Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Magic is a strange thing. The energy possible to be converted into magical spells is all around us, it just so happens to be the most difficult energy in creation to harness. This is why most spell casters only focus on using the innate magical energy in their own body. However, the great ones are able to access the ambient magical energy put forth from all life. The invisible and intangible connections from being to being possible for the transmission of this energy is very difficult to discover and most spell casters are only able to make it after years of meditation and seclusion. One particular witch by the name of Lorelei Rhines saw to expedite the process by meditating in a very magical location. After looking over several of the worlds dwindling magical locations, she chose a jungle that had been untouched by man for decades. Through her research Lorelei surmised that it was because of some strong magical presence, that combined with the mass abundance of life would be perfect for her training.
As such, after a long plane ride, a bus trip, a jeep ride, a long hike through the jungle and after she had found the right place to set up camp, Lorelei started walking through the jungle to find the perfect place to meditate. She pushed through the undergrowth with a thoughtful look on her face and wiped a stray lock of her barely shoulder length hair out of her eyes and checked her surroundings for the appropriate space. She contemplated about whether or not to use the Blade of Knowledge, currently strapped to her belt to cut through the undergrowth. Then again, she shouldn’t have really brought it with her, strictly speaking. She was only supposed to bring the barest of necessities to survive for one month, but she reasoned that she would need her sword for protection, seeing as she had only been practically applying all the magical theories she had been amassing for about a year and still had a few issues with casting spells that only required an incantation rather then a ritual.
She had just gripped the handle of the blade to cut through a thicket when she heard the rushing noise of water. She beamed and pushed through the undergrowth with renewed force, thinking that the sound of the water would be the perfect aid for her meditation. Finally she broke through the dense line of trees and emerged on to a beautiful jungle pool, with a rocky waterfall of trickling clear water. Lorelei smiled and took in a deep breath, this place was perfect.
Lorelei walked around the pool and finally found a place to sit, a smooth slightly mossy boulder. She climbed atop it and threw her backpack off her shoulders and unzipped it. She rummaged through it for a bit before she found what she was looking for, a headdress she had made herself out of crudely crafted masks so that it would appear that she had faces all around her head. She slipped this odd accessory on and sat down crossed her legs and closed her eyes. She took deep calming breaths and began to meditate, seeing if she could feel and come into contact with all the magical energy that surrounded her.
Lorelei sat like that for about a hour before she heard something rather odd. She figured it was her wandering mind but she swore she could hear…snickering. She opened her eyes and looked around, she couldn’t see anything but she could swear that she could hear someone positively snorting with mirth now. Lorelei frowned deeply and stood up, her hand grasping around her blade, ready to pull it out at a moments notice.
“Who’s there!?” She called out casting her eyes all around her.
“Whoa! Whoa! There’s no need for that!” Came a deep male voice from the trees above her. “It’s just…come on, you have ‘ta admit you look pretty silly with that thing on your head.” it said trying to suppress another laugh.
Lorelei rolled her eyes. “It’s not meant to look good! It’s meant to keep me safe while I meditate!” She explained tersely. “A majority of the predators in this area rely on ambush tactics to hunt. If I make it seem like I already see them then they will assume that they have been detected and will pursue other prey!”
There was a thoughtful noise from up in the tree. “Clever…but wouldn’t that same problem be solved by having someone stand guard over you?”
Lorelei sighed and relaxed the grip on her sheathed blade a bit. “That would kinda defeat the purpose of isolated training.”
“What kinda training is that for?” The voice asked, it’s interest seeming to perk up.
Lorelei scowled. “I’m not going to explain myself to a disembodied voice.”
The voice chuckled a bit. “Alright then, I’ll come down. Give me half a sec.”
Lorelei could hear rustling in the tree directly above her and followed the branches to the trunk of it, expecting to see something climb down it, instead she heard a cheery “Hello!” From behind her. She let out a frightened yelp and turned around. There, hanging upside-down behind her was a very muscular man with large soulful brown eyes and long brown hair. But what surprised Lorelei most was the fact that he had a serpent’s tail connected smoothly at his hips in place of legs. She could only see a few feet of it from where the snake man was hanging but assumed there was much more of it up there if he could support all the dead weight of his dangling human half.
