Close Your Mind (Kaida)

[Phylis Alince]

And so Phylis Alince was back at Kaeshana...or at least high above it on the Tirathana Skyport. She had converted a room on board the giant station into an arcanist workshop.
Odd pieces of metal, crystal and wire were waiting.

The only thing which was missing was her customer...a certain Angelii officer named Kaida Taldiir.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


It did not take long for Kaida to arrive. She tended to be a very punctual person. As a matter of fact, Phylis Alince was not unknown to her. If she had not snooped around on Kaeshana, discovered the truth behind the origins of the Eldorai and pissed off the powers that be, Kaida's life would have been very different. For instance, she would never have been exiled and gotten the chance to see the Galaxy. It was also quite likely that she would have never been an officer.



So she approached the human with a certain measure of respect. Kaida tended to be more comfortable among offworlders than many of her fellow Eldorai anyway. "Master Alince, thank you for coming. Nice to see you again. Especially since I suppose this time won't involve exposing ancient Eldorai secrets," she said, tone dry. If she were Siobhan Kerrigan, this would be the moment for her to make a lame quip about Phylis 'giving her a helping hand' or how well she filled out her robes.


However...Kaida was not Sio Kerrigan. Blue eyes swept over the room, which had been transformed into an alchemy lab of sorts, with odd pieces of metal, crystal and wire strewn around.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Phylis smiled, came forward and bowed slightly. She rather liked the taciturn Eldorai. She was direct, to the point. Even better, she didn't try to chat her up every few minutes!
"I've done all my exposing of your people's secrets...for now anyway," Phylis said ruefully. She felt slightly guilty for having got Kaida involved, even if it wasn't really her fault.

"Now, your order. As you are not a Jedi, I will require payment on completion, and I will need your help in attuning the item to you. Have you settled on the metal you wish to use for the ring?"

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


According to some people Kaida was a frigid ice queen. From the frost elf's perspective she was simply capable of having a civilised conversation without wanting to jump the next best breathing female she saw. Well, she did not talk that much, but the point still stood! Besides, she had work to do! One of the many reasons she and Kerrigan did not get on.



In any case Kaida gave the librarian a curt nod. "I understand. I'll wire the required amount to your account on completition," she responded. As Kaida knew, the money would go the Order anyway. Hopefully the Sith would not end up getting it, since apparently they had infiltrators everywhere! "Bronze is adequate, thank you." She was a soldier, not an aristo and did not have much time for ostentatious frivolity.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
"An interesting choice," Phylis said. "Hmm, bronze it is."
Phylis had some experience in forging, and whilst she set her portable forge heating up she prepared her tools, including an ingot of copper with some lumps of tin and other alloy materials. Bronze was an unusual choice for rings, but it was less ostentatious than gold or silver might be.

Whilst the forge was heating, Phylis turned to Kaida. "This item will be imbued with the Force to help shield you, but it cannot protect you by itself. It will boost your existing energies in resisting mental encroachment. Thus, you must call on its power to do so, it will not work when you are asleep. With that in mind I will need a drop of your blood to add to the alloyed mix whilst it's still hot."

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


Small talk had passed, now they were getting to work. Kaida gave Phylis a nod when the Jedi Master explained the effects and limitations of the crystal. It would give her some aid in resisting mental attacks, but in order to have a more fortified mind she would not be able to get past investing more time into specialised training for it.



Having heard that the librarian needed blood, she pulled out a small kife before taking a vial that lay on the table. The she slit into the open palm of her hand whilst holding it above the vial, letting one drop drip into it before handing the glass back to Phylis. "Here I was told that playing blood was for darksiders in alchemy," she said, tone neutral but curious. After all, it's not like she knew anything about alchemy and the light side variant was a good deal less known.


For the record, Kaida did not like Dashdae Sciians much. She was no adherent of the 'dark is not evil' school.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Phylis smiled knowingly. "Well, hmm, it's rather different in this case. The difference between Alchemy and Alkahest is intent and perspective - just like the difference between using a weapon for honour and using it for dishonour. Blood is powerful because it is the life essence, but its use here is not as the Sith do. Here, it is to attune it to you, so it can protect your mind from outside threats because it has a link with you."

The furnace was ready, so Phylis put the ingot into the fire, and set about melting the tin and other compounds. Rather unglamorously there were no bellows or roaring flames. Instead there was just a modern blast furnace.

Phylis stripped off her outer robe, as cloth near a melting temperature was never smart. It was just as well Siobhan wasn't here, she reflected.

"Now, your finger size?" Phylis asked. She took a menacing looking device which fortunately just measured Kaida's ring finger.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


Kaida nodded after the elaboration. Well, that was good. See, she wasn't the type who was into creepy blood magick rituals. Or communing with demons in the Dark Tongue. Yes, this writer is fully aware that they're parodying their own writing in another thread. This is all intentional.


