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ecotone99 · 4 years ago

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[FN] Reunion (Part 2)

Reunion part 1 can be found here at this link

“That’s the salt!” Lizbeth shouted from the other side. Magic-users could come and go when projected into the Fade Realm, but it took a strong magus to bring anything into the Fade physically with a door.

“Lizbeth?” Clyden asked as he was walking towards the door. Lizbeth stepped through the door, and it vanished just as another was appearing. It was plated in gold and carved in the door was the image of a dragon. Lizbeth opened the golden door spilling sunlight into her library. Lizbeth ran through the door. The three remaining in the Fade Realm walked towards the golden door. A giant bone was heaved through the door, forcing them all to dodge instinctively. It clunkily rolled before falling over. The bone was a colossal sun-bleached vertebra of a dragon. The vertebra was milky white, almost like polished jade, and a sense of power radiated from it. The bones of powerful magical creatures often were used as catalysts in spells. Lizbeth ran through the door covered in soot slamming the door as flames tried to leak through the closing crack before vanishing. She wiped the soot from her shoulders. Malve helped her dust it from her hair.

“Well, that is everything we need,” Lizbeth said, clapping the dust from her hands.

“Everything?” Servan asked, tilting the giant dragon vertebrae on its side, letting it rest on his hip.

“Oh, can you grind the bone to the consistency of flour? You have to do it without the use of magic also,” Lizbeth told Servan. Servan looked at her questioningly, patting the smooth jade-like pale bone lying against his hip.

Clyden took note of Servan’s expression, “I will help you with the grinding Servan,” Clyden said. The door Clyden used to enter the Fade the first time reappeared and he stepped through it. Servan vanished from the Fade as Lizbeth did earlier, swallowed by flames. Servan no longer being projected in the Fade left the dragon vertebra without any support, and it felled over with a loud thunk on the floor. Another door appeared quickly, and Servan walked through it. Servan walked over to the dragon bone and tilted the vertebrae back on its side and kicked it. The dragon bone clunkily rolled through the door Clyden created. “This is the Kingdom of Loudas,” you could faintly hear Clyden explaining to Servan before the door closed.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Malve asked Lizbeth.

“Yes, before you step out, I need you to draw the ritual diagram on the ground. We will use it as a template to lay the salts and bone dust over it,” Lizbeth instructed as she handed the parchment she copied before to Malve.

"OK,” Malve said, studying the parchment carefully. Malve looked at one of the tall columns and visualized a winding staircase leading up one of them. It manifested, and she ascended them. When she reached the top, Malve looked down at the floor. “Lizbeth, you are in the way,” she told her. Lizbeth did not respond to Malve’s request; she was sitting in her chair at the table, holding the compendium, and lost to the vast wealth it contained. “Lizbeth!” Malve said again. With no response from Lizbeth, Malve sighed, and she deconstructed the table in front of her and still did not get Lizbeth’s attention. A wry smile crossed Malve’s face, and the chairs and table vanished.

“Hey!” Lizbeth squealed as she fell to the floor. She stood up, rubbing her rear end. “Why did you do that for?”

“You will never change, Lizbeth. I did ask twice for you to move,” Malve said, suppressing her laughter.

“Oh, sorry. At least put the chairs back, Malve?” Lizbeth asked with an apologetic and embarrassed tone.

"OK,” Malve said. Three chairs materialized, followed by a red chaise lounge. Lizbeth beamed with delight “Consider that my apology.”

“Oh, and can you make me a night shroud about three times the size of the book?” Lizbeth requested as she jumped into the chaise and proceeded to make herself comfortable. The night shroud cloth appeared, and it dropped onto Lizbeth’s head, “Hey!” Night shroud cloth had the unique ability to absorb all light so long as the source of the light was behind it.

“Move Clyden’s thaum will you,” Malve said, pointing to Witch Devil.