“You’re…You’re a naga?” She asked, the words slipping out of her mouth in surprise.
“Yup! Name’s Kenneth! What can I call you? Besides cute~” He added with a wink.
Lorelei rolled her eyes. “Lorelei. Now if you don’t mind, I would like to get back to my meditation.” She told him curtly, crossing her arms in a definitive way.
Kenneth pouted slightly, his body turning right side up to get a better look at her. “You know, you didn't tell me what you were training for.”
Lorelei sighed, would he never leave her be? “I’m trying to sense and use ambient magical energy okay?” She told him with an exasperated tone as she stalked back to her spot. “Now if you please.” She sat back down and closed her eyes. Thinking that he would take the hint and leave.
She was quite wrong, for Kenneth was now positively beaming at the information. “OH! You can do magic? I love magic!”
Lorelei withheld another sigh with great difficulty. “Wonderful. Now, if you would care to…”
“Hey! I have an idea.” He shifted a bit so the he was now in front of Lorelei, who still kept her eyes closed tight, as if that would make him disappear. “I know a little magic of my own, how about I show it to you then I’ll leave you to your training?”
“Or how about I ignore you until you leave?” She growled out, not opening her eyes.
Kenneth just chuckled. “Oh, you have no idea how patient I can be.” He informed her with a hint of pride in his voice.
Lorelei sighed deeply again, normally she wouldn’t give into this creature’s whining but if it meant getting him out of her hair so she could get back to some important work…
“Alright fine.” She grumbled crossing her ams a bit defensively.
“Yay!” Kenneth clapped his hands together excitedly. “I can just tell you’re going to love this! But…” His voice took on a devious tone. “…You’re gonna have to open your eyes first~.”
Lorelei made a discontented noise in her throat but opened her eyes anyway, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. But when she opened them, she was met with rings of strange color flowing from his eyes. Lorelei gasped in surprise.
Kenneth chuckled. “You like my trick? I knew you would. Jussst keep looking, you’ll love it even more.” He began to sway and hum slightly but stopped after only a few seconds. Lorelei didn’t have the dreamy far off expression he was used to, in fact she just looked confused.
“Neat trick, but what’s the point of it?”
“You…You don’t feel any different?” He asked feeling a bit confused himself now.
“Of course I don’t why would I…” A look of comprehension dawned on Lorelei’s face. This must be some kind of behavior altering magic, most likely hypnosis or mind control. She glanced at the sword on her hip, so the legends about the mental wards on this sword were true. She looked back to face Kenneth and the full weight of his actions hit her. “Ohhhh” She growled out angrily.
Kenneth’s eyes returned to their normal dark brown as he held his hands up in defense. “Okay, I know how bad this looks, But if you give me a chance I can explain.”
“Explain that you were attempting to alter my state of consciousness or my thought processes so that you could make me consent to some unknown activity I would not otherwise consent to?” Lorelei said as she cracked her knuckles, waiting for his response to either save or condemn him.
“Ummm…well...”Kenneth started before Lorelei punched him across the face with a strength he didn’t think she could possess. He swung violently to the side and swung there like a pendulum for a few moments while Lorelei picked up her belongings and turned on her heel to leave.
“Don’t you dare follow me or I swear I will dice you like a vegetable!” She yelled back before dashing away to the campsite.
Kenneth eventually stopped swinging and looked at the place she had disappeared, a thoughtful look on his face. Not only was this Lorelei girl cute and grumpy, she was mysterious. His lips pulled into a smile, this was going to be fun.
The weeks trudged on slowly for Lorelei as she trained. Every day she would get up, collect water, make a simple breakfast, meditate for five hours, make lunch, meditate for another three hours, eat dinner, clean the campsite then go to bed. It was an uneventful schedule but it yielded the results she desired. She had decided to use a clearing near her campsite for meditation now, thinking that if she went back to the pools she was likely to run into that annoying naga again. The change seemed to work as she had not seen neither scale nor hair of the creature since.