"Ok. Thanks for explaining," she said simply, whilst the furnace burnt in a rather unglamorous manner. This probably suited the Angelii just fine. Oh, and Phylis stripped off her outer robe because it was getting hot inside here. Now, Kaida did note that the librarian was a very attractive woman, but...she wasn't the type for lame flirtations, especially not at work. Besides even if she was, Phylis would not be interested anyway, so making crude commentary on the size of her breasts would be silly!


Anyhow, Phylis wanted measurements. Not those measurements, you perverts! So Kaida held her ring finger against the menacing looking device thingie so that the Alkahest alchemist could take them.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Phylis was completely and utterly oblivious to even Kaida’s disinterested examination. She was focused on her task and nothing else.
It has been noted before that Phylis’ rather absent minded and doddery personality might be a cover, or more likely that she could focus herself when she needed to.
Whatever the case, there was no such displays now as she moved from furnace to mould and back. Taking Kaida’s measurements she calibrated her cast exactly and set it in a large crucible.

It was then that she took an unusual step. Going to a small box she produced what seemed like fine grey dust and held her hand over it. Kaida would feel a use of the Force as Phylis energised what must be ground crystals so they glowed faintly.

“Adding a small amount of energised crystals to the metal does not weaken it, but instead makes it conductive to the Force,” Phylis said to Kaida over her shoulder.

The copper was liquefied now, so she added the tin and other components. It was just about ready to pour….

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


This one believes that Kaida would be wholly out of her depth if she...tried dating. Or was pushed into going clubbing. Maybe Tempest should take her out for drinks! This one recalls that by and large Eldorai have a rather low alcohol tolerance.



Anyhow, the Jedi Master continued with her light side alchemy Alkahest magic. During the course of that she played around with what on first sight looked like grey dust, then there was a surge of the Force. Energised crystals and all that. Kaida gave Phylis a nod to signify her understanding after the librarian had spoken, and otherwise kept her mouth shut and watched. She was fairly good at being stoic and stuff.


"What do you need me to do?"

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Phylis looked to Kaida and nodded. Being helpful was good.

“I need you to lift the crucible with the molten metal up with the Force. Bring it into position and begin to pour it into the mould. I’ll handle the flow.”

Being a Force user was actually exceptionally useful, as one did not have to worry about unwieldy tongs, but could lift red hot ceramics as if by magic.

As Kaida began the pour Phylis used the Force to layer it into the mould like batter for a cake. Into this mould she sprinkled the energised crystals and spead some drops of blood.

When the mould was full, Phylis motioned for Kaida to put the crucible back in the furnace. Then, over the cooling metal she summoned her powers of the Force, directing her energies into it to bind blood, crystal and metal together.

“Are there any designs you want on this ring? Any engravings or words?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


Everything was so beautifully and clearly described that this writer does not feel the need to repeat everything again. So Kaida made herself useful and did what Phylis told her to do.



And now to designs, engraving, words and so forth on the ring. As has been elaborated on a number of times, Angelii defined themselves as the avenging angels of Ashira who slew the enemies of the Eldorai in Her name, making them somewhat akin to Templars. Just without bankers and land of their own. When it came to decorations, they mainly used religious stuff, much like crusaders used to scripture passages on their armour and weapons.


However...Kaida was not an atheist. Displaying psalms dedicated to Ashira and Valora was not for her. For a moment she was tempted to decline entirely, but then changed her mind. "'The truth is out there for those who look'," she said.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Phylis turned, raising an eyebrow at that. “A noble sentiment, Kaida, and one more apt than most of your people know. Very well.”

“I’m not sure how much you can control your ice, but I want you to very carefully lower the temperature of the mould and the metal inside. Too fast and it will crack the bronze, too slow and it will settle out. I usually use water in limited amounts but since you’re here…. It will also continue the attunement to you, which is all for the best.”

Again, the advantages of space magic for mundane tasks could not be over emphasised.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


The truth was important. So Kaida thought. Even if she had played a part in burying it. For the greater good of Kaeshana, or so she told herself. She was fully aware that this was the same rationalisation many Eldorai before her had used. Not so long ago she had condemned them for that. Things had become a good deal greyer since then.



Shaking these musings aside, she did as Phylis told her and dedicated herself to mundane applications of space magic. Cryokinesis actually had plenty of mundane utility because it meant that strictly speaking you could do without a freezer or a fridge. This was very useful if say you lost electricity and did not want your food to go bad! Likewise pyromancy enabled you to cook without an oven.


