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Weaving and manipulating the isho By Sholari James To cast a dysha, one must be able to weave the isho. To weave the isho, one must be able to shape it To shape the isho, one must understand it To understand the isho, one must see and feel it To see and feel the isho, one must be muadra - Caji Gends The isho energy of Jorune is a vital part of the everyday life of many species of the world. Most acutely tuned to the isho are the shanta. Humans, who are generally oblivious to the invisible forces surrounding everything, care little for what isho possibly could do for them. However, one of the human sub-species – the muadru – can perceive the isho and can learn how to manipulate it. To most of the muadru, isho is something that must be understood or handled in order to lead a normal life. Although given the possibility to perceive and properly manipulate the isho many muadru, out of ignorance or laziness, do not train to use this gift. What is isho? Isho is a multi-polaric form of energy that is more easily manipulated than, for example electricity. It can be likened to “sticky” energy that can be twined and bundled together in various strengths and combinations to create natural or artificial phenomena of awesome power. The most noticeable trait of isho is that it can be stored in certain materials and is drawn to normal electrical activity, even as minute as the activity in living cells. Crystals and certain other materials are “charged” or “soaked” with isho through longer natural processes, while living creatures seem to rapidly draw isho to them and accumulate it in their bodies. The isho naturally creates the sho-sen (isho wind), which flows between Jorune and its moons, as well as other amazing natural phenomena, such as warps and isho storms. [See Isho – The Invisible World essay for more details on isho] The Muadru – Heirs of the Invisible Fire As humanity adapted to the strange world of Jorune it become attuned the isho around them. While the first few generations of humans were unable to store any isho at all in their bodies (thus showing up as “holes” in the sho-sen – invisible to lower lifeforms with tra-sense), the later generations soon became soaked in the isho. The cells quickly adapted and isho moved in as parasitic partner. It did not harm the humans, nor did the humans seem to benefit from it at first. It wasn’t until great surges of isho passed through the sho-sen during a period of 50 years (the great lunar constellation – known among humans as the Age of Monsters) that the isho started to destroy or alter human cellular stability. Various mutations of humans, which had been damaged by isho were born. Most of these were simply natural failures or freaks, but quite a few survived thanks to their enhanced tolerance to isho. Not only could they survive large isho quantities without cellular damage, they also became capable to accumulate the isho instead of simply soaking and seeping it. In most cases the growth of human tissue decreased at the expense of the isho accumulating cells. Thus, the isho-damaged humans never grew to normal height or build and remained weaker than their less changed cousins. This natural alteration of humanity seemed at first to be a curse and it would take more than a millennia before the curse was understood to be a mighty gift. Not until sholari Sho Copra- Tra of Tashka discovered the racial potential of Caji Gends, did the muadru understand the great gift bestowed upon them by Sho-Caudal. The gift given to muadru was the ability to accumulate isho and perceive it. However, only through learning the secrets of weaving and through extensive training would muadru become caji. Weaving dyshas and operating shantic technology is not a natural talent. These are skills that a muadra must learn. His body simply serves as the tool with which to perform these skills. Today, most muadra families living in civilised realms will learn how to live with their isho accumulating bodies through kerning excess isho and maintaining the isho stability of their bodies. Some train to become caji and earn a name of respect for themselves in their societies. While most muadra will know how to kern, many muadra lack the focus or education to form even the simplest naull orb. These muadra are referred to as isho illiterates or muads. In realms or areas where muadra are openly oppressed the number of isho illiterates will be higher as weaving often is totally banned. There are also those muadra who learn only to weave the simple desti lightning blast dysha, without truly mastering the weave technique. They are not even capable of weaving a nuall orb and no or little tra-sense. Because of their violence and ignorance, they are known among both humans and muadru as dytes and are responsible for much grief and prejudice towards muadru all over Jorune. Muadra adolescence – Awakening the Fire Muadru children seldom accumulate enough isho to give off more than small sparks (and then only during isho storms). A young muadra’s body does not seem to accumulate much isho. Like with most other races the isho simply washes through them with the sho-sen. During the muadra childhood it is therefore impossible to weave dyshas. Muadra children can still train to use their tra-sense, but as their isho is limited this is often very hard. However, some very isho potent muadra families have been known to have especially gifted children, who learn much about their tra-sense before reaching adolescence. As soon as the muadra child reaches early adolescence his body changes and the muadra becomes acutely aware of the isho passing through him. Now, the isho starts accumulating in the cells until it has to be expelled somehow. When this phenomena is first noticed in the muadra child, it is referred to as The Awakening of the Inner Fire. It is