After a week she could sense the intense magical energy around her, but learning to channel proved much more difficult then she thought. She could feel the energy all around her, brushing against her mind and her skin, but no matter how hard she tried or how hard she concentrated on it she couldn’t use it. It was getting downright infuriating. She had studied this for years! She had talent! She was in the right environment with no distractions! Why couldn’t she do this!?
All these thoughts and regrets swirled in Lorelei’s head for days until they boiled to the surface during one of her evening meditation sessions. She sat cross legged in the middle of the clearing,her headdress forgotten in her haste, with a frown of both concentration and irritation on her face as she focused. The power was pressing down upon her, yet slipping through her fingers. It seemed like the more she tried to grab at it and failed, the more she could feel around her, as if it was taunting her. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She sprang up with and infuriated growl and ran over to the nearest tree and started to kick and punch at it violently.
“WHY. WON’T. THIS. WORK. WHY. CAN’T. I. DO. IT. WHY. AM. I. SO. FUCKING. BAD AT THIS!!” She punched and kicked the tree on every word, slamming both fists into the trunk in a finale to her outburst.
Lorelei stood there panting for a few moments before she slid down the trunk and sat there, head buried between her knees trying to stop the tears of anger and disappointment from leaking out of her eyes. A whole rainbow of negative thoughts and feelings soared across her mind. She was aggravated that she couldn’t use the energy, ashamed of her outburst, confused as to why nothing she tried was working, worried that she may never get the handle on this and above all, she was disappointed in herself. Was this truly the apex of her magical abilities? Was it her fate to be just a shade short of true greatness?
Then, quite suddenly, Lorelei was brought out of her pit of hopelessness by a loud thunk of something hitting the ground near her feet.
“Huh?” She looked up, wiped away the welling tears and saw what looked like a mango laying in the dirt near her boots. She picked it up and rubbed it off on her pant leg, confirming that it was indeed a mango, but as she looked up at the tree she couldn’t see any fruit like it on its branches. She did however, see a rather large snake tail curling around the limbs.
Lorelei just barely smiled and stood up. “I take back that thing I said about cutting you up.” She said to the canopy as she wiped some more dirt of the piece of fruit.
There were a few seconds of silence. “…You mean it?” Came a familiar male voice.
“Yes." Lorelei assured with a bit of a laugh. There was a rustle of leaves and the creaking of branches as Kenneth came slithering down the tree. His long coils spiraling around the trunk until he finally reached the bottom smiling just a tad apprehensively at Lorelei.
"Nice to see ya again." He said with a bit of a nervous laugh. Lorelei returned it with a knowing smile.
"I think the more appropriate greeting would be nice to talk to you again. I can only assume you've been doing quite a bit of seeing me as of late." She said in a way that made it quite plain that the jig was up. Well plain to all but Kenneth it seemed as he looked quite confused, his head tilted slightly like an inquisitive puppy. Lorelei huffed a bit and put her accusation in simpler terms. "I know you've been watching me."
"You do!?" Kenneth said caught off guard, he quickly recovered though. "Um, I mean...I don't know what you're talking about." Lorelei rolled her eyes at his attempt to cover himself
"Oh please, you expect me to believe that you found me again purely by coincidence in this vast jungle?"
"Ummm...yes?" Kenneth said unsure if he really thought he could fool her.
"Well I do not. But never mind the fact that you are watching me, what I really want to know is exactly how long you've been watching me." She told him, crossing her arms sternly as she waited for his answer.
"Only for a few hours." Lorelei gave him a stern look. "...about a day." Her look remained unchanged. "...a few days." Lorelei arched her eyebrow. "...a little over a week." Kenneth finally admitted.
Lorelei growled a bit in her throat. "Don't you have anything better to do then stalk me? And here!" She threw the fruit back at Kenneth, who caught it looking a bit disappointed. "I don't want your bribes."
"It's not a bribe! I just thought you'd want something sweet since you've been so down and..."
"And then I'd forget how angry I was with you and then with my defenses lowered you would figure out why I am immune to your mind altering abilities then destroy that and place me under your thrall?" Lorelei finished for him, to which Kenneth was shocked.