And so with this in mind Kaida drew upon her Sciia, as the Eldorai referred to the Force, and harnessed her power, using it to carefully lower the temperature of the mould and the metal. It was a delicate process, since she had to find a middle ground regarding the rapidity, but by now she was quite formidable in her control over the ice, though she had sacrificed most of other avenues of developing her control over the Force to get there.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Whilst Kaida worked on cooling the ring, Phylis readied her next stage. Metalworking tools were now laid out.
When Kaida was ready, Phylis went to the mould and opened it carefully. Inside lay a dull bronze shape. Taking up her files and abrasives, Phylis carefully smoothed and polished the surface.

“Write your phrase in Eldarai script. I will then engrave it as such and complete the item’s creation.” She offered Kaida some flimsy and a pencil.

With this done, she started to carefully carve the lines onto the bronze so that soon it bore small, perfectly fine cuts in the shape of letters. Then, Phylis poured the remaining blood into the bowl with the crystals, mixed them, and used them to coat the grooves so that they set into the ring.

Standing back, she placed the ring on the metal bench near the furnace.

“Seal it as yours, Kaida, use your power on it, ice or anything else, drown it in your energy and it will be bound to you forever.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


The process was almost complete, now the last and perhaps most important part remained. Namely attuning the ring and sealing it as hers. Kaida needed no further encouragement and approached the metal bench where the ring lay. She looked upon the small ring, feeling the power of the Force emanating from it, then placed her hand upon it as she drew upon her Sciia.



Her particular element was ice and so it was this power she harnessed. As she did this, her energies poured into the ring, gradually claiming and marking it as hers. It was an endeavour that required a good deal of concentration and effort, meaning that the strain was visible on her. Her eyes turned a crystalline, icy blue as she focused and gave her energies over to the ring. Kaida Taldir had been a commoner who by some stroke of fate had been born with the Force, which had given her an entree into the Angelii, though few had expected her to rise far. Certainly not become an officer at so young an age. By chance she had stumbled upon the greatest secret of her people.


A revelation that had resulted in her becoming exiled and cast out, though she thought that she was the stronger for it. Now she was a protector of her people. One of many, to be sure, probably not even someone who would who would ever really stand in the limelight, be award a noble title and a harem of pliable girls. But she was fine that. Cameras always annoyed her anyway and having a big harem seemed far too complicated. And so she unleashed her powers upon the artefact, pouring her power and sense of duty and so forth into it. Finally she took a deep deep breath and withdrew her hand, as the process was complete. A long while had past and a glow emanated from the ring.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Whilst Kaida worked, Phylis shut down the furnace, poured the remaining molten bronze into an ingot mould, and gathered up her tools.
It had been hard work, but it had been satisfying. Phylis Alince was no blademaster, no great master of battle or of arcane abilities. All she had was her wits, her skills with research and a knowledge of the Force drawn by patient inquiry.
Now though, she had a way to help the Order and their allies in a constructive way.

When Kaida removed her hand, Phylis could see that the ring glowed faintly.
“Excellent, the attunement is complete. Put it on, and you should feel it there, helping you. A warning; I have not yet perfected the art of alchemically making the metal unbreakable, so the ring can be destroyed by a hammer or furnace. Other than that it should resist damage though, and it should stay enchanted forever. Or at least, effectively forever,” she corrected the last.

“Do you have any questions?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


So it was done. Kaida allowed herself a smile as she saw the faint glow emanating from the ring.



She experimentally took the ring into her hand and slipped it on her finger. She could feel the power of the Force coming off it in waves. By no means a perfect defence or even something could shield her mind on its own, but still a strong one.


She shook her head at Phylis' query. "No, Master. I have no questions at present. I just wanted to say Im glad you come all those years ago. I don't regret having all my illusions about the Eldorai goddess-given manifest destiny shattered," she said. Though spoken with a wry undertone, she was being honest.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
“Ignorance is bliss, dear Kaida. It is easier to live a convenient lie than to accept a difficult truth. You’ve shown that the truth can set you free. I want you to remember something though. Don’t despise or mock those who do not know. We do not know what they would do in the same situation as you and your sister. Be brave, Kaida, and may the Force be with you.”

Phylis went to turn away, but then stopped and looked back. “Also, somehow I seem to have acquired a Jester. I suspect Siobhan sent it to vex me…did you want him?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


Kaida gave the Jedi Master a nod. At first she had been haughty and felt like mocking those who would not see the truth. But...things had become a good deal greyer since then, though that did not make her resent most aristocrats any less. But perhaps having been privy to the secret of Eyrecae's origins - and being the person who buried the evidence - had given her perspective. "It's a lesson I've learned, reluctantly. May the Force be with you, Master Jedi." Or she was simply learning that compromise was an essential part of life.


Then Phylis abruptly looked back and offered her a Jester. "That sounds like her," Kaida said. Her neutral tone slipped just a bit...she clearly did not like Siobhan at all. "I think I'll pass. I'm not really the pet type. Good luck with him though."