborn who had barely had time to change out of his pajamas and into proper clothes opened it, he found himself face to face with Adeline, his mentor, who had been away on business recently – which had led to him trying to progress his magic on his own.

“Hello, Devin”, the blonde said. “May I come in? Who was that man, by the way?”

“He was a patient”, Devin quickly replied as he really didn’t want to explain what had just happened (Adeline wasn’t familiar with all of the questionable activities that he was involved in) before he ushered her inside and led her into the living room where she sat down.

“Can I offer you anything?” he asked. “I’m sorry. I’m a little busy right now. I was just about to make a new totem, and as you know, it’s best to do so when the ingredients are still fresh. So …” He paused for a moment as something occurred to him.

“Hey, you could help me!” he told her. “You are really good at making jewelry, aren’t you? And while you do so, you could tell me why you have come to visit me – without writing me beforehand!”

“Can’t a mage just miss her initiate?” Adeline retorted and pouted a little. “I just wanted to see how you magic has progressed and if you’ve managed to avoid overstepping. Besides that, I may have a new lead in regard to the people who stole our treasure.”

That was how they had met. They had both been looking for a treasure – but a third party had gotten it first which had caused them to work together and become allies, more or less.

“They may be in Almund”, she revealed. “But sure, I’ll help you make your new totem – if you help me afterwards. Where do you have the three Sovereign Substances? And what were you planning on making? A ring or a necklace? Or maybe a bracelet?”

“A ring, I think”, Devin decided. “I really hope that rings with real teeth on them will be in fashion one trial”, he added as he really disliked dressing in a way that was not fashionable.

On the other hand, he could just decide what the next trend would be. He could set trends. That was much better than wearing something that somebody else had decided was fashionable anyway!

“Wait!” he remarked a moment later. He had almost missed the first part of Adeline’s answer due to his excitement about making a new totem. “Almund, you say? Tell me more!”

[Devin]

“No scalpels and tongue depressors this time?” Adeline asked and raised an eyebrow as she looked at the tools that Devin had assembled on the table. When he had made his first totem, the Mortalborn had just used his doctor’s tools due to a lack of proper equipment. Now, there was a shiny new jewelry making kit lying on the table though.

“I like a little variety every once in a while”, Devin replied and shrugged. Tongue depressors and scalpels had worked just fine the first time, he preferred to try out different tools rather than always doing things the same way though; so, without further ado, he placed the three sovereign substances that he had gotten from Kedyr on the table.

A moment later, he produced a silver ring that he had bought just for that purpose and started to work. He smeared blood all around the opening where a stone would normally be inserted, wrapped the pale blonde strand of Kedyr’s hair around the bottom of the tooth and placed it into the opening, very slowly and carefully, narrowing his eyes as he did so.

Normally, Devin wasn’t slow or careful. On the contrary, he often rushed into things head-first because he was just so excited. If you didn’t do magic properly, if you weren’t extremely meticulous and something went wrong … well, the consequences of a mistake weren’t pleasant. In some cases, they could even be deadly. He didn’t want to mutate or die though!

Once he had inserted the tooth, he handed the ring to Adeline. The blonde mage took a pair of pliers and pushed the sides of the bezel cup to lock the tooth in place and make sure that it didn’t just fall out again the moment Devin moved his hand a bit too much before she returned it to him.

[Devin]

“I’ll dedicate the totem in private, if you don’t mind”, Devin informed Adeline once they were finally done because he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to focus properly if someone was watching him. Dedicating a totem required you to meditate, and it was easier for him to do so when he was alone. So, without further ado, he marched up the stairs to his room and locked the door, leaving the other mage to do as she pleased, as long as she was quiet – he had offered her the guest room for the duration of her stay in Scalvoris Town, as always.

Once he had taken care of his mentor, he sat down on his bed cross-legged (because it was much softer than the floor and because he would have to sit still for a very long time; making a totem took approximately a trial and shouldn’t be rushed), wrapped his fingers that ended in fancy black claws (Rakvald had grafted them for him earlier that cycle) around the ring and took a few deep breaths in order to calm himself before he closed his eyes.

Once he had found a comfortable position, he started to focus. He willed himself to stop thinking, about Adeline, about his pets that were somewhere else in the house and hopefully behaving, struggling to properly empty his mind for a while and furrowing his brow in deep concentration before he regained his calm and continued on. In the silence that surrounded him, the sounds of his heartbeat and his breathing were unusually noticeable, but he didn’t mind – those sound actually helped and made it easier for him to relax.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly and steadily and focused on his new totem, until everything else began to fade away and grow meaningless, until time itself became meaningless, until everything but the ring in his hand ceased to exist, until it became his entire world – and then, when he had finally achieved that state of clarity, he began to channel his ether into his new totem, slowly and carefully. He put his heart and soul into the small object, everything that he was, everything that he had ever been and everything that he wanted to be.

Trills turned into bits and bits eventually turned into something more, although he didn’t notice the passing of time and the fact that the sun rose to its highest point in the sky before it set again as he was so focused on what he was doing, on meditating with his totem and dedicating it. He was more familiar with his chosen magic now than when he had first started, and he had already done this before, but he still couldn’t say how exactly he knew when his totem was finally finished.

He only knew that it was finished, that he could stop and that it had finally become something more than the sum of its parts, more than just blood and bone and hair, something magical and wonderful that would allow him to transcend the limitations of his human body and conquer the sky.

He was not disgusted by the ring that still resembled a tooth far too much. He had stopped being disgusted by his totems a long time ago because they had so much potential. Instead of being disgusted, he looked at his new totem in wonder, his violet eyes impossibly wide, as if he had never seen anything that was more beautiful in his entire life.

[Oberan]

Review Rewards

Devin Thorn, or 'the Dev' among friends

Points awarded: 10

Knowledge:

Becoming x2
Jewelry Crafting x1
Meditation x2
Surgery x1

Magic: For Becoming, yes.

Other: + a Kedyr totem. Now YOU can break into houses and be forced into the dentist's chair. Make sure you pick the right house beforehand though!

Notes:
"Who would have thought that he’d become an actual doctor one trial?

He definitely hadn’t!"

Ditto, lol

Devin'd be quite good at making Halloween themed jewelry, me thinks. Maybe he should open the Idalos version of Hot Topic, and make all the money. Maybe rings with teeth on them will become so fashionable afterwards that he can't keep up with the demand... Devin still has a long way to go before he'd be able to create good-looking rings though.

Anyway, good work once again. There's less to totem creation than I'd thought, but I suppose the lengthy meditation it requires afterwards does make up for that. Which you described rather awesomely, by the by. Very evocative! And the reveals! The treasure thieves are in Almund? What will Devin do? I must know!

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