"What? No, What? I just wanted to help you!"
Lorelei nearly snorted in disbelief. "Oh please. I find it hard to believe that you were watching me solely because you wanted to help me."
Kenneth arched an innocent eyebrow. "You ever think that attitude is why you can't connect to the magical whatever around here?"
"What? I don't...how do you even know about that?" Lorelei asked, confused as to how he could pinpoint her problem just by watching her.
"You talk to yourself. Quite a bit." Kenneth informed her with a bit of a chuckle.
Lorelei turned slightly pink with embarrassment and cleared her throat. "Well even so I doubt you understand the complex nature of harnessing magical energy."
Kenneth shrugged. "I think I got the gist of it from your rants. And from what I heard, you're trying to make some sort of connection right? Well those don't really work unless both people are open to each other. And...well you're about as open as a locked door."
Lorelei wanted to argue with the naga, to say that he had no idea what he was talking about, but she found that she couldn't. He was right, she could have misinterpreted the method to absorb the magical energy. If it truly was like another form of connection she would have to be open and accepting of it...but what exactly it is was incredibly vague at best. She sighed forlornly and ran her hands through her hair.
"The hell am I supposed to do now?" She said under her breath.
"Well first, you might wanna try not being so grumpy all the time." Kenneth suggested as he laid himself down in a pile of his own coils. He took a bite out of the mango and smirked at the look Lorelei gave him.
"Yeah, I'll just completely change my personality in a few days." Lorelei said bitterly, kicking at a stone of the jungle floor as she realized the ultimate futility of staying here. Her issues with people and forming connections weren't going to be solved with continued isolation, but if she did return to the city and tried to get in contact with more people she wouldn't have the time to meditate nor the abundance of magical energy to use. So it looked like her only option was...
Lorelei looked back at Kenneth who was still innocently chewing on fruit. "What's the real reason you were watching me?" She asked with her usual thoughtful frown. If she was even going to consider the plan she had in her mind she would need to get that fact straight.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean it!" Kenneth assured under the look Lorelei was giving him. Lorelei held his gaze for a moment then her lips turned in a slight smile.
"Your concern is appreciated but unneeded. I set up several precautions around my camp to keep out any form of threat. Nothing physical can enter without my permission...Which it appears I will need to give you quite soon."
Kenneth looked at her a little confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well like you pointed out, I am going to need to learn to form connections and be more open to finally be able to use this magic. And since I cannot just go back home the only possible way for me to do that here is to form a connection with you." Lorelei said her smile sliding off her face as she discussed her options with the naga, who's own expression became full of joy.
"Really? You mean you wanna hang out and stuff?" Kenneth asked positively beaming, tossing the half eaten mango aside and picking himself up off his coils in his excitement.
"More like I need to, but I guess that the outcome is the same so the phrasing doesn't really matter."Lorelei conceded, crossing her arms and looking anywhere but his idiotically joyful face.
"Wait, if you wanna make this connection thingy as soon as possible and you need to be mentally open to do it, wouldn't it be easier if I just hypnotized you?" Kenneth asked becoming confused again.
Lorelei cleared her throat a bit. "Well...umm...I mean that would work if I wasn't immune to it so I guess we should just drop it."
Kenneth frowned thoughtfully at this. "See that's what's been bugging me for a while. You're human right? So it should work on you. Unless you got some magic thingy protecting you."
Lorelei looked even more nervous. "Even if I did I'm not going to get rid of it."
"Why?"
"Just drop it okay!?" Lorelei burst out, causing Kenneth to recoil slightly in surprise. Lorelei let out a deep angry breath before explaining. "I...Don't like the idea of being put into a state of mind where I can't say no alright?"
Kenneth made an understanding noise in his throat and crossed his arms, looking up and to the right as he tried to explain what his hypnosis did to Lorelei. "Well I wouldn't say you can't say no, It's more like you don't want to say no."
"I honestly do not see the difference between those two situations."
"Really? I think that makes all the difference. I mean if something feels good you wouldn't want to stop it right?"
