An Insatiable Mind [Training/Plot]

Kaveh made quick work of the chores he shirked to go and assist Tenma. The magician gathered the groceries that he promised his mother, made quick work of preparing dinner, and cleaned the house within an astounding frame of time. Kaveh sighed as he finally sat down at the table to eat, his mother across from him. The magician was about to begin eating when he remembered that he had yet to remove his cloak. He stood and walked over to the couch that served as his bed at nights and began to remove the magical item. As he did so, he also remembered an extra trinket that was in his possession. The fire magician removed the necklace from his pocket and held it in his hand for a moment. I.. I should wait until she's asleep.. He thought to himself, subduing his curiosity.

Time passed and the two had finished their dinner. Kaveh took the time to grab his cloak again and step outside of the house. He wanted to look over the pendant, but decided against it. Instead, the red magician packed some tobacco into his pipe and lit it. The day had been a rather busy one and quite tiring. Staring up at the moon, Kaveh took a few extra drags of his pipe before heading back into his home and resting for the night.

The next morning, Kaveh rose later than usual. His mother was already up, cooking and cleaning. Kaveh wanted to protest, but she silenced him with some nonsense about being pampered too much and that she was still a woman who could care for her self. Kaveh sighed and donned his cloak and picked up the strange necklaace and began to head out to his makeshift research facility. He was an honorary member of the Historical Society, but he didn't want to always be in their building. So he got help from others in constructing his own shed meant for research. Inside, he had a case full of tomes that he discovered from the Torran ruins around the desert and old manuscripts of Ra and Anubis, two deities of the people of Heliohapt.

Outside of the shed, there was a work bench seated before a desk. The desk had all kinds of tools on top of it that someone would naturally associate to archaeologists (magnifying glass, dusting brushes of various sizes, etc.). This is the first place that Kaveh went to. He set the necklace down on the table and pulled the bench a bit closer as he sat down. The first thing that he took note of was the strange shape of the snake. Its body was coiled into three figure eights. The symbol looked somewhat familiar to the man. He made a short trip into his shed and pulled out a manuscript that focused mostly on the god Ra. He could have sworn that he noticed the symbol before in the manuscript and began to thumb through the pages, looking for it.

A little over twenty minutes passed and three more texts were retrieved. Nothing. Kaveh sat at his work desk, looking a bit defeated. "There's nothing in the annals about this thing. Perhaps I should take a break..." The red magician looked from the desk litterd in documents and books, with the necklace placed on top of them. That was all he needed to see to solidify his need for a break... at least from looking into the necklace.

The magician stood from his place and put the mouth bit of his pipe between his teeth and bit down just enough to hold it into place, but not hard enough to ruin the craftsmanship. The jewel on the front of the pipe began to glow, showing that Kaveh was beginning to channel his magoi into the object. The man rubbed his chin and thought of his spells so far. There was one that he didn't use much and felt like he was getting a bit rusty on it. That'll work.. He thought to himself as he started to inhale deeply through his nose. He reached up and grabbed the bowl of his pipe and removed it from his lips, however the concentration of his magoi had gathered into his mouth and remained there. Once his lungs were filled with air, Kaveh formed his mouth into an "o" and exhaled. The air from his lungs mixed with the collection of magoi and was transformed into heat, and as it left his lips, became flames.

Kaveh looked at the flames that came from his body, but was disappointed at what he produced. That needs to be much much more powerful. He scolded himself. With a a soft sound that resembled a growl, Kaveh placed his pipe back into his mouth. He began the process all over again. He began collecting his magoi into the gem on the front of his pipe's bowl. The flow stopped once it reached the same amount as last time, but Kaveh decided to push it. He concentrated a bit more and began to surge more magoi into the jewel, doubling the amount as before.

Once the magoi was collected into the jewel of his pipe, Kaveh began his inhale again. Once his lungs were filled, Kaveh was ready to remove the pipe. Unfortunately, this time the magoi didn't automatically flow from the jewel to his lips. Guess I'll have to motivate it... he thought to himself as he began to inhale through his pipe. He didn't have any tobacco in the bowl this time, so he wasn't that worried about the chances of tobacco going down his air pipe. The magician's chest and abdomen began to feel tight as he was trying to draw the magoi from the pipe. Luckily, he was able to get all of it before he was forced to exhale. Immediately after the magoi was out of the pipe and into his mouth, Kaveh formed a slightly larger "O" with his lips and exhaled again. This time the stream of flames was larger and faster.