Malve smiled at Lizbeth, protesting under the shroud. The two of them shared a complicated past, as did all the of the magi. Malve and Lizbeth once were enemies at one point, and after hundreds of years, they became like sisters. The endless adventures the two shared were some of her fondest memories. Lizbeth would drag her to the far reaches of the land in search of her books, or Malve would drag her to some hidden or lost city for exploration. They all were once like family, and when Varoosh vanished, everything between the four of them changed. Malve pulled away from her friends. In truth, they all pulled away from each other. Clyden and Servan fought with each other constantly. Mainly due to Clyden’s relentless search for how to bring Varoosh back. Servan wanted to move on and forget Varoosh, while Clyden was annoyingly in search of him and continuously beseeching the other magi for help. When they all gave up, Clyden never did. It was painful to be around Clyden and his obsessive quest to bring Varoosh home. Varoosh, Clyden found you, he looked for you for 110 years and found you, Malve thought to herself guiltily for giving up. Malve silently thanked Clyden in her head for returning hope to them. They were all going to be a family again.

“Exactly as shown, Malve. No mistakes,” Lizbeth said.

“It will be as you say, I have done this before,” Malve retorted. Now the room was cleared of obstructions Malve had enough room to work. Malve visualized the outline of the larger circle in her mind, and it slowly began to appear. One could conjure something as complex as a dragon instantly in the Fade, but when it came to powerful magical rituals, it could take hours just to lay a diagram. After a while, she finished the large circle. Malve looked at the parchment to get the locations of the smaller circles attached along the edge of the larger circle. The smaller circles would have rested at the north, south, east, and west points on a compass. They appeared in tandem one after the other until all four circles were perfectly spaced. With a fifth small circled centered in the middle of the larger circle. Next, the lines connecting three smaller circles on the outside to the inner circle except for the northern circle were drawn. Below the northern circle on the parchment were summoning runes drawn, covering half of the circle. The runes began to appear on the floor. Malve worked diligently, making sure it was correct. When she was satisfied, she descended the winding staircase down the column. She walked over to the chaise lounge and moved Lizbeth’s legs. She sat down, sighing, “Finished.”

“Took you long enough,” Lizbeth said sternly.

“Well, you could have done all this before you projected yourself out the first time you know,” Malve said back. A person physically entering the Fade could not manipulate things on a whim as someone projected in. They would have to wait several days before they could project themselves back in. Malve was the only one left projected in so she would wait until the last moments to enter physically in case they needed anything else conjured.

“I did not think about that. Besides, I had to do important research,” Lizbeth said, her voice briefly sounded with a hint of suspicion.

“Research?” Malve asked. There was something in the way Lizbeth had said ‘important research’ that raised flags inside her. Malve looked at the night shroud cloth and a moment of clarity registered in her. “You book rat, you have been using the shroud to cover up the light as you switch from person to person in the book,” Malve accused Lizbeth as she leaned over to try and see the page Lizbeth was reading. Lizbeth closed the book with her finger still marking the page. “What are you up?” she demanded.

“Book rat!” Lizbeth said, trying to sound indignant. “It is research!” hiding her face behind the book.

Malve knew Lizbeth all too well; she knew Lizbeth was smiling behind the book. Malve pulled at the large compendium, uncovering and exposing Lizbeth’s mischievous smile. Now she knew something was up. “Let me see this ‘research,’” Malve demanded, reaching for the book again.

“No!” Lizbeth said, panicking now. Lizbeth was trying to sit up now, but before she could shackles suddenly appeared around her wrists and feet. A solid bar appeared around her waist, securing Lizbeth to the chaise. She dropped the book.

Malve picked the compendium up and opened it and started to read it. The book was set to her volume. Malve looked daggers at Lizbeth before asking, “What were you researching?”

“I can’t remember,” Lizbeth feigned forgetfully.

“Your memory is perfect, Lizbeth,” Malve touted back.

Lizbeth smiled devilishly, and then teasingly began to recite what she read in the book from memory, “‘I do not know when I noticed Varoosh’s strong shoulders. His eyes are like fire rubies. His lips are soft and sweet.’”

