neverarightstep | Grainne's Grimoire

Grainne's Grimoire

Elemental master: Water, Mokosh, air, fire, beginning spirit
When did they begin studying Amare? June 2015
What elementals have they contracted with? Pinky, a water elemental
Have they used Amare rolls? 2
What types of magical things does your character love to do? Magical potions, minor protection spells, practicing rituals from home

The pages of the grimoire Grainne received from Gloria are written in a strange script, based on the Early Celtic/Pre-Proto-Q-Celtic variety, altered to be able to flow more readily and written more easily.

Anything she has done previous to receiving this grimoire is written down in a loose bound selection of pages she had been making into a home grown grimoire.

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At first, it is simply notes on basic stuff, Grainne's affinities with the elements, notes to herself about working with the elementals, and a mention of the elementals she's talked to around the house.

"The fire elemental in the kitchen is extremely grumpy. I have been wary of speaking with elements of this type because of how temperamental he is, and how often he burns my cakes. I've taken to offering some sort of appeasement before baking. ~~Fen'Harel's~~ (this has been scratched out later and written a correction in the margin next to the script) Solas's fire elemental friend also seemed to dislike me, though I do not know if it was due to his condition or not.

The water elementals are friendly and playful with me, and make the pool visits a fun experience. There is one who calls herself Pinky that I speak with regularly. The ones at the river seemed to be far more exuberant in their play, and I made friends with several. I try to speak to them when I am in town.

The earth elementals are calming. They remind me of the same feeling a druid grove has. The ancient earth steeped in magic and history beyond human remembrance, when it was just the spirits and the gods and the wild world. They seem to like giving gifts of earth when courting someone for a contract. Some of them are also quite large and easily bribed.

Air elementals (this is blank, as Grainne has yet to play with any)"

This section of Grainne's grimoire deals with the small protection spells and wards. There are some notes on protection spells in Ireland, along with observations about how those ideas might be applied to Amare, and a couple of spells that seem quite similar to what might be in Amare.

For wards, Grainne has used entire pages to sketch diagrams in extreme detail with notes about what each part of it means and what it invokes. Every so often she will sketch over top of them again in order to make the image clearer in her mind, as her way of memorization.

After the diagrams, there is a page with an actual spell on it, Grainne's attempt at enchanting her grimoire, like any good witch, with one of her own spells for protection. In fact, the next page seems to be notes on Grainne studying the spells on the grimoire itself, as well as a copy of the instructions that came with it.

Edited 2015-09-23 20:57 (UTC)

These pages seems almost frantic. Grainne's handwriting is sketchy here, done in the middle of the night as if she had woken from a bad nightmare. Every protection spell Grainne has been able to get her hands on from her primer and the other books in the library, along with one page labeled "Regina's circle" and a diagram that almost matches the one Grainne had caught Regina writing that one time. The diagrams are rushed and sketchy, like the handwriting, and all had been done within a few hours.

Finally, on one page, it cumulates into notes and theories (woefully young and flawed, showing Grainne's inexperience and lack of knowledge on Amare) on how someone might protect multiple people from danger from other realms. -She doesn't even have an idea of how she might pierce the barrier between worlds with the spell. There's a lot of questions and an Ogham equivalent to ???? littered all over (also, she made up an Ogham equivalent just for this purpose)

Five names are written on this page, alongside aborted drawings of what such a spell might look like. "Inherited debt" is written in the margin of one half drawn diagram. "Donnachad, Eochaid, Connla, Druime, Selbsercach.*" Some of the ink smeared, as if the page had gotten wet from little drops of rain. Eventually, she gave up and wrote "Hopeless" over one of her half finished diagrams.

The next page after that is blank.

Edited 2015-09-23 20:58 (UTC)

Further into the book after several blank pages, this one done several days after the frenzy of protection spells, a page is titled "life revival" also written in a frantic hand.

Everything Grainne knows about the ghosts she saw and the little she is aware of Kogrim in taking spirits is written down- there's very little, mostly points she took from the children's book on Erosian gods Regina helped her get. At the bottom is a question "can someone not of this world be revived here?" On the opposite page, there is another name at the top, Diarmuid, and at the bottom of the otherwise blank page is "I do not want him to see me like this." That seems to be the end of her theory making.

These pages are transcripts of notes she's taken while experimenting with making potions out of the native Erosian ingredients. Amounts of herbs or ingredients are listed, the parts thereof, and the effects it has. Also some combinations are listed as well as processes which either dilute or improve the effects. Many of these are copied down as a rhyme.

Also has a note on the use of the more advanced equipment the potion classes she's attended use.

After her notes, there are actual recipes.

One recipe is for a dreamless sleep, the ingredients of which cause a lack of REM sleep. It is written down as a rhyme.

Another is for contraceptive use, also a rhyme.

One is a mild aphrodisiac copied from elsewhere. This one doesn't rhyme.

This page is full of notes on the focus stones and how to use them, and a copy of what the people who had talked to her that day said.

Edited 2015-11-08 21:58 (UTC)

The delivery of the book came as a surprise to Grainne, but she lost no time in poring over the pages and attempting at using the key to translate. She's really a very poor translator, as some of her notes are... off. For example: instead of Ishdra's fiery passion, she wrote Ishdra's fiery ardor.

Anyone could have made that mistake though because Eros.

An old book. It's age shown in the coloring of the languages and the archaic, Erosian dialect. The cover itself, made of soft, well-worked leather, looks as good as new. With it, the maid also give Grainne a small key book to help her translate it.

The first few chapters talk much about Spirit and recommends meditation exercises, chants, and other practices that are all about becoming in tune with oneself and ones place in the world.

Some excerpts from the book are as follows:

Spirit binds, spirit holds.

In us is everything. Ishdra's fiery passion, Ordrell's endless patience, Ganok's flowing calm.... We are tied and to the gods we give our thanks. Praise be to Koriim and his wisdom.

Can spirit ever be truly 'mastered'. It is obvious when we gain control of the other elements. However, I submit that spirit is never truly mastered. Instead we become intensely aware of ourselves and the world around us. We recognize when to be still and when we change. Control comes not from rigid adherence to who we were but acceptance of the changes yet to come, that we will strive to understand.

And finally -

I am the master of my own heart.

There are many references a well to Koriim, the importance of loving in all ways, and the reincarnation cycle on Eros.

Due to Grainne's diligence in translating, she has recovered the following passages from the book:

The realm of Spirit is: of promise, of paths not yet taken, of unformed mysteries, of everything and nothing.

An entire universe exists in a single cell and we, comprised of so many, blossom with potential. Should we tap into it and understand ourselves, we reach not only Spirit but true knowledge of the vast wonders Koriim gives.

Spirit is both projective and receptive. We get and we give, combining all other elements into a single, perfect spark that is life itself.

Though spirit is about us and our place with all things around us. There are those who would take such a gift and shroud it in darkness and despair. In doing so, they become terrible, powerful, and pitiful. For those people, no matter how hard they try, will never understand what it is to truly be alive in the vastnss of creation.

She will also find a number of meditative practices meant to connect oneself to the earth, sky, and all things, even the more malleable concepts of the heart, mind, and soul.

Grainne makes steady progress through her translation. The next few chapters will be finished in a week or two, depending on how much time she devotes to her study. These expand upon the notion of spirit as a connectedness, as a cycle, as a system with such statements as:

It's all connected.

Fire scalds the earth to make way for new growth.

There is a breathing exercise in one of the chapters. It's purpose is to draw the focus inward toward the self and to be aware of the entire body and the space it occupies. The second part of the exercise requires someone to sit in the center of a spell circle. The circle draws all elements to oneself and provides an awareness of the world. We must be aware both of ourselves and our link to the world to truly understand.

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Grainne's Grimoire

Elementals

Protection spells and Wards

Strange section - written in the middle of the night

Life and Death

Potion recipes

Focus stones

The Spirit Book

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3