"I...suppose." Lorelei conceded, making the naga grin. She still had some concerns though. "What were you planning to do if your first attempt to hypnotize me was successful?"
"Just cuddle with ya for a bit." Kenneth told her innocently.
Lorelei blushed at his admission. "You mean platonically right?" Kenneth nodded. "And just to make this clear, if I agree to this this will just be a meditation aide right? You won't make me do anything...inappropriate right?" Kenneth nodded again his face brightening almost comically now.
She looked into the naga’s smiling expectant face for a second before turning away and biting her lip slightly as she weighed her options. His argument did make it seem like going into an open trance like state of mind would fix her dilemma, but on the other hand it would leave her completely vulnerable to whatever deprived things go on in the mind of such a creature. Then again he did seem rather innocent and made all those promises to her. But those were just words and what was stopping him from breaking them? Guess Kenneth did have point when he said that she needed to learn to trust more.
Ultimately, Lorelei looked back at Kenny, gulped nervously and nodded. "I...grant you immunity against my ward." She mumbled, feeling a bit as though she had condemned herself.
Kenneth on the other hand looked ecstatic at her answer. "Great! You won't regret this I swear!"
Lorelei still looked frightened, and flinched a bit as Kenneth put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry.” He brought his face down to her level, a bright smile on his face. “I promise, this is just what you need.”
Lorelei’s mouth pulled into a smile for half a second to show she was still up for this. Her blue eyes gazed into his deep brown, anxiously waiting for the moment they would begin to cast their entrancing spell. She didn’t have long to wait for only a few moments after they made eye contact, Kenneth’s eyes began to blossom with the bright rings of color he tried to charm her with when they first met. Enchanting shades of blue, green, orange and yellow flowed smoothly and ceaselessly through his eyes, weaving their magic on Lorelei’s mind.
Lorelei gasped as she began to feel it’s effects. Her mind became hazy around the edges,her keen and sharp thoughts growing slow and lazy. It was an unfamiliar and strange feeling, and Lorelei’s nerves didn’t make it anymore enjoyable.
“Wa-wait.” She stuttered out with difficulty, the distance between her mind and her mouth seemed to have tripled.
Kenneth hushed her quietly, running a hand through her hair in a comforting gesture. “It’s okay, everything is fine. Just take it easy. Jusssst relax.” he cooed to her, swaying his head slightly.
Lorelei followed along with him, feeling all the tension slowly evaporate from her. His voice was starting to become so...enthralling. Yeah, she should just relax. Everything was going to be fine. Her mouth opened ever so slightly as her eyes began to reflect Kenneth’s entrancing patterns.
“There, doesn’t that feel so much better? Give that big ol’ brain a rest. ” He told her amiably as his coils began to wind around her legs and up to her hips. “It's okay to let your self be open, to be vulnerable. I’ma keep you nice and safe.”
Lorelei let out a deep sigh that seemed to release all the tension from her body. Mmmm, he was so right. It felt so good to just let go of everything. To just let herself be so open. Her face widened into a peaceful smile as her body went completely slack in his coils.
Kenny stopped his swirling eyes and chuckled, ceasing his coils at her midriff giving her a look over. "There we are. That wasn't so scary was it?" He tickled his tail under Lorelei's chin making her giggle softly. Kenneth giggled right along with her. She was so cute when she wasn't being so grumpy.
"You know...I can help you out with all that boring guided meditation stuff tomorrow morning." He wrapped his arms around Lorelei's shoulders and pulled her close against his chest. "Right now I could use an extra long cuddle session." He cooed to her as he nuzzled his face into her auburn hair.
Lorelei hummed softly in agreement and slowly laced her own arms around Kenneth, nestling her face into the crook of his neck. Kenneth blushed a bit at this, his neck was a very sensitive place for him.
"Although, maybe you could use it more then me..." He said with a thoughtful air as he lay down on the moss covered ground with Lorelei. His coils genteelly undulating and massaging her and he held her tight against his body, Lorelei's gentle relaxed hums the only sound around them.
Kenneth sighed contentedly and snuggled up against her, kissing the top of her head. This was going to be a fun week.