sometimes surrounded by ceremony and reverence (as many muadru families’ greatest fear is that their children won’t enter this stage). Among some muadru the Awakening of the Inner Fire heralds the ascension to adulthood. From this day onwards the muadra is sent to the Kerning Bay to learn the mysteries of the isho – and most importantly – how to kern. Most children will have learnt the basics of kerning from eager or worried parents, but now they can perform the kerning themselves, as their bodies finally are ready for it. Also, for the first time the child will have enough isho to start using his tra-sense in a meaningful way. A whole new world opens up to the muadra. In older days, the awakened tra- sense was referred to as the Witching Eye and was something purposely undeveloped and frowned upon by muadra families, as it brought only confusion and prejudice. Kerning Unlike humans and most other races of Jorune (except for shantas), the muadru accumulate large amounts of isho in their bodies. This isho build-up can and often does create problems for the muadra. When a muadra body is brimming with isho it will try to escape the body. The first noticeable aspect of this is when the muadra’s eyes change colour slightly to that of their dominant isho polarity/colour. (Muadra eyes are normally slightly duller or devoid of colour than human eyes). The muadra will feel uneasy and even irritated during this isho build-up. When the limit has been reached the muadra will give off short sparks when touching surfaces that conduct isho well (accidentally activating crystals etc). If the isho build-up has been rapid (during an isho storm or very close to something “charging” the sho-sen) the isho will not have had time to “seep into” the muadra body enough and will flee quicker. On these occasions the muadra can feel pains in especially the joints and forehead and will give off random uncontrolled bursts of isho. This time the uncontrolled energy bursts are more violent and can burn objects or even set them alight. A muadra’s house, belongings and even his clothes might catch fire from the discharges, why the tradition to stay outdoors during isho storms was developed. It’s these energy discharges that have earned the muadru their ill repute as fire starters and roof burners. In order to maintain the isho balance of their bodies the muadra learn to kern the excess isho. This is easily done after some initial training and requires little preparation. The muadra simply channels his isho into an inanimate body, such as a rock, the ground or even a building, until he has reached a comfortable level. (Requiring a successful roll against a moon skill of his choice). When kerning into the ground or other inanimate matter the process will take up to 10 rounds to complete (depending on material and amount of isho). Therefore, many muadru communities have fashioned themselves with pillars, kernodes, of isho conductive rock that draws the kerned isho more rapidly (reducing the kerning time to 1-2 rounds). Most of these kernodes are situated in kerning bays for practical and lawful reasons (as humans don’t want muadru running around kerning where they please). Many kernodes of the kerning bays also serve as practice targets during dysha practice. Some advanced kernodes will hold onto kerned or dyshas isho for up to 1 hour and can be drained by other caji. A caji, one who wishes to master the isho through weaving, will train his body to accumulate large amounts of isho. This isho will of course take longer time to kern and his accumulating abilities can constitute a risk during an isho storm. Experienced caji therefore learn to kern larger amounts of isho in a short time. Such is the price for power. Experienced caji have also learnt how to kern other muadra, a valuable skill during severe isho storms. During isho storms, when the isho build-up is rapid, unstable, and of chaotically mixed polarity/colour, muadru purposely kern most of their isho. It is dangerous to keep even low amounts of isho during these occasions, as it seems to act as a catalyst for the new, rapidly incoming isho of the storm. Kerning has to be performed several times during an isho storm to prevent involuntary isho discharges. When a body has accumulated much more isho than it normally can handle it will start giving of uncontrolled discharges, as mentioned above. However, if the build-up was very strong and swift, or if the muadra in question was capable of accumulating large amounts of isho, the fleeing isho will start to burn. This is referred to as Burning and is something feared among all muadru. The isho will flare away from the body with effects such as lighting surrounding objects and electrocuting those nearby. Often the isho will start to “burn” already in the body, creating nasty burns and erupting wounds all over the muadra’s body. This process can easily kill a muadra if it is not stopped or controlled (successful roll against the lowest moon skill). There are plenty of legends about great caji shooting flames from the eyes and mouth or simply erupting totally in flame. It is said that Dharcopra Caji Sanghil Kur-Tanis of Miedrinth turned into a pile of ash during the great isho storm of 3438 PC. Tra-sense – The Third Eye Muadru do not only have isho accumulating bodies – they have also attuned to the isho in a way that enables them to perceive the fluctuations of the sho-sen and the isho itself. By concentrating and shutting out all other senses, the changes and disturbances of the sho-sen, as well as objects containing isho, can be perceived. As isho flows or radiates in different directions and with varying polarity and make-up it can be tuned in on. Muadra refer to this as Floating with the isho. There is a saying “ One cannot see the sho-sen if one wades through it. One must float with the sho-sen to see it ”, which explains the