Kaveh panted a bit, regaining his breath, as he watched his handiwork. "Heh.. not bad." He thought to himself. Thankfully, the streams of fire didn't catch anything. So Kaveh was able to turn and head straight back to his work. It was strange, he felt most at ease when working with his magic. Most people wouldn't consider what he did a "break", but it was exactly what he needed. His newly refreshed state of mind allowed him to start inspecting the necklace once more. Why haven't I seen this before? Only those cultists... Dammit. What cult are they a part of?! The simple fact that Kaveh had overlooked the men were cultists made him clap himself in the forehead. The only 'cults' he knew of were to the deities of Ra and Anubis. All of his 'hints' were just causing him more headache.

The next few hours of analyzing yielded no fruit for the heat magician. Wiith a heavy sigh, Kaveh stood from his desk and returned his books to his Research shed. The magician took another drag of his pipe and set it on the table, thinking about all the things that had happened to him within the past few weeks. The most peculiar things being the most recent developments. Most notably, the strange visitors to Heliohapt and the emergence of what was a being recognized as a new cult. The very cult that Kaveh was sitting there for hours before trying to figure out. There was something that he was missing... he just knew it. He just didn't know what though. At least, he didn't know yet. He was determined to figure out the secret behind them.

The magician's eyes fell to the trinket once more. The events of the day before began to replay in his head. They were only in short flashes though. Kaveh closed his eyes and started to breathe slower than before. His body slowly began to relax and his memories of the day before started to expand during his meditation. From following the cultist, to discovering the children. It was like he was watching from an outside perspective. He couldn't help but remark at the weird feeling mentally, but quickly refocused himself.

The fight with the three cultists came next. The first one being engulfed in Kaveh's flames and the second being overpowered by Tenma with ease. The third was also bested by Tenma after Kaveh was knocked a few meters to the side. "I guess I'll take you out myself, in the name of Apep." The words from the cultist rang and repeated in Kaveh's head over and over again. The magician then opened his eyes, feeling a bit confused. What is Apep... He thought to himself before shaking his mind free of the thoughts. "Ah well. I wonder if I can come up with three more..." He said aloud to himself, referencing a spell. The magician looked towards the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set. "Damn... okay.. just one more.. Then I have to go."

Kaveh walked a little ways away from his research spot and crossed his arms. What could I do though? I guess I spent all of my creative juices earlier. He concluded. Either way, the magician was a bit stubborn and refused to leave before introducing a new command to the rukh that flew about him every day. He racked his brain for a few moments, trying to think of something spectacular to come up with. When nothing grandiose came to mind a sigh left his lips. "If I can't come with something special, then what's the poi--" The magician stopped himself. Point. A grin grew on his face as he gripped the bowl of his smoking pipe. The jewel began to glow in his hand and the rukh around him began to flurry as they took the shape of a two meter spear at his side, the spearhead pointing ahead of him. No, no. That won't do. Bigger! He thought as the spear began to expand two more meters. "That's more like it!" He exclaimed. He then pointed his pipe forward and the spear shot forward at 15 m/s and crashed into a moderately sized sand dune.  "I guess simple is better sometimes.."

After his successful cast of his new spell, Kaveh packed up his personal belongings and unwrapped his flying carpet, heading to his home. When he arrived, he was surprised to see dinner already prepared and his mother setting the table. With a smile, the young magician sat down and ate dinner with her until she left for bed. Kaveh was left sitting on the couch to doze off into his own dream world.

Kaveh didn't notice the doors opening. He didn't notice much at all. The man wasn't a light sleeper, but he hadn't fully fallen into the deeper stages of sleep, yet when the invaders came into his house. The jerk of feeling two men grab at his arms was enough to bring him slowly back into this world. As Kaveh's eyes opened, they slowly moved back and forth between the two men. Once he realized that they were in similar white cloaks to the men he and Tenma hunted two days before, Kaveh's eyes widened. It was almost as if he was splashed with a pale of water to wake him up suddenly. Dammit. Without speaking, the magician struggled against the two men's grip, trying to free himself. His eyes frantically looked around and he saw his pipe was within arms reach on the couch... if only his arms were free.

As Kaveh struggled with the two cultists, there happened to be a commotion that caused all three of the men in the living room to pause for a moment and look away from their current situation. The cultist leader's borg flared up and he was pushed against the back room door while the door of the back propelled towards the living room. Luckily, Kaveh was able to snap back to the task at hand just a second sooner than the cultists. He slipped his right hand from the man's grip and reached for his smoking pipe/wand and gripped the bowl of it. At that moment, his eyes began to shine a golden amber color and he cast his Salamander's Breath. The Flame coming from his mouth may have not been enough to truly hurt the men, it would at least push them away from him for a bit.

The red magician groggily made it to his feet, just in time to see his mother come from out of the back room, carrying a large two meter staff. Kaveh grabbed his cloak and slowly side stepped towards his mother, keeping his attention towards the invaders. "What are you doing here?"

Kaveh watched the men intently as they scrambled back towards their leader. Kaveh and his mother had lost a door, but at least his mother was safe. The man's borg protected him from the geyser of water though. Kaveh was a little disappointed by that, but the fact that his mother would go unscathed for the moment was enough for him to move on to the more pressing issues. His inquiry was left unanswered as the men began to commence a retreat. Kaveh's muscles tensed and his clenched his jaw, irritated by the reaction. Not only was the man's question ignored, but they broke into his house and are fleeing! The red magician was pissed. His mother felt the angered aura around her son and tried her best not to show that she was agitated as well, knowing it would make Kaveh worse.

There was a brief moment where Kaveh's irritation had to subside. It was during the leader's orders. "Let the guidance of Apep protect you!" Apep?! Hm. Kaveh narrowed his eyes and took a step towards the man. Apep is the same name that the cultists called out to... Are they brothers to the same cult?! They have to be! He thought to himself. As Kaveh took another step, the man began to cast a spell. The action surprised Kaveh a little, but the red magician didn't want the distraction. He wanted answers. A second after Kaveh casted his Flaming Arm The arm "ripped" through the forming wall and Kaveh rushed to the couch, grabbing his cloak. The magician looked towards his mother, his look letting her know that he was going to pursue. His mother smiled softly and nodded, and with that Kaveh was out of the door of their home.

It didn't take long for Kaveh to ascend into the air, searching for the men. He could see the two lackeys starting to split off from each other and their boss heading a different direction. Kaveh did what he could and pointed towards the two men with the tail of his pipe, "No air!" As the two cultist tried to seperate, a sphere of flames surrounded them. His aim was to cause the two men to fall unconscious, the flames burning the air within the sphere. Whether the two were captured or not, Kaveh turned his attention from the two men towards their leader, giving chase atop his flying carpet.

Kaveh found himself catching up to the leader quickly. Just as he had hoped. Unfortunately, the red magician didn't take into account that he would be leaving the range of control of his entrapment. As he moved out of the range, he could feel the tension on his magoi fade as he could only assume that the ball dissipated without him there to maintain it. Ah well. He would have to search for those two again later. Hopefully they wouldn't have gotten too far from him by the time he was finished with the cultist... if he could manage to down the man.

As Kaveh closed in on the man, he noticed that the leader turned around, ceasing his flight. This caused a bit of confusion in Kaveh. No matter. He's making it ea-- WAIT The sudden surge of magoi in the area staved Kaveh off only for a moment. He redirected his carpet/cloak to fly upwards just in time to avoid the emerging trees. As the red magician found his way above the treeline, he quickly found that his vision would soon be obscured by another spell. This time, the cult magician summoned a massive entanglement of vines that weaved through the tops of the trees. It didn't take the red magician long to realize he wanted all of the vines and trees to go from green to ash, but he wasn't exactly sure how. Hm...if I can't see him.. he won't be able to see me, right? He thought to himself as a smirk came across his lips.

Kaveh inhaled deeply as the jewel on his pipe began to glow, showing that his magoi was being channeled into the wand. He exhaled as his magoi was released from his mouth as flames, casting his Salamander's Breath Mk. II. He watched as half of the vines began to light on fire. However, the gem on the pipe didn't lose its shine. "Burn the rest. Flame Serpent!" As the magician finished his command, the rukh formed a large serpent made of flame that slithered through the remaining vines, burning a clear path for Kaveh.

Once the vines had been dispersed of, the magician dropped down into the trees, landing softly on the ground. His muscles tensed as he pushed himself a bit further, calling upon the rukh once more. "Burn everything. Raze the ground!" The man began to walk as flames spread within a thirty meter diameter of him at 20 m/s. The magician walked through the flames as the trees let off an orange glow as they burned. It didn't take Kaveh long to find the cultist after dealing with his spells. "Now... Who is this Apep?" Kaveh's amber eyes stared at the cultist as he stood poised to continue with a bit more of his spells.

Kaveh narrowed his eyes as the man before him refused to answer him. I guess he refuses to cooperate with me. Fine. I'll just take care of him and look for his friends. Their will probably won't be as strong. He thought to himself as he noticed the man's mouth moving. He had to be mumbling something. The gathering of rukh caused Kaveh to believe it was an incantation. Fuck! His grip on his wand tightened as the jewel began to glow once more. As the rukh gathered around his wand and his magoi built up, he noticed the man's staff change shape. He was correct. Salamander's Break He inhaled as the thorns shot from the staff and exhaled as they made their way towards him, clashing with his breath spell.

As the thorns burned, Kaveh narrowed his eyes and pointed his wand at the falling, lit thorns and the flames roared and reformed the the Flame Serpent. The serpent's body coiled between the two magicians and its head snapped forward towards the cultist magician in the same fashion a snake would snap at its prey. Kaveh was wanting to end this as quickly as possible now, seeing that the man wasn't willing to give him any information.

A grin spread across the magician's face for just a moment. He was proud to see that his plan succeeded and serpent formed from the burning thorns. The thing that happened next caused Kaveh to curse a bit in his mind. At least he knew that the man in front of him wasn't just using an advanced magical tool, now. As the borg appeared and intercepted the fangs of the flame serpent, Kaveh wondered how much longer the man would resist him. This is one of the magicians that this cult has employed? They may be more of a threat than I thought. The Pharaoh may need to be informed of this... He thought to himself, almost zoning out... an idiot move.

Before he knew it, the magician across from him had raised his staff again, ready to counter Kaveh's previous onslaught. The remnants of his borg dissipated as a  creature began to form from the head of his staff. Fuck! He thought to himself as he watched the creature develop into two snake heads and snap towards him. fuck. Fuck! FUCK! Kaveh did the best that he could as he noticed the rukh start to surround him to try and protect him. At the same time, Kaveh's wand begins to illuminate as he whispers, "No Air." Kaveh took one final inhale as he held his breath as the large sphere of flames collided with the snake heads.

The heads from the snakes forced their way through the sphere. One, fortunately, burned to a crisp as it made its way through, dropping as ash once it entered the sphere. The other head, however, was a lot more successful. Although the majority of the beast's scales had been burned off of it, it still managed to make its way towards Kaveh. "Really?! Fine. Smash this wretch. Flame clamp!" The jewel on his wand lit up again and arms made out of flames at 15 m/s. The hands gripped the snake right before it came into contact with his borg. As the flames weakened the structure of the snake, it gave way within seconds and crushed the snake. As the sphere started to fade, the flames for it rushed towards Kaveh instead of dying. The glames reformed into that of a spear and was launched at the cultist at 15 m/s. "Flame Spear!"

Kaveh watched as the flaming spear pierced the cultist's torso and the flame spread through his body. Kaveh panted a bit and sighed as he tugged at his cloak, the material coming back to life. Kaveh was back on top of the carpet within moments and rising over the roofs of Heliohapt. The smoke from the two magicians' short skirmish was barely enough to keep Kaveh from seeing enough to see where he came from, so he just decided to move forward and go from there. As he exited the smoke, the view of the streets were a breath of fresh air for the magician.

Kaveh flew over the city at blinding speeds, looking for the familiar attire of the cultists. It didn't take him very long until he saw that he passed over one of the men running down one of the alleyways. Kaveh doubled back atop his magic carpet and brought the magic tool to cut off the man. Kaveh's carpett descended rapidly and stopped just short of the ground, the red magician sitting atop of his with one leg laying perpendicularly over the other. "Pillar of Flame." Kaveh eyed the man as he watched the cultist begin to turn a new direction. The eye of the pillar was cast a few steps in the direction that the cultist's body was twisting towards. Then at 10 m/s, A two meter tall pillar of flames emerged and engulfed the cultist.

After a few seconds of the pillar doing its job, Kaveh let the spell dissipate and dismounted from his carpet. He walked towards the cultist, a smile on his face. "Now.. I'm going to give you the same opportunity I gave your friend... Tell me everything about Apep. Who are you working for? Why are you kidnapping children? Why did you invade my home?!" Kaveh's agitation began to show through his last question, the flames of the growing in intensity.

Kaveh raised his eyebrow as the man finally began to speak. The pained sound of the man's voice and the visual strain was enough for Kaveh to feel a small bit of sympathy for the man. Perhaps he was a bit too aggressive with this one. The heat magician tried to cool his head as he received the information that he so desperately craved. Iqbal, huh? Hm. He thought to himself as he forced his thoughts to wait until the end of the cultist's rant. The magician's curiosity was biting at him, nudging him to figure out exactly what this cult was... aside from being kidnappers. Wait... they MURDER those people?! Kaveh's thoughts went back to the children that he and Tenma rescued. ...those animals..

Kaveh crossed his arms as he pulled his magic carpet to wrap around his body again. The red magician was like a sponge, absorbing all of the information that he was receiving until the cultist suddenly stopped talking. Kaveh tilted his head for a moment, listening to the man grasp for air. Oh no. I think I did go too far! The magician hurried next to the gasping man and turned him over onto his back. The seared flesh caused a lump to form in Kaveh's throat. He forced the sickening feeling down, thankfully, and put his fingers to the large veins in the man's neck, checking for a pulse. Kaveh's eyes narrowed as his check was faced with failure. The man was dead. "Just great. Just when he was getting to the good part..." Kaveh looked around for a moment to see what kind of people were watching. He didn't see anyone, so he decided to check the corpse, looking for any kind of clue. There isn't a chance I'd get as lucky as I did the first time... He thought to himself as he continued to pat him down. Kaveh did find something strange though, there was a dart embedded into the upper part of the man's spine. The magician blinked in confusion as he held the tool up and inspected it. He looked around again, trying to find any traces of someone that may have been involved.

The magician sighed as he pulled his carpet from his shoulders, the fabring stiffening out so that he could sit atop of it. The magician placed the dart back into the corpse before getting onto his carpet and riding it home. This was way over his head. He needed to enlist the help of some sort of official. [i]I'll take care of this immediately in the morning. His thoughts concluded as he made his way home. Once he reached his house, he was greeted instantly by his mother. The two concluded the night by Kaveh retelling what happened to her and her suggesting him going to the Temple of Ra about the cult.

---

The next day, Kaveh woke up early to make his visit to the Temple of Ra to meet with the High Priest. When he arrived, he was met with a friendly welcome by novitiates, hoping that Kaveh was joining their order. Kaveh entertained the mens' hopes for a few moments, figuring that it would assist him in meeting with the High Priest a bit sooner. The men continued their rant of the blessings of Ra and why Kaveh should become one of their brothers. "Your god sounds like a marvelous one! However, I would like a more experienced testament. May speak with the High Priest?" The two men looked at each other for a moment and left towards a back room. Almost an hour went by before one of the two men reemerged and beckoned for Kaveh to follow him.

The red magician complied and followed the novitiate to a back room that was filled with incense and shrine adornments. Kaveh looked around a bit before a rather tall individual emerged from a curtain. The man was draped in lavish robes and golden adornments. Kaveh could only assume that this man was the High Priest. Before the priest could speak to Kaveh, the red magician pulled from his pocket the medallion that he retrieved from one of the cultists. The High Priest gave Kaveh a quizzical look as he eyed the necklace and the magician. "Let me explain..."

Kaveh went into detail with the High Priest of Ra. How he and Tenma tracked down the kidnappers that the temple was searching for and how they dealt with the men. He left out the bit about Tenma torturing the two survivors, but included how Kaveh was able to obtain the medallion from them and how it was a symbol for a deity that they revered by the name of Apep. He, without hesitation, informed the priest about the invasion of his home by three of the cultists. He confessed to having killed the leader and magician of the pack in self defense of his mother and home, how the other began to give him information, but a poisoned dart slew the man before he could reveal too much more, and unfortunately about the third who managed to escape.

The High Priest sat there, absorbing the magicians' story and confession. The priest patted Kaveh on the shoulder and gave the man a smile. It was different from the one that Kaveh showed from day-to-day. This man was compassionate and hoped for Kaveh to find a bit of piece. He shamelessly plugged how Kaveh could be set at ease by revering Ra. The priest also accepted the medallion from Kaveh, letting the man know that they would look into it. Kaveh thanked the priests and exited the temple. Even though the Temple of Ra was now aware of what was truly going on... Kaveh couldn't help but feel uneasy.