Chameleon

[Nimue Stormson]

With his instructions and warning given Nimue nodded. From the sounds of this other Master Holloway spoke of, it was clear there was as great a risk to this talent as there were benefits. As eager as she was to become stronger the Empress wasn’t about to head blindly into something that would risk her mind and life. She would be as careful as possible.​

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Closing her eyes and focusing she tried reaching into the master’s mind, sending a message of I can feel you…Master Holloway…I can glance your mind… After that she tried to bring out an image to him. Something personal and yet nothing too compromising for her first try. Can you see this…?​

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As she could start to slowly grasp her thoughts with his the Empress tried showing him a vision of her past. Melding a memory with his so that he could see the experience through her eyes. Hopefully it would come out as she’d wanted it to be. The image she tried conjuring was of her coronation as Empress. It was her standing on a balcony with a massive crowd below cheering to her as she held her arms up, waving to them below. She wasn’t alone. A dignitary of the other noble lords were to her left and behind her. On her right stood her now dead husband, Emperor Victor. He wore a green hood over him body while his face was covered by a metallic mask.​

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[member="Raziel"]​

 

[Raziel]

[SIZE=12pt] Raziel opened his eyes and broke off the mental link. His natural empathy had immediately focussed on that intimate connection and whatever emotions she’d been feeling had hit him hard*. He looked across at the empress and took a deep breath to centre himself. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt] “Not bad at all, much was behind a hazy veil, but the man next to you was particularly clear. Let’s try something slightly different. I’ll make a connection to you and I just want you to work on visualisation. Find an experience and really immerse yourself in it. Try and bring back the smells, the sights, the sounds and I’ll watch. Once you’ve got a good grip on it, try to add something new to the experience, something that wasn’t in the memory.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]*Let me know what those would be please? [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt][member="Nimue Stormson"][/SIZE]

 

[Nimue Stormson]

With the connection broken the feelings of anxiety, pride, love, and so many others had been broken from both the Empress and Master Holloway. It took a moment for Nimue to realize how far she’d reached back with her thoughts, opening her eyes only just as he began to speak about what to try next. All was a hazy veil, as Holloway said, meaning she was still having trouble focusing. Hopefully the next attempt would be better.​

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With his instruction she focused again, trying to reach back to something more prominent. After a moment connection was reached and the first thing that would strike either of them was the smell of the sea. The sound of waves crashed against pebbled shores. Birds calling from a heavy forest of Effekt nearby. The sound of hooves beating against the ground as the appearance of Nimue, along with her husband again, on a six-legged horse, a Selpin, were riding together.​

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Both seemed happy, and what stood out was that now Victor was not brunt or wearing a mask. He was normal. His handsome blonde-haired face was in full view and not kept in shadows or the like. This had been their first romantic affair together. The feelings of both anxiety and love came back, but also an underlining sense of dread if the two were discovered. This was, after all, when Victor was still married to the former Empress.​

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But apparently it didn’t matter to him, making it easier for her to relax. Eventually the two would find a spot under a tree overlooking the area. It was out of sight from anyone. After helping her off the steed Victor had carried his love under the tress itself where, for the first time, they would show each other how much they loved one another in the most intimate way possible. And the greater emotion that Nimue felt from that was joy.​

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[member="Raziel"]​

 

[Raziel]

Raziel had prepared himself to shield himself from her emotions, but these were particularly raw. He felt like a voyeur watching this particular scene through her eyes, experiencing it as she had. He silently cursed his empathic abilities as he also experienced some of her more base emotions, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

Raziel opened his eyes. “Well that was…erm…certainly more vivid,” he said. There was no act, he didn’t have to feign how uncomfortable he felt. Alright, let’s go back to the beach, he conveyed telepathically. Add something false to the scene. Now this is important: think about what triggers the image of this thing in your mind. Is it the smell or a particular experience? Think about it as you visualise the lie and add it to the memory.

