Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

The Chapter House.

Home away from home. Or so it should eventually become. Cal was thankful for the gym, as it gave him somewhere to work his body once his mind couldn't take it any more. Follow it up with a bit of time in the meditation room and he could emerge refreshed and ready for more.

He couldn't remember a time when he'd read so much. That wasn't a complaint, it was just that he'd always been more into the physical side of things. It was probably good for him to experience something new. Max Heinz had told him that he needed to break out of his regular routine. It would help him in the times ahead, prepare him for the Chrysalis process. Cal felt that was still a long ways off.

Eventually he returned to the library and began to re-read through some of the notes that Brother Teo ( Teodor Raluca ) had left for him. This stuff about angels was quite new and unusual and he hoped they'd have a chance to discuss it soon. In fact Cal would be glad of a chance to chat about any of this stuff with his fellow Dragons, there was so much to take in!

OOC:

Open to any Dragons who want to chat with a new recruit.

Arriving at the chapterhouse, the little monk let himself and headed to the downstairs library. Grabbing a book on hermetacism, he took several minutes thumbing to a particular chapter. Finding what he was looking for, he sat down at a table and laid the book down on it. Pulling a notebook from his satchel, he compared his scribblings with several diagrams in the book. Scratching out several lines, Teo corrected his notes and read for a few more pages in the book before returning it and notebook from whence they came.

Making up his way upstairs, Teo stood at the top of the staircase considering if he should head to the gym or the library first. Smiling and shaking his head he turned and headed for the private library. As if there was any real question where he would go first. Opening the library door he stepped in and the Serpent hissed deep within it's cave. It sensed the weaker beast of the Deputy and wanted tear it's spine out. But it would have no such luck this night as Teo slapped it down contemptiously. "Ah! Good Evening Slave McCann. I hope your evening has been pleasant and productive?" Teo asked as he walked in and put his satchel on the large table in library.

Cal looked up at Teo's entrance and smiled broadly, even as he had to force the beast's wailing down until he could think straight. It was an almost nightly chore that he could do without. "Supplicant Raluca! I was hoping I might find you here tonight." He stood and offered a hand to the monk.

"My evening is going well thanks. Actually I was reviewing some of those notes you left me. Must admit this 'angelification' idea is entirely new to me. Have you got time for a chat this evening perhaps?"

There was so much to take in. Maybe a little guidance would help him with the concepts he'd never heard of before.

"Of course, of course." he shook the slave's hand and then set his satchel down on table. "I am always happy to assist with the Work." Opening the clasp on the flap, he reached in his bag and pulled out a glasses case and a journal. Flipping open the case Teo took antique wire frame glasses, slipped them and then took a seat next where Callum had himself up. "Where shall we begin?"

"Well, as I've mentioned before, my past interest in the more obscure areas of philosophy and knowledge have been focused entirely on the 'Eastern' schools of thought. So Chinese mysticism and ideals aren't too hard for me to grasp. Whereas I'm not overly familiar with the background to this 'angelification' idea you described." He pulled out his own notes on the topic, which featured much of what Teo had spoken about, but also his own inferences from the research he'd done on his own.

"This may be an entirely naive view, and feel free to tell me, I won't be offended, but I kind of see it as an extension of the mind-body dualism idea. Strengthen the body through strengthing the mind and vice versa. So if the 'angelic' form is the ultimate expression of perfection, then the core concept is that what we are working towards is the mind-body expression of that. Target our weaknesses, remove them through mental and physical exertion. Perhaps imagine ourselves as clay in the hands of a sculptor, only the sculptor is our own mind?"

He sat back and gave the monk a thoughtful look. For a guy who'd been a rock star and fighter in life, this was an entirely new sort of challenge to understand and overcome. Still, Cal had the distinct impression that Teodor Raluca was the right person to ask.