necessity of attuning to the sho- sen. Separated polarities/colours of isho are more easily perceived, as they are refined, while the general sho-sen with its mixed polarities is harder to grasp. Therefore, dyshas, crystals, warps and isho technological devices are easier to perceive than the sho-sen. Caji have tried to describe what they perceive with their tra-sense in more understandable optical terms. In the Iscin Scriptures on Isho, Copra Caji Shutumil of Sydra explained that a dysha looked like a bundle of multicoloured strands, a crystal was a glowing lamp, while a warp was a glowing star with strands extending endlessly in all directions. With his tra-sense a muadra can perceive what it is he weaves and therefore extract and select chosen amounts of isho of different colours. Without the tra-sense, weaving would be chancing and never successful. A caji learn new dyshas by first studying the dyshas of their sholaris until they know and recognise the dysha make-up by heart. Only then can they try to weave it themselves. With their tra-sense, a skilled caji can actually feel the presence of larger isho disturbances and even be able to locate it, as it acts as a beacon in the sho-sen. Warps and powerful isho technological devices have been located in this way. Over closer distances (5-50 m) smaller isho concentrations can also be detected, such as crystals, dyhas, smaller shantic devices etc. Dyhshas can be perceived more easily, as they are brittle isho disturbances that “shock” the sho-sen with their presence. They can only exist for brief periods and will either discharge their isho upon contact with another object or be naturally unwoven by the sho-sen. A caji can therefore study the general make-up of a dysha at a distance up to 50m (more in cases of very experienced cajis). Tra-sense is not a passive sense that the muadra can rely on. The normal human sensory input is much stronger than the tra-sense. A muadra must therefore actively concentrate to use his tra-sense. While boccord must expend isho to receive the signatures around them, a muadra must only concentrate on the isho around him to notice the larger disturbances and their make-up. Even if experienced caji find it easy and instantaneous to use their tra-sense, they must nevertheless actively choose to use it every time. [See Isho – The Invisible World essay for more details on the signature recognition abilities of the boccord.] The tra-sense of the muadra is very crude and primitive compared to that of indigenous Joruni lifeforms, making them extremely short-sighted compared to a shanta. A muadra can only perceive the bigger fluctuations and disturbances of the sho-sen and cannot see subtler reactions as signatures. Operating isho technological devices therefore requires close contact with the artefact in question (1-2 m). The Weaving The different polarities/colours of the isho act and look very differently. Some are “sticky” and easy to weave into certain forms or combinations, while others are slippery and hard to combine. Strands of some colours extend into larger patches or blotches, while strands of other colours have jagged edges that seem to cut other strands if not combined correctly. To add to the confusion, these traits differ when increasing the strength of the colour or in certain combinations. A dysha can also be “constructed” in two very different ways. The isho of the dysha bolts are combined within the body of the weaver and channelled outward to an extremity, such as the hands. Other colours might be “trickled” into this channelling while the isho passes outwards through the body. A caji weaving a bolt can be recognised by the glow of his hands or even arms. Strands of the dominant colour can often be seen trickling over the hands. Bolts are generally easy to learn at first, but very hard to alter or bundle. The bolt is shot or flung from the body and requires only little arm motion. As the bolts are easier to weave than orbs, they can be found among many Joruni animals, as a part of their natural weapons. Orbs require more theoretical weaving knowledge and are generally harder to learn at first. Orbs can on the other hand be woven into a multitude of combinations and can be used for many purposes. The standard orb will be orange-sized and will look like a bundle of tightly woven energy, often of one colour. An orb is thrown much like a stone or ball, but will not drop as rapidly, thus giving the appearance of defying gravity. It is actually the weave that sets the limit to the orbs range, rather than gravity. Weaving of orbs is not common among simpler animals and is seen by many shanta and muadru as a sign of intelligence. A dysha is woven by extracting different raw polarities/colours of isho from the cajis’s body and then weaving them together in various combinations, weave patterns and strengths. The weaving requires the movement of fingers at first, which has given the phenomena its name – weaving. Visible strands of differently coloured isho will be visible flowing from the fingertips and will be woven together to an expanding orb in the palm of the weaver. Inexperienced cajis will require both hands and all fingers to weave, while the more experienced caji need only one hand. After a while the weaving is so swift and no longer needs the movement of the fingers that the orb simply grows in the hand. Some very skilled cajis can even weave orbs and bolts on other parts of the body. A young muadra training to become a caji will spend time studying the make-up of his master’s naull orb with his tra-sense. He will also learn by heart the secret rules that apply to the weaving of the various colours of isho. When the apprentice knows how a naull works and how it is woven in theory, it is time for him to learn how to extract certain colours from the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |