Genesis of Apotheosis

[Strazio Rockwell]

Mind over matter, well basically mind over matter, was the concept at hand. Magick, Strazio figured, was much the same concept. Every scrap of flesh on his body was nothing more than energy waiting to be repurposed. And this property extended to everything in existence. Matter was energy waiting for manipulation. Tearen’s proposal was just an extension of this principle. However there was one major difference; to call upon magick once must pay a tribute, but Tearen’s demonstration seemed to require little more than a scrap of mental focus. Strazio had drifted away, only to be brought back by Tearan’s assault on Karkat.

The rage-mage laughed. He stood up, stretched, and wandered over to the door. He crouched and scooped up a stone. Idle eyes watched him as he turned the oblong object in his hand. He felt every pore and divot worn into the rock. And in one smooth motion he turned around and chucked the rock at Gamzee. His hand stayed outstretched and he enforced his will upon the projectile. The troll’s eyes went wide as he watched the stone slow and eventually come to a stop. It hung frozen in front of Gamzee’s face. It took a second for him to process what had happened, but when he did he lost his mind.

“Strawso! You’re doin’ it, a motherfucking bona fide miracle!” he tried to prattle on, but Strazio interrupted.

“I didn’t do that,” he answered, somewhat dejected.

Rockwell lowered his arm and asked Tearen, “did I?”

The eldritch let loose a half-hearted sigh and willed the stone back into Strazio’s hand. He shrugged and answered, “it just seemed in bad taste to allow him to be harmed at my table.”

“He can handle it,” Strazio responded, with a hidden edge in his voice.

The white-haired mage threw the rock outside and watched in vain as it soared across the campsite. He cussed, grabbed another rock, and tried again. Once again he failed to stop the mathematical aftermath of his actions. It was around the third or fourth try that he realized the others were watching him. Sparks danced across his body, gaining intensity as he grew more frustrated. The fifth and six rock flew further than the others, slamming against a tree and ricocheting into the forest.

“God Dammit,” he muttered and chucked another rock.

The whole display culminated in one final throw. His hands were now little more than short-circuiting transformers. As the rock reached its apex he fired a bolt of magick, obliterating the stone and sending a curtain of pebbles across the campground. With a huff he spun around.

“There!” he shouted, “problem solved, I stopped it mid air, am I art a God now!?”

“That was,” Tearen paused, choosing his words carefully, “not exactly the intended effect, please do try to contain your temper, Rockwell.”

Strazio threw his arms up, and spit outside. He turned back and pointed an almost accusatory finger at Tearen, “you said you were limited only by others of your kind, does that mean you were born able to do this bullshit then? And if you were, what hope do we have to learn it? It’s like a fish telling us we just have to breath through our gills to live underwater.”