Callum had been quite correct in his assumption. This was always a good starting point. Of course the core concept was not hard to gasp and identify. The sculptor analogy brought a twinkle to the Romanian's eye. "Your imagery is quite correct! When one uses chrysalis and focuses inward, we call the place of inward destination and change the 'soul of clay.' We shape and remold aspects of our imperfection. We analyze the characteristics of what defines our existence, positive and negative and then we attempt remove our flaws." Teo raised a finger of warning. "We can never stress enough the cost of failing in the 'soul of clay.' You will be locked away from your body and the best think you can hope for is one of your fellow Dragons giving you Final Death quietly, out of the way with some reverence. I have seen those who loose themselves end in very public blood hunts, court executions and breaching the First Tradition." he gave Callum a significant look to make sure the daeve knew he was not joking.

"But to your question, my 'angelfication' theorem is...'more wordy' I think it is called to day." Teodor chuckles a little to help lighten the mood. "I was educated is in the Greek system. My own approach to the Great Work is through theosophical construction. That particular construct is drawn from early christian asceticism in Egypt." the monk pauses and smirks just a little. "You would be surprised just how much the Crone and Spears are linked together in Egypt." musing out-loud. Catching himself he focuses back on Callum. "Yes..the soul of clay..it is from there we attempt to effect our 'mind' and 'body' with the Coils. For instance the Coil of the Slumber fortifies one's mind so that natural torpor is shortened and its warping effects are lessoned on our memories. Alternatively the Coil of the Flesh allows us to rejoin the 'mortal cycle' in small ways such as being able to grow hair and finger nails." he strokes his beard in mock thoughtfulness. "One can only imagine the impactions of manscape exploration on the Great Work." he almost pulled off saying manscape with a straight face, almost.

"I am curious though, which eastern schools are you familiar with?" he asks, switching gears to probe the daeva. "The writings of the new neo-daoists I have found is good approach to teach kindred ethics and how Dragons should conduct their research."

The Soul of Clay. Not too far from the mark then Cal. Smarter than you think...sometimes.

He listened to the Brother's ( Teodor Raluca ) explanations carefully and indicated that he was going to write while the man spoke. He had decided that extensive note taking was the best way to proceed. It was kind of like writing song lyrics, you threw everything down and then looked for the stuff that really leapt out later on. Hearing him talk of the Coils Callum nodded, it made a lot of sense.

"It's the Coil of the Beast that I plan to deal with first Brother Teo. As a new Kindred I find the call can be extremely distracting." He smiled companionably. "I was used to being a top predator."

The questions about philosophy saw him leaning forward to show his interest in the topic. "Old-school taoism, Chinese buddhism, and Confucianism, plus the neo-daoists. Interestingly a lot of these schools of thought really flourished through the martial arts community, and there's a ton of local flavours and variations on a theme."

Local flavor? Interesting. "Indeed?" the monk raised and eyebrow. "I would be very interested to hear about the integration into martial practices. I am know several Tai Chi katras as it is common method. But theses 'local flavors?' This would be beyond just meditations?" Callum had clearly grabbed the Teo's attention. Another possible avenue to expand on the Eastern Method he found other Dragons more readily accepting of than a Christian approach. Not to mention an other courtier to gain favor with. For some reason he had angered important people and while he was not overly concerned with, it was better to impress and befriend those on the rise than do nothing. Politics is so bothersome. And yet strangely fun. A taste he had acquired from the Duchess, one he was not sure was a good thing or a bad thing.

Cal nodded at the Monk's obvious interest. "Yes. Consider that there are over 100 different styles of Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Bagua. Each with their own history and lineage. There are almost as many variations of Chi Gung, connected to the animal styles of Shaolin, Chinese five element theory, and the Eight Immortals, not to mention all of the Taoist core versions. They all have their own associated stories, history, and ideas. Each has evolved through time based upon the observations of those who passed them down. It's like a huge and convoluted family tree if you will." The Daeva smiled and sat back in the chair.

Teo nodded as the daeve spoke. "From what you have studied at the school you attended, would you believe Mencius or Xunzi was closer to the nature of the Kindred?" he asked shifting the line of questioning somewhat. Rather then driving straight for an interrogation of his school, Teo saw an opportunity to test just how much the man knew and to see if he found someone he could have real discussions with.