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A painful analogy.
Icarus : Sun -- Mage : Forces
The next morning, I woke up and almost immediately went to test the lightsaber out again--to verify it hadn't been some dream. I wove the intricate rote in preparation of starting the device up, then hit the ignition switch. SHWOOmmmmm. It sat there in the cradle just humming away. I think I just looked at the glowing green blade for a good minute, then I dared to actually pick the lightsaber up--careful to keep it pointed upwards just in case the Forces and Correspondence focusing the beam were to come loose by accident. It held.
I moved it and was rewarded with a swishing humm from the FX replica speaker within. A little more of a swing. A little more. More. Finally I angled it level, becoming more confident in the magic holding everything together. I took an actual swing with it.
Glorious.
In short order, I was doing swing after swing--the blade absolutely weightless, the handle light and nimble. Absolutely nothing like the balance of a sword. Faster. More agile. It really instills confidence in the wielder. It was probably about 60 seconds I experienced that confidence that a swing of the saber lopped off a good chunk of my left pant leg and the flesh of my calf beneath the pants.
I strongly recommend never cutting yourself with a lightsaber. It is exsquisitely, indescribably painful. The worst pain I have ever experienced. My broken arm from SWAT training? NOTHING in comparison. The only good thing about the experience is that the lasers cauterized the wound--and I luckily didn't cut through my leg bone--or leg.
It is very sobering to see a fillet-of-me smoking on the floor.
I had some leftover pain killers from my broken arm earlier. I put them to good use along with some Mind magic to block out the pain as much as possible. I did what I think any mage would do in this situation: I limped to the ER and claimed I'd had an accident with an arc welder. The doctor was suitably impressed with the injury and thankfully didn't know jack about arc welding. More pain meds for me, antibiotics, antiseptics, wound dressing, bandages, and an appointment to come back later for the first in a series of skin grafting sessions.
If I was lucky, I'd be able to recover without having a permanent limp--just a massive scar. I didn't want to be admitted to the hospital and declined--I'd come back tomorrow. I decided to just grit my teeth and bear it. It worked for a while, between the drugs and the Mind magic. I went to Harbor Park to rest at the node there. Val came by. She's a Corax--a raven shifter. We're kind of acquaintences--or nervous friends perhaps. I think we put one another mutually at unease. She noticed me wince when I moved my leg, despite the baggy pants I'd put on to cover the injury. She talked about how she might learn a healing trick and help me out, but... Honestly, who wants to be a surgeon's very first patient? I declined the offer and eventually we parted ways.
Shortly thereafter, I discovered I'd been overly taxing my ability to control pain with Mind magic. The pain came rolling back in like the tide. I was desperate. I needed help. And I knew that the garou had healing magic at their disposal. (Some mages do too, but those are mages more capable than I am. So I was shitout of luck.) I phoned up Salem, my garou contact and about the only one of them I trust--somewhat. I told him I'd injured myself and asked if he'd help. He said he couldn't, but knew someone who could if I agreed to meet her.
I almost said no. But my leg REALLY hurt. You know the phantom limb effect, where someone loses a limb and their mind sometimes thinks that it's still there and sometimes feeling something--like an itch? I had phantom fillet-o-mage, and it felt like the missing hunk of flesh was on fire.
I agreed. Salem and another garou, Mouse, showed up fairly soon and she healed me right there in the parking lot--no fuss or paradox or anything. I know that static magic is inferior to dynamic magic, but you really can't help but admire some of the benefits of having a useful one-trick-pony like that. She completely healed my leg--completely--in probably under fifteen seconds. No side effects. No scars. No trace there was ever anything wrong at all.
I can never go back to that ER doctor.
None of us had time to loiter afterwards. I don't know if I'd have hit it off with Mouse or not, but I will say this: she got one hell of a good hand dealt to her that night.
And I haven't touched the lightsaber since. That thing is SCARY.
I moved it and was rewarded with a swishing humm from the FX replica speaker within. A little more of a swing. A little more. More. Finally I angled it level, becoming more confident in the magic holding everything together. I took an actual swing with it.
Glorious.
In short order, I was doing swing after swing--the blade absolutely weightless, the handle light and nimble. Absolutely nothing like the balance of a sword. Faster. More agile. It really instills confidence in the wielder. It was probably about 60 seconds I experienced that confidence that a swing of the saber lopped off a good chunk of my left pant leg and the flesh of my calf beneath the pants.
I strongly recommend never cutting yourself with a lightsaber. It is exsquisitely, indescribably painful. The worst pain I have ever experienced. My broken arm from SWAT training? NOTHING in comparison. The only good thing about the experience is that the lasers cauterized the wound--and I luckily didn't cut through my leg bone--or leg.
It is very sobering to see a fillet-of-me smoking on the floor.
I had some leftover pain killers from my broken arm earlier. I put them to good use along with some Mind magic to block out the pain as much as possible. I did what I think any mage would do in this situation: I limped to the ER and claimed I'd had an accident with an arc welder. The doctor was suitably impressed with the injury and thankfully didn't know jack about arc welding. More pain meds for me, antibiotics, antiseptics, wound dressing, bandages, and an appointment to come back later for the first in a series of skin grafting sessions.
If I was lucky, I'd be able to recover without having a permanent limp--just a massive scar. I didn't want to be admitted to the hospital and declined--I'd come back tomorrow. I decided to just grit my teeth and bear it. It worked for a while, between the drugs and the Mind magic. I went to Harbor Park to rest at the node there. Val came by. She's a Corax--a raven shifter. We're kind of acquaintences--or nervous friends perhaps. I think we put one another mutually at unease. She noticed me wince when I moved my leg, despite the baggy pants I'd put on to cover the injury. She talked about how she might learn a healing trick and help me out, but... Honestly, who wants to be a surgeon's very first patient? I declined the offer and eventually we parted ways.
Shortly thereafter, I discovered I'd been overly taxing my ability to control pain with Mind magic. The pain came rolling back in like the tide. I was desperate. I needed help. And I knew that the garou had healing magic at their disposal. (Some mages do too, but those are mages more capable than I am. So I was shitout of luck.) I phoned up Salem, my garou contact and about the only one of them I trust--somewhat. I told him I'd injured myself and asked if he'd help. He said he couldn't, but knew someone who could if I agreed to meet her.
I almost said no. But my leg REALLY hurt. You know the phantom limb effect, where someone loses a limb and their mind sometimes thinks that it's still there and sometimes feeling something--like an itch? I had phantom fillet-o-mage, and it felt like the missing hunk of flesh was on fire.
I agreed. Salem and another garou, Mouse, showed up fairly soon and she healed me right there in the parking lot--no fuss or paradox or anything. I know that static magic is inferior to dynamic magic, but you really can't help but admire some of the benefits of having a useful one-trick-pony like that. She completely healed my leg--completely--in probably under fifteen seconds. No side effects. No scars. No trace there was ever anything wrong at all.
I can never go back to that ER doctor.
None of us had time to loiter afterwards. I don't know if I'd have hit it off with Mouse or not, but I will say this: she got one hell of a good hand dealt to her that night.
And I haven't touched the lightsaber since. That thing is SCARY.
