Back to the start...
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| Ceremonies and Spells | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chilandrea lay in Alexander's arms, warm, safe, and comfortable, watching the sun slowly rise over the distant horizon. Why was it forbidden to be this happy? Why couldn't she be with the man she loved for the rest of her life? With her head resting on his shoulder, she stared up at his sleeping face. This man was different from all others in the world. He was kinder, not as narrow minded as so many she;d met before. There was something about him, something that drew them together. Would they be the ones to change the Divine Law? Was their love that powerful? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She sighed and pulled herself closer to him. His skin was warm against hers. She'd never felt anything like what he made her feel. She knew that if they were discovered that she would never see him again -- alive -- in her lifetime. She only hoped that they could meet in another and continue spending that life together. But, how could that be possible when the Law forbids her from ever reincarnating? What could change that? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Staring at the 'dynamic' symbol on his hand, she remembered how she'd studied the language on her own as a child. She could read, write, and speak the language which most of her peers could not. Even the All High Priestess herself did not have that knowledge. The few that could translate were sought after in certain kingdoms for special reasons she had never known. She wondered to herself, If Alexander bares a mark of the language, would he also be able to decipher and speak it as well? This would be a question she would ask later when he awoke. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Then remembering their dilemma, she thought of possible ways to ensure their reincarnation even if her order saw to it to strip her powers from her. She could have them both recite some short spells to keep their souls together, or perhaps create a potion that would help. But the best idea was to imprint another tattoo on each of their bodies using the ancient language, for it had always been said to hold powers of its own that surpassed any other magic. She silently wished that she didn't have to resort to such tactics -- that she could leave the kingdom, run away with Alexander and live a happy life with him forever-- but the order would always find them. All she could do was enjoy the time she had with him now until her wedding and hope they wouldn't be discovered too quickly. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She nestled her head into the crook of his neck and felt him take a deep sigh. He took her hand from his shoulder and brought it to his lips in a kiss. "Sleep well?" he asked. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She smiled, knowing she had not once shut her eyes, and replied, "Yes, did you?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Better than I ever have." He pressed his lips to her head and took a deep breath, smelling her hair. "You are a dream. How did you become so special?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I was never told," she said chuckling. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Then it must be inborn. Don't ever change." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After a short pause, she took his hand and ran her finger over his tattoo. "You got this when you became a warrior. Do you know what it means?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Of course. It's tugea. It's given to every general in the land." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "So you know the language?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Of course. My parents taught me when I was young. Merrick hated learning all the verbs, so he never concentrated on his studies. I can speak it fluently." His brow narrowed in confusion. "Why do you ask?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I was hoping you would." She sat up and concentrated on her idea. "There might be a way for us to make sure that whatever happens in our near future that we may perhaps overrule the order's judgment to stop us from reincarnating. They have the power to stop us from ever existing again, and I think I may have a way to prevent them from doing that." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "What? How?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chilandrea stood up and loosely put on her black dressing gown, quickly walking through to the other room. "I have a few books!" she shouted from across the main room, entering her book room. "Put something on and meet me in here." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confused, Alexander complied. He pulled on his trousers, ran his hand through his hair, and entered the room he'd never even realized was there. It was very dark, only lit by candles, and very few at that. There weren't even any windows. There were, however, hundreds of books, stacks upon shelves upon stacks, lining all around the walls leaving a space for the door. There were no ladders leading to the topmost shelves -- which were very high indeed -- and he realized that a priestess with her power would have no need for ladders. She simply needed to summon them to her and they would appear. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He stared at her in wonder. Her light, airy, silken robe was tied just at the waist, leaving the upper part slightly open to her navel while the rest to her ankles wafted around her like water. The sleeves were tight around the shoulders and five times as wide at the ends -- the ends went about half a foot beyond her hands. Standing in the center of the room, her hair was down, flowing around her face, and she stared up at the books searching for a particular title. Alexander found this VERY attractive. Clearing his throat he asked, "Um, what exactly are you looking for?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I told you, some books. One in particular... could you try looking for 'History of Storindrake'?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Uh... Why would you want that when trying to mend our future?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Please, just search for it." She stared up at the higher shelves in concentration, her eyes shimmering as several books came floating down to her hands. Alexander wandered about the lower shelves searching through every book as he passed. Each book looked similar to the previous one. They were all kept in fairly good condition, even though they were covered in dust. Some were tall, some short, some thin, some fat, but all very similar. His eyes darted from title to title: A Detailed Guide to the Spirit World; Magickal Remedies and Herbs; The Hidden Powers Inside. There seemed to be nothing like the book she was searching for. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Then, on the bottom shelf, a book caught his eye. It was bound in shiny black leather and seemed as though the dust couldn't touch it. Bending down, he looked at the binding and slipped it out of its place from between The Meaning of the Stars and Ancient Enchanters. The title in silver lettering was History of Storindrake. "Chilandrea, I found it." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Oh, good. I wondered where I'd put it." She let the books in her hands float effortlessly back up to where she'd gotten them and joined Alexander. She took it from his hands and walked to the center of the room, conjuring a table and two chairs from thin air. Sitting, a small lit candle appeared on the table, and she opened the book. "Come, look here," she said gesturing to the chair beside her. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He sat looking at the book, wondering what exactly a book about the history of this kingdom could possibly help, and noticed that some of the pages were stuck together. On closer inspection, the book had a small rectangle of paper cut from a section of pages to hold another smaller book inside it. "You were hiding this? But why? What is it?" he asked. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "It is the book that taught me all of the ancient language and some of the powers of that culture. Here, look." She handed him the small book. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opening it, he saw half of each page was written in their language and the other had been translated into the ancient language. There were even symbols beneath some of the words to show how to write it. Flipping through, amazed at the detail for his books were never this meticulous, he saw that the second half of the book was completely written in the old language and spoke of particular spells to revive the dead, transform into another creature and such. "I've never seen such things! Where did you find it?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "It was collecting dust in the old library where I pledged. No one had touched it in years, and when I found out what it was, I gladly started studying it -- in secret of course -- and have committed much of it to memory. And if I remember correctly..." she said, searching through for a specific passage. "Ah, here it is. 'To ensure joint reincarnation in a future life.' This is it, the spell I spoke of earlier." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "But, are you sure it will work? What is entailed in the process?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She read through carefully, and spoke. "We'll need a special ink made of ground gnome bones and river water, a needle of pure silver, and these two symbols here. Together, they mean maranwe alye': 'a destiny together.' It says that permanently fixing these on a part of our body will ensure that we will meet in another life." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Permanently fixing? Does that mean a tattoo?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Yes, I assume so. And we should tattoo it with the previous ingredients. I can prepare these in a days time... that is, if you believe we should do so." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He looked a little hesitant. "Are you sure you are up to that kind of pain?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "For this, of course. Wouldn't you?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Only if you were willing, and you are. So begin preparations." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She smiled, moved from her chair to his lap, and laced one arm around the back of his neck to kiss him. She sighed. "Oh, I would gladly give this life up just to spend it making love to you." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "And I would not stop you," he said chuckling. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She kissed him once more and went to find the ingredients they needed in her shelves. "I'll search a bit this morning and get them ready during the day, but you must get back to your own room before anyone else awakes. We don't want to be discovered just yet." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He stood to leave, but stopped. "What do I do if someone is already awake and sees me returning from here?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Oh, dear... Go get clothed then come here." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soon returning fully dressed, he joined her at her shelves. She held her hands in front of his face, not touching him at all, and slowly ran them from his head to his feet. "What are you doing?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She stood back and watched him disappear before her eyes. First his head vanished, soon followed by his shoulders and so on. Once he was completely gone, she said, "Hold your hand up before your face." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He did so, but couldn't see it. "Hey! What happened?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She laughed. "Just be quiet when you leave. No one can see you, but they can hear and touch you, so be careful." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "And when I do get to my room, how do I become visible?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I'll take care of that, just go before I'm found here in my dressing gown talking to the wind." She heard his footsteps vanish slowly out the door. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Finally, after everyone had awoken and Alexander found himself visible in his room, a knock sounded on his door just before it burst open. Horace bounded in with an expression of determination, but as soon as his eyes landed on Alexander, it turned to surprised confusion. "Horace? Is there something wrong?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Horace sputtered a moment trying to find his voice. "I... I thought you weren't going to be here... You went to Chilandrea's and didn't return last night, and I assumed..." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Finding me here this morning is not what you'd thought I'd done, is it? Well I'm here, and yes I did see her last night. Will there be anything else?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Horace's brow furrowed. "I'm telling you this one last time: for your own good, do not pursue her! It would only end in despair." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I am done, Horace. I am not in pursuit anymore." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Truthfully?" he asked, eyebrow raised. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Truthfully." It was true. Alexander would not like to lie to his best friend, and in fact he wasn't. The pursuit was indeed over with, for he had won his prize, though he didn't like to think of her that way. He had won the affection of the goddess he so dearly sought after. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You seem too content with this. I hope you are not deceiving me, but I will ask no more questions. Let us go and help prepare the ceremony." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On to the next chapter! Back to the start... |
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