“Enough!” Malve said loudly, leaping on top of her and covering her mouth with both hands, her face turning completely red. Lizbeth muffled laughter only made her blush even more. “I ought to leave you locked up like that,” Malve threatened her as she returned to where she was sitting in the chair.

“I am happy for you though, we have all missed him,” Lizbeth said to Malve, soothing the mood. “You are about to get Varoosh’s soft lips back,” she laughed. Malve shook her head, and she laughed like she had not in a long time.

“Do not think you will get away so easily,” Malve said, menacingly laughing as she started to tickle Lizbeth sides in revenge. The restraints on Lizbeth prevented her from escaping. Lizbeth tried to twist and fend off Malve as much as possible, but it was useless.

A door appeared, and Servan walked through it. Servan carried a sack over his right shoulder. It was the dragon bone dust needed for the spell. “It was nice of King Ledan; do you think his son will like the…” Servan trailed off from saying. Servan came to a complete standstill in the doorway, his jaw dropping, and he was astounded at what he was seeing. Malve was on top of Lizbeth, who was wearing shackles and with a metal ban over her waist, strapping her to a chaise lounge. The two women looked at Servan, and in an instant, the restraints on Lizbeth vanished. Both sat up meekly in the chaise now as if nothing was going on.

“Hey, go on in,” Clyden said, pushing Servan from the back into the room completely. Servan stumbled a little. Lizbeth and Malve could not contain their laughter any longer. “What is so funny?” Clyden asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you,” Servan said with a smile looking over his shoulder at Clyden.

“What?” Clyden asked again. The two women laughed again.

“Let me see the bone dust,” Lizbeth said, still laughing, standing up, and walking towards Servan. He laid the sack of bone dust down on the ground. Lizbeth put her hand inside of the sack pulling it out to check how fine the powder. The consistency was perfect, exactly what was needed for their summoning spell, and if one did not know this was dragon bone dust, it could have been mistaken for flour in a baker’s kitchen. “Yes, this is perfect,” blowing on her hand and channeling a little magic into her breath. The spell mixed with the dust on her hand flying into the air and the dust sparkle making crackling noises as it’s magical essence was activated. “Yes. Indeed, this is just right.”

Clyden noticed the ritual diagram was already laid out on the floor for the summoning. He saw the parchment Lizbeth copied the spell from in the book laying on the chaise and walked over to pick up the diagram so he could verify everything was correctly done. It was not that Clyden did not trust their work. He knew it was already perfectly laid outright, it was just when dealing with magic one always checked and rechecked before starting, but when in the Fade working with magic one checked, rechecked, and then rechecked some more. The last time they attempted a ritual of this caliber. The four of them slept for 300 years, and Varoosh went missing. So, after Clyden was satisfied with the thoroughness of the ritual diagram, he handed the parchment to Servan. Servan was just as meticulous walking along the outside of the circles three times, alternating looking at the diagram and the floor.

“Alright, it is done right. The salts are to make up all the circles. The dragon bone dust will be the lines and the runes,” Servan announced.

“Malve,” Clyden said, pointing at her. “We will do the salts. You and Lizbeth can handle the runes and lines,” picking up one of the sacks of salts Lizbeth brought earlier. Servan and Lizbeth shook their heads in agreement. They all set out to do their tasks, uttering a fixture spell over the bone dust and salts, making them a permanent as the stone on the floor in case the wind picked up from the activation of the spell. Magic was strict and unforgiving when it came to the rules of the spell. Especially when you worked magic with other users in a ritual, a gust of wind could ruin the whole spell or, worse, lead to fatal consequences. It is why they first started to work magic in the Fade Realm to limit the uncalculated risks in the real world. Clyden had a spell ruined by a bird landing in a spell diagram once, destroying all his efforts over the last month. In the Fade, there are no animals, sudden droplets of rain, or any other numerous amounts of distractions or unintended variables that can ruin a ritual.

“Be sure you do it right,” Lizbeth warned them, the warning was more for her than them. She knew if she felt anxious and excited about seeing Varoosh again, they all had to feel the same. “We all need to be careful,” each of the friends shook their heads in silent consent of her warning. Lizbeth did not want to make a small mistake due to impatience.