[member="Nimue Stormson"]

 

[Nimue Stormson]

Thankfully the image of the more intimate was clouded away from Holloway’s view. She wasn’t going to show him everything after all.​

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On his word she tried to think of something false to add to the scene. Given what he’d wanted her to focus on, the thing that triggered this event in her mind, she looked back and realized what it was. The ocean. The smell of it. The fact it was such a romantic place where she and her love and showed their passion for one another for the first time. But it was always the ocean.​

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Figuring this into what to add into the scene Nimue had a decent enough idea. While the memory versions of her and Victor were still entwined together the sea began to churn and bubble. The two humans were unaffected but soon the form of a giant sea dragon of myth rose out, spraying watery fumes out and showering the area. This had been an idea of her childhood, stories of sea dragons living in the seas, which she’d brought out here into this memory. ​

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[member="Raziel"]​

 

[Raziel]

"Very good," Raziel said, breaking off the mental connection. "Now hold that image as long as you can. So illusions are, well not exactly, but similar to dreams. You know what you dreamt, but you can only recall specific details, your mind has filled in the rest. You can never create a perfect image, you have to trigger the recipient's own mind to fill in the blanks. Now this is where illusionism becomes an art and not a science. Everyone has different mental triggers. One man might associate the memory of a spider with the smell of a shed they used to have as a child, another might be focussed on the spindly legs.

"So I watched and experienced you creating that experience, so now I'm focussed on similar experiences that you used to evoke the creature. So, reach out to my mind and try to recreate it here in this room. Relax, focus and don't worry. It can take many attempts to trick the mind into accepting something so unreal, even as open as I'll keep myself!" Raziel looked around the room, time was passing surprisingly quickly. He'd have to call an end to the session after this, for fear of tiring out the padawan.

[member="Nimue Stormson"]

 

[Nimue Stormson]

Once the mental connection was broken Nimue needed a minute for everything to come back to reality so soon. She’d felt like she was in a dream, almost getting a little too lost in her visions, before everything had started to reeling in for her. Hearing “Holloway’s” voice helped bring her out of it easier before she’d opened her eyes to see him speaking of how he wanted her to re-create the sea dragon in the vision into this very room.​

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For a minute she realized how difficult that might be. But, given a minute of looking around and trying to picture it at first, she looked back and nodded. Reaching up she placed her fingers on both sides of her head before trying to focus. Using the trigger of the sea, the smell and sound, mixed with her imagination as a child she tried projecting it into Holloway’s mind.​

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Eventually, and hopefully, the smell of the sea would hit him first. Almost as if the entire city, or at the very least the palace, had been moved to the shore and the smell of the tide was starting to seep in. After that came the sound of waves crashing. No, not waves. Something banging against the door. Water was leaking in under the cracks of the doorway. The water was coming up from the sea, but not on its own. One loud bang after another came from the palace doors before finally bursting open. The sea beast had come, sticking it enormous head in and roaring while spraying hot fumes of water at the two. Something that had always scared Nimue as a child was being made real to Holloway. ​

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[member="Raziel"]​

 

[Raziel]

Raziel smiled as he watched the creature shake its head and roar. A great mane, formed of rushing plumes of water, extended back from its neck. Like a bitter pill, he forced himself to swallow the illusion, even though his mind protested. Such an unbelievable image was hard for the mind to accept, and usually required a great deal more mental preparation, but the young empress was doing exceedingly well. He was pleased at the progress she was making, and pleased that his Holloway routine was an acceptable teacher. He was usually quite distant from his student and a harsh taskmaster. However, such would hardly be appropriate when being paid quite this amount by an Empress.

It occurred to him that he was starting to feel the effects of the exertion. He broke off the connection that [member="Nimue Stormson"] had initiated. "Excellent work, really, very good. Next we will work on how to lay the foundations for a believably and effective illusion. However, the day is getting late and we have done much. Perhaps a break till the morning would be wise?"

 

[Nimue Stormson]

Yet another sudden break from the connection she’d had with Master Holloway. Nimue sprang to being awake faster here this time, getting more used to the illusions and the fact she’d created them. When she awoke this time she was a little more bemused with Holloway’s reaction. Had she really done that well that the sea dragon scared him a little? Maybe. She didn’t say anything about it but the little smile on her face was clear indication.​

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After he suggested starting in the morning she nodded and said “Very well, Master Holloway. If you wish.” She stood and said “I already have a room prepared. I’ll see to it my servants’ keep you satisfied during your stay.”​

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Two loud taps from her scepter before the guards and servants who’d exited before had arrived inside the main hall. One of them, a young man, had walked up to the base of the throne and bowed, indicating he’d show Holloway to his room.​

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[member="Raziel"]​