Presence
It is said that insanity is defined as 'repeating the same mistake multiple times and expecting a different result'. Conner was accustomed to mistakes, but tonight he wasn't mistaken...
He was persistent.
Conner found himself again pondering the old journal left to him by his Sire: a record from a French Sanctified who claimed to have discovered the means of adapting Auspex to view not merely Emotions or Auras, but the presence of Magic itself. A rare and precious gift to be sure, but one that was eluding the Shadow after several months of study. He shook his head in distaste. What the hell am I missing? Is there something in the footnotes? Some cypher the translator failed to account for? But he'd reviewed the various notes and translations for hours on end (thanks to not needing to sleep) and found no omissions unless they were hidden so finely that no creature would be able to read them. He was pouring over a section the author, known only as 'Madame', had left alongside several unfamiliar arcane symbols, supposedly gathered from various occultists, Mages, and sorcerers across centuries...
In opening one's eyes to the world beyond there is an attitude that suggests shutting out the world is what brings enlightenment. This is rubbish! The work of narrowing the mind brings confusion and staleness of mind, not clarity. The act of Scrutiny is not to shut out other stimuli at the expense of one, but to open up one's mind to the possibilities of more. To see the world not for what it is, or what you want it to be, but for what it could be for all Creation.
Could it be that simple? Wheels start to turn in Conner's mind where before there had been blankness and distraction. Have I been blinding myself by looking too closely? Or looking for something that I think should be there but doesn't have to be? It was worth a try, considering how many avenues the Shadow had already exhausted.
He picks up a notebook from his desk already riddle with scribbles and with few pages left. He reaches deep within and murmurs an incantation: a focus to channel blood from the animate to the inanimate...
3 successes
There's a brief sensation of lightheadedness; a mockery of the uncommon sensation of blood loss as the dark miracle takes hold. The notebook is transformed into a Vitae Reliquary: an object of power capable of restoring Vitae through touch. Conner then pours a bit more blood and will this time inward, with a new incantation of focus. "See the world not for what it is, or what you want it to be, but for what it can be for all Creation."
Conner had unconsciously screwed his eyes shut; perhaps more from anticipation than need. As he opens, he sees the reliquary in his hand light up like a swirling lava lamp. Conner's eyes grow wide and a smile spreads across his undead features. He knows this to be a minor power of the Lancea Sanctum and that it bears him no harm; not from merely his own knowledge, but from some mental radar that funnels the information to his brain faster than memory can. "I did it!" Conner allowed himself a moment of pride. He'd finally accomplished one of his many goals for growing in the lore of the Lancea Sanctum.
Now all he needed was a chance to test it in the field...
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