Carefully they covered the ritual diagram with the salts and grounded bone dust. Clyden and Malve opened the final bag of salt and were working on the south circle; meanwhile, Lizbeth was finishing up the runes. Servan was already done with the lines and was standing by watching the others complete their tasks. Each one of them was clapping the regent’s residual dust from off their hands as they finished. Lizbeth walked over to the column stairs Malve created earlier. She climbed them, and at the top, she looked down on the entirety of the project. “It is done. Malve if you will please.” Malve burst into flames, then a door appeared, and she stepped through entering into the Fade physically. Malve closed the door, causing it vanished. Lizbeth was descending the stairs.

“Let us begin then,” Malve said, you could hear the tempered excitement in her voice.

“It is going to work,” Clyden said. “Lizbeth, if you will please.”

“The summon is quite straightforward. Bane is the key and is the only focal needed. I think it is why Varoosh sealed the compendium with it because he knew all five of our essences would have to be used to open it, and therefore all five would be used again in the summoning,” Lizbeth said, the others nodded their heads in agreement. She continued, “Bane is to go into the middle circle. The spell will not activate until we all stand in our designated circles.” Lizbeth walked over to the circle at what she designated to be the south. “Servan, this one is yours,” she then pointed to the circle to the right, “That one is yours, Malve. You have the one across from Servan, Clyden.” Clyden walked over to the circle with no line connecting it to the middle circle. The others walked to their circles while Lizbeth went over to the column Bane leaned against. Lizbeth picked up the sword looking at the unreadable runes one more time on the scabbard and drew the sword. Lizbeth laid Bane in the middle of the circle while making sure the point of the sword would face Clyden. “When I start the incantation, first Malve will step in. Servan, I will point at you, and then you will follow into yours. I will go next. Clyden, you will be last when I signal you,” Lizbeth finished saying, waiting to see if any of her friends had any questions. When no one asked, she continued. “When it is done, we all will finish by saying his name together, and Malve will get her 150 years.” The joke made everyone smile, though Malve smiled and blushed.

“Let’s get to it then,” Clyden said.

“Yes, let’s,” Servan agreed.

“Please work,” Malve said, standing next to her circle. The others walked to their assigned circles, standing just behind them.

They all looked at each other, then each nodded, signaling Lizbeth they were ready. Lizbeth closed her eyes, imagining the flow of time and then a book where the pages began to turn, but the book never ran out of pages. This was Lizbeth’s method of tapping into the essence of her magic. The green stone around her neck lit up vibrantly, and an aura of green light surrounded her body. She opened her eyes and looked at her friends; each of them was surrounded by pulsating auras of light. Servan’s aura was yellow, Malve’s was white, and Clyden’s was orange.

“From what was taken should be given back,” Lizbeth said, pointing at Malve. Malve stepped into her circle, and it turned white. “Distant matters not, all time is brief, but a moment to walk one step,” Lizbeth motioned for Servan to step into his circle, and he crossed over into his, turning it yellow. “Bonded, we four call forth what was misplaced,” she entered her circle, turning it green, matching her aura. “Lost and returned it shall be, the distant matters not, now take one step,” she pointed at Clyden for him to step into his circle. Lizbeth raised her hand, signaling the others. They all said Varoosh’s name together.

Columns of light matching the color of each circle shot up surrounding the magi. Bane in the middle circle raised into the air held by an unknown force. Clyden looked at the sword. Bane’s point faced the floor now. The stone on the hilt was an angry red, the same color of Varoosh’s aura. The sword began to spin, slowly at first then it became unnaturally fast. The lines connected to his friend’s circle began to light up and then traveled from their circles to the inner one. The dragon dust and salts started to sparkle in colors of yellow, white, and green as each burning like lines of black gun powder. Upon reaching the circle containing Bane, the inner circle lit up in equal amounts of yellow, white, green, and orange. The different colors of light chased each other before merging, and for a second, the lights vanished before a column of red light shot from the center now. In the red column, bolts of red lightning arc and crackle.

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